Food Safety And E. coli in Aquaponic And Hydroponic Systems

This document is The Aquaponics Association’s response to a recent publication on E. coli in Aquaponic and Hydroponic systems.

PDF Version: Food Safety and E. Coli in Aquaponic and Hydroponic Systems

April 27, 2020

By Tawnya Sawyer; Nick Savidov, Ph.D.; George Pate; and Marc Laberge 

Overview of the Study

On April 6, 2020, Purdue Agriculture News published a story about a study related to the contamination risk of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in Aquaponic and Hydroponic production. The full study was published in MDPI Journal Horticulturae in January 2020.

Researchers conducted the study from December 2017 through February 2018. The Study consisted of side-by-side aquaponic and hydroponic systems in a controlled environment lab growing lettuce, basil, and tomatoes with tilapia. The purpose of the study was to identify the food safety risks associated with soilless systems. The study indicates that both the aquaponic and hydroponic systems contained Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) at the time of sampling. It did not find the presence of Listeria spp., or Salmonella spp. 

The authors contend that the aquaponic system and specifically the fish feces were likely the sources of E. coli. However, we believe that there is no evidence to prove that this was the actual source of contamination since the authors admit traceback was not performed, and there were several other possible introductions.

The pathogen was present in the water and on the root system of the plants. The researchers did not detect it in the edible portion of the plants. However, if the water is positive for a contaminant, and it accidentally splashes onto the edible portion of the crop throughout its life, or during harvest, this could still result in a food safety concern.

History of E. coli in Soil-less growing systems 

Until now, researchers have only discovered environmental E. coli in soilless growing systems. It is essential to note that there are hundreds of types of non-fecal coliform bacteria in the air, water, soil, as well as the fecal coliform bacteria represented mostly by E.coli in the waste of all mammals, humans, and some birds. A vast majority of these coliforms are perfectly harmless.

The E. coli found in this Study — Shiga toxin-producing O157:H7 — historically has been associated with warm-blooded mammals, more specifically bovine fed corn in feedlots (Lim JY et al. 2007), as well as swine and turkeys. Further research must be performed to prove that cold-blooded, non-mammal aquatic species such as tilapia can harbor this strain of pathogenic E. coli. A wide group of studies, university professors, and industry professionals currently refute the possibility that tilapia can harbor this strain. The lack of evidence detailing the ability of aquatic animals to harbor E. coli makes the fish contaminated with this specific strain of bacteria very rare and suspect.

Many foodborne illnesses from fresh produce such as romaine lettuces, green onions, herbs, and sprouts, are traced back to the soil; the irrigation water used in these crops (Solomon et al. 2002); the seed stock; or poor sanitation in handling facilities.

There are a wide variety of community and commercial aquaponic and hydroponic growing facilities that routinely perform pathogen testing and have not identified this pathogen present. If it was present, traceback procedures would be followed to identify and remove the source, as well as any necessary food safety precautions and recalls performed.

Our Position

The Aquaponic Association and its members agree that food safety and proper handling practices are critical to commercializing our industry and the safety of our customers. One thing that the study points out is that a contaminant can occur in a soilless system, which creates a potential food safety concern. We agree on this; however, we have numerous concerns with the procedures and statements made in the publication.

We have reached out to the professional investigator on this study Hye-Ji Kim to get answers to essential questions that the study publication does not adequately address. There are significant gaps and questions with the study.

 Concerns About the Study Findings and Publication 

Lack of Traceability

The study group is unsure how the pathogen was introduced into the two systems. They admit that no traceback was performed to identify the source of contamination. They speculate both in the study and in their email response that this pathogen was:

1) Accidentally introduced

2) That it is from the fish feces in the aquaponics system that splashed into the hydroponic system through the open top of the fish tank during feeding,

3) that it was from contaminated fish stock (which were provided by the Purdue Animal Sciences Research and Education Center)

4) That it was human contamination from visitors or operator handling issues.

A traceback was not conducted as it was not within the scope of the study (Kim personal communications). We disagree; the discovery of O157:H7 strain in the university greenhouse with the suspicion of fish being contaminated should have resulted in immediate action in order to track down the source of contamination and prevent infection of the university students and staff. Outside of a University setting, traceback would have been mandatory in a commercial facility. It is questionable that the University did not perform these procedures because it was “out of the scope of the study”.

Questioning Fish Feces as the Source of Contamination

Blaming fish feces as the contaminating source seems incredibly misleading when so many other options exist, and no traceback proved that as the source. The contents of the fish intestines were tested for the presence of E. coli, and none was found (Kim personal communications). It seems that if the fish does not have STEC E. coli inside its gut, then it is more likely the fish feces being positive would be related to the contaminated water that the feces was floating in.

In wild fish species, levels of E. coli appear to follow trends similar to ambient water and sediment concentrations; as concentrations in their environments rise, so do concentrations within the fish (Guillen et al., 2010).

Furthermore, it seems very suspect that a two-month-old system in a controlled environment lab could have been so quickly contaminated. It is well-known that E.coli cannot survive in a biologically-active environment, such as an anaerobic digester or aquaponic system (T.Gao et al., 2011). E. coli are outcompeted by other microorganisms, which adapted to survive in the environment outside animal guts much better than E. coli. Thus, E. coli O157:H7, which is specially adapted to live in cattle guts, will inevitably be replaced by other microorganisms.

As for the hydroponic system showing positive results, this also seems suspect if the nutrients were synthetic, as there would be very little chance for the E. coli to survive without a biological host or continuous contamination source being present. An accidental exposure in the hydroponic system would have become diluted over time, or the pathogen died off to the point that they would have been undetectable. The fact is the organic matter in hydroponics is virtually absent and, therefore, provides a poor environment for E. coli growth and propagation (Dankwa, 2019). Therefore. one would need a continuous source, not an accidental one (like splashing), in order to maintain the E. coli population in hydroponics.

Since both systems were contaminated, we suggest that there is a more likely common pathogen source that the researchers did not correctly identify and remove. The source of contamination could be from source water, filtering system, repurposed equipment, airborne in the greenhouse or HVAC system, human vector, lab equipment, the seed stock, nutrients, or other inputs.

The Purdue Animal Research and Education Center, where the researchers sourced the fish, is an operation that also has swine, cattle, and poultry production. Research suggests that pathogenic E. coli can travel 180 m through airborne exposure (Berry et al., 2015). Airborne exposure poses a more significant risk to controlled environments as pathogens can persist in the HVAC system (Riggio et al., 2019). STEC has the potential to live in dust particles for up to 42 weeks, which can act as a possible vector of contamination if there is a continuous source. Therefore, even a slight possibility of the pathogenic Shiga-producing O157:H7 strain of E. coli transfer from the Animal Research and Education Center resulting in the uncontrolled cross-contamination of other research labs and facilities certified below Biosafety level 2 not designed to work with the pathogenic bacteria would raise a serious concern about the existing safety practices (Boston University).

Lack of 3rd Party or Peer University Test Verification

It has also been recognized that there is a high frequency of false-positive signals in a real-time PCR-based “Plus/Minus” assay (Nowrouzian FL, et al., 2009). Hence the possibility that the PCR verification method may have resulted in inaccurate results. The pathogen was not verified by a 3rd party lab to be actual STEC E.coli O157:H7. Only positive or negative results were obtained for this study.

We recommend several other universities and third-party labs to run samples and validate the results. However, no samples have been provided, which may be impossible to obtain based on the study being conducted in early 2018. Without this verification, there are questions about the possibility of false-positives due to the presence of environmental E.coli, fecal coliforms, or a wide variety of other bacteria commonly found in nutrient-rich environments (Konstantinidis et al., 2011).

Impact of Sterilization

The study conclusion suggests that sterilization efforts are critical. “Our results indicated that contamination with bacterial pathogens could likely be reduced in aquaponic and hydroponic systems if the entire systems were thoroughly sanitized before each use and pathogen-free fish were used for the operation.” This statement is inaccurate and could be detrimental to proper food safety practices. As the microflora of the system develops, it creates an environment that can suppress phytopathogens (Bartelme et al., 2018) and other zoonotic pathogens as a result of antibiotic compounds released by beneficial bacteria (Compant et al., 2005). In Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS), some microbial communities take over 15 years to develop (Bartelme et al., 2017), resulting in greater stability over time.

Many papers support this hypothesis with regards to probiotics in wastewater treatment, aquaculture, and hydroponics. Microbial community analysis also depicts a greater microbial diversity in aquaponics over decoupled or aquaculture systems (Eck et al., 2019), indicating a more significant potential for suppression of pathogens in coupled aquaponic systems over RAS or decoupled aquaponic system. No pathogens were discovered in a mature coupled aquaponics system during 18 years of continuous research in Canada since 2002 (Savidov, personal communications).

These findings support the argument that more biologically mature systems are less likely to develop pathogens and that periodic sanitation should not be done outside of initial start-up unless a zoonotic pathogen (Henderson 2008), is detected. If a pathogen is found, producers should follow proper sanitation and recall procedures.

Conclusion

Overall, this and other research into food safety are ongoing, and new information becomes available continuously to help shape the best practices for proper greenhouse management. As the Aquaponic Association, we hope to provide the most accurate and reliable resources for this purpose. At the same time, we hope to reduce the possibility of studies like this creating unnecessary fear, or unsubstantiated claims that could harm the growth of the aquaponic (and hydroponic) industry. When a document like this is published, it will be quoted by the media, and referenced in other studies as if it is an absolute. Other research must be performed to validate or negate this study’s outcomes.

Our findings conclude that while there is a low chance of the persistence of a pathogen in properly designed aquaponic and hydroponic systems, there is still a potential concern. No agricultural system is immune to this. Compared to soil production, soil-less crops grown in a controlled environment are far less likely to become infected pathogens from mammals, birds, and other creatures which are difficult to prevent in field crop production. Human contamination or poor handling practices are of significant concern (Pattillo et al., 2015). The best way to avoid risk is to adhere to food safety guidelines set forth by the USDA, GlobalGAPs, the Aquaponic Association, and other accredited organizations.

contact: info@aquaponicsassociation.org

References

Bartelme, R.P., McLellan, S.L., Newton, R.J., 2017. Freshwater Recirculating Aquaculture System Operations Drive Biofilter Bacterial Community Shifts around a Stable Nitrifying Consortium of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea and Comammox Nitrospira. Front. Microbiol. 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00101

Bartelme, R.P., Oyserman, B.O., Blom, J.E., Sepulveda-Villet, O.J., Newton, R.J., 2018. Stripping Away the Soil: Plant Growth Promoting Microbiology Opportunities in Aquaponics. Front. Microbiol. 9, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00008

Berry, E.D., Wells, J.E., Bono, J.L., Woodbury, B.L., Kalchayanand, N., Norman, K.N., Suslow, T.V., López-Velasco, G., Millner, P.D., 2015. Effect of Proximity to a Cattle Feedlot on Escherichia coli O157:H7 Contamination of Leafy Greens and Evaluation of the Potential for Airborne Transmission. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 81, 1101–1110. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02998-14

Compant, S., Duffy, B., Nowak, J., Clément, C., Barka, E.A., 2005. Use of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria for Biocontrol of Plant Diseases: Principles, Mechanisms of Action, and Future Prospects. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71, 4951–4959. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.71.9.4951-4959.2005

Dankwa, A.S., 2019. Safety  Assessment of Hydroponic Closed System 127. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4052&context=etd

Eck, M., Sare, A., Massart, S., Schmautz, Z., Junge, R., Smits, T., Jijakli, M., 2019. Exploring Bacterial Communities in Aquaponic Systems. Water 11, 260. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020260

Guillen, Wrast, Environmental Institute of Houston, 2010, Fishes as Sources of E. coli Bacteria in Warm Water Streams, https://www.uhcl.edu/environmental-institute/research/publications/documents/10-015guillenetalfishreport.pdf

Henderson, H., 2008. Direct and indirect zoonotic transmission of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 232, 848–859. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.232.6.848

Konstantinidis, Chengwei Luo, 2011. Georgia Tech Institute, Environmental E. coli: New way to classify E. coli bacteria and test for fecal contamination, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110411152527.htm

Lim JY et al., Escherichia coli O157:H7 colonization at the rectoanal junction of long-duration culture-positive cattle. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007;73:1380–1382 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1828644/

Boston University Agent Sheet E.coli EHEC or STEC) (https://www.bu.edu/researchsupport/safety/rohp/agent-information-sheets/e-coli-0157h7-agent-information-sheet/).

Nowrouzian FL1, Adlerberth I, Wold AE., 2009 High frequency of false-positive signals in a real-time PCR-based “Plus/Minus” assay. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19161539

Riggio, G., Jones, S., Gibson, K., 2019. Risk of Human Pathogen Internalization in Leafy Vegetables During Lab-Scale Hydroponic Cultivation. Horticulturae 5, 25. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5010025

Solomon et al., Effect of Irrigation Method on Transmission to and Persistence

of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on Lettuce Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 65, No. 4, 2002, Pages 673–676 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11952218

1. Gao*, T. Haine,  A. Chen,  Y. Tong, and X. Li, 2011, 7 logs of toxic strain of E. coli  were removed by mesophilic AD process while ~ 5 logs increase of the strain were seen in water control with the same condition for 7 days

Pattillo*, Shaw, Currey, Xie, Rosentrater, 2015, Aquaponics Food Safety and Human Health, https://southcenters.osu.edu/sites/southc/files/site-library/site-documents/abc/aquaponics_workshop/AquaponicsFoodSafetyandHumanHealthAllenPatillo.pdf

Why Growing Your Own Vegetables Is Like Printing Your Own Money

PLANT BASED NEWS APR 21, 2020

It was fashion designer and gardening expert Ron Finley who coined the phrase 'growing your own food is like printing your own money' back in a 2013 TedTalk.

These words resonate stronger now than ever before.

As the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic continues to spread, we're beginning to question how effective our reliance on supermarkets is.

Permaculture

But urban farmer and permaculture expert Jack Hodgson is spearheading the movement to reconnect with nature, teaching people everything they need to know about growing their own vegetables.

Despite never trying an avocado until he was 24-years-old, Jack, curator of PBN Grow, now runs a market garden in Essex, England, with three simple principles: no-dig, permaculture, and bio-dynamic farming.He is also the latest to feature on the Plant Based News Podcast, hosted by PBN Co-Founder Robbie Lockie.

The pair discuss the UK's problem with food waste, how to tackle pests when growing your own vegetables, and how Brexit will affect the farming industry.

2020 Food Revolution conference

If you're interested in the power of food, why not sign-up for the free 2020 Food Revolution conference?

The nine-day virtual event, which runs from April 25- May 3, features 25 of the world's most trusted food and nutrition experts, including Dr. Greger and Dr. Barnard. The summit will present the most up-to-date research and information about food, nutrition, disease prevention, immune health, and environmental stewardship.

You can sign-up for the free online event here

Lead Photo: (Photos: Jack's Patch)

BY PLANT BASED NEWS

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Plant Based News is a multi-award winning vegan news media & plant-based health education platform.

Artemis Celebrates 5th Birthday "In Agriculture, There’s A Digital Gap That Translates Into Direct Financial Impact"

This week the team with Artemis is celebrating their 5th birthday! "I could not be more proud of our team for leading us through this incredible journey. While this year certainly feels very different than in the past, it’s more clear than ever that agriculture is going digital and I’m thrilled Artemis is at the forefront of this revolution", CEO Allison Kopf shares.

Launched enterprise platform

"Last year we launched our new enterprise platform", Allison recalls. "When we started Artemis (FKA Agrilyst), we primarily worked with small farms. In 2019, we began working with much larger, multi-site operators who have traditional enterprise needs. We successfully went through a major refactor to our platform adding additional integration capabilities, enterprise-level security, multi-language support, and lots of additional functionality including our new advanced reporting. We also focused on our account management process to ensure customer success for the long-term."

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Allison Kopf at the Indoor Ag-Con in Las Vegas in 2016

Fast growth
"All of the product and process improvements we made early in the year translated into fast growth, culminating in our best quarter (Q1) despite the global uncertainty. We have been doubling revenue quarterly and I’m so proud of our team for creating and supporting our explosive growth." 

Expanded presence in Canada
With the expansion of their product capabilities, the company also focused on expanding into new markets. "Canada has always been a priority for us and we were excited to broaden our Canadian presence this year and begin expanding in target geographies. We started working with incredible customers like Jamco Growers (part of the Red Hat Co-operative) and Sweetgrass in Alberta. We look forward to continuing our growth in the area." 

We’re still early
"When you’re deep in the operational weeds, it’s easy to look at KPIs as a way to show internal progress from day to day. What feels like exponential growth in the short-term horizon of a year or two often only reflects a small change in the industry as a whole. Agriculture is one of the least digitized industries and there’s so much room for innovation. It’s important to watch for the signs of the shifts while also managing for the long-term", Allison shares.

"Some things are still difficult. At the end of the day, farming is hard and margins are slim. However, some things are becoming easier. It’s clear there’s a digital gap. It’s clear how that gap translates into direct financial impact for farm operators — knowledge transfer is particularly important right now (what happens when someone has critical information and is sick or leaves the operation), compliance-based infractions, and audits are expensive, and profit-based optimization is critical."

"I’m incredibly optimistic about the future of digital agriculture and am excited that we’re beginning to transition from early adoption into broad usage."

Click here for more on the Artemis celebration.

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For more information:
Artemis
artemisag.com

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Publication date: Fri 24 Apr 2020

Vertical Farms See Surge In Demand For Greens Grown Indoors

Kim Hart

Apr 22, 2020

Indoor, urban vertical farms — which grow produce in warehouses with tightly controlled climate and light conditions — are seeing a surge in demand that could signal a lasting change in how we get our fruits and vegetables.

Why it matters: "People are more concerned about who is handling their food, where it's coming from, how many stops did it have before hitting the shelves," said Irving Fain, CEO of Bowery Farming.

• "Those were always things people cared about, but this situation has amplified them and increased attention and focus on those variables."

The big picture: While the majority of people now live in cities, very little of our food is produced there.

• COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in supply-chain logistics. Food packaging plants and farms have shut down due to sick workers, and trucking routes have been disrupted by lockdowns. Harvests are being left to rot in the fields.

How it works: Indoor farming generally consists of columns of vertically stacked growing trays in large warehouses.

• Using artificial light, algorithm-controlled water and climate settings, and automated soil and nutrient monitoring, plants can be grown much faster than in outdoor farms and without pesticides.

• The produce is harvested with fewer workers than a typical farm needs, and the growing season never ends.

• Produce is then shipped to local stores, usually within a 200-mile radius of the farm.

Bowery has two farms in Kearny, New Jersey, near New York City. The company sells its leafy greens and herbs in stores in the tri-state area.

• It has opened a third farm outside Baltimore that serves the Washington, D.C., metro area as well as Pennsylvania and Delaware.

• Business has more than doubled with some online distributors and is up between 25% and 50% in stores.

The other coast: Plenty grows leafy greens mixes, arugula, and kale in an indoor vertical farm just outside San Francisco. CEO Matt Barnard said the company has more than doubled its shipments since the coronavirus outbreak began.

• "When this crisis started, the demand immediately jumped," he said. "We've sustained a high rate of production relative to before the crisis, and we've been increasing it week over week."

• Barnard said the surge in demand has accelerated the company's plans to open additional farms, but he declined to say when and where.

• The company plans to start growing berries next.

Both companies say they are delivering food directly to local food pantries.

Reality check: Without a significant infusion of capital, vertical farms won't be cropping up in every city anytime soon. They're expensive both to get up and running and to operate, with high energy costs in order to power thousands of LED lights and sophisticated ventilation systems.

• They also have to keep prices competitive, particularly after the coronavirus crisis ends and consumers are not quite so willing to fork over extra cash for quality produce.

• The other problem: Many vertical farms have started with leafy greens, but they'll need to expand to a much wider variety of fruits and vegetables to be a viable, large-scale source of food.

• “It’s hard to feed the world with lettuce, kale, and arugula," Erik Kobayashi-Solomon, founder of IOI Capital, told the FT last year.

Between the lines: Vertical farms aren't the only way locally grown fruits and vegetables are getting a boost in the wake of COVID-19.

• On Yelp, community-supported agriculture operations in the U.S. have seen daily consumer actions — meaning any action taken to connect with a business, from viewing its profile to posting a photo or review — rise 579% since March 1, according to Yelp's most recent economic impact report. That's a bigger increase than any other type of business has seen over the same period.

• Under quarantine, people have rushed to build their own backyard gardens, per HuffPost.

• Some urban gardeners in Washington, D.C., are donating their entire harvests to a local nonprofit that helps underserved families.

  Lead Photo: Greens are grown at Bowery Farming, a vertical farm in Kearny, New Jersey. Photo: Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images.

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US - Indiana - In-House Greenhouses See Growing Interest During COVID-19 Pandemic

A Purdue University-affiliated startup that designs, distributes, and supports direct-to-consumer, in-home greenhouses is seeing increased interest for its innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The GroPod© is a smart garden appliance with a Seed Pod™ subscription.. Our automated, hydroponic hardware combined with smart, cloud software allows anyone ...

Heliponix LLC, founded by Purdue Polytechnic Institute graduates Ivan Ball and Scott Massey, sells the GroPod Smart Garden Appliance. It is a small in-home greenhouse to grow daily servings of Pure Produce from subscription Seed Pods. The dishwasher-sized device is priced at $1,995, fits under a kitchen counter, and grows produce year-round, providing consumers with lettuce and other greens that are fresh and pesticide-free.

Heliponix, a Purdue University-affiliated startup that designs, distributes, and supports in-home greenhouses, is seeing increased interest for its innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Image provided)“We have experienced an explosion of inquiries in light of the pandemic from consumers who want control of their own produce supply,” Massey said. “Consumers want food that tastes better while being healthier for them from a trusted source to maintain a strong immune system.”Heliponix, a startup from Purdue Foundry’s Startup Class of 2017, presented at the Consumer Electronics Show this year in Las Vegas.“

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We are now deep into the fourth industrial revolution with blockchain, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and Internet of Things connecting everything in our homes to our phones,” Ball said. “Development of these systems will provide the architecture we need to begin connecting biological organisms to our digital world.”

Computer vision and machine learning are the tools needed to understand a plant's response to a given environment and enable Heliponix’s automated device to adapt the environment to a plant’s preference in real-time.

Massey and Ball met while working as student research engineers on a NASA-funded project at Purdue, which contributed to the efforts to grow food on the International Space Station under Cary Mitchell, a professor of horticulture. They received their first preseed and seed investments from the Purdue Ag-celerator, which was founded jointly by Purdue Ventures, Purdue Foundry and Purdue’s College of Agriculture in 2015.

Source: Purdue University (Chris Adam)

AUDIO: Aquaponics In The Age Of Climate Change

By Jana Schleis

Air Date: Friday, April 17, 2020

Download

Wisconsin is home to both large and small aquaponics facilities. We learn the logistics of these operations and how they may be an option for former dairy farmers. As climate change impacts the world's food sources, we examine how aquaponics could play a role in food security.

Related Links: 

How Hungry Are Wisconsinites For Fish Raised On Local Farms?

Host: 

Rob Ferrett

Guest(s): 

Chris Hartleb

Producer(s): 

Jana Rose Schleis

Lead photo: Earl Hafner talks about growing vegetables in his aquaponics greenhouse on his farm, near Panora, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo

Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2020, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.

Lawsuit Threatens Aquaponics Organic Eligibility

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The Center for Food Safety (CFS), along with a coalition of organic farms and stakeholders, filed a lawsuit challenging the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) decision to allow hydroponic operations to be certified organic. The Court has set a hearing date for June 11, 2020.

The lawsuit claims that hydroponic operations do not comply with the Organic Food Production Act because they do not foster soil fertility, as required in the Act. The lawsuit mentions aquaponics but does not make a legal distinction between aquaponics and hydroponics. A decision against the USDA would likely have the same effect for aquaponics as hydroponics. See the lawsuit.

Aquaponic, hydroponic, and controlled-environment growers must fight to ensure our crops stay Organic-eligible!

Aquaponics is Organic with a Capital “O”!

Aquaponics fits the Organic mission. The Organic label is about empowering consumers to identify products that match their values. Consumers do not prefer organic because it is grown in soil; they prefer it because it is pesticide-free, environmentally sustainable, and relies on natural ecosystems for plant growth. So the question is: does aquaponics align with what the consumer expects when they purchase Organic? YES!

“Organic” is perceived by consumers to mean:

Production without prohibited chemicals — the NOSB publishes a list of banned substances that are not allowed in production. Aquaponic systems are able to flourish without these chemicals. Aquaponic systems rely on Organic materials and a robust microbial ecosystem for natural system immunity.

Production that fosters the cycling of resources, ecological balance, and biodiversity conservation — Aquaponics can be constructed as closed-loop ecosystems in which only the minimum required water and nutrients are added and with minimal or no discharge. Aquaponics has also proven it can produce more food than soil culture per land area, thus saving more of the natural environment from the toll of agriculture.

Production that relies on biological ecosystems to support plant health — Aquaponic production relies on a robust microflora in the root zone—made of the same types and numbers of bacteria and fungi that thrive in soil. This flora converts nutrients into forms available to plants and maintains plant health by reinforcing naturally-occurring mechanisms of disease resistance—just as in a healthy soil. (see Soil Food Web Report)

Production that responds to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices — Consumers expect that organic produce has been grown with a healthy human element, where local customs, expertise, and ingenuity can overcome droughts, concrete jungles, and climate changes. Aquaponics allows environmentally-sensitive agriculture where growing in soil isn’t possible and dramatically expands the market of Organic produce.

Aquaponics is Essential for the Sustainability of Our Food System

Aquaponics is critical to improving the sustainability of our agricultural system, but revoking Organic eligibility would move this industry backwards.

The benefits of aquaponics include: dramatic water savings, reduced resource inputs, less fertilizer runoff that causes toxic dead zones, shorter supply chains and carbon emissions, greater food safety with controlled-environment growing, and greater production per land area.

In an era of climate change, resource depletion, and rapid population growth, the Organic price premium is a critical incentive to draw more aquaponic growers into the industry. If this lawsuit revokes aquaponics’ Organic eligibility, this vital industry will not grow as quickly and our environment, health, and economy will suffer.

Background Info

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The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) voted 8 to 7 in 2018 to continue the Organic eligibility of aquaponic and hydroponic operations. The Aquaponics Association fought to maintain aquaponics’ organic eligibility by submitting written comments for NOSB meetings; collecting and delivering over 200 signatures in favor of organic aquaponics; providing in-person statements and answering panel questions at NOSB meetings; and by taking Members of the NOSB to a tour of Flourish Farms, a commercial aquaponic farm and Aquaponics Association Affiliate Member in Denver, Colorado.

Aquaponics aligns with the values of Organic that consumers expect. Rather than placing a greater toll on our environment and health, we should reject this lawsuit and support Organic Aquaponics.

contact: info@aquaponicsassociation.org

Do you want to help the Aquaponics Association Fight for Aquaponics?

The Aquaponics Association is a nonprofit that connects growers and works to increase aquaponic production.

Please consider a General Membership to support this cause.

Benefits of Membership include:

• Regular newsletters

• Access to Aquaponics Association Members Forum with chat groups and direct messages

• Ability to participate in working groups to move aquaponics forward: 1) Commercial Aquaponics; 2) Community Aquaponics; 3) Aquaponics in STEM Education; and 4) Aquaponics Research

• Exclusive web content like checklists, best practices, conference presentations and full conference videos from top experts

• Legislative & Regulatory Updates

• Special Member Discounts

Membership fees also support:

• Development and promotion of materials to educate the public about the benefits and opportunities of aquaponics!

• Development of industry standards and best practices

• Infrastructure to connect aquaponic growers from around the world

• Strategic partnerships to expand aquaponics into new fields

• Ability to speak with one voice to policy-makers and regulators on issues like Organic certification, food safety certification, and agriculture policy

• Resources to improve aquaponic growers’ skills, growing capacity, and business opportunities

• Resources to cultivate and develop aquaponics as an emerging green industry

Learn more: General Membership

Indoor Vertical Farming: The New Era of Agriculture

As the world’s population grows exponentially, our total supply of fruits and vegetables is falling 22% short of global nutritional needs. Traditional farming methods are having difficulties meeting this demand as it faces increasing problems such as water shortage, land scarcity, and an aging farming population with decreased interest from newer generations. In recent years, controlled environment agriculture has experienced a surge of popularity as it presents a compelling solution to all these problems and more. Indoor vertical farming can increase crop yields, overcome limited land area, and even reduce farming’s impact on the environment by cutting down distance traveled in the supply chain.

Currently, the United States imports 35% of produce and travels an average of 2,000 miles, taking roughly 2 weeks before hitting the grocery store shelves. Since indoor vertical farming is largely local, vegetables grown in these vertical farms are much more appealing and edible for a longer period of time. With an extensive list of benefits, indoor vertical farming has the potential to vastly improve the modern agricultural landscape.

What is Indoor Vertical Farming?

Indoor vertical farming can be defined as the practice of growing produce stacked one above another in a closed and controlled environment. By using growing shelves mounted vertically, it significantly reduces the amount of land space needed to grow plants compared to traditional farming methods. This type of growing is often associated with city and urban farming because of its ability to thrive in limited space. Vertical farms are unique in that some setups don’t require soil for plants to grow. Most are either hydroponic, where vegetables are grown in a nutrient-dense bowl of water, or aeroponic, where the plant roots are systematically sprayed with water and nutrients. In lieu of natural sunlight, artificial grow lights are used.

Vertical Farming Advantages

From sustainable urban growth to maximizing crop yield with reduced labor costs, the advantages of indoor vertical farming are apparent.

Reliable Harvests with Maximum Crop Yield

Recent technological advances in the agriculture space allow vertical farms to control every aspect of growing crops. Variables such as light, humidity, and water can all be precisely measured year-round. Since crops are no longer reliant on weather patterns, temperatures, or daylight, this means produce can be reliably grown 24/7. As food production around the world will need to increase by 70% by 2050 to feed the world’s population, vertical farming’s ability to maximize crop yields will be crucial in the future.

Reduced Labor Costs

Labor has always been a pain point in agriculture -- it’s one of the most expensive aspects of farming and the industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. A survey conducted by the California Farm Bureau Federation found that 56% of farmers were unable to hire all the employees they needed at some point in the last 5 years. Vertical farming can significantly reduce labor needs, and therefore cost, by using robots to handle harvesting, planting, and logistics.

Optimized Energy Conservation

Vertical farms are built to optimize energy conservation by significantly reducing water and energy usage. Studies show that vertical farms use up to 70% less water than traditional farms, which is key in drought-prone zones. By using cameras and sensors, the data collected can help vertical farmers optimize light, temperature, and humidity levels to find the perfect balance necessary in producing food. Experts in sensor technology regularly tweak the environment inside vertical farms to increase productivity and enhance the food’s taste.

Sustainable, Environmentally Friendly Growth

Indoor vertical farms take up significantly less land space than traditional methods, which makes it appealing in local urban farming centers. The structures can be easily built close to large city populations, cutting down the amount of time and travel it takes for produce to reach the consumer. With a reduced supply distribution chain, food gets to the consumer’s table faster and fresher while also reducing its carbon footprint on the planet.

No Pesticides or Herbicides

Since indoor vertical farms are completely sealed off from the outside environment, there are virtually no pests. As a result, there is virtually no need for pesticides or herbicides. Food grown is healthier, safer, and certified organic, making it even more appealing to consumers.

Vertical Farming Companies

PLENTY

It is obvious that vertical farming is a beneficial alternative to traditional farming. The burgeoning industry is supported by leading venture capitalists, most famously seen in Softbank’s $200 million Series B investment in vertical farming startup Plenty. Plenty’s 52,000 square foot vertical farming facility paves the way for more vertical farming companies to bet on this industry.

AEROFARMS

This New Jersey-based startup has developed an aeroponic growing system that can grow without soil or sun, in any location. Aerofarms has proven to use 95% less water, 390 times more land efficient, 30 crops per season, and even the produce flavor is better. Each plant is monitored on more than 130,000 data points that are reviewed and tested using predictive analytics to improve their growing systems. With remote monitoring and controls in place, they have minimized the typical risks associated with traditional agriculture.

BABYLON MICRO-FARMS

Babylon Micro-farms provides an on-demand indoor farming service to make sustainable indoor farming more accessible than ever before. Their farms grow fresh produce 2x faster using 90% less water than conventional agriculture, without the use of pesticides or harmful chemicals. Their business model drastically reduces the upfront costs and expertise associated with indoor agriculture, powered by a patented IoT platform that remotely operates the ecosystem of farms.

SMALLHOLD

Smallhold provides retailers and restaurants with contained-­environment vertical farm units that produce large amounts of mushrooms, herbs, and leafy greens with minimal labor. Their current product offering is with on-site mushroom production and can produce up to 120 lbs/week in the space of a bookcase. The mushrooms are certified organic and are competitive with conventional ways of growing.

Future of Vertical Farming

Vertical farming is a revolutionary and sustainable alternative to traditional agriculture. Although the AgTech technologies are new and still developing, it is a promising solution to many issues that plague the industry. New startups, backed by significant VC funding, are paving the way to deliver new solutions in efficiently delivering fresh and healthy food.

PlugAndPlay | By Linly Ku

Abu Dhabi Investment Office Announces Funding For LED Vertical Farm R&D

AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ, and Responsive Drip Irrigation will receive AgTech-centric funding to further develop vertical farming techniques that can help feed the UAE region.

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Maury Wright

Investment in LED-supported vertical farming begins to bloom in the UAE. (Photo credit: Image by Nattanan Kanchanaprat via Pixabay; used under a free license for commercial or noncommercial purposes.)

Apil 23, 2020

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has announced $100 million in funding for what it calls “AgTech [agricultural technology] Pioneers,” each of which will build new research and/or growing facilities. The four recipients of the funding are AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ, and Responsive Drip Irrigation (RDI), each of which will build new facilities in the Abu Dhabi emirate. The effort will leverage LED-based horticultural lighting and other technologies in an attempt to solve food supply issues in the UAE region and indeed around the globe.

AeroFarms, based in Newark, NJ, is a vertical farming specialist that we first encountered back in 2016. The company uses what it calls aeroponic technology to spray a mist of water and nutrients on the roots of plants. The company has been the beneficiary of other investment capital including $100 million from retailer Ikea’s investment fund.

In Abu Dhabi, AeroFarms will build a 90,000-ft2 facility that the company said will be the largest of its kind in the world. The company didn’t completely explain that statement, but we have noted of late that vertical farms come in different configurations. AeroFarms utilizes racks or shelves of plants stacked high, each with LED lighting directly over the cultivars. Others such as Plenty rely on plants grown in a vertical series of holes in a plastic pipe of sorts where water and nutrients flow top to bottom. Such a configuration has also been adopted by Freight Farms in shipping-container-based installations.

The UAE AeroFarms facility will grow commercial crops and serve in research. The company will focus on:

• Advanced organoleptic research and precision phenotyping laboratory

• Advanced seed breeding center

• Phytochemical analysis laboratory

• Machine vision and machine learning laboratory

• Robotics, automation, and drones laboratory

“Our mission is to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, and this new cutting-edge R&D facility leverages our agriculture expertise and science-driven roots,” said David Rosenberg, co-founder, and CEO of AeroFarms. “We will be conducting leading research in plant science, vertical farming, and automation, accelerating innovation cycles and commercializing a diverse range of products. We will be partnering with major international companies, local universities, and AgTech startups to help solve some of the most pressing agriculture needs of our time, and AeroFarms is proud to play a pivotal role to help establish the Emirate of Abu Dhabi as a global hub for AgTech innovation.”

Tomatoes and microgreens

Moving to Madar Farms, months ago the company revealed plans to build an indoor LED-lit farm for tomatoes and microgreens in the Abu Dhabi industrial area near the port called Kizad. The grower will presumably turn to vertical farming techniques with tomatoes — an unusual choice. But we learned at our HortiCann Light + Tech Conference last year that cannabis yields have been shown to increase with shorter, more compact plants. Biomass has typically been the goal for both cultivars, which have traditionally been grown very tall — meaning they were not amenable to stacking in layers as they would in a vertical farm arrangement. However, the evaluated vertical farming techniques applied to those high-yield cannabis grow operations might produce similar results for tomato plants.

The remaining two firms will work more in an R&D capacity. RDI is perfecting a water delivery system designed to minimize water usage in sandy soils and on non-arable land. Meanwhile, RNZ, which is based in the region, will build a new R&D center hoping to increase yield.

Our HortiCann Light + Tech Conference is slated for Oct. 20, 2020, in San Jose, CA. Bruce Bugbee of Utah State University will deliver the keynote.

For up-to-the-minute LED and SSL updates, why not follow us on Twitter? You’ll find curated content and commentary, as well as information on industry events, webcasts, and surveys on our LinkedIn Company Page and our Facebook page.

Re-Engineering America's Fresh-Produce Supply Chain Post COVID-19 For Greater Resilience, Inclusiveness And Sustainability

April 27, 2020

by Prof. Joel Cuello, Ph.D.

The UN World Food Programme announced just last week that over a quarter of a billion people around the globe could suffer acute hunger by end of this year in large part owing to the coronavirus crisis — a doubling of the 130 million people estimated to experience severe food shortages last year.

Such forecast makes all the more notable the three-way split screen that has been flickering in the news recently across the United States — showcasing barren shelves at grocery stores, miles of cars and people lined up at food banks, and milk by the millions of gallons being dumped in Wisconsin and Ohio as well as tons of fresh vegetables being plowed back into the soil in Idaho and Florida.

As jarringly incongruous and disturbing such split-screen images are, they have helped bring into stark relief the surprisingly sclerotic rigidity of the U.S. food supply chain amid the prodigious disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

At the heart of America’s fresh-produce supply-chain predicament in the time of Covid-19 are the double strands that make up this supply chain — running in parallel and perhaps even looping around each other, but never quite meeting and converging.

One supply-chain strand supplies the foodservice channels of restaurants, schools, hotels, offices, and coffee shops, while the second strand supplies the retail channels of grocery stores, supermarkets, and other retail outlets.

Never do these two fresh-produce supply-chain strands converge in normal times, but remain distinctly discrete and resolutely independent of one other.

And this explains how when Covid-19 shuttered in quick succession myriads of restaurants, schools, and coffee shops across the country, the producers and the roughly 15,000 suppliers that cater to the $300-billion U.S. foodservice industry are suddenly unable to sell the bulk of their produce.

And in attempting to pivot from the foodservice supply chain to the retail supply chain, they find themselves confronted, not only with the time-consuming and costly repackaging and relabeling requirements for their produce, but also with the daunting task under time duress of finding proper contacts as well as developing the needed contracts to deliver and sell their produce through the retail supply chain instead.

With many producers and foodservice suppliers completely unprepared and ill-equipped to accomplish the foregoing, many are forced to make the final dreadful choice of destroying millions of pounds of fresh food that they can no longer sell.

The industry trade group Produce Marketing Association estimates that approximately $5-billion worth of fresh fruits and vegetables have already gone to waste in the United States.

Thus, redesigning America’s fresh-produce supply chain post-COVID-19 to make it certainly more nimble and flexible in routing and rerouting as needed the logistical paths that connect from which farms to which tables is absolutely imperative.

Equally imperative in such redesign is also to make the fresh-produce supply chain definitively more inclusive and sustainable.

Here are six essential touchstones that should inform the much-needed re-engineering of America’s double-stranded fresh-produce supply chain after Covid-19.

(1) Regionally and locally-based— greater geographical proximity between the re-engineered supply-chain sources (producers) and sinks (retailers and foodservice providers) fosters increased resilience in terms of shorter distance, quicker access to produce, and allowing for time to repackage and relabel produce in events where there is need to switch supply-chain strands; proximity also promotes sustainability in terms of shorter food miles, lower concomitant greenhouse-gas emissions, less food waste during transport as well as greater produce quality and freshness;

(2) Inclusion of small and medium-scale producers— Addition of medium and small-scale producers in the re-engineered supply chain not only promotes economic inclusivity but fortifies the supply chain’s resilience given the relative ability of medium and small-scale producers to react more quickly and nimbly to projected changes in demands in the supply-chain sinks;

(3) Mixing of foodservice and retail clients in the chains— Combining to the extent possible foodservice and retail sinks in the re-engineered supply chains fosters resilience in regard to establishing and maintaining clients in both strands of the supply chain, and thus providing greater facility in events where produce needs rerouting from one supply-chain strand to the other.

(4) Inclusion of indoor and/or vertical farm producers— Addition of indoor and/or vertical farms significantly boosts the resilience of the re-engineered supply chain in terms of increased supply reliability (independent of weather, season, climate and geography), higher produce yield and quality, increased food safety owing to cleaner and controlled-environment operations, and amenability to the automation of operations for labor efficiency. The recent decision by Wendy’s, for instance, to source all of its tomatoes for all of its 6,000 restaurants across North America from indoor hydroponic greenhouses has helped enable the American fast-food company to uphold its motto of Always Freshby way of ensured quality as well as enhanced food safety, predictability, reliability and product traceability for its now far more dependable fresh-tomato supply chain;

(5) Linking producer farms with sources of renewable energy— Incentivizing and linking producer farms to ready sources of renewable energy, including solar and wind power plants, promotes enhanced environmental sustainability. Especially in temperate regions with reduced solar irradiance in certain periods of the year, producer farms may also be linked with wastewater treatment plants that generate renewable natural gas from digested organic wastes as exemplified by the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn, New York City; and,

(6) Certification of the supply chain nexus— Certification for resilience, inclusiveness, and sustainability (that is, a RISe certification) adjudicated and awarded by an independent body to supply-chain nexus of producers, suppliers and retail/foodservice clients would be a great boon to the fresh-produce distribution industry as well as to consumers, the general public and the environment.

With Covid-19 temporarily decimating the global economy and in the process exposing the vulnerability of partial paralysis of the American fresh-produce supply chain amid the chaotic disruptions wrought by the pandemic, a silver lining that has emerged is that America’s fresh-produce supply chain can very well be re-engineered for a much-needed upgrade — toward greater resilience, inclusiveness, and sustainability.

Dr. Joel L. Cuello is Vice-Chair of the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) and Professor of Biosystems Engineering at The University of Arizona. In addition to conducting research and designs on vertical farming and cell-based bioreactors, he also teaches “Integrated Engineered Solutions in the Food-Water-Energy Nexus” and “Globalization, Sustainability & Innovation”. Email cuelloj@arizona.edu.

Meat And Veg Vending Machines Do Roaring Trade in Coronavirus Crisis

Vending machines for the Sunday roast, fish to your door and salads grown in car parks – British farmers and food producers are finding new ways to get their produce to the table during lockdown, changes that may yield benefits long after restrictions ease.

Many UK farmers have been hard hit by the coronavirus crisis, despite the strong demand for fresh food. Before the lockdown, half of all food and drink was consumed outside the home, and switching from supplying big catering companies and distributors has been proving difficult.

But some farmers and food entrepreneurs are finding now is their time to shine, and the environmental benefits – and the profits – may encourage more to follow suit.

Two years ago Neil Stephen, from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, invested in self-service vending machines dispensing everything from farmhouse cheese and shortbread (baked by his mother), to joints of meat, whole chickens and fresh fruit and vegetables.

He was inspired by his grandfather who, in the late 1970s, used to leave a wheelbarrow at the gates of the family farm filled with turnips and cabbages, and an honesty box for people to pay.

Now Stephen’s investment is paying off, as people are attracted to a hygienic system where the goods are neatly packaged in portions in a refrigerated unit, behind glass doors. They punch in the number, pay by card and the windows open for them to collect the goods.

Sales at Thorneybank Farm Shop are up fivefold, Stephen reports. “We were rushed off our feet. It’s worked phenomenally, it’s been stratospheric.”

The shop sells produce from neighboring farmers, too, with asparagus and strawberries coming from six miles away, and eggs and dairy from three miles down the road. They can make better profit margins than they would be selling to a big supermarket, without the hassle of door-to-door deliveries. The shop has a strong social media presence, and shoppers come from nearby Turriff town, while the city of Aberdeen is about 30 miles away.

Fishing is another industry hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis. In normal times, most of Britain’s catch is destined for overseas markets, from China to Spain, where the species commonly caught in UK waters appeal to consumers’ tastes. People in the UK have proved reluctant to move beyond cod, haddock and tuna, which mostly has to be imported.

The government has now announced £1m for English fishermen to set up new ways to sell their catch and find local markets. There are already schemes for distributing fresh-caught fish directly, such as SoleShare in London and Call4Fish, a service that operates from Berwickshire to Cornwall.

Food campaigners hope these services, where the fish on offer depends on what is caught by small boats, will encourage a more sustainable way of fishing, as consumers experiment with species less overfished than cod that might not previously have found a market.

One Londoner, Sebastien Sainsbury used to work in the investment banks that tower over Canary Wharf in London. Now he has a company, Plate to Crate, growing salad and other leafy greens in hydroponic towers in shipping containers, stacked up in air-conditioned units under heat lamps with conditions carefully monitored.

The containers seem more like labs than farms, with workers kitted out in protective gear, from boot shields to hairnets, to prevent pests getting in. As a result, lettuce, kale, pak choi and herbs are free from pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, and water use is 96% lower than in fields, with wastewater being used on local lawns.

The first harvest is due in May and, once all of the units are fully up and running, there could be 12 harvests a year, producing 15 to 18 tonnes from this site. Another will be producing soon in London’s Elephant and Castle, where a development of 3,000 homes will receive salad weekly from containers.

Sainsbury believes this is the future of fresh produce for fussy Londoners. “Younger people are more focused on where their food comes from, how fresh it is, what’s in it. This coronavirus crisis is an opportunity for us all to become aware of what we are eating.”

The Guardian | Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent | April 18, 2020

Vertical Farming Sector Struggles With Costs

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22 April 2020

While the vertical farming sector has raised over $ 1 billion in funding since 2015, the sector faces huge challenges.

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The global market for vertically farmed produce is forecasted to grow from $ 781 million in 2020 to $ 1.5 billion by 2030, representing a CAGR of 6.85%, according to a new report from market intelligence firm IDTechEx, ”Vertical Farming: 2020-2030.”

$ 1 billion in funding since 2015

According to IDTechEx, investors are responding enthusiastically, with the sector raising over $ 1 billion in funding since 2015. High profile investments include New Jersey-based start-up AeroFarms raising $ 100 million in 2019 to expand its aeroponic growing facilities, and Californian start-up Plenty raising $ 200 million in 2017 in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund, along with backers including Jeff Bezos and Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt.

In Asia, the industry is already well-established – in Japan, there are over 200 vertical farms currently operating, with industry leader Spread Co. Ltd. producing 30,000 heads of lettuce every day in its highly automated Techno Farm Keihanna plant. However, the Japanese market growth is likely to be slow, with growth in North America and China driving the industry.

Vertical farming sector littered with bankruptcies

However, despite this optimistic picture, the industry is facing challenges. The sector is littered with bankruptcies as companies struggle with the power costs of maintaining a controlled environment 24/7 and the difficulties of coordinating the labour-intensive process of running a vertical farm. Nevertheless, companies remain optimistic, with advances in lighting and automation technology helping to shape the future of indoor growing, states the report.

Power and labour costs

One of the main challenges for the vertical farming industry is, according to IDTechEx, the power and labour costs. Vertical farming companies face a difficult decision between the extremely high start-up costs of a highly automated facility to reduce labour costs and improve efficiency, versus a cheaper facility with less automation and higher labour costs.

The report states that very few vertical farming companies currently operate profitably. If investor enthusiasm dies down, companies that are not operating efficiently could suffer.

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Vertical farming uses carefully controlled growth conditions to give yields far higher than normal agriculture. However, labour and electricity costs form challenges.

Another disadvantage of vertical farming is the fact that it is currently mostly limited to leafy greens and herbs – high-value crops that are easy to grow and where most of the mass of the crop can be eaten. “Whilst this is a valuable market in itself, it is unlikely to revolutionise global food production,” say the researchers.

Issues with sustainability

Vertical farming uses a lot of electricity. According to the report, this not only makes vertical farming expensive but also presents issues with sustainability, with the energy used in the process far outweighing the benefits of reduced transport through local production.

Of course, there are also advantages. For instance, vertical farming can grow more crops with less land and less water than conventional agriculture, with no pesticides, year-round. By tailoring growing conditions to the exact needs of the plant, vertical farming could give much higher quality crops.

Disrupt notoriously complex supermarket supply chain

And, according to IDTechEx, by producing crops efficiently near urban population centres, vertical farming could disrupt the notoriously complex supermarket supply chain. Currently, fresh produce travels hundreds to thousands of miles to reach consumers, losing freshness along the way, and increasing the risks of contamination. Vertical farming could provide much fresher produce with less risk.

Also read: What is the cost of vertical farming?

Hugo Claver

Web editor for Future Farming

Hugo Claver

Is Vertical Farming The Future of Agriculture?

We’ve seen the rise of numerous innovations designed to improve our world and mitigate issues that come with a rapidly expanding global population. Vertical farms are part of a rising influx of ‘urban agriculture,’ which allows food to be grown closer to large population points. Now more people are recognizing the value of vertical farming, although few people understand what it really is. It’s got a ton of benefits, but we still have to weigh those against other factors to really determine if vertical farming can take over the future of agriculture.

What is vertical farming?

Vertical farms can take many different shapes and sizes, but they operate the same at their cores. First of all, in vertical farm crops, they aren’t grown horizontally (which you may have gleaned from the name), but in a stacked or tower formation. In tower-style vertical farming, plants are grown upward, intertwining into the lattice or supporting structure. In the stacked method, the vertical ‘stacks’ are basically growing trays, supported by shelves on top of one another. Vertical farms are maintained in indoor areas using Controlled Environment Agriculture, or CEA, techniques, and technology. This means that the farmer can control everything from heating to humidity, to light and watering cycles.

Vertical farms don’t use soil to provide sustenance to the plants. Instead, they rely on hydroponics to deliver nutrients to the plants. In hydroponic growing, water is saturated with a nutrient solution and cycled through the growing trays that hold the plants. Some vertical farms use aeroponics to provide nutrients to the plants. Aeroponics is a form of hydroponics, but rather than using a ‘flow’ of water, the water is pushed through pressurized nozzles. This creates small droplets that are delivered directly to the plants’ roots. 

Many vertical farms are being established in homes, warehouses, multi-storied buildings, and specially designed constructions. In a lot of urban areas, vertical farms are being constructed and used as the new ‘rooftop garden’. The idea is to create a more ecological, accessible, and economical approach to mass food production.

What can be grown in a vertical farm?

Some crops, like grains, can be difficult to grow in closed, indoor systems such as a vertical farm. So for instance, wheat is not something that’s likely to thrive in a vertical farm. That being said, there are tons of plants and crops that flourish in vertical farms. The most common are leafy greens like spinach, kale, and lettuce because they grow quickly and produce large harvests without taking up much space.

Other vegetables (‘bulkier’ ones, if you will) can grow well in vertical farms if the environment is set up properly. Tomatoes have long been a favorite in vertical farms, and many vertical farms are also beginning to produce squash, peppers, and more.

Why choose vertical farming over traditional agriculture?

Vertical farming has plenty of advantages over traditional agriculture that makes it an attractive solution for food sourcing. First, and one of the biggest draws for the common populace toward vertical farming is how little space is needed in relation to the amount of crops that can be produced. By producing so much food in so little space, we’re able to free up a lot of land.

A company in Wyoming has even developed a vertical farm that produces the same amount of produce as a traditional farm while using only 1/10 of the space.

If we’re already using that land for farming, why should we convert to vertical farming?

We allow the soil to turn over more easily. Certain crops can be extremely draining on the nutrient contents of soil and have to be rotated with other crops simply to reinvigorate the soil. And depending on how quickly you see the population growing, that land just might come into high demand for housing or energy production. Just for reference, according to the UN, the population will be 9.7 billion by 2050, that’s up by 2.4 billion. And if you’re also paying attention to rising sea levels (you may have heard of certain states that will be losing some valuable coastline), arable land at higher elevations could become prime real estate.

Vertical farms also leverage more ecological techniques for farming.

Since almost all vertical farms use either hydroponics or aeroponics to sustain plants, there’s very little water usage (certainly in comparison to field agriculture). To put it into perspective, vertical farms typically use about 90% less water than soil farms. Some vertical farm innovators have even claimed that their farms use up to 98 or 99% less water.

Thanks to their inside locations, vertical farms have another advantage. They’re more or less protected against the threat of pests and contamination. That means a few things:

First, an entire crop won’t be destroyed as a result of pests and infestation. Second, pesticides and chemicals aren’t necessary since being indoors will eliminate the threat of pests. And third, since harmful chemicals aren’t being used, we’re protecting the surrounding ecosystem. Field agriculture can have a lot of negative impact on the environment around it when pesticides are used, and runoff goes into natural water sources. Vertical farms don’t have the possibility of creating this collateral damage.

Vertical farms also provide the possibility of a more centralized food production system. Right now, most food is transported across great distances to reach the stores where consumers then purchase it. That makes food more expensive, but it also means that we have to rely on fossil fuels. In turn, that means the ‘footprint’ on our food is higher since we’re producing more emissions to deliver it.

They can produce consistently, regardless of the season

Field agriculture is primarily a seasonal endeavor. There are summer crops, autumn crops, and so on, but you can’t grow it all at once. If you’re farming indoors with Controlled Environment Agriculture, as you’d do with a vertical farm, this becomes a non-issue. Farmers using CEA can consistently produce plentiful harvests year-round, without natural events disrupting their farm. Not only that, the harvests are predictable and reliable. This makes it easier to plan food production and deliver on the demand.

What does it take to make a vertical farm?

Vertical farms are different than other at-home farming and gardening systems. The way that vertical farms are being used today is mostly as large, commercial-scale food production sites. You can always implement vertical growing techniques at home, but to get a large scale facility built it takes a bit more to get it going. Some companies specialize in creating vertical farm systems, while others self-establish theirs. In either case, it can be a large (but worthy) endeavor. Plants aside, here are the main components of a vertical farm:

Space

Finding a large space to support a vertical farm is the first step in establishing one. Whether created out of a government initiative or by an entrepreneur, finding a space can be a process. While there are plenty of empty buildings around, they have to find one that can be converted with minimal cost. That means checking for structural damage, damp, proper insulation, proximity to reliable power, etc.

The equipment

Depending on the level of automation, the equipment will vary a bit. However, a vertical farm still needs plenty of supports to hold the plants, which will take up the bulk of the space alongside the plants. Then there need to be ventilation systems in place to prevent rot, fungus, and disease. In almost every instance there’s also going to be a heavy amount of artificial ‘grow’ lighting needed.

Then, hydroponic or aeroponic systems need to be set up to provide sufficient nutrients to the plants. The ways of setting the watering systems up can be very different. Some vertical gardens even use rotating racks (upon which the plants are held) that alternate plants through aeroponic cycles. Other vertical gardens use a more traditional hydroponic method, leaving the plants in place and putting them through ‘flood and drain’ cycles. 

The labor

This is by far the most neglected consideration of a vertical farm. Now, vertical farms are sustainable, efficient systems and a lot of automation contributes to their success. But no matter how advanced the automation and machine monitoring is, we can’t leave them unattended.

Vertical farms still need a set of human eyes (or several sets, ideally) keeping a lookout for plant health and potential machine errors. Workers often have to dress in protective clothing to prevent contamination to the plants, keeping that benefit of indoor agriculture. In some vertical farms the workers are responsible for more manual tasks (such as examining roots or testing samples), but all require at least some human help in their maintenance.

In fact, human labor is one of the largest components of a vertical farm. In comparison to soil agriculture, the amount of labor required still ranks as minimal. That being said, human labor is currently one of the top expenses in maintaining a vertical farm. Lighting is still number one, but the cost of human labor comes in as a close (and critically important) second.

Planned and Established Vertical Farms

Not everybody’s there yet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t already successful vertical farms being created around the world. Just to add a little perspective, we should talk about a few really innovative ones worldwide. First, let’s talk about the next big up-and-comer, Dubai:

Dubai

Dubai is a country wherein a gross majority of its foodstuffs have to be imported (currently about 75%). In an effort to mitigate this costly but necessary process, a new vertical farm is in the works. The facility will be called Crop One, and feature 130,000 square feet (yes, that’s correct) of vertical farm space. The size is more than double any previously seen, and plans are in the works to develop solar energy programs to power it eventually.

Sunqiao, Shanghai

Sunqiao is an urban, agricultural district being planned in Shanghai, China. This project incorporates vertical gardens on a massive scale, showcasing agriculture that looks like a forested skyscraper. Plants will be grown in tall towers, floating greenhouses and gardens, green walls, and basically any other type of vertical or hydroponic growing you can imagine. These systems are becoming a popular solution to the growing demand of food production in China’s densely populated urban areas.

DakAkker, Rotterdam

This vertical farm is a rooftop system that began in 2012. The unique thing about this vertical farm is that not only does it support the urban area’s plant biodiversity, it also considers the issue of diminishing bee populations. It uses technology in an innovative solution called a ‘smart roof.’ Basically, the smart roof holds a greater water capacity than most vertical rooftop gardens, and employs a sensor to ensure plants receive an adequate water supply. Because bees are not only facing a survival crisis, but are also critical to pollination, there are six beehives also located on the roof.

What’s holding back the development of vertical farms?

The uptake on vertical farming is growing, although there are critics of the systems. Depending on the level of automation especially, vertical farms can have a fair cost with their set up. That being said, they don’t have to be expensive endeavors. A small, start-up vertical farm (we’re talking around 100 square feet or so) can cost a few thousand dollars to begin and run for a year. Even still, for the hobbyist gardener that can seem like a lot. 

While vertical farms do a good job of using only a small percentage of the water used in field agriculture, they have a lot more energy costs. Being indoor, these farms need supplemental heat, lighting (almost guaranteed to be the highest expense of a vertical farm), and plenty of regulation. Electric costs can be cut, but only if the farmer invests in solar technology to help power the vertical farm.

It’s also important to recognize that while we love innovation, as humans we’re pretty much creatures of habit. That means that outside of agriculture, infrastructure, and public works professions, a lot of people don’t see the need to construct new vertical farms. That’s especially true when we realize that no matter the source, they’re still getting their produce at the supermarket. Plus, a lot of people just plain don’t ‘get’ the point of vertical farms. As with anything else, unfamiliarity often breeds hesitancy.

What’s in the future of vertical farming?

Like anything else that uses technology, the future is likely to bring a lot of innovation and improvement. We can expect to see even greater efficiency, larger-scale farms, more technological additions, and (hopefully) a more widespread understanding of the value of vertical farms.

There are already systems in place that allow a high level of monitoring and control of these farms, even remotely. From apps to advanced computer programs that detail everything from humidity levels to expected crop production, the technology exists. What we can certainly expect is to see greater accuracy, and a greater influx of its use.

Vertical farms and hydroponic growing systems are much more common in some urban areas (such as cities in Asia) than in others (such as the United States). We can expect to see more vertical farms being established as time goes on. Some regions will adopt these farms more quickly, but worldwide they will gradually become more commonplace.

While vertical farms are already quite efficient compared to soil farming, the future of vertical farming is heavily invested inefficiency. As we innovate more with technology, efficiency naturally follows. For example, even our LED lighting (while already pretty efficient) is more advanced and efficient than only a few years ago. Our current LED lights are up to 40% more efficient than those produced in 2014. That’s a notable improvement for a few years’ time.

The next big increase in efficiency is likely to be in the overall energy consumption. Although still in the works, many companies are developing energy systems for vertical farms that either rely on solar energy or use solar energy to supplement power to the farms. 

So, can vertical farming takeover for traditional agriculture?

Well, that answer is kind of a mixed bag. In some ways, it already has. People are starting to recognize that the future of food production is changing. The future of food production is a great many things. And yes, vertical farming is one of them.

Here’s the thing:

We have a global situation where we’re faced with an inevitable ultimatum: evolve and flourish, or become obsolete. As we humans are pretty driven for survival, evolving and flourishing seems to be an attractive option. When we’re talking about the future of our agriculture, it’s far better to get ahead early rather than start too late. That means adopting new farming methods, like vertical farming, is going to be critical to our global well-being.

The Hydroponics Planet | By Oscar Stephens | March 7, 2019

Japanese Autotech Giant Denso Invests in Certhon

Denso, the second-largest advanced automotive technology supplier in the world, has announced its investment in Certhon, to expand horticulture business in the global market. Denso and Certhon will collaborate to develop and provide greenhouse solutions.

Through this capital alliance, and combined with Certhon’s horticulture business knowledge, Denso will develop next-generation greenhouse technologies, such as fully automated indoor farming, and sell greenhouse package solutions tailored to the diverse needs of countries across the world.

Denso’s Long-term Policy 2030 launched in 2017 has identified the non-automotive business as one of its four focus areas and has defined agriculture as a key pillar under the non-automotive field. Until now, Denso has contributed to the improvement of productivity in the agricultural field and the stabilization of cultivation environments through climate control technologies.

As part of that, AgriD, established in 2018 with Asai Nursery, has built one of the largest greenhouses in Japan to realize greenhouse operations 24/7 through cooperation between farmers and robots to reduce the amount of work. Moreover, Denso has started the demonstration of the automatic harvesting robot “Faro” developed by Denso.

In the future, Denso will contribute to sustainable agricultural production through industrialization, and will provide new value to the agri-food sector by establishing an integrated food value chain business.

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For more information:
Certhon
www.certhon.com

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Denso
www.denso.com 

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Publication date: Wed 1 Apr 2020

Singapore Seeks To Increase Local Food Production With Rooftop Farming

Singapore has announced new measures designed to quickly increase local food production, including rooftop farming.

Officials in the city-state recently set a goal to meet 30 percent of Singapore’s nutritional needs with locally produced food by 2030.

The plan includes $21 million in government money to support local production of eggs, vegetables and fish “in the shortest possible time.”

The plans were announced as the worldwide spread of COVID-19 has caused shortages of many products, including food in some areas. Restrictions on population movements around the world have weakened supply chains and raised concerns about worsening shortages and price increases.

Currently, densely populated Singapore produces only about 10 percent of its own food needs. Only 1 percent of Singapore’s 724 square kilometers is currently used for agriculture. And production costs there are higher than the rest of Southeast Asia.

Singapore’s Food Agency says its goal is to raise local food production levels to make up for climate change and population growth that could threaten worldwide food supplies.

“The current COVID-19 situation underscores the importance of local food production, as part of Singapore’s strategies to ensure food security,” the Food Agency said in a statement.

Singapore officials have repeatedly told citizens that the city-state has enough food to get through the COVID-19 crisis. But they have decided to speed up the process of increasing local production to begin within the next six months.

This plan includes efforts to identify alternative farming spaces, such as industrial areas and empty building spaces. It also calls for adding new technologies to improve farming methods.

Officials said one part of the project aims to establish rooftop farms on public housing parking areas beginning in May.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English, with additional information from Singapore’s Food Agency. Hai Do was the editor.

April 18, 2020

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CONTAINER FARMS: Indoor Vertical Farmer Grows Local Lettuce For Hospitals in Florida During COVID-19

April 7, 2020

Matthew Kaercher got intrigued by the hydroponics system which he saw at Disney’s Epcot Center back in 2010. “I can do much better than that!”, he said. Since then, he immersed himself in the world of hydroponics and vertical farming. Once he was ready to scale, he bought his first vertical farm from Urban Crop Solutions. Now, his company has 4 different container farms (3 x FarmPro and 1 x FarmFlex) and one of his biggest clients is a hospital group in the Tampa Bay Area.

Who are your customers and what do you grow?

Our main customer is a hospital group in the Tampa Bay area, and we deliver to various restaurants and restaurant chains as well. We mostly grow different varieties of lettuce, microgreens, and some basil.

Why did the hospital group decide to work with you?

The hospital group wanted to boost sustainability on a local level. Their initial idea was serving lettuce only for doctors and nurses, but they underestimated how much one vertical farm can produce. As a result, our lettuce is sold across their cafeteria, salad bars and is used in meals for patients.

The main reason why they opted for our produce is that it is local and fresh (we harvest in the morning and deliver it in the afternoon). Various people from the hospital chain visited the farm to see how it’s produced. When they saw the automation and how food safety risks were much lower than in conventional farming, they were instantly convinced.

Did the Coronavirus impact the deliveries you were making to the hospitals?

The hospital group closed their salad bar when the Coronavirus problems started, so now they use our lettuce in the to-go salads instead. In March, one of the hospitals wanted only 50% of their typical delivery. In this case, we reviewed which hospitals needed more lettuce that day, and redistributed it to who needed more. That’s the immense benefit of working with a hospital group.

Currently, we still deliver to them from Monday to Friday, which is the same frequency as always. One of their other food distributors can’t deliver as often as they normally did, so they are grateful to have Urban Crop Solutions as one of their suppliers who can ensure continuous food supply.

Did it impact your other deliveries?

The demand for microgreens went down because they were served only to restaurants. Many restaurants use microgreens to decorate the meals, but they don’t work well in to-go meals due to the trapped steam [in the package] which makes the microgreens wilt.

For those considering buying a vertical farm, what kind of clients should they search for to be able to continuously deliver?

There isn’t really a perfect target market because every place is different. Every country, state, and even city can have a different situation and you can’t generalize.  We prefer chains of restaurants or hospitals because they offer an uninterrupted order every week. The farmer’s market in St. Pete [every Saturday, in St. Petersburg, Florida] is seasonal, from October to May. Besides, we would take into consideration the impact of the weather on the opening and closing of the market. This is the reason why we didn’t choose to sell there, as we preferred to have clients who always need our produce year-round. This doesn’t mean that local markets won’t work out for you in the city where you are. Look at your unique situation. Another example is that CSAs [Community supported agriculture] are more popular in the North East [of the US] than here [in Florida].

What do you recommend to people whose clients are/will be restaurants?

Take notes of what is happening now. Who’s closing permanently? Who does take-home food?  Look at Instagram, Facebook. How many followers do they have? It’s important to know that, as these are the people who will support you in the end as well. While restaurant groups seem to work better as they have more money saved and are going in for the long run, this is not always the case. For example, one of our clients is a restaurant where they barely have 20 places to be seated. Now, during the pandemic, they are flooded with take-out requests due to their marketing efforts. Social media is key.

Do you have any other advice for current farmers during these times?

1. Approach it day by day: address, plan and adapt. Focus on everyone in the market and not just one area. A lot of farms focus on supermarkets, restaurants, and retail. Focusing on organizations in the community is also beneficial and important.

2. Get creative in times like these

3. Remember that there is no secret formula

Any other thoughts about what’s going on now?

This pandemic situation got me thinking: which organizations would we like to work with in the future? Our company will take this more into account than before. However, most importantly, we are grateful to be able to serve society and help improve the situation, at least a little bit.

Growing Up In The Garden State: Vertical Farms Prove To Be Bright Spot on N.J.'s Agricultural Horizon

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In Newark, AeroFarms converted a 75-year-old, 70,000-square-foot steel mill into the world’s largest indoor vertical farm in 2015, which is soon to become the world’s second–largest when AeroFarms completes construction of its new 150,000-square-foot vertical farm in Danville, Va. Photo courtesy of AeroFarms

While New Jersey is famously known as the ‘Garden State’ based on its bountiful produce, numerous forces here and abroad indicate that the delicate balance between food growers and consumers is reaching a dangerous tipping point. Among key concerns, the world population is currently growing faster than the food supply, agriculture accounts for nearly 25% of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, and modern commercial farming practices have led to a rise in dangerous and costly food-borne and antibiotic-resistant illnesses. Closer to home, a recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that between 1982 and 2007, New Jersey lost a greater share of its agricultural land to development than any other state in America, putting further strain on a local industry already under pressure.

Proving that necessity is the mother of invention, however, a new crop of innovators is tackling these challenges head-on. Based on the benefits of “vertical farming” – a process by which crops are grown indoors in vertically stacked layers within highly controlled environments – New Jersey’s numerous vertical farms represent a bright spot on the Garden State’s agricultural horizon.

A Strategic Solution

“Vertical farms lead back to the need to build a world in which the current food system must support the needs of an expanded population with a rapidly dwindling set of resources,” said Irving Fain, founder, and CEO of Bowery Farming, a 5-year-old, Kearny-based indoor farming company that’s addressing the impending climate and food crisis by using the power of technology to grow fresh, high-quality produce closer to the point of consumption. With two commercial indoor farms located in Kearny and a third recently launched in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area, “Bowery’s model and proprietary technology, BoweryOS, enable the growth of high-quality crops year-round, regardless of whether or seasonality, using zero pesticides and over 95% less water,” Fain said. 

“We’re re-appropriating industrial space to grow crops indoors at a rate that’s 100 times more productive per square foot of land than that of traditional agriculture,” noted Fain, who said that Bowery’s data-rich systems and ability to control the entire growing process enable it to trace every individual crop back to its original seed and deliver superior produce to restaurants and stores (including Whole Foods and Stop & Shop locations) within days of harvest. 

Five miles away in Newark, AeroFarms converted a 75-year-old, 70,000-square-foot steel mill into the world’s largest indoor vertical farm in 2015 (soon to become the world’s second-largest when AeroFarms completes construction of its new 150,000-square-foot vertical farm in Danville, Va.). Growing a range of fruit, vegetables, and greens (under the “Dream Greens” label) without sun or soil in a fully controlled, indoor environment using a patented aeroponic growing system for faster harvest cycles, predictable results, superior food safety and less environmental impact, the company’s annual yields are reportedly 390-plus times higher per square foot than conventional farming. Harvesting up to two million pounds of highly nutritious, premium-quality produce per year, AeroFarms was recently named one of Time’s ‘Best Inventions of 2019.’

Farming 8,000 square feet of grow space within a historic greenhouse in Newark’s Branch Brook Park, Radicle Farm grows hydroponically using a nutrient film technique (NFT) and flooded tray system. Though not a vertical farm per se, “vertical growing makes sense within densely populated urban areas, and field farming and ground-level greenhouse growing will also continue to play a major role for quite some time,” said Radicle Farm Co-Founder Tony Gibbons. 

Hackensack-based Greens Do Good is proving that vertical farms can not only be rooted in food delivery but in social responsibility as well. At the 3,600-square-foot facility, which opened in April 2019, all proceeds from the growth of its dozens of different microgreens, lettuce, and herbs – all grown without soil, pesticides or herbicides – go to REED Next, a nonprofit organization that provides continued education, life experience and work opportunities to adults with autism. 

“We believe that growing healthy food with minimal impact to the environment is the future of farming, and Greens Do Good is transforming the way our local community sources healthy produce by providing the freshest ingredients in a sustainable and socially responsible way,” said Jennifer Faust, REED Foundation’s director of Communications. “In a state like New Jersey, where urban communities don’t have space, access or optimal year-round outdoor growing conditions to provide fresh produce, Greens Do Good is solving that problem by creating a sustainable social enterprise that not only helps individuals with autism but provides our community with produce that’s delivered hyper-locally on the same day it’s harvested, 365 days a year.” At its core, Faust said, “we’re a community partner providing sustainable produce to local businesses while supporting adults with autism, a greatly underserved population.” 

With a similar desire to support its community, Bowery works closely with Table To Table, a food rescue program that delivers perishable food to organizations that serve the hungry in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties and also has developed lesson plans to aid local teachers and students in discussions about the modern agricultural landscape and its challenges.

Building A Better Future

Often located in urban settings in order to bring agriculture back to city centers, vertical farms incorporate the utmost in sustainable products and practices. At Bowery, for example, energy-efficient LED lighting mimics the spectrum of the sun for crops, while rooftop solar panels, a clean gas backup generator, and a battery energy storage system further reduce the company’s energy use and carbon emissions in New Jersey. “In addition, Bowery uses over 95% less water by recirculating it continuously and only replenishing the amount that’s used by the plants or lost during daily operations,” Fain said. 

Part of a current network of 2,000 vertical farms in America within an industry that’s estimated to grow to over $3 billion by 2024, New Jersey’s vertical farms are proud of the contribution they’re making to meet the state’s food challenges while transforming agriculture around the world.

“Bowery was founded on the fundamental belief that technology applied at scale can solve difficult and important global problems, with agriculture sitting at the nexus of many of these issues, and our mission is to grow food for a better future,” said Fain, whose company was honored as one of Fast Company’s “2019 Most Innovative Companies in AI.” Based on its benefits and success, he said, “we see indoor farming becoming an even more meaningful and integral part of the farming and agriculture industries in the next 5 to 10 years and look forward to continuing to experience the positive impact of vertical farming on the environment.”

By Susan Bloom | For Jersey’s Best | April 21, 2020

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Indoor Ag-Con Postponed Until Later This Year

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 impact, the May 18-20, 2020 edition of Indoor Ag-Con has been postponed and will be rescheduled to run later this year. The organizers are actively working to secure new 2020 dates and will announce them as soon as they are finalized.

"Ensuring the safety of our exhibitors, speakers, attendees and customers is our primary focus. We are following the suggestions of the U.S. and state public health guidelines as they are developing", they share in an update.

"As the COVID-19 situation is evolving, we strongly advise that all exhibitors and visitors review the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) travel health notices related to this outbreak – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/"

"Our team is continuing to monitor the situation and we will follow-up with customers as needed if the advisories change."

For more information:
Indoor Ag-Con
404.991.5186
hello@indoor.ag 
indoor.ag

Publication date: Mon 6 Apr 2020

VIDEO: National Geographic - Earth Day - Jane Goodall

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall

Join Jane Goodall as she travels the world, calling us all to activism on behalf of wildlife and the planet.

To View The Video, Please click here

The Global Food Revolution Is Vertical

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17th April 2020

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Vertical farming supporters believe this method of indoor growing could revolutionize global food production

 OVER $1 BILLION in investments into vertical farming worldwide have been raised in the last five years.

Growing plants indoors is by no means a new concept; however, vertical farming allows operators to stack plants in layers to reduce space, practice soil-free growing techniques and to exert absolute control of the environmental growing conditions – using artificial lighting instead of relying on the sun.

With more and more people concerned about reducing their carbon footprint, supporters of vertical farming believe this method could revolutionize global food production by eliminating food miles, enabling crop growth next door to urban centers and achieve yields hundreds of times higher than conventional agriculture without requiring pesticides.

At the moment, fruit and vegetables often travel thousands of miles to reach consumers, losing freshness and quality along the way and increasing the risk of contamination.

Investors are responding enthusiastically to the development of this concept, with the sector raising over $1 billion in funding since 2015. High profile investments include New Jersey-based start-up ‘AeroFarms’ raising $100 million in 2019 to expand its aeroponic growing facilities, and Californian start-up ‘Plenty’ raising $200 million in 2017 in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund, along with backers including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt.

Across the Pacific, the industry is already well-established – in Japan, there are over 200 vertical farms currently operating, with industry leader Spread Co. Ltd. producing 30,000 heads of lettuce every day in its highly automated 'techno farm' Keihanna plant.

However, despite this optimistic picture, the industry is facing challenges. The sector is littered with bankruptcies as companies struggle with the power costs of maintaining a controlled environment 24/7 and the difficulties of coordinating the labor-intensive process of running a vertical farm. Nevertheless, companies remain optimistic, with advances in lighting and automation technology helping to shape the future of indoor growing.

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By Claire Taylor  @cjtaylor92

Political Affairs Editor