Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
Towards Greater Profitability And Scale In CEA And Vertical Farming
The virtual Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit on June 24-25 will gather the world’s leading farm operators, retailers, food companies, investors, seed companies, and technology providers to meet, network, and cultivate new commercial partnerships
The virtual Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit on June 24-25 will gather the world’s leading farm operators, retailers, food companies, investors, seed companies, and technology providers to meet, network, and cultivate new commercial partnerships.
350+ attendees from the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia will participate in live-stream sessions, join roundtable discussion groups and connect directly through 1-1 video meetings and group chats.
By sharing best practices from around the globe, and facilitating new connections and collaborations, the summit offers an invaluable platform to develop new business and accelerate projects across the Indoor AgTech ecosystem.
2021 Key Themes
· Hands-Free Cultivation: Latest developments in robotics, automation and AI
· New Crops: Mapping a pathway to mass production
· Retail Insights: Understanding the drivers behind consumer demand
· Seed Optimization: Breeding a competitive advantage
· Financial Models: The investment models scaling the industry
· Advanced Growing Environments: Blurring lines between lighting and genetics
· Profitability at Scale: The technology driving down OPEX
· Food Systems: Bringing food into urban planning
· Direct to Consumer Business Models: Scaling beyond a city
· Energy Efficiency: Driving down the costs of optimum operations
All participants can schedule video 1-1 meetings with potential partners and clients throughout the summit, and for an extended period before and after the sessions.
By sharing best practices from around the globe, and facilitating new connections and collaborations, the summit offers an invaluable platform to develop new business and accelerate projects across the Indoor AgTech ecosystem.
Summit website: https://indooragtechnyc.com/
Registration:
One Summit Pass: Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit (June 24-25, 2021)
Super Early Bird Price: $195
Register before April 2
Early Bird Price: $295
Register before May 7
Standard Price: $395
Two Summit Pass: Indoor AgTech (June 24-25, 2021) and Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins (June 22-23, 2021)
Super Early Bird Price: $445
Register before April 2
Early Bird Price: $595
Register before May 7
Standard Price: $695
https://indooragtechnyc.com/register/
AmplifiedAg Introduces Indoor Farm Platform And Disruptive Technologies, Positioning Company For Rapid Expansion
"AmplifiedAg is on a trajectory to change how the world is feeding itself. Through the adoption of our core technologies and scalable farm platform, we're providing secure food sources and influencing a global shift to indoor farming, which will play a key role in providing food to a growing planet," said Don Taylor, CEO of AmplifiedAg, Inc
News Provided By AmplifiedAg
Mar 03, 2021
CHARLESTON, S.C., March 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With a mission to provide global access to safe food, AmplifiedAg, Inc. introduces its indoor farming platform which includes vertical farms, hydroponic systems, and its proprietary operating system with disruptive seed-to-sale SaaS-based technologies. For the past five years, AmplifiedAg has demonstrated its unparalleled ability to sustainably grow produce to scale at the highest yield, quality and nutritional value, while operating directly at the point of consumption.
AmplifiedAg, Inc. wholly-owns Vertical Roots, the largest hydroponic container farm in the world. Vertical Roots indoor farm production operates with AmplifiedAg's holistic indoor farming platform.
AmplifiedAg's compact farm design operates directly at the point of consumption, maximizes growing space, and is easily scalable in food deserts and space-limited areas. The company's proprietary OS gives farmers total transparency and control of horticulture, food safety, production and business management.
AmplifiedAg deploys indoor farms 70% faster than other CEA implementations, and directly at the point of consumption.
AmplifiedAg rapidly deploys fully functioning farms 70% faster than other CEA implementations, and at cost, that is 50% of the required capital per production pound. The company upcycles shipping containers into controlled agriculture environments with vertical hydroponic systems, LED lights, and electronics, and integrated with AmplifiedAg's proprietary operating system.
AmplifiedAg's indoor farm platform produces 86 times more crop yield per acre compared to traditional farmlands and provides reliable crop production with 365-day farming, regardless of climate and resources. The compact design maximizes the growing space and provides easy mobility and scalability in food deserts and space-limited areas.
But the heartbeat of the operation is AmplifiedAg's proprietary Operating System that features industry-exclusive traceability which tracks every detail of an individual plant's journey from its growth to distribution. This gives farmers total transparency and control of horticulture, food safety, and business management.
Farm containers' resilient architecture and segmentation minimizes the risk of crop loss due to pest and pathogen infestations. SaaS-based technologies provide real-time tracking analytics and 24/7 access for farmers to mitigate risk, control the farm environment and optimize plant growth.
AmplifiedAg's ability to quickly place farms directly in communities and distribution points drastically reduces emissions. Sustainably-focused, the farms don't use soil or pesticides and utilize up to 95% less water than traditional farming.
Wholly-owned by AmplifiedAg, Vertical Roots is the company's proofpoint and has set industry-breaking records in less than five years. Vertical Roots is the largest hydroponic container farm in the U.S., growing nutritious leafy greens with products in over 1,200 grocery stores across the Southeast.
With a proven concept for leafy greens, AmplifiedAg's horticulture expansion plan includes varied nutrient and protein-rich foods to feed the world's growing population.
Increasing threats to the planet's food production fueled Taylor, a 30-year software industry veteran, to found AmplifiedAg in 2016.
"With a growing population, less arable land, water supply and food contamination issues, climate change and environmental disasters," said Taylor, "Our planet is on a path to grow less food for more people while continuing to accelerate the degradation of the earth's fragile ecosystem. Exasperating our already critical food access issues on the planet. The only way we're going to get ourselves out of this situation is with technology. We need to grow safer food in greater volumes closer to the point of consumption while conserving and restoring the environment."
"That is what is driving all of our development and innovation, and ultimately the demand we are seeing from indoor farmers and communities across the world," concluded Taylor.
AmplifiedAg, Inc. was founded in 2016 as the parent company of Vertical Roots, Boxcar Central, a SaaS platform supporting third-party logistics companies and breweries, and Tiger Corner Farms, a CEA farm manufacturing company. AmplifiedAg has absorbed Tiger Corner Farms and Boxcar Central operations as the company presents its mobile indoor farm platform to the market.
About AmplifiedAg, Inc.
AmplifiedAg, Inc. is an ag-tech industry visionary on a mission to provide global access to safe food. The company manufactures indoor vertical farms, hydroponic systems, and disruptive seed-to-sale SaaS-based technologies. Unlike other indoor ag operations, AmplifiedAg provides holistic indoor farm solutions to grow and distribute food anywhere in the world.
AmplifiedAg owns and operates Vertical Roots, the largest hydroponic container farm in the World. Learn more at www.amplifiedaginc.com. Growing Food for a Growing World.
SOURCE AmplifiedAg
Related Link
Introducing Vertical Farming To Mexico And Beyond
Above all else, Karma Verde Fresh is a social enterprise whose purpose, according to Tagino, “is to transform the lives of individuals and communities through the creation of accessible food options, that have positive economic and sustainable impacts on the environment.”
Karma Verde Fresh (KVF) is a vertical farm based in Monterrey, Nuevo León (northeastern Mexico), producing a variety of seedlings, leafy greens, strawberries, and beans, and manufacturing its own cultivation systems which can be installed in any urban environment to promote local agriculture.
First established in 2016 by Leo Lobato and Rafael Cuellar, Karma Verde Fresh sought to master vertical agriculture before developing its own system and initially purchased four vertical racks systems from a Dutch company. The company quickly realized that for vertical farming to be successful in Mexico and other developing countries, the technology needs to be both efficient and financially accessible so that any sized growers can participate in the development of their own urban, peri-urban or rural farms.
(F.l.t.r.) Leo Lobato and Rafael Cuellar, co-founders of KVF
According to Tagino, the company’s communications and social media manager, high capital and operating costs are the main barriers to vertical farming.
Technique available to anyone
This has led the company to develop its own technology within Mexico and make it as accessible as possible, all with the goal of providing as many communities with nutritious produce. Today, KVF has increased its cultivation grow racks by more than 89% in the same footprint and their solar LED lights use 21% less energy.
“We know that there are super sophisticated farms across the world, with high automation. That is one way, but in order to impact communities that are left behind, are looking for job opportunities, vertical farming needs to be affordable,” says Tagino.
Once Karma Verde Fresh successfully developed its own cultivation system, the company developed a digital strategy to reach its potential and future customers through various social media platforms which include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Pushing R&D
Aside from its strong social media presence to attract young customers and entrepreneurs, Karma Verde Fresh also strongly emphasizes the importance for scientific research in the vertical farming industry, publishing their first scientific research report in Cyprus at an international sustainable agriculture conference in March in conjunction with Dr. Gilda Carrasco of the University of Talca.
KVF's salad mix
“Back in 2018, we learned that vertical agriculture really needs the scientific research community to be on board because they can give us the best science for improving growing conditions. In 2019, we started our first laboratories at two UANL campuses (Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León) and the UAAAN in Coahuila, and in 2021-2023, we’ll be installing cultivation systems at different universities across Mexico, Central America, and as far away as Chile,” says Leo.
By installing cultivation systems at numerous universities, Karma Verde Fresh hopes to attract youth to vertical farming and to develop businesses in the regions where the systems are being established. The company is also immersing itself in the academic world by collaborating on research projects and participating with NCERA-101, a research committee focused on exchanging information about technologies in controlled environment agriculture (CEA).
Expansion plans
Through these research collaborations, the company is creating models that it can replicate across Mexico. Thanks to the American Chamber Mexico, the company met Ken Moskal, now an angel investor and a new corporate structure will allow Karma Verde Fresh to transition out of its start-up phase. While the company hopes to attract investment fund managers, Leo also explained that Karma Verde Fresh is taking its time to grow organically, invest its own money and only bring in outside investments if needed.
Karma Verde Fresh plans to fund its growth mostly through sales of seedlings, produce to restaurants and selling the KVF systems through the national distribution network developed through Mexico’s Industrial Chamber CANACINTRA’s Ag Sector.
Above all else, Karma Verde Fresh is a social enterprise whose purpose, according to Tagino, “is to transform the lives of individuals and communities through the creation of accessible food options, that have positive economic and sustainable impacts on the environment.”
Their purpose garnered the attention of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA). The organization asked Karma Verde Fresh to join an alliance, which was signed in 2020 and will work to build cultivation systems in food banks in the country’s most food-insecure regions, as well as the first Vertical Agriculture Tech and Trainer Certification Program in Mexico City.
Sustainable systems
Another interesting initiative of Karma Verde Fresh is its solution called the Rolling Thunder Service. By developing 40-day forecasts over Mexico, the company will be able to better forecast severe meteorological events and begin producing seedlings in its racking systems ahead of such events. When severe storms damage agricultural crops, the company will be able to provide to healthy seedlings to help farmers recover quickly.
The company is guided by three core values: consciousness, innovation and collaboration. With respect to innovation, Tagino explained that it isn’t simply about buying innovation but about actually innovating in the countries seeking to build sustainable agricultural systems. That is ultimately why the company decided to develop its own vertical racks and LEDs. The company’s commitment to collaboration is evidenced by its numerous university partners and research projects.
“Not only are our processes enriched by the different perspectives and knowledge, but it generates a bigger impact among the communities and ecosystems where the collaborations occur,” says Tagino.
For more information:
Karma Verde Fresh
Blvd. Díaz Ordaz #130,
Col. Santa María, Piso 10, Torre 3,
64650, Monterrey, Nuevo León, México
+52 (81) 8851-8261
Leo Lobato, Co-Founder
leo@karmaverdefresh.com
Tagino Lobato, Communication Manager
tagino@karmaverdefresh.com
www.karmaverdefresh.com
Publication date: Thu 25 Feb 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com
Cambridge Engineers Unveil Digital Twin To Support The ‘Future of Farming’
Hydroponic farming challenges traditional methods in favour of soil-less, water-based farming processes. To ensure the ongoing operational success of farms such as these, Cambridge engineers have developed a virtual forecasting model to provide bespoke feedback to farmers
Hydroponic farming challenges traditional methods in favour of soil-less, water-based farming processes. To ensure the ongoing operational success of farms such as these, Cambridge engineers have developed a virtual forecasting model to provide bespoke feedback to farmers.
The researchers show how a Digital Twin can faithfully represent the reality of an environment – in this case a unique hydroponic farm in London (Growing Underground) – through real-time data analytics and modelling, including the integration of a tailored temperature forecasting model to assist farmers’ decision-making. Their findings are published in the Cambridge University Press journal Data-Centric Engineering.
With hydroponic farming – often termed the ‘future of farming’ – on the rise across the UK and globally, the researchers believe that Digital Twins are particularly suited to bespoke environments such as these, providing an opportunity to move away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach, in favour of a virtual representation that can cater to a farm’s changing operational conditions.
Growing Underground is situated in repurposed WW2 air raid shelters that are 33 metres below the streets in Clapham, London. Crops are grown year-round in a pesticide-free environment controlled by LED lights, ventilation, dehumidifiers, and irrigation tanks. The farm grows 12 times more per unit area than traditional greenhouse farming in the UK but also consumes four times more energy per unit area. Therefore, finding ways to minimise the energy use while maximising crop growth and maintaining optimal growing conditions is key to the ongoing operational success of this farm and others like it.
The researchers show how the development of a Digital Twin can be useful not only for informing farm operators in real time, but it can also help them to prepare for the future. Data creation, data analysis and data-centric modelling were all required to create the Digital Twin for Growing Underground. This involved an extensive monitoring system that combined wireless sensors with manual data records to track the observable environmental conditions in the underground farm; identifying the influencing variables on energy use and crop yield; and helping to forecast potential future operational scenarios, as well as providing feedback on the influence of recent events on the farm environment.
The Digital Twin can also provide enhanced data to help assist farmers in the decision-making process, offering advice specific to the needs of the farm. For example, the researchers identified that the LED lights have the greatest influence on daily temperature fluctuations in the farm and so they created a bespoke temperature forecasting model that predicts extreme temperatures. This model can be integrated into the Digital Twin and it is easy to implement, making use of temperature and energy meter readings. It is also flexible to the addition of more data as it becomes available and provides feedback on operational changes that can reduce energy use and control the farm environment more effectively.
Location of sensors in Growing Underground. A side view of a typical bench is indicated at the centre of the farm, showing how four LED lights span the length of each bench. The blue arrows indicate the air circulation throughout the farm. Credit: Melanie Jans-Singh
Dr Ruchi Choudhary, Reader in Architectural Engineering, said: “As we move towards more innovative agricultural practices, such as hydroponic farming, there is a greater need for an intelligent Digital Twin over a simple monitoring system. The Digital Twin we have developed for the unique hydroponic farm, Growing Underground, can observe, process, and interpret farm data (i.e. energy, weather, live sensor data and manual records) that leads to tangible outcomes. This can include warnings (i.e. concerning temperature fluctuations that require changes to ventilation, heat, light); causal relationships (resource use efficiency, crop health); operational suggestions (using a forecasting model); and a prediction of future conditions."
Melanie Jans-Singh, lead author and Ph.D. student, added: “In essence, our Digital Twin becomes the urban-integrated farm operator’s 24/7 smart ‘companion’, a living digital reference, providing bespoke feedback on the effectiveness of the measures taken in real-time. This is in addition to longer-term forecasting and informed decision-making, with control processes that are robust to human error. It is suited to mid to large scale processes, often seen in civil engineering, where sensor maintenance will also be an issue.”
Melanie Jans-Singh, Kathryn Leeming, Ruchi Choudhary, Mark Girolami. ‘Digital twin of an urban-integrated hydroponic farm.’ Data-Centric Engineering (2020). DOI: 10.1017/dce.2020.21
For more information:
University of Cambridge
Is Controlled Environment Agriculture Addressing The Issues Facing The Agriculture Industry?
As chairman of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee, Paul Lightfoot at BrightFarms is looking for ways to make major improvements in food production, sustainability and consumption
BrightFarms founder and president Paul Lightfoot, who is chairman of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee, said controlled environment agriculture could play a major role in helping to solve some of the significant issues facing the ag industry and U.S. Photos courtesy of BrightFarms
As chairman of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee, Paul Lightfoot at BrightFarms is looking for ways to make major improvements in food production, sustainability, and consumption.
When Paul Lightfoot founded BrightFarms in January 2011 he had no experience in commercial food production. Ten years later he is president of one of the fastest-growing controlled environment agriculture companies in the United States. Starting with one 54,000-square-foot greenhouse facility in Pennsylvania in 2013, BrightFarms has expanded with greenhouse operations in four states with a total production area of 700,000 square feet.
“I had a background in retail supply chain improvement,” Lightfoot said. “I was running a supply-side software company for about nine years and was thinking about whether I could create an opportunity that would combine my career with my personal interest in healthy sustainable food. I studied different opportunities and came across the leafy greens supply chain as one that was ripe for destruction.
“At the time, all salads in North America basically came from the West Coast, either Salinas, Calif., in the summer or Yuma, Ariz., in the winter. I identified a very centralized, very industrialized supply chain that wasn’t benefitting consumers.”
Paul Lightfoot said an increasing amount of growth in the leafy greens market is coming from controlled environment agriculture.
Lightfoot said the concentrated field production locations and long-distance shipping required to deliver leafy greens to East Coast markets was not good for the product.
“Most leafy greens are five to seven days old when they arrive at retailers’ distribution centers, and that shows in the quality, nutrition, and taste,” he said. “I also thought field food production had some Achilles heals’ in terms of food safety and sustainability, which I thought would become more important, providing BrightFarms with a terrific market opportunity.
“I knew that consumers would continue to focus on healthy eating and that the demand for salads was going to rise. I grew confident that BrightFarms could disrupt a supply chain that was fragile and vulnerable.”
After opening its first greenhouse facility in 2013, Lightfoot said by the end of 2014 the company had figured out its operating model.
“We began to raise serious capital,” he said. “We graduated from venture capital to private equity in 2016 as we hit the national stage. We opened much larger greenhouses, one in Virginia to serve the Washington, D.C., market and one in Illinois to serve the Chicago and Milwaukee markets. Those were in partnership with Ahold Delhaize and Kroger.
“Before then I don’t think the produce industry had taken controlled environment salad production seriously. After 2016 we established ourselves as a contender to continue winning market share.”
Lightfoot said just about every major retailer in the U.S. now has an indoor-grown salad program on its shelves.
“There are billions of dollars of market share to be captured with leafy greens,” he said. “It’s a big and growing segment and by far the lion’s share of the growth is coming from controlled environment local production like ours.”
Helping to solve ag industry, societal issues
In October 2020 Lightfoot was elected chair of the USDA’s Fruit & Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee (FVIAC). Formed in 2001, the purpose of the committee is to examine issues that impact the fruit and vegetable industry and to provide recommendations and ideas to the Secretary of Agriculture on how the USDA can tailor programs to better meet the needs of the produce industry. FVIAC currently has four working groups: food safety, production, labor and trade.
“During our committee meetings the members develop a series of recommendations on the matters that are within the preview of the USDA,” Lightfoot said. “These recommendations are relevant to fruit and vegetable companies in the U.S., including growers, shippers, distributors, retailers and other organizations that have a stake in this space.”
Controlled environment vegetable production could be instrumental in providing consumers with healthier, more nutritious, better-tasting produce that is locally grown.
Lightfoot said the U.S. agriculture industry has an opportunity to help tackle some of the most pressing issues facing the U.S., including climate change and nutrition.
“We have a society where the majority of Americans are obese or nearly obese and an extremely high percentage is diabetic or pre-diabetic,” he said. “The leading cause of death in the U.S. is from chronic diseases that are a result of our diets.
“We don’t need fancy technology to see the solution. Only about one in 10 Americans eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Shifting our diets away from highly processed foods and toward more fruits and vegetables would reduce diet-related chronic diseases, reduce the costs of healthcare, and even improve our military readiness.”
Another area where Lightfoot said the agricultural industry could help resolve issues is related to climate change.
“It is well understood that the energy and transportation sectors are huge contributors to climate change,” he said. “In general, as a world, we are making progress on those fronts. I’m not alone in driving an electric car and powering my home with wind-powered electricity.
“Less well understood is that the U.S. agriculture industry emits 10 percent of our country’s greenhouse gases. It is also one of the most vulnerable sectors to more volatile weather that results from climate change.”
Lightfoot is particularly concerned about the impact the agriculture industry is having on the country’s top soil and water resources.
“We’re mining our soil,” he said. “If we continue to degrade our soils, we only have about 50 seasons of soil left in the Midwest. Farming practices in the Midwest and California have also had a major impact on waterways, reducing sources of potable water.
Paul Lightfoot said just about every major retailer in the U.S. now has an indoor-grown salad program on its shelves.
“More biodiversity needs to be introduced into the areas of the West Coast that currently grow our salads. It has become a monoculture, which has removed the life from the soil and disrupted the water cycles. One idea would be to provide incentives to those farmers to “re-wild” some of that land, adding biodiversity to restore the soils and water cycles. That lost production capacity could be offset with the growth in high intensity indoor farms.”
Taking the CEA industry seriously
Lightfoot said his participation with FVIAC is beneficial to BrightFarms and to the CEA industry.
“It is important to remember that I am representing the entire fruit and vegetable industry in my role with FVIAC,” he said. “I care about BrightFarms like I care about a child, but in this role I will be speaking for the entire industry.
“The U.S. should be doubling the per capita annual consumption of fruits and vegetables. Because Americans are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, our country is suffering.”
Lightfoot said his participation with FVIAC, along with being a board member of the United Fresh Produce Association, reflects the changes occurring in the CEA industry and how it is viewed overall by the agriculture industry.
“The CEA industry was considered fairly new and only recently has it become a bigger player,” he said. “These ag organizations recognize that and want our representation. We are glad to have it. We think we have an important voice and I’m glad to be able represent the CEA industry.”
For more: BrightFarms, Farm Support Center, Irvington, NY 10533; (866) 857-8745; info@brightfarms.com; BrightFarms
This article is property of Urban Ag News and was written by David Kuack, a freelance technical writer in Fort Worth, Texas.
Bowery’s Founder, Irving Fain, On The Future of Vertical Farming
At one point in the not-so-distant past, vertical farming’s role in our future agricultural system was far from certain. Growing leafy greens in warehouse-like environments controlled by tech seemed like a compelling business, but one that had yet to prove itself either economically or as an important source of food for a growing world population
Image from: The Spoon
At one point in the not-so-distant past, vertical farming’s role in our future agricultural system was far from certain. Growing leafy greens in warehouse-like environments controlled by tech seemed like a compelling business, but one that had yet to prove itself either economically or as an important source of food for a growing world population.
That, at least, was a common sentiment Irving Fain, CEO and founder of Bowery, met with when he started his vertical farming company five years ago. “There was a bit of skepticism around it,” he told me over a call recently, suggesting that five years ago, there were a lot more “ifs” than “whens” in terms of vertical farming’s future.
Fain, Bowery, and the entire vertical farming industry get a much warmer reception nowadays. Investment dollars are pouring into the space. Around the world, companies, scientists, and food producers are using the method to not just supply upscale grocery stores with greens but experiment with breeds of produce, feed underserved populations, and grow food in non-arable regions. As Fain suggested when we spoke, the last 12 months seem to have turned those “ifs” into definite “whens.”
Bowery’s last 12 months also illustrate this change. Fain said that Bowery went from under 100 retail locations about a year ago to nearly 700 right now, and will be in more than 1,000 “in the coming months.” Its produce is in a number of food retailers around the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including Whole Foods Market, Giant Food, Stop & Shop, Walmart, and Weis Markets. And in 2020, the company experienced “more than 4x growth” with e-commerce partners.
While the pandemic is responsible for some of this popularity, Fain insists it is not the only reason for the eventful year. “It’s definitely bigger than the pandemic,” he said. “What you’re seeing is a food system that’s evolving and [people have a desire] to see transparency and traceability in the food system.” These, he says, are issues the traditional food supply chain isn’t really able to address right now, hence the opportunity for companies like Bowery, which effectively cut multiple steps out of the supply chain.
Bowery grows its greens (lettuces, herbs, and some custom blends) inside industrial spaces where crops are stacked vertically in trays and fed nutrients and water via a hydroponic system. Technology controls all elements of the farm, from the temperature inside to how much light each plants get. The company currently operates two farms, one in New Jersey and the other in Maryland. A third is planned for Pennsylvania.
Technology, in particular, is something Bowery has big plans for. On top of a retail expansion, Bowery also added some notable personnel to its staff, including Injong Rhee, formerly the Internet of Things VP at Google as well a chief technologist at Samsung. Having such technology chops onboard will be vital in order for Bowery to realize many of its ambitions around advanced automation, which has the potential to optimize many parts of the seed-to-store process for vertically grown greens.
For example, Bowery’s farms are equipped with sensors and cameras that are constantly collecting data — “billions” of points, according to the company — that can be used to not just observe the current state of plant health but also predict the most optimal growing conditions for each crop. Elements like temperature, humidity levels, nutrient levels, and light intensity can all be adjusted, via the BoweryOS software, to create those optimal conditions. The end result is more consistent crop production, better yields, more flavorful food, and, ideally, a better nutritional profile for the greens compared to what conventional produce offers.
The system can also, through automation and AI, detect problems with plants. In a recent interview with Venture Beat, Bowery Chief Science Officer Henry Sztul used the example of butterhead lettuce yellowing at the edges during growth. Bowery’s system is technologically advanced enough at this point that it is starting to understand the conditions that create those yellowing edges. That foreknowledge, in turn, will allow growers to adjust the crop “recipe” (see above mixture of lights, temperature, etc.) to avoid the problem.
It took Bowery years to get to this point in terms of what its technology is capable of doing. “The system [for] indoor farming that you choose has a direct impact on the crops you’ll be able to grow, on the margins you’ll be able to generate, and on the return profile of the business itself,” said Fain. “And so being incredibly intentional and thoughtful about what technology you use is something we spent a lot of time on because it has an extraordinarily important economic impact.”
On a less technically complex note, controlled ag from Bowery and others also goes some way towards reinventing the supply food chain. Rather than greens being harvested in, say, Mexico and shipped via a complex distribution process all the way to Baltimore, they are packaged up at the farm and distributed to nearby retailers, usually those within a day’s drive “It is much more sustainable. It is much more efficient, and it’s more reliable, and those things have been important to consumers long before COVID,” said Fain.
Bowery will continue to innovate on both the technology and supply side of its business, as well as with the food itself. The company just launched a new specialty product line that will experiment with different flavors of greens and change frequently.
In terms of tech, Bowery’s latest farm, currently being built in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, will incorporate even more automation than the company’s two existing farms. That location is slated to open later in 2021. When it does, Bowery will be capable of serving nearly 50 million people within a 200-mile radius.
The company hopes to expand its geographic reach much wider some day, building farms near most major U.S. cities and beyond. Given the increased confidence in the vertical farming sector as a whole, now looks to be the optimal time to move towards those ambitions.
by Jennifer Marston, The Spoon
Why I Moved From California To Kansas To Grow Leafy Greens In All Seasons
Brad Fourby runs Leafy Green Farms LLC, a hydroponic shipping container farm in Pittsburg.
By Brad Fourby
January 9, 2021
The Kansas Reflector welcomes opinion pieces from writers who share our goal of widening the conversation about how public policies affect the day-to-day lives of people throughout our state. Brad Fourby runs Leafy Green Farms LLC, a hydroponic shipping container farm in Pittsburg.
Google Maps says the distance between Sacramento, California, and Pittsburg, Kansas, is 1,842 miles.
This year has been tough, with COVID shutdowns, a heart attack, bypass surgery, and the loss of a loved one. All of this slowed me down but did not stop me from leaving California and starting a year-round container farm that will provide Pittsburg with fresh leafy vegetables like lettuces, basils, and arugula.
Good nutrition starts with what is on your plate. Knowing where your food comes from and how it was grown is becoming more important to everyone.
While living in downtown Sacramento, I started Innovative Farms. I would build and help consult with others interested in aquaponics, growing fish and plants together in small places. Small towns have to wait and pay higher prices for food that has been grown and transported from California, China, Argentina, and other countries. The produce is picked early so that it may ripen in transit on ships or trucks while being treated with chemicals along the way.
Through this work, I met longtime Pittsburg residents Rob and Sara Morris, owners of Energy Group Consultants. They told me that Pittsburg and Crawford County were considered a food desert — like much of the Midwest, grocers in Crawford County import their food, while producers export what they grow, such as corn and soybeans.
I would visit the city a few times a year and got to know some of the people and businesses. I loved the vibe of the place.
Rob and Sara and I discussed increasing the farm-to-table opportunities in Pittsburg. We talked about container farming, using repurposed shipping containers that have been outfitted with computer-controlled vertical hydroponics. This highly efficient method requires no pesticides or herbicides to grow vegetables that can be harvested weekly regardless of the climate.
My previous experience with aquaponics reminded me of Freight Farms, a Boston farm manufacturer with a great track record of successful farms worldwide. Their farm design was expandable, and vegetables could grow in any weather condition.
I came up with the outline of a business plan. With three farms, my goal was to begin year-round harvests this winter in Pittsburg and support the farm-to-table lifestyle.
I began making phone calls to the city. Compared to the regulation and tax heavy California, Kansas felt welcoming to new business. I heard the term “agri-tourism,” and the idea of new agricultural developments directly helping the area was exciting for many people I spoke with.
The city planners loved the idea of a new business that supported other existing businesses like restaurants, grocers, and the farmers market community, many of them hurt by the COVID shutdowns.
Working with Pittsburg State University’s Small Business Development Center, I created a final business plan. Equity Bank signed on to assist with the Small Business Administration loan process.
So far it has been a real team effort. We really picked up steam after a call with Mike Green, Equity Bank’s small business banker. Turns out he grew up on a farm and instantly recognized the value the business would be to the entire area. We talked about how freshly picked non-chemically treated vegetables actually taste. The difference is night and day.
After that call I knew for sure Pittsburg would be the home of Leafy Green Farms.
The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative then stepped in and awarded the business $15,000 to assist with operating and equipment expenses. This kind of support was a real boost for everyone. KHFI and our farm goals are very much aligned.
It turned out that everyone agreed: Every Kansan should have access to healthy, affordable food.
The idea of more fresh food being produced in Pittsburg was something Live Well Crawford County director Brad Stroud told me he has been very supportive of. Joining their network has been a very positive experience.
We hope that by adding farms that are unique to the area that grows specialty crops, more people will visit the city and frequent some of the supporting businesses. We will take input from chefs and the community palate, and restaurants in the area will be able to offer menu items that their counterparts in large cities have no chance of offering. Our list of available herbs, roots, and vegetables is long and our variety is huge, with Firecracker Leaf Lettuce, Sylvesta Butterhead, and even Wasabi Arugula.
Sacramento County has around 1.5 million people, Crawford County 38,000. Many of my California friends and family are watching my move with great anticipation. When someone asks “Why Kansas?” my answer has remained the same since the beginning: Kansas is open for business.
Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Lead photo: A Freight Farms container on its way to a destination. (Submitted by Leafy Green Farms to Kansas Reflector)
Bringing The Future To life In Abu Dhabi
A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture
Amid the deserts of Abu Dhabi, a new wave of entrepreneurs and innovators are sowing the seeds of a more sustainable future.
Image from: Wired
A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture.
Madar Farms is one of a number of agtech startups benefitting from a package of incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) aimed at spurring the development of innovative solutions for sustainable desert farming. The partnership is part of ADIO’s $545 million Innovation Programme dedicated to supporting companies in high-growth areas.
“Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’,” explained H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, in November 2020. “We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms.”
The pandemic has made food supply a critical concern across the entire world, combined with the effects of population growth and climate change, which are stretching the capacity of less efficient traditional farming methods. Abu Dhabi’s pioneering efforts to drive agricultural innovation have been gathering pace and look set to produce cutting-edge solutions addressing food security challenges.
Beyond work supporting the application of novel agricultural technologies, Abu Dhabi is also investing in foundational research and development to tackle this growing problem.
In December, the emirate’s recently created Advanced Technology Research Council [ATRC], responsible for defining Abu Dhabi’s R&D strategy and establishing the emirate and the wider UAE as a desired home for advanced technology talent, announced a four-year competition with a $15 million prize for food security research. Launched through ATRC’s project management arm, ASPIRE, in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the award will support the development of environmentally-friendly protein alternatives with the aim to "feed the next billion".
Image from: Madar Farms
Global Challenges, Local Solutions
Food security is far from the only global challenge on the emirate’s R&D menu. In November 2020, the ATRC announced the launch of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), created to support applied research on the key priorities of quantum research, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems.
“The technologies under development at TII are not randomly selected,” explains the centre’s secretary general Faisal Al Bannai. “This research will complement fields that are of national importance. Quantum technologies and cryptography are crucial for protecting critical infrastructure, for example, while directed energy research has use-cases in healthcare. But beyond this, the technologies and research of TII will have global impact.”
Future research directions will be developed by the ATRC’s ASPIRE pillar, in collaboration with stakeholders from across a diverse range of industry sectors.
“ASPIRE defines the problem, sets milestones, and monitors the progress of the projects,” Al Bannai says. “It will also make impactful decisions related to the selection of research partners and the allocation of funding, to ensure that their R&D priorities align with Abu Dhabi and the UAE's broader development goals.”
Image from: Agritecture
Nurturing Next-Generation Talent
To address these challenges, ATRC’s first initiative is a talent development programme, NexTech, which has begun the recruitment of 125 local researchers, who will work across 31 projects in collaboration with 23 world-leading research centres.
Alongside universities and research institutes from across the US, the UK, Europe and South America, these partners include Abu Dhabi’s own Khalifa University, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level institute focused on artificial intelligence.
“Our aim is to up skill the researchers by allowing them to work across various disciplines in collaboration with world-renowned experts,” Al Bannai says.
Beyond academic collaborators, TII is also working with a number of industry partners, such as hyperloop technology company, Virgin Hyperloop. Such industry collaborations, Al Bannai points out, are essential to ensuring that TII research directly tackles relevant problems and has a smooth path to commercial impact in order to fuel job creation across the UAE.
“By engaging with top global talent, universities and research institutions and industry players, TII connects an intellectual community,” he says. “This reinforces Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s status as a global hub for innovation and contributes to the broader development of the knowledge-based economy.”
Agritecture Partners With Harvest Returns Crowdfunding Platform To Modernize Urban Agriculture Financing
The two companies will work together to accelerate the urban farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry across the country by offering new entrepreneurs a more accessible way to raise capital. This type of farming can reduce the environmental impact of the food system and increase local food security
Image from: Harvest Returns
Fort Worth, Texas – Agritecture, LLC, an urban farming consulting and digital services firm, announced it has partnered with Harvest Returns, an agriculture investing platform.
The two companies will work together to accelerate the urban farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry across the country by offering new entrepreneurs a more accessible way to raise capital. This type of farming can reduce the environmental impact of the food system and increase local food security.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility of centralized food production,” said Chris Rawley, CEO of Harvest Returns. “Developing additional indoor farms will distribute growing operations closer to where food is consumed, creating a more resilient food system.”
In 2020, the USDA offered the availability of only $3M in grants for urban agriculture and innovative production. Agritecture notes that the average CapEx, or startup cost, for controlled environment farms modeled via their Agritecture Designer digital platform is $512,000, and nearly one-third are over $1M.
Image from: Urban Ag News
“Since our founding in 2014, we’ve seen sustained, year-over-year growth in interest toward urban agriculture, especially amongst industry newcomers,” said Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder and CEO of Agritecture. This growth has only accelerated since the onset of the pandemic, according to the team at Agritecture, which reported nearly a 2x increase in website traffic since Q1 of 2020.
“Despite this increasing interest and the record levels of funding for the handful of indoor mega farms, financing continues to be one of the primary challenges for small and medium-scale CEA businesses,” Gordon-Smith notes. “Yet, we know these farms can achieve profitability with competitive payback periods, while still serving their local markets and communities.”
Gordon-Smith cites Agritecture’s 2019 and 2020 Global CEA Census Reports, produced alongside agtech solutions provider Autogrow, which show that nearly half of all CEA facilities are being started by those with no previous farming experience.
Furthermore, per their recent census, 78 percent of CEA business founders who attempted to raise money were unsuccessful in doing so through traditional financing sources, such as banks.
“By teaming up with Harvest Returns and their innovative financing platform, we can now deliver a direct link from our planning services and digital platform, Agritecture Designer, to funding opportunities for these smaller-scale facilities,” added Gordon-Smith.
Is AppHarvest the Future of Farming?
In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.
Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are red-hot right now, with investors clamoring to get into promising young companies.
In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.
Nick Sciple: One last company I wanted to talk about, Lou, and this is one I think it's -- you pay attention to, but not one I'm super excited to run in and buy. It was a company called AppHarvest. It's coming public via a [SPAC] this year. This vertical farming space. We talked about Gladstone Land buying traditional farmland. AppHarvest is taking a very different approach, trying to lean into some of the ESG-type movements.
Lou Whiteman: Yeah. Let's look at this. It probably wouldn't surprise you that the U.S. is the biggest global farm exporter as we said, but it might surprise you that the Netherlands, the tiny little country, is No. 2. The way they do that is tech: Greenhouse farm structure. AppHarvest has taken that model and brought it to the U.S. They have, I believe, three farms in Appalachia. The pitches can produce 30x the yields using 90% less water. Right now, it's mostly tomatoes and it is early-stage. I don't own this stock either. I love this idea. There's some reasons that I'm not buying in right now that we can get into. But this is fascinating to me. We talked about making the world a better place. This is the company that we need to be successful to make the world a better place. The warning on it is that it is a SPAC. So it's not public yet. Right now, I believe N-O-V-S. That deal should close soon. [Editor's note: The deal has since closed.] I'm not the only one excited about it. I tend not to like to buy IPOs and new companies anyway. I think the caution around buying into the excitement applies here. There is a Martha Stewart video on their website talking up the company, which I love Martha Stewart, but that's a hype level that makes me want to just watch and see what they produce. This is just three little farms in Appalachia right now and a great idea. This was all over my watchlist. I would imagine I would love to hold it at some point, but just be careful because this is, as we saw SPACs last year in other areas, people are very excited about this.
Sciple: Yeah. I think, like we've said, for a lot of these companies, the prospects are great. I think when you look at the reduced water usage, better, environmentally friendly, all those sorts of things. I like that they are in Appalachia. As someone who is from the South, I like it when more rural areas get some people actually investing money there. But again, there's a lot of execution between now and really getting to a place where this is the future of farming and they're going to reach scale and all those sorts of things. But this is a company I'm definitely going to have my radar on and pay attention to as they continue to report earnings. Because you can tell yourself a story about how this type of vertical farming, indoor farming disrupts this traditional model, can be more efficient, cleaner, etc. Something to continue paying attention to as we have more information, because this company, like you said, Lou, isn't all the way public yet. We still got to have this SPAC deal finalized and then we get all our fun SEC filings and quarterly calls and all those sorts of things. Once we have that, I will be very much looking forward to seeing what the company has to say.
Whiteman: Right. Just to finish up along too, the interesting thing here is that it is a proven concept because it has worked elsewhere. The downside of that is that it needed to work there. Netherlands just doesn't have -- and this is an expensive proposition to get started, to get going. There's potential there, but in a country blessed with almost seemingly unlimited farmland for now, for long term it makes sense. But in the short term, it could be a hard thing to really get up and running. I think you're right, just one to watch.
Advice For New Vertical Farmers: Grower Spotlight on Andrew Worrall
Andrew is LettUs Grow’s Farm Manager, he manages two of our sites across Bristol and has brought a wealth of knowledge into the company through his previous experience in indoor farming roles across the UK including at Grow Up, Raynor Foods & RootLabs. In this three part interview, we explore what it’s been like to move from animal husbandry to indoor farming, the lessons he’s learned along the way, what it’s like working at LettUs Grow and his advice for those new to indoor growing.
Last week we spoke about running a farm at LettUs Grow. What excites you about vertical farming?
It’s the future of the industry. Also, the amount of salad that these farms can produce for their local community. We want to be able to eat salad all year round and we import to make that happen. However, just a small farm can easily provide for its local community, very efficiently and all year round. The sustainability element is also exciting: with our salad there’s no food miles, it’s very minimalistic. You could use an electric van or bike to distribute this crop if you wanted to. It’s a step forward in terms of what we need to do to take care of our planet.
What do you think are the biggest downsides to vertical farming?
It’s still a new technology and it can be expensive. The biggest roadblock facing the industry is that we need more people and companies to collaborate together to make sure we can build these farms at a sensible rate, so we can provide farms to anyone. We want to be able to provide farms to people, communities and countries that don’t have a lot of money, so that they can provide affordable fresh produce to local people.
How has vertical farming impacted your life?
Massively! I wanted to find my passion, a job that I loved - that was very important to me. It’s satisfying to be in a position now where I’m very happy to be doing what I do and I look forward to going into work. I was happy to make the move from London to Bristol. I would have moved even further if it meant being able to continue working within this industry.
Image from: LettUs Grow
How do you see vertical farming playing a part in the future?
When indoor farming first came about, it had a reputation of being competition for outdoor farming, which just isn’t the case. There’s so much we can’t grow that outdoor farming can provide, such as cereal crops. I’m glad we’re at a stage where indoor and outdoor farms can start to work together to optimise both methods. With these new relationships, there should be a good increase in the amount of indoor farms you’ll be seeing. What LettUs Grow offers with DROP & GROW™ is an exciting project because that’s a 40ft shipping container which can be placed pretty much anywhere. It’s not that big - it could go in a car park or behind a restaurant, but actually provide quite a lot of salad to that area.
How much of our food should be grown this way?
Good question. If you had asked me a while back I would have just said salad, but now I’ve changed my mind. Indoor farming can have a massive impact on propagation, especially aeroponics, because of how we aerate and nourish our roots. We could start lettuce for greenhouse projects and we can also propagate tomatoes, strawberries and tree whips. Propagating trees in this way could potentially be hugely beneficial and it’s something we want to do more of.
We can also quickly grow large amounts of microgreens, baby leafs, herbs and we can grow fruiting crops like strawberries. We are slowly chipping away and it’s really exciting. I’m waiting to see if I can ever say I’ve grown or propagated every crop that can be grown in these farms!
What do you think are the biggest benefits of vertical farming?
How fast these crops can grow! The turnover can be as short as 5 days from seed, depending on the crop. Also how clean it can be - I’m very dedicated to making sure these farms are built to ensure they are easy to be maintained and clean. The most exciting part is the crop growth rate though - it’s incredible how fast our crop grows from seed to plate. In a very well maintained growing calendar, which Ostara® is great for supporting, you can optimise your beds so that the day you harvest can also be the day you germinate onto that same bed. Your farms can be forever providing salad at very fast rates.
Image from: LettUs Grow
What was the biggest change you encountered during your years indoor farming?
Moving from being a production grower to an R&D grower. It has been a great change! As a production grower I knew what I needed to know about growing the plant safely and getting it onto a plate so it was good for the consumer. Now I’m fully optimising, learning and understanding the plants completely, so that I can help the grower that I used to be. We spend a lot of time on crop recipes to make sure that whoever we sell our farms to can start up very quickly and they won’t have to spend months developing their crops. If they have the customers and clients behind them, they can buy DROP & GROW and start producing salad as soon as it's been commissioned.
What was the biggest change you encountered in the industry?
More and more people are speaking about what’s going on in the industry and getting involved. I get so many messages on LinkedIn with people who want to get into this career. It’s exciting to see that indoor growing is a career people can access now. When I was developing my skills I didn’t know I would end up in indoor farming. There are more opportunities than ever before. For example, our Crop Technician is doing a placement here for 2 years. The aim is that they can gain the skill sets and knowledge they need to then go off and do the same practice in any farm they want.
What advice do you have for people who are looking to start a career in growing?
Reach out to companies who are already out there. You could start off part-time or as an assistant. If you are patient and dedicated then it’s a journey I promise you won’t regret. It takes a lot of work, but the outcome is amazing - you’ll be learning so much about this new technology. You’ll also build great relationships: there are so many amazing people in this industry who are so interesting, with different backgrounds, who are willing to share their knowledge. You can always learn more and other people are a great source of that.
What about for those looking to start a vertical farming business?
Do your homework. There are people out there who you can reach out to and it’s very easy to get information. It’s very easy to get excited about the idea and jump straight into it, because it is exciting and can be very rewarding, but it’s really important to do it step by step. Know how to scale properly, learning the differences between a small and larger farm. Understand how many people you’ll need and the logistics. I’d also advise people to get some practical work experience before you buy. You want to start the company knowing the tricks of the trade.
Image from: LettUs Grow
LettUs Grow Blog: www.lettusgrow.com/blog/advice-for-vertical-farmers
Israeli Agritech Company, Vertical Field In UAE Project
Vertical Field develops vertical agricultural farms that enable crops to grow in the city
27 January 2021
Israeli agritech company Vertical Field, which specializes in vertical farming, has signed an agreement with Emirates Smart Solutions & Technologies (ESST) a company that develops innovative agricultural projects in the Persian Gulf, to deploy pilot vertical farms as a first stage to full-scale deployments in the United Arab Emirates.
Vertical Field develops vertical agricultural farms that enable crops to grow in the city. Vertical Field’s technology enables produce to grow on a bed of soil (geoponically) inside repurposed shipping containers. Vertical Field claims that its advanced technologies enable high-quality crops to grow quickly and efficiently in optimum conditions without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. These customizable urban farms can grow a range of fresh crops for supermarkets, restaurants, urban farmer’s markets, and distribution centers. Vertical Field says that its technology is more efficient and less wasteful than conventional agricultural methods, using 90% less water, and growing precise quantities of produce in a controlled environment.
Produce inside Vertical Field’s containers can therefore grow 365 days a year, are not limited to seasonality constraints, weather conditions, extreme climate events, or geographic location. The farms are modular, expandable, and moveable, and can be managed automatically. Produce is grown in a sterile container with minimal human interference. Crops that are currently grown in the farm include: several varieties of lettuce, basil, parsley, kale, mint, and more, which are sold at competitive prices.
Under the UAE agreement, Vertical Field will conduct a pilot project that will ascertain the most suitable crops for the local market. The first stage of the project will be launched in the United Arab Emirates, and is expected to expand into a multimillion-dollar partnership that will include deployments in additional states of the Gulf region. The first farm will be installed in Umm Al Quwain as part of a research, development, and training center, which is expected to support additional projects in the rest of the Gulf states.
According to market research firm Markets and Markets, in 2020, the vertical farming industry reached $2.9 billion, and it is expected to reach $7.3 billion by 2025. Approximately 80% of the agricultural consumption in the Emirates is imported from around the world, equivalent to over $10 billion (2018). The rising costs of shipping food as well as an increased desire for food security and regional independence has played a strong role in the development of the ESST-Vertical Field partnership.
Vertical Field CEO Guy Elitzur said, "This collaborative project is a first-of-its-kind partnership that offers Vertical Field’s innovative agricultural technologies to the Emirates and the Gulf Region. The Makalde Group brings forty years of experience and wide knowledge in the field of agricultural inputs and resources and we bring innovative technology.
"Arid desert regions face many challenges surrounding the production of high-quality agricultural produce at low prices. With the help of various agricultural technologies and new developments we believe that we can successfully align the demands of the market with competitive prices without compromising quality- and most importantly with increased access and availability."
Maher Makalde, CEO and Partner of ESST said, "Our goal is to establish food security that is independent of imports and to develop a high-quality agricultural infrastructure that reaches the retail market."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 27, 2021
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021
The Capital Expenses For Vertical Farms And Greenhouses
Here at Agritecture, we have performed side-by-side analyses of vertical farms and greenhouses. For most US markets, the greenhouse model comes out ahead on both capital and operational costs
28-01-202 | Agritecture
Written By: Djavid Amidi-Abraham
Breaking down the differences in CapEx between Vertical Farms and Greenhouses. If we peer into the portfolios of some venture capital investors with funds dedicated to agriculture investments, we see a hesitance to invest in vertical farms.
Here at Agritecture, we have performed side-by-side analyses of vertical farms and greenhouses. For most US markets, the greenhouse model comes out ahead on both capital and operational costs.
Let’s look at an example located in a New York Metropolitan market scenario with two similarly sized facilities having similar amounts of bed space (production capacity). The below tables indicate their differing costs per lb of leafy greens grown in the first year.
This analysis focuses on production systems and has thus excluded costs relating to installation and land acquisition, but includes an additional distribution cost for the greenhouse model, as this greenhouse is likely to be located outside of an urban area but still within the “local” range. In the interest of equating production conditions, the greenhouse model also includes additional capital and operational costs for the integration of supplemental lighting in order to bring the daily light integral to equal quantities provided by most vertical farms.
While we may see different scenarios in the future, this assessment draws on current prices and equipment performance.
Greenhouses draw a lot of their value from the fact that the production surfaces are mostly illuminated by the sun, a free resource. Vertical farms, on the other hand, have to pay for the light that their crops see, a significant added cost that often occupies high percentages of operational costs.
In addition, a specialized HVAC system must be designed and implemented to neutralize the heat emitted by the lights. Additional dehumidification capacity is also required with design setpoints relative to the transpiration rate of the crops being grown. HVAC is often the second-highest, non-labor expenditure for VF operations and when dehumidification is added into the mix, overall HVAC operational costs can even exceed lighting electricity costs.
As LEDs become more efficient, less power will be required to cool the space and the economic scenario for VFs becomes more attractive as two of the highest operational costs have been reduced.
To date, the introduction of LEDs to the agriculture industry has made VFs possible. In the future, the continued improvement of LEDs will make VFs more competitive against other modes of controlled environment crop production. It’s hard to say if VFs will outcompete greenhouses on their costs of production as greenhouses similarly benefit from lighting efficiency improvements that will enable them to serve more northern markets at lower operational costs.
While greenhouses outcompete vertical farms today, there may be a future where those tables are turned.
It should be considered that the efficacy of either of these approaches to CEA will be informed by local market conditions. In relation to both the revenue generated and the costs of operation, markets around the world provide differing contexts for the production of crops in protected agriculture scenarios, and these varying costs and opportunities create a unique scenario in every market.
Agritecture’s consultants have a deep understanding of these costs and opportunities and have provided these insights to over 100 clients in more than 20 countries. If any of our readers would like to explore the possibilities in their local region, reach out to Agritecture and we can assess this opportunity through our unique approach and assessment methodology.
This is the second of a two-part series on how vertical farming compares to other farming methods, from our Lead Systems Designer, Djavid Amidi-Abraham. To read Part 1, click here.
Source and Photo Courtesy of Agritecture
VIDEO: Indoor Ag Science Cafe Discusses Marketing Vertical Farm Food To Consumers
This presentation given by Dr. Bridget Behe discussed marketing indoor farm produce
‘Considerations for Marketing Vertical Farm Food Products to Consumers’ by Dr. Bridget Behe (Michigan State University)
The Café presentations are available from the YouTube channel.
This presentation given by Dr. Bridget Behe discussed marketing indoor farm produce. Dr. Behe emphasizes that marketing is the communication of the value with consumers and “Why” to sell or buy is the important focus to connect producers and consumers. Dr. Behe also shared her latest research on consumer perceptions on price vs value, and COVID-19 pandemic related ‘shopping anxiety’. Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of a project OptimIA, funded by the USDA SCRI grant program (http://www.scri-optimia.org). The café forums are designed to serve as a precompetitive communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals.
Contact Chieri Kubota at the Ohio State University (Kubota.10@osu.edu) to be a Café member to participate.
Could Controlled Environment Agriculture Change The Face Of American Farming?
One of the projects AppHarvest was involved with was retrofitting a 40-foot shipping container into a hydroponic production system that operates with a 5-gallon closed-loop irrigation system and LED lights for students to grow food
Exclusives From Urban Ag News
January 25, 2021
David Kuack, UrbanAgNews
Ramel Bradley thinks so. The community director at AppHarvest is talking to students and communities across the country about the benefits of locally-grown food and the agtech used to produce it.
[Photo above: Ramel with students and faculty from Breathitt High School in Jackson, Ky. on Jan. 15 at the opening of the school’s new container farm funded by AppHarvest and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.]
Growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., Ramel “Smooth” Bradley aspired to become a professional basketball player like some of the kids that came before him. NBA Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Bernhard King were two of his role models.
“These great legends inspired my love for the game of basketball,” Bradley said. “As I got older my talents began to increase and I became one of the top prospects in the city. I attended Manhattan Park West High School in New York City and then transferred to the Pendleton School at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where I was a member of the first basketball team in school history.”
Ramel Bradley, community director at AppHarvest, said the company has created a platform which has enabled him to become a Black farmer and community and youth leader.
At IMG Bradley was recruited by multiple college coaches including those from the University of Kentucky.
“What brought me to Kentucky was my love for the game of basketball,” he said. “While at UK, I became the starting point guard, captain, and fan favorite of the Wildcats. I earned my degree and then played professional basketball in multiple countries including Croatia, France, Turkey, and Israel.”
More important than basketball
In 2016 while visiting his family in New York, Bradley discovered his grandmother was having some health issues.
“I decided to stop playing the game I love for something that I love much more–my family and my community,” he said. “When I was 10-years old and falling in love with the game of basketball, my grandmother started a mission in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, focused solely on feeding the hungry. She started the mission in her kitchen out of the need to feed people who were hungry to provide them with some hope and encouragement.”
“I studied in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky because of the seed that was planted in me by my family. My interest in agriculture came from the leadership that my grandmother and family displayed in serving the community. I could see the difference on people’s faces when they were fed a meal and they received encouraging words regardless of their circumstances or where they came from.”
AppHarvest has opened a 60-acre state-of-the-art greenhouse facility in eastern Kentucky to produce tomatoes. A second tomato facility is under construction with plans to open a third greenhouse operation for producing leafy greens. Photos courtesy of AppHarvest.
Healthy food is a solution
When Bradley stopped playing basketball he became involved again with his grandmother’s mission.
“We restarted the neighborhood pantry and I started to learn a lot more about the community in regards to food deserts, preventable diseases and the number of Americans dying from these diseases,” he said. “My grandmother is blind now and going to dialysis three times a week. It is one of the most devastating things for her to go through and for my family and I to have to witness. I also have friends and family who suffer from obesity. I never realized the level of access I was provided as a professional athlete to not only training and conditioning and living a healthy lifestyle, but also having access to healthy, nutritious food.
“When I came back home and got to see firsthand that family, friends and community members were suffering from preventable diseases, I made the decision to dedicate my life to feeding the people in my community. Healthy food is a solution to a lot of problems.”
While Bradley believes having access to food can have a major impact on improving the lives of Americans, it is the type of food that is even more important.
“One of the things that drives me is the health and nutritional well-being of our urban community members–the longevity of life,” he said. “A lot of the food that we are exposed to in our communities is processed and it’s just not good for us. If we can get people to eat healthier food, how many lives do we prolong and how many family members can lead happier lives?”
The CDC reported that only one in 10 Americans consumes enough fruits and vegetables. Cost has been cited as a possible barrier to higher fruit and vegetable consumption, especially for low-income households.
“There are a lot of people who are hungry in the world and need to receive food,” Bradley said. “The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the food insecurity issue. If we’re not growing our own food, who is growing our food? Much of the produce consumed in America is imported. The U.S. imported more than 60% of fresh tomatoes in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“If the borders are closed where is that food going to come from? It is crucial that we grow our own food, which will help increase food security, whether it is controlled environment agriculture or open-field agriculture. We’re going to need a lot more food production and we’re going to need a lot more local food production.
Bradley said family and friends recently celebrated his grandmother’s mission by supporting New York City’s largest assistance organizations by giving out 1 million food boxes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From AppHarvest’s tomato greenhouse in Morehead, Ky., the company can reach about 70 percent of the U.S. population in a one-day drive.
“Every week we feed families in the community in cooperation with a number of community organizations, including Change Food, Food Bank NY, City Harvest, and the Campaign for Hunger,” he said. “All of these organizations have really stepped up in Brooklyn and N.Y. City to deliver nutritious food to community members.”
Reaching out to local communities
In 2016 after retiring from professional basketball, Bradley received a phone call from his good friend and University of Kentucky classmate Jonathan Webb.
“We had a real-life conversation about the lack of economic mobility in our communities, me in Brooklyn and Jonathan in Pikeville, Ky.,” Bradley said. “He knew that I was feeding community members trying to help them overcome preventable diseases. Jonathan told me about his vision of growing vegetables using controlled environment agriculture and being able to feed 70 percent of the Eastern seaboard through a central location in eastern Kentucky in Appalachia.
“That was the birth of our partnership and what brought me back to Kentucky, for us to start AppHarvest. We recently opened the doors to a 60-acre state-of-the-art greenhouse facility in Morehead, Ky.”
Bradley, who is community director at AppHarvest, works with both company employees as well as doing community outreach.
“Since I’ve trained extensively in controlled environment agriculture facilities, I’m able to provide a knowledge transfer to those coming into our company learning about this new industry and providing encouragement to our employees,” he said. That is what I do from an internal standpoint.
“Externally, I go out and share the AppHarvest story with students and community groups around the state and across the country to get them excited about agtech programs. When I joined Jonathan’s vision of making Appalachia an agtech hub one of the first things I did was to create an agtech program that we implemented in eastern Kentucky.”
One of the projects AppHarvest was involved with was retrofitting a 40-foot shipping container into a hydroponic production system that operates with a 5-gallon closed-loop irrigation system and LED lights for students to grow food.
One of AppHarvest’s outreach projects was retrofitting a 40-foot shipping container into a hydroponic production system that allows students to grow food.
“I helped develop the curriculum which teaches the students about plant science, the local food system, the food supply chain, how to build their own local food system and entrepreneurship,” Bradley said. “We have engaged hundreds of students from elementary to high school showing them a new way to grow food.
“We recently partnered with the Save the Children organization where we made over 1,600 grow kits for students to take home and learn about hydroponic growing. The students grow their own lettuce and we provide them with recipes that they can use to cook with their parents while they’re home during the pandemic.”
AppHarvest is also partnering with five universities in Kentucky. The goal is to work closely with them to develop programming and research and development with their students.
“What we are doing at AppHarvest is not being taught at most universities or high schools,” Bradley said. “We have been working with the governor of Kentucky who has put together an agtech task force which I am a part of. We want to continue developing partnerships with universities as well as community organizations throughout the state.
“We have broken ground on a second tomato greenhouse facility and a third facility for the production of leafy greens. We are very adamant about redefining agriculture and making the biggest impact we can possibly make.”
Inspiring future ag leaders
Through Bradley’s role as one of the founding members of AppHarvest, he has transitioned from professional athlete to becoming a Black farmer and community and youth leader.
“It is only right that I use this platform and use this responsibility to provide more access and more opportunity to future Black ag leaders,” he said. “Less than 2 percent of American farmers are African-Americans. By doing the work I’m doing I can hopefully inspire folks that look like me to take advantage of the new opportunities in this growing community.”
Bradley has been talking with leading youth agricultural organizations, including 4-H, FFA and Jr. MANRRS, to implement multicultural programs to develop future ag industry leaders.
“I’m also looking to work closely with historically black colleges and universities (HBCU),” he said. “I’ll start in Kentucky and then hopefully be able to provide access and opportunity to students at HBCU schools throughout the nation. That is another way we can make the ag community more diverse.
“Barriers are being broken by the work that I’m doing. I’m looking to inspire the people who I would like to see get involved in this industry. I am the modern farmer and this is how their future could look.”
Ramel Bradley, AppHarvest
For more: AppHarvest, info@appharvest.com; https://www.appharvest.com.
This article is property of Urban Ag News and was written by David Kuack, a freelance technical writer in Fort Worth, Texas.
Hydroponic Indoor Farm Plans To Be Among First Tenants In Downtown Piqua's Zolo Building
It was strategically placed in front of the Zollinger's building, a 40,000-square-foot former grocery warehouse planned as a mixed-use development with 16 loft-style residential units, a roof deck, community market/kitchen incubator and co-working space.
Fifth Season Farm, founded by a local brother-sister duo, has launched a hydroponic indoor farm inside a shipping container along Main Street in downtown Piqua.
By John Bush – Senior Reporter, Dayton Business Journal
A unique farming business has set up shop in downtown Piqua, and if all goes to plan the concept will be among the first tenants in an historic building being redeveloped in the city core.
Fifth Season Farm, founded by brother-sister duo Britt Decker and Laura Jackson, launched a hydroponic indoor farm inside a shipping container along Main Street. It was strategically placed in front of the Zollinger's building, a 40,000-square-foot former grocery warehouse planned as a mixed-use development with 16 loft-style residential units, a roof deck, community market/kitchen incubator and co-working space.
While the farm has been operating there for months, the long-term intention is to occupy space inside the the century-old building, which will be renamed the "Zolo." Chris Schmiesing, Piqua's community and economic development director, said the community market concept fits well with Fifth Season's business, and would be a welcome addition to the building.
"Part of the Zolo concept is the community market space, where local growers and producers can come and put their product on the shelves and begin to grow their business," Schmiesing said. "We're really excited to have Fifth Season Farm in there because we think it really represents the kind of innovative, entrepreneurial activity we want to see more of."
Unlike some traditional farms, Fifth Season does not use pesticides or herbicides, and utilizes non-GMO seeds. Powerful LEDs create a specific light recipe for each plant, allowing control over size and shape. There is no dirt, meaning the crops are free of bugs. The hydroponic system uses 90% less water by recycling the nutrient rich infused water in a loop system. Since it is weather controlled, temperature, relative humidity and CO2 levels remain constant all year.
"It is a complete, self-contained unit," Decker said. "The products also have a much longer shelf life because they are harvested to order."
Fifth Season currently grows about half-a-dozen varieties of lettuce, as well as specialty greens such as Swiss chard and kale. Decker said they are also growing small root vegetables such as radishes.
Currently, Fifth Season offers delivery through its website. Orders can be delivered up to five miles from its farm location, where customers can also come to pick up their products. Fifth Season produce can also be found on the Miami County Locally Grown Virtual Market. Decker said they are in discussions with local grocery stores, restaurants and gyms to carry their product as well.
When their space in the Zolo building is ready, Decker said they plan to open a marketplace and pickup location inside. He added the entire reason they placed the farm in that location was to be ready for when the redevelopment project is complete.
In June 2020, the Piqua Planning Commission unanimously approved a zoning change that allows for residential use within the building. The rezoning was a big administrative hurdle the project needed to cross, but the project still needs to be fully financed. The project missed out on the latest round of Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credits, though Schmiesing said additional funding sources are being finalized.
Gamble Associates, a Massachusetts-based urban design and planning firm, is taking the lead on the Zolo project. Gamble Associates Principal David Gamble previously said the interior build-out will take between nine and 10 months to complete once it gets started.
Assuming everything aligns, Gamble said this project will create a "critical mass" that could have ripple effects throughout the city of Piqua.
"Piqua, in my mind, has reached an inflection point," he said in July 2020. "While there may not be a lot of transformation to date, there's been a lot of good planning and the city has very good leadership. Piqua is due for that next phase of growth. We like working here, and we're excited about this opportunity and what it can do for the city."
Valoya Announces Departure of CEO
The company will continue to execute its strategy of bringing high quality, research-based horticultural LED lighting solutions to its crop science, medicinal plant and vertical farming customers globally
Valoya's CEO, Mr. Lars Aikala will leave the company in early 2021, by which time he will have served it from its founding, a total of 12 years. A search for the new Chief Executive Officer is undergoing. The company will continue to execute its strategy of bringing high quality, research-based horticultural LED lighting solutions to its crop science, medicinal plant and vertical farming customers globally.
“Valoya has come a long way from when we founded it in 2009. We now have a unique position in the market with our research-based, proven horticultural lighting solutions, which are appreciated by our customers globally. Our innovations and over 600 plant trials have enabled us to pioneer this market for more than a decade. We have built an international patent portfolio of 100+ granted patents, which demonstrates and protects our innovation. Our amazing team and our great resellers serve our customers in more than 50 countries with commitment and dedication.”, says Mr Aikala. He continues “Naturally we have also had to overcome several challenges during the years. The latest one, COVID-19 has again proven that the team strongly pulls together to win. I am very proud of the fact that in these challenging times we managed to deliver revenue growth in 2020 and more importantly we also exceeded our profitability targets. Valoya now has a strong foundation and I am sure Valoya’s future will be very bright.”
The change comes from Lars’s desire to go back to the intensity, thrills and challenges of creating new business. The Board of Directors and Lars agree that now is a good time to make the change. To ensure a smooth transition, Mr Aikala will continue working as CEO until a successor is in place.
"With his passion, relentless drive and unique expertise Lars made Valoya into the great company it is today. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the owners, I would like to extend sincere and best thank you to Lars for his very valuable contribution to Valoya's development", says Christer Härkönen, Chairman of the Board at Valoya.
About Valoya
Valoya is a provider of high end, energy-efficient LED grow lights for use in crop science, vertical farming and medicinal plants cultivation. Valoya LED grow lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous vertical farms, greenhouses and research institutions all over the world (including 8 out of 10 world’s largest agricultural companies).
Additional information:
Valoya Ltd, Finland
Tel: +358 10 2350300
Email: sales@valoya.com
Web: www.valoya.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valoyafi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/valoya
Join Us For Global G.A.P. World Consultation Tour - Focused On Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)
Join the upcoming virtual meeting on January 25, 2021 13:00-14:30 EST
The GLOBAL G.A.P. World Consultation Tour goes into its second round! Join the upcoming virtual meeting on January 25, 2021 13:00-14:30 EST in collaboration with the Farm Tech Society. Together, we aim to deliver an impactful standard in line with producers’ practices. The unique challenges presented by vertical farming or produce grown in controlled environments will be addressed to ensure an appropriate user experience.
High-tech monitoring and control systems in commercial controlled environment agriculture farms and their supply chains enable the opportunity to capture automated measurements, support assessment and analyze a wide range of variables including water to energy to inputs, reducing costs and adding value for individual farms and across the industry. The ultimate goal of the partnership is the development and implementation of an impactful standard and certification process.
Participants will meet the expert working group behind the standard revision, and will have the opportunity to join the ongoing discussion and process.
About FTS:
The Farm Tech Society (FTS) is an international non-profit industry association that unites and supports the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry, seeking to strengthen the sector through the development and implementation of resilient and future proof methods and technologies for indoor growing. The FarmTech Society is enlisted in the EU Transparency Register with #469686733585-87
About GLOBAL G.A.P.:
GLOBAL G.A.P. is a leading global certification program whose mission is to bring farmers and retailers together to produce and market safe food, to protect scarce resources, and to build a sustainable future.
Join the FarmTech Society in 2021
The Farm Tech Society (FTS) is an international non-profit industry association that unites and supports the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry, seeking to strengthen the sector through the development and implementation of resilient and future proof methods and technologies for indoor growing. We look forward to continuing to grow and drive #CEA4CriticalChallenges with members like you.
Liberty Produce & Writtle University College Launch Webinar Series On The Transformation of Agriculture And Its Workforce For A Sustainable Future
Writtle University College (WUC) in Essex and Liberty Produce launch their highly anticipated public webinar series on January 27th 2021.
18th January 2021
London & Essex, UK
Writtle University College (WUC) in Essex and Liberty Produce launch their highly anticipated public webinar series on January 27th 2021. The online events will consider major issues facing the horticulture and agriculture sectors based around a key theme of ‘Transforming Agriculture and its Workforce for a Sustainable Future.’
Each of the webinars will feature a range of prominent industry figures and will welcome all viewers with an interest in sustainable production. All online events will be free-of-charge, in line with WUC and Liberty Produce’s ongoing commitment to education and knowledge-sharing. This webinar series is being supported by EIRA, a collaborative project funded by Research England that connects businesses in the East of England with academic expertise, specialist facilities and funding opportunities.
Dr Anya Perera, WUC’s Head of School for Sustainable Environments & Design, said: “We are proud to be working in collaboration with Liberty Produce and EIRA. Our three introductory webinars will focus on challenges faced by growers at a national and international level. We are delighted by the positive response from key members of the sector and look forward to sharing vital topics with our expert panellists.”
Benita Rajania, Product Director at Liberty Produce, said: “We are delighted to be teaming with WUC to bring together stakeholders from across our community for this new webinar series. Collaboration is a vital component in tackling the challenges our sector is facing, and we look forward to meeting virtually with our colleagues from across industry and academia to discuss latest developments, share knowledge and strengthen relationships at an industry level.”
Topics include: the modernisation of agriculture through technological advancement; examining food production systems and identifying skills gaps; how to create a fit-for-purpose workforce in a sustainable economy.
Each subject will be discussed by an expert panel, featuring guests including Dr Susan McCallum from the James Hutton Institute and Belinda Clarke, Director of Agri-TechE.
Since its foundation in 2018, Liberty Produce has been dedicated to the development of sustainable agricultural practices. The farming technology company was created in response to the global food security crisis. Liberty Produce develops leading-edge technology that enables the growth of local produce year-round, using fully-controlled indoor vertical farming systems.
WUC recently became the first UK university to offer degrees in regenerative agriculture. WUC been teaching land-based courses since 1893 and, in 2020, was ranked top university-sector institution in England for overall student satisfaction by the National Student Survey. Its small class sizes and specialist courses offer students a personalised approach that combines practical skills with cutting-edge theory.
2021’s webinar series reflects WUC and Liberty Produces’ collective dedication to the creation of long-term sustainable food production at a time of climate crisis and the disruption of global supply chains.
Click the links below to book your free webinar place:
January 27th: The modernisation of agriculture through technological advancement
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6675999720069964303
February 24th: Examining food production systems and identifying skills gaps
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7622331785910917132
March 24th: How to create a fit-for-purpose workforce in a sustainable economy
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8843380130486408204
About Liberty Produce
Liberty Produce is a farming technology company founded in 2018 to drive innovations that will enable us to meet our global crop requirements over the next century, without harming the planet. As experts in the development of technology (from advanced lighting systems to machine learning for integrated control systems) for the breadth of indoor agriculture (from glasshouses to Totally Controlled Environment Agriculture systems), Liberty delivers research and products that consistently push boundaries. Liberty Produce develops and builds systems that reduce operational costs with enhanced resource efficiency, improve yields and increase sustainability for greater food security through the growth of local produce year-round. www.liberty-produce.com
Further images available here.
Media enquiries: Claire Apthorp media@liberty-produce.com +44 (0) 7920403068
General enquiries: info@liberty-produce.com; +44 (0)20 7193 2933
About Writtle University College (WUC)
Writtle University College (WUC) has been at the forefront of the agrifood sector since 1893. In 2020, it was named the highest rated university-sector institution in England for student satisfaction by the National Student Survey, also receiving 100% satisfaction for its horticulture course. Industry-focused programmes offer the skills, expert theory and qualifications required to enter a fast-moving sector. WUC recently launched a degree in regenerative agriculture, which is the first of its kind in the UK. https://writtle.ac.uk/
Media enquires: Sara Cork press@writtle.ac.uk
About EIRA
EIRA is a collaborative project between seven universities and colleges in the East of England. Driving economic growth in the region, EIRA connects businesses with academic expertise, consultancy, facilities and funding opportunities. Led by the University of Essex, EIRA is also supported by the University of East Anglia and the University of Kent. Backed by £4.7 million of Research England’s Connecting Capability Fund, EIRA delivers activities across three themes: digital creative, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. EIRA has opportunities to work with businesses of all sizes through Innovation Vouchers, Research and Development Grants, i-Teams, Hothouse events, Start-up Microfinance and Innovation Internships. eira.ac.uk
General enquiries: eira@essex.ac.uk
Twitter: @EIRA_eARC
US: KENTUCKY: Breathitt Students Join AgTech Farming, Will Feed The Community
The retrofitted shipping container will serve as a hands-on agricultural classroom for students at Breathitt High School, allowing them to grow and provide fresh leafy greens to their classmates and those in need in and around Jackson
By Steve Rogers
January 15, 2021
JACKSON, Ky. (WTVQ) — AppHarvest and the United States Department of Agriculture announced the expansion of the company’s educational high-tech container farm
program for Eastern Kentucky high school students, unveiling a new container farm unit at Breathitt High School in Jackson.
The program demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to fostering interest in high-tech farming, as it seeks to create America’s AgTech capital from within Appalachia.
The retrofitted shipping container will serve as a hands-on agricultural classroom for students at Breathitt High School, allowing them to grow and provide fresh leafy greens to their classmates and those in need in and around Jackson.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided the majority of funding for the unit through its Community Facilities grants program.
The educational container farm’s arrival was formally celebrated Friday, Jan. 15, with U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development State Director Hilda Legg and Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas among those attending.
Attendees toured the container farm and learned about its high-tech tools.
“This amazing project will not only put fresh vegetables on the table, but, more importantly, it will teach tomorrow’s agribusiness leaders — and do all of that right here in Eastern Kentucky,” Legg said. “This public-private partnership is exactly what we need more of, and I’m proud to have been a part of it.”
The container farm is 2,880 cubic feet, weighs 7.5 tons and includes space to grow up to 4,608 seedlings and 8,800 mature plants all at once using 440 vertical crop columns. The container’s unique design utilizes cutting-edge LED lighting and closed-loop irrigation systems to allow students to grow far more than traditional open-field agriculture.
For instance, they can grow up to 940 full heads of lettuce, or 1,570 miniature heads, per week, as part of a single crop.
“We are excited to partner with the USDA and AppHarvest to bring a new container farm to our students and community members of Breathitt County,” said Breathitt County Schools Superintendent Phillip Watts. “Our goal is to teach the students how to grow fresh vegetables and support the local food supply. The inspiration, excitement and innovation that AppHarvest brings to Eastern Kentucky is a blessing for our region.”
Breathitt High School Agriculture Educator Taylor Masters teaches more than 200 students, who will utilize the container farm as part of their studies. “Our students will now be able to work hands-on yearround and the food they grow will help our community in addressing food deserts,” she said.
The Breathitt County container farm joins AppHarvest’s inaugural container farm serving Pike County’s Shelby Valley High School students and its second unit at Rowan County Senior High School.
All three containers are part of AppHarvest’s high school AgTech program, which provides Kentucky students with hands-on experience growing leafy greens and other nutritious foods in a high-tech environment.
Leafy greens from the inaugural Shelby Valley High School program have fed the surrounding community through a backpack program and donations to a food pantry.
A similar food distribution program is planned for the Breathitt County container farm.
AppHarvest is an applied technology company building some of the world’s largest indoor farms in Appalachia. The company combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology and is addressing key issues including improving access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a home-grown food supply, and increasing investment in Appalachia.
The company’s 60-acre Morehead, Ky. facility is among the largest indoor farms in the U.S.