Kosher Certification & Controlled Environment Agriculture

Rabbi Daniel Sharratt

February 25, 2021

Kosher Certification Evolves

With The Continuous Technological

Changes In Food Production

Since the OU’s first product certification of Heinz vegetarian baked beans in 1923, the OU’s processes for certification evolved with food production technology.  A deep understanding of food production, technology, and science have made it possible to meet our customers where they are. The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Industry, an industry sector at the leading edge of agriculture has seen tremendous growth recently.  It shows promise in the production of bug-free food vegetables which are in high demand by kosher consumers.

As background, most of us are familiar with pigs as not being Kosher as this is expressly forbidden for Kosher consumption in the Torah (bible).  However, it is stated many more times that insects are forbidden to be eaten as well.  As a result, the Kosher Consumer has to be very careful when preparing fresh produce because of the potential presence of insects such as Thrips and Aphids.  This entails the consumer’s washing the produce at home, checking and, if clean (otherwise would have to restart the process) dry before consumption.  Needless to say, this can be an arduous task when preparing any meal.

The Unique Nature of the Kosher Vegetable Market

This is where the Kosher Vegetable market is unique because kosher certified produce provides a critical convenience factor (often translating into higher premiums) for the consumer who is careful about not eating insects.  Interestingly enough, consumers who do not keep the dietary restrictions of Kosher will nonetheless prefer kosher-certified produce because of the fear/perceived disgust of eating insects. A well-known resort was recently sued for serving lettuce wraps that contained Aphids by non-kosher consumers.

With many farms now going indoors, to allow control of humidity, lighting, and nutrients for the plants, there is a greater potential of being insect-free with the benefits of minimal to no pesticide use.  This is in addition to the freshness of the product as many of these farms are more local since they are not bound by outdoor constraints. Some companies can deliver their produce within 24 hours of harvest.  Due to this technology, the consumer can now have access to a greater variety of produce that can be insect-free and never has to be washed, a process that reduces the product’s quality.

This does not mean that indoor farms are automatically clean as it has been our experience that there are plenty of farms that have an insect infestation.  Also, since many farms want to advertise that they are pesticide-free, this will translate into an Integrated Pest Management that requires the release of beneficial insects to consume the more detrimental ones.

The kosher certification of insect-prone vegetables is carefully supervised and navigated by the OU. Standard OU procedure will require an assessment of the facility.  In addition, substantial samples of vegetables or final product are checked for insects prior to granting certification. The dynamic of OU certification of vegetables is undoubtedly highly involved but the OU  has created a system of supervision to certify vegetables prone to insect infestation.

Through meeting many demands and developing an excellent working partnership with companies, the OU always strives to provide its certified companies with an unparalleled level of supervision.

Have any questions, comments, or want to explore Kosher Certification? 

Please contact Rabbi Daniel Sharratt at: sharrattd@ou.org

Rabbi Daniel Sharratt

Rabbi Sharratt comes to the OU with experience working with many agencies across various industry sectors within the Food & Beverage Industry. Receiving a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame with a concentration in Industrial Design and receiving Rabbinic Ordination from Mesivta Torah Vodaath, he has become a valuable asset to the OU. As a Rabbinic Coordinator, he ensures that the Rabbis in the field are able to conduct their inspections, review formulas, manufacturing processes, and acts as the Accounts Executive. He currently specializes in Beverages and Produce (with a keen interest in Controlled Environment Agriculture). Rabbi Sharratt at one point even owned and operated a Kosher Fresh Vegetable company, developing a unique perspective into the Kosher Vegetable market. He is actively involved with ASK OU, where he provides classes for consumers on how to wash and check vegetables at home for kosher consumption. In addition, he works with many companies in Latin America due to his ability to speak Spanish.

This article originally appeared on OUkosher.org

Vertical Farms vs Greenhouses: Energy and LED Costs And Differences [Part 2 of 5]

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

Learn more

09.03.2021

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NIGERIA: Fresh Direct Makes Landless Farming Possible And Appealing For City Dwellers

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Adenike Adebowale

March 9, 2021

With about 200 million people to feed, Nigeria is battling with food security and is yet unable to produce all the food it needs. Coupled with that, farmers still lose a significant percentage of produce from post-harvest losses because of poor roads, lack of storage systems among others.

Most farms are located in rural areas because that is where the land is. The markets, however, are in the urban areas, and in taking the food from where it is harvested to where it is needed, a lot of damages happen to the produce. Studies carried out on post-harvest losses in some Nigerian communities show that as much as 20 – 30% of total grain production, 30 – 50% of root and tuber and a usually high percentage of fruits and vegetables are lost after harvest.

Nigeria produces about 1.5 million tons of tomatoes a year, but over 900,000 tons is lost to rot.

Nigeria’s Ministry of Agriculture

What if farms were located closer to the urban markets and farmers could cut down post-harvest losses by selling to the farm as soon as the produce is ready?

Agritech startup, Fresh Direct, is making this possible through its combination of hydroponics and vertical farming. The company was founded by Angel Adelaja in 2014.

Fresh Direct’s different approach to agriculture

Hydroponics is a soilless technique used to grow crops in nutrient solutions instead of in the soil. Fresh Direct grows different crops in vertical stackable containers and develops its own hydroponic system using technology and locally-sourced materials. This includes the use of metres and sensors to monitor the conditions of the plants in the stacked farm.

Farming with hydroponics

The container farms allow people in urban areas as well as people who have never farmed before to grow agricultural produce directly in places that are closer to the market. By using stackable shipping containers, the volume of crops that can be cultivated on a piece of land is increased exponentially. This allows the farmer to get as much as 10 times more yield using only 7 percent of the land that would be required if traditional farming methods are used.

“It has a lower barrier of entry because you do not need to go find land to start. You do not need a green house. You can start in your kitchen, closet, balcony or backyard.”

Angel Adelaja

Since the planting does not require soil, this system of farming is more appealing to youths because the back-breaking work that characterizes agriculture is absent. However, what this mode of farming removes in stress, it adds in creative thinking.

Suggested Read: From Farmcrowdy to Releaf, Here are the 5 Most Outstanding Agritech Startups of 2020

According to Adelaja, “What you avoid in back-breaking work you face in advanced thinking. It’s a higher level of thinking needed to calculate nutrients needed or design a system”.

The startup does not provide educational materials for city farmers, instead, it organizes periodic training to help farmers and intending-farmers get their footing.

Source: FoundersAfrica

Fresh Direct is gaining traction by involving more youths

Fresh Direct plans to get 10,000 youths interested in its Agritech model of farming. Already, the startup has urban farms in Abuja as well as mini-campuses in Osun State.

Also Read: Kenyan Insurtech Pula Closes $6M Series A to Boost Profits for Small-scale Farmers Across Africa

It teaches people who want to learn about urban farming as well as set up their own vertical farming containers. These teachings are provided in the form of periodic training that are organized by the startup. A training costs between N10,000 and N30,000 depending on how extensive the trainees want to go in urban farming.

After the training, Fresh Direct helps the trainees to get financing for the container farm with a collateral-free micro-loan that is obtained from banks. The problem of access to the market is also removed through the startup’s network of ready off-takers. After the produce is harvested, the city farmer can sell directly to Fresh Direct’s market.

Fresh Direct has raised N3 million in a pre-seed round

Since it started in 2014, Fresh Direct has raised funds from one disclosed round. It raised N1 million naira from Chivas Venture in 2016 in a pre-seed round. It raised an additional N2 million from She Leads Africa.

While players like Farmcrowdy are helping to make funds available for farmers in the country, more lucrative ways of farming like the vertical method and hydroponics can help farmers maximize their production and get more urban dwellers into the agriculture sector.

While Everything Is Falling Apart, It Could Be Easy To Miss The Incredible Opportunities That Are Coming Together Right Now

Sky Sheridan Sky Farms

Take a look at the state of agriculture renaissance, with thousands of companies, and millions of people working toward food system transformation designed to sustainably feed 10B people, with 70% living in cities, using less energy, water, and waste, and reversing climate change.

Check out the awesome opportunities growing on with access to the CEA census provided by Agritecture Autogrow and global market reports by Forward Fooding and the United Nations

Some of the Numbers:

5.3k+ companies
$65B invested since 2010
$17B 2020 (up from $15B 2019) 42% CAGR
21% of funding went into AgTech and CEAs
5% went to digital services
48% to food delivery
Impact is being divided into five sustainable food action tracks - 10% Access, 35% Consumption, 40% Production, 5% Equity, and 15% Resilience aimed at innovative disruption.

Out of 300+ CEAs
40% were founded in the last two years
36% got funding from family and friends
35% from angel investors
80% were operating in indoor vertical farming
49% had no agriculture experience
46% were between ages 21-30
28% prefer using Coco Coir as a soilless growing medium
Largest crops microgreens, salad greens, leafy greens and herbs.

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Indoor Ag-Con Heads To Orlando In October 2021

Premier Trade Show & Conference for

Indoor Vertical Farming Industry To Host In-Person Edition

October 4-5, 2021 at Hilton Orlando in Florida

(MARCH 11, 2021) -- With safety in mind, the Indoor Ag-Con management team has pushed the dates for its previously announced May 2021 agriculture trade show and conference for the indoor and vertical farming industry to October 4-5, 2021.  In addition to the date shift,  Indoor Ag-Con will also move from its former Las Vegas location to the Hilton Orlando in Florida for 2021, with plans to return to Las Vegas and co-locate with the National Grocers Association | NGA Show in 2022.  

“By moving our event to October, we feel we’re better aligned with the expanding Covid-19 vaccine rollout and growing confidence levels in travel and attendance at live events," says Brian Sullivan, co-owner, Indoor Ag-Con. "With safety of our audience as priority one, we also wanted to find a new location and venue that offered easy accessibility, cost-effective accommodations, as well as area activities – both indoor farming as well as entertainment-related. Orlando checked all the boxes.”

“Our 2021 move to the East Coast, coupled with Orlando’s appeal and convenience, also gives us the opportunity to expand our reach and attract  new audiences of growers and start-ups from the region, too,” adds Nancy Hallberg, co-owner, Indoor Ag-Con.   

Registration for the 2021 edition will open in May.  All attendees will be required to adhere to safety protocols and  the Indoor Ag-Con team will be closely following the government guidelines issued by the CDC , state and local officials for the 2021 edition in Orlando.

Indoor Ag-Con, launched in 2013, provides exhibitors and attendees with the latest technology and business strategies for growing crops in indoor systems, using hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic techniques, bringing together growers, investors, chefs, produce buyers, academics, policymakers, industry suppliers and advocates. 

The 2021 edition will feature an expanded exhibit floor, new networking opportunities and some of the industry’s top innovators and business leaders presenting keynote addresses and participating in a range of panel discussions. 

Centrally located to all major theme parks and attractions and just minutes from the eclectic dining scene and entertainment of International Drive, the Hilton Orlando resort sits on over 26 acres of lush landscaping and tropical inspirations making it a true destination of its own. Guests are immediately welcomed with an upscale feel enhanced with resort-style accommodations and amenities.

In development now, more information on the 2021 edition’s educational offerings, exhibits and networking events can be found at www.indoor.ag

For 2022, Indoor Ag-Con and The NGA Show will co-locate at Caesars Forum Convention Center in Las Vegas, February 27 – March 1, 2022.

About Indoor Ag-Con
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has emerged as the premier trade event for vertical farming | indoor agriculture, the practice of growing crops in indoor systems, using hydroponic, aquaponic, and aeroponic techniques. Its events are crop-agnostic and touch all sectors of the business, covering produce, legal cannabis |hemp, alternate protein, and non-food crops. In December 2018, three event industry professionals – Nancy Hallberg, Kris Sieradzki, and Brian Sullivan – acquired Indoor Ag-Con LLC,  setting the stage for further expansion of the events globally. More information is at https://indoor.ag.

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Indoor Ag-Con, 950 Scales Road, Building #200, Suwanee, GA 30024, United States

Orlando Ag-Tech Firm Kalera Lands Investment For More Growth

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By Alex Soderstrom

Staff Writer, Orlando Business Journal

March 9, 2021

One of the newest investors fueling growth at indoor farming company Kalera Inc. once was the U.S. agriculture industry's top government official.

The Orlando-based firm on Feb. 24 completed a private placement, a sale of shares to pre-selected investors and firms, that raised the company $31 million, according to financial documents. Among Kalera's latest investors is Sonny Perdue, U.S. secretary of agriculture from 2017-2021 and governor of Georgia from 2003-2011, who will join the firm's board of directors.

This is another big investment round for Kalera, which last year raised $150 million in capital. These funds help the company as it rapidly opens indoor produce growing facilities across the U.S. and eyes international expansion.

Acquisition, expansion

The investment funds Kalera's purchase of vertical farm seed developer Vindara Inc., according to documents. The seeds made by the Durham, North Carolina-based firm will increase output, improve energy efficiency and expand the product pipeline at Kalera, the company announced Feb. 24.

To see inside Kalera's HyCube in Orlando, check out the slideshow above.

Meanwhile, Kalera is expanding to six new cities in 2021 and will add employees to its corporate headquarters in Orlando this year, CEO Daniel Malechuk previously told OBJ. The company has eight open Orlando jobs listed on its website.

The company employs about 75 people, mostly in Central Florida, and will grow its workforce to more than 300 companywide by the end of 2021, Malechuk added.

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Daniel Malechuk | JIM CARCHIDI

'Leading the pack'

The purchase of Vindara was the latest step in Kalera’s rapid expansion since it was founded in 2010. Kalera’s vertical agriculture facilities grow quality-controlled produce year-round. The company operates two facilities in Orlando, and this year will open growing facilities in Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Honolulu, Seattle, and Columbus, Ohio.

The global vertical farming industry has big potential, and it’s expected to be worth nearly $12.8 billion by 2026, according to industry analysis site Report Buyer. Kalera stands out within the lucrative industry, Perdue said in a prepared statement.

“Kalera is leading the pack in a booming vertical farming industry ... 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."

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Sonny Perdue | BYRON E. SMALL

VIDEO: Plenty Expands In Safeway Stores Across Northern California

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March 9, 2021

Vertical Farming Leader Debuts Text-a-Farmer Feature at Point-of-Sale, Allowing Shoppers to Ask a Plenty Farmer Direct Questions

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 9, 2021 – Plenty, the flavor-first vertical farming company with a mission to improve the lives of people, plants, and the planet, today announced an expansion to 17 new Safeway stores across Northern California, bringing the total number of stores carrying Plenty produce in the region to 53.

The additional Albertsons-owned stores, which include Safeway and Vons, are part of the multi-year agreement between the two companies to expand Plenty produce into over 430 Albertsons-owned stores across the state of California.

The new store locations are primarily in smaller communities, making Plenty the first indoor, vertically farmed produce available to these shoppers.

Plenty is also employing a first-of-its-kind Text-a-Farmer feature, on display next to its greens in-store. Text-a-Farmer lets shoppers text questions while shopping and receive an answer directly from a Plenty farmer.

Questions can cover anything related to Plenty and its produce, including “do you use pesticides on your leafy greens,” “is your packaging recyclable,” or “how do I keep my greens fresh for longer?”

In the age of COVID when human contact has been limited, and in-person sampling is restricted, Plenty is working to connect with shoppers directly to answer questions and share information.

“At Plenty, we’re proud of the fresh, flavorful greens we grow in our farm, and of our transparent growing process, which lets us track a plant from seed to kitchen,” said Nate Storey, co-founder and chief science officer at Plenty. “The Text-a-Farmer program is one way we can directly connect with customers and hear their personal questions and experiences. We’re always excited to engage with shoppers and help them learn more about our company and the delicious produce we grow.”

Plenty’s sustainable farm delivers produce year-round that tastes like it was picked fresh from the garden. Using data analytics, machine learning and customized lighting, Plenty is able to coax the natural flavors and nutrients from the plants, creating a superior taste experience from leafy greens.

Operating on vertical towers, the farm grows hundreds of acres in a space the size of a big box store, using a fraction of the land and water used in outdoor growing.

All store locations carry four of Plenty’s flavor-first products:
• Baby Arugula – A bold baby arugula with seductive spice and subtle hints of summer citrus and black pepper
• Baby Kale – A velvety-soft baby kale highlighted by bright notes and a smooth finish
• Crispy Lettuce – A crispy leaf delivering the fresh, clean crunch you crave and versatility deserving of your most creative ideas
• Mizuna Mix – A crunchy, colorful mix of tatsoi and mizuna that brings a mustardy heat to the table

A full list of Plenty stores across the Bay area can be found here.

About Plenty
Plenty is an American farming technology company that frees agriculture from the constraints of land, weather, seasons, time, distance, pests, natural disasters, and climate. The company’s plant scientists, engineers, and farmers have developed its indoor vertical farming technology to grow nutrient-rich and pesticide-free plants with extraordinary flavor. The Plenty platform is designed to grow multiple crops in a building the size of a retail box store, yielding hundreds of acres using a fraction of the water and other precious resources. Plenty’s flagship farm and headquarters are located in South San Francisco, and the company operates the largest of its kind Research and Development farm in Laramie, Wyoming. Plenty is currently building the world’s highest-output, a vertical indoor farm in Compton, California.

Tagged greenhouse, plenty

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Vertical Indoor Farming Equipment Online Auction

AUCTION DATES:

BID ONLINE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17TH
THROUGH TUESDAY, MARCH 23RD

LOT ONE ENDS AT 12 PM CST WITH A
45-SECOND STAGGER BETWEEN LOT CLOSINGS

GALLIVAN IS PLEASED TO OFFER THE SALE OF INDOOR VERTICAL FARMING EQUIPMENT. THE COMPANY IS RELOCATING AND LIQUIDATING SURPLUS INVENTORY.  A WONDERFUL ASSORTMENT OF LED LIGHTS, RACKING TUBS, CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEMS, SCISSOR LIFTS, ORDER PICKER, HIGH-PRESSURE PUMPS, PALLET RACKING, SHIPPING SUPPLIES, AND MORE! ASSETS ARE LOCATED IN PORTAGE, INDIANA.

HYDROPONIC GROWING EQUIPMENT
OZONE WATER TREATMENT, ADVANCED TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES, HORTIPUR+, 03 GEN, 02 CONC, CLEARWATER TECH OZONE GENERATOR CD1500P, 150 PSIG, EVERFLO REF# 1020000
PALLET RACKING, POWDER COATED, 8’X36” X24’ W/ WIRE GRID
2 - HIGH-PRESSURE PUMPS, TECO NESTING HOUSE, 3 PHASE, 230/460V, RPM 1765, AMPS 35.1/17.5 300 CASES - COCO COIR GROW PUCKS, 105 CELL PLUG TRAYS, 17 TRAYS PER CASE
3,240 TRAYS - GROWING TRAYS, 105 CELL, 11"X22"
1,000 TRAYS - GROWING TRAYS, 8 CELL, 11” X22”
300 - GROW TUBS, ABS PLASTIC, 4X8, RIDGED DIRECTIONAL WATER FLOW
98 - CUSTOM GROW TUBS, WHITE, 1" DEPTH, 4X8, EBB FLOW
10,000 - MESH CUPS, 1” DIAMETER
COCONUT COIR BLOCKS, 10 LBS.

LIFTS
ORDER PICKER, RAYMOND, MDL 520-0PC30TT, 2006, 41 HRS, W/ CHARGER
SCISSOR LIFT, GENIE, MDL GS-1930, 479 HRS, 24V, MAX HEIGHT 19FT, MAX WEIGHT 599.7 LBS
SCISSOR LIFT, GENIE, MDL GS-1930, 428 HRS, 24V, MAX HEIGHT 19FT, MAX WEIGHT 599.7 LBS
WALK BEHIND FLOOR CLEANER, BULLDOG SCRUBBERS, MDL E26ECOQPG-FC, SER# 13110136, 26"

LIGHTS
3,000+ - LED GROW LIGHTS, PHILLIPS, HORTICULTURAL, 4', 120V, 35A 35W 60-60HZ PFK
300+ - LED LIGHT CONNECTORS, TE QUICK CONNECTORS, 24 CONNECTORS PER STRAND

MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT
INSULATED WALL SYSTEM, THERMAL PANELS, (88) 24' X 4' X 4", (60) 15' x 4' x 4", (30) 5' 6" X 4' X 4", (44) 12' X 4' X 4", (2) 12' X 4' 6" X 4", (18) 8' 8" x 4' x 4", (15) PARTIAL, (3) CRASH DOORS, 96" x 36" x 3/4" W/ WINDOW 11" x 22", FREEZER DOOR, REMOVAL OF THIS LOT MUST BE SCHEDULED
2 - CONDENSER, CARRIER, MDL 38AUZA25A0A6A0A0A0, 20 TON, 2 PHASE
2 - REMOTE CONDENSER, LUVATA, MDL LCS5213-099-4C, 3 PHASE, 6.5 MCA
2 - AIR CONDITIONER/ DEHUMIDIFIER, VERTICAL AIRE, MDL QV25P4E68372B, SER# 4915E23687, 7500 CFM, R-410A CONDENSING UNIT, COPELAND, MDL FTAH-A35Z-TFD020, 3 PHASE, 60 HZ
2 - AIR ROTATION UNIT, ARIZON, JOHNSON AIR ROTATION, MDL AR55XX-10-DX45
7 - POLY TANK, DURACAST, 1,000 GAL, 3" DRAIN, 72"X66"
1 - POLY TANK, NATIONAL TANK, 1550 GAL
2 - WATER TROUGH, GALVANIZED STEEL, 71"X24"X24", PLUMBED, W/ CASTERS
2 - HEAVY DUTY SAFETY SWITCH, SQUARE D, 400 AMP, 600 VAC
HEAVY DUTY SAFETY SWITCH, SQUARE D, 200 AMP, 600 VAC
4 - BREAKER PANEL, SQUARE D, CAT# 12336791120010001, 250 AMP MAX, 208Y/120 VAC
TRANSFORMER, SQUARE D, CAT# EE150T3H, 150 KVA
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MOTOR CONTROL PANEL, SIEMENS, D46264-1 REF B
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A New FEZ "Karakalpak-Agro" Established In Uzbekistan

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - The Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution”On measures to organize the activities of the free economic zone “Karakalpak-Agro”.

In accordance with the decree of the President “On measures for the comprehensive socio-economic development of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in 2020–2023” on an area of 875.4 hectares in Amu Darya, Buzatausky, Kegeili, Konlikul, Kushgirot, Muynak, Nukus , Takhiatash, Turtkul, Khodjeyli, Shumanai and Ellikala districts, the SEZ "Karakalpak-agro" was created.

The functions of managing the activities of the FEZ "Karakalpak-Agro" are assigned to the State Unitary Enterprise "Directorate of the free economic zone" Nukus ".

The main tasks and directions of the SEZ "Karakalpak-Agro":

- attracting direct foreign and domestic investments for organizing modern greenhouses on a cluster basis, including hydroponic ones, as well as organizing the production of structures, equipment and other components for the construction of modern energy-efficient greenhouses;

- increasing the production of agricultural products, expanding its deep processing and increasing exports, effectively using the production potential of the region;

- encouraging the organization of the complete process of agricultural production from seeds to delivery to the market;

- introduction of effective mechanisms for providing greenhouses with seeds and seedlings of high-yielding crops demanded by the market, by creating conditions for organizing nurseries, as well as seed production;

- formation of a modern infrastructure for the provision of logistics services, assistance to agricultural producers in organizing the export of their products;

- widespread introduction of modern resource-saving technologies, the use of alternative sources of thermal energy in the organization of greenhouses;

- creation of research and production centers to assess the compliance of products with international standards.

The Council of Ministers of Karakalpakstan, together with the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and commercial banks, was instructed to develop a targeted program of facilities for the production of structures for greenhouses on the territory of Karakalpak-Agro within two months, with the allocation of vacant non-agricultural land.

"Horticulture Is An Interesting Sector For Hackers"

Suddenly it does get very hot in the greenhouse. The grow pipe appears to be heating up at maximum and the windows are closed. The screen system does not seem to respond to the sun and the irrigation is set to zero. The climate computer no longer responds to adjustments, instead giving an unknown message. Hostage. Pay up, or you won't regain control of your greenhouse.

This scenario may seem far-fetched, but at the same time it is not unimaginable. Horticulture is at the forefront of using modern technologies and that simultaneously makes the sector a target for hackers. The information and knowledge of suppliers, growers and breeders also attract the attention of malicious parties. Marco van Loosen and Patrick Dankers of Priva explain what is going on and how it is possible that the horticultural industry is simultaneously the most modern in the world, but also somewhat naive when it comes to cyber security.

Digital espionage from the East, a Dutch newspaper headlined last month. Ransomware attacks pose a risk to Dutch companies, according to various cybersecurity companies. Last week Dutch science organization NWO was in the news: it was extorted by hackers. Their network was taken hostage and because they did not pay a ransom, confidential information was revealed on the dark web. According to Marco van Loosen, these are threats that the horticultural sector must also be aware of. He started working as Information Security Lead at Priva last year. His colleague Patrick Dankers (Portfolio Manager Horticulture) explains that there are various ways in which hacking in horticulture can be a risk. Theft, for example, of technology.

Cloud solutions
"We expect the use of cloud solutions in horticulture to take off in the next five years. Then you can think of autonomous cultivation, harvesting robots, harvest predictions and the associated algorithms, but also the knowledge of, for example, the breeding companies. All technology that can be interesting for outsiders" says Patrick.

"On the other hand, you don't have much use for this data without knowing how it is used in practice," adds Marco. "That also makes the process data from the greenhouses themselves a target. The combination between technology and the process data gives the opportunity to be able to apply the knowledge elsewhere, or at least to be able to catch up technologically in horticulture."

A second threat that horticulture may face is cybercriminals penetrating the greenhouse. "By adjusting parameters or settings or taking over users' accounts, you can obviously cause a lot of damage. Then there may be hostage-taking and asking for ransom, but sometimes they are also just out to do damage."

"Previous DDOS attacks on the government were also found to have been carried out by an adolescent," Patrick gives as an example. "But whoever is behind it, the fact remains that disruption of services is a risk that comes into play, both locally and in the cloud."

Secure and modern
The fact that Priva, of all companies, has come forward with this may seem surprising. The company offers various services that make it possible to control and optimize a crop via the cloud. Priva is happy to share information on how these solutions contribute to, for example, an autonomous greenhouse or scaling up in the sector. "It's a shaky balance: we don't want to paint doomsday scenarios or spread fear, yet this is a topic that concerns the entire sector. At the moment there is a lot of focus on the great opportunities and not on the risks. As Priva, we want to take the lead in making the sector aware of the opportunities that cloud technology offers, but only if you use that beautiful technology properly and safely. By being alert and aware, we at Priva and our users can contribute to this," says Patrick.

Within Priva itself, information security is a high priority. Last year, Marco was recruited, who is working non-stop with a special security team. When developing products and services, we work on the basis of known security principles, and security is also given sufficient attention in new releases. In addition, penetration tests are performed by ethical hackers. "We let them loose on our services and see where we can make improvements. First, they are allowed to try and penetrate our systems from the outside, and at a later stage we give them access so that they can also identify any security weaknesses from the customer's point of view. Findings are assessed and resolved. This kind of double testing keeps us on our toes and allows us to continuously increase the security level of our systems. "

Password on a post-it
There is also work to be done at a much more basic level, at the companies themselves. "There is a large group of customers who are serious about cybersecurity, but we also recognize the sector as one in which security is handled somewhat naively. That really starts with the cliché cases: companies where the password is attached to a computer screen with a post-it, where the Wi-Fi network for guests has had the same password for years or is not separated from the other networks. It might end up with a grower who can control the greenhouse with his iPhone through Priva Operator, but doesn't think about how to handle the security of his phone."

"As Priva, we do everything we can with our cloud platform to protect that knowledge and process data: the data remains with the customer and it is only under Priva's control. To continue doing that safely, we are now turning on two-stage security by default for new users of our cloud services," Marco continued. "In doing so, we help companies make the right choices in this regard. We also ensure that existing company accounts can be used to access our platform so that rights can be easily assigned and removed, for example when employees leave the company. And we also ask companies to think about the security of their systems themselves. Is there someone responsible for IT? Is there someone who regularly checks and monitors everything?"

Learning money paid
"From a historical perspective, hacking is obviously not an important topic for this sector, because it is relatively new. We now see that big players are more engaged in it - perhaps also because learning money has already been paid," Patrick continues. Marco adds: "we are therefore working with the security teams of these big players to fine-tune the security requirements. But companies that do not employ specialists themselves can also choose to outsource part of their IT security."

For growers, it is usually really not necessary to set up a complete security team themselves as well. "But growers sometimes wonder what they have to hide, or what can go wrong. If someone unnoticed is in your system and has access to process data, for example. But also, growers have their own way of growing a tomato, cucumber or rose in the best possible way. Their own knowledge is all in the system and that has been developed and refined over the years. You don't want a hacker to get hold of this, but neither do you want your neighbor or competitor to have access to it. At the same time, of course, you want to take advantage of the new possibilities of this technology, which is certainly possible if we as a sector give security sufficient priority."

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For more information:
Priva
www.priva.com
www.priva-international.com  
contact.priva@priva.nl 

3 Mar 2021
Author: Arlette Sijmonsma
© HortiDaily.com

EU: According To Marcell Kovacs "Hydroponics Should Be Labeled As Organic"

Earlier this year, many vertical farms, especially hydroponic farms and their investors received a cold shower after an EU decision. Although hydroponic farming offers high-quality, pesticide-free, green, nutrition products it hasn’t been acknowledged by the European Parlament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) as “organic”.

Losing many benefits
“Agriculture technology progressed at a break-neck speed in the last 3 to 5 years, and we are only at the beginning of the trend,” says Marcell Kovacs, founder, and CEO at Maxellco an innovation agency. “The next EU budget will unleash millions of euros for the agriculture sector in the form of grants or investments for a more sustainable and greener sector. This is the time and place to witness the revolution for the next 5 to 7 years.” 

The technology in novel growing solutions, such as automated vertical farms, hydroponics, and aquaponics, often fitted with Private Equity and Venture Capital investments, resulted that these products hit the market at scale. However, production at high-tech facilities is expensive as labor, electricity, and heating are major cost factors that need to be managed. Due to high CapEx and OpEx it is crucial for the sector to sell products at a premium price to keep the business afloat.

According to Marcell, one solution could be to classify indoor farming products as officially ‘organic’, using the approved logo set by the EU across all 27 countries.

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The organic logo (Source: European Commission)

It appears that the labeling, such as ‘bio’, ‘organic’, ‘eco’ or ‘locally produced’ are crucial to justify a higher price for produce. The organic label has become an immediately recognizable statement for quality. “We track retail prices in several regions in the EU and we can clearly demonstrate a 30% or even in some cases a 50% price premium for organic labeled products, fruits, vegetables and greens,” Marcell says. “Therefore, the label is clearly a powerful designation and producers have a strong incentive to be included under the organic umbrella,” he adds.

Why rejected?
“It was unrealistic to assume that the Parliament would approve hydroponics as organic at one go says Marcell. He says that the European agriculture sector is one of the most heavily regulated and subsidized sectors. Only a handful of experts understand the entire Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to its full extent.  It took years of negotiation, industrial influence and compromise to develop the organic label followed by a decade of heavy marketing so the brand could easily be recognized by (potential) customers. It is a sacred protection tool to prevent European citizens from buying low-quality and unhealthy food from sources other than inside the EU,” Marcel affirms.  

“Technology always progressed faster, whereas legislation and regulation followed the progress five to 10 years later to catch up with trends. The new agriculture is surely disruptive, but this is not a get-rich-quick scheme,” Marcell warns. “Farmers should embrace themselves for years of continuous investment in technology and marketing.” In order to pursue these classification goals, the AgTech sector must unite and push for legislative change together, or try to develop a new label as a standard for hydroponic and indoor farming production. Even with the best efforts, the process might take years, and maybe even decades for it to pass. So why not spend this effort in customer education instead?” Marcell suggests.

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Photo 17690284 © Panpote | Dreamstime.com

Customer engagement 
“We’re living in a time where environmentally-conscious decisions are imperative,” says Marcell. The change is not only a peak of the political centrum, but it’s present in industries, companies and customers. Customer's habits are now changing as many are becoming more environmentally conscious and are set to pursue a healthy diet. They prefer high-quality products as they’re able to afford it. Marcell says that the green aspect is part of the customer’s decisions as they want to become part of the story and have an emotional attachment to the food. Questions will arise such as, Where did come from? How was it produced? What is the environmental impact of this one?”

Marcell states that customers have the power to decide the future of the planet and the agriculture sector. On the other hand, producers have the chance to engage with customers across the supply chain, to better inform, educate and assist them to maintain their choice of lifestyle. Companies and producers should explore this field to begin developing a long-term customer relationship.

“An armada of digital tools are available for companies to take advantage and lead the changing customer habits. Think of QR codes to track down the source of vegetables (from Farm-to-Fork), or mobile apps to track eating habits or gamified waste collection. These are all easy to go answers and an important piece of this extremely complex situation.”

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For more information:
Maxellco
Marcell Kovacs, Founder, and CEO
marcell.kovacs@maxellco.com 
www.maxellco.com 

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Publication date: Fri 5 Mar 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com

Sustainable Agriculture Technology Can Help Egypt’s Water Crisis

The project of an Egyptian student consisting of using the Sinai environment for sustainable agriculture with the use of less water may be a solution to Egypt’s water scarcity problem.

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A picture shows the UAE's al-Badia Farms in Dubai, an indoor vertical farm using innovative hydroponic technology to grow fruits and vegetables all year round, on August 4, 2020. - Badia Farms is the Middle East's Based in downtown Dubai, the farms ground-breaking methods sustainably grow crops without sunlight, soil or pesticides. The farm uses 90% less water compared to open field farming. The companys vision is to revolutionise the agricultural industry in Middle East to provide a solution for the regions food security. Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images.

March 6, 2021

Egyptian student Nada Ayman's project dubbed the Cultural Desert Gravity Center uses the Sinai environment as its main agricultural tool. It also won the 36th Cycle at the 2020 World Architecture Festival.

The project — designed to be built as a cultural center in Wadi el-Weshwash in the town of Nuweiba in south Sinai — uses the surrounding environment, including the mountains, to build an integrated center providing organic nutritional products and natural herbs used in manufacturing medicines and fragrance products. A tourist and entertainment complex offering various educational and entertainment activities is also on the horizon, said Ayman.

Ayman, a student at the Faculty of Applied Arts at Zagazig University, told Al-Monitor via phone she chose the project based on the spiritual meaning of mountains.

She noted, “I was nominated by my professors to participate in the architecture competition. The World Architecture Festival has been in place since 2006, and it has a section dedicated to interior design.”

Ayman said the project consists of a hydroponic farm, which is a system to grow crops without soil. The roots of the plants grow in a liquid nutrient solution that is recycled and reused repeatedly through plants. The hydroponic farm produces medicinal plants, used in the manufacture of medicine, and crops that bear fruit to be served with meals in the farm’s restaurant.

Ayman added, “This type of agriculture uses 70% less water than regular agriculture to produce 100% organic products without using soil or fertilizers. Edible products are served at the restaurant of the farm, while herbal and fragrance products are used to manufacture therapeutic oil for the therapeutic center.”

She chose Wadi el-Weshwash because it is located next to a region of rich valleys whose water and minerals can be utilized in organic agriculture.

The design of the complex features a library, a restaurant and an art studio, Ayman said, noting that the design reached the final stage of the competition and was chosen among five others.

Atef Suweilem, a professor of agricultural engineering at Zagazig University, said the hydroponic agricultural method consists of either growing the seeds of plants or herbs in a nutritive water solution containing the main 12 to 16 nutrients plants need — or growing the plants in an inert solid material so they do not interact with the nutritive solution. Using this method does not require the use of chemical fertilizers, the surplus of which usually seeps into the soil in traditional agriculture, according to Suweilem.

Hydroponic agriculture also protects the plants from pests that live in the soil, as is the case in traditional agriculture, he said, adding that ancient Egyptians were the first to know hydroponics, and perhaps the papyrus plant is the most prominent example of this type of agriculture.

Suweilem said hydroponics is an ideal way to deal with water scarcity and climate change, stressing the need for Arab countries that suffer from a shortage of agricultural lands due to their desert nature, including Egypt, to rely on this type of agriculture.

Yasser Ahmed, an expert in agriculture and a former professor at the Egyptian Agricultural Research Center, stressed the need for Egypt to turn to hydroponics in the near future, as it helps save water and energy and increases productivity. Ahmed said hydroponic agriculture uses 95% less water compared to traditional agriculture. Leaf crops consume about 30% less water than traditional agriculture, and if the cultivation of these crops is expanded on the hydroponic farm, that method can be used widely, he said.

“This is the future of agriculture. We do not want to depend on imports. We hope we will have local production throughout the year, regardless of climate change, weather, rain or drought,” Ahmed said.

Of all sectors in Egypt, the agricultural sector consumes the largest share of water — meaning it consumes roughly more than 85% of the country’s share of irrigation water. Although Egypt has lost some of its fertile lands due to urban sprawl, there is an attempt to balance this through the expansion of agricultural areas in the desert. The total cultivated land was estimated at 9.3 million acres — 3.2 million acres of which are in lands recently reclaimed by the state and 6.9 million acres in other lands, according to the latest 2019 statistics of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

Agriculture is essential to the Egyptian economy, as its added-value represents about 14.5% of the gross domestic product. In 2016, agricultural income reached 256.9 billion Egyptian pounds ($16.3 billion). The sector also employs 29.6% of the working population and represents 11% of all exports. Because of the water shortage, the government issued measures in January 2018 to limit the cultivation of water-intensive crops such as rice.

Rasha Mahmoud

@R_ma7moud200

TOPICS COVERED Agriculture and farming Water Issues Sinai

Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/03/egypt-project-agriculture-sinai-water-scarcity-crisis.html#ixzz6oQLQrjPl

Providing An Affordable And Efficient Way To Grow Vertically Anywhere

A farming system that works just as well in a greenhouse in Africa or in an indoor environment in Sweden might sound too good to be true, but GROWPIPES farming system has been designed to do exactly that. “Our system works in all countries, whether in the North with less sunlight or in the South where there is a water shortage,” says Christer Tilk with GROWPIPES.

It all started four years ago in Gothenburg, Sweden. When setting up their first test facility they wanted their vertical farm to be as efficient as possible, but all available systems came with a high price tag. “Besides, they were hard to handle, as either the pipes were not easy to clean after harvest or they had an uneven water flow, drowning some of the plants while others dried out. Via an LED supplier, we came into contact with Christaan Delport a South African farmer with a long experience in hydroponics and we decided to join forces.”

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(f.l.t.r.) Christiaan Delport and Christer Tilk 

Christiaan: “I started off with growing animal nutriment, but I encountered some struggles with drought and property buying. This made me decide to do something on a small scale that could scale up easily. We started testing our pipes that are 15 cm tall to grow vegetables and leafy greens. Farming on small areas is what we are looking at, as space is one of the biggest limitations that farmers face.”

Christiaan emphasizes that although farming is a risky industry, growing indoors takes away most of the risks. “Last year we had heavy rains, which hindered the harvest greatly. We also face droughts, and water is short in South Africa anyway. We have plenty of sun so we do not need LED here, but being able to control water and temperature makes farming a lot less risky here.

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GROWPIPES setup

Contrary to field farming, indoor farming hardly wastes any water.” Growing indoor also extends the growth season, which in some African countries is short. “On a normal farm, you might plant only a few crops per square meter. But once you have bought the property, the space above it is free. Our main objective is to help people make good use of that.”

GROWPIPES system is in line with recent urbanization trends. “As people are moving from the farms to the cities, cities need more fresh produce. We provide them local produce and many jobs on the sides. But also in villages jobs are needed, and our system can bring in foreign currencies.”

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Lettuce harvest

“The whole idea is to provide an affordable alternative for vertical farmers,” Christer adds. “There are many systems, but they are often high priced and will take a lot of time to pay off. We have designed a LEGO-sort of structure of 15 cm, so it is adjustable to any height. We tested it meticulously, without any leakage. That is important, as we aim to address water scarcity as well.” Christiaan explains: “We are looking at the needs of different target groups, and aim to find solutions for them.”

As GROWPIPES is a very adjustable system it can easily be designed to make use of any space. A project that they are working on includes hanging the system in a conveyor system allowing harvesting and growing in different spaces. “With the right set up, it will be able to reach 50.000 plants per 100m2. It is like a library of greens, and easy to handle. More importantly: it can be scaled up without too much effort,” says Christer.

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Growpipes in a greenhouses

Christiaan adds: “Vertical farms need a lot of initial capital and investors have to wait long for their pay-back. With our system, you can start as small as you want and scale up whenever you feel like. Still, GROWPIPES biggest benefit is that we need 2ha to produce the same as conventional farming that uses 50ha.”

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For more information:
GROWPIPES
Christer Tilk, CEO
christer@growpipes.com 
+46 707 208 810

Christiaan Delport, Farmer
africa@growpipes.com 
+27 764 737 894
www.growpipes.com 

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Publication date: Thu 4 Mar 2021
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com

BRITISH COLUMBIA: Tomorrow: 2021 BC Economic Summit

Join us tomorrow for a panel discussion with guests from our projects across B.C.! You'll have the opportunity to hear their experiences and discover how you can also take steps forward in food sovereignty with indoor growing.

REGISTER 

Fresh Impact Farms Awarded Arlington's First Agriculture Grant

Mark Hand, Patch Staff

Operating since 2018, Fresh Impact Farms uses hydroponic technology to grow a variety of speciality herbs, leafy greens, and edible flowers indoors. (Mark Hand/Patch)

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County received its first-ever agriculture fund grant from the state, money that will go to Fresh Impact Farms, an Arlington-based company that plans to double production at its indoor growing facility.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced Monday that he had awarded an Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development, or AFID, Fund grant to Arlington totalling $15,000 to be given to Fresh Impact Farms. The company will receive a total of $30,000 from the government, with Arlington County matching the state grant with local funds.

"Agriculture continues to be a key driver of our economic recovery in both rural and urban areas of our commonwealth," Northam said Monday in a statement. "Innovative, dynamic businesses like Fresh Impact Farms are demonstrating how exciting new opportunities can grow out of pandemic-related challenges."

"I congratulate the company on their success and am thrilled to award the first-ever AFID grant to Arlington County to support this expansion," the governor said.

In recent decades, Arlington County has grown into one of the most densely populated counties in the nation. Up until World War II, Arlington still had plenty of farmland. But over the past 60-plus years, the only farming in the county has been of the backyard and patio variety or in the community gardens in the Four Mile Run area.

Operating since 2018, Fresh Impact Farms uses proprietary hydroponic technology to grow a variety of specialty herbs, leafy greens, and edible flowers indoors.

"Governor Northam's award to Fresh Impact Farms, Arlington's only commercial farm, is an innovative way to celebrate unique uses of technology to help a small business pivot during the pandemic," Arlington County Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt de Ferranti said. "I am thrilled that Fresh Impact Farms is growing and looking to the future of a sustainable food supply."
The company will invest a total of $137,500 as part of the expansion, which will include a second grow room, a larger production facility, and an educational hub where customers, after the pandemic, will be able to see how their food is harvested.

Fresh Impact Farms' community-supported agriculture or CSA, program focuses on leafy greens and home kitchen-friendly herbs and has grown them steadily since the program's creation last April. Along with residential customers, the company now has smaller wholesale clients in the Washington, D.C., area.

The future is bright for urban agriculture, said Ryan Pierce, founder of Fresh Impact Farms, located in the back of a Lee Highway strip mall. (Mark Hand/Patch)

After the start of the pandemic, Fresh Impact Farms decided to shift its business model to a CSA delivery service in order to continue generating revenue.

"Seizing the opportunity created by more people cooking at home, the company initiated a Community Supported Agriculture program targeting area residents," the governor's office said.

"Now, with vaccinations underway and the restaurant industry poised to rebound, Fresh Impact Farms is expanding, which will allow the company to resume supplying their restaurant customers, while also meeting new demand through their CSA program," the governor's office said.

Over the next three years, the company expects to grow an additional 10,500 pounds of Virginia-grown leafy greens, herbs, and edible flowers for restaurant and CSA customers.

The future is bright for urban agriculture, said Ryan Pierce, founder of Fresh Impact Farms, located in the back of a Lee Highway strip mall.

"The support and generosity from the Commonwealth and Arlington County will be valuable as we expand our production and move towards a hybrid model of serving both the needs of restaurants and consumers," Pierce said in a statement. "As the owner of a local food business, nothing gets me more excited than seeing the community come together in support of local food."

The funds from the Arlington County Industrial Development Authority, together with the state grant, represent "an important investment in urban agriculture, sustainability, and technology," Arlington County IDA Chair Edwin Fountain said in a statement. "This project will advance the County's innovative and forward-thinking approach to developing new sectors of economic activity in Arlington."

US: NEW YORK - Well-Known Investors Water Ellicottville Greens With $1M In Growth Funding

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By Dan Miner

Reporter, Buffalo Business First

March 8, 2021

Ellicottville Greens continues to push forward on its ambition with $1 million in new funding, led by well-known local investors.

The Series A round of funding will support construction of mobile vertical farming facilities, built inside reused shipping containers, along with the acquisition of Vertical Fresh Farms, an established indoor farming operation in Buffalo.

It is a natural progression for the company, which was founded in 2018 by Sal LaTorre and Gabe Bialkowski and seeks to take advantage of the national consumer drift toward locally grown, organic produce.

“We decided to go after a new round of funding because we have a lot more demand coming in than we have capacity to grow right now,” Bialkowski said. “We are focusing on growing the product and sales and that will help define everything else.”

The round was led by Scott Friedman, chairman of Lippes Mathias Wexler Friedman law firm, and Andrea Vossler, a partner at that firm. The duo run Varia Ventures, an investment vehicle and management consultancy aimed at startups in Buffalo. A group of angel investors based in Buffalo participated as well.

Ellicottville Greens raised $250,000 in seed funding last year from Launch NY and other local investors.

Ellicottville Greens has thus far established four shipping containers: three at its Ellicottville home base and one on the Eastern Hills Mall property in Clarence. It sells its products to homes and restaurants through web-based marketplaces that include Produce Peddlers and Off the Muck.

Produce Peddlers is itself a local startup founded by Gary and Gina Wieczorek.

In the long-term, Bialkowski says Ellicottville Greens has a repeatable business model that could be attractive to supermarkets since the company could set up shop nearby and deliver produce at the peak of possible freshness.

He said the firm is set up at the intersection of nationwide consumer shifts in how people consume food.

“People want to buy healthy local products,” Bialkowski says. “They’re getting more health-conscious and they want to know where their food comes from.”

Ellicottville Greens is the third local startup to announce a growth-oriented round of private funding this year. The others include Torch Labs ($25 million) and Circuit Clinical ($7.5 million).

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Freight Farms

Lead photo: Ellicottville Greens' storage containers

IN THIS ARTICLE

• Andrea Vossler Food & Lifestyle Gabe Bialkowsk Sal LaTorre Scott Friedman Freight Farms

Kroger Expands Partnership With 80 Acres Farms To 316 Stores

80 Acres Farms latest farm in Hamilton, OH grows10 million servings of fresh, pesticide-free produce annually

CINCINNATI - March 8, 2021 - ( Newswire.com )

The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) and 80 Acres Farms bring farm-fresh produce to customers across Ohio. Today, the companies are growing their partnership to reach more shoppers in the Midwest - both in-store and online.

“Everyone deserves easy access to fresh, affordable, delicious food,” said Dan De La Rosa, Group Vice President Fresh Merchandising, Kroger. “This newly expanded partnership means more communities will have just-picked produce at their fingertips 365 days a year. We’re proud to partner with 80 Acres Farms as we work together to create a world with Zero Hunger | Zero Waste.”                                 

80 Acres Farms’ breakthrough technology means the company can grow pesticide-free produce all year long. With locations closer to customers, the farm-to-table carbon footprint and overall food waste are low.

“Kroger leads with their commitment to fresh by providing customers access to fresher and more nutritious produce,” said Mike Zelkind, CEO and Co-founder of 80 Acres Farms. “Consumers are looking for more nutrition from their diet and want to trust that their food is safe and chemical-free and it will last longer in their refrigerators. The 80 Acres Farms brand delivers against all those promises.”

Today, 80 Acres Farms has four locations in Greater Cincinnati. Its latest state-of-the-art farm will support the new Kroger partnership, bringing 10 million fresh produce servings to communities across the Midwest.

Beginning March 15, 80 Acres will serve 316 Kroger locations across Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

For further information, please contact us at:

Rebecca Haders

rebecca.haders@eafarms.com / +1 513-910-9089

Related Links
New funding sets up 80 Acres Farms for ‘rapid’ expansion
‘The future of food’: 80 Acres debuts world’s first-of-its-kind indoor farm: PHOTOS

Press Release Service by Newswire.com

Original Source: Kroger Expands Partnership With 80 Acres Farms to 316 Stores

Towards Greater Profitability And Scale In CEA And Vertical Farming

The virtual Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit on June 24-25 will gather the world’s leading farm operators, retailers, food companies, investors, seed companies, and technology providers to meet, network, and cultivate new commercial partnerships.

350+ attendees from the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia will participate in live-stream sessions, join roundtable discussion groups and connect directly through 1-1 video meetings and group chats.

By sharing best practices from around the globe, and facilitating new connections and collaborations, the summit offers an invaluable platform to develop new business and accelerate projects across the Indoor AgTech ecosystem.

2021 Key Themes

·       Hands-Free Cultivation: Latest developments in robotics, automation and AI

·       New Crops: Mapping a pathway to mass production

·       Retail Insights: Understanding the drivers behind consumer demand

·       Seed Optimization: Breeding a competitive advantage

·       Financial Models: The investment models scaling the industry

·       Advanced Growing Environments: Blurring lines between lighting and genetics

·       Profitability at Scale: The technology driving down OPEX

·       Food Systems: Bringing food into urban planning

·       Direct to Consumer Business Models: Scaling beyond a city

·       Energy Efficiency: Driving down the costs of optimum operations

All participants can schedule video 1-1 meetings with potential partners and clients throughout the summit, and for an extended period before and after the sessions.

By sharing best practices from around the globe, and facilitating new connections and collaborations, the summit offers an invaluable platform to develop new business and accelerate projects across the Indoor AgTech ecosystem.

Summit website: https://indooragtechnyc.com/

Registration:
One Summit Pass: Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit (June 24-25, 2021)

Super Early Bird Price: $195
Register before April 2

Early Bird Price: $295
Register before May 7

Standard Price: $395

Two Summit Pass: Indoor AgTech (June 24-25, 2021) and Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins (June 22-23, 2021)

Super Early Bird Price: $445
Register before April 2

Early Bird Price: $595
Register before May 7

Standard Price: $695

https://indooragtechnyc.com/register/

To Be or Not To Be? Vertical Farm Standards or Best Practices?

Robert Colangelo, Founding Farmer, Green Sense Farms Holdings, Inc.

There is a lot of talk these days about standardizing the design of indoor vertical farms.  One of the beauties of the vertical farming industry is the lack of regulation that has allowed innovation to flourish.  Green Sense Farms has been an early adopter building our first vertical farm in 2012. Since that time, we have seen the indoor vertical farm supply chain proliferate with some amazing innovation.

When we built our first indoor farm, we had to make many farm components on our own such as, grow tubs, nutrient fill and drain valves, LED light hangers, air circulation systems, data collection software …   Now there is a rapidly developing network of suppliers that make excellent components that can be integrated into a custom farm system to meet the needs of each crop.

I’m a big believer in free-market systems. Standardization is a way to control the market and promote mediocrity. Once a standard is created most organizations will do the minimum amount of work to meet the standard, stifling innovation.

What the industry needs now is collaboration. I propose that we create “Best Practices” for indoor vertical farm design and operation. A Best Practice can be a living document that evolves with technology as the CEA industry matures.

Let me know your thought, please send to Robert@greensensefarms.com

1. Advocate for developing indoor vertical farm standards

2. Advocate for developing best practices 3. Advocate for status quo (do nothing)

Urban Agriculture Giant Infarm To Reap $250m From Next Fundraising

The Company, Which Has A Partnership

With Marks & Spencer,

Is Working With Goldman Sachs, Sky News Learns

Mark Kleinman

City editor @MarkKleinmanSky

23 February 2021

View fullsize

Infarm says it is the fastest-growing urban farming firm with interests including 'cloud-connected growing centres'.

Infarm, one of the world’s fastest-growing vertical farming companies, has picked bankers to line up a mammoth fundraising that will underline burgeoning investor interest in the sector.

Sky News has learnt that Infarm has hired Goldman Sachs to oversee its biggest funding round to date, just five months after raising $170m from a syndicate of blue-chip backers.

Sources said the latest financing was likely to kick off in the coming weeks and would be completed later this year.

Infarm has a partnership with M&S

It is expected to crystallize the so-called 'unicorn' status for Infarm - meaning it would join the crop of European technology companies worth at least $1bn.

Infarm, which is based in Germany, is targeting a vertical farming network of 5m square feet by 2025, it said in a statement last year.

The company is one of a breed of start-ups attempting to address food supply problems, some of which have become particularly intense during the coronavirus pandemic.

Unlike its rivals, Infarm installs modular 'mini-farms which are located within supermarkets and restaurants.