肉肉传媒

Photos provided.

When Jay听Willmot听(BComm听鈥�07) studied听Commerce at 肉肉传媒, his Entrepreneurship professor asked the class to make a list of ten things that pissed them off.

鈥淭he prof explained that the things that drove us crazy were amazing business ideas,鈥� says听Willmot. His number one problem? 鈥淥ld, slimy, smelly greens that ruin your meal,鈥� he chuckles. 鈥淚 was being driven nuts by how bad grocery store greens were.鈥�

The finance education I received at Dal gave me such听a good tool听set

Twenty years later, Jay is now the founder and CEO of Haven Greens, Canada鈥檚 first fully automated greenhouse operation, producing up to 12,000 pounds of crisp, fresh lettuce every day. His pesticide-free, ready-to-eat lettuce is sold from Vancouver to St. John鈥檚. Recently, the company received the coveted Costco seal of approval; their lettuce is on the shelves of all听42 Ontario听stores plus all six in the Atlantic region.

Raised on his family鈥檚 horse farm in King City, Ontario,听Willmot听grew up doing farm chores鈥攅ven though he was allergic to horses. In the early 2000s, he听secured a scholarship to 肉肉传媒 and earned a听BComm听majoring in finance.听鈥淚 had听really听broad-based experience through the co-op,鈥� he says.听鈥淎nd the finance education I received at Dal gave me such a good tool set around thinking both analytically and creatively.鈥�

The future of agriculture in Canada

After graduating in 2007,听Willmot听got his first job as a financial analysis at an ATM company in Toronto. He also became involved with the family business,听Kinghaven听Farms, which was founded in 1967 as a thoroughbred breeding and racing farm.听听When his father asked him to do a financial analysis of the business, the result was eye-opening.

The business was losing听money听and听Willmot听convinced the family to begin pivoting away from horses. 鈥淲e started to ask ourselves what the future of agriculture in Canada might look like and got really intentional about how we were going to become a profitable farming business.鈥�

That鈥檚听when听Willmot听decided to further his听education,听earning a law degree听and听a Master of Environmental Studies,听both听from York University. His thesis project was the development and creation of a solar energy power plant that began bringing in some much-needed revenue to the family farm.

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A听superior product, grown locally

He tried his hand at vertical farming, did听research听and finally stumbled upon apiece of information that would change his life: a new European automation in greenhouse farming called Mobile Gully Systems (MGS). MGS moves rows of plants through a greenhouse on an automated track, reducing manual labor, ensuring consistent plant growth, and increasing productivity by maximizing space.听

鈥淚 was really intrigued by the idea of creating a hands-free growing environment that was more efficient and sustainable.鈥澨齏illmot听started attending听conferences听and met Eric Highfield, who would become his听chief听agricultural听officer.听Together, they created a subsidiary to the family farm and called it Haven Greens.听

Next, they reimagined the indoor horse training track, converting it into a five-acre,听state-of-the-art听automated greenhouse. Equipped with advanced MGS Growing System technology, they听went all听in on听Willmot鈥檚听very first idea. Lettuce.

鈥淲hen I found out that Canada was importing in excess of 97% of the leafy greens we eat, that really cinched the deal for me,鈥� says听Willmot. 鈥淚 wanted to create a superior product, grown locally鈥攏ot California, Arizona, and Mexico鈥攁 product that Canadians could trust and enjoy."

Teaching听young people to farm more sustainably

Haven Greens planted their first seeds in February of 2025 and began harvesting the next month. They听haven鈥檛听slowed down since, helped partly by the US-Canada trade听war. Green听lettuce, red听lettuce,听arugula听and mustard greens are being grown with what听Willmot听calls 鈥渢he best technology and the best practices.鈥�

This means using AI to increase their planting efficacy and outcomes, capturing rainwater, and recycling irrigation water. Haven Greens uses 98% less water than traditional agriculture and is 35 times more productive听per acre.听They grow their crops without pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides, while using solar energy.听Willmot鈥檚听thesis project has now grown to five solar power plants.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very proud of what we鈥檙e doing here at Haven Greens,鈥� says听Willmot. 鈥淲e want to shed light on the importance of agriculture here at home and to teach young people to farm more sustainably.鈥� The company is walking the talk, with a median age of 27 among their over 100 employees. 鈥淲e've hired a lot of really talented young professionals who are invigorated to be on the cutting edge of technological and energy advancements.鈥�

A second five-acre greenhouse is already being built, which will double the company鈥檚 output to four million kilos of lettuce per year. 鈥淲e want to show future generations what is possible,鈥� says听Willmot. 鈥淭hat's what gets us excited; waking up every day and knowing that we're contributing to our country in a meaningful way.鈥澨�