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USA - MARYLAND: A New Farm In Hyattsville Is Growing Microgreens For Delivery
Working out of his childhood home in the neighborhood of University Hills in Hyattsville, owner Max Fetter is growing microgreens including sunflower, pea, and buckwheat shoots; radishes; kale and broccoli for sale through Leafcutter Farm.
Posted on May 25, 2021
A new farm in Hyattsville, which opened earlier this year, is focusing on growing freshly harvested microgreens for delivery.
Working out of his childhood home in the neighborhood of University Hills in Hyattsville, owner Max Fetter is growing microgreens including sunflower, pea, and buckwheat shoots; radishes; kale and broccoli for sale through Leafcutter Farm.
Without adequate sunlight or outdoor space for larger vegetables, Fetter told the Hyattsville Wire he and his partner, environmental planner Emma Prindle, are growing everything on shelves using LED lights.
“We are constantly experimenting and have grown over 30 varieties of microgreens, trying out each to see what will work at our small scale,” he told the Hyattsville Wire. ” We wish we had known how ridiculously versatile, nutritious, and flavorful microgreens are … we would’ve been growing and eating them for years!”
Fetter previously worked full-time at Dicot Farm in Waldorf and ECO City Farms in Edmonston, where he learned about growing larger vegetables while studying microgreen farming online. He hopes to add herbs and larger salad greens in the near future.
The farm takes its name from the leafcutter bee, which brings small bits of leaves home to build a nest, which Fetter said seemed like a “cute representation” of their microgreen delivery service.
You can buy from Leafcutter on its online shop, which offers free delivery every Monday to homes within a three-mile radius, or at Shopkeepers boutique in D.C. You can also get microgreens delivered throughout D.C. and other suburbs in Maryland. Containers come in two-and-a-half ounce to four-ounce ranging from $6 to $12 per container.
Meanwhile, 2Fifty Texas BBQ in Riverdale Park has partnered with Leafcutter Farm to grow an edible garden in front of its barbecue eatery and New Brooklyn Farms out of Mount Rainier has also partnered with Leafcutter previously.
Top 4 Vertical Farming Stocks
As the world’s population grows, there are more mouths to feed. This has presented some big challenges in agriculture. Although, we’ve continued to innovate and overcome. There have been some great investing opportunities and vertical farming stocks are up next
By Rob Otman
Originally posted May 26, 2021
As the world’s population grows, there are more mouths to feed. This has presented some big challenges in agriculture. Although, we’ve continued to innovate and overcome. There have been some great investing opportunities and vertical farming stocks are up next.
In general, farmland has been a great area to invest. To help explain why this is the case, here’s a quote from Mark Twain…
Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.
That’s been a good rule for investors to live by. Although, we’re now managing land in much different ways. New forms of precision farming are taking root and crop yields are increasing. On top of that, we now have the technology to grow produce more efficiently indoors.
To benefit from these big trends, you can check out this list of the top agriculture stocks. And there’s a little overlap with the list of vertical farming stocks below. The companies on this list are delivering some unique farming products and solutions…
Top Vertical Farming Stocks
AppHarvest (Nasdaq: APPH)
Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG)
CubicFarm Systems (OTC: CUBXF)
AeroFarms (Nasdaq: ARFM)
AppHarvest
AppHarvest has a few of the largest indoor farms in the U.S. There are two 60-acre indoor farms. One is outside Richmond, Kentucky and the other is in Morehead, Kentucky. On top of that, the company has another 15 acre indoor farm in Berea, Kentucky.
With these farms, AppHarvest is working to cultivate fresh fruits, veggies, and leafy greens. It’s still early stages but the potential is huge. The company is using conventional agricultural techniques, along with cutting-edge technology. Without that, it wouldn’t be possible.
One big benefit to this vertical farming stock is sustainability. The indoor growing makes it climate-resilient and there’s no agricultural runoff. It also uses up to 80% less water than traditional agriculture.
Scotts Miracle-Gro
As far as vertical farming stocks go, Scotts Miracle-Gro isn’t a direct play. It has a wide range of products and services. Although, it has made some big strides into precision gardening and hydroponics. Both are vital for growing plants vertically indoors.
In 2018, Scotts Miracle-Gro announced the acquisition of Sunlight Supply Inc. It’s a hydroponics supplier and the deal came in at $450 million in cash and stock. In 2020, Scotts also acquired AeroGrow International, a hydroponics maker.
Scotts Miracle-Gro has many reputable brands but it’s not resting on its laurels. The company is beefing up its indoor farming products. It has more than 100 on-staff research scientists, specialists, and engineers, as well as partnerships with leading academic institutions.
This helps make Scotts Miracle-Gro one of the top vertical farming companies. It’s well-positioned to grow and caters to both small and large growers.
CubicFarm Systems
CubicFarm Systems points out that 1.3 billion tons of produce rots in transport every year. We’re shipping food great lengths but with modern technology, that’s not necessary. CubicFarm is building and selling automated growing machines. They’re used for fresh produce, nutritious livestock feed, and plant propagation.
CubicFarm also uses hydroponic technology. It provides complete indoor agricultural systems. The company also has vertical farm consultants. They help provide research and solutions for clients. On top of that, CubicFarm has an experienced leadership team.
If you decide to invest in CubicFarm stock, it’s a smaller Canadian company. It’s headquartered in British Columbia and its stock trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). Although, you can buy shares in the U.S. over-the-counter (OTC) markets.
AeroFarms
There’s not much of a track record with AeroFarms, at least when it comes to trading publicly. This company is soon going public via a SPAC. To learn more about that process, feel free to click on that link.
Until this SPAC transaction closes, investors can buy into Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: SV). Once it closes, those shares will convert to AeroFarms with the ticker ARFM. This creates a unique opportunity to buy one of the best vertical farming stocks…
AeroFarms was founded in 2004 and is a world leader in vertical farming. It’s helping to solve issues from population growth, water scarcity, arable land loss, and supply chain risks. AeroFarms also achieves up to 390 times greater productivity per square foot versus traditional farming.
To accomplish this, AeroFarms takes a data-driven approach. Its plant scientists monitor millions of data points every harvest. The company has also gained some protection with patents.
Buying Vertical Farming Stocks and New Opportunities
The companies above give great exposure to innovative farming. Indoor growing will continue to expand, along with the world’s population. The push for green stocks and sustainability is helping as well.
Advancing technology is making this a reality. Some costs are dropping and output for produce is increasing. On top of that, quality control is becoming more fine-tuned. Indoor growing is also helping reduce food supply chain issues.
As a result, the vertical farming stocks above might see some high returns ahead. And whether you invest or not, you’ll likely benefit from these companies.
If you’re looking for even better investing opportunities, consider signing up for Manward Financial Digest. It’s a free e-letter that’s packed with investing insight. The founder and expert behind it, Andy Snyder, delivers big ideas that are easy to digest.
Aquaponics Is Complex: ‘It’s Everything, Anything You Can Really Think Of’
The needs of the fish, bacteria, and plants must be addressed to get and maintain conditions for success
The needs of the fish, bacteria, and plants must be addressed to get and maintain conditions for success.
May 16, 2021
Unlike other agricultural techniques that focus on a single product, aquaponics growers must consider both the fish and the plants when altering the conditions of the system.
Aquaponic systems are often described as their own ecosystems. Everything from the types of organisms in the system to the bacteria breaking down waste impact the productivity and success of the system.
Fish meal is the major source of nutrients in the entire system. What the fish are fed, and how much, plays a role in determining which nutrients will be available for the plants further down the line.
“(The fish meal) will break down into the fundamental components of the fertilizer, which will then be broken down further by beneficial bacteria in the system,” says Trevor Kenkel, owner of Springworks aquaponics farm in Lisbon. “It will go on to then generate the major macronutrients for the plants, but also the micronutrients as well.”
Kenkel said they also monitor the amount of food they feed the fish to prevent excess nutrients in the system.
“The amount of nutrients that are thrown off out of a system is really significant, and it’s so concentrated,” he said. “If we weren’t running a system to capture this afterward, you would either be dumping those into a local ecosystem, or you’d have to find some other way to treat them, which can be very expensive.”
Managing the greenhouse environment can also be difficult, particularly in Maine. Growing produce in the summer and winter is very different, Kenkel said.
Springworks’ greenhouses have lights that supplement the sun on cloudy, gray days. Additionally, a system helps control the temperature within the greenhouses.
Paul Brown, a professor at Purdue University who studies aquaponics, said many factors are involved. For instance, different types of fish provide different kinds of nutrients, and different plants require more of some nutrients than others.
Even the kinds of microorganisms breaking waste down into fertilizer play a part in this complex system. At times, Brown said, it can become necessary to add additional nutrients to make up for deficiencies in the system. The acidity and salinity of the water can also be major factors.
Springworks has plants growing to maturity constantly, allowing Kenkel and his team to measure different qualities and environmental factors: the location in the greenhouse the plant grew in, the density of the leaves, and the effects of different temperatures, for example.
“It’s everything, anything you can really think of,” said Kenkel, who studied plant physiology at Bowdoin College.
CANADA - MONTREAL: Indoor Farming Technology Seeks To Localize Agriculture
“The goal is to have the first crops in the system in August of this year,” Zeman said. “It’s going to take a pretty serious pull from everyone involved to get us there.” Whereas traditional agriculture grows in outdoor fields or gardens, Interius Farms uses hydroponics and vertical farming to grow plants indoors, offering a climate-controlled environment and artificial lighting in place of sunlight.
A Canadian company is pioneering new technology for growing produce indoors, utilizing hydroponics to provide year-round, cost-effective food production. Interius Farms, based in Montreal, developed the innovative system as a means to localize agriculture in a country where fresh produce is imported at least seven months a year from other parts of the U.S. and North America.
Founded in 2018 by longtime friends Jonnie Lawson and Tristan Zeman, the company is taking vertical farming to the next level with its 8-foot rotating rack design—exposing plants to a single light fixture saving on both space and energy demand.
More efficiency
While the project is currently in its beta stage, Interius Farms is ambitiously ramping up to commercial scale, moving into a 14,000-square-foot facility to grow leafy greens, including lettuce, kale, cilantro, parsley, and basil.
The rotating rack eliminates the need for additional lighting systems, maximizing energy efficiency. Zeman said the system requires 40-80% less lighting and 92% less land than traditional agriculture. The original proof of concept was done in the corner of Zeman’s Chicago apartment. Now, he said they are zeroing in on a commercial facility where Interius Farms can grow a significant amount of food. “5,000 square feet of growing space produces over a million heads of lettuce,” he said.
Growing with hydroponics is inherently more expensive, Zeman said, with higher costs of inputs. He knows they cannot compete on direct cost with field lettuce. However, where the technology proves especially valuable is how it insulates against seasonal price fluctuations of produce and other shocks in the supply chain, such as disease outbreaks and natural disasters in other parts of the world.
Collaboration
Interius Farms is also working with urban-gro, a Colorado-based company that focuses on engineering efficient and profitable controlled environment agriculture facilities. Though urban-gro is traditionally rooted in cannabis, the business is expanding its expertise to work with innovators in other areas of farming. “We are excited to be working with Interius Farms and their innovative and patented approach to growing fresh and sustainable foods for the Canadian market,” said Jim Dennedy, urban-gro’s president and chief operating officer.
The mission of Interius Farms, according to Zeman, is to localize Canadian agriculture through its platform. Buyers will have access to locally grown food even in harsh winter months while at the same time giving themselves an “insurance policy” against volatile prices caused by supply chain disruptions.
“We offer a fresher and more sustainable product, and we introduce price and business sustainability into the Canadian food market, especially in those import months,” Zeman said.
Seasonal fluctuations can increase the price of field lettuce by as much as 85% during the non-growing months, Zeman said. “When the vast majority of the Canadian supply chain in the winter is coming from the American Southwest, you’re very exposed, and you’re not getting very high-quality produce by the time it’s been shipped up here,” Zeman added.
The fresh produce
More control
Looking ahead, Zeman said he has heard from some consumers who question whether indoor agriculture produces healthy, natural food. That is a perception the company will battle, he said, though he points out Interius Farms can offer enhanced traceability with its design. “Everyone wants to know exactly where their food came from,” he said. “And we can tell you, from the seed, exactly what nutrients it has received. For every second of the plant’s life, we can tell you exactly what the plant has received, whereas if you’re in the field, many factors are out of your control.”
Over the next six months, Zeman said Interius Farms and urban-gro will be joined at the hip, testing their commercial facility’s design, vendors, lighting fixtures and other options. “Through our engagement with urban-gro, we gain the advantage of supplementing our internal expertise with the urban-gro team that has spent decades working with complex systems. We can rely on urban-gro to guide us in developing the right solutions for our unique application. The ultimate goal is to be in that facility, to have that anchor customer—which we feel like we’re very close to having in place—and growing very soon in our first facility,” Zeman said.
Lead photo: From the left: Brady Deslippe (Chief Technology Officer) and Tristan Zeman (Founder/President)
For more information:
Publication date: Thu 27 May 2021
Author: Andrea Di Pastena
© HortiDaily.com
USA - WISCONSIN: Planet to Plate To Launch Pilot Food-Tech Incubator, Hundred Acre, In Milwaukee's 30th Street Industrial Corridor
Hundred Acre Farm is creating an entire ecosystem that brings together food businesses, non-profits, educational institutions, and the surrounding Milwaukee community
Hundred Acre Farm is creating an entire ecosystem that brings together food businesses, non-profits, educational institutions, and the surrounding Milwaukee community.
Milwaukee, May 19, 2021 – Beginning this Summer, Hundred Acre will grow fresh greens in Milwaukee while improving supply-chain resilience and offering an educational pathway to local employment. The initial product offering includes seven varieties of greens including holy basil, spring mix, and baby kale.
The specialized farm will utilize a 5,000-square-foot controlled environmental system with vertical hydroponics, creating secure and traceable non-GMO produce grown without pesticides or herbicides, available year-round and harvested weekly.
Hundred Acre’s goal is to improve access to fresh, healthy food while also revitalizing a light manufacturing employment hub. The 30th Street Industrial Corridor could become one of the next major innovation hubs for food tech in America, providing a blueprint for other inner-city areas struggling with food insecurity.
“A year ago, the world found itself disconnected and communities isolated. Our routines and our relationships were interrupted, as were businesses and access to vital resources. The pandemic highlighted what was fragile in our food systems, and what wasn’t working,” says Planet to Plate Founder Chris Corkery. “The pandemic also highlighted what was working, and what was demanded: hyperlocal food. Now we are reemerging cautiously from our shells, strengthened by a reassessment of our values and priorities. Hundred Acre is uniquely situated to rebuild more resilient local communities through the power of fresh food. In doing this, it’s all about the little wins together as we look ahead.”
2020 was a year that brought to light the serious shortcomings of the food supply chain in the United States and around the world. Everything from ingredients to packaging saw fulfillment challenges, leaving businesses and consumers scratching their heads. Now, perhaps more than ever is the time for localized solutions to emerge for reliable, fresh food. As Dr. Michael Carriere, Associate Professor of the Milwaukee School of Engineering deftly puts it: "As global populations continue to grow, we must figure out new ways to feed such people. At the same time, the damages wrought by climate change have severely impacted traditional agricultural models. We must develop sustainable agricultural systems that take into account these developments. Institutions of higher learning have a vital role to play here, as they are able to pull together a myriad of partners to create innovative agricultural solutions." Hundred Acre aims to play just this role by bringing together like-minded partners who share the common goal of agricultural innovation and local resilience.
How can leveraging the power of fresh food, new agricultural technologies, and light manufacturing revitalize an underserved area and usher in a renaissance that creates new jobs? This is the question that Hundred Acre will explore every day through strategic partnerships with key Milwaukee stakeholders, including local policy-makers, educators, and businesses. Residing between two marginalized neighborhoods, the Century City building is a prime location to bring these partnerships to life.
"The Century City Business Park and its tenants are pleased to welcome Hundred Acre to the Century City 1 building”, said building landlord Kyle Stephens of Good City Brewing. “Their focus on supporting the local food supply chain and its impact on underserved communities, especially those lacking access to healthy foods, is a complement to the original intention of this real estate development. We're excited to see the project activated -- it is the next step in building a food, beverage, and tech hub in the 30th Street Industrial Corridor."
Partnering with Building2Learn, MSOE, Milwaukee Public Schools, and the 30th Street Corridor, Hundred Acre will serve as the education site for Milwaukee-area students to get excited about and involved with the agricultural systems of tomorrow. High school students and young adults interested in STEM will have the opportunity to learn about hydroponic farming, sustainable food systems, supply chains, and distribution channels. This will serve as a foundation that can lead student participants into local light industrial employment or careers in the food tech industry.
Hundred Acre will host an exclusive walk-through of the farm site at Century City this June. To learn more and to stay up to date on the project’s progress, visit hundred-acre.org.
About Hundred Acre
Hundred Acre is a unique urban farm providing a rapid response solution to food insecurity in the heart of Milwaukee. Workforce development and student apprenticeship programs are integrated to grow consistent, premium greens sold directly to local food businesses year-round. A consortium of growers, technologists, and community partners ensures that the farm remains a sustainable local business. Now, buyers can increase reliable local sourcing and provide community support.
Learn more at hundred-acre.org and follow @hundredacre_mke.
About Planet to Plate
Planet to Plate is a community developer specializing in green infrastructure that cultivates reliable fresh food and vital jobs in urban markets. Their goal is to reinforce local supply chains and access to nutrient-rich food by bringing together social entrepreneurs, nonprofits and the surrounding neighborhood. Planet to Plate offers a platform that encourages discovery, conversation, and learning around fresh, accessible food, which they believe is the first step in creating healthier communities.
Learn more at planet2plate.org and follow @planet2plate.
BRITISH COLUMBIA: Whistler Harvest Corp. Announces Launch of Operations
The Company was founded in March 2021 and began growing its signature microgreens, salad mixes, and gourmet mushrooms in early April. The Company provides its customers with microgreens and mushrooms the same day that they are harvested all year-round
Pemberton, BC Canada - May 20, 2021 - Whistler Harvest Corp., an indoor vertical farming company based in the Sea-to-Sky region of British Columbia, is pleased to announce that is launched and harvesting its first crops.
The Company was founded in March 2021 and began growing its signature microgreens, salad mixes, and gourmet mushrooms in early April. The Company provides its customers with microgreens and mushrooms the same day that they are harvested all year-round. Our products are available at our Pemberton farm, selected farmer markets, restaurants, and online.
The microgreens market is driven by chefs that use them as flavor enhancements and as colorful garnishes on their plates but there is another niche industry that pushes new growth within this segment, cosmetics. These microgreens are processed into oils and ingredients for consumer items like shampoo and skincare products. Microgreens contain a lot of vitamin A&B in addition to many other micro-elements, making them very attractive ingredients for personal care product manufacturers.
Local. Fresh. Now. Our mission to create meaningful relationships with the food we nurture and to strive on providing locally grown, healthy food for our communities. Every day is a perfect day inside our farm.
Whistler Harvest Corp.
(phone) 778.569.0717
(email) sales@whistlerharvest.ca
P A D D Y S M Y T H
Vertical Farming: Disrupting Agriculture
A New Agricultural Revolution Could Forever Change The Planet
24 May 2021
Vertical farming leverages cutting-edge technology to grow food in a new and better way.
One of its many benefits is that it can increase crop yield by 700 percent.
Vertical farming can help relieve pressure on scarce resources and boost Earth's biodiversity.
One day soon, you could eat bananas grown in downtown Manhattan.
It's a way of growing food that turns traditional agriculture on its head. With the required technologies now rapidly maturing, vertical farming is sprouting across the globe.
While there are still unresolved issues with this marriage of technology and agriculture, its promise may be irresistible. If it gets off the ground — literally — in a major way, it could solve the problem of feeding the Earth's 7.9 billion people. And that's just one of the benefits its proponents promise.
Vertical farms could take over the world | Hard Reset by Freethink www.youtube.com
Agriculture through time
When humankind began planting crops for nutrition about 12,000 years ago, the nature of our hunter-gatherer species fundamentally shifted. For the first time, it's believed, people began staying put.
With agriculture as their central mission, communities formed, with the now-familiar arrangement of residential areas surrounded by land dedicated to growing food. Even today, with modern transportation making the widespread consumption of non-local foods common, this land-allocation model largely survives: population centers surrounded by large areas for growing vegetables and fruit and raising livestock.
Credit: Genetics4Good / Wikimedia
Challenges facing traditional agriculture
As our population has grown, traditional agriculture has begun facing some big challenges:
Farmland takes up a lot of space and destroys biodiversity. Our World in Data reports that half of all habitable land is used for agriculture. As Nate Storey of Plenty, Inc., a vertical farming startup, puts it, "It is probably one of the most defining acts of humanity: We literally changed the ecosystem of the entire planet to meet our dietary needs."
The demand for farmland — both for produce and livestock — has led to a dangerous deforestation in several parts of the world. This also results in biodiversity loss and contributes to an increase in the greenhouse gases that drive climate change.
Degradation of farmland, such as through soil erosion, poses a threat to agricultural productivity.
Agriculture consumes copious amounts of water, which exacerbates water shortages. (Obviously, water shortages also reduce agricultural productivity.)
Fertilizer run-off causes substantial environmental damage, such as algal blooms and fish kills.
Pesticides can degrade the environment by affecting non-target organisms.
The effects of climate change are already making agriculture more challenging due to significant shifts in weather, changes to growing seasons, and realignment of water supplies. Our climate is continuing to change in unexpected ways, and the only predictable aspect of what lies ahead is unpredictability.
Vertical farming proponents expect that a re-think of how we grow food can ultimately solve these problems.
What is vertical farming?
Credit: Freethink Media / Plenty, Inc.
Vertical farming is a form of agriculture that grows plants indoors in floor-to-ceiling, tower-like walls of plant-holding cells. Instead of growing plants in horizontal fields on the ground, as in traditional farming, you can think of vertical farming's "fields" as standing on the edge and extending upward toward the ceiling. The plants need no soil or other aggregate medium in which to grow; their roots are typically held in a cell lining, often composed of coconut fiber.
Vertical flora is grown either aeroponically, in which water and nutrients are delivered to plants via misting, or hydroponically, in which plants are grown in nutrient-rich water. These are incredibly efficient systems, requiring 95% less irrigation than soil-grown plants. With vertical farming, Storey says that 99 percent of the moisture transpired by plants can be recaptured, condensed, and recirculated.
Plants, of course, also need light to grow, and vertical farms use increasingly efficient LED bulbs to keep plants thriving.
Vertical farms can increase crop yields by 700 percent
Credit: pressmaster / Adobe Stock
If vertical farming takes off the way its supporters believe it should and will, it may solve many of the aforementioned challenges facing agriculture.
Crop yields with vertical farming far exceed what's possible with traditional agriculture. Plenty, Inc.'s Shireen Santosham notes that the highly controlled growing environment of vertical farming has allowed her company to reduce the growing time for some crops to as little as 10 days. Without needing to consider whether or even sunlight, combined with the ability to operate 365 days a year, their system increases the potential annual yield by about 700 percent.
The land requirement for vertical farming is a mere fraction of that for traditional agriculture. Santosham says it can be done in a building the size of a big-box retail store that can be built pretty much anywhere that has adequate utilities, including within major urban centers. The tightly controlled environment of a vertical farm should also eliminate the need for applied pesticides.
Yet another benefit of vertical farming is the return of land currently needed for food production back to the planet. This could help facilitate Earth's recovery from deforestation and return much-needed habitat to threatened or endangered species. Of course, if we ever colonize the moon or Mars, vertical farming will be the go-to option for feeding the colonists.
Several vertical farming company pioneers are already getting their high-quality crops into the hands, and mouths, of consumers. Plenty, Inc. has an eponymous line of greens, and Aerofarms has their FlavorSpectrum line. Both companies claim that their products are exceptionally tasty, a result of their carefully controlled growing environments in which computer-controlled lighting can be optimized to bring out the most desirable qualities of each crop.
Credit: Alesia Berlezova / Adobe Stock
The history of vertical farming
The idea of vertical farming isn't new, and experts have been questioning its viability since the term was first coined in 1915 by Gilbert Ellis Bailey, who was obviously way ahead of the available technology at the time. The first attempt to grow produce in a constructed environment was a Danish farmhouse factory that was built to grow cress, a peppery green related to mustard, in the 1950s.
The modern concept of a vertical farm arose in the New York classroom of Columbia University's Dickson Despommier in 1999. He presented the idea as a theoretical construct, a mental/mathematical exercise imagining how to farm in an environmentally sound manner. His class began with the notion of a rooftop garden before considering a "high-rise" version that might theoretically be able to grow enough rice to feed two percent of Manhattan's population at the time. The eureka moment was a question Dispommier asked: "If it can't be done using rooftops, why don't we just grow the crops inside the buildings? We already know how to cultivate and water plants indoors."
With the technological advances of the last few decades, vertical farming is now a reality. Our sister site, Freethink, recently paid Plenty, Inc. a visit. (See video above.)
Vertical farming today
Credit: Nelea Reazanteva / Adobe Stock
Today, growers across the globe are developing vertical farms. While the U.S. has more vertical farms than any other country, the industry is blooming everywhere.
There are currently over 2,000 vertical farms in the U.S. While more than 60 percent of these are owned by small growers, there are a few heavyweights as well. In addition to Wyoming's Plenty, Inc. and Newark's Aerofarms, there's also New York's Bowery Farming. There are also companies such as edengreen, based in Texas, whose mission is to help new entrants construct and operate vertical farms.
Japan comes in second, with about 200 vertical farms currently in operation. The largest vertical farming company there is SPREAD. Across Asia, vertical farms are operating in China, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan. In Europe, vertical growers are in Germany, France, Netherlands, and the U.K. Germany is also home to the Association for Vertical Farming, "the leading global, non-profit organization that enables international exchange and cooperation in order to accelerate the development of the indoor/vertical farming industry."
In the Middle East, whose desert land and scarcity of water present a particularly challenging agricultural environment, vertical farming is taking root, so to speak. The United Arab Emirates' Badia Farms is now producing more than 3,500 kilograms of high-quality produce each day and expects to increase that yield going forward. In Kuwait, NOX Management launched in the summer of 2020 with plans to produce 250 types of greens, with a daily output of 550 kg of salads, herbs, and cresses.
The economics of vertical farming
Credit: meryll / Adobe Stock
Building and operating a vertical farm is a costly endeavor, requiring a substantial initial investment in state-of-the-art technology, real estate, and construction. AgFunderNews (AFN) estimates that it can cost $15 million to construct a modern vertical farm. Fortunately, investors see the potential in vertical farming, and the industry has attracted more than $1 billion in investments since 2015. That includes $100 million for Aerofarms. Plenty, Inc raised $200 million in 2017 from a fund backed by such respected forward-thinkers as Jeff Bezos and Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt.
AFN is particularly excited by the potential of what they call second-generation vertical farming technology. They cite advances in LED technology — expected to increase energy efficiency by 70 percent by 2030 — and increasingly sophisticated automation that can streamline the operation of vertical farms. AFN anticipates operating cost reduction of 12 percent due to improvements in lighting and another 20 percent from advances in automation.
BusinessWire says that the vertical farming produce market was valued at nearly $240 million in 2019, and they expect it to grow 20 percent annually to over $1 billion by 2027.
A welcome disruption
Vertical farming will be disruptive.
Vertical farming would eliminate the need for the arduous work of harvesting crops by hand from vast tracts of farmland. Current picking jobs, the company says, can be replaced by better-paying, full-time jobs available 365 days a year in better working conditions — and in the variety of geographic locations in which vertical farms can operate.
There are two caveats, however. First, the number of people needed to manage and harvest vertical farm crops will be far fewer than the many farmworkers required for less efficiently planted traditional fields. Second, with automation becoming ever-more capable — and perhaps a key to eventual profitability — one wonders just how many new jobs ultimately will be created.
But the societal benefits far outweigh any costs. As Plenty's Storey muses, "Like most everything in the world, we can only save our species if it makes economic sense." Thankfully, it does make economic sense
Lead photo: Credit: Freethink Media / Plenty, Inc..
'Acute' Pallet Shortages Putting Fresh Produce Supply At Risk
The shortages are "acute," according to United Fresh Produce Association’s letter to the industry in a news release
A Pallet Shortage Is Affecting
The Produce Industry In Many Ways
By AMY SOWDER
May 19, 2021
Severe pallet shortages are inflicting a widespread effect on the produce industry — including the availability of produce to consumers.
The shortages are "acute," according to United Fresh Produce Association’s letter to the industry in a news release.
The association detailed a multitude of issues that are impacting pallet availability, including:
Efforts of wholesalers, distributors and retailers to ensure sufficient inventory of non-perishables given previous pandemic-related impacts;
Availability of lumber to repair and build new pallets;
The escalating price of lumber when it is available;
Nonperishable inventory dwell time increase; and
Lack of available trucks to relocate pallets.
“The lack of pallets is adding stress to a supply chain that is already facing significant challenges, which include a lack of available trucks and shipping containers, ongoing labor challenges, fluctuating fuel costs, pandemic-related challenges, and a pending shortage of resin used to make reusable containers and pallets,” according to the release. “At this time, expectations are that the pallet shortage will continue for months, perhaps for the balance of 2021 – all at a time when many North American produce items are just beginning seasonal harvests and shipments.”
Listen to United Fresh’s John Hollay discuss this pallet issue with retail and Produce Market Guide editor Ashley Nickle in our Tip of the Iceberg podcast episode.
The issue has a wide and deep scope of negative impacts, according to United Fresh:
The shortage of lumber and wood products has increased the cost of raw lumber 200% to 350% and is making the cost of wood pallets increase incrementally;
In one example, in the past few weeks, pallet costs have increased more than 400%, if the pallets are even available, and often they are not;
One farmer was told by one pallet supplier that they are not taking any new customers due to an inability to fill even existing customer demand;
Companies are forced to bring pallets from other jurisdictions, thereby incurring border and transportation costs; and
Pallets are being held in-house due to delayed and canceled orders from pallet services, leading to higher storage charges and increased congestion within operations.
Company leaders along the supply chain need to collaborate to balance organizational goals relative to overall availability of goods with availability of food.
“If there is not a concerted effort across the supply chain to ensure pallet availability for shipment of produce, there is little doubt that it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for the grower-shipper community to meet buyer, and ultimately consumer, demand for produce,” according to United Fresh.
Also, growers and shippers are trying to comply with pallet requirement specifications, but this is even more challenging.
United Fresh’s stance is that temporary modifications or exceptions to pallet requirements — as long as those exceptions don’t jeopardize safety — would help greatly until this pallet shortage is resolved.
All partners in the supply chain should have regular conversations with their pallet suppliers to understand the situation and pallet inventories and availability, according to the release.
“We welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with all parties within the supply chain to mitigate the impacts of the current shortages and will reach out to stakeholders to identify a path forward that provides solutions to this increasingly disruptive threat and enables the continued flow of goods,” according to United Fresh.
Learn more details with this interview.
Lead Photo courtesy Michael Gaida/Pixabay
Chinese Produce Platform Dingdong Maicai Raises $1bn From SoftBank, Coatue
In an announcement on social messaging platform WeChat, Dingdong Maicai said it will use the funding for regional expansion, enhancement of its supply chain capabilities, and to hire more personnel.
May 17, 2021
Dingdong Maicai, an e-commerce platform for fresh fruits and vegetables, has raised $1.03 billion in Series D funding across two tranches.
Last week, Cygnus Equity, an investment bank that advises Dingdong Maicai on fundraising and is itself an investor in the startup, said the Shanghainese e-grocer had secured $330 million in a “Series D-plus” round led by SoftBank‘s Vision Fund.
This followed a $700 million Series D injection last month which was co-led by US investment giant Coatue Management and London-based internet investor DST Global.
Other international investors participating in that round included Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management, MassAve Global, and General Atlantic. APlus Partners, Aspex Management, 3W Fund Management, Capital Today, CMC Capital, Ocean Link, and Lenovo-affiliated Hony Capital were among the Greater China-based investors to take part in the round.
In an announcement on social messaging platform WeChat, Dingdong Maicai said it will use the funding for regional expansion, enhancement of its supply chain capabilities, and to hire more personnel.
The online-to-offline platform sources fresh produce from farmers and agribusinesses and delivers it direct to consumers, who can order groceries via a mobile app. According to local newspaper 21st Century Herald, Dingdong Maicai handles 900,000 orders each day, clocking monthly revenue of ¥1.5 billion ($233 million). It operates around 1,000 warehouses across 27 of China’s biggest cities.
China’s largest ag platform reports bumper growth as founder quits for foodtech opportunity – read more here
In its WeChat statement, it said it “strives to move closer towards the source of ingredients and agricultural production,” to bring greater efficiencies to the fresh produce supply chain, maintain high quality standards, and to “allow consumers to eat fresher and safer food.”
Dingdong Maicai added that it will continue in its efforts to “promote modern planting and breeding industries” and to encourage “modern agricultural development and rural revitalization” throughout China.
According to AgFunder and AFN‘s China 2021 Agrifood Startup Investing Report, the ‘eGrocery’ category – comprising companies selling produce and other groceries online and delivering them to consumers – raised $3.6 billion in total last year, making it the country’s single highest-funded category. [Disclosure: AgFunder is AFN‘s parent company.]
But while it dominated in dollar terms, eGrocery saw just half the number of deals it did in 2019. This points to the relative maturity of the category compared to others in China, with investors answering the high capital demands of more established players. Among these are Dingdong Maicai and key competitors like Missfresh — which is backed by Goldman Sachs and Tencent and raised over $800 million in funding last year — as well as ‘super app’ Meituan‘s grocery service Meituan Maicai, Pinduoduo‘s Duo Duo Maicai, and Alibaba‘s tech-enabled supermarket chain Hema. Several of these larger e-grocers are seeking to extend their reach across multiple regions of China, driving consolidation in the industry.
Dingdong Maicai was one of the top 20 highest-funded agrifood startups last year according to AgFunder data, banking $300 million in a General Atlantic-led round that valued it at around $2 billion. This came just after the company reported a 14% spike in user activity in January 2020 as Covid-19 took hold in China.
Unleashing The Potential of Seed Optimization | Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit, June 24-25
Join AeroFarms, Unfold, Sound Agriculture, VertiVegies, ASTA, and Vineland Research
Join AeroFarms, Unfold, Sound Agriculture, VertiVegies, ASTA, and Vineland Research
How and why are seed companies and growers investing in seed optimization for indoor environments? What is the potential impact on OPEX, and what opportunities will seed varieties tailored to indoor agriculture present for producers seeking to differentiate themselves?
Join the virtual Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit this June 24-25 to discover how international growers, seed companies and researchers are optimizing genetics for taste, texture, yield and nutritional value.
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AeroFarms shares an update about its new farms in the USA and Abu Dhabi and the importance of optimizing seeds for indoor environments.
David Rosenberg, CEO & Co-Founder,
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With just three weeks to go until our virtual platform goes live for pre-summit networking, book your place now for USD $395. This gives you a high-value route to connect directly online with over 400 of the most influential names in the industry, via 1-1 video networking and live-streamed interactive content. Session recordings and messaging are available for one month after the summit, so you won't miss any of the action.
We look forward to seeing you online next month!
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Vertical Future And Crate To Plate Plot Fleet of Shipping Container Farms In London
Each of the 'container farms' will be able to produce up to five tonnes of leafy greens and veg each year with zero carbon footprint, the firms claim
Jessica Rawnsley
14 May 2021
Credit: Vertical Future
Each of The 'Container Farms' Will Be Able To produce Up To Five Tonnes of Leafy Greens And Veg Each Year With Zero Carbon Footprint, The Firms Claim
Urban farming specialists Vertical Future and Crate to Plate are together gearing up to rollout a fleet of indoor container farms in London, with each capable of producing zero carbon fresh salad and vegetables for swift delivery across the UK capital city, they announced yesterday.
Crate to Plate, an urban farming start-up, plans to use the 'container farms' designed by Vertical Future - a technology company focused on controlled-environment-agriculture (CEA) - across several new sites in London's Bermondsey and Stratford.
By using the container farms, Crate to Plate said it would be able to produce up to five tonnes of fresh produce - including lettuce, kale, and rocket - per year, and then deliver it to customers within 24 hours with a zero-carbon footprint, all without any use of pesticides or toxic chemicals. The firm counts Ollie Dabbous, chef-patron of Michelin-starred restaurant, HIDE, as well as independent grocers such as The Notting Hill Fish Shop and Artichoke in Hampstead among its customers.
Vertical Future's innovative farms, built within 40ft shipping containers, allow for highly-controlled indoor growing conditions, harnessing LED lighting, full climate control, and dual irrigation in order to create the optimal conditions for cultivating leafy salad and vegetables.
Proponents of vertical farming argue producing crops in such circumstances can reduce the amount of countryside land used for farming, better protect crops against the impacts of increasingly volatile outdoor climate conditions, and cut down on transport and logistics typically needed to ferry food from farms to urban centres. They also require far less water and zero pesticides.
"Our Container Labs create the optimal growth environment for growing fresh produce and can be deployed close to point of consumption, using minimal space," said Jamie Burrows, Vertical Future's CEO. "Using zero chemicals and growing crops in a controlled environment enables our partners to meet demand all-year-round, as opposed to regular food production systems which are reliant on seasonal limitations."
By shifting towards using Vertical Future's 'Container Labs', Crate to Plate's founder Sebastien Sainsbury said the firm would be able to scale up its systems across the UK while offering more efficient growing capabilities to improve both output and product quality.
"It's been incredibly encouraging and exciting to align with other dynamic, innovative, and enterprising British business, which will help us to scale up our vision and execute our exciting opportunities both nationally and internationally," Sainsbury said.
U.S. Secretary of Education Names May Ranch Elementary School 2021 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School
May Ranch has reduced its environmental impact and utility costs through installation of solar structures, removing significant amounts of turf, composting green waste and food scraps, and planting indigenous, water-wise plants
The U.S. Department of Education announced today that May Ranch Elementary School in Perris, California is among the 2021 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools award honorees.
May Ranch Elementary School was nominated by The California Department of Education and exemplified achievement across the three pillars of the award. May Ranch has reduced its environmental impact and utility costs through installation of solar structures, removing significant amounts of turf, composting green waste and food scraps, and planting indigenous, water-wise plants. Students in Transitional Kindergarten through 5th Grade participate in a sustainable agriculture program leading to cross-curricular, real-life application, and hands-on learning. The school garden extends both indoors and outdoors and consists of a 2,737 square-foot outdoor garden with multiple garden beds and fruit trees as well as indoor aeroponic towers and a Nutrient Film Technique vertical farm. To support school-wide health and wellness, students maintain and grow lettuce in the aeroponic towers and vertical farm and provide the lettuce to the cafeteria salad bar.
“May Ranch is inspired by the students and community it serves and will continue to grow school-wide sustainability. Understanding the need to combat obesity and the City of Perris’ status as a food desert, we will relentlessly continue to expand our garden and sustainability education, hands-on learning opportunities, and outdoor experiences for our students,” states May Ranch Elementary Principal, Aimee Conwell.
Quote from other local officials or partners, as appropriate.
Across the country, 27 schools, three early learning centers, five districts, and five postsecondary institutions are being honored for their innovative efforts to reduce environmental impact and utility costs, improve health and wellness, and ensure effective sustainability education.
The honorees were named from a pool of candidates nominated by 20 states. The selectees include 24 public schools, five charter schools, one magnet school, and three nonpublic schools. Over half of the 2021 honorees are in communities where over 40 percent of the student body are eligible for free and reduced lunch.
The list of all selected schools, districts, colleges, and universities, as well as their nomination packages, can be found here. A report with highlights on the 40 honorees can be found here. More information on the federal recognition award can be found here. Resources for all schools to move toward the three Pillars can be found here.
A Note on the Award Name for Communications
ED's award is called "U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools" and has "District Sustainability Award" and "Postsecondary Sustainability Award" categories, in addition to the original school award. It is abbreviated ED-GRS. "Green Ribbon Schools" without the "U.S. Department of Education" is not ED's award, but instead is a separate program overseen by another organization. A selected school is a "2021 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School." A selected district is a "2021 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School District Sustainability Awardee." A selected postsecondary institution is a “2021 U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School Postsecondary Sustainability Awardee. There is no "National," “Award,” or "Program" in the title. There is no apostrophe or hyphen after Education.
What’s A Hydroponic Farm Start Up Cost? Know What To Expect
Is a typical hydroponic farm start-up cost very steep? Or is it something that’s affordable and easy to manage? If you are looking into starting with hydroponic farming, you may be quite eager to know the overhead and upfront cost
Is a typical hydroponic farm start-up cost very steep?
Or is it something that’s affordable and easy to manage?
If you are looking into starting with hydroponic farming, you may be quite eager to know the overhead and upfront cost.
So, get to know more about the necessary cost you should include in your budget as you read along. Here are the typical expenses to take note of when starting a hydroponic farm.
Hydroponic Farm Start Up Cost You Should Know
When determining an average hydroponic farm start up cost, you need to also take into account having a greenhouse. you can buy or even build. The size of your greenhouse impacts the overall cost of your hydroponic farm.
Moreover, the size depends on how many crops you are planning to cultivate and grow.
If you want to build a greenhouse that’s about a few thousand square feet, you can expect to pay about $11,000 USD. But this is the standard size for commercial greenhouses.
The price significantly goes down the smaller your greenhouse gets.
Read more: Is PVC Safe for Hydroponics? Behind the Safety of These Plastics
Materials and Equipment
Next up, let’s talk about the equipment you need. These include your growing tunnels, water solvent, racks, lighting, nutrient reservoirs, UV filtration, and seeds.
For these items, we are looking at a few thousand dollars in addition to the figure we have mentioned earlier for the greenhouse price.
Recurring Expenses
Setting up a hydroponic farm is not all about the upfront cost. There are also recurring bills to think about, which are basically your electric and water expenses. Expect to pay about $500 per month since your farm would need ample light and water to sustain the growth and development of your crops.
Lettuce plant growing in vegetable hydroponic farm.
Indoor Hydroponic Farm Cost
There are some people who may opt to do indoor hydroponic farming. The cost is also dependent on the size of the farm and any other materials you need.
For instance, a 500 square feet hydroponic farm should cost about $110,000, which is just for the unit and the components such as 192 towers, 15 racks, 2 lighting racks, 48 lighting units, and a 330-gallon reservoir for nutrients, complete with automated nutrient management and UV filtration.
With all of these things in place, you already have a very production hydroponic vertical farm that you can place indoors – measuring 500 square feet.
Hydroponic Systems
There are different tiers for hydroponic systems, which include the low-tech or DIY, which should cost you about $50 up to $200.
But if you opt for mid-tech, you can easily purchase these at suppliers. They come with higher-end lighting technology and even water flow control in some cases. The cost can go from $300 to as much as $1000, and it all depends on the features and size.
As for the high-tech ones, there is complete system control for higher volume production. In this case, we are talking tens of thousands of dollars upfront.
Bringing The Cost Down
Is it possible to bring down the cost of a hydroponic farm?
It is possible but this all depends on the equipment you use. If you opt to create a DIY farm, then it will be cheaper but may be risky if the systems are not working well.
Thus, you should determine your goals, your budget, and what your intentions are for setting up your hydroponic farm. You can also start small, if you are uncertain if you want to go in it full time. Or, you can choose low-tech hydroponic systems at the onset and slowly invest in higher tech systems.
The choice is all up to you, so go ahead and consider these tips, run the numbers in your head, and enjoy the world of hydroponics!
Purdue Student Farm Offers Vegetable Season Pass
"The Boilermaker Vegetable Season Pass directly supports the student farm's foundation: to teach students about small-scale agriculture, from growing it to selling it,” said Grace Moore, president of the Purdue Student Farm Club
May 13, 2021
Boilermaker Season Pass provides community participants with fresh vegetables. (iStock photo)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue University Student Farm will provide fresh locally grown vegetables to community members for a second year.
The Boilermaker Vegetable Season Pass will provide Purdue and West Lafayette subscribers with Purdue student-grown vegetables each week from July to November. The 22-week program will include whatever is freshly grown and picked that week.
The Purdue Student Farm started the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in 2020 to support the local community and in response to the closure of the student dining halls, its primary customers. According to Steve Hallett, professor of horticulture and co-director of the student farm, the farm’s students have always wanted to learn about direct sales in local agriculture by selling to the local community.
The Boilermaker Vegetable Season Pass provides an educational experience for students and fresh vegetables to the community. The farm’s goal for the 2021 season is to enlist 50 subscribers for the 22-week program.
"The Boilermaker Vegetable Season Pass directly supports the student farm's foundation: to teach students about small-scale agriculture, from growing it to selling it,” said Grace Moore, president of the Purdue Student Farm Club. “Not only does this program sell fresh, local vegetables to the community, but it also expands the possibilities for students like myself in the Purdue Student Farm Organization to get hands-on experience with local food systems. The support we've seen from the community already is so encouraging to us, and we're very excited to roll out this program."
Petrus Langenhoven is a horticulture and hydroponics crop specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and the farm’s co-director.
"Student education is the heartbeat of the farm, and the pandemic has brought a lot of things into perspective for all of us,” he said. “We realized once again how important it is to have locally grown fresh produce when supply chains are broken and that teaching the next generation of growers and horticulturalists is one vital aspect of sustainability. Students, staff, and faculty are working hard to increase our community's resilience. The Purdue Student Farm is grateful to be an integral part of this.”
Hallett said, “We hope to establish new relationships with our local community as a trusted supplier of healthy, safe, and nutritious food. It’s exciting to be reconnecting after this last year; meeting people as they pick up their fresh food and knowing that our programs are reaching the local area. I am very proud of our students and their farm. It’s a very exciting time.”
Julie Huettman, Purdue Extension coordinator, was one of the first subscribers for the 2020 CSA program.
“The Boilermaker Vegetable Season Pass was a great experience,” she said. “Easy to order online, convenient pickup and produce already selected and put in a bag. The variety of produce helped motivate me to try out new recipes. I’m looking forward to subscribing again this year.”
The student team has already received over half of the subscribers for the 2021 season! People can sign up before the end of May for a 20% discount. More information is available online.
Writer: Nyssa Lilovich, 765-494-7077, nclilovi@purdue.edu
Sources: Steve Hallett, halletts@purdue.edu
Chris Adair, ctadair@purdue.edu
Petrus Langenhoven, plangenh@purdue.edu
Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;
Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu
Investing In Indoor Vertical Farming
The vertical farming market is projected to reach USD 7.3 billion by 2025 from USD 2.9 billion in 2020; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.2% during the forecast period
By: Robert Colangelo, CEO Green Sense Farms Holdings, Inc.
Indoor vertical farms are the new kid on the block, with commercial production farms being a little more than a decade old. The vertical farming market is projected to reach USD 7.3 billion by 2025 from USD 2.9 billion in 2020; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.2% during the forecast period. 1
One vertical farm startup has raised over $250 million, and another has a valuation of over $1 billion. Are vertical farms hype, urban legend, or a good investment? Conducting thorough due diligence by a qualified expert is critical when considering an investment in a vertical farm.
Here are a few pointers to consider when exploring investment candidates.
Business Model: A good business model is a start to creating a profitable vertical farm. The model should include: where the farm will be located, who is the anchor customer, what crop will be grown and what volume, how produce will be packaged, how it will be distributed, and how it will be sold. In addition, it should speak to the type of farm that will be built- a turnkey operation "seed to supermarket" vs. a grow farm, that contracts germination, packing and sales. Startups always take longer than expected to get up and running, make sure there is a grace period built into the plan for initial operations and distribution challenges.
Management Team: After you have developed the winning business model, you need a qualified team to execute the business plan. Now that vertical farming has been around for several years, it’s easier to find qualified people with experience operating these types of farms. The C Suite should consist of professionals experienced in business administration and a technical team with horticultural production experience. This includes a senior grower, production manager, food safety manager, chief ag engineer, and sales manager. Depending on the farm; for example, a highly automated farm could look to related industries to find an operations manager with experience in a mechanized food production facility.
Marketing and Sales: The produce market is very competitive and is referred to as "a pennies business" with tight margins and profit being made on large volume. Shrink can minimize the profitability of a vertical farm. The worst thing for any operator is throwing away crop and shrink can happen at each point of the growing chain (seeding, germination, nursery, growth, harvesting, packing, and shipping). In addition, produce is perishables having a short shelf life of 1-3 weeks. The best way to reduce shrink is to grow high-quality produce that is pre-sold. This will also yield the highest price. Having an experienced sales team with relationships with a wide variety of produce buyers is paramount to success. A well-thought-out marketing and a branding plan are also required to position your crop for the target buyer and detail how to make your brand known, such as in-store samples/tastings, sponsorships, chef partnerships, merchandising…
Technology: What technology will be used in the growing operation? Will the farm be designed and built by the management team, or will they contract an experienced farm design and builder? Will they use a proven hydroponic, aeroponic, or aquaponics growing system or deploy a disruptive new technology A well-designed farm will include a seeding area, a germ room, a nursery, a growing area, a packing area, and a cooler. It will require the Temperature (T), Relative Humidity (RH), and air circulation to be monitored and controlled at each operation. At a minimum, it will require specialized equipment to control the climate, irrigation, treat nutrient water, enrich the grow room with CO2 and control LED lights. In addition, the farm should have adequate sensors, a central data collection system with automated vales, so the delivery of all inputs can be precisely controlled. A disruptive technology can be transformative when scaling the business, increasing yields, generating profit, and optimizing productivity.
Capital is the grease that lubricates the wheels of innovation. Investors continue to explore opportunities in the vertical farming market helping the industry grow.
Investors be(a)aware, there is a lot of hype in this market and much nuance in operating a successful vertical farm that does not show up in financial projections or a business plan. A good business model, a seasoned management team, and a proven growing technology can all add up to make a vertical farm profitable.
1. PRNewswire, NY, Aug 17, 2020.
Robert Colangelo is the founder of Green Sense Farms Holdings, Inc. (GSF. He is an early adopter in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and has over ten years of experience with the design-build, operations, and raising capital for vertical farms.
GSF provides contract research, consulting, and farm design and build services.
This Weeks Episode - Season 3 Episode 33
Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show serial entrepreneur, Dave Dinesen
Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show serial entrepreneur, Dave Dinesen. Dave is the CEO of CubicFarm Systems, a local chain agtech company that provides unique automated onsite commercial-scale food and livestock feed technologies. Dave is committed to applying technology to address global challenges like food security and climate change.
In this episode, Harry and Dave discuss the impact the pandemic has had on the vertical farming industry, why Dave places such a high value on equity in the workplace, and the critical tipping point we’ve arrived at for the future of our food supply.
Listen & Subscribe
2021 CEA Awards
We are excited to announce the winners of the 2021 CEA Awards. The awards were established to recognize distinguished individuals and organizations in the Controlled Environment Agriculture industry across North America
We are excited to announce the winners of the 2021 CEA Awards. The awards were established to recognize distinguished individuals and organizations in the Controlled Environment Agriculture industry across North America.
The winners were selected by a prestigious, independent awards committee comprised of agriculture professionals from Artemis, Cargill, Fluence by OSRAM, and Schneider Electric. The committee received over 130 qualified nominations for the awards and selected 11 category winners and 3 honorable mention awards.
“It has been inspiring to see our industry step up through the pandemic and continue innovating in every facet of the value chain. I am privileged to honor the outstanding contributors via the 2021 CEA Awards,” said Steve Graves, Vice President of Business Development at Fluence by OSRAM and Committee Member.
“All of the winners have had a tremendous impact on our industry this past year. It’s an honor to acknowledge the work of these companies and individuals,” said Allison Kopf, CEO of Artemis and Committee Member.
Top Employer Award
This award honors an employer who has created a great workplace environment.
Winner - AppHarvest, Inc.
Honorable Mention - NatureSweet
Brand Excellence Award
This award honors a brand that has recently dominated on store shelves.
Winner - Dream Greens by AeroFarms
Health and Safety Award
This award honors a company or individual who has gone above and beyond to create a safe and healthy workplace, as well as safe and healthy products in the wake of COVID-19.
Winner - Sudeshna Nambiar, Lakeside Produce
Sustainability Award
This award honors a company or individual who has focused on operating a sustainable facility.
Winner - Legion of Bloom
Produce Person of the Year
This award honors an individual who has made an immeasurable impact on the produce industry in the past 12 months.
Winner - Daniel Malechuk, Kalera
Honorable Mention - Hiroki Koga, Oishii
Cannabis Person of the Year
This award honors an individual who has made an immeasurable impact on the cannabis industry in the past 12 months.
Winner - Wanda James, Simply Pure
Innovative New Packaging Award
This award honors innovation in packaging and highlights new packaging concepts that have launched in the past 12 months.
Winner - Mucci Farms
Honorable Mention - Nature Fresh Farms
Innovative New Product Award
This award honors a new product launched in the past 12 months.
Winner - Wendy’s Sandwich Leaves & Salad Blend by Inspired Greens
Disruptor Award
This award honors an individual who has a spirit of innovation and is constantly looking to disrupt the status quo.
Winner - Stephen Ritz, Green Bronx Machine
Rising Star Award
This award honors an individual with < 3 years of experience in the CEA industry.
Winner - Cory Roof, Ogallala Greens
Industry Connector Award
This award honors a consultant or advisor who helps growers make the best decisions possible.
Winner - Agritecture
Congratulations to all of the winners for having an incredible impact on the CEA industry this past year. Stay tuned as we will be sharing each winners’ story on our website over the next few weeks.
China Enacts Food Waste Law, Brings In Bans For Binge-Eating & Fines For Leftovers
The food waste law also introduces a fee that restaurants can charge to their patrons if they leave “excessive” amounts of uneaten food at the end of their meals. Vendors that “induce or mislead consumers into making excessive orders” can now be fined up to ¥10,000 ($1,540)
May 4, 2021
The Chinese government has passed a wide-ranging law aimed at reducing food wastage in the world’s most populous country.
Among the provisions of the food waste law are a ban on competitive eating and hefty fines of up to ¥100,000 ($15,400) for making “binge-eating” videos where vloggers “usually leave a lot of food uneaten and often vomit what they have consumed,” according to the state-owned Global Times.
The social media phenomenon of livestream eating originated in South Korea where it is called mukbang, meaning ‘eating broadcast.’ The Chinese term for the genre, chībō, means the same thing. Chībō has become wildly popular throughout China in recent years – though not without controversy.
The food waste law also introduces a fee that restaurants can charge to their patrons if they leave “excessive” amounts of uneaten food at the end of their meals. Vendors that “induce or mislead consumers into making excessive orders” can now be fined up to ¥10,000 ($1,540).
Restaurants that consistently waste “large amounts” of food face fines of up to ¥50,000 ($7,720).
The law was first proposed to China’s legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, late last year after Chinese president Xi Jinping described the country’s food waste problem as “shocking and distressing.”
According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, restaurants in the country’s major cities waste 18 million tonnes of food a year, which the Academy estimates as being enough to feed up to 50 million people in the same timeframe.
While the Communist Party-affiliated Times claimed the “adoption of the legislation against food waste does not imply that China is facing an immediate food shortage risk, but [is] a far-sighted move for food security,” China simply can’t afford to waste this much food.
With 1.4 billion mouths to feed and issues such as a growing but ageing population, desertification of already limited cultivable land, and deteriorating relations with major food exporter countries, China is facing significant food shortage risks over the medium to long term.
The Academy predicts a domestic grain supply shortfall of 130 million tons by 2025, with China’s dwindling rural workforce cited as a key factor – meaning that the country can’t simply turn to traditional agriculture as a solution.
In recent years, investment has been pouring into China’s burgeoning agrifoodtech space, with much of it targeted at solving the country’s food security and resilience issues.
Released last month, AgFunder‘s China 2021 Agrifood Startup Investing Report found that agrifoodtech funding in the country rose 66% year-on-year in 2020 to reach $6 billion.
While most of that capital went to e-grocery companies, upstream categories raised a total of $1.4 billion, taking a 24% share of overall agrifood investment compared to 14% a year earlier. In particular, business models and technologies aimed at bringing efficiencies and smaller environmental footprints to farming – such as robotics and drones, farm management software, and biotech solutions – received substantial funding; while startups developing alternative protein sources with the objective of reducing China’s reliance on animal agriculture also saw a pop in funding.
However, solutions specifically targeting food waste reduction and valorization were notably absent from China’s top agrifoodtech funding deals last year – perhaps indicating a major area of white space for entrepreneurs and prospective investors to keep an eye on going forward.
Plans For Aquaponics Project In Belgian Port of Ostend
Columbi Salmon aims to harvest 12,000 tonnes of salmon and 4,000 tonnes of salad leaves a year by 2025
Columbi Salmon aims to harvest 12,000 tonnes of salmon and 4,000 tonnes of salad leaves a year by 2025, at a site in the Belgian port of Ostend. Kolbjørn Giskeødegård, CFO of the startup, explains their unique production system, why he thinks the time is right for growing salmon in RAS, and what persuaded him to swap finance for farming.
“For many years working for Nordea was the best job in the world – I had a great degree of freedom in my role and it was very exciting. I could probably have worked there until retirement, but had got to the point where I had seen most of the issues – the sector reports and updates started to feel like they were going in a circle,” explains Giskeødegård, who was the Norwegian bank’s chief seafood analyst for 25 years.
However, amidst the increasingly familiar cyclical trends of the conventional salmon farming sector there was one part of the industry which began to catch his attention.
“In the last two of three years, land-based salmon farming was emerging as the most exciting and disruptive part of the sector. I’d talked to many of the players about their plans and roles and licences,” he reflects.
The combination of the entrepreneurial spirit of the RAS pioneers and the development of disruptive new technologies that were needed to enable these systems to produce market-sized salmon appealed to Giskeødegård – and there was one company that stood out.
“It was a group of people I really believed in, including former colleagues – four from finance and four with a deep knowledge of fish farming,” he explains.
Read the complete article at www.thefishsite.com.
Publication date: Fri 30 Apr 2021
Sheikh Mohammed Launches Food Tech Valley In Dubai
It seeks to triple the UAE’s food production and will include a smart food logistics hub, R&D facilities as well as agricultural technology and engineering labs
It seeks to triple the UAE’s food production and will include a smart food logistics hub, R&D facilities as well as agricultural technology and engineering labs
MAY 2, 2021
The first phase of a new initiative that seeks to triple the UAE’s food production has been launched in Dubai.
The Food Tech Valley was launched on Saturday, May 1, by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and is a partnership between the Ministry of Food and Water Security and Wasl Properties to explore urban planning of future smart and food independent cities.
The initiative that aims at helping the UAE meet its National Food Security Strategy 2051 targets, will – in the initial phase of its launch – focus on strategic projects to achieve food self-sufficiency while ensuring sustainability and conservation of resources, said Mariam Almheiri, Minister of State for Food and Water Security.
The Food Tech Valley will be home to four main clusters: agricultural technology and engineering, a food innovation centre, R&D facilities, and an advanced smart food logistics hub.
The agricultural technology and engineering cluster will have a vertical farm that will employ the latest food technologies to grow year-round vital crops, noted a statement issued by Sheikh Mohammed regarding the initiative. The cluster will also focus on developing innovative projects in bioengineering, automation, robotics and artificial intelligence and supporting capacity building across the food ecosystem.
The food innovation centre meanwhile will provide an integrated agri-business ecosystem to incubate promising ideas and support startups and entrepreneurs. The cluster, which will have a specialised food factory to produce new foods and second-generation restaurants (restaurants 2.0), will explore models that are based on sustainability and production sufficiency to reduce consumption and wastage of resources.
The third cluster will have world-class R&D facilities to train food specialists and support food establishments. The facilities will explore the use of agri-robotics to maximise yields and drought-resistant crops. Specialised researchers will also explore the application of 3D printing in algae cultivation and alternative protein production. The R&D facilities will also study the use of AI to monitor, analyse and manage agricultural crops, and detect environmental impact and climate change.
It will complement global food security research efforts by exploring successful saline agriculture, nutritional genomics, agricultural mechanisation and the use of drones in food production.
The fourth cluster will feature a fourth-generation food storage system that provides smart and automated logistical storage services. The smart storage system will apply blockchain technologies and big data in sorting, transporting and distributing various food products. It will track food quality, origin, components, processing methods, storage and delivery to ensure the efficiency of food supply chains.
The initiative aims to create an integrated modern city where over 300 varieties of crops will be produced using modern farming techniques and which will serve as a hub for future clean tech-based food and agricultural products and an incubator for researchers, entrepreneurs, startups and industry experts to develop solutions to address issued regarding food production.
It will support the use of technologies and applied research in food processing and agriculture and apply modern farming techniques – such as vertical farming, aquaculture and hydroponics – to accelerate self-sufficiency in fresh food produce and reduce wastage of resources.
“[The Food Tech Valley project] will be an economic zone, which is particularly significant considering that the size of the AgTech market is projected to grow from $13.5bn to $22bn over the next four years. The project is part of our efforts to achieve our strategic national goals with respect to food security, as it constitutes an incubator for advanced farms – including indoor and vertical farms – with more than 60 per cent of the project’s space allocated to these activities,” said Mariam Almheiri.
Read: Sheikh Mohammed reiterates UAE’s drive to enhance food and water security
“The project features a food innovation centre that has been designed to resemble a head of wheat and will incorporate laboratories, research centres and prototype agricultural systems. Strategically located close to universities and academic institutions, it will support the R&D ecosystem and explore and deliver sustainable solutions around food,” added Almheiri.
Hesham Abdullah Al Qassim, CEO of Wasl Asset Management Group, noted: “The project provides an integrated legislative framework that facilitates new food product development and access to the market. Its competitive incentives and services enable investors to utilise local and global demand for the UAE brand and leverage Dubai’s global commercial and trade networks to achieve the desired growth.”
According to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’s 2019 figures, the UAE has more than 177 advanced farms that use modern agricultural technologies and hydroponics, and over 100 entities that implement organic farming across the UAE. These facilitate the growth of locally sourced produce all year-round and reduce reliance on seasonal farming. The country currently hosts over 500 specialised food processing companies that supply to local markets and export globally.
As an economic zone, the Food Tech Valley is a valuable addition to the UAE’s 1,250 legislations that support agriculture and food production sectors in ensuring food safety, storage and transport. With food and beverage investments in the UAE currently totalling Dhs62bn, the initiative is expected to contribute to attracting further local and foreign direct investments within the field.
DUBAI FOOD FOOD TECH VALLEY MINISTRY OF FOOD AND WATER SECURITY SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM UAE WASL PROPERTIES