AppHarvest Taps Amazon Veteran Mark Keller To Operationalize AI-Informed Farm Operating System

July 26, 2021

Keller joins the AppHarvest technology group as SVP, Software Applications Platform, with a proven track record of building AWS services and high-performing teams

AgTech leader AppHarvest (NASDAQ: APPH, APPHW), a public benefit company and certified B Corporation focused on farming more sustainably using 90% less water than open-field agriculture and only recycled rainwater, has named Amazon veteran Mark Keller as its SVP, Software Applications Platform. Keller joins the AppHarvest technology group as it works to operationalize its Project TalOS platform to make fresh fruit and vegetable production as reliable as consumer goods manufacturing.

To create the Farm of the Future, AppHarvest is investing in robotics, artificial intelligence, tele-operation, and proprietary seed genetics. With robots roving through the facility alongside the company’s human labor force, interacting with and caring for the crops, the company will be collecting data continuously on plant production to feed into AI and then using software to align facility operations with sales and logistics.

“We are massively expanding our team to build out our digital operating model for farming, which has AI at its core that can manage a global network of facilities and effortlessly execute complex supply chain strategies intelligently and autonomously,” said Josh Lessing, AppHarvest chief technology officer. “Adding an industry veteran like Mark will be a true game-changer for this growth phase of our business, and his strong, people-centric leadership skills will be a key enabler for the AppHarvest technology group.”

Keller has a proven record spanning more than 25 years of turning ideas into full-featured technology solutions, such as launching Amazon’s first four large-scale Kiva robotics sortable warehouses and the PrimeNow Warehouse Management Software used to run the company’s one-hour fulfillment centers.

“The Holy Grail in agriculture is predicting and managing yield and quality,” said AppHarvest founder and CEO Jonathan Webb. “Having Mark join will accelerate our efforts as we train our intelligent robot, Virgo, to harvest multiple crops—ranging from tomatoes and cucumbers to more delicate fruits such as strawberries—as we move toward more AI-informed growing. These insights collected and analyzed, then fed into AI, will be the true game-changer for us since every piece of fruit is an outcome that resulted from the many variables in the growing process.”

“Two of the most pressing global concerns are water scarcity and creating resilient food supply, and AppHarvest is solving for both,” said Keller. “As a father of four, I want to leave a strong legacy for my children and leverage technology for good. The foundation AppHarvest is building will give controlled environment agriculture the opportunity to restructure the food landscape to mirror the hyper-efficient e-commerce landscape.”

Keller is a Hispanic Gulf-War veteran who brings a unique perspective to employee engagement programs being an early driver of the Amazon Warriors veterans employee group and having participated in the Latinos @ Amazon employee group. Keller also was an early adopter of the Military Apprentice Software Development Engineer program to improve diversity hiring in technology, which he expects to continue at AppHarvest.

About AppHarvest

AppHarvest is an applied technology company in Appalachia developing and operating some of the world’s largest high-tech indoor farms, designed to grow non-GMO, chemical pesticide-free produce, using up to 90 percent less water than open-field agriculture and only recycled rainwater while producing yields up to 30 times that of traditional agriculture on the same amount of land without agricultural runoff. The company combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology including artificial intelligence and robotics to improve access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a domestic food supply, and increasing investment in Appalachia. The company’s 60-acre Morehead, Ky. facility is among the largest indoor farms in the U.S. For more information, visit https://www.appharvest.com/.

Light Science Technologies Launches Sustainable nurturGROW LED Lighting Range

July 21, 2021

90% recyclable and interchangeable design enables growers to simply upgrade and replace 

 Leading UK AgTech company Light Science Technologies (LST) has launched nurturGROW to the market, its new sustainable grow lighting product range, offering an innovative, high-performance and cost-effective solution for indoor farming, covering greenhouses, vertical farming, polytunnels and medicinal plants.  

Created with four core component parts, the patent-pending nurturGROW range is made of high-quality, durable materials to give growers the ideal balance between strength and optimal performance. 90% of the components are recyclable, minimizing the amount of materials needed to drastically cut down on waste and reduce carbon footprint. Thanks to its sustainable, future-proof design, 85% of nurturGROW is also reusable, allowing growers to easily upgrade components, cost-effectively and with no downtime, making nurturGROW easy to maintain. Backed by a 25-year product lifecycle, it ensures indoor farmers maximize the use of every element over a longer lifespan to generate maximum yields and save them a third on future costs.   

Built for scale and sustainability 

Thanks to its modular structure, the nurturGROW range consists of more than 30 different options with variable lengths of up to 2.78m, making it the longest luminaire on the market. It provides the scale needed to commercialize the right recipe and cut down on waste with both energy and space. With a high efficacy of up to 3.0 umol/J and up to 30-degree variance, growers can choose from 1000s of different light recipes to improve plant performance, from one of the widest ranges of recipes available on the market.  

What’s more, nurturGROW enables you to give back to the environment. As proud reforestation partners of One Tree Planted, they plant one tree for every LST product sold, as part of a mutual commitment to champion global reforestation efforts and raise awareness of the importance of ecosystem restoration. 

In-house UK scientific and manufacturing expertise  

nurturGROW features industry-leading, high performing LED lighting innovation by drawing on its own in-house manufacturing capabilities, assuring growers of nothing  

less than high quality and high performance grow lighting. This is supported by a successful tried and tested approach in real environments to prove nurturGROW’s long-lasting lighting technology.  

Backed by science, LST works with growers to create the perfect recipe for crop growth. Using light testing equipment and data gathered from LST’s purpose-built laboratory, its in-house team of scientists can help identify the right spectral waveforms and PPFD levels by recreating various environment scenarios in one of its accredited grow chambers. 

Grow more, with less  

Founded in 2019, LST’s approach from the beginning was to create a bespoke, fully integrated lighting solution that met key criteria for CEA farmers and growers: sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and high performance. Knowing that each growing environment has its own set of unique requirements, nurturGROW gives growers optimum control over their crops with the potential to deliver optimal yield and minimize both CAPEX and OPEX costs. 

Craig Price, Operations Director at Light Science Technologies, said: “Being customer-focused by design means that as an experienced LED grow light partner, we understand every variable and can help indoor growers to design a sustainable solution that fits their unique growing parameters. 

“This extends to adjusting the light recipe for growers, as nurturGROW will allow you to increase, decrease or change the recipe depending on preference, thanks to an interchangeable luminaire body. 

“The unique aspect of our design also means that we have already allowed for future integration of sensor technologies, offering significant added value. By choosing to add in our new sensor technology, which is under development, indoor growers and farmers can look to control their environment in much more granular detail. This will enable them to reduce any sub-optimal performances, whether that be in any environmental controls or from the light itself.” 

Grōv Technologies Signs Definitive Agreement With Superior Farms

July 12, 2021

Vineyard — Agtech and indoor farming company, Grōv Technologies, today announced a definitive agreement with California-based Superior Farms for the purchase of 10 Olympus Tower Farms that will produce fresh year-round feed for Superior’s upcoming Sheep Discovery Center™ in Central Utah. Grōv is part of Superior Farms’ efforts to dramatically improve the sustainability and growth of US lamb production.

The ten Olympus Tower Farms will produce 60,000 pounds of Grōv’s fresh High-Density Nutrient (HDN) Superfeed wheatgrass a day using less than 5 percent of the water needed for field-grown fodder, without the use of pesticides or herbicides.

The Sheep Discovery Center is a new venture of Superior Farms.  The goal of the Discovery Center is to showcase how sustainably focused science and technology can help farmers increase their flocks and consistently produce high-quality lamb.

“Our collaboration with Superior showcases how Grōv indoor ag technology can benefit farmers who want to improve production and sustainability, and minimize risk, especially as it relates to drought conditions that plague regions across the world,” says Steve Lindsley, president of Grōv Technologies. “The innovative thinking of Superior Farms is right in line with our efforts to provide feed security for animals and food security for growing populations.” 

Leveraging Grōv’s indoor Olympus Tower Farms to grow fresh HDN feed, Superior Farms intends to optimize nutrition and environmental conditions to help support animal health during the lambing cycle. Superior Farms will also implement Grōv’s seasonal lighting technology as part of Superior’s efforts to improve the productivity of their sheep and provide a more consistent lamb supply throughout the year. 

“The current Western U.S. megadrought is pushing farmers to ration their natural resources and find innovative ways to give their animals a more sustainable and nutrient-rich environment,” says Rick Stott, CEO of Superior Farms. “Feeding sheep with Grōv HDN opens up new opportunities for sheep farmers and gives them a way to overcome the water issues affecting their flocks.” 

During the Covid pandemic, more consumers tried lamb for the first time and continued to purchase it throughout the year.  The US lamb industry expects demand to keep rising as the number of new consumers who are more familiar with lamb continues to grow. 

For more information about Grōv Technologies please visit www.Grōvtech.com. 

About Grōv Technologies, LLC
Grōv Technologies is pioneering next-generation indoor agriculture technology and science to help meet the demand for global food and animal feed security. The company has developed enterprise-scale, automated controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems to grow high-density nutrient animal feed and other crops using significantly less water and resources than traditional farming. These systems utilize patented low-heat LED technology, seed-to-harvest robotics, and data-driven scientifically proven indoor growing protocols.  Grōv also operates an LED lighting and power management subsidiary, Stellar Smart Energy Solutions, using proprietary Wave Power Transformation and power management networking technology for commercial and agricultural facilities. Grōv is wholly owned by Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS), which develops and distributes a comprehensive line of premium-quality beauty and wellness solutions through a global network of sales leaders.

About Superior Farms
Superior Farms, the leading purveyor of sustainably raised, ranch-to-table American lamb. Proudly providing the highest quality natural lamb for a variety of recipes from weeknight dinners to Sunday brunch, lunches, and more, Superior Farms offers a range of premium cuts. From the mountains of Utah, the brisk winters of Minnesota, and the shores of California, Superior Farms prides itself on working exclusively with family ranchers who raise lambs with the best care and commitment to quality wellbeing and stable environment. Respecting a nutrient-rich land, maintaining a sustainable footprint, and working with dedicated family ranchers who raise flocks with the highest level of care, all are core values that make Superior Farms the leader in American lamb. From the plant floor to the corner office, Superior Farms is also proud to be 100 percent owned by its dedicated and talented employees. For more information, visit www.superiorfarms.com, order home delivery at www.superior-farms.com, or follow the brand on Instagram (@SuperiorFarms) and Facebook (@SuperiorFarms). 

Berlin-Based Infarm Raises €144 Million During Pandemic To Grow Largest Urban Vertical Farming Network In The World

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By Charlotte Tucker

September 17, 2020

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Today German startup Infarm, one of the world’s fastest-growing urban farming networks, has announced an approx. €144 million investment raised in the first close of a Series C funding round expected to reach around €169 million. Led by LGT Lightstone, the first round included participation by investors Hanaco, Bonnier, Haniel, and Latitude and was supported by existing Infarm investors Atomico, TriplePoint Capital, Mons Capital, and Astanor Ventures.

Founded in Berlin in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska, Infarm is dedicated to creating a future where local super fresh produce is available for everyone. The farms are placed in various locations in the city, like supermarkets, restaurants, and distribution centers, so that vegetables grow and are harvested close to the moment of purchase or consumption.

These controlled, growing environments are connected to a central cloud-based farm-brain which gathers more than 50,000 data points through a plant’s lifetime, allowing the platform to learn, adapt and improve itself constantly so that every plant grows better than the one before. This modular, data-driven, and distributed approach — a combination of big data, IoT, and cloud analytics, in addition to rapid growth at a global scale — sets Infarm apart from any other urban farming solution.

With a mix of equity and debt financing, the scaleup’s fresh capital infusion brings Infarm’s total funding to date to more than €254 million, underscoring consumer and retailer appetite for Infarm’s innovative approach to fresh, sustainable and local food production in the wake of this year’s pandemic. By 2025, Infarm’s farming network is expected to reach more than 5,000,000 square feet to become the largest distributed farming network in the world as it builds towards helping cities become self-sufficient in their food production.

The investment will be used to deepen the regional and local reach of Infarm’s global farming network and complete the development of Infarm’s new generation of vertical cloud-connected farms, capable of generating the crop-equivalent of acres of farmland and amplifying the diversity of produce currently available through vertical farming. An integration of advanced engineering, software and farming technology, these farms will save labor, land, water, energy, and food-miles while contributing to a more sustainable food system.

Erez Galonska, Co-founder and CEO of Infarm said: “The coronavirus pandemic has put a global spotlight on the urgent agricultural and ecological challenges of our time. At Infarm, we believe there’s a better, healthier way to feed our cities: increasing access to fresh, pure, sustainable produce, grown as close as possible to people. As we scale to 5,000,000 sq ft in farming facilities across Europe, North American and Asia by 2025, this investment will help us make a truly global impact through our network, preserving the thousands of acres of land, millions of liters of water, and ultimately change the way people grow, eat and think about food.”

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In the past 12 months alone, Infarm has formed new partnerships with the world’s largest retailers, including Albert Heijn (Netherlands), Aldi Süd (Germany), COOP/Irma (Denmark), Empire Company Ltd (Sobeys, Safeway, Thrifty Foods – Canada), Kinokuniya (Japan), Kroger (United States), Marks & Spencer (United Kingdom) and Selfridges (United Kingdom), driving market expansion beyond Germany, France, Luxembourg and Switzerland to the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Japan.

With operations across 10 countries and 30 cities worldwide, Infarm harvests 500,000+ plants monthly and growing while using 99.5% less space than soil-based agriculture, 95% less water, 90% less transport and zero chemical pesticides. Today, 90% of electricity use throughout the Infarm network is from renewable energy and the company has set a target to reach zero emission food production next year.

Dharmash Mistry, Partner of LGT Lightstone said: “We are excited to partner with the Infarm team to accelerate their urban vertical farm vision, ultimately creating a more sustainable food system for a growing population. Fresher, tastier & healthier food using 95% less land & water, no pesticides and 90% less transport. With over $1 billion of customer demand, partnerships with 17 of the top 50 global grocers, Infarm is set to revolutionize the market behind a unique ‘demand led’ modular business model. We look forward to working with Erez, Guy & Osnat to create a better, healthier & tastier future.”

Pasha Romanovski, Co-founding Partner of Hanaco Ventures said: “We are big believers in vertical farming as we see the traditional industry going through (much needed) rapid disruption these days. We were deeply impressed by Infarm’s founders and management, with their ability to move fast and execute. What is extremely appealing about Infarm is their innovative and modular approach, using cutting edge technology that unlocks added value throughout the supply chain, benefiting both the retailers and end-customers. We see a massive demand in the market for sustainable, environment-friendly, and healthy food – and Infarm has just the right team in place to make this happen.”

Valoya Launches Two New Greenhouse LED Grow Lights

Valoya, the research-driven manufacturer of horticultural LED grow lights has expanded its RX-Series line of greenhouse LEDs with two new models – RX500 and RX600. The new models are higher power, higher efficiency versions of the existing RX400 model, and can be used as true 1-to-1 HPS replacements. RX500 and RX600 produce up to the staggering 1700 µmol/s of uniform light output. They have been designed to be robust and compact, producing minimal shading over the canopy. With an Ingress Protection rating of IP65 (wet location) these luminaires are completely dust tight and can withstand spraying with water jets from any direction. The high light intensity they produce enables them to be positioned high above the canopy, as much as 4 meters above it.

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Valoya’s LED technology is proprietary and great efforts have been taken to create LED luminaires that last long and sustain the same light spectrum over their entire lifetime. RX500 and RX600 typically last 50000 hours whereby the intensity drops to 90% after about the 36000-hour mark. The spectrum decays evenly ensuring the grower will be getting the same plant performance and will not have to change the growth protocol over time.

In transitioning from HPS to LED, growers have to develop new growth protocols quickly. This is where Valoya’s team of biologists will provide support and expertise based on over 600 plant trials conducted in over 10 years. This means growers will hit the ground running after their LED upgrade and will see improvements in their plant performance right after it.

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The new models are available with most of Valoya’s patented spectra such as SolrayÒ (sunlight replica) and AP673L (vegetative growth). All of Valoya’s spectra can be used as sole source lighting in no sunlight environments as well as together with sunlight. They have been tested on over 300 plant species/varieties and we will gladly share this data with growers to help them get the most out of their plants.

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RX500 and RX600 are heavy-duty, greenhouse luminaires designed to produce high and uniform light output over a long period of time. Combined with Valoya’s patented spectra and the support of a team of photobiologists, RX-Series is the way to upgrade to LEDs in your greenhouse.

Contact Valoya today to get your free light plan - sales@valoya.com

To learn more about the RX-Series, please download the brochure. 

About Valoya

Valoya is a provider of high end, energy-efficient LED grow lights for use in crop science, vertical farming, and medicinal plants cultivation. Valoya LED grow lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous vertical farms, greenhouses, and research institutions all over the world (including 8 out of 10 world’s largest agricultural companies).

Additional information:

Valoya Ltd, Finland

Tel: +358 10 2350300

Email: sales@valoya.com

Web: www.valoya.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valoyafi/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/valoya

5 Questions To Answer Before Starting A Vertical Farm

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Indoor farming is a science—but that doesn’t mean you have to be a scientist to start one. Plenty of people with diverse backgrounds, from finance and business to hospitality (and yes, agriculture and science) enter the world of indoor vertical farming. 

Regardless of your past experience, if you are thinking of entering the world of vertical farming, you need to know what to expect. As a starting point, here are five questions to ask yourself before seriously considering launching a vertical farm.

1. What crops should you consider growing?

What are you planning to grow? This decision will have an impact on every aspect of your vertical farm, from setup and spacing to resources, distribution, and lighting, so it’s crucial that you make a choice that best suits you.

It is likely that you already have an idea of what crops you want to grow. But is that crop a good fit for a vertical farm? What’s its harvest cycle? Is there enough demand for it in your area? How does it need to be distributed? You’ll need to conduct an analysis of crops suitable for vertical farming and consider your options before going further into the schematics of your farm.

2. How much space do you have or need?

One of the perks of vertical farming is that growing racks allow you to make very efficient use of very little space. We’ve seen smart vertical farming setups make growing in the middle of a crowded city or a small complex attainable. However, what may seem like the smallest factors (like fixture mounting heights) have the potential to impact your farm’s viability. That’s why working with trusted partners like Current is critical to your success: we can get you started on the right path with a free light plan, amongst other things.

 3. Do you have a partner? 

Speaking of partners—do you have one? Are you working alone or with a team? Do you have access to plant scientists and researchers who can provide insight on best practices? Is there an expert who can design your lighting for optimum yields? Who will you turn to if a grow light fails? 

These questions are the first step to a serious venture as pairing with the right partner means you can tackle all challenges that may come up in one fell swoop. Look for resources or someone in your network who have a reputation of excellence throughout the industry. Bonus points if those prospects also have a strong network of partners in horticulture they can turn to for specific expertise.

4. Who is investing?

Few people can fund a vertical farm on their own. You need investors—and sometimes that means getting banks on board as well. Having a formal business plan backed by industry stalwarts will be critical to presenting a strong front to the financial world and turning your dreams of owning your own vertical farm into a reality.

5. What grow lights will you use?

You have the space, you know what you want to grow and you’ve found your partners—now what? Time to select the grow lights that will power your vertical farm.

The right light is a crucial component to making your operation a success and will get you the yield you need to succeed in this new venture. Choosing the horticulture grow lights to get you there is a decision that marries price, light spectrum, warranty, ease of maintenance, efficiency, and much more. LED lighting may seem like a complex world – and that’s where we come in. We’re here to help you understand the basics of grow lights, figure out how they’ll interact with your farm, and set your farm on the road to success. We see growers pour their hard work and passion into their vertical farms every day. That’s why we think your partners should match your enthusiasm and go above and beyond to help your farm succeed. 

Learn more about how Current helps vertical farms get off the ground.

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CONTACT US

Preventing Diseases Coming Into Your Fresh Produce

Sankaran:

“The first thing is to understand the controlling factors. How do you make sure of the soil and the water quality health. Our job is the water quality.” Outside of heavy metals, some micro-nutrients are toxic to plants in moderate concentrations or specific conditions.  KETOS looks at water quality as the first aspect in food safety because elements or toxins in water are often filtered and held by soil.

“If people don’t make the investment to understand water quality, once they realize the damage to their produce, it might be too late. One of the most common things, which we haven’t measured yet but actively looking into it, is how we can understand e-coli. We always end up having e-coli outbreaks and product recalls because of e-coli. We need to get ahead of that because there’s millions of dollars of losses and food waste.”

Safety issues

Kris Nightengale, VP Agricultural Sales notes: “If you look at the US data regarding food safety issues and over 80% of the cases had livestock grazing in proximity or higher in the watershed in relation to the produce field. Indoor and vertical agriculture seeks to solve the problem by taking the food out of the open and into a highly controlled enclosed environment.” Some pathogens are known to translocate in plants and become a part of the cell structure. This means that no amount of washing is going to disinfect the produce.

The KETOS shield continuously monitors the pH, ORP, and chlorine, which ensures chlorine can be maintained at the proper level to ensure effective sanitization. Even though indoor production facilities go to great lengths to filter and treat influent and circulating water, pathogens can still be introduced through fertilizer, worker, and pests.

“Healthy plants are not the hosts for pathogens that unhealthy plants are. Because indoor production works on a circulating loop system, nutrient imbalances can move very quickly through a facility. It’s not uncommon for indoor growers to watch a perfectly healthy crop start exhibiting symptoms of changing vigor in a matter of hours. Water tests are generally infrequent and there is a significant lag time from the lab. KETOS is filling in the massive data gap that growers can directly and immediately tie to crop health”, Nightengale affirms.  

Keeping the water nutritious 

One of the biggest issues that the US is dealing with right now, not necessarily how good the water treatment plants are, but how good the piping across the distribution network. Those pipes could have been laid out 100 years ago and could be contaminated with toxins. Knowing the water quality, both at the source and the destination is very important.

“KETOS is deploying systems to help with irrigation as well as help implement a broader distribution network for leak detection, understanding lead contamination in pipes, so that repairs can be conducted proactively vs. an expensive infrastructure replacement”, Sankaran says. “You cannot act upon what you don’t measure.”

“Agriculture has successfully implemented technology across many facets of its operations and its time for water management to be a more important discussion as this is a precious asset that can impact not just the farmers but of all of the consumers at large .”

Nightengale adds: “KETOS is able to address the gaps in the marketplace today for water intelligence in-depth, and the right kind of data can provide you insights for what’s actually occurring at your fingertips.”

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For more information: 
KETOS
Meena Sankaran, Founder, and CEO
meena@KETOS.co  
Kris Nightengale
kris.nightengale@KETOS.co 
www.KETOS.co 

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Publication date: Tue 15 Sep 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com

Vertical Farming To Shape Food's Future Top Companies To Share Expertise At Online Congress - September 22-24, 2020

The first Vertical Farming World Congress will be held online from 22nd to 24th September, bringing together the sector’s top minds and businesses, who believe the coronavirus pandemic will accelerate the industry’s inevitable growth. With the theme ‘Shaping Food’s Future’, the event is sponsored by LED lighting solutions provider Heilux.

“This is a unique opportunity for interested investors, agriculturalists, food producers, suppliers, academics and governments,” commented Richard Hall, Chairman of event organizer Zenith Global, the food and drink experts. “There may never be a better time, because the industry is rapidly establishing itself and an online event gives a ringside seat more affordably, along with all kinds of extra features.

“In addition to the most authoritative speakers ever assembled on the sector, there will be virtual farm tours, round tables on key issues, and extensive social as well as one-to-one networking. There will be ongoing access afterwards to review presentations and continue making new connections.

“It will be difficult to beat the caliber and geographic spread of our speakers:

• Our industry leadership panel has the founders and chief executives of AeroFarms and 80 Acres Farms from the United States plus Intelligent Growth Solutions and Jones Food Company from the United Kingdom.

• On sustainability, we have the World Wildlife Fund; on retailing, we have Migros from Switzerland.

• Investors are represented by AgFunder, Ashfords, Innovate UK, and Virgo.

• Other leading contributors range from the global Association of Vertical Farming to Wageningen University.

• Other talks include a view of the city of the future, a nutrition briefing, and debate about the relative merit of aeroponics, aquaponics, and hydroponics.

• A technology briefing will look in-depth at operational choices, plant growth, lighting, and robotics.

• Innovator case studies include growing underground, modular aeroponics, shipping containers, and success in Taiwan.”

  Media partners include AgFunder, Agritecture, AOA Chile, Association of Vertical Farming, Eatable Adventures, Farm Tech Society, FoodBev Media, Hortidaily, iGrow, Japan Plant Factory Association, NextGenChef, Urban Ag News, Vertical Farming Consulting, and Vertical Farming Podcast. Full program and booking details are available at zenithglobal.com/events. There is a specially discounted rate for start-ups.

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Media partners include AgFunder, Agritecture, AOA Chile, Association of Vertical Farming, Eatable Adventures, Farm Tech Society, FoodBev Media, Hortidaily, iGrow News, Japan Plant Factory Association, NextGenChef, Urban Ag News, Vertical Farming Consulting, and Vertical Farming Podcast.

Full program and booking details are available at zenithglobal.com/events.

There is a specially discounted rate for start-ups.

For further information, go to www.zenithglobal.com/events or contact events@zenithglobal.com.

CANADA: Bringing Local Greens To Ontario Year Round

NEWS PROVIDED BY

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GoodLeaf Farms 

Sep 15, 2020

Vertical Farm In Guelph Is Now Fully Operational

GUELPH, ON, Sept. 15, 2020,/CNW/ - The revolutionary GoodLeaf Farms' 4,000-square-metre indoor vertical farm is now fully operational.

The state-of-the-art farm is fully automated and equipped to grow microgreens and baby greens 365 days a year, without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides and with dramatically less water consumption. The result is a safer, more nutrient-dense, and sustainably grown food source, providing a domestic alternative in a produce aisle highly dominated by imports from the southern United States or Mexico.

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"Knowing where their food comes from is important to Canadians," says Jacquie Needham, Accounts Manager for GoodLeaf Farms. "Our growing system mimics the spring sun without the use of chemicals, releasing farming from the restrictions of the changing seasons. We can grow local, fresh, nutritious, and healthy leafy greens for the Ontario produce market all year long — we do it safely."

Vertical farming is an innovative growing process that naturally grows plants with hydroponics under specialized LEDs that concentrates the waves from the light spectrum that plants need to maximize photosynthesis. This method of farming is cost-effective, uniquely suited for Canadian climate, and scalable. GoodLeaf Farms is a leader in food safety. Every crop is tested for contaminants before it is shipped, ensuring it is safe for consumers.

GoodLeaf Farms is also sustainable. It uses 95 percent less water than a traditional farm, has no run-off issues or potential contamination of nearby water sources, it is local which eliminates thousands of kilometers of transportation from the supply chain and more food can be grown per acre, reducing land-use pressures.

GoodLeaf currently has four microgreens and two baby greens available in Ontario:

• Spicy Mustard Medley — Blend of Asian greens create a spicy touch reminiscent of Wasabi or Dijon Mustard. It makes for a perfect peppery finish.

• Pea Shoots — Sweet and crisp with a subtle pea flavour, they add a fresh bite to salads, seafood, and summer rolls.

• Micro Asian Blend — Mild peppery flavour with a hint of mustard, this makes a great addition to stir fry, soups, or as a crunchy culinary adventure to any dish.

• Micro Arugula — Intense spicy flavour that is both peppery and nutty. Use this to elevate the look and flavour of any meat or seafood dish, as an addition to your salad or to garnish your sandwich.

• Baby Kale — Earthy and nutty, it is a calcium-rich dark green to add a nutritional punch to any salad.

• Baby Arugula — Excite your taste buds by adding this spicy and peppery green to your salad or as a topping for sandwiches or burgers.

"The pandemic has underscored how important it is to have access to local food sources – food that we know is safe, grown responsibly, and immune to border closures," says Ms. Needham. "Compared to a green that was grown thousands of miles away, packed onto a hot truck and shipped across the continent, our process is far superior. Local food is simply better — better for you, better for the environment and better for our economy."

Follow GoodLeaf Farms on Instagram at @goodleaffarms and like it on Facebook at /GoodLeafFarms.

About GoodLeaf Farms:

With a passion for delicious, nutrient-rich greens, GoodLeaf was founded in Halifax in 2011. Using an innovative technology and leveraging multi-level vertical farming, GoodLeaf has created a controlled and efficient indoor farm that can grow fresh produce anywhere in the world, 365 days of the year. The system combines innovations in LED lighting with leading-edge hydroponic techniques to produce sustainable, safe, pesticide-free, nutrient-dense leafy greens. GoodLeaf has ongoing R&D Programs in collaboration with the University of Guelph, Dalhousie University, and Acadia University.

Learn more at goodleaffarms.com.

SOURCE GoodLeaf Farms

For further information: Jacquie Needham, Accounts Manager at GoodLeaf Farms, jneedham@goodleaffarms.com, 416-579-6117

Expert Input Can Boost Yields For Vertical Farming

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3rd September 2020

Designing, constructing, and integrating new facilities that live up to vertical farming’s many promises calls for the right kind of know-how, says Ian Hart, business development director at adi Projects.

For almost 12,000 years, humankind has found increasingly ingenious ways to convert the natural forces at play on Planet Earth into an ever more bountiful, diverse and predictable source of sustenance.

And, as global and national populations have grown historically and in particular, in recent decades, the issue of food security has always hovered somewhere in the background. Today, although we’re by no means on the brink of a Malthusian catastrophe, the idea that the UK might at some stage struggle to feed itself has taken on a new relevance.

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We’ve always been used to the supermarket shelves being full. But the early stages of lockdown betrayed the reality that supply chains are highly sensitive not only to the onset of a pandemic but to economic and environmental shocks.

Imperfect storm

Putting COVID to one side, the UK is staring those other two factors square in the face. We currently import approximately 80% of our food, including real basics, such as carrots, but, in Brexit, we are on the verge of a significant dislocation between ourselves and our biggest and closest trading partners who also happen to supply 30% of the total.

And, while Brexit may cause short-to-medium term disruptions, presupposing an eventual agreement on future trade, the risks posed by the environment seem baked in for decades to come.

High hopes for UK vertical farming startup

Scottish vertical farming startup harvests £5.4m in funding

Extreme weather events, such as significant flooding which has quadrupled since 1980, can harm livestock and spoil crops. On the other side of the coin, water inefficiency and scarcity are issues in many parts of the world, as agriculture competes increasingly with industry and domestic use.

Rising temperatures are playing havoc with growing seasons and sparking ever more wildfires that can devastate farms, even when the flames don’t actually reach them.

So, the commercial risks are there for producers. Supply chains are fragile, meaning that businesses dependent on imported produce may be unable to meet the service levels demanded by the supermarkets – even in the short-term – and then scramble for unsustainable and often very costly workarounds.

Removing risk

Vertical farming facilities are the subject of increased interest in the industry. Climate-controlled facilities enable producers to regulate the variables of the environment and avoid pollution to grow produce of a consistently high standard and at predictably higher yields.

The vertical farm projects we have worked on are very hygienic, removing fungal and bacterial risks and the threat from all manner of pests. And, run on LEDs and recycling very high proportions of the water they use back into their processes, energy costs can be minimized, there is no need for water to be chemically treated and producers can extricate themselves from any sense that the taps might one day dry up.

Locally sited facilities mean the vagaries of geopolitics and international trade agreements are no longer an issue. And, as importantly, locating one close to a waste-to-energy plant would enable you to harness its heat and CO2 to aid the growing process.

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The UK currently imports around 80% of its food

So, vertical farming has a real role to play in helping create circular economies at the local level.

While no means a silver bullet, in our experience vertical farms do solve many of the problems of contemporary food production and have the potential to help brands forge solid reputations as innovators and on sustainability.

But, so great are its potential upsides, one might quite reasonably ask why the shift to vertical farming isn’t gathering pace at a steadier rate. The answer, I believe, lies in a perceived lack of expertise in this country at getting such projects off the ground.

A specialist business

For all the simple answers the technology offers, the processes involved are highly sophisticated and capital intensive. Often it is only businesses with the means who go beyond the initial feasibility stages but, even then, they require specialist assistance.

The design and construction of the facilities themselves are highly complex. Different vegetable, fruits, and greens each require their own zoning and specific climatic conditions, and each of the different vertical levels – up to nine in some cases – has to create and sustain its own unique characteristics.

The electrical and robotic systems running the lighting and hydroponics are as innovative as anything in the sector and that’s before one overcomes the challenges of integrating the entire operation.

So, I’d advise companies exploring their options on vertical farming to go back to basics. If you can get those right from the outset and ensure you have continuity throughout the project, you can not only remove risk during planning and construction and for the duration of the facility’s lifecycle but also enjoy certainty on cost and program during the set-up phases.

Ian Hart is business development director at adi Projects

Visit the UK’s dedicated jobsite for engineering professionals. Each month, we’ll bring you hundreds of the latest roles from across the industry.

PODCAST: Controlled Environmental Agriculture

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Future Tense

with Antony Funnell

Vertical farming is a bit of a buzz term. Despite the hype, it’s an important part of a growing approach to food production known as Controlled Environmental Agriculture.

Controlled Environmental Agriculture promises to be cleaner and greener. It’s focussed on technology and it’s essentially about bringing food production closer to the point of consumption.

We examine the potential and the pitfalls.

Original broadcast on November 3, 2019

Duration: 29min 38sec

Broadcast: Sun 13 Sep 2020, 10:30am

Guests

Dr. Asaf Tzachor – Lead Researcher for Food Security, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Cambridge University

Viraj Puri – CEO and co-founder, Gotham Greens

Jeffrey Landau – Director of Business Development, Agritecture

Dr. Paul Gauthier – Senior Agricultural Scientist, Bowery Farming

Dr. Pasi Vainikka – CEO, Solar Foods

Credits

Presenter Antony Funnell

Producer Karin Zsivanovits

Further Information

external link Asaf Tzachor - profile

external link Gotham Greens

external link Agritecture

external link Bowery Farming

external linkSolar Foods

Netled And SweGreen Collaborate In Sweden – Netled’s Vertical Farming System Delivered To In-Store Farm In ICA Focus Supermarket

7th September 2020 by johannak

We have delivered a vertical farming system to our partner SweGreen’s project in Sweden. SweGreen has agreed on providing ICA Focus, one of Sweden’s biggest supermarkets in Gothenburg, an automated in-store farming solution. The greens are grown within the store and harvested directly off the shelf. This kind of in-store farm is first-of-its-kind in Sweden and globally unique in size as well as production capacity.

Netled is specialized in developing and selling high-technology vertical farming systems. Our mission is to enhance vertical farming by providing the best technology, expertise, and guidance for vertical farming projects and actors all around the world. The collaboration with SweGreen has been outstanding and produced valuable next steps towards hyper-local vertical farming.

Netled’s CEO Niko Kivioja comments: “We have followed the markets for ultra-local vertical farming for quite some time now and seen that our technology has clearly many opportunities for the current markets. This first project we have executed with and according to the wishes of our Swedish partner SweGreen is a great reference for us. Their business model, Farming as a Service, is elegant and easy to implement by supermarkets. Our team is proud to be partners with SweGreen, making fresh production close to consumers possible.”

Photos: SweGreen & Netled

More photos in SweGreen’s post on LinkedIn >

Watch a video by ICA Gruppen on LinkedIn >

Read more from the article in Gothenburg’s local paper Göteborg’s Posten (in Swedish) >

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Filed Under: NewsTagged With: agtech, autonomous farming, indoor farming, indoor farming technology, indoor growing, vertical farming, vertical farming expertise, vertical farming technology

Urban Vertical Farming: The Key To A Sustainable Future

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Living in a dense city population can make you wonder, "where does our food come from?" When you live in urban areas like Houston, New York City, or Seattle, it's rare that you notice farms on your drive to work.

The idea that our food is grown hundreds to thousands of miles away can be worrisome. What if something were to happen to those farms? Our resources would cut off and we would have limited access to foods. This is why vertical farming in urban areas is critical to ensure cities can be sustainable food leaders.

What is vertical farming?

Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops/foods in vertically stacked layers. This is usually done indoors and in a controlled environment. This method optimizes plant growth and allows the use of soilless techniques such as hydroponics.

How does vertical farming work?

Vertical farming needs several things to work. We'll cover each one below:

1. Physical Layout - The purpose of farming indoors is to maximize volume. We do this by maximizing the output efficiency per square meter. This is why you will see physical layouts in the form of skyscrapers or vertical tower-like structures.

2. Lighting - To optimize crop growth, a need for artificial and natural lights are essential.

3. Growing Medium - There are several different growing mediums for vertical farming. These methods include hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics. Coco Coir, Rockwool, ,Biostrate, Vericulite, Perlite, SunShine #4 and Black Gold are great mediums used in indoor farming.

4. Sustainability Features - Sustainable features often used with vertical farming feature rainwater tanks, wind turbines, and spaces with low energy costs.

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Automatic Indoor Grow System

Why is urban vertical farming important?

By 2050, the forecast is that we will have an extra 2 billion people on the planet. Many of these people will live in urban areas. And we have already used a third of arable farmland in the past 40 years.

We need to come up with other sustainable ways to grow food to ensure we can feed everyone. Vertical farming allows us to grow healthy, accessible foods within a few acres of land, close to home.

This is critical for urban areas because they will become more populated over time. Instead of relying on faraway food sources, we need to take matters into our own hands. By establishing urban vertical farming settings, we'll be able to control and grow our own food sources.

Vertical farming also uses 95% less water than traditional farming methods. The use of water needed to grow crops traditionally is wasteful. To be able to handle an influx in population, vertical farming is a sustainable solution.

How does vertical farming benefit us?

There are many reasons why vertical farming is the future of farming. By building vertical farms, there will be an increase in job opportunities. There will be easier access to healthier and attainable foods. With food grown close to home, we will always be aware of where our food comes from.

Because of the controlled environment, there is a higher chance of growth success. We will be able to grow crops year-round and have larger yields. Crops will not be exposed to harsh weather conditions since they'll be grown indoors. Urban vertical farming methods should start being adopted right now.

The Takeaway

To prepare for the upcoming increase in food demand, urban areas need to adopt sustainable policies. People should start growing their food indoors as well as increasing the demand for high-tech farming methods.

Four Storeys Up, A Commercial Vegetable Garden Thrives In A Converted Sears Warehouse

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DAVID ISRAELS

SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

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The Lufa greenhouse sits atop a former Sears warehouse in Montreal's St-Laurent neighbourhood.

CHRISTINNE MUSCHI/THE GLOBE AND MAIL

In the industrial part of Montreal’s St-Laurent area, it can be hard to distinguish the bulky buildings from one another, except for one – the roof sticks out like a green thumb.

It’s a great glass greenhouse roof atop a former Sears warehouse – a giant vegetable garden, said by its creators to be the world’s biggest commercial rooftop greenhouse.

The 163,000-square-foot garden, which opened last week, is the equivalent of nearly three football fields worth of food. To date, it is the fourth and biggest commercial facility for Montreal-based Lufa Farms.

Lufa is already well known among local “Lufavores” – foodies, restaurants, and alterna-living people in the Montreal area, who value its fresh tomatoes, eggplants, and vegetables, as well as the produce it gathers from local farmers.

Growing food on roofs represents the future of farming, especially in these pandemic times, says Mohamed Hage, Lufa’s chief executive officer, who co-founded the company with his wife, Lauren Rathmell.“

When we looked at how to grow where people live, we realized that there was only one option – rooftops. It’s not sustainable to always be trucking food in from across the continent or shipping from all over the world,” Mr. Hage says.

The new building was planned and construction began well before COVID-19 hit the world, but it offers a strong response to the pandemic, he explains.“

In March 2020, we saw a doubling of demand for our food. Growing food locally on rooftops and sourcing from local farming families allows us to swiftly adjust and respond to this demand,” he says.

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An employee works inside the Lufa greenhouse. | HANDOUT

Co-founder Ms. Rathmell, who is also Lufa’s greenhouse director, says it took three months to build the St-Laurent facility and grow the site.“That would normally have taken years,” she says.

“In response to COVID-19, we enacted stringent safety protocols early on, launched seven-day service, tripled our home-delivery capacity, and launched new software tools,” she says. The company also brought in more than 200 new team members, 35 new local farmers and food makers, and 30,000 new Lufavores customers.

Lufa’s new staff includes two full-time nurses to take workers’ temperatures as well as “social-distancing police” to walk around and make sure workers aren’t too close to one another, Mr. Hage says. The company has also boosted the frequency of its air exchange in all of its facilities, including the new one.

Designing and building a rooftop greenhouse is challenging, Mr. Hage says. Although some of the preparation required is not much different than getting any equipment onto a roof, some of the prep work up there is more complicated, he says.“

We have to meet national building codes, and of course, everything for the greenhouse needs to be hauled up to the roof on a crane,” he says. “Yet once it’s there, you have to do a lot of stuff manually rather than mechanically. All of this is harder than it would be to do on the ground.”

It’s also expensive. “This greenhouse costs two times as much as a ground-based greenhouse,” he says. Lufa declines to give out the cost of this latest project but says the first of its four facilities, built 10 years ago, cost $2.2-million.

Using buildings for farming is catching on, says Mike Zelkind, co-founder of 80 Acres Farms in Cincinnati, Ohio, which also operates building-based facilities in Arkansas, North Carolina, and New York.

“A field can be the least efficient place to grow food,” he says. “An indoor farm can produce more than 300 times more food, with 100-per-cent renewable energy and 97 percent less water. That’s the beauty of growing in buildings.

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Montreal-area foodies value Lufa's fresh tomatoes, eggplants and various other vegetables. HANDOUT

”Similarly, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., up the Hudson River from New York City, restaurateur, food-truck owner, and chef John Lekic pivoted as the COVID-19 lockdowns spread to launch an indoor farming business called Farmers & Chefs.“

“We use technology from an Israeli company called Vertical Field that was being showcased at the Culinary Institute of America, which is nearby,” he says. The Israeli company supplies all the materials to grow some 200 different crops on roofs and in parking lots with minimal experience required.“

We planted and installed a container in March and our first harvest was in April, Mr. Lekic says. “We’re learning fast, but it’s an easy way to grow herbs and produce.”

”Mr. Hage agrees, adding that “rooftops are superior places for an urban farm.”

“When we started [in 2009], we considered leasing parking lots for growing, but no one wanted to give them up,” he recalls. “But for most commercial building owners, rooftops are unloved – they leak, they have to be maintained and, in a cold climate like ours, you have to clean off the snow. A commercial rooftop greenhouse is a solution.”

The new St-Laurent project gives Lufa a total of about 300,000 square feet of agricultural production, and the company plans to eventually expand into Southern Ontario and the U.S. northeast.

Mr. Hage points out that a rooftop greenhouse also makes great sense in terms of environmental sustainability and reducing energy and carbon emissions.“

“We don’t use pesticides and our greenhouses use half the energy that a greenhouse at ground level would consume because we use heating from the building that rises up to the roof,” he explains.

“The biggest challenge is not the greenhouse space – who doesn’t want to walk around in a warm sunny greenhouse when it’s 20 below outside? The challenge is maximizing the warehouse space below the greenhouse,” he says.

“We’re growing so many tomatoes that the warehouses never seem to be big enough to store them.”

Urban farming in Canada is still a niche in a nationwide food industry that is primarily export-based, and accounts for 12 percent, or $62.5-billion, of Canada’s total exports every year, says Claire Citeau, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA).

But in a post-COVID-19 world, every bit of food production counts, she says. “We continue to see the adoption of science, technology, and innovative ways to feed people and create new economic opportunities at home and abroad.”

And if that’s not enough, just look at the place, Mr. Hage says. “Boy, do I like driving by – it sticks out like a crystal,” he says. “And when you go inside, it’s like being in a spa.”

TOPICS AGRICULTURE CORONAVIRUS GREENHOUSE MONTREAL ORGANIC FOOD

FREE WEBINAR: Food Safety Opportunities & Challenges Unique To Controlled Environment Agriculture - September 9, 2020

Join the CEA Food Safety Coalition and its panel of food

Safety Experts From

Bowery Farming, BrightFarms, Plenty & Planted Detroit 

for our next Indoor Ag-Conversation:

RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT!

 MODERATOR:
 Marni Karlin, CEA Food Safety Coalition Executive Director

PANELISTS:
Chris Livingston, General Counsel, Bowery Farming
Jackie Hawkins, Senior Manager of Food Safety, BrightFarms

Isabel Chamberlain, Senior Manager of Food Safety, Plenty
 Simon Yevzelman, Director of Operations, Planted Detroit

DURING THIS 60-MINUTE SESSION, YOU'LL:

• Learn about food safety opportunities and challenges specific to CEA leafy greens production - including areas such as system design and recirculating water

• Hear from food safety experts from CEA leafy greens producers representing a variety of production practices, sizes, and geographies

• Gain an understanding into the role of technology in CEA food safety

• Learn why consumers and retailers should care - and the work the Coalition is doing to develop a CEA-specific food safety addendum

LEARN MORE

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR INDOOR AG-CON 2020

EXHIBITORS, SPONSORS, MEDIA ALLIES &
INDUSTRY PARTNERS

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

VIDEO: Automated Vertical Indoor Farming Set To Sprout

Vertical Farms Could Make Use of

Abandoned Professional Spaces As The Pandemic Grinds On

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By Greg Nichols for Robotics | August 20, 2020

To View the Video, Please Click Here

A Finish startup has been climbing the walls during the pandemic. At least the crops it helps grow in vertical gardens have been, including greens, berries, and vegetables in areas like the Middle East.

Vertical farming, which utilizes vertically-stacked layers of crops grown in climate-controlled facilities, utilizes significantly less water and soil than traditional agriculture. Increasingly we're seeing examples of the concept scaling to industrial-levels, which is good news with populations booming, arable land in ever-shorter supply, and waning interest in agriculture among city-bound youth.

iFarm has figured out a smart value proposition in the still-nascent market as a developer of vertical farm management technology, essentially an operating system that utilizes tremendous volumes of sensor data to fine tune automated crop growing. The company believes it's entering a market primed for steep growth.

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"Investors can participate in the worldwide network of vertical farms and receive a rate of return well above bank deposit rates.", says Alex Lyskovsky, co-founder and President of iFarm. "We already have a group of financial partners involved in the development of our farms, and now there is a direct opportunity for this type of investment in Finland, UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Russia and UAE."

One of the interesting advantages of vertical farming, particularly in a pandemic when so many professional spaces stand empty, is that it's possible to utilize the urban environment to facilitate crop growing. By growing crops closer to city dwellers, the company can offer logistics efficiencies and unparalleled freshness. 

This at a time when traditional farming is less and less viable. Global agricultural productivity is suddenly slowing for the first time in decades. No one is quite sure why, but it's likely a systemic problem related to the rise of monocultures and the overuse of fertilizers, which add harmful salts to soils. Farmers are also aging globally as younger generations migrate to cities. That's largely because a productivity boom over the last century has kept food prices low, which makes farming unattractive economically. It's a double whammy now that that productivity can no longer be taken for granted without major rethinks to the food supply chain.

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Vertical farming and other smart agriculture innovations may offer realistic alternatives, and they've captured imaginations due to novel use of space and cutting edge technologies. iFarm's Growtune tech platform allows growers to leverage technologies like computer vision, machine learning, and huge volumes of data. The system can enable farming operations to spread vertical farms across distributed networks while still maintaining centralized control. And if there's any doubt that farming has changed, the level of control is staggering.

The Growtune platform can determine the plant's weight, as well as growth deviations or pathologies, and build a system that improves crop quality and characteristics on its own. According to iFarm, the optimization will reduce labor costs for crops like strawberries, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, radish, and others. 

"The 2020 pandemic exposed the problems of the global food system – food supplies, sowing, and harvesting were disrupted across the globe", says Mikhail Taver, Managing Partner at Gagarin Capital. "iFarm is taking a novel approach to agriculture, offering an automated solution to grow crops close to the consumer and ensure food security. We believe that the future of the food market lies in modern technologies and are excited to support the project on its way."

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What Is Hydroponic Farming?

Kemkar wants to make a difference through urban farming by introducing the technique of hydroponic farming to all so that they have access to grow their own vegetables at home.

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Manjula Ramakrishnan, Gulf Today

The science of urban farming has become hugely popular in recent times and hydroponics is leading the way in this green revolution. Jui Kemkar, a passionate young entrepreneur with a quest to make a difference through urban farming co-founded Waves Enterprises with a vision to introduce the technique of hydroponic farming to all, such that they have access to grow their own vegetables at home.

“From residential balcony gardening, community farming, or indoor/outdoor commercial farming, hydroponic farming methods prove to be beneficial for all. Residential enthusiasts of hydroponics can grow herbs, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cumbers, and even small plants or flowers in the comfort of their own homes,” explains Jui.

Jui’s impressive repertoire of work comprises humanitarian work in rural, urban farming projects in India and empowerment of women. It was when she moved from India to Dubai that she chose to promote hydroponic farming in order that healthy food supplies can either be grown by families in their own homes or produced by companies and supplied at affordable rates in the UAE.

Jui talks about her conviction that the future of farming lies in hydroponics.

What is hydroponic farming?

It is the process of growing crops with nutrient-rich water kept in contact with the plant roots without using soil. This process is touted to significantly reduce the risk of wastage and pollution that can harm the produce and cause diseases, making it popular to health-conscious consumers. This method saves up to 70 percent of water while allowing for a longer growing season and avoiding harmful chemicals.

 Jui Kemkar, co-founder of Waves Enterprises.

How suitable is this for Middle East consumers?

The extreme climatic conditions and limited agricultural land availability in the Middle East makes hydroponic farming an excellent agro-solution as it increases farming capability. The absence of soil in the growing process makes it conducive for this method of growth to be used in an indoor or outdoor setting.

Can you explain the actual process behind this?

Plant growth happens through a combination of water, sunlight, carbon dioxide, and mineral nutrients. In traditional farming, these nutrients are derived from the soil. Through photosynthesis, plants transform light energy into chemical energy to form sugars that allow them to grow and sustain themselves. This is the basic premise behind hydroponics where all the elements required for plant growth are the same as with traditional soil-based gardening but only taking away the soil requirements, hence making it convenient to perform the farming process anywhere within a controlled environment.

What are the advantages of this kind of farming?

For one, plants can grow both indoor and outdoor and there is growth observed throughout the year. There is complete control over the nutrient balance with a proven technology that ensures high yield. Research shows that growth is faster with hydroponics and 70 percent less water is consumed in the farming process. No harmful contents enter the plant, as no soil or fertilizer or other harmful chemicals are used. The overall economy of a nation will benefit by promoting local farming and reducing the import of vegetables from other countries.

How affordable is this type of farming?

Residential setups are affordable and can be customized to individual budgets; however, commercial farms can be expensive depending on the extent of growth required. But despite the heavy investments for commercial set-ups, profits of up to 60 percent or more are visible in a short period of time. Profits will vary and depend largely on the type of crop cultivated. For example, due to low operational costs, green leafy vegetables yield more profits.

What kind of environment protection does this offer?

As global warming becomes a bigger issue for the world, there is a constant need for better ways to cut down on CO2 emissions to help the environment thrive. Perhaps one of the greatest ways countries can cut back on harmful greenhouse gasses is through examining how they produce and distribute their food supply. Hydroponic growing has numerous possibilities to produce larger, better-tasting vegetables. This method of growth uses less land, 70 percent less water, and minimum to no use of pesticides or herbicides.

Due to controlled growing environment, growth is possible in all types of climatic conditions.   Dry and arid climates are not conducive to the growth of berries, bananas, and citrus fruits; however, one country was able to successfully adopt the hydroponic growing process on a large scale. The produce was grown in 40ft large containers and transported to consumer markets for sale.

What is the future of hydroponic farming?

Hydroponics is the fastest growing sector of agriculture, and it could very well dominate food production in the future. As population increases and agricultural land declines due to poor land management, people will turn to new technologies like hydroponics and vertical farming to create additional channels of crop production.

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Environment Plant Climate

How VeggiTech Contributes To UAE's Agenda To build Food And Water Security

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VeggiTech farm - Image Credit: Supplied

VeggiTech's Produce Utilizes Less Than 10 Percent

of The Water Used In Traditional Farms

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August 31, 2020

VeggiTech is an agrotech company with the sole aim of disrupting the agriculture industry. VeggiTech focuses on addressing the key challenges of traditional farming – soil, temperature, and water through its design of protected hydroponics and grow lights-assisted hydroponics. We have chosen the challenging conditions of the UAE to demonstrate the positive use of agro-technology to create sustainable farms aligned to the UAE’s vision of food security.

In the last 18 months, VeggiTech has built and is operating over 30 hectares of farms with protected hydroponics. It is in the process of going live with 4,500 sq meters of indoor vertical farms that employ grow light-assisted hydroponics. We produced over 1.6million kilograms of produce last year and this year (including the summer months), we are delighted to produce over 1.9million kilograms with over 500+ tones of organic produce from our farms between August 2020 and July 2021.

VeggiTech's produce utilizes less than 10 percent of the water used in traditional farms and is pesticide-free. In addition, we have deployed technology for complete food transparency through QR codes that give complete visibility of the growing process of the vegetable produced in our farms.

VeggiTech's current operations  and plans in H1 2021

VeggiTech is in the business of offering farming as a service, where it builds and operates digital smart farms that are sustainable and environmentally-friendly for our customers. With a team of over 160+ professionals; and one of the strongest agronomy and engineering teams in the region, we are poised for growth over the next 3 – 5 years.

In the first half of 2020, despite the COVID–19 circumstances we have signed contracts for 13,000 sq.ft. grow area of indoor vertical farms, and are building protected hydroponic farms of 80,000 sqft. You will experience buying live produce from our indoor vertical farm installations in all Sharjah Co-operative Society stores soon with the first one going live in Al Rahmaniya Mall, Sharjah, next month.

We opened our Helsinki, Finland, offices in March 2020; joined the Association of Vertical Farming (AVF) headquartered in Munich, Germany, where we have been invited to play a lead role in creating industry standards for Indoor Vertical farms world-wide.

VeggiTech was invited by the Ministry of Education and Food and Water Security Office to host a webinar series “Grow Your Food” for students in the Youth Summer Camps across July and August 2020. We live-streamed the informative sessions from our farms providing insights on achieving food security through technology. The audience was segregated into three batches of 6 – 10-year-olds; 10 – 14-year-olds and 14 – 18-year-olds.

We are currently in advanced discussions with private investors and government organizations in Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi on large scale projects to make UAE food secure with good quality local food.

Sustainable Communities

VeggiTech has recently signed up for designing and developing sustainable grow areas with major players that specialize in developing sustainable communities in UAE. This exciting development underlines our vision of bringing “grow” spaces close to our “living” spaces.

Sustainable agro - Economic model

Dubai SME, the agency of Dubai Economy, mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, collaborated with VeggiTech through their Innovation Accelerator program and commissioned it to install an Indoor Vertical farm in their Business Village campus in Deira Dubai (scheduled to go live in Q4 2020). This set-up would showcase the circular farm-to-fork economic model with the Indoor Vertical farm (IVF), growing green leafy, herbs, and microgreens, and these are converted into end consumer produce in the form of farm-fresh salads / curated recipe packages.

Food security

We are upbeat on the current pipeline of projects (10M+ sqft of farms - protected hydroponics; 200,000+ sqft of Indoor vertical farms) to be signed in Q3 / Q4 2020 and these would start producing over 25million kgs of produce every year from 2021 - 2022. The optimal use of land assets combined with the reduction in water resources and pesticide-free crops are an ideal example of using technology to align with UAE’s food security goals.

Social impact

While the COVID – 19 circumstances are charting unprecedented scenarios across our lives; we, as the local farmers, were privileged to work with Sharjah Charity Association, Shurooq, The Noodle House, and Dubai Police to support our heroes, our frontline healthcare workers, and families, with over 20 tons of our farm fresh vegetables delivered contactless. 

VeggiTech is privileged to play its role in this journey.

Source Courtesy of Gulf News

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Hydro Farms Raises Fresh Funds and Releases New Products

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by WAYA Staff - Aug 31, 2020

With roots in the Egyptian hydroponic farming sector since 2012, Hydro Farms is one of the first to implement hydroponic planting in Egypt. Hydro Farms started working to revolutionize the farming industry in Egypt and bring clean, quality products to the market, farm-to-table. Hydro Farms recently raised funds from angel investors in Egypt and the Gulf region which contributed to the next phase of the brand’s expansion plan after years of evolving Hydro Farms’ products through extensive research and development.

The team behind Hydro Farms not only strives for excellence within their own products but also shares its years of expertise with more than 10 Egyptian farms and it has greatly aided in improving their product quality and overall team performance. Hydro Farms is currently growing 30+ varieties of produce that are unique in the market which is more inclined to growing leafy greens.

Now more than ever, Egypt and the whole world needs to divert their farming methods in order to become more eco-friendly especially when it comes to water consumption; hydroponically grown crops use 90% less water compared to traditional methods as well as a great shrink in land size and growing more food with higher quality and much fewer resources.

Hydro Farms is planning to play a bigger role in the community. With a special focus on educational events that start with school trips to enlighten children about the importance of sustainable farming, participation in wellness retreats to encourage people to grow their own produce at home, and farm trips to reveal the level of technology currently achieved by Hydro Farms.

“We started this 8 years ago, now it’s time to take it to the next level!” says Adel El Shentenawy, Hydro Farms’founder; “we’re an exceptional start-up with a combined experience of 8 years and an incredible amount of passion and hard work put into the company has helped us pull through and thrive in the toughest and most challenging times for a company or a startup”.

As a first milestone in the large scale expansion plan, Hydro Farms will be releasing PERET; an exclusive range of fresh produce never seen before in Egypt at Gourmet “A premium quality grocery store franchise”.

The range will be featuring an array of colorful heirloom tomatoes that used to be imported for very high prices like the San Marzano, Choco-Mato, or Chocolate Tomatoes and Golden Sweet as well as a new range of exotic peppers and chili peppers with a promise of more exciting varieties. This release is a planned buildup to a nationwide release. Hydro Farms is aiming to expand the territory of their market to reach the shelves of international grocery stores as it offers a year-long variety of fresh produce that is made with the highest standards and attention to detail. By moving outside of Egypt Hydro Farms is hoping to bring back Egyptian agriculture brands to their peak of glory.

CubicFarms Announces Sale of Control Rooms To Global Agtech Leader, Terramera

VANCOUVER, BC, AUGUST 31, 2020 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV:CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the sale of three Control Rooms to Terramera, a global agtech leader transforming how food is grown and the economics of agriculture. Terramera is a British Columbia-based company on a mission to reduce global synthetic pesticide use 80 percent by 2030 with its revolutionary Actigate™ technology platform, named a 2020 World-Changing Idea by Fast Company.

In June, CubicFarms offered its Control Room system for sale to growers requiring complete control over the growing environment that is so crucial for high crop yields and quality. Each CubicFarms Control Room is assembled inside a proprietary stainless steel, fully insulated growing chamber with the option to customize features such as lighting, automated irrigation, and nutrient delivery, providing full climate control for temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. The system has a variety of sensors available, all of which can be remotely monitored and controlled.
 
Dr. Travis Good, Terramera’s Chief Technology Officer commented, “We required a closed space with precise controls to isolate each environmental variable and produce uniform, plentiful and high-quality plants for our research. CubicFarms’ Control Room system is an ideal solution and helps us scale our Actigate™ technology with the goal of dramatically reducing the use of synthetic pesticides in agriculture.”

CubicFarms CEO Dave Dinesen commented, “We are pleased to call Terramera a customer as we share the same strategic investor, Ospraie Ag Science, and vision to transform how food is grown with the use of leading-edge technology. Terramera is a natural fit for a synergistic partnership in the future as both companies look to develop our machine learning and AI capabilities to further advance our respective technologies.”

Photos: The CubicFarms Control Room, complete with LED light fixtures, an automated heating, cooling and ventilation system, and wired environmental controls.
 
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor it’s Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About CubicFarm® Systems Corp.
 
CubicFarm Systems Corp. (“CubicFarms”) is a technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary technologies enable growers around the world to produce high quality, predictable crop yields. CubicFarms has two distinct technologies that address two distinct markets. The first technology is its patented CubicFarms™ system, which contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops. Using its unique, undulating-path growing system, the Company addresses the main challenges within the indoor farming industry by significantly reducing the need for physical labour and energy, and maximizing yield per cubic foot. CubicFarms leverages its patented technology by operating its own R&D facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, selling the system to growers, licensing its technology, and providing vertical farming expertise to its customers.
 
The second technology is CubicFarms’ HydroGreen system for growing nutritious livestock feed. This system utilizes a unique process to sprout grains, such as barley and wheat, in a controlled environment with minimal use of land, labour and water. The HydroGreen system is fully automated and performs all growing functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding – all with the push of a button – to deliver nutritious livestock feed without the typical investment in fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, field equipment and transportation. The HydroGreen system not only provides superior nutritious feed to benefit the animal, but also enables significant environmental benefits to the farm.
 
About Terramera
 
Terramera is a global agtech leader fusing science, nature, and artificial intelligence to transform how food is grown and the economics of agriculture in the next decade. With its revolutionary Actigate™ technology platform, which was recognized by Fast Company as a 2020 World Changing Idea, Terramera is committed to reducing the global synthetic pesticide load 80% by 2030 to protect plant and human health and ensure an earth that thrives and provides for everyone. The privately-held, venture-backed company was founded in 2010 and has grown to include a world-class bench of engineers, scientists, advisors, and investors. Terramera is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with integrated operations in Canada, the US, and India that include research labs, a greenhouse and farm, and more than 240 patents in its global IP portfolio. For more information, please visit terramera.com

Cautionary statement on forward-looking information
 
Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to CubicFarms’ future partnership with Terramera; and the development of machine learning and AI capabilities by CubicFarms. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of CubicFarm Systems Corp., or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information including the Company obtaining the approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict", and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur, or be achieved.
 
These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except as required by securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if the Company's expectations regarding future events, performance, or results change.

Information contact:

cubicfarms.com

Kimberly Lim
VP, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Mobile: 236.858.6491
Office: 1.888.280.9076
Email: kimberly@cubicfarms.com