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Three Cyclist From Paris Bike 2000 Miles Visiting 60 Urban Farms
Linked by Michael Levenston
L'Equipe Agrovelocity Visit City Farmer from Michael Levenston on Vimeo.
Adèle, Audrey, and Mathilde from L’Equipe Agrovelocity Visit Urban Farms on the West Coast of North America from April to mid-August 2018
Aged of 22 years old, Audrey Rague, Adèle Maury and Mathilde Negri gather around a mutual interest for sustainable food supply, environment and the futures of agriculture. Inspired by the project Agrovélocités and Agrovelocity East Coast and in collaboration with their funders, they decided to continue AgroVeloCity together.
“We are three French students from Paris Institute of Life Science, and we are doing a project to see urban farms all the way of the west coast of the U.S., and we will be in Vancouver between the 3rd of August to the 10th!
Voici une petite vidéo sur l’agriculture urbaine à Los Angeles et les merveilleuses rencontres que nous avons faites avec les acteurs de la ville !
We are in partnership with the team of researchers from our university in Paris and we are doing report, videos, and social media like Instagram, facebook. We already visit more than 60 urban farms and community gardens in San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento, in the Bay area, Portland, and Seattle. And we go everywhere by bike!
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AgriTech Startup Pindfresh Is On A Mission To Bring Urban Farming Revolution In India
Diana Chingakham Inc42 Staff
The Startup Is Developing An App That Will Notify Customers When To Take Care Of The Plants
Food today is laden with chemical fertilizers that cause some major health risks such as cancer. Fertilisers such as ammonium nitrate, cadmium, potassium chloride, organophosphate (OP), pyrethroids, etc. are used to protect vegetables against pest and premature decay. Despite the apparent impact on health, the irony is that India is now the second largest manufacturer of pesticides in Asia after China and ranks twelfth globally.
“It was the importance of clean and healthy food dawned upon us. Bringing farming to the urban Indian homes, and making people aware of what they eat is the mission behind setting up Pindfresh,” says Somveer Anand, founder of agritech startup Pindfresh.
For Somveer and his wife Sohila Anand, the idea to launch Pindfresh was very much based on a personal experience that he had after one of his close relative fell ill due to the consumption of chemical-loaded food.
During their India visit the husband-wife duo had an hands-on experience on the extreme dearth of hygienic, nutritious food in India and this is where, they also felt, there was a dire need to provide people with the ability to grow vegetables locally. That’s precisely where the Pindfresh’s journey began 2016 when they were also joined in by Jaspal Singh Anand.
The agritech startup Pindfresh is turning small plots or spaces between buildings or in buildings into usable farm space. From rooftop gardens to floors specifically designed to incorporate farming, to other spaces within high-rises filled with racks of perfectly lined leaf vegetables, it is striving to bring about a farming revolution in urban India.
Apart from selling in-house home systems (hydroponic and others) and fresh produce (lettuce, rocket, basil, and mushrooms), it also runs programmes to train people (in schools and societies).
Inc
How Citizen Farm's Sustainable Urban Farming System Offers Ultra-Fresh Ingredients To Singaporeans
Home-grown Citizen Farm shows how sustainable urban farming has the potential to bring communities together and transform people’s relationship with food.
Text by Lediati Tan, photos by Choo Haoxin
By Arista Kwek | 03 August 2018 | Features, Food, Ingredients, People
In highly urbanized Singapore, agricultural land takes up less than 1 percent of our total land area and more than 90 percent of our food is imported. Our relationship with food often starts at the supermarket or the wet market and ends at the dinner table. While we may share photos of our meals on social media, the focus is first on aesthetics followed by taste. There is often little thought given to where our food comes from, how they are grown and the farmers who grow them.
A new breed of farmers in Singapore hopes to address the disconnect between people and their food through their work at Citizen Farm, a sustainable and socially-driven urban farm that opened in the heart of Singapore’s Queenstown (Jalan Penjara) in June last year. The farm is made up of a band of 25 farmers from diverse backgrounds but with a shared vision of bringing the community together through urban agriculture. Many of the farmers are mid-career switchers such as former engineers, bankers, and civil servants, and 10 of them are individuals with special needs.
“The urban farm provides that backdrop for creating that bridge between the consumer and the food,” says Darren Ho, 29, who heads the farm. “As opposed to just going to the wet market, they now have a farm within a town for them to visit and to touch and feel. We want to create that community farming experience and at the same time become a production hub for freshly grown produce.”
Darren Ho leads a community of over 20 urban farmers at Citizen Farm
Urban farming model
The farm is the brainchild of Edible Garden City, an urban farming company which supports the grow-your-own-food movement in cities. Since 2012, Edible Garden City has been building urban farms for restaurants, hotels, schools, offices and private homes. Citizen Farm is the next step in its vision to promote urban agriculture, especially at under-utilized spaces.
“We wanted to create a bigger impact on the community so we needed to find a place where we can call home,” says Ho. It found the perfect location at an 8,000 sqm plot of land, which used to be the site of the former Queenstown Remand Prison. Unlike traditional farms, Citizen Farm practices a closed-loop urban farming model which integrates different indoor and outdoor farming systems to cultivate sustainably-grown, pesticide-free quality produce with minimal waste. Its closed-loop model takes any agricultural waste generated from one farming system and recycles it for use in another system.
A small prototype of the aquaponics system used to grow leafy greens at the farm
The farming systems employed on the farm include a combination of indoor hydroponics and aquaculture into an aquaponics system to grow leafy greens such as kale and chard; an indoor substrate-based system to grow microgreens like micro basil and pea tendrils; an outdoor soil-based garden to grow edible flowers and herbs such as Mexican tarragon flowers and mint; as well as organic waste to grow mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms.
Black soldier fly larvae help break down food waste into compost for the farm’s plants
Apart from mushrooms and greens, the farm also has facilities to raise black soldier fly and jade perch, both of which contribute to the farm’s sustainability. The black soldier fly, which is not harmful to humans and does not transmit diseases, is reared to break down food waste such as soy pulp and brewery grains into compost for its vegetables. At the larval stage, it has a voracious appetite. A tonne of black soldier fly larvae can consume as much as four tonnes of food waste each day. The larvae can also be harvested as protein-rich animal feed and are also fit for pet and human consumption. The farm currently feeds the insect to its jade perch.
To grow leafy greens, the farm’s aquaponics system helps to convert fish waste generated from cultivating jade perch into nutrients for the plants. This system also helps to purify the water used to rear the fish and promotes water conservation by using 10 – 20 percent less water to grow the leafy greens than traditional soil-based farming. While Citizen Farm is focused on its green produce, for now, it does have plans to sell the jade perch when they have grown to size.
Green powerhouse
On what sets its produce apart from others on the market, Ho says: “We talk about our produce in a way that no other farmer does. We place a lot of emphasis on quality and honesty. Freshness is a quality that money cannot buy. You can invest in the best technology to preserve the freshness of the food grown in Australia and bring the food here, but it’s not the same as harvesting it that morning and eating it that afternoon.”
For instance, its microgreens, a tasty and nutrient-rich food that enhances both the aesthetics and flavors of a dish, are grown in space-saving, vertically stacked substrate trays under energy-efficient LED light. The clean and controlled indoor environment not only eliminates the need for harmful pesticides and chemicals but also ensures consistency in quality. These factors make its
microgreens popular with chefs.
The farm currently supplies microgreens and edible flowers, which are carefully harvested by hand, to 30 restaurants in Singapore. It counts Michelin-starred restaurants such as Labyrinth and the now-closed Restaurant Andre, as well as 1-Altitude and Super Loco, among its clients. The farm also supplies raw materials such as lemon balm and calendula for home-grown lifestyle company Spa Esprit Group’s spa and beauty services, as well as fresh produce for its restaurants like Tippling Club and Open Farm Community.
Innovation enables the farm to grow 15 varieties of microgreens using one type of substrate
Citizen Farm is the only mushroom producer here to grow its own lion’s mane mushroom, a type of gourmet mushroom with wispy fringe as well as purported health benefits, from spawn to fruit. It also grows pink oyster mushroom which develops a deeper pink hue when temperatures drop. These are grown using organic materials such as sawdust and coffee grounds, which are later recycled and broken down into compost for its garden.
In all, Citizen Farm is able to grow more than 20 varieties of greens and mushrooms on its premises. Its monthly yield of 50 – 80 kg of produce are sold to 30 restaurants and 40 families across Singapore. The farm has not fully-utilized its entire space to grow food but it is steadily scaling up its production over the next few months. It also continues in trying to grow new varieties of vegetables such as radishes, shiso and other flavourful and nutritious food.
This ability to grow a diverse range of produce and achieve a healthy yield is the result of painstaking research and experimentation undertaken by Citizen Farm to develop and improve on advanced farming systems and create the best conditions to grow its plants. Without this effort, some of its plants including microgreens such as nasturtium and red vein sorrel would not have thrived in Singapore’s tropical climate under normal circumstances.
Says Ho: “We grow what is suited to the environment first, and then we look at what we can grow with the technology that is afforded to us. For example, different types of microgreens would require different types of substrate but we managed to figure out how to grow 15 different types of microgreens using one type of substrate.”
Citizen Farm also taps the expertise of farmers in other countries with well-developed agricultural systems such as Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia by visiting them at their farms to learn new methods and adapt them to local conditions. Ho says: “I’m a firm believer in the cross-pollination of ideas between people. Different farmers using the same land and the same resources will do things very differently. No one is right or wrong, it’s just which methods are better preferred. You form your own philosophy as a farmer.”
Small farm, Big dreams
Citizen Farm has introduced various initiatives to further its goal of building a sense of community through urban farming. To provide a link between farmers and consumers, it sells a bundle of its produce which include leafy greens such as lettuce and kale, microgreens like micro coriander, edible flowers and herbs like blue pea flowers and Indian borage, as well as mushrooms like pink oyster mushrooms though an eight – or 12- week subscription service known as the Citizen Box.
By signing up to the subscription service, Ho says that it shows the consumer’s commitment to support the farmer’s efforts for a period of time. This, in turn, allows the farmer to concentrate on producing the best quality produce for the consumers, and also gives the farmer confidence to grow more over time. He adds: “We encourage the consumers to come down to collect their box and meet our farmers. Our farmers can tell them how to cook it, what the food is about and its history and that builds that connection.”
Citizen farm often hosts community engagement events to help the public better understand its work and vision
To help people better understand its work and agricultural systems in general, Citizen Farm hosts community engagement events such as farm tours and educational workshops for schools, corporations and other interest groups on a range of topics including how people can grow their own edible garden, as well as cheese making workshops. It also regularly offers volunteer opportunities for those interested to work on its farm.
Locally, the farm is looking at ways to duplicate the Citizen Farm model in other towns in Singapore. It has embarked on a project funded by non-profit philanthropic organization Temasek Foundation Ecosperity, which will see its mushroom, insect and vegetable farming systems combined together to form a three-story farming unit. These will comprise both indoor and outdoor growing spaces housed in eight shipping containers on its premises. The idea is to test the feasibility of such a unit, with a view to scaling the idea to neighborhoods around Singapore in the future.
Regionally, Citizen Farm hopes to deepen its links with farms in South-east Asia that share its commitment to sustainability and social consciousness. Besides sourcing for fresh produce from these farms to offer consumers here a wider variety of sustainably-farmed food, it also wants to build a community of like-minded farmers to exchange farming philosophy with. Ultimately, what Citizen Farm hopes to achieve is to change how people think about food.
Ho says: “It’s really about a lifestyle, a way of living. It’s mindful eating and understanding how food is medicine and not poison.”
Arista patiently waits for rice to crisp at the bottom of the pot.
Getting Creative – How City Farmers Find Space to Do Their Jobs
It’s not easy being a farmer. The days are long and many don’t make a living wage. Mental health issues are common amongst farmers, often due to mounting stress about money, weather, crop failure, and debt.
And fertile farmland is becoming scarcer. Open land is being threatened with development every day, and the loss of precious topsoil means that one day in the not-so-distant future, we may very well run out of healthy soil in which to grow food.
Despite all the challenges that land loss brings to farmers around the world, many individuals and organizations are finding new and innovative ways to grow food and sustainably feed their communities.
Urban farmers, for example, are reclaiming rooftops, vacant buildings, empty lots, yards, abandoned parks—and even the patches of grass between sidewalks and roads—in order to grow food. And they’re making a big impact.
Why Does It Matter?
Food security is a problem in cities and rural areas across the United States. Due to economic and social inequalities, people living in low-income neighborhoods, in particular, are more likely to also live in food deserts and not be able to as easily access to affordable, fresh food.
And as growing conditions become harsher around the world, the rising threat of climate change adds to the urgency of finding more efficient and sustainable ways of growing and distributing food.
“As global temperatures rise, areas all around the world are likely to see reduced food security, both related to the cultivation of food animals and agricultural production,” according to the University of Nevada, Reno. “If climate change continues to worsen, food shortages could drive prices higher even in more developed countries like the U.S., leading to a public health crisis in the form of global food shortages and waves of hunger. As such, public health officials should turn their attention to exploring efforts to shore up food reserves and alternative forms of agriculture.”
That’s where urban farming comes in. The loss of traditional farmland and increasing need for food security for all means that farmers in urban spaces are getting creative and finding ways to take matters into their own hands.
The Rise of Urban Agriculture
While urban agriculture has been in practice for many years, it has gained traction and popularity in recent years.
Urban farms often provide access to food for people who are living in food deserts and would otherwise have to travel many miles to get fresh, affordable produce. As farms are pushed further and further outside city limits and away from major residential hubs, farmers had to find solutions in the city to bring food closer to home.
Many urban farms, in addition to feeding people, bring a sense of unity to their members. Community gardensare increasing in popularity across the U.S., bringing more and more people into the practice of growing food—even if it starts as just lending a helping hand to grow a handful of lettuce or a few peppers.
And as more people learn the skills to grow their own food, those living with food insecurity will likely have more places to source food from within their cities and neighborhoods.
What We’ve Lost & What We Have to Gain
Many people—in urban areas, especially—don’t know what a carrot looks like when it’s freshly pulled from the ground, or that a tomato tastes so much better when it’s plucked from the vine in summer instead of shipped across the country in winter. Along with farmland, society has also lost a true connection to food and seeing how and where it’s been grown.
Eating with the seasons is especially important to general health and well-being. But it’s hard to eat with the seasons when, for many, most food is coming to the plate from a grocery store where every type of produce from every season is right at the fingertips—not to mention a plethora of cheap, processed food.
Whether farms are out in the countryside or on your neighbor’s rooftop, supporting locally sourced food is an important step in creating healthy local economies and communities, alike. Robust local economies provide greater opportunities for community members to prosper and thrive. There’s nothing quite like food to tie local people together into a tight-knit, supportive group.
As more farmland gets bought by housing developers and businesses complexes, urban farmers have reclaimed city spaces to help grow food for their local communities, allowing an opportunity for all to be closer to real, fresh, healthy food.
Lettie Stratton is a writer and farmer in Boise, ID. She is a co-founder of Hoot ‘n’ Holler Urban Farm.
Understanding Urban Farming
Simply put, urban farming/agriculture allows your customers to grow and produce food in a city or a heavily populated town or municipality. Many times, this concept can be confused with community gardening, subsistence farming or homesteading, but the ideas are a bit different.
Beth Hyatt | July 31, 2018
If you have clients interested in starting their urban farming lifestyle but aren’t sure how to create a garden atop their apartment roof or in their crowded suburban backyard, take a look at a few ways to help them get started.
Urban Farming
Simply put, urban farming/agriculture allows your customers to grow and produce food in a city or a heavily populated town or municipality. Many times, this concept can be confused with community gardening, subsistence farming or homesteading, but the ideas are a bit different. The main difference is that with urban farming, your customers are more likely to gain monetarily than with community gardens, etc.
In the past 10 years alone, the public has become more interested in learning about how their food is made, where it comes from, etc., which makes the concept of urban farming even more appealing.
Regardless of what your customer’s definition of “urban” is, there really is no single way of defining the size or placement of an urban farm, and every farm can be as unique as your customer wants it to be.
Setting Up
When creating an urban farm for your customer, keep in mind that zoning laws play a large role in setting the area up. These laws may dictate what can and can’t be grown in that specific area and whether or not other things such as animals, retail sales or educational classes can be part of the equation.
Once the parameters of what’s allowed have been established, you and your customers can sit down to begin planning the design. The spaces can be as intricate or as simplistic as they wish, which is where your expertise comes in handy. Talk to your customer about their expectations, and make sure these ideas are realistic for the space and the person.
If your customer plans to have a large area that will one day be used to grow and sell food, take time to discuss the maintenance and upkeep such a large area would require. If they want to start small and eventually grow, suggest a few growing options that will yield plentiful results right off the bat to keep your clients encouraged.
As previously stated, these farms can be designed in a number of ways, but typically speaking, every urban farm will have rows of racks or raised beds. For farms built indoors, the rows typically have UV lighting used to mimic the effects of the sun.
If your customers are limited in space but still want to try their hand in urban farming, talk to them about installing a vertical farm to maximize space and still get the benefits of home-grown foods.
Benefits
According to the Ecology Center (EC), there are 10 prominent benefits to urban farming, and we will touch on a few key ones here.
For starters, the EC says it can reduce carbon emissions. Because the produce is localized, it cuts down on the amount of fossil fuel consumption that’s necessary to package, transport and sell food. The EC reports that the average meal has traveled 4,200 miles from garden to table. This method of farming also allows your customers to interact with those in their community to buy and sell food.
Next, the EC says this type of venture allows you, the landscaper, the ability to unleash your design creativity. It also gives you the opportunity to discuss some of the challenges you’ll face when installing the farm, which gives customers the chance to offer their feedback and feel more connected to the overall results. Since urban farms are a bit different from traditional farms in design, this requires you to think of much more efficient innovations.
The EC also notes that with urban farming, your customers are able to actively contribute to the health of the public and community around them by offering fresh, nutritious, locally-sourced foods. This segues into knowing the quality and having the security of said food. When dealing with a diverse community, your customers are sure to have a variety of edibles to choose from if their neighbors also decide to participate in this endeavor.
Not only will the addition of an urban farm bring your customers the food production they desire, it will also benefit the surrounding areas by serving as a green space. Regardless of whether it’s a small or large area, having that green presence will add an aesthetically pleasing focal point to the area, help reduce runoff from rain and can help counter concentrated heat to the area.
CARBON EMISSIONS COMPOSTING DESIGN CREATIVITY EDIBLE GARDENING EDIBLE LANDSCAPING EDIBLE PLANTS EDIBLE PLANTS GARDEN EDIBLES GREEN SPACE REDUCING CARBON EMISSIONS SUSTAINABILITY THE ECOLOGY CENTER (EC) URBAN AGRICULTURE URBAN FARMING VERTICAL FARM
Emmy Win For Growing A Greener World – The Green Bronx Machine
Atlanta, Georgia: On June 16, 2018, the long-running Sustainability Television Program Growing a Greener World® received a Daytime Emmy Award® for its breakthrough episode The Green Bronx Machine.
This is the broadcast’s first Emmy win. The honor comes on the heels of Growing a Greener World receiving the coveted 2017 Pioneer Taste Award® in April.
The Mission of the show has always been to help others grow a greener world themselves – through gardening, responsible environmental stewardship, and building healthy communities. In 2007 Growing a Greener World explored a non-profit organization known as The Green Bronx Machine and instantly knew this was a story needing to be told.
Moved by emotion at the love and care he witnessed during filming, Executive Producer and show host Joe Lamp’l, states “After filming over 100 episodes of Growing a Greener World, I don’t think we’ve ever told a story that’s impacted me more emotionally than this one.”
Mr. Lamp’l is referring to the compelling story of educator, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed “People Farmer,” Stephen Ritz, who came from and returned to the Bronx to heal, to show love toward and to nurture generations of schoolchildren growing up in this difficult district. His thunderbolt idea, which ultimately formed The Green Bronx Machine, was to utilize gardening in the classroom to improve the lives of inner-city youth.
And improve lives it has. In a community where it’s easier to get liquor than lettuce, Mr. Ritz’s non-profit has helped high school attendance improve from 40% to 93% and has reduced behavioral incidents and out-of-classroom time by a whopping 50% in the elementary school in which he teaches.
This humble man with unparalleled charismatic, infectious energy has changed the landscape of students’ lives through tireless 12-hour days where “Garden Time with Mr. Ritz” is always in eager demand. The kids are taught the botany, the biology, and the history of the fruits and veggies they grow in a way that sparks fascination and new-found ownership of the joy of growing food that is improving eating habits and helping create healthy food relationships.
And as the children love and nurture the plants they’re raising, the plants reward them with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, and apples to be eaten during school lunch and taken home to their families. The sense of accomplishment and taste for success that is borne of this symbiotic relationship will carry into the rest of these kids’ lives.
The Green Bronx Machine is truly breaking new ground in the world of education. This investment of passion for our food source isn’t just working, it’s creating one person(al) miracle at a time.
The Growing a Greener World® series featuring this remarkable program will continue to resonate with future audiences, and future seasons will remain dedicated to telling these impactful stories of people creating change.
For more information about this press release contact: Anna Shelander at 651-644-2955 AnnaShelander@worldviewcreative.com Stephen Ritz at 917-873-6449 Stephen.ritz@greenbronxmachine.org
The Emmy Award Winning episode The Green Bronx Machine can be viewed at:https://www.growingagreenerworld.com/episode-808-green-bronx-machine/
About Growing a Greener World® Growing a Greener World® is a sustainability-focused lifestyle broadcast that features compelling and inspirational stories of people, places and organizations making a positive impact on the planet. The ninth season of Growing a Greener World is currently in production, with new episodes premiering September 1, 2018 and running through December 31, 2018 on public television stations nationwide. Check your local listings for broadcast dates/times. Growing a Greener World is presented by UNC-TV in North Carolina and distributed by American Public Television. All episodes can also be viewed on demand on the show’s website and on the show’s Youtube channel of the same name.
About The Green Bronx Machine® The Green Bronx Machine is a non-profit organization that builds healthy, equitable and resilient communities through inspired education, local food systems, and career exploration vital for 21st Century college and career opportunities. Dedicated to cultivating minds and harvesting hope, this school-based model uses urban agriculture aligned to key school performance indicators to grow healthy students and healthy schools. Contact Stephen Ritz at 917-873-6449 stephen.ritz@greenbronxmachine.org
About Joe Lamp’l Certified Landscape Professional and horticulturalists, Joe Lamp’l combines his expertise in organic gardening, landscaping and environmental stewardship with a passion for living a more eco-friendly life through his television experience as the creator, host and executive producer of Growing a Greener World ®. Mr.Lamp’l serves as a gardening and sustainability guest expert on national morning shows including NBC’s TODAY Show, ABC’s Good Morning America and The Weather Channel among others. He also broadcasts a weekly podcast series, The joe gardener Show, along with garden-related blog posts and informational resources available on the Growing a Greener World sister site, joegardener.com
About Stephen Ritz, Stephen Ritz is a South Bronx educator and innovator who believes that students shouldn’t have to leave their community to live, learn, and earn in a better one. Supporting generations of students to achieve personal and academic successes which they had never imagined — while reclaiming and rebuilding the Bronx — Stephen’s extended student and community family have grown more than 65,000 pounds of vegetables in the Bronx while generating extraordinary academic performance.
Contact Stephen Ritz at:
917-873-6449
St. Louis, Missouri -The Veggie Bike From Urban Harvest STL In JeffVanderLou On Saturdays
The Veggie Bike From Urban Harvest STL In JeffVanderLou On Saturdays
BY STAFF WRITER, JULY 21, 2018
ST. LOUIS - Urban Harvest STL believes that all members of our community should have equitable access to fresh, healthy food regardless of socioeconomic status, race or location.
They grow healthy produce across a network of six urban farms in downtown and North St. Louis and donate the majority of the harvest to nonprofit partners serving communities with limited or non-existent access to healthy, nutritious food.
Urban Harvest STL’s Veggie Bike is now rolling. You can find them in JeffVanderLou Saturdays between 11:30 a.m to 1 p.m. In partnership with the St. Louis MetroMarket, they are bringing farm fresh produce into neighborhoods without grocery stores and markets.
For more information, visit UrbanHarvest STL
Aquaponic Atlantic Salmon Are First-Ever Grown 0n US Soil And Harvested Commercially For US Customers
Superior Fresh of Wisconsin celebrated July 4th by taking one giant leap for the U.S. economy: their Atlantic Salmon became the first ever grown on U.S. soil and harvested commercially!
Superior Fresh’s Atlantic salmon have some of the highest omega-3’s compared to all other salmon, were raised with minimal environmental impacts, are fed an organic diet, and have never received antibiotics or pesticides!
The U.S. imports over NINETY PERCENT of the seafood we consume. We need more local aquaculture.
With aquaponics, Superior Fresh uses the waste stream from the salmon to also produce the highest-quality leafy greens. This is a win-win situation for our environment and the economy.
9 Most Profitable Plants To Grow Hydroponically
Simply put, hydroponics uses mineral nutrient solutions to feed plants that are growing in water, so no soil is used in the process. The practice is also pretty versatile because you can set it up in a big greenhouse space or in your living room using smaller systems or towers.
August 1, 2018
by MADISON MORGAN in Lists, News
If you have a green thumb and are looking for a side hustle, you need to read this list of the most profitable plants to grow hydroponically.
With the Whole Foods culture taking over — seriously, there’s a Whole Foods in the center of Harlem, New York City now — there’s a major push for freshly grown fruits, vegetables and anything else that can be grown locally. It seems many Americans are just starting to wake up and realize, “oh, maybe I should pay more attention to where my food is coming from.” I mean, I’m not organic everything, mainly because it’s expensive and I’m a millennial, but I do pay attention to the foods I eat and try to eat pretty “clean” foods. Honestly, if you still think it’s normal for a chicken breast to be the size of an adult baseball mitt, then you really have some research to do.
Anyway, if you are looking for healthy and locally grown options, thankfully many grocery stores and markets have a wide variety these days, or you can visit your local farmer’s market. If you really want to be serious about your food, you can take it up a level by growing your own produce. If you’re really good at it, you can even sell what you don’t eat, for a generous profit. So really, it’s a win-win situation.
If you’re a city dweller, like myself, that doesn’t mean learning to plant and growing things is out of reach for you. Thanks to technology there are now really cool ways to be able to grow plants indoors, using minimal space and that’s where hydroponics come in. Simply put, hydroponics uses mineral nutrient solutions to feed plants that are growing in water, so no soil is used in the process.
The practice is also pretty versatile because you can set it up in a big greenhouse space or in your living room using smaller systems or towers. If you’re not totally confined to the indoors and have a little yard space to work with, take a look at this article on the most profitable plants for aquaponics, small gardens, and backyard nurseries.
There are a variety of plants that can grow indoors, without needing too much sunlight, which you can learn more about with the easiest indoor plants to grow from seed and the easiest edible plants to grow indoors. While it’s great to be able to grow your own plants to eat, it’s even better to do that and to also make money. Depending on what kind of hydroponic system you’re interested in (and have the space for), you’ll want to research the hydroponic farm startup cost before you get in too deep. Costs can range anywhere from $50 for a small in-home system, to $100,000 for an indoor farm set up.
So, is hydroponic farming profitable? The answer is, yes. If you do your research on the most profitable plants to grow and sell, you should have no problem making money. You also want to take a look at growth time too. For example, hydroponic ginseng can take a few years to grow, but it sells for some crazy good prices (we’ll talk more about this in a bit).
We decided not to focus on the most profitable crops per acre since you would need to be a big deal farmer for that, but on smaller systems that you can grow in your home. Furthermore, we focused on price per pound of crop, since that’s more reasonable to grow in a smaller system. To figure out some of the most profitable plants to grow hydroponically we used the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmer’s Daughter Herbs, and Simply Hydroponics and Organics. Once we determined the price per pound for crops that can be grown hydroponically, we ranked them starting with those with lowest prices.
9. Cilantro
$6.00 per pound
We’ll start our list with a popular herb, and you will notice many more herbs on this list as they grow well in hydroponic systems, and sell for good prices, as well. Cilantro is popular in many Chinese and Thai dishes but can be used in a variety of different recipes. It can be harvested in about 3-4 weeks after planting, so you won’t have to practice patience with this herb.
8. Basil
$14.00 per pound
Who doesn’t like basil? You can use it for pizza, fresh pesto sauce (my personal favorite), or for a salad. Basil has tons of nutrients and vitamins and is considered to be one of the healthiest herbs.
Pixabay/Public Domain
7. Dill
$14.00 per pound
Number seven on our list of most profitable plants to grow hydroponically is dill that is kind of random, and you can only see it occasionally, but it’s actually part of the celery family. Dill takes very little work to grow, as all you need to do is plant the seeds and give it a little sunlight. So, if you’re just developing a green thumb (or not even there yet), this is a good option for you.
Pixabay/Public Domain
6. Mint
$14.00 per pound
You can never have enough mint leaves around in my opinion. Whether you put it in a glass of sweet tea or use it to make mojitos (my personal favorite), you can’t go wrong with having it near. It also sells really well, so that’s a plus too, which is why we have it on our list of most profitable plants to grow hydroponically.
Anna_Pustynnikova/Shutterstock.com
5. Chives
$14.00 per pound
We are continuing our list of most profitable plants to grow hydroponically with chives that are a natural insect repellant, so if you’re growing these in your living room or a crowded apartment building, this might benefit you in more ways than one. On the other hand, chives can be used for soups, fish, baked potatoes and much more. At $14 per pound as the average resale price, you will be glad you grew them.
Pixabay/Public Domain
4. Tarragon
$16.00 per pound
Next on our list of most profitable plants to grow hydroponically is Tarragon that goes well with meats like fish and chicken and is predominantly used in French cuisine. However, it also has and can be used to induce sleep, increase appetite, improve cardiovascular health, and even for pain relief.
Pixabay/Public Domain
3. Bay Leaves
$30.00 per pound
Many times, dried bay leaves are used to add to the aroma and taste of a dish, and they are also not cheap. There are multiple varieties of the herb, like the Indonesian bay leaf, California bay leaf, and the Mexican bay leaf.
Pixabay/Public Domain
2. Ginseng
$500-$600 per pound
We briefly mentioned this earlier, but ginseng sells for some really high prices, especially the wild one. It’s a “rooty” crop that looks like ginger, and it is used a lot in teas and energy drinks. For many centuries, it’s also been used for various health purposes.
Pixabay/Public Domain
1. Cannabis
$1,600 per pound
Last but not least, we have cannabis to top our list. There’s a reason why the marijuana business does so well, which is mainly because weed makes a ton of money for the people who grow it. Obviously, this one only applies to you if you live somewhere where it can be grown legally though. If you do, it can be grown hydroponically, and you can spend the rest of your days counting your cash as this tops the cake on the list of 9 most profitable plants to grow hydroponically.
How Does Aeroponics Work?
Aeroponic systems nourish plants with nothing more than nutrient-laden mist. The concept builds off that of hydroponic systems, in which the roots are held in a soilless growing medium, such as coco coir, over which nutrient-laden water is periodically pumped.
By Brian Barth on July 26, 2018
Towers and other vertical approaches are increasingly popular for aeroponics systems. Since the roots have a need to spread out, this is a clever way to save space. A vertical setup also allows misting devices to be placed at the top, allowing gravity to distribute the moisture.
By Globe Guide Media Inc / shutterstock.com
You finally wrapped your mind around the concept of Hydroponics
(soilless growing). Then all your horticulturally-savvy friends started carrying on about Aquaponics
(raising fish in a hydroponic system) So here’s a new buzzword for you: aeroponics. It has nothing to do with raising vegetables in airplanes, though it has been used to grow beans in the zero-gravity confines of the Mir space station
So what is it? Let’s investigate.
Aeroponics Defined
A simplified diagram of an aeroponic system. By Lilkin / shutterstock.com.
Aeroponic systems nourish plants with nothing more than nutrient-laden mist. The concept builds off that of hydroponic systems, in which the roots are held in a soilless growing medium, such as coco coir, over which nutrient-laden water is periodically pumped. Aeroponics simply dispenses with the growing medium, leaving the roots to dangle in the air, where they are periodically puffed by specially-designed misting devices.
In aeroponics systems, seeds are “planted” in pieces of foam stuffed into tiny pots, which are exposed to light on one end and nutrient mist on the other. The foam also holds the stem and root mass in place as the plants grow.
The Advantages of Aeroponics
Who knew naked roots could survive, much less thrive? It turns out that eliminating the growing medium is very freeing for a plants’ roots: the extra oxygen they are exposed to results in faster growth. Aeroponic systems are also extremely water-efficient. These closed-loop systems use 95 percent less irrigation than plants grown in soil. And since the nutrients are held in the water, they get recycled, too.
In addition to these efficiencies, aeroponics’ eco-friendly reputation is bolstered by the ability to grow large quantities of food in small spaces. The approach is mainly employed in indoor vertical farms, which are increasingly common in cities—cutting down on the environmental costs of getting food from field to plate. And because aeroponics systems are fully enclosed, there is no nutrient runoff to foul nearby waterways. Rather than treating pest and disease with harsh chemicals, the growing equipment can simply be sterilized as needed.
Drawbacks of Aeroponics
Aeroponics systems require a bit of finesse to operate effectively. The nutrient concentration of the water must be maintained within precise parameters and even a slight malfunction of your equipment can cause the loss of a crop. If the misters don’t spray every few minutes—maybe because the power goes out, for example — those dangling roots will quickly desiccate. And the misters need regular cleaning to keep them from becoming clogged by mineral deposits in the water.
There is also one major drawback, environmentally-speaking: aeroponic systems rely on electrical power to pump water through the tiny misting devices. And while they can be employed in the natural light of a greenhouse, they are more often used with energy-intensive grow lights. Solar power or other alternative energy sources can be harnessed to eliminate this drawback, however.
How Much Does an Aeroponics System Cost?
DIY models can be made for less than $100, but good quality professional systems with automated nutrient monitoring and a backup power supply start in the four-figure range.
Equipment Considerations
All aeroponics systems require an enclosure to hold in the humidity and prevent light from reaching the roots (this is typically a plastic bin with holes drilled for each plant), plus a separate tank to hold the nutrient solution. Beyond these basic components, there are a few other things to consider in devising an aeroponic system to suit your needs.
Some aeroponics systems are designed to be used horizontally, like a traditional planting bed. But towers and other vertical approaches are increasingly popular — since the roots need to spread out, this is a clever way to save space. Vertical systems are also popular because the misting devices may be placed at the top, allowing gravity to distribute the moisture.
Another dichotomy in aeroponic equipment: high-pressure versus low-pressure systems.
Low-pressure systems, which rely on a simple fountain pump to spray water through the misters, are inexpensive and suitable for DIY construction. This approach is sometimes called “soakaponics,” as low-pressure misters are capable of producing only a light spray, kind of like a tiny sprinkler, not true mist.
For true mist—meaning moisture floats in the air and more effectively delivers nutrients to the roots—you need higher water pressure than an ordinary pump can provide. Thus, professional aeroponics systems rely on a pressurized water tank capable of holding 60 to 90 psi, along with top-quality misters capable of delivering the finest possible puff of moisture.
National Organic Standards Board Decrees That Hydroponic Can Be Organic
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A Hydroponic Rooftop Farm Grows in the Bronx
Dirt-Free Farming: Will Hydroponics (Finally) Take Off?
Hydroponics suppliers increasingly stock a full-line of aeroponics equipment, from the nutrients, pots, pumps, timers, and tubing you need for a DIY system to fully-automated turnkey aero-farms.
What Can You Grow with Aeroponics?
Anything, in theory. In practice, aeroponics systems are primarily used for the same applications as hydroponics systems, including leafy greens, culinary herbs, marijuana, strawberries, tomatoes, and cucumbers. One exception is root crops, which are impractical in a hydroponic system, but well-suited to aeroponics, as the roots have plenty of room to grow and are easily accessible for harvesting.
Other vegetable crops are possible but have more complex nutrient requirements. Fruiting shrubs and trees are impractical in aeroponics systems due to their size.
AgFunder Closes First in Series of AI-Enabled Food & Ag Tech Funds
AgFunder Closes First in Series of AI-Enabled Food & Ag Tech Funds
Online venture capital platform AgFunder has raised a $2.25 million fund to invest in transformational food and agriculture startups. The fund, which will co-invest alongside AgFunder, closed at the end of March, one month after opening to AgFunder’s global network, and has already made four investments.
Nearly 40 accredited and institutional investors contributed to the fund including personal investments by senior and C-level executives at some of the major food and agriculture companies who have been following AgFunder for years. Other individual investors include Jason Camm, chief medical officer of Peter Thiel’s family office Thiel Capital.
Institutional investors include SYSTEMIQ, an advisory and investment firm dedicated to the creation of sustainable economic systems in energy, materials, and land use; impact investment fund C9 Capital; and a major US grain merchant.
“We are investing in AgFunder’s Co-Investment Fund due to the quality of deal flow and their expertise in global agtech. We have already begun working closely with the team and hope to contribute to the fund’s future success,” said Ryan Gralia from SYSTEMIQ.
The co-investment fund will invest alongside AgFunder’s own internal fund that counts AgFunder’s founders, investors, advisors, and leading agrifood tech entrepreneurs as investors.
AgFunder will be launching a new co-investment fund in the fall.
“Our decision to launch a series of co-investment funds with our global network is in line with our mission to open the agrifood tech sector to a wider audience of investors, bringing in much-needed capital,” said Rob Leclerc, CEO of AgFunder. “We have always believed that the smartest, most value-add investors for the industry are successful entrepreneurs and food and ag professionals. This also gives us an incredibly smart and dialed-in scout network.”
The co-investment fund will invest alongside the internal fund in the next 10-12 startups AgFunder invests in, operating across the value chain, from farm to fork. AgFunder is targeting startups at seed to Series B stage.
The co-investment fund’s first publicly announced portfolio company is Connecterra, the AI-powered dairy technology startup, which we announced in May. The fund has made another three investments in food tech, ag genomics, and remote sensing, all of which will be announced in due course.
AgFunder’s unique model allows it to tap into its global network of over 50,000 members and subscribers to source opportunities, assist with due diligence, and facilitate business development for its portfolio companies. AgFunder’s software engineers are also developing a range of technologies utilizing artificial intelligence that will help identify new opportunities and provide support for its portfolio companies.
“We believe that there is an enormous opportunity investing in early-stage companies that are developing digital and deep technology solutions for the many problems inherent across the food system. Our global platform and AI-enabled data engine allow us to compare technologies across multiple geographies, informing our investment decision-making process, and ultimately will deliver superior returns for our fund investors,” said AgFunder CIO, Michael Dean.
If you’d like early access to the next fund, you can sign up here.
China Unveils High-Tech Indoor Farm That Can Feed 36,000 People
China Unveils High-Tech Indoor Farm That Can Feed 36,000 People
by Ryan General | July 9, 2018
A Chinese firm has unveiled an improved version of their “smart farm” which enables the growth of more vegetables without soil or natural sunlight in an automated environment.
Currently utilized in many parts of the world, the technology of controlled-environment agriculture via indoor farming is being improved upon by a company in Anxi, Fujian Province, called Sanan Sino-Science in hopes of setting the course for the future of agriculture in China.
The firm unveiled its most recent expansion project last Friday, featuring a high-tech indoor farm that has been in development for about two years, MailOnline reports.
The farm, which covers a 5,000-square-meter (53,819-square-foot) indoor space, produces eight to ten metric tons of vegetables daily while requiring only four staff members to manage it. Conventional farmlands would require about 300 farmers to produce the equivalent amount which can feed almost 36,000 people.
Equipped with advanced autonomous technology, the facilities grow vegetables and herbs in multilevel cultivation beds of hydroponic solutions in a controlled environment.
The smart farming method involves a strict system that regulates temperature, water source, humidity, nutrients and LEDs that replace sunlight in a confined indoor space. Such regulations allow the firm to significantly save on water, granting each plant only the right amount it needs.
Sanan Sino-Science’s first generation indoor farm is claimed to be the world’s largest vertical farming complex, covering an area of 1 hectare (2.47 acres).
“Compared with our first generation smart farm, this new plant yields even more effective results while reducing labor and environmental costs,” Sanan Sino-Science CEO Zhan Zhuo was quoted as saying.
Zhan explained that their revolutionary technique “maximizes the plant’s growth potential while maintaining a sustainable and continuous growth cycle.”
While vegetables in a conventional farm need about 40 to 60 days to reach maturity depending on weather condition, Sanan Sino-Science’s “vegetable factory” allows the harvesting of smaller-sized varieties in just 18 days and larger vegetables just between 33 and 35 days.
“This farming method is particularly beneficial in challenging environments such as deserts, mountainside towns, or in cities where labor comes at a high cost,” Zhan said.
Zhan claims that the smart factory can produce 3,000 to 3,500 metric tons of vegetables annually at full capacity.
The company plans to improve its farms by installing AI technology to be able to record and analyze growth data via sensors to identify the optimal growing condition for each specific kind of vegetable.
Vegetables produced from the high-tech farms are shipped to the rest of Fujian Province and Shanghai in supermarkets and high-class restaurants at around 30 yuan ($4.50) to 36 ($5.50) yuan per kilogram (2.2 pounds). These high-tech grown vegetables cost more than regular vegetables which are sold at a wholesale price of 2.85 yuan ($.50) per kilo in China.
Zhan, who expressed the company’s interest in bringing the concept of “produce locally, sold locally” to different cities worldwide, says their technologies have been shared with countries such as the U.S., Japan, and Singapore.
Way To Grow: Urban Farms Are An Amenity At Many Developments
Denver Construction & Development
July 12, 2018, Margaret Jackson, Bisnow Denver
As people increasingly demand to know where their food comes from, more developers are jumping on board to integrate urban farms into their projects.
Way To Grow: Urban Farms Are An Amenity At Many Developments Courtesy of Tracy Weil RiNo Art District Creative Director Tracy Weil grows heirloom tomatoes at Farm 39 in RiNo
Take S*Park. Named for its heritage as Sustainability Park, the 99-unit residential project in Denver’s Curtis Park neighborhood includes a 7,200 SF greenhouse with 340 aeroponic towers that will grow leafy greens.
The greenhouse will be operated by Altius Farms, which will offer residents a vegetable subscription program, greenhouse tours, and classes and community dinners with Denver celebrity chefs. Altius also will provide neighborhood restaurants with produce from the greenhouse.
Way To Grow: Urban Farms Are An Amenity At Many Developments Courtesy of Altius Farms Altius Farms will grow leafy greens on towers like these at Scissortail Farms in Tulsa, Okla.
Altius Farms founder and CEO Sally Herbert said the tower system at S*Park will produce 75,000 pounds of leafy greens a year — the equivalent of 1.5 acres of conventional farming each month. The towers use 10% of the water of a traditional farm and produce 10 times the yield, and the produce is much fresher than what consumers find in grocery stores, she said. Colorado imports 97% of its produce, and after it spends seven to 14 days in transport, between 20% and 40% of it is discarded.
“When restaurateurs receive produce that’s come in from Arizona or California, it’s been harvested early and gets wilty or bruised,” she said. “You have to throw away the crappy stuff.”
NAVA Real Estate Development is taking a different approach at Lakehouse, its 12-story, 196-unit condominium project at Sloan’s Lake. The produce from its second-floor garden will be available only for residents of the 12-story building.
“We are growing a certain amount of vegetables and herbs on-site that will be professionally managed and harvested,” NAVA co-founder and CEO Brian Levitt said. “We’ll have a harvest room where people can be part of a harvest. There will be opportunities where people can reach over and pick something and put it in their salad. There will be a juicing center and sauna where people can sit and enjoy the juice.”
Way To Grow: Urban Farms Are An Amenity At Many Developments Bisnow/Margaret Jackson The greenhouse at S*Park will provide produce to residents and nearby restaurants.
The garden is just one component of NAVA’s efforts to ensure a healthy environment for residents of Lakehouse, which is seeking Well Building certification. It also must meet standards for air and water quality and fitness, among other things.
Urban Ventures has launched a wellness program that includes food production at Aria Denver development. Aria Denver has partnered with Regis University to launch the Cultivate Health program at its development in northwest Denver. Food production, in both gardens and greenhouses in the neighborhood, is just one component of the program, which is designed to support the health and wellness of residents living in the multi-generational, mixed-income community. Its food production partners are UrbiCulture Farms and Groundwork Denver.
Way To Grow: Urban Farms Are An Amenity At Many Developments Courtesy of Tracy Weil Farm 39 in RiNo sells about 8,000 tomato plants a year
Urban farming is a growing trend both in new developments and in city neighborhoods.
Artist Tracy Weil, creative director of the RiNo Art District, co-founded Heirloom Tomato Farms with Carolyn Jansen in 2004 when they weren’t able to find the produce they wanted. They started with 175 plants, which they sold and gave to friends. Weil was on the board of The GrowHaus, a nonprofit indoor farm, marketplace and educational center in Denver’s Elyria-Swansea neighborhood. The GrowHaus, based in a historic 20K SF greenhouse, agreed to give him enough space to expand to 1,200 plants.
But then aphids from the herbs in The GrowHaus infested Weil's tomato plants, so he built his own greenhouse — Farm 39 — on an eighth of an acre at 3611 Chestnut Place in RiNo. Jansen started The Sparrow in Capital Hill. The combined farms are known as Heirloom Tomato Farms. Now, people line up every spring to purchase some of the 8,000 plants the two farms grow before they sell out.
“It’s been kind of a nice supplemental income,” he said. “As an artist, I wanted to diversify my income stream.
See Also: Sopher Sparn Project Wins Community Building Award Related Topics: urban farming, Brian Levitt, RiNo Art District, Urban Ventures, S*Park, Altius Farms, Sally Herbert, NAVA Real Estate Development, Lakehouse, Aria Denver, Tracy Weil
Read more at: https://www.bisnow.com/denver/news/construction-development/way-to-grow-urban-farms-are-an-amenity-at-many-developments-90572?utm_source=CopyShare&utm_medium=Browser
Forbes List of Innovative Ag-Tech Companies Includes Greenhouse Producers
Forbes List of Innovative Ag-Tech Companies Includes Greenhouse Producers
Posted by Brian Sparks|July 8, 2018
BrightFarms is one of a few greenhouse companies on Forbes’ list of the top 25 most innovative ag-tech startup companies in 2018.
Forbes magazine recently posted a list of the 25 most innovative ag-tech startups in 2018, which includes a few companies involved in greenhouse plant production.
To compile the list, Forbes editors surveyed the agricultural technology landscape by speaking with experts, venture capitalists, and accelerators. Then they examined financials and each company’s agricultural credentials, with help from Seana Day at the Mixing Bowl, who did comprehensive research on the ag-tech environment.
“In 2017, ag-tech funding through investment or acquisition increased 32% to $2.6 billion, and half of the top 20 deals in the space exceeded $50 million,” the Forbes article states. “The bad news? There is now so much money flowing into the space, and so many entrepreneurial solutions coming to the market, that it’s harder than ever to cut through the noise.”
This year’s Forbes list features 12 alumni and 13 newcomers. The high degree of turnover is due in part to mergers and acquisitions, and to a number of companies making big gains in both technology and dollars.
The complete list is available here. Keep reading for a brief look at a few greenhouse-related companies that made the list.
• BrightFarms: This indoor farming outfit aims to help consumers buy local produce by building greenhouses in the communities it serves. So far, this strategy has resulted in leafy greens that take 80% less water, 90% less land, and 95% less shipping fuel than lettuce that is grown out west and shipped east. BrightFarms supplies some of America’s largest grocers, including Walmart, ACME, ShopRite, and Giant.
• Plenty: Plenty is an indoor farming company using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and crop science to optimize yields and give produce exactly what it needs to achieve optimal freshness and taste. Bezos Expeditions, SoftBank Vision Fund, and the Data Collective are among investors that have given Plenty and its vision $226 million in venture funding.
• Produce Pay: This supply chain startup with $12.5 million in funding connects wholesale buyers with produce sellers. The platform fixes cash-flow problems by paying for product the day after it is shipped, rather than the typical 30- to 45-day waiting period. ProducePay has provided liquidity to more than 200 growers and 50 distributors, financing more than $500 million of produce in its three years of operation.
Brian Sparks is senior editor of Greenhouse Grower and editor of Greenhouse Grower Technology.
Little Leaf Farms Keeps Growing And Growing
Little Leaf Farms Keeps Growing And Growing
July 8, 2018
By Paula J. Owen Correspondent
SHIRLEY — Little Leaf Farms is disrupting the lettuce industry and giving people in New England a high-quality product that is cut and delivered within 24 hours, taking a piece of the business away from the giant California lettuce conglomerates.
The business completed an expansion last month that doubled the size of its hydroponic greenhouses, going from 2.5 acres of totally controlled indoor automated, hands-free systems, free of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, grown year-round, to 5 acres of greenhouse space.
The state-of-the-art operation at Little Leaf Farms, which opened in 2015, is on 12 acres in Devens and Shirley. The company specializes in local, fresh lettuces and salad greens, and is home to one of the most modern, technologically-advanced greenhouses in the world, with technology ranging from UV lights that disinfect water used to water plants, to soil-less trays that replace traditional soil.
The greenhouse technology at Little Leaf was developed in the Netherlands and the growing system in Finland, according to Paul C. Sellew, owner and CEO, who said Little Leaf just bought another 12 acres a few weeks ago, and plans to double its greenhouse capacity again next year. Little Leaf also hired a third grower.
“It is really a consumer-led expansion,” Mr. Sellew said. “People are buying and loving our product, and we were not supplying market level to meet demands.”
Still a small supplier compared to California, which dominates the industry and provides more than 90 percent of the region’s lettuces, Little Leaf is showing it can deliver a superior product year-round that doesn’t take weeks to transport to New England, making the product on the shelf fresher than what is grown on the West Coast.
“Prior to us, 100 percent of lettuce came from California and Arizona,” Mr. Sellew said. “We’re up against these billion-dollar California lettuce conglomerates. We’re a small local producer, and we had to win the battle in the marketplace by demonstrating we could deliver a superior product to California’s product.”
The only year-round lettuce supplier in Massachusetts, Mr. Sellew said the expansion costing “in the millions” was also an investment in the development of the local food movement still in its infancy.
“One crop we’re looking at seriously is romaine,” he said. “With the recent romaine scare from California and Arizona field producers, people have asked us to grow romaine that is safer to eat.
“A field with people and animals is not a controlled environment, and you don’t know what is running from the field. A greenhouse is a completely controlled environment. There is no way disease can enter the system, and you can have a safe product year-round. California growers can’t make that same claim. ”
Another distinction of Little Leaf is that it captures water from the roofs of the greenhouses and stores it in a lined pool and disinfects it for irrigation.
“In Massachusetts, we have water, and the West Coast doesn’t,” Mr. Sellew said. “They are pumping it out of the ground and putting it in a lettuce leaf and transporting it across the country. In a sense, you’re drinking California water in the form of a lettuce leaf, and it doesn’t make sense. It makes sense to grow it where you have 47 of inches of rain a year. California has less than 5 inches. Pumping out groundwater is completely unsustainable.”
Nikita D. Geovanis, order fulfillment manager at Little Leaf, said the business produces 8,000 pounds of lettuce a day in summer and about 7,000 in the winter.
“This is the most technologically advanced greenhouse in the world,” Mr. Geovanis said. “We’re here disrupting the industry and taking a market share share.”
Timothy K. Cunniff, co-founder and executive vice president of sales and marketing, said the first hurdle was getting a space on the retail shelf, “which is valuable real estate.”
“They cut us into the set, and we were getting noticed and repeat purchases,” Mr. Cunniff said. “Consumers know us and are actively talking about us. It’s been crazy.”
Little Leaf is also growing in the food service sector, he said, with their lettuce in area colleges, hospitals and restaurants.
“It wasn’t our primary focus, but we’re trying to feed as many people as we can,” he said. “The majority of our food comes through the grocery store. We’re in over 1,000 grocery stores. It has been an emotional roller coaster, without a doubt — the first year — and now it’s like, we got a tiger by the tail. We’re not just targeting the intellectual elite who want to support the local food movement. We’re targeting everyone.”
Andy W. Kendall, executive director of the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, said the aim is to try to grow locally as much of the food consumed in New England as possible to make New England more resilient.
“Most of the food that comes to New England travels thousands of miles,” Mr. Kendall said. “We’re at the end of a long supply chain that originates in California, the West and other places around the world.”
In Boston alone, he said the market for lettuce is about $100 million, and 99 percent comes from California and out West.
“It is not rare that you will see it already going bad and literally have to rush to eat it,” he said. “It’s not a great experience. With Little Leaf, it may be 12 hours before it appears on the shelf from when it was actually growing. It looks better and tastes better, and the consumer gets the benefit of having it in their fridge for the three weeks it would take to get here from California.”
GrowGeneration Launches B2B Platform on Amazon.com
GrowGeneration Launches B2B Platform on Amazon.com
PRESS RELEASE PR Newswire
Jul. 18, 2018
Hydroponics Sales Projected to be in excess of $100M on Amazon, growing at 80% Year Over Year
DENVER, July 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - GrowGeneration Corp. (OTCQX: GRWG), ("GrowGeneration", "GrowGen" or the "Company"), one of the largest specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening store chain, with 18 locations serving both commercial and home growers, announced today that it has formed a strategic partnership with Amazon to launch hydroponic and organic garden supplies online. GrowGeneration is onboarding thousands of products to offer the best pricing and world-class logistics with two-day delivery or better.
GrowGen CEO Comments:
"As part of our omni channel strategy of delivering our highly specialized suite of products for hydroponic growing, partnering with Amazon as our online solution allows us to reach a truly extensive audience of professional growers. Amazon's logistics are the best in the world and by selling through them, we can deliver on a direct basis anywhere in the country just in time. We project that Amazon will generate significant sales for GrowGen."
The Upstart Group CEO Comments:
"As a preferred partner of Amazon, The Upstart Group and GrowGeneration will work hand in hand to capture the $100M+ hydroponics space. Together we strive to bring GrowGen's product suite to market, and service the online hydroponics and organic gardening consumer. We are certainly excited about the opportunity that lies ahead, as we look for a bright future in the B2B eCommerce category with GrowGen."
According to Forrester, it is estimated that B2B eCommerce will reach $1.2 trillion and account for 13.1% of all B2B sales in the US by 2021. By offering our full product suite through the Amazon platform, and with 197 million unique monthly visitors, GrowGeneration seeks to capitalize on the projected growth of the B2B sector.
GrowGeneration fully understands that online buying is the new normal for American businesses and in order to continue to evolve, a partnership with Amazon is a necessity. Nearly half of online consumers are tech-savvy and sophisticated; they expect purchasing to be instinctive, with self-service interfaces and 24/7 eCommerce availability. With this new partnership, GrowGeneration intends to build upon this foundation for their digital strategy and ensure that all customers become loyal brand advocates who view GrowGeneation as a leader in the Hydroponics industry.
About GrowGeneration Corp.:
GrowGeneration Corp. ("GrowGen") owns and operates specialty retail hydroponic and organic gardening stores. Currently, GrowGen has 18 stores, which includes 6 locations in Colorado, 6 locations in California, 3 locations in Michigan, 1 location in Las Vegas, 1 location in Rhode Islandand 1 location in Washington. GrowGen carries and sells thousands of products, including organic nutrients and soils, advanced lighting technology and state of the art hydroponic equipment to be used indoors and outdoors by commercial and home growers. Our mission is to own and operate GrowGeneration branded stores in all the major legalized cannabis states. Management estimates that roughly 1,000 hydroponic stores are in operation in the U.S. By 2020 the market is estimated to reach over $23 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 32%.
Forward Looking Statements:
This press release may include predictions, estimates or other information that might be considered forward-looking within the meaning of applicable securities laws. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgments, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect our opinions only as of the date of this release. Please keep in mind that we are not obligating ourselves to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events. When used herein, words such as "look forward," "believe," "continue," "building," or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in any forward-looking statements made by us herein are often discussed in filings we make with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, available at: www.sec.gov, and on our website, at: www.growgeneration.com.
Connect:
• Website: www.growgeneration.com
• Facebook: GrowGenerationCorp
• Twitter: @GrowGenOK
• Instagram: @growgen
View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/growgeneration-launches-b2b-platform-on-amazoncom-300682734.html
SOURCE GrowGeneration
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Rep. Goyke Commends UW School for Urban Agriculture Initiative
Rep. Goyke Commends UW School for Urban Agriculture Initiative
Rep. Goyke Commends UW School for Urban Agriculture Initiative
Federal USDA grant follows on urban farming legislation introduced by Rep. Goyke calling for a School of Urban Agriculture in Wisconsin
By State Rep. Evan Goyke - Jul 12th, 2018
MADISON – The University of Wisconsin – Madison recently received a three year federal grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to initiate the creation of a School for Urban Agriculture. The new school, as part of the University’s Farming the City Project, will target students, farmers, and non-profit staff.
This legislative session Rep. Goyke introduced the “The Wisconsin Urban Farming Futures” Initiative that focused on promoting urban agriculture in Wisconsin, including funding and sitting for a future urban agriculture school (Assembly Bills 671, 672, 673, 674).
According to the grant description the new school and program will “…create curricula that meets the needs of students seeking short, intense training in specific aspects of urban agriculture (workshop and short course instruction) and the needs of four-year baccalaureate students who are interested in enhancing their education in this emerging content area.
…Importantly, the project will also target secondary students in an existing pipeline for college-level agricultural training in Wisconsin. In doing so, the project envisions a future workforce of urban farmers reflecting the social composition of the communities where many urban farms are being established.”
In response to the grant announcement and in support of its goals, Rep. Goyke stated:
“The fields of urban farmers look very different than the dairy farm my grandfather owned. Urban Agriculture offers a modern expansion of one of Wisconsin’s strongest traditions and can transform urban communities. In Milwaukee, we’ve seen new life spring from the ashes of old industry. Growing fresh healthy food in and near cities offers positive economic activity, job skills training, brings diverse communities together, and offers access to quality healthy food. Wisconsin’s agricultural future rests in the hands of future farmers, including those in this emerging sector of our agricultural economy. This new initiative and school will provide the tools and skills necessary for Wisconsin’s urban farmers to be successful.”
Chicago's North Lawndale’s ‘Farm on Ogden’ Looks to Supply Fresh Produce, Jobs
North Lawndale’s ‘Farm on Ogden’ Looks to Supply Fresh Produce, Jobs
Alex Ruppenthal | June 19, 2018
A graphic rendering of the soon-to-be-completed Farm on Ogden, which opens June 22. (Courtesy Chicago Botanic Garden)
Angela Mason has spent decades running school and neighborhood garden programs in Chicago, but she’s never been part of anything quite like this.
Neither has anyone else.
On Friday, two organizations that might seem to have little in common – the Chicago Botanic Garden and Lawndale Christian Health Center – will celebrate the opening of the Farm on Ogden, a 20,000-square-foot urban agriculture facility that aims to bring healthy foods and good-paying jobs to North Lawndale. Data shows that North Lawndale has some of the highest unemployment and poverty rates in the city, and residents there suffer from conditions such as diabetes and post-traumatic stress syndrome at rates far exceeding city and national averages.
Located in the heart of the Southwest Side neighborhood – at 3555 Ogden Ave., next to the Central Park Pink Line CTA station – the Farm on Ogden will allow the Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest to expand programs for job training, farming, food safety, cooking and nutrition, while also providing more fresh produce to community members and patients at Lawndale Christian Health Center.
Participants in Windy City Harvest's Corps training program construct a platform for the Farm on Ogden's aquaponics system. (Courtesy Chicago Botanic Garden)
Mason said the project is the culmination of 15 years of work in urban agriculture – and a giant step forward from the school and neighborhood-focused garden programs she once ran.
“We used to say that our programs served 10,000 kids per year,” said Mason, who has led Windy City Harvest since shortly after its founding in 2001. “But what does that really mean when you spend 20 minutes with one kid, put a plant in the ground and say, ‘Good luck,’ and then walk away?”
With the Farm on Ogden, Mason said Windy City Harvest will be able to grow its job training program – which targets people who have been incarcerated – from 250 to 350 people per year. Participants in the program can obtain industry-specific training certificates in a number of areas, including aquaponics and vertical farming, edible landscaping and rooftop farming.
Thanks to the new facility, Windy City Harvest will also be able to operate its Youth Farm job training program year-round as opposed to only during summer months.
“If you can pack and sort produce or perishable items, you can pack and sort car parts,” said Mason, noting that participants in WCH’s training programs have landed jobs at Whole Foods, Eataly Chicago, a number of food distribution warehouses and other companies. “It’s just figuring out how to transfer that skill to another industry.”
Tilapia tanks for the aquaponics system at the Farm on Ogden (Courtesy Chicago Botanic Garden)
The farm will also supply produce to patients at Lawndale Christian Health Center through the Veggie Rx program, which allows doctors to write prescriptions for healthy foods to combat diet-related conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. The program, which served 160 families last year, will now aim to provide boxes of fresh produce to 400 families, Mason said.
The space will also feature a 7,300-square-foot greenhouse, a commercial and teaching kitchen, a year-round farm stand and shared space for urban farmers – in addition to a 50,000-gallon aquaponics system, which will produce 2,500 heads of lettuce each week and 14,000 pounds of tilapia annually.
Once fully complete in several months, the facility will glow with special purple LED lights facing one of the city’s busiest streets.
“It’s no accident that we chose to put this on Ogden Avenue,” said Dr. Wayne Detmer, director of operations for Lawndale Christian Health Center. “We want this to be a place where people can see possibilities in a neighborhood where that’s not often the case.”
Detmer first envisioned something like the Farm on Ogden in 2010 after attending a seminar at Duke University’s Divinity School, where he met a theologian who made the case that providing residents with access to local foods is a societal responsibility.
Detmer and Mason connected soon after and eventually joined forces to try and make something of their shared vision for a new type of urban garden.
To Detmer’s knowledge, the project is the nation’s first to combine elements of a community health clinic, botanic garden, agriculture-focused jobs training program and a year-round farm stand.
An overhead view of the Farm on Ogden site during construction in summer 2017 (Courtesy Chicago Botanic Garden)
Detmer estimates that the new farm stand, or “healthy corner store,” could draw tens of thousands of residents each year, given the success of an existing farm stand stationed at Lawndale Christian Health Center, which sells out every week.
But he acknowledges that it’s difficult to project whether the Farm on Ogden will actually work – or, if it does, how anyone will be able to tell.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to measure the direct impact on our community in terms of health indicators,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we’re not going to try.”
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago are already on board to study the project’s effect on residents’ health and well-being, and other researchers could join the effort later, Detmer said.
Based on the project’s initial performance, Detmer said it could expand to serve a broader range of individuals by adding programs for those suffering from mental illness or substance abuse.
“Getting people doing things related to growing and being exposed to nature can be therapeutic in and of itself,” Detmer said.
The Farm on Garden will host an opening celebration and ribbon cutting on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. A community celebration is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Visit the Chicago Botanic Garden’s website for more information.
Contact Alex Ruppenthal: @arupp | aruppenthal@wttw.com | (773) 509-5623
Mucci Farms Expanding Its Greenhouse Operations
Mucci Farms Expanding Its Greenhouse Operations
BY KEITH LORIA | JULY 06, 2018
As a vertically integrated grower, packer, shipper and marketer of greenhouse-grown product, Mucci Farms owns more than 200 acres of tomato, Bell pepper, cucumber, lettuce and strawberry greenhouses in Kingsville, ON. In addition, the first 24 acres of a 60-acre expansion in Huron, OH, is now in operation.
Mucci Farms has added the first 24 acres of a 60-acre expansion in Huron, OH.
Kingsville is also home to a 24-acre strawberry farm, which will be 36 acres by this fall, and is among the largest indoor strawberry farms in North America. Including support growers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, the company markets for more than 700 acres.
Joe Spano, vice president of Mucci International Marketing Inc., noted a company needs to grow high-quality fruits/vegetables with premium flavor and consistent supply to be a success in this segment.
“You need to establish great relationships with retail partners and most importantly execute by delivering fresh product on time and of premium quality,” Spano said. “Offering marketing support through packaging, world-class branding and social media to assist with the sale of items and having the ability to manage unforeseen circumstances is also important.”
In 2018, Mucci Farms is enjoying a strong greenhouse harvest, as the crops look great and it is adding new automation equipment to improve packing efficiencies.
“We are introducing a Mucci Logistics App to allow retailers to track shipments in real time via GPS and communicate with dispatch or the driver through the app,” Spano said. “We also have several new packages coming out. One in particular is for a new cucumber variety, which includes a compartment that holds dip.”
In addition, the company is partnering with Henry Frose from Thermo Energy Systems to donate a greenhouse to be built on the site of Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor, ON, to serve as a place for the hospital to grow fresh produce and also for the greenhouse to serve as a healing garden for patients.
“Overall, we want people to know that we are a modern, forward-thinking company that is invested in the future of farming,” said Emily Murracas, director of marketing at Mucci International Marketing Inc. “In addition to business objectives, we also have social objectives that revolve around environmentally safe growing practices, social responsibility, sustainability and a high emphasis on corporate culture.”
Mucci Farms is also extremely involved in the community, hosting and sponsoring numerous events and initiatives throughout the year.
“We deliver fresh produce to multiple schools weekly, take part in fitness events and charitable fundraisers to raise awareness for health and wellness through the consumption of fresh vegetables,” Murracas said. “We want people to know that we are a family company that cares about more than just business. We are good corporate citizens that are keen on immersing ourselves into the community and take part in programs that encourage healthy living.”
Gotham Greens Raises $29 Million In Growth Equity Funding
Gotham Greens Raises $29 Million In Growth Equity Funding
JULY 06, 2018
Gotham Greens, a leading urban greenhouse developer and grower of locally and sustainably grown produce, has announced the closing of $29 million in Series C equity funding last month. The new round brings the company’s total funding to $45 million, not including bank debt. Since its launch in 2011, Gotham Greens has grown from a single urban rooftop greenhouse in Brooklyn to a multi-state indoor farming leader and one of the largest hydroponic leafy greens producers in North America.
The round was led by the company’s existing investors, including the Silverman Group, along with a significant new investment from Creadev, a global private equity investment firm controlled by the Mulliez family.
“This funding enables us to continue on our path of rapid growth that is providing consumers with fresher, better tasting, locally grown produce while transforming urban real estate and promoting sustainable agriculture,” said Viraj Puri, co-founder, and chief executive officer. “We’re inspired every day by the dedication and talent of our team to grow and purvey exceptionally high-quality, nutritious produce while contributing to the better food movement.”
Gotham Greens grows fresh produce in technologically advanced, climate-controlled urban greenhouses in close proximity to retailers and food service providers. This ensures year-round supply chain reliability, transparency, and traceability. The company currently owns and operates four production-scale facilities in New York City and Chicago totaling 170,000 square feet and has another 500,000 square feet under development in five states. The company announced new greenhouses in Chicago and Baltimore earlier this year. The funding will help finance the expansion trajectory, widen distribution, grow its team, and enhance research and development in controlled environment food production techniques, data science, and machine learning.
“The oversubscribed financing is strong validation of our proven farm unit economics, efficient utilization of capital, growth rate, and best in class brand,” said Eric Haley, co-founder, and chief financial officer. “We are excited to welcome Creadev to the Gotham Greens family and for this next phase of growth to bring local produce nationwide.”
“Indoor farming is one of the most exciting and promising sectors in the world of food and ag-tech. Gotham Greens is a clear market leader and is positioned for significant growth. We were highly impressed by the company’s proven track record, greenhouse profitability, exceptional product quality and human-driven values,” said Delphine Descamps, managing director for Creadev USA. “We believe that the Gotham Greens team will continue to significantly influence how fresh produce is grown and distributed both in the U.S. and globally.
Gotham Greens’ business model combines proven hydroponic controlled environment agriculture together with proprietary cultivation techniques and the art of growing. The company reports best-in-class crop yields under the leadership of managing partner and plant scientist, Jenn Nelkin Frymark. Gotham Greens’ greenhouses are powered by 100 percent renewable electricity and yield up to 30 times more crop per acre than conventional agriculture while using 90 percent less water and eliminating agricultural runoff and the use of harmful chemicals.
The company’s growing methods and shortened supply chain reduce the risk of food-borne pathogens. By locating its greenhouse farms in cities, Gotham Greens eliminates the environmental footprint and food waste linked to shipping produce long distances while advocating for improved healthy food access, environmental education, and green collar economic development.