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Social Entrepreneur: Roots Up Wants To Expand Access To Urban Farming
Roots Up will manufacture and operate systems that enable efficient growing of food literally in the hallway of a home, the dining room of a restaurant and, at larger scale, in a garage, parking lot or empty urban lot
By Allen Proctor
September 26, 2019
John Schrock is an engineer who has an idea for how to transform the farm to table movement. Having worked on the concept for several years, this summer he plugged into Sea Change, an accelerator program in Central Ohio focused on jumpstarting social enterprises.
Roots Up will manufacture and operate systems that enable efficient growing of food literally in the hallway of a home, the dining room of a restaurant and, at larger scale, in a garage, parking lot or empty urban lot.
We talked with John to see how an accelerator helped and what he hopes Roots Up to become.
What is the problem you are solving?
Our food system is already strained and not sustainable as we expect 25% population growth. Water is scarce, traditional farmland is shrinking, shipping food long distances increases waste and cost. We need to make it more practical and affordable to produce food nearer our homes, workplaces, and restaurants.
Sounds like urban farming, which has had limited success. What are you doing differently?
The team and I have been able to learn from the initial wave of urban farming the last five years and understand how and why some groups failed, or succeeded, for very different reasons. We are creating a new approach to urban farming, which is why we use the phrase “urban farming re-invented.”
The first differentiator is that we are moving away from “urban gardening,” which is an outdoor and seasonal effort in Ohio, often in low-quality urban soil, usually volunteer-dependent, and with limited access to water. Our approach we call “urban farming,” which is year-round production in an efficient design that saves space, is not dependent on the seasonality of rain and sunlight, and is easy to maintain.
The second differentiator is to provide a range of sizes from food racks of eight square feet up to 40,000-square-foot systems of multiple 8-foot by 20-foot food containers. We will build to meet the demand of our partners, as compared to some other (vertical or indoor) urban farms that tried to build first and sell later. A chef or restaurant or apartment manager or school or nonprofit knows they want to grow a certain amount of specific vegetables year-round, and we build a custom solution to meet their needs.
The third differentiator is that we are not just growing herbs and greens to focus on high margin growth, but diversifying the portfolio with mushrooms and hearty vegetables.
How did you use the Sea Change accelerator program to develop your concept?
Sea Change was very helpful in refining our mission and the social impact that is feasible. This led to better messaging and more productive conversations. We have done macro and micro market research and understand better how to strategize the business growth. We believe we can donate 5% of all produce to local charities. It helped us to refine our pitch and, with some financial support from the final pitch, we have some runway to solidify the remaining pieces to get us to an established business.
Who are your ideal customers, what they would be buying from you, and how often?
Our ideal customers are successful, professional, consistent businesses with community-focused reputations, such as restaurants, hotels, corporate in-house food services, schools. They have a need for year-round food sourcing and prioritize quality, ethical, local food. For example, one local restaurant group with 10 locations is very interested in sourcing more locally and is currently spending an average of $40,000 per week on produce. We are able to supply them consistent food growth year-round that meets their existing demand and we can grow with them as they expand.
The food containers would be sized according to the amount of space they have available and the scale of their food needs. Our research has told us that customers would prefer us to locate the units near their locations but for us to operate them. So rather than buy or lease the units, they are essentially subscribing for specific volumes and types of food.
Where are you now in your development and what should we expect to see in the coming months?
We have a half-scale, fully operational unit in my garage that customers can tour by contacting info@rootsup.com. We have partnered with COSI to set up a 20-foot food container. It will be on display outside of COSI and grow herbs, greens, microgreens, and mushrooms to provide weekly produce bags. These bags will be sold with a portion donated directly to a community partner.
We will further refine the business model numbers and continue to work with our architects and industrial designers to refine the systems. We look to being on the ground in 2020.
Allen J. Proctor is CEO of SocialVentures. Learn about local social enterprises at socialventurescbus.com/marketplace.
Allen Proctor, Proctor Consulting
DASCOM Americas Announces Contained Environment Horticulture Systems To Be Globally Marketed And Jointly-Branded As HYVETM and EPONICTM
According to Ken Bryant, Marketing Director for DASCOM Americas: “The joint-branding effort will provide consistency and logistical advantages for our clients and prospects worldwide
August 22, 2019, Verona, Virginia – DASCOM Americas, a worldwide diversified technology leader today announced a joint branding initiative for its complete indoor hydroponic farming systems. Going forward the systems will be developed, marketed, and sold as either HYVETM (www.growhyve.com) or EPONICTM (www.eponicagriculture.com) depending on the geographic region of the globe.
HYVETM is led by Ron Acorn, President of DASCOM Americas and has its offices and grow lab facilities approximately 2 1⁄2 hours southwest of Washington, D.C.
EPONICTM is a brand of Eponic Agriculture Company, Ltd. Based in Zhuhai, Guangdong, China. Eponic Agriculture is led by Liu Guowei, a noted developer, engineer, entrepreneur, and horticulture system specialist. The company has enjoyed success throughout Asia and Europe with its innovative hydroponic growing systems and has developed a branded following with the EPONICTM name.
The respective farming systems consist of scalable product offerings including a comprehensive solution for commercial growing which includes vertical racking, irrigation, fertigation, LED grow lighting, robotics, programmable logic control, and other ancillary system components that provide industrial growers with a “complete solution” from one source.
Acorn says of the commercial vertical system: “Our complete solution is different than any system in the market because we combine all elements of contained environment horticulture into one product system offering. Our vertical racking offering is designed to provide growers with a great return on investment and consumers with a choice for the healthiest and freshest plants in the market. Indoor farming cuts down on transportation and spoilage costs, limits the exposure to diseased plants, and is safer largely because of no need for herbicides or pesticides.”
The brands are also offering a smaller home hydroponic unit that is a solid offering for education, residential, or small business use. The “LF-ONE” allows users to grow up to 54 mature plants per grow cycle and is programmable and automated much like the larger system. It is easy to assemble and use and provides fresh produce and the opportunity to grow 365 days a year.
Going forward HYVETM will direct its primary focus and brand in the North America and LAT regions of the globe. EPONICTM will be the brand name for systems marketed in EMEA and most of China and select other Asia-Pacific Regions. The exception in the China market will be that XiaMen New Green Ecological Technology Company LTD will utilize the HYVETM brand name as part of an exclusive distributorship agreement.
According to Ken Bryant, Marketing Director for DASCOM Americas: “The joint-branding effort will provide consistency and logistical advantages for our clients and prospects worldwide. EPONIC Agriculture is an expert company in development of products for contained horticulture systems. Our collaboration from day one has been extremely strong. Together this will allow us to capitalize on the strong EPONICTM brand in select markets while we build the HYVETM brand in our region of the world, while assuring our combined customers and prospects will experience consistency in equipment advances, customer service, and pricing.”
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CEA Advisors & Farminova Plant Factory Join Forces For Global Cooperation
For future projects developed jointly, CEA will provide consulting, marketing, project development and operations expertise, contributing its best-in-class vertical farming experience and Farminova will provide R & D support, HVAC systems, Control systems and its proprietary modular growing systems including its scalable next-generation, fully automated Plant Factory system
CEA ADVISORS LLC (CEA), a leading global vertical farming consultant, manufacturer and developer and Farminova Plant Factory (Farminova), a one-stop vertical farm technology provider have formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop future vertical farm projects for supermarkets and other commercial and industrial end users worldwide.
For future projects developed jointly, CEA will provide consulting, marketing, project development and operations expertise, contributing its best-in-class vertical farming experience and Farminova will provide R & D support, HVAC systems, Control systems and its proprietary modular growing systems including its scalable next-generation, fully automated Plant Factory system.
Glenn Behrman, CEA Founder and President, commented, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Farminova in developing our combined pipeline of vertical farming projects. This partnership recognizes the value of our company and strategy, and significantly expands both CEA’s and Farminova’s reach in the vertical farming sector while leveraging our respective strengths. We are extremely impressed with Can Hakan Karaca, Chairman of Parent Company, Cantek Group and the Farminova management team and believe its growing suite of best-in-class Plant Factory solutions is the perfect complement to our mission. Importantly, we share the same approach to pursuing a model in building vertical farms that are focused on water conservation, energy efficiency, labor savings, automation, optimization and are scalable while always focused on economics.
Can Hakan Karaca, Cantek Chairman stated, “We believe that the CEA and Farminova alliance in vertical farms is an important step forward for the industry, with the potential to serve a full range of commercial clients, including grocery retailers worldwide with automated farms capable of producing substantial quantities of both food and non-food products. As a proven leader in the vertical farming sector, CEA is the ideal partner for us. They have a demonstrated track record of success in developing vertical farms and many years of industry experience”.
“The Farminova growing systems are backed by many years of manufacturing expertise including HVAC & Environmental systems, Control systems, automation and supported by a team of professionals with deep expertise in Horticulture, R & D, quality control, and sales and marketing. In combination, CEA and Farminova will be able to provide a complete range of solutions, from growing systems and technologies for both food and non-food production, which we believe is a significant competitive advantage. We are very excited about this strategic partnership with CEA and look forward to working with them on providing customized Controlled Environment Plant Factory solutions for industry.”
Contact Information:
Mr. Erdem Aksan
erdem.aksan@farminova.com
Farminova Plant Factory
Organize Sanayi Bolgesi 3, Kisim 25. Cad. No:14 Antalya, Turkey
www.farminova.com/En
CIT Gap Funds Invests In On-Demand Farming
The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced that its CIT GAP Funds has made an undisclosed investment in Babylon Micro-Farms, a provider of on-demand indoor farming services
August 20, 2019
By Lynda Kiernan
The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced that its CIT GAP Funds has made an undisclosed investment in Babylon Micro-Farms, a provider of on-demand indoor farming services.
Founded in 1985, CIT focuses on the seed funding and early commercialization of innovation, and provides support to tech entrepreneurs growing new companies that will foster economic growth and create jobs throughout the state of Virginia. CIT GAP Funds is a venture capital vehicle through which to make seed stage equity investments in these technologies.
The latest venture to join the CIT GAP Funds portfolio is Charlottesville, Virginia-based Babylon Micro-Farms. Founded in 2017 by a pair of students at the University of Virginia, Babylon Micro-Farms enables small growers and businesses to gain greater control of their supply of fresh organic produce by making indoor farming more accessible through a range of scalable indoor farming modules.
“The idea for Babylon Micro-Farms was born in a social entrepreneurship class at UVA, when a professor asked my co-founder Graham and I to develop a high impact, low cost product that could help refugees. I quickly discovered and became interested in hydroponics, a way to grow plants without soil, use less water, and grow crops faster,” said Alexander Olesen, co-founder and CEO, Babylon Micro-Farms.
Sales of organic fresh produce increased by 8.6 percent in 2018 to reach $5.6 billion, according to the Organic Produce Network, and increasingly, vertical and indoor farming are stepping in to meet this demand. In just the U.S., the vertical farming market is expected to reach a value of $3 billion by 2024, and on a global scale, the market is forecast to see a CAGR of 24 percent to reach a value of $6.4 billion by 2023.
A relatively new category in agricultural production and agtech, the production of food utilizing highly controlled, closed, and modular hydroponic systems has seen startups evolve on multiple continents and is beginning to gain investor attention.
Boston-based Freight Farms, Paris-based Agricool, and Canada’s TruLeaf are a select few raising capital to bring modular, containerized farming to urban areas that often lack affordable, organic, fresh produce because of long and expensive supply lines.
Babylon’s modular indoor farms are powered by a patented IoT platform that remotely controls each farm’s custom tailored ecosystem, depending on each customer’s needs. The startup’s easy-to-use application guides farmers through each step: when to plant, watering and harvesting schedules, and includes live data and farm health alerts. This system allows for the growth of produce twice as fast as traditional farming, while requiring 90 percent less water, and no pesticides or chemicals.
“The mission to offer more accessible, affordable produce to a wider range of communities across the U.S. is one that CIT is excited to stand behind. Responses from existing Babylon Micro-Farms users, including a UVA dining hall, The Boar’s Head’s Resort, Corner Juice and others have been very positive and showcase the wide use cases for this solution,” said Thomas Weithman, managing director of CIT GAP Funds, and president and CIO of MACH37.
“Being able to grow any kind of produce year round within our communities, such as for local food service industries, education and assisted living, or community farms to name a few, is a game changer for the state of sustainable urban agriculture,” continued Weithman. “CIT is very confident in Babylon’s future success, and we look forward to being part of their journey.”
Supplies are delivered to Babylon customers ready-to-grow, and Babylon provides 24/7 farming support, drastically reducing the upfront costs associated with indoor farming, while also providing the expertise needed for successful harvests.
“Our mission is to develop technology that will inspire a new generation of urban farmers to grow their own fresh, affordable, sustainable produce at the push of a button,” said Olesen. “We are grateful for the support of CIT GAP funds at this stage of our development.”
– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.
CubicFarm® Systems Corp. Announces The Appointment of Chris Ericson As The Company’s Newest Board Member
“I am delighted to welcome Chris to our board”, stated Dave Dinesen, CEO & Director of CubicFarm® Systems Corp. “Chris is a wonderful addition to our company and helps to strengthen the existing bond with Nu Skin, which has invested in our technology in connection with its development efforts for ingredient sourcing
Vancouver, BC--(AccessWire – Aug 19, 2019) – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV: CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) is very pleased to announce Chris Ericson has been appointed to our board of directors.
“I am delighted to welcome Chris to our board”, stated Dave Dinesen, CEO & Director of CubicFarm® Systems Corp. “Chris is a wonderful addition to our company and helps to strengthen the existing bond with Nu Skin, which has invested in our technology in connection with its development efforts for ingredient sourcing. Chris has enjoyed a diverse business life, spanning a wide range of experiences and responsibilities in a number of countries. As the current VP of Business Development with Nu Skin, Chris is responsible for driving long-term value for Nu Skin through the development of strategic business relationships. CubicFarms looks forward to Chris playing an active role in helping to guide and influence our growth and future development into new markets.”
Since joining Nu Skin in 2015 Ericson has led its Global Internal Audit team as VP of Internal Audit and before that served as the Director of Internal Controls. Ericson also has more than a decade of experience in the professional services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he advised and worked closely with senior management and leadership teams of multinational, public companies.
Chris earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Accountancy degrees from Brigham Young University with minor degrees in Japanese and Management of Information Systems.
“I am very excited to join the board of CubicFarms as we develop the tremendous opportunities that exist in Automated Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). Nu Skin and CubicFarms enjoy an excellent relationship and are working together to drive agricultural sustainability, food security and pure ingredient sourcing”, said Chris Ericson
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
VIDEO: Investing 20 Minutes Per Week To Grow 200 Plants
In this video the founders of Caulys explain how the fully automated, modular greenhouses only need up to 20 minutes of maintenance per week to grow up to 200 plants, ranging from aromatics, microgreens, edible flowers to small fruits and vegetables
Students at the EPFL University of Lausanne can reap the harvest of the start-up of - amongst others - Tom and Grégoire.
At the campus, they were able to install the prototypes of their smart indoor greenhouses Caulys. In this video the founders of Caulys explain how the fully automated, modular greenhouses only need up to 20 minutes of maintenance per week to grow up to 200 plants, ranging from aromatics, microgreens, edible flowers to small fruits and vegetables.
In your living room, your cafeteria, next to the coffee machine or in your restaurant: the Caulys Farm is your urban greenhouse. It enables you to access quality products, wherever you are, without GMO, pesticides, from seeds selected for their flavor and nutritional value. Grow fruits, vegetables, greens or edible flowers right in front of your eyes.
The Caulys Farm is modular, and answers to your needs.
It also respects the planet and reduces the ecological footprint of your food, requiring less packaging, transportation, using up to 95% less water compared with traditional agriculture. It allows you to eat fresh and local products, all year long.
Your greenhouse is autonomous and optimally manages its light, irrigation and nutrients delivery. Temperature, humidity and air quality are adjusted in real time to provide the best growing conditions for your production.
Netled Oy And Astwood Infrastructure Collaborate To Build Industrial Scale Vertical Farms Worldwide
Netled Oy, Finnish specialists in vertical farming systems and greenhouse lighting solutions, have signed a long term frame
7th August 2019 by johannak
Netled Oy, Finnish specialists in vertical farming systems and greenhouse lighting solutions, have signed a long term framework agreement with Astwood Infrastructure to supply equipment for industrial scale vertical farms.
The agreement covers an initial four such farms, based predominantly in the UK, to be delivered over the next three years and provides a framework for serving global customers. The total value of the agreement, including all project options, reaches over 10 million euros. The rapidly growing vertical farming market has been predicted to grow to 10 billion USD by 2025.
Niko Kivioja, CEO, Netled Oy, confirmed: “We have been developing our technology for vertical farming for several years now. During this time the market for vertical farming has developed very fast. Now the technology and the economic figures are in the point, where industrial scale vertical farms beat the traditional ways to grow leafy greens. Green field projects require quite massive design work for infrastructure. We are more than happy to present our partner, Astwood Infrastructure. Together we have possibility to serve global market with an all-inclusive project offering.”
Netled designs, manufactures and sells world leading technology, equipment and related automation and software for vertical farming, where its vertical farm Vera® is the most advanced vertical farming system in the world.
Astwood Infrastructure is a technology company with a focus on sustainable design and engineering. The company has significant know-how in commercialising technologies. For vertical farming, the company has developed its own brand, Vertivore, based on 3 years’ worth of research into the sector. Astwood will be working with specialist technology providers like Netled to build a position as a market leading operator and supplier of vertical farm solutions.
Photo: Niko Kivioja, CEO of Netled (on the left) and Mike Capewell, CEO of Astwood Infrastructure.
A pilot facility, the first under the framework, is built and is in continuous use in Redditch, UK. The long term focus of Netled and Astwood is on industrial scale growing. The production volumes are planned to be millions of heads of lettuces and herbs annually.
Mike Capewell, CEO for Astwood Infrastructure, added: “We are incredibly excited about our new agreement with Netled Oy and the opportunity we now have in building and scaling a UK wide and potentially global vertical farm operation. Our pilot farm has shown some incredibly exciting results and we feel optimistic that we will be able to replicate this success at scale.”
“As issues like rising import costs and climate change continue to advance, vertical farming systems will become critical to production, where, through the Vertivore brand, we will be able to grow sustainable, local and clean produce without being impacted by any external sources such as weather conditions or pollution.”
Closed vertical farming systems, like the one currently being piloted by Astwood, are protected from extreme weather conditions, pollution and lack of freshwater resources as the growing conditions are created artificially. As a result, vertical farming makes cultivation possible in areas where production of traditional vegetables is impossible, and the freshwater resources are limited, whilst also improving quality, production speed and yield.
For more information, visit:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Netled Oy
Niko Kivioja CEO, Netled Oy
+358 50 3608121
niko.kivioja@netled.fi
Astwood Group
Hannah Haffield
hhaffield@makemorenoise.co.uk
0121 312 1177/ 07939 468 567
Editor’s Notes
Netled Oy
Netled offers vertical farming systems and innovative greenhouse lighting solutions. Netled’s vertical farms are sold under the brand name Vera®. The world leading technology has already been delivered to multiple producers for commercial use. Netled was founded in 2007 in Finland. It employs 10 multidisciplinary experts. For more information, please visit our website www.netled.fi.
Astwood Infrastructure
Astwood Infrastructure Limited is operating at the cutting edge of vertical farming technology. It has, along with specialist technology providers, developed, a sustainable, reliable indoor vertical food production facility that can be located virtually anywhere. For more information please visit our website https://www.vertivore.com/
“LitHouse Uses AmHydro EPIC Nutrient To Capture 4 Cannabis Cup Awards”
LitHouse took 4 awards (including a 1st place in the Sungrown Flower category) at the High Times 2019 NorCal Cannabis Cup on June 1st-2nd
July 9, 2019
AmHydro, industry-leading provider of hydroponic growing systems, crop consulting, grower training, and crop-specific nutrients, is proud to announce the recent Cannabis Cup® victory by grower LitHouse Farm® of Mendocino Coast CA.
LitHouse took 4 awards (including a 1st place in the Sungrown Flower category) at the High Times 2019 NorCal Cannabis Cup on June 1st-2nd . A family run operation since 2002, Lit House has cultivated their crops using the AmHydro EPIC® Cannabis nutrient line. AmHydro EPIC, a 5- stage cannabis nutrient program, is available at https://shop.amhydro.com/collections/epic-nutrients
Congratulations to LitHouse for a job well done!
They will be competing next at the Bay Area Cannabis Cup June 22nd-23rd.
Visit LitHouse at: http://www.lithouse.farm/ and on Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lit_house_farm/?hl=en