Growth Business: Introducing Gray Jay Greens
SAINT JOHN – If you live in New Brunswick, you might not know Neville Crabbe, but you’ve definitely seen or heard him.
Crabbe, a reporter at CBC since 2008, started working at CBC New Brunswick in 2013 in both television and radio.
But as soon as he left the mothercorp in June 2015 due to cuts, he already had a new career root: hydroponics.
“When things went down at CBC and my job ended, that’s the day I incorporated,” Crabbe says. “I really decided to do this.”
Just like that, Gray Jay Greens was created.
Crabbe’s experimentation with hydroponics started in his second year of university. We’ll leave what that “experimentation” was to your imagination.
“Also in university I had the chance to work on a regular farm and doing mostly Christmas Trees and strawberries,” he says. “I liked it and I saw the opportunity. Basically everything was produced, sold, and there’s always a ready market for food.”
With the price of food rising and the productivity of agricultural land decreasing in many areas, people are looking at new ways to get fresh food. Crabbe says this is a way to get it.
“I think this type of production is an excellent extension of the food system and one that has potential. Never to replace traditional agriculture but supplement it,” he says.
“Especially in climates where you can’t grow lettuce in January.”
Gray Jay Greens is located in an old Sears repair warehouse on Saint John’s west side, equipped with what’s basically standard greenhouse equipment. So far Crabbe has been growing 10 different kinds of micro greens, everything from mustard and mizuna to radish, cabbage, corn, even sunflower seeds. All greens are grown without pesticides or herbicides.
It’s a fairly new business, sure. But Gray Jay Greens isn’t the first hydroponics business in New Brunswick. Moncton’s Local By Atta has been at it for a while now, with much success.
“I think we’re at the early stage of the industry here where people are out trying all kinds of different things, and it’s up to a company to be really smart and focused,” Crabbe says. “Focused on production. That has to be the goal and see where this industry will be in 10 years. It could be big.”
Crabbe just had his first harvest and sent out his first sample packages to local restaurants. He says there’s already a lot of interest and everything is on track for growth.
“I’m confident that what I have here right now will pay the bills and will set me up $30-50,000 expansion in the second quarter of this year,” he says. “In the second quarter of this year my plan is to increase production capacity by five times.”
By this time next year, Crabbe hopes to have launched a consumer retail brand and hired two to three people.
Though things are looking promising, Crabbe says one of the toughest parts of starting Gray Jay has been accepting the uncertainty.
“I found as a one-person startup business it’s hard to beat back the anxiety of it,” he says. “I really walked off a cliff from a secure job in a crown corporation into this where the future is anything but certain.”
This is particularly hard on the days when you feel like you’ve done everything, but accomplished nothing.
“That mental tire spinning, it becomes like a paralysis,” Crabbe says. “You might find you went through a day without getting anything done, but your mind ran 10,000 miles. Like a vehicle you’ve got to get out of neutral and put it in gear and always go ahead.”
Hydroponics has some benefits over traditional agriculture. Businesses like Crabbe’s are able to offer consistent pricing and predictable volumes, while at the same time being produced locally.
“I think [hydroponics] really taps into the realization that there are problems with the food as it exists now,” he says. “One, we’re not always getting the best quality because it travels so far. Two, we’re vulnerable to any interruption in the food system.”
That being said, Crabbe believes it will never replace the standard.
“This industry will never ever replace traditional agriculture. Its function is a supplement to our existing food system,” he says.
“It’s really looking where the gaps are, what traditional farmers can’t do and stepping into that.”