Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
University of Arizona - Controlled Environment Agriculture Center - SHORT COURSE
Join us March 2 - 6 for CEAC’s Short Course! REGISTER HERE!
Join us March 2 - 6 for CEAC’s Short Course! REGISTER HERE!
Get your questions answered and increase your hydroponic growing know-how at the Greenhouse Crop Production & Engineering Design Short Course! Expand your knowledge during a four-day intensive conference including 3 full days of lecture, 1 day of hands-on training workshops at CEAC facilities, and a commercial Arizona greenhouse tour.
This jam-packed event is full of information from experts in research, production and the bottom-line business of controlled environment agriculture. Enjoy face-to-face time with industry experts, as well as networking time with industry leaders!
For more information please call us at (520) 626-9566 or go
to: https://ceac.arizona.edu/events/cea-short-course
US: South Dakota - Farm-In-A-Box Means Local Greens Year-Round
Missouri River Energy Services, the Electric Power Research Institute, South Dakota State University and the Children’s Museum of South Dakota are collaborating on a high-tech “farm-in-a-box” built entirely inside a specialized 40-foot container
Courtesy photos: Above, a specialized 40-foot container arrives on the South Dakota State University campus Friday. Food grown in the farm-in-a-box will be donated to the Children’s Museum of South Dakota to be used in Café Coteau. Below, the food pod is set into place on the SDSU campus Jan. 10.
By: Missouri River Energy Services Jan 15, 2020
Produce grown in a container on campus to be used at Children’s Museum of South Dakota
BROOKINGS – Missouri River Energy Services, the Electric Power Research Institute, South Dakota State University and the Children’s Museum of South Dakota are collaborating on a high-tech “farm-in-a-box” built entirely inside a specialized 40-foot container.
The container was delivered and installed Friday, Jan. 10, on the SDSU campus in Brookings. It will be operated by graduate students from SDSU’s Department of Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science. Production is anticipated to start in the spring.
Unlike traditional farms, plants in the container are grown vertically indoors without soil, getting their nutrition from water and light energy from powerful LEDs. The result is a system that operates independently from land, climate and season. That means fresh greens can be produced locally year-round.
The first crop to be grown in the container will be Red Rosie Romaine lettuce, a variety that is both disease-resistant and tasty. The container is expected to produce up to 110 pounds of produce a week.
Food produced in the container will be donated to the museum’s Cafe Coteau, which focuses on serving locally sourced and healthy foods. Produce that is beyond the capacity of the café will be donated to local organizations with missions to reduce food insecurity in the region.
“This project aligns well with our museum values to promote sustainability and to give back to the community,” said Kate Treiber, executive director of the Children’s Museum of South Dakota. “The research could potentially provide some unique opportunities for us to share information related to sustainable agriculture to our guests as well.”
“Local indoor agriculture has the potential to significantly reduce emissions because less transportation is required,” said Joni Livingston, MRES vice president of member services and communications. Leafy greens, like those that will be growing inside the container, currently travel an average of 2,000 miles before reaching a store, added Livingston. Indoor food production also requires significantly less water and chemicals than traditional agriculture.
“As an agency serving public power utilities, such as Brookings Municipal Utilities, we are excited to be a part of an emerging market that has so many potential benefits for local communities and for society as a whole,” Livingston said.
“We are particularly excited about the opportunity this Food Pod is providing to students for research connected with the long agricultural heritage at SDSU, as well as our recent efforts in the field of precision agriculture,” said Dr. John Killefer, South Dakota Corn Endowed Dean of the SDSU College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. “The inclusion of the Food Pod on our campus and our collaboration with the research partners means the SDSU College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences now has the ability to share agriculture in a learning environment all the way from a highly integrated production system represented by this Food Pod, to our Local Food Education Center which utilizes high tunnels, to multi-thousand-acre food-production systems that utilize no-till and conventional tillage systems in all areas of the land-grant system from teaching, to research, to outreach. Our students are having a chance to experience agriculture throughout the spectrum of these varied production systems.”
The project is co-funded by MRES and a grant from the American Public Power Association’s Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Development program. It is part of a larger, collaborative EPRI effort involving several other indoor agriculture facilities across the country.
MRES is a not-for-profit joint-action agency that provides wholesale electricity and energy services to 61 member municipalities in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. All MRES members own and operate local electric distribution systems. For more information, go to mrenergy.com.
The Children’s Museum of South Dakota, located in Brookings, promotes learning for children of all ages and abilities through interactive, informal, hands-on exhibits and demonstrations. The museum has welcomed more than 750,000 guests from around the world who make memories while learning through play. More information is available at prairieplay.org.
Café Coteau, located in the museum, serves fresh, healthy food with a focus on local fare, and is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
US: Boston, Freight Farms Goes To School
Farming is a club activity for the school’s high school students, who can go in during their free time
On local campuses, the repurposed shipping containers aren’t just used for growing food, they’re helping teach valuable lessons about science, social justice, and the humanities
By Andrea Pyenson Globe correspondent,
January 14, 2020
A student harvests lettuce at Rivers School in Weston.
STEPHEN PORTER FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE (CUSTOM CREDIT)
Inside the big white shipping container parked behind a classroom building on the campus of the Rivers School in Weston, it smells like a verdant field on a warm spring day, with a degree of humidity that is completely at odds with the cold, dry air outside.
A variety of lettuces, herbs, and a smattering of other vegetables grow on vertical towers in adjustable rows. The sixth-grade students who maintain the school’s Freight Farm cycle through in groups of four to reap the bounty of work they started at the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year. The first harvest day was in late October.“
They all love to come in here,” says Emily Poland, who teaches eighth-grade science and is the farm director at this independent school for grades 6 through 12. The Freight Farm and related projects are built into the sixth-grade curriculum, incorporating humanities, social justice, and science, among other subjects. Students spend time there once a week planting, cleaning, and harvesting. Farming is a club activity for the school’s high school students, who can go in during their free time.
The Freight Farms container at the Rivers School.
STEPHEN PORTER FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE (CUSTOM CREDIT)
Based in Boston, Freight Farms manufactures technologically advanced hydroponic farming systems. In 320-square-foot, climate-controlled shipping containers, users can grow up to 13,000 plants at a time, vertically, without soil. The company was founded in 2010 by Brad McNamara and Jon Friedman. Several area schools, among them Rivers, Boston Latin School, and Worcester State University, are using the farms to grow food for their own communities, for their neighbors, and as educational tools.
For Poland, managing the farm was a natural extension of her teaching. “I like to create a curriculum. I care about food. I like to be outside,” she says. One of the sixth-graders’ annual activities, which combines academics with community service, is cooking a meal for the Natick Open Door at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. These are hosted every week and attended primarily by seniors. Poland explains that planning the meal incorporates math skills because the students have to scale recipes to feed up to 45 people. And naturally, they use their own greens in the salads.
The students run a farmers market in the spring. And this year they are maintaining a (very micro) CSA, which one parent won in an auction. The school’s chef, Michael Clancy, also gets involved, using the students’ produce in the dining room, and helping them cook with what they grow — so far this year they have made pesto and herb vinaigrette. “Their pride is really amazing,” he says.
Boston Latin, a public exam school for grades seven through 12, acquired its farm in 2013 after students in the Youth Climate Action Network won the $75,000 prize in the Global Green Schools Makeover Competition. Farming is a student-run after-school activity here, under the guidance of eighth-grade history and civics teacher Cate Arnold, whose evident affection for her students appears to be reciprocal.
Though roughly 70 students have signed up as student farmers, there is a smaller core group that farms regularly, with an even smaller leadership team that is trained by Freight Farms. At the beginning of each academic year, the leaders meet to plan what they will grow, who will work to train new students, and organize schedules. They keep track of chores on a whiteboard in the farm.
Addy Krom, a junior, notes of the farm, “You can come in, it’s a whole different environment. All the stress from school [goes] away.” Adds sophomore Azalea Thompson, “This makes locally grown food more accessible to the city.” The students give the food they grow to faculty members, bring some home, and are working to create a CSA. With Arnold’s help, they are also trying to reestablish a more consistent connection to a food pantry in Jamaica Plain, where a former Boston Latin parent, recently deceased, used to deliver their greens.
At Worcester State, Mark Murphy, associate director of dining services, oversees the Freight Farm, which sits outside of Sheehan Hall, the school’s newest dormitory and site of its main cafeteria. Rich Perna, former director of dining, made the decision to purchase the farm five years ago, says Murphy, “to bring hyperlocal produce to the campus.
”Murphy has been responsible for the farm for the last two years. An employee of Chartwells, which has the contract for all of the school’s food services, he grows almost all of the greens for the cafeteria, as well as for alumni catering events, and the salad bar in the food court in the building next door. “I’m learning from trial and error,” he says.
At full capacity, Murphy explains, the farm produces about two acres’ worth of crops. He is constantly looking for different varieties of lettuce that will appeal to the students and is currently “trying to figure out a gourmet mix.” In addition to three varieties of lettuce, he grows kale, rainbow Swiss chard, parsley, and basil. He coordinates with the cafeteria’s cooks, telling them what he is growing so they can plan menus to incorporate the farm’s production.
Though WSU students are not currently working in the farm Murphy says he promotes the fact that most of the greens in the cafeteria are grown right outside the door. And, he says, “We’re trying to get the word out to get students involved.”
Through a partnership with the Worcester Public Schools and its program that helps young adults with differences transition from school to the workforce, Murphy has three part-time helpers/trainees. Once a week three students, who have completed high school with a certificate, come (often with a job coach from the program) to seed, plant, harvest, and clean. Murphy is in the process of hiring one of the students, who has aged out of the program. She “has a lot of passion for the farm,” he says.“I never thought we’d be growing food inside a container,” Murphy says. “I think it may become a necessity someday.”
Andrea Pyenson can be reached at apyenson@gmail.com.
The Final Event of The Erasmus+ 'Aqu@teach' Project Which Will Take Place At The University of Greenwich On Saturday 28 March.
In light of climate change, Brexit, and concerns over the carbon footprint of the food supply chain, aquaponics, and other controlled environment farming technologies could play a key role in the future of food production, but only if there is an appropriately trained workforce
Aqu@teach is the first aquaponics curriculum to be developed
specifically for university-level students.
The curriculum, which covers the basics of aquaponics with a focus on transferable and entrepreneurial skills, can be taught either using blended learning or as an e-learning course and will be freely available on the project website from 1 April. Given the multidisciplinary nature of aquaponics, the curriculum can be taught as an optional module in a wide variety of different degree courses, including agriculture, agronomy, horticulture, aquaculture, landscape architecture, and ecological engineering.
In light of climate change, Brexit, and concerns over the carbon footprint of the food supply chain, aquaponics, and other controlled environment farming technologies could play a key role in the future of food production, but only if there is an appropriately trained workforce.
At the event on 28 March, we will explain how the curriculum was put together, and participants will be able to explore the online modules. There will also be an opportunity to visit our green roofs and aquaponics greenhouse.
Please see our Eventbrite site for further information
about the event and to register for a free ticket:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/aquteach-tickets-87961111051
Texas A&M Undergraduate Initiates Urban Farm On Campus
Urban farming comes in many forms, and now one of those, vertical farming, is helping feed students at Texas A&M University
Vertical farm project helps provide fresh vegetables to students while advancing agriculture
JANUARY 1, 2020
Urban farming comes in many forms, and now one of those, vertical farming, is helping feed students at Texas A&M University.
The project is part of an experiential learning initiative, which is a required part of the curriculum for undergraduates in Texas A&M’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.
The department offers internships and study abroad opportunities to help students meet this requirement. Broch Saxton, one of the department’s December graduates, created his own internship as a student leader and greenhouse project director with Texas A&M’s Urban Farm United, or TUFU.
Seedlings are planted in the towers where they will remain until they reach maturity and are harvested. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Beth Ann Luedeker)
Campus farming
Seedlings are planted in the towers where they will remain until they reach maturity and are harvested. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Beth Ann Luedeker)
TUFU is an urban farm that utilizes tower gardens or vertical towers that produce high-value/specialty crops in a space-conscious technique via hydroponic growing methods.
The project, started by Saxton, is in a greenhouse on the Texas A&M campus. It currently includes 24 towers in which a variety of produce is grown, with plenty of room to expand.
The urban farm project began as a collaboration between Saxton and Lisette Templin, an instructional assistant professor from Texas A&M’s Department of Health and Kinesiology.
“I have dreamed of running greenhouses in this form,” Saxton said. “Using the knowledge obtained from my degree, I want to help people have better access to greater food, all while ingraining hydroponic farming into the university. My experience in this process has been completely driven by networking and passion. This is what I want a career in.”
Saxton earned his bachelor’s degree in plant and environmental soil science Dec. 13.
“Hydroponics has huge potential to benefit many people,” he said. “When I approached the Texas A&M Office of Sustainability with my idea of a vertical farm project, they suggested I partner with Ms. Templin, who had approached them with a similar idea.”
Templin has a tower garden on her patio, which feeds her family of four.
Feeding students
Templin and Saxton envisioned a project that could potentially feed Aggie students and staff on campus. They submitted an abstract to the Aggie Green Fund. In January 2019 received a $60,000 grant and permission to use space in a greenhouse owned by the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.
Using grant funds, they purchased towers and a closed-loop watering system that provides nutrition to the plants. They also bought 800 seedlings from an urban farm in Austin to use for their initial crop. They will be self-sufficient and seed their own plants for future endeavors.
Seedlings are planted in the towers where they will remain until they reach maturity and are harvested. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Beth Ann Luedeker)
Seedlings are planted in the towers where they will remain until they reach maturity and are harvested. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Beth Ann Luedeker)
The first crop included four different types of lettuce, kale, snap peas, snow peas, herbs, chard, bok choy, tatsoi, and celery. They plan to expand the project to include peppers in the next round.
The team manages each tower individually to ensure the pH of the water is appropriate for the stage of growth and nutritional requirements are met.
Educational aspect
Since it is an internship and Saxton received college credit for his time with TUFU, he needed an adviser in the department. He reached out to Jacqueline Aitkenhead-Peterson, Ph.D., associate professor of urban nutrient and water management.
“I had taken courses under Dr. Peterson and was impressed by her value as a teacher and her approach to education,” Saxton said. “She has the mentality of mentorship and guidance that I was looking for.”
Aitkenhead-Peterson said she was happy to serve as Saxton’s adviser for the project.
“The fact that this project was not research-based was very unusual to me,” she said. “However, this project is about feeding people and educating them on the possibilities of feeding themselves, which I deem to be a very important exercise.”
Providing food
The produce harvest by TUFU was distributed by the 12th Can Food Pantry, a student-run program on the Texas A&M campus, which serves all students, faculty, and staff in need of assistance.
TUFU looks forward to continuing to support the 12th Can and hopes to expand to support student dining.
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Revolutionary Biofilta Pop Up Farm Generates Large Amounts of Produce
This 66 square metre farm took two days to install and is well on the way to producing over 1.5 tonnes of fresh herbs and vegetables per annum
Revolutionary Biofilta pop up farm at Athol Road primary school generates large amounts of produce for the school community
We are super excited to see our water-efficient urban farm at Athol Road Primary School in Springvale is thriving and teeming with large amounts of the freshest produce already! This 66 square metre farm took two days to install and is well on the way to producing over 1.5 tonnes of fresh herbs and vegetables per annum worth more than $15,000 for the school community, valuable food that is being distributed to families of students attending the school. This advanced vegetable farm is improving nutrition and access to fresh produce across the school community and enables teachers to spend less time worrying about watering and more time teaching students the importance of growing food and eating healthier diets. The new urban farm is already turbocharging production of a wide range of fresh produce at the school, including leafy greens, broccoli, eggplant, beans, peas, herbs, berries and much more.
According to Athol Road Primary Environmental Education teacher, Bryan Hunter, “The Biofilta urban farm provides the school with the flexibility to grow large amounts of fresh produce while minimising water usage and labour time which previously had been spent on weeding. It also allows the school to continue growing vegetables during school holidays as Foodcubes are able to hold water through these periods with minimal maintenance. Produce is used in school cooking programs with excess sold to the local community at weekly markets where the money raised goes towards the purchase of seeds and seedlings. Parents have commented how they love the school produce straight from the garden.”
If you are a teacher, principal, member of a school council, parent or student, and would like to see your school join in the urban farming revolution and increase access of your school community to fresh produce, feel free to make contact with Biofilta, we can turn your school into a productive farm in no time!
The Biofilta team
We are super excited to see our water-efficient urban farm at Athol Road Primary School in Springvale is thriving and teeming with large amounts of the freshest produce already! This 66 square metre farm took two days to install and is well on the way to producing over 1.5 tonnes of fresh herbs and vegetables per annum worth more than $15,000 for the school community, valuable food that is being distributed to families of students attending the school. This advanced vegetable farm is improving nutrition and access to fresh produce across the school community and enables teachers to spend less time worrying about watering and more time teaching students the importance of growing food and eating healthier diets. The new urban farm is already turbocharging production of a wide range of fresh produce at the school, including leafy greens, broccoli, eggplant, beans, peas, herbs, berries and much more.
If you are a teacher, principal, member of a school council, parent or student, and would like to see your school join in the urban farming revolution and increase access of your school community to fresh produce, feel free to make contact with Biofilta, we can turn your school into a productive farm in no time!
GERMANY: February 12-14, Wageningen Lighting In Greenhouses And Vertical Farms 2020
Do you want to improve the use of LED lighting in greenhouse production or vertical farming?
Do you want to improve the use of LED lighting in greenhouse production or vertical farming? Would you like to know how to reduce energy use and carbon foot print, how to improve production, or how to improve quality? Do you want to understand the different characteristics of light and how they affect physiological plant processes? Then this course might be valuable for you.
In this course on lighting in greenhouses and vertical farms Wageningen UR scientists will share their unique knowledge with international students, researchers, and horticultural and light experts.
For whom?
This intensive course is meant for professionals in lighting, greenhouse production and vertical farms as well as MSc and PhD students, post-docs and junior scientists from all over the world.
Course objectives
The aim of this course is to learn the basic principles behind the effects of LED lighting on plant growth, yield, product quality, and energy use efficiency. It aims that participants also understand how to apply this information in their daily practice by developing strategies to optimize the use of lighting in relation to the whole production system.
Learning outcomes
This course gives participants an in-depth view on:
Perception of light by plants
Major plant physiological and morphological processes affected by light
How lighting can be used effectively in greenhouses and vertical farms
The different characteristics of light and how to measure.
Click here for more information and to register.
Publication date: Fri 20 Dec 2019
UAE Farm Calls On Residents To Buy Local Produce
Madar Farms head of operations Kyle Wagner has implored UAE residents to buy more locally grown produce
Madar Farms head of operations Kyle Wagner said it will help support sustainability
Dec 23, 2019
Madar Farms head of operations Kyle Wagner
Madar Farms head of operations Kyle Wagner has implored UAE residents to buy more locally grown produce.
Speaking during a panel discussion at New York University Abu Dhabi, Wagner said that doing so can help support sustainability and contribute towards solving food and water security.
A UAE-based company, Madar Farms uses hydroponic vertical farming that allows it to grow fresh produce in the country’s arid conditions while using 95% less water than traditional farming.
The company is currently working with the wider industry and education authorities to support the UAE government’s National Food Security Strategy 2051 that aims to solve the region’s food problems and provide enough nutritious food all-year-round.
At the Cooking the Nation: Global perspectives and local insights on culinary nationalism and diplomacy panel discussion Wagner, said: “At Madar Farms, education is already a big part of what we’re doing. Whether that is attending conferences or launching a school sustainability program, creating awareness of what we do and helping people understand what we want to achieve is important for us.
“We are living in a diverse country where the supermarkets are full of different ingredients and products from many different countries. Sometimes, we do not look at which country vegetables come from but if we can help adults to think carefully and choose a UAE-grown produce instead of one from another country, then we are going in the right direction.
“At schools, we launched a sustainability program ‘Sustainable Futures’ where students are getting hands-on learning experiences. This has been a great success so far as it gives them an opportunity to learn more about pressing environmental topics. And by engaging with the younger generation, we can create that change that can have a long-term effect.”
The Evolution of The Vertical Hydroponic Container Farm
On April 11th we hosted our most popular webinar ever: The Evolution of the Vertical Hydroponic Container Farm! We explored how the Greenery has reimagined controlled environment agriculture to bring farmers increased yields, customization, and control.
Don’t have a full hour? No worries! We went ahead and summarized our conversation in this blog post. We’re going to follow along with the webinar’s structure with an overview of CEA and an introduction to hydroponics, followed by a look at the evolution of the container farm: how we got started, where we’ve been, where we’re going with our new Greenery farm!Don’t have a full hour? No worries! We went ahead and summarized our conversation in this blog post. We’re going to follow along with the webinar’s structure with an overview of CEA and an introduction to hydroponics, followed by a look at the evolution of the container farm: how we got started, where we’ve been, where we’re going with our new Greenery farm!
OUR SPEAKERS
CAROLINE KATSIROUBAS
Director of Marketing & Community Engagement
DEREK BAKER
Industrial Designer
WHAT IS CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE (CEA)?
CEA uses an enclosed space (in our case, a container) to bring farmers control over components such as lights, heating, ventilation, AC, pumps, etc. to create the perfect growing environment in any climate, 365 days a year. Hydroponics, specifically, uses nutrient enriched water to replace soil. Here at Freight Farms we use hydroponic techniques because they’re extremely water-efficient and can be adapted to many environments and crop varieties.
In our farms, we use:
A vertical drip system: This system pumps water up to the top of the vertical channel, and gravity allows it to drip down that channel so the roots can access it. Any excess water runs out the bottom and is returned in the reservoir where it is recycled.
An ebb & flow system: This is a horizontal system where nutrient rich water floods a shallow trough to saturate the plants’ roots, then drains back into the reservoir to be recycled.
Read about other systems in Hydroponics 101.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONTAINER FARM
The container farm’s story begins in 2009 when Freight Farms co-founders Jon and Brad set out to bring farming into urban centers in an effort to decrease the distance food travels to the people that are eating it. Although they were always certain CEA was the way to do it, their initial focus was in rooftop hydroponic farming.
Rooftop hydroponic farming had several pros, such as activating abundant yet unused space, and taking advantage of sunlight. However, they quickly ran into several cons. For one, they were constantly dealing with red tape and difficult zoning boards. There was also too much customization involved: Each new rooftop setup needed to be created with unique specifications, which led to extreme upfront costs.
Jon and Brad decided to pursue a method of CEA that was easier to standardize while still allowing people to activate unused space in their cities. That’s when the aha moment happened: What about shipping containers?
It was clear from the start that containers could be the perfect modular vessel for the farms. Plus, there was an abundance of decommissioned containers sitting around waiting to be used. The question then was, can you grow in them?
In 2012, Jon and Brad got a container and built the first prototype by hand. After months of testing and refinement, the world’s first container farm–the Leafy Green Machine–came on the market in 2013.
The next five years were spent iterating on the Leafy Green Machine as we learned more and more from our expanding customer base. We made subtle but important changes, resulting in 8 total versions of the Leafy Green Machine. Today, we have 200 farms operating in 39 states and 15 countries. Each has their own unique story, whether it’s a school uses their farms as learning labs, or operating in tandem with a traditional farm to extend their growing season and create revenue year round. All of them are positively impacting their communities 365 days a year.
The Greenery
“We knew that we had to develop a farm that could not only be a leader in production, but could be flexible in suiting the needs of all it’s users”
— Derek Baker
GREENERY EXTERIOR
In the past, we sourced used containers and modified them. Now we’re building new containers to our specifications, giving us unmatched control over weather-proofing and R-28 U.S. Department of Energy insulation rating. The R value is the capacity of an insulating material to resist heat flow. The higher the number, the better the insulative properties. This high value lets us operate in all kinds of harsh weather conditions by maintaining the perfect indoor temperatures.
The new Greenery design features an in-set rear so that all the components fit within the ‘standard’ 40 ft x 8 ft container boundaries. This makes is as easy to ship as possible.
At the back, you can find a 100-amp main breaker to accommodate any additional power draws, and a 36,000 BTU climate control unit with a built in dehumidifier and economizer. The economizer is a simple feature that helps the energy efficiency of the farm. Senses outdoor air and–if it’s below the set temperature in the farm–pulls it in instead of running the A/C (therefore conserving energy).
Audience Q&A with Derek
What’s the maximum temperatures that the Greenery can withstand?
DB: We haven’t seen anything yet that it can’t withstand! We have our previous generation farms operating in 120ºF in Dubai and various negative temperatures in places like Halifax, Colorado, Alaska…and that’s just with the Leafy Green Machine’s R-16 insulation.
How can you protect and secure the Greenery in aversive weather conditions, like hurricanes?
DB: The good thing about shipping containers is that we’re very familiar with them–we know how to secure them down, be it on a ship, on a truck, or on the ground. There is lots of standardized equipment available to lock the container in place as long as you put it on the right foundation. Plus, they weigh a lot–each container is about 8 tons–so they’re not typically going anywhere.
GREENERY SEEDLING AREA
The seedling area features a seedling station that doubles as a worktable. Mounted on the wall above it are dosers and reservoirs that monitor the seedling tank and the main tanks with smart, IoT connected sensors that tell the dosers to pull nutrient and pH solutions from their respective reservoirs to maintain the right water nutrient conditions. The seedling tank is arranged vertically on the right side of the station to make it easy to access and clean.
The seedling table itself is built of food-grade stainless steel and consists of two independently controlled ebb and flow troughs that, combined, hold up to 4,608 plant sites. The troughs were built independently so you can use one for seedlings and one for microgreens, or not use it at all, in which case you don’t end up wasting energy or water.
Audience Q&A with Derek
There is a lot of moisture inside these containers… is there any risk of rusting?
DB: We have chosen specific materials–stainless steel and aluminum–that don’t oxidize the same way as regular steel to avoid rust in the farm.
Can you reuse the water?
DB: Hydroponics in general is a super a water-efficient system. Compared to traditional agriculture we’re using about 95% less water. On a daily basis, you’re using 5-10 gallons. But, when the weather is hot and humid, we’re able to actually generate water. So, yes, the system is built to save and reuse water.
Is the seedling tank easy to move?
DB: The reason we put the tank where it is and made it vertical is so you don’t have to move it. We have all the hookups on the side of the tank along with an app-connected water level sensor. The lid is very accessible if you do have to get in there to clean it… the idea is that you don’t have to move it to perform any of your regular farming activities.
GREENERY MAIN GROWING AREA
The main growing area in the farm is where you can see the most innovative design improvements in the Greenery. Below we’ll first explain the features themselves, and then we’ll dive into the thought process behind the changes.
For one, individual hanging string lights have been replaced with 112 Freight-Farms-developed LED arrays that line the walls and hang between the growing rows and emit directional red and blue light onto the plants.
Our legacy 256 crop columns have been replaced with 88 plant panels that are designed to adapt to multiple crop types and maximize growing space. Combined, the panels have 7,480 potential growing sites.
Finally, both the LED arrays and the plant panels hang on a sliding rack system that allows you to configure the farms layout to best suit your harvesting and maintenance workflow.
Audience Q&A with Derek
Do you only use red and blue lights?
DB: Yes–This is a big debate in the hydroponic and general indoor ag world but we’ve done extensive research and...had great success with the 5:1 red-to-blue ratio lights. In the Greenery, you also have the opportunity to isolate the red and blue lights to create different light environments for different crops.
Can you remove the plant panels to clean them, and how does the hanging/removing process work?
DB: Yes, they are removable. And, to make them easier to hang, they include ribbing on the back that acts as a haptic feedback guide for when you go to hook them onto the racks.
How do you protect plants while you’re moving the rows?
DB: There are a few ways to do that. First is to come up with a compatible planting schedule where you have seedlings and mature plants on opposite walls of the farm so you have space to shift the rows. Then, there’s also spacers built into the racks themselves to maintain a minimum distance that protects most standard sized plants.
THE DESIGN PROCESS
“This design is really the culmination of two years of research, testing, and general gleanings. The Greenery takes the feedback that we’ve received from our customers and combines it with the most recent technology to build a farm that’s focused on creating greater yields, allowing more crop variety, and reducing labor.”
— Derek Baker
Achieving greater yields
THE PLANT PANEL
We upgraded to the plant panel to take advantage of unused space that was going to waste with the individual crop columns. This way, we’ve reduced the number of growing fixtures while drastically increasing the amount of food you can grow.
By planting in channels 1, 3, and 5 (option 1), you’re able to mimic the same row cropping techniques used with the crop columns. This is a great option for large head plants, like lettuce, Swiss chard, and kale. From there, you can also activate channels 2, 4 (option 2) for mixing in small crops, like turnips or radishes, between the larger ones growing in channels 1,3, and 5.
A different planting method involves using all five channels for one plant. This is called linear cropping, and it is very effective for smaller greens and herbs and allows you take advantage of the entire panel.
“I’m very excited to see how each farmer takes advantage of the plant panels and the different cropping techniques they develop in their own farms.”
— Derek Baker
THE LED ARRAY
Our new rigid LED board is specifically designed to create a powerful and uniform lighting environment to accelerate the rate of photosynthesis, the result of which are heavier, fuller, and richer plants.
To understand the value of the new LEDs, we first need to understand PPFD!
PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density… say that five times fast) measures the amount of light energy that reaches the canopy. It’s important to understand that it refers to the amount of photons in the visible light spectrum that flow over a square meter in one second. That means that this value does not measure the power of the light fixture itself, but the amount of light that actually reaches the intended surface (in this case, your plants). For that reason, PPFD measurements always need to be paired with a distance measurement.
So, the Greenery’s lights generate 200 PPFD at a distance of 18 inches from the canopy, compared to the LGM, which generate 100 PPFD at 9 inches. This means that the Greenery has double the PPFD at double the distance!
This graph shows that increasing the PPFD in this way results in more than double the rate of photosynthesis. Doubling the PPFD results in more than double the rate of photosynthesis.
We specifically identified 200 PPFD as our preferred light intensity for the Greenery because, as you can see on the graph, anything over 200 PPFD results in a plateau in the rate of photosynthesis. What we wanted to avoid was putting unnecessary energy into our lights that would not be directly translated into a dramatic difference in growth.
More Variety, Simpler Workflow
The moving racks allow you to transform the space based on your needs. This can mean growing exciting new crops that require more space to grow. By moving the grow rows and center LED fixture you have the flexibility to organize the space for any crop type.
Default Position
Harvesting Position
Position 2 - Inner plants receive more intense light, outer plants have more room.
Position 3 - Inner plants have more room, outer plants receive more intense light.
You can space it evenly to allow small to medium crops or move them to any other position to allow for a combination of crop types and sizes (as seen in positions 2 and 3).
Mobile rows also lets you create walkways where you need them. This lets you harvest, transplants, and maintain directly in the rows.
“We wanted to create a space that suits everyone’s needs and could be configured to adapt to each individual’s workflow preference.”
— Derek Baker
There you have it!
For more details about the Greenery, Freight Farms, and our entire 30 minute live Q&A session, check out the complete webinar recording. You can also view more webinars in our portal!
Want information relating to a specific project? Contact our team!
NEW YORK: Bronx School Garden Program Serves Up Good Hydroponically Grown Greens
The students are learning the bigger-picture benefits of urban farming. “Food justice is about the ability to get that healthy food and how it’s not really that easy to get it because there’s a lot of fast-food places around.”
Drive through the littered streets of the Bronx, New York City’s poorest borough. You’ll pass children playing in the water spray from a fire hydrant and empty storefronts covered in graffiti. Folks are perched on their stoops, hoping to catch a bit of breeze on a hot summer day. The last thing that comes to mind is farming. The second to last may be vegetables: block after block of bright neon signs announce the presence of yet another meat- and carbohydrate-heavy fast-food joint—a typical urban food desert.
The Bronx is home to DeWitt Clinton High School, incongruously housed in a majestic 1920s building complete with Tiffany chandeliers and a roster of famous alumni including James Baldwin, Neil Simon, Stan Lee, and Ralph Lauren. The school’s glory days are long past, however. Last year, DeWitt Clinton ranked fourth-highest among all New York City schools in the number of gun seizures, and it graduated significantly fewer students who went on to college than the average city high school.
But way up on the third floor, at the end of a long hallway, sits a classroom unlike any other at the school. Flooded with light and filled with shelf after shelf of leafy vegetables, it is the source of all the vegetables served in the nearly 3,000-student school’s cafeteria—and of both inspiration and aspiration for the student-farmers who care for it.
Green teens
Those vegetables—everything from bok choy to wasabi arugula —are growing hydroponically, as part of a program called Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ). The students grow enough lettuces, leafy greens, and herbs—an extraordinary 19,000 pounds a year—not just to supply the cafeteria but to sell at their community market at reasonable prices. This is no small feat in a neighborhood where approximately 46 percent of children live below the poverty line, 33 percent of the population is obese, and access to fresh vegetables is limited.
TFFJ is an independent nonprofit that organizes programs like the one at DeWitt Clinton in a growing number of food-insecure communities. Since 2013, when the organization built its first hydroponic farm in the low-income neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, the focus has been on training youth in hydroponic urban agricultural farming in order to give their communities access to sustainable, healthy food. In the process, the students learn about entrepreneurship, health and nutrition, community advocacy, and the science and technology skills they’ll need in a new green-sector economy. There are currently two other established programs in Brooklyn, and three more sites in New York City are planned for in the next year. The organization is also developing three sites in Miami in partnership with the Gloria Estefan Foundation. TFFJ is just one of countless such programs all over the country that teach young people what it means to grow your own food.
About 100 students from DeWitt Clinton participate in TFFJ every year. While the majority are involved through school curriculum classes (environmental sustainability or advanced placement environmental science), a handful participate in an after-school program that has an additional focus on social entrepreneurship, food justice and advocacy and relieving the problems of food insecurity. All the students build and maintain a high-tech hydroponic farm, where they learn about the biology of plants, use chemistry, math, and data tracking to maintain plant health, and learn basic plant and human nutrition.
Best of all, the students are learning about urban farming in a tangible, real-life, hands-on context, in which they advocate for their communities and acquire the tools they need to create an oasis in their food desert and build a healthier future.
Student advocates
Joshua Delgado, who graduated from DeWitt Clinton in June, shows visitors around the farm, he speaks with pride about both the growing process and the vegetables. He walks around the racks of shelves, pointing as he explains how the plants are transplanted. His favorite job, he says with a broad smile on his face, is “to clean the systems—I’d make sure they were sparkling clean.”
The students are learning the bigger-picture benefits of urban farming. “Food justice is about the ability to get that healthy food and how it’s not really that easy to get it because there’s a lot of fast-food places around,” says Joshua. In fact, in this neighborhood, there are 114 square feet of supermarket per 100 people—as compared to 450 square feet per 100 people in one wealthier Staten Island neighborhood, for example.
Learning about the health impacts of eating more vegetables is an important part of TFFJ. At the program’s Fresh Food Box market, where the produce not used by the cafeteria is offered for sale, several students stand behind tables laden with baskets of greens, herbs, peppers, and other produce with a cashbox at the ready. Tenth-grader Miguel Graham is demonstrating how to cook a stir-fry of yellow and green peppers with sausage. As Miguel flips the food around in the sizzling pan, he talks about how the program has taught him how vegetables “can help you live longer.” Before he says, “I wasn’t really interested in vegetables, but since I’ve been in this program, I started loving vegetables more.”
TFFJ intern Jholie Meikle, who graduated from DeWitt Clinton this past June, is walking a potential customer through the various greens. Jholie says that the program has taught her that staying healthy doesn’t have to be expensive, and it has changed the way she shops. “Now when I go, I look at the nutrition facts.” Jholie also credits the program for exposing her three-year-old daughter to new fresh foods. “She comes with me a lot,” says Jholie. “One day she saw Swiss chard and she just started eating it. Now, every time she sees it, she has to have it.”
Learning experiences
As the students learn the science of hydroponic farming, they are also learning how to reduce their environmental impact. Hydroponics requires just a quart of water per head of lettuce, while traditional agriculture methods use more than 4 gallons. The students use no herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides. And by growing right where the produce is being consumed, they avoid the cost in both dollars and carbon emissions of transportation.
“The kids are really motivated by the environmental impact of the farm and are aware of current environmental issues,” says Clare Hyre, TFFJ’s senior program manager. An added benefit: “The food I grow tastes better than the food other people grow,” Miguel states emphatically.
But TFFJ was not conceived as simply a place to grow food. Students gain a hands-on, relatable STEM education as they learn how to build and maintain a high-tech hydroponic farm, which requires engineering, architectural drafting, and mathematics. They learn about the biology of plants and use chemistry and data tracking (math again!) to maintain plant health. They also learn basic plant and human nutrition, explore the nutrient content of what they grow, and apply their nutrition knowledge while tracking their own food consumption and exercise.
Social entrepreneurship is also an important part of the program. The students write a business plan to run their own farm stand. They learn to address the details required to run a successful business, including targeting an audience, distribution, and analyzing the competition.
As the teens become excited about the program and advocate for it to others, they are building self-confidence, and communication and public speaking skills. After their first round of apprenticeship in the program, they can come back and train, or mentor, other students, which helps develop their ability to lead. After they graduate from the program, they can earn a stipend as they help run the Fresh Food Box program, mentor students, and continue to develop their leadership abilities.
Growing their food—and their world in a resource-deprived neighborhood where canned and fast foods dominate, learning to farm helps these young people break away from the confines of their environment. Farming gives them access to healthier foods, amps up their STEM education, and makes them better leaders, stewards of their environment, and advocates for their community. And sometimes it makes them want to be farmers. Joshua dreams of having enough money to build his own hydroponic farm. He has researched it online, he says, and he thinks he could do it.
When he does, he will be part of the solution for sustainable farming that brings healthy food to communities in need—just like the organization that taught and inspired him.
For more information:
Corteva Agriscience
www.corteva.com
Publication date: Thu 19 Dec 2019
CANADA: Lettuce Crop Planted In Old School Library As Couple Turn Building Into A Farm
A Quebec couple have moved to the tiny community of Saint-Léolin in northeastern New Brunswick with plans to turn a former school into a large, indoor vertical farm, capable of producing 750,000 heads of lettuce a year
Chantal Gagnon and Daniel Ratté plan to hire 20 people for their indoor farm in Saint-Léolin
Gabrielle Fahmy · CBC News · Posted: Dec 17, 2019
A Quebec couple have moved to the tiny community of Saint-Léolin in northeastern New Brunswick with plans to turn a former school into a large, indoor vertical farm, capable of producing 750,000 heads of lettuce a year.
The opportunity for the farm cropped up after the village of 600 saw its school close in 2012. Saint-Léolin was dealing with a problem experienced by many rural communities: there weren't enough students to keep the school open.
Saint-Léolin Mayor Guy Cormier started looking for someone to purchase the 2,200-square-metre building after the doors closed.
About a year ago, he met Chantal Gagnon and Daniel Ratté, who were living in the United States at the time. The couple were looking to come back to Canada and for a new project to keep them busy.
They'd been inspired by a visit to a vertical farm in Florida a few months earlier.
The couple grow lettuce and other leafy greens in the room where the school's library used to be. (CBC)
"This is when we decided this is what we're going to do," said Gagnon.
"I was very excited. I grew up on a farm."
The mayor gave them a tour of the school by video chat and the rest is history.
Gagnon grew up in the Matapedia Valley of eastern Quebec, just across the border from Campbellton. And so after looking at buildings all across the country, she was drawn by the prospect of returning to a place close to home.
Vertical farming is similar to other methods of indoor farming, such as hydroponics, in that the plants are grown without soil.
Can't keep up with demand
But cultivating them in "trees" allows producers to use the space, and resources, more efficiently.
Instead of rays of sunshine, LED lights are used.
If a purple hue often radiates from these farms, it's because the lights' blue and red wavelengths provide the plants what they need.
The plants get their nutrients through a water system that constantly reuses the supply.
The couple invested $55,000 of their own money in the equipment, and right now, lettuce and other leafy greens, herbs and microgreens are being grown in the school's old library.
What was initially supposed to be just the pilot project has gotten the community so excited that Gagnon and Ratté are having a hard time keeping up with the demand.
The only sign of the couple's indoor farm right now is the purple hue coming from one of the windows, where the library was. (CBC)
"We are amazed," said Gagnon.
"We didn't think that people would respond so well."
Every Saturday morning, when they open their doors to the public, people have been lining up to buy the produce, and the crops usually sell out in a couple of hours.
Chantal Gagnon and Daniel Ratté moved to Saint-Léolin in northeastern New Brunswick last year. (Gabrielle Fahmy/CBC)
Watch - This former school was transformed into an indoor vertical farm
A Quebec couple bought a building that used to be a school in Saint-Léolin and turned it into an indoor vertical farm, capable of producing 750,000 heads of lettuce a year. 1:00
The vertical farm began selling its produce on Oct. 29 and the couple are selling at grocery store prices. Customers can pick up a head of romaine lettuce for $2.99.
Romaine troubles
Ratté is not surprised. He thinks ongoing troubles with romaine lettuce coming from California has played a big role in driving people to find alternatives produced closer to home.
He also thinks with climate change and other threats to traditional agriculture, this type of farming will only become more common.
"There's no more land anymore to grow anything," said Ratté.
"And the one we have right now, there's a lot of issues with the pesticides, with the chemicals."
Ratté said if their plants ever get sick, they are treated with vinegar and hydrogen peroxide.
Daniel Ratté thinks this type of indoor farming is part of the solution to worldwide threats to traditional agriculture. (CBC)
The couple hopes to attract investors and fill every classroom with plants so they can supply customers, grocery stores and restaurants in northern New Brunswick year-round, a project estimated at $4.5 million.
Saint-Léolin's mayor said the prospect of new life being injected into the village is helping to spread the word.
"I think it's the future," said Cormier.
"I talk with other friends from other towns around, and they say you're lucky to get that in your town."
CAN (ON): Ontario Supports Healthy Fundraiser That Connects Students With Farmers
"Fresh from the Farm provides an innovative opportunity for Ontario students to learn about the healthy, nutritious food our hardworking farmers grow while also supporting their local schools' extracurricular programming"
On 22nd November, Ernie Hardeman, Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Stephen Lecce, Ontario Minister of Education, congratulated schools participating in the Fresh from the Farm fundraising program for their efforts in promoting Ontario produce while helping to increase funds for extracurricular activities. The annual program provides a unique and healthy fundraising opportunity that benefits local schools, supports our farmers and promotes healthy eating to Ontario families.
"Fresh from the Farm provides an innovative opportunity for Ontario students to learn about the healthy, nutritious food our hardworking farmers grow while also supporting their local schools' extracurricular programming," said Hardeman. "We also appreciate the coordination effort of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association and each school that participates in this great program."
Schools keep 40 percent of the funds raised which are used to support initiatives like schoolyard improvement projects and fun, educational class trips, as well as other supplementary or after-school programs.
Fresh from the Farm is a collaborative initiative between the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association and the Ontario government. This year, 471 schools took part and have generated over $862,355 for extracurricular activities by selling 713,612 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables.
"I join Minister Hardeman in encouraging healthy eating and lifestyles for our students while promoting the interests of Ontario farmers," said Minister Lecce. "I thank the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association for teaching children with pride about the good things grown in Ontario."
"The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association is pleased to be working with the government to deliver the seventh year of the Fresh from the Farm school fundraising program. Once again, the program has been a success with over 710,000 pounds of Ontario-grown apples and root vegetables sold and nearly $350,000 raised for schools. The OFVGA looks forward to continuing this partnership with government in 2020 to support school fundraising, access to local food and Ontario farmers." Bill George Jr., Chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association.
Since 2013, almost 2,200 schools have participated in Fresh from the Farm. Collectively, the schools have distributed over 4.3 million pounds of fresh, local fruit and vegetables to Ontario families, generating a total of almost $5 million in local food sales across the province.
Source ontario.ca
Publication date: Mon 25 Nov 2019
Colorado School Taps Container Farm for Classroom, Food Stand
A Douglas County High School is using a refrigerated freight container converted into a hydroponic farm as an extension of the classroom. At Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, students learn how to grow leafy greens and other vegetables
Freight Farms’ hydroponic vertical container farms use nearly 99% less water than a traditional farm, running with as little as zero to five gallons per day, less than the average dishwasher. (Pixabay)
December 9, 2019
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — A Douglas County High School is using a refrigerated freight container converted into a hydroponic farm as an extension of the classroom.
At Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, students learn how to grow leafy greens and other vegetables. And David Larsen, who teaches business agriculture at the school, said other learning opportunities branch out from there.
“Then you take all the different aspects of it, like the business side, marketing, branding all those things that we want kids to have practical experience on,” Larsen said. “If you have kids that are interested in the engineering technology side of it, there's a control system and automation in there."
Students package and sell their harvests to local restaurants, students' families and staff, and any extra produce goes to retirement homes and food pantries. Larsen said students also gain soft skills such as how to be a good employee, punctuality, engagement, responsibility, and how to be the public face of a business.
Because the climate is controlled inside the container, food can be grown all school year long with a predictable commercial-scale output. A greenery unit can support 13,000 plants at a time, producing harvests of up to 900 heads of lettuce per week. Larsen said the indoor farm also is resistant to shocks such as extreme weather patterns or drought.
"The taste is incredible. When people eat our lettuces, they're like, 'Oh, wow, I didn't know lettuce could taste like that,’” he said. “There's some very interesting varieties of herbs as well. We do a lot of different arugulas. I think the freshness just really sets it apart."
The high-tech containers are the brainchild of the Massachusetts-based company Freight Farms and are well suited for Colorado. They require a considerable amount of electricity, but use nearly 99% less water than a traditional farm, running with as little as five gallons per day - less than the average dishwasher.
Eric Galatas, Public News Service - CO
GHANA: Create A Conducive Environment For Your Kids—As IGrow Urges Parents
It’s widely perceived across the globe that the future of a country lies in kids or even the unborn babies, as such As I Grow, a non-governmental organization known for its commendable works in the rural areas of Ghana has urged parents to prioritize the creation of a conducive environment for their kids
01.12.2019
By Raphael Nyame
It’s widely perceived across the globe that the future of a country lies in kids or even the unborn babies, as such As I Grow, a non-governmental organization known for its commendable works in the rural areas of Ghana has urged parents to prioritize the creation of a conducive environment for their kids.
The organization is of the strong opinion that the creation of a conducive environment for our future leaders [children] can unlock their hidden potentials and also bring out the best in them both at school and their various homes.
Speaking with the media at donation exercise, undertaken by the organization at the Larteh Salvation Army Primary School in the Eastern region of Ghana, Ms. Opoku, a member of the organization encouraged school children to make the most out of the education they are currently receiving from their teachers even though “As I Grow” is always fighting to provide them with all the basic things they need at their various school to enhance the acquisition of knowledge.
Mr. Debrah Bekoe Isaac, Chief Executive Officer of the organization appealed to the government to prioritize the establishment of ICT labs, libraries and other basic facilities at the Junior high schools especially schools at the rural areas.
He, however, encouraged NGOs and other stakeholders in education to join their campaign in developing these kids for a better and brighter future.
Meanwhile in attendance of the colorful event were Mr. Agyei Obeng, a field team member, Mr. Osei Bonsie, member of the organization and Mr. Afrani Isaac, the transport officer of the organization.
Items donated at the Larteh Salvation Army Primary school
White marker boards
Exercise books
Pens, pencils & erasers
Modern desks (to basic 2)
Office chair for the headteacher
Manila cards
Whiteboard markers
Buckets, sharpener and set of drums
Past projects
In the past years, the organisation has been involved in educational development projects geared towards helping children in the basic and primary schools.
In November 2018, the organisation aided Larteh Salvation Army Primary school in the renovation of its kindergarten block as a means of support to the children.
Early this year [2019] the organisation organized a workshop for all the BECE candidates in Larteh to help them in the core subject area on how to answer questions during their examination.
US (MA): Container Farm Helps Provide Necessary Greens For College Lunch
HCC has been growing leafy greens inside the Freight Farms containers since October 2018. The project is a partnership with the city of Holyoke and MassDevelopment, who supplied the funding to purchase the two containers
In the early morning, Claire McGale, manager of HCC's Freight Farms urban agriculture program, received an urgent email message from Christopher Robert, chef supervisor for HCC dining services, which is managed by Aramark. They were in a bind. A national recall on Romaine lettuce from Salinas, California, issued over the weekend had left Aramark short of salad greens for the start of the week.
"He said, we'll take whatever you have," said McGale, a 2019 HCC graduate. Fortunately, they had a lot.
Over the course of the morning, McGale and her co-workers harvested close to 70 pounds of lettuce from the two repurposed shipping containers on Race Street managed by Holyoke Community College behind the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute.
"We were going to harvest today anyway," McGale said Monday morning, "but we're doing much more than we would have."
HCC has been growing leafy greens inside the Freight Farms containers since October 2018. The project is a partnership with the city of Holyoke and MassDevelopment, who supplied the funding to purchase the two containers.
Each container is a fully operational hydroponic farm equipped with 256 grow towers and the capacity to grow as much produce in a year as an acre of farmland, but without any soil.
The lettuce "picked" Monday – that is, pulled from the grow towers – included Romaine, two kinds of butterhead and sweet green crisp salanova.
"Unlike most places today, we have Romaine – thanks to Freight Farms," Robert said Monday.
The lettuce was used in the salad bar in HCC's cafeteria, for grab and go packaged salads, as well as toppings for sandwiches. Freight Farms "bailed us out," said Mark Pronovost, director of HCC dining services. "They helped us out big time."
Pronovost said he received an alert over the weekend about the recall on contaminated California lettuce and took immediate action.
"We threw out all our product," he said. "We don't take any chances. I don't know what other schools are doing, but reaching out to Freight Farms was easy for us."
Aramark has been buying Holyoke-grown Freight Farms lettuce and incorporating it into its salad blends since February, but never before as much as Monday.
"Today, because of what happened, it's pretty much all from Freight Farms," he said. "It's beautiful stuff. Tasty. Flavorful. Fresh. It's all hydroponic so it's nice and clean. They do a really nice job."
Monday was an auspicious day for Freight Farms in another way as well. They set a weight record for individual heads, recording 4.3 pounds for a container of 15 heads of salanova.
Freight Farms also supplies produce to the HCC culinary arts institute, Holyoke Medical Center and the HCC Food Pantry.
"That's encouraging," McGale said. "That's how I keep track of our success rate."
With more experience, McGale said, Freight Farms produce has become more robust. This batch of lettuce took five weeks to grow from seed to harvest.
She seemed especially impressed by two large heads of salanova she balanced in both hands.
Source: Holyoke Community College
Publication date: Wed 27 Nov 2019
US: Texas - Vertical Farming Technique Growing At A&M
TAMU Urban Farm United is a concept organization with the intent of introducing vertical farming to A&M’s campus and the local community
By Luis Sanchez @LuisSanchezBatt
November 12, 2019
TAMU Urban Farm United is a concept organization with the intent of introducing vertical farming to A&M’s campus and the local community.
An Aggie Green Fund major grant project, TUFU is overseen by capstone students from various majors who grow the crops to provide food for locals. The group will be hosting an open house on Friday at 530 Floriculture Rd. from noon to 7 p.m.
TUFU was co-founded by Broch Saxton, plant and environmental soil science senior, and Lisette Templin, instructional assistant professor in health and kinesiology. Saxton, who serves as a student coordinator, said that it only made sense for A&M to develop methods of vertical farming, with such a historical background in agriculture; although originally Saxton envisioned using a hydroponic system, where the roots of plants would sit in water.
“In my interest, I see that it is not here, hydroponics isn’t here,” Saxton said. “So I was thinking to myself, ‘Why is it that this huge agriculture monster of an entity isn’t taking a step towards this specific agriculture field of interest?’”
Saxton said he and Templin both wanted to bring their respective expertise in order to help others in this innovative manner. It wasn’t until the two put their ideas together that they were able to commence with the building of the vertical farming towers.
“[Templin] had the tower garden idea,” Saxton said. “I came there thinking, ‘I want to get some help launching some sort of hydroponic system,’ and it turned into, ‘Okay, she has a similar idea that I do.’”
Saxton said he and Templi applied for a grant from the Aggie Green Fund. The application was submitted in 2018, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2019 that they could start working. According to the Aggie Green Fund website, the TUFU project was awarded $59,566 in the spring of 2019.
Templin said the project worked with The 12th Can, a food pantry for A&M students, faculty and staff, to provide a fresh and local food source with the first harvest on Nov. 7.
“This is the first time that The 12th Can has received fresh, locally grown, living food, that [has] not been sprayed with a chemical product,” Templin said.
Templin said the towers used for the vertical farming are based on an aeroponic system, an environment of air rather than soil for the plants. She said the tower system feeds the plants via mimic rain, and since each tower is isolated, contamination does not spread among them.
“The aeroponic system means that the roots are in a [cylindrical] tower base, where the roots are exposed to air,” Templin said. “There’s a pump that pumps the [mineral] water upward, and then the water trickles down like rain. And [that] feeds the roots with minerals and nutrients.”
Templin said the shape of the tower not only conserves space but is able to cycle the water as needed. Templin said the system also brings a 30 percent higher yield when compared to traditional alternatives.
“It uses 90 percent less water because there’s no evaporation,” Templin said “The only loss of water is through root absorption. It uses 90 percent less land because, per tower, we can grow forty-four heads of lettuce in about four square feet of space. [And] we don’t get earth-borne pests.”
Stephon Warren, plant breeding graduate student, is a member of TUFU and said the organization is trying to expand in any way possible. Warren said alongside forming business relationships, TUFU is looking to educate more students about the project.
Saxton said although he would be graduating soon, he was confident the project will grow and make connections in the academic and market settings. Saxton said too much effort has already been put into the project, and he only sees it growing in the future.
“We already have too much university involvement, student involvement and time invested from partners that we have accumulated,” Saxton said. “The interest is there and this is going to keep going when I’m gone.”
US (PA): State-Funded Aquaponics Lab Teaches Students About Science And Leadership
West Shore School District students led Governor Tom Wolf on a tour of a new aquaponics lab at Cedar Cliff High School. Funded with a $250,000 grant awarded by the Wolf administration, the new lab provides hands-on learning for students across the school district to develop skills in science, business, and leadership
West Shore School District students led Governor Tom Wolf on a tour of a new aquaponics lab at Cedar Cliff High School. Funded with a $250,000 grant awarded by the Wolf administration, the new lab provides hands-on learning for students across the school district to develop skills in science, business and leadership.
“This new lab goes beyond teaching students about aquaculture and hydroponics to creating opportunities to learn about leadership, technology, and marketing,” said Governor Wolf. “This is another example of the workforce development strategies my administration is supporting to prepare future generations with the knowledge and skills to succeed and make Pennsylvania an attractive place for growing and emerging industries to do business.”
The indoor lab constructed at the high school last summer combines conventional aquaculture, such as raising fish and other aquatic animals in tanks, and hydroponics, the production of plants in water rather than soil, into a symbiotic system used to grow fish, fruits, vegetables, feedstock, and other plant products all year.
Students from all 14 West Shore School District schools will use the lab to learn about plant propagation, food production, and hydroponic plant growth. High school students are also using the lab for research in plant lighting manipulation, propagation techniques, crop rotation studies, and fish breeding and rearing practices.
The aquaponics lab was one of 16 projects that received a total of $3.5 million in Strategic Innovation grants from the Department of Labor & Industry. The grants are awarded through Local Workforce Development Boards.
“The Aquaponics Lab at Cedar Cliff High School is a catalyst for district-wide STEAM experiences and hands-on learning opportunities,” said West Shore School District Superintendent Dr. Todd Stoltz. “The investment made by the Department of Labor & Industry in our students’ future extends beyond aquaponics. We now have a variety of opportunities available not only to those students interested in a career in science, but also communications, education, technology, marketing, and finance. The impact this program is having on students individually and collectively, and in our local community, perhaps even global community, is a great source of district pride.”
Investing in science and technology education is a priority for Governor Wolf. In addition to Strategic Innovation Grants, the governor launched the PAsmart workforce development initiative and secured $70 million over two years. PAsmart is providing $40 million for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning and computer science programs, and $30 million for apprenticeships and job training programs.
Pennsylvania now ranks second in the nation for investments in computer science education and is third in the number of nationally recognized STEM ecosystems.
For more information:
www.governor.pa.gov
Publication date: Thu 14 Nov 2019
Nick Greens Explains The Importance of Food Safety While Growing Microgreens Indoors
CCEA 2019, is the place to commit, learn and apply the bases of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) for owners and operators of greenhouses and vertical farms, and was held in Panama City from November 06 to 08, 2019
CCEA 2019, is the place to commit, learn and apply the bases of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) for owners and operators of greenhouses and vertical farms, and was held in Panama City from November 06 to 08, 2019
Kimbal Musk’s Square Roots is On A Mission To Feed The World — And Eventually Astronauts On Mars
Elon Musk’s brother, Kimbal, is on a mission to feed the world and train the next generation of farmers. He co-founded Square Roots with CEO Tobias Peggs to grow non-GMO crops in reclaimed shipping containers, even in urban areas. The company is installing its container farms at Gordon Food Service facilities and other grocery stores across the U.S. Square Roots made CNBC’s 2019 Upstart 100 list, released Tuesday
NOV 12 2019
KEY POINTS
Elon Musk’s brother, Kimbal, is on a mission to feed the world and train the next generation of farmers.
He co-founded Square Roots with CEO Tobias Peggs to grow non-GMO crops in reclaimed shipping containers, even in urban areas.
The company is installing its container farms at Gordon Food Service facilities and other grocery stores across the U.S.
Square Roots made CNBC’s 2019 Upstart 100 list, released Tuesday.
Kimbal Musk meets with Square Root farmers at the company’s Brooklyn headquarters, home to farms housed in shipping containers.
Mary Stevens | CNBC
One-third of the world’s food supply is wasted, according to research from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Now a start-up called Square Roots, co-founded by Kimbal Musk (Elon Musk’s brother) and Tobias Peggs wants to reduce that waste by growing food as close as possible to the point of use.
Based in Brooklyn, New York, Square Roots has developed and installs “modules” — hydroponic farms in reclaimed shipping containers that can grow certain non-GMO vegetables around the clock and without pesticides. Today they are producing mint, basil, other herbs, and leafy greens. The company made CNBC’s 2019 Upstart 100 list, released Tuesday.
The modules, which employ software-controlled LED lighting and irrigation systems, can be set up in the parking lot of a grocery store or even inside a large warehouse or industrial building, enabling a food maker to access fresh ingredients locally for use in their dishes or packaged products.
According to CEO Peggs, raising at least some crops close to where they will be eaten helps reduce the food damage and spoilage that occurs during shipping from a point of harvest to a faraway destination.
Growing food in a tightly controlled microclimate also means those crops can have better flavor and yield than counterparts that are grown in traditional farms, said Peggs, who added that in the great but unpredictable outdoors, everything from changes in soil acidity to humidity can harm crops.
Square Roots CEO Tobias Peggs is redefining urban farming. | Square Roots
Those who buy Square Roots produce can scan a QR code on the packaging to read a “transparency timeline,” with details about their fresh food, like the identity of the farmers who grew it and when it was harvested and delivered to the store.
One day Square Roots aims for its technology to work off-world. Kimbal Musk, who is Square Roots’ executive chairman and also holds board seats at SpaceX and Tesla, said: “I’m focused on bringing real food to everyone (on Earth), but the farming technology we are building at Square Roots can and will be used on Mars.”
Peggs, who has a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence from Cardiff University, has a history of building businesses with Kimbal Musk. Peggs was the CEO of a social media analytics firm called OneRiot, which Musk co-founded. They sold it to Walmart in the fall of 2011.
Peggs and other OneRiot employees joined Walmart Labs and helped the retail giant roll out mobile apps and analytics in international markets. That was when Peggs became intrigued with the potential for software to help feed the world.
Square Roots faces significant competition in what’s known as indoor ag or sunless farming, including venture-backed competitors Bowery Farming, Plenty, Freight Farms, Gotham Greens and AeroFarms, among others. Their potential to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture is yet to be determined.
Modern agriculture accounts for 24% of greenhouse gases and is the No. 1 source of pollution on the planet, according to environmental researcher Paul Hawken, the founder of Project Drawdown, a nonprofit that points to ways global warming can be reversed.
Hawken told CNBC, “Indoor ag may or might not pencil out with respect to sustainability when all the energy and inputs are totaled.” That’s because indoor farming requires more human-made energy but less transport and distribution energy.
Square Roots container farms can grow fresh mint and basil, year-round, in Brooklyn.
https://squarerootsgrow.com/
Moreover, crops from indoor farms might not match the nutrition of soil-grown crops, because the medium the plants are grown in is either hydroponic or assembled substrates. Hawken wrote:
“What makes plants superfoods and nutritious is stress, not ‘perfect’ temperature-controlled growing environments. Phytonutrients that are vital to human health do not develop to the same extent indoors. Sun, UV radiation, insects, dryness, competition, wind, and wide temperature variations ultimately make plants strong, delicious and nutritious.”
But it will bring locally grown, organic produce — part of a healthy diet — to markets that may not have much of it otherwise, he said.
Inspiring a new generation of farmers
Square Roots is aiming to work with partners that use renewable energy as much as possible to power their modular farms, said Peggs. One recent example is Square Roots’ partnership with Gordon Food Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which runs its business partly on wind power.
The company has agreed to roll out Square Roots modular farms across their network of hundreds of retail stores and food production and distribution facilities in the U.S. in the coming years.
“Rather than a plant factory, where you’d spend tens of millions to build an industrial-scale facility that could take two to three years, we pop up in a new city in a matter of weeks.
Tobias Peggs
SQUARE ROOTS CO-FOUNDER
Another objective of Square Roots is to inspire more people to become farmers. Wherever it installs its modules, crops are grown and systems are managed by employees who have enrolled in Square Roots’ Next-Gen Farmer Training Program. Throughout the year, the trainees get to learn about everything from plant science to computer science from Square Roots, while also earning a salary and health benefits — which aren’t always available from similar internships and apprenticeships.
Because Square Roots is supplying fresh-grown herbs to more than 70 stores in New York City, that means a significant number of its next-gen farmers are city dwellers who never expected to be working in agriculture.
Peggs said he’s betting on modular farms over other indoor agriculture approaches precisely because of their flexibility. “Rather than a plant factory, where you’d spend tens of millions to build an industrial-scale facility that could take two to three years, we pop up in a new city in a matter of weeks.”
Produce Grown Is Served In On-Campus Dining Locations
Housing and Food Services, along with the student organization OUr Earth, have joined together to bring the Leafy Green Machine to campus
Freight Farms
Housing and Food Services, along with the student organization OUr Earth, have joined together to bring the Leafy Green Machine to campus. Housed in an upcycled shipping container, it is the first hydroponic farm at a Big 12 university. Produce grown is served in on-campus dining locations.