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Organic Farmers Launch Effort For Add-On Label After Disappointing NOSB Actions
Organic Farmers Launch Effort For Add-On Label After Disappointing NOSB Actions
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26 Feb 2018
Disappointed with the direction in which USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) has been heading and concerned that consumers may be losing faith in USDA’s Organic Seal, a new group of organic farmers and advocates is launching an effort to create a new, “add-on” organic label.
The label will be reserved for products that already carry USDA’s organic certification, but to earn it, products also would have to meet other “critical additional requirements” related to animal welfare and growing practices, says the group behind the effort, which calls itself the Real Organic Project (ROP).
Specifically, the new label will show an organic product was grown without the use of hydroponics and that production did not involve a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), explained Dave Chapman, a Vermont farmer and one of the founders of the group.
And at least in the beginning, the new label will signify that a product originated in the United States, Chapman told IEG Policy on Friday.
“The basic intent is to create a label that will stand for traditional organic farming,” said Chapman, who like at least four other ROP members is also a former member of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).
“We are not trying to destroy the organic label,” he added. “We are just trying to create transparency.”
However, it may be awhile before organic producers can try to add the label to their products, as the Real Organic Project is just beginning to draw plans on how the project would work.
Created by farmers who feel that their voice is no longer represented in the NOP, the ROP has established a 15-member standards board, which will meet March 27-28 to set the first standards for the new label.
Though the group has modeled its standards board after the NOSB, the ROP stresses that its board has a much greater representation from the organic community. The board includes nine organic farmers in addition to representatives from non-government organizations, stores, consumers, scientists, and certifiers.
Once the board sets the standards for the new label, it will continue to meet once a year to ensure that the standards are being updated and reviewed on regular basis.
After the standard board’s first meeting in March, Chapman said the group will have a better idea of what the new label might look like, when it may be put into use and how the program could evolve in the long term.
For now, however, the group hopes to establish the label as a pilot program, with only a small number of farms testing the label and the certification process over the first year.
“Our intention was to start it fairly regionally, but the response we have received has been overwhelming,” Chapman said.
ROP wants to return to traditional organic values
The new add-on organic label will be the flagship project of ROP, which started recently after several meetings with organic farmers in Vermont who felt that the USDA organic label was no longer something that represents their values for organic farming.
But the local group has quickly gained support from farmers in all parts of the nation who share the same sentiment. The group now includes organic farmers from Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New York, Minnesota, Georgia, Maine and other states, as well as two members from Australia, Chapman said.
“We also have people who advise us from as far away as Holland,” he said.
The roster of board members for the group now includes a number of highly respected organic farming advocates and leaders, Chapman said.
They include Jim Gerritsen, co-founder of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, Jay Feldman co-founder and executive director of Beyond Pesticides, as well as Michael Sligh, director of the Just Foods Program for Rural Advancement Foundation International, who was also the founding chair of the NOSB.
According to Chapman, group members were all brought together by a common concern that USDA might no longer be able, or willing to protect the integrity of its organic seal.
“The organic community has always worked very hard … hoping that this arranged marriage with USDA will work out. But it’s not working out,” Chapman said. “We tried very hard to reform the NOP and we failed. In the last six years, it didn’t get better, it got worse.”
And in the current political climate, the organic farmers behind ROB have felt USDA's position on what “organic” means has become increasingly more aligned with big businesses than their own.
While such concerns have bothered ROP’s advocates of traditional organic farming for awhile, it all came to a head last year after a contentious meeting of the NOSB in November, when the board voted 8-7 to reject a proposal to take away the ability of hydroponic and aquaponic farms to earn organic certification.
In the months leading to the vote, organic farmers who oppose the idea of allowing hydroponic and aquaponic products to carry the organic certification held 15 rallies around the country with signs reading, “Real Farmers Do It in the Dirt” and “Don’t Water Down Organics With Hydroponics.”
Though hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic crop systems have been eligible to earn organic certification since the NOP was created, an outspoken segment of the organic community objects to the idea, arguing that the use of healthy soil for growing lays in the very foundation of organic farming.
The ROP also takes issue with USDA’s decision to clear Aurora Organic Dairy’s High Plains operation in Colorado of any wrongdoing, after the Washington Post in May published a report suggesting that dairy cows at the operation had not been allowed sufficient grazing time. Organic dairies are required to allow a certain amount of grazing time for cows throughout the growing season, and after observing the Aurora facility managing over 20,000 cows (milking about 15,000) for eight days last year, using drone imagery as proof, the Post said “at no point was any more than 10% of the herd out.”
The Post’s investigation into the Aurora CAFO – which supplies the house brands of Walmart, Costco, and other major retailers – also found anomalies in acid levels in the operation's milk suggesting cows had not spent an adequate amount of time grazing outdoors.
Following the report, the Cornucopia Institute – a farm policy research group based in Wisconsin - filed legal complaints against Aurora Dairy and the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and even asked the Trump administration to remove USDA’s lead organic regulator.
“People want to buy healthy food. They want to buy food that is good for their families and good for their children. The bad news is that large companies have learned how to take advantage of [the organic program].” - Dave Chapman, ROP founder
Despite those complaints, however, the NOP said in September that Aurora’s livestock and pasture management practices comply with existing USDA organic regulations and policies and noted that the newspaper's photographs and observations did not provide sufficient evidence to substantiate allegations that Aurora had violated the organic regulations.
“This dairy operation was described in detail in one WaPo article, along with compelling test results to prove the cattle weren’t on pasture,” the ROP says in an open letter on their website. “The government approval set the stage for Aurora to build several new CAFOs that will dwarf the current 15,000-cow operation.”
The USDA also abandoned the animal welfare reforms that had been approved under the Obama administration – yet another decision that bothers members of ROP. The controversial Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) final rule, which would have added new provisions for regulating livestock handling, transport for slaughter and avian living conditions for organic products, was delayed several times before USDA ultimately proposed to withdraw it in December. The rule would have expanded and clarified existing requirements covering livestock care and production practices, a move that prompted the Organic Trade Association (OTA) to file a lawsuit against the agency.
Animal producers, such as the National Pork Producers Council, support the USDA decision, as they believed federal regulators overstepped their authority by issuing animal welfare requirements under the National Organic Program (NOP).
“This rejection by the USDA was the result of intense lobbying from such groups as the Coalition For Sustainable Organics (in their Senate testimony), American Farm Bureau, and the National Pork Producers Council,” the group said in its open letter. “They were championed by the ranking members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, protecting enormous 'organic' egg CAFOs in their home states. The USDA thus cleared the way for CAFOs to continue receiving 'organic' certification.”
And the group is also concerned about other Washington Post reports of shipments of “organic” corn and soybeans from Turkey, which were sold as organic in the United States, even though the products had been grown conventionally. An audit from USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) also found weaknesses in USDA’s oversight of imported organic products, which led Cornucopia to ask USDA to address the “documented influx of fraudulent organic grain imports” into the country.
The ROP now hopes to restore the integrity and transparency of organic certification and is planning other projects and initiatives besides the effort surrounding the new label.
As part of the group’s new Just Ask campaign, the group will encourage consumers to inquire at stores about whether their certified organic products were raised with the use of hydroponics or CAFOs, Chapman said. And the group also wants to launch a public education campaign designed to help the general public understand why it is important to let cattle involved in organic production graze, and why growing vegetables in soil matters for organic farming, he said.
“People want to buy healthy food,” Chapman said. “They want to buy food that is good for their families and good for their children. The bad news is that large companies have learned how to take advantage of [the organic program].”
Big Data Suggests Big Potential For Urban Farming
GETTY IMAGES
This story originally appeared on CityLab and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Gotham Greens’ boxed lettuces have been popping up on the shelves of high-end grocers in New York and the Upper Midwest since 2009, and with names like “Windy City Crunch,” “Queens Crisp,” and “Blooming Brooklyn Iceberg,” it’s clear the company is selling a story as much as it is selling salad.
Grown in hydroponic greenhouses on the rooftops of buildings in New York and Chicago, the greens are shipped to nearby stores and restaurants within hours of being harvested. That means a fresher product, less spoilage, and lower transportation emissions than a similar rural operation might have—plus, for the customer, the warm feeling of participating in a local food web.
“As a company, we want to connect urban residents to their food, with produce grown a few short miles from where you are,” said Viraj Puri, Gotham Greens’ co-founder and CEO.
Gotham Greens’ appealing narrative and eight-figure annual revenues suggest a healthy future for urban agriculture. But while it makes intuitive sense that growing crops as close as possible to the people who will eat them is more environmentally friendly than shipping them across continents, evidence that urban agriculture is good for the environment has been harder to pin down.
A widely cited 2008 study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that transportation from producer to store only accounts for 4 percent of food’s total greenhouse gas emissions, which calls into question the concern over “food miles.” Meanwhile, some forms of urban farming may be more energy-intensive than rural agriculture, especially indoor vertical farms that rely on artificial lighting and climate control.
An operation like Gotham Greens can recycle water through its hydroponic system, but outdoor farms such as the ones sprouting on vacant lots in Detroit usually require irrigation, a potential problem when many municipal water systems are struggling to keep up with demand. And many urban farms struggle financially; in a 2016 survey of urban farmers in the US, only one in three said they made a living from the farm.
Although cities and states have begun to loosen restrictions on urban agriculture, and even to encourage it with financial incentives, it has remained an open question whether growing food in cities is ultimately going to make them greener. Will the amount of food produced be worth the tradeoffs? A recent analysis of urban agriculture’s global potential, published in the journal Earth’s Future, has taken a big step toward an answer—and the news looks good for urban farming.
“Not only could urban agriculture account for several percent of global food production, but there are added co-benefits beyond that, and beyond the social impacts,” said Matei Georgescu, a professor of geographical sciences and urban planning at Arizona State University and a co-author of the study, along with other researchers at Arizona State, Google, China’s Tsinghua University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Hawaii.
A MODIS Land Cover Type satellite image of the United States, similar to imagery analyzed by the researchers. Different colors indicate different land uses: red is urban; bright green is a deciduous broadleaf forest.
Using Google’s Earth Engine software, as well as population, meteorological, and other datasets, the researchers determined that, if fully implemented in cities around the world, urban agriculture could produce as much as 180 million metric tons of food a year—perhaps 10 percent of the global output of legumes, roots, and tubers, and vegetable crops.
Those numbers are big. Researchers hope they encourage other scientists, as well as urban planners and local leaders, to begin to take urban agriculture more seriously as a potential force for sustainability.
The study also looks at “ecosystem services” associated with urban agriculture, including reduction of the urban heat-island effect, avoided a stormwater runoff, nitrogen fixation, pest control, and energy savings. Taken together, these additional benefits make urban agriculture worth as much as $160 billion annually around the globe. The concept of ecosystem services has been around for decades, but it is growing in popularity as a way to account, in economic terms, for the benefits that humans gain from healthy ecosystems. Georgescu and his collaborators decided to investigate the potential ecosystem services that could be provided through widespread adoption of urban agriculture, something that had not been attempted before.
The team began with satellite imagery, using pre-existing analyses to determine which pixels in the images were likely to represent vegetation and urban infrastructure. Looking at existing vegetation in cities (it can be difficult to determine, from satellite imagery, what’s a park and what’s a farm), as well as suitable roofs, vacant land, and potential locations for vertical farms, they created a system for analyzing the benefits of so-called “natural capital”—here, that means soil and plants—on a global and country-wide scale.
Beyond the benefits we already enjoy from having street trees and parks in our cities, the researchers estimated that fully-realized urban agriculture could provide as much as 15 billion kilowatt hours of annual energy savings worldwide—equivalent to nearly half the power generated by solar panels in the US. It could also sequester up to 170,000 tons of nitrogen and prevent as much as 57 billion cubic meters of stormwater runoff, a major source of pollution in rivers and streams.
“We had no notion of what we would find until we developed the algorithm and the models and made the calculation,” Georgescu said. “And that work had never been done before. This is a benchmark study, and our hope with this work is that others now know what sort of data to look for.”
Robert Costanza, a professor of public policy at Australian National University, co-founded the International Society for Ecological Economics and researches sustainable urbanism and the economic relationship between humans and our environment. He called the study (in which he played no part) “a major advance.”
“This is the first global estimate of the potential for urban agriculture,” Costanza wrote in an email. “Urban agriculture will never feed the world, and this paper confirms that, but the important point is that natural capital in cities can be vastly improved and this would produce a range of benefits, not just food.”
“Urban agriculture will never feed the world … but the important point is that natural capital in cities can be vastly improved.”
Costanza said he would like to see the researchers’ big data approach become standard in urban planning, as a way to determine the best balance between urban infrastructure and green space—whether it’s farms, forests, parks, or wetlands. That is the researchers’ hope as well, and they’ve released their code to allow other scientists and urban planners to run their own data, especially at the local level.
“Somebody, maybe in Romania, say, could just plug their values in and that will produce local estimates,” Georgescu said. “If they have a grand vision of developing or expanding some city with X amount of available land where urban agriculture can be grown, they can now quantify these added co-benefits.”
That could be very valuable, said Sabina Shaikh, director of the Program on the Global Environment at the University of Chicago, who researches the urban environment and the economics of environmental policy.
“Ecosystem services is something that is very site-specific,” she said. “But this research may help people make comparisons a little bit better, particularly policymakers who want to think through, ‘What’s the benefit of a park vs. food production?’ or some combination of things. It doesn’t necessarily mean, because it has the additional benefit of food production, that a farm is going to be more highly valued than a park. But it gives policymakers another tool, another thing to consider.”
Meanwhile, policy in the US and internationally is already changing to accommodate and encourage urban agriculture. California, for example, passed its Urban Agriculture Incentive Zones Act in 2014, allowing landowners who place urban plots into agricultural use to score valuable tax breaks. The idea has proven controversial—especially in housing-starved San Francisco. Beyond raising rents, critics have argued that urban agriculture, if it impedes the development of housing, could reduce density, contributing to the sort of sprawl that compels people to drive their cars more. Put urban farms in the wrong place, and an effort to reduce food’s carbon footprint could have the opposite effect.
On the other hand, businesses like Gotham Greens that aim to expand may still be hampered by zoning—Puri and his co-founders had to work with New York’s zoning authority to change regulations affecting greenhouses before they could open their first farm. As the company looks to add sites in other cities, the wide array of their zoning rules, utility access, and regulations will influence its decisions.
“I think we could benefit from a more cohesive policy,” Puri said, “but it’s also a very new industry. And then there are so many approaches to urban agriculture. How does a city approach something that is so broad and diverse at this stage?”
While more data about the potential ecosystem services and tradeoffs would surely help create a more navigable regulatory landscape, Puri, like others in his industry, is also something of an evangelist, eager to put in a word for urban farming’s less quantifiable benefits.
“I don’t believe that urban farming is ever going to replace more conventional farming,” he said. “I don’t think a city is going to be able to produce its entire food supply within city limits, but I think it can play a role in bringing people closer to their food, and in making our cities more diverse and interesting and green.”
Training Workshop On Hydroponics Agriculture Concludes At Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi
Training Workshop On Hydroponics Agriculture Concludes At Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi
Umer Jamshaid 26th February 2018
RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News
A 15-day training workshop to impart training to the farmers of Punjab on Hydroponics Agriculture under the project 'Testing indigenous hydroponics model for vegetable growing' concluded here on Monday at Pir Mehr Ali Shah, Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR).
The project was funded by Agriculture Development Bank, Government of Punjab to indigenize the latest agriculture practices and impart training to the farmers on hydroponics agriculture for the development of the agriculture sector.
It was the eighth and final session and over 290 farmers from across the country got training on hydroponics technology to experience the practices in their native areas to meet the domestic as well as the country's needs of food.
Prof. Dr. Sarwat N Mirza, Vice Chancellor (VC) PMAS-AAUR was the chief guest at the certificate distribution ceremony while deans, directors and staff members were also present on the occasion.
Prof. Dr. Sarwat N Mirza stressed the need for the demonstration, implementation and improvement of the technology and hoped that the farmers would not only apply the knowledge in their fields but also guide other farmers to test the results in their native areas and share their experiences to overcome the challenges and loopholes being confronted in enhancement of the technology in all areas of the country.
He said, "Improvement is the continuous process. Learn, admit and transfer the knowledge for the well being of others." He further said that the training session will be very helpful for the progressive farmers to improve their life standards and for the achievement of desired results.
He assured every support to the farmers for the development of the farming community. The VC thanked the government of Punjab for provision of funds for the training of the farmers on the hydroponics agriculture and hoped that the government will also support such programs and training in future.
He appreciated efforts of Prof. Dr. Safdar Ali, Director Institute of Hydroponics for their contributions to train the farmers on hydroponics agriculture and for the achievement of the targeted goals. At the concluding session, certificates were also distributed among the trainee farmers.
Organic Certification For Hydroponic Systems
Organic Certification For Hydroponic Systems
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ruled that hydroponic and aquaponic products remain eligible for organic certification.
By Lydia Noyes | Spring 2018
The National Organic Standards Board has ruled that hydroponic and aquaponic products will continue to be eligible for organic certification.
Photo by Getty Images/LouisHiemstra
As hydroponic and aquaponic farms have flourished across the country in recent years, debates about their suitability for organic certification have reached a fever pitch. This past November, the National Organic Standards Board came to a decision on one of the most divisive topics in sustainable farming: Should plants qualify for organic certification if they’re grown without soil? Through a series of close votes, the board — an advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) — ruled that hydroponic and aquaponic products will continue to be eligible for organic certification.
To be clear, this vote doesn’t change the standards in place. Hydroponic and aquaponic systems already qualified for certification, but their increasing prevalence has made this standard controversial among many traditional organic farmers, who argue that the lack of soil used with these growing techniques means they don’t meet the USDA’s definition of organic. (Hydroponic systems grow plants in water-based nutrients, while aquaponic systems combine hydroponics and fish farming. Both techniques often grow produce indoors.)
The subject of organic certification is quite contentious. Conceptualized in the mid-20th century, the organic movement originally idealized a “closed-loop” farm system, or a property that produced almost everything it needed on-site. Based on the notion that a well-managed farm would rely foremost on natural processes, organic farming was fundamentally about maintaining and improving soil health.
Today, organic certification has drifted away from this original premise. The requirements for certification focus less on a natural farming philosophy and more on what isn’t allowed — namely, synthetic chemical inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides. This creates a considerable gray area for farming practices that technically follow organic certification requirements but ethically and/or technologically may fall short of their original intent. While hydroponics don’t pollute the soil with toxic chemicals, they also don’t improve it, mainly because no soil is involved. This leads to the crucial question: How do you categorize a farm operation that uses sustainable techniques, but doesn’t benefit the land it’s on?
Beyond the philosophical tensions, organic farmers are worried about the financial impacts of making certification more inclusive. Organic food sales reached $43 billion in the United States in 2016. Because large-scale greenhouses are cheaper to operate than soil-based farms, hydroponically-grown organic tomatoes can undercut soil-grown ones and drive down prices. Moreover, because hydroponic operations don’t need to undergo a three-year “transition period,” as field-based farms do before putting certified products on the market, they can benefit from a faster return on their investments.
While the controversy over organic certification ostensibly pits farmers with similar goals against each other, the stakes are high. The recent decision may have awarded hydroponics more credibility in the sustainable-growing sphere, but it hardly signals the end of the debate.
USDA Accused of Disseminating “Corporate Propaganda” Backing Agribusiness Switch of Organics to (Soil-less) Hydroponic Production
USDA Accused of Disseminating “Corporate Propaganda” Backing Agribusiness Switch of Organics to (Soil-less) Hydroponic Production
February 15th, 2018
[Read Cornucopia’s formal request to the USDA’s Office of Inspector General to investigate whether the agency willfully attempted to misinform the public.]
Regulators Bypass Expert Panel, Endorse Organic Practices Banned Worldwide
FOIA Documents, Witnesses Indicate Collusion, USDA Organic Program in Turmoil: Formal Complaint Filed with Office of Inspector General
Hydroponic operations, like this one,
need only change the fertilizer solution to become certified organic
Image source: Horticulture Group
In an affront to the farming pioneers who launched the organic movement, today a $50 billion industry, the USDA announced late last month that the “Certification of hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic operations is allowed under the USDA organic regulations, and has been since the National Organic Program (NOP) began.”
Much of the hydroponic production entering the organic market takes place in large, industrial-scale greenhouses using liquid fertilizers, mostly produced from conventional, hydrolyzed soybeans. Hydroponic produce under the organic label is rapidly displacing fruit and vegetables grown in soil, which is carefully nurtured to improve fertility, by diversified farms. The founders within the organic farming community contend that hydroponics’ cheaper production techniques, employed by huge growers in Mexico, Canada, and Europe, where hydroponics cannot be legally labeled as “organic,” is crushing legitimate soil-based farmers in the U.S.
There is no legal requirement for conventional or organic produce to be labeled as grown hydroponically, so consumers are likely unaware that the production methods, and corresponding nutrient levels, used in the fruits and vegetables they are purchasing have radically changed.
The USDA’s statement was made regardless of the fact that the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), the governing body that the USDA Secretary is required by Congress to consult on all organic rulemaking, has never voted to legalize soil-less production.
The present federal organic regulations and their enabling legislation, the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA), both require careful stewardship of soil fertility as a prerequisite for organic certification.
Despite the USDA’s claim that hydroponics has always been approved as part of organics, The Cornucopia Institute, a farm policy research group based in Wisconsin, has obtained numerous internal and external emails exchanged between NOP staff and certifiers expressing their understanding that soil-based production is required. These documents were procured through a Freedom of Information Act request and are dated as recently as 2016.
“The NOP has unilaterally, and in secret, allowed for the certification of soil-less systems without standards, public notice, or opportunity for public comment,” said The Cornucopia Institute’s senior scientist, Linley Dixon, PhD.
Since the seemingly erroneous official statement was released last month, there has been an outpouring of opposition from the organic farming community. Dr. Dixon said Cornucopia has received a flurry of inquiries from organic farmers surrounding the NOP’s statement, some of which called it an “outright lie,” while others referred to it as “a rewriting of history.” The current USDA standards went into effect in 2002.
The nonprofit farm policy research group sent a formal request to the USDA’s Office of Inspector General asking them to investigate whether officials within the agency willfully attempted to misinform the public.
Since 2005, a few organic accredited certifying agents (ACAs), catering to corporate agribusiness, have quietly certified hydroponic production systems based on the USDA’s public silence on the issue. The largest certifier in the country, CCOF in California, is the predominant certifier of hydroponic operations.
Miles McEvoy
Source: USDA
Earlier this month, Miles McEvoy, the official who stealthily approved hydroponic production while running the NOP during the Obama administration, resurfaced as an official representative of CCOF at a national meeting of organic certifiers. McEvoy resigned from his position with the NOP in September 2017 under an ethical cloud, and has since been a speaker at prominent industry conferences focusing on large-scale organic production, including hydroponics.
Meanwhile, the divide in the organic industry has other ACAs choosing not to certify soil-less production systems, based on their straightforward interpretation of current regulatory requirements. To date, the NOSB has never formally made recommendations for how these soil-less systems might operate within the law, as Congress required.
There are several prominent ACAs that have never allowed the certification of soil-less systems and have a reputation for their high organic integrity in other regards, as well. These include OneCert, Vermont Organic Farmers, Maine Organic Farming and Gardening Association, Organic Crop Improvement Association, and Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association.
Sam Welsch, the president of the USDA-accredited certifier OneCert, responded to NOP’s notice stating, “There are two parts to the NOP’s lie. The first is that hydroponic operations are allowed by the regulations. The second is when that was allowed. The certification of hydroponics was not even considered an option until September 2006 when the NOP sent certifiers a survey on the topic.”
FOIA documents indicate that, as of 2016, 41 ACAs had responded to a survey stating that they do not certify hydroponics, while only 18 ACAs said that they do.
Dixon referred to the NOP’s statement as “revisionist history” and said that The Cornucopia Institute currently has their legal team researching the filing of a federal lawsuit challenging the agency. The farmer outcry in response to NOP’s position signals that many certified organic growers do not believe that soil-less systems meet the organic standards.
“The USDA’s crude rewriting of history is in keeping with the Trump administration’s attitude towards reality. They seem to believe that if they say something loud enough, we will all believe it,” said Dave Chapman, a 40-year organic farming veteran who has been working to raise awareness around the corporate-hydroponic takeover of organics.
Chapman continued, “The clumsiness of this fake news reveals the current NOP’s disconnect from the organic community. They seem intent on pushing away the very people they were created to serve.”
The Perdue/Trump administration at the USDA has also recently come under fire for scuttling new benchmarks that would have made it easier to enforce animal welfare standards in organic livestock production. That, too, was viewed as an affront to organic stakeholders, as tens of thousands of farmers and consumers formally commented in support of the rulemaking after the NOSB voted unanimously for its adoption. The rules were set aside after heavy lobbying from a few giant, predominantly conventional, egg and poultry producers defending confinement practices.
Whether producing meat, milk, eggs, or produce, many certified organic farmers are becoming aware of the fact that the certifiers they employ are ultimately hurting their bottom line when they certify operations that skirt organic standards, regardless of what the NOP permits.
“More and more growers are recognizing that they are being placed at a competitive disadvantage by the very certifiers who we have been paying thousands of dollars to over decades, assuming they were defending the integrity of organic production,” said Tom Beddard of Lady Moon Farms, the largest organic grower east of the Mississippi with farms in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Florida.
The USDA’s announcement comes on the heels of a year of controversy surrounding the regulatory agency’s oversight of the organic industry. A series of damaging investigative stories in The Washington Post highlighted allegedly illegal “factory farms” producing organic eggs and dairy products and the failure of the NOP to investigate and control illegal and fraudulent grain imports.
“It’s now more important than ever for organic consumers to do their homework, making sure they receive the safest, nutrient-dense food for their families while simultaneously rewarding the true heroes in the organic movement,” Dixon added.
The Cornucopia Institute maintains scorecards rating organic brands based on their legal/ethical approach to organic production.
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According to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents obtained by The Cornucopia Institute, NOP staff and some certifiers were still uncertain, as recently as 2013, that hydroponic operations were legally certifiable as organic even while other certifiers, including the nation’s largest, CCOF, were profiting by certifying many large operations.
NOP staff member Renee Mann was asked to respond to a question from a certifier and another NOP staff member seeking clarity on whether or not hydroponic operations could be certified as organic. In a 2013 email, Mann stated, “I don’t know … I seem to remember a time when the NOP said that hydroponic operations could not be certified because they could not meet the requirements for 205.203 (a‐c) to maintain or improve physical, chemical & biological aspects of soil.”
Another certifier contacted the NOP that same year, complaining that they were losing business because it was their understanding, from information provided to them previously by USDA regulators, that hydroponic operations were not eligible for certification. As a result, the hydroponic operators found other certifiers that were willing to deem their operations organic. The certifier called the situation “unfair” and requested additional information.
In addition to asking the OIG to investigate the intent to mislead the public on the legality of hydroponics and the history of the controversy at the NOP, Cornucopia has asked the independent agency watchdog to also look into the chronology of the former top organic regulator, Miles McEvoy, and his waltz through the proverbial revolving door to his current position with CCOF, the nation’s largest organic certifier. McEvoy previously was charged with directly overseeing all certifiers, including CCOF. It should also be noted that CCOF certifies, by far, more hydroponic operations than any other single accredited certifying agent and has profited handsomely from the decision McEvoy made to sidestep NOSB deliberation on the issue and, in a stealthy manner, allow certification of soil-less operations.
Recent high-profile scandals at the National Organic Program, including a series of critical investigative reports in The Washington Post profiling alleged illegal factory dairy and egg operations and fraudulent imports, along with a damning audit by the OIG, immediately preceded McEvoy’s “retirement.”
Furthermore, reports illustrate that during the last years of his tenure, the NOP was a program in crisis, with attrition reducing the staff from approximately 45 down to the current 35.
That staff reduction took place in a program that was already thought to be seriously understaffed, given the magnitude of supervising a $50 billion global industry. “Exacerbating the problem was the unwillingness of Mr. McEvoy to make NOP enforcement documents public and legally fighting their release when receiving requests under the Freedom of Information Act. He had previously stated that over 10% of the diminished staff (four staff members) were strictly involved in reviewing and releasing FOIA documents,” said Mark Kastel, Cornucopia’s senior farm policy analyst.
Many industry observers and certifiers claim organic certification of hydroponic production systems violates several sections of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), especially §6513(b)(1):
“An organic plan shall contain provisions designed to foster soil fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation, and manuring.”
The final NOP rule, adopted under OFPA, and effective in late 2002, mentions soil over fifty times, affirming the central role of soil in cycling organic matter, a practice that is fundamental to organic agriculture.
“The operative legal question is, ‘How can you foster soil fertility without soil?’” stated Cornucopia’s Kastel.
The Cornucopia Institute brought up one final concern in their communication with the Office of Inspector General: the current vacancy on the National Organic Standards Board.
Dr. Francis Thicke, a past board leader who has aggressively challenged the legality of certifying hydroponic production, left the board when his five-year term expired at the end of January. The official posting in the Federal Register announcing nominations to fill the vacancy stated that the term of the new NOSB replacement would commence on January 24, 2018.
It is the contention of The Cornucopia Institute that Congress carefully designated certain seats on the NOSB to assure diversity in knowledge for decision-making by the board (the one held by Thicke was for a conservationist). The organic industry watchdog contends that, based on the clear Congressional intent for seats held by specific industry stakeholders, no official business can transpire without a full complement of members. It is hoped that this deficiency will be resolved before the NOSB’s next official meeting in Tucson, Arizona this April, forestalling potential legal action.
TriBeCa's Hydroponic Wonderland of Herbs and Spices, Farm.One
There's one window into TriBeCa's Farm.One, a series of hydroponic vertical gardens producing greens for some of NYC's best restaurants.
TriBeCa's Hydroponic Wonderland of Herbs and Spices, Farm.One
There's one window into TriBeCa's Farm.One, a series of hydroponic vertical gardens producing greens for some of NYC's best restaurants. That window, however, faces into the building and walking by it gives reason to pause. There, just beyond the glass, is tier upon tier of rolling racks with rare herbs and spices and even edible flowers. There's no natural light, only the power of regulated LEDs. Several water-based nutrient systems cycle through—moderated by about five of the 11 or so employees at the company. Ultimately, it's a pesticide-free destination focusing on about 100 ingredients at a time, all of which have unexpectedly pronounced flavors.
"Pretty much everything here starts from seed," Robert Laing, the founder and CEO of Farm.One explains to CH. "Though, sometimes we will bring in a cutting from outside," he adds. Laing's catalog spans from the obscure to the necessary, including everything from tangerine gem marigolds to nepitella, an herb from Tuscany that delivers an odor of mint and oregano. Both are pungent. "We like to grow things that are small and delicate but have a really powerful impact. They are not just on a plate for appearance. They carry tremendous flavor," he says. Walking through the racks reveals so much: micro arugula, red Russian kale, green sorrel, Miz America, mint flowers and even blue spice basil. If you haven't heard of some of these, that's entirely understandable. Farm.One takes requests from chefs. Some of the most acclaimed establishments, Ai Fiori and Jungsik included, reach out in search of not only specific greens but even shapes and sizes.
"Chefs tell us exactly what they want. It's grown to order for their recipes. We even know the leaf size the chef wants so we work backward from that," Laing explains. "We developed a software to have that in the growing recipe. It guides where the plant batches go in the system." And while this maximizes space, much of their space and resource has been used for experimentation. "We always try to grow new stuff. A year and a half ago we were growing 20 products. Now we've grown close to 600. It becomes this nice library of flavor," he notes. It's clearly also a catalog of experience and knowledge.
Touring the garden with Laing, one is quick to observe a few unexpected elements. Some burgeoning plants extends from brown clumps. "That's coconut husk that's been recycled and turned into plant plugs," Laing explains. They also plant into sun treated stone that's been spun like cotton candy. It's also a reusable planter. "Everything we use can either be composted or reused. We have a zero waste approach here. It's the same with our packaging. Chefs either give their packaging back to us, or reuse it." There are also bugs flitting about. "We control the negative bugs by bringing in populations of other bugs," he continues. "The most visible are the lady bugs. Those will eat aphids, for instance. Then we've got other much smaller ones, hatching in sacks and emerging to eat insects." One of those is a type of parasitic wasp. While it sounds dramatic, they're quite tiny and really only tear the insides out of aphids and spider mites.
"We do not use any pesticides at all and while that's great for the people eating them, it's also great for us working here," says Laing. This means that anyone can pick absolutely anything off of a plant and it's ready to eat. As for how they grow and fertilize, "We don't use chemicals," he begins. "We used plant-based fertilizers, biodigestive materials and fish waste. There's some bat poo, too." This means that the environment is an ecosystem that must be maintained in order for bacteria and beneficial fungi to thrive. Their care must be modified constantly. It's more than just flipping on the app-controlled fanning system.
Laing says one plant brought him into this business: papalo. He tried some at the farmer's market in Santa Monica. "I was like, 'Wow, you can only get this at a certain time in California.' I starting thinking about how anyone could get it in New York in the middle of winter. it spurred me on this quest." His interest in hydroponics was countered by a reduction in LED costs. In 2016 Laing opened a small prototype farm inside of NYC's Institute of Culinary Education. Clients flocked to him. Fundraising brought in an opportunity for expansion and product development. The months-old TriBeCa space marked a materialization of dreams.
The team at Farm.One delivers to clients every weekday. They do so by bike or subway, without the use of cold storage. This means they can grow varieties of herbs and spices that have a lot of upfront flavor, rather than modified version that need to be hearty for transport and consumption later. Freshness is a result, because everything is harvested and delivered within a couple hours. As Laing concludes, "it's farm to table to the extreme." He's got expansion plans, as well—and not just for high end herbs but for more accessible vegetables in underused urban spaces.
There are a few opportunities to enter. First, there's a three hour class ($130). Here one learns about hydroponics, LEDs and indoor farming. Second, there's a 55-minute sensory farm tour ($50) where guests taste dozen of herbs—many of which are likely to be unfamiliar. It comes with a glass of prosecco and ends with a bang (well, an "electric button"). Anyone can also shop for produce. Farm.One is located at 77 Worth Street, TriBeCa.
Hero image courtesy of Farm.One, all other images by Cool Hunting
Local Produce
February 19, 2018 | by LAUREN TOLAN
Do you know where your “local” fruits and vegetables come from? Co-owner of Buckingham Farms, TJ Cannamela, talks about the importance of knowing when and where your crops are coming from, and also how they were treated. He strives to grow fresh vegetables, year round, without the use of pesticides or other chemicals. One way to do this is through the use of hydroponics, which cuts water usage down by 80%, results in quicker plant growth, and eliminates the need for pesticides.
Cannamela advises people to be cautious and ask questions when buying from local markets. He acknowledges a few businesses in the area that stay true to the way many of us perceive the terms “local” and “fresh”. Which to many of us, means having been picked this morning. The state recognizes the term “local” to be in reference to a 250 mile radius around your business. How would you define it?
Stop the Presses: Hydroponics Certified Organic
While both sides still feel they’re in the right as to whether or not hydroponic produce should be certified as organic, that argument ended on November 1, 2017, with an industry decision that such certification was allowable.
Stop the Presses: Hydroponics Certified Organic
Lee Allen | February 15, 2018
Takeaway: Until November of 2017, growers debated the organic certification of hydroponics. Now, the verdict is in.
While both sides still feel they’re in the right as to whether or not hydroponic produce should be certified as organic, that argument ended on November 1, 2017, with an industry decision that such certification was allowable.
The highly emotional status declaration came down at the Fall 2017 NOSB meeting in Florida, where the advisory body to the USDA ruled that hydroponic and aquaponic farms could carry the organic label. They’ve been allowed to be called organic for a number of years, but now it will be official.
Still, the proverbial Hatfield and McCoy battle on the issue remains pretty heated. Both sides still believe they have the best idea.
The Coalition for Sustainable Organics put the approval in the win column for them, pleased that NOSB rejected a number of proposals that would revoke the certification of many hydroponic, aquaponic, and container growers. President Lee Frankel’s contention was that more, not less, the organic product was needed to feed a hungry world. “Everyone deserves organic, and this proposal would have made it harder for consumers to access organic produce as a meaningful solution to environmental challenges faced by growers (who) need to adapt to site-specific conditions,” he says.
Another supporter, the Recirculating Farms Coalition, was equally pleased with the vote. “NOSB made the right decision,” says executive director Marianne Cufone. “Many products already carry a USDA Organic label and to now withdraw that would be irresponsible and confusing for both farmers and consumers.”
Conversely, The Cornucopia Institute group had sought rejection of what they called a “watering down” of organic standards supported by “big money and powerful corporate lobbyists who want their piece of a growing organic pie.” They advised a “no” vote to “protect soil-based farmers who raise fruits and vegetables in a sustainable, healthy fashion.”
The NOSB ballot count wasn’t an overwhelming landslide but a squeaker win with an eight to seven final tally to reject proposals prohibiting hydroponic/aquatic production certification. By a much larger margin (14 to zero, with one abstention), however, aeroponics was denied the organic certification.
Biosystems engineer Dr. Stacy Tollefson of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center at the University of Arizona, a member of the Hydroponic and Aquaponic Taskforce, says she’s dumbfounded the NOSB didn’t support aeroponics. She asks, “If they support aquaponics and liquid systems, why not aeroponics?”
The NOSB recommendation is now in the hands of USDA. The federal agency and the staff of the National Organic Program will decide on the rules to modify existing organic standards. Once that is done, there will be a public comment period and a regulatory review before the new classifications become regulation.
Going forward, “This decision should promote more innovation in organic production,” Tollefson says. “There may be increasing pressure to be more transparent within the USDA Organic label, perhaps a push for mandatory labeling that differentiates ‘soil grown’ versus ‘container grown.
How Urban Farmers Are learning To Grow Food Without Soil Or Natural Light
Growing food in cities became popular in Europe and North America during and immediately after World War II.
How Urban Farmers Are learning To Grow Food Without Soil Or Natural Light
February 13, 2018
Mandy Zammit/Grow Up, Author provided
Author
- Silvio Caputo
Senior Lecturer, University of Portsmouth
Disclosure statement
Silvio Caputo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Partners
University of Portsmouth provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.
Growing food in cities became popular in Europe and North America during and immediately after World War II. Urban farming provided citizens with food, at a time when resources were desperately scarce. In the decades that followed, parcels of land which had been given over to allotments and city farms were gradually taken up for urban development. But recently, there has been a renewed interest in urban farming – albeit for very different reasons than before.
As part of a recent research project investigating how urban farming is evolving across Europe, I found that in countries where growing food was embedded in the national culture, many people have started new food production projects. There was less uptake in countries such as Greece and Slovenia, where there was no tradition of urban farming. Yet a few community projects had recently been started in those places too.
Today’s urban farmers don’t just grow food to eat; they also see urban agriculture as a way of increasing the diversity of plants and animals in the city, bringing people from different backgrounds and age groups together, improving mental and physical health and regenerating derelict neighbourhoods.
Many new urban farming projects still struggle to find suitable green spaces. But people are finding inventive solutions; growing food in skips or on rooftops, on sites that are only temporarily free, or on raised beds in abandoned industrial yards. Growers are even using technologies such as hydroponics, aquaculture and aquaponics to make the most of unoccupied spaces.
Something fishy
Hydroponic systems were engineered as a highly space and resource efficient form of farming. Today, they represent a considerable source of industrially grown produce; one estimate suggests that, in 2016, the hydroponic vegetable market was worth about US$6.9 billion worldwide.
Hydroponics enable people to grow food without soil and natural light, using blocks of porous material where the plants’ roots grow, and artificial lighting such as low-energy LED. A study on lettuce production found that although hydroponic crops require significantly more energy than conventionally grown food, they also use less water and have considerably higher yields.
Growing hydroponic crops usually requires sophisticated technology, specialist skills and expensive equipment. But simplified versions can be affordable and easy to use.
They grow up so fast. Mandy Zammit/Grow Up, Author provided
Hemmaodlat is an organisation based in Malmö, in a neighbourhood primarily occupied by low-income groups and immigrants. The area is densely built, and there’s no green space available to grow food locally. Plus, the Swedish summer is short and not always ideal for growing crops. Instead, the organisation aims to promote hydroponic systems among local communities, as a way to grow fresh food using low-cost equipment.
The Bristol Fish Project is a community-supported aquaponics farm, which breeds fish and uses the organic waste they produce to fertilise plants grown hydroponically. GrowUp is another aquaponics venture located in an East London warehouse – they grow food and farm fish using only artificial light. Similarly, Growing Underground is an enterprise that produces crops in tunnels, which were originally built as air raid shelters during World War II in London.
The next big thing?
The potential to grow food in small spaces, under any environmental conditions, are certainly big advantages in an urban context. But these technologies also mean that the time spent outdoors, weathering the natural cycles of the seasons, is lost. Also, hydroponic systems require nutrients that are often synthesised chemically – although organic nutrients are now becoming available. Many urban farmers grow their food following organic principles, partly because the excessive use of chemical fertilisers is damaging soil fertilityand polluting groundwater.
To see whether these drawbacks would put urban growers off using hydroponic systems, my colleagues and I conducted a pilot study in Portsmouth. We installed small hydroponic units in two local community gardens, and interviewed volunteers and visitors to the gardens. Many of the people we spoke to were well informed about hydroponic technology, and knew that some of the vegetables sold in supermarkets today are produced with this system.
A simplified hydroponic frame in Portsmouth. Silvio Caputo/University of Portsmouth, Author provided
Many were fascinated by the idea of growing food without soil within their community projects, but at the same time reluctant to consume the produce because of the chemical nutrients used. A few interviewees were also uncomfortable with the idea that the food was not grown naturally. We intend to repeat this experiment in the near future, to see how public opinion changes over time.
And while we don’t think hydroponic systems can replace the enjoyment that growing food in soil can offer, they can save water and produce safe food, either indoors or outdoors, in a world with increasingly scarce resources. Learning to use these new technologies, and integrating them into existing projects, can only help to grow even more sustainable food.
As with many technological advancements, it could be that a period of slow acceptance will be followed by rapid, widespread uptake. Perhaps the fact that IKEA is selling portable hydroponic units, while hydroponic cabinets are on the market as components of kitchen systems, is a sign that this technology is primed to enter mainstream use.
Evergreen Farm Wins Best Indoor Farming Innovation Award
Evergreen Farm Wins Best Indoor Farming Innovation Award
EverGreen Farm Oy participated in the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) at Abu Dhabi during the 5th and 6th of February, 2018, where it was presented with the Best Indoor Farming Innovation Award by the Minister of State, Her Excellency Mariam Bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mehairi, from the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority.
During the conference H.E Mariam Bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Al Mehairi stated “The Food Security Innovation Sessions are an ideal platform for joint action, aimed at putting the government and relevant sectors in a row to explore the future of food security and finding solutions to increase the contribution of the private sector in the food equation of the UAE. We cannot consider the issue of food security as an independent issue and separate from society, we must activate the role of all entities in addressing the challenges we face, taking into consideration that innovation is the key tool for improving food and agricultural production and essential for food security.”
Using the basic principle of hydroponics, Evergreen Farm Oy has developed an innovative vertical indoor farming technology that produces high-quality fruits and vegetables in a state-of-the-art, environmentally controlled, the multi-level indoor facility called the Direct Feed Vertical Hydroponics (DFVH) system.
"Best Indoor Farming Innovation" Award
Evergreen Farm Oy Wins "Best Indoor Farming Innovation" Award During the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA)
The GFIA was founded in 2014 and it is the world’s largest series of events dedicated to showcasing innovations in sustainable agriculture across all types of food production. “The Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture is based on the notion that the ongoing drive for innovation in the agriculture sector is the only way to feed 9 billion people sustainably by 2050,” said Nicolas Davison, Director of the Global Forum for Innovation in Agriculture.
Evergreen Farm Oy’s mission is to fundamentally transform agriculture by implementing the technologically advanced and easy-to-use DFVH system throughout the world. Thus, improving crop production while encouraging responsible, innovative farming methods that protect the environment and educate the community.
“We are extremely proud and thankful for the "Best Indoor Farming Innovation" award. We have now launched the first production-ready product portfolio, including both industrial and home units. After years of product development, we have got one step closer to our objective to make fresh, healthy, delicious, non-GMO, chemical and pesticide-free food accessible to everyone. While doing so, we also aim to improve the quality of life of local communities by providing job opportunities and a platform for growth and education, “ said Ali Amirlatifi, CEO of Evergreen Farm Oy.
Evergreen Farm is not only focusing on the technology for crop growth but also developing artificial intelligence (AI) based services to optimize production and accelerate our customers’ fruit and vegetable business entry into the markets. “With AI driven operations we can automate almost everything but also analyse global vegetable and fruit market automatically for our customer, “ thought Ali Amirlatifi.
For any inquiry to EverGreen Farm Oy please contact:
Ali Amirlatifi CEO, EverGreen Farm Oy
ali.amirlatifi@evergreenfarm.fi
Mobile: +358 50 390 3333
Website: www.evergreenfarm.eu
Evergreen Farm Oy is a Finnish company, located in Tampere. Evergreen Farm Oy is a technology company focused on providing clean sustainable food through agricultural innovation.
By offering the World highest yield per square meter as well as cubic meter, indoor protection from the elements, a variety of crops that go beyond leafy green, and the benefits of existing technology in robotics artificial intelligence and engineering, Evergreen Farm is sure to provide a solution to the food crisis and its associated environmental impacts.
Beginners Guide To Plant Nutrition
The reason for releasing the beginners guide to plant nutrition is to help you from making wrong decisions in your indoor grow room.
The reason for releasing the beginner's guide to plant nutrition is to help you from making wrong decisions in your indoor grow room. Visualize... by the end of this blog, you will be able to understand plant nutrition.
Introduction
Plants are able to take in essential plant nutrients through leaves, a fact known for years. Foliar fertilization has been used for years mainly with high value crops such as vegetables and fruits. Early uses of foliar fertilization were mainly used to balance micronutrient deficiencies such as iron deficiency with blueberries or to boost the appearance and shelf life of foliage plants and cut flowers. Foliar applications of nutrients can balance nutrient deficiencies caused by diseases, insect damage and help plant recover from other stress conditions. Both quantity and quality of yield can be increased by foliar application of deficient nutrients regardless of cause.
Nutrient Mobility and Foliar Fertilization
Foliar fertilization is especially important for nutrients that are poorly mobile in the plant. An endless supply of these nutrients is needed to provide that plant has sufficient nutrition for acceptable growth and yield. If the supply of these nutrients from the water or growing media is unable to keep up with demand, then new growth will suffer from nutrient deficiency. The application for moderately mobile or very mobile nutrients is also important when the crop cannot take and deliver adequate nutrients to the growing points of the plant, but mobile nutrients have the benefit of being able to taken for older plant tissue and translocated to the new growing points. Foliar application of mobile nutrients will help prevent the depletion by older tissue by these mobile nutrients. One frustration in using foliar sprays to supply nutrients to plants is that intake and translocation of the applied element may not be rapid enough for growing crop yields if foliar application is the major source of a nutrient. This problem is greater for macronutrients. Foliar application of plant nutrients continues to gain increasing widespread acceptance. The mobility of nutrients generally is classified into three categories of mobility: very mobile, moderately mobile and poor or slightly mobile.
Nitrogen (N)
Nitrogen is a very mobile element within the plant, and foliar sprays using urea, nitrate salt, and ammonium have been used to supplement the nitrogen levels in plants.
Urea
Urea is the most effective form of foliar nitrogen followed next by ammonium ion and then by nitrate ion. Urea is easiest to traverse the cutin layer to enter the plant and is considered the most suitable form of N for foliar application because of its non polarity, rapid intake, low phytotoxicity and high solubility.
Ammonium
Ammonium application effectively boosts growth and yield for many crops through foliar application. Like urea, the plant assimilates most of the ammonium within 48 hours after application. Ammonium, once inside the plant cell has a similar effect on plant nitrogen, as does urea.
Nitrate
Nitrate, through adsorbed by the plant effectively, is less effective as a foliar source of nitrogen than urea or ammonium because it must first be converted into ammonium through nitrate reduction.
Phosphorus (P)
Phosphorus is a very mobile element within a plant and its application through foliar application is an effective means of supplying phosphorus. Phosphorus foliar application can increase the concentration of phosphorus in the foliage and is a more effective method of delivering phosphorus to the plant via water.
Potassium (K)
Potassium is a very mobile element, and applications as foliar sprays utilize potassium polyphosphate, potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, potassium thiosulfate, or potassium hydroxide. Many of these sources have low salt index, are highly soluble, and can provide potassium to plants in situations where a deficiency of this element will reduce yield or is needed for foliar plants going to market.
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Tags: hydroponic nutrients plant nutrition beginners guide NPK nitrogen phosphorus potassium
Organic Industry Debates Certification of Aeroponic Systems
Organic Industry Debates Certification of Aeroponic Systems
At its fall public meeting, the National Organic Standards Board heard testimony about hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponic operations.
Feb 05, 2018
On Jan. 25, 2018, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service released an update on the status of organic hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics.
At its fall public meeting, the National Organic Standards Board heard testimony about hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponic operations.
What is the status of hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponic operations?
Certification of hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic operations is allowed under the USDA organic regulations and has been since the National Organic Program began. For these products to be labeled as organic, the operation must be certified by a USDA-accredited certifying agent, and maintain compliance with the USDA organic regulations.
The NOSB has recommended prohibiting aeroponic systems in organic production. USDA will consider this recommendation; aeroponics remains allowed during this review.
What is the Organic Farmers Association saying about this certification?
The Organic Farmers Association is raising concern with USDA’s recent statement that “Certification of hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic operations is allowed under the USDA organic regulations, and has been since the National Organic Program began,” labeling this action as revisionist history, and an incorrect interpretation of the organic law.
“The USDA has several times in the past sought guidance from the National Organic Standards Board on the advisability of allowing hydroponic production to be certified organic,” said Francis Thicke, OFA policy committee chair, and outgoing NOSB member. “This issue is far from settled.”
The association pointed out that in 2010 the NOSB, in a 14 to 1 vote, recommended that hydroponic production not be allowed to be certified organic, stating “systems of crop production that eliminate soil from the system, such as hydroponics or aeroponics cannot be considered as example of acceptable organic farming practices…due to their exclusion of the soil-plant ecology intrinsic to organic farming systems and USDA/NOP regulations governing them.”
The USDA National Organic Program did not follow through on that NOSB recommendation. However, most USDA-accredited certifying agencies have avoided certifying hydroponic operations because of the long-standing requirement—rooted in the Organic Foods Production Act —that organic production must be in the soil.
“There are no federal standards for certifying hydroponic production as organic,” said Jim Riddle, OFA steering committee chair and former NOSB member.
Organic Farmers Association said OFPA—the enabling legislation that created the National Organic Program—indicates that organic production must be soil-based. Quoting the Act, “An organic plan shall contain provisions designed to foster soil fertility, primarily through the management of the organic content of the soil through proper tillage, crop rotation, and manuring.”
Further, Organic Farmers Association asserts that no legal justification accompanied USDA’s recent position of unconditional allowance for organic certification of hydroponic production.
Infarm Reinventing Food Supply With Vertical Urban Farms
Infarm Reinventing Food Supply With Vertical Urban Farms
By Katy Askew
06-Feb-2018
Infarm founders Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska have big ambitions for their urban farm model
German urban farming group Infarm aims to expand its network of urban farms to 1,000 locations throughout Europe by 2019.
Infarm was founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska. The company distributes what it describes as “smart modular farms” targeting urban areas.
Fusing vertical farming techniques with the internet of things technology and data science, the group aims to develop an “alternative food system” that is “resilient, transparent, and affordable”.
“Rather than asking ourselves how to fix the deficiencies in the current supply chain, we wanted to redesign the entire chain from start to finish; Instead of building large-scale farms outside of the city, optimising on a specific yield, and then distributing the produce, we decided it would be more effective to distribute the farms themselves and farm directly where people live and eat,” explained Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO.
How it works
A single two meter squared farm unit can deliver an output of 1,200 plants per month.
Infarm’s indoor vertical farms are connected by the company’s central farming platform, creating what the company claims is a “first of its kind” urban farming network.
Each farm is a controlled ecosystem with growing recipes that tailor light, temperature, pH, and nutrients to ensure the maximum natural expression of each plant.
“We collect 50,000 data points throughout a plant’s lifetime,” Guy Galonska, co-founder and chief technical officer elaborated. “Each farm acts as a data pipeline, sending information on plant growth to our platform 24/7 allowing it to learn, adjust, and optimize.”
Infarm therefore not only distributes the vertical farming tech: the company operates as a service provider.
It can also personalize its farms to each customer’s needs, growing different varieties for different supermarket locations or equalizing the flavor of the produce to better suit the taste palate of a customer’s clientele.
Early success
Having introduced the concept two years ago, Infarm now operates more than 50 farms in supermarket aisles, restaurant kitchens and distribution centers throughout Berlin.
Infarm units can grow produce in retail locations
Infarm has integrated in-store farming into Edeka and Metro locations, partnering with two of Germany’s largest food retailers where it grows “dozens ” of herbs and leafy greens.
Infarm’s marketing project manager Peter Prautzsch told FoodNavigator that the company has already grown 300 different plants on its farms.
“Our modular and scaleable farms units are easily integrated into any given client space. We offer and operate both InStore and InHub installation,” he explained.
Infarm’s solutions also reach beyond addressing sustainability issues to deliver other benefits to its customers, he continued. “Cutting the supply chain to the minimum helps our produce to retain all of its nutrients and therefore an intense natural flavor. We considerably improve the safety and environmental footprint of each plant. We can offer a consistent supply, no matter the season [and] our farms create a unique and impactful customer experience.”
“We bring a world of choice right into your neighborhood without having to compromise on quality, safety, and taste. [...] B y eliminating the distance between farm and fork, we offer produce that has retained all of its nutrients and therefore, intense natural flavour," noted Osnat Michaeli, co-founder, and CMO.
Funding growth
Infarm announced yesterday (5 February) that it has completed a €20m series A funding round, which was led by an investment from Balderton Capital, alongside TriplePoint Capotal and Mons Investment as well as previous investors Cherry Ventures, QUIDIA and LocalGlobe.
Balderton Capital partner Daniel Waterhouse said that the investment vehicle believes Infarm can help develop a solution to some of the greatest challenges facing the food supply chain today.
“Urban living is growing unrelentingly across the world and societies are at a point where they have to confront the big existential questions such as how to feed their growing populations sustainably. Infarm is right at the forefront of a new wave of companies setting out to tackle the inefficiencies in the current food supply chain by making it possible to grow fresh produce right in the heart of our communities. We are delighted to be backing a company whose mission we believe in so passionately.”
The fresh wave of investment brings Infarm’s total capital raising to €24m, including a €2m grant awarded to the group by the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 program.
Overseas ambitions
Infarm will be launching in Paris, London, and Copenhagen this year, as well as extending to additional cities throughout Germany.
“This is the beginning of the urban farming revolution: it will redefine what it means to eat well, reshape the landscape of cities, and re-empower the people to take ownership of their food,” predicted Erez Galonska. “Our ambition is to reach cities as far as Seattle in the United States or Seoul, South Korea with our urban farming network.”
The new investment will be used to grow Infarm’s team into a global operation and to further develop its 5,000 square meter R&D center in Berlin. The center focuses on the promotion of biodiversity and further expanding the company’s product assortment; tomatoes, chilies, a variety of mushrooms, fruits and flowering vegetables are to be introduced next.
Balderton Capital Leads $25M Series A In ‘Urban Farming’ Platform Infarm
Infarm, a startup that has developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores, restaurants, and local distribution centres to bring fresh and artisan produce much closer to the consumer, has raised $25 million in Series A funding.
Infarm, a startup that has developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores, restaurants, and local distribution centres to bring fresh and artisan produce much closer to the consumer, has raised $25 million in Series A funding.
February 5, 2018 | Steve O'Hear (@sohear)
Balderton Capital Leads $25M Series A In ‘Urban Farming’ Platform Infarm
Infarm, a startup that has developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores, restaurants, and local distribution centres to bring fresh and artisan produce much closer to the consumer, has raised $25 million in Series A funding.
The round is led by London-based VC firm Balderton Capital, with participation from TriplePoint Capital, Mons Investments, and previous investors Cherry Ventures, QUADIA and LocalGlobe.
It brings the total raised by the Berlin-based company to $35 million, including a $2.5 million grant from the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 program.
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Infarm wants to put a farm in every grocery store
Infarm says the new capital will be used for international expansion and to further develop its 5,000 sqm R&D centre in Berlin. This will include bringing its vertical farming system to Paris, London, and Copenhagen, in addition to other German cities later this year. The startup is targeting 1,000 farms to be operational across Europe by the end of 2019.
Founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli, and brothers Erez and Guy Galonska, Infarm has developed an “indoor vertical farming” system capable of growing anything from herbs, lettuce and other vegetables, and even fruit. It then places these modular farms in a variety of customer-facing city locations, such as grocery stores, restaurants, shopping malls, and schools, thus enabling the end-customer to actually pick the produce themselves.
The distributed system is designed to be infinitely scalable — you simply add more modules, space permitting — whilst the whole thing is cloud-based, meaning the farms can be monitored and controlled from Infarm’s central control centre. The whole thing is incredibly data-driven, a combination of IoT, Big Data and cloud analytics akin to “Farming-as-a-Service”.
The idea, the founding team told me back in June last year when I profiled the nascent company, isn’t just to produce fresher and better-tasting produce and re-introduce forgotten or rare varieties, but to disrupt the supply chain as a whole, which remains inefficient and produces a lot of waste.
“Behind our farms is a robust hardware and software platform for precision farming,” explained Michaeli. “Each farming unit is its own individual ecosystem, creating the exact environment our plants need to flourish. We are able to develop growing recipes that tailor the light spectrums, temperature, pH, and nutrients to ensure the maximum natural expression of each plant in terms of flavor, colour, and nutritional quality”.
Two years since launch, Infarm says it is now operating more than 50 farms across Berlin in supermarket aisles, restaurants kitchens, and distribution warehouses. This includes introducing in-store farming into EDEKA and METRO locations, two of Germany’s largest food retailers, in which dozens of “quality herbs and leafy greens” are grown and sold at what the startup describes as affordable prices.
Noteworthy, with an output of up to 1,200 plants per month from a single farm unit, Infarm claims it has already enabled some locations to become completely self-sufficient in their herb production.
“This is the beginning of the urban farming (r)evolution: it will redefine what it means to eat well, reshape the landscape of cities, and re-empower the people to take ownership of their food,” says Erez Galonska in a statement. “Our ambition is to reach cities as far as Seattle in the United States or Seoul, South Korea with our urban farming network”.
Berlin Urban Farm-In-A-Box Raises $25 Million For European Expansion
The company, founded by three Israeli filmmakers-turned-entrepreneurs, plans to use the funds to roll out mini, in-store farms with Edeka, Germany’s largest supermarket chain. It is also working with Metro (B4B.DE), the country’s No.2 grocer.
Berlin Urban Farm-In-A-Box Raises $25 Million For European Expansion
February 5, 2018 Eric Auchard
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Berlin-based urban farming start-up Infarm has raised $25 million to expand its indoor growing system - a soil-less technology better known for furtively growing marijuana - into major supermarket chains and restaurants across Europe.
The company, founded by three Israeli filmmakers-turned-entrepreneurs, plans to use the funds to roll out mini, in-store farms with Edeka, Germany’s largest supermarket chain. It is also working with Metro (B4B.DE), the country’s No.2 grocer.
Infarm wants to help cities become self-sufficient in food production, lowering farming’s environmental footprint.
A single, two-square-meter unit can be located in stores or dining rooms, or the same units can be chained together in central distribution centers to grow hundreds of different varieties of plants, each with its own micro-climate.
“We decided it would be more effective to distribute the farms themselves and farm directly where people live and eat,” Co-Founder and Chief Executive Erez Galonska said.
Industrial-scale U.S. rivals claim to be removing waste from long-distance agricultural supply chains, while Infarm is trying to break down the need for a supply chain itself, Osnat Michaeli, another co-founder, and Infarm’s chief marketing officer told Reuters.
Plenty Inc of South San Francisco, which operates vast indoor fields growing fruit, vegetables and herbs, raised $200 million in a 2017 round led by Softbank (9984.T) Vision Fund, marking the largest-ever agricultural tech venture funding.
Infarm said it will have 1,000 miniature urban farms operating across Europe by the middle of next year, starting with locations in Paris, London, Copenhagen and additional German cities by the end of 2018.
The compact plant growing system sits on stacked shelves, using hydroponics - a way of growing plants without soil - in a climate and LED-lighting controlled glass case. It grows everyday and exotic herbs like small-leaf Greek basil or Peruvian mint and leafy greens which customers are selling for prices at or below that of plastic-packaged herbs.
“We have replaced 15 grams of herbs in plastic boxes with living plants priced around 1.50 euros,” said Michaeli. “It’s the same type, similar price, but it’s alive.”
The new round of investment was led by Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s top early-stage venture investors, and joined by debt-financing firm Triple Point Capital and Mons Investments.
The company plans to invest further in its Berlin-based urban farm and research lab to expand its product catalog beyond some 200 herbs currently to include tomatoes, chillies, mushrooms, fruits and flowering vegetables, the company said.
Reporting by Eric Auchard; Editing by Kirsten Donovan
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
UAE To Produce 60 Percent More Food By 2051
UAE To Produce 60 Percent More Food By 2051
Jasmine Al Kuttab/Abu Dhabi
February 5, 2018
The UAE stands in the vanguard of those supporting agricultural innovations and scientific research
The UAE aims to produce a whopping 60 percent more food to feed a global population of nine billion people within the next 33 years, the Minister of Climate Change and Environment announced on Monday.
During the fifth edition of the Global Forum for Innovation in Agriculture, held under the patronage of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; Dr Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, said the globalised nature of the food supply chain means that no country, region or continent is immune to food insecurity.
"Given the growing scarcity of fresh water, the scale of degradation of arable land and the increasing volatility of weather as a result of the changing climate, the task at hand is immense," he said.
The minister stressed that the UAE is working hard towards achieving the production of at least 60 percent more food for export in just three decades.
"We believe this event will generate meaningful debate, actions, partnerships, and opportunities to help us - in just 33 years from now - produce at least 60 percent more food than we do today to feed a global population of nine billion.
"This is a challenge that transcends national borders and is one felt acutely here in the Middle East, where burgeoning populations in arid regions are placing a strain on the capacity of nations to feed their citizens."
Dr Al Zeyoudi said that innovation is thus crucial for agriculture, sustainability and food production. "We in the UAE, are among the countries in the region that stand in the vanguard of those supporting agricultural innovations and scientific research."
He pointed out that the UAE has had a unique experience in agricultural innovations. "This is spite of the hard climatic conditions and water scarcity, the country has succeeded thanks to political will and the adoption of modern farming techniques, in developing a sustainable farming sector that contributes to meeting some of the food requirements of the country."
UAE looks for collaborations
Dr. Al Zeyoudi added that the two-day forum, which is the world's largest showcase of agricultural technology, will help raise the level of collaboration between the UAE and other nations. "We recognize the need for global expertise, and welcome the opportunity for international involvement in the regional agricultural sector."
He said Abu Dhabi is ideally located on the shores of the Arabian Gulf, at the heart of the world's largest arid region. "There is the potential for innovative water-saving technologies, hydroponics and high-tech agriculture, amongst many technologies, to be deployed here to great success."
He pointed out that the public, private sectors, and the not-for-profit groups must work together to solve pressing challenges.
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com
Ecobain Gardens Announces New Name
Ecobain Gardens Announces New Name
Saskatoon, SK, January 8, 2018
Ecobain Gardens, a major producer of natural herbs from its vertical hydroponic urban farm in Saskatoon, SK, has announced a name change to better reflect its business.
In the making of the announcement, Brian Bain, Cofounder and CEO said, “we have rebranded to become “Ecobain Naturals.” Bain continued, “Our new name better describes what we do, selling live natural, tasty and aromatic herbs to consumers through more than 450 retail locations in western Canada. These include Sobeys/Safeway & Federated Co-op locations.”
The Ecobain Natural herbs are sold in live potted, living clamshell, and bare root forms in bags to allow retailers a unique natural aromatic herb product catered to their specific demographics. Bain said, “Selling live natural herbs grown in Canada enables us to supply a fresher, more nutritional product. As well, this has the advantage of a longer shelf-life for retailers, who now do not have to rely on imported products to stock their retail shelves.
Bain continued, “Our technologically-advanced hydroponic buildings use 98% less water, which is good for the environment, and our LED lighting allows us to offer the most aromatic, tasty live herbs to the consumers, 365 days per year.”
Presently, Ecobain Naturals grows four herbs for their live herb market, including basil, mint, dill, and chives that are available in nine differing packages. Brian Bain said, “Since our business began in 2014, we have found our nine differing SKU packages including, four potted herbs, three root-attached smaller herb bags, and the larger clamshell basil are the most consistent sellers in the market.
In concluding the announcement on the rebranding to Ecobain Naturals, Brian Bain said, “Our goal is to continue to grow our business by supplying the best live natural and aromatic herbs to the consumer market while providing a very cost competitive product for retailers. Our new name, EcoBain Naturals reflects what we offer for the future.”
Ecobain Natural produces 80,000 units of live herb products each month from its 6,000-square foot facility located in northern Saskatoon. It is the hydroponic system that accommodates this, and like its vertical hydroponic buildings, with Ecobain Naturals, the only way for the business is “up.”
For more information on EcoBain Naturals, please go to the company’s website at
www.ecobainnaturals.ca or check them out on Twitter (@ecobainnaturals), Instagram and Facebook.
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