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Temasek Backs US $30m Firm For Vertical Farming Innovation to Boost Singapore's Food Supply
Called Unfold, it is a tie-up between Singapore state investment firm Temasek and a unit of German pharmaceutical and life sciences giant Bayer
Temasek Is Partnering With A Unit of Bayer To Form A US $30 Million
Company To Develop Breakthroughs In Vertical Farming.
August 12, 2020
SINGAPORE - A new US $30 million (S$41.2 million) company has been formed to develop breakthroughs in vertical farming, a move that will help to further reinforce Singapore's food supply.
Called Unfold, it is a tie-up between Singapore state investment firm Temasek and a unit of German pharmaceutical and life sciences giant Bayer.
The Straits Times understands that they will have an equal share of the company, which is incorporated in the United States.
Its primary focus is on improving the quality and variety of food as well as boosting the efficiency of its production, including that of popular vegetables such as lettuce and spinach.
In doing so, it will ensure the safe and reliable supply of food, something that is vital for countries with little arable land and in times of crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic, said Bayer on Wednesday (Aug 12), when announcing the union between its investment unit Leaps by Bayer and Temasek.
Temasek's head of agribusiness, Mr. John Vaske, noted that food security is a priority for Singapore, pointing to the country's "30 by 30" goal, which is to produce 30 percent of its nutritional needs locally by 2030.
He also told The Straits Times that Singapore has been formative in developing vertical farming. "So, we have insights and knowledge of the industry that Unfold can benefit from through the set-up of its commercial, research, and development operations here."
These operations will also be established in California, where Unfold will be headquartered in the city of Davis.
The focus on the genetic potential of vertical farming also sets the company apart from most vertical farming start-ups, which invariably concentrate on developing more efficient infrastructures, Bayer said.
The aim of the venture is to improve the quality and variety of food as well as boost the efficiency of its production. PHOTO: BAYER STOCK PHOTOS
Unfold has already entered into an agreement for specified rights to germplasm, or seed genetics, from Bayer's vegetable portfolio, a move that will enable it to develop new varieties of seeds. It also plans to come up with agronomic advice that is tailored for growing crops in the unique indoor environment of vertical farms.
These farms, also known as indoor farms, leverage on artificial light to grow crops, are less dependent on man-made chemicals, and optimize the use of water.
The company's chief executive officer is Dr. John Purcell, who was previously Bayer Crop Science's head of vegetable seeds research and development, said Bayer in its statement.
Dr. Purcell said that Unfold's investment in germplasm and crop growth models is timely as the two fields are "largely underserved"."
Some technology companies do not have access to germplasm resources. The power of Unfold is that we will combine the expertise and 100 percent focus on the genetics for vertical farming, with access to the best in class germplasm of the Bayer vegetable seed business," he added.
www.bayer.com
www.leaps.bayer.com
www.temasek.com.sg
unfold.ag
Lead Photo: PHOTO: BAYER STOCK PHOTO
A Brief Insight Into Thailand’s Vertical Farming Sector
"There’s quite a big difference between Thailand and other Asian countries in terms of the advancements in vertical farming technology and business”, Siriwat Sakhonwasee says
by Dr. Siriwat Sakhonwasee
"There’s quite a big difference between Thailand and other Asian countries in terms of the advancements in vertical farming technology and business”, Siriwat Sakhonwasee says. After obtaining his Ph.D. on plant biology from the University of California Davis in 2009, Sakhonwasee is now a lecturer and researcher in the faculty of agricultural production at Maejo University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Sakhonwasee's university lab research on seed production of petunia under LED lights
Increase of interest
“When I started doing research on vertical farming about 10 years ago, people in Thailand thought that I was pursuing a useless hobby. However, in other Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan, vertical farming was already a serious business concept. Today, vertical farming is becoming a new trend where a number of companies are interested to place their bet on. The concept of vertical farming in Thailand receives a lot of influence from Japanese technology. This is why most people use the word “Plant factory”, a jargon, originated from Japan to describe vertical farming.” Last month, Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) announced that it officially will support investments on Plant Factories by reducing the tax burden on businesses involved with this technology. Sakhonwasee continues: “I see this as a good sign for vertical farming in Thailand as the same thing happened in Japan a decade ago.
More demandIn terms of Thailand, now there are many more research projects regarding vertical farming than five years ago. “I sometimes have to review research proposals for funding agencies and I can easily tell that nowadays research projects, involving vertical farming concepts, are more frequently submitted”, Sakhonwasee notes. This means that researchers in Thailand will have more chances to explore the science behind the concept of vertical farming. He continues: “Hopefully, this will lead to the development of innovative techniques that are suitable for the country. From a global perspective, people are integrating much more sophisticated technology into vertical farming, such as IoT and AI. The concept is not just growing a plant on the shelves using artificial light anymore. It is about collecting the data and constantly improving the vertical farming system.”
Dr. Siriwat Sakhonwasee
“One thing I see as a clear improvement is the business model of vertical farming. More diverse business models are applied such as a decentralized model by Infarm, harvest on demand by Farmers Cut.” For Thailand, 3 prominent vertical farming startup companies also use a different business model to sell their produce, namely, Wangree Fresh which uses a subscription model to sell their vegetables, NoBitter which is using online channels to engage with its customers and LED Farm which uses a retail hypermarket channel to sell its produce through.
Current industry struggles“I think that making people understand the value of a vertical farming product, is a common problem for vertical farming worldwide. Recently, Irvin Fain founder of Bowery used the word “post-organic” to explain the value of their fresh produce. This is such a good way to describe produce from vertical farming that is pesticide-free and very clean so customers do not need to wash before eat.” Sakhonwasee adds: “My colleague recently spoke with Mr. Chingchai Konthansakul founder of LED Farm of Thailand. He has an interesting way of thinking regarding vertical farming produce. He explained that he will never compare vegetables from his vertical farm with traditional farming fresh produce. Instead, he shows off his fresh produce as a novel product. This helped LED Farm to design a proper marketing strategy for consumers who were always skeptical about the safety of fresh produce.”
Mr. Chingchai Konthansakul, founder of LED Farm
Future vision
“In Thailand, I believe that vertical farming will never completely replace traditional farming, in terms of feeding the population. We are blessed with great natural resources that are suitable for almost every aspect of agriculture. But, vertical farming might play a big role in the production of premium produce for high-end consumers. However, to achieve this concept a certification process must be established, like organic produce. I think we will see more diversity in the application of vertical farming systems such as speed breeding and production of medicinal substances from herbs or genetically modified plants.
In other Asian countries, vertical farming will probably play a more prominent role in terms of food production. For example, a small country like Singapore just set a 30 by 30 goal last year. This was done to support the local food production to meet 30% in demand of the Singaporean population by the year 2030. In this case, the cultivation area is a big issue and vertical farming is expected to play a significant role in Singaporean food production. Other examples are countries in the Middle East where the majority of land is desert and not arable. Again, vertical farming can overcome this limitation and could provide food security for these countries.”
For more information:
Dr. Siriwat Sakhonwasee, assistant professor
tongscpl@yahoo.com
Publication date: Wed 12 Aug 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com
Fifth Generation Grower Follows In His Father's Footsteps
Worldwide LocalSalads is a new vertical farming company, currently raising funds to build their first fully commercial warehouse farm
Matthew, son of Grahame Dunling
Worldwide LocalSalads is a new vertical farming company, currently raising funds to build their first fully commercial warehouse farm. The company was started by Matthew Dunling, who is the 5th generation grower of his family and son of Grahame Dunling. He has a passion to follow in his father’s footsteps and is powered by the knowledge that he has been taught by a pioneer in the industry.
Building his own view
Matthew has been working quietly behind the scenes as he builds what he calls a game-changing view on how vertical farming should be operating. "For the past few years I have been watching how vertical farms are being set up and operated and I still believe that so far from a truly commercial perspective they are a long way from being what experienced growers would call a commercial farm." Matthew’s view stems from his family's long involvement in commercial horticulture and growing up surrounded by commercial glasshouses in Yorkshire in the 1990s.
"I think when we are talking about sustainability, we have to realize that there are three elements to sustainability – social, environmental, and economical. Each of these has to have a positive impact and be profitable to allow the business to survive on its own and not on needing a constant stream of investment to allow it to survive."
Project and business model
What is looking like an exceptional project and business model with huge scale for growth and expansion is an exciting venture for someone who has so much family history in the industry.
"This farm will consist of a minimum of 2000 square meters, containing a fully automated system where we can produce quality produce which will bring the flavour back to salads. We have the most advanced technology allowing us to track, trace, and control every element in our warehouses from any location in the world. We can do this by using our custom computer system which has all the control parameters integrated on-board to realize the required conditions from climate, CO2, irrigation to lights, and nutrition.
"This feedback will be presented in data and graphical overviews allowing us to make decisions according to the required circumstances, and then via dashboards, the required settings can be made. So, a unit in the UAE can be controlled from the UK and every measurement unit changed remotely. Our track and trace system will also allow me to see daily sowings, harvest, and sales from anywhere in the world, therefore allowing us to anticipate and measure every detail from seed to harvest. With all this data we can guarantee the perfect crop for every punnet.
"The exciting part of this technology is that it is constantly learning and adapting based on crop requirements and growing results in combination with our domain knowledge and AI. Our product line to start with will be a combination of baby leaf salads and triple head lettuce, we will then introduce other crops which we have run successful trials on. We can produce the same quality and quantity daily and this ensures a 365-day supply chain allowing the consumer to have confidence in our brand."
Partnering with other companies
Matthew has partnered LocalSalads with some of the largest horticultural leaders from commercial growing on large scale projects around the world. "We have joined together some of the best companies in the world of horticulture, each with decades of experience, to create a bespoke commercial grow system that is unique to the industry. The ability to fully understand the ins and outs of growing and supplying an exceptional standard of crop to supermarkets while reducing our impact on the environment is the most important factor to me."
Worldwide LocalSalads are currently seeking investment to establish a commercial warehouse and to begin their expansion phase.
For more information:
Worldwide LocalSalads
Matthew Dunling, CEO
matthew@localsalads.com
Publication date: Fri 14 Aug 2020
Temasek, Bayer Form Joint Vertical Farming Venture In California
Temasek Holdings is partnering with German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company Bayer AG to create a new vertical farming venture headquartered in California, as part of Singapore’s plans to boost the city-state’s supply of sustainable, locally grown produce
Jovi Ho
August 12, 2020
Temasek Holdings is partnering with German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company Bayer AG to create a new vertical farming venture headquartered in California, as part of Singapore’s plans to boost the city-state’s supply of sustainable, locally grown produce.
The joint venture between Temasek and Leaps by Bayer, the impact investment arm of Bayer AG, will be a US entity with commercial and research and development operations in both California and Singapore.
The new venture, Unfold, will focus on innovation in vegetable varieties with the goal of lifting the vertical farming space to the next level of quality, efficiency, and sustainability.
Instead of focusing on external infrastructure to support plant growth, Unfold will look within the plant itself.
“By utilizing seed genetics (germplasm) from vegetable crops, Unfold will focus on developing new seed varieties coupled with agronomic advice tailored for the unique indoor environment of vertical farms,” says Bayer.
Unfold has raised US $30 million (S$41.19 million) in its initial funding round and entered into an agreement for certain rights to germplasm from Bayer’s vegetable portfolio.
Global food challenges are forcing countries to rethink traditional farming practices, says John Vaske, Head of Agribusiness at Temasek.
“We need to ensure secure farm-to-fork supply chains in urban settings while we also work to reduce the overall environmental impact of farming. Reducing food waste and improving the safety, traceability and nutritional value of food are all the more important as populations grow and demand for food expands. Investments in companies such as Unfold allow us and our partners to support innovative, sustainable solutions that will benefit all of us over the long term,” says Vaske.
Back in 2018, Temasek acquired a 3.6% stake in Bayer for 3 billion euros (S$4.85 billion), bringing its total stake to about 4% with 31 million new shares. The share sale to Temasek was part of Bayer's efforts to fund its planned US$62.5 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.
However, according to the latest Bloomberg data, Temasek no longer appears to own a substantial stake in Bayer.
Unfold’s President and CEO Dr. John Purcell will move from his role as Head of Vegetables R&D, Crop Science at Bayer.
“As a company fully focused on the vertical farming industry, Unfold will combine leading seed genetics with the best agtech experts in order to dramatically advance productivity, flavor, and other consumer preferences,” says Purcell.
“We look forward to serving the market through partnerships with vertical farming operators, technology providers, and others across the produce supply chain.”
Prior to joining the food and agriculture industry, Purcell was a post-doctoral researcher at the United States Department of Agriculture from 1987 to 1989. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Massachusetts. Purcell is also part owner of a family ranching operation in Montana.
Vertical farms, also known as indoor farms or plant facilities with artificial light (PFAL), help crops grow more quickly while using less space and fewer natural resources.
Investment in the vertical farming market has increased significantly in recent years mainly due to decreasing arable land, increasing market demand for local, sustainable produce, and migration towards mega-cities.
Singapore’s "30 by 30" agriculture goal aims for 30% of our nutritional needs to be produced locally by 2030, though this figure is smaller than 10% currently.
According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), the 77 leafy vegetable farms here accounted for 14% of total consumption in 2019.
Lead Photo: Credit: Bayer stock photo
Precht's The Farmhouse Concept Combines Modular Homes With Vertical Farms
Architecture studio Precht has developed a concept for modular housing where residents produce their own food in vertical farms.
Architecture studio Precht has developed a concept for modular housing where residents produce their own food in vertical farms.
Architects Fei and Chris Precht, who is also the co-founder of architecture studio of Penda, developed The Farmhouse as a way to reconnect people in cities with agriculture and help them live in a more sustainable way.
Precht designed The Farmhouse as populations around the world are increasingly becoming city dwellers who have lost touch with how their food is produced, while food transportation has an increasingly damaging effect on the environment.
The conceptual modular system would allow people to grow food in residential tower blocks to eat or share with their local community.
"I think we miss this physical and mental connection with nature and this project could be a catalyst to reconnect ourselves with the life-cycle of our environment," said Chris Precht.
Prefabricated A-frame housing modules made from cross-laminated timber (CLT) would be stacked to provide flexible living spaces.
CLT is more sustainable than other low-cost building materials such as concrete because it locks in the carbon absorbed by the trees that were grown to make it.
Each of the module's wall would be made of three layers. An inner layer, facing the home interior, would hold the electricity and pipes with the surface finishes.
A layer of structure and insulation would form the middle layer, and on the outside layer would hold all the gardening elements and a water supply.
Different modules would have different types of external systems, such as hydroponic units for growing without soil, waste management systems, or solar panels to harness sustainable electricity.
Single-family users would be able to build their own homes using as many modules as they chose, or taller housing blocks could be formed by arranging the A-frames into stacked duplexes.
Each duplex would have an open plan living and kitchen space on the ground floor, with tent-shaped bedrooms on the upper floors. On the outer edges of the tower residences could have balconies.
Growing gardens would be arranged so they are either private or communal, with the inverted gaps left between modules providing V-shaped buffer zones between apartments and giving the plants natural light and ventilation.
The smallest living configuration available is just nine square metres with a 2.5-square-metre balcony. Hypothetically, Precht said, the tower could be built as tall as a city would allow.
"The system doesn't limit the height of the tower, because it is adaptable to a different thickness of structure," Chris Precht told Dezeen.
"But national regulations can limit the use of wood. In some countries like Japan, Canada, Scandinavia, Austria, UK, you can construct 18 to 30 stories and building codes around the globe are adapting fast to the use of CLT."
An indoor food market would be located on the ground floor of the tower, along with a root cellar for storing food in winter and composting units for turning food waste back into growing material.
The Prechts were motivated to design The Farmhouse system by their own experience. Two years ago they relocated from central Beijing to the mountains of Austria, where they grow their own food.
"Our motivation for The Farmhouse is personal," said Fei Precht.
"We live and work now off the grid and try to be as self-sufficient as somehow possible. We grow most of the food ourselves and get the rest from neighbouring farmers," she continued.
"We have now a very different relation to food. We are aware that this lifestyle is not an option for everyone, so we try to develop projects, that brings food back to cities."
Working as Penda, Chris Precht worked on the design of a hypothetical CLT tower for Toronto with tree-covered balconies, and a concept for a house in Germany with an interlocking green roof.
Renderings courtesy of Precht.
India Block | Dezeen | February 22, 2019
Hundreds of Millions Are Being Invested in Vertical Farms Across North America, Europe, The Middle East, Japan And Beyond
This 1st Vertical Farming World Congress will enable you to hear from leading global players and to network with key figures from across the global industry. Bringing together vertical farming operators, investors, suppliers and experts, the event aims is to debate and help advance the sector’s future
Hundreds of millions are being invested in vertical farms across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Japan, and beyond. How big can the industry grow? Will it replace traditional agriculture? Which technology is best – aeroponic, aquaponic, or hydroponic? Which crops are most profitable? Will they boost supermarkets or come directly to our homes?
This 1st Vertical Farming World Congress will enable you to hear from leading global players and to network with key figures from across the global industry. Bringing together vertical farming operators, investors, suppliers, and experts, the event aims is to debate and help advance the sector’s future.
Program highlights include:
Virtual vertical farm tours
1-1 video call networking opportunities
Market opportunity and funding insights
Industry leadership panel
Focus on aeroponics, aquaponics, hydroponics choices
Technology briefing from plant growth to robotics
Key innovator case studies
Plus funding panel, workshops, and one to one meetings.
Zenith Global’s Vertical Farming World Congress is where the world of vertical farming will meet virtually to develop the sector’s future. Make sure you secure your place to stay ahead of your competition.
For full event information and to register, visit: http://www.zenithglobal.com/events/vfwc2020
For information on sponsorship opportunities, visit www.zenithglobal.com/events/sponsorship, or contact Lisa Solovieva on e lsolovieva@zenithglobal.com t +44 (0)1225 327900
Are We Ready For Indoor Wheat Farms?
They Could Feed The World on a Fraction
of The Land Area, But at What Energy Cost?
By Emma Bryce
July 31, 2020
Bread made from high-rise farms may be a thing of the future. Researchers have found that if we started growing wheat in stacked vertical farms instead of the field, we could generate 600 times more of this grain than traditional farming methods do—all while freeing up huge amounts of land from agriculture.
But before this could become a reality, we’d need some serious technological innovation to offset the controversially high energy costs of vertical farms.
Wheat currently supplies 20% of calories and protein for the world’s population, which is projected to grow to 11 billion people by 2100. With that expanding population, we’ll need a 60% increase in the worldwide production of grain. The researchers on the new study wanted to investigate how vertical farming—the production of crops across multiple floors in enclosed buildings—could help to plug that gap.
To find out, they used a crop simulation tool called DSSAT-NWheat, which projects yield based on the simulated field conditions, incorporating inputs like temperature, light, and water. This simulation showed that if wheat were grown inside a 10-floor vertical farm, covering one hectare of ground land, and under optimal conditions, the crop could generate almost 2000 metric tons of grain per hectare. That’s about 600 times more than the current annual world average of 3.2 metrics tons per hectare. Ramping things up to simulate a 100-floor farm, the researchers showed that the vertical farm could generate 19,400 metric tons of grain per hectare —6000 times more than the average hectare of farmland produces every year.
In some countries, vertical farming is already used to produce foods like lettuce and herbs where plenty can be grown at more confined scales. But crops like wheat—which require more space and typically need a lot of sunshine—haven’t yet been commercially produced in this environment. Showing that we could grow staple crops in this way, instead of only niche foods like salad greens, is an important step.
This massively efficient production approach would generate enough food to feed an expanding world population. By growing food vertically on smaller plots of land, it could also drastically curtail farmland expansion, an enormous source of emissions, and a driver of biodiversity decline. Growing food indoors, under perfectly controlled conditions, would shield crops from the vagaries of climate change and therefore bolster food security. It would also reduce pesticide use, and limit the chances that they’d get into soil and water.
But as the researchers caution, we shouldn’t get too swept up by these possibilities: farming wheat in high-rises—such a tantalizing idea—nevertheless comes with one considerable caveat. The cost, both financially and energy-wise, of artificially lighting up the interior of a vertical farm so that crops can photosynthesize, is enormous, enough to draw a question mark around the viability of this farming method. This is a problem that already haunts vertical farming in general: considering that its image depends partly on the idea that it’s better for the environment, the high energy usage—and consequent emissions contribution—makes it somewhat controversial. The researchers also point out that most field-based cereal farming around the world is heavily subsidized to make it financially viable, so the elevated costs of vertical wheat farming would make it difficult to compete with traditional modes of production.
Innovation in energy production could go some way to closing this gap. The researchers highlight the growing potential of renewable energy to provide all the light needed to keep crops growing artificially indoors. But even so, if vertical wheat farming does take off, it’s likely to form only a tiny part of the market at first, until we figure out how to make it less costly. And in the meantime, the researchers acknowledge that there are more urgent agricultural challenges to tackle, and which we already know can improve food security and ease the pressures on our planet—such as reducing food waste, and diversifying our food sources so that we’re perhaps not so reliant on single monocrops.
Yet, it may also be the case that entirely separate forces speed up energy innovation and make vertical wheat farming a reality one day. For example, the association between wheat prices and food riots we’ve seen in the past “could be reason enough to develop and install some indoor wheat production facilities,” the researchers suggest. Climate change in regions already beset by food insecurity might also hasten the arrival of bold new farming approaches like this one.
So, while we might not quite be ready for vertical wheat farming, options like these are likely to become more important in our changing world. “Although it is unlikely that indoor wheat farming will be economically competitive with current market prices in the near future,” the researchers say, “it could play an essential role in hedging against future climate or other unexpected disruptions to the food system.”
Source: Asseng et. al. “Wheat yield potential in controlled-environment vertical farms.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2020.
New Affiliates' Testbeds Project to Build Community Buildings From Discarded Architecture Models
New York City architecture studio New Affiliates has launched an initiative to reuse large-scale models for garden sheds and community spaces in the borough of Queens
July 31, 2020
New York City architecture studio New Affiliates has launched an initiative to reuse large-scale models for garden sheds and community spaces in the borough of Queens.
New Affiliates and architect and historian Samuel Stewart-Halevy created the Testbeds project to repurpose architecture models from luxury real estate projects in the city, which are often built of durable and high-end materials but soon discarded, and turn them into community projects like garden sheds and classrooms.
An architectural model envisioned for a narrow community garden in Manhattan
The concept was developed after they realized the similar sizes between such mockup structures and existing sheds around New York. They wanted to reuse the designs that typically go to waste for projects in underserved communities.
"While mockups often consist of high-end and resilient materials, they are usually discarded after undergoing a series of reviews," the team said. "A significant amount of waste results."
Testbeds has launched a pilot program with a gabled community center in Queens
The program is a way to funnel "architectural resources from New York's luxury real estate market to neighborhoods in the outer boroughs that have been historically disinvested," it added.
A pilot program is currently underway in Queens at Edgemere Coalition Community Garden with New York City Parks' GreenThumb division that supports over 550 gardens in the city.
The mockup model sourced from condominium building 30 Warren in Tribeca will be used to create a multipurpose building for the Queens center.
Renderings of the design show a gabled building with corrugated concrete panel walls and covered outdoor walkways that link a greenhouse, community room, and tool shed. A covered patio overlooks the garden, and a chain-link fence encloses the property.
One part of the building is clad in wood inside
"The idea that you could take a fragment from 100 feet up in the air in Tribeca and put it on the ground in the Far Rockaways and someone can actually walk up to it and access it and inhabit it is exciting to us," said New Affiliates.
The team is currently raising funds for construction for later this fall and is also seeking help to discover more models and build the projects. Another site is proposed for a garden in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan with a proposal to create a small white volume in a garden between two apartment buildings.
A portion of the model will be a new greenhouse
The Testbeds project provides an example of how to save waste from architectural and design construction. In a similar project in Senegal, a school was built using test facades originally created for a hospital.
Based in Brooklyn, New Affiliates is led by Ivi Diamantopoulou and Jaffer Kolb and in 2020, the studio was awarded the American Institute of Architects' New York New Practices Award. In addition to this project, the studio has also renovated Brooklyn loft with a plywood mezzanine and built an asymmetric cabin in Vermont.
Images are courtesy of Testbeds.
The Underwater Habitat With A Greenhouse
Swiss designer Yves Behar has unveiled his design for French ocean conservationist Fabien Cousteau's underwater pressurised research station that will be "the ocean's equivalent to the International Space Station".
29-07-2020 | Msn News/ India Block
Swiss designer Yves Behar has unveiled his design for French ocean conservationist Fabien Cousteau's underwater pressurised research station that will be "the ocean's equivalent to the International Space Station".
Behar designed the station, which is called Proteus, for the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center. It will have its own greenhouse to allow scientists to grow their own food 18 metres under the sea near Curaçao, an island in the Caribbean.
Up to 12 researchers and aquanauts – scientists who remain underwater breathing pressurised air for over 24 hours – will be able to live in Proteus at a time.
Like the International Space Station, Proteus will allow scientists to collaborate and make new discoveries in an inhospitable environment.
"The research station will enable the discovery of new species of marine life, create a better understanding of how climate change affects the ocean, and allow for the testing of advanced technologies for green power, aquaculture, and robotic exploration," Behar told Dezeen.
Living underwater in a pressurised environment, rather than just diving in, allows scientists to spend far more time in the water and only decompress at the end of their assignment.
Proteus is the result of Behar's studio Fuseproject being commissioned by Cousteau, and his non-profit the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (FCOLC).
"We needed to understand the constraints that come from building underwater and the challenges of living in an underwater structure," Behar said.
"The social isolation, the humidity, the lack of light and lack of exercise all needed to be addressed," he explained. "I learned about these challenges from Fabien, who had the record as the person who lived longest in an underwater habitat."
© Provided by Dezeen Proteus by Yves Behar
Cousteau broke the record, previously set by his grandfather, with a 31-day-long stay in an underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida called Aquarius.
Behar used Cousteau's experience to inform the design of Proteus, which has two levels connected by a curving ramp with pods set around the edges.
Circular-shaped main spaces are designed to encourage teamwork and social interaction for the scientists. Pods around the perimeter are designed to hold specific laboratories, bathrooms and areas for sleeping.
"Both circular floors are offset to allow as much natural light as possible through skylights and portholes, and are connected by a sloping ramp which creates the opportunity for physical activity," said Behar.
Social spaces will be kept separate from the more humid areas of the wet labs and the moon pool – the space in an underwater habitat where occupants can access the water directly in a protected environment.
© Provided by Dezeen Proteus by Yves Behar
An underwater greenhouse will allow occupants to grow their own food, allowing them to stay underwater for longer and cope more comfortably with the confines of a pressurised environment where no open flames for cooking are allowed.
Behar deliberately gave the underwater habitat a retrofuturist vibe in keeping with the way science fiction has traditionally imagined underwater living.
"Fabien and I looked at many exploratory designs from the 60s and 70s, a golden era of interest for the oceans pioneered by the Cousteau family history," Behar told Dezeen.
"We felt that Proteus could incorporate a new visual language based on modern hull and composite building technology, as well as be a state-of-the-art scientific environment while delivering a comfortable social interior space."
In keeping with the Cousteau dynasty's ocean conservation goals, Proteus will be powered by renewable energy. The habitat will use a mixture of wind, solar, and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC), a process that produces electricity using the difference in temperature between warm water on the surface and cold water from the deep ocean.
Cousteau will head to Curaçao to map the site as soon the borders shut due to the coronavirus pandemic open, hopefully in September. Behar estimates it will then take 36 months to build and lower Proteus to the ocean floor.
Behar hopes Proteus will be one of a series of marine habitats dedicated to research and conservation. As well as scientists, the designer hopes the facility will be able to welcome civilian visitors.
"Proteus is designed to be a scientific environment, but also to create that desire in people to want to visit," he said.
"For me, it’s a lot more exciting to visit Proteus than going to Mars."
Behar embraces technology with his designs, which include plans for 3D-printed houses for impoverished farmers and a wearable UV sensor to protect against skin cancer.
The post Proteus is an underwater habitat with a greenhouse designed by Yves Behar appeared first on Dezeen.
Source: Msn News/ India Block
Photo Provided by Dezeen
Soil-Free Farming Could Prevent Future Food Insecurity
Researchers have identified a new method of soil-free farming that can help to improve food security as climate change and soil erosion limit our ability to grow crops
Researchers have identified a new method of soil-free farming that can help to improve food security as climate change and soil erosion limit our ability to grow crops.
The research, which was conducted by scientists at the University of Bristol, John Innes Centre and LettUs Grow, highlights how vertical farming can help to produce consistent crop yields, improve price stabilization and encourage food cultivation in places that are incompatible with certain crops such as the desert or the arctic.
Vertical farming is a type of indoor agriculture where crops are cultivated in stacked systems with water, lighting, and nutrient sources carefully controlled.
The researchers tested aeroponic cultivation methods which use nutrient-enriched aerosols in place of soil that is then applied directly to the roots.
This method is believed to lead to up to 70% greater yields of crops.
There are many environmental benefits of such techniques, including better use of space because vertical farms can be built in disused urban locations, fewer food miles, reduction in soil degradation and nutrient and water recapturing and recycling.
Lead-author of the study, Bethany Eldridge from the University of Bristol said: ‘Given that 80% of agricultural land worldwide is reported to have moderate or severe erosion, the ability to grow crops in a soil-free system with minimal fertilizers and pesticides is advantageous because it provides an opportunity to grow crops in areas facing soil erosion or other environmental issues.
‘We are aware that higher yields can be obtained from plants grown in aeroponic vertical farming set-ups, however, we still have relatively little knowledge about how plants grow and respond to the soil-less growing environment during aeroponic cultivation.
‘This knowledge would be important for fine-tuning the growing environment to encourage the growth of these beneficial microbes or the development of a probiotic mixture, similar to a probiotic yoghurt, that could be added as a supplement to help boost plant performance.’
Photo Credit – Pixaba y
US: NEW JERSEY - Will NJ's Million Dollar Investment In Vertical Farming Yield Long Term Growth?
Amidst the growth of urban farming projects in the US, a notable development took place earlier in June with the announcement that Jersey City, New Jersey, is to fund the construction and operation of 10 vertical farms in the city; the first municipal vertical farm program in the country
Written By: Theo Longsdon, Agritecture Intern
Amidst the growth of urban farming projects in the US, a notable development took place earlier in June with the announcement that Jersey City, New Jersey, is to fund the construction and operation of 10 vertical farms in the city; the first municipal vertical farm program in the country.
The city has partnered up with AeroFarms in a three-year contract worth $987,000 - with just over half of this sum funding the construction of the farm units and the rest covering the project’s maintenance. The farms will use aeroponics to grow a range of vegetables and will be situated at senior centers, schools, public housing complexes, and municipal buildings across the city, taking six weeks to install, and the first vegetables being ready just two weeks after.
The principal motive behind the program is the recognition that there is a growing need to enhance access to locally grown nutritious food and improve the diet and overall well being of citizens. This is in part related to the impact of Covid-19, which according to Steve Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, has had a “disproportionate impact on people with pre-existing heart conditions, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes which is directly linked to a person’s diet”. The venture will seek to counter these issues and promote a healthy, sustainable lifestyle through producing 58,000 lb of fresh vegetables over three years – roughly equating to 100,000 servings – and through holding dietary workshops and health screenings for participants. The hope is that a surge in awareness about healthy eating practices, coupled with the distribution of fresh, nutritious produce, will drive a change in people’s eating habits that leads to improvements in the wider, long-term health of the community.
The creation of jobs will be a further benefit of the program. AeroFarms are significant job providers; they have created about 120 jobs through their projects in Newark, and their new indoor vertical farming facility in Danville is projected to generate 92 jobs for the area. Whilst there has been no indication about the exact number of jobs that will be created as part of the program, with the introduction of 10 farms across the city it is clear a number of employment opportunities will arise, thus helping to stimulate economic development in the area.
Yet despite these upbeat anticipations, the cost of constructing and maintaining the 10 vertical farms is high, with the contract worth just under $1m. By AeroFarms’ own estimation the 10 farms will produce around 58,000 lb of produce over their 3 years, meaning that it will cost the city about $17 to produce one lb of produce. This is a colossal sum and represents an expensive economic venture in a time when the city faces a $70m budget shortfall as a result of Covid-19.
In such a climate, an alternative option for the city would be to invest money in supporting local farms and promoting the distribution of their produce. A quick look at local farms in the region highlights how this may be a far more cost-effective option: Alstede Farms, a 600-acre farm based in Chester Township retails a wide range of fresh organic vegetables at a significantly lower price – selling a bunch of their spinach for $2.99; a bunch of kale for $2.99; and a pound of beans for $3.99. Another organic farm in the region – Terhune Orchards - offers similarly low prices, retailing a bunch of their kale for $3.25 per bunch, a Romaine lettuce head for the same price, and a head of green cabbage for $2.95. If the city was seeking a more cost-friendly way of promoting healthy consumption patterns, then taking such an approach may have been the more viable option.
But whilst they may represent the more costly option, vertical farms hold a number of advantages over traditional soil farms. Crop yields tend to be higher, as crops can be grown all year round and conditions can be controlled to maximize growth. Having this controlled environment reduces the susceptibility to climate and local weather conditions that is a major drawback of traditional soil farming. The land area needed to cultivate the produce is far lower, as the vegetables can be stacked vertically – a major benefit at a time of increasing pressure on land. Vertical farms also use much less water as they facilitate the production of crops with 70-95% less water compared to traditional cultivation practices. Finally, the generation of local, year-round farmworker jobs is a clear advantage over conventional outdoor farms in the NJ area that depend primarily on seasonal labor. Taking such factors into account may indeed justify the higher cost of produce associated with the program.
One notable stipulation of the program is that those wanting to gain free access to the produce must partake in healthy eating workshops and quarterly health screenings. This entails the obvious risk that the city has overestimated the demand for education and health monitoring amongst Jersey City residents, which could mean that the uptake is lower than anticipated. If the demand does fall short of what the city anticipates, then issues of distribution may arise and the program’s effectiveness may be undermined. Its success will, therefore, depend to a large extent on the willingness of residents to spend time participating in these workshops and regular health screenings.
Jersey City’s newly launched program represents a pioneering attempt to combat deficiencies in access to locally grown, nutritious produce and awareness about healthy dietary patterns. The decision by the municipal body to step in and sponsor the vertical farms is ambitious and unprecedented in the US, but it also throws up some major questions. For example; will the plan of action lead to a long-term alteration in the diets and lifestyles of those involved? Do the associated benefits outweigh the cost of the program? And ultimately, is it a city’s duty to feed people through its own asset, or should it instead focus on policies, incentives, and programs that encourage the growth and support of local farms?
How Leafy Greens Growers Have Turned Food Safety Challenges Into Opportunities
Growing lettuce and other leafy greens in a controlled environment presents its own set of challenges and opportunities
July 30, 2020
Editor’s Note: This article is the second of a three-part series on food safety concerns in the production of leafy greens in a controlled environment.
Click here to check out Part One of the series, which covered the formation of the CEA Food Safety Coalition.
Growing lettuce and other leafy greens in a controlled environment presents its own set of challenges and opportunities. During United Fresh Live in June, Marni Karlin, Executive Director of the CEA Food Safety Coalition, moderated a discussion that outlined how indoor growers who make food safety a priority, rather than dismissing it as a problem unique to field-grown crops, can inadvertently create market opportunities for themselves. The panel featured growers of all types (greenhouses, vertical farms, and warehouses) and sizes. Here are a few insights from the discussion.
Don’t Overlook Irrigation and Growing Media
Jackie Hawkins, Senior Manager of Food Safety at BrightFarms, says irrigation water is likely potable if it comes from municipalities or wells. However, it can still be contaminated, so don’t assume it’s clean and forsake the necessary testing.“Test your incoming water, treat it if necessary, and test it again,” Hawkins says.
Growing media, as well, may not seem like a concern because many leafy greens producers are not growing in soil. “But the seeds might have been grown in media, so it’s important to do routine monitoring of your media as it comes into the greenhouse,” Hawkins says.
From Data Comes Solutions
Michael DeChellis, Co-Founder of Livingston Greens, a small indoor farm in Montana, says it’s critical for greenhouse producers to compile the data they’re able to collect from growing in a controlled environment to create a plan for developing a safer product.“
For small farms, working with other growers in the CEA Food Safety Coalition is a great opportunity,” DeChellis says. “Our members share data, and this culture of collaboration can help us identify ways to overcome challenges.”
For example, DeChellis cites a mold issue at Livingston Greens, which he addressed by using temperature and humidity data to highlight the problem area and the conditions that caused the problem.
Consider Design Upgrades
Simon Yevzelman, Managing Partner and Leader of Biosecurity at Planted Detroit, a vertical farm in the Motor City, says his company saw the concerns of food safety looming, so it opted to temporarily suspend production so it could enhance its production systems with food safety as a guiding principle.“
Thanks to those efforts, we are now in an expansion mode,” Yevzelman says.
Full Company Responsibility
Oscar Camacho, President of Superior Food Safety, a California-based consulting company, says any greenhouse production system should be designed to optimize best food safety practices.“
The system needs to work across the entire company,” Camacho says. “This means communication from one end of the production line to the other is critical.
Retailers and Consumers Care
Chris Livingston, General Counsel at Bowery Farming, a vertical farming company in New York, says the CEA Food Safety Coalition is currently developing a standard specific to controlled-environment production that addresses unique challenges such as water management and infrastructure.“
Our goal is to have a seal that members can use to show their customers they are complying with standards unique to our industry,” Livingston says. “We are also developing a research agenda based on food safety topics.”
Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series, which will focus on how the coronavirus pandemic added value to CEA-grown leafy greens.
Vertical Farming Congress Makes Virtue of Virtual
The first Vertical Farming World Congress will now be held online on 22-24 September, with numerous innovations to help develop an emerging community of leading producers, funders, suppliers, and customers. Its theme will be ‘Shaping Food’s Future.’
By urbanagnews
July 30, 2020
The first Vertical Farming World Congress will now be held online on 22-24 September, with numerous innovations to help develop an emerging community of leading producers, funders, suppliers and customers. Its theme will be ‘Shaping Food’s Future.’
“We already had top speakers confirmed from around the world including North America, the Middle East and Asia as well as Europe,” commented Richard Hall, Chairman of the food and drink experts Zenith Global and the event’s organiser.
“Now, instead of one vertical farm tour, we plan to offer a selection. Beyond chance encounters, it will be possible to contact other delegates and set up meetings beforehand. Questions can also be tabled in advance and sessions will be recorded for later review. Regional welcome receptions will enable introductions to other delegates from the same geographic area.
“When you add the advantages of extra people being able to attend because of no travel, time being used more flexibly and costs being substantially lower, we believe we can deliver even greater value,” Richard Hall added. “I hope attendees will be surprised how virtual can be made to feel real.”
Full programme and booking details are available at www.zenithglobal.com/events. Topics include: market opportunity; an industry leadership panel; strategic alternatives between aeroponic, aquaponic and hydroponic systems; technology briefings ranging from lighting and robotics to overall system design; a nutrition briefing; a funding panel; and key innovator case studies.
Amongst the speakers are:
• Leading producers such as 80 Acres Farms, Aero Farms, Growing Underground, Intelligent Growth Solutions, Jones Food Company, LettUs Grow, Root AI, Square Roots, The Circle, Uns Farms, Vertical Future and YesHealth
• Association heads and academics from Germany, Japan and the Netherlands
• Investment experts from Ashfords, Innovate UK and S2G Ventures. For further information, go to www.zenithglobal.com/events or contact events@zenithglobal.com
Don't Sell Yourself Short - Each Failure Is A Step Forward
Fear of failure, selling myself short, impostor syndrome, fear of outside judgment, if it won’t be perfect I don’t want to post it/make it/talk about it. The list goes on. Do any of those sound familiar to you? Well, I’ve been battling this mentality my whole life
Published on July 29, 2020
Albert Lin
Founder at VegBed | Startup Operations, Logistics, and Market Expansion Expert
[WARNING: If you have any of these following symptoms, then please read ahead. I hope what I say might help you]
Fear of failure, selling myself short, impostor syndrome, fear of outside judgment, if it won’t be perfect I don’t want to post it/make it/talk about it. The list goes on. Do any of those sound familiar to you? Well, I’ve been battling this mentality my whole life.
I see lots of success within my network and I am genuinely super happy for them as some of these people are my good friends. I want them all to succeed. But then I end up comparing myself and thinking that what I’ve done isn’t as good (or noteworthy).
But you know what? I’m really proud of what I have accomplished working on my business these last 2 years.
Some of you may or may not know, I’ve failed a lot. I tried starting up a vertical farm a few years ago after getting super obsessed with hydroponic growing. The project never came to fruition but I still wanted to start something in the space that I could bootstrap myself.
I started exploring the world of growing mediums and quickly saw that rockwool was the industry standard and dominated hydroponic farming. I wanted to create something better and more sustainable - and thus VegBed was born.
My first ever purchase of microgreen seeds was from True Leaf Market. I remember visiting their website and thinking WOW, they are the Walmart of gardening, seeds and hydroponics. I vowed one day to have my product listed on their site.
My initial attempt actually failed. I reached out to the company with a cold email soon after I had launched the bamboo fiber mats. I touted how a great sustainable alternative they were to what was on the market, sent samples, and got great feedback. I thought for sure I had a chance!
But alas, I was one of thousands of other SKUs vying for valuable stock space. After weeks of back and forth discussion and waiting for a decision, nothing ever panned out.
Fast forward almost 2 years later and through a serendipitous acquaintance, I was able to connect with one of the co-owners of the company. They really liked the product. The demand for at-home growing seemed to skyrocket during COVID and over the next 3 months, we discussed the possibility of them carrying it.
As of five days ago, I am proud to say that VegBed and True Leaf Market have partnered up to offer our bamboo fiber mats to growers everywhere!
The mats are now live on their site and I am still in shock looking at their marketing email with my product featured at the top. To see this all come full circle has been nothing short of amazing and gratifying. Like they say, this is just the beginning.
I’m hoping my story will help others to not be afraid of celebrating their accomplishments. It took me a while to have the courage just to post this, but once I started writing, things started flowing which leads me to these 4 tips:
Don’t give up (obvious, but seriously though, just put your self out there in front of potential customers).
Don’t sell yourself short - You have the ability to step back and judge what you’ve done and what you are capable of.
Do things that don’t scale - All the stuff you hate to do and want to automate, don’t worry about that in the beginning. I used to want to think big and figure out what step #100 looked like before I even made a sale yet. Don’t “play business”. Just see if people are willing to pay for your product/service first.
Celebrate other people’s accomplishments - Get rid of the negativity/jealousy/hatred. Successful entrepreneurs don’t have time to hate on others, they’re too busy trying to build their thing.
I’m hoping these tips and my story can add value to anyone that has made it this far. Until next time, keep on pushing and thanks for reading!
This Week On Green Sense Show: Controlled Environment Agriculture
Featuring innovators that are changing the world with their sustainable ideas
As the Coronavirus touches nearly every aspect of life in nearly every part of the world, how we raise food continues to innovate.
Hear the interview with our longtime correspondent Chris Higgins of Urban Ag news as he talks about the latest developments in indoor farming- greenhouses and vertical farms and how they are presenting a solution to the food supply chain during this pandemic. #verticalfarming #greenhouses #sustainability
US: MINNESOTA: North Market Installs Onsite Vertical Farm
Black-owned and operated by the nonprofit organization Pillsbury United Communities (PUC), the grocery store North Market has installed a hydroponic vertical container farm from Freight Farms onsite
Source: North Market
07.28.2020
By Emily Park
MINNEAPOLIS – Black-owned and operated by the nonprofit organization Pillsbury United Communities (PUC), the grocery store North Market has installed a hydroponic vertical container farm from Freight Farms onsite.
Built-in an upcycled shipping container and controlled by a data-driven IoT platform called farmhand, the 320-square-foot farm is located in the retailer’s parking lot.
Regardless of the season, it will provide the market’s community with fresh produce (all pesticide- and herbicide-free) year-round. Growing at commercial volume, the farm uses less than 5 gallons of water a day.
North Market will start by harvesting 11 flavorful crops: three varieties of mini compact romaine lettuces, green oakleaf, basil, Thai basil, rosemary, thyme, lemon balm, sage, and mint.
“At Pillsbury United Communities, our mission is to co-create enduring change toward a just society in which every person has personal, social, and economic power,” said Kim Pepper, chief engagement officer of PUC. “The closed-loop food ecosystem we have built around North Market is one of the ways we are working to realize this vision. Greens grown onsite in the Freight Farm are sold at North Market ensuring community access to fresh, affordable, local produce year-round. Produce that doesn’t sell is rescued, prepared, and served at our free community café."
Some of the added benefits of the onsite vertical farm include:
Elimination of food miles: the crops only travel steps from the parking lot to the store
Consistent reliability: store can produce its own line of crops for shoppers, with year-round consistency regardless of the weather or changing climate conditions in Minneapolis
Quality and freshness: by being grown hyper-locally (in this case, right onsite), produce stays fresh for far longer, reducing food waste for both the store and consumers
Cost reduction: in removing distribution costs from the equation, PUC is able to pass savings on to the consumer
Traceability & safety: the farm’s integrated IoT platform, farmhand, enables complete traceability of crops from seed to harvest
North Market also sells produce from the PUC’s other soil-based farms in the city. To get those crops to the store, bicycle couriers pick up freshly harvested food from PUC’s Southside gardens and deliver them to North Market to be sold. Completing the cycle, they also pick up surplus food and bring it back to the Southside to be distributed in community delivery meal programs. The remaining food is composted back at the Southside gardens.
Vertical Farms Could Grow All The Wheat We Need - But At A Cost
For years, vertical farming has captured headlines, including on this very website. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday shows the practice could revolutionize the world’s ability to grow wheat
July 27, 2020
For years, vertical farming has captured headlines, including on this very website. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday shows the practice could revolutionize the world’s ability to grow wheat.
The global population eats a lot of wheat. It’s the most widely grown crop in the world, and it accounts for approximately 20% of the calories and proteins in the average human diet. As the global population grows, we’ll need more of it to sustain humanity. With arable land a premium, the new study looks at if vertical farming—a method of growing crops in vertically stacked layers—could help.
To find out, the authors created two growth simulation models of a 10-layer vertical farm set up with optimal artificial light, temperatures, and carbon dioxide levels. They found that the simulation could yield up to a whopping 1,940 metric tons of wheat per hectare of ground per year. For context, the current average wheat yield is just 3.2 metric tons per hectare of land.
It makes sense that the authors would be looking into this now. Globally, one in nine people already face hunger, and the problem could become more acute as the population increases. The world could have to produce more than 60% more wheat to account for population growth. That won’t be easy; rising temperatures and other changes in growing seasons driven by the climate crisis are lowering crop yields around the world.
The new study offers an insight into how to address some of these problems. But right now, scientists are only offering simulations. Actually bringing these massive wheat crop yields to fruition would come with massive challenges.
For one, vertical farming is wildly expensive. It requires massive amounts of energy to work, especially because unlike traditional farming, it requires artificial lighting systems. The authors say their simulated systems would provide a light intensity for the crops 30 to 50% greater than directly overhead sunlight. Watering systems and technology to ensure optimal temperature and air quality conditions in these indoor environments would also be costly—not to mention energy-intensive. Depending on how the systems are powered, that could be a problem for the climate. Previous research shows that powering these systems could require vastly more energy than our current high-emissions food system.
“No one has ever attempted to grow food crops under artificial lighting that’s as strong as sunlight, much less stronger, for the simple reason that it would require too much energy,” Stan Cox, a scientist and plant breeder at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas, said in an email.
The new study’s authors note that recent innovations in solar energy are lowering the costs of electricity and lighting is becoming more efficient, but note crops grown this way are still not likely to be economically competitive with current market prices of agriculture. Cox found that to be an understatement.
“A decade ago, given the amount of light wheat plants require to produce one pound of grain, I calculated that growing the entire U.S. wheat crop indoors would consume eight times the country’s entire annual electricity output,” he said. “That was before recent advances in lighting efficiency. So, hey, maybe it would now use up only four to five times our total electricity supply! For one crop!”
Innovations in automation, the authors note, could further lower the costs of vertical farming. That may be true, but in our current economic system, that could be a problem for farmworkers, who are already seeing their pay get cut. For these reasons and more, vertical farming has been a controversial topic in agricultural and environmental circles.
The new study’s authors note that there are also many unanswered questions about growing wheat in indoor facilities. It’s not clear, for instance, what the nutritional value and quality of indoor-farmed wheat would be, or what diseases could arise in such facilities.
Though their projected crop yields are exciting, even if vertical farming does work, it can’t be the only solution to our agricultural issues. Other systemic changes, including reducing food waste, moving away from meat-centric agricultural systems, diversifying crops, and improving soil health, should also play a role.
“Under specific circumstances, and if the energy cost and profitability issues can be resolved, indoor vertical wheat farming might be attractive,” the authors conclude. “Nonetheless, the outcomes described here may contribute only a relatively small fraction (yet to be determined) of the global grain production needed to achieve global food security in the near future.”
Staff writer, Earther
Lead photo: Wheat being harvested in an open field. It could be a thing of the past someday. By, Christopher Furlong (Getty Images)
US - CHICAGO - VIDEO: Vertical Farm Wilder Fields Opening Calumet City Location
The anchor of a Calumet City strip mall at 1717 East-West Road left five years ago. Now a local small business plans to turn this red store -- Green
Wilder Fields Plans To Fully Open In 2023
By Leah Hope
CALUMET CITY, Ill. (WLS) -- A vertical farm is coming to the south suburbs.
The anchor of a Calumet City strip mall at 1717 East-West Road left five years ago. Now a local small business plans to turn this red store -- green.
"We'll be growing a whole range of leafy green, many of which may be familiar to the consumer, many of which the consumer has never tasted," Wilder Fields Founder Jake Counne said. "We're really excited to blow people's minds with varieties they've never had."
Wilder Fields operates a vertical farm in Chicago and will open a larger location in the south suburbs, selling produce locally to residents, restaurants, and markets by making use of all the space, floor to ceiling.
"To be able to take big-box space like this and reintroduce jobs that might have been lost, boosting the foot traffic that might have been lost ... to come in and revitalize that corridor is really exciting for us," Counne said.
The red paint was from the previous tenant. Target had been there for 20 years but closed in 2015.
For those in the area, a small business growing produce and adding jobs is welcomed news.
"Twenty four acres of farmland in the 135,000-square-foot building is pretty exciting when you think about it," Mayor Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush said.
Calumet City 7th Ward Alderman Anthony Smith agrees.
"We've been a food desert for a number of years so this actually fills that void," Smith said. "(It) allows us to get fresh produce and at an affordable price and bring jobs."
Residents think it's a great idea, too.
"To have an indoor farm that we can come to year-round will be phenomenal," Vicki Brown said
Wilder Fields plans to start production next year and be fully operational in 2023, with not only retail space but an Education Center to show how their organic greens are grown year-round indoors vertically.
RELATED TOPICS:
business calumet city food grocery
Dutch PlantLab Raises € 20 Million In First External Investment Round
’This injection of capital will enable us to open up additional production sites and further perfect our technology’, explains Michiel Peters, CEO of PlantLab
Production Sites For Vertical Farming Rolled Out On a Global Scale
Den Bosch (the Netherlands), 22 July 2020 – Dutch scale-up PlantLab has raised a first external investment of € 20 million from De Hoge Dennen Capital. The company has developed a globally patented technology for ‘vertical farming’, a hyper-efficient method for growing vegetables and fruits. It will use the injection of capital to open indoor production sites in various countries, including the Netherlands, US, and the Bahamas.
PlantLab management team: Leon van Duijn (founder), Marcel Kers (founder), Michiel Peters (CEO), John van Gemert (founder) and Frank Roerink (CFO)
Over the last 10 years, PlantLab has succeeded in developing an innovative and revolutionary technology for hyper-efficient urban farming, which is already being successfully applied in a commercial production site in Amsterdam. The new technology makes it possible to grow fresh, healthy, and delicious vegetables on a large scale very close to the consumer without using any chemical crop protection agents. On a surface area the size of only two football fields, it is now possible to produce enough crops to feed a city of 100,000 residents with 200 g of vegetables each on a daily basis.
Innovative solutions
’This injection of capital will enable us to open up additional production sites and further perfect our technology’, explains Michiel Peters, CEO of PlantLab. ‘The increasing population of the planet and the climate crisis are posing new and enormous challenges to the production of food for the world’s population. We have no choice but to grow our food more sustainably and efficiently, and that demands innovative and revolutionary solutions.’
Left: Michiel Peters, right: Plant Production Unit Manager Tobias Glimmerveen pinching tomato plants
PlantLab’s production sites can be set up anywhere in the world, even on barren land or urban areas. Thanks to optimized temperature, moisture, and light control, the crops grow to their full potential, while water use is reduced by as much as 95%. Light is provided by specially developed LEDs that provide the specific wavelength needed by the plant for photosynthesis. ‘Our technology makes it possible to grow crops anywhere in the world very close to the consumer. The crops then no longer need to be transported over long distances. The result: less CO2 emissions, lower cost, and less food waste’, says Peters.
Making a difference
De Hoge Dennen is part of the investment company founded by the De Rijcke family, the former owners of Kruidvat. The company has made previous investments in the online supermarket Picnic, the salad producer De Menken Keuken, and the electric bicycle brand QWIC. CFO Jelle Roodbeen: ‘We are convinced that PlantLab’s technology will make a real difference on a global level. It will make healthy and delicious vegetables affordable and accessible to everyone, in an environmentally friendly and sustainable fashion’.
In addition to the injection of capital by De Hoge Dennen, CFO Frank Roerink and CEO Michiel Peters are joining the scale-up company to strengthen the management team, which also includes the founding partners Leon van Duijn, Marcel Kers and John van Gemert. PlantLab has its vertical farming R&D centre, the biggest of its kind anywhere in the world, in Den Bosch, and a commercial production site in Amsterdam. PlantLab already employs over 60 people.
About PlantLab
PlantLab specializes in technology for innovative urban farming and aims to supply the planet with a sustainable source of food for the future. The company was founded in 2010 in Den Bosch with the goal of revolutionizing the production of food for our planet. Over the last 10 years, the company has already invested € 50 million in the development of technology that makes it possible to grow healthy, day fresh vegetables close to the consumer anywhere in the world without the use of chemical crop agents sustainably and environmentally friendly, while at the same time reducing water consumption to an absolute minimum. Enough crops can be grown on an area no bigger than two football fields to supply a city of 100,000 residents with 200 g of fresh vegetables every day. As the new technology can be used all year all over the world, it also makes it possible to radically rethink and restructure the logistics chain. The benefits: superior product quality, longer shelflife, much less food wastage, and no CO2 emissions or nuisance associated with long-distance transport. PlantLab aims to make its revolutionary technology accessible to everyone and therefore bring fresh and sustainably grown food within reach for everyone.
For more information:
PlantLab www.plantlab.com
info@plantlab.com
Feeding The World With Controlled Environments
The fallout from increasing global temperatures, a worldwide pandemic, and political unrest is causing projection reductions for crop yields in some countries as much as 50% this year, and small-scale farmers are the most affected with crop net revenues falling by as much as 90% by 2100
This case study, written by Gene Giacomelli and Eric Roth for Agritecture, takes a look at how CEA has emerged as a viable, contemporary agricultural practice over the past 50 years. Here’s how it happened!
The fallout from increasing global temperatures, a worldwide pandemic, and political unrest is causing projection reductions for crop yields in some countries as much as 50% this year, and small-scale farmers are the most affected with crop net revenues falling by as much as 90% by 2100. The consumer preference for consistent, year-round availability of produce has expanded because of the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry, even surviving the recession of 2008. “That indicates to me, that no matter what the next recession brings, CEA food production systems will be firmly entrenched in U.S. agriculture production practices,” says Gene Giacomelli, Professor of Biosystems Engineering and former Director of CEAC at The University of Arizona.
CEA has emerged as a viable, contemporary agricultural practice over the past 50 years. There have been dramatic improvements in efficiency metrics including overall crop yield per square unit and reduction of wastage due to disease, nutrient deficiency, or damage to the product. From Space to Antarctica; from rooftop greenhouses to rural farms worldwide, CEA has proven itself to be not only a complement to open field crop production, but in some instances, a competitive alternative (or in the case of Space and Antarctica the ONLY) approach. Today, more than 60% of all fresh tomatoes consumed in the U.S. are grown in controlled environments and that number approaches 100% during the North American winter. Here’s how it happened...
In the 1990s, the U.S. greenhouse production shifted from its infancy to a steady supplier of fresh produce. While greenhouses use the sun as their main source of light, they can also make use of supplemental lighting for additional growth. This advantage, along with the ability to control and protect the growing environment, encouraged large farming corporations to enter the space in the Northeast, Arizona, Colorado, California, and Texas. Environmental control enabled these early adopters to produce crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuces year-round. During the same time, small family farms were often adding greenhouses to complement their traditional open-field production.
During the next decade, the major suppliers of field-grown vegetables in Canada and Mexico also began focusing on greenhouse production. The 2000’s firmly established CEA vegetable production as a viable commercial growing method.
In the 2010’s, vertical farming became more mainstream when Dr. Dickson Despommier published the book, The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century. Vertical farms are essentially plant factories, with multi-level grow systems in insulated buildings using only electrical light instead of sunlight for plant growth. Although there were most likely small scale vertical farms before it, Sky Greens in Singapore was the first vertical farm to begin large scale commercial operations in 2012. Vertical farming became more commercially viable largely because of the advancing technology of Light Emitting Diodes (LED). These distributed light sources are less energy-intensive than the industry standard high-intensity discharge lamps, but more importantly, allow growers to move lights closer to the crop without burning or overheating. This enabled business developers to stack hydroponic grow systems, producing significantly more greens in increasingly smaller spaces. Now confined urban areas where arable land is very limited, could become producers of locally-grown, fresh food.
Protected cultivation has been in America at some level for two centuries, but what technological advancements made feeding the world with controlled environments possible?
Plastics
Polymer plastics such as polyethylene began providing a low-cost, energy-efficient film covering for greenhouses. This lowered the financial barrier to entry by creating more affordable greenhouses, thereby allowing unestablished growers to gain experience with a much lower investment than traditional glass-covered greenhouses. The plastic films dropped the investment cost significantly, while the more rigid, molded plastics improved operational metrics like production capacity, labor efficiency, and biosecurity.
Molded plastics also provided light-weight,easily-sanitized crop handling with trays, pots/flats, and clamshells for the packaging, among other things. Molded plastics further created light-weight structural channels, containers and benches which supported the plant and its root zone within hydroponic nutrient delivery systems, and even provided transport systems for improved labor and logistics management. Fully outfitted climate-controlled CEA plastic film boxes provided lettuce and greens production for the International Space Station.
Microprocessors
The microprocessor with its accuracy, consistency, data storage and simultaneous interpretation of multiple types and number of sensors has allowed the grower to tend more to plant production and much less to environmental control. No longer must the grower walk the greenhouse each morning to adjust the ventilation openings based on a guess of the day to be sunny, rainy or cold. Sensors are available to determine critical environmental plant needs and to make precise responses to air temperature and humidity for VPD (vapor pressure deficit) which affects plant transpiration and photosynthesis; light intensity with quantum sensors to determine DLI (daily light integral) which is directly related to desired growth or production rates; and, pH and EC which affects plant nutrient availability. When all combined, the grower is provided an improved understanding of the plant response to its environment. All this can be obtained on request in real-time by cellphone or within a report upon early morning arrival of the grower to the greenhouse each day.
Even more valuable is the capability of the computer to save data and further process it into useful information, which directs better grower decisions. Expect additional sensor development and implementation in the future to provide higher quality information about the food products, such as its flavor, sweetness, or nutritional quality.
The automation of information, although critically important, may become second in importance to labor-saving automation. Labor is often a farm’s biggest expense and the agricultural talent pool is limited nearly everywhere, but a high-tech farm’s food safety and security are dramatically enhanced when human contact with the edible product is reduced or eliminated. Production system automation that removes the need for people to work in groups on production lines is becoming crucial within this new world of viral pandemics.
There are still many advancements to be made in CEA. Technologies and experiences were transferred from the established greenhouse industry and applied to the developing indoor vertical farming industry. From LED lighting ‘recipes’ to plant nutrition under those recipes; from materials handling and logistics to labor management, years of R&D are required to reach optimal solutions for the plethora of combinations of plant cultivars, stages of growth, and harvest expectations within each type of CEA system.
The challenges remain for educating the people managing and operating the controlled environments. Educated employees working within a production process that is logistically sound, labor efficient, and task friendly are critical considerations for successful CEA businesses. Even with automation, the required work of skilled employees will remain, but at a higher educational level and a lower quantity.
In the future, it’s entirely possible that a CEA system will be able to autonomously program itself, or modify the plant environment without being directed, but for now, the plant production experience of an educated grower or crop manager is still required even in the most high-tech operations. Additional developments for successful CEA businesses include breeding of plant cultivars optimized for CEA production; emphasizing the importance of marketing; valuing employee education and experience; accepting that growing plants is a skill and an art; and, understanding basic physical principles that follow the laws of physics and biology!
CEA is still in such an early stage of commercial viability, but the blueprints for successful ventures continue to be created by intelligent and increasingly well-equipped entrepreneurs. As we look at the timeline of its commercial origins, to the critical technologies that made it work, we can see how far it's come, but also the potential the future holds for feeding the world with controlled environments.
Have you participated in the 2020 Global CEA Census? Autogrow and Agritecture Consulting have launched their 2nd Annual Global CEA Census, focusing on understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on controlled environment agriculture (CEA) operations around the world. The 2020 Global Census runs from July 7th to August 10th. Those who complete the census are entered to win different prizes from Agritecture and Autogrow.
Publication date: Fri 24 Jul 2020