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It’s The End of “Organic” As We Know It

After a bitterly divisive battle, the USDA has ruled that hydroponic growers can continue to be certified organic. Some say it marks the end of a still-young movement. For others, it's a new beginning.

It’s The End of “Organic” As We Know It

Keep the Soil in Organic

November 2nd, 2017
by Joe Fassler Kate Cox

FARM

In Jacksonville, Florida on Wednesday, a two-decade long controversy that has the potential to change organic food production hinged on a single vote: whether or not to keep the “soil” in certified “organic.” In a series of 8-7 votes, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) voted that hydroponic and aquaponic growers can continue to market certified organic products.

Most Americans probably don’t think about hydroponic farms (which grow plants inside soilless greenhouses in trays of nutrient solution), and aquaponic farms (which marry hydroponics and aquaculture—or farmed fish and other aquatic organisms—to produce plants and fish crops) when they envision an organic farm. That’s because we often associate the word “organic” with a more traditional, pastoral vision of crops grown under the open air, perhaps accompanied by a red farmhouse and some cows grazing in the background.

The vote was a clear signal that the “organic” label—one with a strong public reputation and powerful market clout—is going to continue to get more inclusive.

And while that vision is far from what organic—now a more than $50 billion industry in the United States alone—has become, many organic farmers, especially the older, more traditional sort, who pioneered and advocated for the certification in the first place, want to make sure that certification extends only to this more traditional interaction with a plot of land. They feel their business—and the very value of the word “organic” itself—depends on it.

For them, Wednesday’s decision was a deeply emotional blow.

“The vibe was not mellow,” says Phil LaRocca, an organic winemaker from Forest Ranch, California, who attended the proceedings in Jacksonville.

Meanwhile, outside, a coalition of traditional, soil-based organic farmers—including Eliot Coleman, founder of Four Season Farm, who many consider to be one of the fathers of the modern organic movement—protested, brandishing “Keep the Soil in Organic” signs. LaRocca says the atmosphere at times grew “hostile” as various organic stakeholders pressed their cases. And some of those stakeholders admitted that they themselves were deeply conflicted.

“It was actually—as a long-term, 45-year organic farmer—it was a little disturbing to see a bit of hostility in the room,” LaRocca says. “And I’m not putting a judgment on that. I understand the issue and I have friends with both sides of the argument and understood both sides of the argument. So it made it very difficult for me personally to have to go through it all.”

It’s not that this decision signals any kind of immediate change. Aquaponic and hydroponic growers were already selling certified organic products, and have been doing so for years. The vote was an attempt to stop them from doing just that. But it was also a clear signal that the “organic” label—one with a strong public reputation and powerful market clout—is going to continue to get more inclusive. For some, that’s a big step in the right direction. For others, it’s a betrayal of the very values that launched a movement.

Keep the Soil in OrganicEliot Coleman, founder of Four Season Farm, who many consider to be one of the fathers of the modern organic movement — Keep the Soil in Organic
Eliot Coleman, founder of Four Season Farm, who many consider to be one of the fathers of the modern organic movement

Nearly 80 years ago, a global movement coalesced in opposition to the rapid, post-war evolution of farming practices, from traditional methods used for millennia, to commercialized, industrial-scale manufacturing methods that required less manual and animal labor and more machinery, herbicides, and fertilizer.

That movement was termed “organic farming” and the basic concept was this: Nature does it better. The farmers like Coleman who helped launch organic farming into the mainstream drew on the writings of farmer-philosophers like Liberty Hyde Baily, Rudolph Steiner, John Muir, Sir Albert Howard, and Aldo Leopold, who felt that the small, diversified farm was a “closed loop”—a managed ecosystem, even a self-sustaining organism, that produced everything it needed to consume. Animals fertilized the plants with their manure, and the plants fed the animals, and the farmer reaped the excess. Nothing was brought in from outside. Nothing was wasted. The idea was that nature already provided farmers with everything they needed, if they were just willing to be resourceful and do a little extra work.

This ancient—but increasingly unfashionable—method was posited as an alternative to what organic-minded critics called “substitution agriculture”: namely, a system that brought in what it needed from outside the farm. Petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers nourished the plants. Chemical pesticides kept bugs away. Animals, if there were any, were fed with corn and soy grown elsewhere.

What happens when an organic grower uses all the right inputs, just without any soil?

For the organic-minded, soil quality—outside the quasi-religious belief in farming as a calling and the farm as a self-enclosed cosmos—was the chief argument against substitution agriculture. Rather than using chemicals to artificially nourish plants, and keep pests at bay, organic farmers focused first and foremost on building soil health. For them, the dirt was the beginning and the end: It was why they kept animals, why they cover-cropped, why they worked so hard to diversify crops that kept balanced nutrients in the soil.

Which is why, when the federal government first began to explore codifying organic standards into law, soil was an important focus of their efforts. Some would say it was the focus.

“Several of us on the board felt that soil health should be part of the requirement for certification,” says Fred Kirschenmann, a longtime leader in sustainable agriculture, distinguished fellow at Iowa State University’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and president of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. “We had a lot of debates about that, but finally the board became convinced that this was an important part of the future of organic certification, and we made that recommendation to the National Organic Standards Board.”

But the attorneys at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) pushed back, according to Kirschenmann.

“They threw it out,” he says. “In the report they gave back to us, they said that regulations have to be answered with a yes or a no, and requiring soil health is too complex an issue.”

The soil-first ethos requires a leap of faith: to proponents, the benefits are tangible, but they’re in the eye of the beholder

Instead, USDA insisted on an input-oriented system: Regulation would be focused on what went into the soil or not, but not on the more nebulous idea of soil “health.” While the final organic standard does stipulate that “the producer must select and implement tillage and cultivation practices that maintain or improve the physical, chemical, and biological condition of soil,” certification requires that a farmer use only fertilizers on the approved list, and avoid completely any chemical on the banned list.

Which brings us to the confused system we have today, and the argument that finally came to a head this week: Organic is supposed to promote soil health, but the terms that the stipulation uses focus on the list of chemicals used (or not). What happens when an organic grower uses all the right inputs, just without any soil?

Karen Archipley thinks the suggestion that hydroponic farming is a newfangled interloper is just wrong. In an interview with New Food Economy on Thursday by phone, she cited some impressive—and ancient—precedents: the floating Aztec gardens and the hanging gardens of Babylon.

“Our methods are not new,” she says. “Our methods date back to 600 B.C.”

“It has outcompeted soil because it’s so cheap to do.”

Despite this distinguished ancestry, Archipley—who runs Archi’s Acreage, a small hydroponic farm in Escondido, California, with her husband Colin—says she’s long felt excluded from the organic movement’s soil-worshiping sector. In her view, the reason is simple: “This whole issue has been about market share,” she says.

It’s not hard to understand why the organic vanguard would feel threatened by hydroponics. According to organic winemaker Phil LaRocca, hydroponic operations are “quicker and easier” to set up than new soil-based operations; at the same time, they can skip the onerous three-year transition period required for soil-based conventional farmers who want to start selling organic.

Soil-based advocates don’t necessarily deny this. Organic tomato grower Dave Chapman of Long Wind Farm in Vermont notes that in Europe certain crops are virtually all grown hydroponically, a massive transformation that’s taken place over the last twenty years. “It has outcompeted soil because it’s so cheap to do,” he says. According to Chapman, the real eye-opening moment for many soil-based farmers was the fact that Driscoll’s, one of the country’s biggest producers of organic berries, had switched to hydroponic.

“That was a game-changer,” he says. “Before that we thought it was a relatively minor problem.”

But that “minor problem” is now a quickly growing industry—one that, according to critics, is antithetical to the very idea of organic.

According to California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), a trade group representing organic growers within the state, “hydroponic systems are not inherently better or worse than in-ground systems”

“Organic has always been about the apparently magical things that happen as a result of building and maintaining the fertility of the soil. It’s not magic—it’s mother nature at her finest. But that is the belief of the organic movement: that you get plant health and animal health and human health that is unobtainable any other way if you can work with those ecosystems,” says Chapman. “Of course, hydroponic production is the opposite of this philosophy. Which is that you give the plant what it needs, and you get great plant growth. But the downside is that nutrition is inferior and the health is inferior, the system is more vulnerable to insects and diseases so you need more pesticides and fungicides. You end up in a downward spiral. It’s like eating a bad diet for a human, so you need more medicine, but the medicine is damaging to you so you get sicker. On and on it goes.”

Coleman puts it even more bluntly:

“They are growing in the spirit of greed,” he says. “The only reason these guys want organic certification is because these guys have known for a long time that hydroponic doesn’t make people’s mouths water and no one is lining up outside their grocery stores protesting for hydroponic vegetables. These guys know the organic label is the label people want. They want to illegally become part of it.”

For all its cultural success, the organic industry is still in its economic infancy.

It’s easy to see the reverence with which traditional organic farmers speak about the soil, and their way of thinking is powerful and compelling. The problem is that not everyone agrees they’re right. The soil-first ethos requires a leap of faith: to proponents, the benefits are tangible, but they’re in the eye of the beholder. The difference they describe can be observed, even tasted, in spite of the fact that it’s not necessarily measurable by the scientific methods currently in use.

The trouble is that not everyone agrees that this advantage exists. According to California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), a trade group representing organic growers within the state, “hydroponic systems are not inherently better or worse than in-ground systems.” For CCOF, it’s the more, the merrier—each approach has its pros and cons, but they’re all essentially the same thing.

Coleman has a response to that: “The whole process of certifying organics is a scam to begin with,” he says, “because the certifiers only get paid if they certify something.” In other words, in his view, the certifiers themselves have an incentive to establish a big tent.

But hydroponic growers like Karen Archipley argue that attempts to keep the soil in “organic” are not an attempt to spread the wealth, but to hoard it. In her view, the old guard’s stance is inherently undemocratic, an attitude that confines organic—and the economic benefit it confers—to a group of people who have access to farmland (increasingly an expensive luxury) in the first place.

Hydroponics, according to Colin, make “it more financially feasible for small-scale growers to make a business…. [C]ommunities in the urban environment, who have been disenfranchised from the agriculture community, can now participate.”

For his part, Coleman says that’s a stretch.

For some, a multi-pronged, diversified approach to organic is the only feasible way forward

“How does a million dollar greenhouse allow people entry?” he says. “You can do what I do with a hoe, rake, seeds. All you need is a little piece of land. Talk about ‘allowing people entry’! Imagine all the peasant farmers being told ‘you’d have better access to food if only you built this million dollar greenhouse.’”

Part of what was surely painful about the vote in Jacksonville was the sense of how far the organic community—regardless of approach—still has to go to reach mainstream acceptance. Even as the word “organic” itself has proven to have demonstrable marketing power, the fact is thatonly 1 percent of U.S. farmland is certified organic. For all its cultural success, the organic industry is still in its economic infancy.

And for some, that means a multi-pronged, diversified approach to organic is the only feasible way forward. LaRocca says that one of CCOF’s slogans has been “Make Organics the Norm”—and he feels that the only way to do that is to proceed by any means necessary, as long as the essential spirit of the movement is kept intact.

For Karen Archipley, putting limits on organic amounts to a larger failure of imagination about what the label can do and be, a way of squelching upstarts who may actually have some pretty good ideas—if only the old guys would listen.

And there you have it, the two sides of this debate.

“Why wouldn’t we encourage innovation in farming, and especially as old as this innovation is?” says Karen. “Can you imagine if Timex tried to fight the Rolex coming out, or if Timex and Rolex could try to fight the iPhone or any smartphone from having time? That’s the difference. [They’re] really trying to stop the current and I don’t understand why anyone would do that. Why wouldn’t we try to encourage this next generation of growers and say, ‘let us show you good practices?’”

Where will new food trends take us - and what do they mean for our family tables, restaurant kitchens and grocery aisles?

Last year, at the New York Times’ “Food for Tomorrow” conference, two unlikely antagonists sat beside each other on the stage. On one side was Dan Barber, the Blue Hill chef who, perhaps more than other modern culinary master, has promoted a vision for agriculture that mimics and mirrors nature. His book The Third Plate celebrates farmers who don’t merely grow food but “grow nature”—harnessing the power of dynamic, diversified ecosystems in the pursuit of maximum health, sustainability, and taste.

On the other side, you had Kimbal Musk, the cowboy-hatted, denim-clad brother of Elon, a venture capitalist with a sustainable food fetish—and a major investor in Square Roots, a vertical farm startup launching miniature vertical farms inside low-cost, portable shipping containers. After he finished enumerating the economic and sustainability benefits, Barber answered with a simple rejoinder:

Stories related to the National Organic Standards Board:

As no-soil systems take root, “organic” reckons with its earthbound past

Can soil-free farms ever be organic?

Organic industry watchdog calls for independent investigation of USDA organic program

Carrageenan: The missing ingredient

“It’s not making me hungry,” he said.

And there you have it, the two sides of this debate. One approach is rooted in place, and tradition, and terroir—in the belief that old-school farming, based in soil, not only tastes better but satisfies deeper human appetites, a form of stewardship that transcends the pursuit of profit. On the other hand are those who have tired of the old approaches to that, who feel that existing approaches to sustainable agriculture, for their virtues, have failed to become the norm. They’re united in a desire to bring better farming to as many people as possible, and make some money at it—even if it means fundamentally reorganizing our relationship with the land, and cloistering much of agricultural production behind closed doors.

This drama is going to continue to play out. But it’s a reminder that this argument—the fact that people care, and care so deeply—is a sign of organic’s ascent, one indication that the revolution started by what Coleman calls “a bunch of old hippies” has made a lasting impression on the culture. Maybe the current tangle, involving the pioneers who built the organic movement now threatening to abandon it, is a very natural—if also very painful—by-product of that. It’s the growing pains that inevitably come alongside success. The revolution after the revolution, perhaps.

On and on it goes, indeed.

FARM HYDROPONICS NATIONAL ORGANIC STANDARDS BOARD ORGANIC ORGANIPONIC USDA

Joe Fassler is New Food Economy's senior editor. His food safety and public health reporting has been a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award in Journalism. Follow him @joefassler.

Kate Cox is editor of the New Food Economy. In her former life, she was a freelance health policy reporter for radio and text. Follow her @thekatecox

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FreshBox Farms’ CEO Welcomes Organic Ruling, but...

Sonia Lo, CEO of FreshBox Farms, the nation’s largest modular vertical farm, welcomes the new ruling, but notes that consumers already are moving “beyond organic.”

FreshBox Farms’ CEO Welcomes Organic Ruling, but...

Vertical farm innovator says that more consumers are looking “beyond organic” and choosing crops grown without soil

This week, the National Organic Standards Board finally made a decision on one of the most divisive issues in the organic world: should crops grown in water, containers, or otherwise not in the ground be allowed to call themselves organic?

The decision: hydroponic and container gardens will remain eligible for organic certification.

Sonia Lo, CEO of FreshBox Farms, the nation’s largest modular vertical farm, welcomes the new ruling, but notes that consumers already are moving “beyond organic.”

FreshBox Farms uses sustainable growing enclosures that use no soil, very little water, a rigorously-tested nutrient mix and LED lighting to produce the freshest, cleanest, tastiest produce possible. FreshBox Farms’ non-GMO certified products go from harvest to the grocer’s produce section in hours, rather than days.

Lo notes that FreshBox Farms yields are better without organic nutrient use, so the Millis-based farm is not impacted by the ruling. “As organic nutrients for hydroponics become more developed, we will, of course, consider using them.”

She points out, however, that consumers are quickly learning a distinction between organic field-grown greens and non-organic indoor-grown greens, what the industry calls Beyond Organic. “And we see that consumers ARE making the Beyond Organic choice.”

“We predict three categories will move forward - field grown organic, Beyond Organic hydroponic, and organic hydroponic."

Sonia can explain why consumers are choosing greens grown indoors, why this field is growing (*no pun intended) and how FreshBox Farms' template farm is among the nation's most efficient.

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Freight Farms Expands Into International Markets and New Business Sectors

"Local food is in high demand, and schools and businesses are prioritizing health, wellness and engagement now more than ever. The LGM™ fits seamlessly in with their goals, and we are re-focusing to meet the demands of a new market -- it's a very dynamic time to be in ag tech," said Brad McNamara, CEO and co-founder, Freight Farms.

Freight Farms, manufacturer of commercial-grade hydroponic farms built inside of shipping containers, today reported company growth to accommodate the increasing demand from new business sectors, and international markets. As the company continues to thrive, Freight Farms also announced a corporate expansion to the South End Exchange neighborhood of Boston.

With the new office, comes a new company direction. Small business farmers have historically shown the most interest in the company's flagship product, the Leafy Green Machine™ (LGM™), to start or expand their business. However, over the past several months, Freight Farms has experienced widespread interest from larger entities. Restaurants, schools, universities, corporations, municipalities and non-profits are all buying LGMs™. In the past year, sixteen businesses and campuses launched Leafy Green Machines™. Additionally, Freight Farms has been working with major institutional food service providers Compass Group and Sodexo. By focusing on this channel, Freight Farms hopes to bring the LGM™ to many more communities, spreading sustainable farming methods to a broader audience.

"An important piece for Sodexo is our 'Better Tomorrow Plan,' which specifically focuses on individuals, our communities and our environment. Freight Farms has given us a great opportunity to have that engagement with students on a higher level, especially with sustainability," said Heather Vaillette, district manager of campus services and independent schools, Sodexo.

As Freight Farms continues to grow, it will not turn its back on the small business farmers who gave it its start. This channel is still growing as traditional farmers adopt Freight Farm's technology. With an LGM™, farmers can extend their business year-round and provide crop protection in the face of increasingly extreme weather patterns.

"There are significant environmental benefits to farming in a hydroponic system, which allows farms to use 90 percent less water than traditional methods," said Jon Freidman, President and co-founder, Freight Farms. "The contained environment also eliminates the need for herbicides or pesticides, and the ability to farm anywhere reduces the impact of food transportation. As our user base expands to larger organizations, we look forward to seeing sustainable produce spread to new markets."

For more information:

Brad McNamara

Freight Farms

Tel: 339-788-0128

www.freightfarms.com

Publication date: 10/31/2017

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Farmers Sign Up to Run World’s First Floating Farm in Rotterdam

Albert Boersen and Myrthe Brabander will be the faces of an experimental Floating Farm and their Montbéliarde cows its moos. The AD reports on Thursday that the grass is already growing for Dutch floating projects developer Beladon, which plans to build a 1,000 square meter floating platform on the harbour.

Farmers Sign Up to Run World’s First Floating Farm in Rotterdam

October 5, 2017 - By Senay Boztas

The world’s first floating farm, to be built in Rotterdam, has recruited two dairy farmers and a herd.

Albert Boersen and Myrthe Brabander will be the faces of an experimental Floating Farm and their Montbéliarde cows its moos.

The AD reports on Thursday that the grass is already growing for Dutch floating projects developer Beladon, which plans to build a 1,000 square meter floating platform on the harbour.

Floating Farm Rotterdam from Eline Wieland on Vimeo.

The aim is to produce 800 litres of milk a day and, potentially, yogurt or Comté-style cheese. Urban farming

It follows a trend of ‘urban farming’, in which food production is brought back to cities where people live – for example, the UrbanFarmers project cultivating fish and salad greens in an empty Philips office block in The Hague. Boersen told the AD: ‘People often don’t know where their food comes from, and I’d like to show them close up. But I also want to create awareness among farmers so that they know where their produce goes. My parents sell their milk through [dairy collective] FrieslandCampina so it’s an anonymous project. I think that’s a shame.’ Applying for the job after studying in Leeuwarden, he added he expected his cows to be very curious and sniff around the structure.

Robots

According to Beladon plans, it will be built in concrete, with galvanised steel frames and a membrane floor that lets cow urine soak through; robots will top up food stations and mop up dried cow dung. The cows will also be able to cross to a pasture on real land, which is already growing. Brabander has experience in cheese making, although the initial plans are to start with pasteurised milk and yogurt. She added to the AD: “Don’t be afraid that the cows will be seasick. They are used to it.’ The project is due to cost more than €2 mln and is financed by private cash. It was inspired after Peter Beladon, chief executive of the developer, visited New York during Hurricane Sandy, saw the disruption to food supply, and decided to build an urban farm. He has previously developed other floating projects. Minke van Wingerdon, partner at Beladon, told DutchNews.nl: ‘We are very pleased that in addition to our information centre [now built], at the end of the year, we will start construction on the site.’

‘Drool-y and uncertain’

Andrew Cobner, junior vice president of the British Cattle Veterinary Association, told DutchNews.nl that cows might feel the effects of a sea voyage, according to a 2015 article on vehicle motion and animal welfare. But ‘in a sheltered harbour, it seems unlikely that any effect would be seen.’ However if the cows do feel bad, he said, they would ‘look a bit drool-y and uncertain’.

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An Ex-Tesla executive is Teaming Up With A Little-Known Vertical Farming Startup

Kurt Kelty, Tesla's former director of battery technology, is moving into a very different sector of the tech industry: indoor agriculture.

An Ex-Tesla executive is Teaming Up With A Little-Known Vertical Farming Startup

Leanna Garfield | 10-16-17

A farmer at Plenty, a Silicon Valley-based urban farming startup that scored the largest ag-tech investment in history. Plenty

Kurt Kelty, Tesla's former director of battery technology, is moving into a very different sector of the tech industry: indoor agriculture.

He has joined vertical farming startup Plenty as the senior vice president of operations and market development, according to Bloomberg.

Kelty, who worked at Tesla for over a decade and left in early 2017, was one of the earliest executives at the vehicle startup founded by Elon Musk. Before that, he spent more than 14 years with the Energy Lab at Panasonic, a company known for consumer electronics (which also happens to run its own vertical farming division in Singapore).

At Tesla, Kelty worked on partnerships and material sourcing at the company's Gigafactory near Reno, Nevada, where it manufactures lithium-ion batteries for its cars. At Plenty, he will launch a mass production facility for growing produce in the US, he told Bloomberg.

Instead of growing greens outdoors, Plenty grows its greens on glowing, LED-lit 20-foot-tall towers inside a former electronics distribution center in South San Francisco. The towers don't require pesticides or even natural sunlight.

The technique is called indoor vertical farming — a type of agriculture in which food grows on trays or hanging modules in a climate-controlled, indoor facility. The process allows certain types of produce to be grown year-round,in small spaces. Produce could be delivered to consumers within hours of harvest.

Plenty, founded in 2014, claims to grow up to 350 times more greens than conventional farms of similar size, while using much less water and land. The goal, Plenty CEO Matt Barnard previously told Business Insider, is to revolutionize the way the world grows food — and sell that food for lower prices than typical produce.

A $200 million investment in the startup, led by SoftBank Vision Fund in August 2017, could help make that vision viable. One of the biggest struggles for the company is the energy usage cost from the LEDs, though the lighting technology has become more of a commodity in the past several years.

"I can’t predict what the venture industry will do, nor what the USDA will do given the current state of federal budgeting, but we’re confident that this will be a prominent form of agricultural practice for many crops much sooner than even we projected a few years ago," Barnard said.

The Food Tower: Looking up to Solve the Global Food Crisis

With the global population rising rapidly and expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, governments around the world are increasingly asking the simple but critical question: how will we feed ourselves in future? A radical new vertical farming model called the Food Tower could provide an answer.

The Food Tower: Looking up to Solve the Global Food Crisis

Surbana Jurong principal architect Owen Wee presents a novel concept, the Food Tower, which can solve several urban challenges for Singapore at once: overcrowding, food security, and the ever-present need for community cohesion.

As the world's population slowly but surely shifts to cities, urban farming has gained popularity as a solution to food security challenges. Image: Pixabay

By Owen Wee

5 October 2017

Food, it seems, is all around us. In our homes; on our televisions; in our shops; on our streets. Yet, surprising though it may seem given this apparent proliferation, the question of how we continue to feed ourselves in future is set to become one of the biggest challenges facing the developed and developing world.

The combined impact of population growth, climate change and urbanisation, which in 30 years’ time could see some 70 per cent of the global population living in cities, means that we are running out of available space and resources to grow crops in traditional ways.

In short, we need to come up with new ways to farm; new ways to manage food production and delivery; new ways to reduce pressure on resources and sustain our environment and lifestyles.

The food production challenge is already seen in cities such as Singapore. With almost no arable land, Singapore is heavily dependent on food imports and faces a potential food security problem. While past investment has enabled water self-sufficiency to be achieved, the need for a sustainable locally-grown supply of food is now more important than ever.

The built environment designers must now adopt a radically different approach to city planning to include food production within their thinking.

The Food Tower

Enter the Food Tower, a radical vertical urban farming concept that could be the innovative solution needed to solve to these challenges. With almost no arable land, Singapore is heavily dependent on food imports and will face a potential, yet undefined, future food security problem.

The Food Tower concept was mooted and tested by Surbana Jurong’s architectural team as a direct response to the growing pressure on sustainability of food production in Singapore.

While Singapore may not have vast land area, it is blessed with an abundance of sunshine and rainfall. The Food Tower concept attempts to maximise this natural potential by by stacking vegetable growing areas in an open, sunlight flooded high rise towers. This way, sunlight can be captured boosting growing yields across the 1 hectare site to some 400 times that of traditional farming.

The Food Tower concept takes a major step forward in large scale urban farming by using aquaponics—that is, where vegetables are grown on towers using the water and nutrients from a system of tanks in which Red Tilapia fish are reared. The vegetable towers are located on “wings” on higher floors that spiral upwards to maximise sunlight exposure; the fish farms are located at the lower floors where there is more shade.

The Food Tower also features a closed loop energy system, with onsite photovoltaics generating power, rainwater harvesting and wetland reed beds to purify and recycle waste water on-site. The wetlands can act as part of a garden for the larger community.

It is estimated that a 100-storey food tower on 1 hectare of land can provide sufficient meat and vegetables for just over 11,000 people per year.

How the Food Tower concept works. Image: Surbana Jurong

Policy support for the Food Tower

While the technology and design for high-rise farming in cities has been slowly maturing, there are a number of other factors which need to be addressed early so that Singapore can stay ahead of the curve and be ready to capitalise on the technology when it becomes viable.

One of the successful pilots that has been in operation is the first urban rooftop aquaponic farm, located at *SCAPE in the heart of Singapore’s shopping district, provides its fresh produce to nearby establishments.

This starts with the physical planning and zoning of suitable sites for urban farms, in particular, to ensure that the immediate setback of buildings around the site enables sunlight to reach the crops.

Government agencies must be armed with well-researched and clear policies to ensure that this need is well understood and taken into account, and the tenure offered to the farmer or farming community for the land use must take into consideration the efforts put in to develop the farm.

Clearly, despite the predictability of the weather in Singapore, the availability of sunlight varies around and throughout the Tower. This must be matched to different types of crops to maximise yield. Land use zoning could designate that above a certain height, building space be developed as farms while lower floors are used for other commercial and retail purposes.

We need to come up with new ways to farm; new ways to manage food production and delivery; new ways to reduce pressure on resources and sustain our environment and lifestyles.

Crop yield per square meter would also need to be mandated to encourage developers to adopt best technology to maximise the efficiency of land use. For example, natural sunlight could be supplemented by artificial LED growing lights, powered by stored photovoltaic energy from panels on the structure – possibly creating 24-hour-a-day growing conditions in the tower and so maximising growing efficiency.

Creating a sustainable solution also means working with the community. Commercial farming revenue from food towers could be supplemented by sharing space which is not so well-suited for farming with other community and residential facilities.

These might include an environmental research centre, restaurant and a school plus other facilities such as Community Parks and wetlands to boost interaction with the local community.

A new way of farming will need a new breed of farmer; an urban-agriculturist. It is a role that currently does not exist, requiring knowledge of the specific technology and techniques needed to adapt modern intensive farming practice to a high-rise urban environment.

The Food Tower would also need a multitude of new skills to run the urban farm; understanding the internal drainage, water and electrical needs of a modern building, the external environment such as solar effects, winds flows plus the impact of dust and city pollutants on crops.

In the factory environment of a Food Tower, they would need to be thoroughly grounded in managing work flow and production process while also understanding and managing resource use and recycling of water, waste and energy so as to maximise productivity and output.

It is clear that globally, we must look at more sustainable ways of living. This means including food production in future planning policies as we define and design the increasingly urban, increasingly congested cities of the future.

Although the idea sets out to rethink mass food production, it also demonstrates that consumers can be supplied with fresher and safer food with a lower overall carbon footprint. The project has already shown that it has a viable commercial business model but it is also a model that can rejuvenate urban sites, engage the community in various levels and create local jobs.

However, the development of such projects will require major commitment and intervention by governments to cover the substantial start-up cost and to create the necessary governance to allow such high-density food production in urban areas.

Owen Wee is principal architect, Surbana Jurong. This article was written exclusively for Eco-Business.

IGrow PreOwned 11/11/17 IGrow PreOwned 11/11/17

Softbank and Bezos Backed Vertical Farm Startup Has Global Expansion Plans

Researchers have documented a steady decline in the amount of calcium, iron, phosphorus, protein, and vitamins in today’s produce over previous generations, thanks to the ways in which modern agricultural methods have stripped nutrients out of the soil.

Softbank and Bezos Backed Vertical Farm Startup Has Global Expansion Plans

brian wang | November 11, 2017

Plenty is a startup that has big vertical farming expansion plans $226 million in total venture funding. They plan to build a 100,000 square foot (2.3 acres) vertical-farming warehouse this year in Washington state outside of Seattle. That farm is expected to produce 4.5 million pounds of greens annually.

Plenty grows plants on 20-foot high towers with vertical irrigation channels and facing LED lights.

In June 2017, California-based vertical farming company Plenty, previously See Jane Farm, acquired Bright Agrotech in an effort to reach “field-scale.”

Bright Agrotech is an indoor ag hardware company that’s focused on building indoor growing systems for small farmers all over the world, in contrast to Plenty, which is aiming to become a large-scale indoor farming business and currently has a 52,000 sq. ft farm in South San Francisco.

Plenty claims to use 1 percent of the water and land of a conventional farm with no pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Like other large soilless, hi-tech farms growing today, Plenty says it uses custom sensors feeding data-enabled systems resulting in finely-tuned environmental controls to produce greens with superior flavor.

Plenty claims to get 350 times the crop yield per year over an outdoor field farm.

With the backing of SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Plenty has the capital and connections build massive indoor farms on the outskirts of every major city on Earth, some 500 in all. In that world, food could go from farm to table in hours rather than days or weeks.

Bezos Expeditions, the Amazon CEO’s personal venture fund, has also invested. So Plenty could supply WholeFoods.

Early leaders in vertical farming (PodPonics in Atlanta, FarmedHere in Chicago, and Local Garden in Vancouver) have shut down. They had a mix of design issues and high hardware costs. Gotham Greens and AeroFarms have not been as successful with fundraising.

A landmark study on the topic by Donald Davis and his team of researchers from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was published in December 2004 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. They studied U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data from both 1950 and 1999 for 43 different vegetables and fruits, finding “reliable declines” in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century. Davis and his colleagues chalk up this declining nutritional content to the preponderance of agricultural practices designed to improve traits (size, growth rate, pest resistance) other than nutrition.

They are finding about 14-30% drop in various nutrients.

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Are Vertical Farms The Way Forward for Bengaluru?

Rutusha says, "Bioclimatic buildings are those that respond to climate; verti farms are inside these buildings. The buildings create an artificial environment within them and are not completely dependent on natural resources. So, design plays a big role

Are Vertical Farms The Way Forward for Bengaluru?

Dhwani Desai| TNN | Oct 8, 2017

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Pollution and space restraints — something that Bengalureans tackle every single day. Scarcity of water and erratic climate changes have become unfortunate realities, but we still carry on leading our lives in traditional ways that were meant for a plentiful world. It is said that by 2050, there will be well over nine billion people in the world, and 70% of them will live in urban areas. As a result, there is bound to be food shortage and food security issues. This is why 23-year-old Rutusha Nagaraj Kapini, a fresh graduate of The Oxford School of Architecture, picked vertical farming as the topic for her thesis, which, she says, is the way forward in an urban metropolis like Bengaluru. And such was her research into the topic that she received two awards for it — Zonal Winner, Council of Architecture National Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Architectural Thesis 2017 (top 10 in Zone 4) and Archi Design Best Thesis of the Year Award 2016 (Student of the Year Award — national level).

For her thesis, Rutusha had to find an innovative solution to the following problem: 'Increasing population has drastically reduced farming lands. Raw food, such as vegetables and fruits, are loaded with toxic chemicals and pesticides'. Having attended the All India Convention of Architects in 2008 (both her parents are architects), Rutusha was inspired by Dr Dickson Despommier's speech — he is considered the father of vertical farming. "He spoke about how vertical farming can be beneficial in urban populated cities in India, as it can produce nutritious food that one can access within the city. He is the reason I picked this topic," she says.

CREATING VERTI FARMS
So, what did Rutusha discover through research for her thesis? She found that vertical farming could be an innovative model through architectural design intervention, which minimizes land usage, while still feeding the population. The environmentally-conscious and ecological design is conceived as a network of facilities, with training centres for farmers, and creating bioclimatic buildings of the future — Verti Farms. Throwing more light on the topic, Rutusha says, "Bioclimatic buildings are those that respond to climate; verti farms are inside these buildings. The buildings create an artificial environment within them and are not completely dependent on natural resources. So, design plays a big role. For e.g., they will have solar tubes through which natural sunlight enters the building. There will also be LED light farming (certain LED lights help plants grow). Each of the planters will be placed on rotational carousels within the building. There will be mirrors on the walls that will reflect the natural sunlight (the buildings will not be completely closed and the openings will be protected with stainless-steel meshes). The carousels will be placed in stacked heights; there will be one water inlet source, and since the platforms rotate, the water will be drained out at a single drain pipe, which will lead to the central service core that will be connected to a sewerage treatment plant." Through this method, she adds, only 5% of water is required for five times the yield. Also, changes in weather will not affect the crops much as the environment within the building is controlled.

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A VERTI FARM IN LALBAGH?

To get a better idea of how verti farms work, Rutusha went to Singapore for a live study of the Sky Greens there. Having done sufficient research, she has identified a vacant plot of land near Lalbagh that can be put to productive use by setting up India's first vertical farm there. "The government already has HOPCOMS set up in many places; similarly, they could allot land to verti farms. These can serve as interactive spaces for the public, which would encourage them to adapt it on smaller scales, such as at apartment complexes and private layouts. It can even serve as local marketplaces, where the produce is sold fresh," says Rutusha. But wouldn't this harm the income of farmers? "No," says Rutusha, explaining, "Farmers will be required to work on verti farms. Each building will have training centres for the farmers — it will be a free course. Crops often fail due to erratic climate changes, but verti farms reduce that risk, since they are not completely dependent on natural forces. So, farmers will actually be able to generate a steady income."

What is interesting is that verti farms cater to city-specific needs. This reflects in the plants that can be grown in them — fruits and vegetables that we use for daily consumption. This includes tomato, peas, brinjal, curry leaves, basil, lettuce, mint, cauliflower, spring onions, okra, cucumber, lemons and broccoli, among others.

CRUNCHING NUMBERS
The organic building that Rutusha has proposed will be expensive initially, but, she says, costs will breakeven after five years, after which it will be profitable. "A 10-acre site in Lalbagh can accommodate two high-rise verti farms. On the same land, I have proposed the setting up of training and research centres, a local market and an interactive space. All this can be built at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore," says Rutusha.

The young architect wants to continue research on the subject through a Master programme, apart from creating a startup to convert her thesis into a viable business model. If her efforts come to fruition, Bengaluru could very well be home to India's first vertical farm.

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Student-Grown Salad In The School Cafeteria? These Kids Dig It

Architect Michael Marshall designed the rooftop farm, one of several gardens at Horace Mann, during the school’s renovation three years ago. “The connection to the exterior is not an accident in this design. A lot of these young kids, when they grow up, rooftop gardens are going to be very common as far as sustainability and urban living. Why not prepare them?” Marshall said.

Student-Grown Salad In The School Cafeteria? These Kids Dig It

By Rachel Nania | @rnania | October 8, 2017

Download audio

WASHINGTON — School gardens are no longer a rarity.

These days, it’s common to spot pepper plants and tomato towers in schoolyards throughout the country, as more educators turn to dirt to teach lessons on healthy eating and the root of the food system.

But at Horace Mann Elementary School in Northwest D.C., instruction isn’t confined to a few cedar-raised beds. After leafy vegetables are planted and cared for, students harvest the crops, chop them up and serve them to more than 400 of their peers for lunch.

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At Horace Mann Elementary School in Northwest D.C., gardening lessons are not confined to a few cedar-raised beds. After leafy vegetables are planted and cared for, students harvest the crops, chop them up and serve them to more than 400 of their peers for lunch. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Amy Jagodnik’s third-floor classroom, which is filled with seedlings and outfitted with a small kitchen, opens directly to the school’s rooftop garden. It’s there where a class of third-graders pick parsley and pak choi from commercial-grade garden towers on Monday mornings. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

“It’s really fun having a conversation with them about whether they prefer the Swiss chard last week to the pak choi this week,” said Amy Jagodnik, who has been the school’s garden coordinator since 2004. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Architect Michael Marshall designed the rooftop farm, one of several gardens at Horace Mann elementary, during the school’s renovation three years ago. “The connection to the exterior is not an accident in this design. A lot of these young kids, when they grow up, rooftop gardens are going to be very common as far as sustainability and urban living. Why not prepare them?” Marshall said. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Garden coordinator, Amy Jagodnik, shows a student the proper way to cut greens on the elementary school’s rooftop farm. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

An American University student helps a third-grader dry leaves of Swiss chard and pak choi on the roof of Horace Mann Elementary. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

After the weekly harvest, students chop the greens and serve them to 400 of their peers in the school cafeteria. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

“You’re laying the foundation for global stewards,” Amy Jagodnik said about the school’s investment in its gardening program.

“You want children to care about their environment. You want them to know how to eat healthy, where their food comes from and how to support that, even if they don’t become scientists or become environmentalists, they still have that foundation.” (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

At lunch, Jagodnik and a few helpers walk around the cafeteria and serve the salad du jour.

“So we’re going to each table and we’re engaging with each student and asking them if they would like a sample or if they would like a salad,” Amy Jagodnik explained. (WTOP/Rachel Nania)

Jagodnik’s third-floor classroom, which is filled with seedlings and outfitted with a small kitchen, opens directly to the school’s rooftop garden. It’s there where a class of third-graders pick parsley and pak choi from commercial-grade garden towers on Monday mornings.

Architect Michael Marshall designed the rooftop farm, one of several gardens at Horace Mann, during the school’s renovation three years ago.

“The connection to the exterior is not an accident in this design. A lot of these young kids, when they grow up, rooftop gardens are going to be very common as far as sustainability and urban living. Why not prepare them?” Marshall said.

Once the greens are gathered and washed, they’re hand-chopped and thrown into large stainless steel bowls, where they’re tossed in a simple dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt and sugar.

At lunch, Jagodnik and a few helpers walk around the cafeteria and serve the salad du jour.

“So we’re going to each table and we’re engaging with each student and asking them if they would like a sample or if they would like a salad,” Jagodnik explained.

It’s not uncommon to be met with resistance and a few creative excuses — Jagodnik has even heard students say they “already had something green for breakfast.” So she considers the program a success when the kids agree to try just one leaf.

“You’re laying the foundation for global stewards,” Jagodnik said about the school’s investment in its gardening program.

Like WTOP on Facebook and follow @WTOP on Twitter to engage in conversation about this article and others.

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This Company Wants to Build a Giant Indoor Farm Next to Every Major City in the World

For as long as I can remember, people have been hyping vertical farming — growing crops indoors, using vertical space to intensify production.

This Company Wants to Build a Giant Indoor Farm Next to Every Major City in the World

Vertical farming may finally be growing up.

Updated by David Roberts @drvox david@vox.com

Nov 8, 2017

Plenty ... of varieties.  |  Plenty — Plenty ... of varieties. | Plenty

For as long as I can remember, people have been hyping vertical farming — growing crops indoors, using vertical space to intensify production.

Its virtues, relative to conventional agriculture, have long been clear. Indoors, the climate can be controlled year-round. Pests can be minimized, and with them pesticides. Water and nutrients can be applied in precise quantities. By going up rather than out, a vertical farm can produce more food per acre of land. And by siting close to an urban area, it can reduce long distribution chains, getting fresher food to customers’ tables, quicker.

Its drawbacks have become equally clear. They mainly come down to cost. Farming well requires deep know-how and expertise; it has proven extraordinarily difficult to expand vertical farms in a way that holds quality consistent while driving costs down. Optimizing production at a small scale is very different from doing so at a large scale. The landscape islittered with the corpses of vertical-farming startups that though they could beat the odds (though several are still alive and kicking).

Now a young Silicon Valley startup called Plenty thinks it has cracked the code. It has enormous expansion plans and a bank account full of fresh investor funding, but most excitingly, it plans to build a 100,000 square foot vertical-farming warehouse this year in Kent, Washington, just outside of Seattle, your author’s home town. That farm is expected to produce 4.5 million pounds of greens annually. Your author, in keeping with coastal elitist stereotypes, is a fervent lover of greens.

In part because I now have a personal stake in the matter, I thought I’d take a look at the company, its prospects, the environmental benefits it promises, and — perhaps most importantly — some of the unnerving social and political implications of a vertical farming revolution.

Plenty ... of veggies.  |   Plenty — Plenty ... of veggies. | Plenty

Plenty wants to build a farm near your city

Plenty is at the center of a veritable hurricane of buzz at the moment.

It checks all the boxes: It recently got a huge round of funding ($200 million in July, the largest ag-tech investment in history), including some through Jeff Bezos’s investment firm, so it has the capital to scale; it is leaning heavily on machine learning and AI; it has endorsements from several Michelin-rated chefs (“I’ve never had anything of this quality,” a former sous-chef at French Laundry, Anthony Secviar, told Bloomberg); it is in talks with several large distributors in the US and abroad; heck, it even lured away the director of battery technology at Tesla, Kurt Kelty, to be executive of operations and development. (You’re nothing in Silicon Valley without an ex-Tesla exec.)

“I wanted to figure out where I would contribute to the next big wave,” Kelty told Bloomberg. “I see my next 10-year-run as growing Plenty."

So, what’s the big deal?

If you want to really dig in, Bloomberg has the best feature story on Plenty (see also Fast Company), but I’ll quickly run through what the company is up to. It’s helpful to read what follows against this list of nine reasons vertical farms fail, by Chris Michael, CEO of vertical-farming company Bright Agrotech. In a sense, Plenty is a response to previous failures.

The company is run by CEO Matt Barnard, a former private equity investor, and CTO Nate Storey, an agronomist who did his doctoral work in tower farming. (Storey also founded Bright Agrotech, which he left to join Plenty. In June, Plenty acquired the company.)

Plenty grows plants on 20-foot vertical towers instead of the stacks of horizontal shelves used by most other vertical-farming companies. Plants jut horizontally from the towers, growing out of a substrate made primarily of recycled plastic bottles (there’s no soil involved). Water and nutrients are fed in from the top of the tower and dispersed by gravity (rather than pumps, which saves money). All water, including from condensation, is collected and recycled.

The plants receive no sunlight, just light from hanging LED lamps. There are thousands of infrared cameras and sensors covering everything, taking fine measurements of temperature, moisture, and plant growth; the data is used by agronomists and artificial intelligence nerds to fine-tune the system.

The towers are so close together that the effect is a giant wall of plants.

Plenty ... of greens. — Plenty ... of greens.

Currently, Plenty is focusing on leafy greens and herbs — varieties of lettuce, kale, mustard greens, basil, etc. — but it says it can use the system to grow anything except root vegetables and tree fruits. Strawberries and cucumbers are coming up next. (It’s worth noting that anything beyond leafy greens requires more light and thus more energy, so the source and cost of an indoor farm’s electricity is of keen interest.)

There are virtually no pests in a controlled indoor environment, so Plenty doesn’t have to use any pesticides or herbicides; it gets by with a few ladybugs. The produce from Plenty’s San Francisco warehouse is certified organic, but leaders in the industry also like to stress that vertical farming is local, with an entirely transparent supply chain. (Why yes, you can also get that at your local farmers market.)

Bottom line: Relative to conventional agriculture, Plenty says that it can get as much as 350 times the produce out of a given acre of land, using 1 percent as much water. “It is the most efficient [form of agriculture] in terms of the amount of productive capacity per dollar spent,” Barnard has said. “Period.”

It’s worth reading those claims again, as they are pretty eye-popping. The next grandest claim in the industry is AeroFarms, a Newark, New Jersey company with nine indoor farms, which says it can get to 130 times the amount of produce per acre.

What’s more, Plenty says its products taste better than most of what customers now have access to. Around 35 percent of fruits and vegetables eaten in the US today are imported. Leafy greens travel an average of 2,000 miles to reach your plate. Some produce has been on ships and trucks for two weeks before it reaches the table — having lost, by some estimates, 45 percent of its nutritional value along the way. Produce is bred to survive that long journey with its aesthetics, but not necessarily its flavor, intact.

Plenty plans to build warehouses, not inside major cities, but just outside them, next to distribution centers, to minimize the time its food spends in transit — it wants produce to go from harvest to table in hours, rather than days. If it can do that, the company will be able to grow and sell a wide variety of rare and heirloom breeds, which are more tender and flavorful than what’s available at the supermarket, but less resilient to long journeys.

In fact, Barnard says he will save more money on trucks and fuel than he spends on facilities and power.

The company’s goal is to build an indoor farm outside of every city in the world of more than 1 million residents — around 500 in all. It claims it can build a farm in 30 days and pay investors back in three to five years (versus 20 to 40 for traditional farms). With scale, it says, it can get costs down to compete with traditional produce (for a presumably more desirable product that could command a price premium).

If it can back up those claims in practice, Plenty might not revolutionize global agriculture, but it will sure as hell establish vertical farming as a real thing.

Now, to be very clear: It would be a terrible mistake for anyone to take investment advice from me. I’m not an industry analyst. I have no idea if Plenty will ultimately succeed. It could face difficulty finding affordable urban land; it could have trouble replicating the carefully controlled conditions of its initial warehouse; quality could slip as it output rises; consumers could reject the products for any number of reasons. Many previous alt-farming startups got similar buzz, only to fail. Scaling up is full of peril.

But I do think, if Plenty is not the early Google of this space, some other company will be, soon enough. The traditional barriers of cost and energy that have blocked the industry from growing are crumbling. And the way it’s happening carries some fateful lessons.

Plenty is replacing stuff with intelligence

Entrepreneur Bill Gross said something in a talk once that I never forgot. Every commodity, he said, is finite, and is eventually going to get more expensive — except computing power. Computing power just gets cheaper and cheaper and cheaper. So to the extent you want to ensure low costs in the long term, he said, you substitute computing power for other commodities — intelligence for stuff, as I like to put it.

By intelligence I mean, roughly, the ability to gather data (through sensors), synthesize it (through computing power), and use it to optimize operations (through machine learning). Optimization wrings waste, i.e., extraneous stuff, out of the process.

I have argued before that the current energy transition may well move faster than previous transitions, precisely because it is driven by information technology. To put it crudely, if past energy transitions have replaced giant stuff with other giant stuff, this one is going to replace giant stuff, at least in part, with intelligence.

That same process is taking place in agriculture; that’s part of what vertical farming represents. Zack Bogue, a Plenty investor through Data Collective, a San Francisco venture capital fund, put it this way: “We’re pretty excited about that space because some of the hardest problems in agriculture are now lending themselves to an algorithmic or computational or applied machine-learning solution.”

As Barnard himself put it, agriculture is a “giant optimization problem.” The challenge is to use just the amount of energy, water, and nutrients necessary to produce food, and no more. Big Ag has struggled with optimization for decades, of course, but it remains extraordinarily wasteful — nitrogen runoff producing dead zones in the Gulf, methane and carbon emissions heating the atmosphere, profligate water use leaving water tables depleted, etc.

Plenty uses cameras and sensors to optimize light, temperature, and humidity levels. It is automating the growing process “as much as possible,” Barnard told Business Insider. It even has little robots (“Schleppers”!) that transplant seedlings, because the towers and plants are getting so dense that it’s difficult for a human to operate among them.

Part of what has convinced investors that Plenty has a shot is the radically declining costs of LED lighting. (The efficiency of LEDs puts Plenty on par with conventional agriculture, carbon-wise, at least for some crops, at least when distribution impacts are taken into account; Storey has said he thinks indoor agriculture will be more sustainable in the long haul, especially as the grid gets greener.)

But just as big, possibly bigger, are recent advancements in AI and machine learning. “Utility computing, [internet of things], machine intelligence, wasn’t effective enough five years ago,” Barnard told Fast Company, “much less affordable.” Now, those technologies have reached a level of cost and performance that enables Plenty to fine tune its process. In five more years, computing will be double again as powerful and half again as cheap, enabling yet more automation and optimization.

And that’s great! Mostly.

Plenty is also replacing people with intelligence

I’ve read about 30 articles on Plenty and not one of them has squarely addressed the elephant in the room. To wit: Plenty will succeed insofar as it eliminates food production jobs.

The reason is simple, and found among the aforementioned nine reasons vertical farms fail: “Labor is always your biggest cost.” In the same piece, Matt Liotta of Podponics, a company that tried growing produce in shipping containers and went bankrupt in 2016, is quoted putting it even more bluntly: “People are the problem.”

Industrial agriculture has made ruthless use of scale and automation to minimize labor, but labor remains a huge cost, especially in tasks like harvesting delicate crops like strawberries that can’t easily be mechanized. The same is true for indoor vertical farming: The biggest cost is people.

To compete with industrial ag, vertical farming will have to be even better at reducing the need for human planters and harvesters. In other words, to compete, it’s going to have to create as few jobs as possible.

Fewer ... of these.  |  John Moore/Getty Images — Fewer ... of these. | John Moore/Getty Images

That’s basically the history of technology — getting more value out of less labor.

The great promise of Plenty is that through automation and optimization, it can make clean, low-input food cost competitive with (morally and chemically) unclean, resource-intensive food. That could potentially save an enormous amount of water and (insofar as it is electrified and powered by renewable energy) radically reduce the carbon emissions of the agricultural sector. Plus it could give millions of people access to fresher, more flavorful, more nutritious fruits and vegetables, making Michelle Obama (and the public health community) happy.

But to do any of that, it has to minimize labor.

Barnard is well aware of that, as is everyone in the industry. “Small-scale growing in 2017 is not a profitable enterprise, and there are a lot of systemic reasons for that that aren’t going to change,” he told Fast Company. “Growing at a small scale, you can’t get to the labor efficiencies that you need. It requires, in essence, too many people.”

“Too many people” is not a great message to communities who might host a farm, though, so Barnard is quick to say that a full-size warehouse like the one planned for Washington will employ as many as several hundred people at skilled, full-time jobs. “While robots can handle some of the harvesting, planting, and logistics,” writes Selina Wang at Bloomberg, “experts will oversee the crop development and grocer relationships on-site.”

Barnard also emphasizes that he’s not competing with traditional agriculture or small-scale urban farming, just adding to the portfolio, seeking to keep up with demand.

But if vertical farming scales as fast as Barnard expects, competing purely on price and efficiency, it will represent a familiar pattern in the US economy — a relatively smaller number of high-skill jobs replacing a relatively larger number of low-skill jobs. In the bigger picture, it is a good thing, to get more and better food for fewer labor and material inputs, but displaced workers tend not to care much about the big picture. And right now agriculture and related industries provide about 11 percent of US employment, according toUSDA.

Kevin Drum of Mother Jones recently published a big piece about robots taking all our jobs, thanks to the relentless advance of artificial intelligence. Lots of economists and pundits push back on that kind of thing, citing the lack of movement in productivity statistics.

Plenty ... of these.  |   Shutterstock — Plenty ... of these. | Shutterstock

I have no idea how that will sort out. But I see automation coming for all drivers pretty soon — taxi, bus, garbage truck, delivery van, backhoe, you name it. And now I can see it coming for the agricultural sector. Whether unemployment will spike, as Drum says, or there will just be more and faster churn, there are going to be lots of angry people out of work.

And what are we going to do with all those truck drivers and agricultural workers? I don’t think either party has a good answer. Republicans stomp their feet and insist the jobs will return. Democrats wave their hands at “retraining.”

We better figure it out. We will eventually teach robots to grow our food in giant climate-controlled buildings, optimizing production using AI and machine learning that we can’t yet fathom.

Plenty wasn’t possible five years ago. What will be possible in five more years

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USDA Advisory Board Blocks Ban Against Using Hydroponics In Organic Farming

Constantine Spyrou

November 7, 2017

Hydroponics is one of the fastest-growing fields in agriculture today. By growing plants in water and "feeding" them solutions of nutrients they need, crops can grow at higher yields over a faster period of time while drastically reducing water consumption and land space. While it's an amazing tool for the future of food, one question has been in the minds of several industry members: Can food grown via hydroponics be classified as USDA Organic?

In a recent 8-7 ruling, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) ruled against a ban on hydroponics in organic farming. In doing so, the board, which makes recommendations to the USDA on rules for the organic industry, clears the way for organic, hydroponically grown produce to proliferate in supermarkets. The USDA does still have to receive an official recommendation and choose to act on it or not, however.

If they do so, it could be huge for hydroponics, but would harm organic soil farmers. Hydroponics, with its faster growth rate and decreased water and land use, is already taking a significant market share away from the soil farmers. Nowadays, most organic tomatoes are grown through hydroponics and similar methods, and organic farmer Dave Chapman voiced fears to NPR that even more space in supermarkets will be given to hydroponically-grown produce.

"What will happen, very quickly, is that virtually all of the certified organic tomatoes in supermarkets will be hydroponic. Virtually all of the peppers and cucumbers [will be hydroponically grown]. A great deal of the lettuce. And most of the berries."

On the other hand, the innovative technology can be used to keep up with growing organic demand. It also is more sustainable than traditional farming since it doesn't utilize as many natural resources, making it the ideal choice for environmentalists and scientists focused on preserving the planet.

At the center of the debate, though, is the true definition of what it means to be "organic." Hydroponic farms claim that they are organic because they don't use synthetic pesticides and can grow year-round at a cheaper price. Traditional farmers, however, argue that the true core of organic farming is nurturing and taking care of the soil itself, something that hydroponics doesn't even involve.

When it comes to what it really means to be "organic," for now, it seems that the NOSB is willing to include hydroponics within that definition based on their recent decision.

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Panasonic's First Indoor Farm Can Grow Over 80 Tons of Greens Per Year — Take a Look Inside

Leanna Garfield

A worker handles crops inside Panasonic's first and only vegetable farm in Singapore.Reuters/Edgar Su

Panasonic may be known for its consumer electronics, but the Japanese company is also venturing into indoor agriculture.

In 2014, Panasonic started growing leafy greens inside a warehouse in Singapore and selling them to local grocers and restaurants. At the time, the 2,670-square-foot farm produced just 3.6 tons of produce per year. The farm's square footage and output have both more than quadrupled since then, Alfred Tham, the assistant general manager of Panasonic's Agriculture Business Division, tells Business Insider.

Panasonic's greens are all grown indoors year-round, with LEDs replacing sunlight. The growing beds are stacked to the ceiling in order to achieve a higher yield in the limited space.

Take a look inside.

Panasonic's vegetable farm resides in an inconspicuous warehouse in Singapore.

The farm's 20 workers put on hairnets, face masks, gloves, and hazmat suits before handling the produce to make sure they don't contaminate it.

The farm potentially produces 81 tons of greens per year at full capacity — 0.015% of all produce grown in Singapore. The hopes to eventually raise that percentage to 5%.

Reuters/Edgar Su  |  Source: Ag Funder News — Reuters/Edgar Su | *Source: Ag Funder News*

There are currently 40 types of crops in the warehouse, including mini red radish, mini white radish, rocket lettuce, mizuna, Swiss chard, romaine lettuce, and rainbow chard.

To plant the greens, Panasonic's workers place tiny seeds on growing beds. Unlike many vertical farms, Panasonic's grows its greens in soil.

Everything grows under LEDs instead of sunlight. The lights come from a local company and waste less energy than typical light bulbs.

Panasonic's farm likely still has high energy costs, however, since the LEDs are on 24-7. Even the best LEDs have only a 50% efficiency rate, meaning half the electricity is turned to heat, not light, The New York Times reports.

The LEDs shine at a specific frequency that encourages the plants to grow quickly. The farmers also control the warehouse's climate, including its humidity and temperature.

Once the seeds begin to sprout, the farmers transfer the plants to small pots.

Small nozzles feed nutrient-rich water to the crops.

The farm's goal is to increase the amount of produce grown in Singapore, which imports over 90% of its food. The island nation has a shortage of arable land, so indoor farming could become a viable way to grow more greens, Tham says.

Reuters/Edgar Su  |  Source: Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore — Reuters/Edgar Su | *Source: Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore*

Each 3-ounce bowl of salad greens from the farm sells for about $5 (USD) in Singapore's grocery stores, under the brand Veggie Life. In mid-2014, Panasonic also started selling greens to local restaurants.

Reuters/Edgar Su

Panasonic's indoor agriculture project is part of its Factory Solutions division, which creates industrial machines and systems. Given the division's experience with engineering and manufacturing, Panasonic sees indoor agriculture as a profitable extension of its business, Tham says.

"We foresee this business to be a potential growth portfolio, given the global shortage of arable land, increasing populations, climate change, and demand for high quality and stable food supply," Tham says.

Green Automation Americas LLC Expands Markets in North America

Green Automation Americas LLC Expands Markets in North America

The company claims its hydroponic systems use little water and create large yields.

October 10, 2017

Wellington, Florida – The average American consumes 27.2 lbs. of leafy greens per year – a staggering number when you multiply that figure with the latest US census figures. The Green Automationhydroponic greenhouse systems were developed over ten years ago in Helsinki, Finland and are now producing fresh, pesticide-free leafy greens and herbs here in North America.

“With feet on the ground now here in the U.S. where more than ever the end customer seeks nutritious, locally-produced fresh food, the timing is perfect. Consumers are more exacting about consuming food that is produced naturally, without pesticides and on a year-round basis. Our fully automated and inclusive seed-to-harvest system not only uses 95 percent less water than traditional field farming, but can achieve tremendous product yield for a fraction of the labor costs,” says Tero Rapila, co-Founder and CEO of Green Automation Export in Finland.

Over 70 percent of the lettuce sold in the U.S. grows in California, an area of the country plagued with water-shortage issues. With traditional farming methods, over 15 gallons of water is required to grow one pound of lettuce. The labor force required to harvest, package and ship lettuce throughout the country has become more and more cost prohibitive. The Green Automation system tackles all these issues, and provides an extremely efficient and profitable solution for the investor and greenhouse growers.

Green Automation systems are up and running in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Illinois. The size of these vary from 1-3 acres, producing more than one ton lettuce per acre each day and can provide the local grocery stores with fresh lettuce within twelve hours of harvest.

Here are a few examples of our reference projects:
Florida, USA

Massachusetts USA, 2016

New Hampshire USA, 2016

Illinois USA, 2014

New York, USA, 2014

Bulgaria, Europe 2017

Russia, Europe 2015

Finland, Europe 2016

IGrow PreOwned 11/8/17 IGrow PreOwned 11/8/17

Signal of Change / Radical New Vertical Farming Model Could Provide The Answer to Urban Food Resilience

The Food Tower concept has been tested by Surbana Jurong’s architectural team as a direct response to the growing pressure on sustainability of food production in Singapore.

Signal of Change / Radical New Vertical Farming Model Could Provide The Answer to Urban Food Resilience

BY MARTA MELVIN / 11 OCT 2017

One of the biggest challenges facing the developed and developing world: how will we continue to feed ourselves in future with the global population rising rapidly and expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. In addition, in 30 years’ time we could see some 70 per cent of the global population living in cities.

Designers of our urban built environment will need to adopt radically different approaches to city planning to include food production within their thinking. Planning and zoning of suitable sites for urban farms will be needed to ensure that sunlight can reach the crops as a result of immediate setback of buildings around a site. Ideas for high-rise farming in cities such as Singapore are slowly maturing and beginning to be piloted.

The Food Tower concept has been tested by Surbana Jurong’s architectural team as a direct response to the growing pressure on sustainability of food production in Singapore.

Vegetable growing areas are stacked in open, sunlight flooded high rise towers. Growing yields across the 1 hectare site are boosted to some 400 times that of traditional farming.

It's a whole system: vegetables are grown on towers using the water and nutrients from a system of tanks in which Red Tilapia fish are reared. The vegetable towers are located on “wings” on higher floors that spiral upwards to maximise sunlight exposure; the fish farms are located at the lower floors where there is more shade. A closed loop energy system, with onsite photovoltaics generating power, rainwater harvesting and wetland reed beds to purify and recycle waste water on-site. The wetlands can also act as part of a garden for the larger community.

It is estimated that a 100-storey food tower on 1 hectare of land can provide sufficient meat and vegetables for just over 11,000 people per year.

Resource links:

http://www.eco-business.com/opinion/the-food-tower-looking-up-to-solve-the-global-food-crisis/

IGrow PreOwned 11/7/17 IGrow PreOwned 11/7/17

The Genetic Freedom in the Salad Bowl: Food Variance and the Decrease in Costs of Vertical Farming

It seems the barrier to vertical farming proliferation isn't cost, it's time. Over the past decade or so, vertical farming has gone from being the concept of one man, a professor named Dickson D. Despommier, Ph.D., to a worldwide industry with one company, Plenty , pulling in $200 million dollars in Series B Funding.

The Genetic Freedom in the Salad Bowl: Food Variance and the Decrease in Costs of Vertical Farming

#CEA #VERTICALFARMING

02-11-2017

I'm taking a break this week from the conversation about machines to talk about plants. Delicious, crispy, green, flavorful plants. I've lived a few places in my life, and one thing I've come to really appreciate is fresh produce. If you don't live near major agricultural regions, you know the loss of quality that comes from being on the end of a long produce shipping lane (NYC, you know what I'm talking about).

Vertical farming is looking to change that and disrupt the vice hold that horizontal farming has on our world. With our population's caloric needs ever growing and our desire for better quality in our produce, vertical farming is quickly becoming the industry investors are banking on. What will the future dinner table look like when we breed food for flavor rather than survivability? Is there are new food renaissance ahead or another investor pipe dream?

“70% of our water goes to agriculture, 70% of our contaminated water comes from agriculture. If one wants to solve water, one needs to start at agriculture.” ~AeroFarms

I was just at a Dell Technologies event in New York City, IQT day, last week. I was blown away with how the world’s largest vertical farm, AeroFarms, (located in Newark, New Jersey), is using Dell Technologies IoT platform to grow food smarter. When we think of the Internet of Things, our minds often go to devices and high tech…but what about a super practical application of the IoT, like, feeding the world? A few mind-boggling quotes I caught from the AeroFarms presentation on the main stage at the Dell Technologies IQT Day, were so thought-provoking, I went home after the event to really dive into what vertical farming is and what it means to our global future.

We need 50% more food by 2050. ~AeroFarms

It seems the barrier to vertical farming proliferation isn't cost, it's time. Over the past decade or so, vertical farming has gone from being the concept of one man, a professor named Dickson D. Despommier, Ph.D., to a worldwide industry with one company, Plenty, pulling in $200 million dollars in Series B Funding.

What do investors see in the industry that skeptics don't? Well, only seven years ago, both parties might have been much more aligned. Costs of labor, electricity and scale were killing vertical farming startups. There were also hard lessons to be learned about pricing and location. It turns out that all the different forms of vertical farming such as hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics (yes, that's different than hydroponics) all use a lot of electricity to function. Upfront and upkeep costs have also, historically, been another pain point for these companies. Couple that with complex labor equipment and well-being needs, it looked rather bleak for the small vertical farm. And for small vertical farms, it still is a big pill to swallow. To compete with established traditional farming, large scales of operation seem to be the best way to overcome the economic stress of putting these farms of the future together and be sustainable.

Vertical Farming is 130-390x more productive, using 95% less water than conventional farming. ~AeroFarms

But it's starting to happen. Plenty is going strong with plans for more warehouses around the world, along with long time industry champion AeroFarms and several other largescale farming companies. And what they've realized is that the longer they can stay afloat, the more technological innovation will lower their costs. In the past couple of years, breakthroughs in renewable energy and LED technology as well as iteration within the industry itself have greatly lowered the overhead, allowing large scale vertical farming companies like Plenty to figure out what models work for sustained growth (for the companies as well as the plants!).

How Green can the Grass Get When We Breed it for Desirability Rather than Durability?

But enough about the struggles, what about the cool aspects of the vertical farming industry? Well, the best part about vertical farming, at least to me (after it's impending disruption of an established industry) is what the companies can focus on now that survivability isn't going to be an issue much longer. One of the biggest advantages they have over traditional farms is that vertical farms function within completely controlled environments. Workers wear protective gear, rooms are controlled for temperature and composition and plants are fed on strict nutrient schedules. Also, vertical farms can be built anywhere, reducing on transportation time. For traditional horizontal farms, pests, weather, soil variations and long transportation routes have required producers to breed their plants to survive long enough to get from the farm to the dinner table. Since vertical farming plants no longer having to combat with the stressors of nature and an extended supply line, their farmers can focus on breeding for other aspects.

What have we been missing when producing food for function rather than form? Flavor is the obvious characteristic. We like to enjoy eating food. But what else? I could see farms breeding a generation of their plants to deal with vitamin deficiencies within a population. Like specialty varieties of wine and beer, we could see a line of tomatoes or kale with artistic properties added to them, like unique smells, mouthfeel and colors. When there are no baseline concerns for a product, the sky's the limit.

AeroFarms says that their mission is to build vertical farms in cities all over the world so that everyone has access to fresh, safe, food. What else do you think could come from this produce production revolution? Let me know what you think.

IGrow PreOwned 11/3/17 IGrow PreOwned 11/3/17

Jeff Bezos-Backed Indoor Farming Startup Plenty Opens 100K Square-Foot Facility in Seattle Region

BY TAYLOR SOPER on November 3, 2017 at 7:04 am

Plenty CEO and co-founder Matt Barnard. (Photos via Plenty)

An indoor farming startup backed by some of the biggest names in tech that wants to change how people eat fruits and vegetables has arrived in Seattle.

Plenty today announced that it will open a 100,000 square-foot farm in Kent, Wash., where the 3-year-old company will grow pesticide-free, “backyard quality” produce for consumers in Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. It’s the first time the startup has expanded beyond its home markets in South San Francisco and Wyoming; it will also be the company’s first “full-scale” farm.

Plenty grows its plants in 20-foot tall towers inside a climate-controlled facility with LED lights. It does not use pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, or GMOs. There is plenty of technology used, with thousands of infrared cameras and sensors collecting data in the farms that is then analyzed with machine learning to optimize how the plants grow.

Plenty said its technology can achieve yields of up to 350 times greater than traditional agriculture while using 1 percent of the water and barely any land compared to conventional methods. Plenty’s farms can also grow plants — up to 300 variants of produce — all year-round, regardless of seasonality changes, which helps increase efficiency; its proximity to cities also means that produce doesn’t sit in trucks for days and weeks on end before ultimately arriving on your kitchen table.

Investors are bullish about the company’s potential. Backers of Plenty’s $200 million round it raised this past July include folks like SoftBank (via its Vision Fund); Alphabet Chairman Eric Schmidt (through Innovation Endeavors); Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions); DCM Ventures; Data Collective; Finistere Ventures; and Louis Bacon.

In an interview with GeekWire, Plenty CEO and co-founder Matt Barnard said that Seattle’s lack of access to local produce and the region’s emphasis on healthy food made it a perfect place to expand.

“As we looked at the West Coast, Seattle was the best example of a large community of people who really don’t have much access to any fresh fruits and vegetables grown locally,” he explained.

Plenty will hire 50 people at the farm in Kent, and expects to double the size of its team, Barnard said. Fresh produce will start shipping to a few restaurants initially in mid-2018, and then to other buyers that will be announced at a later date. It also plans to open more farms across the country and eventually around the world.

Plenty, which has raised $238 million to date, is not the first company to try and build a business around indoor farming. Local Garden Vancouver, a similar crop-yielding greenhouse concept, declared bankruptcy a few years ago and other startups in the space have struggled over the years.

But Barnard, who started the 100-person company Nate Mazonson and Nate Storey, said that costs of indoor farming have lowered enough while the technology has advanced to the point where Plenty can promise “Whole Foods Quality at Walmart Prices,” as this Bloomberg headline noted last month. Barnard called it a “giant optimization problem.”

“We give plants the perfect environment to both grow fast and taste the best,” he added.

Barnard noted that the percentage of fruits and vegetables eaten by U.S. consumers and grown outside of the country continues to rise due to rising labor and land costs — up to 35 percent today, from zero a few decades ago. There is also shrinking available land that is fertile enough to grow high-quality produce, he said.

“This isn’t a matter of a zero-sum game, and it’s not a matter of competitors,” Barnard added. “It’s a matter of, how do we meet this unmet demand and how do we add a new set of agricultural practices to our portfolio as a society to be able to address demand and these secular trends of essentially declining agricultural capacity.”

Plenty’s business model “will be relatively similar to what people know,” Barnard said, but he hinted that the company is thinking of new ways to make revenue.

“We are always working to figure out how to get food into people’s hands and onto their tables in as few minutes as possible,” he said.

Barnard’s interest in creating a new way to grow food started at an early age when he grew up on a commercial food farm in Wisconsin.

“There were whole crops that we couldn’t grow on the farm in Wisconsin that I didn’t even know I liked until I moved to California,” he recalled. “I couldn’t understand why in the world people loved watermelon so much because all I knew was the stuff I had in Wisconsin, which was pretty gross because that stuff was exhausted and spent a week on a truck. Watermelons aren’t meant to spend a week on a truck.”

Barnard, who previously spent time working in utility technology infrastructure and cellular smart grid production, has also dealt with an autoimmune condition while his wife was later diagnosed with stage-4 breast cancer four years ago. Both of those personal life events made him realize the importance of eating healthy and he ended up conducting research into how our food affects health.

“While we don’t know as much as I would love for us to know in 2017, one thing we do know is that a nutrient-rich diet generally leads to a happier, healthier life for people — and we get most of our nutrients from fruits and vegetables,” the CEO said.

Love space and science? Sign up for our GeekWire Space & Science email newsletter for top headlines from Alan Boyle, GeekWire’s aerospace and science editor.

Taylor Soper is a GeekWire staff reporter who covers a wide variety of tech assignments, including emerging startups in Seattle and Portland, the sharing economy and the intersection of technology and sports. Follow him @taylor_soper and email taylor@geekwire.com.

IGrow PreOwned 11/3/17 IGrow PreOwned 11/3/17

Futureworld: The IoT-Driven ‘Vertical Farm’

Imagine a farm without herbicides, insecticides or pesticides; a farm that cuts water consumption by 95 percent; that uses no fertilizer and thus generates no polluting run-off; that has a dozen crop cycles per year instead of the usual three, making it hundreds of times more productive than conventional farms; a farm that can continually experiment with and refine the taste and texture of its crops; a farm without sun or soil.

Futureworld: The IoT-Driven ‘Vertical Farm’

October 26, 2017 by Doug Black

Such a farm – an “indoor vertical farm” – exists, it’s located in that grittiest, most intensely urban of inner cities, Newark, NJ, in a former industrial warehouse. Visiting there, you go from a potholed, chain linked back street into a brightly lit, clean (visitors wear sanitary gowns, gloves, masks and head coverings), 70,000-square-foot facility. Walking in, you get that rare, uncanny sense of having stepped into the future. Way into the future.

The farm consists of large, flat platforms stacked 10 levels high (“grow towers”) of leafy greens and herbs thriving in seeming contentment under long rows of LED lights, irrigated with recycled water that sprays the exposed roots hanging, suspended, from the crops, under the watchful “eye” of IoT sensors that, with machine learning algorithms, analyze the large volumes of continually harvested (sorry!) crop data.

Aerofarms began developing sustainable growing systems since 2004, and has adopted a data-driven technology strategy that’s a showcase for the IoT and deep learning capabilities of Dell Technologies.

By building farms in major population centers and near major distribution routes (the Newark farm is a mile from the headquarters of one of the largest supermarket chains in the New York City area), the company radically shortens supply chains and lowers energy resources required to transport food from “farm to fork” while also decreasing spoilage. It enables local farming at commercial scale year-round, regardless of the season. It tracks and monitors its leafy greens from seed to package so that the source of food, if some becomes tainted, can be quickly identified. Taken together, AeroFarms claims to achieve 390 times greater productivity than a conventional field farm while using 5 percent as much water.

“We are as much a capabilities company as we are farmers, utilizing science and technology to achieve our vision of totally controlled agriculture,” said David Rosenberg AeroFarms co-founder and CEO. The company’s vision, he said, is to understand the “symbiotic relationships” among biology, environment and technology, to leverage science and engineering in ways that drive more sustainable, higher-yield food production.

IoT comes into play via AeroFarms’ Connected Food Safety System, which tracks the “growth story” of its products, analyzing more than 130,000 data points per harvest. The growth cycle begins when seeds are germinated on a growing medium that looks like cheesecloth, receiving a measured amount of moisture and nutrients misted directly onto their roots that dangle in a chamber below the growing cloth, along with a spectrum of LED lighting calculated to match the plants’ needs throughout a 12- to 16-day growing cycle.

Rosenberg said Aerofarms decided to partner with Dell because it “offers a comprehensive infrastructure portfolio that spans our IT needs, from edge gateways and rugged tablets to machine learning systems and network gear.”

At the edge, sensors and cameras in the aeroponic growing system gather data on everything from moisture and nutrients to light and oxygen and then send operating and growing environment data to Dell IoT Edge Gateways for processing. Information is then relayed over their farm network to Dell Latitude Rugged Tablets and a local server cluster, making it available to Aerofarms workers for monitoring and analysis. AeroFarms’ precision growing algorithms allow just-in-time growing for its selling partners. Once the plants reach maturity, they are harvested and packaged onsite and then distributed to local grocery stores.

Aerofarms is developing a machine learning capability that identifies patterns based on analysis of images and a combination of environmental, machine and historical growing data.

The company said it may expand its use of Microsoft Azure to conduct more analytics in the cloud while leveraging geo-redundant data backup, collect disparate data from its multiple vertical farms and multiple data sources, including information interpreted in historical context, leveraging data previously collected and analyzed over time to improve taste, texture, color, nutrition and yield.

Aerofarms' David Rosenberg — Aerofarms'
David Rosenberg

Aerofarms said it also is working on real-time quality control through multi-spectral imaging from its grow trays. Cameras with integrated structured light scanners send data to Dell Edge Gateways, which create 3D topological images of each grow tray. When an anomaly is detected, the gateway sends an alert to operators using Dell Latitude Rugged Tablets on the farm floor.

“For me, the journey started with an appreciation of some of the macro-challenges of the world, starting with water,” said Rosenberg. “Seventy percent of our fresh water goes to agriculture. Seventy percent of our fresh water contamination comes from agriculture.”

Land is another problem.

“By U.N. estimates, we need to produce 50 percent more food by 2050, and we’ve lost 30 percent of our arable farm land in the last 40 years,” he said. “Looking at all those macro-issues, we need a new way to feed our planet.”

IGrow PreOwned 11/2/17 IGrow PreOwned 11/2/17

Co-Founder of The East London Start-up, Tom Webster, Explains how He is Spearheading Aquaponic Farming in The UK

We started out by creating the GrowUp box, a demonstration system that we built in a shipping container at London Bridge, then, in 2015, we moved to Unit 84, at London Industrial Park in Beckton, and built our first farm.

Screen shot 2017-11-02 at 11.30.45 AM.png

TOM WEBSTER

NOV 2, 2017

Co-Founder of The East London Start-up, Tom Webster, Explains how He is Spearheading Aquaponic Farming in The UK

I co-founded GrowUp Urban Farms with my business partner Kate Hofman in May 2012. Our vision is to contribute to a more sustainable food system using aquaponics – a combination of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants in a nutrient rich solution other than soil). The farming methods we have developed enable us to produce a year-round harvest of fresh fish, leafy salad crops and herbs, in an energy-efficient controlled environment.

The farm is essentially comprised of two separate systems. The first is a recirculating aquaculture system where water passes through a series of fish tanks, into a filtration system, and then back to the tanks. That water continually moves round and round between the tanks and the filters. At Unit 84 we have 12 tanks in the system, each containing roughly 400 Tilapia fish. It takes around six months to grow them from the fingerlings that we buy in. All our adult fish go to the Thai restaurant chain Rosa's. We've worked with them for years and it's a great restaurant run by great people. Tilapia is a very mild-flavoured fish, similar to cod. It takes on flavours really well, so it's well suited to Asian cuisine. It's also a very good source of protein and makes a great replacement for chicken.

The other system we use is essentially a normal hydroponics system, with three fundamental differences. Firstly, there is no natural light– we use LED lighting instead. Secondly, instead of it being on a horizontal plane, we have lots of hydroponic benches stacked on top of each other, which we call vertical farming. This allows us to maximise the growing potential of urban spaces. Thirdly, instead of feeding freshwater into the system (that we would need to add all the necessary nutrients to), we bring in water from the fish farm, which already contains 80 per cent of the nutrients the plants need, which come from the fish waste. That's the only water that goes into the hydroponics system, and we just top it up with the other 20 per cent of nutrients that are necessary, particularly things that aren't in the fish's diet, like iron.

We've grown all sorts of microgreens – coriander, micro basil, fennel and rocket – tiny, beautiful leaves that are used to decorate plates and add a lot of flavour. We've also had a range of salad crops like pea shoots, sunflower shoots, watercress and baby kale, but our main focus is the more traditional baby leaf salad crops that you see in the supermarket, such as full-sized rocket and watercress, spinach, lettuces and pak choi. The UK currently imports a lot of these crops. They are widely consumed, widely imported and very perishable.

At the moment leafy salad is predominantly grown in Spain, Italy and Africa, so it travels a long way to reach us, which is not very environmentally friendly. These open-field crops are also at the mercy of the weather and climate change. As we saw in early 2017, the supply chains for salads got completely cut off when there was an unexpected frost in Italy and a snowfall in Spain, which meant that salad crops were decimated. The supermarkets were importing lettuce from the USA, at a loss, just to keep it on the shelves. In a world with an increasingly unstable climate, we need to look at producing more of our food in controlled-environment growing systems to safeguard against these kinds of devastating events.

The farm at Unit 84 is a commercial test bed we created to research, develop and prove our ideas and methods. We've worked with leading horticultural engineers and fish scientists in the UK to figure out the best way to make the system work at scale and we are now looking at sites for the next farm, which we plan to start building before the end of 2018. It will be much bigger and designed to be a profitable farm, feeding into the larger supply chains. Our focus is really on those baby leaf salads that everyone is already eating. We've learned to grow these properly, in an environment that's perfect for them – the right lighting, the right temperature, the right humidity – so once the next farm is built we're ready to go.

Agriculture happens on such a humongous scale that if we're going to have an impact we need to do something that fits into supply chains that already exist. For this reason we are looking to develop and operate farms near big food hubs, such as supermarket distribution centres and wholesalers, so we can get the produce to them as quickly as possible after it's been harvested, minimising the time, cost and environmental impact of transporting these perishable goods.

Our vision is not to create premium bagged-salads and niche products. We want to be the basic salad and fish fingers on the supermarket shelf. Protein and salad that people consume on a daily basis. It might sound like a strange thing to say, but that is when we will really be making an impact, so that's the gold standard for us and where we want to be – producing at scale, supplying to existing supply chains.

It will still be a drop in the ocean, but it will be a drop in the ocean closer to where we want to be.

IGrow PreOwned 11/2/17 IGrow PreOwned 11/2/17

Japan’s Spread to Expand Vertical Farming Concept to Middle East

An arid, desert environment, lack of water resources and other geographical factors pose challenges for growing produce in the Middle East, which has led to a reliance on imported goods. This is becoming increasingly expensive as a growing population and changing and healthier eating habits, are driving an increased demand for vegetables and produce such as lettuce.

Japan’s Spread to Expand Vertical Farming Concept to Middle East

Posted By: Guest contributor: October 31, 2017

In: Agriculture, Environment, Food, Industries

BY DR GAIL BARNES
SUSTAINABILITY SPECIALIST

At the beginning of 2016 I wrote an article about indoor or vertical farms being the future of growing produce, describing the progress of Spread in Japan with the creation of the world’s first farm manned entirely by robots capable of harvesting 30,000 heads of lettuce per day.

Fast forward to July 2017, and a new indoor farming investment inflection point was reached with the announcement that the SoftBank Vision Fund was leading a $200 million investment in Silicon Valley indoor farming startup Plenty. Now there is news on Spread too – the expansion of its automated Techno Farm concept to the Middle East, starting with the UAE.

Increased demand for fresh produce

An arid, desert environment, lack of water resources and other geographical factors pose challenges for growing produce in the Middle East, which has led to a reliance on imported goods. This is becoming increasingly expensive as a growing population, and changing and healthier eating habits, are driving an increased demand for vegetables and produce such as lettuce.

Vertical farming solutions, like this one from VertiCrop, could be part of the future of the food industry. ©Valcenteu/Wikimedia

Container farming offers stable supply

“Spread is responding to these challenges with the solutions found in its next-generation vegetable production system, Techno Farm, which was created based on Spread’s ten years of experience in operating a vertical farm and incorporates automation and advanced water recycling,” according to Spread.

“In October 2017, Spread entered into a memorandum of understanding with Madar Farms, a company that has established a container farming business in the UAE, for a strategic partnership for developing the Techno Farm business in the Middle East.

“In June 2017, Spread and Toyo, a global engineering company with abundant knowledge in the construction of industrial-scale facilities, entered into a memorandum of understanding for Techno Farm engineering services overseas.”

The aim of the partnership is to provide a stable supply of safe and high-quality vegetables such as lettuce to the Middle East. According to Spread, construction of the first Techno Farm is planned to begin in 2018 with completion slated for 2019. Moving forward, 20 facilities are planned for construction in the Middle East, starting with the UAE.

IGrow PreOwned 11/1/17 IGrow PreOwned 11/1/17

Can Food Still Be Organic If It's Grown Without Soil?

A crucial battle in a long-brewing conflict over organic farming could come Wednesday as an influential government panel meets to discuss whether soil is an essential element of organic farming.

Can Food Still Be Organic If It's Grown Without Soil?

'Dirt first' traditionalists are fighting with supporters of soil-less agriculture over the ‘organics’ label. Climate and sustainability are central to the debate.

Georgina Gustin

NOV 1, 2017

Both sides of the debate argue that their methods of organic farming have an increasingly important role to play in protecting the climate and building sustainability. Credit: Valcenteau/CC-BY-SA-2.0

A crucial battle in a long-brewing conflict over organic farming could come Wednesday as an influential government panel meets to discuss whether soil is an essential element of organic farming.

On one side: "Dirt first" traditionalists who say that fruits and vegetables must, by definition, be grown in soil to qualify as organic.

On the other: Agri-technophiles who say "controlled environment" methods like hydroponics and aeroponics are just as deserving, dirt or no dirt.

The debate over who deserves the U.S. Department of Agriculture's lucrative organic label comes amid broader challenges over the best way to feed a growing population on a warming, resource-challenged planet where most of the arable land is already used for agriculture.

Both sides are making forceful arguments that organic farming, with its focus on using natural substances and eschewing synthetics, has an increasingly important role to play in protecting the climate. Though vegetables grown in soil may look and taste like those grown in controlled environments—with their roots bathed in liquid solutions or stacked in towers—they may have very different carbon footprints.

"You're farming in a smaller space and with less resources and reduced shipping and refrigeration," said Marianne Cufone, executive director of the Recirculating Farms Coalition, which represents hydroponic and aquaponic farmers. "It seems to me it's one of the best ways to improve our situation when it comes to climate change and agriculture. To consolidate and grow up is smart."

But for traditional organic farmers, shifting resources and research dollars to soil-less forms of agriculture ignores the carbon-storing potential of soil-based agriculture and the energy footprint of growing crops indoors.

"By changing the way we farm the soil, we can improve the sequestration potential of the soil," said Jeff Moyer, executive director of the Rodale Institute, which has long advocated organic farming methods. "We know, globally, as we look at climate change solutions, the soil plays a huge role. Going indoors is not the solution."

Since the launch of the National Organic Program in 2000, the Agriculture Department has allowed hydroponics and other forms of soil-less or container-based agriculture under the organic label. But in recent years, organic farmers have pushed the National Organic Standards Board—the body that decides what practices are permitted under the organic label—to make an official decision on whether these agri-tech approaches count as organic.

The board's crops subcommittee is scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon to discuss it, and the full board could vote soon after.

Investment Pours in for Novel Techniques

The debate, which has festered for years, has become increasingly bitter over the last 12 months as more investment and interest has centered on these novel farming techniques, including a $200 million investment in the San Francisco-based start-up Plenty by tech-investment firm SoftBank Vision Fund. Plenty plans to build indoor vertical farms, where produce is grown in stacks under artificial light, outside 500 cities around the world, using technologies including remote sensing to gage growing conditions and artificial intelligence experts to translate data from the plants.

"We've seen a lot of new money coming into this," said Katelyn McCullock, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, American agriculture's largest trade group. "There's a lot of interest in this area and not from the sources we're used to seeing it from."

According to AgFunder, a start-up funder that also tracks investments in agriculture, investors have committed $285 million so far this year—including the Plenty investment—dwarfing investment last year, which saw $70 million, and 2015, which saw $53 million.

Meanwhile, sales of organics are booming, reaching a record $47 billion in the U.S. last year, and demand for organics is outstripping supply.

"Organic is obviously super popular, but there's gaining traction in other clean methods of farming," said Louisa-Burwood Taylor, a spokesperson for AgFunder. "When these companies can price their produce cheaper than organic and offer pesticide-free and clean, then I think you've got an interesting dynamic and competition to organic."

Who's More Climate-Friendly?

Traditional, soil-based organic farmers say that the competition shouldn't be allowed in the first place, noting that soil-less agriculture isn't permitted under the organic label in other countries, including Mexico, one of the U.S.'s biggest agricultural trading partners.

At rallies across the county, pro-soil advocates have demonstrated, with farmers holding homemade signs reading "Don't Water Down Organics with Hydroponics" and "Real Farmers Do it in the Dirt."

"There will be no sign warning the customers that this fauxganic food was grown without soil," the Keep the Soil in Organics coalition said in an appeal to supporters on its website. "And so we are in a final battle for the soul of the organic label."

Critics of controlled agriculture systems point out that, in order to simulate the sun, indoor farms consume huge amounts of electricity, negating possible climate benefits.

Even supporters acknowledge the high electricity demand is a downside. "It is an issue," conceded Sally Rockey, executive director of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, which recently gave a $2 million grant to New Jersey-based AeroFarms, the country's largest vertical farm operator. "When you use electricity the way you have to in controlled environments, you want to take a look at what that means as far as your carbon footprint."

But, Rockey said, there are some appealing trade-offs. "Oftentimes we don't use pesticides because plants aren't exposed to air," she said, "and generally we use a lot less water."

Controlled environment farms can also be constructed near cities, potentially cutting down on emissions connected to transportation.

The pro-soil growers say, however, that the climate benefits, to the extent that there are any currently, are being overplayed by tech interests with deep pockets.

"We can mitigate emissions. We know that," said Moyer, who is a former head of the standards board. "They're using the story of climate change, but that's not the reason for their existence."

The other side, meanwhile, accuses the pro-soil camp of slinging mud to protect their lucrative market.

"If you have a method of growing that reduces stress on resources—like water, like space, like energy—that can produce healthy, good-quality food, maybe in more abundance and with more efficiency, why wouldn't you support that?" Cufone said. "The only reason I can think of is money."

What Does the Research Say?

So far, studies suggest that indoor agriculture consumes more energy than traditional soil-based farms. Researchers at Cornell University have examined the carbon footprint of an indoor hydroponics farm, operated in New York state, and compared its energy use to an outdoor farm in California. Factoring in the energy used to transport the produce from California to the East Coast, they found that the hydroponics operation used twice the energy.

"At least from an energy or carbon footprint standpoint, growing these produce items in our northerly climate, where we use a lot of light and fossil fuel for heating, you use twice the energy inputs versus field-grown. But that was the status quo technology for 2008," said Neil Mattson of Cornell's School of Integrative Plant Science. "We feel there's the ability to improve that by producers adopting more energy-efficient lighting and using renewable energy systems."

Beyond Cornell's research, studies comparing the climate benefits of traditional farming systems and controlled environments remain pretty thin. But the climate impacts of various farming methods are a growing conversation within the organics industry, and more research is underway.

"We're starting to get concerned that an assumption's being made that if you're not growing in the outer crust of the earth, there's no way you can sequester carbon or mitigate climate change," said Nate Lewis, a farm policy director for the Organic Trade Association, the organic industry's largest trade group. "Those are assumptions. I haven't seen anyone compare the full life cycle of a tomato grown in one [system] versus the other. There are so many factors."

PUBLISHED UNDER:

AGRICULTURE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Georgina Gustin

Georgina Gustin is a Washington-based reporter who has covered food policy, farming and the environment for more than a decade. She started her journalism career at The Day in New London, Conn., then moved to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where she launched the "food beat," covering agriculture, biotech giant Monsanto and the growing "good food" movement. At CQ Roll Call, she covered food, farm and drug policy and the intersections between federal regulatory agencies and Congress. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post and National Geographic's The Plate, among others.

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