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Brandon Gottsacker, Superior Fresh: US (WI): “Science Runs This Facility”

Leafy greens and fresh Atlantic salmon. Add a little lemon wedge and it will be the perfect meal at a picnic. Those two elements also make the biggest aquaponics system in the world, which is located in Hixton, Wisconsin.

At a 123,000 square feet greenhouse they annually grow 1.8 million pounds of leafy greens in the dead of winter. The fish production yields 16,000 pounds a year. In this video Brandon Gottsacker, president of the company explains how it all works and he also tells that they are currently finishing their phase 2 greenhouse which will double the annual yield of leafy greens.

For more information:
Superior Fresh
W15506 Superior Fresh Drive
Hixton, WI 54635​
info@superiorfresh.com
www.superiorfresh.com 

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Six Spectral Channels: Osram Unveils Grow Light System For Horticulture Research

Phytofy RL is already being used by NASA and Michigan State University. Osram is using it to carry out research of growth, anthocyanins and taste, conducted in a climate chamber at the TU Munich.

Osram has developed a research luminaire to meet the growing demands of researchers at universities, private institutes and plant production in greenhouses and vertical farms. Researchers and modern agriculturists can use the LED-based plant luminaire system Phytofy RL in the lab or in climatic chambers in order to develop new plant-specific light and growth recipes. These recipes can lead to desired outcomes in plant quality, yield and flavor.

Each of the six spectral channels can be addressed individually with Phytofy RL and the intensity planned and managed precisely in real time.

Selective intervention
"Various light wavelengths and intensities allow selective intervention in the metabolic processes of agricultural crops and ornamental crops", Claudia Zehnpfennig, Global Product Manager with Osram explains. "Yield, coloration and taste as well as other features can be influenced in this way. The latest research shows that not only is this process impacted by photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) – in the range of 400 to 700 nanometers (nm) – but that shorter and longer wavelengths also influence plant development."

With Phytofy RL, six spectral channels – from a natural far-red end-of-day light to UV light – can be addressed individually and the photosynthetic photo flux density (PPFD) planned and controlled precisely in real time: 385 nm, 450 nm, 521 nm, 660 nm, 730 nm as well as a warm white channel with 2,700 Kelvin. At the same time, the large number of LEDs in the fixture allows a higher photosynthetic photon flux (PPF).


Claudia Zehnpfennig & her colleague Kelcey Trecartin last year on the Cultivate

Light recipes
According to Claudia, the highly uniform light distribution is a special feature of the system. "The calibrated system furthermore supplies a precise irradiance map, calculated by the software with no quantum flux measurements required. Use of Phytofy RL allows for evaluation of the most varied light recipes, without having to change luminaires between individual tests. Diverse combinations of wavelengths also can be programmed, in different light profiles and across the entire photoperiod." In addition, users get five light recipes following registration, which have been specially developed by Osram.

Use of Phytofy RL allows the researchers to evaluate the most varied light recipes, without having to change luminaires between individual tests.

Climate chambers
The system software was developed by Osram together with plant biologists and can be used intuitively via the graphical user interface. Manufacturers of climate chambers benefit too, with integration possible in their systems. "The flat and robust design (667 x 299 x 44 mm, just under 9 kilos) is optimized for vertical farms, rack systems and growth chambers." 

Phytofy RL is already being used by NASA and Michigan State University. Osram is using it to carry out research of growth, anthocyanins and taste, conducted in a climate chamber at the TU Munich.

osram.jpg

For more information:
Claudia Zehnpfennig 
horticulture@osram.com 
Osram 
Marcel-Breuer-Strasse 6
80807 Munich, Germany
Phone   +49 89 6213-0
Fax    +49 89 6213-2020
www.osram.com/phytofy 

Publication date : 2/27/2019 

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Plant Factory With Artificial Lighting: Toyoki Kozai's Brilliant Research On An Interesting Practice

According to AgriGarden, 'Plant factory is a highly efficient agriculture system which uses high precision control facilities in the continuous production of crops."

1/9/2019 9:16:19 AM

(MENAFN - GetNews) Dr. Toyoki Kozai's research work is on ' Opportunities and Challenges for Plant Factory with Artificial Lighting (PFAL) (or vertical/indoor farming). Dr Kozai graduated from Chiba University, Japan in 1967. He obtained a Master's degree in 1969, and a PhD degree of Agricultural Engineering in 1972 from the University of Tokyo in 1972. He served as Dean of Faculty of Horticulture and Director of Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences of Chiba University. He was inaugurated as the President of the prestigious Chiba University in 2005. He resumed his career in research as a professor emeritus in an endowed chair position at the Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences during 2009-2012. He established Japan Plant Factory Association (non-profit organization) in 2010 together with his colleague, and served as the president until 2018, and is serving as the honorary president to date.

Furthermore, Kozai's academic excellence and his scientific interest can be gauged from the multiple books he has written, namely, 'Smart Plant Factory: The next generation indoor vertical farms (2018), 'LED Lighting for Urban Agriculture (2016), 'Plant Factory: An indoor vertical farm for efficient quality food production (2015), and 'Photoautotrophic (Sugar-free) Micropropagation as a New Micropropagation and Transplant Production System (2005).

His early work on greenhouse light environments, energy savings, ventilation, computer control, knowledge engineering, integrative environment control using a heat pump, fogging and null-balance CO2 enrichment systems, and closed systems with artificial lighting for transplant production in the fields of greenhouse horticulture earned him great recognition in his field.

Kozai has recently been working on 'plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL) and has been leading the R & D of PFAL. His continuous quest in this field allowed him to dive deeper into this subject. He has been invited as a keynote speaker on the PFAL to more than 20 international symposia during 2015-2018.

According to AgriGarden, 'Plant factory is a highly efficient agriculture system which uses high precision control facilities in the continuous production of crops."

According to Kozai, it is believed that PFAL is expected to contribute to solving the food-environment-resource-health issues concurrently. Kozai has further described the six major components of the PFAL viz., thermally well-insulated, almost closed structure, multi-tier unit with lighting and hydroponic cultivation devices, air conditioners and fans, CO2 supply unit, nutrient solution supply unit and environmental control unit. Furthermore, he has mentioned that relatively large automated PFALs have been built in Japan in the year 2018, and the number of profit-making PFALs has been increasing in Japan since 2016. Besides, there are ongoing large-scale projects in the world hence stressing the fact that this concept is gaining prominence not only in Japan but globally as well.

In addition to the above, Kozai's study throws light on the essential benefits of PFAL as well. First, that PFAL offers a high degree of freedom of environment control and that any environment can be created at minimal costs, thereby making it highly cost-effective. Second, all rates of resource supply, plant production and waste production can be measured and controlled. Then, Resource Use Efficiency (RUE) (amount ratio of resource fixed or kept in plants to the resource supplied to the PFAL) can be estimated online for each resource element including electricity, water, CO2, fertilizer and seeds. This shows the convenience and the hassle-free process.

Currently, compared to the greenhouse, the PFAL can save water consumption for irrigation per kg of produce by 95% by recycling use of transpired water vapor from plants (The transpired water vapor is condensed and collected at the cooling coil of air conditioners and returned to nutrient solution tank). The productivity of leafy lettuce per unit land area is more than 100 times higher in the PFAL than in the open field. Thanks to this high productivity per unit land area, the PFAL can be built in urban areas with non-fertile or contaminated soil, resulting in the reductions of CO2 footprint, loss of produce during transportation, and delivery time of fresh vegetables to citizens.

However amongst all the benefits, there is one issue which still remains unresolved i.e., a methodology to find an optimal set of environmental factors automatically to maximize the CP (or productivity) under given conditions is yet to be developed. To maximize the CP, unit economic value, plant growth rate, percent marketable portion, cost of each resource element, consumption and RUE of each resource element needs to be measured or estimated online, and be integrated to calculate the CP.

Kozai's excellent research suggests how the CP can be more than doubled and the impact and the expected increase this will have on the PFAL market. He has therefore proposed the reduction in cost per kg of produce, an increase in sales per m2 of cultivation space by introducing recent advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. Currently, costs for electricity, labour and depreciation for the initial investment account for about 20%, 20% and 30%, respectively. The rest (about 20%) is for seeds, fertilizer, water, containers, maintenance, etc.

Further, Kozai has the discussed the idea of next-generation PFAL (n-PFAL) and the associated requirements, scheme for R & D, challenges and opportunities. According to him, n-PFAL needs to create unique environments for plant production to produce high-quality plants with high yields using minimum resources and minimum emission of waste by introducing advanced but inexpensive technologies. He has suggested different technologies, which can be of great use in the same. However, he has submitted some challenges and opportunities, for example, smart LED lighting, phenotyping (plant trait measurement), production management including seed processing and circadian rhythm, efficient use of resources with minimum waste, breeding using DNA markers of plants suited to PFALs, et cetera. He has defined plant phenotyping and has given a detailed account of its usage in n-PFAL. Plant traits include plant architecture, chemical components, physiological status and response, etc.

In the n-PFAL, a huge time-series dataset of plant phenotype (traits), environment and management (human and machine interventions including seed processing) is automatically accumulated in a data warehouse. The data warehouse is connected with a related genome database and other n-PFALs' data warehouse via Internet. This global and local network of n-PFALs each with semi-open database will bring about a paradigm shift of plant/food/agricultural production and breeding of plants suited to PFALs. For example, breeding of plants suited to PFALs can be speeded up using the n-PFAL. Kozai has further recommended four types of models to be implemented in the PFAL: 1) mechanistic models for photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration and growth, and for substance, energy and monetary balance, 2) multi-variate statistic models, 3) behaviour (or surrogate) models, and 4) AI (or deep learning) models.

Kozai's study has won great acclaim amongst the researchers and his brilliant research on PFAL, an upcoming innovation will be of great use not only nationally but internationally as well.

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Korean Company Starts Building Hydroponic Greens Houses in Northern Tajikistan

The use of the hydroponic system will help increase productivity, according to the Sughd regional administration.

8 January 2019 14:39 (UTC+04:00)

South Korea’s Myung Sung Placon Ltd has begun building hydroponic greenhouses in the northern Sughd province. The hydroponic system has an ancient history and was reportedly used for building of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Trend reports referring to news.tj.

The use of the hydroponic system will help increase productivity, according to the Sughd regional administration.

The building of the hydroponic greenhouses began in the Somgor area of the Bobojon-Ghafourov district on January 7.

An official source at the Sughd regional administration says local “Bars” Company is a contractor and specialists from South Korea are implementing the project.

Sughd authorities have invited Myung Sung Placon Ltd to build greenhouses in the province, taking into account the company’s experience of work in the neighboring Uzbekistan, the source added.

Hydroponic growing is growing a plant without using soil - usually in an inert substance like rockwool or perlite, which hold the roots for easy water and nutrient absorption. Hydroponics systems back several hundred years, and there is evidence that ancient civilizations grew plants in water. Nutrients are vital to hydroponic success: there are sixteen essential elements that a plant needs to grow, and the right balance of these nutrients must be maintained for each specific variety of plants. Equally as important as nutrition are the factors of light, temperature (heating and cooling), and carbon dioxide. Insects play a key role in pollination and pest management.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and were described as a remarkable feat of engineering with an ascending series of tiered gardens containing a wide variety of trees, shrubs, and vines, resembling a large green mountain constructed of mud bricks, and said to have been built in the ancient city of Babylon, near present-day Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq. Its name refers to trees being planted on a raised structure such as a terrace.

According to one legend, the Hanging Gardens were built alongside a grand palace known as The Marvel of Mankind, by the Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II (who ruled between 605 and 562 BC), for his Median wife Queen Amytis, because she missed the green hills and valleys of her homeland. The construction of the Hanging Gardens has also been attributed to the legendary queen Semiramis, who supposedly ruled Babylon in the 9th century BC, and they have been called the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis as an alternate name.

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Why Mindfulness Is Essential For Farmers And Their Health

March 8, 2019 in Eco-Living & HealthHealth

Farming is tough on the body, and it can also take a toll on the mind. I’ve been a farmer for over six years now and not once has the job been less than physically and emotionally demanding. Before pursuing farming as my chosen career, I worked in a number of professions that exacted their own price from my body, including landscaping and cooking in professional kitchens. None of these jobs came close to matching the exhaustion I’ve felt after a hard day on the farm.

As farmers we face weather extremes, deadlines, unforeseen calamities and a variety of demands on our minds, bodies and bank accounts. Our backs are literally the backbone of our business, and we depend on our shoulders, arms and hands to accomplish our endless to-do lists. We wear through our boots like they were made of paper, and sometimes we get covered in manure. There is a reason that farming is considered one of the most dangerous jobs alongside the ranks of loggers, fishermen and pilots, and that is because we work with and around hazardous things day in and day out. We work days that can stretch far into the nights regardless of the conditions outside. To sum it up, farming can wear a person down, fast.

Farming is tough on the body. Our backs are literally the backbone of our business, and we depend on our shoulders, arms and hands to accomplish our endless to-do lists.

In my twenties I took the health and healing power of my body for granted. It could handle just about anything I threw at it and bounce right back. As I grew older I realized that the time spent bouncing back was growing longer. No matter your health or age, that one time you twist wrong or lift a bucket carelessly or injure an ankle stumbling over a rock can have a huge impact on your day, week, or even year. I’ve found that there is really no surefire way to avoid these accidents, but there is one mental practice that can minimize the frequency of their occurrence.

If you picture a whole farmer health regimen as a stone arch, mindfulness is the keystone that holds it all together. On one side, the arch is made up of our physical practices such as diet and exercise, and on the other side are mental practices such as education and bookkeeping. Mindfulness helps keep us in the moment, focused on what is needed in the present. I have been meditating off and on for more than 20 years, and it always seems to help balance out my perspective, which can sometimes become weighted toward a pessimistic outlook.

Meditation can take as little as five minutes to as long as multiple days. When I became a farmer I seemed to lose the ability to set aside time for meditation on any given day, in part because of the demands placed on any business owner, but specifically because days spent working on the farm were long and tiring, and instead of meditating for relaxation I would rather zone out and read a book or watch YouTube clips. Being honest with myself, I realized that I was not going to meditate or exercise in my downtime if there were distractions around me. I decided that the best action I could take was to find a meditation or yoga class in my area in order to force me to do the things I knew I needed.

My friend and neighbor Tracy Hovde is a professional yoga instructor and part-time farmer with her partner, Mark Triebold. They run Lazy I Ranch, raising cattle on 80 acres just a few miles down the road from my farm. Mark bought the property 10 years ago and started raising Highland cattle six years ago. Tracy brings her yogic perspective to raising their cattle.

Tracy Hovde and Mark Triebold raise Highland cattle on 80 acres of land at Lazy I Ranch.

So what is yoga? It isn’t really necessary to understand the whole history of the practice, but essentially it is a method of working with the mind, body and spirit to bring about balance. As a Zen student I have worked within my mind realm for quite some time, but the beauty of the yogic approach is that it acknowledges that the mind, body and spirit are all intertwined. It doesn’t matter so much to the lay practitioner that yoga was created in fifth and sixth century India by groups of spiritual ascetics, but it does matter how it can make you feel. The word yoga means to “yoke together” or “unite,” and after a yoga session led by Tracy, I feel that my scattered thoughts are quieted and my nerves are soothed.

Before taking her classes, my previous experience with yoga was pretty limited. I had attended a few yoga classes when I lived in the Twin Cities, and I’ve been learning poses and techniques from books for quite a few years.

When Tracy told me and my neighbor friends that she was going to start to hold a yoga class in their barn on Sundays, we were all on board. The hardest part of any endeavor is to get it started. Initially for me it was difficult to get my joints to bend into the correct yoga pose positions, but after a few months of regular practice I began to feel more comfortable in the classes.

Tracy Hovde teaches yoga classes in her barn at Lazy I Ranch in Clayton, Wisconsin.

Now, if I go for too long without attending one of Tracy’s classes my muscles are tight, my bones are unaligned, and I feel full of unresolved tension. It helps that Tracy is a gifted teacher with an intuitive grasp of the energy in a room, as well as the ability to guide that energy into balance. Friends of mine who attend other yoga studios have mentioned that Tracy takes it slow with us farmer folk, which makes sense if you consider that our bodies are already sore from our daily work, whereas in a typical city studio you may have students who are seeking a strenuous physical workout to offset sedentary lifestyles.

I spoke to Tracy in September 2016 about her thoughts on how farmers can keep their bodies and minds healthy and what it is like to raise cattle and practice yoga in the countryside:

What led you to practice yoga, and what does yoga mean to you?

Like most people, I started yoga for purely physical reasons. I started a regular yoga practice when I was a dancer. The physical demands of dancing were extreme, and I wasn’t taking good care of myself. I was burned out and was constantly injured.

I found that the Vinyasa classes offered at the gym I worked at as a massage therapist satisfied my need to move, and did so in a way that didn’t strain my body. Now yoga is less about the postures and more about the way I live, the way I view the world around me and my place in it.

When you teach a yoga class, what are your goals, and how do you work toward them?

My goal is always to bring balance. I never know what that means until my students walk into the room and I see how they are walking, their mood, what are they talking about, their energy level, etc. I also factor in things like season, weather and time of day. I use different breathing exercises (Pranayama), poses and specific sequencing of poses, as well as different styles of yoga to help shift their energy toward balance.

How did it come about that you live on a farm with Highland cattle and Mark, a motorcycle mechanic?

On the surface we might seem very different but Mark could not be any more perfect for me and, I hope, me for him. We think enough alike to be able to be partners, but we see things from a perspective different enough to be able to complement each other.

When I met Mark I knew as much about farming and motorcycles as he knew about yoga, but really those things have more in common than you would think.

What does it mean to you to live in the country on a piece of land caring for animals and plants?

That’s hard to explain because I’m still figuring it out for myself. In a way it’s like I’m learning who I really am without the noise and outside influences that I had been surrounded by most of my life. Out here there is no one to tell me who I am supposed to be or what I should do or think. Things just become simpler and clearer when your world is full of nature and life instead of media and electronics. It is all very grounding, especially the cows.

Did you ever picture yourself living on a farm with livestock?

Nope, I couldn’t even have imagined it. I grew up in the suburbs and my only farm experience was spending the day at my sister’s place a few times a year on holidays. She had horses, but I never really understood or experienced farm life until I moved here.

Several of Tracy Hovde’s Highland cows

I know a lot of yogis are vegetarian or vegan, many for ethical reasons, so how do you explain to them your stance on eating meat?

I could talk about this for days! There are so many reasons, but from a yogic perspective I have to look at the big picture without judgment, criticism or expectation. The reason many yogis are vegetarian or vegan is the concept of ahimsa (non-harming). This is one of the foundational principles of a yogic lifestyle.

My personal belief is that interpreting ahimsa as vegetarianism is a narrow or limited perspective. In yoga philosophy we have layers to our existence. In a yogic view your body is a vehicle for the spirit. We use the body but we are not the body. The physical body is called anamayakosha. This literally means “food body.” Every living thing — from plants to insects to animals to humans — is food for something else, and every living thing has a purpose to fulfill in this existence — or dharma.

So, if I look at the big picture without judgment or expectation I see that death is a necessary part of life and that living things, in their physical death, nourish other living things. I see that animals eating other animals is a part of the natural balance of life as a whole. For me, the practice of ahimsa is to think about minimizing the harm that I do to the whole and to live in a way that is in balance with all.

On our farm, we raise the animals in a way that we believe honors their nature and that their lives contribute to more than just meat on our table. Our cattle have restored land that had been farmed to death through generations of conventional farming. Their hooves till the land, their grazing encourages growth of the pasture grasses and their manure fertilizes the pastures. Something else that is very important to us is how the animals are harvested. Bringing an animal to an approved slaughter facility would mean taking an animal that had lived its entire life on our farm, herding it onto a trailer and bringing it to a slaughter house. Regardless of the humane treatment we provide in its life, ending the animal’s life in this way would, in our view, be traumatic and inhumane. The stress hormones would affect the quality of the meat and from the yogic view, would be energetically damaging as well. If you are what you eat, then you would be eating stress and fear. We do not “ship” animals for processing. We have the butcher come to our farm so the animals don’t have to experience that stress.

In terms of diet, what eating habits have you found to be most beneficial for your own health and why?

I have tried everything including gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarianism and veganism. I think the biggest benefits for me have come from the nutrient value of the food I am eating now. I get most of my produce from Ken Keppers. He is more than organic. He pays attention to the chemistry of the soil, and therefore, the chemistry of the produce equals a higher nutrient content. All of the meat I eat comes from our farm, yours, or other local farms where I know how the animals are raised.

Beyond nutritional value, I believe that food carries with it a more subtle energy that comes from the land it is grown or raised on and the care taken in raising or growing, harvesting and preparing it. And lard! Good quality lard is the best!

Why and how did you decide to start the yoga in the barn sessions?

I remember standing on the front porch of the house on a cold January day looking at the barn. Mark said, “That would make a pretty good yoga studio.” I thought he was nuts. Who would come all the way out here for yoga? I was thinking about my students in Stillwater and Hudson — an hour away. What I didn’t realize was that there were people out here in the country who wanted yoga but didn’t want to go all the way to Stillwater or Hudson.

Farmers have pretty specific issues with their bodies. What are some issues that you have seen and ways to address them with yoga?

Farmers are very physically active, and we have all types of movement. We have the repetitive movements of daily tasks like weeding, milking, or hauling feed or water, and we also have occasional movements related to seasonal tasks like baling hay or moving fences. As a general rule, I lean toward a slow and gentle approach and avoid strenuous forms of yoga like Ashtanga or other Vinyasa styles that are great for those with a sedentary life but can be depleting for farmers who are already physically stressed. I also spend more time on back bending, chest opening and hip opening to counter-pose the forward motions of carrying and bending that we farmers do all day.

If you could lead one short yoga session each morning or night for farmers, what would it be?

This is great because people think they need to do a 60-minute yoga class. This is so untrue. There is so much benefit from adding a breathing exercise or a few poses wherever you can fit them in. In the morning Agni Sara breathing followed by 5-10 Sun Salutations every morning is the perfect way to start the day. Agni sara stokes the internal fire. This can be done in the shower, when you first get out of bed, whatever. (Needs to be done on an empty stomach, and do not do this during pregnancy or if you have high blood pressure.)

  • Start by balancing your breath — four counts in and four counts out.

  • When breath is balanced and steady, switch to four counts in eight counts out.

  • Then add a pause after exhale — four counts in, eight counts out. Hold four to eight counts.

  • During the pause, draw your navel back toward your spine and up under your ribs (think of hollowing rather than contracting).

Sun Salutations

Sun Salutations encourage deep breathing, improve mental focus and increase circulation and range of movement for all of the major joints in the body. I would end the day with the following
sequence:

  1. One slow Sun Salutation

  2. Alternating cat/cow poses

  3. Child’s pose

  4. Child’s pose with side stretch

  5. One half pigeon

  6. Windshield wiper stretch

  7. Supported bridge

  8. Legs up wall

  9. Reclining twist

  10. Relaxation pose

  11. Alternate nostril breathing

What do you see as the relationship between yoga and natural farming techniques such as organic, permaculture and holistic management?

There is a very innate, natural relationship here. The word yoga means “union.” Our culture has embraced yoga as a physical exercise but the history of yoga is a more complete lifestyle and spiritual practice. The postures are just a step toward finding union — with nature, God, the Universe, whatever. Anyone who is living a life in union with nature is practicing yoga.

By Andrew French. This article appeared in the April 2017 issue of Acres U.S.A. magazine.

Andrew French is a livestock farmer and permaculture designer based in western Wisconsin working on developing a viable model of regenerative pig farming from farrow to finish using a whole systems design approach. He can be reached at fullboarfarm@gmail.com. Visit fullboarfarm.com for more information.

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Video: Why Venture Capital Likes Modular Farming

Knowledge @ Wharton

SOCIAL IMPACT

Mar 07, 2019:

Wharton's Sherryl Kuhlman and Joey Hundert, CEO of Sustainitech, discuss why modular farming has become a hotbed of VC interest.

Modular farming, which is growing crops in self-contained, movable units so they can thrive in difficult climates, is becoming more than just a sustainability goal for social impact organizations. It is also becoming a big business that’s increasingly being backed by venture capitalists and private equity firms. New startups in this market are sometimes models for not only how to make profits while contributing to the social good, but also how such profits can lead to innovation that goes on to create additional social good.

In this podcast interview, Sherryl Kuhlman, managing director of Wharton Social Impact Initiative (WSII), interviews Joey Hundert, founder and CEO of Sustainitech, about these developments and where the whole movement is heading.

An edited transcript of the conversation follows.

Sherryl Kuhlman: Tell us about Sustainitech.

Joey Hundert: Sustainitech produces indoor agriculture facilities in spaces. We build modular indoor farms to produce crops in places where it’s very hard to grow crops. So, think really harsh winters. Dry, arid regions. Really hot places. We build indoor farms, typically inside of shipping containers that can be put anywhere to grow crops successfully where it can be hard to grow them.

Kuhlman: Who are the clients and consumers?

Hundert: In Canada, we grow lettuces and fresh herbs. And the clients are the everyday consumer. We’ve partnered with food companies – and we grow on their behalf. We package up the produce, ship it to them, and they ship it to the consumer. And then one of our customers is actually an ethnic group in Manhattan that requires produce a specific way. And so, we grow the produce and ship it to them. And they ship it to people who eat it.

Kuhlman: What are the latest trends in indoor container farming?

Hundert: What I’m seeing is trends in indoor farming writ large. It has attracted a lot of capital to the space. The idea is unfortunately sexy. The reason I say that is I think it has whipped up a bit of a frenzy of interest in international media and in the capital markets. And it has chased a lot of money into the space. Now, you might say, “well that sounds great.” And I am happy about that. That’s not the part I don’t like.

It’s that there are unrealistic expectations of the companies in this space. I think some of the money is coming in from Silicon Valley, where there’s a belief that industries can be cornered, and that a winner-take-all approach can be had. But when it comes to fresh food and agriculture, it is a hopelessly [fractured] and diverse space for a reason. And so, I think some of the trends that I’m concerned about with the arrival of so much money is companies are trying to scale into the hundreds of millions.

Kuhlman: So that they can drive out the others.

Hundert: Pretty much. Which looks silly. But beyond that, I see core flaws in their technology — in their whole approach. And I just worry what happens when you hit carbon copy 300 million times on something. And I worry about what the failure of some of these larger startups is going to mean for the rest of the market. And so, we’ve been building our company while keeping in mind that this is happening in the market. And we’ve been offered — like most of our competitors — a lot of cash. We’ve been very conservative about what we will receive and what we will do with it, trying to build a more durable company that’s going to last until the market economics are proven. And that’s the real critique.

“I worry about what the failure of some of these larger startups is going to mean for the rest of the market.” –Joey Hundert

Kuhlman: Even here in Philadelphia, there’s a lot of interest in urban farming to adjust the food deserts. And the fresh and healthy food is nice to get from your neighborhood container farm rather than shipped from California.

Hundert: Local food is probably what drove the initial interest in indoor farming. However, the further you get into farming — especially in the most developed nations — if you look past the first few hands into the food system, you find a massive industrial-scale mechanized complex of farms and processors whose unit economics are amazingly low. We’re talking pennies per pound. If you take a New York City — a Manhattan-based urban farm — they need $5 to $10 per pound just to turn the lights on. And so, I’m worried that those farms that need 10 times the amount per unit are going to have trouble.

The industry has chased a few ideas. Firstly, the vertical approach from Japan. We’ve built vertical farms. I’ve built non-vertical farms. The non-vertical farms are much more capital-efficient than the vertical ones. If we were building in Hong Kong, I would totally go vertical. But the places in the world where you need to go vertical are not many.

KNOWLEDGE@WHARTON HIGH SCHOOL

And then the other piece is, everybody chased lettuce because lettuce and leafy greens grow so fast. But it has also created a flood of product, and still competing with the produce from the field and from the greenhouses is incredibly hard. So, I think those two things — vertical growth and chasing greens — have steered indoor agriculture companies after some unattainable goals.

Kuhlman: You’re talking about the financing around this — venture capital chasing this, pushing it. How else can an entrepreneur get the funding to make these ideas happen? For farming and for other kinds of initiatives?

Hundert: Silicon Valley has created the well-paved, smooth-running highway of capital available to technology-based ventures — globally, but certainly in North America. And that is nothing to complain about. It has made it much more affordable for ventures like mine to go after capital. The agreements are standardized. The investment tools are standardized. The lawyers know what they’re doing, and there are many, many investment shops. And that is super cool. So, I think that we’ve benefited from that. We’ll continue to benefit from it, and I’m glad it’s there.

But I also built my company differently. Indoor farming is a very high-capital cost industry. If I was to have sold equity from day one, I would have 3% in the company left. I would have been diluted right out of it. And so, we’ve found other ways of financing the company. The first thing we did was sell an entire indoor farm on contract. We found a buyer of a very specific kind of indoor farm, and we sold that farm. And that injected cash into the company. The first two, two-and-a-half years of the company were built on just that contract. And it did let me get into the game and really see what was going on.

Then we scored a contract to ship produce to a company. And you can finance contracts if you know what your cost of production is — if you know you can make money at it. It may be hard to go find a buyer of this produce, but is it any less hard than going and chasing capital when you have no value? I found it easier to go find a customer for the produce that was willing to pay a really high price for the quality. And we grew for three years on that. And so, we didn’t even open up our cap table until year five. And then we started raising equity capital with a valuation I could stomach. And I want entrepreneurs out there to know there’s other types of capital out there. Sometimes countries will fund technology companies to make sales in other countries.

Countries love export revenue. It’s awesome for GDP. And a lot of countries in the advanced world have a terrible imbalance in imports and exports. And so, there are funds available to assist in export of technology and crops. What I would have done differently — and what I encourage entrepreneurs to do — is to have gone to the major trade shows sooner to find out how specialized a lot of these buyers are and that you can get forward contracts on a lot of this stuff. It’s a different way of going about it, but I would rather build value and ultimately build more equity before approaching a VC, especially in a high-capital expenditure business.

“I would rather build value and ultimately build more equity before approaching VC, especially in a high-capital expenditure business.”–Joey Hundert

Kuhlman: A lot of the student entrepreneurs we’re seeing — and even ones we’re reading about — they’re going after the venture capital right away. They’re thinking it’s a long shot, but if you get that quick hit, you’re set.

Hundert: One of our competitors raised $128 million a month and a half ago in a Series B. There was a competitor last year that raised $200 million in a Series D. What life was like before that round and after that kind of a round — that is a way-different existence. And again, if the unit economics were there, great. But I think entrepreneurs have to ask themselves, what are they in it for? When you become instantly corporate, you’ll have a board filled with very serious people and specific goals and KPIs, that if you don’t hit, you won’t have much time to mess around when there’s a couple hundred million at play.

Whereas, at $20 million to $60 million at play, I think there’s more flexibility to go after more profitable ends and niches in the market. It’s a global market: Agriculture — fresh produce is a massive [market]. And you can even process the produce — making it into essential oil, a tea, a dried herb or a nutraceutical. It opens up global markets. And so, the further I’ve gone, the more happy I am with the choice not to play in the commodities of these farms.

Kuhlman: You’ve been visiting us as the Nazarian Social Innovator in Residence. This year it’s official, but you’ve been with us for seven times, right? … We’ve seen your development along the way. You like to make improvements. I could see why you would say, “I’d rather have the freedom to continue to change, explore and develop rather than get the money that forces me to scale in ways that I’m not comfortable with,” right?

Hundert: Exactly right. If I had an opportunity a year ago to take on lots of capital and scale massively — if I had scaled with those ideas, I’m sure we could have pulled out the win, of some kind. What we broke through to, technically, in the last nine months — even the last six months — is amazing. And I can head after those opportunities now.

We’re already writing contracts on them. The margins eclipse that which we were doing before. It also embeds more of a purpose piece in what we were doing. It has continued to change the nature of the company. And we’re in the millions. It’s not like there are small opportunities. It’s that if I, like some of my competitors, had just scaled what I was doing a year ago, I wouldn’t be anywhere near as confident as I am today that the profitability is really there.

Kuhlman: And that gives you a great deal of flexibility in thinking about what you’re going to do next, who you’re going to approach, and how you’re going to structure your next rounds.

Hundert: Absolutely right. And it changes the type of investors that we’re approaching and making sure that we’re as exciting to those investors as we’ve ever been. But if anything, our investors are feeding back that they get confident the more clarity with which we’re seeing the global market.

Kuhlman: What kinds of trends are you seeing in investors? I know you’ve funded your first initiative — the Sustainival, the carnival — through more traditional nonprofit grants and sponsorships. How are you seeing that transition going? Is there more blended capital? More venture capital?

Hundert: I would say that venture capital is incredibly mature at this point. It’s also a great time to be raising money. A lot of these funds are flush. Sure, there’s concern about a coming recession. However, there are funds that have just closed their rounds. They have three and four and five years of dry powder to spend. So, I’m seeing lots of capital. I’m seeing new private equity shops pop up every day that I didn’t know about. A lot of them are getting even more purpose-built —  for food, for robotics, for tech, for pharmaceuticals. Or even the venture arms of big corporations. They’re going at a purpose. And they’ve got these sidecar funds of $50 million or $100 million to go after a purpose.

“I’m seeing new private equity shops pop up every day that I didn’t know about.” –Joey Hundert

The ecosystem is so differentiated and flush. But beyond that, I think that some investors are wary of the companies that say, “we’re going to lose money for 15 years, and you’re going to need to pour in $10 billion, but then, we are going to boil the ocean.” I am seeing some skepticism about that now. There’s no question that some of these unicorns have blitz-scaled to the $50 billion mark. And everybody looks at Uber and looks at Airbnb and looks at Amazon, and says, “See?”

Kuhlman: You can do it.

Hundert: Right. But what about the 30,000 ventures that didn’t get anywhere close to that? What’s wrong with a 10x or a 30x? Why does it have to be a 700x? I’m seeing some skepticism in the capital markets about companies that say, “what we’re tackling is so huge and fundamental for society, someday we’re going to make money. Just bet on us and keep betting on us.” I’m seeing the preference for some investors to see some business savvy along the way. Can you cash-flow the venture? Is it profitable? When are you going to reach profitability? Can you do it a bit sooner? Can you access traditional bank financing? These are questions that we are being asked, and something that I’ve been seriously considering.

Because for a high-capital cost business, if I can get bank financing, that’s the cheapest non-dilutive capital that I could ever hope for. So, I’ve been working with banks to start to line that up because every dollar I borrow for our systems is a dollar I didn’t have to raise through equity capital. So, I think that the height of “We’ll make money someday” is actually behind us. And I’m seeing more value consciousness among certain institutional VC shops.

Kuhlman: I like the point you made about purpose, and more entrepreneurs and investments going towards that. We have a radio show on SiriusXM — Dollars and Change — and we’ve been doing it for about five years. And one of the things that we continue to see — our hypothesis is that the more funding that can go towards these purpose companies, the more likely entrepreneurs are to think about that as an opportunity. It proves the concept that you can have a business that has a purpose — makes a positive social impact — and still make money. And if you show that that’s possible, I think that inspires more entrepreneurs to think about how to make that happen.

Hundert: I would agree.

Kuhlman: It’s more fun to solve problems like that, right?

Hundert: It is. I think it’s in the heart of people. When I come to Wharton, I always like to take to pulse on what I’m hearing around here. What’s clear is that the concept of impact investing itself has matured here. People are looking at Wharton and looking at WSII — they’re coming here for that. I’ve talked with a couple of dozen students that came here because of WSII. I didn’t used to hear that. And they came here to learn about impact investing. I’ve even heard students saying, “I’m going into X big firm — big banking, big consulting firm — and I want to take these methodologies with me. I want to promulgate these ideas inside of large global firms.” That’s exciting. Wharton is one of those schools where that can actually come from. And students can carry it into those industries.

I’m also hearing a lot about the desire to blend purpose into venture – but it’s more sophisticated than in the past. It’s more concrete. In our company, we’ve had purpose on our minds the entire time. And there’s that terrible tension between making the company work and float and staying with the purpose. And one needs the other. Sometimes, you prioritize one or the other. I admit, much of the last six years was just making this thing technically work so that I could, again, point back more directly at [the company’s] purpose — when we could afford it, but most importantly, when the purpose made money to focus more on it. And to me, that’s the most virtuous blend.

If you can get the purpose to make money and actually be inspiring from a profitability standpoint, that’s maximum, when one isn’t taking away from the other [but] I admit, that is very hard. And we’ve done things just for profitability while I’ve had some purpose on my mind. And this year, we’ve begun to redevelop those programs — and they’re global in nature. They’re big. It’s a big lift. But we’ve restarted those programs that have purpose and profitability baked right into them.

Kuhlman: What advice would you give to an entrepreneur in this exciting, innovative, flush time for them to think about how to be most successful?

Hundert: I would actually report on something I’ve seen here at Wharton which I’m inspired by. I’ve been coming for eight years. This year, I’m [finding more people who would] most likely be candidates for success in venture than I’ve heard in years past. Somewhere, somehow, feedback came back to the cohort of students here to “get more specific. Niche out. Pick a niche and pick a product that is specifically built for something.”

I used to come in here [and hear startup pitches like] “It’s the Uber for this,” “it’s the Airbnb for that.” While there was lots of passion and energy, that [lack of focus] would concern me because you cannot boil the ocean and make your way. This year, I’m hearing about B2B plays on the most obscure things: switches and SaaS services for categories I didn’t even know existed. How students are finding this within weeks and months — it tells me something has trained them to look at the problem more carefully, and to look deeper into the market to find real problems instead of reading Fast Companyand being like, “I want to be like that.” I’m heartened to see this shift towards more specific, niche high-growth opportunities.

That’s my advice back to entrepreneurs that might listen to this. Pick a niche. Pick it carefully. You’re not expected to know [it’s the right one for you] right away. Go deeper into the field. Deeper into the market. Meet players at trade shows. Stay curious. Ask tons of questions. Eventually, those apertures of real peer opportunity are going to open up. And they may not have been visible to you in the beginning. They may even be totally uninteresting to the general population. But they could be super profitable — and easier to build a moat around, and easier to capitalize. I like that movement. I like the movement towards specificity — niche-based, high-profit opportunities — instead of trying to boil the ocean.

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The Science of Growing Plants Without Soil

Why would a 47-year-old alumnus of a prestigious management institute in India quit his full-time job to cultivate plants?

Basil grown inside a hydroponic greenhouse at Archi’s Acres in Escondido, California, Nov. 14, 2016.Image Credit: New York Times

Indian entrepreneur Sunil Jose talks about hydroponic farming

Published:  November 21, 2018

Linda Joseph, Special to Weekend Review

Why would a 47-year-old alumnus of a prestigious management institute in India quit his full-time job to cultivate plants?

Sunil Jose explains it in his own words. “After leading a corporate life for 18 years, I went through a period of self realisation when I wanted to do something that would have a wider impact and understanding to oneself and to others. A small academic project and a technology firm led me to study the impact of famine, drought and farmers’ suicide. All the while, I was thinking of a framework to educate and create awareness on how to control finances (micro finance) during difficult times. That is when I stumbled onto hydroponics”.

What a stumble that was! Today, the southern Indian city of Benguluru knows Jose as the man who designed and implemented the vertical gardens on MG Road’s metro pillar to purify the air and nullify the effects of vehicular pollution. He has worked tirelessly to make vertical hydroponic gardens in Bengaluru a reality. He started an initiative which would help farmers plant herbs and vegetables in a vertical fashion — thus helping grow a large number of plants in a relatively smaller space. He discovered that hydroponics can also be used to grow fodder. He has also been actively advocating the use of hydroponics in farming in urban as well as rural areas. He has informed villagers in Karnataka that herbs flourish in the hydroponic machine that he has made available.

So, what exactly is hydroponics? Hydroponics is a revolutionary technique of growing plants without soil, in a water-based, nutrient-rich solution.

The world needs pesticidefree herbs, vegetables and fruits. People should think beyond organics and work towards a total, sustainable ecosystem.

- Sunil Jose

Growing plants without soil? Yes. That’s the most basic concept behind this method. Hoses circulate mineral-rich nutrients to the roots of whatever you’re growing. Hydroponics does not use any soil; the roots of the plants are supported using an inert medium such as clay pellets.

Climate change is a huge a challenge today that is causing a rapid change between seasons. This rapid change places a great deal of stress on trees and shrubs, and also shifts the blooming time of plants, which can put them out of sync with their pollinators. By using hydroponics technology, most herbs, creepers, flowers and other vegetables can be grown.

“It is an alternative to conventional farming — a more organised farm to fork concept with a wider impact on society. It will help to reduce the last food mile in all major towns and cities,” says Jose.

healthy choice

Plants (and you too) grow healthier, according to Jose. As indoor and greenhouse cultures are more protected from plagues, hydroponics gives us pesticide-free produce and creates a long term sustainable ecosystem. A hydroponic culture can grow two to three times faster than a traditional one. You can convert small vertical spaces in your balconies and gardens; the public can be taught to naturally grow medicinal plants at home that can cure 80 per cent of modern day ailments. Hydroponic fodder can be a boon for people living in famine-hit areas where cattle is dying.

The government could prepare a plan on introducing the hydroponics method of cultivation. Training should be provided for officials and interested farmers. Kits and tools will have to be provided to the trainees. They should help popularise this method of cultivation among people who have private gardens as well as those living in apartments.

The compact vertical gardening system can fit into the smallest of balconies or terraces.Image Credit: Supplied

But how would a normal person living in a cramped flat ‘go hydroponic’? Even if he/she got the hang of things, wouldn’t there be the usual worry ‘gosh, I hope I don’t kill these plants?’”

“Private gardens can use hydroponics technology; most herbs, creepers, flowers and other vegetables can be grown,” says Jose. He explains that much less water and space — since plants are grown in racks one on top of the other — is required and they grow a lot faster when compared to traditional methods.

Hydroponics does not use chemicals to grow plants. Plants need minerals, not soil. Often, organic compounds need to be broken down into minerals before the plants can take them in. By using water infused with high quality minerals in hydroponic farming, you are feeding your plants a very clean and natural fertiliser.

“Water is used very carefully and is recycled back into the system when required,” says Jose. Since the method does not make use of soil, the water needs are also minuscule — just 5-10 per cent — as compared to land crops. It also gives a higher yield than the traditional methods while using minimum power and space.

Homes with smaller spaces, too, can have a more sustained home grown produce.

However, it can be expensive to set up on a big scale. In most hydroponics systems, water is recirculated. Every bit of water is reused over and over again so hydroponic systems are more efficient in using water than soil agriculture, where recycling water is impossible. A hydroponic culture can save up to 95 per cent of water over a traditional one. But one will need the required equipment and tools. You need electricity to keep the nutrient solution circulating, as well as to oxygenate it. Indoor gardens also need lighting.

In hydroponics, errors are felt immediately by the plants and can be costly. On the other hand, if you react and correct the problem on time, the plants will also recover faster. That’s the reason hydroponic cultures need close monitoring or even automating it.

A hydroponic culture can grow 2 to 3 times faster than a traditional oneImage Credit: Supplied

Jose is seeking partners to invest in the food tech industry. The entrepreneur, a family man and father of three, is on a mission for evangelising a nationwide awareness programme on hydroponics. “I am keen to inculcate the triple bottom line to all corporate sectors — people, planet and profit,” he says.

Other than farmers, in cities such as Bengaluru, some of the big business houses are using hydroponics for vertical ornamental planting on their campuses. States such as Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are making efforts to promote this method.

Jose’s hydroponic machines created a mini revolution in a north Karnataka village. A politician who had lost three elections, helped Jose supply these machines to the drought-affected villagers only to find after a few months that they were left untouched. But a curious boy put some mustard seeds in one and seeing the way the plants grew, the villagers soon followed suit. “They eventually replaced the pictures of deities in their houses with that of the politician,” jokes Jose.

Adapted the tech

Many countries such as the Netherlands, Canada and Australia have already adopted hydroponics farming extensively over the years. “Twenty-one per cent of tomatoes grown in Australia are with hydroponics,” he says. However, in India, farmers largely depend on conventional farming methods.

Jose is optimistic that as information about this method spreads, more and more farmers who don’t have the space to grow plants or those who live in the arid parts of India, will eventually opt for the “soil-less farming” technique.

Recently, Jose went to Kochi to address a Rotary gathering and spread awareness about his passion. “The world needs pesticide-free herbs, vegetables and fruits. People should think beyond organics and work towards a total, sustainable ecosystem,” says the Malayali man raised in Bengaluru.

Does this all still seem undoable? Think of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to drive home the point.

Linda Joseph is a writer based in Kerala, India.

To contact Sunil Jose: suniljose@hotmail.com

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Pure Flavor®’s New Georgia Greenhouse Growing Results

 Leamington, ON (March 6th, 2019) Now almost 3 months since their first picks of fresh greenhouse grown vegetables from their new Fort Valley, GA greenhouse facility, Pure Flavor® has started to change the landscape in the southeast.

“When we put the first shovel in the ground 18 months ago, we knew we had our work cut out for us as a project of this scope had never been built in in the Southeast”, said Jamie Moracci, President. To be built in 3 phases of 25 acres over 5 years, Phase 1 was completed in late Fall 2018 with the first crops of Cucumbers & Tomatoes picked in early December 2018. “We have a strong leadership team in place who have embraced the opportunity to create impact with a great product, the feedback from customers has been fantastic”, said Moracci.

The new greenhouse in Fort Valley, GA is growing the following items:

  • Tomatoes on The Vine

  • Sweet Red Cocktail Tomatoes

  • Long English Cucumbers

  • Mini Cucumbers

As a vertically integrated vegetable company with a family of growers throughout North America, the Georgia facility has opened new doors with a regionally grown product to service key retail & foodservice partners in the southeast. This has also allowed Pure Flavor® to open other markets with additional product as the company’s family of growers continues to expand season over season.

“Our team has done a great job in Fort Valley getting our first growing season under our belts. Learning how a crop will react to the environment has been a great experience to date and our Growers are adapting it to ensure the plants our producing in an optimal environment”, commented Matt Mastronardi, Executive Vice-President.

“When it comes to bringing new products to market like our new Georgia Tomatoes & Cucumbers, we have embraced the Georgia Grown brand to ensure that our customers know where the product is grown and who grew it”, said Chris Veillon, Chief Marketing Officer. The response to new products has been very positive on all fronts with feedback coming across all social channels and email. The new Tomatoes & Cucumbers were served recently at the Governor of Georgia’s Inaugural Luncheon when he took office.

Pure Flavor® will be exhibiting this weekend at SEPC’s Southern Exposure Trade Show in Orlando where the company’s focus will be on promoting the new Georgia greenhouse.

Construction of a new 60,000 sq. ft. Distribution Center will be wrapping up later this spring, located just off I-75, minutes from the greenhouse facility. The new Distribution Center will serve as a consolidation point which will provide an opportunity for a greater assortment of Pure Flavor® greenhouse grown vegetables to retailers & foodservice partners in the southeastern US region. Pure Flavor® operates distribution centers in Leamington, ON, Romulus, MI, and San Antonio, TX to support its vast network of growers throughout North America.

To learn more about Pure Flavor®, visit Booth 1120 at SEPC’s Southern Exposure in Orlando, FL March 9th or visit Pure-Flavor.com/SouthernExposure2019

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About Pure Flavor®

Pure Flavor® is a family of greenhouse vegetable growers who share a commitment to bringing A Life of Pure Flavor™ to communities everywhere. Our passion for sustainable greenhouse growing, strong support for our retail & foodservice customers, and focus on engaging consumers is built on a foundation drawn from generations of growing expertise.

We are the next generation of vegetable growers, inspired to put quality, flavor, and customers first by providing greenhouse-grown vegetables from our farms that are strategically located throughout North America.

 

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NMSU Helps Bring Hydroponic Gardens into Las Cruces Schools

The initiative involves placing hydroponic plant systems in classrooms, which brings gardens indoors and eliminates the need for soil — the biggest challenge in school gardens.

Carlos Andres López, For the Sun-NewsPublished 11:17 a.m. MT Dec. 28, 2018 | Updated 12:35 p.m. MT Dec. 30, 2018

LAS CRUCES - Even as the days were colder last fall and winter, the tomato garden in Adrian Gaytan’s classroom at Zia Middle School in Las Cruces continued to thrive, a feat that would have been impossible more than a year ago but is now a reality – thanks to an initiative launched by New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service in Doña Ana County.

The initiative involves placing hydroponic plant systems in classrooms, which brings gardens indoors and eliminates the need for soil — the biggest challenge in school gardens. Hydroponic plant systems use water-based, nutrient-rich solutions to cultivate plants without the use of soil, resulting in better quality plants and higher yields, among other benefits.

In Gaytan’s classroom, the hydroponic plant system, at less than six feet in length, takes up minimal space and has been outfitted with overhead lights and an automatic timer, which enable it to operate on its own, a feature that allows for year-round gardening (even when students are out of school for extended periods of time).

Jeff Anderson, an agent for NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service in Doña Ana County who specializes in agronomy and horticulture, believes hydroponic plant systems may be the answer in helping schools boost the number of gardens in classrooms.

“It’s hard to send teachers and students outside in the winter to pick weeds and water plants,” Anderson said, noting that conventional outdoor gardens in local schools have declined in recent years. “So, I thought to myself: How are we going to bring agriculture into the school system?”

The answer finally came to Anderson when gardeners began calling the Doña Ana County Extension Master Gardener Program to inquire about starting hydroponic plant systems in the Las Cruces area, he said. As Anderson researched the system, he determined it could a practical solution for school gardens — but only if he could develop a cost-effective system. He then turned his efforts to building an affordable structure.

By sourcing material locally, Anderson was able to build a system for just under $300.

“We were able to figure out the cost and developed the program from there,” he said.

A pilot system underwent testing for about a year at the Cooperative Extension Service office in Las Cruces before similar systems were constructed for five local middle schools — Lynn, Vista, Sierra Vista, Picacho and Zia — which began using the gardens at the start of the 2017-18 school year, with assistance from the Master Gardener Program.

Zia and Vista had very successful first years, Anderson said.

“When I heard there was going to be an opportunity to have a hydroponics system in my classroom, I said, ‘Yes,’” said Gaytan, a Project Lead the Way and Technology, or PLWY, teacher at Zia. “We got it, and I used it for sixth-graders. They were immediately hooked; every day they tended the garden, checking the water and testing the pH levels. They took complete ownership of it.”

The hydroponics garden in Adrian Gaytan's classroom at Zia Middle School started with assistance from New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service in Doña Ana County in 2017. (Photo11: Photo courtesy of Adrian Gaytan)

The hydroponics garden in Adrian Gaytan's classroom at Zia Middle School started with assistance from New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service in Doña Ana County in 2017. (Photo11: Photo courtesy of Adrian Gaytan)

Those students are now seventh-graders, Gaytan said, and continue to maintain the garden. This semester, they’re focused on growing tomatoes — the type that’s used to make ketchup. Last month, their tomato seedlings started to sprout, an indication the students were weeks away from enjoying fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes.

For Anderson, the gardens offer many opportunities for “direct teachable moments.”

“You can bring in science, technology, engineering and math,” he said, “and teach healthy eating, energy efficiency, energy use, water recycling and other life science skills.”

He added: “The schools have had successes and failures, all of which have provided valuable lessons. When you have a failure, the kids have to learn — why did we fail, why did the plants die? The kids have to do research and they have to apply that research to their garden.”

The students also become more caring individuals, Anderson said. “There’s a big thing about caring for a plant and that translates to caring for anything when you’re older,’ he said.

Now, Anderson said he is exploring ways in which to expand the program, not just throughout Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, but also statewide.

“We’re trying to get more of this type of agriculture in schools across the state,” he said.

To learn more about the program, visit https://aces.nmsu.edu/county/donaana/.

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In-Store Mini Farms Could Change How We Eat

BY MEGAN CERULLO

FEBRUARY 20, 2019

Andrew Carter and Adam DeMartino want to revolutionize the way we eat by installing compact farms in restaurants and grocery stores across the country. Their goal is to distribute fresh produce on-site and at scale.

Cognizant of the physical limitations of traditional farming, the former college roommates married their backgrounds in indoor agriculture and business to find a way to make farming infinitely scalable, accessible and affordable. The answer? Smallhold, New York City's first and only remotely operated mushroom farm.

Founded in 2017, Smallhold places proprietary mini-farms in restaurants and grocery stores, allowing subscribers to grow fresh produce in their aisles or kitchens and deliver it directly to customers.  

No farming knowledge is required -- the company operates the units using remote technology.

Read The Complete Article Here & Watch The Video


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US: Moroni, Utah Couple Looking To Build Aquaponics Facility

A Moroni couple have received a variance from the state of Utah to grow tilapia, a type of edible fish grown on fish farms. “Other people have called us a ‘fish farm’,” Teri says. “It’s a lot more than that. We actually will be producing from 5,000 to 11,000 heads of vegetables a day.”

By James Tilson

02-21-2019

 

Cliff and Teri Sackett

MORONI—A Moroni couple have received a variance from the state of Utah to grow tilapia, a type of edible fish grown on fish farms.

But they say their operation will be much more than a fish farm. They plan to use aquaponics, a form of agriculture in which waste from fish is used to fertilize vegetable plants, and in which the vegetables are raised in water rather soil. Such a system, they say, can produce remarkable yields.

Cliff and Teri Sackett, experienced fish farmers, are looking to develop their aquaponics facility just of Moroni. The final facility, they say, will be 1 acre under glass.

“Other people have called us a ‘fish farm’,” Teri says. “It’s a lot more than that. We actually will be producing from 5,000 to 11,000 heads of vegetables a day.”

The Sacketts explain that in an aquaponics facility, fish, plants and microbes work together to achieve high efficiency. The technique uses much less water and much less space than traditional “dirt” farming, without using any chemicals as fertilizers.

The fish exude waste and ammonia into water. That water from the fish tanks is pumped into the vegetable beds, where naturally occurring microbes break down the ammonia into nitrates. Those nitrates are absorbed by the plants. The water is then filtered and pumped back into the fish ponds.

“The fish provide a constant, organic source of nutrients for the plants,” Cliff says.

An aquaponics operation in which vegetables and fish are grown together in a water environment. The system shown is a little different from the one planned by Cliff and Teri Sackett of Moroni (left). In the example, fish and vegetables share the same space. The Sacketts plan to keep the fish and vegetables separate but to use water from the fish area, which will contain waste from the fish, to fertilize the vegetables.

The Sacketts point out aquaponics is not hydroponics. In hydroponics, plants are growing in water, but chemicals are used to fertilize the plants. The system must be flushed out at least once a year.

An aquaponics operation in which vegetables and fish are grown together in a water environment. The system shown is a little different from the one planned by Cliff and Teri Sackett of Moroni (left). In the example, fish and vegetables share the same space. The Sacketts plan to keep the fish and vegetables separate but to use water from the fish area, which will contain waste from the fish, to fertilize the vegetables.

Teri says, “One of the things I like about aquaponics is it’s self-sustaining. And where we are putting our facility under glass, there will be much less water use than (in) irrigation or hydroponics. This method is much more conducive to a drought-stricken area.”

“With dirt farming,” Cliff says, “you’re constantly having to re-fertilize, constantly watering, yet the farmer will never have it just right. And the plants have to devote significant energy to putting roots into the ground.”

“With aquaponics, the plants never have to grow through the dirt, their nutrients are constant and always correct. The growing time from seed to harvest is 42-52 days, versus 120 days for traditional methods….And with aquaponics, we’ll have a full-year growing season.”

Another advantage, Teri says, is avoidance of problems that are showing up in vegetables grown in California.

In California, farmers don’t allow manure to age. It stays in liquid form and is sprayed over the fields. The result can be e.coli.

“We don’t have that problem, because fish don’t produce e. coli,” Terry says.

Aquaponics is super productive.

“In California, an acre of lettuce would produce 20,000 heads in a season,” Cliff says. “At best, they’ll get three seasons, maybe only two. Our facility will produce 5,000 heads a day. In one week, we would do two-thirds of their season. In two weeks, we’ve produced as much as their entire year. And we can produce 12 months a year.”

At peak production, Cliff says, the Sackett aquaponics operation could conceivably produce 230,000 heads of lettuce per month. At the same time, it could produce 20,000 pounds of tilapia per month.

Right now, the Sacketts are looking for a primary investor to replace the one who dropped out as of January. They will need at least $5 million to fully capitalize their project. But they are not worried anyone else will try to take the project out from under them. “We’r

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Spain: Edible Micro Vegetables Without Soil or Sun

Zgreens, as the company is called, doesn't use soil, nor does its production grow in the heat of the sun. Its crops are grown hydroponically, and they are not in the open ground or inside a greenhouse, but in closed facilities where state-of-the-art LED lighting technology allows the micro-plants to have perfect climatic conditions all year round

One day, Juan Naudín, a native of the Spanish city of Zaragoza, decided to dedicate himself to agriculture. But he did it with a very innovative project: the cultivation of edible micro vegetables, young plants that are born from vegetable seeds and which are picked after only 10-18 days. This product is increasingly demanded by high cuisine chefs willing to introduce unique qualities to their dishes, as these small plants add intense flavors and aromas.

Zgreens, as the company is called, doesn't use soil, nor does its production grow in the heat of the sun. Its crops are grown hydroponically, and they are not in the open ground or inside a greenhouse, but in closed facilities where state-of-the-art LED lighting technology allows the micro-plants to have perfect climatic conditions all year round.

"Hydroponic cultivation allows the plant to receive exactly the nutrients that it needs, so the product improves in terms of flavor," says Naudin, who further explains that with this technique, it isn't necessary to use pesticides and the products thus grow free of genetically modified organisms, pollution or soil contamination. "Since we grow indoors under controlled conditions, our plants are 100% clean from seed to harvest," he says. He adds that with this type of crop, 90% less water is used than in conventional agriculture thanks to its reuse and recirculation.

This project, "which started with a pilot module" of just 8 square meters, will reach 30 square meters in the near future. "I'm already thinking about expanding, but we won't need more acreage for that, because the crops are grown in five levels, thereby boosting the soil's profitability," explains Naudín. Zgreens will also see its product range grow, as there are currently tests underway to produce indoor celery and cilantro.

Source: heraldo.es

Publication date : 2/20/2019 


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Indoor Farming, LED, Lighting IGrow PreOwned Indoor Farming, LED, Lighting IGrow PreOwned

Dr. Jonathan Rich Appointed As Lumileds Chief Executive Officer

SAN JOSE, Calif., February 28, 2019 – Lumileds today announced the appointment of Dr. Jonathan Rich as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Rich most recently served as Chairman and CEO of Berry Global, Inc., a Fortune 500 specialty materials and consumer packaging company, from 2010 to 2018. Dr. Rich succeeds Mark Adams, who is stepping down as CEO and from the board of directors but will remain in an advisory role to the company.

“I am very pleased to be joining Lumileds and am looking forward to building on the company’s differentiated lighting technology foundation to increase the value we can deliver to customers across a broad set of industries,” said Dr. Rich. “The opportunity for lighting innovation to make a positive impact on safety and sustainability is tremendous.”

Before Dr. Rich held the position of Chairman and CEO of Berry Global, he was president and CEO at Momentive, a specialty chemical company headquartered in Albany, New York. Prior to that, he held positions with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, first as President of the Global Chemicals business and subsequently as President of Goodyear’s North American Tire Division.

Dr. Rich spent his formative years at General Electric, first as a research scientist at GE Global Research and then in a series of management positions with GE Plastics. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has been a visiting lecturer at Cornell University Johnson School of Business since 2017.

“Mark Adams has made significant contributions to Lumileds during his tenure, leading the transition to an independent company and cultivating a culture of innovation and customer focus,” said Rob Seminara, a senior partner at Apollo and chairman of the board of Lumileds. “On behalf of the Board of Directors of Lumileds, we would like to thank him for his service to the company and wish him the very best in his future endeavors. We are very excited Jon will be joining Lumileds to drive the next phase of innovation and growth and we look forward to working with him again.”

Added Adams: “It has been a great experience leading Lumileds’ transition to an independent company that is focused on delivering lighting solutions that truly make a positive impact in the world. I would like to thank the employees of Lumileds and the Apollo team for their support and wish the company much success in the future.”

About Lumileds:

For automotive, mobile, IoT and illumination companies that require innovative lighting solutions, Lumileds is a global leader, employing more than 9,000 team members operating in over 30 countries.

Lumileds partners with its customers to push the boundaries of light.

To learn more about our portfolio of lighting solutions, visit lumileds.com. About Apollo

Global Management:

Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Apollo has assets under management of approximately $280 billion as of December 31, 2018 in private equity, credit and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine

industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.

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Indoor Farming, Event IGrow PreOwned Indoor Farming, Event IGrow PreOwned

Unlocking The Potential of Indoor Farming in Cities of The Future

22-23 May in Oslo, Norway @ Urban Future Global Conference

We are excited to announce our partnership with Urban Future Global Conference for this year's event in Oslo, the 2019 European Green Capital. We are organising a conference for #IndoorFarming that will include keynote speeches, roundtable discussions and guided workshops. 

This is an unparalleled opportunity to network with entrepreneurs, companies, technologists, growers, city planners, research institutions, governmental bodies and enthusiasts from all over the globe.

The AVF programme with speakers and workshop topics will be announced and communicated in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can purchase early-bird tickets at a discount at our home page here: http://bit.ly/UF_Oslo

What: AVF Indoor Farming Forum entitled: Unlocking the Potential of Indoor Farming in Cities of the Future.

When: 22-23 May, 2019
 
Where: The Hub, Oslo, Norway
 
How to buy tickets: http://bit.ly/UF_Oslo
 
We hope to see you there- should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@vertical-farming.net, or send us a message on our social media channels!

Sincerely,

The AVF Team

Copyright © 2019 Association for Vertical Farming, All rights reserved. 
Your are receiving this email because you either signed up for our newsletter online or were added to our mailing list by an employee. 

Our mailing address is: 
Association for Vertical Farming

Marschnerstraße

Munich, 81245 Germany

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Indoor Farming, LED, Lighting IGrow PreOwned Indoor Farming, LED, Lighting IGrow PreOwned

Signify Expands GrowWise Control System

Signify expands GrowWise Control System to make it even easier for growers to create customized light recipes  

·       Expanded GrowWise Control System gives full flexibility and control over lighting

·       Different lighting per growth phase to improve results for young and mature plants

·       Easily switch to new crops without installing new lights

·       Can be seamlessly connected to existing climate computer

Eindhoven, The Netherlands – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, expanded its GrowWise Control System to fit seamlessly with conventional climate control and greenhouse management systems and make it even easier to operate. The system, which was introduced last year, allows growers and researchers to easily create and run custom LED light recipes to meet the needs of specific crops to improve quality, productivity and efficiency. It works with ’dynamic’ modules in the Philips GreenPower LED range.

Growing demand for lighting flexibility

“Since we introduced the GrowWise Control System a year ago, growers have embraced this solution,” says Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture at Signify. “It meets the needs of a broad range of growers, from greenhouse growers and vertical farmers to researchers, who are looking for more flexible ways of applying their grow lights to improve crop results and operational efficiency.”

 More control over every plant

With the GrowWise Control System, growers can give all the plants in their facility exactly what they need and when they need it, enhancing cultivation with a single LED system. A light recipe provides the settings for the light spectrum, intensity, illumination moment and uniformity. The GrowWise Control System allows growers to create their own time-based recipes. Using a recipe, a grower can steer specific plant characteristics, from compactness, color intensity and branch development to flowering and more to improve results. One light recipe might enhance the red coloration of lettuce, for example, while another might be used to stimulate stretching or compactness.

The GrowWise Control System can mix a variety of colors (deep red, blue, green and far red) as well as the light duration and intensity. The system is designed to work with current and future Philips GreenPower LED lighting modules.

Signify will showed its new products during Fruit Logistica in Berlin, February 6-8 hall 3 booth A-18 and HortiContact in Gorinchem, February 19-21 booth A-107.

--- END ---

About Signify

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2018 sales of EUR 6.4 billion, we have approximately 29,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We have been named Industry Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for two years in a row. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.

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International Workshop, Indoor Farming IGrow PreOwned International Workshop, Indoor Farming IGrow PreOwned

A New Vision On Plant Production

The world population is rapidly growing from about 7 today to 9.5 billion people in 2050 and eating habits are changing.

The demand for high quality fresh vegetables that are safe, healthy, tasty, and sustainably produced within or near urban areas is strongly increasing. This requires a new vision on food production and distribution.

Vertical farming offers a new route that could fit future urban food systems. Vertical farming is a rapidly developing technology where plants are grown under fully controlled conditions in buildings in many stacked layers without solar light. Other terms used for this type of vertical farms are city farms, indoor farms, or plant factory with artificial light (PFAL). Vertical farming is a next level production system, which allows production of plants at any place including the most urbanised regions of the world.

The use of LED light and the full control of both the aboveground and belowground conditions in combination with the right cultivar, enables growers to produce products with extra added value, which appeal to the demand of consumers for safe, reliable, and tasty, nutritious food.

VertiFarm2019 - International Workshop on Vertical Farming Wageningen 13-15 October 2019

Contact

prof.dr.ir. LFM (Leo) Marcelis

Contact form

Registration:
- via this website: Registration VertiFarm2019
- the deadline for registration is 6 October 2019
(early bird until 1 August 2019)

Information about the programme of the workshop & How to travel to Wageningen / Housing / Tourist information:
1-Brochure workshop VertiFarm2019 - including programme.pdf
2-How to travel to Wageningen - housing - tourist information 2019.pdf

Sponsorship opportunities:
VertiFarm2019 Sponsoring packages.pdf

Contact
Questions about the registration procedure:
Niek Botden (HortiLink)
- mail: niek.botden@hortilink.nl
Other subjects (programme, sponsorship etc.): Leo Marcelis 
(Horticulture & Product Physiology group)
- mail: leo.marcelis@wur.nl

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Hydroponic, Indoor Farming, Technology IGrow PreOwned Hydroponic, Indoor Farming, Technology IGrow PreOwned

Minister Visits Farms In Dubai, Abu Dhabi

Farmers Urged To Embrace Modern Cultivation Practices

February 09, 2019

Dubai: Dr. Thani Ahmad Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, paid a visit to a number of farms, where he urged subsistence farmers to move to commercial agriculture and embrace modern cultivation practices to boost their contributions to local food supply.

Among the farms Al Zeyoudi toured were Madar Farms, an emerging agricultural technology company in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, where he was shown hydroponics containers that the company designed and installed to produce leafy plants all year round.

Other sites the minister visited included Eco-Villa, a pilot project incorporating water- and energy-saving technologies located in Masdar City, Nabteh Farm in Al Khawaneej and the Abdul Latif Al Banna farm in Al Aweer area in Dubai where he reviewed the farm’s agricultural produce and livestock.

Engineer Saif Al Shara, assistant undersecretary for the sustainable communities sector in the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), Sultan Alwan Al Habsi, assistant undersecretary for the regions Sector at MOCCAE and Engineer Mohammad Al Dhahnani, director of health and agricultural development Department at MOCCAE, accompanied Dr. Al Zeyoudi.

They toured the agricultural areas of Madar Farms, an emerging agricultural technology company in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to view the hydroponics containers that the company designed and installed to produce leafy plants all year round.

They next went to the Eco-Villa, a pilot project in Masdar City incorporating water- and energy-saving technologies. The prototype uses around 72 per cent less energy and 35 per cent less water than a typical comparably-sized villa in Abu Dhabi, displacing an estimated 63 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

Later, the officials toured the Nabteh Farm in Al Khawaneej area in Dubai.

The minister was updated about the greenhouses that the company provides to members of the community to install in their homes and help them grow vegetables.

Their last stop was at the farm of Abdul Latif Al Banna, in the Al Aweer area of Dubai.

They were shown the farm’s agricultural produce and livestock.

At the end of the tour, Dr. Al Zeyoudi pointed out that sustaining food diversity relies heavily on innovation and the employment of cutting-edge technologies.

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Urban, Indoor Farming IGrow PreOwned Urban, Indoor Farming IGrow PreOwned

Year-Round Produce Cultivates Employment, Food access, And The Economy In Michigan

BRIAN ALLNUTT | FEBRUARY 19, 2019   

Brandon Seng started his company Michigan Farm to Freezer when he was running a non-profit that managed school lunch programs in northern Michigan. He remembers one time when a 14-year-old student, after going through the lunch line, said he's never 

"That's really when I got that gut punch to say we've got to do something bigger, we've got to do something different," Seng says. "And we started buying blueberries the next day."

Along with his business partner Mark Coe, Seng plans to freeze between 1.5 and 2 million pounds of Michigan fruits and vegetables this year with the underlying philosophy that "no one should be raised in this country without knowing what a blueberry tastes like."

He may have picked a good moment to do so. According to the Nielsen Company, frozen foods are surging in popularity after years of decline because customers appreciate the convenience as well as improvements in the products themselves.

Michigan Farm to Freezer is also capitalizing on consumer demand for locally grown produce, something that it shares with growers who are producing food either under lights or in greenhouses during the winter months, often using hydroponic technology. By either freezing crops at their freshest or delivering them straight from the greenhouse, these businesses are able to compete on quality with winter produce from Mexico, Florida, Arizona or California, which is often harvested under-ripe and spends days in transit.

Together, these developments could be big for Michigan growers who produce the second most diverse array of crops next to California, but were constricted by the short growing season.

"Across the country we're definitely seeing a huge increase in production of food crops in greenhouses as well as indoor vertical farms," says Roberto Lopez, a professor of horticulture at Michigan State University.

And customers are willing to pay more for products that are local and taste better. "The strawberries are really, really good compared to what we get from California and Florida," Lopez says.

Growers and consumers are also benefiting from recent advances in things like lighting technology as well as the development of cultivars specifically for hydroponic or greenhouse growing. "You can produce pretty much any crop," Lopez says, adding, "of course it comes down to the economics."

Mike Skinner of Oakland Urban Growers is in his second year of trying to figure out the calculus of what to grow and when to grow it on his own indoor farm in Waterford.

"I think it's getting the right product mix and the right customers," he says. "It's sort of like a dating game. You have to get the right people and get them in the right room."

Finding customers who want what he's growing when it's ready is key for ensuring a quality product. "The point is to be ready to harvest right at the peak point," he says.

So far, Oakland Urban Growers has had success selling to restaurants, wholesalers, and country clubs. They've also figured out that lettuce does best in winter, basil in summer, and that tomatoes are a year-round moneymaker as long as they have the heirloom varieties that are unavailable elsewhere. This knowledge has allowed them to grow over their first year and employ several people.

On the frozen food side, Seng is having success selling blueberries, tart cherries, and strawberries. He's also moving a lot of a root vegetable mix, which he suggests sautéing or roasting – rather than steaming – for flavor and texture, but also to retain nutrients.

Michigan Farm to Freezer is moving forward with a "kitted" line of products that includes oil and seasoning in the case of vegetables or pie fillings made with apples, blueberries or cherries. These offer some of the convenience that customers enjoy with meal delivery service, but sourced from local, Michigan farms.

The quality and innovation that Michigan Farm to Freezer offers has allowed them to grow rapidly over their first year in business. They now employ 12 people – many of them joining the workforce after incarceration – at their Detroit facility and are looking to sell $2 million worth of frozen produce this year, sourced from more than 40 growers.

One potential roadblock for this growing market, however, is the farm labor needed to harvest the crops that these companies are selling.

Seng says he's been following proposed changes to the H-2A visa program that allow farm workers to come to the United States. These changes could make it easier for employers to bring in farm workers from outside the country, a perennial issue for Michigan growers.

"It's a big issue in agriculture, not only in Michigan," Lopez says, "but across the country, especially in some of these greenhouses. It gets pretty hot in a tomato or a sweet pepper greenhouse."

He says that certain Michigan growers have tried employing local people to do this work, but, "they just couldn't. They would last a few days or an hour and then they would quit."

And yet, with climate change and water issues influencing winter growing in places like Arizona and California, Michigan has every incentive to find the labor and resources it needs to grow its own production, delivering nutritious hydroponic and frozen food in the process.

Furthermore, the market for Michigan grown crops extends well beyond the state's borders. "We're within a day's drive of more than 50 percent of the U.S. Population," Lopez says, "so that really helps."

This story is part of “Michigan Good Food Stories” a series that explores access, equity, and sustainability in Michigan’s thriving food economy. This work is made possible by Michigan Good Food and is supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Read more in the series here.

Photos by Steve Koss.

brian_allnutt.jpg

Read more articles by Brian Allnutt.

Brian Allnutt is a Detroit-based writer and a co-owner of Detroit Farm and Garden.

FOOD ECONOMYGOOD FOODURBAN FARMING 

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Heritage Crops That Feed on Sea Water Could Feed the UAE's Growing Population

Scientists are looking to genetically modify crops that were grown here in ancient times to help solve the region's food security issues.

Scientists are hoping to tackle the region’s food insecurity by reintroducing heritage crops that have been genetically modified to grow using saltwater straight from the sea.

Poor soil coupled with a scarcity of fresh water has led the UAE, and much of the region, to rely on importing food to feed its populations.

Euro-centric methods of agriculture are ill-suited for the hot and dry land, and some vegetables require 30 or more times the water in the UAE than is needed to grow the same plant in cooler environments.

Importing sufficed for decades as little consideration was given to environmental impact. But today, with the threat of global warming and the food industry being one of the biggest culprits, the way we eat has become one the most important frontiers for sustainability.

Dr Ismahane Elouafi, director-general of the International Centre of Biosaline Agriculture, does not agree with the idea that deserts are barren environments. Instead, she believes that although regional appetites have veered away from what the land naturally provides, they must be brought back.

“Sixty per cent of our food comes from only four crops. There are only 150 crops available on the market out of the 7,000 our ancestors used to grow,” Dr Elouafi said.

Wheat, maize, rice and potatoes feed the majority of the world’s population. But all four of those crops, which were genetically engineered to sustain people during the European industrial revolution, are unsuitable for growth outside the Northern Hemisphere.

Instead, she says that crops such as millet, which some historians believe was among the first seeds grown in the Fertile Crescent – an area of the Middle East where agriculture and some of the earliestcivilisations began – can fulfil food demand.

Pearl millet is among the crops the ICBA are hoping to reintroduce to the UAE. Photo by Showkat Nabi

Pearl millet is among the crops the ICBA are hoping to reintroduce to the UAE. Photo by Showkat Nabi

Dr Elouafi is now seeking other plants that can grow in the UAE, adding thousands of species of ancient crop seeds to ICBA’s gene bank. Her scientists are digging through time to find some of the 7,000 crops our ancestors used and, from those, identifying species that are saline-resistant, nutrient-rich and, of course, tasty.

“We’re only focusing on a few for now because breeding is extremely expensive. That’s why most of the countries to the south [of the Northern Hemisphere] still use crops from the north – they are put on the market by multinationals,” she said.

But now, breakthroughs in genetic coding technology can tremendously reduce the cost of breeding, meaning that it may be possible to engineer endemic crops to become easier to grow and better suited to mass cultivation in the region.

The shortage of water, she said, is one of the main constraints to UAE food production. Water scarcity has been offset in the country by some of the world’s most substantial desalination plants – an energy-intensive practice.

But instead of desalinating seawater for crops, Dr Elouafi wants to engineer crops so they can be irrigated with water straight from the sea.

“It is possible – there are crops that have salinity tolerance already. We’re looking at these crops and into using either gene editing or hybrids to get crops on to the market that take more saline water and are more nutritious,” she said.

Omar Al Jundi is the founder and chief executive of Badia Farms, the region’s first vertical farm, in Al Quoz, Dubai. Reem Mohammed/The National

Omar Al Jundi is the founder and chief executive of Badia Farms, the region’s first vertical farm, in Al Quoz, Dubai. Reem Mohammed/The National

These innovations could be used in conjunction with developments such as Omar Al Jundi’s vertical farm, the first commercial one to launch in Dubai. It could be used to grow ICBA’s regionally-suitable crops to disrupt current energy-intensive agriculture in the Arab world.

“Our water bill for August was Dh1,500. That is lower than my home water bill. We’re able to harvest the majority of the water we use, recycle it and use the humidity to nourish plants,” said Mr Al Jundi, the founder and chief executive of Badia vertical farm, which produces 1,000 heads of lettuce at a time.

Vertical farming uses hydroponic systems to yield crops. Being indoors, vertical farms seldom need pesticides and the technology is progressing at a rate that could allow it to grow anything, including ancient or heritage crops.

He said using his technology to grow sustainable plants, such as the ones ICBA is rediscovering, is completely achievable and part of his vision for the future of urban agriculture.

“You can grow as high as you want, but going up 10 to 20 storeys produces a lot – it could feed thousands, if not more. This is the future.”

Updated: January 16, 2019 08:35 AM

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How GLASE is Blazing A New Frontier in Lighting

By Erico Mattos | January 25, 2019

Primary organizers of the GLASE consortium are Tessa Pocock of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (left) and Neil Mattson (center) and Erico Mattos of Cornell University.

Lighting control is the last frontier in controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Well-designed horticulture lighting systems can reduce energy use in greenhouses and indoor farms, thereby increasing production and profitability. Light-emitting diode (LED) technologies have the potential to improve energy efficiency and therefore energy costs of greenhouses, but in many ways the hardware capabilities are further ahead than our understanding of how to best operate these systems.

Working in the rapidly growing CEA industry, the Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium is a public-private partnership to develop, transfer, and implement advanced energy-efficient LED lighting systems with improved environmental controls for more efficient and sustainable greenhouse production. Formed by Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and Rutgers University, GLASE is supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The consortium’s mission is to advance CEA through a holistic approach, bringing together different areas of expertise from academia and the marketplace, and creating a hub for technology and information exchange among industry stakeholders and key players.

First-Year Focus: Research and Participation

The combination of engineering practices with plant science is being recognized as valuable, if not critical, to the field of horticultural lighting. During its first operational year in 2018, GLASE developed a series of multidisciplinary activities aimed to optimize CEA systems. Recent technologies developed by consortium researchers include:
• The use of a remote chlorophyll fluorometer to monitor plants relative growth rates
• A proposed standardized horticultural lighting label to facilitate the comparison of lamps across manufacturers
• Improvements to the Lighting and Shade System Implementation (LASSI)
• A control system to optimize lighting control and reduce greenhouse energy consumption
• Light-spectrum optimization for plant growth

The participation of industry stakeholders is paramount in guiding GLASE research and bringing the innovations to market. GLASE is working with industrial partners to commercialize and accelerate the adoption of new energy-efficient technologies nationwide. Since April 2018, 21 industrial members have joined the consortium. The participants are a combination of commercial greenhouses, indoor farms, lighting manufacturers, and service providers. With $5 million secured for research and outreach for the next five years, GLASE will continue to work with industry partners to further develop and implement new energy-efficient technologies to achieve energy-related improvements in greenhouse system operations by optimizing energy efficiency, crop yield, and quality.

What’s Next for GLASE

Future GLASE activities include:
• The development of automated lighting and shade control systems integrated with control of wavelengths for optimal crop growth
• The use of CO2 enhancement in greenhouses
• Investigation of LED use to alter plant physiology and morphology to increase yield or the production of chemical compounds that increase crop value
• The design of novel prototype luminaires for greenhouses
• The development of software that includes whole greenhouse systems management to synergistically control lighting, ventilation , and humidity.

GLASE also works with commercial pilot facilities to test technology adoption in real-world production settings. To ensure the development and implementation of effective technologies, GLASE is supported by a scientific advisory board (SAB) and an industrial advisory board (IAB). The SAB identifies new areas of research and vets GLASE-developed technologies, whereas the IAB offers the consortium guidance on the optimal path to market and provides a source of technical and market intelligence.

Working toward industry standardization, GLASE has established a partnership with Intertek to offer its industrial partners a complementary lighting test to characterize horticultural lighting fixtures following the proposed lighting label published by A.J. Both, et al. This is an effort to provide growers with a reliable comparative platform to select among the available lighting technologies that best fit their unique needs.

Through the development of strategic partnerships and increased industry participation, GLASE is expanding its activities in 2019. In addition to having the opportunity to work with other GLASE partners, members of the consortium receive the benefits of a seat on the GLASE Industrial Advisory Board, early notice of invention disclosures (IP), quarterly technical reports and industry meetings, access to Cornell University and RPI research facilities, networking, marketing, and educational and training programs.

How You Can Participate

As part of the consortium outreach activities, GLASE is developing a national greenhouse energy benchmark database. The aggregated data will be used to support the development of new energy incentive programs, guide national funding opportunities, and allow GLASE researchers and other academic institutions to identify new areas of improvement in Controlled Environment Agriculture systems. Participating greenhouse and indoor growers will have the opportunity to benchmark their production systems against a national database to identify areas of improvement to increase operations’ profitability.

To learn more about GLASE and how to join the consortium, go to Glase.org.

Erico Mattos (em796@cornell.edu) is the Executive Director of GLASE. See all author stories here.

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