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New Vertical Farming System Being Franchised

New Vertical Farming System Being Franchised

December 13, 2017

Written by Ted Tennison

Crops include micro-greens and leafy greens.

Dec. 13, 2017, Leduc, Alta. – Western Canada’s grocery and food service industries are eagerly waiting for the final commissioning of Trusted Freshness™ Ltd. Canada’s newest vertical farming enterprise. The 37,000 sq. ft. growing facility in Leduc is going through the final steps before launching its commercial operation.


The Trusted Freshness facility provides a controlled indoor urban environment capable of growing a wide assortment of produce including micro greens, leafy greens and vine crops. Many of the crops can be grown and harvested within a seven to 30-day cycle, providing fresh produce year round. 

The local availability of produce ensures that the nutritional benefits of the produce are not reduced by long transportation hauls, which is the case with the produce imported from southwestern U.S. and Mexico. 

“Our franchise approach to vertical farming provides our franchisees with tremendous flexibility in how they can operate their business,” says Jim Schroeder, Trusted Freshness CEO and chief marketing officer. “The franchisee may wish to simply invest in a Trusted Freshness vertical farming module and have the management of the unit out-sourced or operate their franchise themselves.”

The Trusted Freshness franchise business model enables investors to operate their individual growing enterprises in a co-located facility, while at the same time taking advantage of shared core services such as hands-on training, germination, packaging, distribution and marketing of their produce.

 “The demand for Trusted Freshness produce is significant,” says Schroeder. “Since word got out about our vertical farming facility, we have been approached by numerous groups interested in purchasing our freshly-grown produce. Grocery retailers, the food service industry and even individual chefs are looking for that specific herb or micro-green that will give them an extra advantage in their culinary offering.”

“We are delighted with the continued interest our Trusted Freshness operation is receiving from the local business community, the rest of Canada and other parts of the world,” says Schroeder. “We are already investigating additional locations that would be a great fit for a Trusted Freshness operation.”

“With the world-wide market for vertical farming operations projected to be worth a minimum of $3.88 billion U.S. by 2020, this is certainly the time for entrepreneurs and investors to take a look at a Trusted Freshness franchise,” says Schroeder.

For more information on Trusted Freshness™ Ltd. visit www.trustedfreshness.com or contact Trusted Freshness CEO Jim Schroeder at 780.690.8985, email: jim@trustedfreshness.com    

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What’s It Like to Be a Vertical Farmer?

What’s It Like to Be a Vertical Farmer?

As the Shift Manager for Farm.One’s Tribeca farm, Tom Rubino juggles early mornings, a fast pace, and a high attention to detail. Here’s how he does it.

You’ve probably seen enough videos and photos of vertical farms: Racks and racks, levels and levels within LED-lit warehouses, growing ‘perfect’ produce year-in, year-out. You might see a white-jacketed figure in the distance, tiny against the equipment. The focus is firmly on the technology, not the people.

What’s more, it’s especially hard to find out what it’s really like to work on an indoor farm, because many companies are extremely secretive — hardly letting anyone past their air-curtained doors.

But don’t let that fool you. Like any other business, urban farms live or die on their people. And real people work in them, like Tom.

Tom Rubino, Farm.One Tribeca

Farm.One is kind of unusual in the world of vertical farms. Most grow just a few crops — normally bulk salad greens. Instead, we grow hundreds of rare herbs, edible flowers and micros (581 at last count) for chefs in some of the best restaurants in New York. Often our product is the last thing a chef puts on the plate, and the first thing a customer sees.

Our leaves and flowers, on a dish by Ronny Emborg for Atera

Our farms are very small (Tribeca is just over 1,200 square feet, and our farm at the Institute of Culinary Education is around 300). But we use the latest LED lights and hydroponics to grow year-round in the heart of the city, giving us an outsized level of production for such a tiny space.

As Shift Manager for Farm.One’s new farm in Tribeca, Tom oversees all day-to-day operations from seed to harvest. The buck stops with Tom.

Tom has always had a love for food and how it’s grown

A Love of Food & Farming

“I spent five months on a family farm in Sicily — and it was the time of my life. It was a huge farm, over 500 acres, growing wheat, almonds, olives, grapes and more—kind of the opposite to this! I’d also done a lot of gardening at my house, starting with a small window box and progressing to a 10x20' planter on the roof, growing common herbs.

“I just feel very at peace when I’m around plants.

“It makes me very happy to see a plant through from germination to the point you harvest it — it’s real satisfaction. And to see someone using it in a dish is even better.

Early Mornings

AtFarm.One, mornings start early — often around 6:30am—as we harvest everything on the day of delivery. Tom likes to get a head start.

“I open up the farm early. This is my chance to get ahead of the day, prepping everything for the beginning of people‘s shifts.

“I’ll have a look at the harvest, and print out the harvest tickets [Farm.One uses our own ticketing system, a little bit like a restaurant] — if there’s anything I think one person will harvest better than someone else, faster than someone else, I’ll assign them that ticket.

Running two farms 15 minutes walk from each other is … interesting, logistically. Tom has to stay on top of this, and any special instructions.

“I’ll have a look at what we need from ICE versus here. I’ll try to get ahead of the harvest, looking at what customers need what, and any special packing or cutting requirements ahead of time before it gets busy. In my mind the harvest is finalized at 8am — ready for everyone to come in.

Thai Red Stem Basil

Unlike most farms, Farm.One plants seeds almost every day of the week — so that our customers get the perfect leaf size for their product.

For example, many microgreens are grown for just 12 or 14 days, meaning that even one day off can mean a product isn’t right.

This means every day has a mixture of planting, transplanting and harvesting, as well as general farm maintenance tasks.

“I’ll look at the planting schedule too — so that I know at what point during the harvest I can peel people off the harvest and onto planting so that we get everything done in time.

“We usually have a big planting scheduled. The key is getting everything prepped—seeds, medium, everything before the full effort starts. We’ll have Farm Hands coming in at different times — either starting their shift or from ICE, so it’s key to be ready. I’m constantly corresponding with our Head of Operations if we are short on something or there are last-minute changes.

“When I get the planting underway, I can think about what I need to do, either re-allocating space in the system, receiving consumables.

“On a busy day, there are also unexpected things happening. New orders, problems with a particular crop. Being able to jump in and troubleshoot problems, being flexible is important.

Important qualities

Tom talks through some of the essential traits you need to succeed on a busy indoor farm.

“Anticipation—you’re not always going to know before there is a problem, but you need to think about what you might do if there is one, and be ready for different things to happen. You want to see a few moves ahead and be ready for a variety of scenarios.

“It’s a rush on busy days. When everything goes smoothly, you can be going through huge quantities of tickets and look back at the end of the shift to see a lot of product done, and that’s very rewarding. But that only happens if you’re thinking in advance.

“We’re always looking for new ways to improve, and figuring out the most efficient ways to do things. Not necessarily the fastest, but the correct way.

Food adventures

“Igrew up in a family where eating was a huge business. We start Thanksgiving at around 11:30 in the morning, and have like a nine-course meal! A constant steady stream of food throughout the day. Some of my best memories from my childhood are from waking up and smelling my mom’s garlic for breakfast. Eating is a very social thing, it’s about enjoyment, very much about pleasure and having a good time.

I’ll often tell a waiter when I go into a restaurant ‘We’re going to be here a while, and we’re going to have fun!’.

“I like all different cuisines, and my fiancée and I get a lot of pleasure out of it.

What’s it like visiting a restaurant where you’ve grown the product yourself?

Since starting at Farm.One, Tom has visited our customers like Daniel, Butter, Mission Chinese Food and Le Turtle.

“That is a lot of fun! The first thing I ever ate in a restaurant from this farm was nasturtium, when I was at Butter. My girlfriend ate most of it while I was texting David (Farm.One’s Head Horticulturalist) about it! The second was Le Turtle — and that’s where we got the full experience; Chef Victor hit us with a lot of things that we grow. He did it on purpose, I know!

“I try everything growing often on the farm so I know how it’s doing, but one of the plants I tasted rarely before was Bull’s Blood. On that occasion, at Le Turtle it stood out though, because we had had a nightmare with a lot of failed batches of that product — getting just two trays-worth out of 6 planted trays by painstakingly picking through it for what felt like hours. So when I saw it on a dish at Le Turtle I had to laugh— that was definitely the fruits of my labor! It tasted that much better.

What’s the best part of the job?

“It’s a lot of fun to visit restaurants, but it’s even better to hear from Sales the compliments we’ve had from chefs. I take a lot of pleasure from giving chefs the best product possible. So when I hear back from chefs, it gives me a huge amount of satisfaction.

Tom deep in the Nepitella

Any advice for wannabe urban farmers?

“Patience and persistence. Despite all the work we put in to systematize and automate, at the ground level it’s a very exact science.

“The smallest of details can throw off germination and maturation of any plant. A tray of Dragon’s Tongue might dry out if you have a slightly elevated side of a tray. Flood height might vary. New trays don’t always fit perfectly with the old trays. Even a few millimeters can make a difference sometimes.

“Attention to detail is vital. I’m meticulous. It’s the only way you can have success with this kind of farm. Constantly adjusting and improving as a farmer and pushing that back to the business is essential.

While automation and software helps, a close eye ensures nothing slips through the gaps.

“I love the challenge and I enjoy the work. I don’t mind the extra effort. You have to have a love for it, and an ability to learn from your mistakes.

Find out more about our farming team and how they work with the overview video below, narrated by Head of Operations, Dana.

Inspired? You can now own a piece of Farm.One at http://farm.one/invest.

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How Is Our Culture Changing The Way We Eat?

How Is Our Culture Changing The Way We Eat?

Marissa Peretz,  CONTRIBUTOR

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Photo courtesy of Local Roots

What does the farm of the future look like?

Whether you have landed your dream job or are just starting your career, lunch and dinner provide a way to bond, network, and share wisdom with friends and teammates. Breakfast can offer the same camaraderie, for those of us who wake up before the sun does. Back in college, our schedules were flexible and the nearest farmer’s market was generally within hiking distance.

As we entered the workforce with longer work hours than previous generations and full podcast length commute times,  we considered the time it takes to shop in a large grocery store and the limited options of most chain restaurants. We craved easier, healthier, and more sustainable options which is why locally sourced produce and meal delivery services are such a huge trend.

We also know that when we buy food from local sources, it creates jobs and benefits our local economy. So the question is: where are we getting our food?

Dinner in the city fresh from a local, sustainable farm

One trend that has been gaining popularity across the country with a variety of people, including millennials, is locally sourced produce. One way to find local produce is to join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. These services often deliver produce to your door (or to your friend’s door if you decide to split a box).  When you reduce the number of steps between when produce is freshly picked and when you place it in your fridge, your food retains more vitamins and minerals.   

Some companies even help connect employees with CSAs.  “There are CSA programs connected with each of our office locations (Providence (HQ), New York, and San Francisco),” said restaurant management platform Upserve'sVP of Talent, Alaina Restivo. “Through these programs, employees can order fresh produce or dairy from local farms to be delivered right to the office, making it easy to eat healthy at home as well as at work. By supporting these CSAs, we’re able to promote a just and sustainable food system in our communities.”

One option includes Imperfect Produce, a service that delivers fruit and vegetables that did not meet cosmetic standards for grocery stores at a lower price. “I just signed up for bi-weekly deliveries,” said Megan Palmer, Public Relations Director, ZeroCater.  “Definitely makes it easier to complete my shopping list but also forces me to switch things up.”  

Matt Vail, Founder & COO of Local Roots sees this local trend growing much stronger. His company is a Los Angeles based indoor farming startup that uses shipping containers to create an optimal growing environment for produce and co-locates them with retail distribution centers to produce longer lasting, fresh food.

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Quick Guide On Grow Lights

Lighting

Quick Guide On grow Lights

December 12, 2017

Everyone agrees that knowing how to grow food indoors with grow lights is valuable. It improves your health, brightens your day, calms your nerves, and allows you to do more with your existence.

Introduction

Grow lights are the most important environmental element affecting plant growth and development because the selection of grow lights can have a remarkable effect on the costs, operational costs, and quality of plants in your indoor grow room. This blog describes the physical properties of grow lights. Light sources often used in indoor grow rooms are introduced with a simple clarification of the fundamentals necessary to understand the grow lights. Particular importance is placed on LEDs, which have received extraordinary awareness recently, and on fluorescent lights, which are still commonly used in indoor grow room. 

Physical Properties

Light is electromagnetic energy, which is also explained as electromagnetic radiation comprise both visible and invisible wavelengths. The smaller the wavelength, the greater the energy. The wavelength of visible light ranges from 380 to 780 nm, which is what people eyes see.

Visible light is key to plants because it occurs simultaneously with photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400-700 nm). For solar radiation, 97% is inside the 280-2800 nm range. In this regard, 43% is visible light, which is practical for plant growth, 4% is ultraviolet, and 53% is infrared, which make heat.

Only electric lights are used in indoor grow rooms. Light has two opposed properties: it can be noticed as a wave phenomenon and it also acts as separate particles called photons. A photon is the smallest particle of light, or a single quantum of light. Light varies in at least three dimensions: quantity, quality, and duration.

When electric lights are used in a indoor grow room, the lighting cycle, which affects plant growth and development,  can be willingly changed. Light effects plants in two ways: providing energy or a quantum source and acting as an information medium.

While an energy source, the photons of light, is caught by plants and a part (up to 10%) of photons caught by plants is converted to chemical energy (carbohydrates) through photosynthesis. Almost all of the light energy or photons caught by plants is converted into heat energy. 

Light Sources

Till recently, most of the light sources used for indoor grow rooms were fluorescent lights and high-intensity discharge (HID) lights. Till just a decade ago, LEDs were used almost exclusively for research on plant cultivation, but are now being used as a light source for commercial plant cultivation in indoor grow rooms because of their fast price decline and quick improvement in luminous efficacy, which is a measure of how efficiently an electrical lamp produces visible light.

LEDs

LEDs offer advantages over fluorescent and HPS lights: they are strong; produce a stable output; are long lived, compact, and lightweight; turn on right away; and allow the light output to be easily controlled with a light source consist of several color types of LEDs. Benefit of using LEDs as a light source for indoor grow rooms is that LEDs offer great flexibilty for making various light environments compared to conventional lights. A light source having a few types of LEDs with different peak wavelengths can produce light of which the spectral radiant inconstancy can be varied with time. The biggest disadvantage of using LEDs for indoor grow rooms is the high beginning cost for a set of LED lights, compared to conventional lights.

Fluorescent Lights

Fluorescent lights offer no direct advantage over other lights including LEDs. Tubular fluorescent lights are the most suitable light source at present for indoor grow room when taking into account all the factors of bulb and luminaire prices, rated life, luminous efficacy, ready availability, and lighted bulb temperature. A tubular fluorescent light normally consists of a glass tube coated inside with a fluorescent material (phosphor), two tungsten electrodes at the two inside ends that are coated with an electron emissive material, a tiny amount of mercury, and low vapor pressure inert gas (mainly argon) enclosed in the glass. 

High-Intensity Discharge (HID)

HIDs are a type of electrical gas discharge light, which generates light by means of an electric arc between tungsten electrodes sheltered inside a translucent or transparent fused quartz or fused alumina arc tube. HID lights make more visible light per unit of electric power adsorbed than fluorescent lights, since a larger proportion of their radiation is visible light in contrast to infrared. Yet, the lumen output of HID lighting can lower by up to 70% over 10,000 burning hours.

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy this blog on lighting:

Tags:  quickguide growlights leds fluorescent highintensity discharge indoorgrowroom

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NYC Passes New Urban Agriculture Bill

The New York City council passed a bill today that will create the city’s first centralized digital hub meant specifically for urban agriculture. This hub will be run entirely by the city and will hopefully be seen as a resource for both new and established businesses. 

NYC Passes New Urban Agriculture Bill

The bill will create a new digital hub will help organize urban farmers throughout the city

By  Pat King 

December 11, 2017

Photo credit: iStock

The New York City council passed a bill today that will create the city’s first centralized digital hub meant specifically for urban agriculture. This hub will be run entirely by the city and will hopefully be seen as a resource for both new and established businesses. 

This bill, entitled 1661-A, is sponsored by council member Rafael Espinal, at the request of Eric L. Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President, and passed overwhelmingly with a 47-0 vote in the City Council. According to Espinal, this bill will bring a new excitement to New Yorkers who are looking to go green and healthy with the expansion of the urban agriculture sector.  

“Our bill creates, for the first time, a resource for urban farmers and community gardeners to start-up and grow an urban farm,” said Council Member Espinal,  “Our urban farmers are operating in an ambiguous and grey area, not receiving the support and information they needed from our city government. Smart, innovative urban-farming techniques are leading the food revolution and supplying healthy locally grown food to our communities. It is time NYC step up and support this movement with our own digital tools to make it easier for these entrepreneurs and acknowledge our commitment to this industry. This is only a first step in my undivided commitment to growing this vital sector, and I look forward to working with all stakeholders to develop more influential policy in the near future.”

The website will be run by the New York City Parks and Recreation Department in collaboration with educators and representatives from existing community gardens. The site, which will go live on July 1st, 2018,  will act as a one-stop-shop database for those looking to get involved with local urban gardens and farms and to help aid those who are looking to start their own. The site will also provide guidelines by the New York City Department of City Planning and New York City Department of Small Businesses to assist prospective urban farmers to develop new centers in their communities.

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The 7 Reasons Indoor Vertical Farming Is Sustainable

The 7 Reasons Indoor Vertical Farming Is Sustainable

Zale Tabakman

Indoor Vertical Farms Everywhere

The 7 Reasons Indoor Vertical Farming Is Sustainable:

1) Reduction of the Carbon footprint in food production.

2) Reduction in Carbon footprint moving food 1,500 miles (on average) from production to consumers.

3) Removal of Fertilizer runoff into the water system.

4) Removal of Pesticides from the environment.

5) No wastage of water.

6) Growing can use 100% renewable energy.

7) Greater consumer health from the increased nutritional quality of the vegetables. Some other benefits:

The need for GMOs disappears

Everything can be 100% organic

Food costs will go down

Reduction in the use of fertilizer Indoor Vertical Farming Is Sustainable Farming.

The big food retailers want sustainability.

I gave a talk at FMI (Food Marketing Institute) a few months back on the same topic. All of North America's top retailers were in the room. The next big Sustainability change needs to be in fertilizers. The largest thing in fertilizer is Nitrogen.

Man-made Nitrogen is created using the Haber–Bosch process, which currently burns about 5% of the world's natural gas.

Nitrogen can be created naturally by growing and processing legumes.

Moving to Indoor Vertical Farming frees land that can be used to grow legumes naturally for Nitrogen.

A massive win-win.

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BrightFarms Named to Inc. Magazine’s Top 10 Most Successful Startups in Food List

BrightFarms Named to Inc. Magazine’s Top 10 Most Successful Startups in Food List

Company aims to build local greenhouse farms in every major U.S. metro

New York (December 11, 2017) – BrightFarms has been named to Inc. Magazine’s list of the top 10 most successful startups in the food and beverage industry. Featured among brands such as Halo Top and Chef’s Cut Real Jerky, BrightFarms was the only fresh produce brand to make the list.

The company has grown by more than 1,800 percent in the last three years with the development of greenhouse farms for leading retailers like Ahold-Delhaize and Roundy’s (Kroger). Earlier this year, Inc. Magazine ranked BrightFarms number 235 on their list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in America.

To support the growth, the company has recruited a number of key leaders from the food industry, including Vice President of Sales Dean Martel, former sales executive at Fresh Express; Vice President of Marketing Abby Prior and Vice President of Operations Josh Norbury, formerly with Bimbo Bakeries, among several others.

“Our rapid growth stems from the enormous consumer demand for locally grown produce” said BrightFarms CEO Paul Lightfoot. “We’re developing the next phase of growth for our company and plan to enter every major metropolitan market across the country.”

BrightFarms operates three commercial greenhouse farms in Rochelle, IL.; Culpeper, VA.; and Bucks County, PA., with another under construction in Wilmington, Ohio. The company plans to open another 10-15 greenhouses in the next three years.

For more information, visit www.brightfarms.com.

About BrightFarms

BrightFarms grows local produce, nationwide. BrightFarms finances, builds, and operates local greenhouse farms in partnership with supermarkets, cities, capital sources, and vendors, enabling it to quickly and efficiently eliminate time, distance, and costs from the food supply chain. BrightFarms’ growing methods, a model for the future of scalable, sustainable local farming, uses far less energy, land, and water than conventional agriculture. Fast Company recognizes BrightFarms as “One of World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” and one of the “Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Food” in the world.  New York (December 11, 2017) – BrightFarms has been named to Inc. Magazine’s list of the top 10 most successful startups in the food and beverage industry. Featured among brands such as Halo Top and Chef’s Cut Real Jerky, BrightFarms was the only fresh produce brand to make the list.

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How Does Aeroponics Work? (A Beginner's Guide)

How Does Aeroponics Work? (A Beginner's Guide)

What is aeroponics, and how does it work? 

Aeroponics is a subset of hydroponic gardening where plant roots grow in a moist, airy environment.

But more specifically: 

How exactly does aeroponic growing work? 

What are the pros of aeroponic growing? 

What are the cons of aeroponic growing? 

What is an example of aeroponics actually being used? 

Well:

All of these answers and more are discussed in this Beginner's Guide To How Aeroponics Works.

So let's get started...

What is aeroponic farming? 

Aeroponics is a type of hydroponic farming. 

What is the difference between pure hydroponic farming? 

The plant roots are not exposed to water directly as they would be in a hydroponic system. There is also no growing media used

Instead, the plants in an aeroponic system will typically be held in place with foam rings. The rings are wedged into a perforated panel. Above the panel, the plant is exposed to light and circulating air. 

Below, the roots are exposed to an aeroponic mist like environment (see diagram below).

How does an aeroponic system work? Source: hydroponicpassion.blogspot.com

What is the history of aeroponic farming? 

Pro's of Aeroponic Growing

What are the pros of aeroponic growing? 
1) bacteria builds up more slowly in the nutrient reservoir

2) roots are simultaneously exposed to high oxygen (O2) levels AND humidity (near 100%). With a correctly designed system, aeroponics can outperform hydroponics in terms of plant growth speed and yield. 

3) no growing medium means less unit cost per plant

4) lack of growing medium means less shelter for bacteria and pests

Con's of Aeroponic Growing

1) Because there is no growing medium, the pH levels and EC readings of the nutrient reservoir are very unstable. You will spend a lot of time constantly monitoring pH and EC. This also makes the growing process more tricky to truly do well. 

2) The misters used in aeroponic systems quickly become clogged with mineral deposits and will require frequent cleaning and sometimes even replacement. This means extra time and often money spent on your part. 

3) Less public knowledge of aeroponics. The community for aeroponic troubleshooting is far smaller than the hydroponics community. The odds that you run into a unique problem and are forced to find your own solution are higher than if you were doing a more traditional hydroponic grow.

A Current Example of a Aeroponic Farm

In the late 1990's, NASA began research on aeroponic growing as a method of food production in space.

Did you like this article?

You now know the basic background information relating to aeroponic farming.

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AeroFarms and Dell Team Up to Revolutionize Farming with IoT

AeroFarms and Dell Team Up to Revolutionize Farming with IoT

By Ken Briodagh  2017

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the future of farming in Newark, New Jersey, thanks to Dell and AeroFarms. AeroFarms is a future agriculture company building indoor, vertical farms that use “aeroponics” to generate yields that are 120 times more productive per acre, per year than a traditional, outdoor farm. Aeroponics is a system of farming which uses no dirt, and only very little water, combined with nutrients, to grow plants. Dell is helping AeroFarms monitor growing conditions, perform analytics and identify harvest quality.

AeroFarms has said it is trying to transform agriculture using technology to build more sustainable, more environmentally responsible and higher producing farms throughout the world, with a focus on local, meaning within 100 miles of the eater. It is currently operating several farms and selling leafy greens to a variety of major retailers, including the largest farm in the world, measured by amount of produce grown per acre, according to the company.

The farms are established on major distribution routes and near population centers in order to stay local, while the indoor nature of the growing spaces are designed to defy traditional growing seasons by enabling local farming at commercial scale all-year round. The produce is monitored using Dell technology from seed to package, so each can be traced for quality control and improvement. Meanwhile, each farm is using 95 percent less water than field farmed-food and with yields 130 times higher per square foot, each year.

“AeroFarms is redefining agriculture combining world-class expertise for horticulture, engineering, food safety, nutrition, and data science to set a new standard for product quality and production,” said David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO, AeroFarms. “We are as much a capabilities company as we are farmers, utilizing science and technology to achieve our vision of totally-controlled agriculture. We have worked closely with Dell Technologies to develop the tools to wirelessly track and monitor our product throughout the growing process from seed to package. Dell Technologies understands our IoT infrastructure and integration needs, and we see the opportunity to collaborate on additional solutions as we build our indoor vertical farms in major cities around the world.”

The company recently began growing at its ninth farm, located at its new global headquarters in Newark, NJ. AeroFarms also has additional grow sites in development in multiple US states and on four continents.

Agriculture like this, as enabled by IoT technology, is likely to represent the future of farming in the future, and is likely to be one of the many ways that IoT will improve and enhance society moving into the future. 


Ken Briodagh is a writer and editor with more than a decade of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars.

Edited by Ken Briodagh

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Constantinides, School Officials Open First Hydroponic Science Labs in District

Constantinides, School Officials Open First Hydroponic Science Labs in District

  Shachar Sharon | December 8, 2017

School Officials Open First Hydroponic Science Labs in District
Lab is First Completed Part of Councilman’s Science 2050 Budget Initiative

Astoria, N.Y. – As part of New York City Council Member Costa Constantinides’ initiative to invest in science learning spaces, he and school officials today celebrated the opening of the first hydroponic science lab in the district. He joined NY Sun Works Executive Director Manuela Zamora, NYC Department of Education District 30 Superintendent Dr. Philip Composto, PS 122 Principal Anna Aprea, teachers, and students for a ribbon cutting celebration.

Labs were constructed in one elementary and one middle school classroom at PS 122 using a $160,000 allocation from Constantinides as part of the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget. Constantinides allocated almost $2 million of funding in that budget to schools throughout the district as part of his Science 2050 Budget Initiative to improve science learning spaces. He invested in hydroponic science labs, STEM labs, and technology upgrades. These investments were made to ensure that children have the tools they need to learn so that they can improve our community in the future.

Construction on the hydroponic science labs at PS 122 took place over the 2017 summer break and instruction began in September. Plants and equipment that use water and other mediums for plant growth were installed in the classrooms. These labs provide hands-on education to students in many subjects including biology, agriculture, sustainability, technology, and nutrition. Students learn about environmental innovation and global resources.

Faculty members are trained to integrate the labs into the school’s curricula. The School Construction Authority worked with NY Sun Works to implement the lab and train faculty.

Constantinides said, “We are proud to kick off our Science 2050 Budget Initiative with this opening.  With these innovative learning spaces, children have the opportunity to interact with plants, study the biology of how they grow, and receive meaningful lessons in ecology and agriculture.  These types of multi-faceted science learning experiences will give students academic benefits in a variety of subject matters.  Giving children have the tools they need for a 21st Century academic experience will ensure that they can become our future leaders.  Thank you to PS 122, NY Sun Works, and the School Construction Authority for your partnership in important initiative.”

“We are thrilled to partner with visionary Councilmember Constantinides,” said Manuela Zamora, NYSW Executive Director. “The NY Sun Works Greenhouse Project Labs address the needs of the 21st Century. In these classrooms, students learn about the science of sustainability while growing food with cutting edge hydroponic technology.”

“PS 122 is very excited to open up the hydroponics lab to our students. The PS 122 teachers in the science labs report that students living in an urban environment often have little connection to nature and where food comes from. By bringing what is typically outdoors inside the classroom, we hope to connect our students to the greater environment. Ultimately, we hope to build on the natural curiosity of the students to provide an elevated set of skills, a broader perspective on the issues facing our communities, and to foster environmental leadership,” said PS 122 Principal Anna Aprea.

“We are grateful to Council Member Constantinides for his generous funding and support,” said Lorraine Grillo, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York City School Construction Authority. “Thanks to our strong partnerships with local leaders, PS 122 students and families will now have access to a state-of-the-art hydroponic science lab.”

Constantinides has continued to make investments in science learning spaces a priority. Duringthis past budget cycle, he secured over $3 million for hydroponic science labs at different schools, STEM lab updates, solar panels, technology upgrades, and other facilities updates.

Council Member Costa Constantinides represents the New York City Council’s 22nd District, which includes his native Astoria along with parts of Woodside, East Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights. He serves as the chair the City Council’s Environmental Protection Committee and sits on six additional committees: Civil Service & Labor, Contracts, Cultural Affairs, Oversight & Investigations, Sanitation, and Transportation. For more information, visit council.nyc.gov/costa.

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Former Polartec Plant to Become "Industrial Innovation Hub"

The industrial facility that once housed the Polartec textile plant is in for a makeover.  On Saturday, its new owner — California-based real estate broker Jitender Makkar — welcomed city and state officials onto the factory floor to unveil his plans for the facility, which he has given a new moniker: IndusPAD.

Former Polartec Plant to Become "Industrial Innovation Hub"

METHUEN/LAWRENCE  — The industrial facility that once housed the Polartec textile plant is in for a makeover.

On Saturday, its new owner — California-based real estate broker Jitender Makkar — welcomed city and state officials onto the factory floor to unveil his plans for the facility, which he has given a new moniker: IndusPAD.

The facility, which includes two buildings on a 14.5-acre lot on the Lawrence/Methuen city lines, had been put up for auction this spring and sold for $5.35 million.

Makkar said he intends to subdivide the facility and attract multiple mixed-use tenants to what he envisions as a "take off and landing pad" for young entrepreneurs and innovators.

This is Makkar's first East coast investment.

After starting his career in New Delhi, India in construction and architectural design, Makkar relocated to California in 2000 and became involved in real estate investment and sales, according to Purnima Dey, director of public relations and community outreach for IndusPAD, and Makkar's fiance.

"We envision the opportunity of inspired entrepreneurs in our property," he said. "Our team aims to work strategically and diligently to build something memorable."

The first business to open will be a 30,000 square foot vertical farming facility, growing organic produce, said Makkar, in a partnership with Dutch indoor agriculture company Beyond Organic.

"With that, we hope to expand it within in the next couple of years to a much larger facility, which can create maybe 30, 40, 50 new technology jobs," said Makkar. 

He thanked both Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera and Methuen Mayor Stephen Zanni for their support, and highlighted Zanni's vision to bring "the jobs of the future" to the region.

"Mayor Stephen Zanni is really the spirit behind what we have planned," said Makkar. "He is the man who has given me the vision to run rather than walk."

"Almost everybody said the biggest challenge we will have is in subdividing this facility, is in creating the option to bring in multiple tenants," said Makkar. "They all saw it was used for one vertical use, and it was hard to transform. What I saw in it was possibilities of a different kind. I saw in it the possibility of somebody from MIT, somebody from Mass. University (sic) to take their projects, take advantage of the infrastructure here, and make it their journey."

Polartec fleece was manufactured in the facility until last year, when Polartec LLC laid off more than 200 workers and moved its operations to Tennessee. When the facility was put up for auction, the listing indicated Polartec had invested more than $6.2 million in the property.

"This brings not only jobs to the Merrimack Valley and beyond, but more importantly it brings about a sustainable company," said Zanni. "A lot of companies come and go, as the company that was here, Polartec moved out to Tennessee and actually moved part of their operations to China. This is an operation that will go over a lifetime."

Methuen Community Development Director Bill Buckley said no other tenants have signed on with IndusPAD yet, but he was aware of some local interest. 

"I think you might see some more traditional industrial tenants initially, that might not fit the vision of innovation," he said.

With nearly 600,000 feet of space in the facility, IndusPAD certainly has room to grow.

State Senator Barbara L'Italien welcomed IndusPAD as "the next chapter in this glorious footprint that was Polartec."

"It sounds like there's going to be some innovation, a place for innovation for ideas for allowing small businesses to be able to begin their dreams and launch, and we know what that has done for Boston area, so we welcome that in the city of Methuen and the city of Lawrence."

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Subway Operator Tokyo Metro Embarks In New Direction: Hydroponic Vegetable Farming

Subway Operator Tokyo Metro Embarks In New Direction: Hydroponic Vegetable Farming

December 10, 2017 (Mainichi Japan)

Japanese version

A factory worker checks a hydroponic romaine lettuce plant at Tokyo Metro Co.'s cultivation center in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on Nov. 17, 2017. (Mainichi)

Subway operator Tokyo Metro Co. is bringing its ideology of "safe and secure" to an unlikely place -- farming.

    Under the name "Tokyo Salad," the company is growing lettuce, assorted salad greens, and even herbs at a facility approximately a seven-minute walk from Nishi-kasai Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line. The cultivation warehouse Metro vegetable center is located under the elevated train tracks of the line.

    The airtight space is held to strict hygienic conditions, and neither fertilizer nor soil is used, with the seven rows of plants instead grown hydroponically. Frill lettuce, basil, along with rare finds such as Lollo Rosso (red coral lettuce) and red kale are found among the 11 varieties regularly grown, with roughly 400 plants reportedly growing on a given day.

    The cultivation is completely man-made and mechanized. Seeds are placed on a sponge with tweezers, and the young seedling is raised until the leaves spread out, at which time it is moved to a more spacious area. LEDs shed light on the plants for 16 hours a day and the liquid nutrients are cycled through the system 24/7. It takes roughly three to five weeks for a plant to reach maturity, and there is barely any loss.

    The strict hygienic conditions inside of the Tokyo Metro Co.'s cultivation center in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward. (Mainichi)

    The leaves are not bitter or astringent, and the leaves are soft all the way to the exterior of the plant. They can be preserved for a long period of time, and because no chemical fertilizers were used to grow them and they never touched soil, the entire plant can be eaten without being washed.

    So-called plant factories like this are the focus of efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to expand safe provision of products like vegetables, high productivity and job creation. According to the ministry, the number of cultivators using artificial lights has tripled from 2011 to 197 locations as of February 2017.

    Tokyo Metro entered the market to make use of idle land as a new business venture, and built the cultivation facilities in unused warehouses. The operation is a joint project with group company Metro Development Co., which began sales of the lettuce and other products in April 2015.

    The element of surprise and the mismatch between subways and vegetables have stirred up quite a reaction. Last spring, a lunch course featuring the products was introduced at The Strings by Intercontinental Tokyo hotel. Even the dessert included ingredients from Tokyo Salad, and because of an overwhelming positive response, the hotel introduced a dinner course this summer as well.

    "Dishes where a lot of attention is paid to a single ingredient are very popular," says 47-year-old hotel food and beverage manager Tetsuya Tanigawa. "The ideology and the story behind the product is the deciding factor."

    Tokyo Metro overseer Remi Takahara, 33, continued to visit the vegetable plant for the six months she was visiting potential business partners that would use Tokyo Salad vegetables since the factory operation began. "I never thought that I would be growing vegetables when I joined a railway company," she said, reflecting on the trial and error process that led to the subway operator's greens' cultivation.

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    Vertical Farming is on The Rise In Abbotsford British Columbia

    Vertical Farming is on The Rise In Abbotsford

    Construction on one of B.C.'s First Vertical Farms will be complete next October

    December 9, 2017

    by Jesse Pottinger

    While the method of building farms vertically becomes more popular, Kent Mullinix of KPU’s Institute for Sustainable Food Systems worries it may be a step in the wrong direction.

    As the effects of climate change and overpopulation become more and more apparent, traditional farming methods seem less likely to provide long-term sustainability for our planet.

    One potential method of addressing this problem is with a concept called “vertical farming,” which packs more agriculture into a smaller land area by building upwards, much like a densely inhabited high-rise condo. Next October, Abbotsford will become home to one of the few vertical farms in British Columbia when construction on a 10-acre farm at 34240 Page Road is completed.

    Nick Brusatore, CEO of the farm’s developer, Vertical Designs Ltd., says that the project will consist of 32 towers, each 20 feet tall and housed in a 35-foot tall building. The farm is estimated to cost between $2.5 and $2.7 million.

    The company has partnered with Affinor and a California strawberry farm for what Brusatore calls an “on-farm test agreement,” or a trial run after which, if all parties are satisfied, production will increase significantly.

    Organic strawberries will be the sole product grown at the Abbotsford facility, and through a contract signed with Discovery Organics, all of the strawberries have already been sold.

    “We expect to produce probably the best strawberry on the planet,” says Brusatore.

    He is unsure where exactly his strawberries will end up, but says that he would be surprised if the first batch makes it outside the city. Eventually, though he hopes to “produce all the strawberries for Canada” from the Abbotsford location.

    “We’ve got a problem right now,” says Brusatore, referring to the state of local and global agriculture. “We’ve got a food shortage, we’ve got a water shortage, and we’ve got no governance as to the pesticide use and the way things are manipulated through labels.”

    According to Brusatore, the Abbotsford vertical farm will produce zero water waste, require zero pesticides, and will utilize the land 10 times per square foot more efficiently than conventional farming techniques.

    Despite the possible benefits of this technology-based farming system, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems at KPU Kent Mullinix believes that vertical farming is a step in the wrong direction.

    “It’s about money. It’s not about feeding the world,” says Mullinix. “It’s really appropriate for the cultivation of just a few high-end crops like salad greens and some more valuable vegetables, so it’s really primarily a system to satisfy high-end markets with very high-end production methods. It’s the antithesis of sustainability if you ask me.”

    Instead of investing in vertical farms, Mullinix argues that the key to sustainability is a decentralized, ecologically-focused network of regional food systems that create local economies and jobs.

    Mullinix is also concerned that the proliferation of vertical farming will lead to valuable agricultural land being paved over.

    In response, Brusatore argues that vertical farms can be developed on contaminated land that is no longer ideal for conventional farming. He acknowledges that vertical farming is mostly suitable for low-growing plants like kale, lettuce, and strawberries, but says that the project is nevertheless a progressive step for the future of agriculture.

    “If we don’t try, if we don’t press these issues, we’re just going to fail for sure,” he says. “I’m excited for Abbotsford …. It’s going to be absolutely amazing and people are going to be blown away by this once it’s up.”

    Although it is a capital-intensive project to launch, he points out that, once built, the equipment on the farm will be long-lasting and will require little maintenance.

    After the farm is completed and the method is proven successful, Brusatore expects that there will be a significant increase in capital investment in vertical farming, creating a positive effect on the local economy.

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    SproutsIO

    SproutsIO

    SproutsIO is another tech company looking to make food more personal. The compact smart microgarden system lives in your home and includes everything you need to grow fresh produce year round without the mess of soil.

    The SproutsIO device features a high efficiency LED lamp head, a basin that combines hydroponic and aeroponic technologies, and sensors that monitor both the environment and the plant’s health. The type of light and its duration is automatically determined by the type of produce you are growing, as is the irrigation schedule, and the data from the sensors is used to continuously update the system as needed.

    The seeds themselves are contained in easy-to-switch-out sIO refills, and users can order from amongst the 16 types available on the company’s website. The SproutsIO app gives the grower the opportunity to personalized the flavor of their produce through tweaks to its growing environment, too, so not only are they growing produce in their home, they’re growing produce they know they’ll enjoy eating.

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    Menasha's Fork Farms is Changing The Face of Farming -- And Helping Schools, Pantries

    Menasha's Fork Farms is Changing The Face of Farming -- And Helping Schools, Pantries

    Maureen Wallenfang, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

    Nov. 13, 2017

    Down on the "farm." Fork Farms' operation has 16 indoor growing modules in Menasha. Here, Stewart McLain, operations manager, left; Alex Tyink, co-founder, center; and Gil Shaw, farm manager, right, stand in front of growing modules.

    (Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

    MENASHA - This isn’t your father’s farm.

    Or anyone’s vision of a farm, really, outside of a science fiction novel.

    This “farm” of indoor plastic growing modules looks like it came off a spaceship. 

    Fork Farms is a small, young, agriculture technology company that manufactures plastic hydroponic growing modules.

    Inside each one, ruffled rows of lettuce grow vertically without a speck of soil or sunlight.

    Fork Farms grows lettuce around LED lights inside a module. (Photo: Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

    Fork Farms moved into its current home at 1101 W. Midway Road this spring and ? 16 indoor growing machines. It's in a former flooring store just west of Appleton Road near Piggly Wiggly in Menasha.

    Prior to this, inventor Alex Tyink operated out of his apartment and garage. He’s spent eight years working on the modules while holding down a day job. He's never taken a dime from the company and has operated on a slim investment of less than $20,000 gathered from family and friends.

    “I believe in food. I know that sounds corny,” said Tyink, 30. “I felt better when I started eating good food instead of burgers and fries. A simple thing can make so much of a difference in our lives.”

    He went to school to become an opera singer, not an engineer, so he said the years tinkering were spent learning, evolving and experimenting to get the system right.

    Since 2009, he has made 28 different prototypes and invested thousands of hours into the venture.

    Social service

    Working on the growing machines satisfied his desire to create something that mattered, he said.

    Growing fresh produce this way can make healthy food more accessible and create a connection between kids and food. 

    “Our mission is to put these in food deserts and low-income schools,” he said. “The social service side is very important to me. I never want to lose that.”

    Tyink co-founded the company with his father, Steve Tyink, who is vice president of business innovation at Miron Construction, and John Brogan, CEO of Bank of Kaukauna. 

    His two employees have taken equity before paychecks. Commercial Horizons gave him a sweet lease on the building.

    Fork Farms is a limited liability company owned by a group of 14 people, including employees Gil Shaw and Stewart McLain.

    Shaw was formerly hydroponics manager at Riverview Gardens and is now farm manager here. McLain, formerly a music teacher in Seattle, is operations manager.

    Shaw said the opportunity to join Fork Farms was too good to pass up.

    “It’s one of the most innovative systems out there. It’s in a class of its own,” Shaw said.

    “This is a real game changer because of its water use, efficiency and space. The potential of this is extraordinary. It can revolutionize arid land growing.”

    Fork Farms' growing system already has one patent and two more pending.

    Growing modules

    The company's first 20 growing modules have been sold to schools, food pantries and individuals.

    Local schools include Mount Olive Lutheran School, Fox Valley Lutheran High School, Appleton North High School and New Directions Learning Community in Kaukauna.

    At North, the machine was purchased with a grant from the Appleton Education Foundation. 

    "We love having our machine in the classroom," said Matt Hechel, North's alternative education coordinator. "We have a few students who have taken charge of being our main gardeners."

    "I like learning about the hydroponic system and am really surprised how easy it is to grow our produce right in our classroom," said J.T. Zubich, one of the students in charge of the module. "It would be cool if every classroom was able to do this."

    Students have eaten salads in the classroom from their harvest. Students and staff have taken lettuce home. 

    “It’s an improvement on the traditional school garden model,” Tyink said. “It’s highly productive in growing food and makes a nutritional difference in schools. We’re improving the quality of lunch lines.” 

    Besides making and selling the growing modules, Fork Farms grows lettuce in its Menasha headquarters and sells it to several hotels and a caterer. Its first and largest buyer has been the Best Western Premier Bridgewood Resort Hotel in Neenah. 

    "We use their Fox Valley blend of lettuces for lunch buffets and catering, and their buttterhead lettuce for weddings and corporate events," said Ryan Batley, food and beverage director. "What's so great about it is that it's local. It stays fresher than anything else we're getting. It's very clean and crisp. A great product. The cost is a little higher, but we think it's money well-spent."

    Batley said they use whole butterhead lettuce heads on each plate for weddings. 

    "One bride called us back and said her guests were still commenting on it weeks later. She said 'I never thought people would remember the salad,'" Batley said. 

    For-profit/nonprofit partnership

    Tyink’s day job is director of programming at Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. He previously field tested his growing machines while working at Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin.

    Feeding America now provides ancillary support to Fork Farms in what Tyink calls a “for-profit/nonprofit partnership.”

    While Fork Farms is a for-profit business, he said it’s “mission-driven” to educate and feed people.

    Growing modules cost $3,500. Feeding America provides education, training and a year’s worth of supplies for an additional $1,500.

    Each vertical module can grow 288 plants in a four-by-four-foot space, Shaw said. Each machine can grow 15 to 20 pounds of lettuce in three to four weeks.

    Indoor farming has been in the national news recently with the large-scale Plenty operation, a Jeff Bezos-backed indoor farm now expanding into the Seattle area.

    But at the same time, some indoor farms have struggled.

    FarmedHere, for example, closed its indoor hydroponic growing operation near Chicago earlier this year, reportedly because of high labor and energy costs.

    At Fork Farms, Tyink keeps a watchful eye on costs and is in the gener8tor’s gBETA accelerator coaching program for startups.

    He said it’s self-sustaining and he hasn’t taken a bank loan.

    One of the keys, he said, was keeping energy costs low with LED growing lights.

    “All of my research started with energy efficiencies," he said. “We’re running at a higher resource efficiency rate.”

    “We kept small and kept capitalization small. We haven’t gone after venture capital because we wanted to know what we had before we made promises.”

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    Kids Speak on Vertically Building a Sustainable Future

    Kids Speak on Vertically Building a Sustainable Future

     NOVEMBER 13, 2017 URBAN AG NEWS 

    Originally published in Issue 14

    By Lea S. Singer (7th grader)

    At the New York Sun Works’ Youth Conference on June 2, 2016, building a sustainable future was the shared topic. So many ideas were presented on how the kids of this generation could help build a better, healthier future for themselves. The passion shared with all who attended was inspiring, and made you want to start a mini hydroponics system in your kitchen the minute you left the conference.

    Among the numerous people who spoke, ranging in age from 10- to 15- years old, three guest speakers attended. One of them, Dr. Dickson Despommier, from The Vertical Farm, shared the newest way of growing food—VIG.

    One of the guest speakers at the conference was Dr. Dickson Despommier from The Vertical Farm who discussed vertically integrated growing (VIG).

    VIG stands for vertically integrated growing, which looks exactly like it sounds. The plants are lined up in rows vertically, against a wall, as opposed to taking up space on the floor. This way of modifying plant growing systems for space efficiency could very well be the standard farming technique of the 21st century.

    According to Dr. Despommier, many producers have already adapted this growing technique, using it to grow an abundance of vegetables, including tomatoes, spinach, and kale.

    One grocery store that was shown during his presentation had a VIG setup in the store so that customers could simply cut off the leaves they desired from the extremely fresh plants, bag it, pay for their produce, and cook it for dinner the same day it was cut. This is one of the many examples Dr. Despommier showed the audience during his presentation. By the end of his presentation, it’s safe to say attendees were all convinced of the VIG’s efficiency and reliability as a new mass production growing technique.

    Another VIG benefit, the free floor space leaves plenty of room for jetpacking and hoverboard riding, which will come in handy in 2050.

    Lea S. Singer is a 7th grade student and aspiring writer at the Manhattan School for Children, PS333.

    “The NY Sun Works conference was a great opportunity to learn about new ways to use sustainable science and how it works. Sustainable science is very important because, if we keep going without it, it will not be good for us. The conference gave new possibilities, new ways and new approaches on how to save our world.”

    — Nate Hajdu, 7th grader and member of NY Sun Works Youth Conference Press Team

    NY Sun Works is a non-profit organization that builds innovative science labs in urban schools. Through their Greenhouse Project Initiative they use hydroponic farming technology to educate students and teachers about the science of sustainability.  www.nysunworks.org

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    Could Indoor Farming Help Address Future Food Shortages?

    By 2050, Earth’s population is expected to rise to 10 billion, while the resources on the planet continue to shrink. Researchers in the Netherlands are experimenting with one way to feed more people with less: growing crops indoors.

    Could Indoor Farming Help Address Future Food Shortages?

    November 11, 2017

    By 2050, Earth’s population is expected to rise to 10 billion, while the resources on the planet continue to shrink. Researchers in the Netherlands are experimenting with one way to feed more people with less: growing crops indoors. NewsHour Weekend’s Ivette Feliciano takes a look at how indoor farming could shift our relationship with food.

    • Megan Thompson:

      The United Nations estimates that by the year 2050, the world’s population will grow from today’s 7.5 billion people to nearly 10 billion. And as natural resources like farmland and water become scarce, feeding everyone will become an even greater challenge. In tonight’s Signature Segment, NewsHour Weekend’s Ivette Feliciano reports on how there might a solution well underway in the Netherlands. This story is part of our ongoing series, “Peril and Promise – the challenge of climate change.”

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Just south of The Hague, in the Westland region of the Netherlands, miles upon miles of greenhouses are spread across the landscape. They’ve been built by Dutch farmers as part of a 20-year movement by the country to pursue sustainable agriculture by growing indoors.

      Dutch farmer Hans Zwinkel grows tomatoes in two greenhouses that cover 20 acres of land. His annual harvest of two-and-a-half million pounds of tomatoes is more than double the average yield of an outdoor farm.

    • Hans Zwinkel:

      The plant started over there as a small plant, stands about five meters, six meters further.

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Zwinkel and growers like him achieve high yields by controlling the climate and water for their crops under glass. Filtration systems allow them to collect and recycle the plants’ water supply. Crops receive direct sunlight — supplemented as needed by artificial light — and are protected from unpredictable weather events and insects, which almost completely eliminates the use of chemical pesticides.

    • Hans Zwinkel:

      It’s nice to see the plants grow. You–it gives you energy.

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      These growing techniques have helped foster an indoor growing boom in the Netherlands. Greenhouses now produce 35 percent of the country’s vegetables–despite occupying less than one percent of its farmland.

      The Netherlands’ Wageningen University has led much of the research on how to best grow crops indoors. Leo Marcelis–a professor at the university–says that in the era of climate change, the Dutch agricultural revolution needs to move beyond greenhouses, which still rely on some outside forces like sunlight.

    • Leo Marcelis:

      We wanted to control the production process, that we can control the yield, the quality, that we can give guarantees towards the consumers. Although we can control a lot we’re still dependent on the outdoor conditions. So the next step would be to have a further control. So we can, in fact, guarantee how much produce we will have tomorrow or on any date of the — of the year, of a guaranteed quality.

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Marcelis is now experimenting with indoor vertical farming–growing plants stacked on shelves to maximize space–and completely cut-off from the outside. As in many greenhouses, water for the plants is drained, collected, and reused, reducing their dependence on an outside water source. And instead of sunlight, the researchers use LED's — light bulbs that can replicate solar light in a variety of colors and intensities.

    • Leo Marcelis:

      Whether we are growing tomatoes, whether it’s about getting fruits, or whether it’s a lettuce or leafy vegetables. You can imagine that you want a different type of plant. And that may require therefore a different light. With LEDs, we can also put them in between the plants. And that’s very good. Because usually there is maybe too much light on the top, but insufficient at the bottom. So we can have a much better distribution of the light in the plant.

      But growing indoors isn’t cheap. Marcelis says a quarter of the expenses for indoor growers in the Netherlands relate to construction–something farmers who grow in fields don’t have to worry about. Then there’s the energy costs of round-the-clock climate control and artificial lighting. But Marcelis says a key advantage to indoor farming is that by creating ideal growing conditions and maximizing space, it can produce much higher yields, in some cases, up to 350 times the yield of a conventional farm of the same size.

    • Leo Marcelis:

      What really matters is if the income is larger than the cost. So if the investment costs are high, and also the other costs are high, well, if the income is then also very high, then it is about the balance.

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Marcelis says one important part of their work is developing techniques that can be replicated anywhere, even in arid climates like the Middle East or sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations estimates as the world’s population grows, global food demand will rise 70 percent by 2050, even as the amount of water and farmable land shrinks due to the global warming.

      The Netherlands is already doing its part to feed the world. Propelled by indoor farming, it’s become the second biggest food exporter in the world, accounting for nearly 90 billion dollars last year. This is all the more astounding given that the Netherlands is less than one-percent the size of the United States, the world’s number one food exporter, where indoor farming is also gaining a foothold.

      Here in Kennett Township, Pennsylvania, mushroom growers have been practicing indoor farming for over a hundred years, and today produce half the U.S. mushroom crop.

      An hour outside Philadelphia, this small community of eight thousand people harvests half a billion pounds of mushrooms every year — all of it indoors and at a low cost of about one dollar per pound.

    • Chris Alonzo:

      We invested nine years ago into a Dutch-style farm.

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Chris Alonzo owns this indoor farm that uses the vertical farming methods seen in the Netherlands.

    • Chris Alonzo:

      We put in aluminum shelving instead of wooden beds, we invested in equipment which made the job less labor intensive. We have heat in the room, air conditioning in the room, and air flow. And we use those tools to make sure that the room environment is specifically controlled for what the mushroom likes.

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Using these techniques, Alonzo’s facility alone is responsible for more than one percent of the nation’s mushroom crop — growing 11 million pounds of mushrooms a year — protected from potentially harsh outdoor conditions.

    • Chris Alonzo:

      The only day we take off is Christmas. And the consumer wants fresh produce year-round. So we’re able to meet the needs to have locally grown produce all year-round. As opposed to some crops where they’re only grown seasonally.

      This is our environmental control unit…

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Alonzo says the difficulty with indoor farming–as with outdoor farming–is finding the balance between your harvest’s revenue and its expenses.

    • Chris Alonzo:

      Mushrooms has been sustainable for– for generations. However, land is – is — affordable, because Mother Nature provides rain, Mother Nature provides sun. Growing indoors is very capital intensive. You have the building, you have the infrastructure, you have energy costs. But if you can maximize productivity and having consistent quality year-round, yes, it’s economically viable, but the margins are still very tight.”

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Most indoor farmers can’t grow at the same scale as mushroom farmers in Kennett Township. But where they — and some venture capitalists — see the future of indoor agriculture lying is in small-scale urban production in areas with no farming industry of their own.

    • Matt Barnard:

      The place where we’re stepping in now is to serve demand that is unmet.

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Three-thousand miles west of Alonzo’s farm, indoor farming pioneer Matt Barnard heads a major agriculture project in San Francisco called “plenty.” Its farm is a retrofitted former warehouse, now with walls of fresh vegetables that stretch for 100-thousand square feet.

      Currently, it grows leafy greens like spinach and kale–the easiest and most affordable crops to grow indoors–but it will soon start growing tomatoes and strawberries as well. The plants grow directly out of vertical columns. Similar to Dutch researchers, the company also uses l-e-d lighting, water recycling, and climate control.

      No genetically modified seeds or pesticides are used in production. Instead, it’s the environment that’s modified, carefully crafted around each type of plant to give them the ideal conditions for growing.

    • Matt Barnard:

      The advantages that we find are because of that control– we, for example, don’t have to use pesticides. Instead of using 15 gallons of water to produce one head of lettuce, we use less than one-fifth of a gallon to produce that same head of lettuce. So we’re saving a significant amount of water. We can actually influence the way the food tastes by making sure it has exactly the right nutrient recipe, the right light recipe, the right water recipe.

    • Ivette Feliciano:

      Plenty hopes to become an industry leader in indoor farming. The company recently received 200 million dollars of private funding, which it plans to spend on building farms in the ten most populous American cities and hundreds more worldwide.

      But, as in the Netherlands, plenty has to overcome certain challenges — the upfront cost of building or retrofitting indoor spaces suitable for farming…and the energy costs of indoor lighting and climate control.

      But Matt Barnard believes that the advances that have been made in indoor agriculture will make it a key player in feeding the world’s ever-growing population.

    • Matt Barnard:

      We’ve added, you know, six billion people since the tractor came around, and so we believe this is one of the core innovations that’ll help us, you know, serve the next two to three billion people that we add to the planet.

      Peril and Promise is an ongoing series of reports on the human impact of, and solutions for, Climate Change. Lead funding for Peril and Promise is provided by Dr. P. Roy Vagelos and Diana T. Vagelos. Major support is provided by Marc Haas Foundation.

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    Organic, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Aeroponic, Farming IGrow PreOwned Organic, Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Aeroponic, Farming IGrow PreOwned

    Murphy: Down and Dirty

    Murphy: Down and Dirty

    NOVEMBER 9, 2017 09:30 AM

    World Variety Produce launched organic vegetable kits in pouch bags last December, says Robert Schueller, director of marketing.© World Variety Produce

    World Variety Produce launched organic vegetable kits in pouch bags last December, says Robert Schueller, director of marketing.

    © World Variety Produce

    By AgWeb Guest Editor
    AgWeb.com

    At first glance, the decision of the National Organic Standards Board last week to allow hydroponic and aquaponic production methods to be marketed as Certified USDA Organic might seem logical. If no chemicals or synthetic fertilizers are used, why wouldn’t the resulting hydroponic produce, for example, be considered organically grown?

    But the board’s decision was vociferously opposed by a coalition of organic farmers and producers, who lobbied intensely, according to news reports, urging USDA to restrict certification to soil-based systems of farming.

    “[The decision] was sad, because the rally speeches and all the testimonies of the farmers were so moving,” Dr. Linley Dixon, lead scientist at the Cornucopia Institute, an industry watchdog organization supporting the ban, was quoted on the Organic Authority website. “Everyone did such a good job explaining the situation, [but] it didn’t matter. It was very sad. There were a lot of tears.”

    The 15-person board voted eight to seven to reject the proposal that would have restricted organic certification to “traditional” farmers, according to news reports. There are approximately 100 certified organic hydroponic operations in the U.S.

    So why the controversy? What’s the difference if crops are grown organically in soil or in a water-based medium? Isn’t that merely a matter of a different medium?

    Soilless is Soulless
    Not at all, many organic farmers argued. Indeed, this issue has been debated within the organic industry for many years. Those against the continued certification of soilless systems argue that such techniques violate the basic principles of organic, which, as Abby Youngblood, executive director of the National Organic Coalition, explained to National Public Radio, “are really about soil health, regenerating the soil.”

    Dixon agreed, noting that hydroponic systems do not cycle nutrients back into the soil to build soil health, an important tenet of organic agriculture. Indeed, most marketing and advertising for organic foods depict pastoral scenes of farmsteads with amber waves of grain, contented cows grazing on green forage and tidy orchards bursting with ripe apples or cherries.

    The family farm, old-school image of hardworking growers toiling to deliver healthier foods, while simultaneously healing the land, is key to the organic movement’s positioning.

    The argument in favor of organic hydroponics, of course, centers on efficiency, and in fact, those systems can be energy-efficient and sustainably operated. Hydroponic systems also do not normally require the addition of pesticides, even those permitted by organic rules, due to the fact that such crops are grown under controlled conditions indoors.

    As far back as 2010, organic farmer coalitions were badgering USDA to institute a moratorium on the organic certification of all new hydroponic and aquaponic operations. In a letter to then-USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, they argued that, “We believe it is incumbent upon USDA to accept the NOSB’s 2010 recommendations to prohibit soilless hydroponic vegetable production as certified organic. The recommendation specifically states that hydroponic and aeroponic ‘cannot be certified as organic growing methods…’ ”

    Part of the dispute is related to the fact that farmers seeking organic certification must undergo rigorous soil testing in order to be certified organic. Hydroponic and aquaponic systems are getting a free pass around those criteria, the farmers said, claiming that it confuses consumers when there is no distinction between the farming methods and their importance to the health of the larger food system.

    Leaving aside the issue of whether soil itself is essential for foods to be identified as organically grown, the organic farm coalitions may have a point, albeit not on the dirt vs. no-dirt issue.

    Along with the environmental impact of organic methods of crop and livestock production, the other important element is the opportunity to maintain agricultural diversity and support access to the business for family and small-scale growers. Because organic produce, meat and dairy command premiums in the marketplace, it’s possible for small farms to be profitable at a scale that would be near-impossible if production revolved around hybrid corn and GMO soybeans.

    Hydroponic operations, on the other hand, tend to require sufficient capitalization that if such production methods are to be scaled up, they’re more than likely to be sustainable only by well-funded corporate interests. Leaving aside the optics of food grown with miles of plastic piping inside what amounts to a translucent airplane hanger, the last thing that organic agriculture needs is to continue on the path of corporate domination of the market, which is already well underway.

    Certainly, population growth alone, not to mention the ongoing loss of prime farmland to development, argues for the expansion of hydroponics as a supplement to conventional food production. Forget exports for a moment; by mid-century, the U.S. is going to have to ramp up its domestic ag output just to keep pace with the growth in the American population, and hydroponics need to play a role in that effort.

    In the end, it seems to me the solution is for organic farmers opposed to indoor agriculture to make their case the old-fashioned way: One customer at a time.

    If soil health is so critical to environmental protection and food sustainability — and it is — that ought to be an easy argument to make.

    And win.

    Editor’s Note: The opinions in this commentary are those of Dan Murphy, a veteran journalist, and commentator.

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    Indoor Agriculture Brand Fresh Farms of America Launching in the Las Vegas, Nevada Market

    Indoor Agriculture Brand Fresh Farms of America Launching in the Las Vegas, Nevada Market

    NEWS PROVIDED BY:  Indoor Farms of America 

    December 4, 2017

    LAS VEGAS, Dec. 4, 2017, /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh Farms of America, announces today the first farm under the brand name, located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The local operation is named Vegas Fresh Farms, and is on track to serve and sell its first customers with locally grown, fresh-harvested daily produce in the dynamic market of Las Vegas, starting January, 2018.

    The Fresh Farms of America brand exclusively utilizes the propriety vertical aeroponic equipment from leading R&D and equipment manufacturer Indoor Farms of America, which is headquartered in Las Vegas.

    Fresh Farms of America grows a wide variety of crops indoors

    "This new brand of indoor farm operation represents the best in the industry for farm performance, using any metric," statesDavid Martin, CEO of Indoor Farms of America.  "Over the next month, we will announce multiple new locations of farms operating under the Fresh Farms of America brand.  This brand will quickly become the leading brand of fresh, locally grown produce, accessible by consumers in markets across the U.S. and Canada."

    Fresh Farms of America uses the vertical aeroponics of Indoor Farms of America

    "Consumers want to know where their food is coming from, they want to know it is the best they can serve their families in terms of purity and nutrition, and the Fresh Farms of America brand exemplifies that," says Martin. "Our produce is grown with no pesticides, no herbicides, is Non-GMO, and is quite frankly, beyond organic."

    "Chefs from the best restaurants in Las Vegas continually visit the farm at Indoor Farms of America and say how excellent the produce tastes, how the aroma of our herbs is beyond comparison, and how the texture and structure of the plants is simply superior, and how they appreciate the wide variety of fresh produce we can grow. We think the U.S. consumer will really enjoy having this level of quality, and at prices that are more competitive than organic at this time."

    Ron Evans, President of Indoor Farms of America, says, "The owners of this local Las Vegas farm are committed to making this a world class operation, which local Southern Nevada residents will really enjoy. Having access to an abundant supply of leafy greens, herbs, strawberries, peppers and tomatoes is something to get excited about, especially when they are grown in your neighborhood."

    The farm will provide direct access to local consumers, the freshest, most purely grown produce they can find.  The owners are committed to providing meaningful jobs to veterans and disadvantaged young adults from the community. "When we discussed how important this farm is for the local community in the area of reaching out to at-risk young people, we knew they have a great vision for this farm," states Martin.

    According to Martin, "We are putting in place what will be the nations' premiere brand of indoor farm that can operate 12 months out of the year, provide outstanding investment returns without peer, and make the strongest impact on easily accessible, locally grown food across North America."

    Leading indoor agriculture R&D and manufacturer, Indoor Farms of America, has a showroom with demonstration farms operating in Las Vegas, Nevada and in multiple locations in Canada, and in South Africa, where their world class vertical aeroponic equipment is on display.

    CONTACT:
    David W. Martin, CEO   •   187031@email4pr.com   •   IndoorFarmsAmerica.com
    4000 W. Ali Baba Lane, Ste. F Las Vegas, NV 89118
    (702) 664-1236 or (702) 606-2691

    SOURCE Indoor Farms of America

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    Urban, Hydroponics, Farming, Indoor Farming IGrow PreOwned Urban, Hydroponics, Farming, Indoor Farming IGrow PreOwned

    Herbs From the Underground

    Herbs From the Underground

    Farm One just opened an indoor rare herb and flower garden in a TriBeCa basement and many prominent chefs are flocking to it.

    By ALYSON KRUEGER  |  DEC. 6, 2017

    In the basement of a loft-style building in TriBeCa that houses a vet, a dog swimming pool, an eye-and-ear infirmary, and a two-Michelin-starred restaurant, there is a working farm.

    Farm One is a hydroponic facility, which means that the plants do not grow in soil. Many of these farms are located indoors, in controlled environments, with artificial lighting.

    The new two-room space, which opened in November in a former cycling studio for high-altitude training and an old storage area, is only 1200 square feet. There is no fresh air or natural light; there is not even a window. Yet the venue can grow around 580 varieties of rare herbs and flowers (200 at a time) that supply New York’s top restaurants. Le Turtle,Le CoucouMission Chinese Food, and The Pool get regular deliveries from Farm One, sometimes several times a week.

    “I wouldn’t want to pay for a space with great retail frontage,” said Robert Laing, the farm’s chief executive and founder. “All we need is a floor drain, water, power, temperature control, and the ability to seal the space so bugs don’t get in.” The farm does deliberately bring in a few types of insects that are beneficial for plants, like ladybugs. “You can buy them on Amazon,” he said.

    Katherine Chester, a farm hand at Farm One, harvests for a morning delivery.CreditSarah Blesener for The New York Times

    Seeds are planted in materials like coconut husks and are put in a tray so water and nutrients can circulate below them. LED lights above simulate the sun. Growing time is not long; many plants, like microgreens, are ready in a little over a week.

    People who find it weird to eat food grown in a basement have no reason to worry, said Neil Mattson, associate professor and greenhouse extension specialist at Cornell University. “There is nothing icky about it. Plants don’t care whether they get light from the sun or the lamps. It’s the same thing.”

    Matthew Hyland, the chef and owner of Pizza Loves Emily, a client of Farm One, agreed. “A hydroponic garden in general is an amazing thing,” he said. “It’s lit nicely; it smells good in there; the temperature is nice; everything about it is very pleasing.”

    The plants grow on shelves that can be expanded or contracted like the stacks in a university library (this setup almost doubles the growing space.) On one level there might be anise hyssop, an herb with tiny lavender-colored flowers and square stems that tastes strongly of mint and licorice. On another, mustard green, a plant that tastes a lot like spicy horseradish. The colors are so diverse and vibrant that the head horticulturalist, David Goldstein, has taken to arranging them on trays for parties.

    merlin_130952510_55f499d3-d3da-473e-9c9b-329337b217c5-master675.jpg

     

     

     

     

    From top: Amazon neon cherry dianthus and neon rose magic dianthus; edible flowers; nasturtium leaves; and anise hyssop flowers. Farm One can grow some 580 varieties of rare herbs and flowers. CreditSarah Blesener for The New York Times

     

     

    Mr. Laing, a British-Australian entrepreneur with a sharp sense of humor, can walk around the farm and tell you exactly what every variety is and to whom it is being delivered. “This is my favorite,” he said, pulling off a leaf of papalo. “Crush it up a little bit in your hand and smell it first — there is cilantro, citrus peel. It’s super fresh and quite grassy.” He paused. “I never want to sell software again.”

    In a previous life, Mr. Laing worked in Japan, where he started a translation software company. After eight years he turned his attention to his true passion: food. He took culinary classes and visited farmers’ markets across the world, discovering many rare herbs he had never heard of along the way. “And I was someone I thought knew about food,” he said. So he started researching ways to bring these herbs to chefs.

    Farm One grew out of this research. In April 2016 the new company started growing products at a small indoor farm at the Institute of Culinary Education, also in Lower Manhattan, on Liberty Street. By August, the farm had its first client: Daniel Boulud’s Daniel. By the end of the summer, the herbs had sold out, which led Farm One to open a second location this fall, at 77 Worth Street.

    For $50, New Yorkers can take a tour of the farm, tasting dozens of rare flowers while sipping a glass of prosecco, and they are given a box of herbs to take home. Farm One also offers seminars on the basics of hydroponics, and any herbs and flowers not snapped up by chefs are available for purchase through its website. Mr. Laing is discussing bringing the farm to other cities.

    The harvest room at Farm One. CreditSarah Blesener for The New York Times

    Mr. Laing attributes the farm’s success to two factors: Rare products and low overhead. “Pluto basil can be sold for $40 a pound as opposed to $10 to $15 for regular basil,” he said. And since the farm is small, the cost of expensive LED lights is minimized. Larger hydronic farms like FarmedHerein Chicago have had to close.

    Farm One is also poised to cash in on the Instagram-driven food world, where chefs are willing to pay extra money for novelty items like rare herbs and flowers. Mr. Hyland, for example, is besotted by pluto basil. “They are really beautiful looking on a pizza with the little leaves everywhere,” he said. “Customers know it’s a custom-made product.”

    Atera, the restaurant upstairs at 77 Worth, brings certain customers down to the farm for tours. It also offers one course in which the chef, tableside, dresses a dish with the herbs sourced from the basement. “Everyone gets pretty excited,” said Matthew Abbick, the restaurant’s general manager.

    Farm One is not the only place chefs can procure these herbs; chef farms or wholesalers in California or Ohio ship a variety of rare products across the country. However, New York chefs like that the greens at Farm One are grown locally and haven’t been sitting in a warehouse or delivery truck for days. “Farm One snips the herbs in the morning for an afternoon delivery,” said Victor Amarilla, the executive chef at Le Turtle. “I actually see my delivery guy walking up now. I see him twice a week.” Farm One boasts on its website that delivery is just a 30-minute bike ride away from 90 percent of the restaurants in the city.

    At Atera, a restaurant housed in the same building as Farm One, there is a course in which the chef, tableside, dresses a dish with the herbs sourced from the basement. CreditSarah Blesener for The New York Times

    There are also the environmental benefits. The farm recycles and reuses water, purging it every three weeks, which minimizes waste. But there are downsides. Studies show that in general, the environmental costs of lighting and heating indoor farms are significantly higher than shipping something across the country that’s been grown in the California sun. “We know it’s an issue and we are working on it with things like getting more efficient LED lights,” Mr. Mattson said.

    Other insiders say that hydroponic farming is essential, especially as climate change makes growing seasons volatile and unreliable. “One of the most important things people will need to do over the next 100 years with climate change is bring food creation and cultivation back to cities where people are moving,” said Dan Nelson, an entrepreneur in Brooklyn who is researching the urban agriculture movement and who took a Farm One seminar on hydroponics. “That’s my humanity-level thesis,” he added.

    The New York City Council is currently exploring Bill 1661, a piece of legislation to define urban agriculture and bring about industry standards that will help it advance.

    The main concern of chefs, though, is having ingredients they can cook with today. And many are applauding Farm One’s contribution to their operations.

    “New York has the greatest summer vegetables and fruits and leafy greens, and in the winter, we are in a real dead zone,” said Mr. Hyland. “Having a product year round that we can really be proud of, would be a great win for New York City food.”

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