Vertical Roots St. Paul

Dave Doonanco – Central Prairie Pharmaceuticals

Born and raised in the Lakeland Region it has always been my vision to create an industry that would be able to serve the people of St. Paul and the surrounding communities. Whether that was to provide products and services, or employment opportunities, Vertical Roots St. Paul will allow us to do both.

Although I never lived on a farm growing up, I had the opportunity to spend time at my grandparent’s farm and also spent many summer days at a cousin’s farm. My wife however, did grow up on a farm and that of course gave me more experience as I endeavored to impress my future father in law by helping with the harvest and the livestock. Twenty seven years ago when we moved onto our current farm we had some background and understanding of the requirements of farming and the work involved. After doing extensive research and asking many questions of my neighbors, we tried our hand at backgrounding yearling cattle using an intensive rotational grazing system.

Part of my teaching career involved instructing courses in Agriculture, Marketing Management, and Entrepreneurship. These have come in handy for the business side of things and for understanding value added products and the food industry.

Hydroponics was something new, but with a great deal of research and the guidance of the Vertical Roots Canada management team we are well on our way to fulfilling our vision of providing for our community.