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Upward Farms Announces Rebrand From Seed & Roe and Plans to Open a New Headquarter Farm in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The coronavirus pandemic is significantly increasing consumer demand for organic, sustainable food, indicating heightened awareness for healthy, nutritious eating. Fresh produce sales have remained elevated during the pandemic period, with produce sales showing sustained double-digit, year-over-year growth March through June 2020
Upward Farms announced growth plans including a rebrand from Seed & Roe and construction of a new headquarter farm in Brooklyn that will significantly increase production. These announcements come following the company closing more than $15 million in new funding, including investment led by Prime Movers Lab.
The coronavirus pandemic is significantly increasing consumer demand for organic, sustainable food, indicating heightened awareness for healthy, nutritious eating. Fresh produce sales have remained elevated during the pandemic period, with produce sales showing sustained double-digit, year-over-year growth March through June 2020. As consumers continue to gravitate toward fresh, organic produce and purchase more groceries online, Upward Farms offers consistent product availability and quality, scalability, and a shortened supply chain for East Coasters to receive locally grown greens. Upward Farms' breakthrough approach to indoor aquaponics, using fish to fertilize crops in a complete ecosystem, results in increased yields, more control in disease prevention, and unprecedented food safety. This approach reconnects eaters with flavorful and nutritious local food, rather than relying on long haul distribution systems and imported food.
A look inside the new Upward Farms headquarters, an indoor aquaponic ecosystem growing leafy greens and fish.
“By cultivating complete ecosystems with a strong microbiome and leveraging the precision and control of indoor agriculture, Upward Farms not only grows thriving plants and animals but offers the potential for a sustainable food supply that is both scalable and safe,” said Jason Green, Upward Farms Co-founder, and CEO. “With the support of this capital investment, we will continue to expand the marriage of nature and nurture to produce affordable greens in abundance and make them accessible. Everyone should be able to easily and affordably nourish their body, family, and the planet.”
“As a leading investor in breakthrough scientific companies, we are honored to join Upward Farms' journey to transform billions of lives through next-level nutrition, safety, and deliciousness,” said Suzanne Fletcher, General Partner at Prime Movers Lab and now a member of the Board of Directors at Upward Farms.
Previously known as Edenworks and then Seed & Roe, the company has raised more than $20 million in total funding to date to provide a sustainable source of greens and fish for consumers. The new Upward Farms name and brand is an expression of the company’s mission to heal the broken food system. It also aligns with the company’s plans for expansion, including the opening of additional farms and broadening of its product portfolio for both retail and foodservice. The look for the redesigned logo, new product packaging and digital presence represent Upward Farms’ fresh, clean greens and forward-thinking approach.
In late 2020, Upward Farms plans to unveil a brand new company headquarters in Brooklyn that will demonstrate and advance the company’s next-generation technology through both commercial production and research and development facilities. The new operation is expected to increase production of Upward Farms greens by 20 times over its original facility, also located in Brooklyn. The expansion will enable the brand to supply its washed and ready-to-eat salads to grocery stores across New York City.
Upward Farms’ growing practices eliminate harmful bacteria like E. coli and other pathogens without the use of pesticides, antibiotics or synthetic fertilizers to produce the safest leafy greens on the market. Grown from Non-GMO seeds, Upward Farms leafy greens are pesticide-free, washed, and ready to eat. “Recent events have highlighted what we at Upward Farms already know -- biology has a lifeforce all its own that must be respected. That’s why we are stewards of nature, learning from and building technology to enhance biology,” shared Green.
For more information:
Upward Farms
info@upwardfarms.com
www.upwardfarms.com
Publication date: Fri 10 Jul 2020
Vertical Farming With Hydroponics
In recent years, urban farming using vertical hydroponic systems has gained a lot of attention. Using the latest technology, these hydroponic farms are able to optimize plant growth, providing fresh, local produce, while minimizing water usage, space, transport, and pesticides
In recent years, urban farming using vertical hydroponic systems has gained a lot of attention. Using the latest technology, these hydroponic farms are able to optimize plant growth, providing fresh, local produce, while minimizing water usage, space, transport, and pesticides. However, whether hydroponic farms are superior to traditional farming methods and whether they can replace them has been subject to controversy.
AeroFarms vertical farming facility source: https://time.com/collection/best-inventions-2019/5733085/aerofarms/
What is a hydroponic system?
Hydroponics refers to the soilless techniques used to grow plants. There are a number of varieties of hydroponic systems, including aquaponics where live fish are used to provide fertilizer for the plants, traditional hydroponics which involves adding chemical solutions of the required nutrients, and aeroponics which uses a nutrient-infused mist. Hydroponic systems can be grown in a greenhouse using natural light, or more commonly in a vertical system using LED lights, to save space.
Aerofarms aeroponic system uses a nutrient infused mist. Source: https://aerofarms.com/technology/
Advantages of hydroponics
1. No soil
The earth has a finite coverage of arable land on which crops can be grown. Climate change and destructive farming practices cause loss of this soil. Soil erosion is one of the greatest threats to food security. As a result there is a growing demand for alternative, innovative approaches to provide food for the growing population. Hydroponics is one of these, providing a soilless system that can be used anywhere, particularly suited to cities.
2. Transport
As previously mentioned, hydroponic systems offer the advantage of the ability to be grow anywhere, even in the middle of a soilless city. As a result, fresh produce can be made available locally, sold in restaurants and farmers markets with minimal transport. This helps minimise greenhouse gas emissions as well as minimise nutrient loss and damage of produce, as leafy greens are quick to lose their nutritional content once harvested. Better yet, many hydroponic farms allow transport of the live produce to the market, providing the freshest possible option.
3. Reduced water usage
Hydroponic systems can use up to 10 times less water compared to traditional soil-based cultivation due to the recirculation of the water used. This offers a huge advantage as water shortage is of great concern, with field-based agriculture being one of the greatest consumers of freshwater sources - up to 80% of ground and surface waters in the U.S. Therefore, hydroponics offers a sustainable option for crop cultivation, with the growing population causing an increasing demand for food and water.
4. Controlled environment
Growing indoors allows better control of temperature, light, air composition and pests. As a result, crop growth rates, quality and yield can be maximised and can also be grown year-round. Therefore, these indoor farms can play an important role in filling the market gap, providing fresh produce in all seasons.
5. Less space
Indoor hydroponic farms are typically grown vertically, with LED lights for each layer of crops, this allows maximum usage of small spaces making it a viable option for growing crops in the city homes, in a spare room or basement. Moreover, in hydroponic systems plant roots don’t spread out as much in the search for nutrients like when grown in soil, as the roots are suspended directly in nutrient-rich solution. As a result, it is possible to grow crops much closer together, saving space.
6. Less need for herbicides and pesticides
Due to the controlled, soilless environment, pests and disease are minimised. As a result there is little need for use of chemical herbicides and pesticides which is a big bonus for health and food safety, with often no need to even wash the harvested crops.
Disadvantages and challenges of hydroponics
1. Organics debate
It has been subject to debate whether hydroponic systems should be permitted organic certification. Standard hydroponics typically uses a chemical nutrient solution, which are often not organically sourced. Moreover, it is controversial whether the absence of the soil microbiome may effect the food quality, with unknown impacts on the human microbiome, as increasing evidence suggests that the microbes we obtain from food may be an important contribution to our health.
2. limited crop variety
Due to the high light demands of fruiting plants, often requiring a wider light spectrum with a longer growth period, hydroponic technology is currently mostly limited to leafy greens due to costs. Therefore, hydroponics can in no way be seen as a complete replacement for traditional farming methods. Despite this, technological advancements are constantly improving hydroponic growth, possibly making it a viable option for a wider range of crops in the future.
3. Technical knowledge and difficulties
Understanding of the technical set-up of the hydroponics system and plant growth requirements is essential for preventing system failures. Leakages can occur and different crop types may require vastly different nutrient, temperature and lighting conditions. In addition, the close proximity of water and electrics poses risk and careful, regular monitoring of the system is required.
4. initial expenses
Although setting up a hydroponic system can be done on a budget with minimal costs, on a commercial scale, the specialist equipment required can be expensive. After the initial set up costs will be limited mainly to electricity and nutrient costs, the increased plant growth rates and yield often outweigh these added costs.
Concluding remarks
Despite the number of challenges and limitations associated with vertical farming with hydroponic systems, it still offers great potential to contribute to a more sustainable future of farming. It is important to emphasize that vertical farming and hydroponics is in no way a viable replacement for traditional farming practices but an alternative option, particularly suited to cities to help support the demand for fresh, locally-sourced healthy greens, with the growing population. Technological advancements are expected to further improve the costs and efficiency of plant growth in hydroponic systems, giving it high hopes for the future.
Officials Break Ground on STX Aquaponics Center
After several years of planning, government officials, members of Farmers in Action and Fresh Ministries broke ground on a plot of land in Estate Bethlehem’s coconut grove for an agribusiness center for aquaponic farming
By Susan Ellis
June 29, 2020
After several years of planning, government officials, members of Farmers in Action and Fresh Ministries broke ground on a plot of land in Estate Bethlehem’s coconut grove for an agribusiness center for aquaponic farming.
The project began seven years ago when Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. and Sen. Allison DeGazon met Rev. Robert V. Lee III of Fresh Ministries. Degazon worked at the Labor Department and Bryan was commissioner of Labor at the time. Several members of Lee’s staff had aquaponics training at the University of the Virgin Islands, and the three officials began planning for a new aquaculture system for St. Croix. Lee secured a $2 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and Bryan and DeGazon worked to find a suitable location.
Aquaculture is farming animals such as fish, crayfish, prawns or even snails, fish, crayfish or prawns normally found in the sea, and hydroponics is cultivating plants directly in liquid (water and nutrients in solution) rather than soil. In an aquaponic system, both seagoing creatures – typically tilapia – and plants can be grown together in one hydroponic system, with the water from the fish being circulated through a hydroponic plant system that uses the fish waste matter to fertilize the plants. The cleaned water is then recirculated back to the fish.
An aquaponic system can be built on one-seventh of an acre and raise its crop on 96 percent less water than a comparable, traditional farming operation.
During Saturday’s groundbreaking ceremony, Lee talked about the work and programs of Fresh Ministries. In January 2019, the nonprofit organization announced a partnership with the Desmond Tutu Project for Global Hunger. The initiative created an agricultural business incubation program in the Virgin Islands and Haiti. The program was described as “state-of-the-art, climate-resilient greenhouse farming” in areas that import most of their food. Lee has met with Desmond Tutu several times, and the St. Croix program was one of his last sponsorships.
The Rev. Robert V. Lee III of Fresh Ministries speaks Saturday at the aquaponics groundbreaking at Estate Bethlehem. (Source photo by Susan Ellis)
“Desmond Tutu put his name on this program right here,” Lee said.
Bryan talked about his long friendship with Rev. Lee and the Fresh Ministries aquaponics center in Jacksonville that has become a tourism product in its own right. He said the St. Croix project has multilevel economic development aspects and job opportunities for farmers to feed their families.
“On a 2,000-square foot farm you can make $100,000 in revenue, working just two to four hours a day,” Bryan said.
“The program is no longer about soil and the sun breaking our backs. It is about science,” DeGazon said.
Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Diana Collingwood said the “initiative screams food security.”
Bryan said they envision greenhouses and water catchment units but have no specific design plans for the St. Croix center yet.
Lee said there have been conversations with the University of the Virgin Islands about working with the UVI aquaponics program, which pioneered the system.
“We’re hoping these two converge,” he told the Source.
For more than 30 years, Fresh Ministries has helped people around the world learn life skills, prepare for jobs, and start business incubators. The aquaponics program focuses on education, training and production of fresh, nutritious produce.
The aquaponics program also is sponsored by Farmers in Action and the Episcopal Diocese of the Virgin Islands.
Lead Photo: V.I. government officials and representatives from Fresh Ministries and Farmers in Action turn the first shovels of dirt at the future site of an aquaponics center. (Source photo by Susan Ellis)
Risk of E.coli In Hydroponic and Aquaponic Systems May Be Greater Than Once Thought
It’s been thought that hydroponic and aquaponic systems could reduce these issues since there is little opportunity for pathogens like E. coli to contaminate the edible parts of plants
It’s been thought that hydroponic and aquaponic systems could reduce these issues since there is little opportunity for pathogens like E. coli to contaminate the edible parts of plants.
Brian Wallheimer | Purdue University
04/21/20
A spate of foodborne illnesses in leafy greens and other produce in recent years has sickened consumers and disrupted growers and supply chains. It’s been thought that hydroponic and aquaponic systems could reduce these issues since there is little opportunity for pathogens like E. coli to contaminate the edible parts of plants.
Hye-Ji Kim (left), pictured with graduate student Seunghyun Choi, found the presence of E. coli bacteria in aquaponic and hydroponic growing systems, suggesting the bacteria could reach produce consumers. (Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
A Purdue University study, however, has found the presence of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) – the same bacteria that have made consumers of several produce products ill – in hydroponic and aquaponic growing systems. Hye-Ji Kim, an assistant professor of horticulture and the study’s corresponding author, said the findings suggest growers using these systems should be careful in handling and harvesting to avoid contamination.
“Many people think that there is no chance that E. coli could be present in these systems and that risk of contamination is low,” said Kim, whose results were published in the journal Horticulturae. “Our findings suggest there is some potential for food safety concerns. We’re not saying that these foods are unsafe, but that it’s important to handle these plants properly and carefully.”
Aquaponic and hydroponic growing systems are thought to have little risk of containing bacteria that can sicken produce consumers. After finding E. coli in both types of systems, Hye-Ji Kim suggests growers to use caution to not introduce the bacteria to their operations. (Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
The E. coli outbreaks that have occurred in recent years tend to happen in leafy greens and other vegetables grown in irrigated fields. Potential sources could be from E. coli in manure or groundwater that reaches the edible portions of plants, or from those contaminants getting to plants after root damage by wild animals.
Proponents of hydroponic and aquaponic systems suggest their growing methods would reduce or eliminate any risk of contamination. Both soilless systems, hydroponic plants are grown in water and chemical fertilizers or nutrient solutions, and aquaponic systems include the raising of fish, with fish wastewater utilized as water and nutrient source for the plants.
The fish used in aquaponic growing systems may introduce E. coli to water and potentially produce crops, and accidental contamination is possible in hydroponic systems. Hye-Ji Kim and Yi-Ju Wang (pictured) suggest growers take careful steps to ensure that these bacteria don’t reach plants that could sicken consumers. (Agricultural Communication photo/Tom Campbell)
Kim, Yi-Ju Wang, a graduate student in Kim’s lab, and Amanda Deering, a Purdue clinical assistant professor of food science, set up both hydroponic and aquaponic systems for growing lettuce, tomatoes, and basil for about two months. The scientists found E. coli in both systems at the time of harvest.
In the aquaponic system, the authors believe the E. coli was introduced by the fish. The bacteria was found in the water, on plant roots, and in fish feces.
“Our separate aquaculture system confirmed that fish feces were a major source of contamination with STEC in the aquaponic system,” the authors wrote. “These results indicate that introducing contaminated fish can be a source of foodborne pathogens in aquaponics.”
The presence of E. coli in the hydroponic system, in which fish were not used, suggests that the bacteria was introduced accidentally. Kim believes it could have splashed from a nearby aquaponic system or have been introduced by a visitor who brought it in from outside the greenhouse. Either way, the presence in the system suggests that accidental contamination is a real risk.
E. coli was also found on plant roots in both systems, but the bacteria did not internalize in the plants. In other words, even with the bacteria present in water and on the roots, the edible portions of the plants were still safe to consume.
The key, Kim says, is proper handling to ensure that E. coli or other pathogens don’t make it to the edible parts of plants. Damaged roots would allow bacteria into the plants, potentially making it to edible portions internally. And the splashing of water during growing or harvesting could introduce bacteria to the edible portions of the plants.
“The best way to manage these issues is to not touch roots or water throughout production cycles. If you do, you should thoroughly wash your hands before touching the edible parts of the plants,” Kim said. “Proper sanitization of equipment is also important. And acquiring fish that do not contain E. coli would also be beneficial.”
Kim’s lab is continuing to investigate food safety risks in hydroponic and aquaponic systems. Projects include damaging roots and simulating splashes to understand how much contamination can occur.
The Indiana State Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Purdue University College of Agriculture funded this research.
The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AgriTechTomorrow
04/21/20 | Precision Farming, Processing & Supply Chain | Aquaponics, hydroponic, safety
Aquaponic Growers Eligible For Coronavirus Assistance
Multiple USDA representatives assured the Aquaponics Association that aquaponics operations producing qualified crops are eligible for financial support through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The Deadline to apply is August 28, 2020. Growers are also eligible for Small Business Administration Programs
Multiple USDA representatives assured the Aquaponics Association that aquaponics operations producing qualified crops are eligible for financial support through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The Deadline to apply is August 28, 2020. Growers are also eligible for Small Business Administration Programs.
By Thomas Wheet and Brian Filipowich
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the American agricultural industry in unprecedented ways. Farmers have watched harvests spoil, been forced to destroy crops, and have euthanized livestock due to the shifts in consumer behavior.
The USDA created the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to assist farms that have suffered economically due to the outbreak.
We reached out to the USDA to inquire about aquaponic growers’ eligibility for CFAP and received encouraging, yet somewhat inconclusive, responses. While aquaponics is not explicitly highlighted as an eligible growing method for CFAP, numerous USDA representatives assured our policy team that aquaponic operations producing qualified crops could receive financial support through the program. Because funding decisions will ultimately be conducted at the county level, both the Aquaponics Association and USDA personnel strongly encourage any aquaponics organization to reach out to its county’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to confirm that the organization meets all criteria required to receive support before completing the application process.
Deadline to apply: The USDA is accepting applications until August 28, 2020. Make sure to check with your FSA at your local USDA Service Center for any questions regarding the application process.
Who can apply for CFAP:
Producers of eligible commodities who have experienced a 5% or greater price decline due to COVID-19.
Individuals and/or legal entities that average an adjusted gross income of less than $900,000 in 2016, 2017, 2018. Make sure to check the CFAP website for additional eligibility guidelines.
Eligible crops: Non-specialty crops, wool, dairy, livestock, and specialty crops are all eligible for CFAP. For a complete list, make sure to take a look at the CFAP website.
General Business Assistance Programs
In addition to agriculture-specific economic assistance, the Federal Government has augmented general economic relief programs so that they also apply to agricultural. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program offers $10,000 loan advances for businesses experiencing a temporary loss in revenue and have less than 500 employees. The loan advances do not need to be repaid.
The USDA website notes: “For the first time, agricultural enterprises are now eligible for the disaster assistance from EIDL. As a result of the unprecedented legislation, American farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural businesses will now have access to emergency working capital.” The website also specifically notes that “aquaculture” businesses are eligible. Eligibility for CFAP is unaffected by participation in the PPP or EIDL.
Also from the SBA, the Payroll Protection Program offers guaranteed loans to support the payroll of businesses with less than 500 employees during the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, the PPP deadline is June 30, 2020 (the day of this posting).
What is the Economic Effect of COVID on Aquaponics?
Surveys have indicated that COVID19 has hurt commercial aquaponic growers.
See:
1) Survey Results; COVID’s Effect on U.S. Aquaponics; and
2) Commercial Growers Hit Hard by Coronavirus.
We must do more to support commercial aquaponic growers during the pandemic so that we don’t set back our most efficient, sustainable form of agriculture.
Are you a grower that receives, has applied, or plans to apply for economic assistance through these government programs? Please complete this quick survey to let us know your experience, and if you have any questions or comments on the process.
Please Click Here To Access
The COVID Government Assistance Questionnaire
Aquaponic Urban Farming In Berlin
Thanks to modern concepts, the Berlin start-up ECF Farmsystems is now breeding "perch" and "basil" in the middle of Berlin
REWE.de Nutrition
Perch and Basil From The Capital
Yes, you read it right! Thanks to modern concepts, the Berlin start-up ECF Farmsystems is now breeding "perch" and "basil" in the middle of Berlin. You can buy both in around 140 REWE stores in Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Together with the start-up, REWE is committed to holistic, sustainable and regional food production.
Perch and basil in the middle of Berlin
Regional and sustainable foods are absolutely on-trend right now. More and more people are concerned about the environment, want to avoid unnecessary transport routes and unnecessary packaging material. They like to buy products from their region, but groceries straight from the big city have so far been rare. Thanks to the aquaponics method, it is now possible to grow fruit, vegetables, and even fish in the city. Industrial wasteland and other unused areas in cities can be wonderfully upgraded as “urban farming” areas. Large flat roofs will also be the best areas for urban food cultivation in the future. The Berlin start-up ECF Farm is breeding on the site of an old malt factory fresh cichlid and basil in the middle of the capital. With success! The two entrepreneurs Nicolas Leschke and Christian Echternacht spent five years working on the ideal method of combining fish and plant breeding. Meanwhile, the two true experts in the field of aquaponics and advise interested parties across Europe.
Aquaponics?
AQUAkultur = Fish and other marine animals are raised in large basins on land.
HydroPONIK = Plants are not grown in soil, but in an inorganic substrate (gravel or expanded clay) in greenhouses and fed with an aqueous solution.
How does aquaponics work?
Aquaponics is a mixture of aquaculture and hydroponics, i.e. fish farming and vegetable cultivation are combined in an ingenious way. The principle is very simple: The fish are bred in large fish tanks in aquaculture and fed with organic food. In contrast to conventional aquacultures, the fish are not given antibiotics. Fish excrete ammonium, which is converted to nitrate in a special aquaculture filter. Nitrate is again the main component of the hydroponic plant fertilizer. Here comes the highlight of the method: The water in the fish tanks has to be replaced by three to five percent every day. It is guided from the aquaculture into the hydroponics facility using a special technique. There the basil is irrigated with the water from the fish tanks. The basil is fertilized automatically by the nitrate contained in the water. One can say that the fish feeds the basil. Incidentally, the urban farmers do not use pesticides or genetic engineering for growing herbs. All processes are optimized to protect the environment and resources. The water that the plants do not absorb is cleaned by a natural filter and remains partly in the hydroponic cycle and partly returned to the fish tanks. This creates a constant and resource-saving cycle. is cleaned by a natural filter and remains partly in the hydroponic cycle and is partly returned to the fish tank. This creates a constant and resource-saving cycle. is cleaned by a natural filter and remains partly in the hydroponic cycle and is partly returned to the fish tank. This creates a constant and resource-saving cycle.
Sustainability through "urban farming"?
Thanks to on-site production, manufacturers save six tons of plastic waste a year. For short transport, for example, you can completely do without plastic trays for irrigation. But not only the environment benefits from the short transport routes, the customer can also look forward to locally produced and extremely fresh products.
Is aquaponics a concept with a future? Certainly! With this technology, unused areas in the city can be used sensibly. In addition, water consumption is significantly lower than in conventional agriculture. The quality of the herbs and vegetables is also very high, as it is much easier to control in a closed cycle. However, it has not yet been possible to breed native fish using this technique. In the summer it gets very warm in the fish tanks and at these temperatures only tropical fish feel comfortable. For example the African cichlid, African catfish or the pakus from South America. The options for fruit and vegetable cultivation, on the other hand, are diverse: whether salad, herbs, tomatoes, Strawberries or zucchini - many types of fruit and vegetables can be easily grown in aquaponic farms. The big advantage: fruits and vegetables are only harvested when they are ripe. As a result, they taste much better than green harvested goods that only artificially ripen during transport.
In the vision of the two urban farmers, supermarkets will grow their own vegetables on roofs or other urban open spaces in the future. A first step in this direction is the sale of “perch from the capital” and “basil from the capital” in Berlin's REWE stores. Demand is high and customers are very satisfied with the regionally grown products.
Growing Up: The Rise of Vertical Food Production
Vertical farming is a novel food production system that doesn’t require arable land, but instead makes use of derelict spaces in an urban environment. Instead of growing crops the traditional way, in fields, utilizing the sun or greenhouses, vertical farming grows crops by stacking them vertically, in cities, utilizing UV lights
Today the population of the world is approximately 7.8 billion, and it is predicted to grow by another 2 billion people by 2050. Arable land is continuously lost due to industrial development and urbanization, and as such the increasing food demand of the growing population alongside the decreasing of arable land is an enormous challenge. There is thus a need for realistic strategies for implementing novel food production systems around the world. Could the answer lie in vertical farming?
What is Vertical Farming?
Vertical farming is a novel food production system that doesn’t require arable land, but instead makes use of derelict spaces in an urban environment. Instead of growing crops the traditional way, in fields, utilizing the sun or greenhouses, vertical farming grows crops by stacking them vertically, in cities, utilizing UV lights. This method of indoor farming meets all seventeen requirements of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. These goals are a plan to attain a better and more sustainable future for the world’s population and address current global challenges. Furthermore, vertical farming also incorporates all of the Urban Future program’s ten tracks, who believe that cities are key to a sustainable future for our planet.
Furthermore, it has been proposed that rooftop greenhouses be developed in schools in Barcelona, Spain. It is believed that schools can play an important role in environmental sustainability and the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology in Barcelona has developed a procedure to install rooftop greenhouses in compact cities. The implementation of urban agriculture proposals supports the development of novel methods for environmental sustainability in our ever-growing world.
How Does it Work?
There are three main models for vertical farming:
Hydroponics, where plants are grown in a nutrient-rich basin of water.
Aeroponics, where crops’ roots are periodically sprayed with a mist containing water and nutrients.
Aquaponics, which involves breeding fish to help cultivate bacteria that is used for plant nutrients.
Aeroponics uses less water overall but is technically more complicated. Interestingly, the water used in hydroponics can be recycled several times after it has evaporated from the plant and recaptured from the humid air.
Pros and Cons of Vertical Farming
Vertical farming is able to yield more crops per square meter than traditional farming or greenhouses can. Furthermore, vertical farming is not weather or season dependent, and as such year-round crop production is possible. Vertical farming also uses 70-95% less water than traditional methods and as the crops are produced in a well-controlled indoor environment it is possible to eliminate the use of chemical pesticides and grow organic crops with a faster harvesting method. This is key, as one of the biggest problems with fresh vegetables is the time it takes between harvest and consumption. A faster harvesting times could mean that more vitamins and nutrients are also maintained within the produce.
Vertical farming is a relatively new venture and as such, the financial and economic feasibility remains uncertain. Yet several vertical farming companies have been set up in the past decade utilizing old warehouses and disused factories with structures to grow vegetables and herbs. One certain disadvantage is the initial cost of real estate in cities, which could impede the viability of urban locations. In addition, labor costs in cities tend to be higher. Although, maybe most impeding is the total dependence on power for lighting, maintenance of temperature, and humidity, and as such the loss of power for just one day could see a significant loss in production.
Conclusion
Vertical farming has the ability to provide fresh and safe food in sufficient quantities, independent of climate and location. Today, we are well aware of climate change and the immediate need to change our current way of life, as such vertical farming and food production has the potential to become a necessary solution in global food production.
References
The United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
Urban Future Programme’s Ten Tracks. https://www.urban-future.org/about/
What You Should Know About Vertical Farming. https://www.thebalancesmb.com/what-you-should-know-about-vertical-farming-4144786
Association for Vertical Farming. https://vertical-farming.net/
How Vertical Farming Reinvents Agriculture. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170405-how-vertical-farming-reinvents-agriculture
Nadal A et al. (2018) Rooftop greenhouses in educational centers: A sustainability assessment of urban agriculture in compact cities. Science of The Total Environment. Jun 1;626:1319-1331
ABU DHABI: US Educator Outlines Urban Farming Vision in ADIBF Virtual Session
American educator, urban farmer, and innovator Stephen Ritz revealed how his tower garden-growing technology is flourishing in the UAE during the latest Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF, Virtual Session
ABU DHABI, 2nd June 2020 (WAM)
American educator, urban farmer, and innovator Stephen Ritz revealed how his tower garden-growing technology is flourishing in the UAE during the latest Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF, Virtual Session.
The talk, titled ‘Changing the World with the Power of a Plant’, on Thursday covered Ritz’s rise to fame through his innovative teaching methods in some of the USA’s poorest communities, his ongoing projects in the UAE, and the numerous books he has published.
As the 30th edition of ADIBF has been postponed until next year, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, has instead organized the virtual sessions for scheduled guests to present their talks online, so viewers can watch safely in their homes.
Ritz, who has become known as ‘America’s Favourite Teacher’, has spawned a green movement through the changes he brought to the school where he taught in the South Bronx, New York. Utilizing hydroponics and aquaponics, he began to grow plants in the classroom, which in turn encouraged his students to follow sustainable and healthy lifestyles.
He first came to the UAE in 2015 as one of the ten finalists in the Global Teacher Prize. While he didn’t win, he used his runner-up prize money to create the Green Bronx Machine, a curriculum for a green classroom, which is now being taught around the world.
His work caught the attention of Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director-General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, KHDA, in Dubai, who invited Ritz back to the UAE. Soon Ritz was visiting schools, universities, and businesses here to explain his methods. He also began working alongside Sheikh Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Ali Al Nuaimi, the Environmental Advisor to the Government of Ajman, who is also known as the ‘Green Sheikh’ for his environmental work. The pair are currently authoring a book called Bringing the Farm to the Desert to be released in 2021.
Ritz also works with Esol Education, the international network of private schools that operates many schools across the UAE, and has been appointed as its Director of Health, Wellness and Innovation. He is now based at Fairgreen International School in The Sustainable City, Dubai, hence he says he now thinks of the UAE as his "second home".
Ritz said he enjoys nothing more than meeting children, inspiring teachers, inspiring healthy living, and inspiring healthy learning for everyone across the UAE through his passion, purpose, and hope.
With the 30th edition of the ADIBF postponed until next year, the DCT Abu Dhabi has launched a series of live virtual broadcasts to showcase artists and authors and open up new creative conversations with readers.
The virtual sessions will run until Monday, 15th June 2020, and feature ten speakers from around the world, to discuss a wide variety of themes – from history and education to entertainment and science – designed to appeal a wide audience of different age groups and tastes.
Other ADIBF Virtual Sessions have featured the Swedish behavioral expert Thomas Erikson, military survival specialist John Hudson; Lemn Sissay, the award-winning British-Ethiopian poet; and Annabel Karmel, the children’s cookbook author.
WAM/Tariq alfaham/Nour Salman
Aquaponics AI, A US-Based Aquaponic Technology Research Company, Just Unleashed Their Software Into The Wild
In addition to being the forerunner in Aquaponic technology, they also have invaluable libraries for fish, plants, and diseases, as well as calculators for managing your system
Aquaponics AI, a US-based aquaponic technology research company, just unleashed its software into the wild. It’s the system every aquaponic grower has been waiting for. It has traditionally been difficult to get started in Aquaponics because of the steep learning curve but they are making it easy to get started and maintain a system with features like a project template that gets your system running with recommended maintenance schedules by big players in Aquaponics.
They’re bringing innovative usage of artificial intelligence and big data to Aquaponics for the betterment of the global aquaponics community. Their vision is to unleash your Aquaponic growing powers. You’re the beneficiary of high-quality produce and revenue streams created from your system.
In addition to being the forerunner in Aquaponic technology, they also have invaluable libraries for fish, plants, and diseases, as well as calculators for managing your system.
“We’re about empowering people to be the best aquaponic growers possible. Tech is what gives people the tools to do awesome things.” - Jonathan Reyes, CEO, and Co-founder of Aquaponics AI
You can see the latest developments on their website https://aquaponics.ai alongside invaluable resources and calculators that are available for free.
Tags: Aquaponics, Dashboard, IoT, Sensors, Cloud
Aquaponics Firm Eyes A Green Future, With Water Lentils In A Starring Role
After a year of research and development on Vancouver Island, and a crowdfunding campaign that reached $750,000, a new agri-tech company is preparing to significantly expand its footprint and hit the market with a plant protein
Andrew Duffy / Times Colonist
MAY 30, 2020
Steve McArthur, CEO of Pontus Water Lentils, at the company's research and development site.
Photograph By ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST
After a year of research and development on Vancouver Island, and a crowdfunding campaign that reached $750,000, a new agri-tech company is preparing to significantly expand its footprint and hit the market with a plant protein.
Pontus Water Lentils, which has been doing research and development at a test farm run by Victoria’s Garden City Aquaponics, has developed an aquaponics system — a hybrid of aquaculture and hydroponics — to produce water lentils. It says those lentils pack an unrivaled protein punch.
Chief technology officer and co-founder Steve McArthur said Pontus has developed a grow and harvest system which, when installed in a new facility, will be capable of producing 100 metric tonnes of water lentils.
McArthur, who also founded Garden City Aquaponics, said the plan is to build a new 10,000 square foot facility for the closed-cycle system. It will also grow and nurture rainbow trout — the fish waste is converted by microbes into fertilizer for water plants, which in turn filter the water for the fish.“
It’s a grown-in-Victoria business,” said McArthur. They are considering sites for the facility in Langford or on the Lower Mainland.
He said the water lentils grown in the facility would be dried and turned into about 6.4 metric tonnes of protein powder that can be used as a supplement for protein shakes, a partial ingredient replacement in foods such as pasta, or to be used in manufacturing food such as protein bars and beverages.
The company intends to package the powder for sale to grocery stores and find partners to produce a line of products packed with the protein-rich powder, while the fish will be sold to local grocery stores and restaurants.
McArthur noted they have already had some success in producing fish and leafy greens at Garden City, as they sold fish to local restaurants and small-scale production of leafy greens to Red Barn Market and other grocers as well as local chefs.
Currently, Garden City, which produces two types of tilapia and the water lentils, is being used entirely for research and development for Pontus, but it may revert to producing small-scale food for local stores and restaurants when Pontus opens its facility.
McArthur said the high-protein water lentils add a protein boost to various products.“The final product is 42.1 percent protein by weight, that’s pretty significant,” he said, noting that is higher than both pea and pumpkin protein. “In terms of plant-based protein that’s one of the highest and we would be growing it aquaponically on a commercial scale.”
The next step for Pontus is the larger facility, which McArthur said they now have the money to build.
Pontus started a crowdfunding campaign on Frontfundr.com. It had hoped to raise at least $750,000 and as much as $1.25 million to build its first production farm. To date, it has raised just over $766,000; they are also raising private capital.
When built, the facility will be capable of producing 6.4 metric tonnes of dried and powdered lentils and about 11,000 trout every year.
McArthur said the market opportunity is big as the product ticks a lot of boxes in terms of its sustainable production, the massive demand for plant-based protein, and food security.
The facility is scalable, moveable could be built almost anywhere, and has a small environmental footprint, he said.
The company says the farm uses less than five percent of the water used in field farming and has none of the carbon footprint.
Herbs, Sold Entirely in Paper Instead of Plastic
REWE and ECF Farmsystems are testing new forms of product packaging
Hauptstadt Basil Now Only in Recycled Paper
REWE and ECF Farmsystems are testing new forms of product packaging. The capital city basil produced in Berlin is now packed 100% plastic-free. Both the funnel-shaped plastic bag (sleeve) and the plastic pot are dispensed with. Instead, their Hauptstadt Basil will be packed exclusively in recycled paper. The customer can cut the bag along the dotted lines and the paper recycling bag becomes a substitute pot. The substitution of plastic bags saves approximately 2.1 tons of plastic per year.
In addition, the elimination of the pots saves about 5.1 tons of plastic per year. The innovation has a pilot function: If the new packaging method is accepted by the customers and proves itself in practice, its use can also be expected for other herb pots and nationwide.
Herbs in sustainable paper packaging / Picture: Rewe
As early as 2017, REWE and ECF Farmsystems tested new ways in transport packaging. By dispensing with plastic irrigation trays for the capital's basil, six tons of plastic waste were saved annually. Building on this experience, REWE also dispensed with transport irrigation trays for other products available nationwide, thus saving 90 tonnes of plastic per year for potted herbs alone.
Raising perch and growing herbs under one roof
Since the beginning of 2017 REWE and the Berlin start-up, ECF Farmsystems have been committed to a holistic and environmentally friendly process for the production of perch and basil: Aquaponics. The breeding of cichlids in the middle of Berlin is combined with the cultivation of herbs - because these are optimally fertilized by the nutrient-rich water from the fish farm. From fish food to plant fertilizer to basil and perch in the supermarket, there is a complete production cycle in the heart of the capital. At the same time, local cultivation shortens transport routes and cold chains for greater sustainability and freshness.
The capital city perch and capital city basil are available at 280 REWE stores in Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Source: REWE
Publication date: Mon 25 May 2020
Grow Your Own Food At Home
Launched in 2017, Dubai-based Greenoponics Agricultural Services, which focuses on soil-less cultivation methodologies, is a trendsetter in sustainable farming practices, helping UAE residents to start their own vegetable patches at homes, offices, and commercial spaces.“
Greenoponics Can Provide Solutions Through Hydroponics and
Aquaponics Techniques
May 28, 2020
Hanging hydroponic system from GreenoponicsImage Credit: Supplied
Growing food sustainably in the UAE is no easy feat. However, new technologies and innovative farming practices are pushing more city dwellers to grow vegetables, greens, and herbs in their homes.
Launched in 2017, Dubai-based Greenoponics Agricultural Services, which focuses on soil-less cultivation methodologies, is a trendsetter in sustainable farming practices, helping UAE residents to start their own vegetable patches at homes, offices, and commercial spaces.“
Urban farming can improve the UAE’s food security, reducing dependence on imports,” says Smitha Paresh, Executive Director, Greenoponics.“We can provide solutions through hydroponics and aquaponics techniques, along with greenhouses and net houses for commercial, residential, and institutional purposes.”
Greenoponics, which is part of the Happy Holdings group, has installed several systems on rooftops of building and in kitchen gardens at homes, at camp accommodation facilities, schools, and restaurants and institutional premises.“Our systems have been able to yield six kgs of tomatoes per plant in three months and 20kgs of leafy greens per square metre in one month,” she says.“
Hydroponics-based techniques such as nutrient film technique (NFT) and Dutch bucket system (DBS), can be easily installed on rooftops and even on balconies, thus having many benefits,” Smitha says.“
These include 70–80 percent less consumption of water, automated controls, lower pest attacks, the guaranteed yield from less space, and highly nutritious vegetables, fruits, and greens.“
Furthermore, hydroponics-based farming contributes to sustainability, food safety and security, water conservation, and resource optimization,” Smitha explains.
Greenoponics has also developed and marketed unique mini-hydroponic systems for growing various fruiting vegetables such as okra, aubergine, capsicum, and gourds. Using these systems, people can grow more than 20 plants in just one square metre area.“We have installed greenhouses and net houses, with Dronii-DBS and Eva-NFT systems, at various public schools run by the Ministry of Education, several schools of GEMS Group, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid School for Girls, Sheikh Hamdan Innovation Center for Youth and Al Ghurair farms. We will be part of Dubai EXPO at the sustainability pavilion for hydroponic systems,” she says, adding, “Greenoponics was selected by DEWA for the Innovation Week in 2018 to showcase its innovative technology. We have also bagged the Ajman University Innovation Center Award for our products and services.”
For more information on the company, visit Greenoponics.com
Western South Dakota Aquaponic Farm Floats Fresh Food
A Butte County couple is putting fish to work in a new aquaponic greenhouse, growing fresh, locally-grown lettuce that now lines Northern Hills grocery shelves
May 23, 2020
Photo: Lacey Peterson, AP | Chris Garro shows off the long root under some herbs growing at the aquaponic greenhouse at Garro Farms in Nisland, S.D. (Lacey Peterson/Black Hills Pioneer via AP
BELLE FOURCHE, S.D. (AP) — A Butte County couple is putting fish to work in a new aquaponic greenhouse, growing fresh, locally-grown lettuce that now lines Northern Hills grocery shelves.
He is a Black Hills and Wyoming native, she’s from northeast Iowa, and together, Chris and Alexa Garro, owners of Garro Farms, have mastered the art of mimicking a natural ecosystem that combines traditional aquaculture with hydroculture in the ultimate symbiotic system.
It just so happens that the work fish naturally do, eating and producing waste, is the perfect fertilizer for growing plants. And boy do those fish grow a lot of plants when they get to work.
The best of both worlds
Aquaponics uses the best of all the growing techniques, utilizing the waste of one element to benefit another, mimicking a natural ecosystem.
Alexa told the Black Hills Pioneer it represents the relationship between water, aquatic life, bacteria, nutrient dynamics, and plants that grow together in waterways all over the world. Taking cues from nature, aquaponics harnesses the power of bio-integrating those individual components — exchanging the waste byproduct from the fish as a food for the bacteria, to be converted into a perfect fertilizer for the plants, and return the water in a clean and safe form to the fish — just like mother nature does in every aquatic ecosystem.
“If we were to let this system just hang out and never touch it, it (the bacterial symbiotic process) would happen naturally,” Alexa said. “It’s kind of like nature wants to make it work, and then we just provide the facilities.”
The system has found shortcuts around common agricultural issues.
While gardens can be located in your backyard, industrial farms are often thousands of miles from where their food is consumed. This requires extensive transportation, refrigeration, and packaging to get the food from farm to table.
Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil, by instead using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. While hydroponics solves many soil-based issues, it also offers its own problems.
Traditional hydroponic systems rely on the careful application of expensive, man-made nutrients made from mixing together a concoction of chemicals, salts, and trace elements. For the Garros, through aquaponics, they merely feed the fish and monitor the system carefully, and grow fresh, bountiful greenery that you could have on your table the day after harvest.
The Arpan setup
Garro Farms, located approximately 18 miles northeast of Belle Fourche on Arpan Road, is home to the 2,400 square-foot commercial-scale greenhouse. Chris, utilizing second-hand materials, built the greenhouse with the ultimate goal — to supply fresh produce to the Northern Hills and Wyoming areas all year long.
“It took some imagination to get it to this,” Chris said. “And I hope other people follow suit, too.”
Although there are numerous types of aquaponic systems, the Garros selected deep-water culture, or raft-based growing, that uses a foam raft which floats in a 12-inch deep channel filled with fish effluent water that has been filtered to remove solid wastes. Plants are placed in holes in the raft and the roots dangle freely in the water.
Photo, Chris and Alexa Garro have opened a commercial-scale aquaponic greenhouse to offer fresh, locally-grown lettuce and herbs to Northern Hills and Wyoming communities pose at the farm in Nisland, S.D. (Lacey Peterson/Black Hills Pioneer via AP)
In 2018, Chris implemented a smaller backyard experiment in aquaponics and found the plentiful rewards it could provide. He said the property had only a limited amount of available space, forcing him to get creative, making aquaponics the perfect solution to offer healthy, high-yielding fresh produce.
The system’s water starts out in a 500-gallon in-ground tank and is pumped into the tank where the fish thrive. From there, the nutrient-rich water flows through a solids filter and into a bacterial conversion tank before being piped into the “beds” where the plants roost while they grow.
“And then back again,” Alexa said. “So, it’s all a big cycle. The plants clean out that nitrate, and it comes back to the fish.”
The system circulates approximately 4,500 gallons of water each hour, Chris said.
And the system works well.
“Almost every single thing that comes out of this, there’s no waste byproduct,” she said, adding that other than adding iron to the water, Garro Farms doesn’t provide any additives to the process. “Otherwise, it’s completely self-sustaining. The older the system gets, the more efficient it works, and the more balanced it gets.”
“We figured out how to basically get as much production in this size (of) greenhouse as we would get out of something four times this size,” Alexa said. “So, by taking the square footage and doing a certain crop rotation that he did, that’s how we get (the amount of production).”
Currently, the farm grows six types of lettuce — green oakleaf, rouxai, adriana, salanova red incised, green incised and butter crunch. They also cultivate microgreens, grown under natural sunlight in the greenhouse, including pea shoots, purple-stemmed radish and sunflower. But that’s not all; the Garros are experimenting with herbs like cilantro and culinary sage.
“To be this new and have the right levels and everything producing was a stroke of genius on Chris’ part,” Alexa said.
Without the rotation the Garros utilize, Chris said it would be next to impossible to get the amount of growth production.
“We can do between 50,000-74,000 heads of lettuce out of here a year,” he said. “And if I had done it the conventional way and not moved anything, if we just put in the water and let it grow … they need quite a bit of room when they get bigger and we’d of cut that (production) in a quarter.”
From the time the seeds are planted, the plants are full grown and ready for market in about 35 days, Chris said.
“We’re not using any special seed or anything like that,” he said. “We’re trying to provide ideal conditions, and if you give something ideal conditions, … it just does better.”
What about the fish?
As one of the main components in an aquaponic system, the fish are an important focus for the Garros.
Chris said he stocked his 1,500-gallon fish tank, which is above ground and separate from the water tank, with 50 pounds of fathead minnows three or four months ago.
The type of fish is atypical for an aquaponic setup, Chris said.
“This is pretty experimental, too, because I haven’t read about anybody doing that with bait fish,” he said.
Due to the proximity to the Belle Fourche Reservoir and wanting to keep product procurement as local as possible, the farm gets the minnows from the Wheel In Bait Shop.
The local supply is handy but, Alexa said the fish species is particularly hardy when it comes to handling the area temperatures, whereas other fish species typically used in other aquaponic setups like tilapia, koi or goldfish would struggle in the South Dakota conditions.
So, what happens when the fish get too big and the balance is thrown off?
“The cool thing about it is we’ll trade these out for smaller ones with the bait shop,” Chris said.
A 50-pound batch of minnows will likely thrive in the greenhouse for around six months before needing to be traded out for smaller ones, he said.
“Most people factor in because they either do a huge, massive, million-dollar scale building, or they have a little backyard system,” Alexa said. “So, they either want to eat the fish or they’re factoring it into their revenue plan. For us … it’s so weird fitting that middle ground where we’re not a million-dollar facility but we’re not a 500-gallon backyard system. What worked for everybody else will not quite work here, especially in South Dakota in the wintertime.”
Pandemic curveball meets ingenuity
The current pandemic conditions put a slight kink into the Garros’ plans.
Chris said that the pandemic conditions related to COVID-19 have caused a supply shortage for some of the supplies needed for the greenhouse, requiring them to operate on a smaller level until more supplies arrive.
Photo, Alexa Garro examines the lettuce crop grown at Garro Farms' aquaponic greenhouse in Nisland, S.D. (Lacey Peterson/Black Hills Pioneer via AP)
“And we don’t even have this thing (the aquaponic bed) like a quarter of the way full, and this is (producing) about 860 heads (of lettuce) a week,” Alexa said.
In about a month, Chris anticipated the greenhouse would likely be at around three-quarters capacity.
Even through the rough conditions, Garro Farms is rising above and plowing through the roadblocks. The farm’s produce is already on the shelves of Lueders Food Centers in Spearfish and Belle Fourche, Lynn’s Dakotamart in Belle Fourche, Bee’s Knees Natural Foods in Spearfish, Grocery Mart in Sturgis and Bearlodge Bakery in Sundance, Wyoming.
Soon, that will likely expand. Alexa said they’re in talks with some restaurants all the way to Rapid City, hoping to provide locally grown, healthy options everywhere.
“We had such a good response from everybody. All the stores we’ve sold to … they’re selling out weekly,” Chris said.
The bigger picture
The couple, who, between the two of them, has ranched in Montana, worked in the Bakken oil fields, done professional construction work, and worked in radio and news outlets, decided they wanted a new direction in life.
“It’s good work, and I didn’t mind it,” Chris said. “But, doing something like this, to me, is a bigger thing. Growing food, to me, is more important.”
The farm expects to be able to keep a consistent level of inventory in terms of production, year-round.
“The way that we’re going to get away with that is the grow lights,” Chris said. “In the wintertime, I’ll probably put them over all the beds. You need 10-15 hours of sunlight (each day).”
The couple was uniquely drawn toward growing lettuce. Chris said that around 95% of the country’s lettuce comes from the California region.
“There’s no reason we can’t grow this locally like this,” he said.
“Lettuce is just one crop that you can’t really get it in mass in the winter in South Dakota,” Alexa said. “This is something that everybody that I talked to had the same problem, ‘I buy lettuce, it goes bad; I buy lettuce, it’s not really what I wanted.’ We just kind of went, ‘lets focus on this and get it going.’”
The pandemic conditions have highlighted to the couple the importance of having a local supply chain.
“If we can do this here, I think it’s possible pretty much anywhere,” Chris said.
Chris said he hopes to continue to grow the business, bring on staff, and someday, produce for most of western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming.
Although the farm sold its first batches of lettuce to local stores in mid-April, the couple is already expanding on the greenhouse, planning a 12-foot addition to the front to accommodate a packaging area.
Aquaponics Can Have Both Environmental And Cost Benefits
Although aquaponics systems, which combine conventional aquaculture with hydroponics, have become a hotly debated topic in future food production, data on the economic feasibility of aquaponics is relatively limited
Aquaculture is the farming of fish and other aquatic animals, while hydroponics involves growing plants without any soil. Both approaches have been successful on their own, however, combining fish and vegetable production — so-called aquaponics — could also be profitable, according to a new analysis published on 19 May in the journal Aquaculture Research (1).
Although aquaponics systems, which combine conventional aquaculture with hydroponics, have become a hotly debated topic in future food production, data on the economic feasibility of aquaponics is relatively limited.
To figure out how realistic the approach might be, researchers from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) analyzed one year of real production data from an existing aquaponics system — the “Mueritzfischer” — located in Waren (Müritz) in Germany. The research system was build as part of INAPRO, an EU-funded project led by IGB aimed at demonstrating the viability of an innovative aquaponics system.
The 540-square-meter facilities produce fish and vegetables on a large scale in a combined recirculating system. The fish and plants are grown separately within the two recirculating systems and sensors are used to continuously monitor can connect the two systems when needed to create optimal growth conditions.
The authors examined two different scenarios and performed an extensive profitability analysis. One scenario showed that the aquaponics approach can be profitable if facilities are sufficiently large. Using this scenario, the researchers developed a model case, which they used to calculate figures for different sized facilities.
Under the right conditions, aquaponics can have both environmental and cost benefits, according to the authors. The main barriers to the commercialization of aquaponics are the high investment costs and high operating costs such as for fish feed, labor, and energy, particularly in countries like Germany. Another challenge is that profitability largely depends on the market environment and the production risks, which can be difficult to predict.
Lead author Goesta Baganz believes there might be huge potential for aquaponics in urban areas: “The already profitable model case would cover an overall space of about 2,000 square meters. This would mean that professional aquaponics would also be possible in urban and peri-urban areas, where space is scarce and often relatively expensive.”
“If, therefore, urban aquaponics can make a profit on such a scale, there is even greater opportunity for local food production, which is becoming increasingly important throughout the world as urbanization progresses”, Baganz explained.
In a global context, Professor Werner Kloas, who led the project, said: “Considering current problems like climate change, population growth, urbanization as well as overexploitation and pollution of natural resources, global food production is the largest pressure caused by humans on Earth, threatening ecosystems and the stability of societies. Consequently, one of the key societal goals is to achieve eco-friendly, efficient food production,”
(1) Baganz, G. et al. Profitability of multi‐loop aquaponics: Year‐long production data, economic scenarios and a comprehensive model case. Aquaculture Research (2020). DOI: 10.1111/are.14610
The First Online Dashboard For Aquaponics
“We’re about empowering people to be the best aquaponic growers possible. Tech is what gives people the tools to do awesome things.” - Jonathan Reyes, CEO, and Co-founder of Aquaponics AI
Aquaponics AI, a US-based aquaponic technology research company, just unleashed their software into the wild. It’s the system every aquaponic grower has been waiting for.
It has traditionally been difficult to get started in Aquaponics because of the steep learning curve but they are making it easy to get started and maintain a system with features like a project template that gets your system running with recommended maintenance schedules by big players in Aquaponics.
They’re bringing innovative usage of artificial intelligence and big data to Aquaponics for the betterment of the global aquaponics community. Their vision is to unleash your Aquaponic growing powers. You’re the beneficiary of high-quality produce and revenue streams created from your system.
In addition to being the forerunner in Aquaponic technology, they also have invaluable libraries for fish, plants, and diseases, as well as calculators for managing your system.
“We’re about empowering people to be the best aquaponic growers possible. Tech is what gives people the tools to do awesome things.” - Jonathan Reyes, CEO, and Co-founder of Aquaponics AI
You can see the latest developments on their website https://aquaponics.ai alongside invaluable resources and calculators that are available for free.
The Indoor Farm Revolution
Coronavirus chaos has spurred a grow-your-own food movement — and space-age hydroponic technology is rising to meet it.
Coronavirus chaos has spurred a grow-your-own food movement — and space-age hydroponic technology is rising to meet it.
NOTE FOR 2020 READERS: This is the eleventh in a series of open letters to the next century, now just 80 years away. The series asks: What will the world look like at the other end of our kids' lives?
Dear 22nd Century,
For all the pain, grief and economic hardship the 2020 coronavirus pandemic has sown, a handful of green shoots seem to have taken root in its blighted soil.
Green being the operative word, because many of these developments could be a net positive for the planet. In lockdown, many of us are seeing what our cities look like without smog. Office workers are experiencing office life without the office; just last week, Twitter announced that most of its employees could work from home forever, while much of Manhattan is reportedly freaking out about what could happen to commercial real estate. Thousands of companies just discovered they can still function, and maybe even function better, when they don’t chain employees to desks or force them to make a soul-crushing, carbon-spewing commute 10 times a week.
And what do more people do when they’re spending more time at home? Well, if you’re like my wife, you start literally planting green shoots. Our house is filling up with them as I write this: lettuce, chard, tomatoes, basil, strawberries, to name the first five shoots poking out of dozens of mason jars now taking up residence on every windowsill. She’s hardly alone; garden centers and seed delivery services are reporting as much as 10 times more sales since the pandemic began. Even the mighty Wal-Mart has sold out of seeds. If viral Facebook posts and Instagram hashtags are any guide, pandemic hipsters have moved on from once-fashionable sourdough starters to growing fresh fruit and veg.
Another one of our cyclical “back to the land” movements seems to be underway, just like during the 1960s and the Great Depression before that. Only this time, we don’t need land. We don’t need soil. We don’t need pesticide of any kind. We don’t even need natural light. Thanks to giant leaps forward in the science of hydroponics and LED lighting, even people in windowless, gardenless apartments can participate in the revolution. With a number of high-tech consumer products on the way, the process can be automated for those of us without green thumbs.
In previous letters I’ve discussed the inevitable rise of alternative meat, a process that has been accelerated by the pandemic. I talked about the smaller, more nutritious plant-based meals we're going to need for life extension; I assumed such meals would be delivered by drone. But now I see a future with no food deserts, in which every home is filled with rotating space-station-like hydroponics run by artificial intelligence — a cornucopia of push-button farming providing the side salad to your plant-based meat.
Even if you don’t grow your own, robot-run vertical farms and community “agrihoods,” now springing up everywhere, will make amazing-tasting produce abundant and cheap. The “locavores” of our era like to boast about their 100-mile diet. Yours will look more like a 100-yard diet.
Green, not soylent
It’s worth remembering that it wasn’t supposed to be this way. The 2020s, in fact, is when we were slated for starvation, food riots, and big business quietly processing our corpses into food.
That’s the plot of the 1973 movie Soylent Green, set in the year 2022. Fruit and veg have all but vanished. In one scene, Charlton Heston's detective hero smuggles home a single tomato and a wilted stick of celery, enough to reduce his roommate Sol (Edward G. Robinson) to tears. On the other end of the future, in a lighter but equally depressing vein, the 2006 comedy Idiocracy showed the Americans of 2500 running out of crops because they couldn’t figure out that water, not "Brawndo" (a spoof on colorful sports drinks), is “what plants crave.”
But these dismal future visions are receding thanks to the science of hydroponics — which dates back to the 19th century, no matter its present-day association with growing marijuana. By the 1930s, we’d figured out that what plants crave is surprisingly minimal: nitrogen, a handful of minerals, something to anchor the roots like rock wool or coconut husks, and H2O. Early hydroponic farms helped feed U.S. soldiers as they hopped through the Pacific during World War II.
Minimalist methods multiplied, and are still multiplying. We’re tweaking the spectrum of LED lights for maximum growth, and figuring out ways to use progressively less water and nutrients. My wife’s mason jar seedlings use something called the Kratky method, where you don't even need to change the water. It turns out this method was invented by a Hawaiian scientist as recently as 2009. And it’s the closest science has yet given us to a free lunch.
Reinventing the wheel
I’m nowhere near as excited by hydroponics as my wife is. But during our quarantine time, even my head has been turned — by the Rotofarm, which I’ve come to think of as the iPhone of gardening. It’s a beautiful device inspired by NASA research on growing plants in space. It uses anti-gravity — literally, when the wheel rotates around its LED light source and the plants are hanging upside down — to grow plants faster. A magnetic cover reduces the glare and increases the internal humidity. You manage it via an app.
Humankind’s oldest technology turns out to be the most efficient use of space for growing plants; even in this 15-inch-wide wheel, you can really pack them in. At the bottom of the wheel, plants dip their roots into the water and nutrient tanks. An owner’s only job is to refill the tanks every week or so, and to snip off their dinner with scissors a few weeks after germination. Some leafy greens, like my favorite salad base arugula, can be regrown without replanting.
Still, to be fully self-sufficient, a future apartment is going to need to have multiple Rotofarm-style devices on the go at once — but they’re designed to live anywhere you can plug in, on coffee tables, on desks, on walls, as eye-catching as artwork.
The main problem with the Rotofarm: It isn’t actually on sale yet. “It feels like we’ve done everything in reverse,” Rotofarm creator Toby Farmer said when I reached him via video chat from his home in Melbourne. “We’ve got the patents, we’ve got the design awards, we’ve got the customers. Now we need to finish the prototypes.” (One key tweak: reducing Rotofarm’s energy requirements, which as it stands could double many users’ household electricity bills.)
Still, orders have come from as far afield as Japan and the Netherlands, from retailers and regular users alike. Farmer’s biggest regret: When Ron Howard’s production company called, hoping to use eight Rotofarms in an upcoming Nickelodeon show set in space, Farmer didn’t have enough to spare.
Rotofarm has been in the works for a few years, but a crowdfunded Indiegogo campaign that closed last month exceeded its $15,000 goal by a third of a million dollars. Farmer, despite his name, had no experience in this area; just 23 years old, he had been a web designer since the age of 12. But he’s scaling up fast, hiring teams in LA and Singapore, soaking up their knowledge (he was keen to assure me he’d hired a lot of 40-somethings for this very reason).
After a projected 2021 release date, Rotofarm’s business model involves making money on proprietary seed pods — though Farmer admits that “there’s a DIY aspect” where customers can make their own. His hope is that official Rotofarm pods will be competitive because they’ll have fewer germination failures, but he'd rather see a world where more people own the device itself. In that spirit, he’s making it modular — the LED light bar can be upgraded separately, for example, rather than making customers buy a whole new device. (As for cost, Farmer says he can't comment yet — though Indiegogo backers were able to secure one for $900 a pop.)
Might the Rotofarm fail? Of course, just like any other crowdfunded project. Much depends on its price point, as yet unannounced. But it’s far from the only next-level, set-it-and-forget-it hydroponic station taking aim at your kitchen. There’s a Canadian Kickstarter called OGarden that also grows food on a wheel, albeit a much larger wheel. The OGarden was funded in its first six minutes online and is set to cost around $1,000 per unit. There’s Farmshelf, a $4,900 pre-order hydroponic device that looks like a see-through refrigerator, backed by celebrity chef Jose Andres. Users will pay a $35 monthly subscription to get all the seeds they need.
One of these models is the future; maybe all of them are. Right now, these are high-end devices aimed at early adopters (and restaurants, which get a lot of benefit out of showing off how fresh their produce is as customers walk-in). But with scale, with time, and with the growing desire for grow-your-own food that Rotofarm and its brethren have revealed, they will get cheaper and more widespread.
After all, the first Motorola cellphone, in 1983, cost $4,000. It looked like a brick and had 30 minutes of talk time. Now sleek, supercomputer-driven smartphones are accessible to pretty much everyone. The same process will happen in-home hydroponics.
Rise of the vertical farm
Give it 80 years, and I can see apartments with built-in hydroponic farms provided as a standard utility, much as a fridge is seen as a standard feature today. As more humans move to urban environments — two out of every three people will be in cities by 2050, according to the latest UN estimate — the need for such devices will only grow.
“We strongly believe the future of gardening is indoor gardening and more individual gardens,” OGarden CEO Pierre Nibart told us last year. “Stopping mass agriculture and starting to produce their own little stuff at home.” He said this while demonstrating his family's daily OGarden routine: His kids harvest most of what they need for dinner from the spinning wheel.
Mass agriculture hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory where produce is concerned. And in the post-coronavirus age, we are surely going to become less tolerant of the disease its intensive farming methods have caused.
Food poisoning caused by romaine lettuce, which makes up a quarter of all leafy greens sold in the U.S., has become depressingly familiar. The 2018 E Coli outbreak was the worst — it sickened 240 people in 37 states, hospitalized almost half of them, and killed five. But the CDC has logged 46 E Coli outbreaks since 2006 and says that every reported case of infection is likely matched by 26 unreported ones. And they’re only just starting to figure out the most likely cause: groundwater contaminated by nearby cattle manure. There could also be an infection from passing birds, another major vector of bacteria.
Never mind the wet markets of Wuhan that likely caused the coronavirus pandemic. We’re already sickening ourselves on the regular with a problem that is baked directly into our food system — and it’s affecting vegans as much as meat-eaters.
I have no doubt you’ll look at our barbaric farming methods and shake your heads. Why did they use so much water? Why did they transport produce an average of 1,500 miles? Why did they grow it outdoors, where it’s vulnerable to pests, and then use pesticides that had to be washed off? Why did they think “triple washing” did anything to remove bacteria (it doesn’t)? Why did they bother using soil, for goodness’ sake? Didn’t they know what plants crave?
The force of legacy agriculture is strong, but an increasing number of companies are figuring out a better way: the vertical farm, so named because they can stack hydroponic produce in shelves or towers. As I write this, there are more than 20 vertical farm operations being constructed and tested around the country. They use around 90 percent less water than regular soil farms, can grow roughly 10 times more food per acre than regular soil farms, and using precision software they can harvest their produce 30 percent faster than regular soil farms.
Sure, they’re spending more on electricity, but they’re also spending nothing on pesticide. The economics seem irresistible.
Last year, less than 20 miles from where I write this, in highly urbanized South San Francisco, a company called Plenty unveiled its flagship operation, a vast vertical farm named Tigris. Its sheer scale invites the correct usage of California’s favorite word, “awesome.” Tigris can grow a million plants at once, harvesting 200 of them every minute. With $226 million in funding, Plenty says it has already farmed 700 varieties of produce. Right now, the cost to consumers is comparable to non-hydroponic products (I can get their baby arugula at my nearest Safeway for a dollar an ounce); in the long run, it should be cheaper.
And they are far from the only success story. A Chinese startup, Alesca Life, is turning disused parking lots into vertical farms as well as selling plug-and-play shipping container farms. Back in Silicon Valley, a company called Iron Ox is developing robot arms for indoor farmwork. The future looks green and bountiful, and mostly automated (which is yet another reason you’re going to need Universal Basic Income).
Fresh future: Inside Plenty's vast vertical farm in South San Francisco.PLENTY
Which is not to say that outdoor agriculture is going away completely; it’s just going to shrink to the size of a community garden. That’s the basis of new urban developments called “agrihoods,” or multi-home communities centered around a professionally managed farm; a just-published book called Welcome to the Agrihood represents their first directory.
Rooftop organic farms, urban allotments: These are places where city dwellers can connect to the land and feel the satisfaction of nurturing their seeds from scratch. Soil may not be necessary to feed us, but sometimes it’s good to feel the dirt in your fingers. Similarly, farmer's markets are unlikely to go away. In a world where grocery stores are increasingly becoming delivery centers for services like Instacart, there will still be value in meeting and buying direct from the growers of high-end produce.
With big agribusiness heading indoors, with our apartments growing much of what we need and vertical farms providing backup in every city, we’ll also be able to let most of our present-day farmland go fallow. That in itself should take care of a chunk of climate change, considering the amount of carbon-soaking vegetation that springs up on fallow land. Lab-grown and plant-made meat will remove the need for those disease-ridden feedlots. Aquaponics, another discipline where the science is expanding by leaps and bounds, may even let us grow our own fish for food, reducing the strain on our overfished oceans.
No doubt it won’t be all smooth sailing. No doubt we, as humans, will stumble upon fresh ways to mess up the planet and make life worse. But from where I’m sitting, surrounded by soilless germinating jars, the future looks very green and nutritious indeed.
Yours in leafy goodness,
2020
TOPICS: Tech, Tech, Food, Health & Fitness, dear 22nd century, Internet Of Yum, Indoor-gardening
This Vertical Farm Idea Promotes Beekeeping, Aquaponics and Algae Production. Can It Take Off in Asia?
Instead of salad vegetables, French designer Nicolas Abdelkader’s Superfarm would produce a wide range of food such as honey, fish, insects and algae. The structure will be sited on water so as not to compete for land in cities.
Instead of salad vegetables, French designer Nicolas Abdelkader’s Superfarm would produce a wide range of food such as honey, fish, insects and algae. The structure will be sited on water so as not to compete for land in cities.
In the wake of last year’s fire that tore through France’s Notre Dame Cathedral, design studio founder Nicolas Abdelkader was one of many designers and architects who came up with ideas for a new spire and roof for the Parisian landmark.
He proposed turning the top of the iconic cathedral into a greenhouse complete with beehives.
Now, Abdelkader has come up with an idea for vertical urban farms of the future. Instead of producing salad vegetables, his vertical farms would produce a wide range of food with high nutritional value such as honey, fish, insects and algae.
The Superfarm project would also strive to recreate an ecosystem in an urban environment through features such as beekeeping and an aquaponics system.
Fish such as tilapia would be reared in a recirculating aquaculture system where water is largely reused after treatment. The waste produced by fish would be used as nutrients for plants.
Algae such as spirulina and chlorella would be produced in bioreactors, and plants such as goji berries, aloe vera and ginseng would be grown. The farm would be powered by wind and solar energy.
Consumers would be able to buy produce directly from the farm and deliveries to households, restaurants and other customers can be done on tricycles, Abdelkader said in his pitch.
The French national is still refining the idea to make it more economical, consume less energy and use less raw materials in its construction. The six-storey structure, 12 metres in both length and width, will be sited on water in order not to compete for land in cities. It is likely to be anchored in the seabed but a floating farm might be possible, he said.
Asked where the Superfarm might be sited, Paris-based Abdelkader said it would ideally be set up in a “sufficiently populated coastal city” in places such as Scandinavia, the United States or Asia.
The varieties of plants and animals cultivated on the farm would also be adapted to the places in which it is set up.
“Superfarm could be a real game-changer for coastal cities, I am sure,” said Abdelkader, who is self-taught. He worked first as a designer and then a project manager for various architectural agencies, gaining experience in complex engineering projects before founding Superfarm a few months ago.
Urban farms have emerged as one of the solutions to boost food security, promote the farm-to-table movement and make better use of available pockets of land, such as rooftops, in cities. Urban farming and the shoring up of local food supply have also gained prominence as global supply chains are disrupted by coronavirus-induced lockdowns and border closures.
Abdelkader declined to provide a cost estimate for the Superfarm project. “For the time being we have been approached by potential investors, especially in the Gulf countries but I cannot say more at this stage,” he said.
Asked about the feasibility of the project in Southeast Asia, fish farmer Shannon Lim said the concept may not produce enough food economically on a commercial scale.
Going by Superfarm’s illustrations, he reckoned it would be able to produce a maximum of a few tonnes of food a year.
The idea “definitely works as far as fish production goes”, said Lim, the owner of Singapore firm OnHand Agrarian, which operates and provides consultancy on land and sea-based farms. “But it would have to be cheap freshwater fish that Asia already produces in abundance. Whether or not it’ll have enough plant mass to capture all the nitrogen compounds the fish produce is questionable.”
Lim felt the Superfarm concept would work better as part of an integrated office building that produces food for employees at an in-house café.
“It looks like a great live-work-play space that can customise production of different types of food. It would be a shame to not have it as part of a business ecosystem,” he said.
By Neo Chai Chin | Eco-Business | May 8, 2020
Superior Fresh's Brandon Gottsacker Discusses Future of Leafy Greens
At just 34 years old, Brandon’s journey to the sector is impressive. Taken under the wing of renowned scientist, Dr. Steve Summerfelt, Brandon traveled the world, learning various aspects of aquaculture and hydroponics. Returning to Wisconsin, he quickly began developing Superior Fresh alongside Todd and Karen Wanek
Tue. May 12th, 2020
- by Anne Allen
NORTHFIELD, WI - Although I have only been writing about the produce industry for just over two years, I’ve seen some truly incredible things. The word innovation holds more weight for me now, and I take care when I use it. But nothing quite prepared me for the innovative minds behind Superior Fresh, a one-of-a-kind aquaponics operation in the heart of Wisconsin. Using the nutrients from its Atlantic salmon farm to grow—what I personally can attest to—superior organic leafy greens, this up-and-coming company is about to take the produce industry by storm. I had the opportunity to sit down with Brandon Gottsacker, President, to learn more about how this company is changing the way the world grows food.
At just 34 years old, Brandon’s journey to the sector is impressive. Taken under the wing of renowned scientist, Dr. Steve Summerfelt, Brandon traveled the world, learning various aspects of aquaculture and hydroponics. Returning to Wisconsin, he quickly began developing Superior Fresh alongside Todd and Karen Wanek.
Brandon Gottsacker, President, Superior Fresh, LLC“
Todd and Karen lived overseas for many years and were fortunate to see first-hand how food is grown and how unsustainable certain methods of agriculture can be. They wanted to make a difference in the daily lives of so many people by ensuring a clean and healthy food supply and working to fix our broken food system. My passion for aquaculture and their vision for sustainable food led us to develop Superior Fresh. Our mission is to bring the best products to market. They procured some farmland in Northfield, Wisconsin, with this vision in mind. While they were at it, they wanted to restore the surrounding land to its native habitat of prairie, savanna, and woodlands,” Brandon told me.
Next to Superior Fresh’s organic greenhouse lies its fish house, in which nearly 600,000 Atlantic salmon swim in clean, fresh water being fed a non-GMO organic diet. Through a closed-loop water system, water from the fish is cleaned and filtered to remove impurities while maintaining its nutrient-rich benefits. The water is next circulated to the greenhouse, where plants absorb those benefits and the clean water is returned to the fish house. The two operate in a symbiotic fashion where they act as each other’s cover crop in an extremely efficient model.
Utilizing responsible, sustainable methods, the team behind Superior Fresh grows certified-organic produce that adheres to the highest food safety standards
“We focused on creating value from what otherwise is considered a waste stream in the world of aquaculture,” Brandon explained. “Utilizing the nutrient-rich water from the fish gives us the ability to grow high-quality, certified organic vegetables. We’re using 1/30 the amount of water in comparison to soil farming, growing the healthiest, best-tasting products while restoring the surrounding ecosystem.”
Although Superior Fresh is a relatively new company—its farm was built in 2017—it already has its eyes set toward expansion. Currently, the company has two phases of greenhouses with six acres under glass.
Superior Fresh continues to advance its operations through partnerships, such as its distribution deal with c-store Kwik Trip
“Our phase three greenhouse is an additional seven acres, which will bring us to thirteen acres total and continue to bump our production of certified organic leafy greens,” Brandon noted. “What's nice about our facility is that everything is very consistent. We're harvesting organic product from our greenhouses daily, and we do that year-round. If we're harvesting out of our facility every day, it should be getting to the consumer every day. We want to make sure that the end consumer gets the best quality product possible and get the benefit from a maximum shelf life. That's a huge bonus to being local.”
One of Superior Fresh’s first customers was indeed close to home, as it supplied its products to c-store Kwik Trip.
Superior Fresh has two phases of greenhouses with six acres under glass and is working on its phase three greenhouse, which will add another seven
“There are a lot of small towns in Wisconsin, which means that quite a few people rely on places like Kwik Trip for their food. Being able to provide organic products that are fresh, healthy, and delicious to so many consumers that would normally have to drive many miles to get that opportunity speaks volumes to the mission of Superior Fresh,” Brandon remarked.
Brandon’s enthusiasm for sustainable, organic farming is infectious and led us to a discussion about regenerative ag reimagined and what the company's next steps are. (Hint: We're diving into which new products Superior Fresh is trialing.) Intrigued? Stick around next week for Part Two of our discussion—you won’t want to miss it.
Superior Fresh
USDA Voluntary G.A.P. Program
The USDA recently recognized aquaponics under their voluntary Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program through the Specialty Crops Inspection (SCI) division
By Tawnya Sawyer
The USDA recently recognized aquaponics under their voluntary Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program through the Specialty Crops Inspection (SCI) division. This program is in its pilot phase for audits and certification of selected aquaponics farms through the end of 2020. Having a set of guidelines for aquaponics helps to better align with the specifics of growing in soil-less media, using filtered fish waste for nutrient solution, and bio-integration of fish and plants in a growing facility.
Prior to this pilot program, aquaponic farm audits were subject to standard GAP guidelines designed for produce crops grown in a field or cultivated in a greenhouse. This created challenges for auditors trying to modify or interpret guidelines for other growing methods that don’t align or apply to aquaponics. By launching this pilot program, the USDA has indicated that aquaponics is viewed as a commercially viable industry worthy of its own audit guidelines and food safety certification. Find out more about the USDA’s Aquaponics GAP Pilot Program here.
USDA Launches Innovative Ag Office - Announces $3M Grants
Stay tuned for much more information on these grants in the coming weeks, and mark your calendars for a June 3, 2020 USDA webinar on the grant process
By Thomas Wheet and Brian Filipowich
The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill charged the USDA with creating the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (“Urban Ag Office”). The Farm Bill noted that urban agriculture can “contribute to the revitalization of abandoned or underutilized urban land, [bring] social and economic benefits to urban communities, and [create] beneficial impacts on the urban landscape.”
After months of navigating the Congressional appropriations process, the necessary funding for the Urban Ag Office was finally signed into law in December 2019.
The Aquaponics Association reached out to the leadership of the Urban Ag Office and Congressional Offices to get a better understanding of the policies, funding opportunities, and timelines that will affect aquaponic growers.
Here is the Urban Ag Office’s Statement to the Aquaponics Association:
“Thank you for your interest in our efforts to stand up the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. The Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service was delegated responsibility to implement the 2018 Farm Bill provisions on behalf of USDA and I have been designated as the Interim Director for the Office. We are working collaboratively with other USDA agencies to ensure they each have an equal voice in establishing the office, consistent with the 2018 Farm Bill provisions, and they are able to contribute in areas that fall within their respective missions and areas of expertise.
“As you are aware, the 2018 Farm Bill authorized $25 million annually for the Office. However, the Fiscal Year 2020 appropriation was capped at $5 million and limits the degree to which we can implement the authorized activities. We are moving forward with standing up the office and the external federal advisory committee that serves to provide recommendations to the Secretary, forging a path to establish the urban/suburban pilot county committees, and developing announcements for grants and agreements provided for in the Farm Bill.
“We are planning a series of webinars that will be announced soon that are designed to provide interested persons and stakeholders information about the establishment of the office and the functions we anticipate implementing. We will ensure we keep your contact information on file so you receive information about these webinars.
Then, yesterday, as we were about to publish this article, the USDA released a new, $3 million in grants for urban agriculture initiatives that will increase food access, agricultural education, and innovative production methods within urban environments. Stay tuned for much more information on these grants in the coming weeks, and mark your calendars for a June 3, 2020 USDA webinar on the grant process.
Click to see the USDA Press Release on the $3 Million Urban Ag Grants for more information and webinar registration.
Aquaponics is already taking the urban agriculture and controlled environmental agriculture industries by storm. While accounting for $19 million in 2020, the market is expected to climb to $46 million by the end of 2026 (that’s a CAGR of over 11.5%). This potential impact, however, could be greatly increased with federal guidance, funding, and business support that the Urban Ag Office is intended to provide.
The following list highlights several forms of support that the Aquaponics Association will continue to advocate for on behalf of the entire aquaponics industry:
Funding: Due to high startup costs, aquaponics can be unattainable for many individuals and/or communities looking to begin an operation. We will continue to advocate the new Office to support aquaponics initiatives with appropriate levels of funding needed to develop adequate systems that will lead to successful operations (both for non-profit and for-profit organizations).
Clarity surrounding policies: Though widely understood as beneficial, aquaponics falls within an agricultural ‘no-mans-land’ surrounding guidelines at the local, state, and federal level. This grey-area is partially because aquaculture, food crops, and other crops all fall under different regulatory regimes. Basically the big bureaucracy gets confused and can’t function, like a deer in the headlights. Whether in regards to food safety, greenhouse sterility, organic certification, etc., the Aquaponics Association will promote policies that match the operational realities faced by aquaponic growers across the country.
Defining value: Beyond the monetary value surrounding the produce and protein sustainably grown in aquaponic operations, there are numerous social benefits to localizing food production in urban spaces. From local job creation and educational opportunities about agriculture/nutrition, to decreasing municipal carbon footprints associated with the traditional agricultural system, the Aquaponics Association will work to ensure that Congress and the USDA fully grasp the true value of aquaponic growing.
