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US: KENTUCKY - AppHarvest Continues To Expand Operations, Adds New Container Farm In Madison County
Some Central Kentucky high school students will soon be able to help grow food not only for themselves but the entire region
AppHarvest (WYMT)
By Brandon Robinson
Apr. 22, 2021
RICHMOND, Ky. (WYMT) - Some Central Kentucky high school students will soon be able to help grow food not only for themselves but the entire region.
On Thursday, officials with Morehead-based AppHarvest announced the expansion of their container farm program to Madison County High School in Richmond.
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Gov. Andy Beshear, who attended the event, appropriately held on Earth Day, said the move will not only provide food but help students prepare for possible careers in a field with growing demand.
“AppHarvest has been reimagining and reinventing sustainable food production at its state-of-the-art facility in Morehead. With the opening of the company’s container farm classroom at Madison Central High School, AppHarvest is showing its commitment to the Commonwealth runs both strong and deep,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “This living, teaching lab will inspire and engage Kentucky students to learn about cutting-edge technology that will become the basis of the jobs of the future. Thank you to Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb and his team for making education and Kentucky students a priority in his plans for success.”
The container farm is 2,880 cubic feet, weighs 7.5 tons and includes space to grow up to 4,608 seedlings and 8,800 mature plants all at once using 440 vertical crop columns.
Each retrofitted shipping container serves as a hands-on agricultural classroom for students, allowing them to grow and provide fresh leafy greens to their classmates and those in need in their communities. The company has previously opened container farms in Eastern Kentucky at Breathitt High School in Jackson, Shelby Valley High School in Pikeville, and Rowan County Senior High School in Morehead, the site of the company’s flagship farm.
AppHarvest Founder & CEO Jonathan Webb said the latest expansion will not only help feed Kentuckians but will help Eastern Kentucky’s struggling economy.
“We knew long before opening our Morehead farm that we wanted to invest in the region to help grow our growers and build on the many outstanding community and education programs focused on creating a more resilient Appalachian economy,” Webb said. “The technology in each of these container farms is a good example of what AppHarvest’s modern farmers use daily on a larger scale.”
The Madison Central High School container program will be led by agriculture teacher and FFA adviser Derek Adams.
“Our students are looking forward to getting hands-on experience with state-of-the-art technology that will better prepare them for career opportunities in the agriculture industry,” Adams said. “They are especially eager to see the leafy greens come full circle from farm to table in their own school cafeteria.”
Hybrid Event: Vertical Farming World Congress 2021 - September 20-22
There will be two days of conference sessions, where industry leaders, innovators, suppliers, advisers, and investors will share their insights through a series of presentations, interviews, and interactive panel discussions
Vertical Farming World Congress
Event: Vertical Farming World Congress 2021
Date: 20-22 September
Location: Hybrid event – London Heathrow, also online
Organizer: Zenith Global Ltd
Following the success of the inaugural 2020 event, attended by 180 delegates from 40 countries, Zenith Global is delighted to return with an expanded 2nd Vertical Farming World Congress.
Bringing together vertical farming operators, investors, suppliers, and customers, the event will again assemble key industry leaders from around the globe, to debate and advance the future’s sector.
There will be two days of conference sessions, where industry leaders, innovators, suppliers, advisers, and investors will share their insights through a series of presentations, interviews, and interactive panel discussions.
Extensive networking opportunities, from dedicated networking breaks and group workshops to welcome receptions, will enable all delegates to connect with other industry peers.
Attendees joining in person at London Heathrow will additionally have access to vertical farm tours, produce tasting, policy forums, and training courses.
For full event information and to register, visit: www.zenithglobal.com/events/vfwc2021
For information on sponsorship opportunities, visit www.zenithglobal.com/events/sponsorship,
or contact Maxine Harle on e mharle@zenithglobal.com t +44 (0)1225 327900
VIDEO: Growing Your Offtake With Minimal Marketing
The technology of the vertical farming industry is growing faster than the produce
The initial thoughts of any product-supplying business should answer the question; Who, what and where is my potential offtake?
You are about the produce the best product of current times. Marketing is key to grow businesses in ensuring success to those that sell their product and or services. “Marketing is to sales as plowing is to planting for a farmer”- Mary Ellen Bianco, well now, in vertical farming we don’t plow, is the necessity still applicable to extensively market the product?
The production approach at CAN-AGRI is focused on consumer satisfaction. We accomplish this with proper nutrient supply in turn producing a great tasting product with no harmful chemical sprays. Our hypothesis is; High-quality products with extended shelf-life and good presentation will sell themselves. We are proud to know that through our product we set new standards in quality and freshness, a fantastic product to use in restaurants and homes. It has been proven, growth cycle, after the growth cycle, with the greatest success.
The technology of the vertical farming industry is growing faster than the produce. There are many different target points, to name a few, i.e. lights, HVAC, vertical vs horizontal operations, stacking horizontal, and combinations thereof. The technology developers need to keep a continuous drive in the development and improvement. The fact that food insecurity becomes an ever more concerning issue aids in the justification why this should be one of the top fields in research and development.
The R&D outcome focus should enable the customer to produce an economically viable safe to consume fresh produce. CAN-AGRI’s (www.can-agri.com) approach to this is in the trailed and tested uniquely designed patented grow towers. The technology not only addresses the supply and demand orders but also achieves global targets in reducing the use of scarce resources coupled with a low carbon footprint accomplished by our “use of natural resources” approach.
Each facility is tailor-made to you, the clients’, comfortability, and needs. Depending on your conditions CAN-AGRI’s adaptability and flexibility in the facility make your system a success.
Farm 111, Klipkop, Graham Rd, Pretoria, South Africa.
Advances In Hydroponic Cultivation of Floriculture Crops
Advances In Commercial Hydroponic Cultivation of Floriculture Crops for International Markets
UNITED KINGDOM: New Vertical Farm To Launch In The Midlands
High-growth technology company specialising in controlled-environment-agriculture (CEA), Vertical Future, has partnered with newly established Northamptonshire based vertical farming company, Syan Farms
April 22, 2021
Posted by: Barney Cotton
High-growth technology company specialising in controlled-environment-agriculture (CEA), Vertical Future, has partnered with newly established Northamptonshire-based vertical farming company, Syan Farms.
Launching with Vertical Future’s proprietary production systems, Syan Farms will also be brought on board as a research partner as part of Vertical Future’s wider research activities, focused on seed breeding, genetics, and robotics.
Syan Farms – a mainly family-run business based in Horton, Northamptonshire – was recently established to contribute towards the building of a better, more sustainable food system, tackling food security and other key issues. Able to grow fresh produce without the need for herbicides, pesticides or fungicides, and without use of soil, the Syan Farms team are able to provide ‘beyond-organic’ solutions with dramatically reduced emissions and water usage. The use of vertical farming also frees up land for local ecosystems to rebound from agricultural damage.
Vertical Future’s innovative production systems will be housed in a new development in Horton, Northamptonshire, integrated with solar energy and rainwater harvesting in order to provide the most efficient model possible. This is Northamptonshire’s first vertical farm, aimed to serve restaurants, distributors, and homes with the freshest produce around.
Resh Diu, co-founder of Syan Farms, says: “The construction of our first vertical farm with Vertical Future is a great first step for us – and really just the start of our journey in light of our ambitious growth plans. It marks the progression that the UK industry is making towards providing local, sustainable produce all year round whilst protecting the environment. Our ambitions, team, and business model, combined with Vertical Future’s technologies and expertise are set to leave a positive mark on the growing vertical farming industry in the UK and beyond.”
Jamie Burrows, CEO, Vertical Future says: “Growing fresh produce in a fully controlled environment allows our partners to have a measurable influence on flavours, aesthetics, and other product characteristics – this is because we control all of the different variables associated with plant growth. Our systems enable our partners to do this in a sustainable way, year-round, on-demand, and with absolutely no chemicals. We’re so excited to bring on board the Syan Farms team to generate further improvements in UK agriculture.”
Tags: Funding | Midlands | Technology Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
PODCAST: Indoor Ag Continues To Grow
Indoor agriculture has certainly made headlines in recent years. From large investments to partnerships with retailers and companies like Driscoll’s. But how much of this is hype and how much is here to stay?
Apr 22nd, 2021
Tim Hammerich - News Reporter
It’s time for your Farm of the Future Report. I’m Tim Hammerich.
Indoor agriculture has certainly made headlines in recent years. From large investments to partnerships with retailers and companies like Driscoll’s. But how much of this is hype and how much is here to stay? Co-founder and CEO Viraj Puri is very optimistic about the road ahead for these growing systems.
Puri… “I think modern greenhouse farming has a very successful legacy of being practiced profitability in many parts of the world. Much of the technology is robust. Using an example of say tomatoes, for example. I don't think most consumers know this, but upwards of 60% of tomatoes that are found in retail stores in America today are grown in a greenhouse.”
Puri said other greenhouse vegetables like cucumbers and bell peppers are also on the rise.
Puri… “And so we believe that there is still ample opportunity for the indoor farming segment and the greenhouse growing segment to grow not only in the U.S. but in many parts of the world. Because these facilities can really be located anywhere, geographically, particularly in close proximity to large marketplaces, we believe there's a lot of supply chain benefits. That can take cost out of the supply chain, waste and other factors.”
Gotham Greens continues to expand the greenhouse production systems across the country.
Tags: INDOOR AG GREENHOUSE GOTHAM GREENS
ITALY: Zero Farms Delivers Its Salads To Regional Supermarkets
This launch is proof that Zero farming is the solution to enable access to quality products for a wide range of consumers
After years of R&D by the company team, they're now aiming to create an ideal environment, combined with software and technologies for the aeroponically growing salads, arugula, aromatic herbs, and packaged microgreens. All crops are grown in a Pordenone-based production site. The formerly abandoned warehouse has a capacity of producing up to 30 tons per year.
"This launch is proof that Zero farming is the solution to enable access to quality products for a wide range of consumers." This is how Zero's CEO Daniele Modesto explains the entry into the Italian market. The company now presents its first products on the shelves of the Eurospesa supermarkets in Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto.
"We entered large-scale distribution starting with local groups, because we needed to take measures with some processes that were new to us. The processes had to be refined before going into national distribution groups," explains Daniele.
"It all started with a visit to the Expo Milano in 2015. What struck me most was a small glass cube that contained basil, arranged in multiple layers, illuminated by LED lights: the embryonic prototype of a vertical farm. From there on, I tracked down the designer and contacted him."
This appeared to be Paolo Battistel, one of Europe's greatest experts in soilless cultivation and today's scientific supervisor of Zero. He then told me what vertical farming comprised and that it would be a new frontier of agriculture. He said that it often clashes with the economic unsustainability of the project." Modesto then shared his idea with Andrea Alessio, owner of a company that deals with industrial photography with a strong passion for the product and the management of production processes."
In 2018, Zero was born in the Italian commune, Pordenone. Initially self-financed with the first partners, it later saw the first investments of other industrial companies in the area. At the beginning of 2021, the company entered the national and international agritech market as Zero Modular Architecture. This is a proprietary hardware-software technology to mass-produce, on an industrial scale, production plants in vertical farms. Namely, a transversal technological platform that involves the combination of standardized components, all produced independently by Zero, which is quickly assembled in disused industrial spaces regenerated into farms powered by clean energy.
Read more at Fruitbook Magazine (in Italian)
8 Apr 2021
South Carolina Hydroponic Container Farm Makes A Large Impact With A Small Footprint
The farm, which primarily grows leafy greens, uses a method of growing called hydroponic gardening. Simply put, it’s soil-less gardening. And as the name suggests, it means the roots are left out of the ground and instead fed nutrients and water directly with the help of technology
Hannah Cumler
April 16, 2021
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - It’s been dubbed the gardening of the future, however, it seems the future is here, now that Vertical Roots has planted itself in the Midlands.
© Provided by Columbia WIS TV Vertical Roots
The farm, which primarily grows leafy greens, uses a method of growing called hydroponic gardening.
Simply put, it’s soil-less gardening. And as the name suggests, it means the roots are left out of the ground and instead fed nutrients and water directly with the help of technology.
The controlled method of gardening has several benefits, most notably, its efficiency.
By feeding the plant directly, it means Vertical Roots saves on resources that otherwise would be lost to runoff, weather changes, or other environmental factors.
Andrew Hare, Vertical Roots’ general manager, explains that hydroponic gardening is actually 95% more efficient than traditional gardening.
“A head of lettuce for us might consume a couple of gallons of water during its entire maturation cycle versus outdoors, that’s hundreds of gallons of water,” explains Hare. “It’s not because the plant is consuming more outdoors, it’s because of the evaporation and runoff in the soil, so when you have all that contained, you’re using five percent of what you typically have to use.”
Another added benefit, a longer growing season. Operating in upcycled shipping containers, Vertical Roots is able to control its environment, allowing leafy greens to grow 365 days a year.
The Charleston-based business expanded to the Midlands in 2019 with its farm in Columbia, located at the South Carolina State Farmers Market campus.
Its Columbia location provides its largest farm site with 108 shipping containers growing leafy greens.
To put it into perspective, Hare says, “It’s about 2.5 million pounds a year or a little over 7 million plants per year that that facility grows and it’s on less than four acres of land.”
Vertical Roots products can be found at grocery stores like Publix, Whole Foods, Harris Teeter, Lowes Foods, and more
Foundation Farms Corp., Announces Vertical Farm Out For Delivery
The turnkey farm package has left the ZipGrow manufacturing facility for arrival at the Red Deer area site this week
April 20, 2021
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 20, 2021 / Foundation Farms, Corp., ("Foundation Farms") a subsidiary of GME Innotainment, Inc. (OTC PINK:GMEV) today announced confirmation of delivery and installation dates for the first of its many vertical farms. The turnkey farm package has left the ZipGrow manufacturing facility for arrival at the Red Deer area site this week. The installation crew is scheduled to arrive on-site next Monday and assembly and commissioning will be completed next week. Production of the first crop will begin on May 1.
Management is also excited to report that each of the company's vertical farms will become local community food hubs known as E-ROOTS CENTRES. In addition to selling its own vertical farm produce, each E-ROOTS CENTRE will buy other locally grown food products from farmers wholesale and then package, market, and distribute the locally grown food products to corporations, families, schools, restaurants, caterers, sports teams, and stores, maintaining economic growth in the community. These E-ROOTS CENTRES will develop health food brands utilizing local produce to promote nutritious diets. Mechanisms for dispatch and delivery logistics are included.
Ed Kroeker, CEO of Foundation Farms stated, "The installation and startup of our first E-ROOTS CENTRE is a wonderful milestone achievement but what I am even more excited about is the interest we are getting throughout North America from prospective joint venture partners and host communities. Demand is even greater than we anticipated. Projects are aggressively underway in Minneapolis-our important entry point for the United States as well as Regina, the Greater Vancouver Region, and the Greater Toronto Area, with the list of projects growing weekly."
Yves R. Michel, GMEV CEO applauded the milestone achievement this week and further added, "Food sustainability and reliability have become two of the most important goals within North American communities today. Foundation Farms has developed a business strategy that provides the components as well as the assembly, packaging, and distribution systems to achieve those goals in every community serviced by E-ROOTS CENTRES."
Yves R. Michel
Chief Executive Officer and Director
208 East 51st St., Suite 170
New York, NY 10022
Source: GME Innotainment, Inc. ("GMEV")
www.srcorpgroup.com/
Released April 20, 2021
OTCPink:GMEV
This press release may include certain statements that are forward-looking in nature and that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on GME Innotainment, Inc., current expectations and projections regarding future events, which are based on currently available information. The forward-looking statements in this press release may also include statements relating to GME Innotainment, Inc.'s anticipated new developments, business prospects, financial performance, strategies and similar matters. GME Innotainment, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.
SOURCE: GME Innotainment, Inc.
GME Innotainment, Inc.
USA: FLORIDA - The Villages Grown Passes On Expertise
By Michael Salerno
Daily Sun Senior Writer
April 20, 2021
The intersection of agriculture and wellness is now expanding. The Villages Grown, the community’s farm-to-table initiative, is building on its relationship with the University of Florida through its agricultural, health, and culinary programs. Villages Grown Executive Director Jennifer Waxman recently announced The Villages Grown became the local produce supplier for UF’s campus in Gainesville. Both The Villages Grown and UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
(UF/IFAS) are working together on research concerning controlled-environment agriculture, which involves crops growing in climate-controlled settings for the best possible growing conditions. Waxman described The Villages Grown as a leader in this practice.
She also revealed plans are in the works to train master gardener volunteers from UF/IFAS’s extension office, who would pass on expertise to residents on how to use hydroponic gardening to cultivate nutrient-dense produce.
“This is really going to help us grow the most nutrient-dense crops you can have access to, to strengthen the food as medicine approach,” Waxman said. “The partnership with UF will help extend our educational offerings with health and gardening to fulfill that thirst for knowledge that we don’t have the bandwidth for.”
Fresh and Local on Campus
The Villages Grown’s produce is now a part of the menu offerings of UF’s on-campus dining through a partnership with the university’s Gator Dining Services.
Diners may expect the full line of produce including microgreens, lettuce, herbs, tomatoes, and cucumbers, Waxman said.
“It’s really bridging agriculture, culinary, and health together, which is what The Villages Grown’s model was built after,” she said.
Gator Dining’s partnership with The Villages Grown builds on a food service program that already was Florida-centric.
Its other Florida suppliers include the Hilliard aquaponics facility Traders Hill Farm, Orlando milk factory T.G. Lee Dairy, Ormond Beach plant-based food producer PAOW! and Lake Mary sausage maker Nettles Sausage.
Agriculture Industry Research
The Villages Grown’s position as a leader in controlled-environment agriculture, also known by its acronym CEA, allows it to be at the forefront of research on the subject.
And that’s what’s happening now, as UF/IFAS researchers seek to learn more about the processes involved and whether it’s economically viable for large farms.
There’s a great interest in controlled-environment agriculture in the private sector, said Jeanna Mastrodicasa, UF/IFAS associate vice president of operations. That interest translates to abundant research opportunities with The Villages Grown and other CEA agribusinesses.
“I’d like to see how well it works,” she said. “We simply don’t know well enough about it, most of agriculture in Florida has been in open fields.”
The Villages Grown depends on controlled-environment greenhouses utilizing vertical hydroponics — a process that uses vertically stacked towers to plant and grow more crops on less land — to grow its line of crops.
It also operates a nutrient tank system that sends a recipe of nutrients from a tank in a utility room through a drip irrigation system, said Adam Wright, The Villages Grown’s director of operations.
Waxman described The Villages Grown as the Southeast’s largest controlled-environment agriculture operation of its kind, made possible by the diversification of its crop offerings.
“There’s a lot of large CEAs that only grow lettuce,” she said.
Expanding Education
But people don’t need large greenhouses to grow vegetables and herbs hydroponically.
That’s something Waxman thinks master gardeners could teach residents. She said she’s working with UF/IFAS on training master gardener volunteers about concepts such as hydroponic growing to cultivate nutritious food.
The commercial needs of The Villages Grown don’t allow its staff much time to teach residents about hydroponic gardening. That’s where trained volunteers would come in, Waxman said.
“We want them to be an extension of The Villages Grown and help them get info out to them on their behalf,” she said.
It’s a philosophy echoed by local UF/IFAS staff, who see trained master gardeners as an extension of themselves, on a mission of helping their communities.
“Having volunteers associated, that will be a great part of it,” said Jim Davis, extension director with the UF/IFAS Sumter County Extension Office.
It helps that involvement in the master gardener program historically has been very strong in The Villages, Mastrodicasa said.
“New people to Florida want to learn about what they can grow in Florida,” she said. “There’s so much opportunity. Just the idea you can have more than one growing season in a year is different. Most places in the country have one.”
Building a Healthier Community
The ultimate goal of The Villages Grown and UF’s expanding relationship is simple: building a healthier community.
That may mean supplying the freshest and most nutrient-rich vegetables possible, or teaching people how they can grow them themselves.
It also explains why The Villages Grown develops blends of microgreens for hospitals, for example, to help those suffering from cardiovascular issues, Waxman said.
For The Villages Grown’s staff, relationships like those with UF make it possible to cultivate nutrient-dense produce in an affordable and accessible way, Waxman said.
“You can’t be a lone ranger,” she said. “Or you’ll be out of business.”
Senior writer Michael Salerno can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5369, or michael.salerno@thevillagesmedia.com.
Lead photo: The Villages Grown assistant director of production, Rachel Skiles, checks the tomato plants to make sure everything is on track inside a greenhouse at the facility. Michael Johnson, Daily Sun
Feeding A City From The World’s Largest Rooftop Greenhouse
The world’s largest rooftop greenhouse is in Montreal, Canada. It measures more than 15,000m2 and produces more than 11,000kg of food per week. The company behind it had to hire 200 new employees due to pandemic-driven demand
The New Greenhouse Will Accelerate Lufa’s Mission To Grow Food
Image: REUTERS/Mariana Bazo
20 Apr 2021
Senior Writer
The world’s largest rooftop greenhouse is in Montreal, Canada.
It measures more than 15,000m2 and produces more than 11,000kg of food per week.
The company behind it had to hire 200 new employees due to pandemic-driven demand.
Can you grow enough produce for an entire city in rooftop greenhouses? Two entrepreneurs in Montreal, Canada, believe it might be possible.
Lauren Rathmell and Mohamed Hage cofounded Lufa in 2009. The company has four urban gardens in the Canadian city, all in rooftop greenhouses. Lufa’s most recent sits on top of a former warehouse and measures more than 15,000m2 – larger than the other three greenhouses combined. Its main crops are tomatoes and aubergines, producing more than 11,000kg of food per week. It is, the company says, the largest rooftop greenhouse in the world.
Lufa says its new rooftop greenhouse in Saint-Laurent, Montreal, is the largest in the world. Image: Lufa
An ambitious goal
Rathmell says the new greenhouse will accelerate Lufa’s mission to grow food where people live and help it to meet an “ever-growing demand for fresh, local, and responsible foods”.
The company – which says it’s not trying to replace local farms and food makers, acknowledging that not everything can be grown on rooftops – follows what it calls ‘responsible agriculture’ practices. These include capturing and recirculating rainwater, energy-saving glass panels, and an absence of synthetic pesticides. Any waste is composted and reused, and food is sold directly to customers on the day it is harvested. Lufa also has a fleet of electric vehicles to make those deliveries.
“Our objective at Lufa is to get to the point where we’re feeding everyone in the city,” Hage said in an interview in Fortune. Lufa’s fifth greenhouse is due to open later in 2021.
At the moment, Lufa grows food for around 2% of the city’s population. While that might sound like a modest proportion, interest in urban agriculture is on the rise. Presently, agriculture in urban areas tends to be more common in developing countries. But the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) favours an increase in urban agriculture, saying it can have “important benefits for food security”.
Urban farming is often more common among poorer members of society. Image: UN FAO
A growing global trend
Urban agriculture has been taking off in other parts of the world in recent years, too – from shipping containers in Brooklyn, New York City, to allotments in unused spaces in Brussels, Belgium.
And at 14,000 m2, there’s Nature Urbaine in Paris – which claims to be the world’s largest urban rooftop farm. Nature Urbaine rents out growing space to Parisians who want to grow their own crops. Tenant farmers pay around $450 per year per 1m2 sized plot. They get a welcome pack with everything they need to start growing, as well as regular access to the Nature Urbine gardening team who are on hand to offer advice and support.
Lufa produces more than 11,000kg of food per week, including tomatoes and aubergines. Image: Lufa
Lufa’s first greenhouse was opened in 2011, in Montreal’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, to grow herbs, microgreens, cucumbers, and peppers. Two more were added in 2013 and 2017, with the fourth joining last year. It sits on top of a former Sears warehouse in the Saint-Laurent area of the city.
In addition to its own produce, Lufa also sells a selection of other locally made or grown food, including bread, cheese, and drinks to its customers. Rising demand for its service, in the wake of the pandemic, led to the company hiring an additional 200 people, and partnering with 35 new farmers and food makers.
Have you read?
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Grow your own: Urban farming is flourishing during the coronavirus lockdowns
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POLAND: The Only Way Is Up! Puławy Vertical Farm First In Europe To Supply Beauty And Health Industries With Plant Extract From Herbs
Vertigo Farms, located in the Puławy Science and Technology Park in the east of Poland grows 11, 000 plants on an area of 300 square metres using 4 metres high metal constructions resembling shelving units, a capacity which would require an area 100 times larger if using a traditional farm
BLANKA KONOPKA
APRIL 20, 2021
Established by the husband and wife team Anna and Dawid Drzewiecki after their observations of where different plant extracts came from in cosmetics and natural supplements, the company’s innovation is based on their unique form of production, combining the growth of plants and the production of extracts in one place.
An ‘experimental’ start-up has become the first in Europe to utilize a vertical farm to both grow herbs and produce plant extracts for the beauty, health, and pharmaceutical industries.
Vertigo Farms, located in the Puławy Science and Technology Park in the east of Poland grows 11, 000 plants on an area of 300 square metres using 4 metres high metal constructions resembling shelving units, a capacity which would require an area 100 times larger if using a traditional farm.
Vertigo Farms grows 11, 000 plants on an area of 300 square metres using 4 metres high metal constructions resembling shelving units, a capacity which would require an area 100 times larger if using a traditional farm. CC BY 4.0
Established by husband and wife team Anna and Dawid Drzewiecki after their observations of where different plant extracts came from in cosmetics and natural supplements, the company’s innovation is based on their focus on vertical farming for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry as well as their unique form of production, combining the growth of plants and the production of extracts in one place.
The two-processes of growth and production have hitherto been separate in other companies in the same field, with sites often large distances apart.
Dawid Drzewiecki told Puls Biznesu: “Our idea was to shorten the supply chain and make it independent of logistics.
The process starts from seeds which are first kept under lamps and with constant access to water before they sprout.Vertigo Farms/Facebook
“These needs were strongly highlighted by the pandemic. Last year, there were delays in production due to difficulties in transport due to closed borders.
“More importantly, climate change is more often disrupting the production of plants, which our method of cultivation enables us to avoid.”
The farm, which is the only vertical farm in Poland focusing on delivery to the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry, currently produces three plant types: basil, coriander and bakuchi, the latter being a herb from Asia often used as a substitute of retinol, a popular ingredient used in anti-ageing and acne creams.
Plants are grown under violet lamps with the continual monitoring of various indicators.Vertigo Farms/Facebook
The process starts from seeds which are first kept under lamps and with constant access to water before they sprout when they are transferred to the 4m units whose shelves are comprised of gutters with peat plant pots where plants are grown under violet lamps with the continual monitoring of various indicators.
The plants are then picked, dried, and passed through a machine to extract extracts from them for use in creams, oils, and dietary supplements. The whole process requires the service of just four people.
The ambitious company, which sees themselves as filling a niche due to the small number of companies producing plant extracts for the cosmetics, health, and pharma sectors, has big expansion plans.
The oil from plants grown on vertical farms.Vertigo Farms/Facebook
Earlier this year, it signed an important deal for innovative vertical farming technology with a leading Finnish company specialising in the building of vertical farms.
The technology will enable the company to experiment with tropical plants and to grow a wider variety of herbs.
Their aim is to expand to 10-20 plant types by 2022-2023.
TAGS: TECHNOLOGY, START-UP, STARTUP, HERBS, PHARMACY, PLANTS, FARM, VERTICAL FARM, VERTIGO FARMS, DAWID DRZEWIECKI, ANNA DRZEWIECKA
Nature Fresh Farms Introduces New Program For Their Imperfect Produce
The Waste Me Nots program was recently created to leverage Nature Fresh Farms Tomatoes, Peppers, and Cucumbers that do not meet the criteria of their Quality Control team
Leamington, ON (April 13, 2021)
A recent loss-conscious program focuses on selling Nature Fresh Farms imperfect produce to reduce food waste.
The Waste Me Nots program was recently created to leverage Nature Fresh Farms Tomatoes, Peppers, and Cucumbers that do not meet the criteria of their Quality Control team. As most greenhouses hope to grow flawless quality produce, some product grows to be naturally bent or smaller in size. Although unique in shape and size, these vegetables still have the same nutritional value and flavor as their perfect counterparts. Nature Fresh Farms wants to put these pieces of produce in the spotlight, creating more of an opportunity to fight waste and give shoppers further access to nutritious foods.
‘We believe it’s important to ensure that nutritious and delicious produce does not go to waste,” shared Ray Wowryk, Director of Business Development. “By creating this program, we are helping our retailers with a ready-made waste reduction alternative.”
Since volume of this type of product is not predictable, the program cannot be guaranteed to supply specific quantities and will depend on the product grown. However, Nature Fresh Farm feels that the unpredictability is outweighed by the fact that their quality and freshness is worth rescuing and sharing with consumers, making the most of all their product grown.
“Sustainability is at the center of everything we do at Nature Fresh Farms. Not only does this encompass our packaging and growing processes but also that the food we grow gets utilized completely,” explained the Director of Sales, Matt Quiring. “The Waste Me Nots program helps us to reduce waste while allowing us to better service the price-focused shoppers looking for quality tasting products at a discounted price and let our retail partners bring in some incremental sales to the category.”
Nature Fresh Farms wants to bring more cost-effective options to its consumers and bring the focus back to the taste and freshness of the produce, not solely the look of it. They hope to break the cycle of imperfect food waste by offering discounted misshapen vegetables that there would normally not be a market for and expand the consumer’s knowledge of the type of produce they purchase.
-30-
About Nature Fresh Farms
Continuously expanding, Nature Fresh Farms has become one of the largest independent, vertically integrated greenhouse vegetable farms in North America. As a year-round grower with farms in Leamington, ON, Delta, OH, and Mexico, Nature Fresh Farms prides itself on consistently delivering exceptional flavor and quality to key retailers throughout North America, while continuing to innovate and introduce more viable and sustainable growing and packaging solutions.
SOURCE:
Nature Fresh Farms | info@naturefresh.ca T: 519 326 1111 | www.naturefresh.ca
FDA’s Warning Shot For Leafy Greens
I hope it will serve as a call to urgent action that gets to the root of the problem of the persistent presence of dangerous E. coli in the growing environment for leafy greens and other fresh produce
On April 6, the Food and Drug Administration fired an unmistakable warning shot at the leafy greens industry. I hope it will serve as a call to urgent action that gets to the root of the problem of the persistent presence of dangerous E. coli in the growing environment for leafy greens and other fresh produce.
Carefully using the regulatory language in its produce safety rule (21 CFR 112.11) and citing the recurring nature of the E. coli hazard in the Salinas and Santa Maria growing area, FDA declared the recurring strain implicated in the 2020 outbreak to be a “reasonably foreseeable hazard,” which FDA attributed to the presence of cattle on land adjacent to growing fields.
This finding seems obvious and shouldn’t be surprising. The surprise, however, is that FDA used regulatory language to express its finding and spelled out the implications: farms covered by the FSMA produce safety rules “are required to implement science and risk-based preventive measures” to minimize the risk of serious illness or death from the E. coli hazard.
Make no mistake, however, FDA’s message is aimed not only at farms but at every entity involved in the commercial production, processing, and sale of leafy greens coming from the California Central Coast Growing Region. The message is that, without effective preventive measures, such leafy greens are in violation of federal food safety regulatory standards.
I do not anticipate FDA taking judicial action to enforce its April 6 finding, absent egregious practices or clear negligence in a particular leafy green growing situation. I do see, however, a heightened sense of urgency at FDA and frustration that efforts to date have not solved the leafy greens safety problem. I share that frustration.
Fifteen years ago, the disastrous spinach outbreak caused by E. coli O157:H7 was linked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to run-off from nearby grazing land. Since then, we’ve had outbreak after outbreak associated with E. coli in leafy greens and other fresh produce. And the outbreaks are just the tip of the public health iceberg. The federal government estimates that 60 percent of all food-related E. coli O157:H7 illnesses are associated with fresh produce. The vast majority of these illnesses are not part of an identified outbreak.
The E. coli outbreaks and illnesses persist despite a lot of hard work by a lot of people in the leafy greens industry, researchers, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the FDA and its federal partners. Stop Foodborne Illness, the organization of illness victims and their families whose board I co-chair, works with the California LGMA on the common cause of strengthening food safety culture in the leafy green industry. We also advise the Leafy Greens Safety Coalition, a group of leading retailers working to strengthen safety practices. I have participated in the California Agricultural Neighbors Workgroup convened by CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. So, I know serious people are at work on the problem.
What then is the urgent call to action? What do consumers expect of the leafy greens industry, especially those individuals and families who know first-hand the devastating human impact E. coli infections can have? What does the public health demand?
At one level, the answer to all three questions is the same. The leafy greens industry and all those across the leafy greens supply chain and in government should be doing urgently everything they reasonably can to minimize the now well-known risk posed by E. coli O157:H7. According to FDA, the law requires no less. Certainly, this includes prevention measures within the leafy greens production system, such as strict implementation of rigorous water quality and irrigation standards, improved compost management, sanitation of harvesting equipment, and pre-harvest test-and-hold programs.
But the prevention strategy must go deeper. Modern food safety best practices dictate that prevention should begin at the root of the problem. As long as leafy greens are grown outdoors in the vicinity of cattle operations, I believe the food safety problem will persist until the shedding by cattle and the release of dangerous E. coli into the environment is minimized at its source. Effective vaccines are available. Changed feeding practices have promise. Perhaps containment measures can reduce risk.
The experts need to determine what combination of measures works best, but it is clear that no responsible food manufacturer would today deem it acceptable to produce food in an environment in which dangerous bacteria are being released or are present on a sustained basis. The same principle should apply to leafy greens and other fresh produce grown outdoors.
The important difference, of course, is that the leafy greens producer has no direct control over the source of the hazard. And the cattle producer isn’t responsible for where leafy greens are grown. That is why FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Yiannas calls for “industry leadership and collaboration among growers, processors, retailers, state partners and the broader agricultural community,” including cattle producers.
I am glad FDA is sounding the alarm, but I know from experience that the kind of leadership and collaboration that is urgently needed is easier said than done in an industry and government structure that is notoriously fragmented and often works in silos. And the obstacles to solving the problem are not just technical. They include the need for creative solutions on such matters as who pays for interventions needed in cattle production to make leafy greens safe.
But too much is at stake for all concerned to let such obstacles stand in the way. Now is the time for leaders from all across the commercial value chain and government to act together, with greater urgency, to get to the root of the problem and prevent it.
Mike Taylor
About the author: Mike Taylor is co-chair of the board of the non-profit consumer advocacy group Stop Foodborne Illness, which is a 25-year-old group supporting and representing foodborne illness victims and their families in efforts to keep other people from getting sick. Before that Taylor served as FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine from 2010 to mid-2016. His first tour in government began as a staff attorney at FDA, where he worked on seafood safety and nutrition labels. Later Taylor worked for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, where he became acting under secretary for food safety. Taylor was the government official who, after the deadly 1992-93 Jack in the Box hamburger outbreak, ruled that the pathogen E. coli O157:H7 is an adulterant in meat. Taylor also practiced law in the private sector.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)
Early Bird Registration Now Open For In-Person Orlando 4-5, 2021 Edition
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Podcast: On How High-Tech Hydroponic Leafy Greens Are A Revolution To The Industry
Jake Counne, founder and CEO of Wilder Fields, joined Steve Alexander to discuss how high-tech hydroponic leafy greens are revolutionizing the food and farming…
Jake Counne, founder and CEO of Wilder Fields, joined Steve Alexander to discuss how high-tech hydroponic leafy greens are revolutionizing the food and farming…
Sustainable Impacts Indoor Farming May Have On Environment
This article identifies the potential environmental effects large-scale indoor farming may have on air, water, and soil. We begin with an overview of what indoor farming is with a focus on greenhouses and indoor vertical farms (eg, plant factories)
Mar 18, 2021, | Knowledge Base, Learning, Research Paper
By Center of Excellence
Figure 1. Map of research and knowledge domain of indoor farming.
Abstract
This article identifies the potential environmental effects large-scale indoor farming may have on air, water, and soil. We begin with an overview of what indoor farming is with a focus on greenhouses and indoor vertical farms (eg, plant factories). Next, the differences between these 2 primary methods of indoor farming are presented based on their structural requirements, methods of growing, media, nutrient sources, lighting requirements, facility capacity, and methods of climate control. We also highlight the benefits and challenges facing indoor farming. In the next section, an overview of research and the knowledge domain of indoor and vertical farming is provided. Various authors and topics for research are highlighted. In the next section, the transformative environmental effects that indoor farming may have on air, soil, and water are discussed. This article closes with suggestions for additional research on indoor farming and its influence on the environment.
Citation
Stein EW. The Transformative Environmental Effects Large-Scale Indoor Farming May Have On Air, Water, and Soil. Air, Soil and Water Research. January 2021. doi:10.1177/1178622121995819
Introduction
Open field farming has been practiced the same way for centuries as the primary means of growing food. Its origins can be traced back to wheat production 11 000 years ago in the Middle East, which later spread to the Mediterranean, North Africa, and elsewhere.1 Given limitations on the amount of arable land, water scarcity, increased awareness of sustainable development, and the well-documented environmental effects of open-field agriculture, other farming methods have been developed in the past few decades. The primary alternative to open field farming is referred to as indoor farming, which has received relatively little attention in terms of environmental impacts. The goal of this article is to introduce indoor farming in its many forms to environmental scientists, outline key areas of research, and highlight the effects large-scale indoor farming could have on the environment. Research needs to be done to better understand the cumulative and transformative environmental effects indoor farming methods may have on water, air, and soil as it realizes its potential to supply a significant portion of the population with fresh food.
What Is Indoor Farming?
Indoor farming is a relatively new method of growing vegetables and other plants under controlled environmental conditions. These farm systems are variously referred to as indoor farms, vertical farms, vfarms, zfarms, greenhouses, controlled environment agriculture (CEA), and plant factories.2,3 Indoor farms are sometimes confused with urban farms, which typically represent small outdoor farms or gardens to grow vegetables that are located in urban areas. It also should be noted that mushrooms have been grown indoors in compost under controlled conditions without light for more than one hundred years.4 For the purposes of this article, we will focus on characteristics of controlled environment indoor vertical farms and greenhouses, which are the primary architectures used for the large-scale production of leafy greens and other vegetables that require natural or artificial light.
The many faces of indoor farming
Greenhouses have been the workhorse for indoor growers for decades, especially in the production of flowers and ornamental plants. The modern high-tech greenhouse designs were pioneered in the Netherlands and have since been embraced all over the world. Several examples of these farms are evident throughout the United States and the largest span hundreds of acres. For example, according to Greenhouse Grower,5 Altman Plants (CA) has almost 600 acres under glass followed by Costa Farms (FL) with 345 acres. These are mainly used in the production of ornamental plants.
For vegetables, greenhouses were originally designed for tomatoes but now are used in the production of kale, microgreens, lettuces, herbs, squash, and other types of fresh produce. These greenhouses, formerly located in rural areas, are now being positioned near urban and peri-urban areas to bring operations closer to population centers to save money and reduce the carbon footprint associated with transportation miles. For example, BrightFarms (brightfarms.com) has greenhouse operations located just outside of Philadelphia and Cincinnati to produce lettuces and other leafy greens. Gotham Greens (gothamgreens.com) situated its first greenhouse on top of a warehouse in Brooklyn, NY and has since expanded to other cities. AppHarvest (appharvest.com) is a venture located in Kentucky whose greenhouses cover more than 60 acres to produce tomatoes and other vegetables. What is common to greenhouse design is that all growing takes place on a single level, they are clothed in materials such as glass that transmit natural sunlight, and include climate control and irrigation equipment. They may also use a modest amount of supplemental artificial lighting during winter months.6
Growing leafy greens and other plants in buildings has emerged in the past 25 years whereby plants are grown vertically and hydroponically using artificial lights. Indoor vertical farms are typically located in warehouses or similar structures that have been retrofitted to provide superior heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) for the benefit of plant production and racking systems to support the production systems.7-9 The PVC grow systems transport nutrient-rich water to the root zone of the plants, and the water is then returned to the main reservoir. Designed as closed re-circulating systems, indoor vertical farms only use a fraction of the amount of water as greenhouses or open-field methods (see also section “Water Use”). The advent of cost-effective LED lighting technologies has allowed farmers to provide the plants with just the right wavelengths of light, intensity, and photo-period to optimize growth.10 Other advances include automation, IoT, and artificial intelligence; ie, all of the information technologies that contribute to “smart farming.”11
Although modern LEDs are very efficient compared to HID, high-pressure sodium, or florescent lamps, the capital and operating costs of these artificial lighting systems are significant,10 as are the climate control systems that are also required. Greenhouses, for example, require significant investment in heating and cooling equipment to maintain stable temperatures and humidity, which results in significant operating costs in buildings with low R-value membranes (eg, glass). The chief benefit of this design is that the light comes free, although growing is limited to a single level. Indoor vertical farms, however, can benefit from well-insulated structures that reduce heating and cooling costs and growing can take place on multiple levels. That said, these savings come at the expense of relatively high electricity usage for artificial lighting.10 These operating costs can be mitigated with the increasing efficiencies of LED’s, sensing systems that modulate light to the maximum required for the plants, pairing indoor farms with renewable energy sources such as solar and geo-thermal, and architectures that favor energy efficiency.9
Methods of indoor farms
Indoor farms are characterized by several parameters:
Growing Method and Media
Source of Nutrients
Lighting Requirements
Facility Capacity
Climate Control
Economics
Most indoor farms use hydroponic methods of growing; i.e, plants are grown in water. Seeding takes place in an inert material such as stone-wool or peat, which is irrigated with nutrient–rich water. Water is administered using a variety of techniques ranging from fine mist sprayers (aeroponics), to shallow water (NFT) irrigation, to deep water culture (DWC) immersion to flood and drain methods.9 All are effective and have their pros and cons. Nutrients for larger-scale hydroponic production systems typically come from dissolved salts that ionize in the water. In some smaller systems, the nutrients come from the nutrient-rich water of fish farms (ie, aquaponic systems) that are proximate to and coupled with the plant production system.
In greenhouse production facilities, most lighting comes from the sun, which may be supplemented with artificial light, especially in the northern latitudes during winter. Plant factories and vertical farms, however, use only artificial lighting but are designed to maximize growing area using stacking methods. One common design is characterized by horizontal multi-tier growing systems starting at ground level that may include up to a dozen growing levels or tiers. Aerofarms (aerofarms.com) and Bowery Farms (boweryfarming.com) use this type of design for their production processes. An alternative is to use vertical drip irrigation grow systems. This design is characterized by vertical multi-site growing systems starting at ground level that extend upwards of 8 ft. In these systems, plants grow “sideways” toward artificial lights that are positioned at a right angle. Plenty, Inc. (plenty.ag) uses systems like these obtained in the acquisition of Bright Agrotech. Several examples of vertical farming ventures can also be found in Al-Kodmany.
All indoor farming methods share the characteristic of offering CEA. Controlled environment agriculture offers the grower complete control over several environmental variables including, but not limited to: light intensity and wavelength, photo-period, wind velocity, temperature, and humidity. Water culture is further managed to obtain optimal results based on nutrient levels, PH, and dissolved oxygen.9,12 In most cases, pesticides and herbicides are eliminated. More advanced farms such as Fifth Season (fifthseasonfresh.com) benefit from extensive use of sensors, IoT, robotics, automation, and control systems designed to optimize yields and minimize labor. Another valuable aspect of CEA farms is their ability to produce plants with certain desired morphologies and nutritional profiles based on the control of lighting wavelength, temperature, and nutrient levels. Sharath Kumar et al13 go so far as to suggest that with CEA, we are moving from genetic to environmental modification of plants.
Benefits and challenges of indoor vertical farms
Several benefits are associated with vertical farming,9 although the industry is not without its challenges (see Table 1). The principal sustainable benefits of indoor vertical farming are a large reduction in the use of water (see also section “Water Use”), the reduction or elimination of pesticides, and mitigation of the effects of excess fertilizer run-off. From an economic perspective, the ability to control the environment results in a stable supply chain, price stability, long-term contracts with distributors and retail markets, and high yields per square foot. The elimination of pesticides puts produce grown this way on par with organics, which command premium pricing. Indoor farms, if designed correctly, can reduce labor costs and may be located closer to urban centers. Some see a role for indoor farms to ameliorate food deserts, unemployment, and as a means to re-purpose abandoned buildings and lots.3,9,14-16 Finally, vertical farms provide resilience to climate change, flooding, droughts, etc.
However, the vertical farming industry is facing some key challenges. For instance, currently only a very small portion of fresh vegetables are produced indoors. The one exception is the mushroom industry, which represents a US$1.15 billion industry.17 Second, the USDA does not clearly identify vegetable production by method; eg, greenhouse, open field, vertical farm, etc, so data are not readily available. Third, profits have been elusive, especially for vertical farms.18 According to the 2019 Global CEA Census Report only 15% of shipping container farms and 37% of indoor vertical farms were profitable vs. 45% for greenhouse operations.19 Another limitation of indoor farming is that a relatively small number of cultivars can be grown using indoor farming methods.
The primary ones are leafy greens, herbs, microgreens, tomatoes, and peppers, although berries, root vegetables, and other more exotic plants are being trialed.19 Another challenge for indoor farm start-ups are the high capital costs, which can range from US$50-150/ft2 for greenhouses to US$150-400/ft2 for vertical farms. For example, AppHarvest had to raise over US$150 million to fund its 60-acre greenhouse complex.20 Aerofarms raised US$42 million for a 150 000 ft2 vertical farm,21 which equates to over US$280/ft2. Cosgrove22 further reports that access to capital is impeding the growth of indoor farming, especially for smaller farms. One reason that indoor vertical farms are not easily profitable is that they have to compete against conventional farms, which still enjoy a cost advantage.
As a result, indoor farms typically price product toward the high end and along the lines of pricing for organics,2 which limits market penetration. The 2 major factors contributing to the high costs of indoor and vertical farm operations are energy10,23,24 and labor, which account for nearly 3 quarters of the total.2,24 Despite these challenges, venture capital continues to pour money into indoor farming and agtech in the hopes of driving cost down and maintaining growth. Dehlinger25 reported that US$2.8 billion was invested by venture capitalists in Agtech companies in 2019.
Finally, the industry is struggling to share knowledge, establish standards, and create best practices, although progress is being made. For example, the Center of Excellence for Indoor Agriculture established a “Best in Class” award for growers and manufacturers (indoorgacenter.org). Indoor Ag-Con (indoor.ag) and the Indoor Agtech Innovation Summit (rethinkevents.com) hold online events and annual conferences to help promote knowledge sharing. Several specialized industry news outlets now exist including Vertical Farm Daily (verticalfarmdaily.com), Urban Ag News (urbanagnews.com), iGrow (igrow.news), Hortidaily (hortidaily.com), AgFunder Network (agfundernews.com), and others.
Read more >>>
Keywords: Indoor farming, vertical farming, vfarm, zfarm, plant factory, water, air, soil, sustainability, carbon cycles, drought, information technology, greenhouse gases, climate change, environment, agtech
Polygreens Podcast Episode 22 -Jenn Frymark From Gotham Greens
In this episode, Joe and Nick interview Jenn Frymark from Gotham Greens
In this episode, Joe and Nick interview Jenn Frymark from Gotham Greens
Green produce starts with green decisions. Gotham Greens indoor farming facilities are sun (and wind) powered, and climate-controlled for a year-round growing season. This means they can provide clean, sustainable, and quality food to the communities. Any time, anywhere.
Robotic Warehouse Farms Will Save The World
The theory behind CEA is that by controlling the environment in which it grows, we can control everything about a plant and what it grows into by micro-tweaking one of a thousand different characteristics―including temperature, humidity, light duration, light wavelength, dissolved oxygen in the water, and carbon dioxide saturation in the air
by Elle Griffin
Four years ago, Ritch Wood was looking for a better way to grow plants. As the CEO of global skincare company Nu Skin, he ran into ingredient shortages every winter when fields went dormant―and when he moved grow operations to the equator he ran into water and land shortages, along with a host of quality control issues.
Nu Skin needed reliable, quality ingredients for their skincare products. But farming was too unpredictable an industry. “If there was a way to grow indoors,” he thought, “and be able to do that 24 hours a day, 365 days a year―if we could guarantee that it was grown without any herbicides or pesticides and in a sustainable way that uses less water and land―that would be really helpful.”
At the time, controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) was in its infancy and grow-light technology had yet to take a turn for the more affordable. When he learned of an agricultural system that promised to use a fraction of the land and water used by traditional agriculture methods and had the potential to make it more affordable, Wood made an investment.
Nu Skin paid $3 million for 70 percent of the company and rights to its IP―and Grōv Technologies was born.
Grōv grass grown in the Olympus machine at the Bateman Mosida Farms. Photo from Grōv Technologies
Controlled-environment agriculture is on the rise
The theory behind CEA is that by controlling the environment in which it grows, we can control everything about a plant and what it grows into by micro-tweaking one of a thousand different characteristics―including temperature, humidity, light duration, light wavelength, dissolved oxygen in the water, and carbon dioxide saturation in the air. By tweaking the growing cycle, we can control the caloric content as well as the nutrient content and density of the plant.
“What we’ve learned through controlled-environment agriculture,” Benjamin Swan, co-founder and CEO at Sustenir in Singapore, once told National Geographic, “[is] we can actually emphasize certain characteristics of the plants. So, without using GMO, we can make our kale softer, we can actually make it sweet.”
The theoretical use cases for this technology are endless―from being able to grow in places where water is scarce (like in much of Africa), or where water is overly abundant (like Hawaii), or in places where labor is scarce (like in parts of Asia), or even in places that have long winters (like Northern Europe). Theoretically, we could have grow towers in every town and feed the whole of it no matter its natural environment.
We could even grow those foods to those cities’ exact nutritional needs―more vitamin D-rich foods in wintery places, for example. Dr. Lee Mun Wei, a senior manager at the Food Innovation and Resource Centre (FIRC) in Singapore aims to predict and prevent illness in a given population by tracking their biometric data using Apple watch-like wearables, then 3D printing nutrient-specific foods that could mitigate imbalances.
Though these technologies exist, they are still in their infancy. Singapore leads much of the research and development out of necessity. With limited land and water resources, the county is forced to import 90 percent of their food and 40 percent of their water from outside the country. As a result, they have no option but to grow vertically and desalinate water from the ocean.
Elsewhere, the industry has been slow to catch on, largely due to exorbitant startup costs, low returns, and lack of urgent need. According to a 2017 State of Farming report by L.E.K., only 27 percent of indoor, vertical farms are profitable compared with 50 percent of container farms and 75 percent of greenhouses. But one thing has spurred the industry on in recent years: cannabis.
Legalized in 39 states, demand for cannabis has created a $13.6 billion industry and enough capital to fund CEA-enabled grow operations. “When you have a crop that fetches up to $2,400 or $2,500 a pound, you need to be able to dial everything in and make it consistent and repeatable,” says Dashiel Kulander, co-founder and CEO at Boojum Group. “If the temperature swings five to 10 degrees on a cannabis plant, that will change the plant’s various cannabinoids. The goal is to create a medicine that is consistent batch after batch.”
It’s only recently that there has been some financial incentive to use CEA technologies for food use―largely driven by Big Ag players hoping to hedge out the competition. Berry farming giant Driscoll’s, for one, led a $500 million round to fund Plenty, a 2.2-acre vertical farm in California they hope will help them fulfill a contract with Albertsons. The Ingka Group, for another, led a $100 million round to fund AeroFarms, a 2.4-acre vertical farm in New Jersey that will help them fulfill a contract with Singapore Airlines.
Grōv tent at the Bateman Mosida Farms. Photo from Grōv Technologies
Grōv Tech is building CEA prototypes in Utah
By investing in Grōv Tech, Nu Skin hopes to do something similar, getting ahead of the supply chain that fuels their skincare products before the competition can beat them to it, or before climate change makes traditional methods more difficult, all while shoring up technology that could provide a farming model that is more sustainable―if only it were more economical.
“The purpose was always, can we build a better product for Nu Skin?” Wood says. “We think there’s a huge story around the ingredient sustainability, and there were a lot of ingredients we felt we could grow, but the challenge was: could we do it in an economical way?”
Grōv Tech started out with a prototype: a tower that pairs hydroponic growing technology with grow lights. But like all CEA startups, a lot of the growing process was manual and the technology was prohibitively expensive. To make something that was scalable and profitable the whole thing needed to be automated and it needed to be cheap.
With this goal in mind, Wood decided they would start by growing animal feed for Bateman’s Dairy farm. Having grown up on a dairy farm himself, Wood figured this would allow the company to scale the product while refining and automating the technology to the point that it could be replicated. And all of this would have a fortuitous effect on Nu Skin’s bottom line.
“One of our bestselling products is a weight-loss protein powder which uses whey protein,” Wood says. “So again, a very nice connection there is if the animal is eating a more sustainable product and producing better milk with better protein and it’s being done in a sustainable way―certainly that can be a benefit to Nu Skin down the road.”
One year into feeding the 20,000 animals at Bateman, the company has learned a lot. For instance: cows need a lot of magnesium, but they don’t like eating it. Now, Grōv Tech puts magnesium in the water so it’s directly absorbed into the plant and then becomes bioavailable to the cow upon eating it. And because the growing process only takes seven days, data scientists can analyze the results in real-time and adjust the components to optimize production for the next batch of feed.
According to Grōv Tech president Steven Lindsley, it’s not far off that we’ll be looking at milk production (butter, fats, and proteins) and optimizing a herd’s diet for taste, quality, and nutritional value―not to mention the wellbeing of the animal. We’ll be able to look at how many trips from the veterinarian an animal gets when they’re fed certain nutrients in their diet, and whether they can have more calves and produce the same amount of dairy on less, better quality feed. (So far, the answer to this last question is yes. When animals are fed better quality food they need less of it―just like humans.)
And if we hook all of the cows up to robotic milking equipment and connect everything to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the Internet of Things―Lindsley’s far-flung goal―then we might be able to collect enough data to not only feed cows to their optimum health and performance ability, but humans too. And that could have ramifications not only for feeding the world, but nourishing it― just like Dr. Wei hopes to do in Singapore.
“Last year was about starting to feed animals and get data and prove out the hypothesis we have while continuing to perfect the technology and get confidence there,” Wood says. “And now we’re really to a point where we’ve got data that proves that it works and that financially it’ll be a good thing for a farmer. So now we can really take that proposition to farmers and start to scale.”
Olympus Tower Farm at Bateman Farms in Mosida, UT. Photo from Grōv Technologies
CEA technology could feed the world
Right now, Grōv Tech is focused on refining its technology right here in our own backyard. But once they do that, the plan is to expand internationally.
“Saudi Arabia has actually passed a law where you cannot use water to grow fodder or feed for animals, so all of that now has to be imported. China imports one-third of their alfalfa feed for their dairy animals because they don’t have the capability of growing it,” Wood says. “So there are countries that will probably benefit more than the US would. But we’ve got to refine the technology and get that built to where it’s ready to scale before we start spreading ourselves all around the globe.”
CEA technology is just getting started. Like the Tesla Cybertruck, we have a working concept that promises a more-than-Jetson’s-level future many of us can see the benefits of and actively want―it’s just not quite available to the masses yet. But with more than a billion dollars invested in the technology in just the past few years alone―we’re getting there. And the “there” we are heading toward is rosy indeed.
“To put it in perspective, one tower that is about 875 square feet on the ground will replace 35 to 50 acres of land,” says Lindsley. “And that will feed the animals on roughly five percent of the amount of water. The UN says that that the world will add about 2.5 billion people in the next 30 years. And we have to find a way to feed them on arguably less arable land and water. The good news is the technology is coming along to help solve that equation.”
If COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that our food supply chain is fragile. But that’s only because our supply chain was built to grow food in California, refrigerate it so it stays fresh, then transport it 1,500 miles so we can eat a salad in the winter in Chicago. In the future, that might not be a thing. “We’re having a dry year now,” Lindsley tells me in February. “But a year ago we were in a blizzard, and even in the middle of a blizzard in February in Utah, we’re pumping out fresh, beautiful, safe green grass for animals. It’s a paradigm shift.”
“Four years ago it was a good idea,” Wood tells me of his company’s investment in CEA technology, “But four years from now it’s going to be required.”
Elle is the editor-in-chief of Utah Business and a freelance writer for Forbes, The Muse, and The Startup. She is also a literary novelist and the author of a weekly newsletter called The Novelist.
Learn more at ellegriffin.com.
MALAYSIA: Turn Empty Spaces Into Urban Farms To Grow Food
WITH the Covid-19 pandemic highlighting the importance of food self-sufficiency, it is probably time for Malaysians to turn empty urban spaces into farms. Urban farming is the practice of cultivating, processing and distributing food in or around urban areas
17 Apr 2021
WITH the Covid-19 pandemic highlighting the importance of food self-sufficiency, it is probably time for Malaysians to turn empty urban spaces into farms. Urban farming is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas.
Although our country is rich in natural resources, we are still highly dependent on high-value imported foods. Currently, our self-sufficiency level (SSL) for fruits, vegetables, and meat products is 78.4%, 44.6%, and 22.9% respectively.
With a lower occupancy rate in both retail and office space after businesses folded due to the pandemic, property owners could perhaps be induced into redeveloping their buildings for urban or vertical farming. This is being done in Singapore with tremendous success.
According to the National Property Information Centre (Napic), the occupancy rate for shopping malls in Malaysia has dropped steadily for five consecutive years, declining from 79.2% in 2019 to 77.5% in 2020, the lowest level since 2003.
And, according to the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH), the occupancy rate for privately-owned office buildings is lower now compared to the pre-pandemic era.
Aquaponics, a pesticide-free farming method that combines aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil), would be one of the ways forward in food production. In aquaponics, the nutrient rich aquaculture water is fed to the hydroponic-grown plant.
This method of farming could be the economic livelihood for many, particularly the underprivileged and disabled communities as well as fresh graduates who are still struggling to secure a decent job.
Sunway FutureX Farm, Kebun-Kebun Bangsar (KKB) and Urban Hijau are examples of good urban farming initiatives in the Kuala Lumpur city centre.
Perhaps Malaysians could adopt Singapore’s approach by setting up aquaponics farming systems on roofs of car parks and opening urban farms in unused buildings.
The vertical rooftop system is another way of increasing our food production capacity. This system requires only a quarter of the size of a traditional farm to produce the same quantity of vegetables. At the same time, it also reduces the need to clear land for agricultural use.
The government should provide incentives for farmers and the relevant stakeholders who are interested in venturing into urban farming. This would enhance the supply and affordability of a wide range of minimally processed plant-based foods, as suggested under the latest Malaysia Economic Monitor “Sowing the Seeds” report by the World Bank.
With the current administration’s laudable commitment to tackling food security issues, this would provide the opportunity for Malaysia to review the current national food security policy by addressing productivity, optimization of resources, sustainable consumption, climate change, and water and land scarcity. By putting greater emphasis on urban farming, the government could encourage farmers to plant more nutritious and higher-value crops.
Given that the involvement of youths in the agriculture sector is only 240,000 or just 15% of the total number of farmers in Malaysia, as noted by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries I Datuk Seri Ahmad Hamzah, the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry and Youth and Sports Ministry would need to come up with training programmes and develop grant initiatives to attract the younger generation to farming, in this case urban farming.
These ministries can also work with the Agriculture Department, Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi), and Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) to develop more comprehensive urban farming initiatives.
The upcoming 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) would also provide opportunities for the government to turn empty spaces into urban farming. In a nutshell, every Malaysian can do their part to help the country become more food resilient by converting empty spaces into farms.
Lead photo: Vertical farming systems can maximize use of space in an urban context.
AMANDA YEO
EMIR Research
Kuala Lumpur
TAGS / KEYWORDS: Letters & Opinion,