Vineland announces mushroom harvesting technology transfer to Canadian-based Mycionics

The move comes at a time when the horticulture industry looks to accelerate its automation efforts to benefit Canadian growers.

Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) has announced the transfer of its patented robotic mushroom harvesting technology to Mycionics, a Canadian agtech company located in Putnam, Ontario.

The move comes at a time when the horticulture industry looks to accelerate its automation efforts to benefit Canadian growers with Vineland uniquely positioned to contribute, given its innovative technology portfolio.

Under the terms of the agreement, Vineland’s intellectual property will be incorporated into Mycionics patent portfolio as they commercialize their mobile robotic harvesting system.

“This announcement is further validation of Vineland’s role as a collaborative force in Canada’s horticulture innovation space and represents an important breakthrough in our efforts to launch impactful labour-saving automation solutions for the industry,” said Ian Potter, Vineland’s President and CEO.

“2022 represents a major milestone for Mycionics as we successfully deployed six of our robotic harvesting systems at Whitecrest mushrooms with no major infrastructure changes. The systems are continuously picking, trimming and packing fresh market quality cremini mushrooms addressing the labour gap the farm was facing. Merging Vineland’s intellectual property into Mycionics’ existing patent portfolio will amplify the extensive work Vineland has contributed to solving increasing labour challenges faced by Canadian mushroom farms. We are excited to leverage Vineland’s IP,” said Michael Curry, CEO, Mycionics.

Vineland acknowledges the investment and support of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev) and the Automation Cluster under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership in achieving this milestone.