Food Trends Suppliers Should Know to Stay Ahead of the Curve in 2021

From insects and pumpkin-seed oil to Brad Pitt-branded wine and transparent packaging, these are the food trends expected to take the U.S. by storm in 2021.

What Will People Be Eating in 2021?

It’s predicted that Americans will be consuming a lot more of the following foods and drinks in 2021: 

• Insects — According to Forbes, 2.5 billion people around the world eat cooked or raw insects regularly. Many in the U.S. still consider the concept of insect consumption a little grotesque, but attitudes are expected to shift in the coming months with several startups, including Exo cricket protein bars in New York, securing significant funding from investors.

• Boxed wine — It’s hard to believe that boxes of wine were considered classy before they were tacky. But in 2021, consumer appreciation for boxed wine is predicted to return. It’s easier to store, cheaper to transport, generates half the carbon dioxide emissions, and has a longer shelf life than its glass-bottled counterparts.

• Alternative oils — Whole Foods Market predicts that consumers will become more experimental in their use of oil, choosing walnut, pumpkin seed, and sunflower seed oil over traditional options like olive oil.

• Celebrity alcohol — There was an arguably better time when everyone knew someone who wore the Britney Spears perfume. But in 2021, it’s all about Brad Pitt’s rosé and Cara Delevingne’s prosecco, as alcohol brands and vineyards look to drive revenue through partnering with big-name celebrities.

• Kombucha — Kombucha is a fermented, lightly effervescent, sweetened black or green tea drink that first hit the mainstream in 2018. Since then, its health benefits have been lauded, and the drink has been growing in popularity. It’s gluten-free and can be filled with live probiotic cultures.

• Sweet and Umami — The Green Seed Group suggests that the big flavor combination of 2021 will be umami and sweet. Think rice infused with fish sauce caramel and nori and pork floss.

How Will People Be Eating in 2021?

It’s not just what people eat and drink that will change in 2021, but the entire culture surrounding it.  

COVID-19 has contributed to a rise in passionate amateur chefs. With so many people spending much of 2020 stuck at home with extra time on their hands, cooking has become something of an outlet. Indeed, 74% of respondents to a Sensodyne/OnePoll survey said they used cooking as a coping mechanism to manage the stress of being at home, 44% have learned a new recipe, and 32% have taken online cooking classes.

Reduced access to on-the-go, takeout food has seen breakfast truly become the most important meal of the day, and the demand for interesting and diverse breakfast recipes will increase into 2021. Cooking enthusiasts are also investing more time and effort in making baby food and looking for creative takes on staple meals.

Coupled with this newfound enthusiasm for cooking is, unsurprisingly, a newfound enthusiasm for health and wellbeing. Forbes reports that 54% of American consumers care more about the healthfulness of their food and beverage choices in 2020 than they did in 2010. This will see demand for superfoods, probiotics, and supplements grow in 2021, with many food suppliers already incorporating functional ingredients like vitamin C which promise to support the immune system. In a June 2020 survey conducted by GlobalData, 23% of global consumers confessed to stockpiling vitamins and supplements.

COVID-19 has certainly driven Americans to evaluate the relationship they have with food and drink but, fortunately, extreme diets and food fads are expected to lose popularity in 2021. Instead, people are expected to take a healthier and more sustainable approach to healthy living by embracing balance and moderation.

How Will Food and Drink Be Packaged in 2021?

Before COVID-19, food and drink packaging was headed in a very sustainable direction, with consumers increasingly concerned about excess waste and ocean-bound plastics.

But the pandemic has led to increased concerns about biosafety, particularly surrounding the packaging of food and drink. In recent years, many retailers have committed to eliminating unnecessary packaging, but some of these efforts will likely be undone in 2021 due to health and safety concerns and retailers’ desire to reassure their customers. Starbucks, for example, banned the use of reusable cups at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.

Despite these setbacks, developments in sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging will continue in 2021.

Other trends will include an increase in transparent windows within food packaging that allow consumers to assess product quality, and QR codes, which can verify product and ingredient claims.

How Will Attitudes to Sustainable Living Change in 2021?

More than two-thirds of consumers want to ensure their everyday actions have a positive impact on the environment. This includes an interest in sustainably produced items, and a shift towards the consumption of plant-based proteins: in 2020, 28% of Americans ate more proteins from plant sources than they did in 2019. Another sustainability trend will see food suppliers up-cycling underused ingredients in a bid to reduce food waste.

Although the year 2021 won’t include a country-wide shift to veganism, retailers can expect increased demand for plant-based food as consumers commit to a more balanced diet and look to reduce their meat and dairy intake.

Image Credit: Rido / Shutterstock.com

Laura Ross Dec 15, 2020

Gotham Greens Raises $87m Series D Funding To Decentralize Food Production

View fullsize

December 9, 2020

Lauren Stine

View fullsize

Image credit: Gotham Greens

The indoor ag space is on fire this year and Gotham Greens is stoking the coals. The New York-based startup just raised an $87 million equity and debt round led by Colorado VC Manna Tree with participation from Florida real estate and private equity investor The Silverman Group and others.

The round brings Gotham Greens’ total funding to $130 million.

Although the Covid-19 pandemic made for a more complicated fundraising process, there was a silver lining, according to the startup’s CEO Viraj Puri.

“It revealed opportunities in the food supply chain, which is really the core of what our mission is – to transform how and where fresh produce is grown,” he told AFN.

“Supermarket retailers were facing a lot of voids on the shelf and it really provided an opportunity for us to fill some of those voids and be nimble. It was relatively easy for us to move from foodservice customers to food retail customers.”

Invest with Impact. Click here.

Founded in 2009, Gotham Greens operates a network of leafy greens-producing greenhouses across North America. It claims to use 100% renewable energy to power its greenhouses, which use 95% less water and 97% less land than conventional open-field farming. 

Greenhouses vs vertical farms

There is quite a bit of tech under the greenhouse hood, as well. Gotham Greens has been ramping up its use of automation and data science in its climate-controlled greenhouses.

When it comes to tech, Puri sees a key differentiator between greenhouse operations and vertical farming businesses.

“We believe that the benefits of greenhouse farming currently outweigh those of vertical farming, which is an exciting extension of modern greenhouse farming. There are still some open questions around the technology and the financial sustainability primarily because fully indoor growing environments rely on artificial light,” he explained.

“Even though they can theoretically offer much higher yields and levels of climate control compared to modern greenhouses, those benefits will come with significantly higher capital and operating costs.”

Gotham Greens sells branded salad greens, herbs, salad dressings, and sauces. It claims to have doubled its revenue over the past year, selling its leafy greens in more than 40 US states and across 2,000 retail stores including Whole Foods, Albertsons, Meijer, Target, and Sprouts. It has doubled its capacity in the past 12 months by opening new greenhouse operations in Chicago, Providence, Baltimore, and Denver.

The new round of funding will be used to fund expansion into new channels and geographic markets, increase capacity, and development of new products. It has recently launched new products including grab-and-go salad bowls, packaged salads, and cooking sauces.

Although one may wonder how many products a startup can derive from a few core crops, Puri said there is plenty of whitespace left to explore.

“There’s channel diversification, there’s pack size diversification. There are just different ways to grow even within that category,” he said.

Can greenhouse startups keep up the pace?

There have been a slew of indoor ag fundings in 2020 despite the pandemic. Kentucky-based greenhouse tomato grower AppHarvest raised $28 million, added Martha Stewart and Impossible Foods’ chief financial officer to its board, and later went public at a $1 billion valuation. New York hydroponic greenhouse startup BrightFarms raised a $100 million Series E while Plenty scooped up a $140 million Series D to research strawberry cultivation with new investor Driscoll’s.

One cannot help but wonder whether consumers or investors will soon have had their fill of leafy greens and micro-herbs, or whether this space has some serious leg room left.

“On balance, I think the momentum is a good thing. I think we still play such a small role in the total addressable market,” Puri said. “If you look at leafy greens alone, it’s estimated to be about a $15 billion category in the US and Canada. Current indoor production is around 1% of that. I think there is a lot of room for growth and multiple winners.”

Pure Flavor® Launches Live Deliciously® Magazine For Holiday Season

Leamington, ON (December 16th, 2020) – To inspire families to get back in the kitchen this holiday season, Pure Flavor® recently launched their first edition of the Live Deliciously® Magazine, a 20-page digital magazine that features flavors for every style and appetite. 

“Without any in-person sampling opportunities like trade shows or community events over the last 9 months, we encouraged our various brand partners to create even more content that could be shared digitally in key regions where we have strong retail relationships”, said Chris Veillon, Chief Marketing Officer. 

The first edition of the digital magazine, called the “Holiday Flavors Guide”, features 18 mouth-watering dishes from various social influencers from around North America. From D-I-Y Charcuturie Boards to Vegan inspired dishes to a variety of snacks, apps, and tasty main courses, all featured recipes include a wide variety of Pure Flavor®’s greenhouse grown vegetables that are available year-round. 

Pure Flavor® has seen significant spikes in website traffic as well as double digit growth this year across its social channels. The brands digital content strategy is to create an I-C-E based approach to consumer engagement: 

• I = Inform

  • Raising awareness for the brand of products

• C = Connect

  • Explain how product fits the lifestyle; serve up content that creates a connection; emotional purchases, types of use

• E = Educate

  • Product characteristics: FAB’s (features & benefits), how to use in the kitchen; pairings, ‘Goes Well With…’

“The new Live Deliciously® Magazine is just one part of our strategy to create great content that we can share across all our channels to encourage people to eat more fresh fruit & vegetables”, said Veillon. 

To view the first edition of the Live Deliciously® Magazine, please visit https://www.pure-flavor.com/holiday-flavors-guide   

-30- 

About Pure Flavor® - 

Pure Flavor® is a family of greenhouse vegetable growers who share a commitment to bringing A Life of Pure Flavor™ to communities everywhere. Our passion for sustainable greenhouse growing, strong support for our retail & foodservice customers, and focus on engaging consumers is built on a foundation drawn from generations of growing expertise.  

We are the next generation of vegetable growers, inspired to put quality, flavor, and customers first by providing greenhouse-grown vegetables from our farms that are strategically located throughout North America. 

SOURCE:      Chris Veillon | chris@pure-flavor.com 

                        Chief Marketing Officer | Pure Flavor® 

                        T: 519 326 8444 

VIDEO: How Max Chizhov, Co-Founder And CEO of iFarm Raised $4M To Build An Indoor Farming Solution Provider In Today’s Urban Environment?

View fullsize

by AsiaTechDaily Writer

PUBLISHED: December 1, 2020

Max Chizhov is the co-founder and CEO of iFarm. The company is an indoor farming solution provider of plug and play automated vertical farms and data-driven software. Easy one-button managed farms from 50 till 5000 sq.m and a wide range of plants to grow are available for customers. Farms can be set in a store, restaurant, warehouse, home, or country house. iFarm allows everyone on Earth to grow their healthy food sustainably and be independent of the supply chain.

View fullsize

iFarm technologies are recognized worldwide: the project is not only included in the TOP 500 food startups of the world and is a member of the EIT Food Accelerator Network; iFarm also became the best agricultural startup in Europe in The Europas Awards 2020, the winner in the category of the best social impact startup of Nordic Startup Awards 2019

In an exclusive interview with AsiaTechDaily, Max Chizhov says:

The main mistake is to lose focus. We have been there too. At first, we wanted to create a whole product line that would meet both the b2b and b2c needs: indoor farms, containers, grow boxes, etc. And in the end, we realized that this would entail additional costs and postpone the launch indefinitely. As a result, we decided to focus on one area, create a high-quality industrial technology, and then develop new formats.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Without them, you cannot become your best self. Also, never cease to learn. It is actually something that should be taught at school — not simply give knowledge, but teach how to find it, interpret and apply.

Read on to know more about Max Chizhov and his journey.

Please tell me about your personal background and What motivated you to get started with your company?

Max Chizhov: In 2017, I was looking for a project that, on the one hand, would be interesting for me from a professional point of view, and on the other, bring tangible benefits to society. I already had experience in the technological field, which is why I focused on that area. At that time, I also met Alex Lyskovsky, who had just finished a course at a culinary school in France. That experience left him wondering whether it was possible to grow high-quality vegetables all year round, regardless of climate conditions and with the least environmental impact, ideally making a profit. His story resonated with me, so I thoroughly researched the topic and realized that I wanted to do something; that’s how iFarm was born.

What is your current main product, and can you share any previous product pivot story to the current product?

Max Chizhov: At first, we wanted to develop as a producer of farm vegetables, herbs, and berries. But having evaluated the scaling prospects, we realized that we were not ready to wait 20 years to become a global supplier. 

Then iFarm focused on developing technological business solutions for growing delicious natural products on vertical farms in today’s urban environment. Since 2018, the iFarm team has created automated vertical farms and an IT platform to manage them. We want to equip farmers worldwide with advanced growing technologies to earn by supplying fresh, tasty, and healthy products.

How much fundraising have you raised in total so far? When was the recent funding round? 

Max Chizhov: This year iFarm closed a $4M investment round. The round was led by Gagarin Capital, which has previously invested in the project. Other investors included Matrix Capital, Impulse VC, IMI.VC and several business angels.

What were the internal decision processes in determining when to begin fundraising, and what were the logistics for this? And how many investors have you met so far and how did you meet these investors, and which channels worked best for you?

Max Chizhov: When we came up with iFarm, we were aimed at multiple growths. Having experience setting up several businesses with a similar strategy, we already knew how to develop companies at high speed and what to focus on. We needed venture capital investments to scale faster, improve the quality of our products and services, and strengthen the team with the best specialists.

The first investors were ourselves — the founders. We created a prototype and received the first money from the sale. Later, investments started to come from friends, acquaintances, and close associates. Thanks to this, we reached stable growth, finalized our target audience, and made the technology’s first sales. That was useful when we began to communicate with venture capital funds, who could give us additional value — help enter new markets and reach potential clients and raise funds in the next rounds.

The funds that have already invested in iFarm provide us with such assistance. We are also looking for new funds that are ready to work with us and help us accelerate the company’s development.

What are the biggest challenges and obstacles that you have faced in the process of fundraising? If you had fundraising, what would you do differently? 

Max Chizhov: We made several pivots during fundraising. Initially, fundraising was different, but we changed it along the way. It was not easy, but it was a conscious decision for us. After a few experiments, we came up with the most efficient and scalable concept and business model.

Not every investor is tolerant to a sudden change of concept in a company’s development, so it was important for us to find funds that would trust us and treat such changes with understanding. Of course, any decision like that has to be supported by analytics and convincing reasoning and backed by a certain reputation of the founders in investors’ eyes.

What are your milestones for the next round? And what are your goals for the future?

Max Chizhov: We are planning to close Round A for € 5 million in the first quarter of 2021. This funding will be used to advance further in Europe and the Middle East, develop iFarm Growtune and update the library of growth recipes with new crops, expand the team, and increase sales. Next year we are also aimed at launching 40,000 square meters of vertical farms under our management.

How have you attracted users, and with what strategy have you grown your company from the start to now?

Max Chizhov: We were our own first clients because, in the first place, we were creating a technology that we wanted to use. The results allowed us to validate the quality and made it clear that we had produced the product we were willing to consume ourselves. 

The next customers came through word of mouth: they contacted us through a recommendation or after tasting the products. For three years, we did not invest anything in advertising or marketing. All clients came thanks to our own activity on social networks, events, and media. 

Entering new markets today, we, of course, launch a sales funnel and aim at our target groups: b2b, enterprise, city-farmers.

What do most startups get wrong about marketing in general?

Max Chizhov: The founders’ biggest mistake is to ignore their customers and end up making a product that the market does not need. The prototype must be shown to the customer as soon as it is ready, then you collect feedback and finalize the product according to it. When entering new markets, it is necessary to conduct cust dev, collect opinions on improvement and customers’ vision for further product development.

How do you plan to expand globally?

Max Chizhov: Next year we will continue our expansion in Europe and the Middle East. In 2022-2024 we plan to enter the North American and Asian markets.

What are the most common mistakes companies make with global expansion?

Max Chizhov: None of us had any experience in this area; we wanted to produce high-quality and tasty products. It was important to go all the way from the idea to the final product, to make all possible mistakes, to realize the shortcomings of the chosen business model, and finally determine that our product would be the vertical farming technology itself, and not greens.

How do you handle this COVID-19 outbreak situation for your company’s survival in the future?

Max Chizhov: Over the last few years, the overall trend in agriculture has been to localize production. This is due to the high rates of urbanization, population growth, and in 2020 the additional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the quarantine following it that made the problems of long supply chains and food security even more obvious.

Such conditions make growing vegetables, berries, and greens in the consumer’s immediate vicinity a necessity. Countries have begun to think strategically about food security issues, which brought us, several large customers.

From the point of view of organizing teamwork, we did not face any difficulties. Even before the pandemic, we had been building processes and implementing tools for an effective remote team’s smooth work.

What are the most common mistakes founders make when they start a company? 

Max Chizhov: The main mistake is to lose focus. We have been there too. At first, we wanted to create a whole product line that would meet both the b2b and b2c needs: indoor farms, containers, grow boxes, etc. And in the end, we realized that this would entail additional costs and postpone the launch indefinitely. As a result, we decided to focus on one area, create a high-quality industrial technology, and then develop new formats.

Another mistake is to pay too much attention to details without seeing the bigger picture. For example, in the beginning, we did not think about any high-level process automation. But the further we went, the more clearly we understood the need to reduce human involvement in the production. That is why we developed special software for managing vertical farms — iFarm Growtune launched a drone and continues to create solutions that automate planting, moving trays on racks, assembling, and packaging.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? And What advice do you have for someone who is interested in doing similar things like yours or in a similar direction?

Max Chizhov: Launching a project, it is crucially important for the founders and early team members to share the same vision and ambition and make sure they are in tune. This will help you stay focused.

What are the top-three books or movies (TV series) that changed your life and why?

Max Chizhov: My top-3: Ray Dalio – Principles, Tony Hsieh – Delivering happiness, Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, Fast and Slow. These books help me to look at our business from different sides and make my workdays more efficient. 

How do you keep yourself motivated every day?

Max Chizhov: New goals and plans, a global mission that the entire team is guided by, allow you to avoid unnecessary distractions and make sure you work towards your goals. Being involved in development in the food industry, you can see, touch, and taste your work’s tangible results. This also gives additional motivation.

What are the top-three life Lessons that you want your (future) sons and daughters to know?

Max Chizhov: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Without them, you cannot become your best self. Also, never cease to learn. It is actually something that should be taught at school — not simply give knowledge, but teach how to find it, interpret and apply.

What would you like to be remembered for?

Max Chizhov: I would like that in a year when you hear about our company or see products grown using our technology, you would remember where we started and what mistakes we made at the very beginning, and that each mistake motivated us to move on.

You can follow Max Chizhov here.

Are you looking to secure investment for your startup or a keen startup enthusiast, keep an eye on our interview section.

Follow Asia Tech Daily to know about the innovative startups and how they are revolutionizing the ecosystem.

in Fundraising, Interviews

INDIA: Simply Fresh Receives ‘Telangana Best Brand Award’ by CMO Asia

The Award Recognizes The Best

And Most Innovative Brands Across Categories

Hyderabad, 01 December 2020:  Simply Fresh, has been awarded the ‘Telangana Best Brand’ award by CMO Asia ‘2020. The award was presented at a virtual felicitation ceremony. The awards recognize, identify, and celebrate outstanding brand building & marketing initiatives by organizations, individuals, and teams for their innovation, uniqueness, consistency, and performance.

View fullsize

Simply Fresh, an innovative agri-tech startup, using precision farming techniques, has commissioned India’s largest 140-acre ‘Plant Factory’ in Telangana. The company uses plant profiling & nutrient management in climate-controlled greenhouses. The greenhouses have retractable roofs & walls, are equipped with growing systems (benches, gutters, pots, etc.), and supported by AI-driven fertigation and irrigation system. Simply Fresh leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) through its proprietary software Farm in A Box (FiAB), which tracks the plant’s life cycle from the initial stage of seeding, plant profiling, monitoring plant health, and nutrient level requirement at each stage of growth. This gives the brand ‘Simply Fresh’ the unique attributes of transparency and ensures quality and consistency in the product.

View fullsize

Speaking on the recognition Mr. Sachin Darbarwar, Founder and CEO of Simply Fresh India said “It is a great honour to receive the award from CMO Asia this year. The award encourages us to work hard and bring outstanding quality for produce including nutraceutical crops, medicinal & aromatic plants, leafy greens, and vine crops using precision farming techniques; for the customers through sustainable agriculture practices.”

About Simply Fresh India:

Simply Fresh Private Limited was founded in 2013 by two Indian software engineers, based in Australia, Sachin Darbarwar (CEO) and Shweta Darbarwar (CMO). With a strong understanding of the technical processes associated with farming techniques, the duo shifted back to their hometown Hyderabad, where they started implementing the latest farming techniques that are inspired by international farming practices. 

Simply Fresh uses global technology in farming based on international standards using precision farming techniques. The farm uses AI technology in farming for growing, nourishing, picking, and processing. Farming uses sustainable practices that do not exhaust natural resources. Simply Fresh Farms produces a full line of Medicinal plants and fresh produce year-round at our greenhouses located in Hyderabad. They are a grower-owned processor adhering to industry-leading food safety and quality standards.

For more information please Visit Us on:  simplyfresh.co.in

For more information please contact: KONNECTIONS

Anurag Kumar - 8686072400 / anurag.kumar@konnections.co.in

View fullsize

INDIA: Gurgaon Based Startup Nutrient Co Integrates Hydroponics With Yogic Farming Techniques

Gurgaon based startup Nutrient Co, founded by Arpit Jain, harnesses and uses the power of human mind and delivers pesticide-free greens and herbs that are UV sterilized and ozone washed at its state of the art, hydroponic farm, within 2 to 8 hours of its harvest.

After having lost his father and two of his close family members, Gurgaon based entrepreneur says he researched extensively about the growing number of cancer patients in India and factors owing to such an increase and he wasn’t shocked to find our lifestyle, stress, and degraded quality of food we consume as the primary reasons.

Recalling his search for pesticide-free food, he says, “The quality of vegetables and fruits in the capital is so bad, despite India being the largest agro-based economy of the world. The vegetables & fruits from local vendors/ sabziwalas and mandis come through long supply chains. With them, there was always a concern about hygiene, freshness of the produce, and its quality. I even researched and tried some online vendors of imported herbs like basil and parsley, but to my disappointment, they were waxed and chemically treated for longer shelf life.”

Not long after, he began researching about Urban farming technologies, which enables one to trace where their food is coming as opposed to the prevalent mandi model. This is when he opted out of his family-run business and started his own hydroponic farm, which not only consumes 90% lesser water than traditional farming, uses no chemical weed or pest control products, but also decreases the time between harvest and consumption, thereby, increasing the nutritional value of the end product.

What intrigued him, even more, was getting connected with premier spirituality preaching institutes and learning and experiencing how powerful our thoughts are and deeper elements of metaphysics.

The startup dedicated a year to field research to understand the supply chain of traditionally produced crops, use of pesticides, the role of cold storage units, mandi operations, artificially controlled demand & supply, amongst other factors, which made Arpit’s decision to startup even firmer.

Alongside, Arpit was intensively studying and practicing meditative techniques, metaphysics, how our thoughts create vibrations. What influenced his decision to integrate hydroponics and yogic agriculture most was a study conducted by Japanese Businessman Masaru Emoto on how human consciousness can affect the molecular structure of water, later published in his book in 2004.

The entrepreneur says he is personally convinced of the benefits of yogic farming and knows from first-hand experience that when the farm is treated with certain meditative techniques and intentions and not just for profit when it is given those pure yogic vibrations, it flourishes in more ways than one. “I personally experienced the qualitative benefits of the produce from yogic agriculture, providing greater stability of mood, a more positive outlook, a decrease in depression, and improved relationships. And what can explain any of this better than the saying: Jaisa ann waisa mann (What you eat is what you become)”.

The method that start-up follows begins with a process of “seed empowerment” with meditation and positive intention of growth, purity, and strength to the seeds during germination. When the seeds are finally planted, different methods of meditation are used. Physical evidence has been observed by the startup that crops grown from empowered seeds have greater root germination and stronger growth.

Bootstrapped so far, the startup started delivering in September 2020.

The entrepreneur says he is happy with the response they got since inception, managing to get around 50 monthly subscriptions in their first month along with one time sales and almost doubling this number in the following month. This has also ensured that none of their produce goes to waste.

Arpit says he has also managed to enroll half a dozen B2B clients in his bouquet of clients and was surprisingly happy to see the demand for his produce with restaurants and cloud kitchens, who despite of the price difference between hydroponic produce and mandi crops owing to quality weigh quality, taste, and freshness as more important factors for their business than economic benefits.

Slowly and steadily, it aims is to make a qualitative difference in Indian households because “Your health is our priority”.

For more information: Arpit Jain (Founder) Nutrient Co, India contact@nutrientco.in

www.nutrientco.in

Swedish Agtech Startup Urban Oasis Raises €1M Funding To Build Its First MegaFarm

by Editorial team

November 23, 2020

Swedish agtech startup Urban Oasis claims to build the food production platform for the 21st century. The company started as a pilot project in 2017 with the mission to provide the city of Stockholm with affordable and sustainably-grown food products through indoor vertical farming technology. Currently, Urban Oasis’ leafy greens such as Kale, PakChoi, and Lettuce can be found at major Swedish retailers including ICA, COOP, and online grocer MatHem.

Funding to build MegaFarm

In a recent development, Urban Oasis pocketed 10.5M SEK (nearly €1M) funding from both existing and new investors. The company plans to use the funding to build its first MegaFarm and expand its production capacity by 15-20 times. The construction work for this facility has already started and is expected to be operational by the end of 2020.

The MegaFarm will be powered by GreenOS, which is an automation software developed in-house. MegaFarm One will demonstrate the capability to optimally grow a large variety of crops in a single controlled production facility.

The investors in the company include Family Offices Pelarhuset and Anteeo, along with Yobi Partners Ltd, led by Toni Nijm and Charly Nijm.

Indoor vertical farming tech!

Urban Oasis was founded by Albert Payaró Llisterri and Lasse Kopiez in Stockholm Since its inception, the Swedish agtech startup has successfully scaled production at the pilot facility underneath an apartment complex in central Stockholm. Previously, this space was home to the Swedish Wine and Spirits Corporation’s storage and production facility. Now, it is owned by a Swedish real estate company GreenGroup, which is also an Urban Oasis partner.

“We are rethinking the way food is produced and consumed. Today Sweden imports more than 25 BSEK (€2.4B) worth of greens and vegetables from abroad. Growing produce where people live not only decreases transportation and climate impact, it also increases the freshness, taste and nutrition of the greens and vegetables. By leveraging the latest technology, we are building the food production platform for the 21st century,” says CEO and co-founder Albert Payaró Llisterri.

Main image picture credits: Urban Oasis

in (Crowd)funding, News, Startups

Organic Germination Mats

View fullsize

View fullsize

AppHarvest Plants First Tomato Crop With Harvest Expected In Grocery Stores Early Next Year

View fullsize

Industry News

November 19, 2020 | Urbanagnews

View fullsize

AppHarvest today announced it has planted its first tomato crop at the company’s high-tech controlled environment agriculture facility in Morehead, Ky. The crop is scheduled to be harvested and available at leading U.S. grocery stores in early 2021. 

The Morehead facility spans 2.76 million square feet, the equivalent of 45 football fields. It’s the first of a series of indoor farms designed to redefine American agriculture by growing non-GMO, chemical pesticide-free fruits and vegetables using 100% recycled rainwater at locations closer to the people eating them. From its base in Appalachia, AppHarvest can reach nearly 70% of Americans in less than a day’s drive. The company and its mission represent a stark change to the existing American food system, which is increasingly reliant on imports. 

View fullsize

The Morehead facility

“Today is an important milestone for AppHarvest as we seek to build a more resilient American food system from within Appalachia,” said AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb. “Our team has built one of the world’s largest and most technologically advanced indoor farms, which means AppHarvest’s tomatoes soon will be on store shelves and in American homes. This is just the first step for us. To transform agriculture in America, we need to do this on a large scale, and we’re already taking steps to do just that with construction underway on two more facilities totaling about 75 acres of growing space.” 

AppHarvest’s tomatoes are scheduled to be in grocery stores in the first quarter of 2021, and the company reaffirms its expectations to begin recognizing revenues at that time. 

AppHarvest chose tomatoes as its first crop because more than 60% of America’s fresh tomatoes were imported in 2019, an increase of almost 50% over the past decade. By growing closer to where people eat, AppHarvest’s tomatoes will be picked at peak ripeness and delivered quickly to grocers. AppHarvest is providing Americans with tomatoes that are locally grown using only recycled rainwater and no chemical pesticides. AppHarvest’s worker-first philosophy also promotes fair labor practices. 

In addition to the Morehead, Ky., facility, AppHarvest is already building two additional high-tech controlled environment agriculture indoor farms. The first will be comparable in size to the company’s flagship operation in Morehead, Ky., and is located outside Richmond, Ky. The third, located in Berea, Ky., will be 15 acres and grow leafy greens. Why leafy greens? American production is concentrated in Arizona and California, which combine to produce 90% of U.S.-grown leafy greens. These states are in the midst of a decades-long drought and are consuming precious water resources. By contrast, Central Appalachia, where AppHarvest is investing in building controlled environment agriculture facilities, has an abundance of rain, so much so that the facilities can be operated on 100% recycled rainwater. 

View fullsize

Educational Indoor Controlled Environment Facility

How else is AppHarvest different from traditional agriculture companies? 

• AppHarvest puts the planet and people first as a Public Benefit Corporation and has also been certified as a B Corp by the nonprofit B Lab. The company is one of only 3,600 certified B Corps and will become one of just a dozen publicly traded public benefit corporations upon the completion of its business combination with publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company Novus Capital Corporation (Nasdaq: NOVS). The B Corp certification process analyzed

AppHarvest’s commitment to forward-thinking initiatives across community, customers, environment, governance, and workers. 

• The company’s controlled environment agriculture facilities are designed to reduce water usage by 90% due to unique circular irrigation systems connected with large-scale rainwater retention ponds. The closed-loop system runs entirely off 100% recycled rainwater and is designed to eliminate harmful agricultural runoff, which contributes to toxic algae blooms.

• Strong relationships with leading AgTech universities and companies in the Netherlands position AppHarvest as a leading applied technology agriculture company. The Netherlands has developed a significant high-tech greenhouse industry, becoming the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter despite having a landmass roughly equal in size to Eastern Kentucky. Earlier this year, AppHarvest led a landmark 17-organization agreement uniting Dutch and Kentucky governments, universities, and private companies, with all committing to building America’s AgTech capital from within Appalachia.

In just over two years, AppHarvest has attracted more than $150 million in investment into Central Appalachia and announced on September 29, 2020, its entry into a definitive agreement for a business combination with publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company Novus Capital Corporation (Nasdaq: NOVS). The combination, which is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of 2020 or early in the first quarter of 2021, is expected to provide $475 million of gross proceeds to the company, including $375 million from a fully committed common stock PIPE at $10.00 per share anchored by existing and new investors – including Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Inclusive Capital, and Novus Capital Corporation. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named AppHarvest and is expected to remain listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol APPH. 

AppHarvest’s investors include Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Inclusive Capital Partners, Equilibrium, Narya Capital, Lupa Systems, Breyer Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst. Endeavor selected AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb as an Endeavor Entrepreneur in 2019. 

Board members include food icon Martha Stewart, Narya Capital Co-Founder, and Partner JD Vance, Impossible Foods Chief Financial Officer David Lee, and impact investor Jeff Ubben. 

About AppHarvest 

AppHarvest is an applied technology company building some of the world’s largest indoor farms in Appalachia. The Company combines conventional agricultural techniques with cutting-edge technology and is addressing key issues including improving access for all to nutritious food, farming more sustainably, building a home-grown food supply, and increasing investment in Appalachia. The Company’s 60-acre Morehead, KY facility is among the largest indoor farms in the U.S.

For more information, visit https://www.appharvest.com/. 

Earth911 Podcast: Eden Green CEO Eddy Badrina Talks About Vertical Greenhouse Farming

Earth911 | Nov 9, 2020

Earth911 talks with Eden Green CEO Eddy Badrina about the company’s vertical greenhouses that will help the world grow locally and end food insecurity. While Americans expect to buy fresh product year-round, flying foods from Central America and the Southern Hemisphere carries a heavy environmental cost. Urban farming can fill in critical gaps in local food supplies, providing year-round, locally grown fresh produce.

Eden Green licenses the growing system to urban farmers who can set up in old buildings and warehouses to grow fresh greens, berries, and peppers year-round. The system uses natural light augmented by lighting on cloudy days, along with recycled water to substantially reduce the carbon footprint compared to traditional farming. Badrina discusses the pressing need for food production and security to serve a growing population.

View fullsize

EDEN GREEN CEO EDDY BADRINA

Eden Green Technologies built a research and development greenhouse farm in Cleburne, Texas, and is preparing to launch its first commercial farming operation. The farm system includes 18-foot vertical hydroponic growing racks, lighting, and climate management equipment. With this system, a 1.5-acre urban farm can grow around 900,000 pounds of salad greens or 50 other types of produce annually, harvesting fresh produce daily for local consumption. The Eden Green systems delivers produce that is “better than organic,” Badrina said, that grows year-round, in any climate.

Badrina explains that urban farms will open new employment opportunities and encourage growers to give back to their communities. The Eden Green team will work with investors and local communities to work out the financing, build the farm, train the staff, and launch the business before handing it over to the local operator.

Listen to the podcast at Earth911.com.

To learn more about Eden Green and vertical greenhouses, visit edengreen.com.

• Subscribe to Sustainability In Your Ear on iTunes

• Follow Sustainability In Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube

View fullsize

CANADA: Vertical Farming Is On The Rise In Ontario

View fullsize

By Justin Chandler

November 2, 2020

Experts Say That A Technology Developed

For Space Travel Could Help Good Things Grow Right Here At Home

WELLAND — The technology behind vertical farming was originally developed with space travel in mind. Researchers, attempting to minimize the amount of real estate and materials needed for interplanetary travellers to grow food on long-haul trips, found that the tech could work on Earth. Despite the seemingly futuristic possibilities, vertical farming is becoming a practical reality in southern Ontario: a new vertical farm in Welland’s Industrial Zone had its first harvest last week. The facility, which opened in September, practises a high-tech way of growing food indoors that proponents say saves energy and will help improve food security and safety. 

View fullsize

The vertical farm in Welland is about 1,860 square metres. (Courtesy of Amin Jadavji)

Whereas traditional farming involves planting across a wide area, vertical farms build upwards, stacking plants in layers. Run by Elevate Farms, a company that grows and sells produce in vertical farms, the facility in Welland is about 1,860 square metres, 465 of which is growing space. Plants are stacked 13 layers high (about 7.5 metres) and grow with their roots in water, rather than soil. They get their light from LEDs, which can be adjusted to produce changes in the plants’ colours and nutrients.

According to Elevate’s chief strategy officer, Travis Kanellos, the farm’s goal, for now, is to produce and market leafy greens, such as lettuce, arugula and basil; eventually, it will branch out to more products. Kanellos says the farm should be able to produce an estimated 454,000 kilograms of greens per year: “That facility will have a capacity of 1 million pounds annually out of a 5,000 square-foot box. And that’s our quote-unquote standard facility.”

McGill University professor Mark Lefsrud, an expert in food security and urban agriculture, says that, while vertical farming currently accounts for less than 1 per cent of all farming in Canada, within 20 years, “I’d expect it to slowly creep up to around 20 per cent of the total market.”

In a March report, Ontario’s Greenbelt Foundation identifies vertical farming as a priority to expand fruit and vegetable growth in the region and lists six vertical farms operating in Ontario (not including Elevate Farms): one in Kingsville, two in Guelph, and three in Toronto. All grow leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens (such as kale). The report notes that global investment in vertical farms is estimated at US$3.1 billion; about a third of that takes place in North America.

To Youbin Zheng, a professor and expert in controlled environment facilities at the University of Guelph, building more vertical farms in southern Ontario makes sense: “If you look at the Greenbelt and Golden Horseshoe, our land is limited, very limited, but our population has been increasing. If you grow vegetables in the field, there are only a few months in a year you can produce outside. If you grow inside with vertical farming, what you can get is just enormous.” The Greenbelt Foundation report states that, by building up, a vertical farm can produce the equivalent of more than 4,000 square metres of greenhouse space using just 185 square metres of floor space. 

Proponents also cite the significant benefits of vertical farming when it comes to food security and safety. The farms can be close to major population centres, reducing the need for transportation. In the case of Elevate Farms, Welland’s easy access to transportation routes means lower transportation costs and fresher, more nutrient-rich food for the consumer. Closer monitoring of produce and the fact that it stays within one country’s border may also reduce the risk of contamination. Before the pandemic, Kanellos says, “we had numerous outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella in different products across the supply chain — and we're going to eliminate that.”  

Despite the significant savings when it comes to land and energy, nobody is suggesting that vertical farms will replace traditional farms anytime soon. For Elevate Farms, Kanellos says, “the play is not to try and replace traditional agriculture” but to supplement the existing market with what the farm produces.

View fullsize

At the vertical farm in Welland, plants are stacked 13 layers high and grow with their roots in water. (Courtesy of Josh Siteman)

University of Guelph professor Mike Dixon is a leading expert in vertical farming who also works with space agencies including the Canadian Space Agency and NASA. Dixon leads the school’s Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility and advises Intravision Group, the research and development company behind Elevate Farms. “I've been long quoted as saying the next worst place after the surface of the moon to try to grow plants is a snowbank in northern Canada,” he says. While food-insecure communities such as First Nations in Ontario’s north could benefit from vertical farms, experts point out that building them is costly. Labour is expensive, and energy costs are high: lighting accounting for about 40 per cent of capital costs, as the Greenbelt Foundation notes. “First Nations communities have a hard time covering this without serious subsidies from the government,” Lefsrud says. 

Another hurdle for vertical farms is diversifying what they produce. Josh Siteman, the Canadian managing director of Intravision Group, calls leafy greens the “tipping point for vertical farming,” which proved there was a market. Zheng notes that greens are relatively easy to produce and have short growth cycles, meaning that if something goes wrong, it’s not a huge loss to start over. But there are only so many greens a person can eat. 

“I'm kind of sick and tired of people growing lettuce,” Dixon says jokingly. “Lettuce is not food until you add the ranch dressing. But everybody and their dog — I would say 95 per cent of the entrepreneurial ventures in horticulture [within] controlled environments — are growing lettuce or some variation on a salad green that has marginal nutritional value, in most cases.” Other popular produce, such as fruits and legumes, take more time to grow and require more nutrition, Dixon says, and harvesting them is more challenging and costly. 

Lefsrud notes that there are companies working to produce berries and legumes in vertical farms, and Kanellos says Elevate Farms will eventually move in that direction. He also says the business plans to expand to more Canadian locations but declines to share which ones. 

Dixon says that artificial-intelligence systems will be the next big game-changer for vertical farms, allowing growers to work more efficiently and precisely, thereby opening up more possibilities. “The imaging technology that we can bring to bear even now can detect nutrient imbalances, water stress, all kinds of abiotic and biotic stress responses in plants, and affect a management strategy to mitigate those problems long before you and I would ever know that there was a problem. Even a skilled horticulturist would not detect some of the kinds of nutrient imbalances,” he says. “We’ll evolve away from lettuce.”

Ontario Hubs are made possible by the Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust & Goldie Feldman.

Related tags: Food

View fullsize

Author: Justin Chandler

Justin Chandler is TVO.org's Hamilton-Niagara reporter.

Vertical Farming Made Easy With Sarab From Ecotwigs

August 5, 2020 

by Dominique Bernier

Sarab lives in Mumbai, India. In 2017, she completed an internship in Canada at the In.Genius Farms, a small-scale vertical farm in Laval, Quebec. Mentored by Khaled Majouji, aka The Plant Charmer, she learned about the potential of vertical farming. Once back home, she decided to be the change she wanted to see in her country. 

Inspired by her experience in Canada, Sarab started her own startup: Ecotwigs. With the help of her father, Gurmukh Singh, an entrepreneur in computer numerical control (CNC) machinery, they designed and developed a ready-to-assemble vertical farming system. 

It can be produced on an industrial scale, delivered wherever it is needed, and easily deployed upon reception.

View fullsize

Sarab at her vertical farm near Mumbai

As in many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the mobility of agricultural workers in India, adding pressure to food supply chains and compromising the food security of the most vulnerable populations. The situation raised awareness on the importance of local farming and shorter supply chains.

Sarab vertical farming solution comes at the right time. It aims to solve a few problems at once: 

• requires less land;

• reduces the workload and dependence on seasonal foreign workers;

• increases yields per square-foot;

• improves food salubrity;

• simplifies traceability;

• and fosters profitability.

Given the current pandemic, such a farming system, which also requires limited interactions and manipulations while operated, would be more than handy.

How it all started

Sarab studied sciences in Junior college. “It was the rational choice”, she said. However, her real dream was to become a pastry chef. She had always been fascinated by big wedding cakes, but convincing her dad about this career choice was challenging.

Nonetheless, while in college she started a side gig as a freelance pastry chef. She liked it so much that after college, she did a bachelor’s degree in Hotel and Hospitality Administration. While studying, she spent a semester working as an intern at the Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi in Ruwais city.

View fullsize

Before completing her bachelor’s degree, a research topic on lifestyle diseases based on our diets shed a different light on her passion. “I realized that what I was loving [baking cakes] was making people diabetic”, she said. “I thought I was giving people joy, but I was giving them diabetes”, she added.

Sarab explained that although she still enjoys baking and has nothing against eating pastries, it may not be the purpose she wanted in life. When she graduated, suddenly she felt like she didn’t want to follow this path anymore.

One day, while waiting for a friend near a market, she was watching how the food was handled. Among other things, she noticed bunches of cilantro unloaded directly on the dirty pavement of a street in Mumbai. Given that cilantro is a garnish in almost every Indian dish, she thought that she could do better. She started to crawl Youtube and looked at hours of videos on how to grow food. The first thing she tried was to grow kiwis from seeds. “I never stopped after that”, she said.

View fullsize

She made a rooftop garden, but without any background in agriculture, she admitted her results were suboptimal. Nevertheless, she was determined to pursue this new path. In 2017, she was following Khaled, aka The Plant Charmer, on Instagram. When she saw a post about an internship opportunity at his new vertical farm, she jumped on it. 

View fullsize

The Instagram post that caught Sarab’s attention

Although it sounded like a crazy idea to her parents, generating some fuss in her family, they ended up being supportive of her choice. “Going to Khaled’s farm was the best decision in my life”, she said.

When I was at Khaled’s farm it struck me: this is the future of farming. – Sarab

Sarab wanted to see the full cycle, from seedling to harvesting, including everything in between. “I was supposed to do a one-month internship only”, she explained. “But I was so fascinated on how the system works, I asked to stay longer”, she added.

View fullsize

Sarab at the In.Genius Farm in Laval, QC, Canada

At the end of her internship, another big decision was awaiting Sarab. She had to decide whether to stay in Canada and apply for permanent residence, or to return to India. “The greatest accomplishment in our country is to leave”, Sarab said. “With everything I learned, I felt like the right thing to do was to bring back this knowledge and do something for my country”, she added.

When she returned home, she faced a few challenges. The same as any small-scale urban farming entrepreneurs would encounter in India and elsewhere: access to land, in or near the city, is difficult. 

The real estate in Mumbai and other major Indian cities is as expensive as any major city in North America or Europe. It makes farming possible only in remote and often deficiently developed regions. Moreover, a lot of lands in or near the cities and suburbs are highly contaminated, making agriculture beyond gardening nearly impossible. Luckily, Sarab’s uncle provided her with the opportunity to develop her project on an 18,000 sq.-ft plot of land he owns, only 20 minutes away from Mumbai’s suburbs.  

Why vertical farming

A new climate report from the United Nations has warned that the world might face a food crisis due to climate change and overexploitation of land and water resources. The vertical farming infrastructure proposed by Sarab aims to enable growing food wherever there is place while reducing pressure on farmlands and fostering soil regeneration.

Without farming the land itself, the annual yields are still calculated in metric tons on less than an acre. By growing above the ground, pest damage and diseases are drastically reduced without the need for any pesticides or harmful chemicals.

For Sarab, vertical farming as she learned it at the In.Genius Farms makes organic farming way easier. “It reduces operational costs, requires fewer resources [human and natural], while increasing yields and margins”, she explained.

“Vertical farming with my infrastructure can be done by anybody because the hard work factors of conventional farming were removed”, she said. “There’s no kneeling, no bending, and no weeding”, she added. From her experience at In.Genius farms, Sarab thinks that 1 worker for every 100 units is more than enough (100 units cover about 10,000 sq.-ft.).

Business model

Once back from her internship at In.Genius Farms, Sarab realized something: she didn’t want to start a farm, she wanted to become the vertical farming infrastructure provider. 

I want to be the person who set [up] vertical farms for others because that’s the future. – Sarab

Sarab explains that going through the process of figuring out vertical farming by yourself can be daunting. “Of course some could do it by themselves, but it would turn out to be expensive and time-consuming”, she said. “I want to make things simple and affordable to those wishing to start a vertical farm”, she added.

Her business model is to provide customers with a turnkey vertical agricultural infrastructure and technical assistance to ensure they reach the full yield potential. Therefore, land use and the time, effort, and money spent would be optimized.

As what IKEA does to home furniture, Ecotwigs does to farms by designing and selling ready-to-assemble vertical farms. – Sarab

Sarab’s main market for her vertical farming infrastructure will be existing farmers, but also a new generation of food entrepreneurs who own small plots of land and wish to start small-scale farming businesses. For Sarab, too many farmers in India (and elsewhere) are not treating their farm as a business, and when they do, it is often not managed efficiently. Thus, she wants to provide them with proper customer support to create lasting prosperity.

Vertical Farming Systems

As Sarab’s father noticed her enthusiasm for vertical farming, he decided to help her in her venture. He helped her design and engineer a new system following her experience in Canada.

This A-frame is made of inert material. Suitable for outdoor and indoor farming, it is lighter than wood and easier to assemble (or disassemble if needed). Moreover, it is made to last a minimum of 10 years.

A 100 units farm can be assembled within a week by 2 people. – Sarab 

One unit can be assembled by 2 people in 30 minutes. Each A-frame unit includes 10 rammers that are 12 feet long (or 3.90 meters). There are 5 rammers on each side. Working 7.5 hours per day, it would take two people about 7 days to set up a 100 unit vertical farm on 10,000 sq.-ft.

Depending on the crop and location, each unit can generate from $400 to over $1000 in revenue per season. The price to buy a unit is not yet settled. Nevertheless, the price range will be established to allow clients to get a great return on investment (ROI).

Our challenge was to design the most profitable, eco-friendly, food-safe, sturdy, and long-lasting farming system. – Sarab

View fullsize

The rain gutters, as used on the In.Genius Farms’ A-frame, are replaced by a custom made rammers. For marketing purposes, Sarab and her father decided to change the name of this component, which is the channel used to grow food. “In India, when you say gutters, it is associated to a filthy place”, she explained. “It is not the place where people would want their food to grow”, she added.  

The rammers’ length, width, and depth were increased to allow higher yields per unit and the growth of a wider variety of crops. The angle of the rammers was set to get a maximum sun or LED light exposure. The system can be deployed either as a few units in a backyard, on rooftops, or at scale on acres.

The next steps

Sarab currently operates a 30 unit vertical farm. It serves as a research and development lab. “That is where data are validated”, she said. Sarab is growing varieties of lettuce and spinach, arugula, peanuts, sweet bell peppers, edible flowers, and eggplants. She will also experiment with growing strawberries, which is unusual for Mumbai’s climate.

As the rammers are longer, deeper, and wider than the model she experienced at the In.Genius farms, bigger crops like cauliflower, celery, and zucchinis will be tested as well. The food harvested at her farm will be for friends and family. With 30 vertical farming units, Sarab already knows that she will not have the volume necessary to consistently supply clients like chefs or grocery stores.

Her focus is on supplying the infrastructure and acting as a vertical farming consultant to her clients. Thus, operating the farm to gather data is the priority. The system will be continuously tested to make sure it can perform well, and that yield expectations are accurate.

Sarab explained that “when a client is looking to invest in infrastructure like this, we need to give them the proper numbers. And I know that at one point, the numbers will speak for themselves”.

Sarab is well aware of the Canadian winter. “Made of inert material, these A-frames do not react much to temperature fluctuations”, she explained. She also knows how robust the system needs to be to endure the cold temperature of northern countries, as well as snow and ice accumulation.

Takeaways on vertical farming

The approach of the farmers should change, and the status quo should be disrupted. Sarab explained that Indian farmers are treated as the bottom of the supply chain. If they could be provided with the proper tools and means to grow, market, and distribute food efficiently, she believes it could make them the leaders of the supply chain. The main issue Sarab stressed is to make sure you have enough customers for those high yields.

“The best part, since all labor-intensive tasks of conventional farming have been stripped out, it could be done by anybody”, Sarab proudly said. Adding some fun, fashion, and style to the business concept is also part of her branding.

I genuinely enjoy working at my farm and the message I want to spread is: this is cool! I can be fashionable and still be a farmer. -Sarab

Do you have an inspiring urban agriculture story to tell or innovative ideas to share? Contact us or leave a comment below!

Tech Startup iFarm Raises U.S. $4 Million to Expand Do-It-Yourself Urban Farms

The Finnish technology startup iFarm recently raised US$4 million to build vertical farms for more customers across Europe and the Middle East. Using these funds, iFarm aims to help more entrepreneurs and businesses set up their own urban farms—at any time, in any place.

iFarm, founded in 2017, develops autonomous farming systems to grow greens, berries, and edible flowers indoors. It sells smaller, individual growing modules, as well as vertical farms for larger-scale production.

Most urban farming companies do one of two things: grow and sell their own food or manufacture technology to assist experienced farmers, such as LED lights and robots that can monitor and harvest produce.

iFarm falls into a third, less common category. Rather than standalone technology, the company sells entire urban farming systems with built-in robotics. These systems enable customers to start farms with little to no knowledge of agriculture.

iFarm’s growing module, iFarm Cropper, is designed for grocery stores, restaurants, or homes. Their vertical farms are intended for larger spaces, like warehouses. These systems are equipped with drones and artificial intelligence that spot diseases and track plant growth. They can also be controlled by an app, iFarm Growtune, that automatically plants seeds and adjusts lighting and humidity.

Kirill Zelenski, the Managing Director of Europe at iFarm, tells Food Tank that the company’s name is reminiscent of the iPhone. With an iPhone, he says, “you don’t need to know anything… You just need to know what you want to do, and it will do it itself. Same with our farms.” He explains that a customer simply has to push a button to grow arugula, and the system knows what to do.

Urban farming companies boast several ecological, economic, and health benefits. iFarm’s technology, for instance, uses 90 percent less water and 75 percent less fertilizer compared to conventional farms, and no pesticides.

Controlled climates inside urban farms reduce the risk of air and water pollution, while allowing for more reliable yields. iFarm reports that 100 percent of their seeds sprout.

Indoor farms can also exist anywhere. The urban farming company Square Roots, for example, grows greens in the heart of Brooklyn. This flexibility cuts down on land use—which is increasingly sparse—and improves access to fresh food in urban areas.

iFarm’s founder, Alex Lyskovsky, decided to start the company for exactly that reason: his hometown in Siberia lacked access to fresh food. Now, thanks to iFarm, says Zelenski, “Even sitting in Finland, I can grow—for example—tomatoes like they would be grown in Sicily.”

Zelenski imagines a world where proximity to farmland no longer dictates where people reside. “Our idea is that it will change the world and how people are living. Because of the possibility to build farms in every house, you can live wherever,” Zelenski tells Food Tank.

Zelinski believes that autonomous farming companies—particularly those that sell already-programmed systems—have the potential to radically reshape the industry. “Modern farmers,” as he calls them, won’t necessarily need to know how to farm.

However, there are downsides. Zelenski notes that iFarm’s drones reduce the need for labor by 800 hours per month, which boosts efficiency and saves farm owners money—but could also threaten job security for farm workers.

iFarm isn’t the only company selling urban farms. Manhattan-based Farm.One offers everything from single-plant hydroponic units to entire vertical farming setups. InFarm, based in Berlin, installs its modular setups in grocery stores. And companies like Agrilution, Rise Gardens, and Aspara sell in-home hydroponic systems.

As for iFarm, the company plans to put half of its recent funding towards scaling up in Europe and the Middle East, 30 percent into research and development, and the remaining 20 percent into internal management and hiring.

The company plans to leave a big mark on the agriculture industry. “We think our technology will change not just [farmers’] work, it will change the world totally,” Zelenski tells Food Tank. “Our idea totally disrupts the industry.”

October 30, 2020

View fullsize

INDIA: Farm To Fork, The Hi-Tech Way

Hyderabad-based Simply Fresh has commissioned India’s largest high-tech ‘plant factory’, spread across 140 acres.

View fullsize

November 1, 2020

By Bindu Gopal Rao

View fullsize

Lead photo: Greens from Simply_Fresh

The lockdown has created a new food chain for both the urban farming community growing produce on home terraces and agriculturists on conventional farms. Artificial Intelligence and new machinery are making it efficient and progressive. For example, an IIT Madras app offers a seed-to-plate supply chain. NeerX Technolabs’s low-cost sensors are even used by ISRO and IARI to replace expensive imported remote sensors. 

Cloud cues

From red tape bureaucracy to ignorance, prevents data across categories. Cloud Cues, a project led by IIT Mandi, brings data on a single platform to be distributed according to need. “Small-scale farmers benefit by sharing resources such as weather prediction, irrigation, soil nutrition, seed selection, disease and pest control, surveillance and market access and credit. 

View fullsize

Crop protocols being explained to a
farmer by AB InBev

Water saver

Bengaluru-based Gourmet Garden focuses on improving water and nutrient use in sustainable farming sensor-based technology. It automatically assesses nutrition delicacy and auto-fertilises soil thereby reducing water use by over 90 percent. It can be controlled through a mobile phone or computer. “All plants will get uniform nutrition,” says Arjun Balaji and Vishal Narayanswamy, Co-founders, Gourmet Garden, a company that deals with hydroponics. 

Artificial intelligence

Hyderabad-based Simply Fresh has commissioned India’s largest high-tech ‘plant factory’, spread across 140 acres. “We use AI-based precision farming, climate e-engineering, and hydroponics. From growing to processing, it’s cheaper than expensive US operations,” says Sachin Darbarwar, CEO. The company has developed proprietary software for farm management. 

Supply chain solution

Smart Barley: AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer, works with KisanHub, an agri-food supply chain company, to empower farmers to manage their supply chain, identify and resolve risks, make large-scale supply planning decisions and improve sustainability. 

Machine learning

Agrojay platform: The horticulture app implemented in Nashik, Maharashra, is used by more than 22,500 people for online consultation for predictions, crop patterns, and sales to highly rated traders via AI and Machine Learning. 

The Role of Silicon As a Nutrient In Hydroponic Recipes

By Karla Garcia 

Silicon (also known as silica, Si) is found in high quantities in open field production but is absent in hydroponic nutritional recipes. The lack of knowledge about the role of silicon (Si) in horticultural crops became apparent when using soilless/hydroponic systems. 

Research has demonstrated that silicon is one of the most beneficial micro-elements for several plants. However, its role has not been considered as essential in plant nutrition. For this reason Si is not used as a common ingredient in hydroponic recipes. It is the aim of the present article to share the knowledge generated around the role of Si in plant nutrition in order to discuss its possible important function in nutrient recipes.

Despite not being a common ingredient in hydroponic recipes, several beneficial effects of silica have been demonstrated in hydroponic systems (Guntzer et al. 2012; Miyake and Takahashi 1983; Voogt and Sonneveld 2001). The use of Si as a nutrient in plants has shown a positive effect in mitigating environmental and pathogenic stresses. Some authors mention its function as an alternative way to control diseases. However, most of the results support its role as a good complement for disease treatment and prevention.

Van Bockhaven et al. 2013, demonstrated the induction of a broad-spectrum plant disease resistance by implementing Si as part of the fertilizer in plants. Other studies also showed (Hammerschmidt, 2005) Si as an ingredient with the potential to reduce rates and number of fungicide applications, specifically in control of powdery mildew. This same result has been supported by other studies done by Miyake and Takahashi, 1983 and Vercelli et al., 2017. 

Silicon is deposited in plant cell walls helping to avoid pest incidence and damage by fungi. Also, the presence of silicon in cell walls can help to improve resistance to heat and drought contributing in the development of strong and healthy plants. This being the reason why many authors present data supporting its role as a nutrient with the potential to increase yields. 

One particular issue in the use of Si in hydroponic recipes is pH. Si has a high pH that can affect some nutrient recipes. Also is difficult to maintain soluble in concentrated nutrient solutions. However, as we know, pH can be controlled. Si can be added as a separate ingredient in a different tank and recommendations indicate to reduce pH in the tank containing Si and water directly. 

How much silicon should I use?

Now that we know the positive effects of Si in plants. How can we know which form or quantity of Si can be used in hydroponic systems? The requirements of Si by plants in order to get the beneficial effect of this nutrient can be crop-specific. Si can be added in nutrient recipes as silicon dioxide and common ranges used are from 50 to 150 ppm. Being 100 ppm is the most common level. It is important to always start with recommended low levels of Si because too much of this nutrient can affect the uptake of other elements.

It is important to mention that the use of Si complies with current sustainable agriculture EU regulations and is not toxic for humans. Plants can live without silicon, therefore it is not an essential nutrient. However, the more this nutrient is studied the more we know about its role in improving plant health and growth.

US: Kentucky Fresh Harvest And AppHarvest Advance Kentucky’s Horticultural Sector

Two large commercial growers anchor an organized AgTech push by the state of Kentucky, and the greenhouses involved will consume many LED-based luminaires for supplemental lighting.

Maury Wright

View fullsize

October 19th, 2020

Kentucky-based organizations look to expand the state’s AgTech and horticultural businesses, with Kentucky Fresh Harvest and AppHarvest leading the way toward more LED-based lighting penetration in controlled environment agriculture. (Image credit: Kentucky farm graphic created by Stevietheman from public domain image and CC-BY-SA 2.5 licensed image, via Wikimedia Commons; available for use under CC-BY-SA 2.5. Licensing information available at http://bit.ly/3dGv3fH.)

Kentucky Fresh Harvest (KFH) has held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Stanford, KY commercial greenhouse operation based at a 30-acre campus and on the latest in AgTech including a complete controlled environment. The operation will grow tomatoes year round at a location that’s within a one-day truck ride to two thirds of the US population. Meanwhile, AppHarvest, which we have covered before, has announced plans to go public and raise additional capital for expansion and its 60-acre facility in Morehead, KY.

Both AppHarvest and KFH are part of the state of Kentucky’s AgriTech Advisory Council that Governor Andy Beshear formed back in July to boost the AgTech industry in the state. “AgriTech is the future of agriculture, and Kentucky is uniquely positioned to embrace and deliver on it,” said Beshear. “Being the global leader in the AgriTech industry not only will make Kentucky’s farms more productive and efficient, but also will benefit every citizen and every region of the commonwealth in creating industry and jobs.” The state further launched a dedicated website dedicated to AgTech called Kentucky AgriTech.

Kentucky Fresh Harvest

KFH has developed truly a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) setting for its tomato-centric operation. The farm says it recycles all water and nutrients not absorbed by around 13,000 plants, and cleans and recycles that captured fluid for reuse. The farm labels it a closed-loop irrigation system.

The greenhouses feature a mix of LED-based solid-state lighting (SSL) and high-pressure sodium (HPS) lighting. Such hybrid scenarios have become increasingly common because the HPS luminaires do double duty during cool weather, delivering both light and heat to the plants. KFH says that it further injects CO2 into the greenhouse on dark days to boost photosynthesis and increase natural sugar production. The farm is based on an AgTech control platform from InData.Farm.

View fullsize

Kentucky Fresh Harvest runs a true controlled environment agriculture (CEA) operation in Stanford, KY, growing tomatoes under ideal conditions year round with sophisticated water, lighting, and environmental management systems. (Photo credit: Image courtesy of Kentucky Fresh Harvest.)

“I’m extremely proud of our team at KFH,” said Curt Meltzer, CEO of KFH. “Not just for growing and harvesting this pilot crop during an extremely challenging time, but for the multitude of other steps they’ve taken this year to bring our vision for the Future of Farming to fruition. This is a win for Stanford, Lincoln County, and Kentucky’s agribusiness economy as a whole.”

“Kentucky Fresh Harvest is the type of company we envision can help strengthen our state’s economic potential, not just in the years ahead but for generations to come,” said Beshear. “The company bringing its operation on line during such a tumultuous time is a testament to their staff’s ability to adapt quickly and be prepared for any challenge. Kentucky Fresh Harvest has a bright future and I’m proud it will be here in the commonwealth.”

AppHarvest

Moving to AppHarvest, that grower is even larger than KFH. We first covered AppHarvest a little more than a year ago when the company and its partner Signify said that the Morehead operation would have the most LED lighting of any building in the world. Moreover, the farm was one of many horticultural operations to garner significant venture investments. That investment had totaled near $100 million when we first reported on AppHarvest. AppHarvest also spoke at our HortiCann Light + Tech Conference last year, and note that the virtual HortiCann 2021 begins Tuesday, Oct 20.

Now AppHarvest is turning to the public market to raise additional cash. The move to go public will be executed via a merger of the existing AppHarvest business with Novus Capital Corp (Nasdaq: NOVS). Following the close of that deal, the new company will still be named AppHarvest and will be traded on the NASDAQ exchange under a new ticker symbol. AppHarvest founder and CEO Jonathan Webb will lead the new company.

The move to go public is being supported by existing and new investors including Novus Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and Inclusive Capital. AppHarvest expects the move to provide $475 million in gross proceeds. The cash will allow AppHarvest to expand and build more farms throughout the Appalachia regions.

“We are excited to transition AppHarvest to a public company and raise nearly a half a billion dollars in the process,” said Webb. “This will allow us to pursue our mission of transforming agriculture. A mission that’s become even more important since the global pandemic exposed how a rapidly increasing reliance on imports jeopardizes food security. We now know that, to build a more resilient food system that meets our growing population demands, we must immediately start building controlled environment agriculture facilities, as these farms use far fewer resources to grow far more produce. We believe that this partnership with Novus Capital is a transformative transaction which will allow us to both rapidly scale our agriculture facilities, in pursuit of our goal to redefine American agriculture, and build the country’s AgTech capital within Appalachia. Together we can transform agriculture.”

“AppHarvest is a unique and compelling investment opportunity that is redefining American agriculture by improving access for all to fresh non-GMO produce, growing more with fewer resources, and creating an AgTech hub from within Appalachia,” said Bob Laikin, chairman of Novus Capital. “With significant tailwinds from heightened investor focus on ESG [environmental, social, and corporate governance] initiatives and the secular shift to plant-based foods, we believe AppHarvest is well-positioned to execute on its strategy for rapid growth and value creation.”

TURKEY: Use of Artificial Intelligence In Greenhouse And Vertical Agriculture

October 25, 2020

Vertical farming is the production of products vertically stacked so that even if the land is used it can now be produced as a more effective method, smart agriculture.

Vertical farming is generally used when the yield of the soil is low or under unused conditions and it also contributes to the cultivation of crops. Consequently, many vertical fields and greenhouses are designed as closed spaces and are inclined to provide better light.

In vertical farming, artificial light is often used in combination with natural daylight, and pioneers who prefer this method, such as ForFarming have observed positive impacts on future food safety and human health, and the need for agricultural land will be reduced. One of the most important reasons for this is the protection of natural life and the prevention of environmental pollution.

Another important issue is the importance and use of artificial intelligence in vertical agriculture. IoT-based artificial intelligence system, developed by ForFarming, “Farmio” with a stylish and elegant design that you are currently producing greenhouses, parks, and gardens can be controlled and monitored simultaneously with Farmio plays a role.

Farmio can be controlled from anywhere with its advanced algorithm system, and it ensures that your current harvest can be measured automatically such as humidity, temperature, temperature, pH, or CO2. This feature provides great advantages to the users, and the fact that it can be followed in a coordinated manner has a great effect on the maximum utilization of production.
ForFarming, which wants to be the world’s landless agricultural technology provider, provides the world’s first and only artificial intelligence supported intelligent agriculture solution, and provides healthy and fresh products throughout the year.

With its elegant design, Farmi is ready to be used in many different areas than you can imagine and is suitable for use in many places from supermarkets to restaurants, offices, and hotels. In addition, Farmi enables its customers to grow more than 30 plants, and by using artificial intelligence in all processes from production to harvest (Farmio), it provides customers with great advantages in tracking processes and makes this work much more enjoyable.

AppHarvest Breaks Ground On Second High-Tech Greenhouse

AppHarvest has started construction on a second high-tech controlled environment agriculture facility in Central Appalachia. Located in Madison County, KY, the farm, when complete, will exceed 60 acres.

The indoor facility will grow non-GMO, chemical pesticide-free fruits and vegetables to be distributed to U.S. grocers and restaurants. Because of the company’s strategic location in Appalachia, AppHarvest can reach nearly 70% of Americans in just a day’s drive, reducing transportation costs by up to 80% compared to existing growers in Mexico and the Southwestern U.S.

Located on nearly 250 acres, the facility will double AppHarvest's growing space in Central Appalachia. AppHarvest will open its flagship farm — a 2.76-million-square-foot facility growing tomatoes — this month in nearby Morehead, KY.

“This purchase brings us one step closer to our goal of establishing America's next AgTech hub from right here in Appalachia,” said AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb.

View fullsize

Central Appalachia
The company’s greenhouses are designed to reduce water usage in growing by 90% compared to traditional open-field agriculture due to unique irrigation systems connected with large-scale rainwater retention ponds. The system is designed to eliminate harmful agricultural runoff, which contributes to toxic algae blooms.

AppHarvest farms are located in water-rich Central Appalachia in contrast to much of America’s vegetable production that is concentrated in Arizona and California, states that continue to confront water scarcity and climate disruptions.

Strong relationships with leading AgTech universities and companies in the Netherlands position AppHarvest as a leading applied technology agriculture company. The Netherlands has developed a significant high-tech greenhouse industry, becoming the world’s second-largest agricultural exporter despite having a landmass roughly equal in size to Eastern Kentucky. Earlier this year, AppHarvest led a landmark 17-organization agreement uniting Dutch and Kentucky governments, universities, and private companies, with all committing to building America's AgTech capital from within Appalachia.

View fullsize

Breaking ground at Madison County

Madison County Judge-Executive Reagan Taylor: "It is an exciting day for Madison County. Over the past two years, the Madison County and AppHarvest teams have been focused on finding economic development opportunities that capitalize on our combination of hard-working people, central location, and agricultural history. Today is the result of that hard work and we couldn't be happier.”

Eastern Kentucky University President David McFaddin: “We are excited to welcome AppHarvest to our community. The work in AgTech they are doing in Eastern Kentucky has generated excitement among our community schools and citizens. I look forward to forging partnerships with AppHarvest that will provide new outlets for our students to gain hands-on experience with the latest techniques in farming.”

View fullsize

The Morehead site

Investments
In just over two years, AppHarvest has attracted more than $150 million in investment into Central Appalachia and announced on September 29 a definitive agreement for a business combination with publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company Novus Capital Corporation. The combination, which is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of 2020 or early in the first quarter of 2021, will provide $475 million of gross proceeds to the company, including $375 million fully committed common stock PIPE at $10.00 per share anchored by existing and new investors – including Fidelity Management & Research Company, LLC, Inclusive Capital, and Novus Capital Corporation.

Another photo of the company's Morehead location

AppHarvest’s investors include Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Inclusive Capital Partners, Equilibrium, Narya Capital, Lupa Systems, Breyer Capital, and Endeavor Catalyst. Endeavor selected AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb as an Endeavor Entrepreneur in 2019.

Board members include food icon Martha Stewart, Narya Capital Co-Founder, and Partner JD Vance, Impossible Foods Chief Financial Officer David Lee, and impact investor Jeff Ubben.

View fullsize

For more information:
AppHarvest
www.appharvest.com

View fullsize

21 Oct 2020

Mucci Farms Announces 200-Acre North American Expansion!

View fullsize

Bert Mucci

October 29th, 2020 (Kingsville, Ontario) – Mucci Farms announces major expansions in Kingsville, Ontario and Huron, Ohio totalling 206-acres over the next two years.  These investments support their ongoing emphasis on maximizing local and regionally grown fruits and vegetables year-round through expansion and lit culture grow light technology.  “Demand for greenhouse grown produce is growing rapidly as consumers continue to put pressure on the food industry to prioritize food safety, sustainability, responsible growing practices and clean growing environments,” said Bert Mucci, Chief Executive Officer. 

Joe Spano

The first year of expansions include bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and their innovative award-winning strawberries that are grown in the largest controlled climate strawberry farm in North America.  “Our berry program has been a big success and we believe it’s because of the quality and flavour we are able to provide through a clean growing environment, sustainable growing practices and our proximity to market,” explained Joe Spano, VP of Sales and Marketing. “Since we aren’t importing from California or Florida, we can maximize sugars by allowing product to be fully ripe before we harvest.”

The second year will focus exclusively on Bell Peppers with a 100-acre expansion to accommodate a growing need for supply in the category, which is being done through expansion as well as technology.  “We have seen a strong rise in demand for locally grown peppers in recent years and expanding our own supply reduces our reliance on partner growers and imports,” said Bert.  “We are currently trialing lit culture grow lights for our Pepper program which will be a game changer that allows us to grow local peppers 365 days a year.”

The first year of expansions include bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and their innovative award-winning strawberries that are grown in the largest controlled climate strawberry farm in North America.  “Our berry program has been a big success and we believe it’s because of the quality and flavour we are able to provide through a clean growing environment, sustainable growing practices and our proximity to market,” explained Joe Spano, VP of Sales and Marketing. “Since we aren’t importing from California or Florida, we can maximize sugars by allowing product to be fully ripe before we harvest.”

The second year will focus exclusively on Bell Peppers with a 100-acre expansion to accommodate a growing need for supply in the category, which is being done through expansion as well as technology.  “We have seen a strong rise in demand for locally grown peppers in recent years and expanding our own supply reduces our reliance on partner growers and imports,” said Bert.  “We are currently trialing lit culture grow lights for our Pepper program which will be a game changer that allows us to grow local peppers 365 days a year.”

View fullsize

Expansion Breakdown by Acreage and Commodity

·       25-acres of Tomatoes on-the-vine in Huron, Ohio, the third and final phase of the 75-acre project

·       30-acres of multiple varieties of Bell Peppers in Kingsville

·       36-acres of SmucciesTM Sweet strawberries in Kingsville, doubling the current acreage to a total of 72-acres

·       15-acres of mini-cocktail cucumbers, branded as the award-winning CuteCumber Poppers

·       100-acres of multiple varieties of Bell Peppers at a new site in Kingsville with construction beginning in 2022

View fullsize

Danny Mucci

Additional projects include a dedicated research and development facility to be ready in 2021.  “We have over 300 varieties of various commodities being trialed at any given time,” stated Danny Mucci, President of Sales and Marketing.  “Consolidating them all into one specific building allows us to be much more thorough and expand our capabilities.  Our trial program includes non-traditional greenhouse grown items such as zucchinis, blackberries and melons and we have a healthy appetite for new innovative varieties.”

This past June, the organization announced the addition of two new warehouse facilities in Romulus, Michigan and San Antonio, Texas that will serve as warehouses, distributions centers and cross docks to increase efficiencies and expand the regions they can service.  Both facilities will be ready in 2021.

A major focus for the company is expanding their winter program through lit culture grow light technology.  With aggressive annual expansions, the company has the largest acreage of supplemental lighting in the greenhouse industry and continues to expand its acreage year-over-year to maximize local and regional production year round.

Growing fresh produce for over 60 years, Mucci Farms is vertically integrated from seed to retail with a global partner network combining for more than 1700-acres of fruit and vegetable greenhouses. Headquartered in Kingsville, Ontario, the award-winning company is dedicated to continual investments in automation and technology along with a high level of research and development to offer consumers the most flavourful varieties in the world.

CANADA: Automated Guelph Vertical Farm Supplies Retailers With Local, Leafy Greens

View fullsize

By Lilian Schaer
October 14, 2020

The Newly Opened Farm Grows Crops

40 to 50 Percent Faster Than Traditional Crops

View fullsize

There are 50 workers employed at the GoodLeaf Farms facility in Guelph. Photo: Lilian Schaer

An automated vertical farm in south Guelph is now fully operational. GoodLeaf Farms has the capacity to produce 800,000 units of locally grown leafy greens for Ontario retailers — including Loblaw banners, Longo’s, and Whole Foods — 12 months of the year.

“It’s really unique for Canada that we can grow 365 days of the year, and we can fill a gap in the market without going up against traditional farming,” said account manager Jacquie Needham during a tour of the facility on Sept. 15.

Why it matters:

The pandemic has heightened demand for locally grown foods less dependent on sometimes fragile global supply chains.

GoodLeaf’s crops include baby arugula and baby kale, along with four types of microgreens: pea shoots, Asian blend, spicy mustard medley, and arugula. While consumers are familiar with “baby” leafy greens, they’re less comfortable with what to do with microgreens, admits Needham.

“Micros are a learning curve for consumers, but they can be used to add nutritional elements to meals as garnishes, in salads or sandwiches, or as something you add to a smoothie,” she said.

“People are cooking more at home right now and experimenting more.”Vertical farming is an innovative process that naturally grows plants with hydroponics under specialized LED lights designed to maximize photosynthesis. In the GoodLeaf facility, carbon dioxide, water, nutrition, and light are carefully programmed and monitored for each specific crop.

View fullsize

Jacquie Needham, of GoodLeaf Farms, talked about the company’s products during a recent tour at the facility.’ photo: Lilian Schaer

According to Needham, that makes their growth cycles an estimated 40 to 50 percent shorter than traditional crops. From seed to store takes about 12 days for the microgreens and about 22 days for the baby leafy greens. That includes testing every crop for contaminants before shipping to ensure they’re safe — important at a time when North American produce recalls make headlines and can have far-reaching economic and health consequences.

Needham also pointed to the sustainability of vertical farming production. The GoodLeaf facility uses 95 percent less water than a traditional farm, doesn’t use pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides, and has no run-off issues that could impact local water supplies. The production is not organic, however.

“We are not certified organic because our production does not use soil, but we feel we have a cleaner product than organic because, in addition to being pesticide-free, it’s not exposed to wind or rain, for example,” she said. “It’s an education piece for consumers.”

GoodLeaf Farms was founded in 2011 in Nova Scotia by Gregg Curwin. That original Nova Scotia farm has now been converted into a research and development centre for the company.

The new Guelph facility employs about 50 people who work seven days a week and it’s the city’s research expertise and proximity to the Greater Toronto Area that brought GoodLeaf to the region.

View fullsize

The GoodLeaf building is located in an industrial area in south Guelph. photo: Lilian Schaer

“Ontario is a big hub for consumers, retail and foodservice, so we were looking for a place close to the market so we can get product to people as quickly as possible,” said Executive Director of Operations Juanita Moore. “And the University of Guelph has been a great help with research.”

Research conducted in controlled environments

GoodLeaf is working with university researchers on a number of horticulture and food safety projects, including studies on controlled environments and light spectrums. The company received $4.4 million in start-up innovation funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriInnovation Program.

“I’ve been the mayor (of Guelph) for six years now and this is one of my “wow” moments,” said Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie following the tour. “Guelph is embracing the circular food economy and we are seeing it in action here. It’s a testament to what Guelph has to offer.”

Guelph MP Lloyd Longfield, who was also on the tour, pointed to vertical farming’s potential to help address climate change and food security issues in both urban and northern or Indigenous communities.

“This type of agriculture is consistent and gives predictability to the producers and it would be interesting to see if it could be used more widely,” he said.