Artemis Releases 2020 State of Indoor Farming Report

We are excited to release our third State of Indoor Farming report. Since their inception in 2016, the State of Indoor Farming reports have been downloaded by millions of people and used as a trusted resource on the industry.

The purpose of this report is to look at where the indoor agriculture industry is today as well as to give growers an industry voice around the latest trends, biggest challenges, and the immense opportunities in this rapidly expanding industry.

The report includes a high-level overview of the industry, as well as a deep dive on key topics such as expenses, sales channels, growth, cannabis, and projections for the future of the industry.

To learn more, you can access the report here.

You can also access our 2016 and 2017 State of Indoor Farming reports.

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Marijuana And Makeup Are New Growth Areas For Vertical Farms

Heesu Lee

March 13, 2021, (Bloomberg) -- Supercharged by the need to secure local supplies of fresh vegetables during the pandemic, some vertical farms are now branching out into other high-margin areas such as medical cannabis, health supplements, and cosmetics. South Korean startup Farm 8 Co. is

Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/marijuana-and-makeup-are-new-growth-areas-for-vertical-farms

Copyright © BloombergQuint

Indoor Ag-Con Heads To Orlando In October 2021

Premier Trade Show & Conference for

Indoor Vertical Farming Industry To Host In-Person Edition

October 4-5, 2021 at Hilton Orlando in Florida

(MARCH 11, 2021) -- With safety in mind, the Indoor Ag-Con management team has pushed the dates for its previously announced May 2021 agriculture trade show and conference for the indoor and vertical farming industry to October 4-5, 2021.  In addition to the date shift,  Indoor Ag-Con will also move from its former Las Vegas location to the Hilton Orlando in Florida for 2021, with plans to return to Las Vegas and co-locate with the National Grocers Association | NGA Show in 2022.  

“By moving our event to October, we feel we’re better aligned with the expanding Covid-19 vaccine rollout and growing confidence levels in travel and attendance at live events," says Brian Sullivan, co-owner, Indoor Ag-Con. "With safety of our audience as priority one, we also wanted to find a new location and venue that offered easy accessibility, cost-effective accommodations, as well as area activities – both indoor farming as well as entertainment-related. Orlando checked all the boxes.”

“Our 2021 move to the East Coast, coupled with Orlando’s appeal and convenience, also gives us the opportunity to expand our reach and attract  new audiences of growers and start-ups from the region, too,” adds Nancy Hallberg, co-owner, Indoor Ag-Con.   

Registration for the 2021 edition will open in May.  All attendees will be required to adhere to safety protocols and  the Indoor Ag-Con team will be closely following the government guidelines issued by the CDC , state and local officials for the 2021 edition in Orlando.

Indoor Ag-Con, launched in 2013, provides exhibitors and attendees with the latest technology and business strategies for growing crops in indoor systems, using hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic techniques, bringing together growers, investors, chefs, produce buyers, academics, policymakers, industry suppliers and advocates. 

The 2021 edition will feature an expanded exhibit floor, new networking opportunities and some of the industry’s top innovators and business leaders presenting keynote addresses and participating in a range of panel discussions. 

Centrally located to all major theme parks and attractions and just minutes from the eclectic dining scene and entertainment of International Drive, the Hilton Orlando resort sits on over 26 acres of lush landscaping and tropical inspirations making it a true destination of its own. Guests are immediately welcomed with an upscale feel enhanced with resort-style accommodations and amenities.

In development now, more information on the 2021 edition’s educational offerings, exhibits and networking events can be found at www.indoor.ag

For 2022, Indoor Ag-Con and The NGA Show will co-locate at Caesars Forum Convention Center in Las Vegas, February 27 – March 1, 2022.

About Indoor Ag-Con
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has emerged as the premier trade event for vertical farming | indoor agriculture, the practice of growing crops in indoor systems, using hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic techniques. Its events are crop-agnostic and touch all sectors of the business, covering produce, legal cannabis |hemp, alternate protein, and non-food crops. In December 2018, three event industry professionals – Nancy Hallberg, Kris Sieradzki, and Brian Sullivan – acquired Indoor Ag-Con LLC,  setting the stage for further expansion of the events globally. More information is at https://indoor.ag.

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Indoor Ag-Con, 950 Scales Road, Building #200, Suwanee, GA 30024, United States

Little Leaf Farms Raises $90M to Grow Its Greenhouse Network

by Jennifer Marston

Image from: Little Leaf Farms

Massachusetts-based Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in a debt and equity financing round to expand its network of hydroponic greenhouses on the East Coast. The round was led by Equilibrium Capital as well as founding investors Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America also participated.

Little Leaf Farms says the capital is “earmarked” to build new greenhouse sites along the East Coast, where its lettuce is currently available in about 2,500 stores. 

The company already operates one 10-acre greenhouse in Devins, Massachusetts. Its facility grows leafy greens using hydroponics and a mixture of sunlight supplemented by LED-powered grow lights. Rainwater captured from the facility’s roof provides most of the water used on the farm. 

According to a press release, Little Leaf Farms has doubled its retail sales to $38 million since 2019. And last year, the company bought180 acres of land in Pennsylvania on which to build an additional facility. Still another greenhouse, slated for North Carolina, will serve the Southeast region of the U.S. 

Little Leaf Farms joins the likes of Revol Greens, Gotham Greens, AppHarvest, and others in bringing local(ish) greens to a greater percentage of the population. These facilities generally pack and ship their greens on the day of or day after harvesting, and only supply retailers within a certain radius. Little Leaf Farms, for example, currently servers only parts of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. 

The list of regions the company serves will no doubt lengthen as the company builds up its greenhouse network in the coming months.

Agritech: Precision Farming With AI, IoT and 5G

Image from: Photo by Mohd Izwan Mohd Nazam/The Edge

For a company that grows and delivers vegetables, Boomgrow Productions Sdn Bhd’s office is nothing like a farm, or even a vertical farm.

Where farms are bedecked with wheelbarrows, spades and hoes, Boomgrow’s floor plan is akin to a co-working space with a communal island table, several cubicles, comfortable armchairs, a cosy hanging rattan chair and a glass-walled conference room in the middle.

At a corner, propped up along a walkway leading to a rectangular chamber fitted with grow lights, are rows of support stilts with hydroponic planters developed in-house and an agricultural technologist perched on a chair, perusing data. “This is where some of the R&D work happens,” says Jay Dasen, co-founder of the agritech start-up.

But there is a larger farm where most of the work behind this high-tech initiative is executed. Located a stone’s throw from the city centre in Ampang is a 40ft repurposed shipping container outfitted with perception technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that mimic the ideal environment to produce more than 50,000kg of vegetables a year.

Stacked in vertical layers, Boomgrow’s vegetables are grown under artificial lights with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to detect everything from leaf discolouration to nitrate composition. This is coupled with AI and machine learning algorithms.

Boomgrow is the country’s first 5G-connected vertical farm. With the low latency and larger bandwidth technology, the start-up is able to monitor production in real time as well as maintain key para­meters, such as temperature and humidity, to ensure optimal growth conditions.

When Jay and her co-founders, K Muralidesan and Shan Palani, embarked on this initiative six years ago, Boomgrow was nowhere near what it is today.

The three founders got together hoping to do their part in building a more sustainable future. “I’ve spent years advising small and large companies on sustainability, environmental and social governance disclosures. I even embarked on a doctorate in sustainability disclosure and governance,” says Jay.

“But I felt a deep sense of disconnect because while I saw companies evolving in terms of policies, processes and procedures towards sustainability, the people in those organisations were not transforming. Sustainability is almost like this white noise in the background. We know it’s important and we know it needs to be done, but we don’t really know how to integrate it into our lives.

“That disconnect really troubled me. When we started Boomgrow, it wasn’t a linear journey. Boomgrow is something that came out of meaningful conversations and many years of research.”

Shan, on the other hand, was an architect who developed a taste for sustainable designs when he was designing modular structures with minimal impact on their surroundings between regular projects. “It was great doing that kind of work. But I was getting very dissatisfied because the projects were customer-driven, which meant I would end up having debates about trivial stuff such as the colour of wall tiles,” he says.

As for Murali, the impetus to start Boomgrow came from having lived overseas — while working in capital markets and financial services — where quality and nutritious produce was easily available.

Ultimately, they concluded that the best way to work towards their shared sustainability goals was to address the imminent problem of food shortage.

“By 2050, the world’s population is expected to grow to 9.7 billion people, two-thirds of whom will be in Asia-Pacific. Feeding all those people will definitely be a huge challenge,” says Jay. 

“The current agricultural practice is not built for resilience, but efficiency. So, when you think of farming, you think of vast tracts of land located far away from where you live or shop.

“The only way we could reimagine or rethink that was to make sure the food is located closer to consumers, with a hyperlocal strategy that is traceable and transparent, and also free of pesticides.”

Having little experience in growing anything, it took them a while to figure out the best mechanism to achieve their goal. “After we started working on prototypes, we realised that the tropics are not designed for certain types of farming,” says Jay. 

“And then, there is the problem of harmful chemicals and pesticides everywhere, which has become a necessity for farmers to protect their crops because of the unpredictable climate. We went through many iterations … when we started, we used to farm in little boxes, but that didn’t quite work out.”

They explored different methodologies, from hydroponics to aquaponics, and even started growing outdoors. But they lost a lot of crops when a heat wave struck.

That was when they started exploring more effective ways to farm. “How can we protect the farm from terrible torrential rains, plant 365 days a year and keep prices affordable? It took us five years to answer these questions,” says Jay.

Even though farmers all over the world currently produce more than enough food to feed everyone, 820 million people — roughly 11% of the global population — did not have enough to eat in 2018, according to the World Health Organization. Concurrently, food safety and quality concerns are rising, with more consumers opting for organically produced food as well as safe foods, out of fear of harmful synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, consumer demand for global organic fruit and vegetables was valued at US$19.16 billion in 2019 and is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% by 2026.

Meanwhile, the precision farming market was estimated to be US$7 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach US$12.8 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 12.7% between 2020 and 2025, states MarketsandMarkets Research Pte Ltd.

Malaysia currently imports RM1 billion worth of leafy vegetables from countries such as Australia, China and Japan. Sourcing good and safe food from local suppliers not only benefits the country from a food security standpoint but also improves Malaysia’s competitive advantage, says Jay.

Unlike organic farming — which is still a soil-based method — tech-enabled precision farming has the advantage of catering for increasing demand and optimum crop production with the limited resources available. Moreover, changing weather patterns due to global warming encourage the adoption of advanced farming technologies to enhance farm productivity and crop yield.

Boomgrow’s model does not require the acres of land that traditional farms need, Jay emphasises. With indoor farms, the company promises a year-round harvest, undisturbed by climate and which uses 95% less water, land and fuel to operate.

Traditional farming is back-breaking labour. But with precision technology, farmers can spend less time on the farm and more on doing other things to develop their business, she says.

Boomgrow has secured more than RM300,000 in funding via technology and innovation grants from SME Corporation Malaysia, PlaTCOM Ventures and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, and is on track to build the country’s largest indoor farms.

Image from: Boomgrow

The company got its chance to showcase the strength of its smart technology when Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) approached it to be a part of the telco’s Smart Agriculture cluster in Langkawi last October.

“5G makes it faster for us to process the multiple data streams that we need because we collect data for machine learning, and then AI helps us to make decisions faster,” Jay explains.

“We manage the farm using machines to study inputs like water and electricity and even measure humidity. All the farm’s produce is lab-tested and we can keep our promise that there are no pesticides, herbicides or any preserving chemicals. We follow the food safety standards set by the EU, where nitrate accumulation in plant tissues is a big issue.”

With TM’s 5G technology and Boomgrow’s patent-pending technology, the latter is able to grow vegetables like the staple Asian greens and highland crops such as butterhead and romaine lettuce as well as kale and mint. While the company is able to grow more than 30 varieties of leafy greens, it has decided to stick to a selection of crops that is most in demand to reduce waste, says Jay.

As it stands, shipping containers are the best fit for the company’s current endeavour as containerised modular farms are the simplest means of bringing better food to local communities. However, it is also developing a blueprint to house farms in buildings, she says.

Since the showcase, Boomgrow has started to supply its crops to various hotels in Langkawi. It rolled out its e-commerce platform last year after the Movement Control Order was imposed. 

“On our website, we promise to deliver the greens within six hours of harvest. But actually, you could get them way earlier. We harvest the morning after the orders come in and the vegetables are delivered on the same day,” says Jay.

Being mindful of Boomgrow’s carbon footprint, orders are organised and scheduled according to consumers’ localities, she points out. “We don’t want our delivery partners zipping everywhere, so we stagger the orders based on where consumers live. 

“For example, all deliveries to Petaling Jaya happen on Thursdays, but the vegetables are harvested that morning. They are not harvested a week before, three days before or the night before. This is what it means to be hyperlocal. We want to deliver produce at its freshest and most nutritious state.”

Plans to expand regionally are also underway, once Boomgrow’s fundraising exercise is complete, says Jay. “Most probably, this will only happen when the Covid-19 pandemic ends.”

To gain the knowledge they have today, the team had to “unlearn” everything they knew and take up new skills to figure what would work best for their business, says Jay. “All this wouldn’t have been possible if we had not experimented with smart cameras to monitor the condition of our produce,” she laughs.

How This Vertical Farm Grows 80,000 Pounds of Produce per Week

Bowery Farming uses technology to prioritize accessibility and sustainability in their produce growing operations

To some, the pristine growing conditions and perceived mechanical interference of a vertical farm can seem unnatural, but at Bowery Farming “interference” is actually not the goal at all. “We don’t really think about how people are involved in the growing process, but how to take people out of the growing process” says chief science officer Henry Sztul. “Our goal is actually to have as few people walking around our plants as possible.”

Bowery Farming is a network of vertical farms working to reengineer the growing process. Using a system of light and watering technology, Bowery is able to use 95 percent less water than a traditional outdoor farm, zero pesticides and chemicals, and grow food that tastes as good as anyone else’s. 

Bowery Farming uses vertical farm-specific seeds that are optimized for flavor instead of insect resistance and durability. Seeds are mechanically pressed into trays of soil, and sent out into growing positions, or racks within the building that have their own lighting and watering systems. Each tray gets its own QR code so that they can be monitored and assigned a customized plan for water and light until they’re ready to be harvested.

Irving Fain, Bowery Farming’s founder and CEO contemplates the prediction from the United Nations that 70 to 80 percent of the world’s population will be living in and around cities in the next 30 years. “Figuring out ‘how do you feed and how do you provide fresh food to urban environments both more efficiently as well as more sustainably?’ is a very important question today, and an even more important question in the years to come.”

Bringing The Future To life In Abu Dhabi

Amid the deserts of Abu Dhabi, a new wave of entrepreneurs and innovators are sowing the seeds of a more sustainable future.

Image from: Wired

A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture. 

Madar Farms is one of a number of agtech startups benefitting from a package of incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) aimed at spurring the development of innovative solutions for sustainable desert farming. The partnership is part of ADIO’s $545 million Innovation Programme dedicated to supporting companies in high-growth areas.

“Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’,” explained H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, in November 2020. “We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms.”

The pandemic has made food supply a critical concern across the entire world, combined with the effects of population growth and climate change, which are stretching the capacity of less efficient traditional farming methods. Abu Dhabi’s pioneering efforts to drive agricultural innovation have been gathering pace and look set to produce cutting-edge solutions addressing food security challenges.

Beyond work supporting the application of novel agricultural technologies, Abu Dhabi is also investing in foundational research and development to tackle this growing problem. 

In December, the emirate’s recently created Advanced Technology Research Council [ATRC], responsible for defining Abu Dhabi’s R&D strategy and establishing the emirate and the wider UAE as a desired home for advanced technology talent, announced a four-year competition with a $15 million prize for food security research. Launched through ATRC’s project management arm, ASPIRE, in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the award will support the development of environmentally-friendly protein alternatives with the aim to "feed the next billion".

Image from: Madar Farms

Global Challenges, Local Solutions

Food security is far from the only global challenge on the emirate’s R&D menu. In November 2020, the ATRC announced the launch of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), created to support applied research on the key priorities of quantum research, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems.

“The technologies under development at TII are not randomly selected,” explains the centre’s secretary general Faisal Al Bannai. “This research will complement fields that are of national importance. Quantum technologies and cryptography are crucial for protecting critical infrastructure, for example, while directed energy research has use-cases in healthcare. But beyond this, the technologies and research of TII will have global impact.”

Future research directions will be developed by the ATRC’s ASPIRE pillar, in collaboration with stakeholders from across a diverse range of industry sectors.

“ASPIRE defines the problem, sets milestones, and monitors the progress of the projects,” Al Bannai says. “It will also make impactful decisions related to the selection of research partners and the allocation of funding, to ensure that their R&D priorities align with Abu Dhabi and the UAE's broader development goals.”

Image from: Agritecture

Nurturing Next-Generation Talent

To address these challenges, ATRC’s first initiative is a talent development programme, NexTech, which has begun the recruitment of 125 local researchers, who will work across 31 projects in collaboration with 23 world-leading research centres.

Alongside universities and research institutes from across the US, the UK, Europe and South America, these partners include Abu Dhabi’s own Khalifa University, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level institute focused on artificial intelligence. 

“Our aim is to up skill the researchers by allowing them to work across various disciplines in collaboration with world-renowned experts,” Al Bannai says. 

Beyond academic collaborators, TII is also working with a number of industry partners, such as hyperloop technology company, Virgin Hyperloop. Such industry collaborations, Al Bannai points out, are essential to ensuring that TII research directly tackles relevant problems and has a smooth path to commercial impact in order to fuel job creation across the UAE.

“By engaging with top global talent, universities and research institutions and industry players, TII connects an intellectual community,” he says. “This reinforces Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s status as a global hub for innovation and contributes to the broader development of the knowledge-based economy.”

Warehouse Becoming Vertical Farms — And They’re Feeding New Jersey

Image from: New Jersey 101.5

New Jersey's vertical farms are transforming agriculture by helping farmers meet growing food demand.

New Jersey Agriculture Secretary Doug Fisher said that while conventional farming in outdoor fields remains critical, vertical farming has its advantages because of its efficiency and resistance to pests and thus less need for chemicals.

Vertical farming is the process of growing food vertically in stacked layers indoors under artificial light and temperature, mainly in buildings. These plants receive the same nutrients and all the elements needed to grow plants for food.

Vertical farms are also versatile. Plants may be growing in containers, in old warehouses, in shipping containers, in abandoned buildings.

"That's one of the great advantages — that we can put agriculture in the midst of many landscapes that have lost their vitality," said Fisher.

ResearchandMarkets.com says the U.S. vertical farming market is projected to reach values of around $3 billion by the year 2024.

The one drawback is that its operational and labor costs make it expensive to get up and running.

Image from: AeroFarms

In the past decade, however, vertical farming has become more popular, creating significant crop yields all over the state.

AeroFarms in Newark is the world's largest indoor vertical farm. The farm converted a 75-year-old 70,000-square-foot steel mill into a vertical farming operation. AeroFarms' key products include Dream Greens, its retail brand of baby and micro-greens, available year-round in several ShopRite supermarkets.

Kula Urban Farm in Asbury Park opened in 2014. Vacant lots are transformed into urban farms and there's a hydroponic greenhouse on site. That produce is sold to local restaurants.

Beyond Organic Growers in Freehold uses no pesticides and all seeds and nutrients are organic. There's a minimum of 12,000 plants growing on 144 vertical towers. On its website, it says the greenhouse utilizes a new growing technique called aeroponics, which involves vertical towers where the plant roots hang in the air while a nutrient solution is delivered with a fine mist. It also boasts that by using this method, plants can grow with less land and water while yielding up to 30% more three times faster than traditional soil farming.

Vertical farms in New Jersey help feed local communities. Many are in urban areas and are a form of urban farming.

Fisher predicts that vertical farms will be operational in stores and supermarkets around the state.

"It's continued to expand. There's going to be many, many ways and almost any area in the state has the opportunity to have a vertical farm," Fisher said.

Is AppHarvest the Future of Farming?

Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are red-hot right now, with investors clamoring to get into promising young companies.

In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.

Nick Sciple: One last company I wanted to talk about, Lou, and this is one I think it's -- you pay attention to, but not one I'm super excited to run in and buy. It was a company called AppHarvest. It's coming public via a [SPAC] this year. This vertical farming space. We talked about Gladstone Land buying traditional farmland. AppHarvest is taking a very different approach, trying to lean into some of the ESG-type movements.

Lou Whiteman: Yeah. Let's look at this. It probably wouldn't surprise you that the U.S. is the biggest global farm exporter as we said, but it might surprise you that the Netherlands, the tiny little country, is No. 2. The way they do that is tech: Greenhouse farm structure. AppHarvest has taken that model and brought it to the U.S. They have, I believe, three farms in Appalachia. The pitches can produce 30x the yields using 90% less water. Right now, it's mostly tomatoes and it is early-stage. I don't own this stock either. I love this idea. There's some reasons that I'm not buying in right now that we can get into. But this is fascinating to me. We talked about making the world a better place. This is the company that we need to be successful to make the world a better place. The warning on it is that it is a SPAC. So it's not public yet. Right now, I believe N-O-V-S. That deal should close soon. [Editor's note: The deal has since closed.] I'm not the only one excited about it. I tend not to like to buy IPOs and new companies anyway. I think the caution around buying into the excitement applies here. There is a Martha Stewart video on their website talking up the company, which I love Martha Stewart, but that's a hype level that makes me want to just watch and see what they produce. This is just three little farms in Appalachia right now and a great idea. This was all over my watchlist. I would imagine I would love to hold it at some point, but just be careful because this is, as we saw SPACs last year in other areas, people are very excited about this.

Sciple: Yeah. I think, like we've said, for a lot of these companies, the prospects are great. I think when you look at the reduced water usage, better, environmentally friendly, all those sorts of things. I like that they are in Appalachia. As someone who is from the South, I like it when more rural areas get some people actually investing money there. But again, there's a lot of execution between now and really getting to a place where this is the future of farming and they're going to reach scale and all those sorts of things. But this is a company I'm definitely going to have my radar on and pay attention to as they continue to report earnings. Because you can tell yourself a story about how this type of vertical farming, indoor farming disrupts this traditional model, can be more efficient, cleaner, etc. Something to continue paying attention to as we have more information, because this company, like you said, Lou, isn't all the way public yet. We still got to have this SPAC deal finalized and then we get all our fun SEC filings and quarterly calls and all those sorts of things. Once we have that, I will be very much looking forward to seeing what the company has to say.

Whiteman: Right. Just to finish up along too, the interesting thing here is that it is a proven concept because it has worked elsewhere. The downside of that is that it needed to work there. Netherlands just doesn't have -- and this is an expensive proposition to get started, to get going. There's potential there, but in a country blessed with almost seemingly unlimited farmland for now, for long term it makes sense. But in the short term, it could be a hard thing to really get up and running. I think you're right, just one to watch.

Advice For New Vertical Farmers: Grower Spotlight on Andrew Worrall

Last week we spoke about running a farm at LettUs Grow. What excites you about vertical farming? 

It’s the future of the industry. Also, the amount of salad that these farms can produce for their local community. We want to be able to eat salad all year round and we import to make that happen. However, just a small farm can easily provide for its local community, very efficiently and all year round. The sustainability element is also exciting: with our salad there’s no food miles, it’s very minimalistic. You could use an electric van or bike to distribute this crop if you wanted to. It’s a step forward in terms of what we need to do to take care of our planet. 

What do you think are the biggest downsides to vertical farming?

It’s still a new technology and it can be expensive. The biggest roadblock facing the industry is that we need more people and companies to collaborate together to make sure we can build these farms at a sensible rate, so we can provide farms to anyone. We want to be able to provide farms to people, communities and countries that don’t have a lot of money, so that they can provide affordable fresh produce to local people. 

How has vertical farming impacted your life?

Massively!  I wanted to find my passion, a job that I loved - that was very important to me. It’s satisfying to be in a position now where I’m very happy to be doing what I do and I look forward to going into work. I was happy to make the move from London to Bristol. I would have moved even further if it meant being able to continue working within this industry.

Image from: LettUs Grow

How do you see vertical farming playing a part in the future? 

When indoor farming first came about, it had a reputation of being competition for outdoor farming, which just isn’t the case. There’s so much we can’t grow that outdoor farming can provide, such as cereal crops. I’m glad we’re at a stage where indoor and outdoor farms can start to work together to optimise both methods. With these new relationships, there should be a good increase in the amount of indoor farms you’ll be seeing. What LettUs Grow offers with DROP & GROW™ is an exciting project because that’s a 40ft shipping container which can be placed pretty much anywhere. It’s not that big - it could go in a car park or behind a restaurant, but actually provide quite a lot of salad to that area. 

How much of our food should be grown this way? 

Good question. If you had asked me a while back I would have just said salad, but now I’ve changed my mind. Indoor farming can have a massive impact on propagation, especially aeroponics, because of how we aerate and nourish our roots. We could start lettuce for greenhouse projects and we can also propagate tomatoes, strawberries and tree whips. Propagating trees in this way could potentially be hugely beneficial and it’s something we want to do more of. 

We can also quickly grow large amounts of microgreens, baby leafs, herbs and we can grow fruiting crops like strawberries. We are slowly chipping away and it’s really exciting. I’m waiting to see if I can ever say I’ve grown or propagated every crop that can be grown in these farms! 

What do you think are the biggest benefits of vertical farming? 

How fast these crops can grow! The turnover can be as short as 5 days from seed, depending on the crop. Also how clean it can be - I’m very dedicated to making sure these farms are built to ensure they are easy to be maintained and clean. The most exciting part is the crop growth rate though - it’s incredible how fast our crop grows from seed to plate. In a very well maintained growing calendar, which Ostara® is great for supporting, you can optimise your beds so that the day you harvest can also be the day you germinate onto that same bed. Your farms can be forever providing salad at very fast rates. 

Image from: LettUs Grow

What was the biggest change you encountered during your years indoor farming?

Moving from being a production grower to an R&D grower. It has been a great change! As a production grower I knew what I needed to know about growing the plant safely and getting it onto a plate so it was good for the consumer. Now I’m fully optimising, learning and understanding the plants completely, so that I can help the grower that I used to be. We spend a lot of time on crop recipes to make sure that whoever we sell our farms to can start up very quickly and they won’t have to spend months developing their crops. If they have the customers and clients behind them, they can buy DROP & GROW and start producing salad as soon as it's been commissioned. 

What was the biggest change you encountered in the industry?

More and more people are speaking about what’s going on in the industry and getting involved. I get so many messages on LinkedIn with people who want to get into this career. It’s exciting to see that indoor growing is a career people can access now. When I was developing my skills I didn’t know I would end up in indoor farming. There are more opportunities than ever before. For example, our Crop Technician is doing a placement here for 2 years. The aim is that they can gain the skill sets and knowledge they need to then go off and do the same practice in any farm they want. 

What advice do you have for people who are looking to start a career in growing? 

Reach out to companies who are already out there. You could start off part-time or as an assistant. If you are patient and dedicated then it’s a journey I promise you won’t regret. It takes a lot of work, but the outcome is amazing - you’ll be learning so much about this new technology. You’ll also build great relationships: there are so many amazing people in this industry who are so interesting, with different backgrounds, who are willing to share their knowledge. You can always learn more and other people are a great source of that. 

What about for those looking to start a vertical farming business?

Do your homework.  There are people out there who you can reach out to and it’s very easy to get information. It’s very easy to get excited about the idea and jump straight into it, because it is exciting and can be very rewarding, but it’s really important to do it step by step. Know how to scale properly, learning the differences between a small and larger farm. Understand how many people you’ll need and the logistics. I’d also advise people to get some practical work experience before you buy. You want to start the company knowing the tricks of the trade. 

Image from: LettUs Grow

LettUs Grow Blog: www.lettusgrow.com/blog/advice-for-vertical-farmers

$1.8 Million Dollar Alaska Micro-Grant Opportunity

State of Alaska, Division of Agriculture

Micro-Grants For Food Security 2021

Important: February 15th Scoping Pre-Application Deadline

There is a two-step process to apply:

1) Submit a simple, two-page application by the February 15th deadline.

2) Applications meeting the criteria, will be notified to submit a full proposal.

More Details and Dates

The Department of Natural Resources Division of Agriculture has complete Micro-Grants for Food Security information.

February 15: The simple two-page Scoping Pre-Application is due.

Grant Award Scoping Applications and Full Applications are to be submitted to dnr.ag.grants@alaska.gov or by mail at Division of Agriculture, Attn: Grants Coordinator, 1801 S. Margaret Drive, Palmer, Alaska 99645.

March 1, 2021: Notification of selection for full proposal submissions. Qualified, unfunded applications will be given priority in 2022.

April (TBD), 2021 - Announcement of final awards

Overview

Alaskans have a huge opportunity to increase their food security and resilience through a $1.8 million dollar mini-grant offered through the State of Alaska Division of Agriculture in 2021.

VH Hydroponics is offering guidance and estimates for interested clients who would like to apply. Email iinfo@vhhydroponics.com or (907) 782-4420.

Who Can Apply?

Both individuals and organizations can apply; the definition is very broad: all individuals, Indian Tribes or tribal organizations, non-profit organizations, and federally funded educational facilities in the State of Alaska. Therefore, everyone in the State of Alaska who has a project which will meet the requirements of the program are eligible to participate.

How much?

$1.8 million dollars for 2021. There will be additional funding in 2022 and 2023.

Individuals

Individuals may apply for up to $5,000 per year for up to 3 years. The maximum of $15,000 over 3 years.

Organizations

Organizations may apply for up to $10,000 per year for up to 3 years. Maximum of $30,000 over 3 years.

Multiple Awards For The Same

Project Are Allowed | 10% Matching

Awards may be granted for two or more eligible entities to carry out the same project. 10% match is required; but for individual grants, a waiver may be requested which will be considered for approval.

Purpose And Use of Grant Funds

To engage in activities that will increase the quantity and quality of locally grown food for food insecure individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities, including by:

Purchasing tools, equipment, soil, soil amendments, seeds, plants, animals, canning equipment, refrigeration, or other items necessary to grow and store food;

Expanding areas under cultivation to grow food or to qualify for an EQUIP high tunnel to extend the growing season;

Hydroponic and aeroponic farming;

Building, buying, erecting, or repairing fencing for livestock, poultry, or reindeer;

Purchasing and equipping a slaughter and processing facility;

Traveling to participate in agricultural education

Paying for shipping of items related to growing or raising food;

Creating or expanding avenues for the sale of local food, increasing the availability of local nutritious food, and engaging in other activities related to increasing food security (including subsistence)

Scoping Pre-Application Project Scoring

An independent Review Committee will evaluate the scoping pre-applications with the following criteria:

Eligibility of the proposal per the farm bill legislation

The ability of the proposed activity to increase the production and/or storage capacity in the local community

The level of food insecurity in the applicant’s region

Other relevant information as to the capacity and purpose of the applicants

VH Hydroponics is Here to Help

Contact VH Hydroponics to learn more about pricing and possibilities

Email: VH Hydroponics for More Information

VH Hydroponics | (907) 782-4420 | https://vhhydroponics.com

Vertical Grower Plenty Adds Former Impossible Foods’ Sales VP

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By CHRIS KOGER

January 14, 2021

Vertical farming company Plenty, South San Francisco, has added former Impossible Foods vice president of sales Dana Worth as senior vice president of commercial.

Worth led the debut of the plant-based Impossible Burger, building the sales and commercial teams for the company, according to a news release from Plenty. While at Impossible Foods, he helped sign deals with Starbucks, Burger King and other foodservice outlets to build the Impossible Burger brand.

"We are delighted to welcome Dana to the Plenty family as we continue to manage our substantial growth trajectory," Nate Storey, Plenty co-founder, said in the release. "Dana's experience working with fast-growing companies, such as Impossible Foods and PayPal, who are pioneers in their markets, will be instrumental as we accelerate both our corporate and commercial footprint and establish our platform as the standard for indoor vertical farming." 

Plenty has promoted Megan Gillespie to vice president of farm operations and Daniel Malech to senior vice president of strategy and general counsel.

Gillespie, formerly of Tesla, joined Plenty in 2019 and has been pivotal in getting the company’s flagship farm operational. In 2020, she led an expansion strategy, tripling the production and ensuring product made it to stores and food banks, according to the release.

In her new role, Gillespie will oversee farm operations for Plenty's farms, including its latest facility - the world's first high-output, indoor vertical farm in Compton, California - bringing access to healthy vegetables and new jobs to the community.

Malech joined Plenty in 2018 as head of legal, advising the company on business strategy and implementation. His new role includes regulatory, compliance, and overseeing the company’s intellectual property portfolio.

D.I.Y. Microgreens You Can Grow On Your Kitchen Counter

Think of The Rewards of Cultivating

The Tastes of Summer All Through The winter. You Can Do This.

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New to microgreens? Start with something in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) that offers a quick payoff, like arugula (shown), radish or mizuna (a mild-flavored mustard). Credit...Kate Spring

By Margaret Roach

• Nov. 18, 2020

Since Kate Spring and her husband, Edge Fuentes, founded Good Heart Farmstead in Vermont in 2013, she has cultivated not just mesclun, strawberries and tomatoes, but also the abundance of the patience required of a farmer. Plant parenthood reminds us: Living things take time. And sometimes they have minds of their own.

Lately, as mother to Waylon, a 7-year-old son she calls “our best crop ever,” Ms. Spring is occasionally asked to dig down even deeper, in a growing test of wills — as she did after three long days of carrot harvest. “There are those moments, like when all those root vegetables need to be washed,” she said, “and your child commandeers the hose and washes you instead.”

But there is one crop, whose time is now, that promises near-instant gratification, requiring little patience and exhibiting blessedly minimal rebellion.

Microgreens — fully developed seed leaves or cotyledons plus a true leaf or two, bigger than sprouts but smaller than baby greens — can be grown indoors in a small space, making them the ideal off-season do-it-yourself project for those who miss the vegetable garden and its in-season flavors. By investing a couple of weeks in each tray of tiny, leafy greens, root vegetables or herbs, you can enliven winter with concentrated bursts of nutrition and taste.

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In the garden off-season, freshly harvested basil microgreens grown indoors punch up the summery quotient when Kate Spring, an owner of Good Heart Farmstead, serves red sauce she cooked and froze at peak tomato harvest. Credit...Kate Spring

Microgreens are a cusp-season crop at Good Heart Farmstead, an L3C, or low-profit limited-liability corporation, which means it’s “a mix between a nonprofit and for-profit business — a for-profit but with a social mission in the forefront,” Ms. Spring said. “We work on increasing food access for low-income Vermonters,” often in collaboration with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.

The small, certified-organic operation in Worcester (Zone 4a) focuses on farm shares, or CSA subscriptions, serving up to 100 subscribers in the summer season, one of four subscription periods each year.

As the last outdoor fall greens fade, Ms. Spring and Mr. Fuentes sow microgreens in greenhouse flats to add “a nice, fresh green item in the share,” she said, that is otherwise transitioning to roots and other winter storage vegetables.

So order some seed, clear a space on the kitchen counter and call the seed-starting light into service. It’s microgreen season.

Larger seed for microgreens like chard and beets can be scattered on a level surface of an inch and a half of tamped-down, seed-starting soil, with about six to eight seeds per square inch. Credit...Kate Spring

Why Grow Microgreens?

Besides the sheer awe inherent in any version of seed-starting, there are other motivating factors. Price, for instance.

Microgreens are what farmers refer to as a high-value crop. In plastic grocery-store clamshell boxes they may run $2 to $3 an ounce ($32 to $48 a pound) — “a really premium product,” Ms. Spring said.

Microgreens are also nutrient-dense. Researchers with the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the United States Department of Agriculture evaluated vitamin and carotenoid concentrations in a range of varieties in a 2012 paper. The findings, in brief: Microgreens contained up to 40 times the nutrients of the plants’ mature leaves.

And oh, the flavor. Yes, they brighten up salads and sandwiches, but cilantro microgreens on top of black bean and sweet potato tacos, anyone? They’re highly recommended by the Spring-Fuentes household, where there are always basil microgreens as well, for punching up the summery quotient of red sauce frozen at peak tomato harvest.

“Arugula or basil or kale microgreens are also really good on eggs in the morning,” said Ms. Spring, who tends to use them “as an additive, not the main ingredient.”

Organic field pea seeds will become pea shoots, a customer favorite at Good Heart Farmstead, in Vermont. They are sown very densely and pressed into the soil after the seeds are soaked overnight. Credit...Kate Spring

Start With These Varieties

The diversity of organic microgreen seed offerings in catalogs like Johnny’s Selected Seeds and High Mowing Organic Seeds can be intimidating. Start with something in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) that promises a quick payoff, Ms. Spring suggested, like radish, arugula or mizuna (a mild-flavored mustard).

“Our favorites are basil, cilantro, Red Russian kale and the arugula and mizuna,” Ms. Spring said.

Broccoli and chard are popular, too. Catalogs also offer mixes — like a spicy one of various mustards, selected to germinate and mature on a similar timeline.

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While the fields are resting, there are usually microgreens growing on Good Heart Farmstead’s greenhouse benches, to add a fresh, green item to the wintertime CSA shares. Credit...Kate Spring

The Gear

Yes, you can upcycle a cardboard egg carton or plastic sushi container into seed-sowing service, and maybe that’s a good place to begin. But once you’re hooked, a couple of standard nursery flats with drainage holes, called 1020 flats, with trays that fit beneath, will optimize the process. (In the meantime, a plastic boot tray or a rimmed baking sheet could be called into action under ad hoc seedling trays.)

You’ll also need:

• A spray bottle for watering (recommended: a one-hand pressure sprayer like the Solo 418)

• A germination dome to fit your flats, or paper towels

• A bag of seed-starting mix and a moisture-proof tub or other container to stash it in (after each harvest, the soil can be composted, and once the plant matter breaks down, reused two or three times)

• A grow light with T5 high-output fluorescent tubes on an adjustable stand (microgreens grow faster and stronger with proper overhead light than they will on a windowsill)

• A fan

• And, of course, seeds

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You can simply can upcycle a cardboard egg carton or plastic sushi container into seed-sowing service, but once you’re hooked, a couple of standard nursery flats with drainage holes, called 1020 flats, and trays that fit beneath will optimize the process. Credit...Kate Spring

Kate Spring’s Step-by-Step Instructions

There is no one-size-fits-all growing method. “It takes some guesswork and practice, so go into it with a trial mind,” Ms. Spring said.

Experimenting with varieties, sowing density and harvest timing — an extra day or two, a half-inch taller than the last batch? — will reveal what works for you.

Using more than one flat and tray will mean fewer gaps in your supply. You could try sowing a succession crop when the current one is within a few days of harvest, or sowing slower- and faster-growing varieties at the same time.

The key is taking notes and researching the catalog websites, where the “number of days to first true leaf” will indicate how fast one variety will grow relative to another. That is especially important if you want to grow partial flats of two things. A good match for a uniform harvest pairs crops with similar days to maturity — like broccoli and Red Russian kale (both 10 to 15 days to true leaf) or basil and cilantro (16 to 25 days).

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Trays of microgreens at various stages of development in the Good Heart Farmstead greenhouse benefit from the circulation provided by a fan on low nearby, which helps prevent a fungal disease called damping off. Credit...Kate Spring

Start with the right location: 65 to 70 degrees, not adjacent to a heater or a drafty window. Moisten a supply of potting soil, either in its plastic bag or in a waterproof tub, by adding a small amount of water and mixing it with your hands or a trowel. Squeeze a fistful; it should be moist enough to hold its shape, but not so wet that water drips out.

Then line your tray with an inch or so of soil, tamped down so it’s compact, with an even surface. This will help ensure that seeds have equal soil contact for even germination.

To sow the seeds, scatter them thickly, according to the packet directions, aiming for 10 to 12 seeds per square inch for small seeds like basil, mizuna or kale and six to eight seeds for larger ones like beets or chard. Gently press them into the soil.

Lightly water the seeds with a mister or spray bottle.

Cover the tray with a germination dome or a damp paper towel. (If you use a paper towel, mist it daily so it stays moist during germination.) No supplemental light is needed yet.

As soon as the seeds germinate, usually in about three to five days, remove the dome or towel and place the uncovered tray under grow lights for 16 hours a day.

Water as needed to keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. Microgreens flatten easily, so use a mist or spray, or switch to bottom watering, adding a quarter of an inch of water to the tray below; the flat’s drainage holes will allow the soil to wick up water. For even watering, trays must be on a level surface.

Airflow is important, or thickly sown microgreens can suffer from a fungal disease called damping off. A fan set on low nearby helps.

Microgreens are harvested around the time the first true leaf appears — the one that resembles an older version of the plant, often between an inch or two tall. Use sharp scissors or a harvest knife (Johnny’s and High Moving both sell Victorinox serrated knives). Eat immediately or refrigerate in a closed plastic bag or container for two to three days.

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Waylon, the son of Good Heart Farmstead owners Kate Spring and her husband, Edge Fuentes, is 7 years old and a lover of pea shoots and all things salad. This year, he grew his first garden. Credit...Kate Spring

Ready to Graduate to Pea Shoots?

Pea shoots, a CSA-subscriber favorite at Good Heart Farmstead, are grown indoors in spring from organic field pea seeds, a kind of pea used for cover-cropping beds to improve the soil.

There are subtle differences in the process, Ms. Spring said: “We soak the seeds overnight, so that they have a little head start, and we really pack them in there.”

After that, the seeds take 12 to 14 days to harvest, at two to four inches high. Ms. Spring likes them on the bigger side — as does Waylon, who has all too quickly gone from sprout to shoot stage himself, his mother noted.

PODCAST: Joe Swartz & Nick Greens

11/20/2020

Our new podcast called Polygreens with Joe Swartz from AmHydro and Nick Greens from Nick Greens Grow Team brings agriculture and technology together in educational episodes. With this episode, you'll learn about tips on operating a greenhouse.

Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/nickgreens)

Sustainability In Three Dimensions

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Technology Spotlight December 20, 2018

Picture a snow globe. Inside its crystalline sphere, the conditions are always ideal for a winter wonderland—even in the hottest days of summer. So, what if farmers could take this idea and use it to create optimal, self-contained cultivation environments that allowed them to grow their crops during the dead of winter?   

A traditional approach to this challenge is greenhouse farming, in which glass domes heighten and retain solar energy within a growing environment that’s closed off from the surrounding atmosphere. As a result, the temperature inside the dome is warmer and more stable, allowing farmers to cultivate warm-weather crops during the cold seasons.
 
If farmers can grow their crops through the winter, what if they could grow them through the night?

WHAT IF GROWERS COULD CREATE THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO GET 10 ACRES WORTH OF PRODUCTION FROM ONLY ONE ACRE OF LAND? 

It may sound improbable to grow plants in closed environments without relying on the sun, but modern agriculture is already making incredible strides in bringing 24/7 cultivation to reality by augmenting existing practices with indoor vertical farms and robotic technologies.  

In fact, vertical farms are on the rise. There are currently 2.2 million square feet of indoor farms operating across the globe, and that number is expected to increase almost tenfold to 22 million square feet in the next five years. Will vertical farming replace conventional farming practices? No, but this dramatic rise in indoor farms will add even more of a boost to our future food production capabilities, complementing the incredible innovations that are being made in traditional sun-soaked, outdoor crops. 
 
Why such the exponential increase in interest and investment in both vertical farms and robotics? In short, this pairing offers profound potential to help agriculture achieve sustainability in the environmental, economic, and societal spheres. 

To read the entire article, Please Click Here

Micro Lab Farms New California Cultivation Complex Approved by City of Needles

July 29, 2019

The unique facility features Gen3 GrowPods, designed to outperform other methods of cultivation, and provide rapid growth in a multi-billion dollar market

CORONA, Calif., July 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Micro Lab Farms, a premier provider of automated indoor micro-farms for rapid production of legal cannabis, announced that it has been granted a Conditional Use Permit for a two phase cultivation facility in the city of Needles, California.

The resolution was passed by the Needles City Council, and allows Micro Lab Farms to develop its California Cannabis Cultivation Complex, which will feature over 100 state-of-the-art GrowPods.

The pods, designed by GP Solutions GWPD, +0.00%, are automated, transportable, scalable micro farms that have been shown to grow cannabis at a faster rate than conventional means of agriculture.

GrowPods allow cultivation to take place year-round, and eliminate pathogens, contaminants, pesticides and chemicals, to produce clean and robust crops. The Pods also provide a sealed environment for excellent isolation of specific strains and clones.

The GrowPods will also utilize GP Solutions proprietary soil mixture, which contains no animal products. This is critical in the cannabis industry because many other soils and additives can contain harmful pathogens and bacteria that have the potential to contaminate crops and cause testing failures.

The California Cannabis Cultivation Complex also provides investment opportunities to experienced growers, entrepreneurs, and qualified individuals seeking to add the cannabis sector to their portfolios. This passive investment allows stakeholders to participate in the rapid growth of the cannabis sector, with mitigated risk. 

The Conditional Use Permit allows Micro Lab Farms to develop over 35,000 square feet of cultivation space.

For more information on Micro Lab Farms, or for information on GrowPods, or for details on investing in the California Cannabis Cultivation Complex, contact Micro Lab Farms at: (951) 266-6096, or visit: www.microlabfarms.com 

About Micro Lab Farms

Micro Lab Farms has made it possible to rapidly and affordably enter or expand in the legal cannabis industry with its "GrowPod" cultivation systems.

GrowPods are modular, indoor micro-farms that feature a controlled environment, state-of-the-art air and water filtration, proprietary pathogen-free living soils, and automation systems that far outperform other methods of cultivation, and produce clean, robust crops without pathogens, contaminants, pesticides or chemicals.

For information on Micro Lab Farms, call: (951) 266-6096, or visit: www.microlabfarms.com 

Connect:  
Website: www.microlabfarms.com  
Facebook: facebook.com/MicroLabFarms  
Twitter: @MicroLabFarms

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SOURCE Micro Lab Farms

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