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Knowledge From Algae Industry To Better Vertical Farming System
PaiGE Growth Technologies Inc. entered into MOU with CubicFarm Systems Corp. in Langley, BC to study the effectiveness of combining vertical farming systems with its technology
PaiGE Growth Technologies & CubicFarm partner up
PaiGE Growth Technologies Inc. entered into MOU with CubicFarm Systems Corp. in Langley, BC to study the effectiveness of combining vertical farming systems with its technology.
If successful, the partners will provide an efficient, modular and readily deployable system to grow vegetables or plants using the latest advances in precision agriculture and vertical farming.
CubicFarms is commercializing industrial-scale vertical farming systems for multiple industries worldwide. The CubicFarms platform consists of a containerized, automated and environment-controlled system where trays of high-value crops like leafy vegetables and herbs follow a patented, undulating path that ensures ideal growing conditions.
Pond has developed a growth platform for algae and terrestrial plants using proprietary lighting, controls and artificial intelligence. Pond has granted PaiGE an exclusive license for the application and further advancement of this technology for terrestrial plants.
Improvements
As part of the MOU, PaiGE and CubicFarms envisage a multi-phase study to test the improvements from retrofitting the CubicFarms system with PaiGE technology. Each phase shall compare plant growth and resource input in a PaiGE-equipped growth cube against a standard unit – first incorporating proprietary lighting, then sensors, and finally a precision nutrient and water dosing system. In each phase, PaiGE shall provide the engineering design, coordinate equipment manufacturing, and installation, and run and assess trials. If the trials prove successful and CubicFarms decides to incorporate PaiGE technology into its growth cubes, CubicFarms agrees to pay PaiGE licensing fees for its technology. PaiGE shall retain intellectual property developed by it throughout the joint project.
Increase local production
Dave Dinesen, CubicFarm’s CEO commented: “Our commercial-scale modular CubicFarm growing machines allow our partner farmers to increase local production of nutritious vegetables, herbs, and many other crops, helping to address both food security and the environmental footprint associated with transportation. We’re excited to incorporate PaiGE precision technology with the goal of improving resource efficiency and crop yields.”
Steve Martin, PaiGE CEO stated: “The partnership with CubicFarms allows us to demonstrate Pond’s growth technology in the terrestrial environment, potentially opening the door to a whole new category of applications. CubicFarms is the ideal partner for us to evolve the PaiGE technology as their growth cubes provide a fully controlled environment – similar to Pond algae bioreactors. As a technology provider to CubicFarms, we are excited to support their mission of advancing sustainable precision agriculture and vertical farming.”
Publication date: Wed, 23 Oct 2019
VIDEO: The Indoor Farming Revolution
Growing crops in shipping containers could drastically reduce the economic and environmental costs of farming
Growing crops in shipping containers could drastically reduce the economic and environmental costs of farming.
Source: CNN
US: New York State - Youths Get Hands-On Lessons In Food Production
The equivalent of a 2-acre farm that grows 500 heads of lettuce a week hides inside a 40-foot-long metal box in a parking lot near the police station in downtown Troy
Boys And Girls Club Gets Indoor Hydroponic Farm
Steve Barnes October 23, 2019
The equivalent of a 2-acre farm that grows 500 heads of lettuce a week hides inside a 40-foot-long metal box in a parking lot near the police station in downtown Troy.
The container farm, as it's called, or Freight Farm, after the Boston-based company that first introduced hydroponic growing systems in repurposed shipping containers, is a project of the Boy & Girls Clubs of the Capital Area. The $90,000 container farm was a gift from the SEFCU credit union, which for the past two years has operated a similar container farm at its offices near the Harriman state office campus in Albany.
Launched over the summer and overseen by two adult staffers, the farm gives young people who participate in the Troy club's after-school programs hands-on experience planting, growing, harvesting and selling fresh produce. Although the farm now grows only greens, including two types of lettuce plus kale and Swiss chard, seeds are available for a variety of items, from radishes and beets to herbs and flowers. They are being considered for future crops, according to the club.
"It's sustainable, year-round and ideally will generate income while giving our teens good experience with fresh produce," said Justin Reuter, CEO of the BGCCA. The organization, formed earlier this year by a merger of clubs in Albany and Troy, serves 5,200 young people annually and recently opened facilities in Cohoes and Green Island.
The unexpected gift of the container farm came out of a conversation early this year, during what SEFCU's president and CEO, Michael Castellana, described as a "good news/bad news meeting" with club leaders, who had asked for a $50,000 donation to pay for a summer program.
"I closed the folder and said, 'Absolutely not,' " Castellana said, a response that was startling because, he said, "We hardly ever say to no them." Instead, aware of the hit SEFCU's own container farm had become among employees and the food pantries its produce was donated to, Castellana proposed giving one to the BGCCA. The offer, he said, initially left club representatives slack-jawed.
"Once they closed their mouths, they said, 'Absolutely yes,' " he said.
Hydroponic growing is hardly new, having been used commercially at least since the 1930s when Pan American Airways established a hydroponic growing operation for vegetables on a Pacific atoll that was used as a refueling station for flights from the U.S. to Asia. But container farms like the one run by the boys and girls club are less than a decade old. Freight Farms, which started manufacturing in 2013, has installed about 200 worldwide.
The only three Freight Farms in the Capital Region, according to a company spokeswoman, are owned by SEFCU, the BGCCA, and Carioto Produce and Seafood in Green Island, which acquired one almost three years ago.
The lettuces raised in the boys and girls club's container farm — butterhead, or Boston, and a red-leaf variety called Lollo Rosso — and the other greens take eight weeks to grow from seed to harvest. Seeds are planted in trays in a soil-like medium of ground coconut shells, where they are watered for three weeks. The small seedlings, with a pyramid-shaped plug of growing medium around their roots, are then transplanted into one of 256 foam-lined vertical columns, each 7 feet tall, that hang in facing rows along the sides of the container farm, 10 heads to a column. Nutrient-laden water, fed from the top by a computerized system, trickles down the columns, and, overnight, LEDs shine specially calibrated light on the plants. With staggered planting, the farm, in theory, can produce more than 600 heads a week, though production hasn't yet ramped up to that volume.
The greens become part of the approximately 1,100 meals a day the BGCCA serves at its locations, and club staffer Patricia Doyle, who manages the farm, said the fact the food is home-grown seems to have generated more receptivity among members than preteens and adolescents might otherwise grant leafy produce.
"When you grow something, you're more apt to eat it," she said. "They're proud of it."
The 10 to 12 club members who work on the farm put their initials on the columns they've planted, following their heads through to harvest.
"I was interested because I like science and nature, and it attracted me because I wanted to do something for my community," said club member Kelyse Bell. The 13-year-old moved to Lansingburgh earlier this year from North Carolina, where she learned gardening from her grandmother.
"This is better for the environment, too — you grow more in a faster time than you would on land on a normal farm," said Bell.
The club sells its lettuces, for $2 per head, at the Troy farmers market on Wednesday afternoon, and, in its first of a hoped-for list of restaurant customers, to Brown's Brewing, for use in its taprooms in Troy and North Hoosick. Much of the approximately 200 heads Brown's buys each week is the base for salads for private events in its Revolution Hall banquet facility, adjacent to the brewpub on River Street in downtown Troy.
"The taste is amazing, the leaves are all intact, there's no dirt, insects, chemicals or anything like that," said Paul Minbiole, operations director for Brown's Brewing and one of those involved in the decision to start purchasing the club's lettuce. He said, "It's processed and delivered to us the same day. You can't get much fresher than that without picking it yourself."
Being able to give a social-services nonprofit for youth the opportunity to expose its members to farming is part of SEFCU's larger mission of offering nontraditional growth opportunities and benefits for the communities it serves, said Castellana.
"SEFCU is committed to trying to change lives by trying to minimize obstacles that people have in their life," he said. "Hunger is one of the most significant and overlooked obstacles that people have, and this is one way to start to address that."
Bell said she is pleased by what she's learned about one of the futures of farming in just a few months since she started coming to the Troy club.
Demonstrating her new knowledge, Bell said the container farm operates at 60 degrees, with 55 to 60 percent humidity, and a higher level of carbon dioxide than in outside air.
"We're only supposed to be in here for about 45 minutes at a time," she said. "The air is good for plants, but people need more oxygen."
sbarnes@timesunion.com - 518-454-5489 - blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping - @Tablehopping - facebook.com/SteveBarnesFoodCritic
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Steve Barnes has worked at the Times Union since 1996, served as arts editor for six years, and since 2005 has been a senior writer.
Since 2006, Steve has passed along his knowledge, or at least his opinions, to young writers as a journalism instructor at the University at Albany.
Contact him at (518) 454-5489
Past Articles from this Author:
Grand Rapids Next-Gen Farmer Cohort 2019 - 2020
Each year, a new cohort of farmers participates in the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, taking a step along their journey to becoming leaders in urban farming. Here’s a glimpse into why they’re drawn to urban agriculture.
Square Roots | 10.16.19
Next-Gen Farm / Farmers / Program / Perspectives
Each year, a new cohort of farmers participates in the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, taking a step along their journey to becoming leaders in urban farming. Here’s a glimpse into why they’re drawn to urban agriculture.
Michigan Next-Gen Farmers: Alyssa Patton, Amal Jennings, Savie Sonsynath, Winn Hermanski, Rebekah Box, Jarad Jaent, Katie LaRue, Jacob Smaby, and Joshua Van Kleeck
Rebekah Box
“My family has a history of farming. My grandparents were sweet corn farmers and I grew up gardening with my parents every summer. After moving into my first apartment, I quickly realized that having a garden of my own was going to be far from easy. I was determined to make access to fresh, locally grown food easier for those in similar situations. With this, my love for gardening and educating others on how to grow their own food has flourished and given me a clear path to a future career. While job searching, I came across the application for the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program at Square Roots in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From their mission statement and further research, I knew that this was the perfect opportunity to help others in urban areas and to gain the skills and knowledge needed to educate future generations.”
Winn Hermanski
“While studying at the University of Oklahoma’s Entrepreneurship and Venture Management program, I developed a business plan to create affordable housing and job opportunities for the homeless. Shipping containers would be retrofitted to create tiny homes and a hydroponic farm to sustain the community. While working on this business, I discovered Square Roots and felt like the company was poised to disrupt the broken agricultural system.”
Katie LaRue
“While in college, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Costa Rica where I fell in love with food. There were markets at every corner, meals were prepared with real food, and meal times were respected in the home and at the workplace. I later moved to Stuttgart, Germany to pursue a Masters in Sustainable Agricultural Food Production. I learned the inner workings of what it takes to feed a growing population sustainably and found Square Roots after moving back home to Michigan. I hope the Next-Gem Farmer Training Program will enable me to continue disrupting the current food system.”
Savie Sonsynath
“Born and raised in Michigan, I’m a first-generation Lao-American. It’s a culture centered around food and community, and I see a lot of value in integrating my two cultures. While pre-med at Ferris State’s Biology program, I discovered the importance of nutrition on human health. This, paired with my strong cultural foundation, lead me to seek a platform to engage the public about food choice. Square Roots’ mission to connect people with real and local food deeply resonates with me, and I plan to use this opportunity to connect with the community over the healthy food options available.”
Jacob Smaby
“As an educator at heart, I started my career studying to be a high school English teacher at Grand Valley State University. After spending time working with kids in the public school system, I realized my true passion is teaching future generations about environmental issues. With the knowledge gained through the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, I hope to inspire upcoming generations to change the way we feed our cities and communities.”
Jarad Jaent
“I grew up in the West Michigan area and spent most of my time camping, hiking, and exploring nature. My passion for the outdoors became something that I wanted to pursue a career in. Throughout my experience at Hope College, I struggled to imagine how a business degree with biology and environmental science minors could lead to the career I wanted. After meeting the cofounder of H.O.P.E Gardens and helping the non-profit establish gardens at elementary schools in the Grand Rapids area, I realized that urban agriculture was something I wanted to be a part of. I'm excited to join the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program and can’t wait to see what doors it opens in the future.”
Joshua Van Kleeck
“Born in Michigan, I grew up raising fruits and vegetables with my brother to sell at our roadside stand and local farmer's markets. I developed a passion for horticulture and business and went on to study business at Northwood University. In college, I discovered Square Roots and was immediately intrigued, thinking it could be an amazing fit. When I heard Square Roots was coming to Michigan, I jumped on the opportunity to join the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program in this pioneering endeavor.”
Alyssa Patton
“Throughout my childhood, I was surrounded by farmland in Allegan, Michigan. My family even had a small garden with chickens. Soil farming was all I had known until my internship with Hunger Education and Resource Training where I was exposed to aquaponics, sustainable agriculture, and rooftop gardens. I began to question how people in cities could grow or have access to fresh food and I developed a passion for community development and farming. I couldn’t be more excited to join Square Roots in its endeavor to bring fresh, local produce to cities."
Amal C. Jennings
“While studying chemical engineering at the University of Oklahoma, I developed an interest in environmental stewardship and sustainable practices. I started working for Provision Organic Farm in Oklahoma City and later went on to work for CommonWealth Urban farms of OKC. After seeing the many challenges that small, organic, urban farmers face, I turned my interest to climate-controlled indoor farming and found the Square Roots Next-Gen Farmer Training Program.”
Learn more about our Next-Gen Farmer Training Program.
New Trend Is "Growing Local" To Provide Fresher Produce, Reduce Energy Costs, And Help Eliminate Contamination
"GrowPods" - proprietary, automated micro-farms, can significantly reduce transportation and energy costs associated with food production, and provide fresher, healthier food than traditional farming and distribution methods
According to Brian Halweil, author of Eat Here: Reclaiming Homegrown Pleasures in a Global Supermarket, food travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to your plate.
Additionally, the longer foods are out of the soil, the less nutritious they become, losing on average 45 percent of their nutrition before being consumed.
Researchers at Iowa State University also looked at a typical meal and found it gobbled up 17-times as much energy in transportation as that same meal raised locally.
Dr. Jennifer Wilkins, a researcher at Cornell University, said that 20 percent of all fossil fuel use is just for getting food on our table.
"GrowPods" - proprietary, automated micro-farms, can significantly reduce transportation and energy costs associated with food production, and provide fresher, healthier food than traditional farming and distribution methods.
Placing a GrowPod-type system near where food is consumed not only reduces transportation costs but also uses 90 percent less water than traditional agriculture.
GrowPods provide year-round cultivation, and incorporate automated climate controls and optimized LED lighting to grow more plants per square foot - with yields up to 8 times greater than outdoor farms - while using just a fraction of the water.
GrowPods also provide:
• Portability - GrowPods can be set up virtually anywhere
• Scalability - Expanding is easy - just add additional pods
• Security - Controlled access and entry notification
• Pesticide and Bacteria Free - Sealed environment protects from contaminants and pests
These types of Plug & Grow systems are designed for easy operation - allowing users with all levels of experience to rapidly start growing nutritious, robust, and profitable crops.
Perfect for entrepreneurs, farmers, schools, grocers, restaurants, and non-profits.
For information, visit: www.growpodsolutions.com , or call (855) 247-8054
Growing Food Anywhere With Freight Farms
Freight Farms was founded by Brad McNamara and Jon Friedman in 2010, before the “ag tech” industry existed. McNamara and Friedman were pioneers who envisioned the need for urban agriculture as a competitive industry to make local food a reality around the globe. Their initial focus was on rooftop greenhouses, but it quickly became clear that there was a need for a modular and scalable design that could yield produce 365 days a year
By SOLIDWORKS October 8, 2019
Freight Farms was founded by Brad McNamara and Jon Friedman in 2010, before the “ag-tech” industry existed. McNamara and Friedman were pioneers who envisioned the need for urban agriculture as a competitive industry to make local food a reality around the globe.
Their initial focus was on rooftop greenhouses, but it quickly became clear that there was a need for a modular and scalable design that could yield produce 365 days a year. To perfect logistics and reduce costs, McNamara and Friedman designed their new technology to be housed inside shipping containers, which are widely available, even in areas unsuitable for traditional farming methods.
Now Freight Farms is at the forefront of the fast-growing ag-tech industry and the first company to build a farm inside a shipping container. Its customers include restaurants, hotels, entrepreneurs, small businesses, corporate campuses, universities and non-profits in addition to traditional farmers. The company is constantly working on new technology to modernize farming.
The Leafy Green Machine
The mission of Freight Farms is to empower anyone to grow food anywhere. Its miniaturized commercial-scale farm, the Leafy Green Machine, fits inside an intermodal freight container, so it’s protected from the elements and erratic changes in climate.
The hydroponic, atmospherically controlled, tech-connected farm was the first containerized farm on the market. With maximization of every bit of cubic space, the Leafy Green Machine produces about a thousand baby heads of lettuce or 500 full heads of lettuce a week with an ebb and flow system (intermittent water flow) for seedling propagation and initiation and a vertical drip system for mature plants.
The plants begin in horizontal beds and are harvested from vertical beds. These ergonomic beds enable easy access to plants—no more stooping to work with seeds and plants in the ground!
SOLIDWORKS Makes Every Stage More Efficient
When designing within a literal box, it’s vital that every piece of equipment and its interaction with the operator and the plants is seamless. SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD was instrumental in the design of the Leafy Green Machine as the team was able to test designs with meticulous accuracy and make modifications without creating expensive physical prototypes.
Freight Farms also uses SOLIDWORKS on a daily basis to quickly grasp the reality of a space. Using SOLIDWORKS mates they quickly identify interference points, and they block out the size of a head of lettuce or other plant to determine how the space must change to accommodate each week of the growth cycle.
According to Freight Farms Designer Derek Baker, SOLIDWORKS’ sheet metal feature is a game changer because it helps him understand the constraints the fabricators encounter when building a part: “When I have that understanding, I’m able to bring that part to conclusion just so much quicker.”
The Internet of Things and Farming
Internet of Things (IoT) farm management and automation have become a way of life with Freight Farm’s easy-to-use digital platform that lets you manage, analyze, and remotely control your farm from any location.
The platform enables you to know exactly how things are running by viewing the current status of all your growing equipment including real-time views of temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and pH levels. You also receive alerts if your farm’s temperature falls above or below your threshold.
Farmers are now no longer confined to where they can farm—urban, suburban, or rural—Freight Farms makes geography a non-issue. Even the unpredictable ways of Mother Nature are minimized with the Leafy Green Machine.
The potential impact of the Leafy Green Machine excites Baker: “I want to make food accessible to the world, and that’s what I would hope people will think about when they think about me or Freight Farms.”
CAN (ON): Container Farm To Provide Food Hub With Year-Round Fresh Produce
On Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, The Growcer, Abbey Gardens, community members, and project partners, FedDev Ontario and Laidlaw Foundation, came together for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the addition of the hydroponic container farm to the community. The new addition will allow Abbey Gardens to provide fresh produce year-round through its Food Hub initiative
The Growcer, an Ottawa-based start-up enabling local food production with hydroponic container farms, has partnered with Abbey Gardens to make locally and sustainably grown food available year-round for the Haliburton community.
On Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019, The Growcer, Abbey Gardens, community members, and project partners, FedDev Ontario and Laidlaw Foundation, came together for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the addition of the hydroponic container farm to the community. The new addition will allow Abbey Gardens to provide fresh produce year-round through its Food Hub initiative.
The team (from left to right: Jamie Laidlaw (Laidlaw Foundation), Patti Tallman (The Haliburton County Development Corporation), Heather Reid, (Abbey Gardens), Alida Burke, Corey Ellis (The Growcer), John Patterson (Abbey Gardens)) in front of the Growcer system at the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Abbey Gardens, in Haliburton, Ont. Photo credit: Morgan Hector.
Abbey Gardens is a local farm and social enterprise in Haliburton, Ont. that focuses its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and foster sustainable initiatives. It runs a Food Hub that sells fresh food from its two-acre market garden as well as goods from local businesses. However, what can be grown on its two-acre farm outside is limited by the climate and length of the growing season in Haliburton, which is shorter than its counterparts in southern Ontario. By adding a Growcer system, Abbey Gardens extends its growing season by months enabling them to supply their community with fresh and sustainable green produce year-round.
With the new system, Abbey Gardens plans on establishing a year-round produce subscription box and partnering with local restaurants to supply produce. The addition of a hydroponic growing system will also add to the educational opportunities available for the community about sustainable growing techniques.
The Growcer system will allow Abbey Gardens to extend its growing season to be all year-round. Photo credit: Morgan Hector.
Beyond selling food, The Food Hub operates as a social enterprise and profits go directly back into Abbey Gardens to help support educational programs for the local community and facilities. For Abbey Gardens, partnering with The Growcer was aligned with the organization’s interest in supporting local entrepreneurs in Canada.
“We’re super excited to have invested in the Growcer here at our property both as a demonstration for year-round growing and to be able to provide leafy greens to our community", said Heather Reid, Operations Director, Abbey Gardens.
“Growcer is extremely excited to partner with Abbey Gardens in order to bring fresh, local produce to the Haliburton community year-round. We support their strong focus on sustainability and cannot wait to see the ripple effect this will have for food accessibility”, Corey Ellis, Co-Founder and CEO, The Growcer, commented.
For more information:
The Growcer
www.thegrowcer.ca
Abbey Gardens
abbeygardens.ca
Publication date: Tue, 22 Oct 2019
Indoor-Farming Company Square Roots Expands Into Michigan
Square Roots, an indoor seed-to-sales urban farm headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, will open its newest indoor farm at the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, Michigan
September 30, 2019
An artist's rendering of the new Square Roots' indoor farm at Gordon Food Service, Wyoming, Mich. ( Courtesy Square Roots )
Today, Square Roots, an indoor seed-to-sales urban farm headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, will open its newest indoor farm at the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, Michigan. This is the beginning of a strategic partnership that will see Square Roots’ high-tech farms built on or near Gordon Food Service locations across the continent, helping to bring hyper-local produce to customers year-round.
Link To Facebook Video - Opening of Square Roots New Michigan Farm Campus
The fact that so much has happened in just six months is credited to Square Roots’ modular, scalable farm-tech platform. The company can bring this model to any city in the world, and it can be done fast.
“As the network of farms gets larger, it gets smarter,” the company said. “Cloud-connected farms and data-empowered farmers learn from each other, enabling Square Roots to replicate success from one location to another, seamlessly. Opening the Michigan farm brings us closer to the vision of a distributed network of indoor farms, built across the world, to bring real food to people in cities while empowering thousands of next-gen leaders in urban farming.”
The opening of the new facility in Michigan has also opened up a new pool of applications for Square Roots’ Next-Gen Farmer Training Program — half of the newest applicants are from the Michigan area.
Staff for the Michigan site is already in place: Brian Mitchell, the new Farm Manager, is coming from an 87,000 square-foot indoor aquaponics facility, and the Assistant Farm Managers are Lauren Niergarth, a horticulture major from Michigan State University, and Eli Zimmer, a former Next-Gen Farmer from Brooklyn.
CubicFarm® Systems Corp. Announces The Appointment of Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Ms. Lim has more than 10 years’ experience in investor relations and corporate communications for public and private mineral resource and technology companies, providing support in areas such as corporate financing, media relations, public relations, branding, regulatory compliance and event management
Vancouver, BC – (AccessWire – October 18, 2019) – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV: CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) announces that it has appointed Kimberly Lim as Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Her responsibilities will include the execution of comprehensive investor relations and corporate communications strategies and assisting the Company with its objective of growing and diversifying its shareholder base.
Dave Dinesen, CEO of CubicFarms commented: "We are delighted to have Kimberly join our team. She brings an exceptional background and perspective to this dual role, and we look forward to her contributions in helping to inform our stakeholders about all the great work underway at CubicFarms.”
Ms. Lim has more than 10 years’ experience in investor relations and corporate communications for public and private mineral resource and technology companies, providing support in areas such as corporate financing, media relations, public relations, branding, regulatory compliance and event management. Ms. Lim holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Economics from the University of British Columbia.
Ms. Lim is eligible to purchase the Company’s stock options pursuant to its stock option plan. The appointment remains subject to regulatory approval.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor it’s Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Freight Farms Welcomes Sam White As New Chief Innovation Officer
Freight Farms has expanded its executive team as it looks to expand globally. The company has appointed Sam White as Chief Innovation Officer. White was the co-founder of Boston-based Greentown Labs and Promethean Power
Freight Farms has expanded its executive team as it looks to expand globally. The company has appointed Sam White as Chief Innovation Officer. White was the co-founder of Boston-based Greentown Labs and Promethean Power.
In addition to his continued involvement with both organizations, White will now be collaborating with Freight Farms to guide corporate partnerships and strategic investment – his first major initiative upon moving back to Boston from India working with Promethean Power.
“Sam has a deep understanding of how sustainable technologies can scale to create meaningful and monetary impact for entire industries,” said Jon Friedman, Freight Farms COO. “His experience with modernizing a distributed farming system across India will contribute to our collective goal of enabling impactful, sustainable farming across the globe.”
According to the company, the move is an extension of White’s past focus on driving change in sustainable agriculture for Promethean Power, where today more than 50,000 farmers in India access its cold-storage technology.
“Freight Farms is truly making a global impact on sustainable farming, and supporting the team and its remarkable technology in the AgTech space felt like a natural next step for me. They’ve laid the groundwork to massively scale worldwide, and I’m excited to join the team in support of its momentum,” said Sam White, Freight Farms Chief Innovation Officer.
“Sam was able to instantly internalize Freight Farms’ mission, and we’re confident in his ability to recognize like-minded partners and creative opportunities to add value as we continue to grow,” said Brad McNamara, Freight Farms CEO. “It’s rare to find someone with experience scaling businesses across hardware, material science and infrastructure in multiple markets globally, and we’re happy to have him on the team.”
For more information:
www.freightfarms.com
Publication date: Mon, 07 Oct 2019
VIDEO: What Grows Inside The Leafy Green Machine?
The LGM allows for immediate growing of a variety of crops regardless of weather conditions, resulting in year-round access to local and fresh produce
The Leafy Green Machine, is a complete hydroponic growing facility built entirely inside a shipping container outfitted with environmental controls and indoor growing technology.
The LGM allows for immediate growing of a variety of crops regardless of weather conditions, resulting in year-round access to local and fresh produce. Learn more about container farming at www.freightfarms.com.
Indoor Farming, Crop Monitoring, Pathogen testing Showcased
Six of the nine companies have been featured in recent editions of Agri-View. This article features the final three companies – Alesca Life, Farm X, and ProteoSense
Lynn Grooms lgrooms@madison.com
September 23, 2019
A container-farming system developed by China's Alesca Life features monitoring, automation and climate control. It was developed for food processors and food retailers.
Nine startup companies were chosen to participate in the 2019 SVG Ventures-Thrive Accelerator Program. Silicon Valley Global Ventures, known as SVG Ventures, is a venture capital, innovation, and investment firm. The Thrive Accelerator program invests in mentors and connects startups with investors and businesses for partnerships.
Six of the nine companies have been featured in recent editions of Agri-View. This article features the final three companies – Alesca Life, Farm X, and ProteoSense.
Alesca Life of Beijing has developed various indoor-farming systems. Its container-farming system features monitoring, automation, and climate control. It was developed for food processors and food retailers.
The company also has developed a small cabinet farm for on-site food production in restaurants and schools. The compact system is suitable for growing micro-greens and other leafy vegetables.
Small cabinet farms for on-site food production in restaurants and schools are offered by Alesca Life.
Contributed
“Our target is that customers will see a return on their initial investment within four years,” said Stuart Oda, co-founder, and CEO of Alesca Life.
Stuart Oda is the co-founder and CEO of Alesca Life, which has developed various indoor-farming systems.
Contributed
Another of the company’s indoor-farming systems is “Alesca Sprout.” Developed for hydroponic farms its sensor-based system automates irrigation and other farm electrical equipment.
The Alesca Cloud is a smartphone-based supply-chain-management system. It aggregates operational tasks, farm capacity and production data, operational inventory, environmental sensor data, and other data points.
“Indoor farming is one of many ways to produce food in a hyper-efficient and localized way,” Oda said. “Just as there are different modes of transportation for different types of travel needs, indoor farming is a mode of food production optimized for certain geographies and crop types. As indoor vertical farms become more productive and efficient they’ll be able to produce larger volumes and varieties of vegetables.”
Alesca Life’s turnkey food-production systems enable even inexperienced growers to produce vegetables. The company wants to ensure its customers have positive experiences with indoor farming so it provides troubleshooting for the mechanical and electrical aspects of its systems, Oda said.
Farm X of Mountain View, California, provides growers monitoring and analysis to improve crop productivity. Bill Jennings, chief technical officer for Farm X, discussed the company’s tiers of service in June at the Forbes AgTech Summit.
Bill Jennings
A basic service that Farm X offers involves weather monitoring. The company collects data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the California Irrigation Management Information System, IBM’s Weather Underground and other third-party sources. The company combines the data with imagery from satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles to help growers monitor crop health and performance.
The next tier of service involves the use of in-ground sensors placed every 5 acres to monitor crop health as well as irrigation performance. Farm X combines that information with its models to help growers ensure uniform distribution of irrigation water and reduce electrical costs associated with irrigation pumps.
The third tier of service is a yield-management program. Farm X forecasts crop conditions about three to four months in advance of harvest. That enables growers to improve harvest planning such as how many workers will be needed for harvest. Growers also can use the forecasts to inform their supply-chain partners about future sales, Jennings said. The company’s focus to date has been in California’s vegetable-production areas.
ProteoSense of Columbus, Ohio, has developed a portable biosensor that detects foodborne pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes. Mark Byrne, president and CEO of ProteoSense, has several years of experience working in the medical-device industry. But he saw the need for rapid detection of pathogens in food production and processing.
A portable biosensor developed by ProteoSense detects foodborne pathogens.
Contributed
ProteoSense’s biosensor has been in testing at Taylor Farms of Salinas, California, a large producer of fresh-cut vegetables. The biosensor was first tested in a food-packing house where Listeria monocytogenes can live on countertops, floor drains, coolers, and other equipment.
Food producers have traditionally taken swabs of suspect areas to send samples for laboratory testing. Food producers often need to wait for three days to a week before receiving test results. The ProteoSense biosensor can be used on-site to provide immediate results, Byrne said. Using the biosensor a food producer would take swabs mixed with a buffer. The buffer is placed into the biosensor. The device then displays results and transmits them for storage in the “cloud.”
Mark Byrne
There could be several uses for the biosensor. In addition to being used to detect pathogens on vegetables the biosensor could be used to test irrigation water and ponds for E. coli, Byrne said.
“We’re working with the Pork Checkoff to learn if the biosensor could help pork producers,” Byrne said. “We want to talk with more farmers about how they could use pathogen testing.”
Visit alescalife.com or farmx.co or proteosense.com or thriveagrifood.com or www.forbes.com/series/forbes-agtech-summit -- and search for "agtech summit" -- for more information.
Lynn Grooms writes about the diversity of agriculture, including the industry’s newest ideas, research and technologies as a staff reporter for Agri-View based in Wisconsin.
Scaling Indoor Farming At Speed: Square Roots' New Michigan Farm Campus
On September 30, Square Roots will cut the ribbon and officially open our newest indoor farm on the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, Michigan
Square Roots | 09.18.19
Company / Updates
On September 30, Square Roots will cut the ribbon and officially open our newest indoor farm on the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, Michigan. This is the beginning of a strategic partnership that will see Square Roots’ high-tech farms built on or near Gordon Food Service locations across the continent, bringing high-quality, hyper-local produce to customers all year round.
The Michigan Farm Campus is the beginning of Square Roots and Gordon Food Service’s partnership to bring local food to people in cities across the continent, all year round.
Scalable Urban Farming at Speed
Square Roots’ partnership with Gordon Food Service was announced at the end of March, and our first co-located farm is opening just six months later. This speed is possible thanks to our modular, scalable farm-tech platform. We can bring our model—perfected in a Brooklyn parking lot—to any city in the world, and we can do it fast.
Link To Facebook Video - Opening of Square Roots New Michigan Farm Campus
As our network of farms gets larger, it also gets smarter. Cloud-connected farms and data-empowered farmers learn from each other, enabling Square Roots to replicate success from one location to another, seamlessly. Opening the Michigan farm brings us closer to the vision of a distributed network of indoor farms, bringing local, real food to people in cities across the world—while empowering thousands of next-gen leaders in urban farming through our unique training program.
Data-empowered farmer checking their Square Roots app in a farm.
Love is the Magic Ingredient in Great Tasting Food
Of course, at the center of the Square Roots model are the farmers themselves. It’s their love for the plants that makes our food taste so good! With the food system rapidly changing all around us, there’s never been a more exciting time to forge a new career in farming and contribute to the real food revolution. The Square Roots Next-Gen Farmer Training Program is an incredible opportunity for young, diverse change-makers to learn and take their place at the forefront of urban agriculture.
Thousands of people have applied to our Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, and the demand to join our Michigan farm has been no different. We saw an incredibly diverse group of applicants, with about half local to the Michigan area, and others from as far away as Singapore and Nigeria. (Sadly, we’re only open to U.S. residents right now.) Diversity in perspective is essential for the agriculture industry to build a more complete and sustainable food system—one that can feed 10 billion people by 2050. For example, one of our new farmers, Winn Hermanski, is moving from Texas where he is leaving a career in software sales to join the real food revolution. His understanding of various business models comes with a personal passion for creating solutions for growing urban centers.
Meanwhile, Savevone Sonsyanth, a pre-med graduate from Ferris State University, is bringing her love for real food with practical biology experience and an interest in human wellness to a new career in agriculture. It feels like a natural next step. However, the reality is that there are very few opportunities across the world for young people to make this leap. We’re humbled by these stories as it becomes clear that the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program is captivating the minds of so many young people from across the globe and that so many people are eager to help us figure out a new, sustainable food system. One that is ultimately better for people, the planet, and the economy. We’ll be featuring all of our Next-Gen Farmers on the blog over the course of their year with Square Roots, so keep an eye out for their stories.
The Inaugural cohort of Next-Gen Farmers at our Michigan Farm Campus
We’ve also been fortunate to attract exceptional talent to the management team in Michigan. Brian Mitchell, our new Farm Manager, is coming to us from an 87,000 sq. ft. indoor aquaponics facility in Minnesota. And joining us as Assistant Farm Managers are Lauren Niergarth, a horticulture major from Michigan State University, and Eli Zimmer, a former Next-Gen Farmer from our Brooklyn Farm Campus. Eli’s advancement to farm management is just one example of the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program creating pathways to leadership roles for young farmers.
We are thrilled to be working with Gordon Food Service to bring this farm to life and empower so many young people to become leaders in urban farming while supplying local buyers with delicious food, year-round. “Customers want fresh, locally grown food all year round,” says CEO of Gordon Food Service, Rich Wolowski “We’re now on a path to do that at scale with Square Roots.”
Meet the Michigan Next-Gen Farmers
Katie LaRue, Montague, MI
Former teacher and recent Master’s graduate in environmental protection & agricultural food production
Joshua Van Kleeck, Fenwick, MI
Former retail operations manager
Rebekah Box, Muncie, IN
Recent Ball State University graduate in natural resources & environmental management
Amal C. Jennings, Oklahoma City, OK
Former soil farmer
Savevone Sonsynath, Grand Rapids, MI
Recent Ferris State University graduate in biology
Jacob Smaby, Grand Rapids, MI
Former teacher
Alyssa Patton, Grand Rapids, MI
Recent Kuyper College graduate in intercultural studies & theology
Winn Hermanski, Dallas, TX
Former tech account manager
Jarad Jaent, Grand Rapids, MI
Recent Hope College graduate in business
For more information, tune into Gordon Food Service’s Facebook on September 30 at 2:30 pm to view the live stream of the grand opening. Plus, subscribe to the Square Roots newsletter and follow @squarerootsgrow for updates
Hydroponic Farming Option For Veterans, Senator Told On Tour
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., toured a farm operation Monday that is largely immune to the weather, to pests and to trade wars. Vet Veggies provides fresh leafy green vegetables and herbs year-round to Northwest Arkansas restaurants and grocers by growing the plants indoors in climate-controlled conditions with artificial light
by Doug Thompson | August 27, 2019
U.S. Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) is shown in this file photo. - Photo by Sarah D. Wire
SPRINGDALE -- U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., toured a farm operation Monday that is largely immune to the weather, to pests and to trade wars.
Vet Veggies provides fresh leafy green vegetables and herbs year-round to Northwest Arkansas restaurants and grocers by growing the plants indoors in climate-controlled conditions with artificial light.
Boozman, the son of a veteran, is a member of both the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
The Vet Veggies farm was the first stop on a tour of businesses Boozman said could provide opportunities for veterans.
Jerry Martin, founder of Vet Veggies and host for the tour, said a veteran or someone else could start a similar one with an initial investment as low as $350,000. Martin is a local businessman and veteran of the Vietnam War.
Although Vet Veggies is profitable, its real purpose is to refine techniques of hydroponic farming, he said. The idea is to come up with a business model that can spread nationwide.
"Veterans like to work outside and be their own boss," he told Boozman. "Also, to run this kind of business, you have to be involved with your community, with other people."
That would help returning veterans re-enter civilian life more successfully than many other options, Martin said.
"We're profitable now, but we could be a lot more profitable with more investment or a government grant or low-interest loan," he said. This capital would allow the business to improve the farming techniques quicker, he said.
A traditional farm requires hundreds of acres along with tractors and other farm equipment, Martin told the senator. Hydroponic farming by Vet Veggies' method can start with equipment in one 40-foot long conventional storage unit and as little as 1 acre of land. The units take up little space and can be stacked, he said.
No business enterprise is risk free, but hydroponic farming -- growing plants without soil by feeding them the needed nutrients mixed in with water -- has far fewer risks and variables, according to Martin.
Boozman noted during the tour 2018 and now 2019 have been bad years for the state's traditional farms. Rain in autumn last year ruined crops at harvest time statewide, he said.
"The weather's been absolutely terrible," he said.
As for the trade war underway in China, including tariffs, Boozman said there is no easy way out. The federal government has paid billions to farmers this year to offset lost trade opportunities for farmers.
"The Chinese government lies, cheats, steals and manipulates," he said. "This situation started years ago and won't end easily, but it is happening at a bad time for the farm sector. We should be supportive of our farmers as a country."
Square Roots, Gordon Take First Step Toward Year-Round Local Food Across The Continent
Square Roots will cut the ribbon and officially open its newest indoor farm Sept. 30 on the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, MI
SEPTEMBER 18, 2019
Square Roots will cut the ribbon and officially open its newest indoor farm Sept. 30 on the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, MI.
This is the beginning of a strategic partnership that will see Square Roots’ high-tech farms built on or near Gordon Food Service locations across the continent, bringing high-quality, hyper-local produce to customers all year round.
Scalable Urban Farming at Speed
Square Roots’ partnership with Gordon Food Service was announced at the end of March, and its first co-located farm is opening just six months later. This speed is possible thanks to Square Roots' modular, scalable farm-tech platform. It can bring its model — perfected in a Brooklyn parking lot — to any city in the world — and the company can do it fast.
"As our network of farms gets larger, it also gets smarter," said the company. "Cloud-connected farms and data-empowered farmers learn from each other, enabling Square Roots to replicate success from one location to another, seamlessly. Opening the Michigan farm brings us closer to the vision of a distributed network of indoor farms, bringing local real food to people in cities across the world—while empowering thousands of next-gen leaders in urban farming through our unique training program."
Of course, at the center of the Square Roots model are the farmers themselves. It’s their love for the plants that make the food taste so good. With the food system rapidly changing all around us, there’s never been a more exciting time to forge a new career in farming and contribute to the real food revolution. The Square Roots Next-Gen Farmer Training Program is an incredible opportunity for young, diverse change-makers to learn and take their place at the forefront of urban agriculture.
"Thousands of people have applied to our Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, and the demand to join our Michigan farm has been no different," the company said. "We saw an incredibly diverse group of applicants, with about half local to the Michigan area, and others from as far away as Singapore and Nigeria. (Sadly, we’re only open to U.S. residents right now.) Diversity in perspective is essential for the agriculture industry to build a more complete and sustainable food system — one that can feed 10 billion people by 2050. For example, one of our new farmers, Winn Hermanski, is moving from Texas where he is leaving a career in software sales to join the real food revolution. His understanding of various business models comes with a personal passion for creating solutions for growing urban centers.
Meanwhile, Savevone Sonsyanth, a pre-med graduate from Ferris State University, is bringing her love for real food with practical biology experience and an interest in human wellness to a new career in agriculture. It feels like a natural next step. However, the reality is that there are very few opportunities across the world for young people to make this leap. We’re humbled by these stories as it becomes clear that the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program is captivating the minds of so many young people from across the globe and that so many people are eager to help us figure out a new, sustainable food system. One that is ultimately better for people, the planet, and the economy. We’ll be featuring all of our Next-Gen Farmers on the blog over the course of their year with Square Roots, so keep an eye out for their stories."
The company has also been fortunate to attract exceptional talent to the management team in Michigan. Brian Mitchell, new farm manager, joined the company from an 87,000-square-foot indoor aquaponic facility in Minnesota. And joining Square Roots as assistant farm managers are Lauren Niergarth, a horticulture major from Michigan State University, and Eli Zimmer, a former Next-Gen Farmer from the company's Brooklyn farm. Zimmer’s advancement to farm management is just one example of the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program creating pathways to leadership roles for young farmers.
The company said it is thrilled to be working with Gordon Food Service to bring this farm to life and empower so many young people to become leaders in urban farming while supplying local buyers with delicious food, year-round. “Customers want fresh, locally grown food all year round,” said Chief Executive Officer of Gordon Food Service Rich Wolowski. “We’re now on a path to do that at scale with Square Roots.”
The Greenery Is A Vertical Hydroponic Farm That Thrives Within An Insulated, Custom-Built Shipping Container.
The Greenery is a vertical hydroponic farm that thrives within an insulated, custom-built shipping container
ALL YOUR GREENERY QUESTIONS–ANSWERED
Our digital product booklet captures all of the Greenery's innovative new features and systems, explaining in full detail how a 320 sq. ft. container can be transformed into a high production farm.
Download the booklet now to explore the power, beauty, and smart design behind the most advanced container farm in the world. We're detailing every aspect of the Greenery to showcase how you can grow with confidence anywhere, any season.
See inside the Greenery with our comprehensive Virtual Tour or visit us online at freightfarms.com/greenery.
Freight Farms, 46 Plympton St, Boston, MA 02118, US, 877-687-4326
The Greenery represents a new category onto itself, a distillation of an idea into a core, governing concept. With the opportunity for countless unique applications, the Greenery cannot be confined to just one category: greenhouse, nursery, laboratory...none can capture the Greenery’s full potential.
The Greenery is a vertical hydroponic farm that thrives within an insulated, custom-built shipping container. It is possible to walk past without realizing that the unassuming green and white container houses a verdant world where the weather is always warm and the sun never sets. Unlike traditional farms, the plants in the Greenery grow vertically indoors without soil:
The plants obtain all their nutrition from water and their light energy from powerful LEDs. This independence from land, climate, and season allows the Greenery to bring the power of food production anywhere in the world– its modular design means it can easily traverse the globe by land and sea before arriving at its new home.
The Greenery’s climate control components work together to recreate an ideal spring day, everyday. As a result, plants can thrive inside the container regardless of the external environment–harsh climates, tight urban centers, and extreme weather conditions have no effect on the plants growing inside.
Insulation
The Greenery’s shell has a Department of Energy Insulation rating of R-28. This means the Greenery can maintain an average internal temperature of 70oF in extreme climates ranging from -40oF - 130oF and a variety of inclement weather conditions.
Climate Control
The 36,000 BTU Bard HVAC unit automatically cools the Greenery based on farmhand® programming. An integrated economizer saves energy by drawing in cool outside air when appropriate, doubling as an intake fan.
Dehumidifier
Integrated within the Bard unit, the Greenery’s dehumidifier maintains optimal in-farm humidity levels. Condensate is captured and recirculated back into the water tanks at up to 1.88 gallons/ hour, decreasing the farms overall water consumption.
Airflow Ducts
Two fans power on-panel air ducts to distribute cool, CO2 -enriched air evenly through varied-sized holes in the anti-microbial material, creating uniform airflow in the entire container.
CO2 Regulator
A precision regulator with a safety shut-off feature provides plants with the CO2 needed for photosynthesis. CO2 is fed directly into the airflow ducts and permeates into the main cultivation area.
VIEW FULL BROCHURE
Nursery Station Features
38-gallon Tank
The nursery station water tank is vertically integrated into the table for easy access. An attachable hose drains water from the nursery tank into the Greenery’s main cultivation tank, where it is flows out through a drainage spigot. Conversely, operators can route the hose directly outside through the farm door for straightforward cleaning and maintenance.Specialized LED Array
The nursery station features specialized light arrays with a higher ratio of blue lights to encourage strong stem development from the moment seeds sprout.Flexible Tray Capacity
The nursery station holds sixteen 200- or 288-cell trays, so that the operator has a constant supply of seedlings. Removable rails make routine trough cleaning effortless.Drainage Basin
The Greenery’s drainage basin acts as a designated spot for saturated grow plugs, discarded leaves, and other refuse. The removable catch basin with stainless steel drip tray contains the mess and keeps the work surface sparkling clean.
Green Thumbs
For the past two years classes and interns have operated the Mountain Vista Farm, which utilizes a hydroponic growing system called the Leafy Green Machine
By James Conlan La Junta Tribune-D
September 1, 2019
Students at Mountain Vista High School are getting their hands dirty to start the year via the Agricultural Business course taught by David Larsen.
“As part of the program, students are responsible for all aspects of the Mountain View Farms business,” Larsen said.
After being introduced to the different business principles, students are tasked with integrating them into running a successful business. Some of these tasks include marketing, social media/website, communications, graphic design, printed literature, handling of money/accounting, customer service, food safety and business plan development.
“Agriculturally, they have to figure out all of the elements including environment, nutrient, tech, engineering and automation to keep the plants alive and healthy for sale,” he said.
For the past two years classes and interns have operated the Mountain Vista Farm, which utilizes a hydroponic growing system called the Leafy Green Machine.
“I think hydroponics is far more sustainable and reliable than traditional farming for the crops we can grow,” he added. “This technology produces absolutely delicious products that are fresh and last multiple times longer than what is sold in stores.”
He said utilizing this machine involves more people in the local production of food, potentially builds community and is a great educational tool for life skills. For students of his Agricultural Business class he said they gain soft skills in terms of being a good employee including punctuality, engagement, responsibility, as well as a good representation of the business to the public.
Another added element to the Leafy Green Machine is the ability of students to use the app Farmhand App.
“When we first started Freight Farms, we considered ourselves a hardware platform – but our views quickly expanded for two reasons,” Freight Farms CEO, Brad McNamara said.
The first reason was when he and co-founder Jon Freidman realized their clients needed a way to stay in contact with their farms remotely. The second reason was that they wanted to address a historical challenge in the farming world. Which they said was the lack of reliable and transferable data between farms to increase overall agricultural efficiencies.
“At the time, there wasn’t a turnkey hub for industrial-scale IoT, few if any climate-control apps for hydroponic indoor growers, nor a sophisticated way to bridge the gap between emerging IoT technology and old programming control language,” he said.
So building from the ground up, he said that they developed an integrated software platform called Farmhand. Which would enable its users to monitor and manage farm components remotely, automate tasks and analyze growing data.
“As IoT technology has evolved over the years, we’ve continuously integrated new updates and advancements to help our customers operate increasingly efficient farms with the touch of a button,” he said.
Consumers of Freight Farms products don’t just include schools, according to McNamara their tech has been used at restaurants, nonprofits, retail establishments, hospitality organizations and corporate employee benefit programs.
“We’ve been focused on taking the most advanced hydroponic technology and making it approachable. Enabling people of varying ages, experience levels, and industries to become successful food growers,” he said.
Videos: Freight Farms - Container Farming
To learn more about how to get started with your own Freight Farm go to Freight Farms, or to inquire about a pre-owned Freight Farm Container go to iGrow News
FREIGHT FARMER SPOTLIGHT: PATRICK STOFFER
In a lot of ways, Patrick Stoffer isn't your average 28-year old. To start with, he is a hydroponic farmer, but perhaps even more unusual, he is roommates with a 90-year old, Harrie, just one of the members of his community he is passionate about serving. Patrick lives at Humanitas Independent Senior Living Facility in Deventer, The Netherlands. In exchange for room and board, Patrick spends time with the residents, who help him grow, harvest and prepare the fresh produce from his Freight Farms operation, Grow Local. To learn more about how to get started with your own Freight Farm go to Freight Farms, or to learn more about pre-owned Freight Farm LGM container, got to iGrow News.
GROW FOOD HERE: SPRINGDALE, ARKANSAS | VET VEGGIES
4 STEPS TO GROWING IN OUR CONTAINER FARM
FREIGHT FARMER SUPPORT
MEET THE FARMERS AT AGORA GREENS
2015 LEAFY GREEN MACHINE BY FREIGHT FARMS
INSIDE A SHIPPING CONTAINER VERTICAL HYDROPONIC FARM
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INSIDE THE LEAFY GREEN MACHINE
Join FarmBoxFood, Iot.Atl, Ponix, & New City Properties On The Eve of Smart City Expo Atlanta
FarmBoxFoods and Ponix Farms is developing end-to-end local food ecosystems focused on reclassifying food as a utility, much like water or electricity
Join FarmBoxFoods, IoT.ATL, Ponix, & New City Properties to help revolutionize the future of food with Vertical Hydroponic Farms in shipping containers| Tuesday, September 10th | 4 -7 pm | 725 Ponce De Leon, Atlanta, Georgia
FarmBoxFoods is proud to take the next step in building resilient communities by connecting people, companies and technology to forge a stronger path for the future.
On September 10th, partners from IoT.ATL, leaders in smart city technology, and community mavericks will converge at 725 Ponce in Atlanta to celebrate the innovation of FarmBoxFoods, Ponix Farms and the opening of the first IoT.ATL Living Lab!
FarmBoxFoods, a new and revolutionary manufacturer of Vertical Hydroponic Farms in shipping containers with Ponix Farms, a winner of the IoT.ATL AgTech Challenge, is identifying scalable AgTech solutions to address the need for resilient food systems and illuminate how technology can be used to solve the pressing social issues of our time. Through this lens, they will change the future of food and urban agriculture to benefit communities across the globe as the world urbanizes.
FarmBoxFoods and Ponix Farms is developing end-to-end local food ecosystems focused on reclassifying food as a utility, much like water or electricity.
Join us in celebrating this monumental product launch on the eve of Smart City Expo Atlanta at 725 Ponce, just steps off the Atlanta Beltline - across from Ponce City Market.
Thank you to our core partners; New City Properties, Georgia Power, Invest Atlanta, AGCO, Metro Atlanta Chamber, City of Atlanta, and the Atlanta Beltline for their tremendous support and sponsorship.
About IoT. ATL
The IoT.ATL Living Labs program is focused on testing and validating IoT and technology solutions to help ensure equity and inclusion in the wave of strong economic growth.
The future success of smart communities lies in the collaborative projects the region creates and the public-private partnerships like IoT.ATL that drive innovation forward.
The IoT.ATL Living Labs project was founded by Georgia Power, City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta, the Atlanta BeltLine, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and AGCO to help address pressing challenges in the community and leverage technology for good. For more information, visit iot-atlanta.com.
Aramark Gears Up For 2019 Back-To-School Season On College Campuses
Freight Farms - East Carolina University's Freight Farm supplies the dining hall with organic produce, grown in a shipping container behind a residence hall. The shipping container provides ideal conditions for seeds to germinate, grow and be ready for harvest in eight weeks
8/28/2019
BACK TO SCHOOL: Aramark is welcoming back three million higher education students to campus, by introducing a new wave of offerings customized to the ever-changing needs of Gen Zers, including new breakfast and dessert menu items added to True Balance, Aramark's allergen solutions station.
PHILADELPHIA -- Aramark, a foodservice and facilities partner of more than 400 colleges and universities across the U.S., is ready to welcome back three million higher education students to campus by introducing a new wave of offerings customized to the ever-changing needs of Gen Zers.
"Every year, our higher education team members elevate the student experience with custom campus solutions tailored for them," said Jeff Gilliam, president of Aramark's Higher Education business.
Aramark's team of more than 450 higher education chefs develop menus using flavors and food trends from around the world, in-depth research and healthy, fresh and authentic ingredients, to satisfy and expand students' taste buds.
Some highlights of new menu items include:
Sushi Cones -- A new concept that puts a fun spin on a student favorite. Made to order, sushi cones are easy to eat and completely customizable, from the vegetables, to the protein of choice.
Kimchi Quesadilla -- Inspired by a concept that helped lead the popularity of gourmet food trucks, this quesadilla features spicy kimchi, baby spinach, queso fresco and Kogi Salsa Roja.
Beet Hummus -- Alternative hummus options have risen in popularity in the U.S. Beet hummus packs many nutrients and brightens recipes with a subtle, earthy, mildly sweet and smooth flavor.
Cooking Up Meal Kits
Aramark research found that 58% of undergraduates would be very likely or likely to use a meal kit at school, so the company is partnering with Home Chef, the second largest U.S.-based meal kit brand, to offer meal kits as a component of a meal plan this fall. Debuting on 25 campuses this September, the new plan provides meals on campus and meal kits delivered directly to students' doorstep, providing a new solution for those who enjoy or want to learn to cook.
Expanding Allergy Solutions
This academic year, students can expect breakfast and dessert menu items added to True Balance, Aramark's allergen solutions station.
Aramark's culinary team developed six new recipes utilizing products from Enjoy Life Foods, which are entirely gluten free and exclude nuts, dairy and soy. All Enjoy Life foods are free from 14 allergens and are made with 100%, all natural, non-GMO ingredients. Featured recipes include various types of muffins, banana pancakes, chocolate brownies and chocolate chip cookies.
Growing Campus Gardens
Campus gardens are sprouting up across the country, giving students the chance to eat local and see how produce is grown, first-hand. Through innovative technologies, Aramark is helping students embrace a plant-forward lifestyle.
Aeroponic Gardens - At the University of California, Irvine, 30 aeroponic towers grow over 1,320 bunches of vegetables. Harvested every three weeks, the bundles of produce go directly into the dining hall, where they are incorporated into the menu and enjoyed by UCI students. The towers also supply vegetables and herbs for the on-campus food pantry and resource center.
The University of Florida uses two aeroponic tower gardens to grow leafy greens and herbs that are donated to the on-campus food pantry that assists food insecure UF staff, faculty and students who utilize the pantry.
By utilizing aeroponic gardens, campuses are using less water, growing more product and eliminating the use of pesticides.
Freight Farms - East Carolina University's Freight Farm supplies the dining hall with organic produce, grown in a shipping container behind a residence hall. The shipping container provides ideal conditions for seeds to germinate, grow and be ready for harvest in eight weeks.
Use Of Artificial Intelligence
Aramark has expanded its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to college campuses through a partnership with Mashgin, a Palo-Alto, CA-based technology company, that creates express self-checkout kiosks that use computer vision to scan multiple items at once without barcodes.
This technology provides a frictionless customer experience with faster checkout times and shorter lines for the convenience time-pressed students and staff want. Students also can purchase grab-and-go choices without sacrificing a fulfilling meal.
Rolling Food Delivery Onto Campus
Aramark recently acquired Good Uncle , an innovative, app-based on-demand food delivery service that brings freshly prepared, restaurant quality meals to conveniently located pick-up points around college campuses. The addition of this concierge service to the Aramark portfolio furthers the company's commitment to advancing innovation through culinary-and technology-driven solutions that better serve customers and clients.
Good Uncle, launched in 2016, utilizes centralized production and a fleet of specially equipped vehicles to deliver meals to the most popular spots on and off campus. Its world-class culinary team, led by a Michelin-rated chef, crafts a diverse menu of healthy and indulgent items that rotates frequently to keep the experience enticing.