Smart Agriculture Startup Bowery Farming Hires A Google Veteran As CTO

BY AARON PRESSMAN

One goal of high-tech indoor farming startup Bowery Farming is to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance its crop yields and reduce costs. So the five-year-old Manhattan-based company has hired Google and Samsung veteran Injong Rhee as its new chief technology officer.

Rhee, who was previously Internet of Things VP at Google and chief technologist at Samsung Mobile, will focus on improving Bowery’s computer-vision system and other sensors that analyze when plants need water and nutrients, while also looking to apply the company’s accumulated historical data to new problems.

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Bowery grow room near Baltimore

“Agriculture is sitting at the crux of the world’s most challenging problems like food shortages, climate change, water shortages, a lack of arable space,” Rhee tells Fortune about his decision to join the startup. “These are very challenging problems, and all of these are relevant to what Bowery tackles every day. Any advances we make here lead to a better world.”

There’s also the matter of the kale, Rhee adds.

Bowery so far has focused on growing and selling green leafy vegetables like lettuce, arugula, and kale, though it aims to add other categories of produce soon. “It was an eye-popping experience,” Rhee says of his first time trying Bowery’s kale. “How can it be so sweet and so crunchy. That was amazing.”

The hire comes after a year of accelerated growth at Bowery, with retail sales at outlets like Whole Foods rising 600% and e-commerce sales via Amazon and others increasing fourfold, the company says, while declining to disclose its actual sales or production figures. With two large warehouse-size farms in operation, in New Jersey and Maryland, Bowery is on the verge of opening its third indoor growing center in Bethlehem, Pa. The startup claims its high-tech methods, though more expensive than growing outdoors, create farms that are more than 100 times as productive per square foot as traditional outdoor farms.

“COVID was an accelerator of trends,” Bowery CEO and founder Irving Fain says. The pandemic disrupted food supply chains stretching across the globe, giving an advantage to Bowery, which sells its produce within just a few hundred miles of each farm, he says. “That amplified and accelerated a trend towards simplifying supply chains, and creating a surety of supply.”

But Bowery also faces a host of competitors, from other indoor farming startups like AeroFarms and Gotham Greens, to more traditional ag companies like John Deere and Bayer’s Monsanto, all fueling a movement toward precision farming. If one-quarter of farms worldwide adopted precision agriculture using A.I. and other data-crunching methods by 2030, farmers’ annual expenses would decline by $100 billion, or as much as 4% of the sector’s total expenses, while saving water and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a recent study by McKinsey found.

Rhee spent 15 years as a professor of computer science at North Carolina State University, where he helped develop core Internet standards for transporting data at high speeds. He joined Samsung in 2011 where he helped lead a wide range of projects including the Bixby digital assistant, Knox security app, and Samsung Pay mobile payments service. He moved to Google in 2018 as an entrepreneur-in-residence to focus on Internet of Things projects.

Bowery has raised over $170 million in venture capital from a mix of tech figures like Amazon consumer CEO Jeff Wilke and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, well-known restaurateurs such as Tom Colicchio and David Barber, and venture capital firms including Temasek, GV, and General Catalyst.

CGTN Conversations: Chinese Firms Add Strength To Dubai's Future Tech Ecosystem

Abhishek G Bhaya

Over the decades, the Gulf city of Dubai has emerged as a land of innovation and a place where the future could be felt right now in the present. The city is actively encouraging global collaborations to drive innovation and future technology in the United Arab Emirates and internationally through its Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA) initiative that was launched in 2016 under the aegis of Dubai Future Foundation.

In recent years, many Chinese tech firms and start-ups – which are known for their technological prowess – have partnered with DFA to contribute to their mission of imagining, designing and co-creating solutions for future challenges.

One such successful initiative has come from Beijing-headquartered Alesca Life, an agro-tech company that is creating next-generation urban farming solutions that consume five per cent water and 30 per cent energy vis-à-vis conventional farming.

To get an overview of DFA's future innovation agenda and how Chinese firms are contributing in making that vision a reality, CGTN Digital's International Editor Abhishek G. Bhaya spoke with Faisal Al Hawi, the head of Accelerator and Incubators at the Dubai Future Foundation, and Stuart Oda, the founder and CEO of Alesca Life.

Al Hawi is responsible for creating a myriad of programs that connect different stakeholders, government and private, with innovative startups and companies from around the world to experiment with and making Dubai the testbed for future ideas.

Oda is an investment banker-turned- urban farmer with a passion for innovation and sustainability. He founded Alesca Life in 2013 with an aim to make food production more localized and data-driven.

Edited excerpts:

Bhaya: Faisal, please tell us a bit about the vision of the DFA initiative and what it aims to achieve and also some of the main areas and technologies it has tasted success in the past four years?

Al Hawi: Dubai Future Accelerators is an initiative that was born four years ago under the Dubai Future Foundation. The vision was pretty much straightforward – to put Dubai as a leading city of the world when it comes to technology innovation. Our mission is to turn Dubai into a global testbed for innovations and technologies. The DFA looks around for all the start-ups in the global scene, trying to understand the technology needs, the partner needs, the local ecosystem needs, and trying to bridge the gap between these two players of the market.

We do this in what we call the Area 2071, which is like the heart of our ecosystem in Dubai and we've had tremendous success. Throughout the four years, we've run eight cohorts, the eighth cohort is ongoing as we speak. We've engaged with more than 300 start-ups and over 60 pilot projects were produced out of DFA and more than 150 memoranda of understanding or commercial agreements were signed with different government entities and private sector partners.

Dubai Future Accelerators is positioned in a way that basically bridges the gap between the big players, be it government or private sector, and the start-up innovators from around the world.

Bhaya: How many Chinese firms and start-ups have availed the DFA program so far? Please name some of the major projects the Chinese entities have undertaken in the UAE as part of the DFA initiative.

Al Hawi: We've worked with Chinese companies ever since Cohort 1 back in 2016. So, Alesca Life is one of them. Shellpay, which was a fintech company working with the General Directorate of Immigration in Dubai, was another company. There was another company called Future Trends, working with Dubai Health Authority on medical imaging, and utilizing the technologies of AI and machine learning to optimize the diagnosis of late-stage cancers.

Yitu Technology is another Chinese AI-based company which worked very closely with [UAE's largest telecom service provider] Etisalat on solving some of their telecom related issues. So these are just to name a few companies that worked with us.

We really understand the strength Chinese ecosystem brings to our ecosystem. And I think we complement each other in a lot of areas.

Another example, broader than just Dubai Future Accelerators, is within Area 2071, where SenseTime actually has an office here, and they work very closely with the AI office, in a couple of strategic projects.

So, the partnership is growing stronger and stronger, year after year. And we definitely believe that there are areas specifically in the fourth industrial revolution technologies, blockchain, AI and IoT and the likes that we will definitely materialize more and more outcomes and success moving forward.

Bhaya: Stuart, what is the story behind Alesca Life?

Oda: Seven years ago, I started Alesca Life here in Beijing. The vision of the company is to democratize access to fresh and nutritious food by democratizing the means and the knowledge of production.

And the more research that I was doing, it became very clear that one of the most pressing challenges over the next decades wasn't so much actually related to connectivity, as these things were becoming easier with the proliferation of smartphones and computers, but access to fresh and nutritious food. And so, my team and I wanted to find a way in which we can make this access a lot easier. And wherever it made sense to localize that fresh food production, and wherever food production currently existed to make it more data driven.

So we set on this journey seven years ago, and we currently have our teams and offices across Japan, China, and the United Arab Emirates and we have partnerships across many more countries. We're developing precision farming tools to accomplish, to increase the productivity, the profitability, and the predictability of food production by up to 10 times.

Bhaya: The urban farming technologies including vertical farms and data-driven food production are certainly relevant for an arid region like the Arabian Peninsula. How did your partnership with DFA come about and what has been the journey like in the UAE for Alesca Life?

Oda: In 2016, our team was selected into the DFA program as part of Cohort 1. It was actually our first entry into the Gulf region. We knew that the technology had huge promise and potential in the region, and we wanted to make a serious commitment to the region. The DFA program was kind enough to offer us a spot in Cohort 1.

It has been hugely transformational in two ways. You know, the way in which business is done in the Middle East is very different. And to be able to have an organization like DFA, both providing the meaningful introductions, reducing some of the barriers related to the company's formation, and then also just the credibility that is bestowed on some of the companies that get to go through the program. All three of these things contributed enormously to our success in the region.

Through this program we've also been able to find meaningful strategic partnerships to mitigate some of the challenges related to concentration of supply chain, for example, even being in a place like China, to have manufacturing bases and other places in other countries, is beneficial for us.

So, right after the DFA program, we had an opportunity to localize the manufacturing of our container farm in the Emirates of Ajman in the UAE, so that we can serve our customers and our base in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and also to showcase our commitment to the region that we're not just there to sell our systems, but that we are there for the long term.

Bhaya: The year 2020 has been a watershed in many ways for the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reinforcing our increasing reliance on digital and AI technologies without which we can't imagine a future. How did the global crisis impact the long-term vision of DFA?

Al Hawi: The pandemic has definitely affected everyone. At DFA, we realized that innovation is the way to be resilient for the future, prepared for the future and understanding exactly the problems of today that potentially, and unfortunately, led us into the pandemic. We had just a very short drop-in time in which everybody had to just realign ourselves, and that was around March. But we immediately resumed back in October.

Not just the DFA, I think all the government entities, as well as start-ups, realized how important a role they play in this ecosystem. And Cohort 8, that is currently ongoing and will last until the end of March, is specifically looking at challenges that will basically be more specific around life after COVID.

I'll share a couple of examples. The Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is looking into new solutions of shared mobility. We are very much accustomed to the ride-hailing apps and public transport systems. But that has changed forever. So they (RTA) are really being proactive in trying to foresight what new models of public transport and shared mobility will be out there. And we're really excited to see what comes out as solutions in a couple of weeks' time.

Another entity which is really looking at how things might evolve in the health care sector is the Dubai Health Authority. They are focusing on preventive health care measures, solutions and products, but not only from a sense of being preventive or proactive but in a sense of also democratizing access to that device.

Bhaya: Food security is already a global concern and going to be a top challenge in the future. It did aggravate last year due to the supply-chain disruption caused by the pandemic. What are some of the innovative solutions that Alesca Life offers to meet this challenge and has COVID-19 triggered a sense of greater urgency?

Oda: This is a great point. Pre-pandemic, in 2018-19, a lot of the interest and investment from governments, companies and investors was in food tech, which was related to food delivery and meal kits at home. And it was really focused on one thing, which was consumer convenience. What has happened in 2020, with the pandemic and now that we're in 2021, is that the focus has shifted materially from food tech to agtech - agricultural technology, which is focused on resilience. It's about community resilience, as opposed to consumer convenience.

So, one of the solutions, the benefits or the outcomes of the pandemic, was a renewed interest in agtech. And by that, I mean, local food production is in control of your own supply chain for fresh and nutritious food. So, since the pandemic has happened, since the lockdowns have begun, I've probably spoken to individuals and government entities from over 30 countries that are interested in finding ways in which they can secure a minimum supply of local fresh food production in their own countries, in their own communities.

The shift has accelerated towards this localization, towards this decentralized form of food production that can happen almost anywhere. And one of the solutions that we're providing for this is to bundle all of our precision farming tools – our monitoring equipment, our automation systems, our farm management and software tools, and even our latest computer vision AI cameras – and bundle all these products together to create an incredibly capital efficient indoor farm. And this allows both governments, at large scale, and even community, at a smaller scale, to be able to be in control of their local food production needs.

Interviewer and script: Abhishek G Bhaya

Video editors: Meiyi Yan & Wu Chutian

Cover image: Du Chenxin

Infographics: Jia Jieqiong

Director: Mei Yan

Delivering The Optimal Growing Parameters

The Grobotic Systems team shows off an early prototype Grobotic chamber. From left to right: Gareth Coleman (Software Developer), Richard Banks (Chief Technology Officer), Dr Alexis Moschopoulos (Managing Director), and Andrew Merson (Mechanical Engineer). Credit: UKRI. 

Growing a new variety
Indoor farming has numerous growing parameters to take into account. Particularly when growing a new variety, all variables should be perfected in order to reach an optimum yield. In an indoor space, experimenting with these environmental parameters might, however, seem tricky. But what about trying out this environment in a smaller setting, such as an experimental growth chamber?

Alexis is fully aware of the challenges that vertical farmers face. The environmental control needs to be as precise as possible, as the effect of different light spectra or nutrients may have a significant impact on crop yield and quality. With this challenge in mind, Grobotic Systems brings a new solution to the market: a compact and highly instrumented growth chamber. “It’s an experimental chamber rather than a farming chamber. Therefore, you won’t use it to grow vegetables, but you can use it to identify which growing parameters are best suited to your crops,” Alexis says.

The Grobotic Systems team outside their workshop in Sheffield, England. From left to right: Dr Alexis Moschopoulos, Richard Banks, Andrew Merson, and Gareth Coleman. Credit: UKRI.

On your desk or under your bench 
According to Alexis, the chamber fits on your desk or under your bench. It can apply any environmental condition preferred, including light spectra and temperature. Internet connection via the growth chambers allows users to monitor plants on their cellphones via integrated cameras and other sensors inside the chamber.

Another advantage of the chambers’ size is that they can be stacked in an array, adjusting variables in each chamber. In this way, a multi-variable experiment can help users identify which environment works most optimally for their intended crop. “When using a large cultivation room, it is hard to split the room into different temperatures. A smaller cultivation space, such as our growth chambers, can be placed anywhere, just like a personal computer. Moving away from the large expensive capital equipment and machinery to small and stackable experimental chambers saves a lot of space and money.”

Alexis first came up with the concept of the growth chamber during his PhD and postdoctoral work in plant genetics. Several prototypes are currently being used at research institutes and start-up companies. Grobotic Systems is working on a more advanced growth chamber that will be launched in the summer of 2021: “We are integrating feedback from the deployed prototypes into the design of the advanced chamber, and we will start marketing the advanced chamber later this year.”

Richard Banks designs a control system circuit board for an early prototype Grobotic chamber. Credit: UKRI. 

Large-scale farms
Not only new farmers can benefit from running small-scale experiments in a growth chamber, but also large-scale, established farms, since the chamber allows them to experiment with new varieties, creating the optimal yield. This will in turn enable them to upscale their production. “Not all farmers like to invest their time in carrying out experiments, as some trust that the vertical farming technologies they buy will always work for them. However, in the end it could save them a lot of money. No one needs to use productive farm space to do the experiments, just a few manageable boxes can suffice.”

Gareth Coleman works on the chamber imaging and control systems. Credit: UKRI. 

For more information:

Grobotic Systems
Dr Alexis Moschopoulos, Managing Director alexis@groboticsystems.com 
www.groboticsystems.com 

Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com

Columbia Vertical Farm Uses Technology To Cut Plastic Pollution And Boost Sustainability

BY LAURRYN SALEM

Vertical Roots is the largest hydroponic container farm in the country. They grow and package lettuce varieties and have recently implemented a packaging process that reduces plastic with a resealable film. TRACY GLANTZ TGLANTZ@THESTATE.COM

With the use of agricultural technology, Vertical Roots farm in West Columbia created a packaging system for its leafy greens that cut down the company’s plastic usage by 30% and extends the shelf life of the lettuce.

In 2015, high school friends Andrew Hare and Matt Daniels created the idea for Vertical Roots, now the largest hydroponic container farm in the country. Hare is the general manager of the company and Daniels acts as the chief horticulturist.

The first Vertical Roots opened in Charleston and expanded with its second farm site in West Columbia in 2019. Vertical Roots parent company, AmplifiedAg, manufactures the container farms and farm technology of which Vertical Roots operates.

The farms are part of a growing industry called controlled environmental agriculture (CEA) that uses technology to ramp up nutrient-rich food production year around.

Hydroponics helps the farm uses 98% less water than traditional farming, according to Hare. Their technology creates an indoor environment to grow lettuce on the East Coast. Most lettuce in the U.S. comes from California and Arizona, where temperatures do not fluctuate much throughout the year, travelling 2,000 miles from farm to table. Vertical Roots offers a solution for local lettuce.

“Our mission is to revolutionize the way communities grow, distribute and consume food,” said Hare. As populations grow, Hare said the ability to produce enough food is a global concern.

VERTICAL ROOTS AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION

As a company committed to sustainability, Vertical Roots had to address its plastic usage and the consumer demand for environmentally friendly products.

“I think everyone can agree that the amount of plastic that’s consumed and used globally is a bit of a problem,” said Hare.

If Vertical Roots were to completely opt-out of using plastics, as much as 40% of the lettuce would be damaged in transportation to the retailers, Hare said. So the company decided to still use plastic containers in order to cut out food waste, but it changed the amount and type of plastic used.

By replacing the conventional “clamshell” plastic lids that you see on a container of lettuce at the grocery store, Vertical Roots cut down more than 30% of plastic usage by creating a resealable film lid. The new packaging comes at no extra cost to the customer and will be cheaper in the long-run for Vertical Roots, according to Hare.

The farm also uses recycled plastic that can also be recycled again after use. Tiny perforations in the film lid of the packaging allow air to leave the lettuce container and extends the product’s freshness, making Vertical Roots lettuce last around 14 days on the shelf.

“We tested respiration and condensation with each lettuce variety, and ultimately found that we could extend the freshness and shelf life of our salad mixes even more,” said Hare.

Vertical Roots, at the S.C. Farmer’s Market, is the largest hydroponic container farm in the country. They grow and package lettuce varieties. Tracy Glantz TGLANTZ@THESTATE.COM

GROWTH IN THE AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

In the first three quarters of 2020, a record $754 million of venture capital was invested in the vertical farming industry, according to PitchBook data. This was a 34% increase from the entire previous year, Bloomberg reported in a January article.

A 2019 report from Global Market Insights showed that the vertical farming market size, or the number of potential customers or unit sales, surpassed $3 billion in 2018 and said it, “will exhibit a massive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 27% from 2019 to 2026.”

In vertical farms, crops are harvested on several vertical layers indoors, where farmers can grow year-round by controlling light, temperature, water and other factors, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Vertical agriculture is also seen as a growing industry because it “could help increase food production and expand agricultural operations as the world’s population is projected to exceed 9 billion by 2050,” according to the USDA.

However, some are skeptical about the future of vertical farming for several reasons. The farms use LED light bulbs to grow crops, which require a lot of energy and money to operate.

Also, the farms mostly produce greens, which are low in calories because they take less water and light. The new farming technology is marketed as a way to combat world hunger, but in poorer countries, low-calorie greens are not as beneficial, according to Bloomberg.

THE FUTURE OF VERTICAL ROOTS

Despite a tough year due to COVID-19, Vertical Roots will open two more indoor, container farms in Georgia and Florida in 2021.

The company lost revenue from foodservice customers like restaurants, schools and universities during the pandemic, said Hare.

Those food service customers accounted for about half of Vertical Roots’ business, Hare said. Grocery store business stayed steady and even grew during the pandemic. As schools and restaurants are slowly reopening, Vertical Roots is gaining business back.

The West Columbia farm location produces about $1.5 million pounds of produce per year, said Hare. Vertical Roots lettuce is in 1,200 different grocery stores in 11 states, including Lowes Foods stores, Publix, Harris Teeter and Whole Foods Market chains.

Hare said the company is constantly working on sustainable initiatives, including figuring out a way to reduce light energy consumption by 20-25%, thinking about compostable packaging systems and finding ways to use less water at the farms.

In the future, Vertical Roots hopes to offer a larger variety of produce. The team is experimenting with growing foods like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs and mushrooms to see if they could be viable products.

Play VideoDuration 1:25This tunnel farm could be the future of agriculture

At 25,000 square feet, the world's first indoor vertical farm is also one of the largest farms. Located 120 miles south of Seoul, South Korea, fruits and vegetables grow without soil, bathed in light from pink LEDs. BY META VIERS

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Vertical Roots, at the S.C. Farmer’s Market, is the largest hydroponic container farm in the country. They grow and package lettuce varieties. TRACY GLANTZ TGLANTZ@THESTATE.COM

Plants Talk: Creating The Perfect Environment For Growth

Nate Klingler

It is well known that plants grow best when the weather is just right. Traditional farming methods have developed ways to combat mother nature by using an abundance of water, pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. Crops are also transported, typically from California to Arizona, in the Fall and Winter months due to the changes in climate at that time of year. While these methods can help us adapt and grow crops in less than ideal conditions, they present potential problems, from resource consumption to introducing bacteria and disease into the crop. At Living Greens Farm, we have developed the perfect environment for our plants.

Hi, I’m Michelle Keller, Head Grower at Living Greens Farm. If you’ve been following along, you’ve seen how our non-GMO seeds grow into seedlings and eventually move from the nursery into our grow rooms. We recently showed you how we use 95% less water with our trolly mist system. But there’s more to growing the greatest greens on the planet than just using less water. Things like temperature, light, and air affect the plant’s growth.

Temperature is an easy element to control when you grow indoors. As the world’s largest indoor aeroponic farm, we have the responsibility to ensure that our grow rooms are highly regulated. That is why we continually monitor the temperature, not just for the health of our plants, but to make sure our energy consumption is at a responsible level. 

Creating the Perfect Taste

We grow indoors to regulate the perfect amount of light given to the plants at just the right time. Our technology utilizes low energy LED lights that simulate sunlight and allow the plants to perform photosynthesis without being overwhelmed. This is one of the reasons our plants are known for their color and flavor. We’ve harnessed the energy of the sun and we give it to our plants right when they need the energy. 

And we wouldn’t be an aeroponic farm without harnessing the power of the air. Our plants are grown in vertical grow racks and are challenged with the force of air which makes them stronger. When people eat Living Greens Farm salads for the first time, we are often asked how our greens are so crisp. Well, it’s because we grow our plants to be the strongest they can be.

Bringing Mother Nature Indoors

Controlling mother nature will always be a losing battle for traditional farmers. As the next generation of farming, we’ve brought mother nature indoors and can control the elements to grow the tastiest, healthiest greens on the planet.

VIDEO: Potato Seeds Made Without Soil With Little Help From Peru

Parveen Arora

Potato Technology Centre, (PTC) Shamgarh, in the district in collaboration with Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) in Shimla and International Potato Centre (CIP), Peru, has started producing potato seeds in the air with the help of aeroponic technique.

Scientists show a potato breed at Potato Technology Centre at Shamgarh village in Karnal district. Sayeed Ahmed

In this technique, there is no need for soil and other growing media like coco-peat for production. The scientists say that in aeroponics technique, potato seeds are grown in mist environment. They claim potato seeds grown through this technology are free from soil-borne diseases.

“We have started the process of growing minituber (potato seed) plants with the help of aeroponic technique. It is the latest technique for growing plants and potato seed production in an air or mist environment. There is no need for soil and this technology is free from soil-borne diseases,” said Dr Prem Chand Sindhu, Deputy Director, PTC, Shamgarh.

He maintained that they have established three units which have the capacity to grow 10 lakh minitubers in one crop cycle which is for three months. The scientists claimed that the production of seeds through this technique is much higher than conventional methods.

Dr Manish Sainger, the senior consultant at PTC, said that on an average, 30 minitubers and maximum 50-60 minitubers can be obtained from each plant. He said that through this technique, 7-10 times more minitubers can be obtained in comparison to conventional methods like net-house or open field.

About the technology, Dr Sainger said they planted tissue culture plants in the grow chambers which have pipes and nozzles for mist spray on the roots of the plant. “The roots of the plant hang in the air in the chamber and all the nutrients are provided through the mist, which consists of all the required elements for plant growth and tuberisation, periodically. The upper part of plant remains at the top of the chamber,” he added. He said that the size of minitubers is uniform at 3-4 gm.

Dr Sainger said it is easy to transport minitubers at minimal cost. “These seeds will be given to growers at subsidised rates by the Department of Horticulture. Later, seed growers will cultivate these seeds in the soil for the multiplication of seeds.”

FREE WEBINAR: CEO Panelists To Discuss "How To Get Indoor Farm Up and Running" on July 22, 2020 @ 2 PM EST

Leaders From Kalera, Vertical Harvest, Artesian Farms, & Danforth Plant Science Center Join Indoor Ag-Conversations Webinar Series

LAS VEGAS (July 13, 2020) –Whether just starting out or looking for fresh new ideas to bolster a current operation, the CEO panelists joining the July 22, 2020, Indoor Ag-Conversations free webinar series from Indoor Ag-Con will offer participants a wealth of business-building ideas to get a farm going and growing.  Moderated by Claire Kinlaw, Director of Innovation Commercialization, The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, "How To Get An Indoor Farm Up & Running" webinar panelists include Daniel Malechuk, CEO, Kalera; Nona Yehia, CEO & Co-Founder, Vertical Harvest; and Milan Kluko, CEO, Artesian Farms LLC.

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During the 60-minute session, the panel will cover a number of topics and issues like:

• Crops: types, traits, sourcing

• Customers: profiles, targets, buying interests

• Selling: direct to consumer, distributors, grocery chains

• Technology: what’s best suited for geography, crop, scales of production

• Founding Team Skills: technical, agronomic, sales/marketing, biology/genetics

• CapEx – How and where to access funds to get established

Indoor Ag-Conversation webinars are free to industry members. To register for the upcoming July 22, 2020 session, visit www.indoor.ag/webinar. Indoor Ag-Conversations presenters include:

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Claire Kinlaw, Director of Innovation Commercialization, Danforth Plant Science Center --Claire combines science research and business knowledge along with experience with startup companies to support commercialization of innovative technologies in agriculture. She began work at the Danforth Center in February of 2019. She promotes the commercial impact of the Center’s intellectual property through such activities as patent filing, license agreements, and oversite for an innovation incubation program (IN2, funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation). IN2 accelerates early-stage agriculture technologies into the market through the execution of validating research for companies in collaboration with the Danforth Center.

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Daniel Malechuk, CEO, Kalera -- A food industry veteran, Daniel Malechuk has spent his career managing and growing several of the world’s leading food, grocery, and produce companies. As a leader in the industry, Daniel has worked in both sales and supply chain optimization and has built sustainability programs for companies such as Shamrock Foods, Kalera HyCube, Keysource Foods, and ALDI. While at Shamrock Foods, Malechuk led the retail division and drove explosive revenue and profitability growth and expansion across the Southwest. Daniel also served as Vice President at Keysource Foods, where he led company strategy and sales operations and negotiated contracts with some of the world’s largest food companies, including ConAgra, Carnival Corporation, PF Chang’s, ALDI, and Sysco.

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Nona Yehia, Co-Founder & CEO, Vertical Harvest  -- Nona Yehia is uniquely positioned in the vertical farming sphere. She is at once a practicing Architect and the Co-Founder and CEO of the 1st vertical hydroponic greenhouse in the United States. Vertical Harvest of Jackson Hole is a cutting-edge commercial-scale greenhouse that not only grows food for communities, in communities~ but futures for those who need it most.

Following her passion for local food and experiences growing up with a brother with developmental disabilities, Nona conceived of a three-story hydroponic greenhouse that employs people with developmental disabilities while producing local food for the community year-round.  In 2016 Vertical Harvest opened its doors.

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Milan Kluko, CEO & Co-Founder, Artesian Farms LLC & Berrien Processing Solutions (BPS) -- Milan Kluko has been in the environmental engineering, alternative energy, agriculture, and solid waste industry as an engineering consultant, developer, vendor, and technology supplier for 38 years. For nearly four decades he has worked on developing recycling and solid waste reduction programs, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and low impact development projects worldwide. From 2001-2015 Mr. Kluko worked on worldwide projects as a sustainability consultant for the Coca Cola Company. During the past several decades his focus has been primarily on “project-based” assignments gaining significant expertise with a wide variety of environmental, agriculture, alternative energy, and recycling systems starting in 1982.

Indoor Ag-Con LLC created the new Indoor Ag-Conversations series to share content originally planned for its May 2020 in-person annual conference that was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. More details on the upcoming and future sessions, as well as recordings of previous webinars, are available at  www.indoor.ag/webinar. 

ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON LLC
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con touches 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 – purchased Indoor Ag-Con LLC, setting the stage for further expansion of the events globally. For more information, visit: www.indoor.ag

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"Vertical Farming Is A Great Answer For Food Security Worldwide"

“Vertical farming is a great answer for food security worldwide, especially in locations where the climate makes it hard to grow plants in or in megacities.”, says Gabriele Puccetti with the Goat Project.

ENVI-BIO VF module
Their product ENVI-BIO VF is a newly patented vertical farming system, now in line for funding to start agronomic testing and the industrialization of the module. The module has multiple floors that provide plants with everything they need: water, nutrients, lights (LED), pumps, sensors, WI-FI communication, and a pH corrector. The module itself is a micro, self-sufficient vertical farm.

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The all-inclusive costs are $590 per net vegetative square meter. The production costs for lettuce, when energy costs $100 per MWh, are 0.29 per head and 1.93 per kilogram. 21,000 tons per year can be harvested out of 15,000 square meters, per year, and 105,000 tons from 75,000 square meters. “This is why we are a revolution in industrial vertical farming.”

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Dubai EXPO 2021
When the tests have been done and the system is ready to be sold in the industry, in the first year a demo plant close to the EXPO 2020 location in Dubai will be set up. Here, people who are interested in vertical farming can visit it and see the machine at work.

Challenges and opportunities
The biggest challenge for vertical farmers is the high production cost due to the high investment and electricity needs and labour costs. Over the last years, many solutions have come to the market, many of them with a lot of financial help from venture capitalists.

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There is a big market for vertically produced products, so it’s easier for farmers to enter this market. “We have an innovative solution to lower the area and maximize the production, so we lower the production costs. All this thanks to a low-cost structure, automation, and no workers needed inside.”

For more information:
The Goat Vision Holding
Gabriele Puccetti
+39 3922730361
+96 0958999
tgp@thegoatproject.bio 
gabriele.puccetti@themaldivianalliance.mv 

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Publication date: Tue 30 Jun 2020
Author: Marlies Guiljam
© HortiDaily.com

The FarmTech Society (FTS) Held Its Second Constitutional Annual General Meeting (Virtually) on June 24th, 2020

The Farm Tech Society (FTS) is an international non-profit industry association that unites and supports the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry, seeking to strengthen the sector through the development and implementation of resilient and future proof methods and technologies for indoor growing.

The FarmTech Society is enlisted in the EU Transparency Register with #469686733585-87

The FarmTech Society (FTS) held its second constitutional annual general meeting (virtually) on June 24th, 2020. FTS members elected a new board of directors, who in turn appointed the new advisory board. The new boards are elected for a period of two years. The board of directors also appointed the daily management team. The election was held electronically and independently third-party verified.

Newly elected Chairman Ian Kanski commented “Thanks to the excellent work of FarmTech Society’s founding board and members, the organization is well-positioned for growth and impact in 2020. This is an important time for all regions to be investing in sustainable localized food and circular agriculture. Our new leadership team is committed to supporting the quality, safety, and education initiatives that will drive the adoption of Controlled Environment Agriculture globally.”

The election results were as follows:

New Board of Directors

Chairman:          Ian Kanski                                Harrisburg University

INTAG Systems

Vice-chair:          Nicole Thorpe                               Cultinova

Vice-chair:          Tisha Livingston                           Infinite Acres

Director:             Marinus Luiten                               Priva Group

Director:             Alina Zolotareva                             Aerofarms

Director:             Nico Domurath                               Frauenhofer Institute

Director:             Andrew Blume                                Symphony Agtech

Director:             Wythe Marschall                            Ph.D. candidate,

Harvard University                          

Director:             Stefan Frey                                      FREYconsult

Honorary:          Gus Van der Feltz                            (founding member)

 The appointments by the Board of Directors were as follows:

New Advisory board:

              Edwin Vanlaerhoven                                                   Certhon

              Maren Schoormanns                                                 Viscon Group

              Chante Van der Walt                                                   Candidate Full Stack

Developer Udemy

              Marvin Boell                                                                 TüVSüd

              Enrico Costanzo                                                          Cerial Docks

               Stefanie Linzer.                                                           Valoya

              Pierre Grootscholten                                                 Grootscholten

Consultancy

              Kyle Barnett                                                                  HortAmericas

              Franc Bogovic                                                              Finance.Brussels

              Yanni Garcia                                                                 (founding member)

              Penny McBride                                                            (founding member)

              Adam Rosenbaum                                                     (founding member)

Daily management:

Secretary-General:        Thomas Zoellner            (founding member)

Treasurer:                         Stefan Frey                         FREYconsult

Communication:             Mark Horler             Soya Project / UKUAT

Legal counsel                  Stanislas Demeestere   European Future Forum

Are There Really Little Bugs in Your Strawberries?

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May 22, 2020

The internet is freaking out about a TikTok video (and accompanying Buzzfeed article) showing what appears to be little worm-like bugs crawling out of fresh strawberries soaked in saltwater. Is this for real? Have we been unknowingly enjoying larvae in our triple-berry parfaits? Should we just never eat fruit again? I talked to some experts to find out.

Here’s the short answer: this is a real thing that can happen, but it’s not common. And neither the food safety experts nor the bug experts advise washing your fruit in saltwater.

What is actually happening in this video?

Krista Torres, who made the video, writes: “I filled a bowl with room temperature water, poured in a shit ton of sea salt (like five large spoonfuls), put the strawberries in, and waited about 30 minutes.” She then notes little white wormy things crawling out of the strawberries and concludes that they are the larvae of spotted-wing fruit flies, Drosophila suzukii.

It’s not clear from the video whether she’s identified the species correctly, but more about that in a minute.

The saltwater soak is actually a technique that growers and wholesalers use to check for fly larvae in berries, entomologist Hannah Burrack told me. She helps berry farmers with pest management at North Carolina State University. Berries are sold from growers to wholesalers (who package them into those clamshell boxes) and from there, resold to supermarkets. “If [the wholesalers] find larvae in the fruit coming from the grower, they will send all of that fruit from that grower right on back,” says Burrack.

Since they only test a sample of the fruit in each shipment, there’s no guarantee that the rest of the berries are larvae-free, but the general idea here is to minimize the chances of any bug-filled berries making it into the supply chain

.Are there bugs like this in all strawberries?

No. But there are probably bugs in some strawberries.

You know fruit flies, right? Those little tiny guys that show up around overripe fruit you’ve left on your counter too long? They’re often Drosophila melanogaster or Drosophila simulans, Burrack says if not one of their relatives. The adults, which you’ve seen and swatted away a million times, reproduce by laying their near-microscopic eggs in the soft parts of the fruit. The eggs hatch into itty-bitty larvae—aka maggots—which look exactly like the “worms” in the TikTok video. Eventually the larvae grow bigger and turn into flies, and the circle of life repeats.

Usually you find these guys in fruit that’s damaged or overripe, but there is a species called Drosophila suzukii that uses a saw-toothed ovipositor (a, uh, butt spike) to inject its eggs into fresh berries while the fruit is still growing on the plant.

As the Buzzfeed article puts it, “the females shoot their eggs into the interior of fruits that are just beginning to ripen, especially blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. MEANING THESE BUGS ARE LIKELY IN ALL BERRIES!”But Burrack tells me that there’s no way to know whether the larvae in the video are D. suzukii, since all Drosophila larvae look alike. And since growers and wholesalers do their best to keep D. suzukii out of the food supply, it’s not very likely: These larvae could just as well be from a fruit fly that was buzzing around the grocery store or Krista Torres’ kitchen.

Would it be harmful to accidentally eat these bugs?

Nope. The idea they are lurking within your berries may be unappetizing, but they’re not going to hurt you. “You can eat them, but kinda gross,” says Ben Chapman, a food safety specialist from North Carolina State University.“‘Natural’ protein,” tweeted food safety specialist Courtney Crist when I asked about it.“If you’re eating berries I would assume you have probably eaten these at one point,” says entomologist Joe Ballenger.

Excuse me, bugs in food are grossA valid point. But since you brought it up: This is nothing new. Did you know that vegetables are grown outside, in dirt, and that there are lots of bugs out there? Ballenger casually mentioned he’d picked a plant bug (that is, I am not joking, its actual name) out of his lettuce recently. Plant bugs inject their saliva into leaves and then suck out the resulting slurry. You have probably eaten a lot of plant bug spit.

Similarly, Chapman noted that worms in fresh fish are so common, sushi restaurants are required to freeze raw fish before serving it to kill any worms. Which mean the worms are still there, they’re just dead.I could go on, but I won’t. Suffice it to say, you’ve probably eaten a lot of things you’d rather not think about. Or as Ballenger puts it: “If you look too closely at it, pretty much anything is gross.”

Okay, so what should I actually do with my strawberries?

Everybody I talked to said the same thing: you don’t need to soak them in saltwater or do anything special. A regular rinse is fine.

Burrack points out that you should keep your berries in the fridge. This makes them last longer and it keeps them away from the fruit flies buzzing around your counter. Bonus:  After three days of refrigeration, any fruit fly eggs or larvae in your berries will likely be dead, at least.

All the classic strawberry-keeping advice still applies, the other biggie being to not wash your berries until you’re ready to eat them. Washing can damage the berries slightly, creating opportunities for mold and microbes to get under the skin. So just take the handful of berries you intend to eat, wash those, and leave the rest in the fridge until next time.

Beth Skwarecki Posts Email Twitter

Beth is Lifehacker's Senior Health Editor. She has written about health and science for over a decade, including two books: Outbreak! and Genetics 101. Her Wilks score is 302.

Lead Photo: Shutterstock

Filed to: FOOD SAFETY

Babylon Micro-Farms On Why Controlled Environmental Agriculture Will Revolutionize Food Security

Indoor Farming Will Drive

A Post-Pandemic Food Supply Reset

ALEXANDER OLESEN

JUNE 12, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is shining a harsh and revealing spotlight on the fragility of our food supply. We can thank a globalized and fragile food supply chain for the empty grocery shelves, rising food prices, desperate farmers, and ominous indications of future food disruptions. The coronavirus pandemic is a historic anomaly we have not experienced in our living history and its effect on our food supply cannot be dismissed. It has taken what had been warnings and made them a reality. But, there is a silver lining in the chaos of our new food reality. Consumer and institutional interest in sustainable food production were growing by leaps and bounds before COVID-19. In the pandemic, we are primed to make real, significant changes. The controlled environment agriculture industry -- solutions as wide-ranging as solar-powered greenhouse growing; hydroponics and aeroponics; vertical farms have grown under LED lights in warehouses; and freight containers or refrigerator-size growing units -- will be an essential part of the sustainable food economy of the future. 

Complicated Supply Chains and Food Waste Threaten Our Food Sovereignty

Watching the videos of farmers dumping mountains of zucchini, truckloads of milk and fruit and crops rotting in fields while desperate Americans line up for miles at food banks has been heartbreaking and unsettling. But as shocking as that is, food waste is by no means a new problem. Over ninety-five percent of our leafy greens are grown in California and Arizona. From this drought-threatened region, fragile leafy greens are shipped to multiple distribution points across the U.S., before they finally reach consumers' fridges and then – maybe – their plate. Even once fresh food purchases make it to our homes, consumers alone experience up to 50 percent spoilage. Combine that with unexpected distribution disruptions – as COVID 19 has so recently amplified and we have experienced many times before via foodborne illness outbreaks or climate-change-related weather events – what you get is a highly inefficient process, wasting food that consumers desperately need, and highly vulnerable to food security disruptions that have a nationwide impact.

Reducing transportation miles eliminates a lot of production problems. The more areas growing more food closer to the end consumer results in a more resilient system. It also means a wider selection of fragile fresh greens become viable commercial crops because they can be harvested and consumed quickly. Many biodiverse crop varieties with unique flavors, textures, and nutritional profiles don’t hold up to the long transport miles and processing techniques of industrial agriculture, but with local production, these varieties can become available to consumers again.

Efficient Indoor farming requires a controlled environment. That means we can control insects, diseases and pathogens in a way that simply isn’t possible in large-scale outdoor production methods. This gives us more variability in varieties we can grow — including non-GMO and heirloom cultivars grown without human and earth-damaging pesticides — to produce the freshest and more nutritional food we can. And it puts us incredibly close to the consumer.

In the case of Babylon Micro-Farms, our ‘food miles” are literally as far as it takes to harvest it from one of our on-site micro-farms, plate it up and sit down to eat. The fewer food miles we have to worry about, the more flexibility we have in what can be grown and eaten locally. And the more we can spend our resources working to grow healthy, locally abundant food rather than transportation costs growing crops that were bred to be shipped, not necessarily eaten. 

The 21st Century Needs a “Digital Victory Garden” Renaissance 

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When things really go south, basic needs remain. Food is a big one. That’s why — after the toilet paper panic resided — so many rushed to buy seeds, plant a garden and grow their own food. It is reminiscent of the “Victory Gardens,” the backyard home kitchen gardens, of our last food crises — WWI, the Depression, and WWII — when Americans produced as much as 40 percent of our fresh fruits and vegetables from their own gardens. But today’s world is vastly different from the Victory Garden era of our grandparents. Fifty-five percent of the world’s population currently live in an urban area. That figure is expected to grow to nearly two-thirds over the next thirty years. People in the 21st century don’t have access to a plot of land like their grandparents had. Nor do they have the knowledge or the time to grow food in the traditional ways.

Food is consumed in different ways as well. Once the ‘shelter-in-place’ orders are lifted, we can assume that eating outside of one’s home — in lunch-room business cafeterias, on-the-go, in restaurants, and even when at home, via prepared meals or food kits — will resume, as will financial pressures. Very few families will be able to afford to have a ‘homemaker’ sitting at home making the daily bread from scratch and canning the bumper crop of green beans. Yet, we still need a way to have more control over our own food. And we need to shorten our supply chains to build up resilient, localized foodsheds for our urban populations. But we won’t be able to do it the same way our grandparents did. Luckily, we do have advantages they didn’t — technology, data collection, and analysis. That’s where indoor, controlled environment vertical farms come into play. We are the “Digital Victory Gardens” of the future.

It Will Take Baby Steps, and Many Innovative Solutions, to Reframe our Food Supply 

Just a few years ago indoor hydroponic or aeroponic farming under LED lights was perceived as an impractical solution for food production, cost-prohibitive, and unable to produce significant yields. That didn’t stop those of us who saw the potential to develop technology to improve efficiency, increase yields, and ultimately transform this fringe method of crop cultivation into a mainstream industry that future generations can rely on for their fresh produce.

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As our technology and expertise evolves, the cost of production is falling and the knowledge and ability to grow more crops more efficiently in indoor environments is increasing. We are also finding different ways to serve different market sectors with a year-round supply of fresh produce, all via indoor farming solutions. The AeroFarms, Plenty, and Bowerys of the world, with their impressively large warehouses stacked sky-high with leafy greens, are serving the wholesale grocery market needs of their local foodsheds. Whereas here at Babylon Micro-Farms we focus on hyper-local vertical ‘micro-farms.’ We are the vertical farm equivalent of locally controlled, small-scale food production. Only we do it via a remotely managed, data-driven, resource-efficient core technology platform. 

Babylon was founded on the principles of developing integrated technology to address the missing link that makes vertical farming inaccessible to most communities and organizations. Our belief is that there is a significant untapped opportunity in creating smaller-scale modular indoor farming solutions that can “plug in” to existing food supply chains. However, in order for these solutions to work, they needed to be powered by a comprehensive operating system that enables all of the technical and operational expertise to be outsourced and controlled remotely through the cloud with a meal-prep style subscription of growing supplies delivered as needed to each farm installation. Our modular controlled environment farms can be placed in almost any business lunchroom, healthcare or educational cafeteria or group-living situation like retirement communities. The service is designed to allow anyone to successfully ‘grow their own food’ indoors by supporting them with on-demand delivery of supplies, a Guided Growing app and a remote-managed system. The operating system we have developed is designed to support a range of modular systems and the data we collect allows us to continually refine the user experience, improve yields, and make this kind of crop cultivation accessible to those who need it most.

The point is vertical indoor controlled environment farming is not a one size fits all solution. That’s the beauty of it. There are countless ways this new technology can (and will be) adapted to fit the many needs of our world’s food system. But it’s not just indoor farming innovations that will revolutionize our food system. We are part of a bigger ecosystem that includes innovations like plant-based protein, advances in solar and wind power, robotics, AI technology and carbon-based, and regenerative farming techniques. Together, we are already disrupting the food system as we currently know it. After the COVID 19 coronavirus pandemic recedes, we will completely reshape it.

Don’t Dismiss the Power of Being Involved in Food Production

At Babylon Micro-Farms our ‘micro-farm’ indoor growing technology puts units right in front of the consumers that have the novel experience of watching and monitoring the food they will eat being grown in real-time. This has given us a unique perspective on the psychological power of keeping people involved in the process of growing their own food, like those old Victory Gardens of old. But in new, novel ways. Our technology takes what had seemed strange and novel and makes it accessible to people without the need for horticulture experience. Our customers have responded with immense excitement, pride, and, most notably, strong interest in more sustainable solutions.

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This feedback has made it obvious to us just how important it is that we include consumers in the food-growing technology of the future. Removing the people from the process of growing the food they consume was a massive mistake that our current food system made and has paid for. The ‘digital’ food solutions of the future must involve consumers, businesses, and institutions as much as possible in the process of growing their own food. Babylon Micro-Farms technology is uniquely positioned to do just this. But other solutions can find similar opportunities. 

It is crucial that we begin giving businesses and their consumers more control over, and more experiences with, how their food is grown. This exposure will lead to people embracing even more sustainable food innovations. We must not leave the end consumer out of the equation.

If we look back in human history there are obvious inflection points. Culturally, economically and psychologically, humans reached a point where they were primed to make giant leaps forward as a society. Among these major shifts are the transition from fragmented hunter-gatherer paradigms to agriculture-based societies, the industrial revolution and the creation of a factory-based economy, and the technological revolution with its modus operandi of data-based solutions.

We are at the precipice of a food renaissance that will completely change how we produce food over the next few decades. Here at Babylon Micro-Farms, we strive to be a leader in this imminent revolution.

https://www.babylonmicrofarms.com/

AeroFarms Recognized by Fast Company For Third Consecutive Year

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Inside AeroFarms

Photo courtesy of AeroFarms

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The vertical farm operation was recognized by the magazine as a 'World Changing Idea.

May 2, 2020

Posted by Chris Manning

Per a press release, AeroFarms has been recognized in Fast Company's World Changing Ideas package for the third year in a row. The company placed in four categories: General Excellence, AI & Data, food and space, and places and cities. AeroFarms was a finalist in both the General Excellence and AI & Data and an honorable mention in the food and spaces and places and cities categories. 

AeroFarms' announcement read as follows:

"Our mission is to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, and we are honored to be recognized among a group of trailblazing companies working to change the world. At AeroFarms, we have developed our own patented indoor vertical farming technology to completely transform the way fresh, safe, healthy, and tasty food is grown at scale. We are not just a farm–we are a group of full-stack, world-class experts where horticulture intersects with engineering, food safety, data science, and nutrition, giving us the unique capability to understand plant biology in an unprecedented way.

In addition to being recognized for our innovative use of AI & Data to grow our plants, we are proud to be recognized for our commitment to revitalizing Spaces, Places & Cities, and bringing green jobs and fresh food to cities. Each of our farms has a unique story breathing new life into abandoned buildings. One of our commercial farms and corporate HQ is built on the site of a former abandoned steel mill in an industrial section of Newark, NJ.

And it doesn’t stop there — we are working with top tastemakers and chefs like David Chang, and leading researchers at Cornell and Rutgers and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research on cutting-edge science to create the next generation of Food that has greatest nutrient-density and flavor around…and the results have been absolutely delicious." 

Tags: Vertical farms  Indoor agriculture Technology

Kalera Leads The Way In Agritechnology At The Largest Hydroponic Vertical Farm In The Southeastern U.S.

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April 15th, 2020

UPDATE: 05/07/20

Kalera has re-opened operations at the HyCube facility at the Marriott World Center.

Kalera has turned farming on its head – literally. Based in Orlando, its team of science- and technology-driven horticulturists leverage cleanroom technology, artificial intelligence, the internet-of-things and data analytics to cultivate sustainably grown, fresh produce in vertical hydroponic farms.

Kalera’s co-founders came to Orlando in 2007 with the lofty goal of growing enough produce locally to feed the entire city. In 2018, they opened Kalera’s first hydroponic vertical farm, the HyCube at Orlando World Center Marriott.* The HyCube epitomizes farm-to-table dining, producing 200,000 heads of lettuce each year just a 20 feet away from the hotel kitchen, where guests enjoy lettuce and microgreens cultivated from the hydroponic vertical farm. It’s also eye-catching; through larger-than-life glass walls, visitors can see bright green lettuce peeking over the side of vertical towers stacked floor-to-ceiling. The entire structure is illuminated in a pink glow from red and blue lighting optimized to provide maximum plant yield and quality while minimizing energy costs.

Two successful years since the opening of HyCube, Kalera has now expanded its vision to feed even more residents across the entire city, state and beyond. In February 2020, the company took one step closer to achieving this vision with the opening of another farm in Orlando just northwest of Orlando International Airport – the largest indoor farm in the Southeastern U.S. The farm is expected to produce approximately 6 million heads of lettuce per year, exceeding the amount of lettuce produced annually in the HyCube farm by 30 times. To support these growing operations, Kalera CEO Daniel Malechuk is proud to make hiring local talent a top priority and has already hired graduates from the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida and Florida State University.

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Similar to its original location at the Orlando World Center Marriott, this new farm employs proprietary high tech innovation to not only run the farm, but also to ensure ideal conditions for plant growth.

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“We’re growing more plants with less space and less water, and with no pesticides or fertilizers,” explained Malechuk. “It’s using things like big data and artificial intelligence to measure temperature, humidity, air flow and light exposure, and analyzing it in a database to see how it affects plant growth and yield.”

Kalera’s indoor farms are unique in shielding both plants and horticulturists from extreme elements that could interrupt production or compromise lettuce crops. Relying on data analytics, the Kalera facility automates various processes to create an ideal, controlled environment for plant growth. From air circulation to carbon dioxide levels, its machines are constantly monitoring feedback from technology embedded in its crops to determine whether adjustments are needed. Kalera’s systems are so accurate that its team can often predict the results of a harvest. As Malechuk explained, they have perfected Mother Nature indoors.

While the controlled indoor environment is certainly impressive, Kalera’s proprietary air purification system truly sets it apart. Taking a page from nanoelectronics manufacturing, Kalera relies on cleanroom technology to eliminate the need for harmful pesticides and safeguard plants against bacteria, such as E. coli, which has caused nationwide recalls of romaine lettuce.

“What we’re witnessing right now in our lifetime, and what I’m so excited to be part of, is the total revolution of agriculture,” said Malechuk. “I don’t know if it’s been coined yet, but I think we’re at the ‘AgTech Age.’”

Much like the smartphone has revolutionized our way of life and become an indispensable tool we often take for granted, Malechuk clearly envisions a society in which vertical hydroponic farms like Kalera’s are the norm – especially in densely populated cities where hyperlocal sustainable farming practices would have a greater impact.

Until that day, Kalera continues with its plan to expand across the continent and around the globe at the forefront of a new “AgTech Age.”

*Kalera’s Orlando facility remains operational despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has donated its leafy greens to multiple charities in the area and has provided free cases of produce to many neighborhoods across the city. Its produce can also be found across all Orlando Publix locations.

Currently, Kalera has paused operations at the HyCube facility until the Marriott World Center reopens for guests and is using this time as an opportunity for cleaning and renovations to the facility.

Artemis Celebrates 5th Birthday "In Agriculture, There’s A Digital Gap That Translates Into Direct Financial Impact"

This week the team with Artemis is celebrating their 5th birthday! "I could not be more proud of our team for leading us through this incredible journey. While this year certainly feels very different than in the past, it’s more clear than ever that agriculture is going digital and I’m thrilled Artemis is at the forefront of this revolution", CEO Allison Kopf shares.

Launched enterprise platform

"Last year we launched our new enterprise platform", Allison recalls. "When we started Artemis (FKA Agrilyst), we primarily worked with small farms. In 2019, we began working with much larger, multi-site operators who have traditional enterprise needs. We successfully went through a major refactor to our platform adding additional integration capabilities, enterprise-level security, multi-language support, and lots of additional functionality including our new advanced reporting. We also focused on our account management process to ensure customer success for the long-term."

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Allison Kopf at the Indoor Ag-Con in Las Vegas in 2016

Fast growth
"All of the product and process improvements we made early in the year translated into fast growth, culminating in our best quarter (Q1) despite the global uncertainty. We have been doubling revenue quarterly and I’m so proud of our team for creating and supporting our explosive growth." 

Expanded presence in Canada
With the expansion of their product capabilities, the company also focused on expanding into new markets. "Canada has always been a priority for us and we were excited to broaden our Canadian presence this year and begin expanding in target geographies. We started working with incredible customers like Jamco Growers (part of the Red Hat Co-operative) and Sweetgrass in Alberta. We look forward to continuing our growth in the area." 

We’re still early
"When you’re deep in the operational weeds, it’s easy to look at KPIs as a way to show internal progress from day to day. What feels like exponential growth in the short-term horizon of a year or two often only reflects a small change in the industry as a whole. Agriculture is one of the least digitized industries and there’s so much room for innovation. It’s important to watch for the signs of the shifts while also managing for the long-term", Allison shares.

"Some things are still difficult. At the end of the day, farming is hard and margins are slim. However, some things are becoming easier. It’s clear there’s a digital gap. It’s clear how that gap translates into direct financial impact for farm operators — knowledge transfer is particularly important right now (what happens when someone has critical information and is sick or leaves the operation), compliance-based infractions, and audits are expensive, and profit-based optimization is critical."

"I’m incredibly optimistic about the future of digital agriculture and am excited that we’re beginning to transition from early adoption into broad usage."

Click here for more on the Artemis celebration.

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For more information:
Artemis
artemisag.com

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Publication date: Fri 24 Apr 2020

Agri Tech Conf 2020 | September 22-23, 2020 | Dubai, UAE

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we invite all participants from around the world to attend the International Conference on Agriculture Technology in Dubai, UAE with the theme of “Discovering Natural Resources through Agriculture” scheduled on September 22-23, 2020.

“It also gives a main integrative stage to researchers, professionals and instructors to introduce and talk about the latest development, patterns, and challenges just as common-sense difficulties experienced and arrangements received in the fields of agriculture. 

ME Conferences aims is to offer an opportunity to share skills, expertise along with unparalleled networking opportunities between a large number of agriculture professionals like Directors, Heads, Deans, Professors, Scientists, Researchers, agronomists, agrarians,  Founders, Associations, Organizations, technologists, Laboratory members and Young researchers working in the field of agriculture technology.

International Conference on Agriculture Technology

For further queries and assistance do not hesitate to contact us.

 Amelia Sage

Program Manager

Agri Tech Conf 2020

Tel: (+44) 772-358-4425

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International Conference on Agriculture Technology

INDIA: Top 5 Agritech Startup That Helps You Set Up Soil-Less Indoor Farming

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Feb 11, 2020

Hydroponics or growing plants in water or sand, rather than soil, is done using mineral nutrient solutions in a water flush.

 This indoor farming technique induces plant growth, making the process 50 percent faster than growth in soil and the method is cost-effective.

Only an expert gardener knows how tough it can be to grow plants and how much extra care it takes with special attention to soil, fertilizer, and light. One can’t get the process right and expect good yields without getting his/her hands dirty. But, to make their work a lot easy and convenient, many start-ups in India are working on hydroponics farming.

Hydroponics or growing plants in water or sand, rather than soil, is done using mineral nutrient solutions in a water flush. Moreover, this indoor farming technique induces plant growth, making the process 50 percent faster than growth in soil and the method is cost-effective. Mineral nutrient solutions are used to feed plants in water.

 Here’s a list of five start-ups in India that are innovating agriculture methods and leading the way in indoor farming.

Barton Breeze: Gurgaon based Barton Breeze is a commercial hydroponic farm specialist, using controlled sustainable technology and modern farming techniques, to create highly productive agri-models for the new-age farmer. Barton Breeze is not just a hydroponic farm developer, but also a farmer, growth consultant and a retailer. We provide end to end farm management solution and execute projects on a turnkey basis from the development of climate-controlled Polyhouse/Polycarbonate house to Aeroponic set up and training resources on how to run the farm efficiently and impart technology training. Barton Breeze combines sustainable technology and modern farming techniques, to create highly productive models for the new-age farmer. We pride ourselves on providing knowledge and the best available products to our customers. Carefully chosen and tested equipment and nutrients ensure our customers have maximum results with their microgreens.

Future Farms: Chennai based Future Farms now grows 16 crop varieties, classified under English Exotic, Asian Exotic and Indian Exotic, across 15 acres of land spread over 10 states. It recorded a $1 million turnover last year. Their primary focus is on leafy vegetables with farms spread across the country from Delhi to Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat.

Acqua Farms: Chennai based Acqua Farms grows everything from Italian basil to carom (ajwain), mint, spinach, lettuce and a host of leafy greens and herbs. Moreover, he grows these vegetables using planters made of PVC pipes. “Besides a starter kit, Acqua Farms also provides setups for larger planter systems with 24, 48, 72, 96 and going up to 1,000, depending on what the user needs. They also have a subscription-based service to those who have no knowledge of hydroponics, where, against a monthly amount, they assign the user an agronomist who takes care of their plants and monitors it once a week.

Letcetra Agritech: Goa-based Letcetra Agritech in the Mapusa area of Goa is the first such indoor hydroponic farm, which grows good quality, pesticide-free vegetables. Their farm, measuring 150 sq meters, produces tons of leafy vegetables like lettuce and salad greens, besides cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and basil. “Letcetra has expanded to include two more farms with an overall area of 2,300 square meters. The combined fresh produce from all three farms put together is about 6-8 tonnes of different varieties of lettuce and other leafy greens, per month.

BitMantis Innovations: Based out of Bengaluru, this IoT and data analytics start-up have developed its IoT solution GreenSAGE, which allows individuals and commercial growers to grow fresh herbs throughout the year with the minimum of fuss. Under GreenSage, you have the Micro Edition and Greens Edition kits that use hydroponics methods for efficient use of water and nutrients.

16 Initiatives Changing Urban Agriculture Through Tech And Innovation

The United Nations estimates that nearly 10 billion people will be living in cities by 2050. According to a recent publication by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, urban eaters consume most of the food produced globally and maintain more resource-intensive diets including increased animal-source and processed foods—rich in salt, sugar, and fats. At the same time, many urban populations—particularly in low-income areas and informal communities—endure acute hunger and malnutrition as well as limited access to affordable, healthy food.

But there are countless ways that cities can feed themselves and create better linkages between rural and urban food systems. In Mexico City, the organization CultiCiudad built the Huerto Tlatelolco, an edible forest with 45 tree varieties, a seed bank, and plots for biointensive gardening. In the United States, City Growers uses New York City’s urban farms as a learning laboratory for children to reconnect with nature. And in the Kalobeyei Settlement in northern Kenya, urban agriculture represents a tool for empowerment by improving food security, nutrition, and self-sufficiency among refugees.

“Agriculture and forestry in the city… answer to a variety of urban development goals beyond the provision of green infrastructure and food, such as social inclusion, adaptation to climate change, poverty alleviation, urban water management, and opportunities for the productive reuse of urban waste,” says Henk de Zeeuw, Senior Advisor at the RUAF Foundation.

And thankfully, there are hundreds of entrepreneurs and organizations using this opportunity to improve urban agriculture and satisfy the demands of an increasingly urban population. From high-tech indoor farms in France and Singapore to mobile apps connecting urban growers and eaters in India and the U.S., Food Tank highlights 16 initiatives using tech, entrepreneurship, and social innovation to change urban agriculture.

1. AeroFarms, Newark (United States)

AeroFarms builds and operates vertical indoor farms to enable local production at scale and increase the availability of safe and nutritious food. The company uses aeroponics to grow leafy greens without sun or soil in a fully controlled environment. The technology enables year-round production while, they say, using 95 percent less water than field farming, resulting in yields 400 times higher per square foot annually. Since its foundation in 2004, AeroFarms aims to disrupt conventional food supply chains by building farms along major distribution routes and in urban areas. The company also won multiple awards, including the 2018 Global SDG Award, for its environmentally responsible practices and leadership in agriculture.

2. Agricool, Paris (France)

Agricool is a start-up that grows strawberries in containers spread throughout urban areas. The company retrofits old, unused containers to accommodate both an LED-lights and aeroponics system making it possible to grow strawberries year-round. The Cooltainers are powered by clean energy and use 90 percent less water than conventional farming. Agricool also works on building a network of urban farmers through the Cooltivators training program, aiming to open up job opportunities for city residents to work in the agricultural sector. The start-up now works on expanding operations to other cities, an effort made possible by the replicability of the container’s design.

3. BIGH Farms, Brussels (Belgium)

BIGH (Building Integrated Greenhouses) Farms, a start-up based in Brussels, works on building a network of urban farms in Europe to promote the role urban agriculture can play in the circular economy. BIGH’s designs integrate aquaponics with existing buildings to reduce a site’s environmental impact. The first pilot—located above the historic Abattoir in Brussel’s city center—includes a fish farm, a greenhouse, and over 2,000 square meters of outdoor vegetable gardens. They started in 2018 producing microgreens, herbs, tomatoes, and striped bass. BIGH Farms also partners with local businesses and growers to make sure the farm’s production is complementary to the existing food community.

4. Bites, Phoenix (United States)

Bites is a mobile platform working to help connect urban farmers, chefs, and eaters in Phoenix through farm-to-table dining experiences. Eaters and chefs sign up and meet through the app to organize an in-home dining event. Chefs gather the ingredients from urban growers registered on the platform in an effort to promote local, small businesses. Bites was launched in 2017 by Roza Derfowsmakan, founder of Warehouse Apps, to improve accessibility to farm-to-table experiences and support urban farmers. By using technology to build culinary communities, Bites aims to change consumer choices from shipped-in, trucked-in produce to locally sourced food—involving people in the solution itself.

5. BitGrange, Multiple Locations (North America)

BitGrange is an urban farming tool and learning platform working to help educate children on food and agriculture. The BitGrange device, a hydroponics and Internet of Things-based system, produces edible plants with little water and energy. BitGrange’s software evaluates environmental variables in real-time and notifies growers through a smartphone app to take necessary actions, such as adding more water or plant food. Founded in 2015 according to their philosophy, Plant-Connect-Sync-Play, BitGrange aims to inspire youth to engage in farming by gamifying agriculture. The nano-farm’s design is available for download at BitGrange’s website for potential growers to 3D print the device in their own location.

6. Bowery Farming, New York Metro Area (United States)

Bowery Farming, an indoor farming start-up, uses software and robotics to grow produce inside warehouses located in and around cities. By controlling every aspect of the growing process, the start-up is able to produce leafy greens and herbs using a minimal amount of water and energy per square foot. The technology also makes it possible to grow customized products for chefs and restaurants, such as softer kale and more peppery arugula. Since its establishment in 2017, Bowery Farming is now expanding operations beyond its warehouse in New Jersey to build vertical farms in other cities and, ultimately, bring efficient food production closer to consumers.

7. Farmizen, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Surat (India)

Farmizen is a mobile-based platform renting farmland to city residents to grow locally grown, organic produce. The app allocates its users a 600 square foot mini-farm in a community nearby. Users can visit the farm anytime to grow and harvest chemical-free produce. Farmworkers look after the plots when the users return to the city, making a fixed and stable income—up to three times more than that of conventional farming. The app is live in Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Surat with 1,500 subscribers and 40 acres of land under cultivation. Farmizen was founded in 2017 by entrepreneur Gitanjali Rajamani, driven by the need to create stable livelihoods for farmers and reconnect city-dwellers to agriculture and nature.

8. Fresh Direct, Abuja (Nigeria)

Fresh Direct is an impact-driven start-up using vertical farming and hydroponics to promote locally grown produce and the involvement of youth in agriculture. When young entrepreneur Angel Adelaja started engaging in eco-friendly farming, she faced multiple challenges with conventional farming practices, including access to land, water, and technology. As a response, Adelaja founded Fresh Direct in 2014 to make urban agriculture more accessible to everyone, especially youth. Fresh Direct installs stackable container farms in the city, growing organic produce closer to the market. In the future, Adelaja aims to eradicate the notion among young professionals that agriculture is a line of work for the older generations.

9. Gotham Greens, Multiple Locations (United States)

Gotham Greens builds and operates data-driven, climate-controlled greenhouses in cities across the United States. The greenhouses, powered by wind and solar energy, use hydroponics to grow salad greens and herbs year-round using fewer resources than conventional farming. In addition to its goal of sustainable food production, Gotham Greens also partners with local organizations, schools, community gardens, and businesses to support urban renewal and community development projects. Gotham Greens is also the company behind the country’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse, a partnership with Whole Foods Market to operate the greenhouse located above their flagship store in Brooklyn, New York.

10. GrowUp Urban Farms, London (United Kingdom)

GrowUp Urban Farms works on developing commercial scale, Controlled Environment Production (CEP) solutions to grow fresh food in communities across London. The CEP farms use aquaponics to farm fish and grow leafy greens in a soil-less system, turning previously unused brownfield sites into productive areas. The GrowUp Box—a community farm developed together with sister organization GrowUp Community Farms—produces over 400kg of salads and 150kg of fish each year. Over the long run, the company aims to replicate the aquaponics system to build urban farms in other cities, opening employment opportunities for youth, and using agriculture as a means to make communities more self-sustaining.

11. InFarm, Multiple Locations (Europe)

InFarm, a Berlin-based start-up, develops modular indoor farming systems to bring agriculture into cities. Designed to combat the long distances food travels, the InFarms produce leafy greens and herbs using 95 percent less water than traditional farms and no pesticides. The technology, the company claims, can reduce food transportation up to 90 percent. In 2013, the company pioneered the modular system in restaurants, schools, hospitals, and shopping centers. Operations have now expanded to distribute portable farms in neighborhoods and supermarkets across Germany, Denmark, France, and Switzerland. The expansion, AgFunder reports, can be attributed to InFarm’s decentralized, data-driven model.

12. Liv Up, São Paulo (Brazil)

Liv Up works to deliver healthy meals and snack kits prepared with locally grown food to residents of the Greater São Paulo region. The start-up sources organic ingredients from family farmers in peri-urban areas, in an effort to shorten value chains and better connect small producers to the urban market. A team of chefs and nutritionists prepares the meals, which are later deep frozen to maintain the food’s integrity and extend its shelf life. Liv Up was founded in 2016 by a trio of young entrepreneurs driven by the lack of access to healthy foods in São Paulo. The start-up now operates in seven municipalities of the metropolitan area, rotating its menu every two weeks.

13. Pasona Urban Ranch, Tokyo (Japan)

Pasona Urban Ranch, an initiative of the Pasona Group, is a mix of office space and animal farm located in the heart of Tokyo’s busy Ōtemachi district. The initiative aims to raise interest in agriculture and dairy farming among city residents by bringing them in close contact with farm animals. The ranch houses eight animal species, including cattle, goats, and an alpaca, which are cared for by specialized staff. Visitors and employees of the building can attend seminars on dietary education and dairy farming. Previously, the Pasona Group gained worldwide acknowledgment for Pasona O2—an underground office farm built by Kono Designs in 2010 growing 100 regional crops in downtown Tokyo.

14. RotterZwam, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)

RotterZwam, an urban mushroom farm, raises awareness on the potential of the circular economy for addressing environmental issues. The farm’s closed-loop system works with used coffee grounds—collected from local businesses—to turn residual flows into food. The mushroom nursery, built out of old containers, uses solar paneling to power the farm’s operations and the e-vehicles used for product delivery. The farm’s team offers tours to educate citizens on circular systems and trains entrepreneurs wishing to start a mushroom farm. RotterZwam’s second location in the Schiehaven area opened in mid-2019 thanks to a crowdfunding campaign to bring back the farm after a devastating fire in 2017.

15. Sustenir Agriculture (Singapore)

Sustenir Agriculture is a vertical farm working to promote high quality, locally grown, and safe food with the lowest possible footprint. The farm—located in the heart of Singapore—uses the latest technology in hydroponics and smart indoor farming to produce leafy greens, tomatoes, strawberries, and fresh herbs. Starting as a basement project in 2012, Sustenir now produces 1 ton of kale and 3.2 tons of lettuce per month in an area of 54 square meters.

16. Urban Bees, London (United Kingdom)

Urban Bees is a social enterprise working with communities and businesses in London to help bees thrive in the city. Through education and training, the initiative raises awareness on how to create bee-friendly communities and on how to become responsible beekeepers. The first training apiary was established together with the Co-op Plan Bee in Battersea, South London. The enterprise also advises urban gardening initiatives, including Lush’s rooftop garden, to ensure that green areas install the right forage and create healthy bee habitats. Co-founder Alison Benjamin says that city residents often suffer from the nature-deficit disorder and urban beekeeping is one path to reconnect with nature in the city.

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Andrea Oyuela

Andrea Oyuela is a Food Tank Intern—and chef in the making—with more than 5 years of experience in environmental research, urban agriculture, and healthy urban planning. Until recently, Andrea worked at UN-Habitat in Kenya as manager of the program on Planning for Urban Health. She holds a Master’s degree in Urban Environmental Management from Wageningen University and is the author of a number of published works. Her favorite ingredient is garlic.

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Liberty Produce And Partners Are Transforming The Vertical Farming Landscape

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2nd December 2019

 London, UK

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Liberty Produce and Partners have launched their ambitious programme to coordinate the development of the technology needed to make Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) more effective, efficient and sustainable.

 The joint venture, co-funded by Innovate UK (the UK’s innovation agency), is supporting the creation of an integrated technology system focussed on reducing operational costs by 25%, improving crop yield by 30% and reducing necessary grower intervention through improved decision support and automation in lighting, nutrient and environmental control technologies.

The project involves several partners and experts in CEA, including Crop Health and Protection (CHAP). In work being carried out at CHAP’s Fine Phenotyping Lab, based at Rothamsted Research, experts are assessing ways in which plants react to light throughout the day, determining how to activate and make them most receptive to light, particularly through the manipulation of wavelength and light intensity. They have already found evidence that plants photosynthetic response to light levels off and reaches saturation. Within CEA systems, avoiding the unnecessary application of light is crucial in reducing operational cost and making systems more sustainable.

The data collected on how different crops respond to artificial LED lighting systems will inform the development of further technologies around sensing and automation - work packages being led by FOTENIX and Iceni Labs.

As the new technologies are developed, they will be evaluated at the IHCEA facilty, a vertical farming commercial demonstrator established by Liberty Produce in partnership with Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) and located at the James Hutton Institute, in Dundee, Scotland.

Zeina Chapman, Director of Liberty Produce commented, “Vertical farming is not yet sustainable - the capital and operational costs limit the adoption of these systems. This vital research and development will enable the build of innovative new technologies that will ensure CEA becomes an essential and sustainable element of crop production as the global population grows.”

Dr Ruth Bastow, Innovation Director of CHAP said, “CEA has great potential to be part of a global solution to produce food in more efficient, resilient and sustainable ways. However, there are still bottlenecks to be overcome for large-scale adoption, and this project will help accelerate the development of new technologies and approaches to improve the overall efficiency of CEA utilising capabilities across the CHAP network.”

Crops growing in the IHCEA facility. Credit: Liberty Produce 2019.

***Ends*** 

About Liberty Produce

Liberty Produce is a farming technology company, enabling the growth of local produce year-round, using a fully-controlled, industry-leading, indoor vertical farming system. With expertise in lighting and nutrient delivery technology, Liberty develops and builds systems that reduce operational costs and improve yields of crops grown in controlled-environment farms. Their vision is to drive innovations that will enable the UK to meet our crop requirements over the next century, without harming the planet.

https://www.liberty-produce.com/ 

For further information contact:

Benita Rajania

benita@liberty-produce.com

+44 20 3290 8801

About CHAP

Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), funded by Innovate UK, is one of four UK Agri-Tech Centres. CHAP’s vision is for the UK to be a global leader in the development of applied agri-technologies, to help secure our future by nourishing a growing population sustainably while delivering economic, environmental and health benefits to society.

CHAP acts as a unique, independent nexus between UK government, researchers and industry, building innovation networks to identify and accelerate the development of cutting-edge solutions to drive incremental, transformative and disruptive changes in sustainable crop productivity and to establish controlled environment agriculture (CEA) as a core competency.
www.chap-solutions.co.uk/

For further information contact:
Darren Hassall
Darren.hassall@chap-solutions.co.uk
+44 (0)1904 462062

About Innovate UK

Innovate UK drives productivity and economic growth by supporting businesses to develop and realise the potential of new ideas. We connect businesses to the partners, customers and investors that can help them turn ideas into commercially successful products and services and business growth. We fund business and research collaborations to accelerate innovation and drive business investment into R&D. Our support is available to businesses across all economic sectors, value chains and UK regions. Innovate UK is part of UK Research and Innovation.

www.innovateuk.ukri.org

Applications Now Open For FoodTech Accelerator, The Global Corporate Accelerator Powered by Deloitte Officine Innovazione

Applications are open until September 30th 2019 for the Foodtech Accelerator: the global open innovation initiative based in Milan and dedicated to innovative projects and startups in the food and retail sectors.

The accelerator selects up to 10 best-of-breed startups to supercharge food innovation and match Corporate Partners business needs. The aim is to accelerate concrete industrial pilot projects together in a 15-week program.

The call: open to companies around the globe established or being set up to innovate in the field of food production and distribution: new foods, quality and traceability of food, healthy lifestyle, circular economy, new delivery models, smart packaging, and precision agriculture.

The program: a hands-on learning experience and out-of-the-building approach to successfully transform ideas into innovative products working directly with expert mentors and corporate executives. Selected startups will validate and scale their business faster to enable MVP and PoC testing.

Initial investment: access to €20k in cash contribution and €50k in services, directly invested by the Partners of FoodTech Accelerator, in exchange for up to 6% of your equity.

Investments: the program ends with the DemoDay. The 7 startups will be presenting their outcomes to selected investors invited by Deloitte and its partners. Corporate Partners have already confirmed their willingness to make additional investments of up to 1 million euros.

How to participate: find all the required info and apply now at

https://www.foodtechaccelerator.io

Should you need any further detail, please write us at

hello@foodtechaccelerator.io

SDLN: The Leading AgTech Networking Forum | Connecting Global High-Level Value-Chain Leaders in Miami, Oct 22 - 24

7/9/2019

Press Release – Keynote, a global leading event company for emerging technology, announced today the Company’s next strategic decision to expand into the AgriTech industry through a new event: Sustainability and Digitalization Leadership Network (SDLN) - Miami Forum.

The 2019 SDLN Miami Forum connects AgriTech’s investors with innovators and their ideas, moving the most critical conversations forward to improve the planet’s future in sustainable agriculture and emerging tech. SDLN is dedicated to addressing today’s food supply challenges by creating a platform for collaborative, open dialogue and high- level networking between industry experts from across the globe.

The three-day event at the James L Knight Center in downtown Miami will cater to AgTech seniors with an international attendance of company executives, investors and market consultants. Alongside presentations covering current world projects and tech advances, the forum will feature panels focusing on innovation vs implementation, long term sustainability and investment in the food ecosystem. This carefully curated agenda will feature entrepreneurs and established investors alongside agriculture’s international leaders, intended to provide strategic, tactical skills and knowledge for those attending.

As a hub connecting agriculture across the Americas and beyond, Miami sets the stage for the rapidly expanding industry. Attendees will meet with innovators throughout the supply chain at the SDLN Official Launch, Wednesday 22nd October, as well as a second evening of networking on Thursday 23rd. Further opportunities for breakout sessions led by industry heads, facilitated networking and 1:1 business meetings will follow.

The first round of presenters announced last week includes Howard Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer at Mars; Claudia Rössler, Agriculture Strategic Partnerships at Microsoft; David Friedman, CEO at VividGro.

A core advisory board will oversee and advise on partnerships to ensure quality of connections and sustainable business strategy. For enquiries please email lyndsey@sdlnetwork.com

About Keynote:

Hosting international events since 2012 across Europe, North America and the Middle East, Keynote has curated forums for emerging technology industries, launching high profile fintech projects and acting as a platform to raise significant funds, connecting and enabling companies to reach their potential.

Event Website: https://sdlnetwork.com/

Early bird tickets available until 1st August at sdlnetwork.com

For media partnership enquiries: amandah@sdlnetwork.com

For partner and sponsorship enquiries: amy@sdlnetwork.com