Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
This Vertical Farming System Was Designed To Build Up Community And Accommodate The Urban Lifestyle!
Urban farming takes different shapes in different cities. Some cities can accommodate thriving backyard gardens for produce, some take to hydroponics for growing plants, and then some might keep their gardens on rooftops
03/19/2021
Following interviews with local residents, Andersson set out to create a farming system that works for the city’s green-thumb community.
Urban farming takes different shapes in different cities. Some cities can accommodate thriving backyard gardens for produce, some take to hydroponics for growing plants, and then some might keep their gardens on rooftops. In Malmö, small-scale farming initiatives are growing in size and Jacob Alm Andersson has designed his own vertical farming system called Nivå, directly inspired by his community and the local narratives of Malmö’s urban farmers.
Through interviews, Andersson learned that most farmers in Malmö began farming after feeling inspired by their neighbors, who also grew their own produce. Noticing the cyclical nature of community farming, Andersson set out to create a more focused space where that cyclical inspiration could flourish and where younger generations could learn about city farming along with the importance of sustainability.
Speaking more to this, Andersson notes, “People need to feel able and motivated to grow food. A communal solution where neighbors can share ideas, inspire and help one another is one way to introduce spaces that will create long-lasting motivation to grow food.”
Since most cities have limited space available, Andersson had to get creative in designing his small-scale urban farming system in Malmö. He found that for an urban farm to be successful in Malmö, the design had to be adaptable and operable on a vertical plane– it all came down to the build of Nivå.
Inspired by the local architecture of Malmö, Andersson constructed each system by stacking steel beams together to create shelves and then reinforced those with wooden beams, providing plenty of stability. Deciding against the use of screws, Nivå’s deep, heat-treated pine planters latch onto the steel beams using a hook and latch method. Ultimately, Nivå’s final form is a type of urban farming workstation, even including a center workbench ideal for activities like chopping produce or pruning crops.
Taking inspiration from community gardens and the local residents’ needs, Andersson found communal inspiration in Malmö.
Backyard and patio gardens are popular options for those living in cities who’d still like to have their very own gardening space.
Lead photo: Designer: Jacob Alm Andersson.
VIDEO: Inside A Shipping Container Vertical Farm
New farming models are cropping up around the world, including in Sydney, where Sprout Stack is transforming old shipping containers into commercial vertical farms
March 17, 2021
New farming models are cropping up around the world, including in Sydney, where Sprout Stack is transforming old shipping containers into commercial vertical farms.
With lighting in the containers designed to optimize plant growth, and sensors measuring temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide, the approach is more productive than traditional farming — and uses 95 percent less water.
Take a look inside Sprout Stack’s vertical farms.
Are Vertical Farms Still A Thing?
Treehugger has been following this subject and has been dishing up stories on vertical farms ever since Gordon Graff first showed his Skyfarm in Toronto's Entertainment district, ready to serve tomatoes to throw at actors in the theaters and olives for the martini bars
March 19, 2021
Vertical farms are back in the news, with Sean Williams writing in Wired that vertical farms nailed tiny salads. Now they need to feed the world.
Treehugger has been following this subject and has been dishing up stories on vertical farms ever since Gordon Graff first showed his Skyfarm in Toronto's Entertainment district, ready to serve tomatoes to throw at actors in the theaters and olives for the martini bars. They were the toast of the internet after Dickson Despommier wrote his book "The Vertical Farm" – I was not convinced and wrote in my now archived review in 2010:
"Ultimately the idea only makes sense if you think of farming as a no-holds battle to the death and when you think of soil as nothing more than a mechanism to hold a plant up. Sami has written that 'there are more organisms in one teaspoon of soil than there have ever been humans on this planet.' Others are trying to build biodynamic, organic, regenerative, or ecological farming communities, where food is grown naturally and is actually good for the soil instead of destroying it. It is a much more attractive and probably better tasting future of food."
Subsequently, I was honored to be an external examiner at Gordon Graff's defense of his Master’s thesis at the University of Waterloo, where he demonstrated that vertical farms could actually work, but pretty much in an industrial barn, where he cornered the lettuce market. And that is kind of where we are today, with Aerofarms in a Newark warehouse and vertical farms operating in repurposed factories around the world, mostly growing what critics call "garnishes for the rich."
Our go-to critic of all things techno-futurist is Kris De Decker of Low-tech Magazine, who notes that garnishes for the rich don't include carbohydrates or proteins, and writes that "to feed a city, it takes grains, legumes, root crops, and oil crops." He recently had a look at vertical or indoor farming after seeing an art exhibit in Brussels called The Farm, which examined the inputs required to grow a square meter of wheat. The artists write:
"This 1 square meter experiment makes manifest the vast technical infrastructure and energy flows required to grow a staple food such as wheat in an artificial environment. In today’s economy it is profitable to artificially produce agricultural products with high water content such as leafy greens and tomatoes. However, from a systemic understanding, this apparent profitability and efficiency of the current system relies on the availability of cheap fossil energy, unaccounted-for resource extraction and pollution all over the globe, incurred in subordinate processes from mining and electronics manufacture, to international freight."
De Decker reports that it took 2,577 kWh of power and 394 liters of water to grow this little bit of wheat, and that didn't include the embodied energy from making all the equipment needed. Ultimately a loaf of bread made from this wheat would cost 345 euros ($410).
Among the purported virtues of vertical farms is that they can use specifically tuned LED lights, a controlled atmosphere, and that they take up a lot less space because the plants are stacked vertically. However, if you wanted to run them on renewable energy such as solar power, "then the savings are canceled out by the land required to install the solar panels." De Decker concludes the article:
"The problem with agriculture is not that it happens in the countryside. The problem is that it relies heavily on fossil fuels. The vertical farm is not the solution since it replaces, once again, the free and renewable energy from the sun with expensive technology that is dependent on fossil fuels (LED lamps + computers + concrete buildings + solar panels)."
Except that's not really the conclusion, it is just the start of pages and pages of comments on the article from the techno-futurist crowd, attacking De Decker for a "hit piece" and pointing out that there is nuclear power. The discussion gets picked up on Y Combinator Hacker News where they say "fusion energy is going to account for a rapidly increasing share of energy production by the end of this decade," so why not? Poor Kris De Decker responds by saying "I had no idea that vertical farms were such an emotional topic" (Treehugger could have warned him) and clarifies that "this article (and this artwork) criticizes the idea that vertical farming could supply a substantial share of a city's food supply."
Much has changed in the years since we started covering vertical farms, including the improvement of LEDs, the understanding of which spectra of light they should be tuned to, and of course, the rise in global temperatures, increasing climate weirdness, and worries about increasing deforestation for agricultural land. But as we recently noted, just cutting out red meat would cut agricultural land use in half, or that we could grow all the food we need in our yards.
Ultimately, I do not believe that the prospects for hydroponic vertical farms under artificial light (versus rooftop farms under glass or vertical greenhouses) have changed much. If anything, they have gotten worse, because not a single analysis I have seen has ever included the embodied carbon or upfront carbon emissions from actually making the aluminum and steel and lighting equipment that they are built from. We live in a world where we are using sunlight to grow our building materials to get rid of steel and aluminum; surely we can use it to grow our food.
In his recent book, "Animal, Vegetable, Junk" Mark Bittman complains about modern farming practices and their reliance on fertilizers. He writes:
"Methods of treating the soil became predictably and tragically oversimplified, as it was incorrectly determined that plants didn't need healthy soil and all that it contained – literally hundreds of elements and compounds and trillions of microbes. According to reductionist analysis, soil and plants quite simply needed nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus."
Now the reductionists even want to replace the soil and sunlight. Perhaps instead, we should listen to Bittman.
Dr. Jonathan Foley had much to say about this a few years ago in No, Vertical Farms Won't Feed the World.
Lead photo: Indoor Wheat Farming in Brussels. Disnovation.org
UNITED KINGDOM: Sheffield Underground Farm Is 'Green And Sustainable'
Luke Ellis, from Sheffield, grows his produce at Kelham Island using organic soil and food created from waste products and without natural light
03-18-21
A Former Builder Has Transformed Unused Cellar Space
Into An Underground Farm To Produce
Fresh Herbs And Vegetables
Luke Ellis, from Sheffield, grows his produce at Kelham Island using organic soil and food created from waste products and without natural light.
He said it might sound like science fiction, but the unusual farming method has the potential to address food shortages and climate change.
The business already sells produce to restaurants and direct to customers.
Mr. Ellis first became interested in hydroponics technology six years ago but felt it was not as sustainable as it could be with most companies using high-tech, state-of-the-art equipment with a high start-up cost.
To address that he decided to create a bioponic farm, an organic form of hydroponics.
"Bioponic vertical farming may sound like something straight out of the world of science fiction, but it is a sector which holds a lot of potential for growth," he said.
The produce is grown in soil created from waste food, paper, used coffee, and ash
COPYRIGHT LUKE ELLIS
The plants are fed with an organic food packed with nutrients | COPYRIGHT LUKE ELLIS
The company uses waste materials, such as paper, card and food scraps, to create its own soil and the run-off from those systems is not wasted either.
"We make our own plant food, which means we don't ever pour anything away," said Mr Ellis.
The plants are grown under electric lights which, he added, offer advantages.
"Artificial light can be better than natural light because we can control the flavour of the food and control the growth rate."
Electric lighting helps control the growth rate of the plants. COPYRIGHT LUKE ELLIS
The produce is sold to both restaurants and individual customers. COPYRIGHT LUKE ELLIS
Mr. Ellis said he hoped the business, which opened in December 2020, would inspire others to help build a "greener, more sustainable society".
"It's super fast to grow, we use recyclable materials, it's 100% organic and it's very efficient," he added.
Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here.
Lead photo: Luke Ellis supplies residents and restaurants with herbs and greens. COPYRIGHT LUKE ELLIS
LONDON: New Vertical Farm Offers Eco-Friendly Greens Picked And Delivered Within 24 Hours
London’s first delivery service for vertically-farmed, eco-friendly greens has launched from its base in the Docklands. Vertical farming is a fast-growing trend, with the global market size that was valued at $2.23 billion in 2018, projected to reach $12.77 billion by 2026
Lettuces growing vertically at Crate to Plate, a new farm in London's docklands | CRATE TO PLATE
London’s first delivery service for vertically-farmed, eco-friendly greens has launched from its base in the Docklands. Vertical farming is a fast-growing trend, with the global market size that was valued at $2.23 billion in 2018, projected to reach $12.77 billion by 2026. Crate to Plate is a clever new vertical farming venture founded by Sebastien Sainsbury who is a firm advocate of the concept of "15-minute cities" where everyone has access to fresh produce within a 15-minute walk of home. Crate to Plate offers consumers a wide range of super fresh organic lettuces, leafy greens and herbs, all picked within 24 hours, available by home delivery or at select greengrocers throughout London.
Recycled shipping containers house Crate to Plate, a vertical farm in London | ALISTAIR CARMAN
The eco-friendly farm is located in a parking lot owned by international property company Lendlease on the Isle of Dogs (Canary Wharf) inside three recycled shipping containers kitted out with LED lighting and an automated nutrient delivery system. Each 40-foot container achieves the same production as over an acre of farmland, with the site projecting to produce around six tonnes of greens each year. Not only does the urban farm use far less land but the pesticide-free produce is grown using hydroponic technology that uses 96% less water than traditional farming.
Crate to Plate, a new vertical farming initiative |. CRATE TO PLATE
Scientists and farmers at Crate to Plate carefully control the environment inside the shipping containers. Meticulously monitored vertical farming ensures that greens can be grown locally in urban environments, all year round, using minimal water, allowing produce to be delivered to consumers within 24 hours of harvest, with zero carbon footprint in transporting from farm to customer. As a result, the produce is as fresh as possible and has the highest possible nutrient value, completely free of pesticides and toxic chemicals. Lettuce, rocket, kale, pak choi, herbs, microgreens and more are harvested and delivered twice a week. The difference in taste between Crate to Plate’s greens and those you can buy from a supermarket is astonishing and delicious. And dynamite options like wasabi rocket and basil Genovese are already proving to be customer favorites.
Basil growing vertically at Crate to Plate | JOANNE SHURVELL
Produce from Crate to Plate is available in select greengrocers like Artichoke in North London and direct to consumers via their website. A £15 mixed box includes three types of lettuce, three bags of greens, and three herbs. Crate to Plate also sells to restaurants and have recently become Chef Ollie Dabbous's exclusive distributor of greens for his Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant Hide. Crate to Plate has an ambitious UK expansion plan. A second site will open near Elephant and Castle this month, followed by other London sites and farms in other cities (Manchester, Birmingham, etc). And further ahead will be expansion to the United States.
Seedlings before they are transferred to the walls of the farm | CRATE TO PLATE
Crate to Plate’s new site in Elephant Park is part of a £2.5 billion regeneration project headed by the local council and Lendlease. One of the key aims of the development is to create a local, community-oriented ecosystem, with businesses from the area supplying residents and other retailers in the nearby community. Crate to Plate slots nicely into this concept, aiming to sell direct to local residents and to the new food businesses that are opening. Crate to Plate’s next London site is already in the works: the International Quarter London development near the 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.
With the global covid-19 pandemic fueling home deliveries and such a high-quality product on offer, it’s no surprise that Crate to Plate’s greens have sold-out every week since launching. Founder Sebastien Sainsbury says he wants “everyone to be able to get fresh leafy greens no more than a mile away from where they live.” It appears he’s off to a good start at achieving that goal and it will be fascinating to follow the progress of this sustainable new business.
Crate to Plate London home delivery boxes range from £6 to £28 depending on the selection and quantity, with no delivery charge on orders of £20 or more.
I've been writing on travel, food, fashion and culture for the past decade or so for a variety of publications. I co-founded PayneShurvell, a contemporary art gallery in London which is now an art consultancy in London and Suffolk. My photographer partner Paul Allen supplies photos for my features that often include a music or art event and our travels have taken us to under the radar music and art festivals in France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. I am the co-author of the Citysketch series of books that includes London, Paris and New York, published by Race Point and I'm the author of Fantastic Forgeries: Paint Like Van Gogh. Follow our adventures on Twitter at @jshurvell and on Instagram at @joshurvell and @andfotography
Kimbal Musk’s Quest To Start One Million Gardens
The tech veteran and restaurateur (and brother of Elon) has been preaching the ‘real food’ gospel for years — and his newest project may be his most ambitious yet
MARCH 20, 2021
The tech veteran and restaurateur (and brother of Elon) has been preaching the ‘real food’ gospel for years — and his newest project may be his most ambitious yet
By ALEX MORRIS
Million Gardens Movement
On the day he almost died, Kimbal Musk had food on the brain. The internet startup whiz, restaurateur, and younger brother of Tesla’s Elon had just arrived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from a 2010 TED conference where chef Jamie Oliver had spoken about the empowerment that could come from healthy eating. This was something Musk thought about a lot — food’s untapped potential, how he might be a disruptor in the culinary space — but beyond expanding his farm-to-table ethos along with his restaurant empire, Musk hadn’t yet cracked the code. Then he went sailing down a snowy slope on an inner tube going 35 miles an hour and flipped over, snapping his neck. The left side of his body was paralyzed. Doctors told the father of three that he was lucky: Surgery might bring movement back.
“I remember telling myself, ‘It’s all going to be fine,’ and then realizing that tears were streaming down the side of my face,” he says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, OK. I don’t really know what’s going on. I’m just going to, you know, let things go.’”
Musk, 48, eventually made a full recovery, but it involved spending two months on his back, which gave him plenty of time to think about the intersections of food, tech, and philanthropy. Since then, he has launched an initiative to put “learning gardens” in public schools across America (now at 632 schools and counting); courted Generation Z into the farming profession by converting shipping containers into high-tech, data-driven, year-round farms; spoken out vociferously against unethical farming practices and vociferously for the beauty and community of slow food; and this year, on the first day of spring, is kicking off a new campaign with Modern Farmer’s Frank Giustra to create one million at-home gardens in the coming year.
Aimed at reaching low-income families, the Million Gardens Movement was inspired by the pandemic, as both a desire to feel more connected to nature and food insecurity have been at the forefront of so many people’s lives. “We were getting a lot of inquiries about gardening from people that had never gardened before,” says Giustra. “People were looking to garden for a bunch of reasons: to supplement their budget, because there was a lot of financial hardship, to help grow food for other people, or just to cure the boredom that came with the lockdown. To keep people sane, literally keep people sane, they turned to gardening.”
The program offers free garden kits that can be grown indoors or outdoors and will be distributed through schools that Musk’s non-profit, Big Green, has already partnered with. It also offers free curriculum on how to get the garden growing and fresh seeds and materials for the changing growing seasons. “I grew up in the projects when I was young, in what we now call food deserts,” says EVE, one of the many celebrities who have teamed up with the organization to encourage people to pick up a free garden or to donate one. “What I love about this is that it’s not intimidating. Anyone can do this, no matter where you come from, no matter where you live. We are all able to grow something.”
Rolling Stone recently talked with Musk about the Million Gardens Movement, why shipping containers can grow the most perfect basil, and how he is channeling his family’s trademark disruptor drive to change America’s relationship with food.
How did you first get interested in food and then how did that grow into an interest in agricultural innovation?
I’ve always loved food. I started cooking for my family when I was 12, maybe even 11.
What was the first meal you made? Do you remember?
It’s actually funny. My mother is a wonderful person, great dietitian, but because she’s a dietitian, the food we ate was brown bread and yogurt or bean soup. I mean, as a kid, it drove me crazy. So I asked my mom, “If I could cook, could we get something else?” And so I went to the butcher, and I asked them, “How do you roast a chicken?” And he said, “Put it in a really hot oven for one hour.” And I was like, “Oh, how hot is hot?” He was like, “Make it as hot as your oven goes for one hour, and if it starts to burn, then just take it out.” And he gave me the chicken, and that was it. I’ve kept that recipe forever. 450, 500 degrees, one hour. That’s a great straight-up recipe.
And then my mother insisted on a vegetable, so I decided to do French fries, which was my funny way of convincing her that I’m doing a vegetable.
It is a vegetable.
I totally screwed up the French fries. I didn’t heat up the oil ahead of time, and if you don’t do that, the potatoes actually soak in the oil so you’re eating basically a sponge of oil. I made everyone throw up. But the roast chicken was delicious. Everyone loved that. And so I was encouraged to cook more. I cooked for my friends in university. I didn’t have any money, so I figured out how to cook for 40 cents a person. It was a Kraft dinner with weiner sausages. And if someone chipped in an extra dollar, I’d get actually real cheese instead of the powdered cheese.
Anyway, I studied business, and then went down to California to start a company with my brother building maps and door-to-door directions for the internet.
I read that you and your brother were sleeping in your office and showering at the YMCA and that sort of startup lifestyle made you appreciate food.
Yeah, that’s totally right. We only had enough money for rent for either an office or an apartment, so we rented an office. I had a little minibar fridge and put one of those portable cooktops above it, and that was our kitchen. But we also ate at Jack in the Box all the time because it was the only place that was open late. Ugh, 25 years later, I can still remember the items on that menu. It was just really, really not great — a huge inspiration to go focus on real food after that.
And I just did not like the lack of social connection. It’s a work-hard-go-to-sleep-and-work-hard-again culture with not much socializing in the way that I enjoy, which is eating food, eating together over a meal, talking about ideas. I kind of was suffocating a little bit.
It’s a Soylent culture.
Yeah, exactly. They actually want food to be a pill. So I kind of needed to leave. We ended up selling [our company] for a gazillion dollars when I was 27, and I had this sort of opportunity to do whatever I wanted. So I went to New York to enroll at the French Culinary Institute.
Was culinary school as brutal as people make it out to be?
Absolutely brutal. It was Full Metal Jacket, but cooking. They just totally break you down. They make sure you don’t have any faith in your own abilities — within a few months, you’re like, “I am a completely useless fool” — and then after that, they start building you up with the skills they want you to have. It was very, very hard on the ego. I managed to graduate, but I would say 70 percent of the people that start don’t finish — and you pay upfront.
I actually graduated just a few weeks before 9/11 and woke up to the sounds of the plane hitting the building. That’s how close we were. Fourteen days later, I started volunteering to feed the firefighters. We would do 16-hour days, every day — there was never a reason not to work because the alternative is you sit at home during the nightmare after 9/11, where no one was on the streets or anything. I started peeling potatoes and eventually got to the point where I would drive the food down to Ground Zero. The firefighters would come in completely gray in their face and gray in their eyes, covered in dust. And then they’d start eating, and you’d see the color come back in their face, the light in their eyes.
And you worked as a line cook after that?
Yeah, for Hugo Matheson, at his restaurant. He was the chef of a popular restaurant in Boulder, and I just wanted to learn. I was a line cook for $10 an hour for probably 18 months. And loved it. You know, it’s a submarine culture. And you get in there and everything you do in the moment is measured in the moment. It’s very much the opposite of [building] software.
You and Hugo eventually started a restaurant [The Kitchen] that practiced the farm-to-table thing before it was even really a term. Why was it so important to you to have local suppliers and organic methods? At that point, was it mainly about flavor, or was there a bigger ethic behind it?
For sure flavor was the driver. But I think that the thing that I resonated with more was the sense of this concept of community through food. You know, when I was feeding the firefighters, it was all about community. The fishermen would come and give us their fish, so we got the best fish you can imagine. The cooks were all volunteers. We were going through this really tough time. So for me, the community through food was what I loved about it.
[At The Kitchen], we literally had a basic rule to farmers saying we’ll buy whatever you grow. We said that if you can deliver by 4 p.m., then we will get it on the menu that evening.
Oh, wow.
We would get fiddlehead ferns at 4 p.m. and be trying to think, “OK, what can we do with this?” If you turn the food around that quickly, it really does show up in the flavor.
Food that had potentially been in the ground that morning.
Not potentially. Every day was working with the harvest of that day. We had 43 different farmers coming to the back door. It was awesome.
Let’s move ahead to the part of the story, after your accident, when you’re like, “All right, I’ve gotten this new lease on life and now what am I going to do with it?” Obviously, within the food space, there are a lot of choices you could have made. So how did you decide where to go from there?
So when I came out of that hospital, I resigned as CEO of my software company. I told my wife I wanted a divorce. The spiritual message I got was: Work with a way to connect kids to real food, to get kids to understand what real food is. And real food for me is food that you trust to nourish the body, trust to nourish the farmer, trust to nourish the planet. It’s very simple. Processed food would be the opposite of that. There’s no nourishment there. The farmer gets hosed and it’s terrible for the planet. So I [looked into] farm-oriented work and cooking-skills training. Turned out giving kids knives isn’t a good idea.
What? [laughter]
Yeah. Exactly. But the thing that came back to me was the value of a school garden. I actually was pretty frustrated with school gardens. I had been a philanthropic supporter of them for a few years and found them to be expensive, hard to maintain — a passionate parent would put it in, and then their kid would graduate, and it would become this mess in the corner of the schoolyard. So we [created] learning gardens. They’ve got a beautiful Fibonacci sequence layout. They’re made in a factory, but they have a natural look and feel. These are totally food-safe and can go on any school ground. They’re [wheelchair] accessible, easy to teach in, and built into the irrigation system of the school. We go in and we do 100 of them at a time. Pre-COVID we got to almost 700 schools in Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Memphis, L.A.
How did you decide which cities to go into?
I believe this is useful anywhere, but what I found was low-income communities were the areas where you really needed it. Private schools or wealthier schools, they all have gardens — there’s not a private school out there that doesn’t embrace having a school garden. It’s actually the low-income schools that don’t have it. And that is also, coincidentally or not, where the obesity is. And so what I wanted to do is take what existed in private schools and put it into low-income schools and to do it in a way where it would be the most beautiful thing in the school. So instead of that sort of eyesore that was in the backyard, we said, “These have to be right next to the classroom, right next to the playground. You’re not allowed to build a fence around it. And if you don’t want to do that, great, we’ll just find another school. But these are the rules for learning garden.” And because we were doing 100 at a time, the districts would work with us, including maintenance and installation and curriculum and teacher training. Pre-COVID we were teaching almost 350,000 kids every school day.
And are there measurable effects?
Absolutely. Studies show that fifth grade in particular is the most effective grade. If you teach science in fifth grade to a kid, the exact same lesson in the garden versus in the classroom, you will get a 15-point increase on a 100-point score on their test scores.
And then if you teach kids 90 minutes a week in school, which is not hard to do because it’s beautiful and fun to be outside, you’ll double their intake of fruits and vegetables. Now they’re not eating a lot of fruits and vegetables, so the base is low, but you’re still doubling. The way I like to look at it is you’re really not trying to make them eat vegetables all the time — that’s too hard — you just try to change the course of their life by a few degrees; if you can do it by third, fourth, fifth grade, they’re going to be a different adult when they grow up. We’re not here to claim that what we do changes everything. We believe that the cafeteria needs to improve, that we need grocery stores to exist in these food deserts. There are many legs of the stool, but the school garden movement is a critical leg.
Are there any other technological innovations in this space that are really giving you hope?
I think there’s a lot of cool things going on around carbon capture with regenerative farming, because if you do farming correctly, you’ve become a wonderful carbon sink. And there needs to be an economy around it. So what is the value of a carbon credit? They’ve got value for that in Europe, but they haven’t valued it in America. So I think there’s a lot of government policy that needs to work there. But it’s a fascinating area to look at.
It’s interesting, the concept of bringing innovation to agriculture, which is—
So old school! Yeah, it’s fun. I do get frustrated that it doesn’t move fast enough. Then I’m reminded of how big this is and I’ve got my whole life to work on it. So I’m learning to embrace going a little slower. If you are in the software world, it’s more “move fast and break things,” and I think with food, it’s something in between.
Yeah, you don’t want to break the food chain.
No, people need to eat. Exactly.
And I know you’ve been advocating, too, for policies that help farmers shift to organic methods.
Yeah, I’ve been a supporter of that, but I really have pushed my energy now to work with young farmers of any kind. I’m not against organic at all. I love organic. But I’ve kind of said, “You know, we just need young farmers.” Real food doesn’t require it to be organic. If it’s a zucchini that happens to be grown conventionally, I’m still in favor of that.
It’s still a zucchini.
Right. That being said, organic is better. Farmers make more money on it. But it’s really about young farmers getting them into the business.
If you don’t mind, let me take one minute to just talk about [another initiative called] Square Roots. So there was a sort of a turning point in indoor farming technology around 2014, where you could really do quality food. Indoor farming’s been around forever, but the quality was really terrible. It would taste like water. No real flavor. But the technology of lighting really changed in 2014, and so by 2016 we said, “You know, there is a way here.” And what got me going was I really wanted to create this generation of young farmers. I love technology and I love food. And I think that if we bring the two together, we will get young people interested in farming again. And so we started out Square Roots as really a training entity.
And with Square Roots, you’re growing food in shipping containers? There’s no soil?
Yeah, we refine the nutrients [through the water]. We’ve gotten very, very thoughtful about what the nutrients are so that we can re-create as best we can the soil that they would get normally. The shipping containers, what’s beautiful about them is the fact that we can totally control the climate. For example, we have found that Genoa in Italy is where the best basil in the world is grown. It’s four weeks in June that are the best, and actually, 1997 was the best June. And so we re-create the climate of 1997 Genoa, Italy, in each of those containers to create the tastiest basil you can possibly imagine. Using data, we can monitor the growth and how they work. And every square meter of the air in there is exactly the same. That’s why containers are so valuable. Plants factories have to grow basil or cilantro or whatever all in the same climate. We get to grow arugula, basil, parsley, cilantro or whatever each in their own climate. For example, we’ve discovered that mint grows best in the Yucatan Peninsula — superhuman, grows like a weed, delicious. And we re-create that climate.
Square Roots Basil Farm in Brooklyn.
Square Roots
And the shipping containers, the idea for that was, “Let’s use things that we can recycle”?
Well, they are recycled. But no, it wasn’t that. It was actually climate control. They’re actually like refrigerators. We can drop that temperature in there to 40 degrees Fahrenheit for a particular growth cycle. If we have any pests, we don’t use pesticides, we have something called Mojave mode where we turn it into the Mojave Desert for four days. We bring the temperature up to 120 degrees, drop the humidity down to four percent and nothing can survive. That’s how we remove pests. No one else can do that unless you use these kind of containers. So it’s really a technology solution.
You’ve referred to food as being the new Internet. Do you still feel that way?
Oh, my god. Absolutely. It’s showing itself. Food is different to social media and so forth. It takes a long time to build up supply chains, get consistent growing. It’s not as fast-moving, but it is a much bigger business. Software is a $400 billion business. Food is an $18 trillion business. So the opportunity is much, much bigger in food than it is in software.
What are the top two or three things that really bother you about the industrial food system right now?
The processing of food. For some reason back in the ’70s, America just started to idolize processed food. And so what you have is a high-calorie hamburger, for example, that is nutritionally irrelevant. In other words, people were just not thinking about nutrition. And they used laboratories to adjust the flavor, chemicals to adjust the flavor, artificial ingredients. The result was a very high-calorie, highly processed kind of a Frankenstein burger that did please the pallet, but it made you feel awful afterwards.
The other one that is absolutely ludicrous is ethanol. Forty percent of our corn fields are growing ethanol. That’s 25 million acres of land that could be used to grow real food. People keep feeding us bullshit that we need to try and feed the world. We have so much food that we are turning 40 percent of it into ethanol. It takes a gallon of oil to make a gallon of ethanol. So it’s just a total boondoggle for the corn farmers and it’s terrible for the environment. In fact, it’s hilarious: It’s the only thing that both the oil industry and the environmentalists hate. Can you imagine there’s something that those two can agree on? And it’s ethanol.
Why the hell are we doing it?
It’s a subsidy for farmers. We do it because old people vote, and they control the farms, and they would all be devastated right now if the true demand of corn is what they had to deal with. And until a politician has the courage to make those hard decisions, we’re going to be stuck growing ethanol. Now, the good thing is we are all switching to electric cars, so ethanol is going to go away anyway. But for a while, the next five to 10 years, ethanol is going to be a part of what we do.
Let’s talk about the Million Gardens Movement. How did you get the idea that you wanted to do it?
Frank [Giustra] and his team pitched us on joining forces and doing the Million Gardens Movement. And we loved it. We thought it was a great idea. Because of Covid, we had been forced to pivot our model from the learning gardens because we couldn’t really teach people in the gardens anymore. And so we had done this trial of what we call little green gardens, which are round, beautiful sort of beige sacks, and you can come in and pick these up from a local school in your community. You can grow them on a windowsill as long as there’s some light. You can grow them indoors, which enables any city to be able to use them.
Say you get to a million gardens, are there any projections on what the environmental impact of that might be?
What we would be doing with these little green gardens is inspiring people to garden and empowering them to garden. The average garden generates about $600 to $700 worth of food a year. So it provides actual food to your family. You’re having a lower carbon footprint because you’re not shipping food around. It’s great for mental health. Think about Covid and how crazy we all are. This gets you out there. It connects you to your kids. Gardening is such a beautiful thing to do for yourself, for the community, for the environment.
It’s easy to think about what has been lost during this time, but I do like this idea of using COVID as an opportunity for change.
It’s obviously one of the worst things we’ve gone through as a society, but if we do this correctly, if we take this opportunity well, it could be one of the best things that’s happened to society — in a few years, we’ll look back and say, “OK, this was a good way to restart and focus more on climate change, focus more on gardening with your family, being connected to each other.” I think it has a lot of potential, as long as we take that potential and we leverage it. So the Million Gardens Movement is a part of that.
Hydroponics Startup Babylon Micro-Farms Raises $3m Seed Capital For US Expansion
Babylon will use the capital to fund its nationwide expansion. It offers a cloud-based, plug-and-play hydroponics system for indoor farming operations
March 18, 2021
US indoor agriculture startup Babylon Micro-Farms has closed a $3 million seed round led by previous investors including the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT).
New investors to take part in the fundraising included Hull Street Capital, VentureSouth, and CAV Angels – the University of Virginia‘s alumni angel investor group.
Babylon will use the capital to fund its nationwide expansion. It offers a cloud-based, plug-and-play hydroponics system for indoor farming operations.
The Richmond, Virginia-based startup claims that its 15 square-foot miniature farm can grow as much produce as 2,000 square-feet of outdoor cropland.
In January 2020, Babylon raised its initial seed investment of $2.3 million led by CIT’s early-stage investment group CIT GAP Funds and startup incubator Plug and Play Ventures.
Invest with Impact. Click here.
“2021 is on track to be a year of accelerating growth and major market penetration through national distribution as we continue to focus on deploying our indoor farming service,” Babylon CEO Alexander Olesen said in a statement.
“We’re enabling businesses and communities to grow their own fresh produce and demonstrating the benefits of our fleet of remotely managed vertical farms.”
Indoor farming startups have been bagging fundings left, right, and center of late. Babylon Micro-Farms is just one of the latest outfits to capture investors’ attention, along with the likes of New York’s Oishii, Germany’s Infarm, and recently SPACced Kentuckian player AppHarvest.
What makes Babylon unique — in its own estimation — is its “remotely managed,” easy-to-use growing platform. The technology could give aspiring or existing indoor growers a quick way to get into the game instead of building a new growing system from scratch, or having to learn the ropes through old-school, analog means, the startup suggests.
Babylon Micro-Farms’ machinery can squeeze into relatively smaller spaces compared to many other indoor ag solutions on the market. This may give users a foothold over larger operations by allowing them to enter the fray more quickly while bigger players are still shopping for real estate.
Through a two-year lease contract, Babylon users can dabble in the indoor farming craze without having to commit to a more long-term operation. This can also give flexibility when it comes to testing new markets.
“The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted a national food-supply system issue, putting the spotlight on a critical need for more locally-grown produce options. Babylon Micro-Farms has found their focus, and it is a reflection of their leadership team’s commitment to building a category-defining customer experience while making a positive impact,” Alex Euler, investment director at CIT GAP Funds, said in a statement.
“During a time when many people are experiencing isolation, being able to watch your own garden grow can improve one’s quality of life. The company’s innovative approach to developing a technology system that enables its own staff to remotely control the light, water, and nutrients for its farming systems is absolutely making them a leader in this space.
VIDEO: Farming In A Shipping Container
Transforming Unused Spaces Into Vertical Farms
Transforming Unused Spaces Into Vertical Farms
Kalera Announces Newest Vertical Farming Facility To Open In St. Paul, Minnesota
With millions of heads of lettuce to be grown per year, Kalera’s St. Paul facility will provide a source of fresh, non-GMO, clean, living lettuces and microgreens to retailers, restaurants and other customers. Kalera’s location in the heart of the city will shorten travel time for greens from days to mere hours, preserving nutrients, freshness, and flavor
The New Facility Will Provide Fresh,
Hydroponically-Grown Produce To The Western Midwest
ORLANDO, Fla., March 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kalera (Euronext Growth Oslo ticker KAL, Bloomberg: KSLLF), one of the fastest-growing US vertical farming companies in the world and a leader in plant science for producing high-quality produce in controlled environments, today announced the purchase of a facility in St. Paul, Minnesota which they will convert to a vertical farming facility. Kalera’s Minnesota location is the eighth facility it has announced, making it one of the fastest-growing vertical farming companies in the United States. This announcement comes on the heels of the news of Kalera’s appointment of Sonny Perdue, former Secretary of Agriculture and Maria Sastre to the Board of Directors, as well as its acquisition of Vindara, the first company to develop seeds specifically designed for use in vertical indoor farm environments as well as other controlled environment agriculture (CEA) farming methods.
With millions of heads of lettuce to be grown per year, Kalera’s St. Paul facility will provide a source of fresh, non-GMO, clean, living lettuces and microgreens to retailers, restaurants and other customers. Kalera’s location in the heart of the city will shorten travel time for greens from days to mere hours, preserving nutrients, freshness, and flavor. The facility will also generate approximately 70 jobs upon opening.
“I’m proud to be welcoming Kalera to St. Paul and the W. 7th neighborhood,” said City Councilmember Rebecca Noecker, who represents St. Paul’s Ward 2. “The facility is not only bringing millions of dollars in investment into the community but is also providing jobs and importantly, increasing access to fresh, non-GMO, clean, locally grown produce.”
Kalera currently operates two growing facilities in Orlando and last week started operations in its newest and largest facility to date in Atlanta and is building facilities in Houston, Denver, Columbus, Seattle, and Hawaii. Kalera is the only controlled environment agriculture company with coast-to-coast facilities being constructed, offering grocers, restaurants, theme parks, airports and other businesses nationwide reliable access to locally grown clean, safe, nutritious, price-stable, long-lasting greens. Once all of these farms are operational, the total projected yield is several tens of millions of heads of lettuce per year, or the equivalent of over 1,000 acres of traditional field farms. Kalera uses a closed-loop irrigation system which enables its plants to grow while consuming 95% less water compared to field farming.
“Minnesotans are all too familiar with the limitations of a challenging climate,” said Daniel Malechuk, Kalera CEO. “They also take great pride in local accomplishments, so we are extremely excited to facilitate this opportunity for Minnesotans to have fresh, high quality produce year-round, grown by the locals for the locals.”
Final project commitments, including jobs and capital investment, are contingent on final approval of state incentives.
ABOUT KALERA
Kalera is a technology-driven vertical farming company with unique growing methods combining optimized nutrients and light recipes, precise environmental controls, and cleanroom standards to produce safe, highly nutritious, pesticide-free, non-GMO vegetables with consistently high quality and longer shelf life year-round. The company’s high-yield, automated, data-driven hydroponic production facilities have been designed for rapid rollout with industry-leading payback times to grow vegetables faster, cleaner, at a lower cost, and with less environmental impact.
Marijuana And Makeup Are New Growth Areas For Vertical Farms
South Korean startup Farm 8 Co. is among a proliferation of indoor urban growers that saw sales jump during the pandemic
Heesu Lee
March 13, 2021, (Bloomberg) -- Supercharged by the need to secure local supplies of fresh vegetables during the pandemic, some vertical farms are now branching out into other high-margin areas such as medical cannabis, health supplements, and cosmetics. South Korean startup Farm 8 Co. is
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/marijuana-and-makeup-are-new-growth-areas-for-vertical-farms
Copyright © BloombergQuint
PODCAST: Is This The Fastest-Growing Vertical Farming Business In The World?
Infarm’s global footprint has expanded rapidly in recent months. Its in-store units have been cropping up across the globe – including in Japan, one of the longest established and most developed indoor agriculture markets
March 11, 2021
Indoor agriculture is competitive. While there is so much whitespace for vertical farms and high-tech greenhouses to grow and sell produce regionally, those that are VC-backed seem to have been fighting for investor attention for years – with big announcements often lacking substance. So who is really leading the race?
When I returned from maternity leave in January, I reached out to my good friend Henry Gordon-Smith from urban ag consultancy Agritecture to find out what I’d missed and what sort of traction these highly-funded startups were really getting.
When thinking about which company was making the greatest strides, Henry highlighted Infarm – the Berlin-based vertical farming group with more than $300m in funding under its belt.
Infarm’s global footprint has expanded rapidly in recent months. Its in-store units have been cropping up across the globe – including in Japan, one of the longest established and most developed indoor agriculture markets. It’s also expanding into new crops, a welcome addition to the leafy green focus so many of its peers continue to have. And, since we recorded this podcast — yes that’s how fast they’re moving — they announced the roll-out of new modular ‘Growing Centers’ and added yet more funding.
So we decided to co-host an episode with Infarm’s two co-founders — and brothers — Guy and Erez Galonska, to dig into this growth.
Expect to hear about Infarm’s surprising commitment to sustainability; the focus on their core customer -the retailer; the expansion of their plant science team; and the evolution of their differentiated business model. Enjoy!
Lead photo: Image credit: Infarm
BERMUDA: Government Issues Vertical Farming Call
The Government has urged companies interested in bringing vertical farming to Bermuda to step forward through a new request for information
March 31, 2021
The Government has urged companies interested in bringing vertical farming to Bermuda to step forward through a new request for information.
The RFI calls for expressions of interest for parties who want to launch a commercial vertical farming operation “founded on principles of sustainability and environmentally friendly technology”.
Produce would be expected to be herbicide, fungicide, and pesticide-free, along with non-genetically modified.
The submission deadline for the RFI is 5 pm on Wednesday, March 31.
Submissions must include financial projections including sales volumes and corresponding revenue and relevant costs.
Wayne Furbert, the Minister for the Cabinet Office, said in November the Government had been working with US firm AeroFarms to “design and implement a vertical farming facility in Bermuda”.
Asked what the RFI meant for the relationship between the Government and AeroFarms, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office said the RFI was put out as part of the office’s due diligence efforts.
She said: “Through an RFI, the Government is seeking to determine if other interested parties were either contemplating or were in the process of producing commercial vertical farming in Bermuda.
“Interested entities who wish to engage further about this exciting, innovative, and environmentally sustainable project should visit www.gov.bm/procurement-notices.”
Vertical farming involves the production of crops in a controlled environment, usually indoors, using techniques such as hydroponics instead of soil and the crops grow in stacked layers.
The Government said last November that it was close to finalizing plans to bring a vertical farm to the island to help meet Bermuda’s demand for fresh produce.
Mr. Furbert said at the time the plan could reduce the cost of food production in Bermuda and generate 30 jobs.
He added that the proposal would be put to the Cabinet Committee for Economic Development later that month – but no further announcements have been made.
Stockholm’s Indoor Farms Boost Food Security
The city is revolutionizing its food sector by showing results in eco-friendly urban farming
The City Is Revolutionizing Its Food
Sector By Showing Results
In Eco-Friendly Urban Farming
14 Mar 2021
In April 2020, the UN warned that the world was on the brink of a catastrophic famine.
It was estimated that about 135 million people in around 55 countries faced shortages in food, particularly nutritious food, in 2019.
Against this backdrop, the UN has set an ambitious goal to ensure food security and wipe out hunger by 2030. It estimated that around 183 million people could slide into starvation and malnutrition if stricken with a pandemic akin to Covid-19. The coronavirus crisis disrupted global food supply chains, leading to chronic shortages in many countries.
Even before this pandemic, the ecological costs of food production were rising, compounded by water scarcity in many places. Irrigation accounts for about 70% of freshwater withdrawals around the world, with the figure reaching 90% in some developing countries.
Food production, which is critical for survival, affects the ecosystem. With the Earth’s resources depleting every day and the world population growing, we must discover innovative ways to cultivate food. We need ground-breaking and resourceful approaches to not only feed the world’s population but to do so in eco-friendly ways.
Faced with this dilemma, we need to develop alternative methods of farming, particularly using artificial intelligence.
Stockholm’s modern indoor farming methods provide some answers on how to overcome global food shortages. The city is revolutionizing its food sector by showing results in eco-friendly urban farming.
Some buildings in Stockholm incorporate artificial intelligence and eco-friendly methods into indoor farming. Circular energy wastewater and carbon-absorbing mechanisms enable indoor-grown greens while reducing the ecological footprint.
Indoor farming in Stockholm uses LED lighting and hydroponic watering systems. Food, especially vegetables, is grown indoors all year round. Growing vegetables indoors not only cuts reliance on food imports but also makes cities self-sufficient in food.
More than 1.3 million plants are grown indoors in Stockholm every year. Indoor farming has allowed Sweden to slash food imports by 60% and cut carbon emissions incurred in transporting food. Such transport accounts for a quarter of emissions in Sweden.
In some Stockholm suburbs, bright LED lights illuminate a business space. In this building, plants follow an artificial daylight rhythm to grow as efficiently as possible. Delicate plants such as various herbs and lettuce grow in stacks of about 20 metres wide by six metres high. Local restaurants, supermarkets and airlines buy this indoor-grown indoors.
Weather conditions in Sweden allow open-air farming for only three to four months a year. But climate is not a constraint in indoor farming, which maximises the use of space using stacks. Each shelf has its own LED lighting and circulating water. Even fruits like strawberries can be grown throughout the year.
Sweden Foodtech, a government agency, acts as a catalyst in promoting and encouraging innovation in the food sector. This agency also offers support to firms that want to restructure the food ecosystem. Companies converge when business events are organized focusing on major themes revolving around the future of the Swedish food sector.
Besides Sweden Foodtech, the Stockholm Business Region, a business promotion agency, aims to create a resilient food ecosystem for innovative businesses. Its goal is to position Stockholm as a “leading food-tech hub” for 300 companies in the food-tech industry.
Public interest, environmental consciousness, and an innovative society has made Stockholm a conducive place for food-tech initiatives. Consumers in this city are more ecologically vigilant, and many of them feel it is their moral obligation to support eco-friendly products. The city itself also extends support to all kinds of sustainable projects.
As a society grows more affluent, it places greater emphasis on health issues and ecological considerations. Ecological degradation and the use of harmful chemical fertilisers and pesticides will spur demand for eco-friendly and healthier food products.
Some 55% or 4.3 billion of the global population of 7.8 billion are urban dwellers. This figure could reach 70% or 6.8 billion of the world’s population of 9.7 billion by 2050.
High-tech vertical farms offer alternative ways to grow food on a large scale. In this way, we can grow our food in more energy-efficient and healthier ways. Despite developments in agricultural technology, conventional farming faces problems such as pests, climate change, and natural disasters.
With the scarcity of arable farming land, ecological problems, and health hazards, the trend is towards indoor food cultivation. The only challenge is to reduce the cost of indoor farming, especially for urban dwellers in less affluent countries.
But with technology rapidly advancing along with ongoing R&D and innovation, costs will fall, allowing economies of scale in indoor farming. Technological advances will lower costs, enhance quality and improve harvests, all of which will provide better returns on investments.
The trend towards indoor vertical hydroponic or aeroponic farming will gain momentum, especially in urban areas. Mass food production in the future will probably focus on indoor farming in buildings rather than horizontal farming on the ground.
READ MORE: Use idle city land to grow food
What’s in it for Malaysia? Our total agricultural imports reached nearly $18.3bn in 2019, roughly 7% from the US. We must slash this high import bill.
The government should encourage more Malaysians to enter the food ecosystem and develop the sector completely along the value chain. It should give incentives to unemployed graduates, especially those in relevant disciplines, to venture into the food sector. It should encourage them to get involved in R&D, integrated farming, indoor farming, manufacturing, logistics, marketing and distribution.
If there is anything we can learn from the coronavirus pandemic, it is that we have to ensure food self-sufficiency. We saw how the pandemic severely disrupted global food supply chains, and so our national agenda should prioritize food security.
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USA - OHIO: ‘Amazing Accomplishment’: 80 Acres Produce Made In Hamilton Now Kosher Certified
Hamilton-based 80 Acres Farms recently received Kosher certification, and a rabbi who is part of that approval said he was astounded at how well the indoor-farming company keeps insects from its produce, even though it uses no pesticides
March 13, 2021
By Mike Rutledge
Hamilton-based 80 Acres Farms recently received Kosher certification, and a rabbi who is part of that approval said he was astounded at how well the indoor-farming company keeps insects from its produce, even though it uses no pesticides.
Credit: Journal News
“It’s an amazing, amazing accomplishment,” said Rabbi Avrohom Weinrib, administrator of Cincinnati Kosher, which now oversees about 50 establishments in Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Indiana.
The not-for-profit organization soon also will be known as Central Kosher as it expands regionally. Both organizations will use the symbol of a circle around the letters CK.
With Passover starting the evening of March 27, such a designation can make preparing salads much easier for Jewish families. Vegetables and other plant products normally are Kosher. Yet a Kosher law bans eating even the tiniest of insects, Weinrib said.
“It has to be perfectly clean to be considered Kosher,” Weinrib said. “So basically, what we’re certifying — and this is the incredible process of 80 Acres — is they, through technology, got to the ability to grow things without any infestation, to the point of perfection, which is an incredible accomplishment in the world at large, but particularly an incredible breakthrough for the Kosher world.”
As part of the certification process, crops are washed in water, and that water is poured through a fine cloth that catches even the tiniest organisms. Then the cloth is checked on a light box. Then reviewers use magnifying glasses, and sometimes microscopes, “to ensure there’s nothing on there — anything like an insect,” Weinrib said.
“We’ve done about six weeks of inspections at 80 Acres to make sure that’s the case, and so far, it’s been zero,” he said. “There’s a few others in the country that have gotten to this level — very, very few — and 80 Acres is probably the best in the country in terms of this accomplishment.”
Never eaten a raspberry
Every time Weinrib’s family prepares salads or greens, “It’s going to take my wife, or one of my children, or if we pay someone to do it, to go through this exact process of washing, inspecting and almost always washing a second, or third or fourth time, until it actually gets clean,” he said.
“Because we have to make sure it’s fully clean,” Weinrib added. “So it’s time-consuming, it’s labor-intensive, and it’s something that is not an easy process.”
But when consumers see the Kosher symbol, said Kosher coordinator Rabbi Lazer Fischer, “They just open up the bag, and they can use the lettuce inside,” knowing it’s completely insect-free.
Monica Noble, who runs 80 Acres’ quality and food safety program, said the company didn’t have to change anything to earn the certification.
“Our controlled growing environment is ideal to meet Kosher requirements,” she said.
At 80 Acres, “our grow zones are enclosed and employee traffic is extremely limited, which helps us prevent pest access in the first place,” Noble said.
Kosher laws are so stringent that Weinrib has never eaten a raspberry. Fischer, who recently moved from Israel, hasn’t had one since about age 5, after intensive cleansing of those raspberries.
Other difficult-to-clean produce includes blackberries, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and sometimes strawberries.
Fischer has tasted raspberry syrups, so he has a general idea. But he hopes one day 80 Acres will have “a breakthrough” for people who have never tasted a raspberry.
Explore PHOTOS: How 80 Acres Farms has grown in Hamilton so far this year
Holiday meals
Kosher certification feels good to Samantha Bergman, 80 Acres’ senior manager of retail sales and merchandising, because of her grandfather, Harvey Bergman.
“That was something that was so important to him, honoring the Jewish tradition, and passing that down from generation to generation,” Bergman said. “I’m grateful I work somewhere that can honor this tradition for the multitude of families that hold it close to their hearts.”
Many Muslims and others also pay attention to kosher certifications.
Shakila Ahmad, with the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati in West Chester, said when their Halal certification isn’t on a product, many Muslims look at the Kosher certification, especially when making sure there are no traces of pork in a product.
During Passover, which runs from March 27 to April 4, which this year coincides with Easter, Jews don’t eat breads, cakes or any grain-based product. That lack of leavened food represents the fact that in escaping slavery while leaving Egypt, they had to flee quickly with no time for dough to rise into bread. Maybe someday, 80 Acres will grow romaine lettuce, which can be used as a bitter herb, representing slavery. Romaine is particularly difficult to clean, the rabbis said.
Sonny Perdue, Former US Secretary of Agriculture And Georgia Governor, Joins Kalera Board of Directors
Brings over 40 years of experience in agriculture
Brings Over 40 years of Experience In Agriculture
Kalera (Euronext Growth Oslo ticker KAL, Bloomberg: KSLLF), one of the fastest-growing and largest vertical farming companies in the world and a leader in plant science for producing high-quality produce in controlled environments, today announced that Sonny Perdue, former United States Secretary of Agriculture and Georgia Governor, will join its Board of Directors and has also personally invested in the company in the latest financing round. Perdue’s appointment to the Board follows the addition of Maria Sastre to the Board of Directors, as well as Kalera’s acquisition of Vindara Inc., the first company to develop seeds specifically for use in vertical farming environments.
Sonny Perdue served as the United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021, where he initiated USDA’s Ag Innovation Agenda. Prior to his time as Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny served as Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011 and a Georgia State Senator from 1991-2002. As a state senator, he was often praised for tackling issues when no one else had the courage to do so and for his ability to grasp the nuances of complex problems. Sonny was recognized as a leading authority on numerous issues including agriculture, transportation, education, emerging technologies and economic development.
“Kalera remains focused on being global leaders in all that we do, whether it be in technology, expansion, innovation, building an executive team, or having a world class Board of Directors,” said Daniel Malechuk, CEO of Kalera. “The addition of a global industry titan like Sonny Perdue is a testimony to this commitment and validation of Kalera’s role in defining how we feed the world for generations to come. We are humbled that Sonny has chosen to join us as a fully-active participant on our Board, and are excited about the unique perspective and insight he will provide through his experience as Secretary of Agriculture for the world’s leading agriculture and food producer.”
“Kalera is leading the pack in a booming vertical farming industry,” said Sonny Perdue. “Kalera is a perfect example of the power of American innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship to develop different, better ways to grow and provide food at home and around the globe. Through my travels, I’ve had the opportunity to experience many intriguing ideas in food and agricultural innovation and technology. In my opinion, Kalera captures the intersection of technology and sustainable food production better than anything I have seen. That is why I am excited about the potential I see in Kalera to change the way we grow and consume our food.”
This news follows the Company’s recent acquisition of Vindara Inc., the first company to develop seeds specifically designed for use in vertical indoor farm environments as well as other controlled environment agriculture (CEA) farming methods. Kalera has realized rapid expansion into a number of new markets including Atlanta, Houston, Denver, Columbus, Seattle, and Hawaii. Kalera is the only controlled environment agriculture company with coast-to-coast facilities being constructed, offering grocers, restaurants, theme parks, airports and other businesses nationwide reliable access to locally grown clean, safe, nutritious, price-stable, long-lasting greens. Kalera uses a closed-loop irrigation system which enables its plants to grow while consuming 95% less water compared to field farming.
About Kalera
Kalera is a technology driven vertical farming company with unique growing methods combining optimized nutrients and light recipes, precise environmental controls, and clean room standards to produce safe, highly nutritious, pesticide-free, non-GMO vegetables with consistent high quality and longer shelf life year-round. The company’s high-yield, automated, data-driven hydroponic production facilities have been designed for rapid rollout with industry-leading payback times to grow vegetables faster, cleaner, at a lower cost, and with less environmental impact. To learn more visit www.Kalera.com.
Vertical Farming Taking Weather Out of The Equation
Use of vertical farming technology has become more widespread in recent years, but how can it complement conventional farming systems? Alex Black and Rob Yorke report
11 March 2021
Use of vertical farming technology has become more widespread in recent years, but how can it complement conventional farming systems? Alex Black and Rob Yorke report.
Vertical farming taking weather out of the equation
Vertical farming is seen as an exciting concept, in which to grow high-quality produce without the worries of the weather and get more British produce on shelves.
And the sector is growing. In 2018, vertical farming was worth $3 billion (£2.2bn) globally and it is predicted to grow to $22bn (£16bn) by 2026. This is from a standing start, with no vertical farms in operation in 2010.
Baby leaves
Emma Burke is chief executive of Perfectly Fresh, a site in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, which is equivalent to 20 hectares of farmland and produces baby leaf for Marks & Spencer for both retail sale and as a sandwich ingredient.
“We are growing a premium product, our unique selling point is flavour, quality, and shelf life," Ms. Burke said. “Traditional baby leaves are often imported from Italy, Spain, and even the US. Vertical farming means that we can grow baby leaves and other crops in the UK all-year-round which previously were imported.
She believes vertical farming is part of the solution to feeding a growing global population in a sustainable way. Using vertical farming and growing plants indoors under controlled conditions, produce can be grown all year round, using less land and in any location, from an office block to a desert.
Ms. Burke said the future of vertical farming was ‘global’ with projections of an 11bn population by 2021.
“Our fragile planet simply does not have enough natural resources to meet this future consumption. Vertical farming is part of the solution to the global problems we all face,” she added.
Hydroponics
Preston-based firm Growpura is behind a new commercial-scale vertical hydroponics demonstrator facility to be based at Colworth Park in Bedfordshire.
The project, backed by a £4.5m Government grant, will use a ’simple but sophisticated’ vertical technology conveyor system to continually move plants past sources of light, irrigation and monitoring technology in a cleanroom environment.
Chief executive Nick Bateman said the innovative technology will improve product quality but importantly, generate flexibility as it can modulate plant growth to meet demand requirements.
He said: "The driver for this is to be more efficient, trying to reach net-zero as quickly as possible.
"The ability to move the technology so we can make the most effective use of natural light reduces electricity use, so we can cut production costs.
Read More
Vertically farmed wheat could be a ‘major player’ in food security
Steven & Richard: The Vertical Farmers
Scotland's first vertical farm open for business
"We can lower our carbon footprint by producing and packing on the same site and then transporting straight to to the final destination and because this is cleanroom technology, the products are ready to eat so we are cutting out the washing process."
Unlike conventional production, vertical farming units can grow crops 24/7, 365 days a year.
But Mr. Bateman believes the technology could complement existing farm enterprises.
"If a farmer has a renewable energy project, where they are sending power to the grid, it could be economically more beneficial to use that energy to power a vertical operation," he said.
Predictability
"You do not have the labour costs or the challenges of pests and diseases and supermarkets are increasingly looking to source food produced in this way.
"This is because it gives a supermarket predictability, helps to deal with fluctuations in demand, and does not bring any issues with contamination or disease."
Perfectly Fresh recently invested in a Research and Development Centre of Excellence to fully understand how to grow the best quality, in the shortest time possible, while developing yields and production efficiency.
For some crops, it is possible to have additional crop cycles per year than can be achieved in the traditional field growing.
Food waste could also be reduced in-store and at home, as vertically farmed salads can have a significantly longer shelf life.
Ms. Burke said vertical farming was just the next step for the industry, comparing it to the introduction of robotic milking machines in the dairy sector or the Hands-Free Hectare project at Harper Adams University.
She also believes it can attract new entrants and assist with changing the perception of careers in agriculture and horticulture as the industry will need research scientists, data specialists and photo biologists amongst a range of other technical experts.
Premium needed to make vertical farming work
While vertical farming technology is exciting, it could be difficult to make it work economically, with high initial investment costs and operational expenditure.
Sarah Hughes, who completed a Nuffield scholarship on the subject, said the crop needed to have some ‘real value’ to make it work.
“The amazing thing is you can grow anything anywhere at any time but it is whether it is economical,” she said.
Ms. Hughes, now marketing manager of hybrid barley at Syngenta, added many companies had focused on salad crops and herbs as they grow very well in this system but they could provide a premium product.
“I do not know how big that market is to grow into. This year a lot of those premium customers, the restaurant’s caterers which would have been quite a big sector for those type of business models, have disappeared quite quickly,” she said.
There were also opportunities in supermarkets but she suggested to make that work economically businesses would likely be having to sell a novel product as they were competing with glasshouses and field-grown crops.
Ms. Hughes suggested there could be opportunities in growing seed or food with higher vitamin content by manipulating the environment or in insect farming.
“That health and well-being sector is really big for consumers and there are still people prepared to pay for that,” she said.
There may be opportunities for farmers that could grow a very niche crop to link up with restaurants.
Ms. Hughes gave the example of a shop she had seen in Japan with a vertical farm included as a ‘tourist attraction’ with the produce sold in the restaurant.
International
Elsewhere in the world, vertical farming was taking off in the coastal areas of the US where major investors were looking for green, agritech investments.
It was also proving popular in the Middle East where water shortages affected farming and there was also a high proportion of hotels and consumers who would pay for the premium products.
More traditional growing methods could also benefit from some of the ideas of vertical farming without using the full model.
She highlighted glasshouses that still utilized sunlight but used supplementary lighting and carbon dioxide.
Rooftop Farming
Square Mile Farms, established in late 2018 by Johnno Ransom from a Lincolnshire farming family and Patrick Dumas, with an interest in nutrition, is a cutting-edge example of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA).
This involves a closed-loop system involving UV-treated nutrient-rich water delivered to vertical racks of inert Rockwool growing plugs in an atmosphere of stable temperature-flowing air illuminated by calibrated LED lights. It is just one of the end of the spectrum of hydroponic farming – using water as the nutrient delivery medium rather than soil – which includes vertical farms of all shapes and sizes.
Mr. Ransom said: “After doing a land management degree at Reading, then working as a property funds consultant, I decided to move into a more socially responsible area which was about bringing agriculture in the built environment.
"There was increasing interest in what is termed ‘urban lifestyle farming’ based around growing fresh produce close to communities becoming more sustainable."
In the 1970s, NASA were the first to start growing crops in water with a view to growing food in space.
There is more interest in hydroponic farming from venture capital investors as innovation has resulted in better LED lighting required for growing, as well as the prospects of lower operating costs.
Crowdfunding also helping to finance start-ups such as Square Mile Farms.
While many established farms - from London, Scunthorpe to Dundee – aim to serve supermarkets and wholesalers, Square Mile Farms, is keen to connect and bring urban consumers closer to food production by growing ‘greens on the walls of offices and in the basements of flats.
“It is a great model for businesses to embed well-being and social responsibility objectives into everyday living” he added.
“An office environment is already controlled to a large extent for human occupation which also benefits leafy greens and herbs plants which thrive off the temperature and CO2 in a busy workspace – we just need to the right light and water-efficient inputs."
When asked about Government support for this nascent agriculture, Mr. Ransom hoped Defra might show more interest to level the playing field with conventional agriculture.
The Covid-19 pandemic which, apart from highlighting a fragility around ‘just-in-time’ fresh food systems, has also brought people closer to the source of their groceries.
Mr. Ransom added: "Some form of accreditation along the lines of organic certification would be a logical step in labeling produce from CEA – which is nutritious and pesticide-free if done right."
The farms have grown more than 40 types of crops, including leafy greens from various herbs basil and parsley, chives, dill, coriander, lemongrass, bok choy, fennel, sorrel and red stem radish, and brassicas, such as curly kale, cavolo nero, mustard greens, and various lettuces and baby leaf.
Polygreens Podcast Episode: 17 - Nicola Kerslake - Contain Inc.
Nicola Kerslake founded Contain Inc, a fintech platform for indoor agriculture, that aids indoor farmers in finding lease funding for their projects
Nicola Kerslake founded Contain Inc, a fintech platform for indoor agriculture, that aids indoor farmers in finding lease funding for their projects. They're backed by Techstars' Farm to Fork program, funded by Cargill and Ecolab.
Latest Episode
GrowGroup IFS Introduces Their Own Grow Container Systems GCS 40HQ
The GCS 40HQ is available in different models. All models are in a 40ft container and includes LED technology, climate computers with remote control, and extensive control on water, temperature, humidity, CO2, and lighting
March 12, 2021
GrowGroup IFS Introduces Their Own Grow Container Systems GCS 40HQ
GrowGroup IFS introduces the GrowGroup Grow Container Systems “GCS 40HQ” for small container cluster farms, research & development, schools & universities, and pilots for new indoor farms. With this new solution now GrowGroup IFS can support also small farms in an accessible way with their unique and full approach including support with the operation through their partners GaaS Wageningen and Hoogendoorn Growth Management.
Grow Container Systems “GCS 40HQ”
The GCS 40HQ is available in different models. All models are in a 40ft container and includes LED technology, climate computers with remote control, and extensive control on water, temperature, humidity, CO2, and lighting. The basic model has a very low entry-level and is upgradeable on different levels. The client can choose for example for an upgrade to the highest quality of climate computers of partner Hoogendoorn Growth Management or the highest quality of LED technology of Signify. The client can even choose for the support with the operation through partner GaaS Wageningen.
“We support the bigger farmers with our unique and full approach on indoor farming for some time already but noticed also that smaller farmers, in particular, have a great need for this. That’s why we launch our own GCS solution right now, so all farmers can use the newest technology of indoor farming for year-round cultivation all over the world”, John Breedveld, CEO GrowGroup IFS.
GaaS Wageningen
Partner GaaS Wageningen from the Netherlands has access to a pool of more than 200 agricultural specialists. Its core business is supporting the operation of high-tech indoor farms from the small ones as the container farms up to the large ones as the big indoor factories. They have high knowledge of indoor farming and sharing their knowledge with the farmers by supporting and training them but also with schools and universities.
GrowGroup IFS
GrowGroup IFS (Innovative Farming Solutions), founded by CEO John Breedveld in Barendrecht in the Netherlands, is specialized in developing indoor farming based on the most advanced Dutch innovative farming solutions, especially in regions where normal cultivation is restricted by extreme climate and or limited space.
USA - NEW YORK STATE - Ellicottville Greens’ Investors Discuss Why They Backed The Company
Ellicottville Greens crossed a major hurdle facing many growth-oriented startups recently when it pulled in a $1 million round of Series A funding from local angel investors
By Dan Miner – Reporter, Buffalo Business First
March 10, 2021
Andrea Vossler, partner at Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP | JOED VIERA
Ellicottville Greens crossed a major hurdle facing many growth-oriented startups recently when it pulled in a $1 million round of Series A funding from local angel investors.
How did co-founders Gabe Bialkowski and Sal LaTorre convince angels to move cash into their bank account in exchange for an ownership percentage of the business?
The answer lies somewhere at the intersection of familiarity, talent, and foresight, according to Scott Friedman, chairman of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman law firm, and Andrea Vossler, a partner at that firm.
The duo, who invest through Varia Ventures, were the lead funders in Ellicottville Greens’ round.
Bialkowski is a computer science graduate from the Rochester Institute of Technology who has been in and out of several startups in the last decade, including a startup in Los Angeles that successfully raised seed capital.
“We worked with Gabe in the past and we find him to be bright, entrepreneurial, and collaborative,” Friedman said. “To build a great company requires real teamwork and Gabe is open to building a great team.”
Scott Friedman, chairman of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman LLP | JOED VIERA
The “bet the jockeys” mantra is a common beat among angel investors, who know that even the best ideas will face challenges requiring human ingenuity to overcome.
The model itself was also at the right place for an angel investment round, Vossler said. Ellicottville Greens builds organic vertical farms in shipping containers – making them cost-effective and mobile. It already has four such units in operation, allowing the team to show real-world evidence of its theoretical premise.
The company positions itself at the cutting-edge of a hot consumer trend, which is the ability to offer fresh and locally sourced produce. Its mobile units can be placed directly on a customers’ premises – an idea with major potential in the grocery space.
Ellicottville Greens' Container Farms | ELLICOTTVILLE GREENS
And finally, it uses technology to support production and operations and uses established e-commerce channels such as Produce Peddlers and Off the Muck.
“It’s an ag-tech startup in a massive market that’s continuing to grow,” Vossler said. “Gabe is taking a fairly straightforward business model and wrapping it with technology, utilizing the shipping containers to push down costs and creating significant efficiencies around the delivery of the product.”
Ellicottville Greens completed a $250,000 seed round of funding last year from Launch NY and other local angels. Bialkowski aired his company’s progress at a Jan. 27 web presentation in front of the Western New York Venture Association.
He surpassed many of his own growth and financial milestones for the year in the first quarter.
The mix of attractive leadership, market, and rapid growth was how Ellicottville Greens crossed the finish line on its Series A round. The idea, of course, is that the real race has just begun.
“As he continues to build his team and get traction, we don’t think there is any limit to the potential for this company,” Friedman said.
IN THIS ARTICLE Andrea Vossler Person Banking & Financial
![Vertical Farms vs Greenhouses: Energy and LED Costs And Differences [Part 2 of 5]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57c8695d5016e11e71be1d83/1615337195881-9949W7G4WYZHR08W8UW3/Screen+Shot+2021-03-10+at+1.40.08+AM.png)
Vertical Farms vs Greenhouses: Energy and LED Costs And Differences [Part 2 of 5]
Lighting is one of the biggest expenses for a vertical farm, for obvious reasons – each layer in the farm needs its own LED “suns.” Agritecture Designer, a consulting software created by Gordon-Smith’s company, estimates the need at roughly 10 LEDs per square meter
Part 2 of 5] This is the second post in a 5-part series on the differences between vertical farms and greenhouses, and the considerations that will help farming entrepreneurs decide which is right for their situation.
Last week, in the first article of this series, we discussed the basic differences between vertical farms and greenhouses, including why location is such an important factor in the decision. In short: The location of a farm governs how much space will be available for it, and the source of the energy it will use.
That last part is what you might call “the elephant in the room” when it comes to indoor farming: Energy demand, and the main reason we care about it – carbon emissions. So let’s talk about that today.
Carbon Footprint Factors: Electricity (But Not Only)
One of the leading critiques of vertical farming is that replacing natural sunlight and open-air with LED bulbs and climate control requires electricity – lots of it.
“If the source of the energy is not renewable,” points out Henry Gordon-Smith, the CEO of Agritecture, an independent consultancy that helps clients decide between vertical farms and greenhouses, “Then vertical farms have enormously more carbon footprint than greenhouses.”
But the opposite is also true – where renewables are available, vertical farming can greatly reduce the carbon footprint of foods that are normally trucked long distances, or flown in from overseas.
For example, “Norway could be huge for vertical farming, because they just have so much cheap, renewable energy,” Gordon-Smith suggested.
When you tally the emissions reductions from shorter transport distances, the reduction in fertilizer use (fertilizer production is highly carbon-intense, and Controlled Environment Agriculture uses it much more efficiently than outdoor farms), plus the reduction in food waste, it’s clear that artificial light and conditioned air inside vertical farms are not the only carbon footprint factors to consider.
Bringing the Sun Indoors: Changing Electricity Costs for Farms
Lighting is one of the biggest expenses for a vertical farm, for obvious reasons – each layer in the farm needs its own LED “suns.” Agritecture Designer, a consulting software created by Gordon-Smith’s company, estimates the need at roughly 10 LEDs per square meter.
That’s a useful figure to get started, but given the variability between types of LEDs, a more precise estimate would be about 100 watts of LED power per square meter, according to Gus van der Feltz, another CEA industry expert. Van der Feltz is a co-founder and Board Member of Farmtech Society in Belgium, and project leader for Fieldlab Vertical Farming in the Netherlands.
With these lamps operating 12 to 18 hours a day in most vertical farms, the power usage from LEDs accounts for 50 to 65% of the electricity bill.
The exact amount depends on several factors: The relative efficiency of the LEDs used, compared with the efficiency of other systems in the farm (such as climate control), as well as the light requirements of each individual crop. (For example, the total electricity required for growing light-loving strawberries in an iFarm, for example, is about 117 kWh per month for each square meter of growing space, while arugula needs only about 52 kWh.)
But whether you opt for a greenhouse or a vertical farm, you’ll be growing local produce, which means your farm may be eligible for subsidies or another form of reduced electricity rate. Be sure to check with your local government and electricity providers.
It’s also important to note that greenhouses increasingly rely on LEDs as well, especially during winter in northern climates.
This may be only supplemental light, and it will vary with the location, seasonality, and how much light each crop requires – but greenhouses are still not as energy-intensive as vertical farms.
“It takes a lot of energy to produce food (with vertical farms),” says Ramin Ebrahimnejad, vice-chair of the Association for Vertical Farming, and an expert on multiple types of urban farming.
“But,” he adds, “most vertical farms in the developed world already use renewable energy. In the long term, that’s not going to be a challenge for the industry”.
As our electricity sources become more renewable (and as LED technology improves, as we’ll discuss below) energy-intense vertical farming will become both more sustainable – less carbon-intense – and more affordable.
And we can see this evolution happening in real-time: In 2020, Europe produced more electricity from renewables than from fossil fuels for the first time.
The Cost of LEDs for Vertical Farms vs Greenhouses
LEDs themselves are another major OpEx factor in vertical farming. And even though the cost per bulb varies widely, along with the efficiency, the LEDs in a vertical farm generally have to be replaced every five to 10 years, according to the Agritecture Designer software.
However, just as the cost and carbon footprint of electricity are becoming less of a hurdle for indoor farms, the LED situation is also evolving quickly.
An idea that’s become a modern certainty is that technology gets cheaper over time. As the environmental economist William Nordhaus studied in the 1990s, the declining cost of light over the centuries – from candles, to oil lamps, to ever-more-efficient light bulbs – has been changing the world and fueling innovation for millennia.
Something similar is happening with LEDs – up to a point. Moore’s Law famously predicted computing power doubling every year, and Haitz’s Law now forecasts that the cost per lumen for LED light will fall by a factor of 10 each decade, while the light produced increases 20-fold.
However, as Van der Feltz points out, this cannot continue forever and is more limited by the laws of physics than Moore’s Law. Currently, a well-designed horticultural LED system can be up to about 55% efficient – meaning 55% of the energy put in becomes photons, which plants use to grow, and 45% becomes heat. Fifty-five percent efficiency is already impressive when compared with incandescent light bulbs, for example, where energy input produces 5% light and 95% heat.
But still, for the purpose of CEA and especially in vertical farms, the remaining 45% of the energy that becomes heat is often – though not always – useless.
“In greenhouses,” Van der Feltz explains, “the additional heat is typically not all bad. Especially since auxiliary greenhouse lighting is mostly used in the darker and cooler winter months, and there are usually plenty of options for ventilation in case it gets too warm.”
But vertical farms heat up quickly, and as closed systems where opening a window is not an option, any extra heat from LEDs must be balanced with air conditioning or creatively repurposed. Van der Feltz says some indoor farms have been designed to divert excess heat to warm an adjacent building, for example.
So LED performance can still improve marginally, but not exponentially. Van der Feltz says experts estimate that another 25% efficiency improvement is possible, but LEDs will never be able to produce light energy out of thin air.
Whatever the limits of Haitz’s Law, it’s still true that while electricity and LED light bulbs are the most expensive part of a vertical farm today, they’re also the area where improvement is most imminent. (Innovation, and the laws of supply and demand, are constantly bringing down the costs of both, regardless of how much efficiency improvement is still technologically possible.) So operating a vertical farm should still become increasingly affordable over time.
Improved technology and reduced costs for LEDs are especially good news for the potential to grow even more crops in vertical farms, as different plants use different parts of the light spectrum.
iFarm is already a leader in the industry when it comes to research and development for expanding the crop selection available to vertical farmers. As LED technology improves, we’ll be able to take those efforts even further.
Other Energy Costs: Climate Control Needs in Vertical Farms vs. Greenhouses
The high energy costs of lighting a vertical farm are obvious, but the demands of climate control are often not as clear.
Since vertical farms are closed systems, with little to no air exchanged with the outside, they must be constantly cooled and dehumidified. About 20% of the electricity used on a vertical farm is for air conditioning, while dehumidifiers account for 10%.
The need for both of these increases with each layer added to a vertical farm, in order to counter the effects of plants transpiring and increasing the heat and humidity of the system.
In temperate regions, greenhouses can save energy by using natural ventilation, as the Agritecture Designer program explains: Sidewalls can roll up to allow cool air in, while hot air escapes through vents at the top of the greenhouse. Greenhouses can also opt for an evaporative cooling system, which is still more energy efficient than a fully climate-controlled system but does add humidity – another element to be controlled.
But it’s also important to remember that greenhouses are more sensitive to outside temperatures, and therefore, the operational expenses of climate control and/or the time needed for crops to mature will vary more than they will with vertical farms – especially in cold, Northern climates.
Next, in Part 3, we’ll discuss additional cost considerations for vertical farms and greenhouses, beyond electricity.
To learn more about starting a profitable vertical farming business, reach out to our friendly team at iFarm today!
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09.03.2021