Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
VIDEO: Sweden: Growing Food In Umeå In A Freight Farms Shipping Container
Ellen Bergström and Daniel Remes are growing food in Umeå, Sweden to create a resilient and sustainable local food system
Ellen Bergström And Daniel Remes Are Growing
Food in Umeå, Sweden To Create A Resilient
And Sustainable Local Food System.
Although they had little agriculture experience, the realization that their community needed a dependable food supply chain that offered fresh, quality produce even through the long, dark winter months, led them to start their Freight Farming business, MY Harvest.
Click on the video below to watch their story.
For more information:
Freight Farms
info@freightfarms.com
www.freightfarms.com
24 Jun 2021
Container Farming To Increase Food Security In The Caribbean
As part of our Grow Food Here series, join us for a live conversation with Freight Farmers, Lincoln Deal, and Latesha Gibson from Eeden Farms
Hear How Eeden Farms Is Bringing Fresh,
Local Produce To Their Island.
As part of our Grow Food Here series, join us for a live conversation with Freight Farmers, Lincoln Deal, and Latesha Gibson from Eeden Farms. Throughout the event, we’ll explore how they brought container farming to the Bahamas to reduce the island’s reliance on food imports and serve their local community with the freshest local food available. We’ll also discuss the challenges farmers face in the Bahamas, what they’re currently growing in their three container farms and their plans for the future.
At the end of the event, Lincoln and Latesha will answer your questions through the live q & a
Register Now
Wednesday, July 14th, 2021 12 PM EST
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Vertical Farming For The Future
Beyond providing fresh local produce, vertical agriculture could help increase food production and expand agricultural operations as the world’s population is projected to exceed 9 billion by 2050
Posted by Sarah Federman, AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow, Office of the Chief Scientist andPaul M. Zankowski, Senior Advisor for Plant Health and Production and Plant Products, Office of the Chief Scientist in Research and Science
Aug 14, 2018
Indoor And Vertical Farming
May Be Part of The Solution To Rising Demands
For Food And Limited Natural Resources
Imagine walking into your local grocery store on a frigid January day to pick up freshly harvested lettuce, fragrant basil, juicy sweet strawberries, and ripe red tomatoes – all of which were harvested at a local farm only hours before you’d arrived. You might be imagining buying that fresh produce from vertical farms where farmers can grow indoors year-round by controlling light, temperature, water, and oftentimes carbon dioxide levels as well. Generally, fresh produce grown in vertical farms travels only a few miles to reach grocery store shelves compared to conventional produce, which can travel thousands of miles by truck or plane.
Beyond providing fresh local produce, vertical agriculture could help increase food production and expand agricultural operations as the world’s population is projected to exceed 9 billion by 2050. And by that same year, two out of every three people are expected to live in urban areas. Producing fresh greens and vegetables close to these growing urban populations could help meet growing global food demands in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way by reducing distribution chains to offer lower emissions, providing higher-nutrient produce, and drastically reducing water usage and runoff.
Recently, USDA and the Department of Energy held a stakeholder workshop focused on vertical agriculture and sustainable urban ecosystems. At this workshop, field experts shared thought-provoking presentations followed by small group discussions focusing on areas such as plant breeding, pest management, and engineering. Workshop attendees from public and private sectors worked together to identify the challenges, needs, and opportunities for vertical farming. A report on this workshop will be released to help inform Departmental strategic planning efforts for internal research priorities at USDA and external funding opportunities for stakeholders and researchers.
We’re excited about the potential opportunities vertical agriculture presents to address food security. That’s why USDA already has some of these funding and research opportunities in place. The National Institute for Food and Agriculture has funding opportunities (PDF, 1.22 MB) that could support future vertical agriculture conferences and research. Similarly, the Agricultural Research Service is working on a project to increase U.S. tomato production and quality in greenhouses and other protected environments. We look forward to continuing our partnership with our customers, both internal and external.
Lead Photo: Photo credit: Oasis Biotech
Category/Topic: Research and Science
Tags: Office of the Chief Scientist National Institute of Food and Agriculture NIFA Agricultural Research Service ARS Department of Energy vertical farming
Freight Farms And CEO Vanzura Set To Reinvent Container Farming
June 17, 2021
The global pressures exacerbated by COVID-19 and the rippling toll it takes on the international community has made one thing clear: preparedness is everything. The Coronavirus has exposed vulnerabilities in the global health network that no one could have imagined. Food production and distribution must now reset their agendas to prepare for catastrophe.
Freight Farms, a 2011 Agtech company that pioneered hydroponics-based container farming, is committed to preparing the world for the next disaster by reinventing the way we grow food.
“Fill in the blank with the institution, how prepared are you for the emerging trends that are impacting the world,” Freight Farms CEO Rick Vanzura explained. “Sustainability issues, land availability, water availability; those issues obviously preceded COVID-19, but we think there’s going to be a greater sense of urgency around folks expecting us to have an answer and be prepared for these global trends, as opposed to being reactive.”
Vanzura looks to channel his decade of experience as a restaurant executive, growing Wahlburgers from a single restaurant to a $100 million dollar institution, as well as greatly expanding Panera Bread, to redefine food production and distribution as a whole.
Freight Farms uses container-based “vertical farming” to do just that, allowing farmers to produce hundreds of high-quality local crops from a 320 square foot shipping container which automates the farming process for maximum efficiency.
Vanzura plans to expand and distribute these self-contained, sustainable farms to a wide diversity of industry segments. The priority will of course be the global communities that need them the most. “We see the Freight Farm as a perfect fit for countries with food access difficulties, short growing seasons and inherently challenging climates. There’s probably no location where having a hyper-local, highly traceable, always available solution isn’t going to make sense in some way,” he added.
In the name of access to high-quality food, in a sustainable model built to withstand a natural disaster, Freight Farms has now distributed their automated, hydroponic farms to 48 U.S states and across the world to 32 different countries, boasting success and efficiency from the Arctic wilderness, to the desert, and to concrete jungles.
Freight Farms believes that its emphasis on access, preparedness, and sustainability will be more necessary than ever in the wake of COVID-19, as well as global trends of food insecurity and environmental uncertainty. Vanzura explained that the company has already reacted to shifting demands by supporting small-scale farmers as they set up drive-through produce stations to reach customers directly.
Freight Farms CEO Rick Vanzura
“Demand during this time for that hyper-local, fresh product has certainly ramped up,” Vanzura added. “Hopefully, once people get a taste of it, they will understand the difference, and post Covid, our containers will become an industry staple.”
Vanzura sees his role as not only expanding to agriculturally vulnerable countries abroad but also increasing access to high-quality food across institutions in the United States. He wants to specifically target universities and has partnered with foodservice provider Sodexo to ensure local food is available to as many people as possible.
Vanzura says he was forced by his children to move beyond the world of crafting a restaurant chain’s vision and use his knowledge to make the world a better place. Freight Farms, with Vanzura’s leadership, has the ability to change the way we think of farming and change the world.
Freight Farms hopes to combat international uncertainty, face the threats of climate change, and provide people with fresh produce regardless of climatic constraints and difficulties. “Healthy food is a right, not a luxury,” and Freight Farms is helping make this mission statement a reality.
Lead photo: A Freight Farms container has unprecedented environmental control and exceptional ease-of-use to unlock your growing potential.
To learn more about Freight Farms and how they are reinventing container farming, visit their website.
Total Food Service is a monthly B2B foodservice publication and website covering foodservice and hospitality news, industry trends, and exclusive interviews.
USA: MASSACHUSETTS - New Partnership Will Serve Meals For 400 Youth Per Day
Town to Table, a Boston-based container farm company, announced a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South, an organization that accommodates kids in out-of-school-time hours
Town to Table, a Boston-based container farm company, announced a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South, an organization that accommodates kids in out-of-school-time hoursy
Town to Table, a Boston-based container farm company, announced a partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South, an organization that accommodates kids in out-of-school-time hours.
"Together, we are operating two Freight Farms that will serve community members, food pantries, non-profits organizations, and the Clubs’ Kids Café Healthy Meals program which provides meals for 400 youth per day and serves more than 100,000 meals annually," said Town to Table on their LinkedIn page.
The farm will also be used as an educational resource to provide hands-on learning experiences for Club members with curricula-focused food systems, food justice, nutrition, and sustainability.
For more information:
Town to Table
https://towntotable.com
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South
Publication date: Fri 11 Jun 2021
CANADA: Thursday, July 8th, 2021 - 12:00 PM EST
Sit back and learn more about Growcer's beginnings, our farm's uses, and essential considerations for starting your own Growcer project. It will be an informal opportunity to ask our team questions and learn more!
Every first Thursday of the month, we'll be hosting a Meet and Eat that anyone can join; however, we're going to have it on the second Thursday in July to accommodate for the statutory holiday on Thursday, July 1st.
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Sit back and learn more about Growcer's beginnings, our farm's uses, and essential considerations for starting your own Growcer project. It will be an informal opportunity to ask our team questions and learn more!
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Thursday, July 8th, 2021
12:00 PM EST
Inside Larry Ellison's Futuristic Indoor Farming Company, Whose Massive, Tesla Solar-Powered Hawaii Greenhouses Are The First Step Toward An Ambitious Goal of Feeding The World
Sensei Ag is an agriculture-tech firm bent on changing the way food is grown worldwide. The company's mission is to feed the world by making produce more nutrient-rich and accessible and lowering the barrier to entry for vertical or greenhouse farming
06-15-21
An employee at Sensei's farm in Lanai, Hawaii. Sensei Ag
Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison created an indoor farming company called Sensei Ag in 2018.
The goal of Sensei Ag is to feed the world by making produce more nutrient-rich and accessible.
Sensei Ag's Tesla solar-powered greenhouses grow produce that's distributed throughout Hawaii.
Picture this: You're driving along the highway on the island of Lanai, Hawaii's smallest inhabited island. All of a sudden, the verdant landscape gives way to futuristic greenhouses powered by an array of solar panels.
This is the first outpost of Larry Ellison's 3-year-old indoor farming company, Sensei Ag.
Sensei Ag is an agriculture-tech firm bent on changing the way food is grown worldwide. The company's mission is to feed the world by making produce more nutrient-rich and accessible and lowering the barrier to entry for vertical or greenhouse farming.
And while the company is young, it has the backing of Ellison, the tech titan whose net worth hovers around $95 billion and whose aggressive bet on the future of database management turned Oracle into a $200 billion behemoth.
Ellison's latest venture seems to have an equally ambitious outlook on the future.
"In the next three-to-five years, our goal is to feed the top three quintiles of the world with our products and employ the bottom two," Sensei Ag CEO Sonia Lo told Insider. "And then in the next eight-to-10 years, it is to feed everybody."
Here's how Sensei Ag is working to making indoor farming mainstream and use its Hawaiian homebase as a "lab for the world."
Sensei Ag is the brainchild of Ellison and Dr. David Agus, a cancer physician, and professor at the University of Southern California.
Larry Ellison, left, and Dr. David Agus. Sensei Ag
Ellison is the cofounder of cloud-computing firm Oracle. The 76-year-old billionaire, who announced last year that he moved to Lanai full time during the pandemic, is known for being something of an international playboy, as well as an outspoken advocate for health and wellness.
Ellison and late Apple CEO Steve Jobs were close friends for 25 years and often spent time hiking together near their neighboring homes in Woodside, California, prior to Jobs' death from pancreatic cancer in 2011. Ellison gave a eulogy at Jobs's funeral.
Agus, 57, is a prominent physician who treats patients with advanced forms of cancer and leads the USC cancer institute funded by Ellison.
Agus and Ellison became close friends while Agus was treating Jobs' cancer, according to Forbes.
Ellison and Agus founded Sensei in 2018, and recently split the company in two: A data-driven wellness spa called Sensei Retreats, and Sensei Ag.
A person receiving a massage at Sensei Retreats in Hawaii. Robb Aaron Gordon
Located at a Four Seasons resort known as Sensei Lanai, Sensei Retreats offers guests a customizable experience: They can set physical and mental goals for their stay, and the spa will track their sleep, nutrition, and blood flow.
Sensei's overarching goal is to help people live longer and healthier lives by improving sleep, movement, and nutrition, the company says.
Sensei Ag's primary focus is to bring healthy, affordable food to the masses by making indoor farming more accessible and more sustainable.
Inside a Sensei Ag greenhouse on Lanai. Sensei Ag
"Larry's perspective and David's perspective is that indoor growing is revolutionary and that we can move the needle on feeding people globally and diminishing water use and land use," Lo said.
This goal will come with significant costs and an ambitious technology rollout, she said but cited the environmental benefits of moving farming indoors, particularly when it comes to water use: Indoor farming is shown to use significantly less water than outdoor farming. Greenhouses use roughly 10% the amount of water used in an open field, and vertical farms use even less — closer to 3%, Lo said.
In addition to focusing on sustainability, Sensei employs a team of plant scientists who are working on maximizing the nutrients in the crops Sensei grows.
What makes Sensei Ag different from other indoor farming companies, Lo said, is that it works as a franchise model.
An exterior view of Sensei's greenhouses. Sensei Ag
For the average farmer, shifting to indoor production can be prohibitively expensive, which is what's held back the indoor farming movement up to this point, Lo said.
Farmers who opt for traditional outdoor growing have "a whole infrastructure that supports you," Lo said. That includes the ability to lease a tractor, lease land, and borrow other growers' cold storage and packing infrastructure.
"Whereas if you want to be an indoor grower, you have to come up with several hundred thousand dollars, at a minimum, if not several tens of millions," Lo said.
What Sensei Ag offers is the "whole franchise package." That includes helping a farmer identify the right indoor growing form factor for their farm, whether that's a glass greenhouse or an indoor farm; setting up a "cold chain," or refrigerated supply chain; and locking in transportation and logistics.
There's also a data component to what Sensei Ag is offering to farmers. Sensei tracks factors like crop selection and what type of light a grower users, then feed that information into a dataset to help inform future Sensei partners.
The produce grown by Sensei's partners can carry the Sensei Farms branding, and Sensei will help with distribution.
Crops growing inside a Lanai greenhouse. Sensei Ag
Lo said that a benefit to being one of Sensei's franchisees is the ability to distribute your produce at major US retailers.
"If you go to Walmart and you say, 'I have a 200,000-square-foot greenhouse and I want to deal directly with you,' Walmart will say, 'Oh gosh, you know, we really can't manage you as a vendor that's that small,'" Lo said.
"Whereas if you go to Walmart and you say, 'We're Sensei, and we have 200 farms across the US,' that's a risk that Walmart is willing to take," she said.
Not all types of crops are suited to growing indoors, and what's typically grown today meets a three-pronged threshold: good nutrition, reliability, and affordability.
Tomatoes growing inside one of the greenhouses on Lanai. Sensei Ag
Lo pointed to tomatoes as a good example of food that is almost entirely grown indoors, because growers can offer good value to customers.
"That's taken 15 years and it's taken a lot of technology, a lot of reliability of growing, a lot of just processes and procedures that have come into play," Lo said.
Lo predicted that the next crops to move primarily indoors will be leafy greens and strawberries. Strawberries, in particular, are becoming harder to grow outdoors due to a change in pesticide laws.
But there are downsides to indoor growing, particularly when it comes to energy use.
Tesla solar panels at Sensei's Lanai greenhouses. Sensei Ag
Indoor farms are often powered by coal, so they still have a carbon footprint.
And while there are vertical farms that are powered by solar energy, they require as many as 20 acres of solar panels, which means you're not really using less land.
At Sensei's farm on Lanai, there are six greenhouses spanning 120,000 square feet that are capable of producing over a million pounds of food per year, according to Forbes.
The greenhouses have sensors and cameras that track data about the farms, including water usage and airflow, and are powered by Tesla solar panels. (Ellison sits on Tesla's board.)
Lo called Sensei's farm on Lanai its "lab for the world."
Sensei's farm on Lanai. Sensei Ag
"Islands are incredibly tough," she said, citing water, land, and labor constraints that make farming challenging on Lanai. But she said that the company has already met its initial goal of feeding the Hawaiian islands.
Sensei had its first harvest in August 2020, and by December, its produce was sold on every Hawaiian island. The food is packed on Lanai, then taken by barge to central Honolulu — from there, its distributed to the other islands, Lo said.
Food that's grown at Sensei Farms is distributed at the Nobu restaurant located inside the Sensei resort nearby, with the aim of measuring the effect the food has on people who visit the Sensei Wellness program.
"Now our goal is to not just make food an export of Lanai, but also to take the learnings from Lanai — the business processes, the franchising model on the island, the water conservation, the water reuse — and really make it an intellectual product and then export that intellectual product," she said.
She added: "If it works on an island in the middle of the Pacific, it will work anywhere."
USA: WASHINGTON STATE - Ummah Sustained Agroecology Center - Long Time! We Have Been Getting Things Started Here On The West Coast. We Opened!
Ummah Sustained AgroEcology Center - U.S.A.C. features Washington States 1st Certified Jr Master Gardener, Youth Agroecology, and Discover through Hydroponic K8 Farm School programs
Ummah Sustained Agroecology Center, a unique opportunity for your K-8 child to be creative, and confident while building lasting friendships. Our youth development program nurtures a child’s instinctive curiosity through informal exploration learning experiences
Ummah Sustained AgroEcology Center - U.S.A.C. features Washington States 1st Certified Jr Master Gardener, Youth Agroecology, and Discover through Hydroponic K8 Farm School programs.
Our Certified Urban Permaculture center houses three hydroponic systems including Freight Farm, a greenhouse, raised beds, community garden, small session classroom, and Afrocentric resource library.
We offer volunteer opportunities through WSU Extension Snohomish County 4-H and AmeriCorp.
Vertical Roots Opens Third Indoor Hydroponic Container Farm
Vertical Roots, a vertical farming company which grows its leafy greens in repurposed shipping containers year-round, has opened its third indoor farm in Atlanta, Georgia, reducing produce transportation and expanding access to fresh, locally-grown leafy greens.
14-June-2021
By Mary Ellen Shoup
Vertical Roots, a vertical farming company which grows its leafy greens in repurposed shipping containers year-round, has opened its third indoor farm in Atlanta, Georgia, reducing produce transportation and expanding access to fresh, locally-grown leafy greens.
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Source Courtesy of Food Navigator-usa.com
CANADA: The Value of Hyper-Local Produce
At Yellowknife Co-op, produce is grown steps away from the store in a container farm!
The hyper-local food trend is more than just a fad: there’s a reason that hyper-local food is catching on in a big way. If you’re thinking about growing hyper-local food, it’s important to understand the value of the product and its market position.
At Yellowknife Co-op, produce is grown steps away from the store in a container farm!
BUT FIRST, WHAT IS HYPER-LOCAL FOOD?
Where does that ‘local’ head of lettuce you pick up from the grocery store actually come from? The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) defines ‘local food’ as being grown in the province where it’s being sold, or within 50km of the border. But hyper-local food is even more local than being from the same province or being Canadian-grown. It is usually grown within the same town or city, or a short distance from where it’s being sold (sometimes even right behind the store!).
BENEFITS OF HYPER-LOCALLY GROWN FOOD
LOWER FOOD MILES
Hyper-local produce is usually grown within the same town or city, or a short distance from where it’s being sold.
As consumers are becoming more and more aware of the environmental impact of our food choices, the demand to lower food miles is also growing. A food mile can be thought of as the distance that food travels from the grower to the consumer. As a metric, it helps to assess the environmental impact of the foods we consume. A 2012 study showed that on average, 30% of food is imported in Canada, leading to annual emissions of 3.3 million metric tonnes of CO2.
Growing food hyper-locally can result in significantly lower food miles (and as few as zero food miles!) in both urban centres and rural communities. This reduces the carbon footprint of what you eat.
SUSTAINABLY GROWN
Growing hyper-locally in a hydroponic farming system has further benefits. Water in a closed hydroponic system is captured and reused, resulting in 90% less water use, and 95% less land than conventional farming.
TRACEABLE FOOD CHAIN
Growing hyper-local is completely traceable. This means you know exactly what’s going into your product. There are no synthetic pest control products, less risk for E.Coli, and a shorter supply chain to manage.
FRESHER PRODUCE WITH A LONGER SHELF LIFE
Growing food hyper-locally also means fresher produce and a longer shelf-life. Instead of wilting in a truck for hundreds of kilometers, hyper-local produce is shelf-ready immediately. This has a marked effect on the quality, as most produce loses 30 percent of nutrients just three days after harvest.
Life Water Gardens, a container garden project in Norway House Cree Nation, sells locally-grown produce at the Northern Store. Click here to learn more about the project and hear from its growers!
“When you get your hands on the fresh produce and taste it, you know it’s a good thing for your community in general. It’s really easy to get excited and pumped about [this project].” - Ian Maxwell from Norway House.
“When you get your hands on the fresh produce and taste it, you know it’s a good thing for your community. It’s really easy to get excited and pumped about [this project].”
— Ian Maxwell, co-manager of Life Water Gardens
WHERE IS HYPER-LOCAL PRODUCE POSITIONED IN THE MARKET?
For growers, it’s important to keep in mind that hyper-local food isn’t competing with foreign produce that you typically find in grocery stores. Between locally-grown vs imported food, the wholesale price for foreign produce is cheaper than local produce.
Keep in mind that grocery stores buy produce at wholesale prices, which means that they may buy produce from you at a certain cost, and then sell it with a 30% margin added to the price. When you walk into a grocery store and see produce being sold for $4.99, the reality is that the grocery store-bought it for $3.50 and added a mark up to the final price to help cover their costs of operations.
To find price-compatible products for market research in your area, look for products that will match your future products, such as living lettuce, other hydroponic greens, and other hyper-local, organic produce. Growcer greens belong in the hyper-local, value-added produce category.
GETTING STARTED WITH HYPER-LOCAL FOOD
Growing hyper-local food has many benefits: not only is it fresher, healthier, and better for the planet, it can also be a profitable investment for growers. When crafting your financial projections, keep in mind the value of hyper-local produce and where it sits in the market.
Interested in learning more about our hyper-local hydroponic growing systems? Find out more.
Vertical Roots Expands To Atlanta, Partners With Two Wholesalers
The company partnered with two of the leading Southeastern produce suppliers, Collins Brothers Produce BB #:128652 and Phoenix Wholesale Foodservice BB #:134241, to place the farm directly at their facilities
June 11, 2021
CHARLESTON, S.C., June 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Vertical Roots, the largest hydroponic container farm in the U.S. sustainably growing fresh leafy greens year-round, opened its third indoor farm in Atlanta, Georgia this June.
The company partnered with two of the leading Southeastern produce suppliers, Collins Brothers Produce BB #:128652 and Phoenix Wholesale Foodservice BB #:134241, to place the farm directly at their facilities.
The new Atlanta farm site will eliminate the need for produce transportation to the distributor and allow Vertical Roots lettuce to be delivered to local customers the same day it’s harvested.
Located within the Atlanta State Farmers Market, this is phase one of the company’s Atlanta expansion. With farm production underway, Vertical Roots Georgia Grown™ lettuce will be available in grocery stores in July 2021.
Crisp, sweet, tender, or buttery, Vertical Roots lettuces are nutritious, pesticide-free, and come in a wide variety of flavors, colors, and textures for culinary masterpieces and everyday meals. With long lasting freshness, produce is in the hands of consumers within one to three days of being harvested and has up to a 21-day shelf life.
Vertical Roots’ mission is to revolutionize the ways communities grow, distribute, and consume food. Farming directly at distribution hubs is a part of Vertical Roots’ distinctive strategy to eliminate a massive leg of produce transportation in order to reduce emissions and provide communities with fresh, locally-grown produce.
The new Atlanta farmsite will reduce produce transportation by an estimated 300 miles per delivery and will help meet the company’s retail demand that services thousands of grocery stores across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, as well as restaurants, universities, and schools.
“A large part of our mission is to grow food as close to the point of consumption as possible, and this farmsite accomplishes just that,” said Andrew Hare, co-founder, and general manager of Vertical Roots. “The Collins family are esteemed produce industry leaders for three generations, and we’re ecstatic about the unique grower-supplier partnership that we’ve cultivated.”
David Collins, President of Collins Brothers & Phoenix Wholesale Foodservice, said, “At Collins Brothers and Phoenix Wholesale, we’ve had the privilege to work with dedicated farmers across the country for decades. We’re thrilled to partner with Vertical Roots as they bring an innovative way of farming to the agriculture industry. We look forward to this relationship as we share a like-minded mission in providing our customers with high quality, fresh, local produce.”
Vertical Roots’ state-of-the-art indoor farms are manufactured from upcycled shipping containers at the company’s headquarters in Charleston, SC. The farm containers made their way to Atlanta on June 8, where farmers started seeding and transplanting to produce Vertical Roots lettuce within weeks.
A small footprint with a large output, the new farm will produce half a million heads of lettuce this year. Each 320-square-foot container maximizes the growing space with 3,400 plants per harvest, and up to 17 harvests per year.
Vertical Roots farms operate with the highest globally recognized food safety standards, eliminating the need for pesticides of any kind.
An AmplifiedAg, Inc.® company, Vertical Roots operates farms with proprietary software and technology. The farms don’t rely on soil, use up to 95% less water and grow crops 25% faster, compared to traditional farming methods.
About Vertical Roots:
An AmplifiedAg, Inc. company, Vertical Roots is the country’s largest hydroponic container farm and is revolutionizing the ways communities grow, distribute and consume food. Sustainably-grown indoors and pesticide-free, Vertical Roots leafy greens are fresh, clean, nutritious, and delivered to your local grocery store within one to three days of being harvested. Vertical Roots produce is available at thousands of leading grocery stores in 12 Southeastern states, educational institutions, restaurants, and other food service organizations. Vertical Roots operates farms in Charleston, S.C., Columbia, S.C. and Atlanta, Ga.
Tagged greenhouse, lettuce, vertical farming
How UAE Produce Is Taking Over The Dining Table: 'We Are Growing All This On Our Doorstep'
Local farms are reporting a rise in demand, while Atlantis, The Palm resort has introduced an initiative to put UAE produce on its restaurants' tables
Local farms are reporting a rise in demand, while Atlantis, The Palm resort has introduced an initiative to put UAE produce on its restaurants' tables
Oasis Greens is a hydroponic farm located in the Jebel Ali free Zone. All photos by Antonie Robertson / The National unless otherwise mentioned
The concept of a “farm tour” is not what it once was.
Instead of the smell of open mud and fertilizer that I used to equate with a farm, I’m standing inside a pristine, temperature-controlled room that contains rows of herbs and leafy greens stretching out to the ceiling.
I am at Oasis Greens, one of many hydroponic, vertical farms to have cropped up in Dubai over the past few years. In this high-tech environment, seeds are planted into foam, which is placed in a solution that provides plants with all the nutrients they need, while LED lights overhead mimic the rays of the run.
The process involves no messy soil or pests and, by default, no need for pesticides either, while 90 percent less water is used than required by traditional farms. The result is sustainably grown, organic and local produce – from varieties of lettuce (be it butterheads and icebergs) to kale, rocket, and bok choy.
Why buy UAE-grown fruits and veggies?
Oasis Green hydroponic farm, located in Jebel Ali Free Zone. Antonie Robertson / The National
Whether it’s a hydroponic or traditional farm, there are indisputable benefits of opting for local over imported produce, which is being noticed by both consumers and big brands.
Among the latter is Atlantis, The Palm, which has launched a sustainability initiative titled the Atlantis Atlas Project.
One of the cornerstones of this campaign is a pledge to give diners access to dishes that are made with locally sourced and organic ingredients, grown and harvested in the UAE. Kelly Timmins, director of conservation, education and corporate social responsibility at the hotel, says the reason for this is two-fold.
“One of the key focuses for Atlantis is to look at increasing our use of local suppliers and vendors as part of our commitment to drive the whole local economy."
She says using local produce is better for the environment as it reduces freight and the carbon footprint involved with bringing in goods from across the world.
Plants are grown in foam rather than soil in hydroponic farms like Oasis Greens. Antonie Robertson / The National
“We are trying to see how we can source perishable products responsibly. Sustainability is a journey and to get there we need the involvement of our community,” she explains.
To procure fresh ingredients on a daily basis, Atlantis, The Palm has teamed up with Fresh on Table, which works as a facilitator between UAE farms and consumers. The company, which launched in Dubai in 2019, takes orders from hotels, stores and customers online, and co-ordinates with farms to ensure that the product is harvested, packaged and delivered the next day.
According to commercial manager Garima Gambhir, the company has grown month-on-month, and currently works with more than 1,000 farms, as well as big hotel groups.
Home-grown company Fresh on Table supplies products from farms to consumers. Supplied
“Chefs realise that local produce is just fresher and going to last longer on the shelf, as opposed to something that has, say, been imported from [the Netherlands] and passed through three days of transit before reaching the kitchen,” she says.
The pandemic has also had an invariable role to play in the rising demand for local produce.
“When borders and hotels started closing last year, the supply food chain was disrupted. With distributors unable to fulfil contracts from international suppliers, we were able to pitch in because everything was local, reliable, and could be picked up from a farm and delivered in a few hours,” says Gambhir.
Oasis Greens currently grows varieties of lettuce, leafy greens and microgreens. Antonie Robertson / The National
Local farms have also witnessed a spike in demand over the past year. Nikita Patel, founder of Oasis Greens, says despite the pandemic, business has been good, with a notable rise in online orders.
“Everyone has been at home, cooking. And even though we didn’t have a lot of tourists come in, residents weren’t leaving, either,” she says.
“I think the pandemic made people realise that food security isn’t a theoretical thing. In a lot of countries, people were having issues with grocery items running out, but the UAE did a very good job ensuring that didn’t happen. Over the past year, more companies are looking inwards and seeing how they can source local. We are just riding the wave.”
Hydroponic farms in the UAE
At UNS Hydroponic, custom LED lights mimic the rays of the sun, helping plants grow. Antonie Robertson / The National
Oasis Greens grows approximately 12 to 15 types of herbs and leafy greens, and has started cultivating microgreens. “The aim is to get into fruits and vegetables, too,” says Patel. “We want to grow cherry tomatoes, chillies and more.”
Within the industrial area of Al Quoz, meanwhile, grows one of the largest, most lush indoor vertical farms in the region. UNS Farms is home to 16 varieties of leafy greens and 16 varieties of micro greens across a space of 5,600 square metres.
During a tour, executive director Mehlam Murtaza asks us to dip our feet in a solution to ensure we don’t track any crop-destroying bacteria or germs inside, before explaining how different elements can affect the growth of plants.
“Our LED lights are a custom design with a special spectrum. Each colour actually has a different effect on the crop – they can widen the leaf size, make them longer or have another indirect effect,” he says.
The nutritional value of the plant remains unchanged, though, with a lot depending on the quality of the seeds used. The seed also plays a role in the taste – at USN Farms, I’m given two types of basil leaves, Thai and Italian. Despite the fact that both varieties are grown in the UAE, the Italian version is subtle in taste and smell, while the Thai is sharper.
UNS Farms in Al Quoz is spread over 5,600 square metres. Antonie Robertson / The National
“We have just scratched the surface about what we can do,” says Murtaza. In the future, research and development may be able to further tweak the taste of plants, he adds. "Who knows what's next? Maybe cotton-candy-flavoured herbs."
With a number of perks of buying local, it does beg the question: why haven’t hotels been doing this all along?
Murtaza says it’s only in the past couple of years that vertical farms have developed to deal with the volume they need. Even then, the maintenance and power required to run hydroponic farms means only certain crops can be grown at financially feasible rates.
Locally 'farmed' seafood in the UAE
Fish Farm in Jebel Ali grows organic and regular salmon, sea bass, sea bream, yellow tail kingfish and hammour. Antonie Robertson / The National
Supporting local goes beyond leafy greens. While the UAE is blessed with an abundance of seafood, there is still a reliance on imports.
That's something home-grown company Fish Farm is aiming to change. Launched in 2013, the company identified the most in-demand fish species being imported and sought to change this by growing them within the country. It currently produces organic and regular salmon, sea bass, sea bream, yellowtail kingfish, and hammour.
“It’s all part of building our food security,” says chief executive Bader bin Mubarak. “At the moment, less than 10 percent of the fish is locally acquired. We want to be able to cover the entire UAE market.”
The company plans on doing this with the help of three facilities: a caged farming facility in Dibba, a hatchery in Umm Al Quwain, and a land farming facility in Jebel Ali.
At the facility in Jebel Ali, Mubarak explains how juveniles and eggs were first sourced from different parts of the globe to ensure the right genetics.
“But since then, we have been hatching our own fish eggs,” he says. The Fish Farm was the first establishment in the world to grow Atlantic salmon on land, from eggs, Mubarak says.
Fish Farm has recreated ideal marine conditions for various species of fish. Antonie Robertson / The National
Business development manager Edmund Broad agrees that it is all about growing and harvesting seafood in the most sustainable manner possible.
“One of the biggest problems with the seafood industry is the pressure it puts on wild fish stocks, through commercial hunting using huge nets. We are a substitute for this. By growing fish on land in a controlled and secure environment, we are not taking anything from the sea. We’re leaving the oceans alone.”
The farm has recreated the ideal environments required by fish, many of which stem from cold-water countries, such as Scotland and Iceland. The fish swim in an area with appropriate salinity, currents, temperature, pH level, and even lighting.
“We’ve recreated the ideal marine conditions suitable to each species: the Atlantic for the salmon, the Pacific for the yellowtail kingfish, the Gulf for the hammour and the Mediterranean for the sea bass,” explains Broad.
The farm currently produces 3,000 metric tonnes of fish per year. “By 2030, we want 50 per cent of seafood consumed to be produced within the country,” says Broad.
From farm to table
UAE residents can get a taste of these sustainable and local ingredients in some of the best restaurants in the country. Thanks to its sustainability pledge, nine of Atlantis, The Palm's signature restaurants are serving dishes with ingredients grown and harvested in Dubai.
Locally hand picked mushrooms, pecorino and truffle at Bread Street Kitchen. Courtesy Atlantis, The Palm
Guests can tuck into locally produced burrata from Bread Street Kitchen or an organic salmon carpaccio from Seafire Steakhouse. Hakkasan is offering dim sum with locally handpicked chestnut mushrooms while Nobu has a crispy hand-picked shiitake mushroom truffle salad.
Ronda Locatelli, The Shore, Wavehouse, and White Restaurant are some other restaurants offering dishes with sustainable ingredients.
Seven-day dry-aged organic Atlantic salmon, grown in the UAE, is available at Seafire Steakhouse. Courtesy Atlantis, The Palm
Raymond Wong, chef de cuisine at Seafire Steakhouse, says the difference between imported and local ingredients is staggering.
“As a chef, an import order is always challenging as you need to place it three to four days in advance for your produce to come in time. But with this initiative, we can order just a day in advance from sustainable farms in Dubai and the produce is as fresh as it can be.”
He hopes this will encourage other restaurants and hotels to follow suit. “I think it will bring a lot of awareness. A lot of people don’t even know we are growing all this on our doorstep.”
June 13, 2021 07:48 AM
"We Store CO2 From The Outside Air To Make Plants Grow Faster"
“Our ultimate goal is to make greenhouses independent of fossil fuels while improving their crop yield”, says Jarle. This ambitious goal is the main motivation behind their unique, yet a straightforward new product: an environmental climate system that provides plants inside of the greenhouse with outside CO2.
Bringing captured CO2 into the greenhouse with zeolites
“In short, we capture CO2 from the air outside and then release it inside the greenhouse. As our system includes the greenhouse to be a closed system, all the CO2 inside will increase plant growth. This new technology does not give any emissions to its surroundings while in use and the solution is 100% climate-neutral”, Jarle Skjæveland with GreenCap Solutions explains. The company recently launched their product, and they are working on several projects in Norway and abroad.
“Our ultimate goal is to make greenhouses independent of fossil fuels while improving their crop yield”, says Jarle. This ambitious goal is the main motivation behind their unique, yet straight forward new product: an environmental climate system that provides plants inside of the greenhouse with outside CO2. On top of that, it allows for the reuse of condensed water, which further reduces costs for growers.
GreenCap Solution’s technical team combines decades of energy in the oil and gas industry, which is now taken to the greenhouse industry. For the past four years, they have been working on the carbon-capturing technique. Last year, they started working with the first greenhouse company to apply the technique: Lauvsnes Gartneri, a tomato greenhouse in Finnøy, Norway. The second project they started this year is with a Norwegian cucumber grower.
Zeolites: a tried method
For the capturing of the CO2 molecules, the company uses zeolites, a porous mineral that can adsorb large quantities of gas. Zeolites occur naturally but are also produced industrially. “Using zeolites as carbon adsorbent is nothing new. It was already used in the 1960s for industrial applications. Our invention is effectively using the energy and storing the CO2 for greenhouse application, in combination with climate control within the greenhouse,” Jarle explains.
Inside the greenhouse, the CO2 is transported by a constant air flow. “With the greenhouse closed on a sunny day, the temperature might get too high. For that reason, we have a circulation system that shifts the air every 10 minutes. Air tubes underneath the plants produce a constant low-speed airflow. This way, the temperature inside can be a comfortable 24 C even in a hot climate,” Jarle adds.
Vertical farming in Saudi Arabia
This technique comes in handy as the company recently started a new project in Saudi Arabia. This time not with a greenhouse but with a vertical farm that grows eight layers of lettuce. “When we visited Saudi Arabia some months ago, we noticed that some people were skeptical as to our technology would work in a hot climate too. With this new project, we are proving that our technique works, not only for different crops in different growing systems but also in different climates. And the additional benefit is that there we can make better use of solar power as well, taking advantage of the natural resources available.”
In many European countries, growers generally have a combined heat power (CHP) that already provides additional CO2 to growers. But according to Jarle, the systems can be combined easily. “Our technique is twofold: either we replace the current CO2 source or we add it to the closed growth environment. Both work fine together, but with our system, growers can stop using fossil fuels completely while still giving that beneficial CO2 to their plants. Besides, many countries do not need the extra heat provided by the CHP, at least not year-round. In that case, working with a CHP is not cost-effective.”
Already within the horticultural industry, GreenCap’s environmental climate control system can have many different applications. But the company is already investigating other possible usages of their carbon adsorbent technique. “CO2 is used in other industries too, so we are investigating other expansion already, such as companies absorbing their CO2 emission. However, horticulture is such a vast and rapidly growing industry. Imagine this huge industry, that is so essential for the food production of the entire world, being totally emission-free. That is what we’re working for.”
A promotional video of GreenCap Solution's system can be watched here.
For more information:
GreenCap Solutions
www.greencap-solutions.com
Publication date: Fri 4 Jun 2021
Author: Jenneken Schouten
© HortiDaily.com
USA - ALABAMA: Auburn College of Agriculture Using High-Tech Shipping Containers To Grow Produce For Campus Dining
Unique ‘Vertical’ Farms part of Planned 16-Acre Transformation Garden On Campus
High-tech Horticulture
Unique ‘Vertical’ Farms part of Planned 16-Acre Transformation Garden On Campus
June 10, 2021
Josh Woods | College of Agriculture
Recycled shipping containers have gained popularity in recent years, being converted into everything from houses to small stores—but the Auburn University College of Agriculture, in partnership with Campus Dining, is using them as self-contained “vertical” farms to grow produce to serve to students.
In April, the college acquired two Freight Farms shipping containers that have been converted into technologically advanced hydroponic growing stations in which plants grow vertically indoors without soil, getting their nutrition from water and light energy from powerful LEDs.
Now, the farms are producing the first crop of lettuce.
“This is state of the art,” said Desmond Layne, head of the Department of Horticulture. “We're talking growing from seed to fork in four to six weeks, depending on whether it is lettuce, arugula or another vegetable crop that can grow in there. And we can produce 15 times as much per year as we could outside in the same exact spot.”
Associate Professor of Horticulture Daniel Wells taught a vertical farming course this spring and leads operations of the vertical farms.
Wells said the containers are outfitted with a complete climate control system, which includes air conditioning and humidity control. Because they are highly insulated, the system ensures the same climate 365 days a year.
The converted containers also have an elaborate lighting system, giving all the light the plants need from two color LEDs.
“We can do any number of colors of lights,” he said. “But it turns out for photosynthesis, plants use mostly red and blue light. What’s neat about that is you can cut out a lot of the other color spectrum, creating far less heat energy. That's very efficient. It means more of the energy used is turned into light than heat.”
The containers also allow for controlled carbon dioxide levels, which accelerates plant growth.
“Ambient CO2, what you and I are exposed to every day, is about 400 ppm [parts per million],” he said. “And that’s fine, plants can grow there. But if we boost the CO2 to 1,000 ppm, they’ll grow faster. And because we’re containing the CO2, the plants can really use it. And it’s not dangerous for humans at all.”
Wells and Director of Dining and Concessions Glenn Loughridge first initiated a partnership between the College of Agriculture and Campus Dining five years ago through the Auburn Aquaponics Project, which uses hydroponics and aquaculture technologies to provide a system in which nutrient-laden wastewater from fish production is used as a food source for plant growth. Today, fish from this effort are served in dining facilities on the Auburn campus.
The new vertical farms build on that effort.
“We're in the process of finishing a $26 million dining hall in the center of campus,” Loughridge said. “It has always been foremost in my mind that we would have the opportunity to feature produce grown here on campus in that dining hall. In our biggest location, our biggest asset, we want to bring our A-game.
“This is hyper-local, on-campus sourcing,” he added. “Can you imagine being a potential student coming to tour, seeing where these products are grown, and then going to eat there? It’s incredible. We truly believe this elevates our dining experience.”
The converted shipping containers were manufactured by Freight Farms, a Boston-based company operating in 45 states and 28 countries.
“There are a few different companies out there doing this,” Layne said. “But Freight Farms is the most sophisticated. They’re the ones who have both the best product on the market and the largest production of these containers. It’s really a best-case scenario.”
Adam Lenhard, a rising senior majoring in biological agricultural technology management, said Wells’ course has been one of the most influential courses he’s taken at Auburn.
“It has been very helpful, not just in preparation for the arrival of the freights, but also in learning all about new hydroponic technologies and growing techniques,” Lenhard said. “Post-graduation, I plan to continue to work with these types of indoor, LED hydroponic systems. My primary goal after college is to normalize urban hydroponic farming, provide large, consistent yields of fresh vegetables and provide food to those in need who do not have as much access to fresh produce.”
Transformation Garden
The vertical farms are located on the College of Agriculture’s planned 16-acre Transformation Garden on the south end of the university’s campus, near the intersection of Lem Morrison Drive and Duncan Drive. The goal of the garden is to encompass every aspect of plant-based agriculture, including everything from fruits and vegetables to ornamentals to grow crops and more.
The Transformation Garden will showcase new technology and the history of agriculture, as it envelops Auburn’s Old Rotation, a single-acre research plot created in 1896. Continuously since that year, the historic landmark has been the site for testing and advancing transformative ideas that are now commonplace—ideas like crop rotation, cover crops, and low- and no-till farming.
(Written by: Kristen Bowman)
HELP DEVELOP THE TRANSFORMATION GARDEN
To help develop the new Transformation Garden, you can give online or contact Phillip Cowart, College of Agriculture director of development, at poc0001@auburn.edu or 334-844-1198.
Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.
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USA - Orlando, Florida: No Better Time Than Now
Kalera, one of 2020’s biggest headline makers in vertical farming, has even bigger plans for its still-under-construction nationwide network, and there’s nothing that can slow it down.
Kalera, one of 2020’s biggest headline makers in vertical farming, has even bigger plans for its still-under-construction nationwide network, and there’s nothing that can slow it down.
May 21, 2021
Matthew J. Grassi || Photos by Connor Barber
Kalera, based in Orlando, Florida, is taking the local indoor farming concept and stretching it from coast to coast during a nationwide pandemic. This all while turning out flavor and nutrient-packed and conventional crop price-competitive lettuce and leafy greens in a zero-pesticide, 95% less water-requiring closed-loop automated production system.
The highly automated vertical grower (with the slogan The Science of Great Greens) operates three indoor vertical farms, two of which are situated near its corporate headquarters in Central Florida.
The operation’s third vertical farm, located in Forest Park, Georgia, recently completed its inaugural lettuce harvest. This farm is one of the largest indoor farms in the U.S. Southeast at 77,000 square feet and is reportedly capable of churning out 10 million heads of lettuce to local Atlantans and foodservice distributors annually. Heads of lettuce pulled out of the new Atlanta facility have already made their way to local operators like Publix, Sysco and Fresh Point.
With the first harvest in Atlanta now under its belt, the nationwide farm network rollout rolls on into the summer.
The latest scoop: Kalera is pursuing a whirlwind agenda for the home stretch of 2021 and into the next year, opening new, modular farms in places like St. Paul, Houston, Denver, Columbus, Seattle and Hawaii. There, the company says the farm will be the island’s first operable commercial indoor farm when launched.
The new farm building campaign is not the only big news with Kalera. The group recently made waves by acquiring Vindara, an up-and-coming disruptor in the plant breeding world. The operation says it leverages machine learning and AI alongside traditional breeding techniques to drastically shorten the development window of new seed varieties and traits bred specifically for indoor vertical farming.
Leading and innovating
While the Kalera name is fairly new, the group is not some fly-by-night operator that just sprang up in a retrofitted warehouse one day. CEO Daniel Malechuk says the group worked for 10 years “behind the scenes in stealth mode” to develop the coast-to-coast indoor farm network concept.
“For the first time ever, an indoor farming company can offer you something from Hawaii to Seattle to Florida, and everywhere in between — which is exactly what the foodservice companies want — and it’s a consistent, quality product,” he says. “We’re bringing scale and unit economics and high yields unseen to this point in the vertical farming world, a couple of years ago people laughed at this concept, but clearly this is no longer a pipe dream.”
Malechuk has been with Kalera for just about a year now, having spent the bulk of his career in supply chain and retail purchasing across the food industry. The former VP of the supply chain for Mastronardi Produce has a firm grasp on what consumers want from an indoor produce company, and how to make that a reality in today’s world of segmented supply chains and COVID-closed borders.
“I have a lot to learn [about vertical farming] and I still do, and honestly that is what is most exciting for me — solving some of these challenges of ‘this is how we do it now, but can we do it this way’,” he says. “Can this be done at scale and with profitability? Those are the burning questions in this industry right now, and at Kalera we are answering those questions in a big way.”
Answering those questions by staying focused on providing a phenomenal produce product at a reasonable price is what sets Kalera apart in a crowded segment, according to Malechuk. “[Growing] something people can afford and not have to splurge to purchase this premium product, that is really what drives. Of course, our robotics and advanced technology is part of that focus, too, but our customer and what they care about — quality grown and sustainably produced, and at what price — that’s what gets us out of bed every morning.”
Kalera's closed-loop growing system produces crops with 95% less water used than field growing, according to the company.
Building out during a shutdown
Austin Martin is Kalera’s chief operating officer, based at the group’s first farm outside Orlando. The former big-box retail logistics professional oversees all of the far-reaching tentacles of the Kalera nationwide expansion strategy, managing the various farm buildouts as well as many aspects of the farm operations themselves.
“For those that were willing to work really hard and push the envelope to make things happen, [COVID] was actually a great opportunity for us to focus and get ahead,” Martin says when asked what it has been like managing such an ambitious rollout throughout the pandemic.
COVID did in fact alter Kalera’s go-to-market slightly. Initially, management was keenly focused on the food service retail segment as its primary customer. Then COVID hit and the bars, restaurants and local distribution networks that serve them practically grounded to a halt. Martin and his team had to quickly pivot to consumer-facing food retail to ensure a mixed-channel distribution strategy which the company will stick with once normalcy returns.
“These food retailers want to partner with a more sophisticated provider who can guarantee continuity in supply across a wide geography, yet still maintain that same level of focus on food safety,” Martin says. “They deal with a lot of regional growers and that’s really just because they don’t have another choice. They want the redundancy that a larger-scale operation can provide.”
The indoor farm's acquisition of a vertical farming genetics startup allows for customized hybrids brimming with nutrients, taste, and texture.
Seed acquisition
While Kalera’s scale and approach to vertical farming are attention-worthy attributes, what put the operation over the top was the acquisition of indoor seed genetics provider Vindara. It’s not every day that a farm can buy the company and infrastructure that provides arguably the most crucial link in the production chain.
The collaboration was born out of both familiarity and need: both companies have close ties to North Carolina State University’s ag programs — Malechuck is an alumnus — and Kalera’s leadership had realized a glaring need for genetics tailored specifically to indoor production systems.
Add Vindara president and co-founder Jade Stinson to the list of Kalera-connected executives with an interesting background. Stinson has worked in agriculture for decades, having helped with uncovering the link between mad cow disease and humans in the United Kingdom before joining BASF after college.
Vindara was founded in 2018 on the back of Stinson’s vision of becoming the premier provider of elite genetics for the vertical farming space. The fact that they figured out how to accelerate the seed trait breeding cycle from a ten-year lead time down to 18 months, while maintaining and even offering customizable yield and flavor profiles, simply cannot be oversold.
We're bringing scale and unit economics and high yields unseen to this point in vertical farming ..."
“Say we develop a new indoor lettuce seed variety today with higher yield. Ok, that’s great, but that can’t be it,” Stinson says. “LED lighting technology will evolve, there’ll be more automation and more hands-off growing style, different plant architectures. This industry is moving too fast for traditional breeding to keep up, and when you can leverage deep machine learning and analytics, you can really dive into the genetics and really start leveraging genetic diversity.”
What today’s vertical farming space requires is what Stinson calls a “systems approach” to breeding. “It’s not a one seed fits all approach. The production systems from grower to grower are so disparate, one seed in one system won’t move the needle,” she adds.
The partners share a focus on democratizing their own corners of the ag universe. Vindara is wholly-owned by Kalera, yet operates autonomously and will continue serving genetics to the entire CEA industry. Kalera wants more access to fresh, nutritious and affordable food, and Vindara wants the same for the breeding innovations side of the coin, too.
“Let’s democratize and have growers be able to call us up and say ,‘Ok I want a lettuce with dark purple color, high yield and nutrition, and it has to stay crispy in transport,” she envisions. “The Kalera vision is why should just the top 5% of the world population have access to the most nutritious food? And that’s what we believe in, too.”
Automation and technology
Having launched its first facility located at Orlando, Florida’s Marriott World Center convention area (which has a commercial irrigation and climate control system) Kalera’s chief technology officer and co-founder knew the operation required more precision and customization.
“Development and implementation of our automated HyCube growing system has been a tremendous advantage for our production cycles,” says Cris Toma, co-founder, and chief science officer. “It’s something we started to develop a couple of years ago because those off-the-shelf systems didn’t meet the requirements of our vertical farming operation and it was too difficult to extract the data.”
Today, the system is a cloud-based, mobile-optimized ecosystem of sensors and controllers and irrigation modules that are in constant interaction with the group’s closed-loop production systems.
By developing and launching its own system, the operation has cultivated a unique approach to technology via its experiences thus far.
“We like to say that we are farmers who use technology, rather than being a technology provider looking for an application in farming,” Toma says. “And that’s coming from somebody like myself with a machine learning and digital imaging processing background.”
By establishing indoor farms from coast to coast (and beyond) Kalera can offer its customers a consistent product from California to Maine.
“We do not make these statements because we do not understand technology, or have trepidation in dealing with it, rather it’s been my entire professional life,” he continues. “Yet, at the same time we need to be very careful that we don’t destroy the ROI and economic performance of each project with how we integrate technology.”
Once Kalera’s farm network is built and fully operational, the built-in advantage provided by all that aggregated production data will be a massive enablement piece for the head growers at each facility.
“We’ll create a digital data warehouse and implement big data analytics and algorithms, and those activities will drive our sensors with computer visions and AI for tracking plant health and development across all facilities,” Toma says.
While that data is important to what Kalera plans to do in 2021 and beyond, it will still rely on the tried-and-true head grower structure.
“The AI is not quite there yet for full automation, but the trend is there and will only continue to grow. And yet we still need a human in the loop for certain tasks, for the more complex tasks you still need the expert in there monitoring and making adjustments, and then you hope to build on the expert with data and analytics,” Toma says.
Bottom line
Kalera isn’t settling down anytime soon.
“I envision our expansion plans are going to continue, and we are also looking at international expansion in the years ahead,” Toma replies when asked what’s next for the operation. “We’ve got a deep pipeline of opportunities to capitalize on.”
For the CEO, it’s all about continuous improvement and never growing complacent.
“We never want to be flat organizationally, we are constantly striving to get better, learn, refine, and innovate within our business model,” Toma says. “And, if it adds value to our customers, then we’re going to do it.”
CubicFarms Announces Closing of $25.3 Million Equity Financing
This financing allows us to fully capitalize on our accelerating sale pipeline growth and market-leading R&D program.”
CubicFarm Systems announced today the closing of its previously announced bought deal equity offering of common shares of the company. The net proceeds from the offering of approximately C$23.8 million will be used to support CubicFarms’ continued global growth, research, and development efforts to optimize machine yields, automation, and functionality, expand addressable crop varieties, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Pursuant to the offering, the company issued a total of 18,740,742 common shares at a price of C$1.35 per common share for gross proceeds to the company of C$25,300,001, which includes the exercise, in full, by the underwriters of the over-allotment option granted by the company to purchase an additional 2,444,445 common shares at a price of C$1.35 per common share.
“We are thrilled by the overwhelming support by our global institutional shareholders, like Handelsbanken, and their confidence in our vision,” said Dave Dinesen, Chief Executive Officer, CubicFarms. “The strong demand for this bought deal financing allowed us to upsize and fully allocate the over-allotment option with the closing of $25.3 million. This financing allows us to fully capitalize on our accelerating sale pipeline growth and market-leading R&D program.”
CubicFarms completes previously announced debt reduction
CubicFarms also announced that further to its news release dated May 3, 2021, the company has completed its previously announced issuance to Business Development Bank of Canada of 128,205 common shares of the company at a deemed price of $1.56 per common share.
“We’re pleased to work with our long-term lending partner on reducing the debt associated with our C$2.5 million growth capital loan with more favorable terms for the Company,” said Dave Dinesen, CEO, CubicFarms. “This demonstrates continued confidence in our ongoing development and the growth of the Company.”
CubicFarms approves grant of options
The Company also announced today that its board of directors has approved the grant of 700,000 stock options to certain directors and officers of the company pursuant to the company’s stock option plan. The options have an exercise price of $1.47 per share, vest as to one-third n each of 12, 24, and 36 months from the date of grant, and have a 5-year term. The grant of the options is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
For more information:
CubicFarms
1-888-280-9076
info@cubicfarms.com
www.cubicfarms.com
Publication date: Fri 4 Jun 2021
It's Harvest Time! Yukon's 1st Off-Grid, No-Dirt, Hydroponics Farming Unit Produces Crops
The unit is 8 by 40 feet and can hold up to 2,800 mature plants and 1,000 seedlings
The First Harvest of Crops Comes After Only 6 Weeks of Planting The First Round of Seeds
Chris MacIntyre · CBC News · Jun 06, 2021
'It's awesome to see what you put into the project, you get out,' said Brittany Weber, the agricultural operations coordinator at the Kluane Lake Research Station. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
The Kluane Lake Research Station located between Haines Junction and Destruction Bay is known for its studies on climate change and the impacts it has on wildlife and the ecosystem.
Now, they're taking a look at food sustainability in the North.
It's been months of work but their off-grid hydroponic containerized farming unit is now producing leafy greens and herbs.
The first harvest of crops comes after only six weeks of planting the first round of seeds.
Brittany Weber is the agricultural operations coordinator for the research station.
And she's responsible for taking care of the crops.
'It's kind of a bit of an optical illusion when you walk in. It's super cool,' says the station's agricultural operations coordinator, Brittany Weber. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
"We grow plants without the use of dirt," she explained.
"Instead we use this nutrient-rich water solution. Using pumps and gravity, we wash the water over the roots of the plants and that provides them with everything they need.
Weber says because the system is containerized it is a controlled environment so pesticides and herbicides aren't used.
Inside the container
The unit is 8 by 40 feet and can hold up to 2,800 mature plants and 1,000 seedlings.
"We have six shelves going all the way from the floor to the ceiling," said Weber during the tour of the unit.
Entering into the container is described as an optical illusion.
"The trays are actually sloped so you'll stand there and see the next tray in the back row and it'll be a foot off of the first tray but really that's the gravity so the water can flow naturally down these trays," Weber said.
The plants are arranged in a "cascading of age".
The front of the container holds the big greens while the back of the unit will have the newly planted seedlings.
"You'll be able to see the different life cycles of the plants," Weber said.
A look inside of the off-grid hydroponic containerized farming unit. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
The entrance of the container has been made into a processing area called an Arctic entrance.
This allows the vegetables and greens to be processed in freezing temperatures, without worrying about frostbite or losing any leaves.
"We have a little bit of a processing area called an arctic entrance,"
Harvesting the crops
Approximately 350 plants will be harvested next week.
Produce include kale, lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, basil, cilantro, and dill.
Henry Penn, manager of the research station and the project lead, says the next step is to get the produce out into the community.
"The plan for the first number of harvests, they will be gathered up into a few small sample bags," Penn said.
"We'll be bringing them to locations around the Kluane region and offering them up to anyone that would like one free of charge."
'People are more than welcome to come by the Kluane Lake Research Station and have a tour, see the facility and learn all about the project,' said manager Henry Penn. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
The goal behind this is to let people try the product, understand how it is grown, and to provide feedback on what sort of produce is needed and wanted in the community.
Penn says now that the project is up and running, the public is invited to visit the station and see how everything works in person.
"People are more than welcome to come by the Kluane Lake Research Station and have a tour, see the facility and learn all about the project," Penn said.
Shipping Container Farm by CropBox
Lead photo: Yukon's first off-grid hydroponic containerized farming unit. This unit can hold up to 2,800 mature plants. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
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Squamish Nation Grows Plans For Food Security With Hydroponic Farm
While the outside of this 40-foot container is rather striking, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. 🌱
Noah Hilton
May 22, 2021
USA - COLORADO: Sedalia-Based FarmBox Foods Sending Container Farms All Over The World
FarmBox Foods’ short-term goals include partnering with institutions that help provide the biggest possible impact for the most people, including food banks, schools, and hospitals
Posted by Chris Michlewicz
May 28, 2021
With increasingly unpredictable weather patterns impacting crops and a continuing global food crisis affecting millions, a Colorado company is using tech-based indoor farming to make sure no one goes without a reliable, secure source of nutrient-rich food.
FarmBox Foods, based in Sedalia, has spent the last four years developing automated farms in shipping containers to grow organic leafy greens, culinary herbs, tomatoes, and now pine tree seedlings. The company also has a first-of-its-kind gourmet mushroom farm that produces around 400 pounds of mushrooms per week.
The mission-driven company is focused on helping feed those living in food deserts while empowering local communities and providing jobs and educational opportunities. FarmBox Foods’ patented vertical hydroponic watering systems use 90% less water than traditional farms and yield the equivalent of 2 – 2.5 acres of farmland. The repurposed shipping containers that house these systems can be placed virtually anywhere in the world — from island nations to college campuses to the frozen reaches of Alaska — and produce food year-round.
The fully controlled enclosed growing environment is protected from pests and pathogens, which reduces and can eliminate entirely the need for pesticides, allowing people to harvest and eat untainted farm-fresh produce. Setting up containers in or near populated areas also reduces food waste, as the food is able to get to the table more quickly and can better retain its nutritional value.
“The real mission in this whole thing is to be able to feed the world in places that ordinarily wouldn’t be able to grow food,” said Rusty Walker, CEO of FarmBox Foods.
FarmBox Foods’ short-term goals include partnering with institutions that help provide the biggest possible impact for the most people, including food banks, schools, and hospitals.
Learn more at www.farmboxfoods.com.
Posted in Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Douglas County Business, Douglas County Front, Featured, Jefferson County, South Jeffco
Tagged agtech, climatecontrolledfarming, Colorado, coloradobusiness, containerag, containerfarms, eatorganic, farmboxfoods, farmboxfoodscolorado, farming, farmtotable, fooddeserts, foodinequality, foodinsecurity, foodsecurity, growyourownfood, indoorfarming, indoorfarms, mushroomcultivation, mushroomfarm, mushrooms, organic, sedalia, urbanfarming, verticalhydroponicfarm, verticalhydroponics
About the Author: Chris Michlewicz
USA - KENTUCKY: Elliott County High School Receives New Container Farm Through AppHarvest
The curriculum provided by AppHarvest will cover topics such as high-tech growing and an introductory course on local food systems and food resiliency
May. 29, 2021
SANDY HOOK, Ky. (WSAZ) - Some students at Elliott County High School will soon be able to help grow food -- not only for themselves but for the entire region.
The Elliott County High School container farm is the fourth addition to AppHarvest’s program in 2021 and the sixth educational container farm to date.
The container farm program was launched in 2018 and demonstrates AppHarvest’s ongoing commitment to cultivating interest in high-tech farming as it seeks to create America’s AgTech capital from inside Appalachia. Each retrofitted shipping container acts as a hands-on agricultural classroom for students, allowing them to grow and provide fresh leafy greens to their classmates and those in need in their communities.
AppHarvest has opened container farms in Eastern Kentucky at Madison Central High School in Richmond; Breathitt High School in Jackson; Shelby Valley High School in Pikeville; and Rowan County Senior High School and AppHarvest’s flagship farm at Rockcastle County High School in Morehead.
Elliott County High School’s container farm includes space to grow up to 2,760 seedlings and 2,960 mature plants, all at once in a nutrient film technique (NFT) system. NFT is a water-saving system in which plant roots are continuously fed all necessary water and nutrients by a shallow stream, also called “film.” Excess water drains to a holding tank and is then recirculated. This system of high-tech growing sets the Elliott County container apart from AppHarvest’s other educational containers, which have operated hydroponically and vertically.
“One of our goals at AppHarvest is to build an AgTech capital right here in Appalachia,” said Jonathan Webb, AppHarvest Founder, and CEO. “We want to see communities across the region use technology to bring farms to life. And in five years from now, it’ll be leaders from these very programs coming to us with ideas on how we continue to evolve and change agriculture.”
Makayla Rose, Elliott County High School agriculture teacher, will lead the newest container program.
The curriculum provided by AppHarvest will cover topics such as high-tech growing and an introductory course on local food systems and food resiliency.
“This is exciting. Some students who might not like to get in the dirt have a different way of growing vegetables,” said Garret Barker, president of Elliot County’s FFA chapter. “It’s different than my farm at home. It doesn’t depend on outside factors like the rain. It’s all controlled by an app.”
Lead Photo: Elliott County High School receives new container farm through AppHarvest (Kimberly Keagy/ WSAZ)