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Urban Farming Growing in Popularity
The number of urban farms and farmers is increasing, with many making use of idle garden space.
Posted on September 14, 2018 by korea bizwire
More people are considering urban farming as a leisure pastime activity, as well as a way to harvest safer crops. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of urban farms and farmers is increasing, with many making use of idle garden space.
According to Gyeonggi Province and Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services, there were 552,000 people engaged in farming over 3.2 square kilometers of land in cities at the end of 2017.
While farm size grew by 27.2 percent compared to three years ago, the number of farmers surged by 83.8 percent.
The majority of urban farming was done in community spaces, such as weekend farms, which accounted for 47.9 percent of urban farms. Farming in parks followed at 33.4 percent, and then school farms at 8.5 percent.
Other farms made up a smaller proportion, such as house gardens at 0.4 percent, tall building rooftops at 0.8 percent, and seniors centers at 5 percent.
Among urban farmers, 41.8 percent took part in community farms, while 20 percent raised crops in parks and 16.1 percent at school farms.
Urban agriculture is increasing in popularity, presumably because city dwellers are looking to harvest safer crops using their small patch of idle land. Some raise crops as part of a yearning for the rural lifestyle from where they come from, or to get a taste of a more pastoral life.
In addition, more people are considering urban farming as a leisure pastime activity. Some local communities want to use farming as a method for citizens to hang out and build friendships.
Central and local governments are also supporting urban agriculture.
Gyeonggi Province aims to list all patches of land in 31 cities and counties in the province that are eligible for farming. The provincial government will also inspect the management of such farms so that it can nurture urban agriculture in a more planned and systematic manner.
Gyeonggi Agricultural Research and Extension Services is developing programs to teach urban farmers about crops suitable for farming in cities as well as farming techniques.
The 7th Korean Urban Agriculture Expo is being held in Hwaseong between September 13 and 20, jointly hosted by Gyeonggi Province, Hwaseong City, the Rural Development Administration and the Korea Forest Service.
Joey Yoo (joeyyoo@koreabizwire.com)
Rooftop Farming: Why Vertical Gardening is Blooming in Kampala
The urban farm is just one of many springing up in and around Kampala, a city of more than 1.5 million people, as residents find creative solutions to the challenges of urbanisation.
Nils Adler in Kampala
Wed 19 Sep 2018 05.28 BSTLast modified on Tue 16 Oct 2018 15.11 BST
When Martin Agaba realised his urban farm had run out of space, he decided the solution was not to expand outwards but upwards.
“We realised we had to use the roof,” he says. Of all the innovations that have galvanised people in his district in the Ugandan capital Kampala to grow their own food, these vertical box plantations remain his favourite.
Kwagala farm, located on half an acre of land, is the brainchild of Diana Nambatya, a professor in public health, who began growing vegetables to save money on food in 2010.
After receiving two cows as a dowry, she decided to use their dung to generate biogas for her home. Her burgeoning urban farm soon attracted the attention of the neighbours, and in 2012 she started training women at a small demonstration centre.
Growth spurt: a child carries a tray of plants in eggshell flowerpots. Photograph: Nils Adler
The urban farm is just one of many springing up in and around Kampala, a city of more than 1.5 million people, as residents find creative solutions to the challenges of urbanisation. Between 2002 and 2010, Uganda’s urban population grew by 5.6%. This process, Martin Agaba believes, is eroding young people’s interest in Uganda’s agricultural sector, which employs approximately 69% of the population.
Agaba trains children that live around Kwagala farm in how to grow strawberries, yams and spring onions. “We are motivating children to not rely just on boda bodas (motorcycle taxis – a popular form of informal employment) or TV but to do something creative every day.”
Brian Ndyaguma, an entrepreneur and restaurant owner, says: “Somehow the young generation deserted the way our parents’ generation did things, so if you are going to convince young people to jump into agriculture, it has to be made sexy – it has to be made appealing to them”.
It was Kwagala farm’s creative reuse of old tyres that first attracted visitors. Then, as they began to experiment with using other materials, such as disused drainpipes and milk cartons, some of the local children began to create their own designs. “Now the children do not copy what we do,” says Agaba. “They do their own thing.”
Harriet Nakabaale’s urban farm in the Kawaala district of Kampala is popular among locals who want to learn how to grow crops in their urban spaces. Photograph: Nils Adler
Harriet Nakabaale runs a small farm called Camp Green in the Kawaala area of Kampala. She collects the plastic bottles discarded by her neighbours. By cutting them, she can use them as flowerpots; by perforating them, they can become watering devices. Nothing goes to waste. Even the shells of the eggs produced by her chickens will be used to grow cress.
Kwagala farm has three cows which they feed with banana peel and corn, which is grown using hydroponics, a method of growing plants using a water-based solution instead of soil. Agaba and his colleagues collect the cow dung, which they use to produce fertiliser.
Despite the business potential, there are no plans to expand the farm. “We do not need more than three cows,” says Abaga. “We are teaching people to keep less but to do more with what they have.” An education programme at the farm has trained more than 700 women and young people in urban farming and how to make organic fertiliser and biofuel. Martin Agaba, who works at Kwagala urban farm, says: ‘We don’t keep more than three cows. We teach people to keep fewer and do more with what they have.’
Photograph: Nils Adler
Brian Ndyaguma relies on urban farms in Kampala for a large proportion of his restaurants’ vegetables, herbs and fruits. He sees a business opportunity not just for urban dwellers but rural farmers as well. “We still have a big advantage here in Uganda because we have good soil, so food is largely available. The challenge is the distribution.”
Congestion, lack of refrigerated trucks and long hot days in the markets can make it difficult for the food grown outside of the city to stay fresh. “Urban farming gives rural farmers with more space the opportunity to concentrate on perennial crops, like corn or cereal,” he says.
Agaba is an engineer and, like most of the people working on the farm, he has a day job, choosing to work at the farm as a pastime. Though he doesn’t sell much of what he grows, he still recognises there are financial benefits to his hobby. “Growing your own food makes you money by saving you money.”
Urban farms offer some respite from the hustle and bustle of Kampala. Photograph: Ivoha/Alamy
Green Life Farms Announces Innovative Partnership with Hydronov for Sustainable Ag-Tech Greenhouse
Flagship hydroponic farm will feature Hydronov’s industry-leading deep-water floating raft technology to grow premium baby greens year-round
Boynton Beach, FL (November 19, 2018) – Green Life Farms has selected Hydronov, a Pranger Company, to design, construct and provide technology for its state-of-the-art hydroponic farm in Boynton Beach, FL. This agreement marks an important milestone as Green Life Farms prepares to begin commercial operation in the first half of 2019. Green Life Farms will grow premium baby leafy greens year-round from its Boynton Beach facility.
Green Life Farms has selected Hydronov, a Pranger Company, to design, construct and provide technology for its state-of-the-art hydroponic farm in Boynton Beach, FL. Green Life Farms will use Hydronov’s pioneering deep-water floating raft technology (pictured above), which is cost effective and environmentally friendly.
Green Life Farms has selected Hydronov, a Pranger Company, to design, construct and provide technology for its state-of-the-art hydroponic farm in Boynton Beach, FL. Green Life Farms will use Hydronov’s pioneering deep-water floating raft technology (pictured above), which is cost effective and environmentally friendly.
Green Life Farms will use Hydronov’s deep-water floating raft technology (FRT) to grow baby leafy greens for supermarkets, restaurants, cruise ships, and other customers from its state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse in South Florida. Hydronov is a pioneer in the hydroponic sector, leading the way with this cost-effective and environmentally-friendly method of hydroponic growing.
“Partnering with Hydronov and leveraging the company’s leading technology will help us realize our vision for Green Life Farms – growing sustainable and delicious leafy greens for consumers in South Florida and beyond,” said Mike Ferree, Vice President, Green Life Farms. “Green Life Farms will grow baby leafy greens that are good for your body, family, community, and planet. Creating a sustainable facility by using leading Ag-Tech methodology, along with green energy and other environmentally-friendly practices, brings our mission to life.”
FRT helps to conserve water, allowing a buffer for fertilization and oxygen control, and provides an integrated Harvest Transportation System which uses the water in which the plants grow as a conveyer system, eliminating the costs and maintenance associated with mechanical conveyers. No water is lost through soil or growing media; there is no direct evaporation by the sun, no dumping of growing solution and no dripping gutters. The FRT system leads to higher productivity, producing up to 18 crop harvests per year versus the five harvests per year with soil-based greenhouse growers.
Hydronov is an industry leader in the design and construction of hydroponic growing facilities. With more than 30 years of experience in hydroponics and aquaponics, the company brings industry-leading expertise to the innovative project with Green Life Farms.
“We’re excited to partner with Green Life Farms on this state-of-the-art project,” said Gabe Pranger, owner of Hydronov. “Growing leafy greens in South Florida presents a number of unique challenges, but we’re confident that the combination of Hydronov’s technology and construction management expertise with Green Life Farms’ strategy will result in great success.”
Green Life Farms produce will set new standards for cleanliness, freshness, and taste. Grown locally, using sustainable farming practices combined with the most advanced AgTech practices, and kept free from pesticides and contaminants, Green Life Farms baby leafy greens are good for your body, family, community, and planet.
For more information about Green Life Farms, visit GreenLifeFarms.ag. Please contact Elayne@GreenLifeFarms.ag for sales and Ray@GreenLifeFarms.ag for investor relations.
About Green Life Farms
Green Life Farms is constructing a 100,000 square foot state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse in Boynton Beach, Florida, with additional expansion planned in Florida and beyond. Commercial operation is expected to begin in the first half of 2019. By incorporating agriculture with technology, Green Life Farms will provide consumers with premium-quality, fresh, local, flavorful and clean baby leafy greens that are good for their bodies, families, communities and planet – year-round.
About Hydronov
Hydronov LLC was purchased by Nick Pranger and Gabe Pranger in 2017. Since its beginnings in the 1980s with founder Luc DeRochers, Hydronov has focused on innovation in the greenhouse industry. The success of a small research project developed into Hydronov’s unique growing system, Deep Water Floating Raft Technology. Today, Hydronov’s technology is a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and profitable way to grow hydroponic lettuce, herbs, and produce. Hydronov is headquartered in Ashley, Indiana. Learn more about Hydronov’s floating raft technology at www.hydronov.com.
CAN (BC): Bevo Agro Taken Over By Cannabis Grower, Changes Name To Zenabis
Combined entity will have 3.5 million square feet of growing space
CAN (BC): Bevo Agro Taken Over By Cannabis Grower, Changes Name To Zenabis
Bevo Agro has signed an Arrangement Agreement dated October 4, 2018 with Sun Pharm for a reverse take-over of Bevo.
The Transaction involves three main elements:
the amalgamation of Sun Pharm with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bevo, with Sun Pharm shareholders receiving Bevo shares representing 86% of the outstanding Bevo shares (the expected exchange ratio being one Bevo share for each Sun Pharm share) and the existing Bevo shareholders continuing to hold Bevo shares representing a 14% interest in Bevo.
a plan of arrangement under which Bevo will distribute its interest in Cubic to the shareholders of Bevo, with Bevo shareholders expected to receive one common share of Cubic for every Bevo share held.
Bevo changing its name to Zenabis Global Inc. (“Zenabis,” being one of Sun Pharm’s established brands in the cannabis industry).
The transaction was unanimously approved by the board of directors of Bevo. Shareholders holding approximately 58% of Bevo’s common shares have entered into voting agreements committing to vote their Bevo common shares in favour of the transaction.
Zenabis
Sun Pharm is currently a privately-held cannabis company which has one of the largest, federally licensed indoor medical cultivation footprints in Canada, operating two licensed production facilities in British Columbia and New Brunswick, with a third expected to be coming online shortly in Nova Scotia. These facilities encompass 660,000 square feet of indoor pharmaceutical grade cannabis production space, strategically positioned on Canada’s coasts, facilitating national distribution and access to international markets. Sun Pharm has received purchase agreements for recreational cannabis from each of the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch, New Brunswick Liquor Corporation, Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation, and Yukon Liquor Corporation.
Following the completion of the Transaction, Bevo’s greenhouse facilities in Langley are intended to be expanded and retrofitted to integrate advanced propagation technologies and state-of-the-art lighting and ventilation systems. On completion of the expected expansion of these greenhouse facilities, Zenabis will have 660,000 square feet of indoor space and 2.8 million square feet of state-of-the-art greenhouse space in three provinces – British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Proposed management team
It is currently anticipated that the management of the resulting issuer will include each of Rick Brar (Chief Executive Officer), Leo Benne (Chief Growing Officer), John Hoekstra (Chief Financial Officer), Mike McGinty (Chief Administrative Officer) and Kevin Coft (Chief Facilities Officer).
Rick Brar – Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Rick Brar is an experienced business leader in the cannabis, nutraceutical, beverage, consumer packaged goods, agriculture, land development and construction sectors. Mr. Brar has international expertise in emerging market sectors, having incubated and grown several companies over his career. He is experienced in sales and marketing, with demonstrated success in corporate sales growth, new market penetration, new product development, and long range planning. Mr. Brar was previously the Chief Executive Officer of International Herbs Limited, where he led one of the largest herb companies in North America for nine years.
Leo Benne – Chief Growing Officer
Mr. Leo Benne is currently Vice President and a Director of Bevo, and the General Manager of Bevo Farms Ltd., the company’s wholly owned subsidiary. Mr. Benne gained advanced knowledge of modern horticultural methods at Rijks Middelbare Tuinbouwschool in Holland. Mr. Benne has overseen every stage of the company’s operations, from planting to shipping. He has been with Bevo for over 25 years.
John Hoekstra – Chief Financial Officer
Mr. John Hoekstra is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Bevo Agro, where he oversees all finance, administration and accounting activities. He joined Bevo in 2004, shortly after the company went public. Prior to joining Bevo, Mr. Hoekstra worked as Supply Chain Manager at Air Liquide Canada, and at Unitor Ships Service as Branch Manager. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) and holds a Business Administration degree from Redeemer University.
Mike McGinty – Chief Administrative Officer
Mr. Mike McGinty has extensive experience in large-scale coordination and planning. Previously, he was a post-graduate tutor in leadership and planning for senior government and military staff from Canada and over 25 allied nations worldwide. Mr. McGinty was a senior officer in the British Army and served widely overseas, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was responsible for more than 1,000 people with $2 billion in capital assets. Mike remains an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces. He also served as the Head of Risk and Security for UBC Okanagan.
Kevin Coft – Chief Facilities Officer
Mr. Kevin Coft is an operational and supply chain professional with over 30 years of Canadian and international procurement, facility operations, and managerial experience. His industrial expertise covers a wide range of functions including navigating Health Canada’s regulatory licensing, team development, facility construction, strategic analysis, import/export operations, logistics, warehousing, customer relationship management, benchmarking, and business systems analysis.
“Our primary goal with this merger is to expand Zenabis’ capacity to supply high-quality cannabis for worldwide distribution. We will achieve this by taking advantage of Bevo’s greenhouse growing expertise to cultivate high-quality cannabis,” said Mr. Brar. “This is a unique partnership that gives Zenabis a significant advantage among Canadian producers as we continue to grow our business to meet Canadian and international demand.”
“This transaction represents a positive growth opportunity for Bevo Agro, as Zenabis intends to invest up to $100 million to expand our greenhouse facility to provide state-of-the-art cannabis production capacity, while maintaining our existing propagation and floral business,” said Mr. Benne. “This partnership will bring new jobs and economic opportunities to the communities in which we operate, while we continue to support the local and international food and floral markets.”
Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV acceptance and if applicable, disinterested shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.
Acquisition of additional greenhouse operations and land
Bevo has also entered into a purchase agreement with an arm’s length third party to acquire 10.4 acres of greenhouse operations on 50 acres of land in Aldergrove, British Columbia. Post-amalgamation, Zenabis intends to use this greenhouse acreage to ensure continuity for existing Bevo propagation customers. The greenhouse acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close prior to December 31, 2018.
For more information:
Zenabis
info@zenabis.com
www.zenabis.com
Bevo Agro
www.bevofarms.com
Publication date : 10/5/2018
"Smart Lighting Makes Growing Easier And More Cost Effective"
After being in the LED market for years, ITC is now expanding in to horticulture with the Amplify and Amplify Plus product lines. Remarkable is how their smart LED lighting solution can be steered on the actual weather conditions at individual locations.
"Our research resulted in grow light products, specifically intended to reduce energy usage, increase yield, and enhance plant strength", the team with ITC explains while showing their new Amplify product line. "It offers multiple, scientifically proven spectrums and lamp configurations to provide a solution for greenhouse or controlled environment growers."
The LEDs used in the Amplify product line are optimized for light distribution and plant level light intensity. The spectrum options are focused on the light needs of different cultivars at different points of development. "These are key to consistent and even growth patterns, that produce better yields and quicker turns. While the finned heatsink design of the lamp dissipates the minimal heat and the whale tail feature provides an additional protective shield for water and dirt intrusion."
Extra attention is paid to the design of the fixtures. "The simple hang and plug single and double lamp options are great for narrower spaces or long runs. Both are available in 80 or 150 degree light spreads. The 5-Lamp fixture gives consistent light placement across larger areas while reducing the number of electrical drops needed. This feature reduces install labor and can comply with existing infrastructure of greenhouses."
Smart lamps
And then there's the smart technology. "Many experts continue to explore the complexities that climate change and environmental factors are having on our food growing capabilities. These factors are making the consistency within food production environments a necessity.
Nebula Controls modules
Nebula Controls, a technology company, is providing artificial intelligent wireless controls for ITC Horticulture’s Amplify Plus smart LED lighting. This partnership is enabling the ability to program and reprogram the cloud based lighting control operation from mobile devices for enhanced growth and energy savings.
"Based on weather conditions at individual locations or programmed zones the Nebula Control smart control system is able to maximize efficiencies and reduce energy usage with minimal human dependency", the team explains. "Both ITC Horticulture’s Amplify Plus smart LED lighting and Nebula Controls are working to elevate supplement and controlled environmental horticulture lighting to a new level by using a new state-of-the-art smart lighting control system that contribute to consistent high performing food production environments. This way we are working to make growing easier and more cost effective for today and tomorrow."
For more information:
Nebula Controls
519-749-3373
contact@nebulacontrols.ca
Publication date : 11/16/2018
EPA Case Study: Estimating The Environmental Effects of Green Roofs
Aramis Velazquez | November 2018
Photo: EPA
EPA Staff of Environmental Protection Agency writes:
Green roofs can contribute to environmental and livability goals—to mitigate the urban heat island effect, maintain clean air and water, and lower energy costs in buildings—while greening the urban landscape. As this methodology demonstrates, city planners, environmental regulators, and other practitioners can estimate the environmental and public health benefits of green roofs using free, credible, accessible tools. Because of the multiple benefits green roofs provide, they are gaining traction from a diverse set of stakeholders and businesses.
Interested parties nationwide can apply these methods and point to other evidence-based studies to estimate the value of green roofs and other green design practices in their areas. Using this methodology to quantitatively demonstrate the benefits of green roofs provides tangible data to decision-makers who have the power to implement green roofs as a strategy for achieving local environmental and public health goals.
The EPA-published case study, Estimating the Environmental Effects of Green Roofs, demonstrates the environmental and health benefits of green roofs for Kansas City, Missouri. The case study lays out a replicable analytical framework using free quantitative tools created by EPA and others that state and local decision-makers and practitioners can use to assess the multiple benefits of green roofs.
Aside from quantifying the benefits of green roofs, cities are pursuing ways to encourage green roof adoption, including voluntary incentives and regulatory mandates. Many cities have enacted policies that encourage green roof development through rebate programs, tax incentives, or fast-track permitting programs.
23 Cities that have implemented these policies—including Washington, D.C.; Toronto, Ontario; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Seattle, Washington; and Chicago, Illinois—also reported the largest square footage of green roof installations in 2016.
Find more information about Green Roofs in the EPA website.
Check out this video of the 909 Walnut Green Roof Project (from our Greenroofs.com Projects Database) in Kansas City, MO by Stott & Associates Architects, Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, Soprema, Turf & Soil Diagnostics, and many more:
We Visited The Small Town In Colombia That Will Supply The World With Weed
Colombia’s climate and farming industry perfectly position it to dominate the global cannabis market.
ROB HOFFMAN 2018
Photo by Naotomo Umewaka/HERB
It was the rainy season in Colombia, and as we left the buzzing city center of Medellín for the hills of Rionegro, the smoke from thousands of motorcycles and transport trucks yielded to a low hanging mountain fog. Outside the car window was a collage of green, brown and blue “fincas”—Colombian cottage-style homes—scattered over the Andes mountain range. But the elaborate displays of carnations, orchids, and chrysanthemums that decorated these fincas soon disappeared, too. In their place: nearly 3 million square feet of cannabis plants, organized in neat rows beneath white greenhouses that stretch to the horizon.
A few minutes later, guards checked our papers, made us sign some legal documents, and then opened the gates to PharmaCielo’s growing facility—the largest legally operating cannabis farm in Latin America and home to the first legal cannabis plants in the country.
The joint Canadian-Colombian company, PharmaCielo, was the first company to obtain licenses to legally cultivate medical cannabis in Colombia after it was legalized in 2016. Their facility in Rionegro, Antioquia is the beginning of what could become a multibillion-dollar industry. To put this into perspective, legal cannabis could be worth more than the country’s flower, coffee, coal and banana exports—all four of which are among Colombia’s top export products—combined.
Colombia’s climate and geography give it an advantage over just about every other medical cannabis producing country in the world. As one of 13 countries located directly on the equatorial line, the sun rises and sets at virtually the same time every day, 365 days a year. This creates a natural 12-hour-daylight and 12-hour-darkness cycle that’s necessary for the cannabis plant when it enters its flowering stage.
In North America, it can cost cultivators tens of thousands of dollars to replicate these conditions with artificial heat and lighting. According to some sources, a gram of CBD extract can be produced for as low as $0.35 in Colombia, whereas in Colorado—where indoor cannabis production is commonly used—it would cost roughly $1.75.
This is how Colombia could soon produce an estimated one-fifth of the world’s total medical cannabis. And PharmaCielo is positioned to be at the forefront of this boom.
In their Rionegro facility, they’ve got a living catalog of cannabis varieties—rows upon rows of over 35 different strains, each with thick stalks of budding flower emanating unique aromas. They’ve all been deemed market-worthy and will soon be processed into medical product. On the other end of the greenhouse, a backlog of over 100 additional varieties germinate, waiting to be assessed for their quality and medical potential. The company intends to be in full production by the end of 2018.
The International Narcotics Control Board (INBC), the United Nations-affiliated regulatory body for drugs, recently awarded Colombia with a 40.5 tons of cannabis-per-year quota—the highest medical cannabis quota in the world. This represents about 44 percent of the global medical cannabis quota. Even still, as Federico Cock-Correa, the Director of PharmaCielo Colombia, tells Herb, that won’t be enough. “We have to ask to adjust the quota,” he said. “Because we are going to produce a lot more than 40 tons.”
The environmental impact of producing this much cannabis in places like Colorado or Canada would be massive, already reflected in legal cannabis states’ lengthy utilities bills. In Denver, Colorado, the first state in the U.S. to legalize recreational cannabis, nearly four percent of the city’s electricity is now used to cultivate cannabis. Some cannabis companies have reported spending as much as $13,000 per month on electricity.
One energy and climate change scientist from California, Evan Mills, reports that indoor cannabis production has an estimated environmental footprint that is “equivalent to that of 2 million average U.S. homes,” with the average kilogram of final product having an impact comparable to “3 million average U.S. cars when aggregated across all national production.” Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that these energy costs amount to $6 billion a year and 15 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Some experts believe the impact is so significant in places like Colorado and California it has the potential to jeopardize targets set by state governments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in response to climate change. In an interview with The Californian, Mills says: “In this warming world, indoor farming is an environmentally unaffordable luxury.”
This is one of the main reasons why PharmaCielo, after considering dozens of potential countries in which to build their primary growing operation, came back to Colombia.
Colombian cannabis farms are a far cry from the assembly-line atmosphere of North American indoor grows, where retina-burning yellow light emanates from high-intensity lamps. Under this type of lighting, special protective glasses are necessary just to safely look at the plants. Wind, temperature, and humidity are all artificially produced or controlled by various machines.
By contrast, PharmaCielo’s plants are entirely sun-grown. Their airy greenhouses are flanked by collected-rainwater lakes and reservoirs of cool stream water that runs down from the mountains. Rather than pots, plants grow from shared soil-beds that line the greenhouse floor.
PharmaCielo has spent the past two years preparing their soil by growing crops like alfalfa, onions, and peanuts that can be turned back into the soil to create natural fertilizers and insect repellants. This framework for sustainable farming in many ways was set up by the preexisting flower industry in Colombia, another reason cannabis is so well positioned to thrive in the country.
The flower industry provides a workforce of qualified farmers willing and ready to transition to cannabis. It employs roughly 180,000 people in Colombia, 15,000 to 20,000 of which are in the Rionegro region, says PharmaCielo Representative David Gordon. “They’re transferable skill sets,” says Gordon. “We have this massive, incredible staffing resource and if we go to northern climates, you don’t have that skill set—it doesn’t exist.”
This ready-made workforce is a crucial part of PharmaCielo’s ability to oversee nearly 130 hectares—roughly 14 million square feet—of combined cultivation facilities, the equivalent of roughly 243 football fields of space. And yet, this is but a small fraction of the land that the company intends to cultivate. According to Gordon, contractable growers in the country have already offered the company 1000 hectares for cultivation.
While legal recreational cannabis gets a lot of attention from the public, many within the industry, including PharmaCielo, are currently focused on the international medical cannabis market, which is developing much faster. By 2025, Grand View Research, a market research company based in the United States, predicts this market will be worth roughly $55.8 billion. Others within the industry project that it could soon reach as high as $200 billion.
For now, PharmaCielo is focused on Colombia’s market. But according to Gordon, with Colombia’s climate and growing conditions, the country could one day meet the entire world’s demand for medical cannabis extracts.
Other major international cannabis producers and businesses have begun to catch on to this opportunity as well. Recently, Canopy Growth, ICC Labs, Aphria, Khiron Life Sciences and other cannabis production giants have all announced their intentions to expand into Colombia. But before international sales have even begun, it looks like they may already be behind. In PharmaCielo’s facility in Rionegro, nearly 250,000 cannabis plants—some for CBD and others for THC—are already underway.
Domestically, the cannabis industry could be worth more than the country’s flower, coffee, coal and banana exports—all four of which are among Colombia’s top export products—combined. Globally, Colombia could soon produce an estimated one-fifth of the world’s total medical cannabis. PharmaCielo will be at the forefront of this boom.
Domestically, the cannabis industry could be worth more than the country’s flower, coffee, coal and banana exports—all four of which are among Colombia’s top export products—combined. Globally, Colombia could soon produce an estimated one-fifth of the world’s total medical cannabis.
PharmaCielo doesn’t rely on public supplies for irrigation needs at any of their growing sites. Every cultivation location is equipped with natural water reservoirs that are amply supplied consistently throughout the year with rainwater.
PharmaCielo is Colombia’s first fully licensed, fully operational cultivator and processor of cannabis oil extracts
PharmaCielo makes extracts from different plants into proprietary natural fertilizer and pest control products, which are exported around the world.
Recently, the International Narcotics Control Board (INBC), the United Nations-affiliated regulatory body for drugs, awarded Colombia with a 40.5 tons of cannabis-per-year quota—the highest medical cannabis quota in the world. This is about 44 percent of the global medical cannabis quota issued by the INBC. But as Federico Cock-Correa, the Director of PharmaCielo Colombia, tells Herb “We have to ask to adjust the quota. Because we are going to produce a lot more than 40 tons.”
2018
City Roots Owners Talk About Their Decision To Downsize
Urban Farm Gets Back to Its Roots.
By Bach Pham
Sep 26, 2018
Bach Pham
There was a sense of calm between City Roots owners Robbie and Eric McClam as they worked on the field at the farm last week, preparing for the Glass Half Full Festival. After a busy first half of the year, the quiet moment was a welcome turn for the father and son.
The change came by choice.
Founded more than a decade ago, City Roots occupies a few acres in Columbia’s Rosewood neighborhood, near the Hamilton-Owens Airport. But recently, the community-minded urban farm began growing faster, expanding production at a second site.
“This past winter and spring we were scaling the farm from three acres to about an additional 30 acres to which we were planting a dozen or so acres of vegetables,” says Eric McClam. “We basically had five farms: a microgreen farm, a mushroom farm, a flower farm, a vegetable farm, and an agrotourism farm spread across two locations, 15-20 minutes apart. That was fun and exciting, but had its own new set of challenges.”
The size and scope of the changes was immediately felt. City Roots was branching in several directions with production, and struggling to make it all connect.
“We had over 200 different things we were growing between the farms,” Eric says. “No one can do 200 things well.”
The complexity of the farm’s rapid growth brought as many technical issues as it did benefits. City Roots was doing everything: growing, processing and delivering to local restaurants in Columbia and food hubs in Atlanta, Greenville and Charleston nearly every day of the week.
“We had three deliveries going on a day at one time on some occasions,” Robbie says. “We had vans in the shop, car repairs all the time.”
The breaking point hit over the summer when Eric fell ill and was forced to take some time off.
“What precipitated the scaling back and hard look at everything was I literally got shingles from stress this summer and had to stay home for a period of time,” says Eric. “While at home, I had time to take a hard look at what was holding that stress and recognizing that it was the diversity and scale of the farm. Everybody has a grounding moment in their life and says, ‘OK, what is important to me?’ The farm and family are important.
“So after making the hard decisions, we scaled it back to fit what works well for the farm. We recognized that getting better at what we do well and letting go of things that were painful to let go, especially reducing staff — some of whom had been here for many years — was something necessary for the direction of the business.”
Eric calls the decision to lay off employees “the hardest decision.” The farm went from 23 employees to about 15.
“We hope we are still in a good place with everyone. We just didn’t have the ability to retain them. We had to be nimble and change course. My role as the head farmer is to steer the ship. We were heading for a ditch, and we needed to get back on course.”
The McClams made several major changes in the past few months. Production at their second site was halted, and the community supported agriculture (CSA) program was cut.
“When we first started, the CSA was exciting and a good business model for us,” says Eric. “We never could quite get the volume of CSA we needed to make that diversified larger scale work, though. … We realized that we’re better suited to do a variety of things and bringing those to market and doing it that way.”
While the field side of the farm struggled to find the right identity, two parts of the farm actually have grown over the years: microgreen and mushroom production.
Microgreens went from being a small portion of the farm in the beginning to quickly becoming the biggest component of City Roots, seen not just in Columbia, but everywhere in the South from menus in Charleston to shelves in every Whole Foods in the Southeast.
“A lot of people grow organic vegetables, but not a lot of people grow microgreens and mushrooms,” says Eric. “Those are what we’re most known for, that’s our niche market and what works really well for us.”
City Roots plans to shift their focus to sharpening their microgreen and mushroom production, maintaining some small-scale flower production, and simply putting more time into the urban farm itself.
“We’re going to be putting more landscaping around the farm, more shrubs and trees, making the farm a prettier place and improving it as an event venue,” Eric says. “I’m excited about putting more emphasis here at the home farm and getting back to the roots at City Roots.”
Eric still plans to maintain the educational aspect of the farm. This year they doubled the number of school tours from last year, and plan to continue finding ways to share the farm with the community. They have also been exploring pickling, dedicating a portion of the farm to growing root vegetables and plants like ginger to contribute towards different recipes to sell at the farm.
There is still hope to do some large-scale gardening, especially with one particular product that has become a much-talked about agricultural item: hemp. The farm applied for the industrial hemp pilot program run by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture and is currently in the running to be one of the 40 farms certified to grow hemp in South Carolina.
“We are excited about that potential,” says Eric. “It’s a new niche market that we see a lot of potential for growth.”
Get The Free Report On The Investment Potential Of Greenhouse Business In Russia 2018
Last year was one of the most successful years for Russia’s greenhouse industry. Over 250 ha new commercial greenhouses were commissioned, the number of 5-gen greenhouses increased. Further expansion of greenhouse area is expected – new projects are set to be launched in different regions across the country.
Last year was one of the most successful years for Russia’s greenhouse industry. Over 250 ha new commercial greenhouses were commissioned, the number of 5-gen greenhouses increased. Further expansion of greenhouse area is expected – new projects are set to be launched in different regions across the country.
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People In Produce
Ranging from a biosystems engineer to a children's nutrition expert to a specialty crop container grower, meet seven people pushing the produce industry forward.
November 6, 2018
The produce industry relies on exceptional people to advance the processes of growing food, improving it and getting it to consumers' plates. In this month’s cover story, meet seven of the leading People in Produce.
Would you like to see someone recognized in a future issue? Drop us a line at pwilliams@gie.net
Dr. Amy Bowen
Director of consumer insights, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre
Bowen researches consumer sensory perceptions of produce.
Photo courtesy of Vineland
Research and Innovation Centre
Human perception of flavor involves the integration of taste and smell, and forms part of a discipline called sensory science. Researcher Dr. Amy Bowen has dedicated her career to advancing this field.
To further this work, Bowen joined the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in 2009. As director of Vineland’s consumer insights team, she harnesses sensory evaluation best practices to meet consumer expectations of fruits and vegetables grown in controlled environments. In practice, Bowen’s research focuses on understanding the intrinsic (appearance, aroma and taste) and extrinsic (price and packaging) drivers that impact consumer preference for horticultural products.
“Doing this type of work with fresh products is unique,” says Bowen, a Ph.D. in biological sciences with a specialization in plant science, oenology and viticulture. “It’s creating value for people growing in greenhouse environments.”
Bowen’s current activities at the Vineland facility in Canada’s Niagara region include deep-dive studies into tomatoes and edible flowers.
Edible flowers are surging in popularity as a garnish or to give dishes a signature flavor. Bowen’s team partnered with an Ontario-based grower of fresh herbs to gain insights into the booming market, splitting consumers into groups based on their preferences.
Results showed that edible flowers such as nasturtiums and candy pop mint are favored by fans of bold flavor, while impatiens and dianthus are approved for their smooth texture. The findings would help outline a business plan for Vineland’s herb-distributing partner, should it expand into the edible flowers market, Bowen says.
Meanwhile, Vineland scientists are busy developing two hybrid varieties of greenhouse tomatoes, creating two new flavor profiles that should be ready for distribution by 2020. Bowen’s group studied 56 varieties of tomato, digging into attributes including sweetness, bitterness, firmness and smokiness. A selection of fruits was passed onto a consumer panel, allowing researchers to compile a list of aroma-producing chemical compounds that the test group associated with liking or disliking a particular tomato.
Texture and consistency became additional important characteristics in how test consumers shaped their opinion, Bowen says.
“It’s a bit like Goldilocks,” she says. “People don’t want a tomato that’s too soft or too hard. They want it to be just right.”
Once texture is determined, tomatoes with the right consistency can be crossed with preferred chemical compounds to breed the “perfect” tomato, or at least its closest approximation. For Bowen, the pleasure is in researching a diversity of products derived directly from the greenhouse.
“I love the reactions we get from consumers, and the whole value chain in producing something people are excited to consume,” Bowen says. — Douglas J. Guth
Douglas is a Cleveland Heights, Ohio-based freelance writer and journalist. His work has been published by Midwest Energy News, Crain’s Cleveland Business and Fresh Water Cleveland.
Mollie Van Lieu
Senior director of nutrition policy, United Fresh Produce Association
Van Lieu promotes policies that are focused on increasing fruits and vegetable consumption.
Photo courtesy of United
Fresh Produce Association
Mollie Van Lieu has spent much of her career advancing school food policies, a commitment that continues today in her role as senior director of nutrition policy at the United Fresh Produce Association.
Van Lieu joined United Fresh last September, bolstering a Washington, D.C.-based policy team meeting national regulatory challenges in bringing healthy foods to kids. Among other duties, Van Lieu champions policies to ensure fruits, vegetables and other nutritious goodies are integrated into school meals daily. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, for example, introduces students at 7,600 schools nationwide to a variety of produce they otherwise may not have the opportunity to sample.
“Fruits and vegetables are served in the classroom, and the teacher eats with the children, too,” Van Lieu says. “There’s an educational component to the program.”
Van Lieu has worked closely on kid-centric nutritional issues for over a decade, including a stint on the staff of Rep. Todd Platts (R-Pa.), where she helped foster sponsorship of the House’s 2010 Child Nutrition Reauthorization program.
From 2011 to 2014, Van Lieu campaigned for healthy eating as a strategist for the National PTA, working with United Fresh to boost various nutritional programs. Her advocacy for youth food programming continued in 2014, when Pew Charitable Trusts named her a senior associate of government relations.
After years of cultivating relationships with stakeholders on Capitol Hill, Van Lieu is pushing improved health standards for efforts like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, which offers food assistance to millions of low-income citizens nationwide. She’s also advocating for a farm bill currently being considered by Congress.
“Having been on the Hill when changes were made to school meals, I see it as making sure these policies are implemented successfully,” Van Lieu says. “Policy is only as successful as folks working on it on the ground, and the industry stepping up to provide [nutritious] products.”
United Fresh represents growers and suppliers as well, introducing them to school service directors as a means of bringing new products into cafeterias. While most decisionmakers Van Lieu meets understand the benefits of produce, many don’t realize how heavily unconsumed fruits and vegetables still remain.
“We’re trying to find a tipping point in policy to include produce consumption,” Van Lieu says. “We need to make sure there are opportunities for people who are struggling.” — Douglas J. Guth
Ricardo Hernandez
Chief scientific officer and co-founder, Grafted Growers
The North Carolina State University professor will use his research expertise to grow grafted tomato and watermelon seedlings for wholesale, and possibly retail.
Dr. Ricardo Hernandez performs research and teaches as assistant professor of horticultural science at North Carolina State University, and previously studied and conducted research at the University of Arizona. His research background points to plant grafting as a crucial tool contributing to agricultural production. Beginning this fall, Hernandez will be working within a high-tech toolbox to explore the commercial creation of specially grafted produce.
Photo courtesy of
Ricardo Hernandez
Grafting is a horticultural technique used to join parts from two or more plants so that they appear to flourish as a single plant. As chief scientific officer and co-founder of Grafted Growers, a vertical farm in Raleigh, North Carolina, Hernandez will harness years of horticultural experience to grow grafted tomato and watermelon seedlings in a precisely controlled environment.
Unlike working in a greenhouse where unpredictable natural light is a critical growth regulator, the vertical farm allows Hernandez to experiment with temperature, air velocity and various artificial light wavelengths, producing hardy plants that carry potentially higher drought tolerance and disease resistance than his nearest competitors.
“In a greenhouse, you’re depending on the outside weather, and you’re only getting high-quality plants during certain times of the year,” Hernandez says. “We have the same environmental conditions the entire year, so the quality of plants is always going to be consistent.”
Hernandez founded Grafted Growers alongside business partner John Jackson with help from a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) innovation grant. The pair is currently building out a 6,000-square-foot facility set to open later this fall.
Once up and running, the operation will sell to greenhouses and field growers. Hernandez also expects Grafted Growers to have a retail presence, both on site and through the company website, graftedgrowers.com
“Our end goal is to produce plants faster, and ensure they grow well and have good morphological characteristics,” Hernandez says. “This isn’t a smoking gun, as there’s still a need for field and greenhouse production. But using a controlled environment is one more tool we have to keep producing food.”
Additionally, Hernandez hopes to educate a new generation of farmers and scientists on what he deems an innovative means of plant production.
“Right now we have a need for talent in agriculture,” Hernandez says. “We’re not just showing acres of grain, but how plants can be grown through technology.” — Douglas J. Guth
Heather Szymura
Grower/owner, Twisted Infusions
By catering to a niche market, Twisted Infusions grower/owner Heather Szymura has built a thriving hydroponics business in Arizona.
Photo courtesy of
Heather Szymura
Heather Szymura, the grower and owner of Twisted Infusions in Glendale, Arizona, started growing produce professionally two years ago in a Freight Farms-brand container farm after a career in corporate America. Although she had been a gardener for more than a decade, it was her first experience with controlled environment agriculture (CEA).
“I started with kale and lettuce because that’s just what everyone starts out with,” she says. “It was really beautiful and it came out really well. And I took it to some chefs because I didn’t want to go to farmer’s markets — I have two kids and don’t want to give up my Saturdays. But the lettuce and kale wasn’t enough for them, so I started to grow some things that they couldn’t get good quality. And it led me down the path of research and finding things that don’t necessarily grow well outside in Arizona.”
Fast forward to today, and Szymura co-owns Twisted Infusions with her husband, Brian. In the vertical hydroponic system, Szymura primarily produces unique products such as oyster leaf, salad burnet and some greens for the same local restaurants she met when she was still exclusively growing greens.
“I try to look for things that people have never heard of,” Szymura says.
The key to Twisted Fusion’s business model is that Szymura understands her clientele — a group of 10 to 15 different restaurants in the Scottsdale and Phoenix areas. When looking for new clients, Szymura prefers to work with chef-owned establishments when possible, as well as taking custom orders from restaurants or other customers. Not only does it allow her to grow the type of plants that interest her the most, but it also makes business sense. Most households aren't shopping for unique garnishes; chefs are.
“The alternative is going to farmers markets or going to distributors,” Szymura says. “If I go to a distributor, I won’t be making enough money to make farming worth my time. It’s a commodity market and I’m not selling stuff that’s high commodity because nobody else has it.” — Chris Manning
Dr. Joel Cuello
Professor of biosystems engineering at the University of Arizona
Cuello designs controlled-environment technologies in an effort to feed a growing population.
The idea that originally drove Dr. Joel Cuello to pursue a career in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) keeps him going to this day — the concept that as the global population grows, so does the need to produce safe, nutritious and high-quality food.
Photo courtesy of
Joel Cuello
“The motivation behind my research is to be able to help meet the increased food demand by the planet and do so in a sustainable way — in a way that would not deplete the essential resources, which are vital for food production,” he says. “To me, that’s the grandest challenge [of] this century.”
The professor of biosystems engineering at the University of Arizona grew up in the Philippines. He acquired his bachelors degree from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños before moving to the United States and attending The Pennsylvania State University, where he earned two masters degrees and his Ph.D. in agricultural & biological engineering. Cuello then took his talents to NASA, where he worked on developing a hybrid lighting system for possible crop production on the moon, Mars or asteroids.
Since 1995, Cuello has worked at the University of Arizona, where he has designed new technologies, such as the Vertical Green Box Solution. Cuello’s prototype of a modular vertical farm consists of containers, which he says could make use of electric or natural light, or be constructed of solid walls and roofs or transparent ones. Because it is different than a warehouse or skyscraper farm, Cuello dubs it “Vertical Farming 3.0” (formerly “2.0”). “I’m championing that because it’s a competitive alternative to the warehouse, and it’s efficient; and it could be potentially lower-cost in terms of construction and operation,” he says. None have been built yet, though, so he is looking for partners.
Another one of Cuello’s inventions is the patented Accordion Photobioreactor. The zigzag-shaped device produces microalgae, which can then be used in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and biomass. The invention comes in three types, he says — one that supports photoautotrophic (photosynthetic) production and recirculates liquid; another that enables photoautotrophic production and doesn’t recirculate; and a third that carries out heterotrophic production, meaning it doesn’t use light.
Cuello also has other projects in the works. He serves as a member of the Governing Board and will help with the technology at Cobre Valley Indoor Farm, a nonprofit community-based organization in Claypool, Arizona, that is opening up a vertical farm in an abandoned school. He has also started growing carrots through a process called cellular agriculture, which is comparable to when meat is grown in a lab.
During his global travels, Cuello says he has found public demand for controlled environment agriculture, and he believes that more companies will use renewable energy sources. He is committed to sustainability, introducing his own “Cuello’s Law.” “It’s an industry aspiration, or goal, that productivity per unit resource used will double every four to five years,” he says. — Patrick Williams
Kim Hookway
President, Buckeye Fresh
After a career in the manufacturing industry, Kim Hookway partnered with a former colleague to open a local vertical farm that now sells its product to major grocery chains in Ohio.
Photo: Chris Manning
When Kim Hookway, president of Medina, Ohio-based vertical farm Buckeye Fresh, sold the brand’s produce by going into different Northeast Ohio grocery stores — first Buehler’s Fresh Foods, then Giant Eagle and Heinen’s — she had to connect directly with each store’s produce managers. It took some work, but Hookway did what was necessary to help get the business going.
“Before we even went into business, we checked with Buehler’s to see if they would be interested in locally grown produce,” she says. “At the beginning, it was also talking to produce managers and getting them on board.”
Hookway’s background is not in horticulture; she spent 20 years at a manufacturing company alongside Buckeye Fresh principal investor Tim Remington before founding Buckeye Fresh in 2014. As the company’s president, she has utilized the skills she developed in her previous role to help Buckeye Fresh find success.
According to Remington, Hookway’s ability to accurately approximate order sizes has been essential to making the business successful. When Buckeye Fresh sells its greens and basil to its customers, it must do so based on estimates instead of fixed order amounts. In her previous job, Hookway managed multiple components of cushioning components for shoes and varying order sizes from different customers. Just like growing, it required understanding and organizing several factors all operating on different schedules. With growing, it took some trial and error, but Hookway can accurately estimate and book the farm’s towers for specific crops based on past order trends.
“Without her doing the scheduling, we couldn’t manage the harvesting and growing,” Remington says. “And this is more difficult [than what she used to do].”
As Buckeye Fresh continues to expand, its basil and greens are sold in stores as far south as Columbus (115 miles) and as far east as Pennsylvania (a minimum of 276 miles). Late in 2018, it will also debut greens with Giant Eagle’s Market District — the grocery chain’s branding for local suppliers — that will be sold in roughly 200 locations. Hookway says the business is already turning a profit. “It’s about understanding the business,” Hookway says.
And its success started with her. — Chris Manning
Ray Solotki
Executiv
Photo: Ray Solotkie director at Inuvik Community Greenhouse
The Vancouver Island native aspires to improve food access in the Arctic.
Located north of the Arctic Circle in Canada’s Northwest Territories, the Inuvik Community Greenhouse — a converted ice hockey arena — is one of the most remote greenhouses in the world. “Even though we’re in the Northwest Territories, the only road out goes into the Yukon, and we can’t even get to our capital city by road,” says Ray Solotki, executive director. Solotki originally came to this icy abode — where temperatures regularly dip to -20° F in the winter — to feed herself. Three years ago, she committed to helping feed the rest of the community.
Photo: Ray Solotki
Solotki is from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, (“the south,” according to her), but moved north near Inuvik in 2015, when she took a job at a hotel. She chose to live in Inuvik because of the greenhouse. “I knew I could grow my own food for at least part of the year and have some local food production of my own,” she says. Solotki became the first executive director at the greenhouse, which had previously been managed by a volunteer board of directors and summer employees since it first opened in 1998.
The nonprofit Community Garden Society of Inuvik runs the greenhouse; the government of the Northwest Territories funds the gardening society and others in seven surrounding communities: Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Paulatuk, Sachs Harbour, Tsiigehtchic, Tuktoyaktuk and Ulukhaktok.
Solotki’s job, which includes financing, human resources and public relations duties, was created to provide food access to all eight communities, which have limited access to fresh food due to the climate. This includes indigenous people, who make up roughly 64 percent of Inuvik’s population and approximately 50 percent of the population of the Northwest Territories, according to the 2016 Canadian Census.
Local indigenous populations have land to hunt and trap, but a lot of them don’t eat many vegetables, Solotki says, noting how the produce that is flown up from the south loses its freshness. “But when [vegetables are] fresh, you can barely get them from the greenhouse to the house because they’re eaten so quickly,” she says. “No one has ever put a pea on a plate in the Arctic because they were gobbled up in the greenhouse because it’s so exciting to have such fresh, local produce.”
Currently, the 16,000-square-foot, passive solar greenhouse is only open from April until September, and with high daylight and heat in the summer, its soil-grown lettuce and leafy greens can bolt if not harvested quickly. The greenhouse hires experienced growers from out of town every summer, but Solotki wants to change that. She aims to work with Modular Farms of Ontario to build a year-round facility, which will cost $350,000, and work with a partner in the community to find a location to install it and hook it up to that partner’s electricity. (Electricity costs are high at 79 cents per kilowatt-hour.) This approach would allow locals the opportunity to grow their own produce year-round.
In the same vein, Solotki hopes to grow a wider variety of crops to accommodate local diets and preferences. “We want to see some heavier items, so beans, peas, tomatoes.” She would also like to grow tomatoes, onions and carrots — ingredients in the popular Canadian dish, caribou stew. Adds Solotki: “These are the staples of an Arctic diet.” — Patrick Williams
Green Life Farms Hires Elayne Dudley as Sales Director
Green Life Farms, a hydroponic farm currently under construction in Boynton Beach, FL, hired Elayne Dudley as its Sales Director, marking a major milestone as the project continues working toward commercial operations in April 2019.
Hydroponic farm under construction taps experienced sales veteran for new role
Boynton Beach, FL (November 1, 2018) – Green Life Farms, a hydroponic farm currently under construction in Boynton Beach, FL, hired Elayne Dudley as its Sales Director, marking a major milestone as the project continues working toward commercial operations in April 2019. Dudley will spearhead bringing Green Life Farms’ fresh and local leafy baby greens to supermarkets, restaurants, and other distributors throughout South Florida.
“Elayne comes to us with deep knowledge of the produce industry and vast experience in sales and marketing,” said Mike Ferree, Vice President, Green Life Farms. “She will be an important asset as we continue to grow and prepare for commercial operations to begin early next year.”
Dudley has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and sales, helping to grow business at several companies, including CVS Health, Loyalty Builders and Inside Sales Group. She brings expertise in strategic customer relationship building and business development in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer settings. Dudley is passionate about providing both outstanding customer service to Green Life Farms’ supermarket and restaurant accounts, and providing consumers with the freshest, cleanest, tastiest baby leafy greens on the market.
For people who expect more out of the food that goes into their bodies, by demanding less of what goes into producing it, Green Life Farms produce will set a new standard. The produce will be grown locally, using farming practices that keep produce free from harmful additives, so customers are free to enjoy it all without worry or waste.
Green Life Farms, a hydroponic farm currently under construction in Boynton Beach, FL, hired Elayne Dudley as its Sales Director, marking a major milestone as the project continues working towardcommercial operations in April 2019. Dudley will spearhead bringing Green Life Farms’ fresh and local leafy baby greens to supermarkets, restaurants, and other distributors throughout South Florida.
About Green Life Farms
Green Life Farms is constructing a 100,000 square-foot state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse in Boynton Beach, Florida, with additional expansion planned in Florida and beyond. Commercial operation is expected to begin in April 2019. Green Life Farms will provide consumers year-round with premium-quality, fresh, local, flavorful and clean baby leafy greens that are good for their bodies, families, communities and planet.
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CO2 GRO - Video Interview With Sam Kanes, VP Business Development
Sam Discusses the Recent Michigan Flower Trial Results and the Potential in High Value Plant Markets
Dear Shareholders, Stakeholders and Interested Parties
CO2 GRO Inc. is Pleased to Present an Investor Intel Interview Conducted with Sam Kanes, VP Business Development. Sam Discusses the Recent Michigan Flower Trial Results and the Potential in High Value Plant Markets
Tips On Designing The Best Hydroponics System
November 1, 2018
To design the best hydroponics system, one must look at the host of factors contributing to plant growth, roughly these are the environment, temperature, nutrient delivery and protection from damaging agents.
Hydroponics farming in India looks to the use of Greenhouses as a solution to manage these factors. Greenhouses are large structures built over tracts of flat land to accommodate the protected farming techniques, that use climate control methods and such to grow seasonal crops in unseasonal weather. In hydroponics, an additional technology used is water chillers as a cool root zone promotes aeration and root health.
For ambient temperature fan and pad cooling systems are effective in dry and hot weather. The system works by drawing air in through a cellulose pad placed all along one side of the polyhouse structure, water is trickled through this cellulose pad to provide the evaporative cooling effect. The air is sucked in by large fans and blown out of the greenhouse.
The material a greenhouse is made of can also greatly help with removing trapped heat from the structure, commonly used material is polycarbonate which, while being significantly more expensive than a poly sheet, it has the best heat transfer ability and hence is the best for climate control. Polycarbonate is also more durable but can be tough to work with due to its rigidity. The ultimate in greenhouse material technology is Glass greenhouses, both the most expensive and the best to control temperature and climate. A Glass greenhouse would ultimately require less frequent maintenance than any other type of greenhouse material. A glass greenhouse would be ideal for doing hydroponics in Gurgaon or Delhi which have very varying climates.
When looking at doing large scale hydroponics in India it is important to remember that we undergo usually intense summers followed by pleasant winters. Heating is not a necessary concern except in very extreme cold climates, but these climate zones are restricted to a few pockets and usually, the market for hydroponics is not present in these areas. This, however, should not discourage potential hydroponic farmers as the colder climates help with growing high-value exotics. These have great export and commercial value in urban areas.
Automation is a key aspect of designing any hydroponics system, water is reactive and transpiration and evaporation can change key water parameters of ph and EC and hence it is necessary standing monitor systems like the Bluelab Guardian monitor. When looking at automatic dosing the requirement stems from the need to reduce labor and time spent on maintaining the system thereby freeing up labor for harvest, maintenance, and packaging of the produce. Automation can be achieved through master controllers and peristaltic pump dosers.
These control panels like the Bluelab Pro Controller are very efficient at monitoring and controlling dosing pumps such as the Bluelab Peripod to maintain the all-important parameters of pH and EC. The Bluelab connect software is a remote monitoring and control software that helps growers record data and control their dosing remotely.
The Pro controller is a versatile device that can control up to 12, 3 or 4 pump dosing units and can be used to do up to 3 nutrients and one pH solution, this has great application for automating fruiting vegetable crop production. The Pro controller can set an individual on/off times for each of the pumps thus enabling the grower to maintain the right NPK mix for his crops throughout the growing cycle.
The Hydroponics system itself should be designed according to the crop to maximize efficiency and space. For example, Tomatoes need larger root spaces with changes to their NPK ratios during flowering but lettuce can be grown close together on pipes with very little nutrient use.
Thus we use different hydroponic techniques for these plants, tomatoes are grown on DWC rafts or BATO bucket systems and NFT systems are used to grow leafy greens and herbs. The type of crop dictates the type of vessel the crop is grown in. While cheap and cost-effective, DWC trays may be cumbersome to maintain and flimsy meaning frequent repairs and upgrades. NFT and BATO systems are easier to maintain and dose, they also use water and space more efficiently.
One important factor of the use of all these technologies is the ability to monitor the factors affecting crop growth and thus giving us the necessary data to improve our crop growing process to produce better yields and more quality crops.
The use of technology could help us mitigate the damage that factory farming over vast tracts of land has done to our environment. The introduction of a data-based A+B= C formula is only possible with careful data monitoring and interpretation to make a replicable plant growing formula for great yields and quality produce.
FutureFarms Pvt. Ltd
4/640, 12th Link, 3rd Cross Street
Nehru Nagar, Venkateswara Colony
Perungudi, Chennai, India 600 096
Experience From the Field
10/30/2018 | by Nick Greens, Horticulturist/Consultant
You’re a solid grower with great ideas, but you may feel like you don’t have enough experience in the field. You may need to be patient and research your ideas, but then again, maybe it’s not that. Maybe your ideas are missing something. There are extra factors with hydroponics that may cause things in the field to fail, here’s our tips for troubleshooting possible problems and finding potential solutions.
Timing
Expert growers have seen some herb seeds take up to a month to germinate but these are extreme cases. Mostly, growers see germinating over a three day period or sometimes up to a week. After a week without germinating we are in uncharted territory. If you don't achieve germination by the middle of the second week then you should reconsider the germination technique being used. You should also consider germinating a new batch so as not to delay your grow over non-viable seeds.
Germination Spraying
If you have a problem with over watering or using too much water at this stage, spraying is a viable and safe way to regulate water. It is far easier to spray a medium to make it moist than to otherwise water a medium to make moist. Get a spray bottle. If you still have a problem with over watering, consider adding perlite to the bottom of your tray next time. This will help absorb excess liquids in almost any growing method.
Air
Air is something your plants need all the time, even in the germination stage. Stale air results in a change in the ratio of gases that comprise it and the accumulation of new ones. Over watering can be a huge problem from the day you start to germinate your seeds because it locks out air. There is never a need to turn your growing medium into a swamp.
Germination and Darkness
Seeds should be germinated in the dark. If you use humidity domes, make sure the domes have top vents and that you cover properly without forcing the dome on. Even if the seeds are covered with a humidity dome, make sure your tray are in darkness because the seeds still need to be kept away from light. As soon as the seeds open, it is necessary that the tray receives the proper amount of light.
Room Temperature Water
Never use water directly from tap. Always let it reach room temperature. Cold water can shock plant roots because it quickly reduces the environment temperature of the growing medium. The same goes for seed germination, don't stick seeds in cold water and don't moisten seeds with cold water. Even when you feed your plants you should let the water reach room temperature. It’s also important to check your own water supply to determine its quality. In most cases chlorine in water won't cause issues with your plants but if your water isn't very clean or pure then you can't expect your plants to use it well. In either case, boiling water and letting it cool to room temperature can help to generate cleaner water.
California LGMA Adopts Changes After E. coli Outbreak
October 25, 2018
Members of the Leafy Greens Food Safety Task Force convened in late July to review recommendations for updates to the LGMA metrics. ( Marilyn Dolan )
The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement has adopted the changes made by its Arizona counterpart in the wake of an E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce grown in Arizona — with one exception.
In Arizona, LGMA members tripled the buffer zone for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) from 400 feet to 1,200 feet. That’s also the case for California now, unless the CAFOs have 80,000 or more head of cattle. Those operations now trigger a one-mile buffer zone for California LGMA members.
California LGMA CEO Scott Horsfall said the CAFO rule was adopted out of “an abundance of caution,” and that its effect on current members should be minimal.
“We’re still in the process of determining the impact it might have,” Horsfall said in mid-October.
He stressed the importance of the 1,200-foot buffers in both states, and the overall metrics updates in both production areas. The changes were made in late September, and Horsfall said workshops and training seminars will help educate growers on the changes.
Those include:
More rigorous risk assessments on intense weather conditions;
Added measures for leafy greens grown near CAFOs;
More requirements on cleaning/sanitizing harvest equipment; and
Stronger traceback requirements.
The focus on CAFOs comes after the investigation into the cause of the E. coli outbreak this year. Inspections found the same strain of E. coli in the tainted romaine in an irrigation canal used for Yuma crops. That canal passes near a CAFO that has a capacity of at least 100,000 head, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Related Topics: Lettuce Food safety E. coli
Joburg Food Expo Bring Opportunities To Urban Farmers
It is estimated that 805 million people worldwide live with chronic hunger.
It is estimated that 805 million people worldwide live with chronic hunger.
November 1, 2018
MMC for Health and Social Development, Dr Mpho Phalatse. Photo: Twitter.
With the purpose of decreasing unemployment and poverty, the City of Johannesburg has launched Joburg Food Expo for urban farmers.
The Food Expo is an initiative of the City’s Food Resilience Unit to create a platform for emerging farmers to sell their products directly to clients.
The expo was hosted in conjunction with the United Nations World Food Month celebrations. According to MMC for Health and Social Development, Dr Mpho Phalatse, it is estimated that 805 million people worldwide live with chronic hunger, with almost five million children under the age of five dying from malnutrition-related causes every day.
The event serves as a platform to share ideas and exchange best practices on how to make use of the land they own to be sustainable farmers.
The expo, which was packed to capacity, provided an opportunity to exhibitors, private companies, government departments, and institutions of higher learning and industry suppliers to showcase their offerings.
Phalatse said the expo created a platform for all role-players to showcase their work and interact with one another to achieve the one objective of increasing food production and supply of fresh produce.
She said the event indicates that Johannesburg as a region is extensively involved in urban agriculture as a means to counter sluggish economic growth, bolster employment and make visible progress in eradicating hunger.
The City of Johannesburg’s Social Development department has initiated programmes such as communal gardens, rooftop gardens, aquaphonic projects, food empowerment zones and agri-resource centres with the intention to promote sustainable food production practices.
“It is important that we continue to seek solutions that will help us eradicate poverty among our communities. The statistics of those who go to bed hungry remains a concern. As the City of Joburg we have a dedicated Food Resilience Unit that assists our most indigent communities to grow their own food. The more people we empower to grow their own food in their small back yards and in communal land, we will be able to feed more people and contribute to the economy of the City,” said Phalatse.
Joburg Market CEO, Ayanda Kenana, told those in attendance that they need to organise themselves and begin to sell their produce beyond their communities through the Joburg Market. He shared statistics provided by Joburg Market which revealed an imbalance in the agriculture industry, indicating that Africans shared about 10 per cent of the agriculture sector.
“It is important that we work together to change the face of agriculture in this country and we can only achieve the required results if we understand and commit to what we are doing. Joburg Market has the means to assist and build your capacity to grow your communal farms. Joburg Market trades across our neighbouring countries and its market reach is what you need to make a success of your urban farms,” said Kenana.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
Metropolitan Areas Are Becoming Significant Sources of Sustainable Produce
One-in-five cities in the United States produce enough eggs and milk to feed their residents; another one-in-ten could completely satisfy local demand for fruit and vegetables using what they grow within their metropolitan boundaries.
by Emma Bryce | Oct 12, 2018
One-in-five cities in the United States produce enough eggs and milk to feed their residents; another one-in-ten could completely satisfy local demand for fruit and vegetables using what they grow within their metropolitan boundaries. These findings, detailed in a new study, reveal that metropolitan areas are a much more significant source of local, sustainable produce than we might realise.
Through an analysis of food production and demand within the boundaries of 377 US metros, the researchers discovered that a surprisingly high proportion were already producing enough of four staple food products–eggs, dairy, vegetables, and fruits–to feed their citizens. In some cases this food provision may be going unrecognised: for instance, backyard gardens and urban farms may be providing unquantified amounts of food to local citizens. In other cases where food is farmed at larger scales on city outskirts, that produce may not actually be reaching local residents, because supply chains are often set up to export food further afield.
But, if these trade networks were formalised and reconfigured to feed local residents, based on current production a striking 21% of metropolitan areas would be self-sufficient for eggs and milk, 12% would supply their residents’ fruit needs, and 16% would be self-sufficient in vegetables, the study found.
Localising production is widely recognised as a way to make food more sustainable, because it reduces the environmental costs and greenhouse gases associated with producing and exporting produce. It could even make cities more climate-smart by using plant cover to reduce the heat-island effect and deflect flooding. Plus, it brings the added benefit of making cities more food secure.
These advantages have encouraged several US cities to commit to boosting local food production. But the researchers on the new Environmental Science & Technology study say this overlooks the fact that so much urban food is alreadybeing produced.
In fact, while rates of production varied by product and region, they noted that almost every metro analysed in the study produced at least some quantity of eggs, fruit, and veg. In many, the production rates were high enough that they could meet not only direct demand–i.e. fresh eggs, fruit, and veg–but also indirect demand for those products, where they’re used as ingredients in other things, like milk being used to make cheese, and apples as the basis for applesauce.
To get their detailed findings, the researchers first modified an existing database that estimates dietary habits and household demand, based on sociodemographic information. Then they paired this with county-level estimates on the farm-production of eggs, milk, fruit, and veg. They also considered more informal food sources, like backyard food growing and community gardens.
Currently, 80% of the US population lives in an urban area, which underscores the need for urban food security. That’s accompanied by the growing global need for food systems that have a lighter environmental footprint. What the study reveals is the surprising fact that metros have latent potential to fulfil both those roles.
Since publishing, the researchers have made their data public: now they hope it will aid individual cities not only in recognising how much food they actually produce, but in revamping the local food system to feed the people that surround it.
Image: Travis Estell via Flickr
Future Jobs: Unlocking The Secrets of Urban Farming In A Bristol Shipping Container
Future Jobs - Grow Bristol Urban Farming
19 October 2018
VIDEO: Grow Bristol delivers fresh leafy greens grown in a shipping container to city shops and restaurants by bike
Food often travels long distances to reach shops and restaurants. But demand for ultra-local food is growing.
Using special hydroponic lighting, crops can now be grown indoors without sunlight or soil. Based in city centres, so-called 'urban farms' can reduce water, pesticide, and land use - as well as transport emissions.
Grow Bristol is one such pioneering project and it is already delivering fresh leafy greens to city shops and restaurants by bike - all from a shipping container in the centre of the city.
BusinessGreen went to see how special techniques enable the company to grow 100kg of nutrient-rich leafy greens each month. Could this be the future of farming?
The BusinessGreen Future Jobs Hub is supported by Green GB Week
US (NC): Verdesian Opens New Greenhouse At Duke University
Verdesian Life Sciences has expanded its research pipeline by opening a greenhouse facility at Duke University to develop early technology validation screening for agricultural nutrient use efficiency (NUE) technologies.
The new Verdesian greenhouse is part of Verdesian’s Early Technology Validation (ETV) screening to facilitate the Verdesian Technology Advancement (VTA) pipeline. Improved pipeline efficiency through early testing of new concepts under small-scale, controlled conditions will allow Verdesian to better understand capabilities at an early stage, helping to define opportunities while mitigating risks and optimizing time and resources on viable candidates. The 1,000 square feet of greenhouse space at Duke University adds to Verdesian’s existing growth chambers in Research Triangle Park (RTP).
“Our greenhouse at Duke University supports our R&D as a science-backed company,” said Kenny Avery, CEO for Verdesian. “The greenhouse provides the necessary environment to support vetting and evaluating new technologies that meet grower needs.”
New technology opportunities vary drastically, requiring a customized ETV screening method that brings together various growth system components and methods for detecting differences in plant function.
Agricultural field trials are critical to product development but are time consuming and introduce unnecessary risks for untested products. The new Verdesian greenhouses at Duke University will allow Verdesian to efficiently and economically identify and classify new prospects, test viable technologies and prioritize and develop those opportunities into NUE technologies. Prospects passing ETV screening will continue down the VTA pipeline and on to field testing.
The new Verdesian greenhouse at Duke is overseen by the ETV team which is leading the effort to develop these new screening capabilities. The team was formed to build a robust and flexible screening platform in 2018, further expanding those capabilities with additional laboratory methods and instruments into early 2019.
Plant physiologist, Dr. Amy Burton, joined Verdesian in December of 2017 and leads the VTA pipeline. Prior to Verdesian, Dr. Burton was with Bayer CropScience in Research Triangle Park. She completed her post-doctoral work in plant stress physiology with the United States Department of Agriculture.
The Verdesian ETV team was expanded in the first quarter of 2018, with the additions of Biology Laboratory Technician, Sandra Paa, and Greenhouse Technician, Beth Waller.
For more information:
Verdesian
1001 Winstead Drive, Suite 480
Cary, NC 27513
919.825.1901
www.vlsci.com
Publication date : 10/8/2018
Urban Farming Organization Visualizes a Franchise Model To Produce Fresh Fish And Vegetables
Lisa Waterman Gray
On a cool September morning, Dre Taylor dodged raindrops while talking with several people tending beans, peppers, tomatillos, collards and more outside of a 4,500-square-foot building. This is Nile Valley Aquaponics, a vibrant fixture in Kansas City, Missouri's urban core. The name came from Egypt where people cultivated plants and fish thousands of years ago. Goats and picnic tables share outdoor space and offices occupy a nearby house.
Last summer (2018), Nile Valley Aquaponics grew dozens of fruits, vegetables and herbs, from tomatoes and squash to basil and sage, kale and Swiss chard. Its 100,000 Pound Food Project seeks to produce 100,000 pounds of local fresh fish, vegetables and herbs, creating greater access to healthy food choices, while providing volunteer opportunities and economic stability in the area. Health education is also important. Several October classes will address growing mushrooms, building a greenhouse for less than US$500, and building a personal aquaponics system.
Nile Valley Aquaponics' 100,000 Pound Food Project seeks to produce 100,000 pounds of local fresh fish, vegetables and herbs, creating greater access to healthy food choices.Lisa Waterman Gray
The organization operates under the 501c3 M2M (Males to Men) Community Foundation mentorship program, which Taylor launched in 2013. He also founded the Kansas City Urban Farm Co-Op whose Fruit Orchard opens on Sept. 29 in Swope Park.
Taylor's interest in aquaponics began following a Will Allen workshop by former professional basketball player and founder of Milwaukee-based Growing Power Backyard Aquaponics (the nonprofit has closed). After creating a personal aquaponics system and a 2013 visit to Growing Power Backyard Aquaponics, Taylor's dream expanded. Once he had a 378-liter (100-gallon) fish tank operating, Taylor began talking to potential funders.
Construction began in October 2015 on two vacant lots donated by long time residents and community leaders Harrel Sr. and Myrtle Johnson. Three conjoining vacant lots were also purchased from the Land Bank of Kansas City. Taylor and volunteers removed 18 trees, which became tables, benches and a desk.
By March 2017, these previously distressed vacant lots had become a welcome urban oasis. "Our goal is to grow all fish food here, by January 2019," Taylor said. "About 800 people have worked on this project. Everybody loves it and we have a lot of community support. We're building a community based on food. Kids involved during the summer received stipends funded through grant money."
Nile Valley's facilities are welcome urban oases for the community.
Lisa Waterman Gray
Modern-day aquaponics facilities operate from Myanmar to Peru. Aquaponics critics fear energy consumed by these indoor farms may negate potential climate benefits and Taylor admits his monthly electric bill can top US$1,000.
But these operations typically use less water than traditional farms do. Aquaponics farmers re-circulate water while housing more fish in smaller spaces. With plants included in 'the loop' the land and water needs decrease. In Half Moon Bay, California, Ouroboros Farms circulated the same 227,125 liters (60,000 gallons) of water for a year.
Organic certification has been another sticking point. However, late last year, the National Organic Standards Board rejected a proposal prohibiting hydroponic and aquaponic farms from organic certification. Nile Valley Aquaponics isn't currently certified.
Taylor has patents pending on his state-of-the-art system. Today, approximately 30,000 tilapia thrive here, while three six-foot-deep troughs feed and water 5660-square-meters (20,000-square-feet) of indoor 'farmland' on four levels.
Taylor also created an organic pesticide liquid that should be available for sale next year. Every week three hundred pounds of coffee chaff from a coffee roaster, plus water, create 'feed' for more than a million Black Soldier Flies that eat it while breeding. This yields one ton of waste per month, making compost and releasing a natural pesticide liquid that is mixed with water before application to plants.
In 2019, a major expansion will unfold. Designed by St. Louis-based HOK (a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm), it will incorporate two additional greenhouses, raised garden beds, a chicken coop and beehives. Sustainable materials, a wind turbine and rainwater cisterns will enhance the site, where neighbors will find community gathering and event spaces too.
"The new facility will be a sleek, new urban [agriculture] design that can be used in a mixed-use area—from neighborhoods to new developments," Taylor said. "Nile Valley is a game changer, bringing healthy food, community, education, and economic development to an underserved community."