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Agrify Announces First Total Turn-Key Solution Customer Partnership

Up to 1,200 of Agrify’s Vertical Farming Units to be installed at 50,000 square foot facility with up to $280 million expected in the next 10 years

May 12, 2021

Source: Agrify

BURLINGTON, Mass., May 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Agrify Corporation (NasdaqCM:AGFY) (“Agrify” or the “Company”), a developer of highly advanced and proprietary precision hardware and software grow solutions for the indoor agriculture marketplace, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement with its first Agrify Total Turn-Key Solution (“Agrify TTK Solution”) customer, Bud & Mary’s Cultivation, Inc. (“B&M”). B&M is currently a tier-four licensed cultivator in Bellingham, MA and through its parent company, Bud & Mary’s, LLC, the company is a fully integrated operator in the cannabis space with one dispensary license and a home delivery license in the state of Massachusetts.

Agrify will be working with B&M on a phased approach for the build-out of B&M’s 50,000 square foot facility. The initial construction phase is expected to include installation of 774 Vertical Farming Units (“VFUs”) in a double-stacked configuration to help B&M maximize canopy space. This initial phase is expected to be completed by Q1, 2022, with up to an additional 426 VFUs installed in subsequent phases, which would bring the total up to 1,200 VFUs. Agrify will provide senior financing of up to $13.5 million for construction, which will be repaid within 24 months following the commencement of the first commercial production at the facility.

Under the terms of the agreement, Agrify will also receive fixed SaaS revenue derived from B&M’s use of the Agrify Insights cultivation software as well as additional production-based fees for up to 10 years. Assuming the completion of the maximum 1,200 VFUs being installed at full capacity, Agrify anticipates that it could generate over $28 million per annum in revenue through this partnership.

“I am thrilled to announce that we have secured our first Agrify TTK Solution partnership,” said Raymond Chang, CEO of Agrify. “This solution was developed to enable customers to access the initial capital required to quickly establish modern cultivation facilities that are outfitted with our VFUs and controlled by our Agrify Insights software, which should lead to substantial gains in yield, quality, and consistency at a significantly lower cost of production for them. In turn, we have the potential to develop deeper long-term customer relationships earlier in a company’s lifecycle, create significant IRR for our investment, and increase our total addressable market to drive long-term value creation for both our customers and our shareholders. We look forward to beginning our partnership with B&M and working together over the next 10 years to ensure they have the ability to capitalize on all the benefits our technology has to offer. We expect to announce several more of these long-term customer engagements in 2021 as we have already identified 2-3 additional TTK opportunities.”

“The team at Agrify has developed an unparalleled end-to-end solution that should allow us to get to market faster with industry-leading technology while producing the consistently high-quality products consumers are looking for,” said David Morgan, CEO of B&M. “The ongoing support, extensive training, and knowledge base available throughout the life of our relationship combined with the data and insights available through the software platform made this the clear choice for our company. We sincerely look forward to working with the entire team at Agrify to help us establish ourselves in the growing Massachusetts market.”

About Agrify (NasdaqCM:AGFY)

We are a developer of premium grow solutions for the indoor agriculture marketplace. We use data, science, and technology to empower our customers to be more efficient, more productive, and more intelligent about how they run their businesses. Our highly advanced and proprietary hardware and software solutions have been designed to help our customers achieve the highest quality, consistency, and yield, all at the lowest possible cost. For more information, please visit our website at www.agrify.com.

About Bud & Mary’s Cultivation, Inc.

Bud & Mary’s Cultivation, Inc., through its parent company Bud & Mary’s, LLC, is a vertically integrated cannabis company in Massachusetts focused on the adult-use market. The company is at the forefront of the new era of cannabis, having assembled industry experts in cultivation, processing, packaging, and sales. Bud & Mary’s is poised to bring a unique vision to life: A locally crafted, fully vertical operation utilizing a library of proprietary strains to deliver a superior experience to discerning cannabis consumers.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, concerning Agrify and other matters. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our customer relationship with B&M, project timelines, and ability to deliver solutions and services. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "targets," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events as well as the terms and conditions that were mutually agreed upon in the underlying definitive agreement between Agrify and Bud & Mary’s Cultivation, Inc. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties that affect our business, including those described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the SEC, which can be obtained on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in our public announcements and filings with the SEC.

Company Contacts:

Agrify
Niv Krikov
Chief Financial Officer
niv.krikov@agrify.com
(617) 896-5240

Rob Kelly
Investor Relations
ir@agrify.com
(416) 992-4539

This Indoor Garden Will Feed You Greens Year-Round

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John Biggs

May 11, 2021

Click & Grow 25 is the latest project by former orchestra conductor Mattias Lepp who felt that the idea of indoor gardens—essentially, a farmer’s market in a box—would be just the tool for staving off future food shortages. His company, founded in 2009, raised $11 million in 2018 to develop new materials and hardware technologies for indoor gardens. Now, he and the Click & Grow team are taking the tools they used to build large-scale gardens and bringing them into the home.

Lepp calls his tech “hyper-local farming,” and he claims that what he and his team created is entirely unique.

“We’re the only ones in both vertical farming and smaller indoor growing device segment who have figured out how to provide the future of sustainable food while being profitable and having a global reach,” he said. “Compared to big vertical farms we’ve looked at what’s the real problem of vitamin-rich foods like leafy greens—it’s the overly long supply chains that produce waste, nutritional degradation, and transport emissions. The greens from vertical farms still go through the traditional food supply chain, albeit they’re fresher, cleaner, and come from a more local urban farm, they sit in stores, get moved around and half go to waste in a dark corner of a fridge. Unlike vertical farms, we’ve taken a step out of the traditional supply chain and figured out the only sustainable solution, both in terms of nature and business, and that is growing food at the place of consumption.”

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Photo: Click & Grow

The Click & Grow 25, which is currently available through Kickstarter, costs $399 for early birds and consists of a frame, containers, and lights. The plants grow out of coffee-pod-like earth nuggets and the whole system is designed for minimal interaction. The Smart Soil pods contain calibrated dirt and nutrients and the system waters the plants automatically.

Lepp’s goal was to make the system as small and simple as possible.

“In 2018 we looked at the numbers and figured out that a family of 4 could feasibly grow a fifth of their food plate in expendable living space, on just 80 square feet of wall at home, for example,” he said. “The idea went through different experiments and prototypes through the years, mainly focusing on how to integrate a garden of this size into even a small New York City apartment and into anyone’s busy lifestyle with its ease of use.”

The team plans to ship in February 2022, and there are a number of permutations of the garden product, which you can stack them against a wall for maximum usage of space. An app will tell you when you add water and when your greens are ready to nosh.

The product is already fully funded to the tune of more than $227,000 and counting, and it looks like just the thing for folks who might need to feed a hungry family or just a hungry rabbit.

John Biggs

John Biggs is a writer from Ohio who lives in Brooklyn. He likes books, watches, and his dog. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Gizmodo. Signal: +16468270591 Telegram: @johnbiggs

Lead photo: Photo: Click & Grow

Where All Grow Corn, This Farm Grows Lettuce

by Shubham

About 5 years ago in 2016 when I landed in Iowa, I couldn't fathom the magnitude of corn farms that I saw here stretching in all the directions, as they disappeared into the horizon. It took me a few months to normalize and make peace with Iowa, the heart of the corn belt. So a week ago, when I came across a local farmer growing lettuce, I knew this was something different.

Visiting an indoor farm has been at the top of my bucket list ever since I claimed the title of being an indoor farming armchair expert. Writing a few blogs, and reading countless articles about the topic acting as my credentials. As all the big guns of the indoor farming industry are either on the west coast in San Francisco, or are spread throughout the east coast. A few of them are scattered through the Midwest, but none of them near me. So when an opportunity came knocking on my door, here in southwest Iowa, I couldn't let it pass.

The farm that I got to visit was True Food Farms, an 8600 sq. ft hydroponic farm based in Stanton, Iowa. It is run by Darren Barkman who originally hails from Canada and grew up on a farm in Manitoba. Darren, who has been farming indoors for the last 20 years was gracious enough to spend an hour of his time giving me a tour of his farm.

How did you decide to grow lettuce in Iowa? I moved with my family to the Stanton area about 5 years ago and was in the indoor farming business in Tennessee before that. The different varieties of lettuce we grew there are more popular in the urban areas. Around this region, however, Iceberg and Romaine are the only two popular varieties, so the market has tremendous potential for the other varieties that we grow. Also, the traditional lettuce is typically grown in the warm climate of the Salinas Valley in California. Once harvested, these lettuce heads travel 1500 miles on a truck taking anywhere between 5 and 10 days to reach the store shelves in Iowa.

True Food Farms is changing that with hydroponically grown lettuce that hits the local grocery shelves within 24 hours of harvesting. Also, we are bringing several different varieties of lettuce like Butterhead, French Crisp, Frisee among others. It will help the locals experience True Food that is clean, healthy, and safe to eat and is grown year-round locally. It doesn't get any better than this.

How would you grow through the winter months?

A hydroponic greenhouse crop doesn't need soil to grow and needs 95% less water than a traditional farm. Being in Iowa that has a gloomy winter for about 6 months, where the sun doesn't show up most of the time between November and March. But a plant needs light to grow, so we have installed LED lights for the winter. These lights emit a spectrum of light that is needed for plant growth. They are controlled by an automated dimming system that reacts to the intensity of the light outside the farm. Also, based on the recipe for the lettuce it will adjust the light emitted to create the perfect growing conditions all throughout winter.

What about the harsh cold of the winters?

When the temperatures drop below a certain number, the heating system kicks in. The floor is heated by hot water running through the pipes spread throughout the floor. It is a highly controlled environment and nothing is left to the unpredictable outside climate giving the ability to grow fresh lettuce even through the cold winters.

What is your biggest cost for the farm?

Until a few years ago, the seeds for growing lettuce indoors were the same as those used for growing outdoors. But nowadays the seeds are bred to suit the indoor farms. Although they are not super expensive, but for the volume of seeds we go through in a year, it can add up.

However, the capital needed to set up the greenhouse is the highest piece of the cost pie. In order to control the environment inside, we had to install all the automated systems, the lights, heating, all these consume electricity, making the power bill it's the biggest number.

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What happens when the power goes out?

Since it is a highly automated system that needs a lot of power, we have backup generators that are capable of supporting the farm to run the systems. If the generators fail to switch on in the middle of a winter blackout, we have about an hour before losing the produce.

What is your biggest challenge on the farm?

We are still in the initial stages of setting up the farm but getting it up and running smoothly is the current big challenge. An indoor farm faces the challenge of bugs and diseases, you cannot keep the bugs out but only delay them from coming in. Using helpful insects like ladybugs that fight and eat away the harmful bugs is a healthy option for pest control.

In order to control the diseases, experience is needed to control and monitor the nutrient and pH levels of the water circulated to the crop. Since the whole farm is supplied by the same nutrient solution, any significant change can affect the whole crop.

You will always have problems, you need to keep on top of them. If you let a problem grow, only then it becomes a big problem.

Where do you plan to sell your produce?

Although we are not operating at full capacity, we sell our current production under our brand True Food Farms itself. We are currently supplying our delicious leafy greens to the southwest Iowa region at Hy-Vee stores at Redoak, Clarinda, Shenandoah, and Omaha. We are in talks with Fareway waiting on their corporate approval.

What is next for True Food Farms?

Focus for now is on this farm, to get it up and running at full capacity. We will be hiring more people to help with the harvesting and packaging of the produce. In order to reach more stores, we plan on expanding and adding more farms in the area.

After watching all the videos about indoor farms on the internet, being able to tour a hydroponic farm in person has just increased my curiosity about the indoor farming industry. I was able to get a high-level understanding of operating and setting up a hydroponic farm. Darren has promised to let me bug him again in a few months when the farm is fully operational and I will be back with an update to this post.

Shubham | May 9, 2021

Tags: featured | Categories: AgTech | URL: https://wp.me/p3uM6F-12p

Global Investment In Agri-Food-Tech Surged To $ 22.3 Billion

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5 May 2021

Finistere Ventures report reveals $ 5 billion invested in Agtech and $ 17.3 billion invested in Foodtech in 2020. Finistere Ventures expects 2021 to dwarf 2020 numbers as capital continues to flood into agtech.

According to Finistere Ventures’ 2020 AgriFood Tech Investment Review, a report developed in collaboration with PitchBook Data, total global investment in agrifood tech companies in 2020 surged to $ 22.3 billion – $ 5B in ag-tech and $ 17.3B in food-tech – continuing to grow at 50% CAGR (2010-2020); Finistere expects 2021 to exceed this record year based on early investment data.

Fear of missing out

“While 2020 presented some interesting and, at times, surprising outcomes for the agrifood sector, we saw fear turn into fear of missing out (FOMO) with favorable results for startups, particularly those in later stage situations with meaningful revenue and strong growth stories,” said Arama Kukutai, co-founder and partner, Finistere Ventures.

According to Kukutai, low interest rates and a soaring equity market have provided a backdrop unseen in the relatively short history of the sector. “Investors attracted to the potential disruption of massive total addressable markets fueled increases in investment across all stages and segments,” he said.

Race for innovation access is heating up

Based on the report, the race for innovation access is heating up and creating a new level for agrifood investing. A renewed focus on climate change and carbon offsets is gaining momentum, and rising ESG interest is spilling over into venture-backed companies across agrifood.

Involvement from new or non-traditional players – family offices, large pension and sovereign wealth groups, late-stage PE – swelled and the role of CVCs across the space continued to grow. 2020 saw 8054 unique investors participate across over 9000 transactions in the agri-food space.

Key ag-tech findings include:

• Due to the industry’s successful adaptation in the midst of the pandemic, investment into ag-tech continued to expand at a staggering pace through the end of 2020, with the $ 5B total capital invested comprising almost one-third of the $ 15.9B raised across ag-tech sectors since 2010

• Late-stage deals and mega-rounds proliferated as investors rallied to support existing portfolio companies and the composition of investors continued to diversify, fueling sustained growth with the median for late-stage deals reaching record heights at $ 67.6M

• CVCs considerably increased activity in the ag-tech arena in 2020, participating in 107 funding rounds

• Biotech kept its stronghold as the top ag-tech investment area, attracting $ 1.3B in 2020, and starting off 2021 strong with $ 268.2M secured in the first quarter.

• Interest in indoor ag spiked, driven by supply chain and sustainability factors, as well as growing consumer preference for local, fresh produce with superior taste and quality –reaching $ 1.3B in funding for 2020, more than doubling YoY from $ 601M raised in 2019

• Due in large part to pandemic pressures, animal tech investment exploded in 2020 reaching $ 847.8M after lackluster interest over recent years

• Subsectors including digital technologies, precision agriculture, plant sciences, ag marketplace, and fintech also broke investment records in 2020 as stakeholders made their commitment to help growers manage climate change and overcome mounting sustainability pressures clear.

Investments and profits booming

According to Finister Ventures investments and profits are booming. “We expect 2021 to dwarf 2020 numbers as capital continues to flood into the technology categories with absolutely massive disruption potential like indoor ag, supply chain technologies, animal health, novel ingredients and alternative proteins,” said Kukutai.

Substantial consolidation and rise of distinct market leaders

“Valuations, deal totals and market sizes will continue to climb thanks to low interest rates, free-flowing capital, and trillions of dollars of pent-up consumer spending power. However, as the market inevitably right sizes and new categories of innovation emerge to meet these monumental shifts, we also expect substantial consolidation and the rise of distinct market leaders.”

• Finistere-Ventures-2020-AgriFood-Tech-Investment-Review

Hugo Claver

Web editor for Future Farming

Raleigh Shipping Container Farm Using Hy­dro­ponic Tech­nology

BY KYLEIGH PANETTA RALEIGH

MAY 10, 2021

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To View The Video, Please Click Here

RALEIGH, N.C. — Summer is one of the busiest and most profitable times for farmers across the state but what if they could grow produce year-round?

Nanue’s Farm in Raleigh is using some advanced technology to do just that.

What You Need To Know

• Nanue's Farm is located in downtown Raleigh and uses hydroponic technology
  

• The "container farm" is about 320-square feet and can hold 5,000 heads of lettuce
  

• The technology is being used in dozens of countries and may help eliminate "food deserts"

Nanue’s Farm is on S. West Street, what some may say is a pretty strange place for a farm.

“This is in downtown Raleigh. You can see the great skyline we have here,” said Trevor Spear, the owner of Nanue’s Farm. “I walk to work when I can. I don’t have to drive.”

Spear admits that a seemingly empty parking lot with a shipping container is not what most people expect to see when they arrive at a farm.

“It’s funny because people don’t understand what it is. They think it’s just a shipping container and people are storing stuff inside it,” said Spear.

Nanue’s probably looks more like a science experiment than a farm.

“It’s 65 degrees, 60% humidity. Co2 runs at night, so we’re like 2,000 parts of Co2 in there. It’s optimal growing conditions for lettuce and that’s how we do it in seven weeks’ time,” said Spear.

Spear specializes in leafy, crunchy greens. Something else you can hear inside the farm, from time to time, is classical music.

“We play classical music at night and I think it makes a difference. They like it. Sometimes we play a little Van Halen but usually Bach or Beethoven,” said Spear who knows that a little TLC goes a long way and said every lettuce has a name.

It’s not your typical lettuce but Spear is also not your typical farmer. He named the farm after his grandmother, Lydie Cox.

"When I was a kid I would go have summers at Nanue’s house and she had a huge garden, an acre size garden. I would go up and down the rows with her as a kid. That’s where I probably got the bug because once it bites you, you live with the sting," said Spear.

Nanue’s Farm is getting a second container in June and hopefully a third by the end of the year. They currently offer home delivery to a few areas and are looking into creating a farm stand. The majority of the produce is sold to local restaurants in the area.

"When chefs come and tour the farm, they open the door and they’re like, 'Wow.' We can hold 5,000 heads of lettuce. We harvest 60 cases a week, so when they walk in and see that much lettuce growing and looking as good as it does, it’s a take-back," said Spear.

If you’re interested in trying some of their lettuce, you can also find a Nanue’s salad at Hummingbird, a restaurant in Raleigh.

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The technology that Nanue’s Farm uses was created by Boston-based company, Freight Farms. Each container has thousands of LED grow lights, temperature controls and uses between five and ten gallons of water each day.

The containers also have cameras and connect to Wi-Fi so it can be monitored from an app or website. Freight Farms said the goal is to replicate an ideal farming environment so that more people have access to fresh produce.

“In the U.S., food moves 500 to 1,000 miles, predominantly from California. If you can move the farm then you can put a farm in a food desert and then you can grow the food and the hyperlocal food and the high nutritional values of that food. Either food deserts or even urban areas,” said James Woolard, the chief marketing officer for Freight Farms. “You might not think it’s a food desert but it is from a socio-economic point of view and an access point of view.”

Red Lobster CEO Kim Lopdrup Named Chairman of The Board For Kalera

Kim Lopdrup Provides Industry Expertise As Kalera Prepares For International Expansion And US listing of Its Shares

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May 12, 2021

Source: Kalera

ORLANDO, Fla., May 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kalera (Euronext Growth Oslo ticker KAL, Bloomberg: KSLLF), one of the fastest-growing and largest vertical farming companies in the world and a leader in plant science for producing high-quality produce in controlled environments, today announced that Kim Lopdrup is appointed as new Chairman of Kalera as the company moves towards a US listing. Kim joined Kalera’s Board last year and remains CEO of Red Lobster.

This announcement comes on the heels of the news of Kalera’s appointment of Sonny Perdue, former US Secretary of Agriculture, and Maria Sastre to the Board of Directors. Current Chairman, Bjorge Gretland, will continue as a board member in the company. Bjorge became Chairman of the company in 2013 when the company only had a handful of employees. Now, the company has become one of the fastest-growing and largest vertical farming companies in the world with truly pan-US coverage.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Kim, a proven titan in the food and restaurant industry, become Chairman of our Board,” said Bjorge Gretland, current Kalera Chairman. “His knowledge and expertise span from securing the highest quality, traceable and sustainable seafood for his vast network of restaurants to leading companies through global expansion. These are skills that are invaluable to Kalera at this time. As Kalera moves towards a US listing of its stock, Kim is extremely well suited to take on the Chairman role.”  

Kim Lopdrup has been the Chief Executive Officer of Red Lobster, the world’s largest seafood restaurant company, since 2014. Under his leadership, Red Lobster has greatly improved its food, service, and technology. All of Red Lobster’s seafood is now traceable, sustainable, and responsibly sourced. It has dramatically grown its off-premise sales by adding delivery and Rapid Red Curbside Pick-Up. Red Lobster was recently recognized by Forbes on its 2021 list of America’s Best Large Employers and by Newsweek on its 2021 list of America’s Best Loyalty Programs. Kim was previously President of Specialty Restaurant Group and New Business for Darden Restaurants, where he was responsible for The Capital Grille, Eddie V’s, Seasons 52, Yard House, and Bahama Breeze as well as Darden’s international division, consumer packaged goods, and M&A. He has also previously served as Chief Operating Officer, North America, for Burger King Corporation and as CEO of the International Division for Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.    

“Kalera has a world-class management team and a disruptive technology that allows them to produce the highest-quality produce I have ever tasted in a way that is remarkably clean, sustainable and efficient. It is easy to see why customers get so excited once they try Kalera’s products or tour one of Kalera’s farms,” said Kim Lopdrup. “I am passionate about great food, food safety, nutrition, sustainability, innovation and international growth. Kalera is positioned to excel in all of these areas. I look forward to working with Daniel Malechuk, Kalera’s outstanding CEO, to make the most of these exciting opportunities.”

Kim serves on the boards of Wawa, Inc. (since 2006); Red Lobster (since 2014); Bob Evans Restaurants (since 2017), and Kalera (since 2020). He previously served on the boards of Rubio’s Restaurants (including during its IPO), 31 Ice Cream (a Japanese public company), and Hiram Walker & Sons, Ltd. (a Canadian company). He also served on the board of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida for 12 years, being named Board Member of the Year in 2011 and receiving National Service to Youth awards in 2010 and 2015. He is currently co-chair of Project Opioid. Orlando Business Journal named Kim a “CEO of the Year” in 2016. He holds a BBA from The College of William & Mary and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he won the Uhlmann Prize for best agribusiness research in 1984.

The appointment of Kim Lopdrup as Chairman of Kalera’s Board of Directors will be presented for approval by Kalera’s shareholders at a general meeting.

For further information:

Bjørge Gretland, Chairman
Email: bgretland@kalera.com

About Kalera

Kalera is a technology-driven vertical farming company with unique growing methods combining optimized nutrients and light recipes, precise environmental controls, and cleanroom standards to produce safe, highly nutritious, pesticide-free, non-GMO vegetables with consistent high quality and longer shelf life year-round. The company’s high-yield, automated, data-driven hydroponic production facilities have been designed for rapid rollout with industry-leading payback times to grow vegetables faster, cleaner, at a lower cost, and with less environmental impact.

To learn more visit www.Kalera.com.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

CleanGreens Boosts Its Growth With Two New Contracts

97% - Water-waste reduction with CleanGreens’ aeroponic solutions, vs. traditional cultivation.

30x - Productivity increase with CleanGreens’ aeroponic solutions, vs. traditional cultivation.

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With new projects in France and Kuwait, the Swiss company is consolidating its international expansion

Molondin, Switzerland – May 11, 2021. CleanGreens Solutions SA (CleanGreens) has signed two new international contracts to share its innovative technology that enables plants to grow without soil. The Swiss company’s approach convinced prestigious clients in France and Kuwait.

It allows salads and aromatic herbs to grow with 97% less water, while im- proving productivity by a factor of 30, thanks to a high-performing aeroponic system that is unique in the world and totally free of pesticides. “These two new projects represent a key step in the growth of CleanGreens,” says CEO Serge Gander. “They will boost the company’s turnover to more than CHF 4 million and will allow us to increase our workforce by 30%.”

Reinforced cooperation

The first contract was signed with a longstanding partner: French food-processing company LSDH, whose subsidiary Les Crudettes is a leader in the production of bagged salads. “It’s a great pleasure for us to pursue and intensify the aeroponic technology developed by CleanGreens, a trusted partner for more than five years,” says Emmanuel Vasseneix, CEO of the LSDH group. This family-owned company boasts some 2,000 employees and annual sales of € 900 million. After the inauguration of its first commercial greenhouse in France in 2019, Les Crudettes is now expressing its confidence in CleanGreens’ expertise by adding an 8,000m2 installation dedicated entirely to aromatic herbs.

30 - Number of truckloads eliminated with new CleanGreens greenhouse in France.

17 - Number of cargo flights eliminated with new CleanGreens greenhouse in Kuwait.

The new greenhouse is also part of a circular economy approach, as it will be powered by energy recovered from a nearby LSDH production site. Producing 150 tonnes of aromatic herbs year-round, it will allow the development of a reliable local subsidiary, reducing imports by 30 truckloads a year. The facility will be operational by mid-2022.

International expansion

The second project is a 7,000m2 greenhouse for a new client in Kuwait, a milestone in the company’s growth beyond Europe. This installation will produce 70 tonnes of aromatic herbs and 210 tonnes of salad a year, thereby avoiding 17 cargo flights and the CO they would emit. The client, The Green Life Company decided to partner with CleanGreens to respond to the Gulf’s need for fresh produce. “CleanGreens’ aeroponic technology is perfectly suited to the needs of Kuwait,” says Adel Al Shamali, a discreet but influential entrepreneur known throughout the Gulf region, and president and co-founder of The Green Life Company. “The shortage of leafed vegetables and aromatic herbs, our strong dependency on imports (up to 70%) for these products, our severe climatic conditions, and our limited water resources are all factors that make this project highly promising.”

By impacting the global supply chain, the Covid-19 pandemic heightened Kuwait’s concerns about food security, creating a major issue for the government. The water and energy savings of the CleanGreens solution will mark a further step toward food self-sufficiency. Operational in 2022, the project falls within the framework of a broader partnership for CleanGreens in the region.

These new contracts represent two pillars in CleanGreens’ strategy for growth and international expansion. Other projects are under discussion in several countries within and beyond Europe. The contracts also confirm the interest among both the public and the food-processing industry for aeroponics, which ensures outstanding productivity as well as the elimination of pesticides, currently a topic of heated debate in Europe.

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About CleanGreens

CleanGreens is a Swiss food-technology company that provides farmers and the farm industry with innovative mobile aeroponic solutions (plants are grown without soil and their roots are sprayed with nutrient fog) for the cultivation of fresh vegetables respectful of the environment and rich in nutritional value. Certified as a B Corporation (for balancing purpose and profit) and awarded the Solar Impulse Label (for positive impact on the environment and economic viability), CleanGreens’ patented technology significantly reduces water consumption and the risk of bacterial contamination, while offering maximum productivity per square metre, thereby minimizing environmental impact. The company’s irrigation systems and mechanized spacing produce salads, cabbages, and aromatic plants all year-round, providing consumers with healthy and responsible products.

Further information:

Céline Calais info@cleangreens.ch

www.cleangreens.ch

+41 21 545 99 25

“Nine Out of Ten Businesses Have No Clear Goal”

Reinier Donkersloot is the founder of vertical farming consultancy Consult2Grow and co-owner of a vertical farm in Dubai. Vertical farming is playing an increasingly important role in food production worldwide. On a vertical farm, fruit and vegetables grow above one another in several layers, in a confined space. This cultivation method shows great promise for being the most efficient way to grow local, healthy food in over-populated urban areas.
Reinier gives a glimpse behind the scenes in the creation of a vertical farm in a special city like Dubai.

What are the lesser-known facts about vertical farming?

“Many people are talking about vertical farming nowadays. This is great, but fortunately, there’s also plenty of discussion about indoor farming in general. After all, indoor farming doesn’t always have to be vertical. You can also cultivate in a single layer in a totally controlled environment, shut off from outdoor conditions. Technology is a means to an end, and should never be the goal. For example, sometimes I advise to go for an indoor farm or a vertical farm, but sometimes it works perfectly well to cultivate in a greenhouse.”

At what point did you think things had to change?

“In October 2013, I went on a trade mission to Japan with a number of Dutch businesses, on behalf of Philips (my employer at the time). I told them about vertical farming and got the response: “What are you doing? That’ll never catch on.” All the more reason for me to persevere. In the following years, more businesses became active in this area, including Grodan. That turned out very well for the development of this new industry. I never regretted my decision to fully focus on vertical farming, especially when you see the challenges the world is facing in the food sector as we approach 2050. Innovative crop cultivation is a real solution. Take Dubai, for example, which is extremely vulnerable to droughts.”

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What’s the secret behind your vertical farm in Dubai?

“That we’ve embarked on the project with a stable, local partner. There are quite a few businesses that think, ‘There’s plenty of money in Dubai, which is easily hooked with a quick contract.’ It’s true there’s plenty of money and that people enjoy spending in this city, but the locals don’t want to lose face. That’s the crux of it. So we opted to co-invest in the farm, which inspired confidence in our local partner.”

Where do you get your inspiration for vertical farming?

“Actually, from the Italian Luca Travaglini, from Milan. He belongs to the third generation of a big Italian family business that dries salami. It may sound a bit strange, but he saw a big overlap with growing lettuce. And he’s right, although not everyone was immediately enthusiastic. His passion eventually got everybody on board, resulting in the imminent launch of the biggest vertical farm in Europe, Planet Farms. Together with Luca, we’ve proven that it’s interesting to learn from other industries. Being open to different solutions can add enormous value to new developments in food production. We shouldn’t ignore that fact. I’m very proud indeed to have been able to supervise this project in its initial phase.”

What kick do you get from vertical farming?

“Recently, we started receiving the results from research over the past two months, which focused on the growth of a baby leaf. That’s the first phase of a plant, in which the growth is quite slow, making it a slightly more expensive crop. We tried to understand the little plant as much as possible, so we could find the limits for optimization. And we succeeded. The results we achieved were almost 40 percent better than predicted. So we surpassed everyone’s expectations. It was fantastic! That’s what we do it for.”

What’s the first thing you need to do when you want to start with vertical farming?

“As with every business, you really need to think long and hard about what your goal is. Nine out of ten businesses have no clear idea of their goal. Then your project can never be successful. So you have to start by answering some key questions: what do you want to achieve, who are your customers and what do these customers want? Also for the projects I supervise at Consult2Grow, it’s important to first determine the goal, then to understand the local situation, and only then start looking at the technology. I call it reverse engineering.

And don’t forget that cultivating a plant is one thing, but how are you going to market that plant afterwards? In Dubai, 90 percent of produce is imported, because local produce still isn’t good enough. So if you’re going to put a local product on the market, you have to take a good look at how to position it.”

 Consult2Grow is a vertical farming consultancy based in Berkel en Rodenrijs, and co-owner of a vertical farm in Dubai. For their research, Consult2Grow likes to work with Grodan products, in order to test their own products, give feedback and optimize their products.

This story is part of the Gro-Hacks series, in which we ask partners and friends of Grodan about the lessons we can learn from their innovative entrepreneurial stories.

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Fresh Fruit In February: Quebec's Premier About To Test A Cherished Commandment of Economics

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Kevin Carmichael

May 06, 2021

Quebec Premier François Legault, who earned a master’s degree in business administration and co-founded Transat A.T. Inc. before entering politics, is about to test one of the most cherished commandments of economics.

David Ricardo (1772-1823) popularized the idea at the core of all trade agreements: comparative advantage. Ricardo observed that it was ridiculous for England to produce wine when plentiful Portuguese vintages were both cheaper and better. Conversely, Portugal had no business making its own cloth, since its textile industry was no match for Britain’s cotton spinners. Everyone would be better off if England imported its wine from Portugal, and if Portugal obtained its cotton from England.

It took some time, but eventually, politicians saw the wisdom of Ricardo’s teachings. It helped that attempts to defy the rule of comparative advantage tend to go badly: the Newfoundland government’s embarrassing attempt in the late 1980s to become self-sufficient in cucumbers, for example. Free-trade agreements replaced tariff walls, culminating in China’s addition to the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Ricardo wouldn’t like many of the current trends in trade. Protectionism is back, thanks to the Great Recession and Donald “Tariff Man” Trump’s four years in the White House. Now, the COVID-19 crisis has some policymakers thinking that an inefficient textile industry might be better than no textile industry if the country with the comparative advantage in the making of masks and medical gowns refuses to send you any at the outset of a deadly pandemic.

The federal budget promises hundreds of millions of dollars for bioengineering, as Canada’s embrace of globalization left it without the manufacturing capacity necessary to make COVID-19 vaccines. Several provinces have initiated programs aimed at boosting home-grown supplies of food, none more aggressively than Quebec, which has put more than $150 million to become self-sufficient in all four food groups, all year around.

Folly? Advances in greenhouse technology combined with cheap hydro-generated electricity and shifts in spending habits suggest that it’s possible. Still, even if the cost of heating a state-of-the-art greenhouse in Quebec during the winter might be relatively cheap, it’s still not as cheap as in sunny Mexico, where fruit and vegetable farmers warm their crops for free. Legault’s bet will come down to whether Quebecers are willing to pay more for their food. Modern industrial agriculture is built on the notion that consumers only care about price. We’re about to see if that’s true.

Lead photo: A worker harvests strawberries at the Ferme d'hiver vertical farm in Brossard, Quebec, Canada, on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. PHOTO BY CHRISTINNE MUSCHI/BLOOMBERG

CANADA: Feeding a City From The World’s Largest Rooftop Greenhouse

World Economic Forum

May. 08, 2021

By Sean Fleming

• 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 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.

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) favors an increase in urban agriculture, saying it can have "important benefits for food security."

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Urban farming is often more common among poorer members of society. UN FAO

A Growing Global Trend

Lufa produces more than 11,000kg of food per week, including tomatoes and aubergines. Lufa

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'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.

Lead photo: The new greenhouse will accelerate Lufa's mission to grow food. Lufa

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Lufa

Reposted with permission from the World Economic Forum.

• Cuba's Urban Farming Shows Way to Avoid Hunger - EcoWatch ›

• Does Vertical Farming Actually Work? - EcoWatch ›

• Urban Farming Is Revolutionizing Our Cities - EcoWatch ›

Tags: farming food sustainability urban farming agriculture

This Subway Station In Seoul Doubles As A Futuristic Vegetable Garden

May 8, 2021

Although the image above might look like something straight out of Candyland—drat, my age is showing—I am pleased to inform you that it is part of our world. These aren’t sugar creations, but nutritious plants. In fact, if you lived in South Korea, you could enjoy these leafy greens from the comfort of the Sangdo metro station in Seoul.

These vegetables are not only sold there, they’re also grown there in a vertical smart farm taken care of by artificial intelligence-equipped robots, which control the environmental factors needed for the plants to grow. Managed by smart agriculture startup Farm8, the farm at Sangdo metro station is only 4,240 square feet (394 square meters), or teeny tiny compared to the average outdoor farm.

However, it is an example of how we can use technology to make agriculture more resilient in the face of climate change, which can wreak havoc on our food security.

Want To Grow Your Own Food? Try A Hydroponic Garden

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05.08.2021

Today’s home kits are stylish, smart, and easier to use than ever. Here’s how to get started.

WE ALL BECAME homesteaders during the pandemic. The inability to leave home and disruptions to the food supply chain led a lot of people to plant gardens to grow their own food. Upon flexing their green thumbs, though, many found that gardening comes with its own set of issues, from vermin to seasonal shifts. But what if there was a way to bypass those vexations? Say hello to home hydroponics.

How Home Hydroponics Work

To grow something hydroponically is to grow plants without soil. It’s long been associated with growing weed—just saying the word hydroponics will induce smirks—but in recent years, systems like Rise Gardens and AeroGarden have come along to give gardeners a sleek, high-tech way to grow produce like bell peppers, lettuce, and tomatoes from the confines of their homes.

All you need for a hydroponic growing system is a bin filled with water, nutrients, and LED lights, so you don’t need to buy a whole system at all, really. But many of the systems on the market are designed to be aesthetically pleasing and meant to be part of your home, not hidden away.

Most are horizontal and basically have a planter bed that you drop seedpods into. A pump delivers water and nutrients to the seeds, and LED lights mimic the sun. Some systems are vertical, like the Gardyn and the forthcoming Soilless. Large systems typically start at around $400, with plenty of small ones to be found around $100.

Hank Adams, founder, and CEO of Rise Gardens, lives in Chicago where the growing season is short and the summers are hot, he says. A lot of gardening enthusiasts use the hydroponic system to supplement their outdoor endeavors, and he says it's the food lovers that really get a lot out of it. “Everybody knows that fresh ingredients are better. They're better tasting, and what may be less well known, is just how much more nutrient-dense they are,” says Adams. Compared to produce that has been shipped to the grocery store, traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles, freshly plucked lettuce can be more nutritious. It tastes better when it's been freshly snipped too.

The aroma of fresh produce is enough to make Teresa Edmisten, an architect with Tvsdesign in Atlanta, appreciate her hydroponic system. Hers is more utilitarian, she says, but it still effectively grows basil which she and her husband frequently turn into pesto. “Depending on the varieties you do, those leaves are luscious. And the smell is ridiculously beautiful,” says Edmisten.

More Than Just a Garden

One thing that’s certain about modern hydroponic systems is that they are not what they used to be. Manufacturers are being intentional about designing structures that you’d actually want decorating your home.

For Rise, Adams worked with industrial designers to create a system that is made of polished metal and real wood. They went through seven prototypes before landing on a model that can double up as a piece of furniture. Their systems are modular, allowing users to stack up to three tiers of gardens, and the top one has a hard surface that can serve as a table. “It’s minimalist because we wanted plants to be the stars of the show, but it's still a physical structure that has some size to it,” says Adams. “So we wanted people to find it attractive and kind of neutral, so it would fit a lot of different settings.”

A more artful approach to this is the forthcoming system made by Soilless. The company is the brainchild of Westen Johnson and Julie Joo, two graduates of the Rhode Island School of Design who first came up with the system while they were students. The design is simple: “It’s basically a big bag,” says Johnson. He explains that the bag consists of two layers that seal together similarly to a pool float, except instead of being inflated with air, it’s water. The vertical system can grow up to 23 plants. It hangs from a rod with an LED lighting fixture attached and looks like something you'd see hanging in a high-end loft. “It's basically something that a normal person can afford and eat off of that's like a living piece of art in your home,” says Johnson. When the system launches, it’ll retail for around $200.

There's a System for Every Space

You don't need a suburban house with ample space in order to make room for a hydroponic gardening system. In Atlanta, Greg Crafter founded Produce’d with the urban dweller in mind. “For an urbanite, space is very limited and comes at a premium So you want to utilize it and maximize it the best way you can,” says Crafter. People testing his system, which will launch in Atlanta this summer, keep it everywhere from their office to their living room.

If space is just too tight, there are tabletop options too. Rise has a personal garden system that grows 12 plants, but others include Edn which grows 10 plants, down to the petite Sprout by Aero Garden, which grows three plants (perfect for kitchen herbs). These smaller systems will probably not replace the produce you buy at the grocery store, but it’s a good way to supplement things like herbs.

Plants Are Good for Your Mental Health

Spending so much time at home has made us rethink our indoor spaces. We’re surrounded by square shapes and hard lines, which, whether we know it or not, has our brains longing for something akin to nature. It’s why more people are turning to biophilic (love of life) design, which focuses on incorporating nature into indoor spaces. “There are certain patterns and forms and sights and sounds that we encounter in the natural world that give us a positive physiological response,” explains Jennifer Bissonnette, the interim director of RISD’s Nature Lab. From the sound of running water to the aroma of basil, biophilic design elements can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve overall happiness, says Bissonnette.

While being a “plant parent” is a familiar Instagram trope, it applies to hydroponic plant owners too. Hydroponic systems don't necessarily require the same amount of daily attention that a houseplant might, but engaging with these plants makes us feel connected to them. “I can't stress that enough: It’s wonderful to have it in your living environment, but there's something about engaging with another living thing and understanding that you're in a relationship with it. I think that's a marvelous thing for us,” says Bissonnette.

In a continuous loop of Zoom calls and reruns of The Office, these systems can also help you feel grounded. For Edmisten, checking on her plants is part of her daily routine. “It’s just a focused escape. The escape isn't going somewhere else, it's getting connected to where you are,” says Edmisten.

Tech Offers Faster, Foolproof Growing

Want produce quickly? Then hydroponic growing is definitely for you. “The plants grow twice as fast, because the nutrients are being supplied right to the roots. You can have a smaller garden and still produce a lot more food with it,” says Johnson.

As an added bonus, many of these systems connect with apps that make it harder to kill your plants. Rise, for example, has users enter which plants they’re growing on the app, and then it tracks the water levels, pH balance, and sets the lighting schedule. “We tell you when to do it, how to do it, how much. You really don't need to be techie,” says Adams.

Lia Picard is an Atlanta-based freelance writer who loves exploring all things food and design.

Lead Photo: COURTESY OF RISE GARDENS

AeroFarms Rebranding Retail Product Line

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May 4, 2021

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NEWARK, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AeroFarms, a certified B Corporation and leader in indoor vertical farming, today announced a new brand identity for AeroFarms and the rebranding of its Dream Greens retail brand to AeroFarms, uniting its mission and activities under one fresh, powerful identity that celebrates its leadership for indoor vertical farming and a brighter future for all.

Since 2004, AeroFarms has been the world trailblazer for technology-enabled controlled environment agriculture and has won over 50 awards for its leadership for innovation, sustainability, and food — including being honored today by Fast Company for its World-Changing Ideas for the 4th year in a row.

Honoring its legacy as farmers and agriculture innovators, AeroFarms’ mission today is bigger and bolder than ever: to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, using proprietary aeroponics and indoor vertical farming technologies to solve agriculture’s biggest challenges and grow the most delicious produce for its communities.

The blue and green colors of the new AeroFarms logo represent the core elements of growing – water and plants – as well as AeroFarms’ environmental stewardship of Mother Earth, that includes using up to 95% less water and zero pesticides versus traditional and organic field farming.

The unique floating “E” design represents AeroFarms’ expertise in indoor vertical farming and continued work to raise the bar today and for generations to come for agriculture and business overall.

Confident and assertive, the lettering is a modern Gotham font in all capitals that is very straightforward with an engineering quality that speaks to AeroFarms’ leadership and science-driven history while still being sophisticated.

In essence, the font sensibility reflects AeroFarms’ bold positioning for years to come. AeroFarms’ expertise in plant biology and the broader farming industry is captured further in its new tagline Agriculture, Elevated.

AeroFarms starts by selecting the most flavorful varietals of microgreens and baby greens, then perfects them in its proprietary indoor vertical farms for optimal quality, yield, color, nutrition, texture, and taste.

In fact, AeroFarms has trademarked Vertical Farming, Elevated Flavor™ to highlight to consumers not only where and how their food is grown, but also, more importantly, the key growing benefits that AeroFarms uniquely brings to the market, setting a new culinary standard with millions of data points to prove it.

AeroFarms is able to grow its kale to be sweeter and its arugula to be perfectly peppery, and the Company has developed its signature FlavorSpectrum™ to represent the breadth of flavors and hundreds of varieties of leafy greens that it is able to grow.

AeroFarms’ team of experts from horticulturists to engineers to data scientists to nutritionists paired each specific tasting note with a representative color to bring the FlavorSpectrum™ philosophy to life. Across its leafy greens packaging line, the cool blue tones represent sweet and mellow notes, while the intense reds represent bold and zesty flavors.

In addition, AeroFarms’ new packaging design for its sealed tray that is made with 40% less plastic than a traditional clamshell, was developed with rounds of primary consumer research and collaboration with key selling partners. The breakthrough packaging design boasts the largest clear window in the entire packaged salads category.

As a result, the leafy greens are showcased, allowing the product to be the hero to signal the ultimate in freshness and flavor. Major consumer attributes like sustainably grown indoors, no pesticides ever, locally grown, no washing needed, and non-GMO are highlighted in a clean presentation for the consumer, and AeroFarms’ expertise in flavor is brought to life through its descriptive product tasting notes and its “Taste our Difference” invitation to the consumer.

AeroFarms’ leadership in authenticity and transparency (also represented by the clear window) is reinforced by the grown with purpose messaging and by the logo for Certified B Corporation, that provides a scorecard on both environmental and societal factors.

The new elevated AeroFarms branded leafy greens will continue to be available at Northeast Whole Foods Market and ShopRite locations, and online via FreshDirect and Amazon Fresh. Baldor will continue to serve as the brand’s primary retail and foodservice distribution partner in the Northeast.

“Now more than ever, customers want to have an emotional and values-based connection to their food. They want to know and understand where their food comes from, how it’s grown and what it stands for,” said David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited to roll out the new look of our namesake brand with the same delicious, sustainably grown local greens that consistently win on quality, texture, and flavor. The AeroFarms brand further connects our customers to our team of growers and plant scientists, and our leading sustainable farming technology platform, that yields annual productivity up to 390 times greater than traditional field farming, while using up to 95% less water and zero pesticides.”

AeroFarms also recently announced the groundbreaking of its next commercial indoor vertical farm in Danville-Pittsylvania County, Virginia. AeroFarms’ next-generation Model 5 farm will be the largest and most technologically advanced aeroponic indoor vertical farm in the world. Strategically located in close proximity to more than 1,000 food retailers in the region, the Danville farm will provide access to approximately 50 million people located within a day’s drive. The new farm will advance AeroFarms’ leadership in plant science and technology and expand its leafy greens business to the Mid-Atlantic and South regions.

About AeroFarms

Since 2004, AeroFarms has been leading the way for indoor vertical farming and championing transformational innovation for agriculture. On a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, AeroFarms is a Certified B Corporation Company with global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, United States. Named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company two years in a row and one of TIME’s Best Inventions in Food, AeroFarms patented, award-winning indoor vertical farming technology provides the perfect conditions for healthy plants to thrive, taking agriculture to a new level of precision, food safety, and productivity while using up to 95% less water and no pesticides ever versus traditional field farming. AeroFarms enables local production to safely grow all year round, using vertical farming for elevated flavor. In addition, through its proprietary growing technology platform, AeroFarms has developed multi-year strategic partnerships ranging from government to major Fortune 500 companies to help uniquely solve agriculture supply chain needs. For additional information, visit: AeroFarms.

Tagged aerofarms, retail

AeroFarms CEO Rosenberg Kicks Off Indoor Ag-Con 2021 Keynote Address

Rosenberg Headlines Full Roster of Keynotes, Panels, Networking & Expo Floor Innovations For In-Person October 4-5, 2021 Edition In Orlando

MAY 6, 2021  -- AeroFarms CEO David Rosenberg will lead the opening morning keynote address for the 8th annual edition of Indoor Ag-Con, scheduled for October 4-5, 2021 at the Hilton Orlando, Florida.

Themed “Growing Your Business,” the premier trade show and conference for the indoor |vertical farming industry will give attendees the opportunity to explore new resources on the expo floor and hear from Rosenberg, other CEOs, thought leaders and industry experts from today’s cutting-edge farms and other innovative companies.

“We are thrilled to have an industry leader like David Rosenberg join us as we kick off our return to the live event format,” says Brian Sullivan, co-owner, Indoor Ag-Con LLC along with other event industry veterans Nancy Hallberg and Kris Sieradzki. “We look forward to gathering with our industry colleagues again and are working hard to bring the best possible combination of networking, education and exhibition opportunities together in Orlando.”

Scheduled for opening morning, October 4, Rosenberg’s address will be held from 8:30 am – 9:20 am. Rosenberg co-founded and leads AeroFarms. AeroFarms has been leading the way for indoor vertical farming and championing transformational innovation for agriculture overall. On a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity, AeroFarms is a Certified B Corp Company with global headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, United States. Named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company three years in a row and one of TIME's Best Inventions, AeroFarms patented, award-winning indoor vertical farming technology provides the perfect conditions for healthy plants to thrive, taking agriculture to a new level of precision, food safety, and productivity while using up to 95% less water and no pesticides vs. traditional field farming. Grown for flavor first, AeroFarms enables local production to safely grow flavorful baby greens and microgreens all year round.

ROBUST 2021 CONFERENCE SCHEDULE NOW IN DEVELOPMENT

In addition to Rosenberg’s keynote, look for additional announcements coming soon on other CEO keynote presentations planned for the October event. The 2021 conference will also include a full roster of panel discussions, fireside chats and presentations offering a deep dive into three core tracks – Business & Marketing, Science & Technology and Alternative Crops.

In addition to the extensive educational component, attendees will find more new initiatives and show highlights to explore, including:

NEW LOCATION: HILTON ORLANDO – DISCOUNTED HOTEL RATES, TOO

Indoor Ag-Con’s Hilton Orlando venue makes it the perfect opportunity for a business vacation. Centrally located to all major theme parks and attractions, it is just minutes from the eclectic dining scene and entertainment of International Drive. What’s more, the Hilton Orlando resort sits on more than 26 acres of lush landscaping and tropical inspirations making it a true destination of its own. Indoor Ag-Con has arranged for discounted hotel rates for attendees and exhibitors starting as low as $129/night. Complete details are available on the show website.

NEW ASSOCIATION ALLIANCES

Indoor Ag-Con is also forging new alliances with other events, industry associations/groups that will play an integral role in its marketing outreach and conference programming. Look for partnership announcements coming soon.

EXPANDED EXHIBIT FLOOR & NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

The Indoor Ag-Con team is working to bring even more resources for farmers/growers to explore across all sectors – everything from IT, energy, AI and lighting solutions to substrates, vertical farming solutions, business services and much more. Attendees and exhibitors alike will also have even more networking opportunities with daily luncheon sessions and receptions on the show floor.

QUICK FACTS:

WHEN: Monday, October 4 – Tuesday, October 5

WHERE: Hilton Orlando, 6001 Destination Pkwy, Orlando, FL 32819

INFO: For information on exhibiting or attending visit www.indoor.ag

ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON LLC

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: https://indoor.ag

US: INDIANA - Indianapolis Indoor Farm Packages Leafy Greens To Uplift East Side

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by: David Williams

May 7, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An indoor-farming facility using cutting-edge technology is bringing new food options to the city’s east side.

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Uplift Produce grows, harvests, and packages leafy greens in a renovated 60,000-square-foot facility in Indianapolis.

“We say that we’re fresh-to-market in hours and the reason for that is we actually harvest, pack, and ship within a matter of a few hours into distribution channels,” Chris Arnold, CEO of Uplift Produce, said Friday.

Keith Cooper, Uplift Produce location manager, said depending on the product, they grow from seed to finish in 14-21 days, with a “100% controlled environment. So, we’re controlling the CO2, the humidity, and temperature to be exactly at the set points that the plant needs.”

The business is a joint venture with a Dutch company called PlantLab. The first product launched from the Indianapolis facility in October. Arnold said the company is committed to uplifting the community.

“It’s working well here in Indianapolis to have that partnership, meaning that every dollar that’s ever made here, a portion of those goes directly right back here into the community,” Arnold said.

They’ve got 11 employees right now. Uplift produce donates about 150 pounds of food a week to places that include Second Helpings hunger relief and the Cafe Patachou Foundation. This area is in the midst of revitalization.

“Everything that we do is really centered around, ‘How do we uplift people and the whole community support?’ Really that partnership with Englewood and the work that the folks at the Englewood Community Development Corporation are doing here in the community, we’re really just trying to equip them to continue to do the work that they do,” Arnold said.

Arnold said he is called to do this work — not only to feed people but also to help this area.

“Our desire is that people would be able to just live, work and play in this neighborhood. Be able to directly walk into work and never have to get in a car,” Arnold said.

The Englewood Community Development Corporation is an ownership partner, Arnold said. The facility is housed at the historic P.R. Mallory campus, inside the Bunker Building.

Arnold told News 8 there are plans to expand the facility even more by the end of this year and bring an additional 20 jobs to Indianapolis.

Uplift Produce has facilities in seven different states and several cities. You can find their products online at Green Bean Delivery and hope to sell on retail shelves in Indianapolis soon.

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USA: INDIANA - 5 Acres of Food In 80 Feet: Urban Farmer Grows A Garden In The Heart of Indianapolis

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London Gibson

May 6, 2021

An unassuming plot of land sits on the eastside of Indianapolis on 30th Street. From the outside, it looks like an empty lot with a couple of shipping containers on it. But inside those containers is an entire garden. 

And among the plants, you can find DeMario Vitalis.

Vitalis is the first in Indiana to own a hydroponic farm inside of a shipping container. The unique method involves planting seedlings of plants such as herbs and lettuces on vertical panels and feeding them controlled levels of water, nutrients, and light — no soil required.

It’s a mode of farming uniquely suited for urban environments. Vitalis is able to produce almost 5 acres of food a year from two 40-foot shipping containers. It also uses 99% less water than traditional farming, according to the company that makes the containers.

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Vitalis sells his fresh herbs, lettuces, and more to people in the community through online platforms such as Market Wagon.

The climate control is a huge advantage for Vitalis, who set up his farm, called New Age Provisions, in the latter half of last year. Regardless of the outside weather, he can grow anything he wants.

“It can be 30 degrees outside and raining,” he said, “but inside it’s 65 degrees. In here I’m watching Netflix and planting seeds.”

Even though he now spends much of his time dedicated to plants, Vitalis wasn’t a farmer when he started all of this. He was just an entrepreneur looking for his next project, and farming — which connected to his history as a descendent of enslaved people and Southern sharecroppers — felt like the right choice. 

“It was just a way to become an entrepreneur,” he said, “and also get back into the type of occupation my ancestors once had.”

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‘It’s in his blood’

Vitalis was looking for something that would put a piece of property he owned to use, and he had a hunch shipping containers were key. 

At first, he thought he would set up some modular tiny homes built out of containers. But then he came across Freight Farms, a Boston-based company that could cram 2.5 acres of production into one shipping container, and the decision was made. 

Although born in San Francisco, Vitalis’ family is originally from the South, and he moved around quite a bit before settling in Indiana. 

“Three of my four grandparents started off from the South,” Vitalis said, “So we were part of that Black migration when we moved eventually from the South to San Francisco on the West Coast.”

After living in Germany, Kansas, and other places as his stepfather moved around with the military, Vitalis’ mother decided to move him to Indianapolis, where he stayed and attended Arlington High School and Purdue University.

Vitalis’ mother Barbara Johnson is a cook, so food has always been important to the family. And the herbs and vegetables grown by her son, she said, are “absolutely wonderful.”

“I just believe that you can always inspire a person with a good meal,” she said.

Even so, farming or food production was never anything they did at home, she said. But she knows it’s something he feels close to because of the family’s history.

“I guess it was just in his blood,” she said.

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Vitalis was one of the first Black owners of a Freight Farms shipping container in the country, said Caroline Katsiroubas, marketing, and communications director for the company. 

“He, in particular, wanted to be a catalyst for more Black farmers to join the Freight Farming community,” she said, “and I’ve definitely seen the impact.”

Overcoming learning, funding hurdles

It wasn’t easy learning how to grow food. 

Despite two degrees from Purdue University, Vitalis doesn’t have a background in farming and had to put himself through some education before diving into his urban farm. He took online classes and even visited Freight Farms in Boston to learn about the equipment and process. 

“It does take a learning curve,” he said. “It’s not easy to learn how to farm; you have to learn how to react to the plants.”

Sometimes his daughter will help him with the planting. Johnson, too, will help out and trim plants, clean or help with planting, and occasionally brings her grandson along. Understanding how the farm works was a learning curve for her, too.

“I didn’t know anything about hydroponic farming,” she said. “When I saw that wall of plants, I didn’t think it was possible.”

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Funding was another obstacle. The farms cost $100,000 each. 

After some research, Vitalis found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will supply loans for these types of businesses, so he requested $50,000 to help him pay for one container and was promptly denied. 

The people evaluating the profitability of these containers simply didn’t understand how it worked or how much it could produce, he said. But instead of giving up, he pushed back. Black farmers have historically been discriminated against when trying to obtain USDA loans, and he was motivated to make sure his business plan was being fairly evaluated.

“There’s a history behind that,” he said. “I was just one of many.” 

Vitalis appealed the decision and won. Then, he turned around and asked for $200,000 instead — and got it.

Finally one day, a semi-trailer pulled up outside his property with the containers, picked them up with an enormous crane, and plopped them right down behind the nearby building.

“It was pretty interesting to see a big old 40-foot container fly over a building,” Vitalis said. “It was not easy, but you know, God was on my side and I was able to get through the hurdles that were put in my way.”

How hydroponics works

In a hydroponic farm, everything is vertical — and everything is controlled. 

At first, the plants start as seedlings or seeds and are placed on shelves under LED lights, and water flushed with nutrients is dispensed to them with attached machines. 

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After a few weeks, the plants are large enough to transfer to a series of vertical panels that roll along tracks. These panels are also connected to machines for dosing water and nutrients and placed in between LED lights. The water circulating through the plants is saved and re-cycled through the system, conserving water and nutrients.

Although space may seem tight, one container can output the equivalent of 1,000 heads of lettuce each week, Katsiroubas said.

And throughout the whole process, Vitalis controls the light, temperature, nutrients, and water. The plants live in a perfectly contained ecosystem that’s never under threat from drought, flooding or pests. 

“It has its own brain,” Vitalis said. 

It’s a big advantage, he said, because he can grow food year-round and he doesn’t have to worry about pesticides or herbicides. It’s also “hyper-local,” he said. When he gets an order, the food comes from the planter into the customer’s hands within a matter of hours.

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David Bosley, Vitalis’ former boss at Cummins, Inc., used Vitalis’ greens for his Thanksgiving meal and said he was impressed by the packaging and freshness. At first, he said, the idea of a hydroponics farm was surprising.

“I thought it was rather novel,” he said, “but I also thought, well that’s just like DeMario.”

Nobody was surprised that Vitalis made New Age Provisions happen. 

He’s always been one to tackle a project without giving up, Bosley said. And he’s always been a trailblazer and hard worker, his mother said. She thinks it’s something he may have picked up from her, since she worked multiple jobs and attended school while caring for him and his siblings.

“I’m even more amazed with my son,” Johnson said. “He‘s satisfying a need in the community and following a dream. It was his vision and he brought it to fruition.”

Contact IndyStar reporter London Gibson at 317-419-1912 or lbgibson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @londongibson. 

Connect with IndyStar’s environmental reporters: Join The Scrub on Facebook.

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

HighQuest Events – Global AgInvesting, WIA Summit, Organic & Non-GMO Forum – Return To In-Person

BOSTON (May 5, 2021) – It’s time to reconnect! Global ag event, consulting and media firm HighQuest Partners has announced that it will return to in-person events in the second half of 2021.

The company will once again bring together the communities of Global AgInvesting, Women in Agribusiness, and the Organic & Non-GMO Forum for unparalleled onsite networking and engagement at its next events, all while respecting current safety guidelines and instituting unique ways of bridging relationships and partnerships in the agribusiness and investing sectors. Most events also will offer a virtual option for those who are not able to attend the live events.

Global AgInvesting On the Green

Just outside NYC, July 13-15

“Despite an extraordinary year of challenges, the GAI community did not waver in its commitment to agricultural advancements and investments,” said Kate Westfall, chief operating officer for the Ag Investing Division. “We are very excited to bring everyone together again this summer in a safe and unique way, and have had an overwhelming response from attendees eager to join us and reconnect.”

The 13th annual Global AgInvesting conference will be held July 13-15 at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club, just an hour north of NYC. Sessions and networking will take place in a professional, covered outdoor setting overlooking the Hudson River and a top 50 golf course,

with plenty of opportunities for al fresco meetings. Preliminary agenda topics include international deal flow in the ag sector, the growth of carbon sequestration/monetization, regenerative farming, agtech investment and adoption, the role of PE and a broad range of agriculture investment vehicles, and many more current themes in the burgeoning sector. Visit globalaginvesting.com to register or for more details.

Women in Agribusiness Summit

Minneapolis, September 21-23

Women in Agribusiness initiatives have fostered a year-round community of engaged executives, leaders and professional women through its distinctive virtual event offerings, its WIA Meet Ups, and informative webinars. “

Our goal is always to provide as much value to as much of our community as possible, so, for our 10th anniversary Summit, we’ve decided to host it both in-person and virtually to ensure that anyone who wants to attend can,” said Joy O’Shaughnessy, chief operating officer for HighQuest’s Agribus

The 10th anniversary Women in Agribusiness Summit, September 21-23, will be held at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall. Discussions will ensue on innovations in the sector, the supply chain crisis and sustainability, as well as the annual highlights of the executive profiles panel and industry tour. Register and learn more at womeninag.com.

Organic & Non-GMO Forum

Minneapolis, December 1-2

The Organic & Non-GMO Forum is the event that is the source for conventional food and ag businesses to learn about the opportunities in the organic and non-GMO industries. Now in its seventh year, the event returns to Minneapolis at the Hyatt Regency on December 1-2.

Producers, processors, manufacturers, buyers and more will convene to consider the potential in these growing sectors, where sales of certified organic food products in the U.S. alone more than doubled to $7.6 billion from 2011 to 2016. Likewise, the global non-GMO food market is expected to reach $2.76 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 16.5 percent. A plethora of current topics will be presented and examined by expert industry speakers. Learn more at ongforum.com.

A 10 percent discount on registration is offered to all of these events by using the code: HQ10 at check out.

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Indoor Ag Science Cafe May 18th

May Indoor Ag Science Cafe

May 18th Tuesday 11 AM Eastern Time

Please sign up!

"Smart Sensors For Indoor Farming"

by Dr. Krishna Nemali
Purdue University

• Please sign up to receive the Zoom link.

• Indoor Ag Science Cafe is an open discussion forum, planned and organized by OptimIA project team supported by USDA SCRI grants.

Sign Up Here

USA: CONNECTICUT - Killingly High School Breaks Down How Adding A ‘Hydroponics’ And ‘Aquaponics’ Class Encourages Sustainability

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WHAT’S RIGHT WITH SCHOOLS

by: Mackenzie Maynard

May 6, 2021

KILLINGLY, Conn. (WTNH) — At Killingly High School over the past few years, they’ve truly enhanced their Agriculture Education Program. They’ve added a hydroponics and aquaponics class to help encourage sustainability.  

Beth Knowlton is a plant science teacher at Killingly and has been for about fifteen years. She tells News 8 hydroponics is a fairly new career in the AG industry, “The future holds us growing plants in warehouse buildings and things in inner cities so we can provide a local food source.”  

It’s a unique way of agriculture, that relies solely on the light and water in the greenhouse, using no soil at all.   

They grow everything from cucumbers to tomatoes and kale.  

They’re hoping to add to their hydroponics greenhouse, a misting system. They’ll be able to plant strawberries and have their roots continually misted from the inside, helping them grow.  

Just down the hall, Courtney Cardinal teaches her aquaponics students the ways to use fish waste to grow plants.  

The setup for aquaponics is a little different, plants grow in gravel beds connected to a water source that comes from pools full of tilapia. As the gravel beds fill and drain, the nutrients are brought to the roots of the plants.  

They use hundreds of tilapia fish to water the plants. Cardinal says, “One input of the fish food is actually growing two products. So we’re growing both the fish, the filets of the fish, and then the waste is being reused to grow plants.”  

The major nutrient the plants need is Nitrogen, and they get that from the fish waste. Non-traditional but efficient ways to grow food and adjust to the advancing industry.