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Vertical Garden Operation Utilizes Shipping Container
Tim and Harline Moyer, owners of The Farm at River’s Bend, are embarking on a new adventure at their property east of Whitefish. They’re beginning a vertical garden operation aimed at supplying local restaurants with fresh lettuce even in the depths of winter
Harline and Tim Moyer, and Dustin Lang at The Farm at River’s Bend east of Whitefish. The Moyers are beginning a vertical container farm on their property. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
By HEIDI DESCH
Editor | November 18, 2020
On the outside, it looks like a regular shipping container, but inside the promise of a full-fledged garden full of greens is represented by young sprouts.
Tim and Harline Moyer, owners of The Farm at River’s Bend, are embarking on a new adventure at their property east of Whitefish. They’re beginning a vertical garden operation aimed at supplying local restaurants with fresh lettuce even in the depths of winter.
The Moyers moved to Whitefish in the spring after running their own farm in Hawaii. They have a friend who suggested they move here, so they bought 10 acres of land and brought along their plan to operate a vertical garden.
Colored by blue and red lights, young plants begin to sprout inside the vertical container garden at The Farm at River’s Bend. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
“We can operate year-round sustainably because it’s not subject to the weather,” Tim said. “There’s no herbicides and no pesticides.”
Sitting on their property is a Freight Farms container that’s fully equipped to operate as a hydroponic garden. One container can grow as much food as would be produced on 2.5 acres of land and they hope to eventually have four containers, which would grow the equivalent of 10 acres worth of land.
“That will leave us plenty of space for the horses to run around,” Tim said standing beside the container. “We want to provide fresh lettuce and be good stewards of the land, and this will let us do both.”
The Moyers own the Lahaina Family Farms, a sustainable organic educational farm, on Maui. The farm operates with volunteers, and it was one volunteer who owns restaurants in New York City that introduced them to the concept of Freight Farms, a hydroponic container farm.
Tim was intrigued by the idea and knew it worked on some of the same concepts their farm did such as using as little water as possible for the plants, but the cost of electricity in Hawaii made it cost-prohibitive to run such an operation. But when the Moyers moved to Montana they knew they wanted to begin building their vertical greens farm here.
Freight Farms is a Boston-based agricultural technology company that manufactures and sells container farms, which are retrofitted 40-foot freight containers that come with a hydroponic farm system that utilizes technology to create the optimal growing conditions.
Once the vertical farm is fully operational, the Moyers expect to be harvesting 1,200 heads of lettuce per week with 13,000 plants growing at one time.
“We can deliver it at 2 p.m. and then it’s on the table at 5 p.m.,” Tim said. “It’s quick farm to table — the chef orders it, we pick it that day and then deliver it.”
A family friend Dustin Lang runs the container farm monitoring the software that runs the LED lighting and nutrient irrigation system designed to make the leafy greens or potential herbs grow at optimal levels.
Dustin Lang walks between the rows that will eventually be planted with lettuce for the hydroponic vertical garden. LED lights cast blue and red light onto the plants for optimal growth. (Heidi Desch/Whitefish Pilot)
Lang said it was a visit as a child that he took to Disney World’s Epcot and a display on life on Mars that spurred his interest in non-traditional food cultivation.
“I have been interested in garden farming,” he said. “The more I learned about hydroponics, the more I was interested. I was tired of my job, so it seemed like a good time to come here and join them.”
Plants are started in containers and then when ready are moved into a drip irrigation system that allows for vertical growing. The system uses red and blue light at set wavelengths to aid in the optimal exposure for growth, while the container maintains an ideal temperature and humidity to provide plants with the right climate for growth.
The hydroponic system delivers the right amount of water to plants during the various stages of growth.
The Moyers plan to begin selling to restaurants, but as they expand they’d also like to sell directly to customers. In addition, they expect to follow the same model as their farm in Hawaii with education by bringing on volunteers to work in the container farm.
For more information, visit www.thefarmatriversbend.com.
US - FLORIDA: St. Pete Couple Exporting Success To Urban Farmers Around The Country
Brick Street Farms in St. Petersburg is one such operation, turning shipping containers into year-round hydroponic grow houses
Brick Street Farms in St. Petersburg is one such operation, turning shipping containers into year-round hydroponic grow houses. The owners say the system they use has been so successful, they've started selling it to other urban farmers to start similar businesses across the country.
They call their new venture Thrive Containers, which mixes brand new technology with one of mankind's oldest industries: agriculture. They now sell various sizes of ready-to-go indoor farms.
Thrive's shipping container farms are ready to start producing fresh produce with a minimal impact on resources.
And they're making the containers in the Bay Area.
For more information, visit thrivecontainers.com.
Israeli Supermarket Employs Vertical Farm Start-Up For Selling Produce
Vertical Fields, a Ra'anana based agri-tech start-up that creates vertical, sustainable farms using geoponic technology, agricultural expertise, and smart design, teamed up with BIOLED, a Tzuba-based eco-lighting start-up that uses LED lights to create more sustainable, profitable crops in order to erect the growing container
The new technologies eliminate the need to rely on outdoor growers and suppliers while also providing a fresher, more eco-friendly product which needs much less water and land to grow.
NOVEMBER 21, 2020
Produce growing under BIOLED lights. (photo credit: BIOLED)
Rami Levy, one of Israel's largest supermarket chains, has been cooperating with two Israeli agri-tech start-ups to erect large containers to grow fruit and vegetables, which will be sold in the chain's stores.
Vertical Fields, a Ra'anana based agri-tech start-up that creates vertical, sustainable farms using geoponic technology, agricultural expertise, and smart design, teamed up with BIOLED, a Tzuba-based eco-lighting start-up that uses LED lights to create more sustainable, profitable crops in order to erect the growing containers.
According to BIOLED, the first container is already in the process of being set up in Rami Levy's Ayalon Mall branch in Tel Aviv.
Thanks to the rapidly growing worldwide population, the amount of produce must grow by 60% to keep up with demand and overpopulation trends. Current methods of farming require too much water and land to meet that demand.
The new technologies eliminate the need to rely on outdoor growers and suppliers while also providing a fresher, more eco-friendly product that needs significantly less water and land to grow.
BIOLED already produces eco-friendly LED lighting for a wide variety of purposes for companies in Israel and plan to expand to Europe and the rest of the global market. Recently they breezed through their crowdfunding goal, nearly two months before their funding deadline expires in January 2021.
BIOLED also provides agricultural lighting for most of Israel's medical cannabis companies, most famously for the largest cannabis farm in the country, grown by medical cannabis giant INDOOR.
One of the main reasons for this is BIOLED's ability to shorten and stabilize horticultural growth cycles regardless of season, while also eliminating the need for pesticides and the logistical issues that comes with supplying fresh produce to urban areas,
Vertical Fields is a slightly younger company. They recently burst onto the Israeli agri-tech scene with their technology, which allows for produce to be farmed vertically within containers big enough to fit in a parking lot, using only one-tenth the amount of water usually needed.
Tags startup ecology hi-tech israel tech israel technology for agriculture rami levy agriculture Hunger start-up supermarket Farming
SANANBIO ARK, The Mobile Farm For All Climates That Supplies Communities With Fresh Local Food
3,300-4,400 lbs of cucumbers, 7,700 lbs of arugula, or 8,000 lbs of lettuce. These are the proven annual yields that we're confident to announce, said Zhan Zhuo, co-founder, and CEO of SANANBIO, We 'produce' turnkey farms and this one is mobile
November 21, 2020
PRN
XIAMEN: SANANBIO, a leading vertical farming solution provider announces the availability of its climate-controlled mobile farm for growers globally.
3,300-4,400 lbs of cucumbers, 7,700 lbs of arugula, or 8,000 lbs of lettuce. These are the proven annual yields that we're confident to announce, said Zhan Zhuo, co-founder, and CEO of SANANBIO, We 'produce' turnkey farms and this one is mobile. It adapts to any climate thanks to its thermal insulation system with a thermal conductivity below 0.024w/(m·K). One of the mobile farms operated as usual in the coldness of -40 degrees Fahrenheit in northern China, sustaining local communities with local produces at a reduced carbon footprint.
It is shocking to find that our food travels 1,500 miles on average before reaching our plate. The CO2 generated, and the nutrients lost during transportation, can't be good for the planet or human beings. That's why local food is advocated. The ready-to-use farm is the solution we offer to regions where the environment is too harsh to support stable agricultural production, said Zhan.
To streamline the farming experience, the designer simplifies the start-up procedures to a single plug-in motion power it up through a connector on the exterior and then even hydroponic beginners are set to grow. Moreover, growers can monitor and control farm metrics simply by moving fingertips on their phone.
By simplifying modern agriculture, we offer more farming opportunities for kids and urban dwellers. We have a mobile farm deployed in a Malaysian suburb where kids from the neighborhood frequent the farm for the hands-on hydroponic experience. It's a perfect bonding time when families go there to pick their own salad ingredients. As a Photobiotech company, we're nurturing a new generation of growers, said Zhan.
For more info about the mobile farm, please visit www.sananbio.com/ark.
Buffalo’s New ‘Container Farm Project’
It’s great to see a push in WNY, for healthier food production for underserved neighborhoods. But what happens when the growing and harvesting seasons are over, and winter sets in?
by queenseyes
November 10, 2020
It’s great to see a push in WNY, for healthier food production for underserved neighborhoods. But what happens when the growing and harvesting seasons are over, and winter sets in? That’s a question that is now being asked, and answered, thanks to a pilot program that has been launched, which has resulted in the appearance of a specially outfitted 40-foot shipping container. This container – branded “Rooting for Our Neighbors” – will help to extend the growing season year-round, with produce being earmarked for food pantries and soup kitchens associated with the food security efforts of FeedMore WNY (the largest hunger-relief organization in WNY).
This inventive (and very exciting) effort is thanks to a research collaboration funded by the New York Power Authority’s (NYPA) Environmental Justice Program and led by the National Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). Side benefits from the project include “environmental and energy impacts that could help reduce costs and expand crop production.”
The demonstration will:
Provide produce for FeedMore WNY nutrition programs
Help address climate change in communities that host NYPA facilities
Support New York State’s clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals by using this low-energy indoor farming method
“The New York Power Authority is pleased to be part of this national collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute that will improve indoor farming methods while supporting our neighbors in need in Western New York,” said NYPA Chairman John R. Koelmel. “Under Governor Andrew Cuomo’s continued climate leadership, we will find new and sustainable ways to grow affordable and fresh produce all year while prioritizing New York State’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.”
NYPA is one of eight utilities nationwide to participate in a two-year EPRI study designed to help utilities better understand and engage in commercial-scale indoor food production, which is reliant on efficient energy and water consumption.
The new indoor production facility is located at FeedMore WNY’s offices on James E. Casey Drive in Buffalo, which makes it easily accessible to deliver produce to a Mobile Food Pantry and Meals on Wheels programs, where kale dishes will be prepared. The first growing cycle will be dedicated to the growing of kale, which is high in nutrient value and has a short harvest cycle. After the first year, additional crops will be added to the program.
“Indoor agriculture is essential to future food production and we need to understand its implications for the electric power industry,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA’s president and CEO. “NYPA is eager to demonstrate a replicable, sustainable indoor farming solution that helps to address climate change in the communities that host our facilities. If utilities have solid knowledge about how lighting, water use, and other systems impact plant production, we can be good partners in helping to provide food resources to disadvantaged communities in our respective regions through these innovative farming methods.”
Benefits of the indoor growing facility include: A controlled environment, pesticide-free, ‘sunless’ environment, and far less water usage when compared to traditional farming methods. Also, these mobile units can be built anywhere, which makes them ideal for addressing problems associated with ‘food deserts’ year-round. Additional benefits include very little transportation costs, reduction of spoiled produce, and a smaller carbon footprint… all while addressing food insecurity in WNY.
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “This indoor farming project is a unique and creative way to support urban agriculture and to increase access to healthy food in our communities. Building on the work the State has been doing through initiatives like Nourish to deliver fresh foods to families in need, this pilot program will allow FeedMore WNY to provide local agricultural products year-round. I thank NYPA, EPRI and FeedMore WNY for their participation in this forward-thinking project, and look forward to the first harvest.”
An advantage of ‘Container Farm Project’ is the ability to track data such as energy loads, water use, etc., which will help the research team to tweak and optimize the system. This technology will only get better and more efficient, with higher yields in years to come.
EPRI President Arshad Mansoor said, “Against the backdrop of increasing weather events and a global pandemic, there’s been an increasing appetite for indoor food production. EPRI engineers and scientists have been at the nucleus of this development, advancing technology to run container farm demonstrations across the country. This is a worldwide movement toward sustainable communities. Indoor agriculture also is an important part of efficient electrification, which is critical to enabling decarbonization throughout the economy.
Tara A. Ellis, president and CEO of FeedMore WNY, said, “FeedMore WNY is incredibly excited for this opportunity to work with New York Power Authority and the Electric Power Research Institute in order to grow nutritious produce for distribution to our hungry community members, NYPA and EPRI are the true definition of good neighbors and we are so fortunate to have their support as we work to make sure our neighbors in need have access to nutritious food, including fresh produce.”
This new program is part of NYPA’s Environmental Justice program, which is not only dedicated to providing educational programs about clean, renewable energy, and sustainability, it is also in place to address food insecurity, while helping to better the lives of those who live in underrepresented communities near NYPA’s power assets.
“NYPA uses its expertise and resources to help benefit residents who live and work in areas near our facilities,” said Lisa Payne Wansley, NYPA vice president of environmental justice and sustainability. “This indoor food production initiative aligns with and supports NYPA’s Sustainability Plan goals to demonstrate sustainable solutions to addressing climate change in local communities where we operate.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented mounting food insecurity problems, which must be dealt with immediately, especially in cities with colder climates.
Senator Tim Kennedy said, “For years, FeedMore WNY has served as a critical resource for many, and that important role has only been magnified throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this partnership, WNY families will have increased access to fresh, locally grown food, which will in turn fuel healthier communities and provide nutritious support to those who need it most.”
Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “This collaboration is a major step forward in bringing healthy food options, mainly fresh fruits, and vegetables, to some of our city’s food deserts. We thank the NYPA and the state for dedicating its expertise and resources to EPRI and FeedMore WNY to help advance year-round indoor farming in areas that need it the most.”
Mayor Byron W. Brown said, “Low-income communities, and especially Black and brown communities, have historically faced difficulties with food security and access to fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. The COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened those challenges, either through a loss of income, decreased mobility, or more limited access to supportive nutritional programs. Today’s announcement of this new partnership is a bold step in helping to address these systemic problems. I am confident that this collaboration between Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, the New York Power Authority’s Environmental Justice Program, the Electric Power Research Institute and FeedMore WNY, will help advance indoor farming in our community and further strengthen Buffalo’s year-round production of fresh produce in the neighborhoods with residents who have had the most trouble accessing them.”
Tagged with:'Container Farm Project', Electric Power Research Institute, Environmental Justice Program, FeedMore WNY, New York Power Authority
S. Korea’s Indoor Farming Technology Helps Crop Production In The Middle East
This may look like a regular shipping container, but in fact, it’s an indoor vertical farm exported to the United Arab Emirates by a South Korean company. The 12-meter long container is filled with vertical racks of crops, including Romaine lettuce. Named ‘Planty Cube’, the farm replaces conventional farming methods with digital technology
2020-11-12
This may look like a regular shipping container, but in fact it’s an indoor vertical farm exported to the United Arab Emirates by a South Korean company. The 12-meter long container is filled with vertical racks of crops, including Romaine lettuce.
To View The Video, Please Click Here
Named ‘Planty Cube’, the farm replaces conventional farming methods with digital technology.
Natural sunlight is replaced with artificial lighting and water levels, air temperatures, and humidity can be adjusted with just a few clicks.
"It also operates under a hydroponic system, where nutrients are mixed into water so that crops can grow without soil."
Farms can also be monitored remotely from South Korea, even from a smartphone, and conditions can be adjusted to optimize plant growth.
This way of farming can produce quality food all year round, without being affected by the weather, natural disasters, or disease.
There has been high demand for South Korean indoor vertical farms in the Middle East.
Two indoor vertical farms were first set up in July 2019 as part of a pilot project.
Now a total of 10 are stationed in Abu Dhabi with more planned to be shipped next year.
"We are actually planning to export our farm in the next first quarter about 50 cultivation modules… Also, we're getting a lot of requests from other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) areas, such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait. "
South Korea launched a set of programs last year to export its smart farm technologies.
It aims to become a key player in the industry, along with the U.S. and the Netherlands.
Min Suk-hyen, Arirang News.Reporter : shmin@arirang.com
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A Couple of Showrooms In Europe Need To Get The Ball Rolling For Verde Compacto - Shipping Container Farm
"People Are Immediately Enthusiastic When They See It"
"People Are Immediately Enthusiastic When They See It"
He, partly joking, calls himself ‘a born and raised’ city dweller from the heart of Amsterdam: Olivier Kappetein. As a representative of Mexican vertical farming company Verde Compacto in Europe, this is not ideal; will people be willing to listen to him given his background and his not yet widely undisputed product?
"Unfortunately not always, but that is why I’m looking for partners to start showrooms within Europe where we can display our cultivation systems. If people could actually see what we do, they would also see the potential in it. Of this, I’m sure. And yes, I know very well that vertical farming is not the solution to the global food problem, but I do believe there are many situations in which our systems would come in handy.”
The team of Verde Compacto that develops the container farm Huvster and the smaller Veggiebox cultivation variety
Advancing a Mexican family-run company
Before going further into the systems (such as the cultivation containers), we need to go back to where it all began. How does a young man from Amsterdam end up at a Mexican company active in vertical farming? “I was introduced to a Mexican through my dad a few years ago. It turns out he worked at Verde Compacto where he developed fertilizers. Through those fertilizers, they came into contact with vertical farming and decided to continue in that field.
I went to Mexico myself and got to know the family-run business better. They are ambitious and want to expand their brand in Europe and were looking for someone who could help them with that. With my degree in Business Administration, I can take on that role, and after doing my research to understand the relatively young market better, I now want to take some real steps forward.”
Opportunities, among others for apocalyptic bunkers
In the beginning, Olivier planned to aim all of his efforts in the Netherlands at first, but due to, among other things, the coronavirus, getting to know the market better, and the reservations against vertical farming in the Netherlands, he had to look in other places as well. “I want to build a couple of showrooms where people can see our products both in the Netherlands and in other European countries. We make cultivation systems in various sizes, from container to fridge-sized systems, always according to the vertical farming principle with a high productivity per square meter of 253 kilograms. I see a potential for these systems in, for example, Scandinavia, Germany, and the United Kingdom, countries with large urban areas or difficult growing climates. The younger generations in those places have a demand for sustainable, local products.”
But Olivier also has his eyes set outside of Europe, like in the Middle East. He is also looking into bunkers. Actual bunkers. “It is currently trendy for rich people worldwide to build apocalypse bunkers out of fear for the end of the world. Those people want to be self-sufficient in those bunkers, which is where our systems come into play. A great niche market with requests from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, to name a few.”
Realistic due to size
In any case, Olivier is a realist: replacing large, traditional cultivation companies with vertical farms in whatever way can not be justified anywhere. “To give you an indication of our system size: recently, we started working together with The Goat Project, an Italian vertical farming project. Up to an investment amount of 30 million euros, we will be delivering together, but after that, they take on everything up to an investment amount of 3 billion euros.”
That is why Olivier aims first and foremost on restaurants and supermarkets, where the consumer can choose how the product they will eat is grown. But, the systems can just as well be used for ornamental cultivation or cannabis cultivation, both medical and recreational. “For that latter type of cultivation, we developed a specialized system which could also be used to cultivate tomatoes, though on such a small scale that would not be very profitable.”
Strawberry yogurt
However, it would be profitable for an Icelandic producer of strawberry yogurt. Importing fresh strawberries to the island is more expensive than growing them yourself in a vertical farm. “The energy comes from the earth in Iceland due to the geysers, but there are many more situations in which, with a bit of thinking and using the local circumstances, a generally more expensive system works. The ROI of our systems is about one to three years, with a very high productivity per square meter (5700 plants in a 12-meter container named Huvster), the second-highest for container cultivation on the market.”
Rotating LED lighting increases energy efficiency
Critics often point out the high energy input of vertical farming. Olivier recognizes that, but refers to the clever use of local circumstances, and the technological innovations developed by Verde Compacto meant to increase efficiency. Rotating lights, for instance, a unique system compared to many other vertical farming systems. “Instead of cultivating in layers, we work with cultivating in standing tubes with LED strips rotating around them so that every plant gets the light it needs, but the energy input in kilowatt-hours is 50% lower per square meter and the production per square meter higher.”
Make them enthusiastic
Back to the restaurants, which is what Olivier focuses on in Europe first. He imagines one of the cultivation containers walls being see-through so that the consumers can take a peek at the cultivation facility. “Especially large groups of young consumers who want to, for instance, eat vegetarian or vegan, I expect will be very enthusiastic, and so will the investors. It is also easier to talk about something if it is physically there and allows fresh and healthy foods to be sourced closer to home.”
However, Olivier is aware of the disadvantage that European supermarkets are not yet able to sell products grown in vertical farms under an organic quality mark. According to him, that hampers the growth of vertical farming. “At the moment, they lose their organic quality mark as soon as they cultivate on water because the standards are pretty outdated when compared to the technological cultivation developments.”
Win-win situation
But it is not an insurmountable problem, especially given the worldwide increase in demand for local products during the pandemic. But is this true given the fact that Verde Compacto is Mexican, and in the Netherlands, many well-known players are active in offering cultivation solutions? “I don’t think that matters all too much these days. Price-wise we don’t differ much from European or North American systems. Every system has its pros and cons. I am very open about that. A well-thought-out calculation is always required, but both parties can create a win-win situation when it happens. Of this, I, and hopefully my future partners as well, am sure. I'm looking forward to discussing it with them.”
For more information:
Verde Compacto
www.verdecompacto.com
Olivier Kappetein
olivier.kappetein@verdecompacto.com
+316 14 62 13 10
NYPA Collaborates On Shipping Container Project To Advance Indoor Farming & Increase Food production For Needy Western New York Families
A pilot project was launched Monday in Buffalo to help New York state advance indoor farming and increase the year-round production of fresh fruits and vegetables in areas where they are not readily available
November 9, 2020
Partnership with Electric Power Research Institute to help address challenges of decreased availability, affordability of fresh produce year-round
A pilot project was launched Monday in Buffalo to help New York state advance indoor farming and increase the year-round production of fresh fruits and vegetables in areas where they are not readily available. Through a research collaboration funded by the New York Power Authority’s environmental justice program and led by the National Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), The project will study optimum growing in a shipping container farm environment and address environmental and energy impacts that could help reduce costs and expand crop production.
The demonstration will provide produce for FeedMore WNY nutrition programs, help address climate change in communities that host NYPA facilities, and support New York’s clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals by using this low-energy indoor farming method.
“The New York Power Authority is pleased to be part of this national collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute that will improve indoor farming methods while supporting our neighbors in need in Western New York,” NYPA Chairman John R. Koelmel said. “Under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s continued climate leadership, we will find new and sustainable ways to grow affordable and fresh produce all year while prioritizing New York state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals.”
NYPA is collaborating with EPRI to demonstrate and monitor the indoor production facility at FeedMore WNY’s offices on James E. Casey Drive in Buffalo. For the first year, the specially outfitted 40-foot shipping container, branded “Rooting for Our Neighbors,” will be used to harvest kale that will be distributed to food pantries and soup kitchens that rely on FeedMore WNY for nutritious food and support. Fresh kale, and kale dishes, also will be delivered directly to hungry community members served through its mobile food pantry and Meals on Wheels programs.
A press release stated, “Using shipping containers makes it possible to increase the availability and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round in urban and rural areas where they are not readily available. By growing indoors in a controlled, pesticide-free, 'sunless' environment, indoor farming uses far less water and land than conventional farming. Farms can be built anywhere, reducing both costs and carbon emissions from transportation of produce to consumers, and increasing food security. New York state’s Climate Act requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2050 from 1990 levels.
“Indoor agriculture is essential to future food production, and we need to understand its implications for the electric power industry,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA’s president and CEO. “NYPA is eager to demonstrate a replicable, sustainable indoor farming solution that helps to address climate change in the communities that host our facilities. If utilities have solid knowledge about how lighting, water use, and other systems impact plant production, we can be good partners in helping to provide food resources to disadvantaged communities in our respective regions through these innovative farming methods.”
State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “This indoor farming project is a unique and creative way to support urban agriculture and to increase access to healthy food in our communities. Building on the work the state has been doing through initiatives like Nourish to deliver fresh foods to families in need, this pilot program will allow FeedMore WNY to provide local agricultural products year-round. I thank NYPA, EPRI and FeedMore WNY for their participation in this forward-thinking project, and look forward to the first harvest.”
NYPA is one of eight utilities nationwide to participate in a two-year EPRI study designed to help utilities better understand and engage in commercial-scale indoor food production, which is reliant on efficient energy and water consumption. Other demonstration sites are in Delaware, Tennessee, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Colorado. Through site/operator engagement and automated monitoring, researchers will evaluate how energy loads, water use, innovative technologies, rate design, and sustainability considerations vary across different facilities and locations. Other trackable data will include water consumption and reuse and the impact of seasonal climate variance on production and operations.
EPRI President Arshad Mansoor said, “Against the backdrop of increasing weather events and a global pandemic, there’s been an increasing appetite for indoor food production. EPRI engineers and scientists have been at the nucleus of this development, advancing technology to run container farm demonstrations across the country. This is a worldwide movement toward sustainable communities. Indoor agriculture also is an important part of efficient electrification, which is critical to enabling decarbonization throughout the economy.”
Tara A. Ellis, president and CEO of FeedMore WNY, said, “FeedMore WNY is incredibly excited for this opportunity to work with New York Power Authority and the Electric Power Research Institute in order to grow nutritious produce for distribution to our hungry community members, NYPA and EPRI are the true definition of good neighbors and we are so fortunate to have their support as we work to make sure our neighbors in need have access to nutritious food, including fresh produce.”
FeedMore WNY, the largest hunger-relief organization in WNY serving Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara counties, is assisting thousands more community members than ever before, primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As many as one in six individuals in FeedMore WNY’s service area may be at risk of hunger.
The press release explained, “Fresh fruits and vegetables are vitally important components of a healthy diet. However, for food-insecure community members, fresh produce can be challenging to access due to financial constraints, lack of transportation, and lack of nearby grocery stores, farmers’ markets or bodegas.
“Kale was chosen as the initial crop because of its high nutrient value and short harvest cycle. After the first year, FeedMore WNY will grow a variety of produce to benefit its food-insecure community members.”
The initiative is part of NYPA’s environmental justice program, which offers educational programs about clean, renewable energy and sustainability, and provides resources to meet the needs of underrepresented communities located near NYPA’s power assets. NYPA’s largest hydroelectric power plant – the Niagara Power Project – is located in Lewiston.
“NYPA uses its expertise and resources to help benefit residents who live and work in areas near our facilities,” said Lisa Payne Wansley, NYPA vice president of environmental justice and sustainability. “This indoor food production initiative aligns with and supports NYPA’s sustainability plan goals to demonstrate sustainable solutions to addressing climate change in local communities where we operate.”
Through its corporate responsibility efforts, the environmental justice program provides science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, mentorship, and energy-efficiency initiatives to empower neighbors to make life choices that will improve the quality of their lives. Every year, the environmental justice team participates in “Rock the Block,” a one-day, annual event aimed at improving curb appeal in the South End of Niagara Falls, led by the Levesque Institute. Workshops teaching residents how to weatherize their homes are also offered to various community groups in Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
New York State Sen. Tim Kennedy said, "For years, FeedMore WNY has served as a critical resource for many, and that important role has only been magnified throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this partnership, WNY families will have increased access to fresh, locally grown food, which will in turn fuel healthier communities and provide nutritious support to those who need it most."
Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “This collaboration is a major step forward in bringing healthy food options, mainly fresh fruits, and vegetables, to some of our city’s food deserts. We thank the NYPA and the state for dedicating its expertise and resources to EPRI and FeedMore WNY to help advance year-round indoor farming in areas that need it the most.”
Mayor Byron Brown said, “Low-income communities, and especially Black and brown communities, have historically faced difficulties with food security and access to fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. The COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened those challenges, either through a loss of income, decreased mobility or more limited access to supportive nutritional programs. Today's announcement of this new partnership is a bold step in helping to address these systemic problems. I am confident that this collaboration between Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, the New York Power Authority’s environmental justice program, the Electric Power Research Institute, and FeedMore WNY will help advance indoor farming in our community and further strengthen Buffalo’s year-round production of fresh produce in the neighborhoods with residents who have had the most trouble accessing them.”
Lead Image courtesy of the New York Power Authority
SANANBIO ARK, The Mobile Farm For All Climates That Supplies Communities With Fresh Local Food
SANANBIO, a leading vertical farming solution provider announces the availability of its climate-controlled mobile farm for growers globally
November 4th, 2020—SANANBIO, a leading vertical farming solution provider announces the availability of its climate controlled mobile farm for growers globally.
“3,300-4,400 lbs of cucumbers, 7,700 lbs of arugula, and 8,000 lbs of lettuce. These are the proven annual yields that we’re confident to announce,” said Zhan Zhuo, co-founder and CEO of SANANBIO, “We ‘produce’ turnkey farms and this one is mobile.” It adapts to any climate thanks to its thermal insulation systems with a thermal conductivity below 0.024w/(m·K). One of the mobile farms operated as usual in a coldness of -40℉ in northern China, sustaining local communities with local produces at a reduced carbon footprint. It is shocking to find that our food travel 1,500 miles on average before reaching our plate.
The CO2 generated, and the nutrients lost during the transportation, can’t be good for the planet or human beings. That’s why local food is advocated. “The ready-to-use farm is the solution we offer to regions where the environment is too harsh to support stable agricultural production,” said Zhan.
To streamline the farming experience, the designer simplifies the start-up procedures to a single plug-in motion: power it up through a connector on the exterior and then even hydroponic beginners are set to grow. Moreover, growers can monitor and control farm metrics simply by moving fingertips on their phone.
“By simplifying modern agriculture, we offer more farming opportunities for kids and urban dwellers. We have a mobile farm deployed in a Malaysian suburb where kids from the neighborhood frequent the farm for hands-on hydroponic experience. It’s a perfect bonding time when families go there to pick their own salad ingredients. As a Photobiotech company, we’re nurturing a new generation of growers,” said Zhan.
For more info about the mobile farm, please visit www.sananbio.com/ark.
About SANANBIO
SANANBIO is a joint-venture by Sanan Optoelectronics, one of the world’s largest LED manufacturers, and the Institute of Botany of Chinese Academy of Sciences, a leading institute in plant science. Comprised of LED experts and plant scientists, SANANBIO is able to provide simple CEA solutions for growers globally. The RADIX, a Reddot award winner, has been widely endorsed by growers in more than twenty countries.
Thrive Containers Launched Operations With Its New Intelligent Container Technology - Shipping Container Farm
Our vision is to not only bring accessibility to farming but to offer a great return on investment for the AgTech industry.”
Thrive Containers launched operations today with its new intelligent container technology, aiming to disrupt the commercial farming industry. COVID-19 and climate change have accelerated existing strains in global food accessibility and supply chains, highlighting the need to rethink the world’s agriculture systems.
Our founder and CEO Shannon O'Malley has been at the forefront of this change through six years of container farm innovation here at Brick Street! O’Malley observed “Thrive Containers is redefining shipping container farming technology.
Our vision is to not only bring accessibility to farming but to offer a great return on investment for the AgTech industry.” Thrive Container's farm system uniquely excels in software automation, customer experience ease of use, and adaptability engineered by industry-leading experts. The result is maximized, year-round crop growth, reducing up to 90% of freshwater resources used in traditional agriculture practices. Shannon Quotes
Thrive Launch
“Thrive Containers is redefining shipping container farming technology. Our vision is to not only bring more accessibility to farming but to offer a great return on investment for the AgTech industry.”
“We want to bring this cutting-edge technology to the masses, to build a farm whose technology is firmly centered on the grower experience.”
Ohio Container
“The Ohio Container is the first breakthrough container model that focusses on leafy greens and herbs providing industry leading yields to the shipping container farms market.”
“Rivers are the inspiration for our model naming convention. Since Thrive container technology supports cleaner, healthier waterways, we want to celebrate, acknowledge, and highlight our commitment to our planet.”
Industry Evolution
“The Agtech industry is currently situated where the .com legacy once was. We are in an industry that is in a race to define who the main players are.”
Investment opportunity
“In the Agtech industry, shipping container farming is wide open, with key competitors that are raising and looking for market share. Each competitor has its own unique business model and approach, focused on different paths to success. Our focus is decentralizing the commercial food system at the point of consumption while utilizing large scale grocers in minimal spaces.”
Supply chain
“By growing the highest producing yield containers, we are bringing production to the point of consumption to provide access to the masses. We are mobile and focused on the urban core. Vs competitors buying large acreage and trucking produce out.”
THE LINE-UP
Thrive Containers provide a multitude of container farm systems for all types of growing solutions. Our in house manufacturing continues to explore the endless possibilities of technology + agriculture.
The most efficient leafy green hydroponic container on the planet. Built for ROI, Ohio’s production efficiencies and low reliability on resources yield higher, while maximizing profit and planet.
COMING SOON: The most efficient micro green hydroponic container on the planet. Built for ROI, Yukon’s production efficiencies and low reliability on resources yield higher, while maximizing profit and planet.
COMING SOON: The most efficient cannabis/hemp hydroponic container on the planet. Built for ROI, Colorado’s production efficiencies and low reliability on resources yield higher, while maximizing profit and planet.
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CANADA - MONTREAL: Growing Kale On The shores of Hudson Bay? Year-Round Vegetable Farming Comes To Inukjuak
There are obvious challenges to growing greens year-round in a subarctic climate. Here's one you may not have expected: Inuktitut only has a handful of words for vegetables
The Isolated Nunavik Community Will Soon
Be Able To Grow Its Own Produce Year-Round
Sean Gordon · CBC News
November 08, 2020
Residents of Inukjuak, on the shores of Hudson Bay, have been farming vegetables in 'cold frames', but the community recently acquired a container farm that will supply the town with fresh produce year-round. (Courtesy of the Pirursiivik Project)
There are obvious challenges to growing greens year-round in a subarctic climate. Here's one you may not have expected: Inuktitut only has a handful of words for vegetables.
So in addition to coming up with new and inventive ways to achieve some level of food sovereignty, the plan to provide remote communities with fresh produce year-round is a linguistic and anthropological exercise as well.
"We're hoping in the coming years new terminology will be created," said Karin Kettler, who heads the Pirursiivik Project, a four-year initiative that is jointly funded by the One Drop Foundation, the Makivik Corporation and the RBC Foundation.
A few weeks ago, the project unveiled its latest initiative: a hydroponic container farm in the community of Inukjuak, a town of 1,800 on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay.
The plan is for it to provide a regular supply of fresh vegetables, a large portion of which will be given away to the community (the rest will be sold in local stores).
"We've done several gardening projects and our latest addition is a hydroponic container," Kettler told CBC's Breakaway.
"And inside this container we're planning to grow lettuce, spinach, kale and a local plant called qungulit in Inuktitut. It's very similar to what you call mountain sorrell ... it's kind of a leafy green, it has a nice lime, sort of lemony taste."
The remote northern community of Inukjuak took delivery of a hydroponic container that will be used to grow a year-round supply of fresh vegetables. (Courtesy Pirursiivik Project)
Pirursiivik sowed the seeds for the idea, so to speak, a couple of years ago. It conducted a poll in the community to determine its greatest need.
"'Many of the respondents wanted to have locally grown fruits and vegetables, primarily for their freshness," Kettler said. "In isolated communities we have to rely on the south for fresh vegetables and fruit. So if we can have a garden or a greenhouse ... then it reduces spoilage."
In the summer 2019, Pirursiivik introduced 'cold frames,' or raised boxes with plastic lids, that allow for vegetable cultivation in the warmer months.
"They were installed in front of different organizations around town and we encouraged ... [people] to grow their own spinach, their own herbs and different vegetables," Kettler said.
The community just finished its second growing season in the boxes, and it was a rousing success. It's main ask now is to have a year-round greenhouse. The hydroponic container is the first phase toward building one, which Kettler said should happen "in the next year or two."
Until then, the local community will continue experimenting with strange new fare from away.
"Bok choy isn't something you can find on the land around town," Kettler laughed. "This project is to help inform and teach people how to use new vegetables they may not be familiar with."
Folks have already developed a taste for what Kettler called "monster kale"—it appears to revel in long hours of direct northern sunlight—and other vegetables.
This year, Kettler's group held a veggie growing contest that drew 35 entries in the various categories, largest kale leaf, best tomato, etc. The prizes were awarded in October.
The hydroponic container should be operational by January, at which point the first crops will be planted.
"We should have vegetables to share in March," Kettler said.
The average temperature in Inukjuak at that time of year is –15 C. Happily, that will no longer present a barrier to eating fresh, local vegetables.
with files from Julia Page
US: MINNESOTA - Hydroponics Venture In A Shipping Container Has St. Paul Inspectors Scratching Their Heads
Their bottleneck? The city of St. Paul won’t let Cannon and his colleagues put their nutrient mix to the test until they get the proper permits for whatever it is they’ve got — a shipping container? a storage facility? — which defies simple definition under the city’s legislative code
By FREDERICK MELO | fmelo@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
October 29, 2020
As an astronomer and physicist, John Cannon’s work is literally out of this world. His expertise as the department chair at Macalester College in St. Paul is studying nearby low-mass galaxies.
Cannon’s latest adventure off St. Paul’s Snelling Avenue is, quite literally, more down to earth: backyard hydroponics.
With the intent of saving his home planet, or at least improving his corner of it, Cannon recently launched the urban agriculture venture Minnesota Acre Farms LLC with a full-time gardener and two administrators from the University of St. Thomas.
Their thesis: proving that a railroad car-sized growing container behind Wells Pianos, by Snelling and Palace avenues, can produce as many fresh vegetables as a two-acre farm, and do it year-round.
Their bottleneck? The city of St. Paul won’t let Cannon and his colleagues put their nutrient mix to the test until they get the proper permits for whatever it is they’ve got — a shipping container? a storage facility? — which defies simple definition under the city’s legislative code.
“We didn’t think there was going to be all this bureaucratic overhead,” said Cannon, noting similar Freight Farms facilities are already in operation at a Second Harvest Heartland site in Minneapolis and an independent farm in Shoreview.
“Winter is coming, and that is when the machine can really flex its muscles,” he said. “We haven’t even plugged it in.”
SLOW PROCESS FOR HYDROPONICS VENTURE IN SHOREVIEW
Despite his enthusiasm, even some fellow practitioners of urban agriculture think Minnesota Acre Farms might have launched a little prematurely.
Chris Glasoe is the proprietor of the Frisk Fra Boksen — “fresh from the box” — a hydroponics venture in Shoreview. Glasoe said it took his operation three appearances before that city’s Planning Commission and two before the City Council to get city codes changed and a permit issued.
The Shoreview process started in April 2019. They received final approval in late August of last year, and their container arrived in January.
‘HYPER-LOCAL’
Cannon and his colleagues received their vertical hydroponic installation from Boston-based Freight Farms in late August of this year, hoping to prove they could grow vegetables in a peat moss nutrient bath for local distribution. The goal, in part, is to avoid Big Agriculture’s big carbon footprint and sometimes-questionable labor practices.
“The lettuce you buy at the grocery store is nutritionally depleted,” Cannon said. “Our slogan is ‘hyper-local greens for the Twin Cities.’ We can distribute fresh greens within hours of harvest, even in the depths of winter.”
City inspections officials say they’re generally sympathetic to those goals, but Cannon’s set-up looks a lot to them like a large outdoor storage container. And he doesn’t have permits for a large outdoor storage container.
OUTWARD APPEARANCE
Vanessa Cannon at Minnesota Acre Farms, an urban agricultural venture housed in a shipping container behind a retail store on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)
In September, the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections issued Minnesota Acre Farms notice of a city building code violation. The team later met with the city’s legislative hearing officer, who upheld the violation.
“There’s nothing in the legislative code about hydroponic farming, but there is language about storage containers,” Cannon said. “We keep asking that the facility be evaluated based on what it does instead of on its outward facing appearance.”
Cannon’s colleague, Mitchell Karstens, appealed the city’s decision to the St. Paul City Council, which had been scheduled to discuss the hydroponics venture on Oct. 21.
Supportive city residents who learned of the appeal through social media posts wrote to council members to highlight the importance of sustainable urban agriculture and locally-sourced food.
RECLASSIFYING
Instead of moving forward, the appeal was taken off the council’s hearing agenda as the Department of Safety and Inspections works through how to reclassify the container.
Titled “Illegal Use,” an Oct. 20 letter from city inspections indicates Minnesota Acre Farms is now in violation of at least three aspects of state building codes, including lacking a copy of the manufacturer’s installation instructions, which must be available on-site.
Just as importantly, you’re supposed to apply for a building permit and then install an outdoor storage container, not the other way around.
“I have reviewed the materials you submitted and have determined that the shipping container currently violates a number of sections of the state building code,” said St. Paul Building Official Steve Ubl, in a letter asking for more information. “Because the shipping container was placed in its current location without proper plans or required permits, the city has been working to fully understand its classification and your plans for proposed use.”
The container, which is roughly 40 feet long, 8½ feet wide and 9 feet tall, takes up unused space bordering the alley behind Wells Pianos, discouraging passersby from pulling a U-turn there.
“(Cannon) noticed my big beautiful parking lot, and approached me, and I said ‘sure, why not?’ He seemed like a nice guy,” said Kieran Wells, proprietor of Wells Pianos.
“They’ve offered to pay me rent, but I don’t really want to take any rent until they get squared away,” Wells said. “It’s been there for months and it’s not a problem. … It cuts down on some of the through-traffic.”
Lead photo: Minnesota Acre Farms is housed in a shipping container behind a retail store on Snelling Avenue in St. Paul as seen here Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. Business partners Vanessa and John Cannon, Tyler May and Mitch Karstens estimate they can grow 1,000 heads of lettuce, along with herbs and root vegetables, each month in the space. (Scott Takushi / Pioneer Press)
St. Petersburg Urban Farm Saves Resources By Turning Shipping Containers Into Vertical Farmland
“There’s no dirt. There are no bugs. No chemicals. No soil. There are no herbicides. No pesticides inside any of our farm containers,” O’Malley shared
By FOX 13 News Staff
11-05-20
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Brick Street Farms is an urban hydroponic farm located in the heart of St. Petersburg. It upcycles shipping containers into 40-foot grow houses. It started in Shannon O’Malley and Bradley Doyle’s garage.
“We converted our garage to a grow room. We saw an incredible opportunity. We didn’t have the money to convert a warehouse, so we bought a shipping container,” O’Malley explained.
Each container is the same as two to three acres of traditional farmland. It’s six levels of vertical farmland.
“There’s no dirt. There are no bugs. No chemicals. No soil. There are no herbicides. No pesticides inside any of our farm containers,” O’Malley shared.
All of the plants are started with a seed and are grown and harvested inside the shipping container. Every 12 hours, the lights inside the container flip to a different section to give the plants 12 hours of light and dark to represent day and night, so they can rest in between growth cycles.
O’Malley says each farm with about three acres of farmland uses approximately 15-20 gallons of water per day compared to a traditional soil farm that uses 1,000 gallons of water per day per acre.
“Not only are we saving resources, but we are creating delicious, incredibly local food,” O’Malley said.
O’Malley says they plan to bring farms and modular farm containers to cities across the state and country.
She added, “We really are bringing urban farming into fruition.”
Brick Street Farms sells to grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels. Its produce can also be bought on-site at its farm market or online at https://brickstreetfarms.com/.
Andaz Dubai The Palm Launches Hydroponic Container Farm
Andaz Dubai The Palm has partnered with Green Container Advanced Farming to grow its own fresh produce on site
It will grow produce including lettuce, herbs, and microgreens
November 04, 2020
Andaz Dubai The Palm has partnered with Green Container Advanced Farming to grow its own fresh produce on site.
The boutique lifestyle hotel will host a 400 sq ft hydroponic organic container farm on its Palm Jumeirah terrace, allowing them to harvest fresh produce such as lettuce, herbs, and microgreens.
Kifah Bin Hussein, general manager of Andaz Dubai The Palm, said: “At Andaz we strive to be more sustainable in everything that we do, using resources responsibly to help address today’s most pressing environmental issues.
With this partnership our goal is to bring the freshest and finest ingredients from their natural environment straight to our guests’ tables. We have a dedicated grower who visits the farm daily.
They work within sterile conditions and get to know every single crop within the unit. Once the crop is ready to consume it is delivered straight to our kitchens where our dedicated chefs prepare it ready to be served to our guests. It really take the farm to table concept to the next level.”
The hydroponic container system uses 90% less water than traditional farming methods, while the short distance from farm to fork ensures a large reduction in carbon footprint caused by typical distribution methods.
Guests visiting Andaz’s dining venues, including The Locale and Hanami, will be able to enjoy dishes made with ingredients sourced daily from the farm.
Tags: ANDAZ FARMING SUSTAINABILITY
CANADA: The Arrival of A Hydroponic Growing Container In Inukjuak
The Pirursiivik Project combines social art and on-the-land activities to improve the health of Inukjuammiut through a local greenhouse and the promotion of healthy practices around water and nutrition
NEWS PROVIDED BY
October 30, 2020
The Pirursiivik Project combines social art and on-the-land activities to improve the health of Inukjuammiut through a local greenhouse and the promotion of healthy practices around water and nutrition.
INUKJUAK, QC, Oct. 30, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - The arrival of a hydroponic growing container in Inukjuak is a significant milestone in the Pirursiivik Project, and one of the first phases of a larger collaboration with the Pituvik Landholding Corporation (LHC) and Sirivik Food Centre to use a year-round greenhouse and container farm to grow, cook and share food and knowledge among the community. Over the past three years, the One Drop Foundation and Makivik Corporation have partnered with the RBC Foundation to implement the Pirursiivik Project in Inukjuak, Nunavik.
The Pirursiivik Project, meaning "a place to grow" in Inuktitut, is a 4-year initiative which aims to improve the community's health through the implementation of a greenhouse and a social art program to promote healthy habits around water and nutrition. This project represents a $2.7-million community investment between the RBC Foundation and the One Drop Foundation.
The arrival of the hydroponic container farm on October 11, 2020, is a significant milestone in this ambitious project yet is only the tip of the iceberg. The true success of this initiative lies under the waterline: the community mobilization and leadership at each step of the project. From day one, the community of Inukjuak stepped up to take concrete action towards improving access to fresh produce for Inukjuammiut. A Community Advisory Committee with representatives from over 15 local organizations was established, and this group of volunteers has continued to meet monthly to provide key input on project activities and planning.
The hydroponic container which uses water to grow instead of soil was purchased from The Growcer, a Canadian company established in Ottawa, and will be locally owned and operated. It will soon be installed and begin producing leafy greens this winter with the target to share the first harvest with the community. The fresh produce will be available to community members who, through social art activities, have learned fun new ways to use little-known vegetables such as kale and bok choy.
This growing initiative in Inukjuak was first piloted on a smaller scale, when the Pirursiivik Project supported the construction of and growing in seven community cold frames (outdoor garden boxes made of wood and polycarbonate). These were built using materials donated by the Kativik Ilisarniliriniq and constructed by the Environment Club at the Innalik School, and the Unaaq Men's Association.
With this new hydroponic container farm adapted for the Arctic, the community is now ready to take this next step towards increasing food security and access to fresh local produce grown by and for Inukjuammiut. This is the first phase in a larger collaboration with Pituvik Landholding Corporation and Sirivik Food Centre, a year-round greenhouse and Food Centre in which to grow, cook, and share food and knowledge among the community. The project team is currently identifying fundraising opportunities to secure the $6 million needed to advance this next phase. This innovative multifunctional infrastructure would be the first of its kind in the North and would set a precedent for future greenhouse initiatives in Nunavik and across the Arctic.
About the Pirursiivik Project
Over the past 3 years, almost 1,000 community members have participated in various social art and on-the-land activities, from drumming and cooking classes to a nature trip to identify and document knowledge related to local plant species. A circus show was created by Tupiq ACT, the first Inuit circus troupe from Nunavik, with the support of the project and technical assistance from One Drop (including advice and accompaniment throughout the process). These activities, inspired by Inuit culture and art, were not only fun and entertaining, but also created spaces for shared learning and exchange on traditional foods, nutrition, and the importance of clean water. Collective learning and sharing that will continue both in-person and online through the digital knowledge hub currently in development with the support of a grant from RBC Tech for Nature. Learn more about the project at www.onedrop.org/en/projects/canada
About One Drop
One DropTM is an international foundation created by Cirque du Soleil and Lune Rouge founder Guy Laliberté with the vision of a better world, where all have access to living conditions that allow empowerment and development. Together with its partners, One Drop deploys its unique artistic approach to promote the adoption of healthy water, sanitation, and hygiene-related behaviours and empower communities. For this to be possible, One Drop creates and produces novel fundraising initiatives supported by a visionary community of partners and donors. This year, One Drop is celebrating 13 years of turning water into action, with projects that will soon have improved the living conditions of over 2.1 million people around the world. In 2019, the Foundation was recognized for the second year in a row by Charity Intelligence, this time as one of the Top 10 International Impact Charities in Canada. To learn more about One Drop, visit www.onedrop.org Interact with One Drop on Facebook and Twitter @onedrop, or on Instagram @1dropwater
About Makivik Corporation
Makivik Corporation is the land claims organization mandated to manage the heritage funds of the Inuit of Nunavik provided for under the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. Makivik's role includes the administration and investment of these funds and the promotion of economic growth by providing assistance for the creation of Inuit-operated businesses in Nunavik. Makivik promotes the preservation of Inuit culture and language as well as the health, welfare, relief of poverty, and education of Inuit in the communities.
About Pituvik Landholding Corporation
Incorporated January 30, 1979, Pituvik holds title to 521 sq. km. on lands classified as Category I. These lands are held by Pituvik on behalf of the Inukjuaqmiut beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement. In this holding capacity, Pituvik has the right to allow people and organizations to use these lands and for that use is allowed to charge compensation. Pituvik also maintains a beneficiary list on behalf of all Inukjuakmiut. Pituvik is a not-for-profit corporation, however it can create and own for-profit subsidiaries to stimulate local economic growth and job creation.
About RBC Tech for Nature
RBC Tech for Nature is a global, multi-year commitment from the RBC Foundation to support new ideas, technologies, and partnerships to address our most complex environmental challenges. It is a core pillar of RBC's Climate Blueprint – its enterprise approach to accelerating clean economic growth and supporting clients in the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy. RBC Tech for Nature brings together charitable partners, technology experts, the public and private sector – as well as RBC's own unique capabilities – to build the multi-partner coalitions needed to work towards solving our shared environmental challenges. Learn more at: rbc.com/techfornature
About The Growcer
Growcer manufactures modular hydroponic systems that enable commercial food production in plug-and-play 40- foot modules. Its vertical farming technology enables customers to grow fresh vegetables in virtually any climate and has been deployed within the Arctic Circle at temperatures below -50°C. Growcer empowers conventional farmers, entrepreneurs, communities and institutions to grow food locally all year round. Growcer's work has been recognized with awards from Fast Company's World Changing Ideas, the Entrepreneurs' Organization, and was also featured on season 13 of CBC's hit show, Dragons' Den.
SOURCE One Drop Foundation
For further information: Media Resource Contact: One Drop Foundation, Marie-France Dos Santos, Marie-France.DosSantos@onedrop.org; Makivik Corporation, Carson Tagoona, CTagoona@makivik.org
Related Links
GP Solutions, Inc. Enters Into Distribution Agreement With Advanced Container Technologies, Inc.
A key component of the agreement is ACT's exclusivity to market GP Solutions "Grow Pods." GP Solutions "Grow Pods" has become a popular and trusted technology in the agriculture industry. Subsequently, ACT completed a share exchange on October 9th, 2020, with Medtainer, Inc., (MDTRD). Medtainer, Inc. is a California based company that specializes in manufacturing, branding, sales and marketing consultation
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Oct 27, 2020
CORONA, Calif., Oct. 27, 2020,/PRNewswire/ -- On August 6th, 2020, GP Solutions, Inc. (GWPD) finalized a distribution agreement with California-based Advanced Container Technologies, Inc., (ACT). The agreement states ACT has the exclusive right to market, sell, and distribute GP's products in the United States and its territories. This agreement has an initial term that expires on December 31, 2025, and is renewable indefinitely as long as ACT meets prescribed sales targets. GP manufactures fully insulated, food-grade shipping containers that are specifically modified to provide an optimally controlled environment for growing a wide range of horticultural and agricultural products in all environments and climates.
A key component of the agreement is ACT's exclusivity to market GP Solutions "Grow Pods." GP Solutions "Grow Pods" have become a popular and trusted technology in the agriculture industry. Subsequently, ACT completed a share exchange on October 9th, 2020, with Medtainer, Inc., (MDTRD). Medtainer, Inc. is a California based company that specializes in manufacturing, branding, sales, and marketing consultation.
GP Solutions, Inc. President, George Natzic, stated, "We are very excited about the prospects of this agreement allowing ACT to use its expertise to market and sell GP Solutions' Grow Pods." Also stating, "This also allows GP Solutions to focus on manufacturing new products and executing our business model into new industries and territories."
GrowPods are controlled environment micro-farms with a sealed eco-system, utilizing filtered air and water while maintaining a pest-free environment to eliminate pathogens. Grow Pods offers farmers a high-margin niche to expand into and gives consumers access to safe, tested, and nutritious "Super Foods."
For more information, call: (855) 247-8054 or visit: www.growpodsolutions.com.
Connect:
Website: www.growpodsolutions.com
Facebook: facebook.com/GrowPodTechnology
Twitter: @GrowPodSolution
Forward-Looking Statements
This release includes predictions or information that might be considered "forward-looking" within securities laws. These statements represent Company's current judgments, but are subject to uncertainties that could cause results to differ. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on these statements, which reflect management's opinions only as of the date of this release. The Company is not obligated to revise any statements in light of new information or events.
SOURCE GP Solutions
Related Links
https://www.growpodsolutions.com
Also from this source
Vertical Farm Market Projected to Reach $7.3 Billion...
Test Results Show Lettuce Grown in GrowPods to be Pathogen Free...
Israeli Start-Up Makes Vertical Farms To Grow Crops In City Parking Lots
The farms come with a number of other advantages over traditional farming. It's container-like nature provides a controlled growing environment, ensuring more sterility and keeping it safe from bugs and therefore not needing pesticides. It also allows for automated crop management, which limits human contact and allows for consistent quality
Vertical farms subvert the space limitations of cities by allowing for portable, shipping container-esque produce farms that can operate in any urban environment.
By AARON REICH
OCTOBER 28, 2020
Vertical Field’s Urban Crops offers an ideal alternative to traditional agriculture.
(photo credit: VERTICAL FIELD)
An Israeli agri-tech start-up has created vertical farms in urban environments, allowing for fresh produce to be grown in cities.
These vertical, sustainable farms were developed by Ra'anana-based Vertical Field through the use of geoponic technology, agricultural expertise and smart design. This is especially useful in "urban food deserts," which are often lacking in available space for crop cultivation.
The vertical farms subvert this limitation by creating vertical growing platforms to essentially farm produce on walls. These greenhouse crop-fields are portable, and are around the size of shipping containers ranging from 20 feet to 40 feet, which can fit right in a parking lot, allowing supermarkets and groceries to grow and sell their own home-grown produce right outside the door.
The farms come with a number of other advantages over traditional farming. It's container-like nature provides a controlled growing environment, ensuring more sterility and keeping it safe from bugs and therefore not needing pesticides. It also allows for automated crop management, which limits human contact and allows for consistent quality.
Furthermore, it also produces less waste, as well as a 90% decrease in the amount of water needed.But perhaps most importantly, it isn't limited by traditional seasons for produce, with all crops being "in season" year-round, having shorter overall growing cycles and longer shelf lives.
And, by growing produce locally, it also reduces wasted emissions in the supply chain.The development builds off of Vertical Fields's successes in 2019, where it was recognized among the top start-ups to watch by Silicon Review and World Smart City.
“Vertical Field offers a revolutionary way to eat the freshest greens and herbs, by producing soil-based indoor vertical farms grown at the very location where food is consumed,” said Vertical Field’s CEO Guy Elitzur, who is hoping to place his vertical farms in retail chains and restaurant establishments in cities throughout the US.
“Not only do our products facilitate and promote sustainable life and make a positive impact on the environment, we offer an easy to use real alternative to traditional agriculture. Our urban farms give new meaning to the term ‘farm-to-table,’ because one can virtually pick their own greens and herbs at supermarkets, restaurants or other retail sites.”
The development of these vertical farms comes at the perfect time, with the coronavirus pandemic cutting off the produce supply chain on both local and global levels. And with the population still growing, and projected by some to reach 10 billion in around 30 years, the need to maintain a sustainable source of fresh produce has become a mounting concern.
This also ties in with a growing demand for fresh and organic foods on the global market. As seen at Tuesday's 2020 Israeli Culinary Expo, more and more consumers are seeking plant-based food products, which translates to a growing demand for fresh produce.
But with Vertical Field's innovative new crop cultivation method, everyone from restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, architects and urban developers can have their own ready supply of local produce.Hagay Hacohen contributed to this report.
Tags food hi-tech Farming Coronavirus COVID-19
Why This First Nation Bought A Shipping Container During COVID-19
To get fresh produce, Sheshegwaning First Nation turned to a technology initially developed for growing food in space. But is it a real solution for food insecurity?
Sheshegwaning First Nation purchased a container farm in June. (Courtesy of April Folz)
By Charnel Anderson October 23, 2020
To Get Fresh Produce, Sheshegwaning First Nation Turned
To A Technology Initially Developed For Growing Food In Space.
But Is It A Real Solution For Food Insecurity?
The first frosts have already arrived in Ontario, but in Sheshegwaning First Nation, a small community on the western edge of Manitoulin Island, April Folz is still awaiting the first harvest of the year. In about a week, Folz says, the community will have fresh produce: “Monte Carlo romaine lettuce, wildfire lettuce. We have a couple of variations of kale and spinach. I’m missing something,” says Folz, the economic development director at Sheshegwaning First Nation. “Oh, bok choy! I’m excited for that.”
Sheshegwaning First Nation, a two-hour drive from the mainland, is home to about 130 residents. There’s a convenience store in the community with a few grocery items, but the nearest grocery store is 40 minutes away. When COVID-19 hit, the community put up a checkpoint, and, Folz says, there was talk of closing the swing bridge to outsiders. That would have made it “tough to get food in,” says Folz. So, in response, community leaders came up with a locally grown solution.
In June, the community purchased a container farm from the Ottawa-based company
Growcer for about $300,000 (CAD). Folz describes the setup as a repurposed shipping container divided into six growing sections, with a separate room housing climate controls and a monitoring system. The growing sections are outfitted with shelving, LED lighting, and a hydroponic growing system in which plants grow with their roots in water rather than soil.
Sheshegwaning First Nation is growing produce, such as kale in spinach, in a repurposed shipping container. (Courtesy of April Folz)
The first harvest has been delayed due to issues with the system’s artificial lighting, which takes the place of sunlight, and a carbon-dioxide tank, says Folz. But, once the system is fully operational, she plans to start a weekly subscription box that members can sign up for to get fresh produce delivered right to their door.
Because they make it possible to grow food in harsh climates, container farms are often touted as a solution for food insecurity in remote communities. However, research suggests that the technology does little to address the true causes of food insecurity or the inability to access nutritious and affordable food, which is rooted in the ongoing effects of colonialism and climate change, among other things. “All of these stories make it sound like [container farms] are the solution to food insecurity, and they absolutely aren’t,” says Thomas Graham, PhytoGro research chair in controlled-environment systems at Guelph University.
Container farms (or, as Graham calls them, “growth chambers”) were initially developed as a research tool for growing food in space, he explains; only within the last few decades have they been marketed as a commercial solution: “You can’t have a greenhouse in space, but you can certainly have a growth chamber. And the next, most severe climate to space, as [my colleague] Mike [Dixon] would say, is a snowbank in Nunavut somewhere.”
More than half of on-reserve First Nations households across Canada experience food insecurity; 8.8 per cent of people elsewhere in the country experience moderate to severe food security. A number of complex issues cause the disparity: high levels of poverty amongst Indigenous populations, the inflated cost of food in remote communities, and decreased access to traditional foods, which are culturally and regionally specific but usually include such things as wild game.
The repurposed shipping container is divided into six growing sections. (Courtesy of April Folz)
“Food insecurity has been caused by colonialism in this country,” says Julie Price, a member of the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture, and Community Collaborative, which this year is working with more than 40 communities in northern Manitoba on food-related projects intended to improve access to healthy food. “Many of the communities that we work with have very clear, direct stories that illustrate it,” she says, citing the example of O-pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation.
In 1942, O-pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation, located 130 kilometres north of Thompson, Manitoba, built a commercial whitefish fishery on South Indian Lake. It produced approximately 1 million pounds of Grade A whitefish per year, making it the second most productive whitefish fishery in North America. Then, in the 1970s, the Manitoba government gave Manitoba Hydro permission to divert the Churchill River: that raised South Indian Lake by three metres and forced the relocation of O-pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation from its ancestral lands.
The flooding demolished the fishery, disrupted seasonal fish-spawning cycles, and forced wild game to migrate inland. It destroyed a community “that was so self-sufficient and happy, and healthy, and economically healthy,” says Price, adding that it now faces “serious challenges on all these fronts that were virtually absent prior to the hydroelectric development.”
Historically, Cree people were migratory and spent a lot of time searching, harvesting, preparing, and storing food, says Alex Wilson, a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, a community with roughly 3,200 on-reserve members near the Town of the Pas, in northern Manitoba. “That changed very quickly during colonization and settlement,” says Wilson, adding that the fur trade, the Indian Act, and the residential-school system rapidly changed “our relationship with food.”
Food-related projects at Opaskwayak Cree Nation include community gardens. (Courtesy of Opakwayak Culture and Healthy Living Initiatives)
Since 2014, Opaskwayak Cree Nation has been working with NMFCCC to develop a number of food-related projects, including beekeeping, community gardens, and a hydroponic container farm. Container farms may have their place in addressing food insecurity in First Nations communities, she says, but they would align better with Indigenous values if they produced culturally relevant foods, thereby enhancing the transmission of knowledge many Indigenous communities are trying to reclaim. “Not many people eat kale. Is there a way to grow things in there that would have more contextual meaning to people in the north?” Community-led approaches, she says, give northern communities agency over their food systems: NMFCCC is “not just mitigating, but trying to reverse” the damage caused by colonialism.
Price feels the same. “We have seen these units have lots of benefits in communities that have done the research and then chose to try them out, but they’re not going to solve food insecurity alone,” says Price. “Selling northern people on eating more leafy greens is still trying to colonize diets further.”
Over the years spent working with NMFCCC, Price has learned — or as she puts it, has been taught — a few things about working with northern communities. It’s crucial, she says, to develop non-transactional, human relationships and to listen to the community’s vision and priorities: “I’ve never seen yet, where somebody from outside [the region] has solved a problem in the north. It usually makes it worse.”
Ontario Hubs are made possible by the Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust & Goldie Feldman.
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Charnel Anderson is TVO.org's northwestern Ontario Hubs reporter.
US - AppHarvest Expands Educational Container Farm Program For Eastern Kentucky Students
The Rowan County container farm joins AppHarvest’s inaugural container farm serving Shelby Valley High School students in Pike County. Both are part of AppHarvest’s high school AgTech program, which provides Eastern Kentucky students with knowledge about the importance of eating healthy and hands-on experience growing fruits and vegetables in high-tech environments
Rowan County Senior High School Students
To Receive Hands-On, High-Tech Growing Experience
October 13, 2020
Morehead, Ky. — AppHarvest announced today the expansion of its educational high-tech container farm program for Eastern Kentucky students, unveiling a new container farm unit in Rowan County. The program demonstrates the company’s ongoing commitment to fostering interest in high-tech farming, as it seeks to create America’s AgTech capital from within Appalachia.
The retrofitted shipping container will serve as a hands-on agricultural classroom for students at Rowan County Senior High School, allowing them to grow and provide fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables to their classmates and those in need in and around Morehead. The county is home to AppHarvest’s first controlled environment agriculture facility, a massive 2.76-million-square-foot farm that opens later this month. The facility will employ more than 300 and grow tomatoes to be sold through the top 25 grocers nationwide.
The educational container farm’s arrival will be formally celebrated at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, with live music and refreshments, as acclaimed Kentucky muralists Often Seen Rarely Spoken (OSRS) work with the high school’s art students to paint the container farm’s exterior. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the container farm and learn about its high-tech tools, as well as see butterhead lettuce starters growing on the container’s vertical columns.
The container farm is 2,880 cubic feet, weighs 7.5 tons, and includes space to grow up to 3,600 seedlings and 4,500 mature plants all at once using 256 vertical crop columns. The container’s unique design utilizes cutting-edge LED lighting and closed-loop irrigation systems to allow students to grow far more than traditional open-field agriculture. For instance, they can grow up to 500 full heads of lettuce, or 1,000 miniature heads, as part of a single crop if they desire.
The Rowan County container farm joins AppHarvest’s inaugural container farm serving Shelby Valley High School students in Pike County. Both are part of AppHarvest’s high school AgTech program, which provides Eastern Kentucky students with knowledge about the importance of eating healthy and hands-on experience growing fruits and vegetables in high-tech environments.
Students at Shelby Valley High School have grown leafy greens, donating them to those in need through a backpack program and food pantry. Guests in attendance will include Rocky Adkins, senior adviser to Gov. Andy Beshear; Rowan County Schools Superintendent John Maxey; Rowan County Judge-Executive Harry Clark; Rowan County High School Principal Brandy Carver; and Morehead Mayor Laura White-Brown. All social distancing protocols will be strictly followed, with all in attendance wearing face masks and remaining at least six feet apart while enjoying festivities.
The Rowan County Senior High School container farm program will be led by agriculture teacher Bradley McKinney. The program’s curriculum combines existing agricultural education with six new units focusing on leading AgTech advancements. McKinney said the container farm will allow students to be competitive in the national Supervised Agricultural Experience Program, which, along with Future Farmers of America (FFA) and traditional classroom instruction, is an integral part of agriculture education.
The program requires students to gain hands-on experience through agriculture-based entrepreneurship, placement programs, or research. “The container farm is the exact type of hands-on tool that excites students and shows first-hand the excitement of modern farming,” McKinney said. “Students can have their own projects and learn all about entrepreneurship, as they make decisions about what to grow and how to distribute it.”
About AppHarvest
AppHarvest is building some of the world’s largest indoor farms, combining conventional agricultural techniques with today’s technology to grow non-GMO, chemical-free fruits and vegetables to be sold to the top 25 U.S. grocers.
The company has developed a unique system to reduce water usage by 90% compared to typical farms, as a 10-acre rainwater retention pond pairs with sophisticated circular irrigation systems. The system also eliminates agricultural runoff entirely.
By locating within Appalachia, AppHarvest benefits from being less than a day’s drive to 70% of the U.S. population. That lowers diesel use in transportation costs by 80%, allowing the company’s fresher produce to compete against low-cost foreign imports.
BARBADOS: Agricultural Push
“To date, we have some 800 farmers signed up to be trained for the FEED program and in St George North I am prepared to come here and identify space, where Toni can have Freight Farms which is also a Hydroponic system on a lease-to-own basis to young people who are interested in getting involved in agriculture.”
10/10/2020
Agriculture Minister Indar Weir
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is pressing ahead with plans to breathe new life into the sugar cane industry.
Speaking at the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) public meeting at Newbury, St. George on Thursday night, Minister Indar Weir reported that the strategy to revitalize this country’s oldest industry has already gone to Cabinet.
“We are modernizing our sugar industry to the extent that we are using a full value chain industry which goes from sugar for domestic consumption, molasses for our rum industry, and then the waste matter is being used to generate renewable energy.”
Minister Weir thereby explained the government’s foresight is to “bring the industry to profitability”.
“And all of you who are part of the labor force in farms and in the sugar industry would have an opportunity for the first time in our existence to own shares where you can get a return on the profits made through the sugar industry transitioning program.”
The Agriculture Minister also informed the people of St. George North that he will honor the BLP candidate Senator Toni Moore’s wish to introduce Hydroponics and Aquaponics into the constituency.
He said this will be achieved through the Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED) program aimed at reducing agricultural imports into the island which will ensure national food and nutrition security. Currently, farmers are also being trained in Apiculture and Freight Farming.
“I say to you St. George North that you do not have the traditional jobs that you used to get – we do not have enough land space even. And so, we must embrace technology, where you can take a freight farm and with your mobile phone, laptop, tablet and you can operate that farm, get to production faster and get greater yields. Yet, you do not have to use pesticides and of course, it is a revolving system so, therefore, it is less water-intensive, and you do not have to worry about climate change and prolong droughts,” he explained.
“To date, we have some 800 farmers signed up to be trained for the FEED program and in St George North I am prepared to come here and identify space, where Toni can have Freight Farms which is also a Hydroponic system on a lease-to-own basis to young people who are interested in getting involved in agriculture.” (TL)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is pressing ahead with plans to breathe new life into the sugar cane industry.
Speaking at the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) public meeting at Newbury, St. George on Thursday night, Minister Indar Weir reported that the strategy to revitalize this country’s oldest industry has already gone to Cabinet.
“We are modernizing our sugar industry to the extent that we are using a full value chain industry which goes from sugar for domestic consumption, molasses for our rum industry, and then the waste matter is being used to generate renewable energy.”
Minister Weir thereby explained the government’s foresight is to “bring the industry to profitability”.
“And all of you who are part of the labor force in farms and in the sugar industry would have an opportunity for the first time in our existence to own shares where you can get a return on the profits made through the sugar industry transitioning program.”
The Agriculture Minister also informed the people of St. George North that he will honor the BLP candidate Senator Toni Moore’s wish to introduce Hydroponics and Aquaponics into the constituency.
He said this will be achieved through the Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED) program aimed at reducing agricultural imports into the island which will ensure national food and nutrition security. Currently, farmers are also being trained in Apiculture and Freight Farming.
“I say to you St. George North that you do not have the traditional jobs that you used to get – we do not have enough land space even. And so, we must embrace technology, where you can take a freight farm and with your mobile phone, laptop, tablet and you can operate that farm, get to production faster and get greater yields. Yet, you do not have to use pesticides and of course, it is a revolving system so, therefore, it is less water-intensive, and you do not have to worry about climate change and prolong droughts,” he explained.
“To date, we have some 800 farmers signed up to be trained for the FEED program and in St George North I am prepared to come here and identify space, where Toni can have Freight Farms which is also a Hydroponic system on a lease-to-own basis to young people who are interested in getting involved in agriculture.” (TL)