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SoCal Urban Farming Org Increases Supply of Fresh Produce to Homeless Shelter by Healing Soil and Residents
SoCal Urban Farming Org Increases Supply of Fresh Produce to Homeless Shelter by Healing Soil and Residents
January 11, 2017
Charli Engelhorn
Prior to the establishment of the GrowGood urban farm on a lot across the way from the Salvation Army Bell Shelter located in Bell, CA, the shelter, which serves nearly 6,000 meals per week, incorporated very little fresh produce into its menu.
“They were spending cents per meal on fresh produce. Food was donated, so no one was going hungry; but the nutritional quality was often low,” says Brad Pregerson, co-founder of GrowGood, a CA-based nonprofit that has been working with the shelter since 2011 to develop a garden-based program to not only increase the supply of fresh produce to the shelter, but also to provide its residents with meaningful work and act as catalyst for healing.
The Salvation Army Bell Shelter, which opened in 1988, was established with help from Pregerson’s grandfather, Harry, a federal judge and veteran, who perceived the dire need to provide housing for the growing population of homeless veterans in Los Angeles County. Today, it houses up to 350 men, women, and veterans, who are able stay for up to two years and receive comprehensive treatment.
After volunteering in the shelter’s kitchen one summer after his college graduation, Pregerson recognized an opportunity to solve the fresh produce deficit at the shelter and improve the health and well-being of its residents.
“Bell is in an industrial part of the county. It’s only eight miles from Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA), but there aren’t a lot of green spaces,” says Pregerson.
To tackle this environmental challenge, he and his partner in GrowGood, Andrew Hunt, installed several raised bed gardens on the property across from the shelter using imported soil.
“The soil on the property was dead, and we were worried about contamination, something that urban farmers have to contend with,” says Pregerson. “We did extensive soil testing and found there was no toxicity but also no life, so we’ve worked really hard to rehabilitate the soil.”
The farm, which now occupies close to two acres of land, has been able to rehabilitate the soil through the process of biodynamics, a farming ideology that posits that a diversified and balanced farm ecosystem will generate nutrient-rich, self-sustaining fertility, and health.
“We want to grow as much food as possible on this space, but it’s not an exploitative angle, rather a nurturing one of how we can maximize the potential that is here for the sake of the space we have,” says Corinne McAndrews, the head farmer. “The more we grow, the more we learn, and we find that a bigger diversity of life supports a larger soil biology, which supports more plants being grown.”
This diversity includes animals, perennials, native plants, medicinal herbs, and livestock along with the other crops grown on the farm, such as carrots, radishes, beets, lettuce, kale, chard, and hard-neck squashes, to name a few. The farms no-till system acknowledges the interaction of these variables, lending to the notion that the systems in the soil work better when left alone, something McAndrews calls the ultimate humility.
“We see everything that happens here as being part of that essential process,” McAndrews says. “The less we till, the better things grow. In just 18 months, we’ve already seen a vast improvement of soil organic matter and available nitrogen, water retention, and calcium ratios.”
The improvement of the soil is one of the major factors in the farm’s ability to produce more food for the shelter. In 2015, the farm was able to provide 2400 pounds of produce to the shelter’s kitchen, and they are on pace to break 7000 pounds in 2016. McAndrews believes that number will more than double for 2017, estimating close to 20,000 pounds.
Another part of this essential biodynamic system is the human factor, which McAndrews says contributes to the therapeutic objectives of the farm.
“When somebody comes here and views themselves as part of an essential system, it is incredibly healing,” says McAndrews. “What I see is this deep acceptance of the world as a complex place and this desire to be more involved. People come out here day to day and share their time and stories, and it’s really beautiful.”
Inevitably, the human factor also involves inefficiencies in the way the farm is tended, but those inefficiencies are intentional and part of the biodynamic process.
“Often, we see something not go the way I’d planned or hoped, but when you step back, you can see that the failure gave way to something that might be beautiful or necessary,” says McAndrews. “There is just so much potential.”
The hope for the future is to maximize that potential by creating systems to bring more people from the shelter to the farm to participate as stewards of the natural process. A new grant from the Disney Foundation will be used to support that mission by enabling the creation of a commercial greenhouse on the property.
The greenhouse will increase GrowGood’s revenue by allowing it to grow and sell micro greens and specialty greens to restaurants in Downtown Los Angeles. This revenue will in turn help to pay some of the shelter’s residents for their work on the farm, and provide additional funding to increase educational and job-training opportunities.
“The job training and being able to put money in the residents’ pockets is so critical, and the components of our program will really grow once the greenhouse is up,” says Pregerson.
Currently, much of the job training involves helping residents develop awareness about their limitations for work and understanding of what they need to succeed in the workforce, such as communicating, being on time, conflict resolution, accountability, and confidence. With the implementation of the commercial greenhouse enterprise, Pregerson will increase that training to include every stage of the business, from sales to delivery.
GrowGood is also looking to create more revenue through Farm-to-Table dinners as outreach fundraising marketing events, the first of which will be held in February.
The hope for the future is to create a sustainable and replicable model that can be used for more sites like the one at the Bell shelter and engage more foundations and donors.
“We’re motivated about the potential to have this sustain itself and show other people that it can work. We want to continue to connect with the philanthropic world, but also with chefs who want to build a resilient food future, where we have small-scale farms all over the country that can support people,” McAndrews says. “It’s only going to be true if we make it possible.”
Indoor Vertical Farm Hosts Farm Foundation’s Round Table
Indoor Vertical Farm Hosts Farm Foundation’s Round Table
Urban Produce, Orange County’s organic, indoor vertical farm, hosted members of the Farm Foundation’s Round Table for a tour at their state-of-the-art facility in Irvine, California on Wednesday, January 4th. Urban Produce’s patented growing technology has placed them at the forefront of sustainable agriculture; making them an ideal destination for The Farm Foundation’s bi-annual Round Table tour.
A program of Farm Foundation, NFP, the Round Table is an invitational discussion forum comprised of agricultural leaders from across North America. The Farm Foundation® Round Table meets twice yearly to provide a forum for discussion and interaction among select members and invited government, academic, agribusiness and other interest group leaders.
“We’re proud to welcome esteemed members of the Farm Foundation’s Round Table into our facility,” commented Ed Horton, who was named one of Agriculture’s Leading Innovators by USA Today. “To be able to share our advancements in agricultural technology and our global vision with some of the nation’s leading stakeholders in our field is a catalyst for even more discussion, innovation, and partnership opportunities.”
The Round Table program is designed to create an exchange of ideas and to foster understanding of different approaches to issues and challenges facing agriculture, the food system and rural regions.
Ed Horton, President and CEO of Urban Produce led the group through their state-of-the-art facility which houses their patented High Density Vertical Growing System. He showed members how Urban Produce can successfully grow 16 acres of organic produce using just 1/8 an acre. Urban Produce continues to push the envelope of sustainability by creating its own water for its crops through Atmospheric Water Generation; ultimately using 93% less water than traditional farms producing similar yields. Members learned how vertical farming offers a sustainable solution to climate change, the rapidly growing population, and increase in food deserts.
For more information: Talia Samuels | Outshine PR | Tel: 949.690.1531
Publication date: 1/11/2017
Blue Planet Consulting 2016 Annual Report
visit blueplanet.consulting in your browser today and learn more
Blue Planet Consulting 2016 Annual Report
- Published on January 11, 2017
Henry Gordon-Smith
Urban Agriculture Consultant
2016 was a year of notable growth for Blue Planet Consulting. For one, we successfully acquired over 15 new client projects, many of which have already been fulfilled to completion. Servicing these clients has strengthened our core team with relevant skills and experience to keep Blue Planet Consulting (BPC) on the forefront of building a thriving urban agriculture industry.
Further keeping our team in the catbird seat of the industry is our continued management of both Sky Vegetables and Stonebridge Farms. Managing these commercial farms for our partners has supplied BPC with more of the relevant knowledge and experience to be able to provide our clients with data-driven and first-hand operator insights. Our involvement with these facilities proved highly useful in multiple client engagements in 2016. Typical urban agriculture problems surrounding waste, labor, energy, sales, and marketing are being overcome by our growing team every day.
Related: Blue Planet Consulting 2015 Annual Report
Another major 2016 development for BPC is that my blog, the Agritecture platform has signed an agreement to be added into the Blue Planet family. This move has diversified BPC’s capabilities, giving the company access to quickly communicate to a growing community of urban agriculture professionals. Agritecture’s strong audience growth in 2016 gives me confidence that BPC will continue to develop its ability to influence the industry. This partnership also allows us to grow the amount and quality of knowledge we share through the platform as we have now hired our first employee: Community Manager Andrew Blume.
2016 was a year where BPC sharpened the methodology we use to help our clients overcome the challenges of developing urban agriculture businesses. Whether those challenges are zoning complexity, site and crop selection issues, recruiting strategies, yields and waste calculations, or implementing a new sales strategy for your product – BPC has likely serviced clients with similar issues facing your team.
In the report below, we showcase some of our work in 2016, from client engagements to industry events and partnerships we have supported. These activities depict how we have helped entrepreneurs and large companies navigate the uncharted waters of planning, implementing, and operating their urban agriculture business.
Thank you for your time and interest in our company’s 2016 endeavors. On behalf of my whole team, I wish you a warm, healthy, productive, 2017!
Sincerely,
Our 2016 Client Engagements
We conducted a feasibility study for Rob Laing, CEO of Farm.one and helped turn his brilliant idea of growing rare culinary herbs in Manhattan into a reality. We assisted Farm.one with crop selection, site selection, design, and economic analysis. We even assisted with the installation of Farm.one. We also helped Rob recruit his head grower, the talented David Goldstein. We are happy to hear that Farm.one is expanding its operations to another facility in 2017!
The Child Development Services Corporation (CDSC) is one of the only food banks with a vertical farm within it, providing fresh and clean produce to Clinton Hill residents in need. The farm was originally installed by Boswyck Farms 5 years ago and was in need of a retrofit. We assisted CDSC with a retrofit of the lighting, plumbing, and nutrient dosing systems. We also made the vertical farm more ergonomic for its users. CDSC benefitted from an updated management manual of the farm we developed as well as a training we conducted for their volunteers.
A large Chinese manufacturer wanted to explore how converting some of its facilities into a “green campus” could improve worker health and wellbeing. We provided a rapid concept development service including sketching out four interventions to their existing facilities that would improve oxygen within the factories, provide some produce for consumption, and improve overall well being. The final results were a set of renderings which we pitched to some of the companies executive team who continue to discuss the possibility of developing the green campus in 2017.
Our storefront office in Brooklyn certainly catches the eyes of pedestrians passing by. Josh Smith is a local resident and world-renowned artist that saw the +FARM in our window and ask us to design a custom system for his basement. We consulted with Josh what he wanted to grow and designed a system that fit his space and budget. Now Josh and his wife can enjoy leafy greens and microgreens year-round from their home.
Another community group in Brooklyn that has a system originally set up by Boswyck Farms requested our services to update the system. We advised them on means to improve their management of the farm and also recommended certain equipment upgrades.
This organization serves special needs students and families in New Jersey. We conducted a feasibility study on the costs and benefits of converting an unused ~3,000 sf warehouse into a commercial vertical farm for the purposes of generating additional revenue for the school. Our team completed design of the farm and even conducted focus groups with local residents to determine crop selection and packaging choices. The Reed leadership and board are considering funding options and partnerships to develop the vertical farm in the near future.
Global LED Company
We were hired by a global LED manufacturer to conduct market research and analysis to understand the potential for a new product they were considering developing. Our team developed a thorough document reviewing the potential for the product, target customers, pricing, and marketing strategy recommendations.
We assisted Brooklyn’s newest urban farmers and its only urban agriculture accelerator Square Roots launch their first campus. Our primary contributions were on recruiting, curriculum development, and horticulture planning. Now, many of our team serve as mentors to the 10 entrepreneurs that are growing real food in shipping containers in Brooklyn. Read more about Square Roots here.
Grownex USA chose us to help them launch their brand and new product Salad Wall at NYC AgTech Week. We were happy to assist them by building their first US website, social media accounts, and marketing strategy. We also displayed their system in our office getting them their first customer as a result of the exposure we provided them. Grownex is growing its sales to the US market in 2017 and Blue Planet Consulting is excited to continue to help them share their unique product Salad Wall with the US market.
Phillips Programs (Phase II)
Two years after helping our first client Phillips Programs in Maryland install a hydroponics learning lab (pictured), we were able to help them design their next phase: an additional six vertical microgreens systems. For this project we partnered with our local contacts at Modernature and co-designed cultivation systems that were appropriate for the Programs’ special needs students. Phase II of the Phillips’ Growing Futures Program is set to launch in Spring 2017.
BMoreAg
Also in Maryland, this client is interested in making a big impact on jobs and food security in Baltimore. We are assisting this client with concept development for now and eventually a full feasibility study. The plan is to convert a large vacant lot into a productive mix of vertical farming and greenhouse operation with an on-site market.
We are very excited to be working with Goler CDC, one of Winston-Salem, North Carolina’s well known community groups. Our role in their latest project is to provide a comprehensive feasibility study on converting a vacant lot into a series of greenhouses. This project is currently in progress with the site visit complete and crop selection underway. We will be providing Goler CDC with everything they need to get the project moving forward including equipment selection, economic analysis, management planning, and recruiting. The project is set to break ground in 2017.
Global Investor
We provide a benchmarking and case study report to a global investor interested in understanding the ins and outs of vertical farming. The list was comprehensive and included both case study data and analysis from our team of consultants and the investment climate of the emerging vertical farming industry.
Entrepreneur in Dubai
CJ is a young Dubai-based Indian entrepreneur looking to launch a model for vertical farming in Mumbai, India. We are developing a vertical farming concept for CJ that considers the opportunities and challenges of the local market and climate. Crop selection, pre-sqf costs, and a pitch deck are in progress to help CJ raise money for his unique vertical farming idea.
2016 Agritecture Workshops
In 2016 we conducted three Agritecture workshops:
· Fresno, CA (Feb)
· London, UK (June)
· Boston, MA (Dec)
These three 2016 workshops have brought the total number of Agritecture workshops to seven (7). Agritecture workshops match interdisciplinary teams of architects, growers, entrepreneurs, engineers, marketers, designers, and sustainability managers together for a shared mission: to develop a viable “agritecture” concept for the host city.
The Agritecture Design Workshops comprise of three teams, each matched with the goal of demonstrating creativity, sustainability, and feasibility when integrating agriculture into cities. On-site mentors from Blue Planet Consulting guide participants through urban agriculture project planning, hydroponic agriculture, and sustainability.
In the past, Agritecture Workshops were typically planned in partnership with the Association for Vertical Farming. For the Boston Agritecture Workshop, and for future workshops, this will no longer be the case. The AVF has indicated they will seek to develop their own proprietary workshop series, although they may still occasionally promote future Agritecture workshops.
We would like to thank our main sponsors for the three 2016 workshops included the following companies:
Agritecture also began offering sponsored content packages in 2016. These packages helped innovative companies showcase their products or services to our audience of 30,000+ vertical and urban farming enthusiasts. Contact Andrew@agritecture.com for more information on how you can reach our primarily millennial and gen-X audience.
2016 Milestones
January
- Hired new Engineer Jeffrey Landau
- Acquired new client Farm.one
- Visited the first installed Growtainer in NYC
- Completed DIY vertical farming kits for 2016 client Bergen Academies
February
- Hosted Agritecture Workshop in Fresno, California
- Attended GFIA conference in Abu Dhabi
- Attended FarmTek CEA Workshop
- Acquired new client CDSC
- Acquired new client Foxconn
- Became an Autodesk Entrepreneur Impact Partner
March
- Attended U of A CEAC Short Course
- Attended and Spoke at Thought For Food Summit in Zurich, Switzerland
April
- Attended Indoor Ag Con
- Participated in Urban Agriculture Roundtable with Brooklyn Borough President’s Office
- Acquired new client Los Surres
- Acquired new client Reed Academy
- Initiated the California Urban Agriculture Collective
- Attended Food + Future CoLab event @ IDEO in Boston
- Acquired new client Josh Smith
May
- Attended Silicon Valley AgTech Conference
- Spoke at first AgroHack conference in Puerto Rico
- Acquired new client Global LED Manufacturer
- Hired West Coast Representative David Ceaser
June
- Sponsored AVF Summit 2016
- Conducted first international Agritecture Workshop in London, England
July
- Acquired new client Square Roots Urban Growers
August
- Acquired new client Grownex USA
- Hired Djavid Abraham as our new Lead Systems Designer
September
- Participated in 2nd annual NYC AgTech Week
- Acquired new client Global Investor
- Started phase II for client Phillips Programs
- Hired MIT CityFarm veteran Elaine Kung to join our team as a designer
October
- Spoke at the Canadian Greenhouse Conference, offering the first talk on Vertical Farming to ever be featured at the event.
- Attended Chicago LED Magazine Event
- Attended and spoke at Fluence Bioengineering PhotoX event in Austin, TX
- Attended LARTA Institute Urban Agriculture event in Los Angeles
- Whitehouse announces our DIY vertical farming system +FARM on its website
November
- Hired Andrew Blume to join our team as our Community Manager for Agritecture.com
- Spoke at Building Success event sponsored by Microdesk in San Francisco
- Acquired new client Goler CDC
- Attended Seedstock Grow Local OC event
December
- Acquired new client based in Dubai
- Launched Aglanta: the South’s first CEA conference together with the Mayor’s Office of Atlanta and with platinum level sponsor, Southern Company
Our 2017 Strategy & Outlook
2016 was a big year for proving that Blue Planet Consulting’s methodology and team are capable of meeting industry challenges. Our acquisition of high-profile customers such as Foxconn, Square Roots, and Southern Company are evidence that as urban agriculture becomes more mainstream in 2017, BPC will play a role in assisting more high-profile organizations to enter the space successfully.
While we are ecstatic to have worked with these influential customers, we are also proud that we continued our practice of servicing school and institutional clients at a reduced rate. We’re excited to continue working for these small niche customers and adding more value to their installations with the introduction of the +FARM in 2017. We work with these clients because corporate social responsibility is a major motivating factor for our team. Thus, we fully intend to continue devoting resources to communities and clients of all shapes and sizes in 2017.
I can’t think of a more perfect example of how we will engage with big and small, business and education, industry and community, then the Aglanta Conference on February 19th, 2017. Aglanta will be organized by BPC, the Mayor’s Office of Atlanta, and by the conference’s platinum level sponsor, Southern Company. Alongside these entities will be Aglanta’s keynote speaker, Stephen Ritz, who is the undisputed champion of growing in schools.
I encourage you to purchase tickets to Aglanta here or contact me to get your company involved. There are still some exciting opportunities to exhibit or sponsor the event!
Only a crystal ball with tell us exactly how urban agriculture will manifest in 2017. While there are challenges and risks, we are confident that this is the year lucrative and impactful businesses will emerge. If you intend to pioneer and develop alongside the industry, we encourage you to contact us to see how we can work together to turn your growing aspirations into growing operations.
Request your urban agriculture, greenhouse, or vertical farming feasibility study here.
Vertical Farming May Not Feed The World, But Could Empower Cities
Vertical Farming May Not Feed The World, But Could Empower Cities
BY LISA NIKOLAU ON 11 JANUARY 2017
Aware of population growth’s growing impact on global food security, many agricultural experts are debating the use of vertical farming – and its ability to feed the world – but don’t deny its potential in urban agriculture.
Vertical farming is a relatively new term that, at its core, simply means growing more food in smaller spaces. Instead of having a single layer of crops over a large land area, for example, stacks of crops climb upward, typically in highly controlled indoor environments.
The method usually grows crops without soil or natural light. It’s dramatically different from how humans grew food just a few decades ago, but has the potential to produce drastically higher yields with significantly less space.
For humanitarians, the idea is tantalizing. The world’s population is exploding at an exponential rate, stressing the need to find ways to feed people without further destroying the planet. Proponents say vertical farming uses less water and fossil fuel than outdoor farming and eliminate agricultural runoff, all while providing fresh and local food.
As the concept garners both attention and legitimacy, vertical farms are already popping up in Seattle, Houston, New York and Milwaukee, as well as Linköping, Sweden. Some enthusiasts have even considered the rise in vertical farming the “third green revolution.”
Whether the model can be used among the rural poor – where the bulk of the world’s food is grown, in countries with highest food insecurity – is still up for debate.
“Can vertical farming feed the world? I’ll tell you right now: No it can’t,” said Erik Cutter, founder of California-based urban farm company Alegría Fresh, in an interview with Humanosphere. “It’s too expensive to feed the world.”
According to Cutter, the price tag on the type of vertical farm tower conceptualized by Dickson Despommier – the ecologist credited for modernized the idea of vertical farming – can be upward of $1 billion.
He said such a model might intrigue the elite, but is irrelevant to the majority of the world’s farmers. For them, many agriculturalists say building food security would rely on the adoption of regenerative agriculture – a range of techniques with the aim of restoring soil fertility and sequestering carbon.
In Irvine, Calif., Cutter uses a hydroponic vertical farming system – utilizing coconut fiber instead of soil, and powered by the sun – but is quick to describe its shortcomings. Vertical farms generally have a limited range of crop species, such as leafy greens or herbs, and its energy requirements are debated among critics who say lighting and other necessary equipment have a heavy impact on the climate.
But the biggest problem with vertical farming, Cutter adds, is that there isn’t an economic model to sustain it.
“Really, we have to train thousands of thousands of farmers in this country to farm differently, plus source capital, plus develop a market for that food,” he said. For this reason, he says one of his goals is to create decent-paying jobs in urban agriculture.
Even if it can’t feed the planet, proponents of vertical farming say it could at least work for the world’s cities. One of the largest, AeroFarms in Newark, N.J., appears to have created a sustainable economic model. An in-depth look at the company by the New Yorker explained that its main crop is baby salad greens because its premium price makes the enterprise attractive – and because it’s easy to grow.
If sustainable, such enterprises could help prevent cities from what urban agriculturalists warn is the inevitable: intolerable overcrowding with overwhelmed sanitation systems, housing, water and, of course, food. If the bulk of food production could happen close to these highly concentrated centers, the hope is that urban populations could harbor some control of their food supply.
Agrivolution’s Agri LED Light Picked for New Vertical Farming Panels From Indoor Farms of America
Agrivolution’s Agri LED Light Picked for New Vertical Farming Panels From Indoor Farms of America
January 11, 2017 | 07:38 PM Eastern Standard Time
SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Light-emitting diode (LED) lighting from agri-technology company Agrivolution LLC has been selected for integration into a patented aeroponic vertical farming system developed by Indoor Farms of America, LLC after Agrivolution won a year-long performance review against other LED products that provide artificial light for agricultural uses.
The new relationship brings together Indoor Farms of America, a U.S. market leader in affordable, economically viable, high-yield vertical aeroponic crop growing equipment that can grow pesticide-free local fruits and vegetables year round, and Agrivolution that supplies advanced horticultural LEDs that are popular in Asia and elsewhere around the globe.
The announcement comes as Las Vegas, NV-based Indoor Farms of America has steadily increased its market share as the company expands across North America and into key markets globally.
"Indoor Farms of America tested the Agrivolution ultra-thin and lightweight bar type Triple-Band LED against a dozen competing products for over a year and determined its superior performance to grow plants indoors," said Agrivolution President Richard Fu. "Based on the trial results, Indoor Farms of America decided on Agrivolution as its standard LED equipment provider for leafy greens and other select crops."
The global vertical farming industry is forecasted to grow to $6.81 Billion by 2022 according to a report issued by international research group Research and Markets called "Global Vertical Farming Market Analysis & Forecast, 2016-2022." Agrivolution expects to supply approximately 10,000 units of the Triple-Band LEDs across North America in 2017.
"We are very happy with the steady performance of the Triple-Band LED bars from Agrivolution," states David Martin, CEO of Indoor Farms of America. "We have grown about 20 different leafy green products, as well as flowering and fruiting plants, and they (Agrivolution LEDs) do a great job in helping us reach our targeted harvest times for what we grow."
Indoor Farms of America will integrate the Agrivolution LEDs into its enhanced aeroponics system to grow larger plants such as heirloom tomatoes, squash, and cucumber. The company has already been successful testing its growing techniques that produce a variety of leafy green products, as well as cherry tomatoes, chili peppers, and strawberries.
Aeroponics is a technique that mists nutrient solutions and supplies ample oxygen to plant and vegetable roots directly. It promotes root growth which reduces root rot and results in healthier plants. Artificial light from LEDs enables plants, vegetables and fruits to photosynthesize ― the process by which plants use ― to convert energy of light into chemical energy as its fuel.
Agrivolution’s UL certified Triple-Band LED being used by Indoor Farms of America is based on a patented single-chip design that emits RED-, BLUE-, and GREEN-bands that covers full Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) between 400 nm and 700 nm. Because of the unique single-chip architecture, the Agrivolution LEDs are able to output a balanced full-spectrum light while reducing energy usage.
Interest in horticultural LED lighting and weather agnostic indoor plant factories that can support steady food production in North America has been on the rise year after year as traditional growers struggle with unpredictable weather patterns in recent years and the extreme, long-term drought in agricultural rich California as well as drought conditions in various parts of the nation including the Northeast.
A separate research report issued last year forecasts the LED grow light module market currently at $395 million in 2014 to reach $1.8 billion by 2021 according to LED Agricultural Grow Lights: Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, 2015 to 2021 by WinterGreen Research.
South Windsor, Connecticut-based Agrivolution is developing innovative products for the indoor vertical farming industry that support sustainable farming solutions.
Agrivolution is a multiple winner of the State of Connecticut's CT Innovation Summit "Tech Companies to Watch."
For more information visit www.agrivolution.co.
Contacts
AGRIVOLUTION CONTACT:
TrahanPR
Michael Trahan, 860-256-1698
trahanm@comcast.net
or
INDOOR FARMS AMERICA CONTACT:
David W. Martin, 702-664-1236
CEO
davem@ifoamerica.com
USDA Announces $27 Million in Grants Available to Support the Local Food Sector
USDA Announces $27 Million in Grants Available to Support the Local Food Sector
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 - 9:45am
Peter Wood
202-720-6179
WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced the availability of $27 million in grants to fund innovative projects designed to strengthen market opportunities for local and regional food producers and businesses.
“These grants will continue USDA’s support for the local food sector as an important strategy for keeping wealth in rural communities,” said AMS Administrator Elanor Starmer. “Entrepreneurs around the country are creating jobs and new economic opportunities in response to growing consumer demand for local food. AMS is excited to partner with local food stakeholders to strengthen local economies and improve access to fresh, healthy food for their communities.”
AMS today announced the request for applications for the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program, which includes Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) grants, and the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP). These programs and other resources across USDA are helping to revitalize rural America by supporting local and regional food stakeholders.
The FMPP provides funds for direct farmer-to-consumer marketing projects such as farmers markets, community-supported agriculture programs, roadside stands, and agritourism. Over the past 10 years, the FMPP has awarded more than 870 grants totaling over $58 million. The successful results of these investments are summarized in the Farmers Market Promotion Program 2016 Report. The LFPP supports projects focused on intermediary supply chain activities for local food businesses. LFPP was established in the 2014 Farm Bill to increase funding for marketing activities such as aggregation, processing, storage, and distribution of local foods.
The FSMIP provides about $1 million in matching funds to state departments of agriculture, state colleges and universities, and other appropriate state agencies. Funds will support research projects to address challenges and opportunities in marketing, transporting, and distributing U.S. agricultural products domestically and internationally.
AMS will host a webinar for potential FMPP and LFPP grant applicants on Wednesday, February 15, 2017, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and a teleconference for potential FSMIP grant applicants on Thursday, February 16, 2017, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. For more information about FSMIP, FMPP and LFPP, visit: www.ams.usda.gov/AMSgrants. The website also contains a link to a grants decision tree, "What AMS Grant is Right for ME?”, to help applicants determine which AMS grant fits their project best.
The grant applications for FSMIP, FMPP and LFPP must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov/ by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, March 27, 2017.
AMS will also host a webinar to introduce potential applicants to Grants.gov on Wednesday, February 8, 2017, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Applicants are urged to start the Grants.gov registration process as soon as possible to ensure that they meet the deadline and encouraged to submit their applications well in advance of the posted due date. Any grant application submitted after the due date will not be considered unless the applicant provides documentation of an extenuating circumstance that prevented their timely submission of the grant application, read more on AMS Late and Non-Responsive Application Policy.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
Alaskan Containerized Hydroponics Win Prestigious Farming Award
Alaskan Containerized Hydroponics Win Prestigious Farming Award
The brains behind an “Arctic ready” hydroponic, mobile system for producing fresh vegetables have won the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Linda Janes and Dan Perpich of Alaska-based Vertical Harvest Hydroponics took home US$30,000 to support their business, which uses LED lighting in containers to produce fresh produce in the most remote of locations.
In a video briefing (below), the group explains 95% of Alaska’s fresh produce has to be imported from the continental U.S. or elsewhere, and often takes two weeks before reaching store shelves plus an extra three or four days to reach rural zones.
As it stands, the company estimates around 25% of the fresh produce that comes into Alaska is wasted, and that the lack of fresh produce availability is contributing to health problems in the state.
But through Vertical Harvest Hydroponics’ manufactured containerized growing systems, producers or interested parties can grow 450 heads of lettuce a week, wherever they may be.
“Innovation and entrepreneurship have always been essential ingredients in the success of America’s farmers and ranchers,” said AFBF president Zippy Duvall.
“From the adoption of new business models and the development of new tools and services, to unique adaptations of technology in agriculture, our industry is driven by people with vision who are willing to step forward with fresh ideas.”
Janes described the experience of winning the award as “surreal”.
“We entered into the Strong Rural American Entrepreneurship Challenge last year and certainly didn’t expect to win. However, we were notified a few months later that we were in the top four out of 356 applicants,” she said.
“This weekend, they flew all the four teams into Phoenix to compete for either the Entrepreneur of the Year (decided by the four judges) or the People’s choice award (via online voting). This competition also coincided with the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show, which was held at the Phoenix convention Center.
“In fact, our pitches to the judges and full house audience took place on the convention stage, while the convention was in full swing.”
She said her competitors were “exceptional” with great business models and teams.
“It was an unbelievable moment to hear our name called as the winners. We are humbled and thankful. This was a great opportunity and privilege to be in the company of fantastic and brilliant people,” she said.
“It is wonderful to know that so many great entrepreneurs and farmers are working hard to make our country better. This has been a challenging and rewarding experience. We want to thank everyone who has supported us over the last two years.
“We would like to extend a huge thank you to the American Farm Bureau for their entrepreneurial nature in realizing and following through on the important mission of encouraging innovation and supporting our rural communities and our farmers. This win is overwhelmingly for Alaska.”
Indoor Harvest Corp Announces Vertical Farm Development Financing Across North America
Indoor Harvest Corp Announces Vertical Farm Development Financing Across North America
January 10, 2017
Source: Indoor Harvest Corp
HOUSTON, Jan. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Indoor Harvest Corp (OTCQB:INQD), through its brand name Indoor Harvest®, is a solutions provider to the vertical farming and indoor agriculture industry. Indoor Harvest is pleased to announce an alliance with OneWorld Business Finance through its division US Energy Capital (OneWorld) to assist with financing for its customers and projects. The new relationship will allow OneWorld to expand their business offering in this new and exciting industry and will allow clients expanded options for financing.
“After conducting a search for a company that combined the experience we were looking for with the flexibility our clients need, we chose OneWorld. A centrally planned indoor farm facility is a cost intensive project. This partnership gives the operators in the industry a strong option to reduce their initial costs and efficiently manage their cash flow while they focus on growing crops and revenue," stated John Choo, CEO of Indoor Harvest. "With the pedigree of US Energy Capital and OneWorld Business Finance, we are excited to bring their options to the Vertical Farming space across North America," further stated Mr. Choo.
“US Energy Capital, recently acquired by OneWorld Business Finance, has been offering attractive vendor finance programs for over 30 years,” stated Jim Borland, Team Leader of the US Energy Division. Jim also stated that they are now excited to work very closely with Indoor Harvest and their clients. “Attractive financing offered by US Energy Capital will make the acquisition of cultivation hardware and facility build outs through Indoor Harvest much easier and quicker.” US Energy Capital will be offering no payments during implementation and installation for qualified companies.
About Indoor Harvest Corp
Indoor Harvest Corp, through its brand name Indoor Harvest®, is a full service design-build engineering firm for the indoor agriculture industry. Providing production platforms and complete custom-designed build-outs for both greenhouse and building integrated agriculture (BIA) grows, tailored to the specific needs of virtually any plant crop, it leads development and implementation in this new and growing industry. Visit our website at http://www.indoorharvest.com for more information about our Company.
About OneWorld and US Energy Capital
OneWorld is an Austin, Texas-based independent business finance company founded in 1995 that provides various forms of commercial finance to companies throughout the United States. Although focused on equipment finance and working capital, OneWorld also works with service companies, manufacturers, healthcare providers and municipalities to help its customers plan for and acquire funding for capital acquisitions, refinancing and operational expansion. Its US Energy Capital division focuses on lighting, energy saving and production assets. More can be found at www.usenergycapital.com or www.oneworldbusinessfinance.com.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains certain “forward-looking statements” relating to the business of Indoor Harvest and its subsidiary companies, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “estimates,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” "expects” and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements are based on Indoor Harvest’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on Indoor Harvest. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Indoor Harvest will be those anticipated by Indoor Harvest. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the Company) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Indoor Harvest undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
Contacts: Indoor Harvest Corp CEO, Mr. John Choo jchoo@indoorharvest.com
Innovative Neighborhood Farm Adjacent to Housing Complex Increases Food Access and Grows Community
“Beyond growing vegetables, beyond growing soil, we’re building community through agriculture,” says Dave Victor of Orchard Gardens Neighborhood Farm and Community Garden. “That’s a big part of the mission, a big part of the vision for the farm. It’s all about providing healthy fresh local food for low income people.”
Innovative Neighborhood Farm Adjacent to Housing Complex Increases Food Access and Grows Community
January 9, 2017 | Trish Popovitch
“Beyond growing vegetables, beyond growing soil, we’re building community through agriculture,” says Dave Victor of Orchard Gardens Neighborhood Farm and Community Garden. “That’s a big part of the mission, a big part of the vision for the farm. It’s all about providing healthy fresh local food for low income people.”
Dave Victor, after five years honing his growing skills with Garden City Harvest, became the manager of Orchard Gardens Neighborhood Farm just last year and he couldn’t be happier with his new position.
“Just like any sustainable agriculture farmer the focus is on building soil,” says Victor. “I tell people that I’m a vegetable farmer but first and foremost it’s all about growing soil and building that soil ecology.”
Using a diversity of growing techniques and products, Victor and his team integrate urban food growing with urban community growing focusing on building a firm relationship with the local youth.
The farm sits against the fence of the Orchard Gardens Apartment Complex on the west side of town in Missoula, Montana. Founded in 2005, the farm covers two acres of historically agricultural land in an area now occupied by housing projects and busy roads. The farm is a partnership between Garden City Harvest—Orchard Garden’s umbrella organization firmly established in Montana’s community and urban agriculture movement—and Homeword, a sustainable housing construction company. Together they planned the construction of the farm in unison with the construction of the apartment complex. The land needed for the farm meant that some of the complex’s parking space went underground.
Three paid staff positions, two long term interns and 20 volunteers made up the bulk of the farm’s work force this year. In the last growing season, Orchard Gardens produced 19,000 pounds of food using bio-intensive growing methods on half an acre of land. In addition to growing seasonal vegetables, the farm contains a small fruit orchard, herb and flower gardens, and a community garden.
The farm produces over 30 different varieties of vegetables for its 25 CSA customers and also sells culinary herbs and orchard fruit. CSA members can also participate in a u-pick flowers program during the 18 weeks of their CSA program. Orchard Gardens is a “combination site” also housing a community garden with rentable 15 x 15’ plots. One of those plots is ADA accessible with raised wooden garden beds. ADA plots are common among Garden City Harvest community farms.
The produce is distributed to members of the farm’s CSA as well as to the local community through its farmstand outside the apartment complex every Monday and Thursday night. The CSA operates on a sliding scale and runs from June through October. The surplus produce is sold to the community at a vastly reduced rate. Children living in the housing complex, ranging in age from 3 to 13, spend a lot of time on the farm and around the farmstand helping with set up and learning about the vegetables.
“As soon as they all see us out there setting up, they’ll all come running over immediately,” says Victor. “They like to help us carry out boxes of food or help us set up our tables, spread out the tablecloth and in return we give them carrots and peas and green beans and they just love that.”
The children are a core piece of the puzzle for Victor and one of the main reasons he goes to work in the morning. The opportunity to educate and build relationships while instilling a love of fresh food is important to the mission of the farm and Victor hopes all of its farmers.
“We’re in a cool position where we can take these kids under our wing and teach them more than just farm stuff. We can teach them about being polite, being respectful…you know, just every day lessons. And that’s very unusual for a farmer to have that opportunity to do that but it’s very rewarding,” says Victor. “Even if we can’t make a huge impact on the adult’s life, we’re starting fresh with this young generation, giving them access to fresh food. I think they’ll carry that with them in their life. I think that when they have kids they’ll incorporate that into their kid’s life.”
In addition to the usual urban farm amenities, Orchard Gardens has occasional cooking classes and is a popular field trip location. They operate a program with local physicians where patients trade prescriptions for fresh vegetables. Several veterans took part in this pilot program this past year and Victor believes its success will precipitate growth.
In regards to the farm’s future, Victor is hoping to put in a few more fruit trees this coming season and is researching growing seeds for one of the well known organic seed companies. “It would help raise some income for our program, but also to share our seeds with our community, with our community gardeners, just with Missoulians in general to be able to have locally produced locally adapted seeds for the community…it gives our gardeners another leg up,” he says.
I Was Wrong About Vertical Farms; Aerofarms Shows How To Make Them Really Work
For a long time this TreeHugger was dismissive of vertical farms, agreeing with Adam Stein who wrote that "Using urban real estate in this manner is incredibly wasteful: bad for the economy and bad for the environment. Local food has its merits, but that's what New Jersey is for." As recently as a year ago I was calling them wrong on so many levels.
I Was Wrong About Vertical Farms; Aerofarms Shows How To Make Them Really Work
Lloyd Alter (@lloydalter)
Living / Green Food
January 9, 2017
For a long time this TreeHugger was dismissive of vertical farms, agreeing with Adam Stein who wrote that "Using urban real estate in this manner is incredibly wasteful: bad for the economy and bad for the environment. Local food has its merits, but that's what New Jersey is for." As recently as a year ago I was calling them wrong on so many levels.
I was wrong.
At the time, almost eight years ago, when we were dissing vertical farms, it was all about visions of new towers in the city, expensive purpose-built structures that I thought were "good drawings, lots of ideas and great fun" but unrealistic, like Vincent Callebaut's silly Farmscrapers. I was probably right about that, and Adam Stein was right about New Jersey.
The vertical farm that is changing the way we think about vertical farms is in fact in Newark, New Jersey, inside an existing old steel warehouse that has been converted rather than an expensive new facility. It's called Aerofarms, and Margaret wrote about it when it was proposed two years ago.
When TreeHugger friends Philip and Hank complained about the economics of vertical farms, they noted in EcoGeek:
A farmer can expect his land to be worth roughly $1 per square foot...if it's good, fertile land. The owner of a skyscraper, on the other hand, can expect to pay more than 200 times that per square foot of his building. And that's just the cost of construction. Factor in the costs of electricity to pump water throughout the thing and keep the plants bathed in artificial sunlight all day, and you've got an inefficient mess. Just looking at those numbers, you need two things to happen in order for vertical farms to make sense. You need the price of food to increase 100 fold over today's prices, and you need the productivity of vertical farms to increase 100 fold over traditional farms. Neither of those things will ever happen.
But if you read Ian Frazier's wonderful article in the New Yorker, The Vertical Farm, you find that they did actually solve most of those problems at Aerofarms. The cost of the real estate per square foot is irrelevant, because the plants are stacked in trays eight high.
They are set in a repurposed old building in a city that's very close to New York city but has relatively cheap industrial real estate.
Then there are the changes in technology. LED lighting has evolved to where they can tune the lighting to the exact colours that the plants need for photosynthesis, saving huge amounts of electricity and excess heat over the broad fluorescents and metal halide lights of a decade ago.
And water? Using technology developed by inventor Ed Harwood of Ithaca, New York, the plants are suspended in a fabric made from old pop bottles. Frazier writes:
The fabric is a thin white fleece that holds the seeds as they germinate, then keeps the plants upright as they mature. The roots extend below the cloth, where they are available to the water-and-nutrients spray.
The air in the building is rich in CO2, the lighting is just right, the nutrients are fed at just the right rate using seventy percent less water, and it is all carefully monitored by computers and technicians.
... each plant grows at the pinnacle of a trembling heap of tightly focussed and hypersensitive data. The temperature, humidity, and CO2 content of the air; the nutrient solution, pH, and electro-conductivity of the water; the plant growth rate, the shape and size and complexion of the leaves—all these factors and many others are tracked on a second-by-second basis. AeroFarms’ micro-, macro-, and molecular biologists and other plant scientists overseeing the operation receive alerts on their phones if anything goes awry. A few even have phone apps through which they can adjust the functioning of the vertical farm remotely.
Ten years ago, we showed visions of people in lab coats walking around plants in soil many storeys up in the air. The reality today is very different, using rehabilitated buildings, high density planting, almost no water and LED lighting. It makes so much more sense. Ian Frazier concludes:
I thought of the tenderness of the greens this device produces—a natural simplicity elicited mainly from water and air by high-tech artifice of the most complicated and concentrated kind. It seemed a long way to go for salad. But if it works, as it indeed appears to, who knows what might come of it when we’re nine billion humans on a baking, thirsting globe?
A decade ago we called them pie in the sky, and thought nothing would come of it. Today, I am not so sure. I think I have to eat my words, along with some Aerofarms baby greens the next time I am in New York.
Related on TreeHugger.com:
- Adam Stein on Vertical Farms: "Pie in the Sky"
- Do Vertical Farms Make Sense?
- Futurama Farming in New York
- Gordon Graff Demonstrates That Vertical Farms Can Actually Work
- Vertical farms: Wrong on so many levels
- Fix Our Horizontal Farms Before We Go Vertical
Tags: Food Miles | Food Security
The Great Indoors
The Great Indoors
You’ve heard of recipes for food, but have you heard of a grow recipe? That’s exactly what Philips Grow Wise is developing with partners such as Grow Up Urban Farms in London. Together they are pioneering city farming in the U.K.
By Pithrika Nair.
Any Smart City vision is incomplete without smart food. The current world population of 7.3 billion is projected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050. Of that population 7.7 billion (80 per cent) are expected to live in cities. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) also estimates that farmers will have to produce 70 per cent more food by 2050 to meet the needs of these 9.7 billion. Notwithstanding the fact that the quantity of food produced isn’t a safeguard against world hunger (we currently produce enough food to feed the world’s population, but 795 million people still go hungry due to poverty), there is a pressing need to produce more food, with greater efficiency, and a lower carbon footprint.
A potential answer to the problem of food production is urban indoor agriculture, the growing of crops in a building within or near a city, using artificial light to stimulate photosynthesis. The controlled system helps growers reduce or eliminate pesticides and other chemicals, and its proximity to the end consumer ensures fresher produce with greatly reduced food miles. The quality of the solution is driven by how lighting, climate control, software controls, sensoring and logistics work together.
Kate Hofman and Tom Webster founded Grow Up Urban Farms in 2013 as London’s first commercial urban farm. Housed inside an industrial warehouse, the farm combines aquaculture (fish farming), with hydroponics, the practice of growing plants in a nutrient solution with no soil. This is a symbiotic system with one product, the fish, providing fertilizer for the second product, the plants.
With a year round growing season, the 6,000 sq. foot urban farm produces 20,000 kg of salad greens grown in vertically stacked trays under Philips LED lighting. Researchers at Philips GrowWise Center have developed precise ‘growth recipes’ for each product. Just like a cooking recipe, a growth recipe includes an ingredients list and a method, and Philips provides extensive support in both areas to ensure the end result meets the customers’ exact needs.
The ingredients list is the lighting system itself: the type and number of LEDs and where to place them to deliver the optimal lighting conditions and coverage for the plant type and greenhouse set-up, and the growth system.
The full package includes the technology hardware such as racks and automation and software like climate (temperature, humidity, CO2) as well as plant material, fertilizers and growth media. A ‘growth recipe’ helps farmers to optimise their farm systems for productivity.
According to Gus van der Feltz, director of City Farming at Philips, “Indoor growing systems based on LED lighting can maximise plant photosynthesis, for the most delicious and nutritious vegetables grown in a sustainable manner. Growing crops vertically makes it possible to pack more plants per acre, in a much faster way, than would be possible with a field farm, which means more harvests per year. With little waste, no agricultural run-off and more than 90 per cent reduction in the water used to grow clean and healthy food.”
This hyper-controlled growing environment enables better, faster, tastier, cleaner plants through light recipes, in clean air with no pesticides or crop protection.
At the Philips GrowWise research facility in Eindhoven, growers and plant specialists trial a variety of crops under different lighting and climate conditions for a variety of purposes.
“At Philips, we are teaming up with partners to bring this new innovation to the next level,” says Gus van der Feltz. “We are also looking forward to discovering what else can be achieved through this new form of high-tech horticulture. We have already seen that we can increase the amount of vitamin C in tomatoes, colour lettuce, and affect the taste and smell of basil through the smart use of LED light and growth recipes. And it’s possible to grow different varieties indoors. So we certainly have an interesting future ahead of us.”
Does this mean we’ve found the solution to the population-food-location quandary? Not yet. Although the potential unlocked by the LED technology is promising, urban indoor farming still faces several challenges before it starts producing significant, sustainable, and affordable food on a large scale.
A critic of indoor growing systems, Louis D. Albright, programme director of Controlled Environment Agriculture at Cornell University, estimates the high amount of energy required to provide 100 per cent of the light and heat needed doesn’t result in environmental benefits. He found one kilo of tomatoes farmed indoors produces 11-13 kg of CO2 (2-4 kg CO2 in production and 9kg of CO2 in lighting), while tomatoes farmed and transported from California to New York produced 0.6 kg of CO2 (0.3 Kg of CO2 in Production + 0.3 Kg of CO2 in Transport).
What if that energy came from renewable sources? Bruce Bugbee, director of the Plants, Soils & Climate department at Utah State University says, “If we’re going to use solar panels, we’d need 5.4 acres of solar panels to provide 1 acre of sunlight equivalent.”
Based on the current technology and energy options, it’s high end, expensive crops such as herbs and microgreens that offer the best business options for indoor farming. These are the limitations Jeremy Rifkin pointed out (in his presentation to the government of Catalunya), in attempting to plug smart city solutions into a fossil fuel infrastructure.
In an ideal future, a digitised internet of energy would be able to provide renewable energy at the price and efficiency needed to make indoor urban agriculture a viable production option.
The area where high efficiency agricultural LEDS such as those developed at Philips Grow Wise are able to have the most significant impact is as supplementary lighting in greenhouses.
Brookberries Venlo BV grows and supplies strawberries in Venlo, Netherlands. It previously used incandescent lamps to elongate the strawberry plant and encourage growth, but the sale of many types of incandescent lights was banned in the EU from 1 September 2012.
Owners Marcel Dings and Peter van den Eertwegh used the opportunity to trial different technology options, deciding finally to deploy the Philips GreenPower LED flowering lamp on their farms. This has resulted in a staggering 88 per cent reduction in their energy consumption as well as the ability to start harvesting earlier in the year (February and March, rather than in May).
Improved temperature control is also a big plus for Dutch tomato grower Jami. Its grow recipe combines overhead high-pressure sodium lamps with LED lamps hung among the crop to illuminate the lower parts of the plant. The LED lamps can be placed close to the plants without damaging them but also add a little bit of warmth – which the tomato plants thrive on.
Through the placement and monitoring of the LEDs the temperature in the greenhouse is carefully controlled, lengthening the growing season into an all year production. Jami has seen its energy bills fall by 10 per cent, while yields have risen by 35 per cent. Thus, although its energy consumption is high, urban agriculture also benefits greatly from increased control and efficiency.
Citizens within the smart city communities have the chance to gain an understanding and sense of connection with their food, as well as the chance to eat high quality products which have been naturally optimized through light control. Hofman from Grow Up Urban Farm says, “With the lighting we get really good color across the leaf, really good shape, and a really strong and solid product. Everything is delivered to local customers within 12 hours after harvest.”
Twelve hours from harvest to your plate in the heart of London is a significant step in the direction of smart, sustainable food.
If you enjoyed this, you might wish to look at the following:
Philips Lighting looks to the future
Future innovation has its roots in real life projects that are happening right now
smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/philips-lighting-looks-to-the-future-1129
Kimbal Musk Just Launched A Revolutionary Shipping Container Farm Initiative In Brooklyn
"Square Roots is an interactive campus of sorts, where each entrepreneur accepted to the one-year program is able to leverage hands-on experience and receive guided mentorship in running a vertical farm and agriculture business"
Kimbal Musk Just Launched A Revolutionary Shipping Container Farm Initiative In Brooklyn
by Jennifer Lauren, 01/06/17
Near Jay Z’s childhood home and an old Pfizer factory, you will find a set of ten steel shipping containers. Inside those seemingly innocuous containers lies a lush urban farm. Launched by Tobias Peggs and Kimbal Musk, brother to Elon, the containers are part of a project called Square Roots, an urban farming incubator created to support emerging entrepreneurs as they develop their own vertical farm start-ups, which Musk hopes will create a food revolution.
Square Roots is an interactive campus of sorts, where each entrepreneur accepted to the one-year program is able to leverage hands-on experience and receive guided mentorship in running a vertical farm and agriculture business. Vertical farms are ideal for urban settings because they require less space, are able to grow soil-free crops indoors under LED lights and expend markedly less water than traditional outdoor farms. Each 320 square foot shipping container-turned-farm can yield crops that would be the equivalent of two acres of farmland. For all these reasons, exploring the potential of vertical farms is a priority for many –including Square Roots investors such as FoodTech Angels and the USDA.
RELATED: Wind-powered vertical Skyfarms are the future of sustainable agriculture
This November, 10 applicants were selected out of over 500 applications, each coming from different backgrounds and experience levels. While each entrepreneur will not only be able to access invaluable farming know-how and business expertise, the incubator also can serve as a testing ground for the future of vertical farms. For example, exploring how to utilize solar power rather than LED lights, which some say is a drain on electricity. Entrepreneurs received funding and loans from the USDA, Powerplant Ventures, GroundUp, Lightbank, and FoodTech Angels.
The endeavor is one of several of Kimbal Musk’s that are designed to shake up the way we grow and eat food. His other projects include The Kitchen and Next Door, both restaurants that serve dishes from local sources only, and the non-profit The Kitchen Community, which has installed “learning gardens” in over 300 schools. While Square Roots is currently only underway in Brooklyn, the founders aspire to bring the concept to more cities in the near future.
How Elon Musk's Brother Kimbal Musk is disrupting Farming With 'Food Revolution'
How Elon Musk's Brother Kimbal Musk is Disrupting Farming With 'Food Revolution'
Leanna Garfield and Sarah Jacobs
Kimbal Musk - the brother of Tesla Motors chief executive Elon Musk - is trying to change the way we eat by creating what he calls a "real food revolution".
For over a decade, he has run two restaurant chains, The Kitchen and Next Door, which serve dishes made strictly with locally sourced meat and veggies.
Samsung started off its CES event in Las Vegas with a mea culpa over its exploding Galaxy Note 7 smartphones.
In 2011, he started a non-profit program that has installed "Learning Gardens" in more than 300 schools, with the intention of teaching kids about agriculture.
His latest food venture delves into the world of local urban farming.
In early November, Musk and fellow entrepreneur Tobias Peggs launched Square Roots, an urban farming incubator program in Brooklyn, New York.
The setup consists of 10 steel shipping container farms where young entrepreneurs work to develop vertical farming startups.
Unlike traditional outdoor farms, vertical farms grow soil-free crops indoors and under LED lights.
Six weeks into the 12-month program, just after the entrepreneurs completed their first harvests, Business Insider got a tour of the farms.
They are vertical farms — everything grows inside 320-square-foot (30 sq m) steel shipping containers. Each container can produce about 50,000 mini-heads of lettuce a year.
- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave the Square Roots entrepreneurs small loans to cover preliminary operating expenses.
Other investors include Powerplant Ventures, GroundUp, Lightbank, and FoodTech Angels.
The Square Roots farms sit between an old Pfizer factory and the apartment building where rapper Jay-Z grew up in Brooklyn. Photo: Sarah Jacobs, Business Insider
On four parallel walls, leafy greens and herbs sprout from soil-free growing beds filled with nutrient-rich water. Instead of sunlight, they rely on hanging blue and pink LED rope lights.
About the size of the standard one-car garage, each shipping container can produce the same amount of crops as two acres of outdoor farmland.
Musk and Peggs chose Square Roots' first class of 10 young entrepreneurs from over 500 applications.
Peggs says they represent the next generation of farmers — though not all came to NYC with farming experience.
Another 27-year-old farmer, Electra Jarvis, comes to Square Roots three days per week. On Wednesdays, she spends four hours meticulously placing 800 seeds inside small troughs. Photo: Sarah Jacobs, Business Insider
Before Josh Aliber, 24, moved from Boston to Brooklyn to join Square Roots, he had never farmed. Now he's starting up his own specialty herb business and running a vertical farm.
Last year, while Aliber was recovering from a concussion, he learnt about urban farming from a podcast. He started researching it from his bed, and found out about the Square Roots program.
His shipping container farm runs on 10 gallons of recycled water a day, which is less than the average shower's worth.
Aliber can monitor everything from the oxygen level to the humidity — which affects the plants' taste and texture — using "the computer panel" near the door and sensors in the growing beds.
If he wants a tropical or northeastern climate, he can control that too.
Aliber is selling his specialty herbs and basil primarily to upscale Italian and pizza restaurants in NYC.
All the Square Roots farmers sold their first harvests at a recent local farmer's market. Through the program, he has had the opportunity to work with numerous mentors. Square Roots has 120 mentors so far.
"Yes, I have the ability to make money, but yes, I also have the ability to change the world," he says.
Another 27-year-old farmer, Electra Jarvis, comes to Square Roots three days a week.
On Wednesdays, she spends four hours meticulously placing 800 seeds inside small troughs.Two weeks later, she transplants them to the walls.
"We should be growing closer to us in cities," she says.
Aliber, Jarvis, and the other eight entrepreneurs are not just learning how to grow plants, but also how to grow their businesses. A large part of the program is learning about branding and "how to tell our stories", Jarvis says.
The larger goal of Square Roots, Musk tells Business Insider, is to create "a real food revolution".
In the late 1990s, following the tech boom, the Musk brothers moved from South Africa to Silicon Valley. They invested in X.com, which later merged with PayPal and was acquired by eBay.
Kimbal Musk has known Peggs, who previously worked on tech start-ups sold to Walmart and Adobe, for a decade.
Before Square Roots, they worked together at The Kitchen, where Peggs served as the "President of Impact" and helped expand the chain to new cities.
When asked how his experience in tech translates to running a vertical farming accelerator, Peggs says the two fields share the same motivation.
"You learn how to execute impossible dreams. This was all just a Powerpoint presentation six months ago," says Peggs, pointing to the farms behind him.
"Today's consumer wants to know they are supporting companies that are doing something good for the world," Peggs says. "This not just a Brooklyn foodie trend."
The world's largest vertical farm, Aerofarms, launched this year in Newark, New Jersey. In late 2015, urban farming company Gotham Greens opened the world's largest rooftop farm in Chicago.
Square Roots hopes to expand to 20 cities by 2020.
Vertical farms can grow all year, using significantly less water and space than outdoor farms.
Critics of vertical farms point out that the LEDs drain a lot of electricity. Peggs says Square Roots is exploring how the farmers can switch to solar power in the future, since electricity is the biggest cost for the farms.
Square Roots' lights are only on in the evening and night, so they don't run 24-7 like some other vertical farms.
Square Roots will build offices inside the Pfizer factory in the coming months. In its past life, the building produced ammonia, a chemical that's sprayed on plants and became vital to the industrial food system after WWI.
In 2017 and beyond, sustainable food start-ups will do business there. "It's an act of poetic justice," Peggs says.
This story first appeared in Business Insider. Read it here or follow BusinessInsider Australia on Facebook.
Agricultural Revolution 2.0
"A revolution in food has begun unlike any since the development of agriculture"
AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION 2.0
How everything you eat is about to change forever. Say goodbye to farmers and ranchers!
By Marshall Connolly (CALIFORNIA NETWORK)
1/6/2017
A revolution in food has begun unlike any since the development of agriculture.
When You Can Farm Indoors, Who Needs Sunlight Or Soil?
In about a decade or so, your food is going to be a lot different. For the first time since humans began farming and ranching, the way we grow and produce food is about the change --dramatically. Farmers and ranchers, your days are numbered.
Vertical farms already exist on small scale, but their popularity is catching on and rapid expansion and development is expected within the next decade.
LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Around 10,000 B.C., our ancestors changed the way they ate and thereby changed the world. Before that time, our ancestors were forced to hunt and gather for their food. This meant people lived in small wandering bands, probably not exceeding 200 people. Their only job was to find their next meal, a laborious process that often required lengthy periods of walking and running.
Around 10,000 B.C., our ancestors figured out they could domesticate animals and crops. They learned how to plant and harvest. These advancements were so incredible, historians dubbed the change the "Neolithic Revolution."
It changed everything. With the need to chase their next meal eliminated, humans were able to settle down and build villages, towns and eventually cities. Labor was divided among the people, religion flourished and bureaucracy developed.
For 12,000 years or more, this is the way the world has worked, thanks entirely to farming and ranching. Even today, wars are fought over control of lands that produce food. Much of the land area on our planet is dedicated to growing food.
But all this is about to change again, right before your eyes.
In the next decade, what you eat will change. The first change has already arrived, vertical farming.
Farming is about to move from rural farms to tall factories called vertical farms. These factories are not run by farmers, but by industrialists who grow greens instead of forge steel. Tall racks, several stories high, are filled with soil, or a soil substitute, planted and watered. The racks rotate, and a new crop is harvested every day. This means produce will be grown year-round, under controlled conditions, using a minimum of resources. This will reduce food costs by improving efficiency and increasing supply.
At the same time farming moves indoors, so too will ranching. In fact, ranching will undergo the greatest change as we move from growing live animals to simply growing their meat in an industrial setting.
Scientists have developed what is called "cultured meat." Cultured meat is real meat, grown from stem cells of an actual animal, in a laboratory. The meat is real, but it is grown outside of a living animal, probably in a special tray or vat. At present, the process is difficult and expensive but it's developing. Hamburger patties and meatballs have already been grown, cooked and tsted. There are problems with flavor and texture, but these will be overcome.
Several startups as well as Tyson Foods have started to pour money into the development of this new source of protein.
The cost savings are huge. If meat can be grown in a factory, ranchers will not need millions of acres of land. A lot less water can be used. Feed will not be needed, although a synthetic replacement will be required.
As an added benefit, the meat can be genetically altered to govern its characteristics, such as fat content. It also eliminates the need for additives such as antibiotics and other drugs often administered to ranched animals. The cost of cultured meat will be far below the cost of ranch-raised meats, and ranched meat will become an expensive delicacy.
The third and final major change in our food supply will be the development and use of genetically modified organisms, often referred to as GMOs. While GMOs have been the subject of controversy, they are here to stay. Most of our foods are already genetically modified. As food production moves from the farm to the factory, and genetic modification becomes easier, its use will expand. Like it or not, the food of the near future will not be like the food of the recent past.
The timeline for these changes is very short. Vertical farms are already in use and should catch on quickly. GMOs are already in widespread use. And cultured meats are between five years to a decade away, and it may take 20 years before the product is perfected and becomes competitive with ranched meats. But the incentive to make the change is massive, so investment and development are accelerating.
Perhaps the greatest question of all is how will consumers feel about these changes? Vertically farmed vegetables are already being consumed without complaint. GMOs are also widely consumed although there is some pushback from consumers who fear they are unsafe. Such controversy will probably persist, but the new foods will enter the market anyway. The greatest hurdle is faced by cultured meats, which will be faced with skepticism by consumers who might not trust meat grown in a lab. However, competitive pricing, marketing, and time will ensure cultured meats become the norm of the future.
Today, we look at 10,000 B.C. as a time of dramatic change for humanity. It now appears that the early 21st century will be seen in much the same way.
The Rise of the Vertical Indoor Farm
The New Yorker’s Ian Frazier with a very interesting look at the folks who are growing crops in the city: The Vertical Farm.
The Rise of the Vertical Indoor Farm
A Green Thumb (drive)
“The technology it uses derives partly from systems designed to grow crops on the moon. The interior space is its own sealed-off world … Countless algorithm-driven computer commands combine to induce the greens to grow, night and day, so that a crop can go from seed to shoot to harvest in eighteen days. Every known influence on the plant’s wellbeing is measured, adjusted, remeasured. Tens of thousands of sensing devices monitor what’s going on.” Welcome to what could be the future of the world’s produce supply. And unlike today’s messy farms, it won’t require soil, sunlight, or nearly as much water. (Add in a couple quarts of coffee, and that’s basically the environment in which NextDraft grows.) The New Yorker’s Ian Frazier with a very interesting look at the folks who are growing crops in the city: The Vertical Farm.
+ If you can raise crops indoors in the city, then you can go fishing in a barn in Iowa. From MoJo: A Fish Out of Water. Can farmers in Iowa help save the world’s seafood supply?
Vertical Farms: Smart Food Solutions
“Agricultural runoff is the main cause of pollution in the oceans; vertical farms produce no runoff"
Vertical Farms: Smart Food Solutions
Posted on January 6, 2017 by Danielle Park
Great article in The New Yorker January 9 issue on Vertical Farming and innovators in Newark who are growing fresh vegetables with a fraction of the water, no soil or chemicals, nor cross-country transport.
This is the ‘buy local’ movement personified and it is perfectly timed to meet our simultaneous needs for plentiful, fresh, healthy food and a sustainable environment. See: The Vertical Farm, growing crops in the city, without soil or natural light:
“Agricultural runoff is the main cause of pollution in the oceans; vertical farms produce no runoff. Outdoor farming consumes seventy per cent of the planet’s freshwater; a vertical farm uses only a small amount of water compared with a regular farm. All over the world, croplands have been degraded or are disappearing. Vertical farming can allow former cropland to go back to nature and reverse the plundering of the earth…
Today in the U.S., vertical farms of various designs and sizes exist in Seattle, Detroit, Houston, Brooklyn, Queens, and near Chicago, among other places. AeroFarms is one of the largest. Usually the main crop is baby salad greens, whose premium price, as Ed Harwood realized, makes the enterprise attractive. The willingness of a certain kind of customer to pay a lot for salad justifies the investment, and after the greens get the business up and running its technology will be adapted for other crops, eventually feeding the world or a major fraction of it. That is the vision.”
A Detroit Urban Farm Preserves Black History In Jam Form
A Detroit Urban Farm Preserves Black History In Jam Form
January 6, 2017 - 10:49 AM ET
Martina Guzman for NPR
On the north side of Detroit, a community farm teamed up with a local arts and culture nonprofit to put its summer harvest to best use â while also honoring the legacy of the city's black families. Their answer: Afro Jam, a line of preserves based on old family recipes.
In the kitchen at Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, just north of downtown Detroit, Linda Carter and Shawnetta Hudson are in the final stages of making their newest jam creation: cranberry-apple preserves. Carter is meticulously wiping down tables while Hudson seals the lids on jars. Then comes the logo — a beautiful graphic of a black woman with afro hair made of strawberries. The kitchen is small and basic, but for the past year it has served as the hub of a community-based product called Afro Jam.
"The name Afro Jam and the logo are empowering, independent and strong," Carter says. "That's what we want our community to be."
Carter, the food safety manager at the farm, recruited Hudson from the local community to help her keep up with making and selling the product. Strawberry, peach and blueberry are Afro Jam's best sellers.
"Strawberry jam, that's my thing," says Hudson. "And when Linda and I work together, we're on point at all times."
Staying "on point" is a goal of Carter's. The jam venture has to be profitable. So in the past year the small group of about a half-dozen women, rotating volunteers and three paid employees has made an aggressive push to sell the spreads at summer festivals and farmers markets.
Afro-Jam is a product of One Mile, a neighborhood arts and culture organization, and Oakland Avenue Urban Farm, a nonprofit dedicated to cultivating healthy local food sources for the surrounding community. The farm is a project of Northend Christian Community Development Corporation — both are managed by Jerry Hebron. It has a vegetable garden and an apple orchard. Hebron also oversees a weekly farmers market in the summer.
Roughly 83 percent of Detroit's population is black, an aftereffect of white flight that began in the 1950s. As the people left Detroit, so did the supermarkets — especially in poorer, blacker neighborhoods.
Fresh fruits and vegetables became much harder to come by for many city residents. As a result, gardens started popping up in Detroit, which currently has roughly 1,500 urban farms. Some are large and operate at an industrial scale; others are single lots that have been turned into vegetable gardens for a few families.
The idea for Afro Jam was born out of a need to generate revenue year round while also keeping the community involved, says Hebron. "The community is at the root of everything we do," she says.
So Hebron began spreading the word at the farmers market: They wanted to start a new line of jams using old family recipes. Recipes for making preserves poured in – including some that had been handed down for generations.
Constance King, 67, heard the call and was excited to share her mother's recipe with the folks from Afro Jam.
"My mother brought her jam recipe [from the South] with her — it belonged to her mother and to her mother's mother," King says. "I felt proud about being able to share that recipe. It's a beautiful way of keeping my mother alive."
A lifelong resident of Detroit, King loves the city's rich African-American history. Making biscuits and jam, she says, was part of the Southern black experience – they've been a staple at the Southern supper table since at least the mid-18th century.
"This [growing fruits and vegetables] is a good idea, it's something we can do with all of this empty land," King says. "Our neighborhood used to be full of families — there was not a vacant block. There were hardware stores, delis and grocery stores. It was a Jewish/Black community."
King's family is originally from Georgia but moved to Detroit in the 1940s during the Great Migration, when millions of African-Americans left their homes in the rural South in search of better jobs and an escape from harsh segregationist laws.
Hebron says that among black Detroiters, the tradition of making homemade jams has largely fallen by the wayside in the modern era.
Oakland Avenue Urban Farms used heritage recipes from seven different families – unearthing them from hiding places in attics and long-forgotten recipe boxes.
In the fall of 2015, the ladies of the farm set out to make their first batch of jam. Some of the recipes they received took days to make and weren't practical for production.
Carter and Hebron settled on strawberry jam as their first batch, which took several days and four people to make. "We bonded over making jam, laughing and sharing old family stories," Hebron says.
"Gathering is what it's all about," Carter says. "There is nothing greater than bringing people together over food."
Proceeds from the jam venture go to Northend Christian CDC, a nonprofit that's aimed at revitalizing Detroit's North End historic district, where One Mile and Oakland Avenue Urban Farm are based.
For Hebron, Carter and the rest of the women who make Afro Jam, this is a way to preserve the legacy of Detroit's black families.
"It's one of the most amazing projects I've ever worked on," Hebron says.
Martina Guzman is a journalist based in Detroit. She's currently the race and justice journalism fellow at the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University.
Feel-Good Story About The Future of Vertical Farms
Feel-Good Story About The Future of Vertical Farms
There's really nothing not to love about vertical farms -- multi-story hydroponic operations, usually sited in dense urban areas -- they borrow their best tech from the space program, they're water-conserving, they don't have runoff, they're energy efficient, and they're super land-efficient, meaning we don't need to turn forests or wetlands into fields.
The New Yorker's profiles of the inventors of modern vertical farming has the usual New Yorker lyricism and slightly-too-long-ism, and is a little short on technical details, but it left me with a warm glow this morning. It's a good example of bright green tech, the kind of thing we'll need as our population stabilizes at 9 billion -- the alternative being the "de-growth" dystopia that starts with 4-6 billion people somehow departing the planet.
For now, vertical farms focus on selling high-margin/high-ticket baby greens in fancy grocery stores, but its proponents argue that they'll scale up through luxury goods, then Moore's Law their way down to the rest of the world. There's also a curious note about a secret process for misting or steaming the veggies that uses a proprietary and unpatented system that the inventor believes no one will ever be able to figure out, which is a claim that the writer allows to pass without comment, despite its extreme implausibility.
AeroFarms occupies three other buildings in Newark aside from the main vertical farm, on Rome Street. At 400 Ferry Street, it has a thirty-thousand-square-foot space whose most recent previous use was as a paintball and laser-tag entertainment center called Inferno Limits. The graffiti-type spray-painted murals and stylized paintball splatters of that incarnation still cover the walls. AeroFarms’ headquarters—sometimes referred to as its “world headquarters”—are in this building, some of which is taken up by a multiple-row, eight-level vertical farm that glows and hums. Technicians in white coats who wear white sanitary mobcaps on their heads walk around quietly. Some of these workers are young guys who also have mobcaps on their beards. The salad greens, when you put on coat and mobcap yourself and get close enough to peer into the trays, stand in orderly ranks by the thousands, whole vast armies of little watercresses, arugulas, and kales waiting to be harvested and sold. For more than a year, all the company’s commercial greens came from this vertical farm.
Nobody in the building appears to have an actual office. Employees are distributed in more or less open spaces here and there. In a dim corner of the area with the vertical farm, where the fresh, florist-shop aroma of chlorophyll is strong, young graduates of prestigious colleges confab around laptop screens that show photos of currently germinating seeds and growing leaves. Folding tables burgeon with cables, clipboards, and fast-food impedimenta. David Rosenberg, the C.E.O., who hired Ingrid Williams last year, is the boss. This distinction is hard to notice, because he looks more or less like anybody else.
Urban Farming Today Is Like the Internet More Than 20 Years Ago
As Kimbal Musk puts it, “the opportunity in front of entrepreneurs in real food today is bigger than the internet was to my generation in the mid-90s.” That’s one of the reasons we set up Square Roots — to empower the next generation to become entrepreneurial leaders in the coming real food revolution
tobias peggs |Cofounder & CEO at Square Roots.
Urban Farming Today Is Like the Internet More Than 20 Years Ago
The first Square Roots Urban Farming Campus, Brooklyn, New York.
As Kimbal Musk puts it, “the opportunity in front of entrepreneurs in real food today is bigger than the internet was to my generation in the mid-90s.” That’s one of the reasons we set up Square Roots — to empower the next generation to become entrepreneurial leaders in the coming real food revolution.
Hopefully some of the stuff we learned about making the internet work back then is helpful to the next generation as they tackle the opportunity in real food right now.
Some parallels hit home one morning this week when I bumped into Maxwell as I arrived on the Square Roots farm in Brooklyn. He was just heading home for some sleep after harvesting all night. Max is one of the first ten entrepreneur-farmers at Square Roots. His cohort classmate Electra had also pulled a late one — and this incredible time lapse video shows how hard they have to work in the farms today, and how manual the harvesting process is right now.
I got an instant flash back to 1994. I was working on the student newspaperat Cardiff University, doubling up as Music Reviews Editor and ‘That Crazy Internet Guy’. Once the newspaper had been put to bed, I would save all the Quark Xpress* files on to mountain of floppy disks, put them in my backpack, and walk home via a convenience store to stock up on Redbull. Then I would stay up all night, inserting floppy disk after floppy disk into my own 386 computer, manually copying and pasting article after article into a rudimentary text editor where I would painstakingly markup thousands of headlines, bylines, photo captions and article text with hardcoded HTML, before “dialing up the internet” with a 28.8 kbit/s modem connected to a landline, and sit there for hours pushing up webpages… all to create the first online student newspaper in the UK!! It didn’t matter how much of a pain in the ass that whole process was, the energy and ideas I got from glimpsing at the future was incredible.
While going through those efforts, you were constantly thinking about ways to improve, ways to automate, ways to scale… ways to bring the internet to everyone. And we’re seeing Max and Electra and all the other Square Roots entrepreneurs going through that same thought process right now. The energy and ideas flying around the Square Roots Slack channels on a daily basis are incredible. And as we start to turn those ideas into realities, we march ever closer towards the big idea of bringing real food to everyone.
It’s happening.
If you want to learn more about Square Roots, come to our farm tour and farmers market on Tuesday! See the farms, meet the farmers — and taste the freshly harvested food. Details on our website.
The Next Generation Of Farmers Is Being Trained In New York City High Schools
The Next Generation Of Farmers Is Being Trained In New York City High Schools
January 5, 2017 - 11:40 AM ET
LELA NARGI
Natalie Arroyo is a senior "Aggie," one of 600 New York City public school students enrolled in a specialized, four-year agriculture program at John Bowne High School in Queens. She plans to become an agriculture educator after college.
It's Monday, 8:00 a.m., and these teens have already mucked stalls in the barn and fed the goats, alpacas and miniature cows. They've rounded up eggs in the henhouse, harvested cabbages and a few green-tinged tomatoes, and arranged them in tidy tiers to sell in the Agriculture Store. And now, they're ready to put in a full day of classes.
These are the Aggies. They're the first kids to arrive at John Bowne High School in Flushing, Queens, in the morning, and the last to leave on the New York City buses and subways that shuttle them home in the evening.
Some 600 of the city's public school students are enrolled in Bowne's specialized, four-year agriculture program. Like most of their schoolmates, the Aggies follow an ordinary curriculum of English, math and social studies. But they also learn the building blocks of diverse careers in the booming industry of agriculture, which sees almost 60,000 new jobs open up in the U.S. every year, according to the USDA. The Aggies grow crops, care for livestock, and learn the rudiments of floriculture, viticulture, aquaculture, biotechnology and entrepreneurship.
While high schools in rural farming areas have long prepared students for these sorts of jobs, they can't come close to meeting the demand. So some urban public high schools are stepping in to fill the void.
Since 2007, students at the Food and Finance High School in midtown Manhattan have grown tilapia and lettuces in interconnected, water-based labs built by a Cornell University agriculturist. The city's Harbor School on Governor's Island has so far graduated three classes of aquaculture students, who have hatched trout and worked on oyster farms that supply restaurants.
Bowne's program is much older — it harks back to World War I, when city boys were recruited to fill in for upstate farmers serving overseas. Today, it attracts a diverse array of students – including many girls. Many are low income; some have parents who hail from Central America and the Caribbean, where more than a few once grew their own subsistence crops.
"We're trying to give these kids as many career opportunities as possible," says Steve Perry, who's headed Bowne's program for 20 years, and also graduated from it. "But for a lot of them, we're also home base."
Forty percent of Aggies go on to ag-degree programs at colleges like SUNY Cobleskill and Cornell, studying everything from animal sciences to food safety and farm management.
"It's so annoying that everyone thinks we're just farmers," says Aggie senior Erika Jerez with a roll of her eyes. She's sporting a sweatshirt from Rutgers University, where she hopes to study food processing next fall. "But there's so much more to ag than farming!"
Erika Jerez, a senior Aggie at John Bowne, hopes to study food processing at Rutgers University next fall. "There's so much more to ag than farming!" she says.
Fellow Aggie senior Jailene Cajilina says her parents farmed a piece of land back in Ecuador. Despite that, she admits that before starting at Bowne, she had a poor idea of how food was grown.
"Being in a city, you lose touch that someone out there is breaking their back growing these plants, having to slug it out with animals and the weather," she says.
Caijilina spent four years doing everything from weeding broccoli beds to interning at an upstate organic dairy, gaining first-hand knowledge of the physical and financial struggles of farmers. That's not a life she's eager to replicate. Instead, she plans to become a large-animal veterinarian.
"A lot of these kids are focused on supporting their families," explains Rebecca Cossa, a Bowne plant science teacher. And with so many farms starting up within city limits, she sees potential for future generations of Aggies to find farm-centric careers close to home.
There's also demand for ag teachers. The New York State Education Department got requests to help set up 65 ag-ed programs statewide last year, some of which require certified ag teachers. It's a number administrators expect to keep growing over the next decade.
Natalie Arroyo already knows that education is the direction she'll be heading when she graduates from Bowne this June. After an internship last summer in which she taught children about animals at a Fresh Air Fund camp, she says, "To see someone who wants to learn what you know, and choose their career based on something you taught them, that's really inspiring."
Says Mayorga, "The kids in the STEM program at Bowne know about science and technology." But the Aggies, she says, can grow their own food.
"That's right," says fellow Aggie Dayana Panora. "The Aggies are ready for the zombie apocalypse!"
Lela Nargi is a Brooklyn-based journalist and cookbook author. Her writing has appeared in publications including Gastronomica, Civil Eats and Roads & Kingdoms.