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US - VIRGINIA - What Does Governor Northam Have to Say About Babylon?
“Congratulations to Babylon Micro-Farms, an inspiring up and coming Virginia business, on its CRCF award. Babylon first received seed capital funding from CIT GAP Funds in August 2019
June 30, 2020
We are very excited to share the news that Governor Northam announced last week that Babylon has been awarded matching funds from the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant we received from the National Science Foundation. The funding from the NSF made Babylon eligible for a highly competitive application process that CIT holds annually through the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund which provides additional support for SBIR recipients to foster ongoing innovation by Virginia-based companies.
“Congratulations to Babylon Micro-Farms, an inspiring up and coming Virginia business, on its CRCF award. Babylon first received seed capital funding from CIT GAP Funds in August 2019. I had the pleasure to get to know the team and learn about the vital work they are doing for indoor farming,” said Ed Albrigo, President and CEO of CIT. “They continue to move forward on research and development of their disruptive platform for hydroponic farming, which has now earned them funding support through CIT CRCF. The Babylon CRCF award, along with CIT GAP funding, is a prime example of how our programs work together to help sustain companies through the difficult first stages of the commercialization process. Sustainable urban agriculture technologies are among the most critical emerging technologies in the nation today, and thanks to Babylon, Virginia will play an essential role in the future of farming."
Babylon added Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, VA to our portfolio of high-end resorts and we are happy to welcome them to the Babylon family. Lansdowne is very focused on the connection between food and health and has a history of being at the forefront of hospitality trends that incorporate wellness and mindfulness-based activity options. They offer their guests a carefully curated offering of dietary choices based on their commitment to providing them the highest possible quality available in every aspect of their experience. Babylon is proud to be part of that commitment.
The recently installed farm at Champion Brewing Company Pub is the first partnership between Babylon and our hometown pioneer of the rapidly growing craft beer movement. When founder Hunter Smith envisioned the Pub, he wanted to create a fun community space that was hip and cool, but truly more than that – a place for people to connect. Mission accomplished and since Babylon is all about connecting people to their food by growing it right in front of them, it was a natural fit. The synergy of two local startups working together to bring the best of local food and drink to the table is a winning combination. Stop by and have a cold beer, it's hot outside!
Research For Workforce Development in Controlled Environment Ag: What Makes a Successful Indoor Farm Manager?
As indoor agriculture has grown, finding, training, and retaining a skilled workforce has emerged as an important challenge to the industry. A unique combination of plant production, tech troubleshooting, and innovation is needed among employees managing these operations
By urbanagnews
June 8, 2020
As indoor agriculture has grown, finding, training, and retaining a skilled workforce has emerged as an important challenge to the industry. A unique combination of plant production, tech troubleshooting, and innovation is needed among employees managing these operations.
What are the critical skill sets, and how can we create a larger pipeline of individuals trained in these skills so that they can contribute to CEA business success?
At Cornell University, a group led by Professor Anu Rangarajan (Director, Small Farms Program) seeks to provide answers as part of a National Science Foundation-funded research project on CEA Viability in Metro Areas.
Rangarajan’s team has conducted extensive research to date in order to understand the workforce needs of the hydroponics industry, including greenhouses and indoor vertical farms—and the research continues.
With the long-term goal of creating robust curricula for training CEA employees in mind, a team from Cornell University conducted many in-depth interviews with professional CEA growers in 2018 and 2019.
The team then organized a workshop, in consultation with The Ohio State and Agritecture Consulting, that invited a focus group of CEA operations managers to model in detail the diverse activities that they perform on the job.
The resulting chart is a detailed, peer-reviewed list of duties (responsibilities) and tasks (activities, skills) that describe the work of the expert Indoor Farm Operations Manager.
The chart is currently being reviewed by peer growers worldwide, who are asked to verify how important each skill is, and how frequently it is conducted.
Based on this input, the Indoor Farm Operations Manager chart will be used as a starting point for prioritizing future CEA training modules. After that, a deeper analysis of key individual skills will be conducted in order to translate the foundational research into a teachable vocational curriculum.
Right now, however, Rangarajan’s team is actively seeking more responses to the verification survey.
“We need your help,” she emphasizes, speaking to professional CEA growers. “We want to learn your priorities for a CEA curriculum that will enhance the skills of current or future employees.”
The survey takes approximately thirty minutes to complete and can be completely anonymously. CEA growers who complete the survey will also be provided with an Amazon gift card for $25 as a token of appreciation, although they must provide their names and email addresses in order to receive this gift.
To take the survey, register here. The Cornell team will send a survey link directly from Qualtrics.
As Rangarajan notes, “Grower input will help us prioritize the core education and training relevant to indoor agriculture,” helping provide the industry with the skilled workforce it will need to scale.
For more information about this study regarding the future of the CEA workforce, please contact project lead Anu Rangarajan (ar47@cornell.edu) or research associate Wythe Marschall (wmarschall@fas.harvard.edu).
USA: Indoor Growers Wanted For CEA Survey
"The current step in our research plan is to verify the details of this chart with peer growers worldwide via a survey", explains research associate Wythe Marschall. "It invites indoor farm managers to tell us how important each skill is, and how frequently it is conducted
A Cornell team is leading a new project to investigate how Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) compares to conventional field agriculture in terms of energy, carbon and water footprints, profitability, workforce development and scalability. Strategic FEW (food, energy, water) and Workforce Investments to Enhance Viability of Controlled Environment Agriculture in Metropolitan Areas is funded by a three-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation, through its new funding initiative called Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems.
The workforce development research, led by Professor Anu Rangarajan (Director, Small Farms Program), consisted in 2018 and early 2019 of interviews and an intensive two-day workshop with industry experts. During that workshop, a focus group of indoor farm operations managers produced this chart detailing the duties (responsibilities) and tasks (activities, skills) that describe their work.
Survey
"The current step in our research plan is to verify the details of this chart with peer growers worldwide via a survey", explains research associate Wythe Marschall. "It invites indoor farm managers to tell us how important each skill is, and how frequently it is conducted. The survey can be completed anonymously, or growers can provide us with their names and emails to receive a $25 Amazon gift card as a token of our appreciation."
To take this survey, register here. The Cornell team will send a survey link directly from Qualtrics. Respondents may provide their names and emails to receive a $25 Amazon gift card as a token of appreciation.
Online workshops
"We are also interested to ask growers if they would be interested in a series of upcoming online workshops to help us detail what specific, teachable steps (activities) are contained within each important skill needed by indoor farm operations managers", Wythe adds. "For example, we'll ask growers to dive into the specific skill, 'Manage crop fertigation (e.g., mixing nutrients, monitoring pH, monitoring water temp),' breaking this down into teachable, specific components.
"This series of workshops will be compensated, and we are beginning to schedule it now. Any CEA farm manager is invited to participate, regardless of location or modality."
For more information about this study regarding the future of the CEA workforce, please contact project lead Anu Rangarajan (ar47@cornell.edu) or research associate Wythe Marschall (wmarschall@fas.harvard.edu).
Publication date: Tue 9 Jun 2020