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Lettuce Grown Hydroponically in Northeast Ohio is Essentially ‘E. coli Proof’ So Go Back To Eating Salads
The hydroponically-grown lettuce from Great Lakes Growers is essentially “E. coli proof,” thanks to a series of safeguards put in place by owner John Bonner
Burton Greenhouse Is Growing Virtually “E. coli Proof" Lettuce.
Crunchita lettuce, a romaine hybrid, is grown hydroponically to avoid E. coli contamination. (Source: WOIO)
By Jen Picciano | December 6, 2019
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The hydroponically-grown lettuce from Great Lakes Growers is essentially “E. coli proof,” thanks to a series of safeguards put in place by owner John Bonner.
So while the rest of the country is throwing out lettuce purchased elsewhere, their business is experiencing a massive uptick.
Demand for their products skyrockets amid widespread E. coli scares, like the nationwide one currently being blamed for more than 100 illnesses in 23 states.
“There is this massive swell of demand because everyone had to throw out all their romaine,” said Bonner.
Prices go up because the industry can’t meet the demand. But they’re trying.
“It’s creating a massive growth trend in our industry. We’ve doubled the size of the business since 2015, just doubled it again this year, about to finish up that, and we’re about to double it again this spring. The growth is really incredible,” he said.
Bonner said they’re growing 5 million heads and 4000,000 pounds of cut lettuce every year.
They’ll soon be adding two more acres to grow products similar to romaine, in response to the frequent recalls. All the while, they’re working diligently to ensure safe lettuce.
The nationwide E. Coli scare over romaine lettuce means many are turning to local, and hydroponic grown greens.
@GreatLakesGrowers is expanding to meet the massive demand for safer lettuce.
Story on Cleveland 19 News at 5.
They avoid E. coli contamination, by watering the roots from underneath through aluminum channels, not on the leaves itself which are consumed. And the roots are removed upon shipping, so Bonner said there’s very little chance anything could happen.
He says they closely monitor for bacteria levels in their recycled water.
“We have a system in place that virtually eliminates the risk of it. and we also do testing every week with a third party to verify that,” Bonner said.
They’re working to rise to the occasion, but it can’t happen overnight.
“Seed to sale” takes them 30-45 days.
Indoor Ag-Con Las Vegas Announces Dates, Location For 2020 Edition
"Whether industry members are just starting out, scaling up, buying from or selling to indoor vertical farms, our 2020 edition’s enhanced programming and new show floor features will offer even more opportunities to connect all agriculture supply chain stakeholders,” says Nancy Hallberg, co-owner of Indoor Ag-Con LLC along with other event industry veterans Brian Sullivan and Kris Sieradzki.
Indoor Ag-Con Heads To Wynn Las Vegas
For May 18-20, 2020 Edition
8th Annual Edition Heads To Wynn Las Vegas, May 18-20, 2020, With Expanded Show Floor, Educational Offerings, Networking Events For Indoor the Vertical Farm Industry
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES, September 4, 2019, Indoor Ag-Con, the premier event covering the technology of growing crops in indoor systems using hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic techniques, heads to Wynn Las Vegas from May 18-20, 2020 for its 8th annual edition in Las Vegas, NV. From an expanded exhibition floor, new educational tracks and networking events to other new show features and displays, the 2020 edition will be a showplace for robotics, automation, AI, breaking technology trends and product innovation.
"Whether industry members are just starting out, scaling up, buying from or selling to indoor|vertical farms, our 2020 edition’s enhanced programming and new show floor features will offer even more opportunities to connect all agriculture supply chain stakeholders,” says Nancy Hallberg, co-owner of Indoor Ag-Con LLC along with other event industry veterans Brian Sullivan and Kris Sieradzki.
2020 Show highlights include:
NEW LOCATION: WYNN LAS VEGAS
To deliver a top-quality meeting experience for its attendees, Indoor Ag-Con heads to Wynn Las Vegas for 2020. Wynn Resorts is the recipient of more Forbes Travel Guide Five Star Awards than any other independent hotel company in the world and was once again named the best resort in Nevada on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2019 “Gold List,” a title received for the 12th time.
THREE IN-DEPTH EDUCATIONAL TRACKS - BUSINESS, SCIENCE, CANNABIS - HEMP
In direct response to feedback from 2019 attendees, show management will be zeroing in on three core tracks for 2020 --- Business, Science and Cannabis | Hemp. The 2020 Conference will bring together 40+ industry-leading speakers to cover timely issues; growth and development strategies for all levels and types of indoor farming businesses; latest developments and innovations through keynote presentations, sessions and panel discussions in each of the 3 areas.
EXPANDED EXHIBIT FLOOR & NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
An expanded exhibition floor will showcase the latest innovations including some of the biggest names in the industry and emerging leaders across all sectors, including business/financial services, industry associations, government agencies, and manufacturers/suppliers.
Exhibitors will include business services; chemical pumps; climate control systems; complete indoor growing systems; equipment & accessories; financial services; fertilizers; government agencies; greenhouses; growing products; heating systems; hydroponic pots; insurance providers; irrigation equipment; IT solutions lighting solutions; nutrient products; propagation systems; substrates; tools; vertical farming solutions and much more.
Attendees will also have even more networking opportunities with daily continental breakfast, coffee break and luncheon sessions, evening receptions, round tables and more.
QUICK FACTS:
WHEN: Monday, May 18 – Wednesday, May 20, 2020 (Exhibits Open May 18-19)
WHERE: Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89101
INFO: For information on exhibiting or attending visit www.indoor.ag or email hello@indoor.ag
ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON LLC
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has grown into the premier event in indoor agriculture, the practice of growing crops in indoor systems, using hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic techniques. Its events in Las Vegas and Singapore are tech-focused and crop-agnostic, 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 from Newbean Capital, so setting the stage for further expansion of the events globally.
BREAKING NEWS: Another Multistate E. coli Outbreak is Linked To Lettuce
The FDA is warning consumers against eating any romaine lettuce harvested from Salinas, California. The CDC is now reporting 40 people infected with the outbreak strain from 16 states, hospitalizing 28 of them
AUTHOR Cathy Siegner
Nov. 22, 2019
UPDATE: Nov. 22, 2019: The FDA is warning consumers against eating any romaine lettuce harvested from Salinas, California. The CDC is now reporting 40 people infected with the outbreak strain from 16 states, hospitalizing 28 of them.
Dive Brief:
Another E. coli outbreak linked to lettuce has sickened 17 people in eight states, hospitalizing seven of them, according to a Nov. 21 Investigation Notice from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC said Maryland Department of Health officials found E. coli O157 in an unopened package of Ready Pac Foods Bistro Chicken Caesar Salad taken from a sick person’s home. Some of the sickened people in Maryland reported eating that product, while those in other states have not, the agency said.
On Nov. 21, Missa Bay, LLC, of Swedesboro, New Jersey, recalled 75,233 pounds of salad products sold under various brand names due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. The CDC said the recalled products, which have "Use By" dates ranging from Oct. 29, 2019, to Nov. 1, 2019, contained lettuce from the same lot used to make the contaminated salad found in Maryland.
Higher education is a great way to enhance your skills, earn more money and stay competitive in the business world. Discover five reasons why pursuing an advanced degree can help you launch forward and boost your career at any level.
Dive Insight:
The CDC announced this latest outbreak more quickly than the last major incident — an E. coli outbreak associated with romaine lettuce that sickened 23 people in 12 states between July 12 and Sept. 8. Illnesses were reported from Sept. 24 to Nov. 8, the CDC said, and the agency's announcement came Oct. 31.
The FDA posted its own announcement Nov. 21, noting it was tracing back the supply of romaine lettuce in the Caesar salad product and had identified possible farm sources in Salinas, California. The agency also said it was sending investigators to determine the source and extent of contamination and would provide more information as it is uncovered.
Most of the recalled salad products were made with romaine, but a few also contained iceberg lettuce. The contaminated Ready Pac Foods Bistro Chicken Caesar Salad in Maryland only contained romaine. The CDC said Maryland health officials are using whole-genome sequencing to determine whether the pathogen they found is closely related genetically to the one that has sickened people.
Bonduelle Fresh Americas, which owns the Ready Pac brand, said in a Nov. 21 statement posted on its website the recalled salad products are already significantly past their use-by dates, and the company is working with retailers to make sure they're no longer on store shelves. Bonduelle also said it had taken immediate action to trace the origin of the problem.
"We test all of our leafy greens (including romaine) in the fields prior to harvest, including screening for E. coli O157:H7. During the relevant time frame, we did not have any positive test results for E. coli O157:H7," the company said.
As federal and state health officials conduct this outbreak investigation, they would be wise to keep the public fully informed, and quickly. Romaine lettuce has now been linked to five E. coli outbreaks in the past two years, including this latest one and the one announced in late October. If regulators and producers don't get a handle on the problem soon, romaine could become an unwanted commodity. The industry has already been hit by decreased sales following previous outbreaks, so this development is likely to bring further scrutiny to their operations.
The FDA recently said it will start sampling romaine for E. coli and salmonella bacteria this month in the California and Arizona growing regions and during the next year. Since the agency said contaminated lettuce in the most recent outbreak could have come from farms in the Salinas, California, area, that region could see additional sampling and testing as the investigation proceeds.
Previous romaine testing by the FDA — which collected 118 samples starting last December in the Yuma area and tested them for E. coli and salmonella — found a non-pathogenic type of E. coli in one, but no salmonella, the agency reported.
The leafy greens industry has recently taken steps to improve production processes. Producers have tightened up grower requirements and recently embarked on a multi-year food safety initiative involving government, academia, and industry to better understand the impact of pathogens on leafy greens in areas including Yuma County, Arizona, and the Imperial Valley in California.
While these steps may help narrow down the problem's source, they clearly haven't been enough to keep E. coli outbreaks linked to lettuce from happening. Until that occurs, consumers are likely to avoid romaine — and possibly other lettuce types — in stores or restaurants until they can be sure the product is safe.
Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Recommended Reading:
U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION Investigation Notice
Data Analytics: The Newest Tool of Aquaponic Agriculture
Colleges across the country are looking for creative ways to give students hands-on, real-world experience using technology to solve problems. It makes sense: Proficiency in this area is one of the most in-demand skills in the workforce
The University of Connecticut taps Splunk to improve operations at a student-run farm.
Calvin Hennick is a freelance journalist who specializes in business and technology writing. He is a contributor to the CDW family of technology magazines.
Colleges across the country are looking for creative ways to give students hands-on, real-world experience using technology to solve problems. It makes sense: Proficiency in this area is one of the most in-demand skills in the workforce.
Jonathan Moore, academic director of the management information systems program at the University of Connecticut, developed a program that teaches data analytics and, in a unique twist, lets students hone their skills by helping fellow students.
Previously, Moore ran the school’s student IT help desk, working with undergraduates who provided technical support to students for campus technologies such as email, software, wireless connections and learning management systems.
Today, Moore’s students are using data analytics to support peers in another academic program at UConn. The initiative is illustrative of how far analytics use cases have come in just the past few years — and the ways in which vendors like Splunk are making their tools accessible and intuitive enough to be used not just by data scientists but also by learners still finding their footing in IT.
“It’s giving students relevant skills, moving the needle on curriculum and academia, and breaking down academic siloes,” Moore said in an interview with EdTech at Splunk’s recent .conf19 conference in Las Vegas.
UConn Business School Workshops Focus on Emerging Tech
Several years ago, Moore launched a program at the University of Connecticut School of Business called OPIM Innovate (the moniker refers to the school’s operations, information and decisions department). The program aims to give students experience with new, business-changing technologies, including augmented reality, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, microcontrollers and data analytics.
OPIM Innovate started as a series of workshops, where students came to nosh on free pizza while learning about topics in IT and business. Over time, the school began developing pilot — and then permanent — classes based on popular workshops.
That’s how UConn’s MIS students came to use data analytics to help support an aquaponics facility at the school. The aquaponics greenhouse is part of Spring Valley Student Farm, which sits 5 miles from the main campus and fosters student learning around environmental and sustainability issues. (It also grows organic produce for use in the school’s dining facilities.)
Hydroponics is the cultivation of plants in water, while aquaponics involves the rearing of aquatic animals in a hydroponic environment. The idea is that plants will use nitrogen-rich fish waste products as fertilizer. However, when the facility first opened, students didn’t see the positive agriculture outcomes they were expecting, and the farm turned to MIS students to bring data analytics to bear on the problem.
Ryan O’Connor, a Splunk engineer and adjunct faculty member at the school, designed a class project that used sensors and Splunk software to monitor conditions at the aquaponics facility. The program was supported by Splunk4Good, which donates millions of dollars each year in software licenses, training, support and education to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions around the world.
Connected Sensors and Analytics Software Track Farm Metrics
Over the summer, before the class started, Moore and O’Connor put the infrastructure in place to support analytics, expanding wireless connectivity at the farm and building a prototype system to track metrics. Then, once the class started, MIS students began collecting, monitoring and analyzing data from IoT sensors to provide real-time insights on metrics such as pH balance, water temperature, water quality and UV light.
The students quickly pinpointed simple problems affecting the facility’s success. For one, the greenhouse got colder at night than previously thought. Also, students were leaving the door open when they weren’t supposed to, which allowed animals to get in overnight and damage the plants.
O’Connor noted that Splunk allows students to crunch months’ worth of data in less than a second. But, perhaps just as important, the Splunk AR mobile tool lets students see real-time metrics on their smartphones.
“It’s great for instantaneous readings,” said O’Connor. In a typical aquaponics setup, he notes, students would have to take time to individually measure and record different metrics — using a variety of tools to measure, say, temperature and pH balance. “But if you have sensors already in there, and they’re sending the data to Splunk, that’s saving a lot of time.”
GUTER/GETTY IMAGES
Gotham Greens Opens Urban Ag Center In Chicago
Gotham Greens today opened its largest greenhouse in Chicago. The expansion enables Gotham Greens to deliver consumers a year-round supply of fresh produce to keep up with increasing demand from retail, restaurant and foodservice customers across the Midwest
100,000 sq.ft. greenhouse
Gotham Greens today opened its largest greenhouse in Chicago. The expansion enables Gotham Greens to deliver consumers a year-round supply of fresh produce to keep up with increasing demand from retail, restaurant and foodservice customers across the Midwest.
Reimagining a portion of the former Ryerson Steel Mill being repurposed by Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, the new 100,000 square foot, state-of-the-art greenhouse is Gotham Greens’ second greenhouse in the Historic Pullman Neighborhood of Chicago and sixth greenhouse nationwide. The greenhouse more than doubles the company’s Midwest production to 11 million heads of lettuce annually.
“Gotham Greens’ expansion in Chicago demonstrates its continued commitment to the city, state, and region by creating new jobs and using its high-tech greenhouses to grow high-quality produce, even during the coldest winter months,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Agriculture is a vital component of our state’s economy, and I’m pleased to see opportunities for urban agriculture – like this greenhouse expansion. Investing in innovative solutions will keep Illinois at the forefront for decades to come and help create good jobs that can support a family.”
The company’s local cultivation and regional distribution network enable delivery of products quickly after being harvested at their peak to ensure they are fresh tasting, nutritionally dense and long-lasting. This includes Gotham Greens regional favorites such as Pullman Green Leaf and Windy City Crunch.
“Since 2009, we’ve worked to transform how and where fresh produce is grown to provide more people with access to local, sustainably-grown produce that is as delicious as it is nutritious,” said Viraj Puri, Co-Founder & CEO of Gotham Greens. “After opening our first greenhouse in Chicago in 2015, we have received tremendous support from retailers, restaurants and shoppers alike who love that we can provide a reliable, year-round supply of fresh produce that’s grown locally. We’re thrilled to open our second greenhouse in Chicago to expand our production and distribution in the Midwest and bring our delicious leafy greens, herbs and fresh food products to even more people.”
“Thanks to the efforts of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, the community and the city over the past years, we’ve been able to garner investments of more than $400 million for new businesses like Gotham Greens’ two greenhouses, new homes, recreational facilities, schools and national monuments that signal Pullman’s renaissance. New jobs and opportunities are improving the quality of life of its residents and building a better city for everyone,” said 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale.
Gotham Greens will double its workforce to approximately 100 full-time employees in Chicago and 300 nationwide.
“Gotham Greens’ expansion and doubling-down on Pullman demonstrates that our community has become a destination where people are choosing to go to live, to visit and to do business,” said David Doig, President of CNI, which developed the land sold to Gotham Greens. “The community’s assets, including its proximity to transportation, major markets and the availability of open land – in addition to its architecture, history and amenities – will continue attracting more people, more amenities and more businesses that will create a vibrant, sustainable community.”
Gotham Greens leafy greens, herbs, salad dressings and pesto dips are available at a variety of national and local grocery retailers across the Midwest, including Whole Foods Market, Jewel-Osco, Target, Heinen’s Grocery Store, Sunset Foods, Pete’s Fresh Market and Peapod. In addition, the company partners with various Chicago institutions, including the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Greater Roseland West Pullman Food Network, Pilot Light and the Chicago Botanical Garden’s Windy City Harvest.
For more information:
Gotham Greens
ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress To Support USDA Urban / Innovative Ag Office
By the end of this week (Friday, Nov 15) please call or email your two senators and one representative and ask them to Support the new USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production
(Bella Vita Farm, Brookeville, MD)
By the end of this week (Friday, Nov 15) please call or email your two senators and one representative and ask them to Support the new USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production.
In the next week or two, Congress will decide whether or not to fund the USDA’s new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. The Office was created by the 2018 Farm Bill but still needs to be funded.
This new Office is intended to be the USDA’s central hub to handle aquaponics, hydroponics, vertical growing, and other new growing methods. It will coordinate matters for these growers and offer new research and funding opportunities. (See Summary)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1 – Identify your two federal senators and one federal representative.
2 – Find the phone number of their Washington, DC office on their website.
3 – Call each Office and ask to speak to the staff member that handles agriculture policy. [You may not get to speak to the staff, they may ask you to leave a message or give you an email address. Wherever you land, use the message below.]
4 – Tell them you’d like the Senator / Representative to Support the new USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production created by the 2018 Farm Bill. If you’re feeling chatty you can tell them what you do and why you think your work is important.
Thanks for supporting urban and innovative agriculture, future generations will thank you!
Brian Filipowich, Chairman
Aquaponics Association
US: BrightFarms Investing $21M In North Carolina
November 1, 2019
The packaged salads company will create 54 jobs at a hydroponic greenhouse in Etowah, NC.
(Photo: BrightFarms)
BrightFarms, a packaged salads company, will create 54 jobs in Henderson County, NC. The company will invest $21 million to operate a hydroponic greenhouse in Etowah.
“Today’s consumers are searching for produce that’s fresher, safer and responsibly grown. It’s the reason that locally grown food has become the #1 purchase driver in produce for supermarkets,” said Steve Platt, CEO of BrightFarms. “We are incredibly grateful for the support from Governor Cooper and the North Carolina Department of Commerce and look forward to bringing local, pesticide-free leafy greens to North Carolina and neighboring states.”
BrightFarms grows leafy salad greens and herbs including spring mix, spinach, baby kale, romaine and arugula. The company describes its local greens, which are grown in a safe, secure and clean indoor environment without the use of pesticides, as beyond organic. By growing produce close to its consumers, BrightFarms’ produce is delivered to supermarkets in as little as 24 hours of harvest, about a week faster than leafy greens grown on the West Coast.
BrightFarms’ North Carolina greenhouse will be the company’s sixth and one of its largest locations to date. At full production, the 280,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art greenhouse in Hendersonville could produce up to two million pounds of leafy greens each year.
“Agriculture has always been a strong driver in North Carolina, and BrightFarms’ expansion is good for our state,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “They are committed to conserving water, land and energy resources while growing their business–green economic development that is good for the company, the community and the workers who will support them.”
The North Carolina Department of Commerce led the state’s support for the company’s decision. A performance-based grant of $55,000 from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate BrightFarms’s operation in Henderson County. The One NC Fund provides financial assistance to local governments to help attract economic investment and to create jobs. Companies receive no money upfront and must meet job creation and capital investment targets to qualify for payment. All One NC grants require a matching grant from local governments and any award is contingent upon that condition being met.
“North Carolina is a great location for innovators like BrightFarms to do business,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland. “The company will join more than 1,000 food and beverage manufacturers in our state and will have their local produce available to a large supply chain along the East Coast.”
In addition to North Carolina Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, other key partners in the project include the North Carolina Community College System, Agribusiness Henderson County, and Henderson County.
Want to learn more about North Carolina corporate expansion?
Considering North Carolina for your company’s relocation or expansion project? Check out all the latest news related to North Carolina economic development, corporate relocation, corporate expansion, and site selection.
Resource Innovation Institute To Host Indoor Agriculture Energy Solutions Conference
As California policymakers develop codes for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), Resource Innovation Institute (RII) will convene the inaugural Indoor Agriculture Energy Solutions (IAES) Conference, connecting policymakers, utility program managers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, researchers, manufacturers, cultivators and investors to shape the future of energy policies and utility programs for CEA
SAN DIEGO, CA, October 2019 – As California policymakers develop codes for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), Resource Innovation Institute (RII) will convene the inaugural Indoor Agriculture Energy Solutions (IAES) Conference, connecting policymakers, utility program managers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, researchers, manufacturers, cultivators and investors to shape the future of energy policies and utility programs for CEA.
The IAES Conference will be held at the San Diego La Jolla Marriott on February 24-26, 2020.
Expanding on RII’s mission to advance resource efficiency in the rapidly expanding indoor agriculture sector, this first-of-its-kind event arrives at a critical moment in time for controlled environment agriculture.
The urban and vertical farming sector is scaling rapidly for crops of all kinds, accelerated by cannabis legalization across North America. Urban areas and food deserts are looking at indoor farming as a way to access locally grown produce. As a result, the carbon and energy implications of indoor controlled environments are becoming more impactful.
Drawing from the experiences of early models, this conference will explore energy solutions for indoor agriculture without focusing on any one crop.
Conference attendees will access educational sessions presented by experts in the field, connect with leaders in the industry and discuss cutting-edge policies and technologies. IAES will elevate innovative solutions related to energy access, efficiency and sustainability and shape the future of indoor agriculture.
“We have the opportunity to take the lessons learned from initial government, utility and non-profit responses addressing the energy and carbon impacts of regulated cannabis and apply them to the broader world of controlled environment agriculture,” said Derek Smith, Executive Director of RII. “These learnings will inform controlled environment agriculture broadly. This is precisely why we are hosting the Indoor Agriculture Energy Solutions conference. And we look forward to convening top stakeholders to join the dialogue.”
Registration can be secured via
https://www.iaesconference.com/registration
About Resource Innovation Institute
Resource Innovation Institute (RII) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance resource efficiency to create a better cannabis future. Founded in 2016 in Portland, OR, USA, RII’s Board of Directors includes the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a former Energy Policy Advisor to two Oregon governors, a former board member of the US Green Building Council and leading cannabis industry players.
The organization has unique expertise on data, policy, and education related to cannabis energy use. Its Cannabis PowerScore benchmarking survey is backed by the world’s largest dataset on cannabis energy use. RII’s Technical Advisory Council is the leading multi-disciplinary body assessing the environmental impacts and best practices associated with cultivation resource issues. In 2018, RII advised the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on the establishment of the world’s first cannabis energy regulations, and it is now advising other governments. RII’s Efficient Yields cultivation workshops are the only grower-led, non-commercial venues for the exchange of resource-efficient cultivation best practices.
RII is funded by utilities, foundations, governments, and the cannabis supply chain.
US: Study: Organic Farming Is Worse For Climate Change
The MIT Technology Review also highlighted other recent research which has concluded that organic farming produces more climate pollution than conventional practices because of land-use changes
October 22, 2019
According to a study recently published by Nature Communications, organic farming can reduce pollution produced from farming however it takes considerably more land, which means considerably more greenhouse gases would be released in order to clear that land.
The MIT Technology Review also highlighted other recent research which has concluded that organic farming produces more climate pollution than conventional practices because of land-use changes.
"Our study shows that organic peas, farmed in Sweden, have around a 50 percent bigger climate impact than conventionally farmed peas. For some foodstuffs, there is an even bigger difference -- for example, with organic Swedish winter wheat the difference is closer to 70 percent," says Stefan Wirsenius, who was responsible for a similar study in Science Daily. "The greater land-use in organic farming leads indirectly to higher carbon dioxide emissions, thanks to deforestation."
A 2017 Nature Communications study revealed that in the United States, it would require a 16-33 percent increase in land use to switch to all organic farming. However, that number skyrockets in parts of Europe because of particularly high yields.
“Looking at the farm scale doesn’t really tell you what a large-scale transition to organic would look like,” Dan Blaustein-Rejto, associate director of food and agriculture at the Breakthrough Institute, a think tank that promotes technology solutions to environmental challenges, told the MIT Technology Review. “Only a study like this, that takes a system-wide perspective, really does.”
Western Dakota Tech Saves The Agriculture Industry By Working Indoors
USDA grants $50,000 to Western Dakota Tech to expand their aquaponics project from a small closet to a bigger facility. With agriculture being one of the leading industries in the state and frequent weather changes, Bryan Mitchell said indoor methods can help preserve the agriculture industry
October 23, 2019
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA TV) - Western Dakota Tech is saving the agriculture industry with controlled environment agriculture indoors. The school receives thousands of dollars in grant money to expand their project.
USDA grants $50,000 to Western Dakota Tech to expand their aquaponics project from a small closet to a bigger facility.
With agriculture being one of the leading industries in the state and frequent weather changes, Bryan Mitchell said indoor methods can help preserve the agriculture industry.
"I think this year we've only had 140 days without snow. Well, that leaves quite a few other days where we can be controlling the environment and still producing at least something," Bryan Mitchell, program director of electrical trades at Western Dakota Tech, said.
The school produces specialty crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce. The goal is to produce 36 heads of romaine lettuce a week.
About 200 fish, 150 tilapia and the rest being fish for aesthetics, are in a tank ready to start the process.
The students and staff built a pipe system that circulates 800 gallons of water and filters out the nitrogen from the fish's waste. The nitrogen passes through the pipes and nourishes the seeds that lay on the floating rafts.
With pink and blue lights, underwater cameras and an intricate technical system, it's a hands-off method way to produce food.
"It is really impressive and it really shows how capable Western Dakota Tech's faculty and students are in helping to have a big impact in the future of the state," Western Dakota Tech President Ann Bolman said.
The future of putting a fresh salad on every person's plate.
"Ultimately, we want people to be eating healthy. We want to be apart of providing a solution to food insecurity in our community," Mitchell said.
The food will be donated to the Fork Real Cafe and the student food bank on campus.
Resource Innovation Institute To Host Indoor Agriculture Energy Solutions Conference
As California policymakers develop codes for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), Resource Innovation Institute (RII) will convene the inaugural Indoor Agriculture Energy Solutions (IAES) Conference, connecting policymakers, utility program managers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, researchers, manufacturers, cultivators and investors to shape the future of energy policies and utility programs for CEA. The IAES Conference will be held at the San Diego La Jolla Marriott on February 24-26, 2020.
SAN DIEGO, CA – As California policymakers develop codes for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), Resource Innovation Institute (RII) will convene the inaugural Indoor Agriculture Energy Solutions (IAES) Conference, connecting policymakers, utility program managers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers, researchers, manufacturers, cultivators and investors to shape the future of energy policies and utility programs for CEA. The IAES Conference will be held at the San Diego La Jolla Marriott on February 24-26, 2020.
Expanding on RII’s mission to advance resource efficiency in the rapidly expanding indoor agriculture sector, this first-of-its-kind event arrives at a critical moment in time for controlled environment agriculture. Cannabis legalization is accelerating across North America, and the urban and vertical farming sector is scaling rapidly for crops of all kinds. As a result, the carbon and energy implications of indoor controlled environments are becoming more impactful. Drawing from the experiences of early models adopted by cannabis cultivators, this conference will explore energy solutions for indoor agriculture without focusing on any one crop.
Conference attendees will access educational sessions presented by experts in the field, connect with leaders in the industry and discuss cutting-edge policies and technologies. IAES will elevate innovative solutions related to energy access, efficiency and sustainability and shape the future of indoor agriculture.
“We have the opportunity to take the lessons learned from initial government, utility and non-profit responses addressing the energy and carbon impacts of regulated cannabis and apply them to the broader world of controlled environment agriculture,” said Derek Smith, Executive Director of RII. “As the highest margin crop among a set of leafy greens and small vegetables, cannabis cultivation is driving billions of dollars of privately funded R&D into efficient lighting, automation, and greenhouse design. These learnings will inform controlled environment agriculture broadly. Just as non-cannabis CEA learnings will inform cannabis. This is precisely why we are hosting the Indoor Agriculture Energy Solutions conference. And we look forward to convening top stakeholders to join the dialogue.”
Registration can be secured via https://www.iaesconference.com/registration.
About Resource Innovation Institute
Resource Innovation Institute (RII) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advance resource efficiency to create a better cannabis future. Founded in 2016 in Portland, OR, USA, RII’s Board of Directors includes the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a former Energy Policy Advisor to two Oregon governors, a former board member of the US Green Building Council and leading cannabis industry players.
The organization has unique expertise on data, policy, and education related to cannabis energy use. Its Cannabis PowerScore benchmarking survey is backed by the world’s largest dataset on cannabis energy use. RII’s Technical Advisory Council is the leading multi-disciplinary body assessing the environmental impacts and best practices associated with cultivation resource issues. In 2018, RII advised the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on the establishment of the world’s first cannabis energy regulations, and it is now advising other governments. RII’s Efficient Yields cultivation workshops are the only grower-led, non-commercial venues for the exchange of resource-efficient cultivation best practices.
RII is funded by utilities, foundations, governments, and the cannabis supply chain.
Visit our website at ResourceInnovation.org. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
How Urban Agriculture Can Contribute To Food Security
Urban agriculture has a major role to play in providing healthy, affordable and accessible food to poor urban households in South Africa, according to Prof Juaneé Cilliers, chair of the Urban and Regional Planning Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at North-West University
October 23, 2019
Urban agriculture has a major role to play in providing healthy, affordable and accessible food to poor urban households in South Africa, according to Prof Juaneé Cilliers, chair of the Urban and Regional Planning Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management at North-West University.
Worldwide, an average of three babies are born every second. This means that the global population grows by about 162 600 people per day, roughly equivalent to the population of George (157 000) or Midrand (173 000).
At the same time, spatial change is at a peak within the urban landscape, with 65% of South Africa’s population currently residing in cities.
READ How agriculture can ease the global urban water shortage
Our growing cities are also increasingly expensive living places characterized by urban sprawl and amplified travel distances, growing carbon footprints, increased energy consumption, and complicated distribution networks.
All this leads to higher food prices and greater food wastage, neither of which are beneficial to the urban poor. Recent data from Statistics South Africa suggests that 70% of urban households in South Africa live in conditions of food insecurity.
Bringing green spaces to urban areas
The world’s growing cities host more people, but less nature. Green spaces in cities have been susceptible to urban development pressures, evident in the depletion of green spaces and the associated downward spiral of living conditions.
In the search for “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities”, one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the interrelated role of nature as a catalyst to reach the objectives of sustainability, is emphasized.
READ Eastern Cape urban agri projects to be rejuvenated
There is a consensus that we need to reclaim nature in cities in order to mitigate the challenges associated with these growing urban sprawls while capitalizing on the range of ecosystem services provided by nature.
Cities, which were once viewed as places where nature ends and urbanization begins, are today considered as a central nexus in the relationship between people and nature.
It is within these contemporary cities that we need to find sustainable future solutions as a matter of urgency because the challenge of sustaining life as we know it is becoming more complicated by the day.
Growing cities, increasing populations and escalating poverty levels mean that we cannot continue with a business-as-usual attitude.
One of the most important conservation issues of the 21st century is where and how food is produced in order to feed a growing and fast-urbanizing population.
Traditional agricultural practices have been widely criticized for their negative environmental impact.
This includes deforestation, threats to wild species, the destruction of habitats and biodiversity, pollution of water, air and soil, high water consumption and water quality degradation, as well as greenhouse gas emission and climate change.
Growing cities place further pressures on agricultural practices. With urban sprawl comes prolonged distribution networks, complex food supply chains, more costly processing, and packaging, and ultimately, more expensive produce, greater food waste and increased food insecurity.
Despite these negatives, agriculture remains one of the most important frontiers for conservation at the moment due to the industry’s deep connections with the global economy, human societies, and biodiversity.
Our challenge lies in finding ways to best utilize space, energy, and logistics in order to sustain an increasing urban population. In short, we need to rethink our cities, but we also need to rethink traditional agricultural practices.
Smart cities: easier accessibility and greater choice
The concept of smart cities is increasingly recognized as part of the discourse on sustainable cities.
To most people, a ‘smart city’ is one that is technology-driven and futuristic, where real-time intelligence informs decision-making and anticipates and mitigates a range of societal problems. From a spatial planning perspective, a smart city implies accessibility and choice.
Accessibility refers to better-structured networks and connections between communities and their host cities, while choice refers to a range of housing and transportation options. From an agricultural perspective, accessibility and choice pertain to options to ensure food security within the contemporary city.
Agricultural technologies and smart data and analytics are set to increase food production within cities. They will also help meet the ever-growing global demand and logistical distribution of food without further disturbing the urban environment. This smart city solution is encapsulated in the notion of urban agriculture.
Grow food in places where it was previously impossible
Urban agriculture offers innovative, sustainable solutions to the improvement of food security in cities, and simultaneously assists with mitigating the environmental challenges faced by cities.
Urban agriculture can be as simple as small, outdoor community, rooftop and backyard gardens, or as complex as indoor vertical farms with nutrient-enriched water and UV lighting to mimic the effects of the sun.
READ Women in agriculture are key to boosting food security
New technologies enable food to be grown in places where it was previously difficult or impossible, making urban agriculture a viable option for cities where space is limited.
Although not all crops can be grown indoors, urban agriculture has the potential to become a dynamic economic sector that can quickly adapt to changing urban conditions and demands, diversifying the functions of the city.
Urban agriculture makes it possible to produce fresh, nutritious food with low carbon and water footprints, while conserving land, reducing emissions and waste and providing healthy, affordable, accessible food to a city’s poorest residents.
It is, therefore, not surprising that a growing number of cities worldwide have already designed policies and programs to include urban agriculture as part of city planning.
Perhaps South Africa, too, should consider the integration of urban agriculture in mainstream spatial planning, and guide cities towards the creation of demarcated zones for urban agricultural production.
When urban agriculture is formalized as a land use, it has the potential to change the entire urban and agricultural landscape, increase access to healthy food options in urban areas, and mitigate the environmental impact of feeding the world.
Although urban agriculture might not be the only solution to solving food security across the world, it is certainly part of the solution to feed the 70% of urban poor households in South Africa, adding to the development of sustainable, socially inclusive, food-secure and environmentally healthy cities.
The views expressed in our weekly opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Farmer’s Weekly.
Email Prof Juaneé Cilliers at juanee.cilliers@nwu.ac.za.
Mucci Farms Wins Best Sustainable Packaging Award At Fresh Summit 2019
“To win this category, in particular, is exciting because sustainability is by far the top of mind subject in the food industry today,” says Emily Murracas, Director of Marketing
October 21st, 2019 (Anaheim, California) – Mucci Farms announces that they have been awarded the top prize for Best Sustainable Packaging at the PMA’s Fresh Summit Conference and Expo for Simple Snack, a plastic-free, backyard compostable series of packaging. “To win this category, in particular, is exciting because sustainability is by far the top of mind subject in the food industry today,” says Emily Murracas, Director of Marketing.
“We’ve been recognized in the industry for flavour and innovation over the years, so we are ecstatic to be able to package those award-winning products in a package that helps to address a global concern. It’s also very special to win in a competitive category that included submissions from packaging suppliers and fellow marketers.”
A vertically integrated greenhouse grower extensively committed to sustainability at all ends of the business, Simple Snack adds to those commitments. The package is composed of a tray made from agricultural waste and the lidding film is made of sugar-cane and wood fibers using a process that emphasizes social and environmental responsibility.
“Consumer feedback over the last several months has been almost exclusively focused on the reduction of plastic, so we feel like we’ve addressed that concern by coming up with a truly plastic-free package,” said Fernanda Albuquerque, Packaging Development Manager. “We also saw the value of being able to add key messaging to the tray which gave our designers a larger canvas for branding, information, and education.”
A dedicated partner of the Produce Marketing Association, Mucci Farms also sponsored the annual Center for Growing Talent 5k race, which seamlessly fits with their company objectives to be a health and wellness conscious brand. Race participants were served refreshing smoothies made with the Award Winning SmucciesTM Sweet Strawberries. Additionally, the company had a sampling station at the show entrance where attendees could take home a sample of their very own Simple Snack package.
On the show floor, the Mucci Farms team welcomed buyers and attendees to their world of colours that included their entire lineup of offerings including their newest item, Zingers shishito peppers and the highly sought after CuteCumber Poppers. With chefs on hand putting together a variety of flavourful samples, the Mucci Farms booth has become a featured destination every year.
The Fresh Summit Conference & Expo took place from October 18-20 in Anaheim, California.
For Info:
Ajit Saxena
Public Relations & Digital Marketing Manager
519-326-8881 Ext 2253
asaxena@muccifarms.com
Early History of Indoor Agriculture & Associated Technology Development
This month’s Indoor Ag Science Café was about the history and current technology status of indoor farming. The beginning seems to be in Syracuse, NY, where General Electric developed an indoor hydroponic farm funded by DoD in 1973
By urbanagnews
October 17, 2019
By Dr. Cary Mitchell (Purdue University)
This month’s Indoor Ag Science Café was about the history and current technology status of indoor farming. The beginning seems to be in Syracuse, NY, where General Electric developed an indoor hydroponic farm funded by DoD in 1973. Then there was a large commercial indoor farm for leafy greens in Dekalb, IL, owned by General Mills, which was closed in the 1990s. The longest survived may be the one in Japan (TS Farm by Kewpie Co.) where they use HID lamps and aeroponics since 1989. Most significant technological improvements are two ways – one in lighting and another in rack/shelving systems. Dr. Mitchell also introduced the contributions that NASA indoor farming studies made over the past 30+ years, as one of the contributors in the space.
Indoor Ag Science Café is supported by the USDA SCRI grant program and designed to create a precompetitive communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals. The Café presentations are available from the YouTube channel. Contact Chieri Kubota at the Ohio State University (Kubota.10@osu.edu) to be a Café member to participate.
Can CO2 Help Grow More Food And Reduce Land Use?
Supplementing crops with CO2 is one method of increasing yield since CO2 is a basic input for photosynthesis. CO2 supplementation is done by increasing the level of CO2 in the air. CO2 Delivery Solutions is helping plants grow more in less land while increasing a grower's profitability without harm to people or the planet. For more information on how CO2 Delivery Solutions works, watch this video or visit co2delivery.ca
CO2GRO
October 9, 2019
As our population continues to grow at a rate of about 1% a year, or nearly 80 million more living people per year, food security is becoming a major concern. You may look at the 1% number and think, “well we only need to increase food production by 1% a year to keep up with population growth.” However, as you likely are aware, there are many on Earth who eat very little, not out of choice. According to the Food Aid Foundation one in seven people are underfed and undernourished. From this perspective, food production would need to increase by about 15% in these parts of the world in order to provide sufficient nutrition to these people and then increase by a further 1% per year in order to keep up with the net population growth. This means more land will be required to grow more food.
According to the USGS global cropland is approximately 4.62 billion acres. According to the site: “Croplands make up more than 80 percent of Moldova, San Marino and Hungary; between 70 and 80 percent of Denmark, Ukraine, Ireland and Bangladesh; and 60 to 70 percent of the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Lithuania, Poland, Gaza Strip, Czech Republic, Italy and India. For comparison, the United States and China each have 18 percent croplands.” Globally, cropland makes up approximately 12.5% of the Earth’s land mass - Earth’s land mass is approximately 37 billion acres. India, the US, China and Russia account for one third of the global cropland with 1.62 billion acres.
There are over 415 million acres of cropland in the US which equates to approximately 1.25 acres of cropland required to make sufficient food per person - assuming the same 1.25 acres is used to grow food for the lifespan of a person living in the US (this figure does not factor imports or exports of crops). India and China on the other hand, two rapidly growing economies and populations, have only 0.35 acres of cropland per person.
Focusing on China and India as proxies for the developing world and the US as a proxy for the developed world, developing countries would require up to 3.5 times more crop land per person based on their populations to become on par with food production in the developed world. This would mean if every person in the world had the same food security as a citizen in the developed world, we would require about 9.6 billion acres or double the current cropland. That’s an increase from 12.5% of the Earth’s land mass to 26%, just to grow crops!
Yields have improved but there is room for improvement.
Crop yields have increased significantly over the past 30 to 40 years and continue to increase with better agricultural technologies, therefore requiring less and less cropland per person. However, the reality is the world will likely require doubling the amount of cropland use in order to adequately feed the world’s population with sufficient amounts of nutritious crops.
Supplementing crops with CO2 is one method of increasing yield since CO2 is a basic input for photosynthesis. CO2 supplementation is done by increasing the level of CO2 in the air. Indoor grow facilities can pump CO2 gas into the grow rooms to increase the amount of CO2 in the air from 400 parts per million (ppm) to 800-1600 ppm. This practice has been done for decades and has resulted in increased yields and faster growth of 30% on average.
However, indoor grow facilities are few and most crops are grown in greenhouses and outdoor farms. Greenhouses account for only 50 billion square feet globally (1.15 million acres) or 0.025% of total global cropland. 80% of greenhouses cannot gas CO2 in the facility since venting allows the CO2 gas to escape. Of course, outdoor farms cannot pump CO2 gas into the air either.
Imagine if the world’s four and a half billion acres of outdoor cropland could increase their yield by over 30% simply by adding CO2. We could theoretically save 30% of the additional cropland required over the coming decades to feed people. That’s approximately one and a half billion acres or 4% of the Earth’s land mass that could be kept untouched and natural.
How then can we supplement CO2 for plants grown in warm climate greenhouses and outdoor farms?
CO2 Gro Inc.'s patented CO2 Delivery Solutions enables growers in warm climate greenhouses and outdoor farms to supplement their plants with CO2, so growers everywhere can get more yield, bigger plants and faster growth - which means less land use to produce more food.
How is this done? CO2 Delivery Solutions' creates an aqueous CO2 solution that is applied to the plant's foliage. The plants easily absorb the CO2 in the solution within seconds. The plant can now use that added CO2 to grow bigger, faster and use less land to produce more food.
CO2 Delivery Solutions is helping plants grow more in less land while increasing a grower's profitability without harm to people or the planet. For more information on how CO2 Delivery Solutions works, watch this video or visit co2delivery.ca
NatureFresh Farms Puts Sustainability In The Spotlight With Forward-Thinking Compostable Tray
NatureFresh Farms is making a difference in produce packaging by significantly reducing their plastic waste. They have teamed up with a local family-owned manufacturing operation to develop a fully compostable pulp molded tray that is helping to drive sustainable solutions in the produce industry
Leamington, ON (October 15th, 2019) - NatureFresh Farms is making a difference in produce packaging by significantly reducing their plastic waste. They have teamed up with a local family-owned manufacturing operation to develop a fully compostable pulp molded tray that is helping to drive sustainable solutions in the produce industry.
It has been just over a year since NatureFresh Farms introduced their new compostable Mini Cucumber tray to their customers, an environmentally friendly alternative to the use of the polystyrene foam trays. NatureFresh Farms has focused their waste reduction efforts on leaving less and leading more, teaming up with local manufacturer Pulp Moulded Products (PMP) to make sustainability central to their packaging processes.
Interest from the retail community along with the many positive comments received directly from the consumers, have fueled the growth for this innovative product. By providing their customers with an alternative to polystyrene foam trays, they are seeing many transitions to the compostable pulp tray as an environmentally friendly solution. NatureFresh Farms is committed to finding innovative solutions that will lead us towards a more sustainable future and are excited to share one of their many ongoing environment initiatives.
Since June 2018, NatureFresh Farms has distributed 6 million compostable molded fiber trays within the marketplace. During this time, they have saved 67,200 pounds of Styrofoam trays from entering landfills, which is equal to 12 truckloads. This significant amount offers a greener alternative that is compostable, recyclable, and can decompose within 90 days. The compostable tray is made from 100 percent post-industrial paper waste which is then ground up and mixed with water for a pulp- based material. During biodegradation, no toxic or hazardous waste materials are expelled into the environment.
Luci Faas, Product Development Specialist at NatureFresh Farms, worked alongside Gord Heyting at PMP to develop packaging that is highlighted for its sustainability while protecting the produce from damage and keeping it fresh. “This has been a project that I’ve had a lot of interest in developing and has been on my mind for a while,” shared Luci. “NatureFresh has given me the opportunity to really pursue this innovative packaging design and have supported the effort to introduce greener alternatives into their packaging. Working with PMP has helped us achieve our goals of becoming more sustainable.”
PMP is a company based in Newmarket, ON, located near the NatureFresh Farms head office in Leamington, ON. PMP manufactures custom molded pulp packaging that is PFAS free, a widely-used toxic chemical found in packaging that repels water and grease. Their vision is to produce recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable packaging from local waste, while displacing petroleum-based packaging at the same time. Currently, PMP uses post-industrial corrugated boxes – some coming from their own box-making operations, and others from suppliers found throughout North America. PMP is also preparing to implement a program that will enable them to start using boxes that they pick up from their customers, including NatureFresh Farms.
By recognizing the extent to which products in the produce industry have contributed to the escalating plastic and pollution crisis, NatureFresh Farms has taken significant steps towards reducing their impact on the environment, and with such positive results so far, they are hoping to inspire even greater change within the industry.
“Seeing the actual numbers from the past year gives us a greater awareness of the considerable difference we are making to the environment by being more sustainable in our packaging,” said Frank Neufeld, Sales Manager at NatureFresh Farms. “We are inspired by the positive affect one company can have – but think about the kind of impact we could have collectively if plastic-free packaging were to become an industry standard.”
As climate change has become a defining issue, sustainable packaging has taken the spotlight, with consumer demand driving these initiatives forward. NatureFresh Farms is committed to developing the compostable tray program with ambitious expansion plans on the horizon – something retailers and consumers alike will be proud to support. NatureFresh Farms is committed to finding innovative solutions that will lead us towards a more sustainable future and are excited to share one of their many ongoing environment initiatives.
Agrihood Development Brings Urban Farming to Denver
The Westfield Company development has teamed up with Altius Farms to bring urban farming to the whole community.
By Tori Mason
October 11, 2019
DENVER (CBS4) — An urban agrihood community in Denver’s RiNo neighborhood is providing a greener lifestyle, for residents and the public. The condominiums in S*Park, or Sustainability Park, have environmentally-friendly features like solar power, recycled brick, and compost valet.
S*Park, an urban greenhouse in downtown Denver, promotes sustainable food year-round. (credit: CBS)
The Westfield Company development has teamed up with Altius Farms to bring urban farming to the whole community.
”Companies are trucking produce from 1,500 miles away into Colorado. Here we can grow more efficiently and much more close to our city centers, where restaurants and grocery stores and urban life is thriving,” said Sally Herbert, CEO of Altius Farms.
Credit: CBS
The S*PARK development features a 7,200-square-foot greenhouse operated by Altius Farms. It’s one of the largest rooftop aeroponic gardens in the country. Currently, there are 23 different varieties of product growing. The majority are sent to local restaurants and markets.
“It’s Colorado. We have 6 or 7 months of growing time outside. Here was have the whole year. We have 320 days of sunshine every year in Colorado. Why not take advantage of that?” said Herbert.
Herbert spent Wednesday morning harvesting produce in S*PARKS’s outdoor garden that wouldn’t survive Thursday’s freeze.
Soon, the public will be able to take advantage of Herbert’s year-round produce. Altius Farms launched a Community Supported Agriculture program this week. Subscribers will receive produce and flowers from the greenhouse for a fee.
“On a weekly or monthly basis, they’ll get a little basket or bag of produce like lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, all grown locally,” said Herbert.
S*PARK residents will be the first to test the CSA program, then Altius Farms will open it up to the public.
Urban Agriculture Group Seeking Farm At Amazon’s HQ2
The Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture (FOUA) have formally submitted a request for less than 2% (or 1,000 square feet) of the upcoming HQ2 campus to become an urban farm space
September 11, 2019
An urban agriculture group wants in on one of the most elusive spaces in town: Amazon’s new headquarters in Pentagon City.
The Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture (FOUA) have formally submitted a request for less than 2% (or 1,000 square feet) of the upcoming HQ2 campus to become an urban farm space.
“We believe Arlington is poised to become a national leader for urban agriculture, and the Metropolitan Park project offers an opportunity to showcase Amazon’s and Arlington’s commitment to sustainable, biophilic (integrating the natural world into the built environment) development,” the FOUA board wrote in a letter to HQ2 stakeholders this month.
FOUA said in exchange for dedicating space for the farm, Amazon and the community will reap the rewards of:
Aesthetically appealing, biophilic focal point event space for movie nights, public or private receptions, exercise classes, etc.STEM plant lab for K-12 researchPublic demonstrations of growing sustainable techniques & methodsAt-scale food production for distribution to local food banks.Incubator for urban agriculture-focused startupsEncourage public interaction with local food systems.
Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
There has been growing interest in urban agriculture in Arlington, advocates say, and Amazon could help spread it to an area where there is little land available for growing fruits and vegetables.
“We really think Amazon’s commitment to creating an environmentally-sound campus provides an opportunity to create a public amenity that would benefit everyone,” said Matt McKinstry, a FOUA board member.
FOUA wrote the proposal in light of the upcoming Site Plan Review Committee meeting for HQ2 on Monday, September 23.
CropKing Pres. Paul Brentlinger On Ag’s Undervalued Human Element
Dan Brentlinger, the late founder of CropKing, knew he wanted to be an indoor grower as early as a sixth grade when he wrote an essay about his dream of pursuing horticulture. By that time, he was already growing strawberries in his basement. It took years for the industry to catch up to his ambitions
All images courtesy of CropKing and Paul Brentlinger
Dan Brentlinger, the late founder of CropKing, knew he wanted to be an indoor grower as early as a sixth grade when he wrote an essay about his dream of pursuing horticulture. By that time, he was already growing strawberries in his basement. It took years for the industry to catch up to his ambitions. He founded CropKing because he felt other indoor operators were offering poor products with even worse support for growers. Now, Paul, his son, is at the reigns, and we chatted about financing tips, the ag data revolution, and how the human element of agriculture is more vital than ever.
What is the biggest challenge in indoor ag right now, compared to when CropKing got started?
You fast forward 35 years [from the founding of CropKing] and the bigger challenge isn’t that nobody understands what hydroponics is, or what the benefits of controlled environment agriculture are, or why our food system isn’t working in its current state.
Now the bigger question is, how do you weed through all the garbage? As any industry matures, you’ve got the guys like CropKing or AmHydro, who have been around for almost 40 years. You don’t make it for 40 years if you’re not providing good products and good support. But now that CEA and hydroponics are somewhat mainstream, you’ve got everybody and their brother claiming to be experts and to have packages and tech support and quality supplies.
In the age of social media and mass information, how can growers make sure they’re getting reliable advice?
I would talk to as many people as I could that are doing what you’re doing. You’re not inventing something new. It doesn’t matter where you live, within a hundred miles of you, somebody is doing something very similar to what you want to do.
Find out who they went with, what made them successful, what do they not like about their process of getting set up. Get as much info as you can from going to seminars, going to trade shows. Meet with the people you’re going to buy your stuff from because those are the same people that are going to support you afterward, and if you don’t like ’em, find somebody else. If you don’t think you’re going to want to call these people weekly or daily in your first year, you’re going to have to find somebody else, because that’s realistically what you should be doing.
What’s CropKing’s signature approach?
Customer service. I’m not selling something that is extremely unique. It’s not, “You have to have this specific thing to succeed.” What you need to succeed is support, the ability to get through the problems, to not have a catastrophic failure, all of those things that, when you look at our ag space, crush people in their first year.
There is only a really small group of successful small businesses that last longer than 10 years. Well, if you look at the number of growers that CropKing has set up over the last 38 years, it would be safe to say that over 80% of them are still in business 10-to-15 years later.
What should new growers know about financing?
There’s a lot of entry points. The growers that Contain is more likely financing, and the growers that CropKing typically sells packages to, are relatively small commercial growers, typically less than an acre, most of the timeless than half an acre.
When it comes to financing these guys, they probably don’t have the agricultural experience that traditional banks are looking for to say, “We believe in ag, and you obviously have the skillset to make this successful.”
Our answer to that is a business plan model that we can help you put together that is very beneficial to the bank and being able to look at it and go, “OK, we understand what you’re accomplishing and how you’re going to be able to do this,” and you can then explain to the financier the support system that you have by going through CropKing. So we can help people navigate that.
In the end, though, if you’re not financeable, you’re not financeable. If you’ve got bad credit, or you don’t have substantial assets, or you’ve gone through two bankruptcies, there probably are not great options to get a loan to start a business.
Why work with Contain?
Even if you are financeable, an agriculture loan can still be more difficult to get than a traditional business loan. This is where Contain comes in, and I think, is starting to fill a niche, in that you guys are saying, “Hey, we know that if you, the grower, are going to buy from x, y, or z, you are more typically successful than not, so we’re willing to finance it, assuming it’s coming through these channels.”
There was clearly a missing section in finance as it relates to small commercial ag in controlled environments, and that’s what you guys are filling. I think it’s great. And you guys are first to market, but I think in the next five years you’ll see more similar models to what you guys do, and I think it’s awesome.
How does financing change based on grow size?
Financing of a less than half an acre and financing a two-acre are worlds different. If you are financeable and you’re trying to do something that’s less than a million dollars, you could probably accomplish that in the next four or six months if you’ve got your ducks in a row. If you are trying to do a two-acre project and you’re looking for financing, if you’re not anticipating 18 months from now, you’re really delusional. It’s just that long of a process to get this stuff together.
When you’re talking about building a two-acre facility, you’re talking about way more involvement with city officials and understanding what the look of this has to be and bringing in infrastructure and utilities and turn lanes and all that stuff that people who are building a two-bay, four-bay, half-acre greenhouse get away with by putting it in the back of their property and utilizing the wonderful world of ag exemptions.
What trends are you most excited about in indoor agriculture?
There’s the increased focus on data collection. It’s got pros and cons. A lot of people are looking at AI and data as a way to get to where it’s more of a process and an app, and we’re just setting programs. I don’t think we’re going to get to that level. I think the human aspect in growing is very key, and you’ll never work that out of a greenhouse. But the ability to have this data to make that human that much better is extremely valuable.
This conversation transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Learn more about Contain and funding your indoor ag business at our website, and subscribe to Inside The Box, our weekly newsletter.
NatureFresh Farms & NatureFresh Farms Sales Announce Internal Leadership Developments
NatureFresh Farms doesn’t only grow delicious produce – they also grow their people into confident, forward-thinking leaders
Leamington, ON (September 23rd, 2019)
NatureFresh Farms doesn’t only grow delicious produce – they also grow their people into confident, forward-thinking leaders. Cornelius Neufeld and Frank Neufeld have each been working in the greenhouse farming industry for over 20 years, gaining invaluable experience and knowledge that has accelerated their professional growth and development. In recent months, both Cornelius and Frank have taken on more prominent management roles within the NatureFresh Farms and NatureFresh Farms Sales organizations – helping each company achieve their ambitious goals for expansion and business growth.
Cornelius began his journey with NatureFresh Farms in 2011 as a Labor Manager. In 2015, Cornelius was presented with an opportunity to start working in Delta, Ohio as the Operations Manager at a brand-new 45-acre greenhouse facility. After 4 years in this role, Cornelius has now transitioned into a more expansive role – as Operations Manager for all NatureFresh Farms facilities located in both Canada and the United States.
For Cornelius, a new role means new opportunities to learn and work with farm-level team members in both Canada and the U.S.: “I’m excited to work alongside the great people we have at both our Canadian and American farms. I wouldn’t want to do what I do with any other company – the team at NatureFresh Farms is truly unique and the opportunities for professional development here are endless. This new role will have its challenging moments, but challenges are what make our successes that much more rewarding.”
It was also in 2011 that Frank started working at NatureFresh Farms as a Warehouse Manager. In 2016, Frank assumed the Operations Manager role for all the company’s greenhouse facilities based in Leamington, ON, which at the time totaled 130 acres. In recent months, Frank has fully transitioned into a new role as the Sales Manager with NatureFresh Farms Sales – introducing him to a new side of the greenhouse vegetable business.
An eager team and opportunities for exponential growth has Frank excited for his new role with NatureFresh Farms Sales: “I plan to bring even greater structure to this young company that is quickly growing and full of potential. Like my previous role allowed, I’m also looking forward to growing our Sales staff so that they can find greater professional success. This team is enthusiastic and eager to make NatureFresh Farms Sales one of the best produce marketers in the world – there is a lot to be excited about here.”
Both Cornelius and Frank identified the same key challenge within their new roles – to ensure that, in the coming years, they find the most capable individuals to join the NatureFresh Farms and NatureFresh Farms Sales teams. As each business continues to expand and more job opportunities are created, both Cornelius and Frank agree that it is essential to find key individuals who will help bring NatureFresh Farms and NatureFresh Farms Sales to even greater heights.
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About NatureFresh Farms -
NatureFresh Farms has grown to become one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable farmers in North America. Growing in Leamington, ON and Delta, OH, NatureFresh Farms prides itself on exceptional flavor & quality. Family owned NatureFresh Farms ships fresh greenhouse grown produce year- round to key retailers throughout North America.
SOURCE: NatureFresh Farms | info@naturefresh.ca T: 519 326 1111 | www.naturefresh.ca