ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - CityFarms Is Hiring!

We are in need of another Operations Associate! The job mostly entails running the ongoing operations of the farm.

Things like harvesting, packaging, planting, delivering to stores, and managing the crops.

We are always trying to continuously improve what we do and are hoping to find great people with that same drive.

Our goal is to become the largest food producer in Alaska and we have a long way to go!

We are currently a team of six and are excited to find people who are passionate about the same things we are.

If you are interested, click the button below and message us! We look forward to hearing from you.

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A Manufacturer And A Food Caterer Among New Players Feeding Singapore’s Urban Farming Boom

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Tang See Kit

@SeeKitCNA

11 Aug 2021

SINGAPORE: In a small room tucked away on the second floor of a precision engineering factory in Tuas, pots of kale and lettuce stacked in vertical racks grow under the glow of pink-purple lights.

These light-emitting diode (LED) lights have been designed to shine at a customized spectrum that will help crops grow better. Smart sensors also keep tabs on temperature and humidity in the room, while a special water treatment system reduces bacteria growth.

In here, the goal is to find the best way to farm vegetables indoors, all with the use of technology.

“You can control everything, even how much nutrients or water is being used for each plant,” said Mr. Nelson Lim, co-founder of I.F.F.I, which stands for Indoor Farm Factory Innovation.

“We want to bring indoor farming into something more precise, where you calculate the least input for the best output. That is precision farming,” he told CNA.

Mr. Lim is also the chief executive of precision engineering firm TranZplus Engineering, which is the parent company of I.F.F.I. TranZplus’ two-story office in Tuas now houses both a manufacturing facility for semiconductor components and a farming showroom.

“A lot of people ask me: ‘Nelson, are you crazy? You’re in engineering, why suddenly do farming?’ Actually, the two are not unrelated. We can put our engineering skills to good use in indoor farming,” Mr. Lim said while demonstrating the farming racks that can be adjusted according to height and size.

Robotics is another expertise that the company has incorporated into its farming solutions to not just improve the yield and quality of crops, but also workflow efficiencies.

For instance, automated machines that can perform seeding, transplanting, potting and harvesting tasks will be put to work at I.F.F.I’s mega indoor farm when ready at the end of this year.

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(Left to right) I.F.F.I's general manager Veronica Lee, chief operating officer Kelvin Ng, and co-founder Nelson Lim. (Photo: Tang See Kit)

SEEDING A DIVERSIFICATION

TranZplus’ venture into agriculture was first seeded in 2016 when it became one of the vendors for Panasonic’s indoor farm in Singapore.

“Initially, they just wanted to have a rack. Then we thought why not have racks that can be customized, why not put in an irrigation system and other types of automation?” Mr Lim recalled. “We worked out a prototype and they were impressed.”

The company kept on with research and development after that, while being involved in setting up three other small-scale farms. In 2019, it decided it had gained enough experience to give it a shot.

Mr. Lim said the decision to venture into indoor farming was driven by “strong business potential”, partly on the back of Singapore’s “30 by 30” goal to produce 30 percent of the country's nutritional needs locally by 2030.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated the potential, with global disruptions to the harvesting, shipping, and sale of food making it even more important for the country to have its own resources. Indoor farms can be the solution, he added.

Last September, I.F.F.I. became one of the nine urban farms to secure grants totaling S$39.4 million from the Singapore Food Agency.

Its 38,000 sq ft indoor farm, which remains under development at the JTC Space @ Tuas, will be using a soil-based cultivation method that allows more vegetable varieties to be planted.

When operational, the mega farm will be able to produce 800 to 1,000kg of vegetables, like nai bai and spinach, per day, said Mr Lim.

Another new player on the field is food caterer Kitchen Haus, which co-founded “farm-to-table” concept brand Frux Earth a few months ago.

With its core business facing a slow recovery amid the pandemic, the company has been diversifying actively in search of new opportunities over the past year.

Agriculture is “not unrelated territory”, chief executive Patrick Chan said. “It’s still part of the food ecosystem so when the opportunity came, I agreed instantly.”

It teamed up with home-grown urban farming company Metro Farm for the new venture. With the latter’s expertise, the farms under Frux Earth – three sites spanning 60,000 sq ft – are powered by an aquaponics system that converts fish waste into nutrients for the vegetables.

For instance, its 12,000 sq ft rooftop farm atop an industrial building in Bendemeer has eight fish tanks with red tilapia and jade perch. These fishes were chosen for their hardiness and ability “to produce more waste”, said Metro Farm’s director Chris Toh.

“We have a filter to separate the fish waste, which is then broken down by bacteria. Our system will then keep the nutrients flowing to the vegetables 24/7,” said the farm’s other director Brandon Toh, who added that the system is “self-sustainable” and keeps costs low.

The Bendemeer farm, with its 720 vertical plant towers, can harvest more than 30,000 stalks of vegetables, including purple lettuce and kale, a month. The fish will also be sold once they reach table size.

Mr. Chan said: “This is a breath of fresh air for us and we pivoted because we want to jump on the trend of food sustainability.

“I think Metro Farm sees the value in us having the know-how of food preparing, catering, and retail. And we partner them because it’s not easy to set up a farm and they are the experts.”

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Metro Farm’s director Chris Toh (left) and Kitchen Haus' chief executive officer Patrick Chan (right) joined hands to form a new urban farming company Frux Earth. (Photo: Tang See Kit)

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Metro Farm, which started its first farm in Kranji almost nine years ago, noted that the local agriculture sector has become “much more vibrant”.

While the presence of new and bigger players means greater competition, the increased attention has also made it easier for businesses to secure farming sites in land-scarce Singapore, including vacant rooftops on both public and private buildings.

“In the past, we have to explain what is a rooftop farm and what we are doing but now, more landlords are opening up to the idea,” said Mr. Brandon Toh, although he noted that not all rooftops are suitable given the need to take into consideration the additional loads of farming.

Frux Earth has plans to open three more urban farms over the next few months.

Its “farm-to-table” menu is in the works as it ramps up its crop production, while it is also gauging the interest for a weekly vegetable subscription service, said Mr. Chan.

These “culture boxes”, as they are called, will be filled with 1 to 2kg worth of freshly harvested organic vegetables and delivered to the doorsteps of customers every week. For now, it has started supplying a few restaurants located near its farm at the Marina Country Club.

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Frux Earth is planning to launch a weekly vegetable box subscription service. (Photo: Frux Earth)

Over at I.F.F.I, the protracted pandemic and its impact on labour and supplies of raw materials have caused some delays at its mega indoor farm which was initially scheduled to open in the middle of this year.

“We are catching up and hopefully we can have everything ready soon,” said Mr. Lim. “Certainly, costs have also gone up with the increase in raw material prices, but we are managing that."

Meanwhile, the company is working on opening an “indoor farm pro-shop”.

“There will be a mini-farm set up for visitors to understand and raise awareness about indoor farming,” said I.F.F.I chief operating officer Kelvin Ng.

“If they like what they see and want to start their home cultivation system, they will also be able to purchase everything they need at the shop. We will even have consultants ready to guide you. It will be a one-stop shop about indoor farming.”

I.F.F.I. also sees opportunities beyond Singapore where they can serve as consultants or designers to those looking to set up indoor farms. For instance, in Russia where crop production is a challenge due to the cold climate.

Its technologies can also be deployed in “bite sizes” even in traditional food-producing countries as solutions to specific problems, such as water pollution.

Mr. Ng said: “There are many opportunities emerging in the space of indoor farming, and we want to be bold and seize them.”

Source: CNA/sk(cy)

Lead Photo: I.F.F.I, an affiliate of precision engineering firm TranZplus Engineering, is looking to open its mega indoor farm in Tuas by the end of this year. (Photo: Tang See Kit)

GLASE Webinar Series

The photosynthetic activity of far-red photons was discovered 70 years ago, but has largely been ignored since then. Recent research has drawn new attention to the importance of far-red photons.

This short presentation will cover the history of research on photosynthetic responses to light spectrum, recent work on the importance of far-red photons, and a discussion of the implication of (not) extending the definition of PAR. There will be ample time for discussion following the presentation.

Register Here - August 26 • 2-3 p.m. EST

Three Reasons To Attend Women in Agribusiness Summit

For ten years, Women in Agribusiness (WIA) has been at the forefront of advancing women in the food and ag industries by helping them know their business better. Join WIA live in Minneapolis, September 21-23 for the 10th anniversary WIA Summit.

 THREE REASONS TO ATTEND

1.  Be the most informed person on your team.

With so many changes happening in the industry, how do you nail down what’s most important? The sessions at WIA Summit are led by industry experts and address the most critical topics of today so you can execute business decisions with confidence.

2.  It’s all about who you know.

Submerse yourself in a room full of leaders who feel equally as passionate about agribusiness as you do. Grab a glass of champagne and start learning and sharing about the topics that mean the most to you at the WIA networking receptions. 

3.  Never stop learning.

Life is busy. It’s hard to brainstorm and innovate when business moves fast. The WIA Summit gives you access to leaders and changemakers that provide new perspectives and insights to help you stay innovative.

 REGISTER NOW

Save $100 when you register before August 7.

*Virtual registration available

Event safety: The WIA Summit team looks forward to welcoming you safely to Minneapolis in September. We will continue to work with state officials and follow CDC best practices for in-person events.

PODCAST: This Weeks Episode - Season 3 Episode 39

Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show, CEO and co-founder of Fifth Season, Austin Webb. Fifth Season is a consumer tech company and indoor farming pioneer with Carnegie Mellon University roots that is creating a new era of fresh foods. Its commercial-scale indoor vertical farms use proprietary robotics, AI, and smart operations technology to grow leafy greens and herbs at affordable prices year-round. 

Today, Harry and Austin talk about the origin story of Fifth Season, the relationship he has with the city of Braddock, and how Austin initially got involved in vertical farming. Austin expounds on the concepts of smart manufacturing and pest pressure and speaks to the learning curve he’s experienced as a first-time CEO. Finally, Austin speaks to the mission of Fifth Season and what excites him most about his future endeavors.

Listen & Subscribe

BrightFarms Recall Expands To Include Baby Spinach

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July 28, 2021

ROCHELLE, Ill., July 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — JULY 28, 2021 RECALL EXPANSION: BrightFarms today initiated a voluntary recall expansion of additional packaged salad greens that are past the expiration date and were produced in its Rochelle, Illinois (Ogle County) greenhouse farm sold in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan due to potential contamination with Salmonella.

The recall includes the below salad products packaged in clear, plastic clamshells with “best by” dates through 7/26/2021:

1. BrightFarms Baby Spinach (4 oz. and 8 oz. package)

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The affected BrightFarms-branded products were sold by retailers listed in the July 15 recall notice below.

JULY 15, 2021 RECALL:

BrightFarms today initiated a voluntary recall of packaged salad greens produced in its Rochelle, Illinois (Ogle County) greenhouse farm sold in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The affected BrightFarms-branded products were sold by the following retailers:

1. Illinois: Mariano’s Fresh Markets, Walmart (select stores), Strack Van Till, Sullivan’s Foods, Caputo’s, Jewel-Osco
2. Wisconsin: Pick ‘n Save, Metro Market, Copps, Tadych’s, Walmart (select stores)
3. Iowa: Walmart (select stores)
4. Indiana: Strack Van Till
5. Michigan: Tadych’s

Additional retailers may be affected.

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis

The recall includes the below salad products packaged in clear, plastic clamshells with “best by” dates through 7/29/2021:

6. BrightFarms NutrigreensTM (3 oz. package)
7. BrightFarms Butter Crisp TM (4 oz. Package)
8. BrightFarms Harvest Crunch ® (4 oz. package)
9. BrightFarms Mighty Romaine TM (4 oz. and 8 oz. package)
10. BrightFarms 50/50 Spring & Spinach (4 oz. package)
11. BrightFarms Spring Crunch (4 oz. package)
12. BrightFarms Spring Mix (4 oz. and 8 oz. package)
13. BrightFarms Sunny Crunch ® (4 oz. and 8 oz. package)
14. 7/28/21 Update: BrightFarms Baby Spinach (4 oz. and 8 oz. package)

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The recall is limited to these specific products grown at the company’s Rochelle, Illinois indoor farm. BrightFarms products from other BrightFarms greenhouses are not affected.

BrightFarms is taking this action out of an abundance of caution after being notified of illnesses among eleven consumers, some of whom purchased or consumed the above products during the month of June.

Affected retailers have been instructed to remove all affected products from store shelves.

BrightFarms is committed to providing wholesome products, and the health and safety of consumers is the company’s number one priority. In addition to today’s voluntary recall, the company has already begun taking steps to enhance their already rigorous food safety protocols, including testing all products produced in its Rochelle facility for exposure to Salmonella prior to distribution.

Consumers who have purchased the affected products should discard them or return them to their place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions are encouraged to call 1-866-857-8745 8 am – 11 pm EDT. Consumers can also email info@brightfarms.com with the subject line: Recall.

Consumers contact:
BrightFarms
info@brightfarms.com
1-866-857-8745

Tagged brightfarms, food safety, outbreak, salad, salmonella, spinach

INDIA: Toward A Fresh Future

It’s Not Often That You Get To See Your Leafy Greens, Herbs, And Microgreens Grown On-Site By Hydroponic Farming While Shopping Inside A Mall.

22nd July 2021

By Vaishali Vijaykumar

Express News Service

CHENNAI: It’s not often that you get to see your leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens grown on-site by hydroponic farming while shopping inside a mall. This novel concept comes to Chennai, courtesy of Freshlings, with its first retail offering at the Express Avenue Mall.

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Following the success of their plant-based subscription boxes, the 900-sq-ft-store, which had a soft launch last week, will offer its patrons a touch-and-feel experience of the green goodness before they handpick them. While they’re yet to stock up the entire list of farm-fresh vegetables and fruits, there’s enough for you to whip up a three-course meal from what’s currently available at the store, assures Sriram Gopal, founder of Freshlings.

“We’ve believed in ‘Clean food for all’ since 2014. While we’ve been witnessing a gradual change in the mindset of people, the interest in eating healthy and clean hit an all-time high after the pandemic. We’re grateful to the EA mall for being able to kickstart this pioneering facility. We’re hoping the on-site set-up will trigger the curiosity of more people to give this a shot,” he says.

A green catalyst
The store has an entire section of microgreens, romaine lettuce, kale, and amaranthus, neatly boxed and stacked. Sitting next to them are candy peppers, mini cucumbers and carrots, zucchini, Chinese cabbage, galangal, berries, dragon fruit, and select staples. “Fresh produce is replenished based on demand. Our quality control manager ensures nothing beyond its shelf life is stacked on the cold shelves. In case of minor damage, the product will be kept under our ‘Ugly section’ that’s yet to be launched. This is just to say that those in that section are not any less but will be made available to customers at a discounted price to ensure zero wastage,” he says.

Along with their in-house greens, Freshlings works to curate more seasonal and perennial produce from farmers and organizations that adhere to standards of sustainable food production and Global Agricultural Practices’ standards. “We’re also looking for ways in which nutrition can be made fun for kids and encourage them to make healthy choices. There will be a kids-approved section that will be filled with their favorites. We will also be sensitizing kids and motivating them to engage in farming. There’s a dedicated Grow and Bloom section for kids and urban dwellers to adopt the farming lifestyle with grow kits, seeds, herbs and tools to get started on the gardening journey,” shares Sriram.

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Walking us through hydroponic farming that’s now being explored by more families — especially during the lockdown — Sriram says that plants grown in this farm don’t have pesticides and use only 20 percent of the water it would normally take to grow the same quantities. “These recirculated water systems help irrigate the produce and can prioritise food grown for taste, colour, and nutritional value rather than shelf life or its ability to sustain mass production. Greenhouse and Indoor growing also means that everything happens under the watchful eyes of the farmer. One doesn’t have to worry about the hygiene factor either because your plants grow in a controlled setting, away from any kind of pollutant or toxic substance. It’s a completely safe method,” he notes.

Clean and conscious
Besides being a catalyst in bringing a lifestyle change in Chennaiites and promoting conscious eating, Sriram is optimistic about solving inefficiencies in the supply chain and also providing a feasible solution to farmers. “Our seven years of research in this field is aimed at imparting knowledge to farmers on utilizing technology optimally. If a machine that’s cheaper than your mobile phone can do the trick of farming then what can be better than that? We call this appliance agriculture and have developed our proprietary operating system that can take care of end-to-end production of 30 crops. The next step is to incorporate regional languages so the machine can command the farmer and handhold him through the process. It will monitor everything from water levels, temperature, humidity until harvest. We recently set up a fully automated facility in Singapore. It will take a long time here but we are in talks with like-minded people,” he elaborates.

After crossing the initial hurdles of getting their customers to try their products, Sriram says that they are all about working relentlessly towards the larger picture. “Sustainable food production and responsible consumerism must work in tandem to create a value-conscious lifestyle. Often premium product chains eliminate Chennai from their expansion plans because they think people here are not quality conscious and price-sensitive. We are challenging the notion by starting here. To us, being a cult brand is more important than chasing numbers. This is just the beginning and we hope to impart knowledge to as many as possible,” he says.

The shop will officially be launched shortly. Freshlings has also tied up with delivery partners to cater to its patrons living across the city. Until then, you can keep track of their daily updates on their official Instagram page @thefreshlings or visit www.thefreshlings.com

"Precision Indoor Propagation For High Quality Transplants" - August 3rd Tuesday 11:00 AM Eastern Time

August Indoor Ag Science Cafe

August 3rd Tuesday 11:00 AM Eastern Time

Please sign up, thank you!

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by
Dr. Ricardo Hernandez
North Carolina State University

• Please sign up to receive your Zoom link.

• Indoor Ag Science Cafe is an open discussion forum, planned and organized by the OptimIA project team.

• OptimIA (Optimizing Indoor Agriculture) is a project funded by the USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative and supported by many of you receiving this email (thank you!).

Sign Up Here

VIDEO: Foundation Farms, Corp., Reports A Second Harvest Is Currently Underway

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 15, 2021 / Foundation Farms, Corp., ('Foundation Farms') a subsidiary of GME Innotainment, Inc. (OTC PINK:GMEV) today reported that the second harvest is currently underway at the company's E-ROOTS CENTRE located in the Red Deer, Alberta area.

Following an overwhelmingly positive response from customers who purchased the first crop last month, the word is spreading throughout the surrounding communities and this second crop is already sold even before harvesting has been completed. Consumers have been delighted with the "no blemishes" produce and we have had numerous reports that the flavors and palatability of the vegetable greens are, "much better than anything that we have ever purchased at local supermarkets."

In response to the market demand, the company has expanded from an assortment of six basic leafy greens and herbs in the first crop to a total of 14 leafy greens and herbs, two fruits (strawberries and cayenne peppers), and four varieties of edible flowers in this second crop. Management and on-site staff also report the very successful functioning of the E-ROOTS system with minimal labor input.

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When asked about these results, Ed Kroeker, CEO of Foundation Farms stated "I am pleased to report that, if anything, we may have under-estimated the expectations we have held until now. There is a lot of attention paid to tangible benefits of vertical farming including environmental sustainability, low water usage, ability to convert urban waste spaces to food production, and reduction of food transportation logistics. Our E-ROOTS CENTRES are demonstrating that we can produce plant-based food products whose culinary qualities supersede anything currently available in conventional food markets. We plan to have the same impact on the plant-based food market as Angus-beef branding has had on the red meat market. This will soon become even more evident as we are getting ready to announce several new joint ventures."

Yves R. Michel, CEO of GMEV further added, "In just a few short months of production at the Red Deer area vertical farm, Foundation Farms is demonstrating an ability to set a new standard of excellence in this industry and the demand for the products supports profitability projections. With product demand this high for smaller population centers, I am excited to see what happens once some of the larger population centers get hold of this technology.

CONTACT:

Yves R. Michel
Chief Executive Officer and Director
208 East 51st St., Suite 170
New York, NY 10022
www.srcorpgroup.com
OTCPink: GMEV

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties and on information available to the Company as of the date hereof. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business, which include the risk factors disclosed in its latest Annual Report on OTCMarkets.com, it’s Regulation A+ Offering Statement, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" contained therein. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, and can be identified by forward-looking words such as "plans," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should," "will" and "would" or similar words. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

SOURCE: GME Innotainment, Inc.

Optimizing Resource Use Efficiency In CEA System

Date: July 29, 2021
Time: 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. EDT
Presented by: Murat Kacira (The University of Arizona)

Click Here To Register

Webinar Description

An important factor affecting the profitability of vertical farming is a grower’s ability to consistently deliver a predictable product. To achieve this, growers must create an environment that supplies all the crop’s needs over its entire growth cycle by identifying and co-optimizing environmental variables such as CO2, light, humidity, airflow, and other parameters. This presentation will focus on real-time sensing, monitoring, and climate control strategies with system designs for environmental uniformity leading to enhanced resource use efficiency in CEA system.

Dr. Murat Kacira (Professor)

Murat Kacira is director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center and he is a professor in the Biosystems Engineering Department at the University of Arizona. He received his B.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering in Cukurova University in Turkey and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering from The Ohio State University in USA. His research involves automation, environmental control, alternative energy integrated CEA systems and resource use optimization in controlled environment agriculture systems including greenhouses and vertical farming-based plant factories with artificial lighting. He is a member of American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), American Society of Horticultural Sciences (ASHS), and International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS). He serves as Chair of the Division Precision Horticulture Engineering under ISHS.

Special thanks to our Industry partners

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If you have any questions or would like to know more about GLASE, please contact its executive director Erico Mattos at em796@cornell.edu

RMA Authorizes Emergency Procedures To Help Drought-Impacted Producers

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By TOM KARST

July 13, 2021

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is authorizing emergency procedures to help agricultural producers impacted by extreme drought conditions.

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas, according to a news release.

The agency said the new crop insurance flexibilities are part of USDA’s broader response to help producers impacted by drought, in the West, Northern Great Plains, Caribbean and other areas. 

“Crop insurance helps producers weather natural disasters like drought,” RMA Acting Administrator Richard Flournoy said in the release. “We recognize the distress experienced by farmers and ranchers because of drought, and these emergency procedures will authorize insurance companies to expedite the claims process, enabling them to plant a new crop or a cover crop.”

Emergency procedures allow insurance companies to accept delayed notices of loss in certain situations, streamline paperwork, and reduce the number of required representative samples when damage is consistent, according to the release.

Producers should contact their crop insurance agent as soon as they notice damage, the agency said.

The insurance company must have an opportunity to inspect the crop before the producer puts their crop acres to another use. If the company cannot make an accurate appraisal, or the producer disagrees with the appraisal at the time the acreage is to be destroyed or no longer cared for, the insurance company and producer can determine representative sample areas to be left intact and maintained for future appraisal purposes, according to the release. Once an insured crop has been appraised and released, or representative strips have been authorized for later appraisal, the producer may cut the crop for silage, destroy it or take any other action on the land including planting a cover crop, the release said.

Additional information on these emergency procedures is available on RMA’s Crop Insurance and Drought Damaged Crop webpage.

Large-Scale Automated Vertical Farm Near Tokyo by Spread And ENEOS Partnership

July 14, 2021, Spread Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Japan; CEO: Shinji Inada, hereinafter “Spread”)’s partner, and a member of ENEOS Group, J Leaf Corporation (HQ: Chiba, Japan; President: Jun Uehara, hereinafter “J Leaf”) started operating the automated vertical farm “Techno Farm Narita” (Chiba, Japan) on 30th of June.

Spread’s Large-Scale Vertical Farming Partnership with ENEOS Group’s J Leaf Starts Operations near Tokyo

Spread owns and operates two vertical farms in Western Japan (Kyoto), the Kameoka Plant and Techno Farm Keihanna. Techno Farm Narita is Spread’s first partnership project, and the first to be located in Eastern Japan. The most significant feature of Techno Farm Narita is the increased efficiency in the use of land. This has been achieved by increasing the number of cultivation racks levels to 28, double that of Techno Farm Keihanna. Techno Farm Narita will produce 30,000 heads of lettuce daily, building on the know-how accumulated through the operation of Techno Farm Keihanna to deliver increasingly sustainable food production.

Unique Features of Techno Farm Narita

Even more efficient land saving through 28-level cultivation rack system (roughly 2 times more efficient than Techno Farm Keihanna)

Located in the Greater Tokyo Area, allowing for local production and consumption

Transforming idle land to efficient and sustainable agriculture ・

The utilization of renewable energy generated from solar panels

Techno Farm Narita also retains other features of Spread’s next-generation food production system, Techno Farm™, including pesticide-free, stable cultivation, integrated automation, specialized LED lighting, and Spread’s proprietary IoT-based cultivation management system, Techno Farm Cloud.

Techno Farm Narita’s Cultivation Room Opening Ceremony

About the Partners

ENEOS Group is one of Japan's leading corporate groups, with revenue in excess of 10 trillion yen. *1

The Group has the largest market share in oil refinery and petrochemicals distribution in Japan and is centered around ENEOS Holdings.

Spread’s vision is to create a sustainable society where future generations can live with peace of mind. On the way to this objective, Spread plans to reach a total production capacity of 100 tons per day domestically by 2030, through the expansion of its Techno Farm™. With the collaboration at Techno Farm Narita as a foundation, both parties are considering further partnership projects. The green business market is expected to continue growing, and Spread strives to become a leading vertical farming company globally.

Spread will continue to pursue further business opportunities through technological innovation both in Japan and overseas. Spread aims to provide solutions for the global problems of climate change and food security and the delivery of a truly sustainable society.

*1 FY2019 results (announced on May 20, 2020)

*2 ENEOS Techno Materials Corporation is a member of ENEOS Group

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Philly Start-Up GrowFlux Tweaks Lighting For Growing Indoor Agriculture Industry

The University City company has received a $250,000 grant to conduct research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado.

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GrowFlux offer technology and software to control lighting for indoor farms. Shown here is Second Chances Farm in Wilmington, an early customer. GrowFlux

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by Harold Brubaker

07-12-21

Crops in greenhouses — an increasingly popular way to supply year-round fresh greens and other produce to places with cold winters — are most productive when they receive the right amount of light at the right time.

But there’s a downside. Greenhouses are energy hogs and typically generate more gasses than traditional field agriculture because of their lighting and heating needs. Those are terrible characteristics for a burgeoning industry at a time of growing concern over global warming.

GrowFlux, a Philadelphia agricultural technology start-up that is trying to make the industry more efficient, won a $250,000 grant last week from the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator for research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado. The aim is to reduce energy consumption in greenhouses by fine-tuning the amount of artificial light that crops receive.

GrowFlux sells sensors that measure the amount of light, carbon dioxide, temperature, and humidity in indoor farms.GrowFlux

Simple timers are traditionally used to turn lights on and off in greenhouses, said Eric Eisele, GrowFlux’s chief executive, and cofounder. “They’re not dialing in the light in accordance with when the crop is actually using light most efficiently,” he said. “It results in a fair bit of energy that’s wasted.”

The GrowFlux system — to be further developed with the help of researchers at NREL and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis — measures the natural light available and then adjusts the artificial light to add more when needed.

GrowFlux estimates that it can cut energy use by 20% to 30%.

While the grant, funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation, involves GrowFlux’s lighting controls, the University City company has a broader target with sensors that monitor carbon dioxide levels, humidity, temperature, and other factors that determine how well plants grow.

“They were one of the very first companies that were trying to essentially make farms like ours smart farms by using technology,” said Ajit Mathew George, founder and managing partner at Second Chances Farm in Wilmington, an indoor vertical farm that employs formerly incarcerated individuals.

“You don’t think of indoor vertical farms as being a place where technology plays an important part,” said George, who uses a GrowFlux app on his phone to monitor Second Chances Farm. “It does, and the more it does, the better our production is.”

Investor interest in indoor agriculture surged last year, with $929 million going into 41 deals in the United States, according to PitchBook Data Inc. That’s twice the amount invested the year before. Most of the money went into producers rather than into makers of components and technology like GrowFlux.

Eisele, 35, and Alexander Roscoe, chief technology officer, founded GrowFlux in 2017. Both are Drexel University graduates.

Eisele’s background is in interior lighting for humans. He worked for seven years in the research group at KieranTimberlake, a Philadelphia architecture firm. Rosco, 36, worked at Comcast on the build-out of national internet architecture.

GrowFlux’s first products, launched in 2018, were horticultural lights with built-in wireless technology. “The lighting space got very competitive in horticulture due to legalization of cannabis,” Eisele said.

The start-up, which now employs four, was competing with “the likes of Philips and General Electric and Osram,” Eisele said. GrowFlux dropped its lights in 2019 but kept developing its controllers.

Eisele and Roscoe declined to disclose their annual revenue but said they have raised close to $2 million from investors. The company has products in more than 100 farms, including indoor cannabis producers and greenhouses growing food like tomatoes and strawberries. The products are also used overseas, in Iceland and in an indoor vertical farm in Singapore that grows strawberries, Eisele said.

Trish Cozart, NREL’s program manager for the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator, which in the past has worked with companies involved in traditional farming, said that over the next 30 years, global food production will have to increase by 60% to meet demand. NREL is part of the U.S. Department of Energy.

“It might not be possible to meet that demand through field-grown agriculture. Indoor agriculture is going to play a part. We don’t know how big of a part,” she said. But because indoor agriculture consumes so much energy, “we want to figure out how to combat that using innovative companies,” Cozart said.

Published July 12, 2021

• Harold Brubaker

• I write about the business side of health care and the nonprofit sector.

PinDuoDuo: Building A More Resilient Food System With Technology - July 14 -15

The pandemic has shone a light on how fragile and intertwined our global agri-food supply chain is, making it even more pressing to push for food systems innovation and change. Can we leverage technology to build a more resilient food system that feeds more people and feeds them better?
 
Join us virtually for our inaugural Food Systems Forum, which will convene experts from around the world to share their insights and spark further connections and potential collaborations.

Register To Join The Conversation

USA - MIAMI, FLORIDA: Three Local Men Hope To See Their Work On ISS

By Community News Releases

July 7, 2021

Three South Florida men with diverse backgrounds — and all volunteers at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden — have teamed together in a unique collaboration to design a plant-growing method that they hope will someday be found on the International Space Station (ISS).

It’s all part of the nationwide Growing Beyond Earth Maker Challenge that calls for contestants in three team categories — High School, College and Professional — to submit designs for growing plants in space. Six finalists remain out of the 60 original submissions in year two of the three-year contest.

Jack Hahn, a photographer, heard about the program while working as a volunteer in the Fairchild Imaging Lab, was intrigued and submitted a proposal to grow “veggies in space that do well in microgravity.” His proposal impressed the judges — Dr. Gioia Massa, NASA Plant Research; Trent Smith, NASA Procurement, and Ralph Fritsche, NASA Veggie Project Manager — and he became one of the six finalists in the Professional (non-collegiate) category.

According to Dr. Carl E. Lewis, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden director, each year of the competition is intentionally getting more challenging.

“We have been involved in this program with NASA for years, after conversations about the challenge of growing plants in space,” Lewis said. “Year One was about how to make the best use of limited growing volume on a space craft. This year is about automation. Can you set it and forget it? Next year will be about robotic planting and harvesting. We’re looking forward to seeing what you [contestants] come up with.”

After Hahn was selected for phase two of the competition, the Kendall resident realized he needed more assistance.

“I was very excited to hear that I was a finalist,” said Hahn, husband of Marjorie Hahn, executive and music director of the South Florida Youth Symphony. “But I realized that I needed to put together a team with various skill-sets and talents to go further.”

So, in May, Hahn met with the other two Fairchild volunteers who responded to an email he sent — Coconut Grove’s Nic Brunk, a molecular biologist (and crew coach for the Miami Beach Rowing Club), and Shenandoah’s Allen Diehl, a photographer with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Their goal is to grow high-density vegetables (with a high Vitamin K benefit) in a limited amount of space (a 50 cm cubic growing environment) using an autonomous system that won’t require any further human interaction (after initial seed planting) over a 30-day period.

Together, the three South Florida “scientists” have come up with an eye-catching design (with the limited constraints on size per NASA’s specs) that, well, looks like something from outer space. It has three levels (heights) for the difference phases of growth of the red romaine lettuce most competitors are using.

And, in a bold move they hope will impress the judges — and be used in future growth models in space — the threesome is growing their plants hydroponically.

“Even though you think of ‘weightlessness’ in space, weight is everything, including in the space shuttle bringing supplies to the ISS,” Brunk said. “Soil is weight and messy to deal with, especially in space.”

Diehl said, “Hydroponics is definitely the way to go. It eliminates the soil factor, and you can recycle or repurpose the water.”

Basically, the automation model the threesome has developed works by small computer, which turns the growing lights on/off, and activates fans and pumps. Additional automation to replenish the nutrient solution levels will follow.

But all three agree that the small monetary prize which awaits the winner of the NASA/Fairchild collaboration, which will be announced in July/August of this year, is not the reason for the countless hours of sometimes tedious work.

“This competition will provide NASA with valuable input and data, which will someday enable those on the International Space Station as well as Moon and Mars missions with a means of complimenting their diet while giving them something live and green to look at in a sterile environment,” Hahn said. “It will be great to know that our team had something to do with that.”

Lead photo: Jack Hahn (left) has joined with Nic Brunk (center) and Allen Diehl in the Growing Beyond Earth Maker Challenge to find effective ways to grow plants in space.

Is Vertical Farming Cost Effective?

The technological change caused a shift in farming from conventional to container farms. Currently, farming is turning to vertical farms.

The more exciting part is that this time round, key economy participants such as Amazon, Google’s Eric Schmidt are pumping money into the trending farming method.

Since it is a new technology, many investors are still unsure about its profitability. They have several questions on vertical farming’s viability. That is to enable them to have a better understanding of the technology.

One of the most typical questions is whether vertical farming is cost-effective. The most straightforward answer is yes. Vertical farming is cost-effective if done on a large scale.

Here, you will find out differences among the core farming technologies in terms of

• initial investment,

• operating costs,

• appreciation, and

• profit margins.

You will find it easier to decide whether to continue your current farming methods or switch to vertical farming after reading this article. Find out more below.

What Is Vertical Farming?

Understanding vertical farming requires finding out milestones of farming.

The traditional form of farming is open field farming. Here, the crops grow under direct sunlight, temperature, and humidity. Also, it does not entail artificial fertilizers.

The second milestone of farming is conventional farming, mainly called greenhouse farming. Here, you design appropriate growth conditions for the crops. For example, you introduce artificial seeds, fertilizers and shield the plants from harsh weather conditions such as an extreme cold.

The increasing scarcity of farming lands and demand for more food has caused many farmers to implement container farming. In container farming, you grow crops in soils in vessels instead of letting them grow in the open fields.

The growing technology has resulted in vertical farming. Vertical farming entails packing and growing crops indoors with the help of vertical farming lighting.

Here, you incorporate energy efficiency and customizability of LED lights— to set color, temperature, and humidity conditions for plants to thrive.

Factors that Lead to Changing Farming Criteria

The core reason for farming evolution is market demand and supply. For example, most consumers need tasty and healthy food. The plants’ growth conditions should not hurt consumer health in the long run.

They should be assured of the availability of food whenever and wherever they need it. Most importantly, the supplier should provide competitive prices. 

It is on the price that many farmers question the viability of vertical framing, bearing in mind the massive cost of material needed to operate vertical farms.

Here is a summary of recent findings on vertical farming costs.

Cost Determination

Research tells that vertical farming costs three times to implement than conventional farming. The prices inflate when you cater to initial investment and operating costs.

On the other hand, you can produce twice on a vertical farm than on a convention farm. For example, investing in 70000 feet vertical farm is likely to output 1 million kilograms of vegetables annually.

Depending on market location and pricing, you are likely to propel your profit margin when you sell than in the case of conventional farming.

The more exciting part is vertical farming value appreciates twice a year compared to greenhouse farming.

So, Is Vertical Farming Effective in the Long Run?

From the above figures, you can realize that vertical farming is more profitable on a large-scale application. The appreciating value proves that the market demands its products.

The best part is that it is becoming cheaper due to smart lighting technology that becomes less expensive. What do the above findings imply?

Key Takeaways

The best time to invest in vertical farming is now. Chief economic players are channeling a wealth of money into it.

For example, leading investors such as SoftBank Vision Bank, AeroFarms, and BrightFarms recently pumped more than $200 million into vertical farming.

Large-scale investment, crops’ quick turn, and increasing food demand for the growing population make vertical farming cost-effective.

Lead photo: Image by BrightAgrotech from Pixabay

VIDEO: What's In The Bag: Zoomin' Along

Look Out For The Farm. One Electric Vehicle on NYC Streets!

We're sure you won't miss it. We're saying goodbye to gas for good with this all-electric car. With this new mode of transportation, we'll be able to expand our local delivery range and keep our zero-carbon footprint deliveries. We'll continue to deliver by bike, foot, and public transportation!

VIDEO: Is Hydroponic Produce Organic?

Aaron Fields, Eden Green Technology's Head of Horticulture
Photo from Eden Green Technology

The organic farming standards were created by the USDA in the 1990s when there was increased public awareness of the health and safety of our food. However, at that time, hydroponic farming wasn't as widespread as it is today. That leads us to question: is hydroponic produce organic? 

Check out this great video from Eden Green Technology, a hydroponic farm based in Texas. Aaron Fields, their Head of Horticulture, explains what organic really means and how hydroponic growing can be sometimes cleaner and safer. (Did you know? I hate to burst the organic bubble, but produce that is grown organically can still have some level of pesticides.)

Vertical Farms Hold Promise For Local, Sustainable Produce

Technique Uses Small Footprint,

Less Water To Provide Year-Round Crops

Beth Edwards

June 30, 2021

A former grocery store or an empty strip mall might not be the first images that come to mind when thinking of places to grow food. But around Indiana, many of these spaces are being turned into vertical farms to help alleviate farmland shortages and greenhouse gas emissions linked to traditional farming practices.

Vertical farming uses controlled environmental agriculture techniques, like hydroponics or aquaponics, to grow crops in vertically stacked rows with 90% less water than traditional soil-based farming. It also uses 75-90% less land than traditional farms and is able to be conducted in industrial areas. It allows the grower to have total control over the grow cycle of the crop.

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Courtesy of Green Sense Farms

The technique allows for year-round income for farmers and fresh, healthy, local produce for consumers regardless of climate.

With the world’s population expected to grow to 9.7 billion people by 2050, agricultural production will need to increase by 70%. Vertical farming offers an alternative to scarce farmland and to traditional farming techniques, which cause 22% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

A controlled environment

Krishna Nemali, assistant professor of controlled agriculture at Purdue University, said controlled environmental agriculture is driven by both plant science and engineering, with the purpose of growing crops in managed environments year-round.

In Indiana, farmers can do little outdoors between fall and spring because of low light levels and temperatures, he said.

“But with controlled environmental agriculture, you can produce year-round because you artificially manage the ideal environmental conditions for plants,” he said.

The farmer controls the lighting, temperature, nutrients, water and sometimes even carbon dioxide, but needs to understand plant science to know what is best for the plant being grown, as well as the engineering behind how best to deliver those resources without waste.

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Professor Krishna Nemali at a workshop held by Purdue Extension to show participants how researchers use hydroponics to grow crops. Photo by Tom Campbell

“Our research shows that we use about one-third of the water used to grow the same crop in the same acreage outdoors. That’s because we recycle the water; we don’t just add water on top of the plants. In controlled environmental agriculture, the water is recirculated and is delivered to plants in a closed-loop system, where there is no runoff or leaching,” said Nemali.

While such systems do require a large amount of energy use, Nemali said research has enabled farmers to optimize energy use and lower consumption.

But there are limits to what can be grown using these methods.

“Because your investment is high, your return should also be high in order to make profits. There is a technology piece and usually, there is high-intensity cultivation that happens; therefore, growers want to grow high-value crops like vegetables and those that have direct impact to consumers,” said Nemali.

The time for harvesting the vegetables is more condensed as well. For instance, it will take about a month to grow leafy greens, around six to eight weeks for tomatoes and eight weeks for strawberries, instead of an entire season like in traditional farming.

The industry is growing rapidly and creating new jobs in many urban areas because it doesn’t require soil to produce fresh produce.

“A grower can purchase an old warehouse, let’s say 10,000 square feet or a quarter of an acre. But then they can grow 10 or 11 levels vertically, and in doing so, that’s a quarter of an acre times 10. So they are actually producing crops that would normally require two-and-a-half acres of land on this quarter of an acre simply by going vertically,” said Nemali.

Nemali said there is a huge amount of interest in vertical farming in Indiana. Indiana currently imports around 95% of its vegetables from outside the state. That means there is potential for large profits in vertical growing.

For example, USDA estimates that each person in the US consumes around 11-13 pounds of lettuce each year, which would roughly equal a salad each week. Nemali estimates Hoosiers consume about $60 million in lettuce each year, but Indiana farmers grow only a fraction of that amount.

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Courtesy of Green Sense Farms

“We probably won’t produce $1 million worth of lettuce this year. So there’s a huge demand for local production,” Nemali said. “I’m just giving you one crop; imagine all those vegetables we are importing from outside. If it’s grown locally, that money stays with our growers and our farmers, and that will improve their livelihoods. That is why there is a huge interest in this industry.”

A pioneer in northwest Indiana

One company that has been a leader in the vertical farming industry for a while is Green Sense Farms in Portage.

Before he founded Green Sense, Robert Colangelo spent many years working on a wide variety of environmental issues, from research at Argonne National Laboratories to cleaning and repurposing brownfields. He said he was looking for something new when a friend approached him with an idea to start a vertical farm.

“I became very passionate about it, and I thought this would be a next great step in my environmental career, getting involved in agriculture,” he said.

He said he wished he had gotten involved in agriculture earlier in his career.

“We are not here to put field farms or greenhouses out of business,” he said. “I think as the population grows, we really have to look at what crops grow best outdoors and what crops grow best indoors and just rethink agriculture based on water and soil conservation. When we approach it that way, everyone feels comfortable with vertical farming.”

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Robert Colangelo, head farmer of Green Sense Farms. Courtesy of Green Sense Farms

Green Sense began as an owner-operated farm. Colangelo grew leafy greens and herbs, which he mainly sold in the Chicago and Northwest Indiana markets. However, he now helps other companies or growers develop and build their farms.

Colangelo said while the business side of Green Sense was harder to learn than the growing itself. Knowing where to locate the farm and find the right talent, having the right operating procedures in place, and finding the right customer base took longer to learn, but now Green Sense helps others with exactly those issues.

It also designs farms specifically for the crop that the company or individual wants to grow, customizing growing techniques and economic data.

Vertical farming extends to other industries

Green Sense is currently working on several projects, including a casino in Las Vegas that would showcase a vertical farm in its restaurant so the diners could see the food they are eating. It has partnered with a company in Spain to offer combination greenhouses and vertical farms, and it also is considering a project that would turn old grain silos into a combination vertical farm, restaurant, and market.

“We’ve learned a lot about what doesn’t work, and we keep striving each day to figure out what works better,” said Colangelo.

Vertical farming isn’t limited to growing food. Green Sense has worked on projects for many different industries, including pharmaceutical companies, tree growing and many others that may seem surprising.

Colangelo believes the future of vertical farming will be highly automated.

“They will still require smart people to run them, but (with) a lot of the menial, repetitive tasks being done by machines. I think the future for farming is bright, and this is a great opportunity for young, smart people to get involved with,” he said.

Piper Halpin agrees. She worked with Colangelo for four years at Green Sense, starting out harvesting and seeding crops before becoming an operations manager. She now is involved in vertical farming in Boston.

“It’s exciting to be a part of and addicting because it is so technology forward, innovative and new,” she said. “Also, you don’t have to live in a rural area in order to be successful.”

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Courtesy of Green Sense Farms

Colangelo and Halpin agree the technology aspect is attractive to younger people and helps to engage their interest in the field.

“It’s a great way to get young people reinvolved in agriculture,” Halpin said. “It’s been a cool bridge between old agriculture and new agriculture. I think it’s going to jumpstart a whole new interest level in ag that was kind of dying off before.”

Nemali said younger people are also interested because vertical farming is environmentally sustainable.

“They also see the importance of this industry in terms of feeding millions with fresh food, making sure it’s safe and done in a responsible way,” he said.

Nemali would like to see an increase in the variety of crops that can be grown in controlled environmental agriculture, technological improvements that lower energy consumption, and more university programs to train workers and researchers for these farms.

“This area is growing, and I want people to see, admire and provide support for it,” Nemali said.
Support from scientists, policymakers, marketers, and the government will enable a new workforce to develop the industry in the next 10 to 15 years

Why Does Energy Efficiency Matter When Selecting LED Grow Lights?

Exclusives From Urban Ag News

June 29, 2021 Chris Higgins

Learn the 3 things to consider when choosing energy-efficient lighting in your greenhouse or vertical farm. 

Before we get started, let’s set some ground rules for this article. 

1. I want to believe that everyone wants to do what’s right for the planet as long as they think their business can afford it, so we will not focus on energy efficiency and its impact on sustainability. 

2. In this article I will not post the name of suppliers or the price of the lights. The price of the light will definitely impact people’s decisions and will vary widely based on the volume of lights being purchased and the supplier providing it. 

3. This article is not about light quality or light spectrum. To look for information on spectrum please read this article: Why I Still Believe in Red/Blue LED Grow Lights

4. This article is written with commercial greenhouse produce growers in mind, but we do include a model which shows high output led grow lights running for long hours per day which could imply a greenhouse cannabis crop. 

5. We are fully aware that when you change the amount of energy going into the light as well as the type of electric light (HPS vs LED) one is using, it will have an impact on the climate in the growing/production area. Factors like heat and relative humidity would need to be taken into consideration if one was taking a holistic approach to energy savings on the farm. 

6. All lights have different output (measured in PPF.) In this article we are going to make the assumption that a grower is using the same amount of fixtures per acre regardless of output. For simplicity we are also going to assume that the grower is running the lights for the same amount of time. We are fully aware that this will have an impact on the potential yield of the crop. 

7. All greenhouses can require a different amount of lights per acre to achieve the target light intensities. I am using an average of the amount of lights per acre. Height of the greenhouse, width of the bays, placement of walkways, crop layout, crop density, as well as many other variables will impact the exact number of lights per acre. 

__________

There is a growing amount of discussion around the environmental sustainability of a greenhouse or a vertical farm. Much of this discussion is being driven by two or three big energy hogs inside these production facilities. This includes the grow lights and climate management equipment like heaters and cooling units. 

We all know that LED grow lights are more efficient than the older HPS lights that growers have used for decades, but do we know just exactly how to measure that? And do we understand how that will have a direct impact on not only energy savings but the operational cost at the farm? For those growing in a greenhouse, understanding these numbers during dark winter months can have a huge impact on electricity bills.

3 FOCUS POINTS 

1. Start by understanding the amount of light you need.
Urban Ag News recommends going to websites like Suntracker or the ESRI DLI maps site. These websites allow anyone to determine the historical DLI monthly averages for their individual locations. For this example I am going to use the area where my grandparents farm is located in southwestern Michigan. As one can see this is an area of the United States that has very dark winters. 

2. Work with a trusted advisor or extension specialist to determine the amount of hours your crop needs to grow consistently year round. Remember not all crops have the same light requirements and some crops have very specific photoperiods which can determine the amount of hours one can light their crops. Use all of this information to see when you will need supplemental light and how much light you will need to supplement with. 

For this example I am going to use 1 acre of greenhouse tomatoes in a glass greenhouse located in southwestern Michigan.

3. Now let’s calculate how much it’s going to cost you to run the grow lights for the estimated hours you and your advisor determined were needed per year to get the desired yields. 

• a) To provide a baseline, we started with traditional 1000w HPS lights which are highlighted in yellow.

• b) Then we chose six different LED grow light fixtures. Because the light spectrum has an impact on how efficiently the lights run, we chose three broad spectrum fixtures and three that are red and blue only.

• c) Since HPS is the baseline, the final column labeled “savings” shows how much the total savings per year one would achieve when replacing traditional HPS with the latest LED grow light technology.

• d) We made a few important assumptions in this example. First, the cost per kwh is around the USA national average of $0.09/kwh. Second, the same amount of grow lights would be used even though there would be some relative differences in umols/m2/s measurements for two of the samples. We decided not to change them because that would have an impact on uniformity (the even spread of the light over one’s entire crop) and associated capital cost not addressed in this article.

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IMPORTANT NOTES! 
It’s important to remember the 7 assumptions made at the beginning of this article and that lights are not equal. This chart only compares ppf (output) and w (watts). We elected to account for the difference in output by changing the amount of hours we estimated you would need to run the lights. Another way to look at this would be to remember the Golden Rule of Light in which 1% increase in light is equal to 1% increase in yield. 

Running these simple calculations will show you why you need to look at energy efficient lighting and in general the importance of researching energy efficient equipment in general. What these calculations do not show is the quality of some fixtures over others. Buyers must always be aware of the value of warranties, ease of returns, durability and quality of product plus accuracy of your vendor to create detailed information on the best way to use and install fixtures. We understand that this topic is intimidating for most, but this is a major purchase for your farm. Make sure to take the time to learn the math and do your homework before purchasing. 

Diving into these calculations will also highlight how much energy will be required to grow a wide variety of crops consistently with uniformed yields year round in climates with low light. Hopefully in articles to come we can discuss what this means for our environment and how we might develop additional ways to lower that ecological footprint. 

For help in calculating the energy efficiency of grow lights you are considering, please email us and we will connect you with professionals capable of helping you make an informed decision.

Chris Higgins is the founder of Urban Ag News, as well as General Manager and co-Owner of Hort Americas, LLC a wholesale supply company focused on all aspects of the horticultural industries. With over 20 years of commercial horticulture industry experience, Chris is dedicated to the horticulture and niche agriculture industries and is inspired by the current opportunities for continued innovation in the field of controlled environment agriculture. Message him here.

Tagged GreenhouseGreenhouse TechnologyIndoor Ag TechnologyTechnologyVertical Farming