VIDEO: CubicFarms Systems Corp. Announces $2.8 Million Sale of Commercial Scale Systems to Customer in Abbotsford, B.C.

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CubicFarm Systems Corp.

Nov 23, 2020

The customer intends to evaluate the performance of the Company's technology in B.C. with the potential for international use in other countries where the customer operates

VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 23, 2020,/CNW/ - CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV: CUB) ("CubicFarms" or the "Company"), a technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world, announced today that its automated, controlled-environment growing system has been selected by Aright Greentech Canada Ltd. ("Aright"), a British Columbia-based agriculture investor-operator, to grow commercial quantities of fresh produce (the "Abbotsford agreement") for retail markets in the Abbotsford and Chilliwack regions in British Columbia, Canada.

Aright is an international company with interests in environmentally-focused companies in India and other countries, and this B.C. launch is a soft pilot for a potential future international roll-out.

Abbotsford Agreement

The Company's commercial agreement with Aright for the sale of 16 CubicFarms machines includes 14 growing machines, two propagation machines, and an irrigation system, representing a total of approximately Cdn$2.8 million (including installation and shipping) in sales revenues to the Company. The system is expected to be installed in Abbotsford by August 2021.

The Company has received a deposit from Aright with respect to the commercial agreement.  

The Company's patented CubicFarms technology will enable Aright to grow high-quality foods, with predictable crop yields indoors, all year round.

Aright also plans to expand its systems after the successful completion of Phase 1 in Abbotsford.

CubicFarms CEO Dave Dinesen commented: "We believe the Abbotsford agreement with Aright helps to further validate the commercial upside of our technology. We are equally excited that Aright, through its parent company, has agreed to develop the Abbotsford site to serve the local market, and commence learning for potentially significant expansion into India. We are looking forward to a seamless collaboration between our teams to successfully grow high-quality, great-tasting, local produce here at home, and potentially in India." 

Tanya Mehta, Founder & CEO of Aright, commented: "We are a family of impact operators and investors who aim to have a net positive impact on people, the community and the environment. As next-generation growers, we are driven to be a key player in innovation of AgTech that can feed the rising population through technologically advanced farms that can adapt and operate with consistent results. Planting and harvesting existing croplands on technologically advanced farms that consistently deliver food production without requiring new land is at the heart of this plan to work with CubicFarms. After thoroughly evaluating all available indoor growing options, we determined that it is in the best interests of Aright and our stakeholders to work with CubicFarms, which we predict will be beneficial to launch our BC operations, and to foster further innovations both in B.C. and internationally."

Potential Commercial Opportunities in India

CubicFarms and Aright India will launch a pilot project at Aright's Abbotsford location to assess CubicFarms machine production capabilities for a number of crop types.

After the evaluation is complete, it could culminate in a significant roll-out of the technology in the upcoming years. The potential India commercial opportunity will enable development and commercialization of the CubicFarms' technology, and align to Aright's focus on achieving wide-scale environmental efficiencies for urban areas.

The pilot and the potential commercial agreement with Aright India are not related to the signed commercial Abbotsford agreement, and performance of those units, between the Company and Aright.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About CubicFarm® Systems Corp.

CubicFarm Systems Corp. ("CubicFarms") is a technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary technologies enable growers around the world to produce high quality, predictable crop yields. CubicFarms has two distinct technologies that address two distinct markets. The first technology is its CubicFarms™ system, which contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops indoors, all year round. Using its unique, undulating-path growing system, the Company addresses the main challenges within the indoor farming industry by significantly reducing the need for physical labour and energy, and maximizing yield per cubic foot. CubicFarms leverages its patented technology by operating its own R&D facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, selling the system to growers, licensing its technology, and providing vertical farming expertise to its customers.

The second technology is CubicFarms' HydroGreen system for growing nutritious livestock feed. This system utilizes a unique process to sprout grains, such as barley and wheat, in a controlled environment with minimal use of land, labour, and water. The HydroGreen system is fully automated and performs all growing functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding – all with the push of a button – to deliver nutritious livestock feed without the typical investment in fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, field equipment, and transportation. The HydroGreen system not only provides superior nutritious feed to benefit the animal but also enables significant environmental benefits to the farm.

For more information, please visit www.cubicfarms.com

Cautionary Statement on Forward-looking Information

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to CubicFarms' expected revenue recognition, and the completion of the sale and installation of the system by the customer. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of CubicFarm Systems Corp., or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information including the Company obtaining the approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict", and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur, or be achieved.

These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except as required by securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if the Company's expectations regarding future events, performance, or results change.

SOURCE CubicFarm Systems Corp.

For further information: Investor Information Contact: Adam Peeler, adam.peeler@cubicfarms.com

Phone: +1-416-427-1235, www.cubicfarms.com

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US - FLORIDA: St. Pete Couple Exporting Success To Urban Farmers Around The Country

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November 17, 2020

Made in Tampa Bay

FOX 13 News

Brick Street Farms in St. Petersburg is one such operation, turning shipping containers into year-round hydroponic grow houses. The owners say the system they use has been so successful, they've started selling it to other urban farmers to start similar businesses across the country.

They call their new venture Thrive Containers, which mixes brand new technology with one of mankind's oldest industries: agriculture. They now sell various sizes of ready-to-go indoor farms.

Thrive's shipping container farms are ready to start producing fresh produce with a minimal impact on resources.

And they're making the containers in the Bay Area.

For more information, visit thrivecontainers.com.

Israeli Supermarket Employs Vertical Farm Start-Up For Selling Produce

The new technologies eliminate the need to rely on outdoor growers and suppliers while also providing a fresher, more eco-friendly product which needs much less water and land to grow.

By IDAN ZONSHINE

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NOVEMBER 21, 2020

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Produce growing under BIOLED lights. (photo credit: BIOLED)

Rami Levy, one of Israel's largest supermarket chains, has been cooperating with two Israeli agri-tech start-ups to erect large containers to grow fruit and vegetables, which will be sold in the chain's stores.

Vertical Fields, a Ra'anana based agri-tech start-up that creates vertical, sustainable farms using geoponic technology, agricultural expertise, and smart design, teamed up with BIOLED, a Tzuba-based eco-lighting start-up that uses LED lights to create more sustainable, profitable crops in order to erect the growing containers.

According to BIOLED, the first container is already in the process of being set up in Rami Levy's Ayalon Mall branch in Tel Aviv.

Thanks to the rapidly growing worldwide population, the amount of produce must grow by 60% to keep up with demand and overpopulation trends. Current methods of farming require too much water and land to meet that demand.

The new technologies eliminate the need to rely on outdoor growers and suppliers while also providing a fresher, more eco-friendly product that needs significantly less water and land to grow.

BIOLED already produces eco-friendly LED lighting for a wide variety of purposes for companies in Israel and plan to expand to Europe and the rest of the global market. Recently they breezed through their crowdfunding goal, nearly two months before their funding deadline expires in January 2021.

BIOLED also provides agricultural lighting for most of Israel's medical cannabis companies, most famously for the largest cannabis farm in the country, grown by medical cannabis giant INDOOR.

One of the main reasons for this is BIOLED's ability to shorten and stabilize horticultural growth cycles regardless of season, while also eliminating the need for pesticides and the logistical issues that comes with supplying fresh produce to urban areas,

Vertical Fields is a slightly younger company. They recently burst onto the Israeli agri-tech scene with their technology, which allows for produce to be farmed vertically within containers big enough to fit in a parking lot, using only one-tenth the amount of water usually needed.

Tags startup ecology hi-tech israel tech israel technology for agriculture rami levy agriculture Hunger start-up supermarket Farming

SANANBIO ARK, The Mobile Farm For All Climates That Supplies Communities With Fresh Local Food

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November 21, 2020

PRN

XIAMEN: SANANBIO, a leading vertical farming solution provider announces the availability of its climate-controlled mobile farm for growers globally.

3,300-4,400 lbs of cucumbers, 7,700 lbs of arugula, or 8,000 lbs of lettuce. These are the proven annual yields that we're confident to announce, said Zhan Zhuo, co-founder, and CEO of SANANBIO, We 'produce' turnkey farms and this one is mobile. It adapts to any climate thanks to its thermal insulation system with a thermal conductivity below 0.024w/(m·K). One of the mobile farms operated as usual in the coldness of -40 degrees Fahrenheit in northern China, sustaining local communities with local produces at a reduced carbon footprint.

It is shocking to find that our food travels 1,500 miles on average before reaching our plate. The CO2 generated, and the nutrients lost during transportation, can't be good for the planet or human beings. That's why local food is advocated. The ready-to-use farm is the solution we offer to regions where the environment is too harsh to support stable agricultural production, said Zhan.

To streamline the farming experience, the designer simplifies the start-up procedures to a single plug-in motion power it up through a connector on the exterior and then even hydroponic beginners are set to grow. Moreover, growers can monitor and control farm metrics simply by moving fingertips on their phone.

By simplifying modern agriculture, we offer more farming opportunities for kids and urban dwellers. We have a mobile farm deployed in a Malaysian suburb where kids from the neighborhood frequent the farm for the hands-on hydroponic experience. It's a perfect bonding time when families go there to pick their own salad ingredients. As a Photobiotech company, we're nurturing a new generation of growers, said Zhan.

For more info about the mobile farm, please visit www.sananbio.com/ark.

NYPA Collaborates On Shipping Container Project To Advance Indoor Farming & Increase Food production For Needy Western New York Families

November 9, 2020

Partnership with Electric Power Research Institute to help address challenges of decreased availability, affordability of fresh produce year-round

A pilot project was launched Monday in Buffalo to help New York state advance indoor farming and increase the year-round production of fresh fruits and vegetables in areas where they are not readily available. Through a research collaboration funded by the New York Power Authority’s environmental justice program and led by the National Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), The project will study optimum growing in a shipping container farm environment and address environmental and energy impacts that could help reduce costs and expand crop production.

The demonstration will provide produce for FeedMore WNY nutrition programs, help address climate change in communities that host NYPA facilities, and support New York’s clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals by using this low-energy indoor farming method.

“The New York Power Authority is pleased to be part of this national collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute that will improve indoor farming methods while supporting our neighbors in need in Western New York,” NYPA Chairman John R. Koelmel said. “Under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s continued climate leadership, we will find new and sustainable ways to grow affordable and fresh produce all year while prioritizing New York state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.”

NYPA is collaborating with EPRI to demonstrate and monitor the indoor production facility at FeedMore WNY’s offices on James E. Casey Drive in Buffalo. For the first year, the specially outfitted 40-foot shipping container, branded “Rooting for Our Neighbors,” will be used to harvest kale that will be distributed to food pantries and soup kitchens that rely on FeedMore WNY for nutritious food and support. Fresh kale, and kale dishes, also will be delivered directly to hungry community members served through its mobile food pantry and Meals on Wheels programs.

A press release stated, “Using shipping containers makes it possible to increase the availability and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round in urban and rural areas where they are not readily available. By growing indoors in a controlled, pesticide-free, 'sunless' environment, indoor farming uses far less water and land than conventional farming. Farms can be built anywhere, reducing both costs and carbon emissions from transportation of produce to consumers, and increasing food security. New York state’s Climate Act requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2050 from 1990 levels.

“Indoor agriculture is essential to future food production, and we need to understand its implications for the electric power industry,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA’s president and CEO. “NYPA is eager to demonstrate a replicable, sustainable indoor farming solution that helps to address climate change in the communities that host our facilities. If utilities have solid knowledge about how lighting, water use, and other systems impact plant production, we can be good partners in helping to provide food resources to disadvantaged communities in our respective regions through these innovative farming methods.”

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “This indoor farming project is a unique and creative way to support urban agriculture and to increase access to healthy food in our communities. Building on the work the state has been doing through initiatives like Nourish to deliver fresh foods to families in need, this pilot program will allow FeedMore WNY to provide local agricultural products year-round. I thank NYPA, EPRI and FeedMore WNY for their participation in this forward-thinking project, and look forward to the first harvest.”

NYPA is one of eight utilities nationwide to participate in a two-year EPRI study designed to help utilities better understand and engage in commercial-scale indoor food production, which is reliant on efficient energy and water consumption. Other demonstration sites are in Delaware, Tennessee, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Colorado. Through site/operator engagement and automated monitoring, researchers will evaluate how energy loads, water use, innovative technologies, rate design, and sustainability considerations vary across different facilities and locations. Other trackable data will include water consumption and reuse and the impact of seasonal climate variance on production and operations.

EPRI President Arshad Mansoor said, “Against the backdrop of increasing weather events and a global pandemic, there’s been an increasing appetite for indoor food production. EPRI engineers and scientists have been at the nucleus of this development, advancing technology to run container farm demonstrations across the country. This is a worldwide movement toward sustainable communities. Indoor agriculture also is an important part of efficient electrification, which is critical to enabling decarbonization throughout the economy.”

Tara A. Ellis, president and CEO of FeedMore WNY, said, “FeedMore WNY is incredibly excited for this opportunity to work with New York Power Authority and the Electric Power Research Institute in order to grow nutritious produce for distribution to our hungry community members, NYPA and EPRI are the true definition of good neighbors and we are so fortunate to have their support as we work to make sure our neighbors in need have access to nutritious food, including fresh produce.”

FeedMore WNY, the largest hunger-relief organization in WNY serving Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara counties, is assisting thousands more community members than ever before, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As many as one in six individuals in FeedMore WNY’s service area may be at risk of hunger.

The press release explained, “Fresh fruits and vegetables are vitally important components of a healthy diet. However, for food-insecure community members, fresh produce can be challenging to access due to financial constraints, lack of transportation, and lack of nearby grocery stores, farmers’ markets or bodegas.

“Kale was chosen as the initial crop because of its high nutrient value and short harvest cycle. After the first year, FeedMore WNY will grow a variety of produce to benefit its food-insecure community members.”

The initiative is part of NYPA’s environmental justice program, which offers educational programs about clean, renewable energy and sustainability, and provides resources to meet the needs of underrepresented communities located near NYPA’s power assets. NYPA’s largest hydroelectric power plant – the Niagara Power Project – is located in Lewiston.

“NYPA uses its expertise and resources to help benefit residents who live and work in areas near our facilities,” said Lisa Payne Wansley, NYPA vice president of environmental justice and sustainability. “This indoor food production initiative aligns with and supports NYPA’s sustainability plan goals to demonstrate sustainable solutions to addressing climate change in local communities where we operate.”

Through its corporate responsibility efforts, the environmental justice program provides science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, mentorship, and energy-efficiency initiatives to empower neighbors to make life choices that will improve the quality of their lives. Every year, the environmental justice team participates in “Rock the Block,” a one-day, annual event aimed at improving curb appeal in the South End of Niagara Falls, led by the Levesque Institute. Workshops teaching residents how to weatherize their homes are also offered to various community groups in Buffalo and Niagara Falls.

New York State Sen. Tim Kennedy said, "For years, FeedMore WNY has served as a critical resource for many, and that important role has only been magnified throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this partnership, WNY families will have increased access to fresh, locally grown food, which will in turn fuel healthier communities and provide nutritious support to those who need it most."

Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “This collaboration is a major step forward in bringing healthy food options, mainly fresh fruits, and vegetables, to some of our city’s food deserts. We thank the NYPA and the state for dedicating its expertise and resources to EPRI and FeedMore WNY to help advance year-round indoor farming in areas that need it the most.”

Mayor Byron Brown said, “Low-income communities, and especially Black and brown communities, have historically faced difficulties with food security and access to fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. The COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened those challenges, either through a loss of income, decreased mobility or more limited access to supportive nutritional programs. Today's announcement of this new partnership is a bold step in helping to address these systemic problems. I am confident that this collaboration between Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, the New York Power Authority’s environmental justice program, the Electric Power Research Institute, and FeedMore WNY will help advance indoor farming in our community and further strengthen Buffalo’s year-round production of fresh produce in the neighborhoods with residents who have had the most trouble accessing them.”

Lead Image courtesy of the New York Power Authority

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Around WNY

Thrive Containers Launched Operations With Its New Intelligent Container Technology - Shipping Container Farm

Thrive Containers launched operations today with its new intelligent container technology, aiming to disrupt the commercial farming industry. COVID-19 and climate change have accelerated existing strains in global food accessibility and supply chains, highlighting the need to rethink the world’s agriculture systems.

Our founder and CEO Shannon O'Malley has been at the forefront of this change through six years of container farm innovation here at Brick Street! O’Malley observed “Thrive Containers is redefining shipping container farming technology.

Our vision is to not only bring accessibility to farming but to offer a great return on investment for the AgTech industry.” Thrive Container's farm system uniquely excels in software automation, customer experience ease of use, and adaptability engineered by industry-leading experts. The result is maximized, year-round crop growth, reducing up to 90% of freshwater resources used in traditional agriculture practices. Shannon Quotes

Thrive Launch

“Thrive Containers is redefining shipping container farming technology. Our vision is to not only bring more accessibility to farming but to offer a great return on investment for the AgTech industry.”

“We want to bring this cutting-edge technology to the masses, to build a farm whose technology is firmly centered on the grower experience.”

Ohio Container

“The Ohio Container is the first breakthrough container model that focusses on leafy greens and herbs providing industry leading yields to the shipping container farms market.”

“Rivers are the inspiration for our model naming convention. Since Thrive container technology supports cleaner, healthier waterways, we want to celebrate, acknowledge, and highlight our commitment to our planet.”

Industry Evolution

“The Agtech industry is currently situated where the .com legacy once was. We are in an industry that is in a race to define who the main players are.”

Investment opportunity

“In the Agtech industry, shipping container farming is wide open, with key competitors that are raising and looking for market share. Each competitor has its own unique business model and approach, focused on different paths to success. Our focus is decentralizing the commercial food system at the point of consumption while utilizing large scale grocers in minimal spaces.”

Supply chain

“By growing the highest producing yield containers, we are bringing production to the point of consumption to provide access to the masses.  We are mobile and focused on the urban core. Vs competitors buying large acreage and trucking produce out.”

THE LINE-UP

Thrive Containers provide a multitude of container farm systems for all types of growing solutions. Our in house manufacturing continues to explore the endless possibilities of technology + agriculture.

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The most efficient leafy green hydroponic container on the planet. Built for ROI, Ohio’s production efficiencies and low reliability on resources yield higher, while maximizing profit and planet.

LEARN MORE

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COMING SOON: The most efficient micro green hydroponic container on the planet. Built for ROI, Yukon’s production efficiencies and low reliability on resources yield higher, while maximizing profit and planet.

JOIN THE WAITLIST

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COMING SOON: The most efficient cannabis/hemp hydroponic container on the planet. Built for ROI, Colorado’s production efficiencies and low reliability on resources yield higher, while maximizing profit and planet.

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Thrive Container Website!

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US: MINNESOTA - Hydroponics Venture In A Shipping Container Has St. Paul Inspectors Scratching Their Heads

By FREDERICK MELO | fmelo@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press

October 29, 2020

As an astronomer and physicist, John Cannon’s work is literally out of this world. His expertise as the department chair at Macalester College in St. Paul is studying nearby low-mass galaxies.

Cannon’s latest adventure off St. Paul’s Snelling Avenue is, quite literally, more down to earth: backyard hydroponics.

With the intent of saving his home planet, or at least improving his corner of it, Cannon recently launched the urban agriculture venture Minnesota Acre Farms LLC with a full-time gardener and two administrators from the University of St. Thomas.

Their thesis: proving that a railroad car-sized growing container behind Wells Pianos, by Snelling and Palace avenues, can produce as many fresh vegetables as a two-acre farm, and do it year-round.

Their bottleneck? The city of St. Paul won’t let Cannon and his colleagues put their nutrient mix to the test until they get the proper permits for whatever it is they’ve got — a shipping container? a storage facility? — which defies simple definition under the city’s legislative code.

“We didn’t think there was going to be all this bureaucratic overhead,” said Cannon, noting similar Freight Farms facilities are already in operation at a Second Harvest Heartland site in Minneapolis and an independent farm in Shoreview.

“Winter is coming, and that is when the machine can really flex its muscles,” he said. “We haven’t even plugged it in.”

SLOW PROCESS FOR HYDROPONICS VENTURE IN SHOREVIEW

Despite his enthusiasm, even some fellow practitioners of urban agriculture think Minnesota Acre Farms might have launched a little prematurely.

Chris Glasoe is the proprietor of the Frisk Fra Boksen — “fresh from the box” — a hydroponics venture in Shoreview. Glasoe said it took his operation three appearances before that city’s Planning Commission and two before the City Council to get city codes changed and a permit issued.

The Shoreview process started in April 2019. They received final approval in late August of last year, and their container arrived in January.

‘HYPER-LOCAL’

Cannon and his colleagues received their vertical hydroponic installation from Boston-based Freight Farms in late August of this year, hoping to prove they could grow vegetables in a peat moss nutrient bath for local distribution. The goal, in part, is to avoid Big Agriculture’s big carbon footprint and sometimes-questionable labor practices.

“The lettuce you buy at the grocery store is nutritionally depleted,” Cannon said. “Our slogan is ‘hyper-local greens for the Twin Cities.’ We can distribute fresh greens within hours of harvest, even in the depths of winter.”

City inspections officials say they’re generally sympathetic to those goals, but Cannon’s set-up looks a lot to them like a large outdoor storage container. And he doesn’t have permits for a large outdoor storage container.

OUTWARD APPEARANCE

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Vanessa Cannon at Minnesota Acre Farms, an urban agricultural venture housed in a shipping container behind a retail store on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

In September, the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections issued Minnesota Acre Farms notice of a city building code violation. The team later met with the city’s legislative hearing officer, who upheld the violation.

“There’s nothing in the legislative code about hydroponic farming, but there is language about storage containers,” Cannon said. “We keep asking that the facility be evaluated based on what it does instead of on its outward facing appearance.”

Cannon’s colleague, Mitchell Karstens, appealed the city’s decision to the St. Paul City Council, which had been scheduled to discuss the hydroponics venture on Oct. 21.

Supportive city residents who learned of the appeal through social media posts wrote to council members to highlight the importance of sustainable urban agriculture and locally-sourced food.

RECLASSIFYING

Instead of moving forward, the appeal was taken off the council’s hearing agenda as the Department of Safety and Inspections works through how to reclassify the container.

Titled “Illegal Use,” an Oct. 20 letter from city inspections indicates Minnesota Acre Farms is now in violation of at least three aspects of state building codes, including lacking a copy of the manufacturer’s installation instructions, which must be available on-site.

Just as importantly, you’re supposed to apply for a building permit and then install an outdoor storage container, not the other way around.

“I have reviewed the materials you submitted and have determined that the shipping container currently violates a number of sections of the state building code,” said St. Paul Building Official Steve Ubl, in a letter asking for more information. “Because the shipping container was placed in its current location without proper plans or required permits, the city has been working to fully understand its classification and your plans for proposed use.”

The container, which is roughly 40 feet long, 8½ feet wide and 9 feet tall, takes up unused space bordering the alley behind Wells Pianos, discouraging passersby from pulling a U-turn there.

“(Cannon) noticed my big beautiful parking lot, and approached me, and I said ‘sure, why not?’ He seemed like a nice guy,” said Kieran Wells, proprietor of Wells Pianos.

“They’ve offered to pay me rent, but I don’t really want to take any rent until they get squared away,” Wells said. “It’s been there for months and it’s not a problem. … It cuts down on some of the through-traffic.”

Lead photo: Minnesota Acre Farms is housed in a shipping container behind a retail store on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul as seen here Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Business partners Vanessa and John Cannon, Tyler May and Mitch Karstens estimate they can grow 1,000 heads of lettuce, along with herbs and root vegetables, each month in the space. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)

St. Petersburg Urban Farm Saves Resources By Turning Shipping Containers Into Vertical Farmland

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By FOX 13 News Staff

11-05-20

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Brick Street Farms is an urban hydroponic farm located in the heart of St. Petersburg. It upcycles shipping containers into 40-foot grow houses. It started in Shannon O’Malley and Bradley Doyle’s garage.

“We converted our garage to a grow room. We saw an incredible opportunity. We didn’t have the money to convert a warehouse, so we bought a shipping container,” O’Malley explained.

Each container is the same as two to three acres of traditional farmland. It’s six levels of vertical farmland.

“There’s no dirt. There are no bugs. No chemicals. No soil. There are no herbicides. No pesticides inside any of our farm containers,” O’Malley shared.

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All of the plants are started with a seed and are grown and harvested inside the shipping container. Every 12 hours, the lights inside the container flip to a different section to give the plants 12 hours of light and dark to represent day and night, so they can rest in between growth cycles.

O’Malley says each farm with about three acres of farmland uses approximately 15-20 gallons of water per day compared to a traditional soil farm that uses 1,000 gallons of water per day per acre.

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“Not only are we saving resources, but we are creating delicious, incredibly local food,” O’Malley said.

O’Malley says they plan to bring farms and modular farm containers to cities across the state and country.

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She added, “We really are bringing urban farming into fruition.”

Brick Street Farms sells to grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels. Its produce can also be bought on-site at its farm market or online at https://brickstreetfarms.com/.

Andaz Dubai The Palm Launches Hydroponic Container Farm

It will grow produce including lettuce, herbs, and microgreens

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by CatererME Staff

November 04, 2020

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Andaz Dubai The Palm has partnered with Green Container Advanced Farming to grow its own fresh produce on site.

The boutique lifestyle hotel will host a 400 sq ft hydroponic organic container farm on its Palm Jumeirah terrace, allowing them to harvest fresh produce such as lettuce, herbs, and microgreens.

Kifah Bin Hussein, general manager of Andaz Dubai The Palm, said: “At Andaz we strive to be more sustainable in everything that we do, using resources responsibly to help address today’s most pressing environmental issues.

With this partnership our goal is to bring the freshest and finest ingredients from their natural environment straight to our guests’ tables. We have a dedicated grower who visits the farm daily.

They work within sterile conditions and get to know every single crop within the unit. Once the crop is ready to consume it is delivered straight to our kitchens where our dedicated chefs prepare it ready to be served to our guests. It really take the farm to table concept to the next level.”

The hydroponic container system uses 90% less water than traditional farming methods, while the short distance from farm to fork ensures a large reduction in carbon footprint caused by typical distribution methods.

Guests visiting Andaz’s dining venues, including The Locale and Hanami, will be able to enjoy dishes made with ingredients sourced daily from the farm.

Tags: ANDAZ FARMING SUSTAINABILITY

CANADA: The Arrival of A Hydroponic Growing Container In Inukjuak

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NEWS PROVIDED BY

One Drop Foundation

October 30, 2020

The Pirursiivik Project combines social art and on-the-land activities to improve the health of Inukjuammiut through a local greenhouse and the promotion of healthy practices around water and nutrition.

INUKJUAK, QC, Oct. 30, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The arrival of a hydroponic growing container in Inukjuak is a significant milestone in the Pirursiivik Project, and one of the first phases of a larger collaboration with the Pituvik Landholding Corporation (LHC) and Sirivik Food Centre to use a year-round greenhouse and container farm to grow, cook and share food and knowledge among the community. Over the past three years, the One Drop Foundation and Makivik Corporation have partnered with the RBC Foundation to implement the Pirursiivik Project in Inukjuak, Nunavik.

The Pirursiivik Project, meaning "a place to grow" in Inuktitut, is a 4-year initiative which aims to improve the community's health through the implementation of a greenhouse and a social art program to promote healthy habits around water and nutrition. This project represents a $2.7-million community investment between the RBC Foundation and the One Drop Foundation.

The arrival of the hydroponic container farm on October 11, 2020, is a significant milestone in this ambitious project yet is only the tip of the iceberg. The true success of this initiative lies under the waterline: the community mobilization and leadership at each step of the project. From day one, the community of Inukjuak stepped up to take concrete action towards improving access to fresh produce for Inukjuammiut. A Community Advisory Committee with representatives from over 15 local organizations was established, and this group of volunteers has continued to meet monthly to provide key input on project activities and planning.

The hydroponic container which uses water to grow instead of soil was purchased from The Growcer, a Canadian company established in Ottawa, and will be locally owned and operated. It will soon be installed and begin producing leafy greens this winter with the target to share the first harvest with the community. The fresh produce will be available to community members who, through social art activities, have learned fun new ways to use little-known vegetables such as kale and bok choy.

This growing initiative in Inukjuak was first piloted on a smaller scale, when the Pirursiivik Project supported the construction of and growing in seven community cold frames (outdoor garden boxes made of wood and polycarbonate). These were built using materials donated by the Kativik Ilisarniliriniq and constructed by the Environment Club at the Innalik School, and the Unaaq Men's Association.

With this new hydroponic container farm adapted for the Arctic, the community is now ready to take this next step towards increasing food security and access to fresh local produce grown by and for Inukjuammiut. This is the first phase in a larger collaboration with Pituvik Landholding Corporation and Sirivik Food Centre, a year-round greenhouse and Food Centre in which to grow, cook, and share food and knowledge among the community. The project team is currently identifying fundraising opportunities to secure the $6 million needed to advance this next phase. This innovative multifunctional infrastructure would be the first of its kind in the North and would set a precedent for future greenhouse initiatives in Nunavik and across the Arctic.

About the Pirursiivik Project
Over the past 3 years, almost 1,000 community members have participated in various social art and on-the-land activities, from drumming and cooking classes to a nature trip to identify and document knowledge related to local plant species. A circus show was created by Tupiq ACT, the first Inuit circus troupe from Nunavik, with the support of the project and technical assistance from One Drop (including advice and accompaniment throughout the process). These activities, inspired by Inuit culture and art, were not only fun and entertaining, but also created spaces for shared learning and exchange on traditional foods, nutrition, and the importance of clean water. Collective learning and sharing that will continue both in-person and online through the digital knowledge hub currently in development with the support of a grant from RBC Tech for Nature. Learn more about the project at www.onedrop.org/en/projects/canada

About One Drop
One DropTM is an international foundation created by Cirque du Soleil and Lune Rouge founder Guy Laliberté with the vision of a better world, where all have access to living conditions that allow empowerment and development. Together with its partners, One Drop deploys its unique artistic approach to promote the adoption of healthy water, sanitation, and hygiene-related behaviours and empower communities. For this to be possible, One Drop creates and produces novel fundraising initiatives supported by a visionary community of partners and donors. This year, One Drop is celebrating 13 years of turning water into action, with projects that will soon have improved the living conditions of over 2.1 million people around the world. In 2019, the Foundation was recognized for the second year in a row by Charity Intelligence, this time as one of the Top 10 International Impact Charities in Canada. To learn more about One Drop, visit www.onedrop.org Interact with One Drop on Facebook and Twitter @onedrop, or on Instagram @1dropwater

About Makivik Corporation
Makivik Corporation is the land claims organization mandated to manage the heritage funds of the Inuit of Nunavik provided for under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. Makivik's role includes the administration and investment of these funds and the promotion of economic growth by providing assistance for the creation of Inuit-operated businesses in Nunavik. Makivik promotes the preservation of Inuit culture and language as well as the health, welfare, relief of poverty, and education of Inuit in the communities.

About Pituvik Landholding Corporation
Incorporated January 30, 1979, Pituvik holds title to 521 sq. km. on lands classified as Category I. These lands are held by Pituvik on behalf of the Inukjuaqmiut beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. In this holding capacity, Pituvik has the right to allow people and organizations to use these lands and for that use is allowed to charge compensation. Pituvik also maintains a beneficiary list on behalf of all Inukjuakmiut. Pituvik is a not-for-profit corporation, however it can create and own for-profit subsidiaries to stimulate local economic growth and job creation.

About RBC Tech for Nature
RBC Tech for Nature is a global, multi-year commitment from the RBC Foundation to support new ideas, technologies, and partnerships to address our most complex environmental challenges. It is a core pillar of RBC's Climate Blueprint – its enterprise approach to accelerating clean economic growth and supporting clients in the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy. RBC Tech for Nature brings together charitable partners, technology experts, the public and private sector – as well as RBC's own unique capabilities – to build the multi-partner coalitions needed to work towards solving our shared environmental challenges. Learn more at: rbc.com/techfornature

About The Growcer
Growcer manufactures modular hydroponic systems that enable commercial food production in plug-and-play 40- foot modules. Its vertical farming technology enables customers to grow fresh vegetables in virtually any climate and has been deployed within the Arctic Circle at temperatures below -50°C. Growcer empowers conventional farmers, entrepreneurs, communities and institutions to grow food locally all year round. Growcer's work has been recognized with awards from Fast Company's World Changing Ideas, the Entrepreneurs' Organization, and was also featured on season 13 of CBC's hit show, Dragons' Den.

SOURCE One Drop Foundation

For further information: Media Resource Contact: One Drop Foundation, Marie-France Dos Santos, Marie-France.DosSantos@onedrop.org; Makivik Corporation, Carson Tagoona, CTagoona@makivik.org

Related Links

http://www.onedrop.org/

Why This First Nation Bought A Shipping Container During COVID-19

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Sheshegwaning First Nation purchased a container farm in June. (Courtesy of April Folz)

By Charnel Anderson  October 23, 2020

To Get Fresh Produce, Sheshegwaning First Nation Turned

To A Technology Initially Developed For Growing Food In Space.

But Is It A Real Solution For Food Insecurity?

The first frosts have already arrived in Ontario, but in Sheshegwaning First Nation, a small community on the western edge of Manitoulin Island, April Folz is still awaiting the first harvest of the year. In about a week, Folz says, the community will have fresh produce: “Monte Carlo romaine lettuce, wildfire lettuce. We have a couple of variations of kale and spinach. I’m missing something,” says Folz, the economic development director at Sheshegwaning First Nation. “Oh, bok choy! I’m excited for that.”

Sheshegwaning First Nation, a two-hour drive from the mainland, is home to about 130 residents. There’s a convenience store in the community with a few grocery items, but the nearest grocery store is 40 minutes away. When COVID-19 hit, the community put up a checkpoint, and, Folz says, there was talk of closing the swing bridge to outsiders. That would have made it “tough to get food in,” says Folz. So, in response, community leaders came up with a locally grown solution.

In June, the community purchased a container farm from the Ottawa-based company

Growcer for about $300,000 (CAD). Folz describes the setup as a repurposed shipping container divided into six growing sections, with a separate room housing climate controls and a monitoring system. The growing sections are outfitted with shelving, LED lighting, and a hydroponic growing system in which plants grow with their roots in water rather than soil.

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Sheshegwaning First Nation is growing produce, such as kale in spinach, in a repurposed shipping container. (Courtesy of April Folz)

The first harvest has been delayed due to issues with the system’s artificial lighting, which takes the place of sunlight, and a carbon-dioxide tank, says Folz. But, once the system is fully operational, she plans to start a weekly subscription box that members can sign up for to get fresh produce delivered right to their door.

Because they make it possible to grow food in harsh climates, container farms are often touted as a solution for food insecurity in remote communities. However, research suggests that the technology does little to address the true causes of food insecurity or the inability to access nutritious and affordable food, which is rooted in the ongoing effects of colonialism and climate change, among other things. “All of these stories make it sound like [container farms] are the solution to food insecurity, and they absolutely aren’t,” says Thomas Graham, PhytoGro research chair in controlled-environment systems at Guelph University.

Container farms (or, as Graham calls them, “growth chambers”) were initially developed as a research tool for growing food in space, he explains; only within the last few decades have they been marketed as a commercial solution: “You can’t have a greenhouse in space, but you can certainly have a growth chamber. And the next, most severe climate to space, as [my colleague] Mike [Dixon] would say, is a snowbank in Nunavut somewhere.”

More than half of on-reserve First Nations households across Canada experience food insecurity; 8.8 per cent of people elsewhere in the country experience moderate to severe food security. A number of complex issues cause the disparity: high levels of poverty amongst Indigenous populations, the inflated cost of food in remote communities, and decreased access to traditional foods, which are culturally and regionally specific but usually include such things as wild game.

The repurposed shipping container is divided into six growing sections. (Courtesy of April Folz)

“Food insecurity has been caused by colonialism in this country,” says Julie Price, a member of the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture, and Community Collaborative, which this year is working with more than 40 communities in northern Manitoba on food-related projects intended to improve access to healthy food. “Many of the communities that we work with have very clear, direct stories that illustrate it,” she says, citing the example of O-pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation.

In 1942, O-pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, located 130 kilometres north of Thompson, Manitoba, built a commercial whitefish fishery on South Indian Lake. It produced approximately 1 million pounds of Grade A whitefish per year, making it the second most productive whitefish fishery in North America. Then, in the 1970s, the Manitoba government gave Manitoba Hydro permission to divert the Churchill River: that raised South Indian Lake by three metres and forced the relocation of O-pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation from its ancestral lands.

The flooding demolished the fishery, disrupted seasonal fish-spawning cycles, and forced wild game to migrate inland. It destroyed a community “that was so self-sufficient and happy, and healthy, and economically healthy,” says Price, adding that it now faces “serious challenges on all these fronts that were virtually absent prior to the hydroelectric development.”

Historically, Cree people were migratory and spent a lot of time searching, harvesting, preparing, and storing food, says Alex Wilson, a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, a community with roughly 3,200 on-reserve members near the Town of the Pas, in northern Manitoba. “That changed very quickly during colonization and settlement,” says Wilson, adding that the fur trade, the Indian Act, and the residential-school system rapidly changed “our relationship with food.”

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Food-related projects at Opaskwayak Cree Nation include community gardens. (Courtesy of Opakwayak Culture and Healthy Living Initiatives)

Since 2014, Opaskwayak Cree Nation has been working with NMFCCC to develop a number of food-related projects, including beekeeping, community gardens, and a hydroponic container farm. Container farms may have their place in addressing food insecurity in First Nations communities, she says, but they would align better with Indigenous values if they produced culturally relevant foods, thereby enhancing the transmission of knowledge many Indigenous communities are trying to reclaim. “Not many people eat kale. Is there a way to grow things in there that would have more contextual meaning to people in the north?” Community-led approaches, she says, give northern communities agency over their food systems: NMFCCC is “not just mitigating, but trying to reverse” the damage caused by colonialism.

Price feels the same. “We have seen these units have lots of benefits in communities that have done the research and then chose to try them out, but they’re not going to solve food insecurity alone,” says Price. “Selling northern people on eating more leafy greens is still trying to colonize diets further.”

Over the years spent working with NMFCCC, Price has learned — or as she puts it, has been taught — a few things about working with northern communities. It’s crucial, she says, to develop non-transactional, human relationships and to listen to the community’s vision and priorities: “I’ve never seen yet, where somebody from outside [the region] has solved a problem in the north. It usually makes it worse.”

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

Related tags: 

Indigenous Food

Author

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Charnel Anderson

Charnel Anderson is TVO.org's northwestern Ontario Hubs reporter.

Vintage Hospitality Group Expands Its State of The Art Hydroponic Farm

October 21, 2020

In partnership with Alabama Power, Vintage Hospitality Group recently expanded MGM Greens by adding Freight Farm’s Greenery, a fully climate-controlled hydroponic farm built inside of a compact 320 sq. ft. container.

This smart farm is self-contained, growing vertically and hydroponically without soil, getting its nutrition from water and light energy from powerful LEDs. Through these climate-controlled components, plants can thrive inside the containers offering the capability to harvest fresh produce multiple times a week and grow 365 days a year.

This addition lets MGM Greens work within multiple environments to grow additional produce allowing a diverse crop yield for its restaurants, Vintage Cafe and Vintage Year, both 50 feet away. With the Greenery expansion, the group is selling retail and also plans to host its own local neighborhood farmers market on a monthly basis. 

“Purchasing the second Greenery has allowed us to now be able to curate our menu based on new successful crops,” said Vintage Hospitality Group’s Executive Chef Eric Rivera. “It will further be maximizing growing potential as it also offers the capability for multiple test crops for upcoming menus at our new restaurant, Ravello.” 

While Vintage Hospitality Group’s flagship restaurant Vintage Year is a fine dining establishment, Vintage Café is a coffee shop, daytime eatery, and retail store. As the group also owns MGM Greens, it will be opening City Fed and Ravello restaurant in 2021.

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Vintage Hospitality Group’s national press accolades include receiving mentions in the New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, and Newsweek Magazines. In addition to being named a Smart Catch Leader, Executive Chef Eric Rivera has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation as a winner of its Blended Burger competition. Chef Eric has also led Vintage Year to be named one of OpenTable’s 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in America and a Traveler’s Choice winner by Trip Advisor.

Vintage Hospitality Group is dedicated to providing guests with the finest culinary selections, premium coffees, specialty teas, outstanding wines, and spirits along with unparalleled customer service.

For more information about Vintage Hospitality Group, visit www.vintagehospitalitygroup.com. 

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US - AppHarvest Expands Educational Container Farm Program For Eastern Kentucky Students

Rowan County Senior High School Students

To Receive Hands-On, High-Tech Growing Experience

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October 13, 2020

Morehead, Ky.  — AppHarvest announced today the expansion of its educational high-tech container farm program for Eastern Kentucky students, unveiling a new container farm unit in Rowan County. The program demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to fostering interest in high-tech farming, as it seeks to create America’s AgTech capital from within Appalachia.

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The retrofitted shipping container will serve as a hands-on agricultural classroom for students at Rowan County Senior High School, allowing them to grow and provide fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables to their classmates and those in need in and around Morehead. The county is home to AppHarvest’s first controlled environment agriculture facility, a massive 2.76-million-square-foot farm that opens later this month. The facility will employ more than 300 and grow tomatoes to be sold through the top 25 grocers nationwide.

The educational container farm’s arrival will be formally celebrated at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, with live music and refreshments, as acclaimed Kentucky muralists Often Seen Rarely Spoken (OSRS) work with the high school’s art students to paint the container farm’s exterior. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the container farm and learn about its high-tech tools, as well as see butterhead lettuce starters growing on the container’s vertical columns.

The container farm is 2,880 cubic feet, weighs 7.5 tons, and includes space to grow up to 3,600 seedlings and 4,500 mature plants all at once using 256 vertical crop columns. The container’s unique design utilizes cutting-edge LED lighting and closed-loop irrigation systems to allow students to grow far more than traditional open-field agriculture. For instance, they can grow up to 500 full heads of lettuce, or 1,000 miniature heads, as part of a single crop if they desire.

The Rowan County container farm joins AppHarvest’s inaugural container farm serving Shelby Valley High School students in Pike County. Both are part of AppHarvest’s high school AgTech program, which provides Eastern Kentucky students with knowledge about the importance of eating healthy and hands-on experience growing fruits and vegetables in high-tech environments.

Students at Shelby Valley High School have grown leafy greens, donating them to those in need through a backpack program and food pantry. Guests in attendance will include Rocky Adkins, senior adviser to Gov. Andy Beshear; Rowan County Schools Superintendent John Maxey; Rowan County Judge-Executive Harry Clark; Rowan County High School Principal Brandy Carver; and Morehead Mayor Laura White-Brown. All social distancing protocols will be strictly followed, with all in attendance wearing face masks and remaining at least six feet apart while enjoying festivities.

The Rowan County Senior High School container farm program will be led by agriculture teacher Bradley McKinney. The program’s curriculum combines existing agricultural education with six new units focusing on leading AgTech advancements. McKinney said the container farm will allow students to be competitive in the national Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, which, along with Future Farmers of America (FFA) and traditional classroom instruction, is an integral part of agriculture education.

The program requires students to gain hands-on experience through agriculture-based entrepreneurship, placement programs, or research. “The container farm is the exact type of hands-on tool that excites students and shows first-hand the excitement of modern farming,” McKinney said. “Students can have their own projects and learn all about entrepreneurship, as they make decisions about what to grow and how to distribute it.”

About AppHarvest
AppHarvest is building some of the world’s largest indoor farms, combining conventional agricultural techniques with today’s technology to grow non-GMO, chemical-free fruits and vegetables to be sold to the top 25 U.S. grocers.

The company has developed a unique system to reduce water usage by 90% compared to typical farms, as a 10-acre rainwater retention pond pairs with sophisticated circular irrigation systems. The system also eliminates agricultural runoff entirely.

By locating within Appalachia, AppHarvest benefits from being less than a day’s drive to 70% of the U.S. population. That lowers diesel use in transportation costs by 80%, allowing the company’s fresher produce to compete against low-cost foreign imports.

USA - Minnesota - Based Living Greens Farm Ready For Coast-to-Coast Expansion

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Written By: Noah Fish

September 14, 2020

After spending nearly a decade mastering an aeroponic growing process, Living Greens Farm believes it’s ready to supply consumers nationwide a stronger and healthier form of produce.

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Michelle Keller, head grower at Living Greens Farm, and George Pastrana, CEO of the company, stand in the 20,000-square-foot growing site where the company grows its produce. (Noah Fish / Agweek)

FARIBAULT, Minn. — George Pastrana has been the CEO of Living Greens Farm for only a couple of months, and what impressed him first and more than anything was just how green the produce was.

"That color, the thickness and then the taste — it's all what nature intended," said Pastrana, staring at a rack of fresh basil. "It's not what you would expect, because we've been eating stuff for so long that isn't like this."

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Freshly harvested basil raised in the 20,000-square-foot growing site in Faribault, Minn. where the Living Greens Farm grows its produce. (Noah Fish / Agweek)

The 20,000-square-foot growing site in Faribault where Pastrana was admiring recently harvested greens is considered to be a "test farm" for the company.

"We believe we've perfected an aeroponic growing process that allows us to create large heads of lettuce at a fantastic yield," said Pastrana.

The company plans to break ground on a nationwide expansion at the end of this year, or the beginning of 2021, he said."That will be the first of multiple phases of expansion," Pastrana said. "To ultimately ship to and supply two-thirds of consumers and households in the United States."

Construction will take place, not in Faribault but somewhere else in the U.S., which will be announced later by the company. The first phase of expansion will be a site that will service the Midwest, and following sites will serve other sections of the U.S. until it's covered.

Pastrana said there's "a lot of excitement amongst the investor community" to fund the expansion efforts. He said most of that interest existed before the pandemic, and the "controlled environment" area of ag-tech has shown a lot of promise over the last decade."

But I think the pandemic really brought to life the need for a better, more consistent supply chain, and controlled agriculture doesn't have all the problems of traditional agriculture, with recalls and so on," said Pastrana. "(The pandemic) has just hyper-exaggerated the need for better farming techniques."

Greens nearing the point of harvest are stacked across from plants on day-one of the growth stage at the 20,000-square-foot growing site in Faribault, Minn. where Living Greens Farm grows its produce. (Noah Fish / Agweek)

True aeroponics

According to Pastrana, what makes Living Greens Farm a "true aeroponic vertical farming business model" is its ability to produce exceptional products.

"We are able to deliver much heavier heads of lettuce than our competitors and more consistent yields in an environment that is herbicide and pesticide-free," he said.

Unlike most of its competitors, the company does its own cutting, washing, and bagging of produce on-site, Pastrana said."So we're going to get our product on the shelves of retailers within 24 hours of harvest," he said. "That makes us pretty unique."Michelle Keller, head grower of the operation in Faribault, has worked at Living Greens Farm for seven years."

Since basically the conception of the project," she said.

She said those years were spent building, reconfiguring, and rebuilding grow systems — all aimed at finding the best way to grow romaine and butter lettuce in a vertical space.

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One of the multiple grow rooms at the 20,000-square-foot growing site in Faribault, Minn. where Living Greens Farm grows its produce. (Noah Fish / Agweek)

"We always wanted to go vertical," said Keller of Living Greens.

Traditional vertical farming is "stacked," she said, but the company wanted to incorporate a system that people could work from the floor, without the use of ladders or platform machines.

"So each person can stay on the ground and work the farm completely from the safety of the floor," she said.

It takes a family Keller takes pride in the camaraderie at the farm, with workers leaning into their roles as plant nurturers. She's also not afraid to admit that she and other employees talk to the plants and sometimes give them names.

"We are a small family," said Keller of the different grow groups at the farm. "It's not uncommon to know everyone's name, and to know what they're going through and what they're able to accomplish at the farm."

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Patti Guillen, an employee at Living Greens Farm, transplants heads of lettuce in the 20,000-square-foot growing site in Faribault, Minn. where, the company grows its produce. (Noah Fish / Agweek)

Before Living Greens came up with the A-frame technology that it uses now, the company tried four different renditions of a "staircase approach", said Keller.

As head grower, her primary goal is to raise "full-grown heads of lettuce that are robust enough to survive the packaging process," and go on to have a full two-week shelf life.

Living Greens is also committed to being pesticide-free, said Keller, and the farm mandates a high standard of cleanliness to prevent harmful things from getting into its facilities and a protocol for if something does."Every stage of the growth pattern is followed by disinfecting or sanitation," she said.

Keller said the operation at Living Greens is guided by GAP — good agricultural practices — as well as GMP — good manufacturing processes. What makes the operation unique is that it has been conducting both of these processes successfully under the same roof long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Keller said.

When the pandemic broke out in March, Keller called an all-employee meeting where she was straightforward about what was in their control. They now meet every week to discuss what's happened lately with the outbreak.

"We were always just really honest about it," said Keller of the pandemic.

She told them in that original meeting that Living Greens Farm would stay open if employees not only took the on-site precautions seriously but were also "hyper-aware" when they were at home."Making sure that there's no miscommunication about this is what has to be done, to keep ourselves open," Keller said.

Living Greens Farm products can now be found at Whole Foods, HyVee, Walmart, Cub Foods, and more.

Find locations at https://www.livinggreensfarm.com/store-locator.

VIDEO: Urban Fresh Farms Launches New ZipGrow Facility In Dubai

October 8, 2020

ONTARIO, CANADA & DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - With more than ​80% of food being imported into the UAE​, Urban Fresh Farms, Dubai’s newest indoor vertical hydroponic farm from ZipGrowTM, is doing its part to contribute to a more sustainable local food system.

Watch as the ZipGrow team install a new ZipFarm™ for Urban Fresh Farms in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Learn more about the ZipGrow™ ZipFarm™ here: https://z...

A 1,000 square foot ZipGrowTM ZipFarmTM was recently installed in Urban Fresh Farm’s facility in the Industrial center of Dubai and will soon be producing pesticide-free fresh herbs and leafy greens for the local market. Urban Fresh Farms is a new company, founded by people who always had an interest in sustainable agriculture but thought they did not have the knowledge or financial backing to get into the industry.

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“We, as a group, always found vertical farming really interesting and knew there would be a strong demand for it in the Dubai area”, said Scott Naude, co-founder of Urban Fresh Farms. “We were hesitant to jump in at first, but the combination of ZipGrow’s technology and ongoing training, the increasing demand for higher quality and fresh produce, and the Middle East’s booming tech sector all aligned perfectly for us to begin this venture.”

As with the rest of the world, COVID-19’s impact on the local supply chain has also impacted the Dubai area, with food selections being limited in local grocery stores during the peak of lockdowns.

“Around the world, we are hearing from all our growers that food retailers are actively looking for local food goods to supply”, explains Eric Lang, President of ZipGrow Inc. “We are also hearing from government’s around the world, ​including in the UAE​, who want to actively seek out ways to reduce supply chain lengths to ensure a more consistent and high-quality food stream.”

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Hydroponic growing, as an industry, is still recently new to the Middle East region. The UAE government is a leader in the Middle East region, and in 2018 launched a ​National Food Security Strategy 2051​, led by the Minister of State for Food and Water Security, Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Al Mheiri. This strategy aims to increase local food production in the UAE, while simultaneously maximizing the use of modern technologies to bring fresh and sustainable food to the region.

“There's also a demand for healthy eating options and this has given rise to a number of excellent meal plan services and all-in-one meal ingredient boxes which in turn is creating a need for the best, freshest vegetables to be readily available” adds Naude. “We’re planning on starting out growing primarily herbs such as basil, parsley, and coriander, and hope to have our first crop available in December.”

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Urban Fresh Farm and ZipGrow Inc. plan to use this new facility to showcase this vertical farming technology to the UAE and the wider Middle East region. Naude adds; “We’re excited about our ongoing partnership with ZipGrow Inc. There is so much educational content available, as well as a fantastic team. So even for someone like myself who is new to all of this, ZipGrow provides all the tools needed to get growing.”

ZipGrow Inc. is an international leader in indoor, vertical farming technology. Our flagship product, the ZipGrowTM Tower, is a core component of many of the world’s most innovative farms; from indoor hydroponic warehouses to vertical aquaponic greenhouses and high-density container farms.

For more information contact:

Gina Scandrett at ​hello@zipgrow.com​ or at 1-855-ZIPGROW.

425F Fourth Street West, Cornwall, Ontario K6J 2S7, Canada www.zipgrow.com 1-855-ZIPGROW

USA - MARYLAND - Father, Daughter Launch Hydroponic Farming Operation In Montgomery County

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By Sondra Hernandez, Staff writer

 September. 28, 2020

With lettuce regularly being in the news related to an outbreak of disease, father and daughter Rod Kelly and Alex Armstrong concluded that there has to be a better way to purchase fresh produce.

“It’s really hard to get fresh produce,” Armstrong said. “About 80 percent of lettuce comes from California. It’s hard to find locally grown produce.”

It was also concerning to her that consumers don’t quite know what they are getting with lettuce brought in from another area. Is it pesticide-free? Was there any contamination from livestock waste runoff?

“People are more aware of what’s in their food and they are more concerned about it,” she said.

To offer a fresh, locally grown option, the two have turned to a climate-controlled, vertical, hydroponic farming operation set up in a shipping container on property in South Montgomery County.“It’s an amazing technology,” Kelly said. “It’s a perfect climate-controlled environment for growing leafy greens.”

Kelly is a petroleum engineer and Armstrong has a marketing background. Kelly also owns several businesses and was looking for a project that he and his daughter could work on together.

They found the technology behind hydroponic farming fascinating.

The farm is contained in a custom-built, insulated shipping container. Kelly and Armstrong worked with Freight Farms in Boston for their operation.

The shipping container came from Boston by 18-wheeler and was delivered in late June. They planted their first crop in late July.

The message of Freight Farms is that fresh produce can be grown anywhere regardless of the climate.

Seedlings begin growth in trays under red and blue LED lights. Once the seedling grows larger, it’s transferred to a vertical tower for growing until its ready to harvest.

Water flows from the top of the container down through the roots and is collected at the bottom of the tower before being recycled to use again. These methods use about 90 percent less water than conventional farming. A panel of red and blue LED lights help the plants to grow into nutrient-rich food.“It’s cool technology and as an engineer, I appreciate that” Kelly said.

Fare House Farms grows a variety of lettuce and herbs.

They offer a wide array of lettuce like butterhead, bibb, romaine, Summer Crisp, and Oakleaf just to name a few. They offer leafy vegetables like arugula, cabbage, collards, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and chard. They also offer a variety of herbs like basil, cilantro, chives, dill, and more.

See their website at farehousefarms.com for a full menu.

Before this experience, Armstrong said she never knew what truly fresh lettuce and herbs tasted like.

She said the hydroponically grown lettuce was sweeter and crunchier. Kelly added the lettuce was prettier too.

The lettuce is sold with the peat moss plug still on so it will stay fresh for longer.

Kelly said they will spend the rest of 2020 experimenting with what grows best and studying the produce preferences of local buyers.

They plan to participate in local farmer’s markets to get their start.

They harvest on Fridays before the Saturday farmer’s markets.“You’re getting the freshest crop that you can get,” Kelly said.

Visit the Fare House Farms page on Facebook for more information and to see the farmer’s markets that they’ll be at.shernandez@hcnonline.com

Photos:

Alex Armstrong left, shares a laugh with Jane Pope after handing her a bag of freshly harvested lettuce at Fare House Farms, a hydroponic farming operation, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in Oak Ridge. Hydroponic farming is a type of horticulture where indoor crops are grown without soil by using a nutrient-rich and climate-controlled 

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Rod Kelly and Alex Armstrong run Fare House Farms, a hydroponic farming operation in Oak Ridge. Hydroponic farming is a type of horticulture where indoor crops are grown without soil by using a nutrient-rich and climate-controlled environment.

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer9of10Alex Armstrong, and Rod Kelly are lit with panels of red and blue lights Alex Armstrong and Rod Kelly at Fare House Farms, a hydroponic farming operation, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in Oak Ridge. Hydroponic farming is a type of horticulture where indoor crops are grown without soil by using a nutrient-rich and climate-controlled environment. 

Alex Armstrong and Rod Kelly make their way past pannels of red and blue lights, which encourage strong plant health and production, at Fare House Farms, a hydroponic farming operation, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in Oak Ridge. Hydroponic farming is a type of horticulture where indoor crops are grown without soil by using a nutrient-rich and Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Hydroponics For Beginners 101: The Basics

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Hydroponics is a growing method for beginners and experts alike. This innovative farming system provides users with more controlled environments to grow their crops all-year-round. In this article, you will learn about hydroponics for beginners, and we’ll cover the basics to get you started.

What is hydroponics anyways?

When broken up into two words -hydro and -ponics, it translates to “water” and “labor.” The Greek definitions of these words essentially translates to “working water.” The reason for this is because hydroponics is a method used to grow crops without using soil. Through hydroponic systems, plants can grow by using nutrients in water instead.

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What are the benefits of hydroponics?

There are various reasons why farmers are starting to adopt hydroponics as a means of growing crops.

1. Crops grow at a faster rate

• Hydroponic plants tend to grow at a faster rate ranging from 30 to 50% faster than plants grown in traditional soil methods. This happens because hydroponically grown plants do not have to spend time searching for nutrients in the soil since it is provided several times throughout the day using hydroponic systems. With its saved energy, these plants can focus on growing into healthier plants.

2. Greater Yields

• Since hydroponic plants can get the nutrients they need at all times, the plants don’t need to have large roots. With smaller roots, these plants don’t require as much room as traditional soil-grown plants, so farmers can plant more of these plants side-by-side, thus producing greater yields.

3. Hygienic Way of Growing

• Since hydroponic plants are grown indoors, they’re free from the pests that soil typically attracts. This helps prevent disease and promotes hygiene.

4. Can Grow All Year Round

• Hydroponic systems allow users to grow plants all-year-round. These automated systems are controlled by timers and computers, which helps growers to grow food no matter the season.

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How do hydroponic systems work?

Hydroponics was created to take out the uncertainty aligned with growing plants in traditional farming methods. Hydroponic systems give users more control over the plant’s environment and nutrient sources to ensure it can grow without being interfered with by natural disasters, lack of nutrients, or pests. Knowing this, it makes sense as to why hydroponic systems work to give a plant what it needs.

Even though the soil is not in the equation, a growing medium is still used in hydroponics. Some mediums include perlite, sand, and Rockwool. These mediums get nutrients in the water and provide oxygen for the plant’s roots.

Want to learn more about hydroponics for beginners?

Now that you have a basic understanding of hydroponic systems, it’s time for you to learn more about this modern way of farming. We at the Nick Greens Grow Team use our knowledge and expertise to inform our readers about the innovations in farming. Want to learn more about hydroponics for beginners? Make sure to subscribe to our blog and YouTube channel for weekly updates! We also are teaching a microgreen class where you can learn more about microgreens and hydroponics for beginners.

Sign up for our microgreens class here.

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Fresh Hydroponic Produce In A Swedish Ski Resort

ICA Åre, located in one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts, is the second ICA supermarket store in Sweden to install a hydroponic vertical container farm from Boston-based Freight Farms – providing its customers with just-picked leafy greens grown onsite, year-round. 

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Housed inside a 13-meter long shipping container, the onsite Freight Farm will reduce ICA Åre’s reliance on transported produce shipped long-distance into the mountain region, while providing pesticide and herbicide-free greens to customers at the peak of freshness year-round.

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The initiative, Åre Byodling, was led by ICA Åre store owner Lars Ocklind and real estate company Diös Fastigheter, who recognized the benefits Freight Farms’ environmentally-controlled technology can have in the Nordic climate, particularly within the resort community hub that’s home to ICA Åre, the main train station, and other surrounding stores and restaurants. Ocklind believes that the store’s ability to grow its own crops is an investment in its future and that of its community.

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Freight Farms, founded in 2010, pioneered hydronic vertical container farming and has a large network of IoT-connected farms in the world. The container farms, integrated with IoT data platform, farmhand, creates and maintains the optimal growing conditions to harvest crops year-round using less than 5 gallons of water per day. The technology has empowered ICA Åre and ICA Maxi Högskolan to create closed-loop food systems onsite, eliminating transportation emissions. Harvesting crops onsite also keeps crops fresh and nutrient-dense for longer, significantly reducing food waste for both sellers and consumers. 

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ICA Åre’s first farm harvest is scheduled for mid-October. The supermarket will begin by selling a selection of lettuce, kale and herbs in-store, and crops will also be used in their own restaurant and sold to other restaurants in the village. The range of crop offerings will continue to develop and expand – there is already great interest in collaboration from local restaurateurs for special lines of locally-grown crops.

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For more information:
Freight Farms
www.freightfarms.com

Publication date: Fri 2 Oct 2020

US - OHIO: Growth In Indoor Farming Business Boosted By COVID-19, Sustainability Focus

Lawrence Budd

09-21-20

Hydroponic and other indoor-farm produce businesses are growing in multiple ways in various parts of the Miami Valley and across the country as consumers look for alternatives to vegetables trucked in from California and Arizona.

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© JIM NOELKER Bright Farms' hydroponic business in Wilmington grows one million pounds of salad greens a year.

The area’s varied examples range from a BrightFarms greenhouse across from the Wilmington Air Park in Clinton County to 80 Acres Farm, reusing a building in downtown Hamilton in Butler County, to Davidson Family Growers, a century-old traditional family farm also growing with hydroponics in New Carlisle, Clark County.

“We don’t have one just yet,” said Felix Fernando, past co-chair of Montgomery County Food Equity Coalition.

“This is definitely a growing area,” added Fernando, Assistant Professor of Sustainability and Coordinator of Graduate Certificate in Sustainability at the University of Dayton (UD).

Increasingly, consumers and investors are drawn to the principles of sustainability, prompting businesses and educational institutions to respond with programs and products.

For a variety of reasons, hydroponics fit perfectly in markets, such as southern Ohio, otherwise dependent on trucked-in products. In the process, climate change is to be slowed.

“It reduces our dependency on areas further away,” Fernando said. “These areas are seeing or are expected to see impacts from climate change,” such as flooding, erosion, drought, crop disease.

Hydroponics, grown indoors, can put fresh vegetables on store shelves and kitchen tables in areas, such as Dayton, where supermarkets don’t exist or stores offer this option to trucked-in produce.

“There is definitely a need,” Fernando said.

Hydroponic crops are less demanding of natural resources such as water and soil and grown without pesticides.

Opponents point to the lack of soil use in challenging organic claims and infrastructure costs of the vertical farming facilities. The vast majority of produce is still grown traditionally.

Still, the global indoor farming technology market accounted for nearly $6.5 billion in 2017 and is projected to reach nearly $15.3 billion by 2024, according to a 2018 Zion Market Research report.

Supporters of hydroponic produce also point to the difference in the freshness of overnight deliveries as opposed to produce trucked for days across the country.

Rather than relying on distant sources and complex supply chains, hydroponic fruits and vegetables raised regionally allow producers, stores, and customers to "try to build a local relationship,” Fernando said. “The supply chain is shorter either way.”

Fernando pointed to Plant Chicago, a group of businesses in a former meat-packing plant in Chicago, where vegetables are grown and a microbrewery provides spent materials for a bio-gas generator used for the growing and a bakery, in what is known as "closed-loop production”

“It’s a new avenue for job creation,” he said. “It absolutely makes sense.”

Miami Valley sustainable, indoor-farming endeavors

In addition to BrightFarms, TAC Industries in Springfield has added a hydroponic greenhouse to produce lettuce for a restaurant it operates.

Also in Clark County, Davidson Family Growers in New Carlisle is doing traditional farming as well as hydroponic farming.

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© Provided by Dayton Daily News Kevin Davidson, of Davidson Farms in New Carlisle, tends to the plants growing in a hydroponic system Friday in his greenhouse in 2017. STAFF PHOTO

For the Davidsons, traditional farming began in 1886. Kevin Davidson got into hydroponics in 2015.

In March, when COVID-19 concerns prompted business closings and job losses: “That was a big problem. I lost 90% of my business in three days,” Davidson said in a phone interview last week.

Restaurants and customers, including UD, shut down on the same weekend, he recalled.

Davidson, who has an engineering degree from UD, said hydroponic business demand, originally at area farmers markets, has picked back up since he began concentrating on selling through on-line farmers markets.

“It’s different,” he said, estimating revenues were back to where they had been, although more labor was required to ready his produce to be dropped off at distribution Wagon hubs in Columbus and Cincinnati, where it is redistributed to buyers' doorsteps.

Davidson sells lettuce, kale, and cabbage products raised through hydroponics. In contrast, corn and soybeans are still grown and sold the old-fashioned way, what he summarized as a “whole different ball game.”

Asked which method he preferred, Davidson said, "I don’t have any desire to grow produce out in the ground conventionally.”

He said hydroponics were cleaner and easier and could be used to grow year-round.

With the “right nutrients,” Davison said, the produce should be “as health or healthier.”

“They are two completely different aspects of the business,” he concluded.

https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/new-carlisle-grower-finds-success-with-hydroponic-farming/XdehPXaLgnOPw48wOkypnJ/

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© Provided by Dayton Daily News

80 Acres Farms is offering produce pickups of tomatoes, salad mixes and other products in downtown Hamilton, at the former Miami Motor Car Co. building at 319 S. 2nd St. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

In Hamilton, Butler County, 80 Acres Farms operates two locations, including one in a formerly dilapidated historic building at 319 South 2nd Street in the city’s downtown.

https://www.journal-news.com/news/dilapidated-hamilton-building-transforms-into-industry-changing-grow-facility/SK6EX3v4sUzidii80f2NhN/

The business also operates from a Cincinnati location. At an automated facility on Enterprise Drive in Hamilton, leafy vegetables, herbs and strawberries are raised. The former Miami Motor Car Co. building in downtown Hamilton is used to raise vine crops, including tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.

1 million pounds of green grown each year in 2-acre sustainable greenhouse

BrightFarms, which operates four farms around the country, has seen demand jump 40 percent between Aug. 2019-Aug. 2020, according to BrightFarms CEO Steve Platt.

The Ohio operation is looking for workers in part in response to a 20-percent jump in demand, driven in part by stores looking for alternatives for produce customers left wanting when traditional supplies from the West Coast dwindled in the midst of the new coronavirus pandemic, Platt said.

Independent retailers' orders jumped 71%, Walmart by 23%, since March, according to BrightFarms.

“Now with the pandemic, people are eating more at home. They are looking for local projects,” Platt said in a phone interview.

Investors including Cox Enterprises, owners of this newspaper, have bought into companies including BrightFarms “taking unique approaches to healing and protecting our planet from the negative aspects of climate change,” according to an article in a Cox employee publication.

Rather than soil, BrightFarms products and others grown with hydroponics are nurtured with mineral nutrient solutions.

BrightFarms lettuce, spinach, and basil is available in Fresh Thyme, Meijer, and Sam’s Club stores in the region, along with about 100 independent retailers, not currently including Dorothy Lane Market or Kroger. So far, BrightFarms has not sold any private-label produce to retailers, choosing instead to exclusively market their brand, said Brian Stephens, the plant manager, and Springboro resident.

Six days a week, seeds are planted along with peat moss and vermiculite in furrowed Styrofoam boards, roughly 1,000 a day. Plantings reflect orders over the next three weeks.

After germinating, the boards are set atop one of nine 110,000-gallon ponds in a two-acre indoor growing area.

“Surprisingly they don’t use a lot of water,” Stephens said during a tour of the Wilmington facilities.

The maturing plants, floating on the board in the pools, are transplanted east in a grid stretching toward the harvesting end. After 15-21 days, the plants are sheered of stems and roots, and shipped, usually the same night, according to Stephens. The discarded parts are given to area farmers and used to feed livestock.

The growing area is heated, while cool air is pulled across the plants through automated systems. Shades control the amount of natural sunlight shined through a clear glass roof, explained Stephens, who moved to Warren County in 2018 to oversee the new plant.

Microscopic “beneficial” bugs, rather than pesticides, keep off any pests. About 2,000 pounds of leafy greens a day are shipped.

Founded in 2011, BrightFarms now operates farms in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio. A fifth is under construction in North Carolina, using lessons learned at existing locations. Each serves a market within a days' drive of 26-foot trucks in the company’s fleet.

BrightFarms is looking to add five to10 employees to the 32 now planting, harvesting, and trucking the products from Wilmington.

The $10 million facilities sit on three of 10 acres, leaving room for expansion. The company is looking at doubling in size.

“We’re very much about the future. It’s a sustainable business,” Platt said.

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Indoor Farms Are Reimagining America’s Food Supply

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Words by Ellen R. Delisio

SEP 25, 2020

With the worldwide population surging and acreage for agriculture shrinking, indoor, indoor farms are literally on their way up as a viable form of food production. 

Bowery Farming, founded in 2015, is growing lettuce and other greens in vertical, indoor farms located just outside of cities. The “farms” are able to produce crops year-round; and Bowery says it is using far fewer resources than traditional farms and generate less waste. 

“Farming is very resource-intensive,” noted Katie Seawell, Bowery’s chief marketing officer. “We’re transforming non-arable spaces into arable farmlands. We stack crops from floor-to-ceiling; because they are grown indoors, we can control the environment. We focus on seeds many farmers are unable to grow because of conditions. We start with seeds and then are able to optimize the plants and are able to harvest at their peak and get them in stores quickly. We are the grower, packager and shipper all in one.”

The stacked plants are monitored and fed using the Bowery OS, a proprietary operating system that gathers information as the plants grow and then creates a “recipe” for each one. “We continue to learn what makes them flourish and thrive,” Seawell explained. “The next time we plant, the recipe has been optimized.” Bowery’s crops are pesticide-free, and the company uses less water than traditional growers.

Currently, Bowery Farming is growing different grades of lettuce and herbs as they grow efficiently. The company, however, plans to expand beyond leafy greens, according to Seawell.

Bowery now has three indoor farms, all near urban areas where fresh produce can be in short supply. One is a research and development center in Kearny, NJ, a suburb of Newark. A large-scale commercial farm also is in Kearny and another farm is in White Marsh, Maryland, just north of Baltimore. “We want to scale globally, and grow our national footprint,” she added. “We’re concentrating on urban centers and feel we can deliver.”

The company says it is collaborating with nonprofits in nearby communities. In the New Jersey and New York areas, Bowery works with Table to Table and Teens for Food Justice. In Maryland and the Washington, D.C. area, Bowery offers support to Maryland Food Bank and DC Central Kitchen. Through DC Central Kitchen’s Healthy Corners program, fresh produce is sold to corner stores in D.C.’s low-income neighborhoods at wholesale costs, where it is then sold to consumers at below-market prices.

While other farms have been struggling during the coronavirus pandemic, Bowery was able to grow its customer base, Seawell noted. “We were very fortunate; we were deemed an essential operation, so there was no disruption in our business. In fact, we had an acceleration in demand because of shortages in other parts of the supply chain.” In early January, the company’s produce was in about 100 stores; now the indoor farms are supplying 600 stores, including Giant, Weiss, and Walmart, and has grown its online business. “We have doubled our e-commerce traffic since January,” noted Seawell. “People are turning to e-commerce because of supply chain disruptions and we have a stable harvest and get produce on the shelf in a few days.”·

The company is fulfilling the vision of its founder, Irving Fain, who believed that since agriculture is at the center of many global issues, including food access and security, it was time for formative transformation of the industry using technology. As Seawell explained, “Agriculture is at the epicenter of so many global challenges we have. We’re trying to do good through technology.” 

When the economy begins recovering in earnest after the pandemic, Bowery Farming can be a part of rethinking a food supply chain that often falters at various stages. “There is a real desire to strengthen our food system, which will benefit retailers and consumers,” according to Seawell. “We can increase access to fresh, delicious, safe produce 365 days a year. We can play an important role in sustainability and farming and can play a part as we strengthen and rebuild from the pandemic.”

Image credit: Bowery Farming

ELLEN R. DELISIO

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Ellen R. Delisio is a freelance writer and paraeducator who lives in Middletown, CT.  Over the past 30 years, her writing has focused on life science, sustainability, and education issues. Ellen is an avid reader and beach-goer.

Read more stories by Ellen R. Delisio

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