KINGSVILLE, ON - While the winter months are still upon us, Mucci Farms isn’t letting the chill in the air slow them down. As we move through this first part of March, the new year is already looking to be a 2017 full of innovation and growth for the company.

Marketing Manager Emily Murracas and Grower Guy Totaro joined me to discuss one of their latest areas of investment and initiative, and what we can expect from one of the company’s most coveted crop programs.

Built in the fall of 2015, Mucci Farms’ lit culture greenhouses had their first harvest in March of 2016 and now brings a full program of Kingsville, Ontario-grown cucumbers year-round.

“We currently have 28 acres dedicated to growing seedless, mini, and cocktail cucumbers—better known as our Award Winning Cutecumbers ™, with 50% of the acreage under grow lights,” Emily shared with me. “Concentrated use of these lights takes place during the early hours of the morning before sunrise.”

This technology simulates sunlight by providing or supplementing the necessary light required to produce the necessary joules per day to the plants, Emily adds, allowing for year-round growth and more importantly, local production that keeps them “always in season”.

“Since the original build, Mucci Farms has innovated on their newer state-of-the-art greenhouses, constructing them 7.5 meters high, along with a substantial investment into the use of diffused glass which provides better distribution of natural light and less need to shade crops,” Guy told me, adding that research and development is also a major focus under this lighting technology as Mucci Farms is trialing over 60 different cucumber varieties in an effort to find the best flavor, yield, and efficiency in the world.

Innovation has been a focus for Mucci in all aspects of the business, prompting the company to build an 85,000-square-foot warehouse expansion with state of the art automation equipment, including the M-Track induction wire system for their harvesting carts. This technology has sensors and cameras installed into the carts to detect row numbers, directing each variety to the appropriate packing line automatically, allowing for maximum efficiency.

“Year after year, Mucci Farms is dedicated to providing fresh, flavorful, greenhouse grown produce with an emphasis on innovation and technology,’ Emily said. “And from what you can see from this recent project, our evolution shows no signs of slowing down.”

As we look toward Mucci’s upcoming spring program, as the warmer weather teases from the horizon, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for the latest and greatest in our industry.

Mucci Farms