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A Growing Opportunity Has Dracut, New York Students Filling Salad Bar
A Growing Opportunity Has Dracut, New York Students Filling Salad Bar
By Amaris Castillo, acastillo@lowellsun.com
02/05/2018
A group of Dracut High School students in late November planted lettuce seeds at Justus C. Richardson Middle School in Dracut, which would produce food to be incorporated in the high school s salad bar. The students are also members of the school s Environmental Action Club. SUN PHOTOS / AMARIS CASTILLO
DRACUT -- A group of Dracut High School students in late November bent their heads over a row of soil press seed plates on a long table at Justus C. Richardson Middle School. Slowly and carefully, the teens (also members of the school's Environmental Action Club) planted the first set of lettuce seeds in each hole that, in time, would produce organic food meant for the high school's salad bar and prepared meals for students.
"It's been growing as hoped and expected, and they have harvested lettuce," Dracut High School principal Richard Manley said last week of the students' progress in the district's greenhouse.
Dracut High students are using the indoor grow technology through a collaborative effort between teachers, the middle school, and the Food Services Department.
(SUN / AMARIS CASTILLO)
The company that brought forth the technology is New York-based 2445 Organics.
According to Andy Maslin, the founder of 2445 Organics, this system takes the "ag farm back into the school" rather than a school busing students to a farm for the experience. It's the first time his company is branching into Massachusetts.
"This is allowing the farmers to become year-round sustainable and allowing the schools to grow their own foods year-round," Maslin said.
Maslin said his New England distributor, Todd Bard, CEO of EvanLEE Organics, worked to bring the opportunity to Town Manager Jim Duggan. Bard has previously conducted business with the town.
"It's a job creator. It's got agricultural and educational components to it, and I think it's a fantastic opportunity," Duggan said.
Autogrow Opens Virtual Innovation Community
Autogrow has opened a virtual agtech and science lab and is inviting indoor ag developers, growers and enthusiasts to join in building a dynamic and innovative community.
Autogrow Opens Virtual Innovation Community
8 February 2018
Autogrow has opened a virtual agtech and science lab and is inviting indoor ag developers, growers and enthusiasts to join in building a dynamic and innovative community.
Following on from the launch of their Jelly SDK, APIs and Autogrow Cloud platform last year, the Autogrow Lab was set up as a collaborative environment for continued research and development of control systems for indoor agriculture.
“The industry is a fragmented hardware landscape with software and data technology being introduced into the mix. Our goal is to bring much of that together in an open platform, add in the science of plant biology and create a space for discussion, invention and pushing the boundaries,” explains Chief Technology Officer Jeffrey Law.
“Being virtual ensures that anyone, anywhere and at any time can join in the discussion add to the research or utilize our applications to create next-generation ideas. The industry is moving incredibly fast but a lot of that is happening behind the scenes. We think by creating a collaboration space we can ensure the entire agtech community will benefit from the increased pace.”
Users will have access to Autogrow’s APIs and SDKs for control systems, technical documentation, compiled research and be able to contribute to tech blogs. The Lab will have a strong focus on the marriage of tech and data with plant science.
“To really understand what’s required in different environments such as greenhouses, protected cropping, and plant farms, you have to look at the plants from a biological perspective, then adjust the environment to suit,” says Dr. Tharindu Weeraratne, Director of Crop Science and Agronomy.
The Lab is open to anyone with an interest in agtech with a focus on transparency and creating a repository for education and sharing advances with the community.
“I was asked recently whether I’d be afraid someone would create a better control system by using our API. My answer to that was – I hope so. I hope that people start creating better, smarter systems for indoor ag which in turn drives everyone to work harder,” says Mr. Law.
“Anyone who’s afraid of change or new ideas need to step aside and make way for those that want to innovate and improve our industry and in turn keep everyone on their toes - we included.”
Visit - lab.autogrow.com
About Autogrow
Established in 1994, Autogrow (www.autogrow.com) is committed to creating original ideas for agriculture – and making them a reality.
With a global headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand, an office in the U.S. and growers and resellers in over 40 countries, Autogrow provides affordable, accessible and easy-to-use innovation – 24/7, anywhere in the world.
By leveraging the power of technology, data science, and plant biology through a team of software designers, engineers and crop science experts - Autogrow continues to push innovation boundaries to gain the best result for the growers.
AEssenseGrows Software Delivers 40% Faster Growth with Automated Sensor-Controlled Indoor Farming
AEssenseGrows Software Delivers 40% Faster Growth with Automated Sensor-Controlled Indoor Farming
The Guardian™ Grow Manager Makes It Easy to Manage Precision Control Through Any Device
NEWS PROVIDED BY AEssenseGrows, Inc.
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AEssenseGrows, a precision sensor and software technology company specializing in fully automated aeroponic platforms for consistent indoor high-yield plant production, announced the release of its Guardian Grow Manager intelligent software, now including a complete range of water, nutrient, air, and environmental controls that help customers achieve up to 40 percent faster growth with higher year-round yields.
AEssenseGrows Software Delivers 40% Faster Growth with Automated Sensor-Controlled Indoor Farming
AEssenseGrows produces modular aeroponic grow systems that are constantly aware of plant status through a blanket of precision sensors controlled by the Guardian Grow Manager software. Optimal delivery of nutrients to indoor plants is guaranteed with confidence from recipe through execution, with the constant attention to detail that automation provides. Every sensor reading is processed and mirrored to the AWS cloud, providing a perfect data record for any grow cycle and any plant variety. The company's AEtrium System produces top-shelf pesticide-free crops while reducing the requisite amount of water, nutrients and labor of traditional farming.
"The Guardian Grow Manager is what we rely on to generate a consistent, high-quality product," said Matthew Willinger, master grower at Fitchburg, in Oakland. "I can focus on plant health while the Guardian executes my orders perfectly. The reduction in time and labor is allowing us to be ultra-competitive."
The software provides fully automated intelligence to guarantee nutrient dosage is precise and consistently applied perfectly with every irrigation cycle. Wireless controlled sensors ensure that the Guardian constantly senses, doses, tracks, and analyzes an entire grow operation to specification.
In addition, AEssenseGrows has been licensed to integrate California's Metrc system into the software, meaning users will soon have "seed-to-sale" visibility end-to-end for their operations. The state selected Metrc as its track-and-trace system for tracking commercial cannabis activity and movement throughout the distribution chain.
"The Guardian software makes managing a large facility easy. With all the information of our entire grow at our fingertips we can see up-to-the-second sensor data from anywhere in our facility," said Andrew Lange, CEO of Black Diamond Biotech. "The software makes it easy to maintain the perfect nutrient and light levels and, by integrating the Guardian software into our climate control system, we can maintain the perfect environment for huge consistent yields."
The Guardian Grow Manager features:
- The ability to access, manage, and operate anywhere
- Full facility awareness and control
- Nutrient recipe control and automatic adjustments
- Predictable and repeatable grow results
- 24/7 real-time monitoring
- Complete data monitoring, AWS storage, and back-up in the cloud
- Easy system maintenance
The software delivers total control over photoperiod, nutrient concentration, nutrient dosing ratio, fertigation period (day and night), pH, hydrogen peroxide dosing, air temperature (day and night), humidity, carbon dioxide monitoring, carbon dioxide concentration, air movement, light intensity, water temperature, pump pressure and reservoir water level.
"Our customers have quickly recognized the benefits of having complete control of their grow environments at their fingertips," said Robert Chen, president and CEO of AEssenseGrows. "Advances like the Guardian Grow Manager have turned aeroponics from a theoretically effective method of indoor farming to a practical one. We help our customers compete with automated, low-cost manufacturing so they can be aggressive competitors."
AEssenseGrows will demonstrate its advanced aeroponics systems at the Global Forum for Innovations in AgricultureFeb. 5-6 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at CannaCon Feb 15-17 in Seattle, Wash., and at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit March 20-21 in San Francisco, Calif.
AEssenseGrows offers free webinars on key issues concerning indoor farming. The next, on integrated pest management, will be at 10 a.m. Pacific Time Feb. 14, and reservations can be made on the company's website.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-startup was recently selected by Ackrell Capital as one of the firm's Top 100 Private Cannabis Companies for 2018.
AEssense, Inc. (pronounced "eh-sense") founded in 2015, is a new precision AgTech company based in Sunnyvale, CA. AEssenseGrows provides accelerated plant growth SmartFarm platforms and software automation delivering pure, zero pesticide, year-round, enriched growth to fresh produce and medicinal plant producers globally. With AEssenseGrows, you can precisely control your production operations at your fingertips from anywhere in the world.
For more information for AEssense, visit AEssenseGrows.com.
Phil Gibson
AEssenseGrows, Inc.
669.261.3086
pgibson@aessensegrows.com
SOURCE AEssenseGrows, Inc.
Related Links
Over 32 Trillion Data Points Give Growers Solid Environmental Intelligence
Over 32 Trillion Data Points Give Growers Solid Environmental Intelligence
17 January 2018 (PST): Autogrow, a leading global ag tech company, has announced their strategy to use trillions of available growing data points to help their growers’ crop production.
“Due to the unique nature of our architecture, over 32 trillion data points flow through our systems each year which would be one of the most substantial collections for indoor agriculture to date. Data is king when it comes to innovation but what you do with it is the key,” says CEO Darryn Keiller.
Darryn Keiller at head office
“The tricky part is, like most systems, a lot of the data generated contains noise. To date, our processing algorithm has filtered and stored over six billion data points which are then ingested by our state-of-the-art data pipeline, and analyzed by our scientists for our customers.”
“Our strategy is to orchestrate the data to make it meaningful for our growers, giving them deeper insight into their crop environments’, revealing critical factors of crop cycle and seasonality, to enable smarter decisions and better outcomes.”
Data is currently sourced from Autogrow’s MultiGrowTM, AphaeaTM, IntelliDoseTM and IntelliClimateTM control systems and, depending on the system being run, collates microclimate data every 3-5 seconds including air temperature, humidity, light levels, CO2, pH and nutrient levels as well as local macroclimate data.
The richness of the data is enormous spanning a vast array of produce, floriculture and arboreal plant nurseries in greenhouses, urban farms and protected cropping systems in over 40 countries.
Each grower can access their own data via the cloud or the controller at any time with enterprise level security in place, but the biggest challenge for the grower is seeing past the large quantity of data to the quality insight.
Autogrow’s Director of Crop Science and Agronomy, Dr Tharindu Weeraratne notes that information gathered gives a true reflection of how the plants are responding to their environment and what the optimum levels are for increased yields with high quality and consistency.
“All the factors involved including external and internal climate, plant biology, nutrient requirements, technology usage and how everything interacts together is vital. Add in the effects of consumer needs, geopolitical factors and climate change, and those leafy greens or tomatoes are more complex than most consumers realize.”
“There are a few factors that can’t be controlled with crop production but by gaining knowledge and understanding of those factors you do have control over, it’s really the first step to true innovation and business growth.”
Integration Empowers Growers to Augment Any Climate Computer With Sensor Insights
Integration Empowers Growers to Augment Any Climate Computer With Sensor Insights
Growers can now connect data from any climate computer to the 30MHz wireless sensor platform with Klimlink. 30MHz, the Amsterdam-based provider of smart sensing technology equips agricultural customers with all the elements needed to monitor and optimise growing and storage environments with physical data: wireless sensors, a scalable network, and a customizable dashboard with alerts and analytics, all deployable in minutes. Partnership and integration with Klimlink offers growers a deeper real-time understanding of crop needs on both macro (climate computer data) and micro (wireless sensor data) levels. The result is tangible insights customers can respond to, preventing crop loss and saving energy.
Breaking down data silos in agriculture
Any systems that generate data can be linked together via Klimlink, and made immediately available in the 30MHz dashboard, with heatmaps, graphs, and other interactive visualizations. “This is a major step in breaking down data silos in agriculture. Growers work with so many different climate systems, and have to read data per system without a central overview of their metrics. This is work-intensive, impractical, and makes it difficult to fully optimise. Integrating with Klimlink knocks down the walls separating this powerful data, making it immediately actionable in our dashboard.” says 30MHz Director of Customer Affairs Cor-Jan Holwerda.
Empowering growers with selective data sharing
Klimlink, developed by agritechnologist Wim Klaver, enables growers to bring together large amounts of data available from greenhouse horticulture companies (most often from climate computers) onto a single, intuitive platform. Without high costs or subsidies, Klimlink opens the door to many additional applications, making data available for deeper analysis. With customizable data sharing features in the 30MHz dashboard, growers can get more value out of their measurements by comparing data with each other, while researchers and crop advisers can simply look over the grower's shoulder without having to log on to different control systems.
30MHz believes that with technology and data, organizations of any size can innovate to become more efficient, sustainable and profitable. Using an easy to deploy sensor technology, the company empowers businesses to turn metrics captured from the physical world into actionable insights at industrial scale.
The 30MHz provides all the building blocks needed for a scalable sensor network: from sensors to connectivity through to alerts and analytics.
Having established a growing presence within Dutch agriculture, 30MHz now counts customers in North America, Africa and across Europe. Alongside its Dutch headquarters, the company has offices in London, Norwich, Bristol, Singapore, Melbourne and Hong Kong.
The flexible and highly customizable 30MHz Smart Sensing Toolkit gives customers a choice of sensors capturing metrics including pointed temperature, light intensity, airspeed, CO2, vibration, temperature, humidity, distance, counting, dew point and soil moisture.
All data captured belongs to the customer and is accessible only by that customer.
30MHz has developed a series of customer case studies that demonstrate real-life examples of how sensors and data collection are driving change at every stage of agriculture and horticulture.
Case study - Proeftuin Zwaagdijk
Optimising greenhouse conditions with sensor data
One of the Netherlands’ foremost sources of applied research on agriculture and horticulture, Proeftuin Zwaagdijk provides a controlled environment to test the best methods and tools for crop cultivation and protection. Using sensory data on dew point, temperature, relative humidity and CO2, the organization ensures the optimum conditions to provide relevant and immediate environmental data to a network of over 100 agricultural research centers specialized in crop protection.
Case study - Jan de Wit en Zonen
Maintaining product quality with monitored environments
Leaders in the cultivation and export of tulip bulbs, Jan de Wit en Zonen have maintained a reputation for quality and expertise, supplying one of the most recognized Dutch exports to clients in more than twenty countries across Europe, Asia and North America. The company uses real-time alerts and analytics from temperature, humidity and ethylene sensors to monitor conditions during processing: tracking the functioning of flower ventilators to deliver the best product.
Case study - Moors Pepper Farm
Optimising water and nutrition delivery to crops
Netherlands-based Kwekerij Moors is a market leader in pepper cultivation. The commercial farm transformed its pepper yield through the strategic placement of flexible infrared temperature sensors--developed in partnership with 30MHz-- to capture the surface temperature of crops. Moors leveraged sensory data to optimize the delivery of nutrients and water, reducing loss of vegetables due to sunscald at an ROI of 3600%.
Case study - Bejo Zaden
Ensuring safe transport conditions for living cargo
With 1,700 employees and operations in more than thirty countries, Bejo Zaden is a leader in the breeding, production, and sale of vegetable seeds. The company keeps thousands of bee colonies in bee farms globally. Temperature and humidity are crucial to successful bee shipping. Extreme temperatures can kill honeybees or reduce their ability to produce honey. Last year, Bejo Zaden lost an entire honeybee shipment due to inconsistent conditions inside a truck. Using temperature humidity sensors to monitor conditions inside trucks, and temperature sensors installed inside beehives, the company ensures optimal conditions for the safe transport of bees around Europe. Drivers receive alerts on changes to the cargo environment, knowing when to ventilate or cool the hives.
Case study - Rawligion
Using sensors to monitor stock inventory and kitchen preparation conditions.
Rawligion is one of London’s premium food retail outlets. Rawligion’s key focus is on high-quality ingredients, as a large part of their menu follows raw food principles. This means that ingredients are never heated above 42oC, to ensure that the finished food or drink product has retained maximum nutritional value. Rawligion using sensors to monitor significant changes in conditions in their fridges, freezer and kitchen areas in real-time. Working with fresh produce that has a limited life-shelf time, sensory data enables Rawligion to actively increase inventory life and prevent losses.
About 30MHz
30MHz develops and produces a complete sensor platform for the agricultural sector, consisting of wireless sensors, a scalable data network and an analytics dashboard with visualizations and real-time alerts available on mobile, desktop or tablet. Quick to deploy without technical knowledge, the intuitive platform enables customers to add new sensors at any time. Customers from horticulture, agriculture, vertical farming, crop and bulb storage and processing companies use the technology to monitor their crops and environments in real-time. Commonly measured metrics include temperature, humidity, dew point, VPD, CO2, light intensity, and air flow. The company works with agricultural leaders including Sercom, Wageningen University and Proeftuin Zwaagdijk to continuously anticipate growers’ needs.
Motorleaf's Agronomist.ai Software Cuts SunSelect's Yield Prediction Error Rates In Half
Motorleaf has come out of private BETA with a commercially available yield prediction service for commercial greenhouses, after working closely with SunSelect (150 acres in California & B.C.) with results that disrupt how commercial greenhouse farms worldwide can now operate their business, adding significant dollars to their client’s bottom line.
Motorleaf's Agronomist.ai Software Cuts SunSelect's Yield Prediction Error Rates In Half
Motorleaf, Montreal, Canada
Motorleaf has come out of private BETA with a commercially available yield prediction service for commercial greenhouses, after working closely with SunSelect (150 acres in California & B.C.) with results that disrupt how commercial greenhouse farms worldwide can now operate their business, adding significant dollars to their client’s bottom line.
Motorleaf has launched it’s Agronomist.ai platform with a world first for greenhouse owners/operators, allowing for accurate Yield Prediction.
“After 8+ months of private BETA testing with one of North America’s premier greenhouse operators SunSelect, our latest algorithm has cut the accuracy error rates of SunSelect by half. For such a high tech greenhouse- they’ve tried every method that’s out there,” – Alastair Monk, Motorleaf CEO/Co-Founder.
SunSelect’s co-owner Victor Krahn agrees, saying: “For us (and any commercial size operation) knowing/predicting exactly what quantity of product we'll have each week is one of the top metrics we obsessively track. This data feeds into all critical areas of our operation, from labour management to price negotiation, to buyer relationships and even trickling through to in-store marketing budgets. Like most commercial greenhouses, our ability to predict something so dynamic as yield is almost impossible to get right. Our error rates bounce between 5% to over 35% in some weeks. Motorleaf is now our new standard for predicting yield.”
With the emergence of so many AgTech companies in the past couple of years, Motorleaf has been building its suite of hardware and software to leverage the data it collects via its own hardware, but can also leverage data already been collected by greenhouse clients, which in most cases is not being leveraged to its potential by the greenhouse.
Mr Krahn continues: “Working with our team of growers and VP of Operations we were impressed at the level of accuracy Motorleaf’s team provided through both touching the plants in the greenhouse and reaching through the cloud for the data our state of the art greenhouses provides every day! The integration was easy, non-invasive and I think shows amazing promise to become the new industry standard.”
Both companies are looking to expand their relationship, with Mr. Krahn adding: “I'm proud to say SunSelect is not only a client, but we will be helping Motorleaf roll out an increasing number of solutions to the benefit of every Motorleaf client worldwide. Their latest algorithm cut our yield prediction error rates in half, and goes without saying is a game changer that no one saw coming!"
Mr Monk adds: “You know your team is delivering exceptional work when the head growers at a client’s location literally don’t believe the results can be so much better than what’s normal in the industry. We have to thank the very long hours our team has put into making this a reality, especially Scott Dickson-Dagondon and Ramen Dutta (AI Director and CTO/Co-founder) – this is a very exciting time for our company and we feel for greenhouse producers worldwide.”
Find out how Motorleaf's Ai-powered yield predictions can help your business:
CONTACT US
About Motorleaf: Motorleaf is developing Agronomist.ai – a virtual agronomist for every greenhouse and indoor farmer in the world. With a varied mix of monitoring, control and predictive capabilities, Motorleaf is leveraging AI & Machine learning to deliver predictable, repeatable, improved crop production worldwide.
Greenhouse Technology Could Be The Future of Food
Greenhouse Technology Could Be The Future of Food
Published: Jan. 17, 2018 • By Trent Knoss
Professor Ronggui Yang (left) and Assistant Professor Xiaobo Yin. Photo by Glenn J. Asakawa / University of Colorado Boulder
CU Boulder engineers have received a $2.45 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a scalable, cost-effective greenhouse material that splits sunlight into the photosynthetically efficient light and repurposes inefficient infrared light to aid in water purification. The material can also split the light streaming into greenhouses into rays that plants can use more efficiently.
The four-year research program could yield next-gen technology capable of solving food, energy and water security challenges posed by global population growth and climate change.
The study, administered under the USDA and National Science Foundation’s Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) program, will be led by researchers from CU Boulder’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in collaboration with Michigan State University’s Department of Horticulture and Department of Mechanical Engineering.
“We are excited to work on a project that addresses one of the most important global challenges with our multidisciplinary colleagues at CU and MSU,” said Ronggui Yang, a professor of mechanical engineering who will lead the team.
Greenhouses have been used since the 1960s and remain the standard for effective plant productivity compared to open-field agriculture. But the structures carry high energy costs, requiring tremendous amounts of energy for heating, ventilation, electrical lighting and water for evaporative cooling. By the year 2050, current greenhouse capabilities will likely be unable to keep up with worldwide human consumption, making an increase in productivity an urgent mandate.
Under normal conditions, plants only use around 50 percent of incoming sunlight for photosynthesis while the remaining half goes unused.
“The new CU Boulder technology will take the form of a semi-translucent film that splits incoming light and converts the rays from less-desired green wavelengths into more desirable red wavelengths, thus increasing the amount of photosynthetically efficient light for the plant with no additional electricity consumption,” said Xiaobo Yin, an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at CU Boulder.
The thin engineered material can be applied directly to the surface of greenhouse panels. The technology also makes use of the photosynthetically ineffective light by redirecting it to aid in solar-driven water purification.
“The near-infrared wavelengths can help clean brackish wastewater, allowing it to be recirculated in an advanced humidification-dehumidification interface and further reducing the greenhouse’s energy footprint,” said Yang, an American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fellow.
The innovation could help improve U.S. agricultural competitiveness and lead to new best practices for greenhouse systems in different climates, especially in arid regions with limited freshwater availability where crops cannot be grown profitably.
The technology expands on the researchers’ previous successful efforts to develop a suite of scalable engineered materials that can cool structures and improve solar panel efficiency, among other applications.
The researchers plan to create a pilot greenhouse facility to test the material’s properties over the course of multiple tomato production cycles and, later, expand the test to leafy greens such as lettuce and herbs.
ColdPICK International Inc. & Ecarne Sistemas, A Cold Chain Equipment Provider Based in Mexico, Forming Chill Produce Inc.
ColdPICK International Inc., with its extensive background in engineering and packaging innovation, together with Ecarne Sistemas, a Cold Chain equipment provider based in Mexico, are combining their comprehensive expertise to form a new company - Chill Produce Inc.
Chill Produce will focus on helping to resolve the regulatory burdens, which have been mounting, on fruit and vegetable growers in North America. North America because operators of both companies have been involved with agriculture material handling system development in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
ColdPICK designed, engineered and manufactured (under contract with an integrated berry company) the ColdPICK M1, a Mobile post-harvest pre-cooling system that can be located at the grow site to pre-cool 1,000LB of berries in an hour, to match the volume of berries a crew will pick per hour.
Ecarne has been facilitating the provision of large refrigeration equipment to the meat and seafood industry in Mexico.
The new company - Chill Produce provides cold chain material handling systems to the grower/ packer/shipper market. Systems which will minimize labor and energy costs and the regulatory burdens with which California is currently predominantly impacted (resulting in a competitive disadvantage with other states and offshore growers).
The fresh fruit and vegetable growers suffer from a broken immigration system resulting in changing regulatory burdens of minimum wage and overtime enforcement that will now be applied to agricultural jobs.
Energy rates vary by state and California ‘wins’ the race for the highest $kWh measured against other ‘agricultural’ states.
Chill Produce offers various post-harvest pre-cooling systems which will reduce both labor and energy costs
1. The variable Retention Time chilling tunnel, ‘VRT’, will reduce your cold chain material handling headcount over 50%.
2. Chill Produce Cooler Vacuum cooling chambers, ‘CPC’, will cool select produce cartons in 30-minute cycles with a capacity that ranges from 1,100LB to 22,000LB per cycle.
3. VERMAK tray design to increase pallet payload by adding an extra layer at the same height as male-female locking trays which improves revenue and reduces freight costs.
Both the VRT and CPC Vacuum Cooling Systems provide;
- Dwell Time Reduction by 25% to over 50%
- Lower Energy Costs
- Improved Quality
- Longer Shelf Life
- Less Cull
- Smaller Carbon Footprint
Contact Chill Produce; www.chillproduce.com
USA – Canada;
Gregory Smith; gregory@chillproduce.com
+1 863 581 7279
Mexico;
Abe McKee; abe@chillproduce.com
+1 956 242 0665
Over 32 trillion Data Points Give Growers Solid Environmental Intelligence
Over 32 trillion Data Points Give Growers Solid Environmental Intelligence
17 January 2018
Darryn Keiller at head office
Autogrow, a leading global ag tech company, has announced their strategy to use trillions of available growing data points to help their growers’ crop production.
“Due to the unique nature of our architecture, over 32 trillion data points flow through our systems each year which would be one of the most substantial collections for indoor agriculture to date. Data is king when it comes to innovation but what you do with it is the key,” says CEO Darryn Keiller.
“The tricky part is, like most systems, a lot of the data generated contains noise. To date, our processing algorithm has filtered and stored over six billion data points which are then ingested by our state-of-the-art data pipeline, and analyzed by our scientists for our customers.”
Innovative. Exciting. Every aspect of your environment under your control.
Light and humidity, air flow, air and root temperature, nutrient delivery, pH balance and EC - with our systems every variable is under your direct control, so you can maximise growth and efficiency.
Optimise your environment for the best crop yield both in terms of quality and quantity.
Our systems let you directly manage your resources and productivity, offering 365 day availability, labour cost savings and the ease of controlling crop growth cycles.
“Our strategy is to orchestrate the data to make it meaningful for our growers, giving them deeper insight into their crop environments’, revealing critical factors of crop cycle and seasonality, to enable smarter decisions and better outcomes.”
Data is currently sourced from Autogrow’s MultiGrowTM, AphaeaTM, IntelliDoseTM and IntelliClimateTM control systems and, depending on the system being run, collates microclimate data every 3-5 seconds including air temperature, humidity, light levels, CO2, pH and nutrient levels as well as local macroclimate data.
The richness of the data is enormous spanning a vast array of produce, floriculture and arboreal plant nurseries in greenhouses, urban farms and protected cropping systems in over 40 countries.
Each grower can access their own data via the cloud or the controller at any time with enterprise-level security in place, but the biggest challenge for the grower is seeing past the large quantity of data to the quality insight.
Autogrow’s Director of Crop Science and Agronomy, Dr. Tharindu Weeraratne notes that information gathered gives a true reflection of how the plants are responding to their environment and what the optimum levels are for increased yields with high quality and consistency.
“All the factors involved including external and internal climate, plant biology, nutrient requirements, technology usage and how everything interacts together is vital. Add in the effects of consumer needs, geopolitical factors, and climate change, and those leafy greens or tomatoes are more complex than most consumers realize.”
“There are a few factors that can’t be controlled with crop production but by gaining knowledge and understanding of those factors you do have control over, it’s really the first step to true innovation and business growth.”
Green thumbs, helping hands.
Autogrow was born in the greenhouses of New Zealand. With more than 20 years experience working with growers around the world, we want to work with you to help you make the most of your growing space.
Scale at your own speed.
Autogrow lets you choose what variables you want to control. No unnecessary extra bells and whistles, just good, clean growing at a price point you can afford.
We're not a walled garden.
Our open systems approach means that wherever possible you can re-use your existing investment in equipment.
FarmBot Wants to Cultivate An Open-Source Future For Remote Farming
FarmBot Wants to Cultivate An Open-Source Future For Remote Farming
January 3, 2018
“Farm from anywhere” is a phrase we’re likely to hear more and more of as technology enables easier access to fresh, locally grown food. We just wrote about Babylon Micro-Farms, a remote, hydroponic farm you can keep inside your living room. There’s also a healthy urban farming market: thanks to companies like Farmshelf and Smallhold, restaurants, schools, and the average consumer get better access to fresh food and more involved in the food production itself.
But no one’s tackled the reinvention of farming quite like the folks at FarmBot.
FarmBot is basically precision agriculture for the people. When he launched the FarmBot project in 2011, founder Rory Aronson wanted to find a way to bring the benefits of remote farming to the everyman without the hefty price tag.
Precision agriculture normally involves technology like self-steering tractors and aerial drones that can make better use of resources. Because the method uses real-time data to understand weather, air quality, labor costs, and other factors, growers can make smarter decisions about how much and how often to employ resources. As its name suggests, precision agriculture provides meticulous records of every single step of the growing process.
Historically, it’s been the territory of industrial farmers. But thanks to Aronson, anyone with a little space and (considerably less) cash can get involved in food production.
Both FarmBot products, made up of cartesean coordinate robots along with software and documentation, can work on rooftops, in backyards, and can accommodate both small- and large-scale farming operations. It’s unclear whether the company means “farm from anywhere” literally, as it says on its website. But considering the highly customizable nature of the product, anyone with some tech know-how could theoretically hack the bot and make it work in any given climate.
A visual interface lets you “plan your garden like a videogame,” according to the company’s website. So the fact that the interface looks a bit like FarmVille is no coincidence. You can drag and drop plants into the virtual plot of land (below), build care regiments, and even scare away birds.
After the garden is planned, the machine plants seeds, measures soil moisture content and water, and can detect and destroy weeds. Email alerts tell a user when the crops are ready for harvest.
It’s also open source, including the hardware, software, and documentation. That means all design files, source code, and hardware specs are available for free on the company’s website, so anyone can customize their farm without having to fork over a bunch of extra money.
Right now, the FarmBot Genesis goes for $2,595 via the company’s website. The FarmBot Genesis XL, which is available for preorder, costs $3,295 and covers “421 percent the area of for just 38% more cost.” Shipments of both machines are expected to go out in May of this year.
Aronson would eventually like to get the price point down to $1,000. It’s unclear whether that will happen soon or if it’s some ways off. Meanwhile, FarmBot is making its way into universities and non-profits, and the company is working with NASA to develop open-source food production on Mars, the Moon, and deep space. Remote farming indeed.
All images courtesy of FarmBot.
Second Generation Growlink Environment Controllers Introduce New Remote Sensor Module with Additional Light and VPD Readings
Growlink, architect of Smart Farm technology, today announced the second generation Growlink Environment Controllers. In addition to the new remote sensor module, they introduced three new controllers to support any size grow operation.
Second Generation Growlink Environment Controllers Introduce New Remote Sensor Module with Additional Light and VPD Readings
Growlink Second Generation Controllers provide a complete hardware and software solution for monitoring and equipment automation.
DENVER (PRWEB) December 08, 2017
Environment Sensor Module
Our mission is to help growers reduce costs, maximize yields and eliminate crop loss while helping them save energy.
Growlink, architect of Smart Farm technology, today announced the second generation Growlink Environment Controllers. In addition to the new remote sensor module, they introduced three new controllers to support any size grow operation. New features include VPD and light readings, improved rules engine, rule groups, direct controller access, local data storage, expanded I/O options, improved Wi-Fi compatibility and proprietary mesh RF network.
“In the past year, we’ve accomplished many notable milestones, from having Growlink Controllers connected – and improving operations and yields – in licensed grows in every U.S. state and across Canada where cannabis production is legal, to supporting some of the largest food production vertical farms, to adding over 100 dealers and installers” said Ted Tanner, Growlink founder and chief executive officer.
“Our mission is to help growers reduce costs, maximize yields and eliminate crop loss while helping them save energy, and with the next-generation Growlink Environment Controllers, we’re able to spread that saving and predictability to even more farms of any size – and to help all the equipment in a farm perform the way they were meant to.”
All three models include the new Wireless ESM1 Environment Sensor Module, a shielded device designed to hang in the canopy that measures temperature, humidity, VPD, light and CO2.
The Growlink EC-1 Environment Controller is designed for small room operation. It includes a compact base controller, the Wireless Environment Sensor Module and two Remote Power Links that allow users to control any equipment. The system can be expanded by adding additional Remote Power Links.
The Growlink EC-3 Environment Controller is designed for commercial grow rooms and container farms. The base controller includes eight solid state relays with manual override switches for controlling external devices. Users can switch any low-voltage equipment or use UL listed contactors for line voltage interfacing equipment. It includes the ESM1 Wireless Sensor Module and supports the addition of a second ESM1 to monitor a second room. All components are matched to the controlled loads and panels arrive fully pre-wired and tested.
The Growlink EC-6 Environment Controller is designed to deliver the ultimate smart farm experience, featuring the highest-quality components and processing power to coordinate hundreds of smart devices throughout the entire farm. The EC-6 can automate sophisticated indoor farms and complex greenhouses with controls for climate, irrigation and nutrient systems. Each controller is custom programmed to manage the customer’s specific applications. They can also be easily networked together for seamless control of any sized facility. The base controller includes sixteen solid state relays with manual override switches for controlling external devices. Users can switch any low-voltage equipment or use UL listed contactors for line voltage interfacing equipment. It includes the ESM1 Wireless Sensor Module and supports the addition of a second ESM1 to monitor a second room. All components are matched to the controlled loads and panels arrive fully pre-wired and tested.
Growlink’s connected Environment, Nutrient and Irrigation Controllers allow users to see, monitor, and control a farm from anywhere using their smartphone or tablet. These Internet of Things devices are designed for indoor and greenhouse grow operations, and their modular design allows them to scale from single rooms to large greenhouses and everything in between. They are part of Growlink’s complete cloud-based platform and are capable of predictive analytics.
The Growlink App, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play, connects to the Growlink Controllers directly when onsite or through the cloud when away and allows users to monitor sensor data in real time, view real-time video, and control any connected devices. Users can set up rules including sensor triggers, timers, and schedules to automate the grow process.
The Growlink EC-1 Environment Controller retails for $1299. It is available now direct from Growlink at http://www.growlink.com and hydroponic stores everywhere starting January 2018. The EC-3 and EC-6 are available by custom quote only.
About Growlink
Growlink’s mission is to create smart farms that reduce costs, maximize yields and eliminate crop loss by leveraging the power of big data, the cloud and IoT devices. The company focuses on simple, beautiful hardware, software and services. The Growlink Platform controls and automates lighting, climate, fertigation and irrigation systems.
Visit http://www.growlink.com for more information and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For media inquiries:
Please contact press@growlink.com
Will Bitcoin Work in Agriculture?
Will Bitcoin Work in Agriculture?
December 5, 2017
By: Nathan Faleide
If you checked the Internet lately, you’ve probably seen the words, Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and blockchain. I won’t describe them in great detail here, but Google is your friend.
Currently, Bitcoin is the talk of the town gaining 1,000% in value in the last year and now is worth north of $10,000 a coin from $1,000 earlier in the year. Some say it’ll go to a million by 2020. There are also other cryptos like Ethereum, Litecoin, and bitcoin Cash that have gained in value and interest. Some are naturally worth more than others and have unique attributes to them. Behind it all is this thing called blockchain. Basically, it’s a recording system ledger that tracks every single transaction and where it came from going back from the beginning. Many industries are trying to find ways to incorporate blockchain and cryptos and I think agriculture is next.
Now there are some oddities when it comes to cryptocurrency. With Bitcoin, for example, it’s really not that great of a currency currently. There is a limit of 21 million coins and you actually have to mine them via solving complex mathematical problems that can only be solved by supercomputers, which takes a lot of energy. It is kind of a crazy process. Because of these limits in the amount of coins, this brings wild swings in the value, and thus most people are using it as an investment instead of using it for buying things. Also, there is a fear of missing out, “FOMO” for short, because of the increased value.
Many governments, banks, and investment groups still don’t trust cryptos due to zero regulation and control. They are havens for “bad money,” especially for laundering and everything that goes with that. The wild swings in value also scare off established groups. In addition, the amount of money involved and the changes in the way money is being handled is scaring these groups because people have a new way to manage money. The scariest thing of all for governments and banking groups is that cryptos will allow an open and trackable way to manage, invest, and control money without them.
With all this being said, cryptos and blockchain technology are becoming very popular and it seems are not going away. I’m no expert in this topic, but I see YUGE (to quote our president) possibilities for both of these new technologies in agriculture.
Below are a few ways I see cryptos and blockchain becoming advantageous for ag:
- Tracking data ownership: As it is well known, data ownership and control in ag are huge issues. With blockchain technology, each transaction can be tracked very precisely in a standard way that cannot be changed. It can provide the true source, identity, and ownership regardless of where it comes from. For instance, whoever created the data can create their own special code that only they know and can basically lock that data or parts of that data to anyone they want, while also giving access to others that they feel want it. This is all tracked and whoever does use the data can be looked up easily.
- Crypto Commodities: The beauty of cryptocurrencies is that anyone can actually create them. Many companies are creating their own currencies to have others invest in. Those groups of cryptocurrencies then can only be traded for that one company creating a certain value. I can see this being used with crops, whether specialty or larger markets like corn, beans, and wheat. Think of it this way, a small or large farm could create their own cryptocurrency to invest in the farm or to buy certain crops they grow because they do it differently. Each farm is unique in its own way and cryptos could provide a way to bring that unique value to the farm without having commodity traders and outside influences change the value. The value then comes from how that farm produces that crop. Oh, I did I mention it is all tracked from start to finish with blockchain? The industry could start small, crypto wheat, corn, soybeans, etc… and this could be done by region or state then slowly get into more defined areas. The possibilities are endless, and at the end of the day, it puts control in the hands of the producer. A dream for every farmer.
- Easier trading: From what I’ve already brought up, trade is a big issue especially with talks of NAFTA imploding. Cryptos and blockchain could disrupt this entire process. The transfer of money tied to trade is a huge issue in the world. This is sometimes why there is so much waste of food and why the efficiencies of transporting goods sometimes fail. Having a centralized currency that is unique to a crop could benefit millions by providing fair and even trade throughout the world. This would allow smaller farmers to provide similar value to their crops as large corporate farms. Someone could even place the smaller farmer’s crops at a greater value and track where that commodity is exchanged anywhere without complex tariffs, trade regulations, and money transfers. What it really can do is reduce the bureaucracy involved with trading any commodity. Of course, many groups and countries would still need to accept this, but I do think agriculture is destined to go this way eventually.
So, these are a few major reasons why cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology can help agriculture and I’m sure there are many more. In all reality, these things may never happen and maybe my wild ideas are just crap. I’m not hear to say they will absolutely work. But I will say some of the core issues with ag could potentially be solved, or if anything helped, by technologies like cryptocurrencies and blockchain. I recommend looking into it more to educate yourself on the potential.
I’ll try to really excite you for a moment here. With Bitcoin and Ethereum gaining 1,000% and more over the last few years, envision using precision ag technology on the farm, which can be tracked and allow you to value your corn crop at, say $8/bu. Some may want your corn more than Joe Blow neighbor, who doesn’t use precision ag and thus only gets $3/bu. Since you can prove what you did in a marketplace, anyone can basically invest in you while you create your own value.
Heck, I’m going to “coin” a few phrases here: CornCoin, Wheatereum, SoyCash. Imagine farmers pushing the value based on how they perceive the market instead of speculators or traders in Chicago that don’t know squat. Oh, how the ag market could change. You could start “farming” CornCoins like they “mine” Bitcoin. Doesn’t that sound like fun? I hope that people smarter than me figure this out somehow because personally I only see positives going forward as long as bread doesn’t cost $10 a loaf.
Either way, check these technologies and currencies out and think about how you could see them work in ag. Maybe it’s the next big thing or next big flop. Only one way to tell. Bring on the vultures to fund it, I guess. I’ll take 100 million, please.
Electrical Conductivity: The Pulse of the Soil
Electrical Conductivity: The Pulse of the Soil
November 30, 2017 in Crops, Disease, Eco-Farming, Soil Fertility, Soil Life, Soils
Traditionally soil consultants have used electrical conductivity to measure salinity, however conductivity can tell us much more about the physical structure and health of the soil. Based on these direct measurements, electrical conductivity can also indirectly measure crop productivity.
When we walk into our home on a dark night, the first thing we usually do is turn on the lights. With the flip of a switch, we complete the electrical circuit initiating the flow of electricity to the light bulb, illuminating our home.
In the human body, electricity controls the flow of blood from the heart to all organs. In the same way we flip a switch turning on the lights, electrical signaling in the body tells the heart when and how often to contract and relax. These electrical signals can be altered by the intake of nutrients. Case in point, the intake of high-salt foods can lead to a higher pulse rate. With a higher pulse rate, your heart and other organs must work harder in order to function properly. Certainly this extra work puts added stress on the body. In contrast, consuming a balanced form of energy can reduce the stress put upon the body.
Waking up in the morning and only consuming caffeine does not give you the same energy as waking up and eating a balanced breakfast. While both inputs may increase your readiness in the morning, physiologically they affect the human body in different ways. Inputs into any biological system whether human, animal, plant or soil consequently will affect the system in different ways.
In 1946, Albert Einstein theorized that all matter is energy. His theory, which gave us the formula E=mc2, laid the foundation for future generations to begin using energy theories in daily problem-solving. If all matter is equal, simply a form of energy, then conceptually the human system is no different than the soil/plant system. Furthermore, the same concepts which we apply to our own physical health can be applied to soil and plant health.
Quantifying the human body’s energy level is done by monitoring pulse rate. In the soil, the current energy level in the field or in the lab can be achieved by measuring the electrical conductivity of the soil. Electrical conductivity is a direct measure of the energy flow in the soil system. Energy, measured in ergs (energy released per gram per second), is a function of the soil’s ion concentration, clay type, moisture content, porosity, salinity and temperature.
As consultants and growers we are focused on crop productivity. We often aim to maintain the nutrient or ion concentration in the soil solution best suited for the highest crop production.
This ion concentration is expressed by the quantity of ions surrounding the diffuse layer of the soil colloid and also by the soil’s moisture content. Electrical conductivity is a direct measurement of these factors and can be used in the field to tell us how much energy is available for plant growth.
It is important to note that natural fluctuations in electrical conductivity can occur. In the soil, the conductor of electrical current is water. As soil moisture changes due to dry periods and/or rainfall events, electrical conductivity can vary. Abiotic factors are variables in the accurate representation of the ion concentration in the soil solution.
However, overall, if the electrical conductivity (concentration of ions in the soil solution) is either too high or too low it will be reflected in decreased crop productivity. From our experience, the majority of problems facing growers and consultants can be related to abnormal electrical conductivities.
Crop productivity is governed by three disciplines of science: physics, chemistry and biology. Explaining electrical conductivity on a chemical or biological level requires a much more lengthy and detailed explanation. By focusing on the physics of electrical conductivity, referring to it as energy, simplicity can be brought to such a complex topic.
Einstein taught us that an object’s mass is a function of energy. If you apply this concept to crop production, crops (mass) are simply an expression of energy. In order to produce mass (yield), energy is needed. For a plant to perform photosynthesis and produce mass; an initial energy requirement must be met. This energy requirement comes largely from the electrical current in the soil. Thus, soil electrical conductivity can be utilized as a direct measurement of energy and an indirect measurement of crop productivity.
Crop Productivity
Crop productivity can be simplified into two stages: growth and decomposition. We can discern that the growth stage of the plant life cycle has different energy requirements than the decomposition stage. The energy needed to produce mass in the form of plant growth varies between 200 and 800 ergs. When the energy in the soil falls below or above these values for a prolonged period of time, the plant can no longer produce mass (growth) and decomposition will set in. With the onset of decomposition in the plant tissue, disease and decay will follow. During the growth life cycle of the plant, energy must be present to produce mass (growth).
In order to produce mass in the form of a nutrient-dense, healthy plant, the energy coming from the electrical conductivity of the soil must come from “good” sources. Electrical conductivity coming from biological activity, flocculation, soil moisture and clean balanced nutrients (ions) can be considered “good” sources of energy. Electrical conductivity coming from salinity in the soil solution can be defined as a “bad” source of energy. “Bad” sources of energy will produce nutrient-poor, unhealthy, low-energy and quickly decomposable mass.
Nutrient-dense, healthy, high-energy plant mass is what we as consultants and growers should be trying to achieve. Yes, by using these “bad” sources of energy you can produce high quantities of mass (high yields). We see this year in, year out with the use of synthetic fertilizers.
However, if your goal is to produce high-quality, nutrient-dense, healthy plant mass, your energy source must come from “good” sources. Low salt fertilizers, organic matter, biological amendments, cover cropping and proper soil stewardship can provide your soil with “good” sources of energy. All of which indirectly restores your soils’ fertility and sustainability for future generations.
If all matter is energy and all energy is matter, we as consultants and growers must begin to think in terms of energy.
In order for seeds to germinate, an energy requirement must be met. In order for plants to grow, an energy requirement must be met. In order for plants to reproduce, an energy requirement must be met. In order for plants to dry out and be harvested, an energy requirement must be met. In order for your soil to repair itself over winter, an energy requirement must be met. And in order for you to have read this article, an energy requirement was met.
By Glen Rabenberg & Christopher Kniffen. This article appeared in the April 2014 issue ofAcres U.S.A.
Glen Rabenberg is the CEO and owner of Soil Works LLC. Soil Works LLC is home to Genesis Soil Rite Calcium, PhosRite, TestRite Labs and GrowRite Greenhouse. Glen Rabenberg extensively travels the world solving soil problems with a little bit of simplicity and the “rite” tools.
Christopher Kniffen is writer, public speaker and manager of the research and development department of Soil Works LLC. For more information Rabenberg and Kniffen can be reached at Soil Works LLC. 4200 W. 8th St., Yankton, SD 57078, 605-260-0784.
Resources:
Eigenberg, R.A., J.W. Doran, J.A. Nienaber, R.B. Ferguson, and B.L. Woodbury. “Electrical conductivity monitoring of soil condition and available N with animal manure and a cover crop.” Special issue on soil health as an indicator of sustainable management. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ.
Johnson, C.K., J.W. Doran, H.R. Duke, B.J. Wienhold, K. Eskridge, and J.F. Shanahan. 2001. “Field-scale electrical conductivity mapping for delineating soil condition.” Faculty Publications, Department of Statistics. Paper 9, digitalcommons.unl.edu/statisticsfacpub/9.
McBride, R.A., A.M. Gordon, and S.C. Shrive. 1990. “Estimating forest soil quality from terrain measurements of apparent electrical conductivity.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 54:290-293.
McNeill, J.D. 1980. “Electrical conductivity of soils and rocks.” Tech. note TN-5. Geonics Ltd., Mississauga, ON, Canada.
Rhoades, J.D., N.A. Manteghi, P.J. Shouse, and W.J. Alves. 1989. “Soil electrical conductivity and soil salinity: new formulations and calibrations.” Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 53:433-439.
Village Farms: For The Good of The Earth
Village Farms: For The Good of The Earth
For the technology-driven growers of Village Farms, cutting-edge sustainable practices yield a bumper crop of success.
The bright red cherry tomato bursts with a pop as you sink your teeth into it, and for a few delightful seconds it’s still summertime—even though it’s winter. You take another bite to make sure you’re not imagining that freshness, and, sure enough, it’s just as bright, tart, and sweet as the first. The taste takes you back to your childhood, when you’d steal tomatoes from a neighbor’s garden, helping yourself to another, and another…
As summer fades and the air grows colder you’ve become accustomed to the average pinkish-orange globes posing as tomatoes that start filling the shelves of the produce department. Thankfully, Village Farms has no interest in growing average produce, and its environmentally-friendly growing methods allow for fresh, high-quality produce year-round. In fact, nothing that the North American-based company does is anywhere near average, and that’s not just great for veggie lovers—it’s great for the planet, too.
As the premier greenhouse grower of tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, and other crops in North America, Village Farms’ dedication to sustainability, technology, and innovation shows with every pristine vegetable picked. Launched in Pennsylvania in 1988, Village Farms has grown from a single 10-acre greenhouse operation to a vertically-integrated agricultural enterprise.
“On day one it wasn’t the plan,” admitted Mike DeGiglio, Village Farms’ President and CEO. “Our first crop was half peppers, half tomatoes, and our focus was on being a grower.”
When that first crop was rejected by a surly Northeastern produce broker for being “no good,” DeGiglio ignored the slight.
“We hired a sales guy the next day and never looked back.”
New Day, New Business Model
When the company began, all the disciplines in traditional produce companies were separate.
“The grower is the grower, who went to a labor manager to pick the crop, then to a processor who graded and sorted it. Then that’s sent to a trucking company, then to a broker. That broker would send it to a retailer,” DeGiglio recounted. “We asked ourselves, ‘why can’t we do all of it?’”
The answer was, “We can.” Today, Village Farms is an end-to-end operation.
“Today we have 270 skus and 35 tomato varieties,” he noted. “We slowly added more salespeople, distribution centers, and transportation. We became a vertically integrated producer. We have our own engineering, even though there are plenty of companies that build greenhouses.”
The company built a sophisticated greenhouse in West Texas, in part of the Chihuahuan Desert.
“It’s not quite a biosphere but pretty close. It’s 110 degrees all summer and only 20 degrees in winter,” he chuckled, a trace of awe in his voice. “Nothing grows there but tumbleweeds and lizards. We’re like an oasis—it blows people away.”
Today, the company owns and operates seven facilities in British Columbia and Texas, and provides operational and technical support and logistics services for more than an additional 150 acres of greenhouse production throughout Canada and Mexico.
The Greenhouse Difference
Greenhouse growing is far superior to conventional land farming, producing better crops with markedly less waste and dramatically less environmental impact.
“It’s a combination of food safety, quality of the product, shelf life of the product, and taste—it’s consistent, available 365 days a year, and not just seasonal,” DeGiglio explained.
Indoor growing is the premier method of sustainable production and allows Village Farms to use integrated pest management as biological control, meaning they release good bugs to combat bad bugs instead of using chemical pesticides. “Of all agricultural products, proteins like beef and chicken, row crops, and fruits and vegetables, I think greenhouse growing is by far the most sustainable type of agriculture there is, even over organic growing methods,” he said.
“When you are in a controlled environment greenhouse, utilizing the same resources an outdoor farmer would use like sunlight and water, you can do it in an environment that is much more efficient and productive,” he added.
These carefully monitored environments offer protection against elements typical farmers have no control over like wind, rain, and extreme heat and cold.
“We can produce output that has 30 times more yield per acre than crops grown on farmland. A 100-acre greenhouse produces the equivalent of a 3,000-acre farm. And you can locate a greenhouse close to anywhere depending on the technology you use.”
Earth First
Village Farms’ approach to sustainability abides by a commitment to preserve the earth’s resources for future generations.
“The way Village Farms fits that definition of sustainability is: one, we don’t use soil, so it takes a lot less land for the same amount of crops. Two, we don’t take any nutrients out of the soil. Three, we don’t leachate any of our solutions into the ground,” DeGiglio enumerated.
“It took 500,000 years for the first one billion human beings to be on the planet. There are now seven-plus billion of us. The demographics say that by 2050, there will be a 30 percent increase of the population of the planet. That’s 2.5 billion people. Whether that number is up or down by twenty percent doesn’t matter,” he posited. “How is agriculture going to feed that amount of people with the same amount of water? It has to come from efficiency and sustainability.”
The company chose growing regions in British Columbia and Texas based on the climate conditions most favorable to producing consistently superior quality crops.
“You can’t move your farm to take advantage of a better climate,” he mused. “In Texas, we grow at the southernmost latitude at the highest elevation in the U.S. We are at a 5,000-foot elevation. We do that because of the warm days and cool nights.”
Natural gas is used to heat the greenhouse at night.
“The boilers designed for greenhouses over the past three decades are so efficient and clean, the carbon dioxide (CO2) that’s released is food grade. We capture all of it, and pump it into the greenhouse,” he revealed. “As you remember from ninth grade biology, plants take in CO2 and make oxygen. Not only do we not extract the CO2 into the atmosphere, we convert it into oxygen. That can’t be done outside.”
Village Farms produces only non-GMO crops, grown in an organic medium made of coconut husks. Crops are vine ripened and hand-picked at the exact right moment for the absolute best taste.
“A lot of field growers pick tomatoes when they’re green,” he said. “If a tomato doesn’t get to a certain level of maturity, then the ripening process never occurs. So they spray an ethylene gas on it so it turns an orangey pink. Bananas are shipped green, and when they’re ready to ship to the store they spray them with ethylene. Vine ripened taste is much better.”
The company’s agricultural engineers are working on extending product shelf life.
“There’s all kinds of good things happening that drives a better tasting, safer product, and people can trust that brand,” he added.
Committing to the Cannabis Crop
Canada approved the use of medical marijuana in 2001, and pending legislation is expected to legalize it for recreational use in mid-2018. Village Farms recently entered into a partnership with Emerald Health Therapeutics, a bio-pharma company focused on the use of cannabinoids to treat disease.
“We are currently in the process of converting our smallest greenhouse footprint of 1.1 million square feet to cannabis in British Columbia. It’s a very new crop, and a lot of the early folks that got into it weren’t farmers, they were just folks who saw an opportunity. We thought our ability to grow any crop was a good fit,” he stated.
“We’ve done modeling, we talked to Health Canada, and we saw a great opportunity in conversions of our Canadian high-tech greenhouses as a lower cost model rather than building new ones because we feel that it will eventually become commoditized out, and when it does, in the end it’s the low-cost producer that survives. That’s always a prudent thing in agriculture.”
While practicality is at the heart of everything Village Farms does as a business, the people of Village Farms are really what makes the difference and our planet—and palates—are much better for it.
Farmers Business Network Raises $110m Series D, IPO Likely in 2-5 Years
FBN is one of just a few farmtech startups that have raised rounds larger than $100 million: vertical farming group Plenty and biological inputs startup Indigo are two recent examples. This latest round brings FBN’s total fundraising to $200 million.
Farmers Business Network Raises $110m Series D, IPO Likely in 2-5 Years
NOVEMBER 30, 2017 | LOUISA BURWOOD-TAYLOR
Farmers Business Network (FBN), a farmer-to-farmer digital network offering data insights, input procurement, and crop marketing services, has raised $110 million in Series D funding.
FBN is one of just a few farmtech startups that have raised rounds larger than $100 million: vertical farming group Plenty and biological inputs startup Indigo are two recent examples. This latest round brings FBN’s total fundraising to $200 million.
The round attracted new, lead investment from two large institutional investors: global asset management firm T. Rowe Price and Singapore state fund Temasek. These lead investors typically invest in later stage, private equity deals, highlighting how far FBN has come since its founding three years ago, argues Charles Baron, co-founder and VP of product.
“These are blue chip investors who are investing in the growth and proven track record FBN has built,” he told AgFunderNews. “We’ve built a phenomenally high-growth business with membership doubling year-on-year to nearly 5,000 farms around the US across 16 million acres, taking on another million acres each month.”
To put this in perspective, there are about 50,000 large-scale farms growing commodity crops like corn and soy in the US where FBN has focused most of its attention.
Existing investors Acre Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, GV (Google Ventures) and DBL Partners also participated in the round.
The company has grown in other ways too: its input procurement business has expanded from selling 170 products initially to over 1,200, it launched a crop marketing business earlier this year, it is expanding into Canada, and its team is now 200-strong, with plans to increase by another 100 in the next 12-18 months.
This growth puts an exit for the founders and investors in FBN in the cards within the next few years, and while most agrifood tech startups plan to exit their businesses through a trade sale to one of the large agrifood corporates, FBN has always planned to remain an independent company, according to Baron.
“We’d like to be a public company that farmers can invest in; that’s the best way for us to realize the vision of an independent company,” he said, adding that a public listing and IPO is likely in the next two to five years.
What is FBN?
FBN started life as an ag data platform with the intention of helping farmers manage their data and gain insights from each other on areas such as seed selection, compare productivity, and benchmark field performance over time. The platform predominantly collects data extracted from farm equipment but also aggregates farmers’ manually recorded data.
It later launched a seed finder app to share seed performance results and research with farmers to help them make better purchasing decisions.
Using data collected and crowdsourced from farmers about their seed and other input purchases, FBN was able to bring transparency to an otherwise opaque input pricing system.
“Prices are rarely listed online, and zone pricing is incredibly common where input suppliers will divide up the country into zones and charge different prices: a farmer in northern Illinois can pay a totally different amount to a farmer in southern Illinois,” said Baron.
FBN has also used its network to crowdsource genetic information about seeds, and revealed that the exact same genetic variety of seed could be sold by as many as 12 different companies under different brand names and at different prices.
“That’s been a total black box for farmers, but we were able to build up a database from thousands of seed label pictures of the exact seed varieties uploaded by our farmers,” said Baron.
An Input Procurement Business
So the natural progression was for FBN to start selling inputs to farmers with this transparent pricing and it now sells over 1,200 seed, pesticide, fertilizer, and other input products from a variety of suppliers including direct from the manufacturers.
“The way to think about FBN Direct is as an open marketplace; we welcome anyone that wants to supply our farmers from the major agrochemical companies to smaller distributors. Many companies have been blocked from reaching farmers as they can’t get into the highly consolidated retail market that works predominantly with the agrochemical majors; we’re creating more competition,” said Baron.
The input procurement business FBN Direct is now an e-commerce platform enabling farmers to discover and purchase supplies completely online — FBN Direct launched as an over-the-phone service initially — which also offers farmers credit on their purchases through flexible payments or loans via third-party providers. This part of the business, that enables farmers to share their farm data with financial providers, could naturally develop into a more general farm loans marketplace in the future, added Baron.
“The farm economy is not set up to meet the needs of farmers, but to meet the needs of the supplier,” said Baron. “FBN puts farmers first in the system and closer to the consumer by helping them to get the benefit of industry aggregation via the network and the scale of e-commerce.”
Industry insiders tell AgFunderNews that FBN’s business model does pose a threat to ag retailers and the large agrochemical companies: “There is enough money and energy behind FBN for it to be something big ag needs to keep an eye on, especially if you look at how other industries have been disrupted,” said one insider from a large agribusiness.
“Any startup that can successfully harness technology to drive network effects is going to be a huge threat to the incumbents,” said Rob Leclerc, CEO of AgFunder. “Like we’ve seen time and time again in other industries, the incumbents usually don’t get it until it’s too late.”
But some insiders are also critical of FBN’s approach and rhetoric around the role of the retailers.
“You don’t have to demonize the retailer to be still creating value. Retailers provide much more than prices and product sales; they provide a service including consultancy,” said the same source.
He added that the retailer and agrochemical majors are also starting to move some of their sales online in some geographies so will adapt to the online trend FBN is taking advantage of.
A Crop Marketing Platform
FBN last raised funding in March of this year with a $40 million Series C and raised the Series D preemptively “to capitalize on its new businesses, particularly crop marketing,” according to Baron.
The company will use the latest proceeds to build out this crop marketing platform with the intention of enabling buyers from all over the globe to buy directly from US farmers.
“This is where an online, digital network can be so transformational; now a food company from anywhere in the world can work with FBN and the best farms in America to avoid going through multiple middlemen,” said Baron. “It also allows farmers to use data to market their crop better, yield them better prices, but also bring them production contracts in advance so that they can know their price and costs before the season has even started to a much greater level of detail.”
FBN will also provide them with cash advances for working capital, “taking the risk with them” said Baron.
FBN has hundreds of thousands of acres under contract for the 2018 growing season, according to Baron.
Moving into New Territory
FBN serves farmers growing 25 different crops across 42 states. The majority still grow the major commodity crops, corn, soy, and wheat, but the company’s footprint is growing in large specialty crops like lentils, and chickpeas as well as orchard crops and vegetables on the west coast, according to Baron.
The company’s offering is slightly different for these farmers as they aren’t capturing the same data from machinery as the broadacre farmers are; it’s more focused on pricing intelligence and input benchmarking, according to Baron.
FBN will also use the proceeds of this round to expand into Canada where it’s opening offices shortly. New territories globally are also in the pipeline, and with investment from Singapore’s Temasek, it’s likely Asia will be a target in the medium term.
FFAR Awards $1 Million Grant to Create Open Source Technology for Gene Discovery in Plants
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a nonprofit established in the 2014 Farm Bill with bipartisan congressional support, awarded a $1 million Seeding Solutions grant to University of California, Davis (UC Davis) to study the genetics of rice plants.
FFAR Awards $1 Million Grant to Create Open Source Technology for Gene Discovery in Plants
University of California, Davis researchers will study genes responsible for drought tolerance in rice
The research is being led by Principal Investigator Pamela Ronald, Ph.D., in the Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center at UC Davis.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2017 - The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), a nonprofit established in the 2014 Farm Bill with bipartisan congressional support, awarded a $1 million Seeding Solutions grant to University of California, Davis (UC Davis) to study the genetics of rice plants. Together with researchers at the University of North Carolina and collaborators, the team will develop and implement a chemistry-driven gene discovery approach to identify genes that modulate root traits. The FFAR grant has been matched with funding from the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, the Structural Genomics Consortium, AgBiome, and Promega for a total $2.3 million investment.
The project targets protein kinases, enzymes that control diverse biological process in plants, such as root architecture and drought response. Genes corresponding to kinases discovered in this project will be further characterized using a recently established comprehensive collection of mutants to assess their roles in root system architecture and drought tolerance.
"The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research is encouraged by the collaborative nature of this research," said Sally Rockey, Executive Director of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. "This project is a prime example of how public-private partnerships can advance our understanding of plant genetics to develop crops resistant to drought and other climate extremes."
To accomplish their goals, the team will create and characterize a set of kinase inhibitors that collectively inhibit most of the kinases in rice. The starting point will be approximately 1,000 human kinase inhibitors carefully selected from a library of chemical compounds donated to the partnership from eight pharmaceutical companies. The set will be distributed without restriction to scientists studying other plants and traits, thus serving as a broadly useful platform. The team has agreed to operate under open access principles - specifically prohibiting filing for IP on any of the results and will communicate the results widely.
The research is being led by Principal Investigator (PI) Pamela Ronald, Ph.D., in the Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center at UC Davis.
"I am delighted to work with this talented and diverse team of researchers to advance rice genetics research. We are grateful for FFAR support that has allowed us to launch this project," said Ronald.
"The pharmaceutical industry has poured resources into the study of human kinase inhibitors for drug discovery," said David Drewry, Ph.D., co-PI and professor at University of North Carolina. "We are excited to leverage this investment and apply what we have learned to the important problem of water scarcity. An open science approach will allow us to build our understanding of genes that influence root growth more effectively and efficiently."
Researchers on this project include:
- David Drewry, Ph.D., co-PI, professor at the University of North Carolina
- Aled Edwards, Ph.D., collaborator, professor at the University of Toronto and director of the Structural Genomics Consortium
- Rafael Najmanovich, Ph.D., collaborator, professor at the University of Montreal
This project is supported by FFAR through its Seeding Solutions grant program, which calls for bold, innovative, and potentially transformative research proposals in the Foundation's seven Challenge Areas. This grant supports the Overcoming Water Scarcity Challenge Area, which aims to increase the efficiency of water use in agriculture, reduce agricultural water pollution, and develop water reuse technologies.
About the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research
The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization established by bipartisan Congressional support in the 2014 Farm Bill, builds unique partnerships to support innovative and actionable science addressing today's food and agriculture challenges. FFAR leverages public and private resources to increase the scientific and technological research, innovation, and partnerships critical to enhancing sustainable production of nutritious food for a growing global population. The FFAR Board of Directors is chaired by Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum, Ph.D., and includes ex officio representation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation.
Learn more: www.foundationfar.org Connect: @FoundationFAR | @RockTalking
About UC Davis
UC Davis is one of the world's leading cross-disciplinary research and teaching institutions, located in Davis, California. The Ronald lab studies genes that control resistance to disease and tolerance of environmental stress with the goal of improving food security for the world's poorest farmers. Ronald also directs the UC Davis Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy which cultivates a community of researchers dedicated to making scientific research accessible, relevant, and interesting to everyone.
Scientists Are Trying to Grow Fruit and Vegetables on Mars
The UAE is launching a probe to Mars from Japan in 2020, making it one of only nine countries attempting to explore the planet. If efforts prove successful, UAE expects that man will set foot on the planet’s soil within the next 100 years.
gmutlu / istockphoto.com
Scientists Are Trying to Grow Fruit and Vegetables on Mars
Nov 16, 2017 | By Taylor Rock Editor
And it’s not to feed the aliens
To answer David Bowie’s burning question from 1971, “Is there life on Mars?” No — but soon, there very well could be. The United States Emerites is spending tons of money — over $5.4 billion — to experiment with growing fruits and vegetables on the red, desolate planet. The oil-rich country has been ambitious about colonizing on Mars and, naturally, people will have to eat when they get there.
The UAE Space Agency is using its location here on Earth as a test site for what could become the agricultural future for Mars. They say it’s not much different than the desert, as they’re both seemingly uninhabitable environments where it’s unlikely for plants to flourish.
"There are similarities between Mars and the desert," UAE Space Agency senior strategic planner Rashid Al Zaabi told the BBC. "The landscape of the UAE, the soil, are similar."
These out-of-this world efforts come in preparation for the end of an era for oil, the region’s biggest money-maker.
“There are 100 million young people in the Arab region. We want them to play a part in the future and take the region to the next level,” project manager Omran Sharaf told the BBC. “It’s about creating a post-oil, knowledge-based, creative-based economy. So it is important we become well-established scientific center. We have created many engineers, but not many scientists. This [Mars project] is purely a scientific mission.”
The UAE is launching a probe to Mars from Japan in 2020, making it one of only nine countries attempting to explore the planet. If efforts prove successful, UAE expects that man will set foot on the planet’s soil within the next 100 years.
Also — country singer Sammy Kershaw may want to change the lyrics to that song he wrote about his unfaithful girlfriend. (When they grow cantaloupes on Mars, I’ll come back to you.) Hang in there, buddy. But hey, speaking of music and places beyond human reach, here are 10 destinations you can’t travel to — because they exist only in song.
Rooftop Pioneer: Gotham Greens Takes Farming to a New Level
Rooftop Pioneer: Gotham Greens Takes Farming to a New Level
ENTREPRENEURSHIP, FOOD TECHNOLOGY, FOODPRENEURS
By Lindsey Greenberger, Marketing and Content Specialist
Eric Haley
Sensing urbanites’ hunger for locally grown produce, Gotham Greens seized an opportunity to turn cities’ abundant rooftops into farms. Here, Co-Founder and CFO Eric Haley shares how the company got its start and landed on the shelves (and roof!) of Whole Foods Market.
WHERE DID THE IDEA FOR GOTHAM GREENS COME FROM?
It was winter in NYC and my business partner and I came to the realization that most of the produce we were finding in the supermarkets was coming from places like Mexico, California, and Israel. We realized that by the time the produce made its way here, it was at least a week old and had changed hands multiple times. We also began to notice that consumer preferences were shifting toward more local and sustainably produced food and we realized there was an opportunity to disrupt the conventional model of agriculture. Overall we were inspired by innovation and technology, and driven by a sense of duty to address ecological issues facing our agricultural system.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?
Back in 2011 we built our first project on a 15,000 square foot rooftop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. This state of the art, climate controlled rooftop greenhouse represented the first commercial scale facility of its kind in the U.S. We feel it represented a shift in the concept of urban farming from a seasonal community gardening resource, to a year-round, viable, commercial scale farming enterprise. Six years later, we have four greenhouses across two cities and over 150 full time employees.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO LAUNCH IN NYC AND THEN CHICAGO?
NYC and Chicago are two of the largest cities in the U.S. and they both lack fresh, local produce year-round. Both cities have strong food scenes and we were seeing the proliferation of farmer’s markets and chefs becoming household names. Once we proved that our concept was successful and commercially viable in NYC, we started looking to other cities and Chicago was an easy choice.
HOW HAS THE PARTNERSHIP WITH WHOLE FOODS IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS? ARE THERE OTHER CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE MADE A PARTICULARLY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT?
Shortly after launching our first greenhouse, we had attracted retail customers such as Whole Foods Market and notable restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern, so we knew that we were on to something. Whole Foods Market has been one of our early supporters and customers since day one. Our companies share a lot of the same ideals and commitment to sustainability so Whole Foods was a natural partner for our second greenhouse, which we built on top of their flagship Brooklyn store in Gowanus. The 20,000 square foot rooftop greenhouse produces over 200,000 pounds of fresh greensand herbs each year, much of which are sold direct to customers in the store downstairs. This project represents the first commercial scale greenhouse farm integrated into a supermarket. Both our relationship with Whole Foods Market and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group helped us establish credibility early on.
HOW DO YOU THINK AMAZON’S PURCHASE OF WHOLE FOODS WILL IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS?
Whole Foods Market was an early supporter of Gotham Greens and we share many of the same ethos around sustainability and community involvement. We’ve also been working with Amazon for the last few years and they’ve championed our brand so we have every reason to expect that they’ll continue to support our products and unique partnership!
HOW HAS YOUR VISION FOR THE COMPANY EVOLVED?
When we first started Gotham Greens we were looking to prove that it was possible to grow premium quality, hyper local produce year round right in NYC. Now that we’ve grown into a midsize company with four commercial scale facilities across two major U.S. cities, we’re looking to bring the concept to additional cities across the country.
WHERE DID YOU GET THE FINANCING?
When my co-founder and I came up with our concept back in 2009, we did what any sage business owners would do and wrote a business plan. We entered it into the New York Green Business Competition and won the grand prize which gave us a nice initial boost. We also pooled together money from friends and family. Since inception we’ve raised $30 million to date and are in the midst of doing our Series C.
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES?
The greatest challenges have come from not having a prototype for what we’re doing. As a pioneer in the urban agriculture space we’ve had to learn on our feet and stay flexible.
HOW DO YOU DO MARKETING? WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE?
We do all of our marketing in-house. We’re really committed to being part of our communities and do things like host weekly tours on our Gowanus observation deck and donate product to community organized events. We also partner with local community gardening programs, food rescue organizations and public schools to increase environmental education and healthy food access to our neighbors in need.
WHERE DO YOU WANT THE COMPANY TO BE IN 5 YEARS?
I’d like to see Gotham Greens be a local brand on a national level. Now that we’ve proven that urban farming can be done on a commercial scale, year-round and across multiple cities, the sky is the limit!
Innovative Light Measurement Solutions for Indoor Horticulture; High Precision, Handheld PAR Meters from Gamma Scientific
Innovative Light Measurement Solutions for Indoor Horticulture; High Precision, Handheld PAR Meters from Gamma Scientific
San Diego, CA – Commercial success in indoor horticultural operations requires intricate knowledge and carefully managed growing conditions. Among them, a detailed understanding of your lighting parameters is key; including efficiency, spectral properties, aging affects, fixture spacing and optimal working distances.
The PG100N provides a robust and reliable solution for light measurement with fully NIST-traceable performance. Through an integrated, high-resolution color display, PPFD values can be viewed over the PAR range, or within specific wavelength bands from the UVA to the Near-Infrared. In addition to internal data logging, downloads via SD card, USB port or Wi-Fi mode allow data tracking and analysis over time, and downloads in Excel and JPG formats are standard.
The detector head can be removed for optimal positioning, and operating time is up to 5 hours on a full battery charge. Units are in stock in our warehouse and available for rapid delivery.
For over 50 years, Gamma Scientific has delivered highly unique, state-of-the-art measurement solutions for manufacturers and users of light sources, sensors, and displays. Products include high precision spectroradiometers, calibration light sources, goniophotometers, integrating spheres, thin film measurement systems, and LED testers and sorters. The company also operates an ISO 17025, NVLAP accredited laboratory (NVLAP Laboratory code 200823-0) for calibration and testing.