Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
Hydro Farms Raises Fresh Funds and Releases New Products
With roots in the Egyptian hydroponic farming sector since 2012, Hydro Farms is one of the first to implement hydroponic planting in Egypt.
by WAYA Staff - Aug 31, 2020
With roots in the Egyptian hydroponic farming sector since 2012, Hydro Farms is one of the first to implement hydroponic planting in Egypt. Hydro Farms started working to revolutionize the farming industry in Egypt and bring clean, quality products to the market, farm-to-table. Hydro Farms recently raised funds from angel investors in Egypt and the Gulf region which contributed to the next phase of the brand’s expansion plan after years of evolving Hydro Farms’ products through extensive research and development.
The team behind Hydro Farms not only strives for excellence within their own products but also shares its years of expertise with more than 10 Egyptian farms and it has greatly aided in improving their product quality and overall team performance. Hydro Farms is currently growing 30+ varieties of produce that are unique in the market which is more inclined to growing leafy greens.
Now more than ever, Egypt and the whole world needs to divert their farming methods in order to become more eco-friendly especially when it comes to water consumption; hydroponically grown crops use 90% less water compared to traditional methods as well as a great shrink in land size and growing more food with higher quality and much fewer resources.
Hydro Farms is planning to play a bigger role in the community. With a special focus on educational events that start with school trips to enlighten children about the importance of sustainable farming, participation in wellness retreats to encourage people to grow their own produce at home, and farm trips to reveal the level of technology currently achieved by Hydro Farms.
“We started this 8 years ago, now it’s time to take it to the next level!” says Adel El Shentenawy, Hydro Farms’founder; “we’re an exceptional start-up with a combined experience of 8 years and an incredible amount of passion and hard work put into the company has helped us pull through and thrive in the toughest and most challenging times for a company or a startup”.
As a first milestone in the large scale expansion plan, Hydro Farms will be releasing PERET; an exclusive range of fresh produce never seen before in Egypt at Gourmet “A premium quality grocery store franchise”.
The range will be featuring an array of colorful heirloom tomatoes that used to be imported for very high prices like the San Marzano, Choco-Mato, or Chocolate Tomatoes and Golden Sweet as well as a new range of exotic peppers and chili peppers with a promise of more exciting varieties. This release is a planned buildup to a nationwide release. Hydro Farms is aiming to expand the territory of their market to reach the shelves of international grocery stores as it offers a year-long variety of fresh produce that is made with the highest standards and attention to detail. By moving outside of Egypt Hydro Farms is hoping to bring back Egyptian agriculture brands to their peak of glory.
CubicFarms Announces Sale of Control Rooms To Global Agtech Leader, Terramera
In June, CubicFarms offered its Control Room system for sale to growers requiring complete control over the growing environment that is so crucial for high crop yields and quality
VANCOUVER, BC, AUGUST 31, 2020 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV:CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the sale of three Control Rooms to Terramera, a global agtech leader transforming how food is grown and the economics of agriculture. Terramera is a British Columbia-based company on a mission to reduce global synthetic pesticide use 80 percent by 2030 with its revolutionary Actigate™ technology platform, named a 2020 World-Changing Idea by Fast Company.
In June, CubicFarms offered its Control Room system for sale to growers requiring complete control over the growing environment that is so crucial for high crop yields and quality. Each CubicFarms Control Room is assembled inside a proprietary stainless steel, fully insulated growing chamber with the option to customize features such as lighting, automated irrigation, and nutrient delivery, providing full climate control for temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. The system has a variety of sensors available, all of which can be remotely monitored and controlled.
Dr. Travis Good, Terramera’s Chief Technology Officer commented, “We required a closed space with precise controls to isolate each environmental variable and produce uniform, plentiful and high-quality plants for our research. CubicFarms’ Control Room system is an ideal solution and helps us scale our Actigate™ technology with the goal of dramatically reducing the use of synthetic pesticides in agriculture.”
CubicFarms CEO Dave Dinesen commented, “We are pleased to call Terramera a customer as we share the same strategic investor, Ospraie Ag Science, and vision to transform how food is grown with the use of leading-edge technology. Terramera is a natural fit for a synergistic partnership in the future as both companies look to develop our machine learning and AI capabilities to further advance our respective technologies.”
Photos: The CubicFarms Control Room, complete with LED light fixtures, an automated heating, cooling and ventilation system, and wired environmental controls.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor it’s Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
About CubicFarm® Systems Corp.
CubicFarm Systems Corp. (“CubicFarms”) is a technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary technologies enable growers around the world to produce high quality, predictable crop yields. CubicFarms has two distinct technologies that address two distinct markets. The first technology is its patented CubicFarms™ system, which contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops. Using its unique, undulating-path growing system, the Company addresses the main challenges within the indoor farming industry by significantly reducing the need for physical labour and energy, and maximizing yield per cubic foot. CubicFarms leverages its patented technology by operating its own R&D facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, selling the system to growers, licensing its technology, and providing vertical farming expertise to its customers.
The second technology is CubicFarms’ HydroGreen system for growing nutritious livestock feed. This system utilizes a unique process to sprout grains, such as barley and wheat, in a controlled environment with minimal use of land, labour and water. The HydroGreen system is fully automated and performs all growing functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding – all with the push of a button – to deliver nutritious livestock feed without the typical investment in fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, field equipment and transportation. The HydroGreen system not only provides superior nutritious feed to benefit the animal, but also enables significant environmental benefits to the farm.
About Terramera
Terramera is a global agtech leader fusing science, nature, and artificial intelligence to transform how food is grown and the economics of agriculture in the next decade. With its revolutionary Actigate™ technology platform, which was recognized by Fast Company as a 2020 World Changing Idea, Terramera is committed to reducing the global synthetic pesticide load 80% by 2030 to protect plant and human health and ensure an earth that thrives and provides for everyone. The privately-held, venture-backed company was founded in 2010 and has grown to include a world-class bench of engineers, scientists, advisors, and investors. Terramera is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with integrated operations in Canada, the US, and India that include research labs, a greenhouse and farm, and more than 240 patents in its global IP portfolio. For more information, please visit terramera.com
Cautionary statement on forward-looking information
Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to CubicFarms’ future partnership with Terramera; and the development of machine learning and AI capabilities by CubicFarms. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of CubicFarm Systems Corp., or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information including the Company obtaining the approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict", and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur, or be achieved.
These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except as required by securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if the Company's expectations regarding future events, performance, or results change.
Information contact:
Kimberly Lim
VP, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Mobile: 236.858.6491
Office: 1.888.280.9076
Email: kimberly@cubicfarms.com
Singapore’s Giant Vertical Farm Grows 80 Tons of Vegetables Every Year
The farm was founded by Panasonic, and it uses LED lights to quickly and efficiently grow produce indoors without depending on unpredictable weather conditions. Panasonic believes indoor farming is a key to the future that could solve food supply issues worldwide
by Lacy Cooke
This vertical farm in Singapore grows a whopping 80 tons of veggies every single year. The farm was founded by Panasonic, and it uses LED lights to quickly and efficiently grow produce indoors without depending on unpredictable weather conditions. Panasonic believes indoor farming is a key to the future that could solve food supply issues worldwide.
Panasonic started their indoor farm in a 2,670 square foot space and initially produced 3.6 tons of vegetables per year. But the company’s Agriculture Business Division assistant manager Alfred Tham recently told Business Insider that the farm has quadrupled its square footage and food output.
Vertical farming allows Panasonic to make the most of the warehouse space, although they do grow their plants in soil in contrast to many vertical farms. They source their LED lights from a local company. Rather than depending on sunlight or rain showers, the farmers can control the indoor farm’s climate – including pH levels, temperature, and oxygen.
40 varieties of crops grow in the indoor farm – from mizuna to romaine lettuce, mini red radishes, and Swiss chard. But the goal is to start cultivating 30 additional varieties by March of this year. Right now the flourishing farm accounts for just 0.015 percent of produce grown in the country, but Panasonic hopes to boost that statistic up to five percent. As Singapore currently imports more than 90 percent of its food, indoor farms could enable the island nation to become more self-sufficient.
Panasonic is selling the indoor farm’s produce under the brand name Veggie Life, and a three-ounce bowl of greens goes for around $5 in grocery stores. They also sell their produce to local restaurants.
Via Business Insider
Lifestyle Food Sustainable Agriculture, Food, Gardening, News, Sustainable
Urban Farming: Four Reasons It Should Flourish Post-Pandemic
Since lockdown, public interest in growing fruit and vegetables at home has soared. Seed packets are flying off shelves and allotment waiting lists are swelling, with one council receiving a 300% increase in applications
Since lockdown, public interest in growing fruit and vegetables at home has soared. Seed packets are flying off shelves and allotment waiting lists are swelling, with one council receiving a 300% increase in applications. Fear of food shortages will have motivated some, but others with more time on their hands at home will have been tempted by the chance to relieve stress doing a wholesome family activity.
The seeds of enthusiasm for home-grown food may have been sown, but sustaining this is essential. Urban farming has much to offer in the wake of the pandemic. It could help communities boost the resilience of their fresh fruit and vegetable supplies, improve the health of residents and help them lead more sustainable lifestyles.
Here are four reasons why food growing should become a perennial feature in our gardens, towns and cities after COVID-19.
1. Growing greener towns and cities
More than half of the global population lives in urban areas, and this is expected to rise to 68% by 2050. For the UK, this is even higher – nine out of 10 people are expected to live in towns and cities by this time.
Weaving food growing into the fabric of urban life could bring greenery and wildlife closer to home. The COVID-19 lockdown helped reawaken interest in growing at home, but one in eight UK households have no access to a garden. Thankfully, the opportunities for urban farming extend beyond these: rooftops, walls – and even underground spaces, such as abandoned tunnels or air raid shelters, offer a range of options for expanding food production in cities while creatively redeveloping the urban environment.
Edible rooftops, walls, and verges can also help reduce flood risk, provide natural cooling for buildings and streets, and help reduce air pollution.
Paris hosts the largest urban rooftop farm in Europe. EPA-EFE/Mohammed Badra
2. Resilient food supplies
Diversifying where and how we grow our food helps spread the risk of disruption to food supplies.
The UK’s reliance on imports has been growing in recent decades. Currently, 84% of fruit and 46% of vegetables consumed in the UK are imported. Brexit and COVID-19 could threaten the steady supply, while the problems created by climate change, such as water scarcity, risk disrupting imports of food from abroad.
Growing fruit and vegetables in towns and cities would help resist these shocks. The harvest labour shortages seen during the pandemic might not have been felt as keenly if urban farms were growing food right where people live.
Vertical and underground crops are more resilient to extreme weather or pests, indoor growing environments are easier to control than those in the field, and temperature and humidity is more stable underground. The high start-up costs and energy bills for this type of farming has meant that indoor farms currently produce a small number of high-value crops, such as leafy greens and herbs. But as the technology matures, the diversity of produce grown indoors will expand.
À lire aussi : Vertical farms offer a bright future for hungry cities
3. Healthier lives
Getting out into nature and gardening can improve your mental health and physical fitness. Our research suggests that getting involved in urban food growing, or just being exposed to it in our daily lives, may also lead to healthier diets.
Urban growers may be driven to make healthier food choices for a whole range of reasons. They have greater access to fresh fruit and vegetables and getting outdoors and into nature can help reduce stress, making people less likely to make unhealthy food choices. Our study suggested that urban food growing can also help change attitudes towards food, so that people place more value in produce that’s sustainable, healthy, and ethically sourced.
4. Healthier ecosystems
While urbanization is regarded as one of the biggest threats to biodiversity, growing food in towns and cities has been shown to boost the abundance and diversity of wildlife, as well as protect their habitats.
A recent study found that community gardens and allotments act as hotspots for pollinating insects, because they tend to contain a diverse range of fruiting and native plants.
Vegetables, like this courgette, can produce flowers for pollinators to enjoy. Natakim/Shutterstock
If designed and implemented properly, allotments and community gardens can really benefit biodiversity. Not only should barren spaces be converted into green and productive plots, it’s also important that there are connections between these environments to help wildlife move between them.
Canals and cycle paths can act as these wildlife corridors. As we begin to diversify the spaces used to grow food, particularly those on our rooftops and underground, an exciting challenge will be finding novel ways of connecting them for wildlife. Green bridges have been shown to help wildlife cross busy roads – perhaps similar crossings could link rooftop gardens.
All these reasons and more should compel us to scale up food production in towns in cities. COVID-19 has given us cause to reevaluate how important local urban green spaces are to us, and what we want from our high streets, parks, and pavements. Judging by the garden center sales, allotment lists, and social media, many people have decided they want more fruit and veggies in those spaces. The opportunity is there for urban planners and developers to consider what bringing farming to urban landscapes could offer.
Lead photo: Joshua Resnick/Shutterstock
Déclaration d’intérêts
Senior Research Associate in Physical Geography, Lancaster University
Does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Chair Professor in Sustainability, Lancaster University
Receives funding from the UK Research and Innovation Council and the European Commission. The research described here was funded under the Global Food Security’s ‘Resilience of the UK Food System Programme’, with support from BBSRC, ESRC, NERC, and The Scottish Government (BB/S01425X/1).
USA: VIRGINIA - Hull Street Indoor Urban Farm Launches Sales In September
In 2016, Ferguson started his tech-driven farming business Nouveau Farms in the quiet of his basement. An engineer by day, Ferguson says he began researching how to grow his own food after he realized that imported, out-of-season produce was not what he wanted to feed his family
Trevor Ferguson is now accepting orders from his Hull Street indoor hydroponic farm, Nouveau Farms. Scott Elmquist
While most farmers fight daily against the peccadilloes of ever-abrasive Mother Nature, Trevor Ferguson battles only market demands and water flow inside his hydroponic urban farm.
In 2016, Ferguson started his tech-driven farming business Nouveau Farms in the quiet of his basement. An engineer by day, Ferguson says he began researching how to grow his own food after he realized that imported, out-of-season produce was not what he wanted to feed his family.
Once the left-brained Ferguson started learning about hydroponics, he was hooked. For those unfamiliar with the ’ponic world, this type of horticulture forgoes soil and instead uses mineral nutrient solutions, light, oxygen and filtered, freshwater to grow plants as much as 50% faster than those grown in the great outdoors.
“When you start eating those greens and those herbs, you can taste the difference,” Ferguson says. “It sort of changed my whole perspective.”
Ferguson started with an eight-tower wall garden, growing microgreens, salad greens, and herbs like mint, chive, and basil. “I’m originally from the Bahamas and we had fruit trees in the backyard,” Ferguson says. “I would go and get mangoes right off the tree, so that’s where that connection comes from.”
While still working his 9 to 5 as a natural gas infrastructure development manager, Ferguson carved out time for hydroponic training courses, moving his small underground operation into his garage. He started the commercial rollout of Nouveau Farms in January. As of Tuesday, Sept. 1, you can order your microgreens and mint directly from Ferguson’s 800-square-foot Hull Street indoor farm.
“I surely hope this turns into a full-time thing,” Ferguson says. “I am building this for the long run, making long-term investments. People who go into farming know it isn’t to get rich quick, I won’t become a millionaire.”
Ferguson says when the business launched at the beginning of 2020, the goal was to provide major suppliers with bulk orders. “That sort of bottomed out for us.” Like the rest of the world operating during the pandemic, he readjusted his business model. And, a bit serendipitously, Ferguson says he likes this initial direct-to-consumer approach better.
“People have been so disconnected from their food for such a long time,” he says. “The pandemic has made people realize how important it is to have food security.” Ferguson wishes he were “further ahead” in his rollout plan, simply so he could meet the needs of the people in his community. “One of the things I’m hyper-focused on is that whatever we grow and supply, we need to be cost-competitive.”
So while his salad greens will damn sure be more flavorful than the imported grocery store stuff that’s grown primarily for hardiness, Ferguson isn’t going to charge people an exorbitant price. “If you’re buying a bag of red romaine from me, it will be the same price as any place else,” he assures.
The Hull Street farm is currently catering to individual consumers and pledges that all produce is harvested within 24 hours of delivery. Customers can place orders online (nouveaufarms.com) Sundays-Fridays, with free deliveries to those within 15 miles on Saturdays.
In addition to the Hull Street business, Ferguson also has his sights set on a truly halcyon, pastoral dream: a sprawling farmhouse located on 7 acres in Varina, situated amongst a vineyard, strawberry patches, and a space allotted to weekend farmers markets.
Only seven minutes from Richmond’s city center, Nouveau Farms & Vineyard consists of three abutting lots, with the farmhouse to the far left, the middle lot devoted to grape-growing, and the far lot serving as an active farm open to the public. A huge undertaking, yes, but Ferguson is ready for the challenge.
“The Varina farm is going to be strawberry heaven,” Ferguson laughs. He says that one impetus to grow his own food was to create the best berries for his daughter. “We would go to the grocery store and she loves strawberries and we would buy them on a weekly basis, but it was really hit or miss.”
The Nouveau Farms berries will all be hits, with Ferguson using “a bit of hydroponics” plus traditional farming methods to grow his fruits de terre. “We won’t be in the soil – we will use a hybrid version of soil with a mix of peat moss, plus good drainage. And we’ll be feeding nutrients straight to the berries.”
Ferguson says he will be experimenting with a couple of different berry varieties and will solicit help from the public to choose which berry is best — he’s hoping the farm will be able to institute weekend pick-your-own days for families, too.
By 2022, Ferguson plans to have weekend farmers’ markets in addition to events and weddings – the backdrop is a bridal dream. “We’ll have smoothies made of our fresh fruit, people can enjoy a glass of wine and play cornhole,” Ferguson muses.
He can see it now: a weekend reset on the farm before heading back into the city for the daily grind. Now all he needs are some mango trees.
Follow Nouveau Farms on Instagram for updates about produce, purchasing, and when the farm will be ready for strawberry picking.
Gotham Greens Produces Sustainably Farmed Lettuce In Stapleton
What was once the Stapleton Airport runway is now sprouting sustainably grown greens. Brooklyn, New York-based Gotham Greens has opened its high-tech urban greenhouse
Look for the urban greenhouse’s lettuces, basil, salad dressings, and pesto at Alfalfa’s, Safeway, and Whole Foods locations in the Denver metro area.
By Allyson Reedy • 5280 | July 20, 2020
What was once the Stapleton Airport runway is now sprouting sustainably grown greens. Brooklyn, New York-based Gotham Greens has opened its high-tech urban greenhouse next to Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace, and is out to woo Front Rangers with local basil, greens, salad dressings, and pesto.
Gotham Greens’ aim is to provide high-quality local product on a national scale, bolstering the food supply chain by stocking cities with fresh greens grown right there in the area. The company started in Brooklyn in 2011 and has slowly expanded, with the Aurora greenhouse marking its eighth—and furthest west—location. The 30,000-square-foot facility will provide two million heads of lettuce to the Rocky Mountain region each year, as well as serve as the company’s flagship site on this side of the country. Because the greens are grown and sold locally, the products are fresher when they get to your kitchen, and because the plants are grown hydroponically, Gotham Greens’ produce uses 95 percent less water and 97 percent less land than traditional soil-based produce.
“The technology enables us to have perfect conditions for our plants,” says director of community and partnership marketing Nicole Baum. “Our plants are very spoiled. They’re very coddled.”
That technology includes curtains to create a natural SPF for the plants, as well as to shade them from the sun or lock in heat in the winter. The temperature-controlled space, which is typically set at 75 degrees with 70 percent humidity, can even create different climates depending on where you are in the greenhouse. Basil, for example, likes it a couple degrees warmer than the lettuces. The misting system works overtime in Colorado’s dry climate to inject moisture into the air.
Unique to this Centennial State location are two new-to-Gotham varieties of lettuce: the crispy green leaf, a hardier and more nutrient-dense alternative to romaine, and Rocky Mountain Crunch, a toothsome green whose leaves grow in a rose-like pattern.
You can buy both of those lettuces, along with eight other types of lettuce, basil, salad dressings (don’t miss the Vegan Goddess), and pesto, at Alfalfa’s, Safeway, and Whole Foods locations in the Denver metro area, but you’ll also find Gotham Greens products at an increasing number of local restaurants. At neighboring Stanley Marketplace, Annette and Comida use the greens, and owner Tommy Lee nabbed the crispy green leaf lettuce for his menus at Uncle and Hop Alley.
“We like working with chefs who care about where the food comes from, and luckily in Colorado there’s a lot of them,” Baum says.
Thanks to the greenhouse’s ideal year-round growing conditions, it takes only about a month for seeds to metamorpihize into those verdant, leafy greens. Which means you’ll probably be seeing a lot more of Gotham Greens’ locally-grown produce in grocers and restaurants around town—even through winter.
Lead Photo: by Allyson Reedy
THAILAND: "We Are Lacking Research Here To Backup The Benefits of Indoor Growing"
Thai startup Wangree Fresh has been in the market for over two years now. Krisana Tamvimol, Founder and CEO has done research on more than 200 local vegetables
Thai startup Wangree Fresh has been in the market for over two years now. Krisana Tamvimol, Founder and CEO has done research on more than 200 local vegetables. Eventually, he decided to grow four different vegetables in his Wangree Fresh farm: kale, spinach, rockets and swiss chard. Wangree Fresh has had no problems with incoming orders during the pandemic.
He says: “We’ve had an increase in orders as people wanted more clean and home-delivered vegetables, in the comfort of their own house. Having reached our capacity, we haven’t been able to grow any further beyond that. Now with the pandemic, our company growth is put on hold as we cannot get into new investments and expand our business to meet the growing demand. Our supplies are still constant and we will keep producing at maximum capacity.”
Founder and CEO, Krisana Tamvimol
Under construction
The Siam Pun Sun factory, an 1800 m2 farm, will supply 50 tons of vegetables per month. The construction is about 80% completed and will be fully completed at the end of this year. The new farm is looking into giving educational courses as well. Wangree Fresh will provide educational courses on the new property as well. “I want to share my knowledge of vertical farming and my researches. So, I would love to train more people and teach them more about vertical farming so they can become engineers, scientists, or other”, Tamvimol adds.
The farm's end result
It is no coincidence that Tamvimol has established his new farm there. The farm will be located nearby the Wat Pra Baht Nam Phu temple, which is 120km north of Bangkok. The temple is run by monks who are treating people with medical needs and therefore many underprivileged people are relying on their help.
Tamvimol sees the new farm as a corporate social responsibility project because, once the construction has been completed and the net revenue has come in, all revenue will go directly to the temple. “This will help with the operations of the temple and its maintenance, so the temple won’t be in need of donors anymore. Essentially, the temple will return Siam Pun Suk’s fresh produce to its formal donors as a sign of gratitude.”
The 1800 m2 Siam Pun Sun factory
Supermarkets as a direct competitor
The company sells four different kinds of vegetables, namely kale, spinach, rockets and swiss chard. Simply because we have a pretty good calling price for them. Normally, vegetables of the same species are much more expensive in supermarkets than to what we offer. Our quality is even better. “We are competing with supermarkets in terms of price and quality. We are still researching and looking into strawberries and other fruits, but for now we haven’t gotten that far yet in terms of production”, Tamvimol says. Currently, Wangree Fresh consists of one farm and sells its products under two brands: Wangree Health, the organic wing and Wangree Fresh, using new technologies the company has been reversing over the years.
The farm currently produces at maximum capacity
Although supermarkets have been in the market for a longer time, they can’t produce in the high volume and quality like Wangree Fresh can. He continues: “Quality-wise, we are the best producers of these kinds of vegetables in Thailand. We haven’t been able to address demand in supermarkets yet”, Tamvimol confirms. He says that high-quality and clean food is mostly preferred in urban areas. However, supermarkets in the sub-urban areas do not sell this kind of high-value vegetables.
“We haven’t been able to address the demand in supermarkets so far. Simply, because we have a subscription model and we haven’t been able to address the demand of our subscribers just yet”, Tamvimol says. Since February, the company has gone from 1000 to 2000 subscriptions. Previously, we used to have 1000 subscribers and home-delivered vegetables to them on-time.”
Because the subscriptions doubled during the pandemic, the home-delivery time became longer as well. “We were at maximum capacity already, but we wanted to keep making our customers happy. A guarantee to deliver the fresh produce within 24h e.g., to maintain the freshness of the vegetables”, he adds.
Franchise model
In the future, Wangree Fresh might consider having a franchise. “As in, people signing up to use our system. However, at this point, I have my hands dirty on researching the entire growing system. There might come a franchise model where people can sign up for the consultation of our design and construction of the system. The system needs fine tuning all the time, so it’s not easy to sell it off as one package”, Tamvimol states.
Vertical farming system
“There are two main difficulties in vertical farming here. One is the adoption of new technologies. The Thai people and mostly farmers are not bold enough to try new things. They use their own systems that have been used for over decades” Tamvimol says. It’s hard for Tamvimol to get them involved and for them to try the new systems. “The second thing is that there aren’t many vertical farming systems available in Thailand. Next to that, most of the academic works are conducted by foreign researchers and we are lacking researches here to back up the benefits of indoor growing”, he says.
An impression of Tamvimol's growing system
Tamvimol has done a lot of research on technology, hardware and factors of finetuning his system. He grew up in Chiang Mai, where the main business is agriculture, and used to work in the computer hardware business. After an academic tour to Japan, he became involved with vertical farming. That’s when he decided to combine his experience in digital technology and agriculture. After spending the past few years on research: finding the right formula to grow any kind of vegetable and how many vegetables he needs to grow to generate a good return on investments.
For more information:
Wangree Fresh
Krisana Tamvimol, CEO
krisana@wangreefresh.com
www.wangreefresh.com
Publication date: Mon 24 Aug 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com
Pablo Bunster, Co-founder and CCO of AgroUrbana “In Our Next Farm, We Will Be Able To Use 100% Renewable Energy”
As Chile has been in a complete lockdown since mid-May, AgroUrbana is lucky to continue its operations. “It’s not easy, because you have to change the way of operating, the interactions, and in-farm activities, even when food safety was already key to the company culture
As Chile has been in a complete lockdown since mid-May, AgroUrbana is lucky to continue its operations. “It’s not easy, because you have to change the way of operating, the interactions, and in-farm activities, even when food safety was already key to the company culture. Our customers have been ordering through home delivery”, Cristián Sjögren, Co-founder and CEO of AgroUrbana says.
Renewable energy
Bunster notes: “It took us from the energy market, from renewable energy, to farming. We believe that this is the perfect testing round to see what vertical farming can do.” Chile has drought, cheap labor, we have competitive, available and abundant renewables. Which is always a discussion around vertical farming. We manage sunlight here as we use 100% renewable energy PPA. However, we cannot do this with our pilot because the overall consumption is too low, so we have to regulate it. In our next farm, we will be able to go 100% renewable. That puts a lot toward sustainability for vertical farming.” The urban population is growing fast in Latin America. AgroUrbana believes that vertical farming can accommodate that food demand.
“Our next stage is, going commercial to a scale where we can bring costs down”, Bunster continues. “First, we thought of a small community distributed model with a few small blocks around, such as container farms. But, we believe that scale is still required as you can become more competitive with higher efficiency.
“First, we’re farmers and technology comes to serve that purpose be the best farmers! We are developing some technologies internally to run our farms, but our focus now is how we can actually rate the curve of cutting costs to make our products increasingly competitive. We want to stay out of the commodity but still reach the masses. Our mantra is to deliver better quality food to everyone”, Sjögren adds.
Pablo Bunster harvesting some fresh lettuce
Pilot farm
Sjögren states: “We started with a pilot farm, because vertical farming is something completely new in Latin America.” Before launching a new category for Agriculture in Chile, Sjögren and Bunster wanted to understand the economics of vertical farming. They took an approach of technology-agnostic by building a 3000 sq. ft pilot farm, where different technologies are tested. The 18-month pilot phase will be completed by the end of this year.
“We are integrating our own recipe that combines the seeds nature provides us with its nutrition and environmental parameters. Next to that, we are constantly improving and optimizing our operations in order to drive down costs”, Bunster adds. These quantities are allocated in a 3000 sq. ft farm which is not a large production, Sjögren noted, but this is done to test the market, integrate and develop our technology and do R&D in new varieties. AgroUrbana is planning on scaling up throughout Chile in 2021 with an aim to further expand into the new markets, mainly large urban areas, in the region in the next years.
“Chile is a perfect testing ground to start, test and stress what vertical farming can do, due to the Mediterranean weather we have, favorable to open farming, but also abundant and competitive renewable energy. We both spent our last ten years in the wind- and solar energy industry. Renewables will help AgroUrbana close the gap between traditional agriculture and vertical farming”, Sjögren says.
The country has suffered from climate change, with a 10-year drought that highly affected Chilean agriculture. AgroUrbana has achieved surprising improvements in its yield. “We are planning to transfer all this knowledge to our next farm, a 30,000 sq. ft commercial-scale farm. In the upcoming months, we are doing funding rounds in order to help us realize this farm.
Sjögren says that AgroUrbana is going to pilot in the berry space as well, such as strawberries. “We are starting a pilot to test the different varieties of strawberries. Next to that, we are developing edible flowers and some microgreens”, Sjögren affirms. Most of the volume is lettuce, but we will be rolling out other leafy greens and we will see how it goes with the other crops.
Carmelo platform
“There are many components such as climate control, irrigation, growing structures, and so on. We want to put all the pieces together and operate these very efficiently”, Sjögren states. The company is developing a technology ‘Carmelo’, a platform of sensors with hardware and software to monitor and control our operations. “We are at a level of precision, where we are able to handle the microclimates within the farm. Using Carmelo, we are collecting data already for over one year which is helping us to become even more precise and consistent.” All data gathered will be used for our first large scale commercial farm planned for 2021.
“We’re all about technology and data because that’s how you drive down the costs. We are combining genetics, giving the perfect climate, and the perfect environment. Carmelo is all about finetuning the recipe we’re creating, through managing a farm, and having consistent quality food, every day of the year”, Bunster adds.
Product pricing
“Our team is in good spirits as we have been keeping up production. The pandemic hit us hard, but we were able to relocate all production to different distribution channels, such as e-commerce, supermarkets and subscriptions”, Bunster states. We were planning on doing that already, but we accelerated our go-to-market because of the current situation. “There’s no going back on e-commerce because customers are getting used to it. If we can take our produce to e-commerce, keep our customers satisfied and easy about always getting the perfect product, they’ll always order it online. It’s something we already wanted to do and we are currently testing and proving it. So far, we’re doing okay”, Bunster adds.
AgroUrbana has two markets, one of them being retail with a fast pace opening of new distribution for their products, with 100% recyclable packaging. Furthermore, the company delivers its products to restaurants. Since one year, AgroUrbana has launched its own house mix of lettuce.
Cristián Sjögren and his colleague preparing the plugs for planting
Bunster mentioned that AgroUrbana is selling to restaurants that are price sensitive. Meaning that they care about food quality and the costs. “Here’s where food waste comes into play. We do not have any food waste. We’re coming to the point where most of what we grow, we’re able to process and sell. In restaurants only, we’re saving between 25-35% food of waste in leafy greens. We are very efficient in logistics as we don’t truck. We move food for a few miles from our farms to the kitchens of different clients. This helps us to make numbers for a competitive market.”
Focusing on the next generation
“It has been exciting to put our team together because nobody has a vertical farming degree on its resumé. We’re really excited to prepare the next generation of vertical farmers. We’re putting together different skills and attracting the next generation of farmers that want to move from the countryside to the city. It’s an attractive way to get a generation back to growing veggies in the city with a lot of interaction with technology”, Sjögren ends.
For more information:
AgroUrbana
Cristián Sjögren, Co-Founder and CEO
cristian.sjogren@agrourbana.ag
Pablo Bunster, Co-Founder and CCO
pablo.bunster@agrourbana.ag
www.agrourbana.ag
Publication date: Tue 25 Aug 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com
Farming Goes Vertical
Vertical farming works by growing vegetables in stacked layers that takes place in a controlled environment, often without the use of soil and instead the use of light energy
06-08-2020 | This is money
Top of the agenda for many big firms across Britain and the world in recent years is to find ways to help reduce their environmental footprint and become more sustainable. This has been driven by consumer demand for change and warnings over irreversible damage by large companies, who can make small improvements to help that add up. One such way is vertical farming and it has seen one middle-class supermarket favourite get involved in some stores.
· Vertical farming works by growing fruits and veg in vertically stacked layers
· Claims it can significantly reduce environmental damage
· M&S Simply Food is one of the latest UK retailers to introduce vertical farming
Marks and Spencer is the latest UK retailer to adopt vertical farming into its stores, with a selection of herbs now freshly grown and harvested in stores across London for shoppers to buy.
Vertical farming works by growing fruits and vegetables in vertically stacked layers inside
It has partnered with Infarm, a fast-growing vertical farming firm based in Berlin, that also now operates in other supermarket chains across Europe.
Ocado has also invested £17million in vertical farming while John Lewis plans to grow salads in store in the future in a partnership with LettUs Grow.
Aside from Marks and Spencer, Infarm has recently partnered with the online sustainable supermarket Farmdrop, which stocks a selection of herbs and salad leaves.
It added it will be announcing some new retailers it has teamed up with in the next few months.
Inform also works with a number of chefs in Europe, some of whom have installed farms into their restaurants so they can access the herbs at the freshest point, whenever they want.
In the UK, it supplies produce to Zala Grill in Camden Lock, but it doesn't have a farm in the restaurant.
Meanwhile, in Germany, Infarm currently has eight restaurants with farms including the Michelin starred Sky Kitchen at Vienna House Andel's.
How does it work?
Vertical farming works by growing vegetables in stacked layers that takes place in a controlled environment, often without the use of soil and instead the use of light energy.
Emmanuel Evita, global communications director at Infarm, said: 'Our approach allows us to be climate independent and grow under any conditions, despite changing climate, extreme weather, or disasters which normally interfere with food production and distribution.
'Our vertical farms can be installed directly in any urban space, which is where the majority of the global population will live in the next few decades.'
Compared to conventional farming methods, Infarm argues that vertical farming uses less space, less water, and less transportation.
Its plants are also all locally-grown and free of chemical pesticides, making them better for both consumers and the planet.
When the food comes to harvest, it's just one person in store, moving the produce about a meter from the growing with no machinery, storage or long-distance haulage.
Infarm's hubs are used to initiate the growth seeds.
Once these seeds have developed to a certain maturity, they are delivered to the in-store farms at retailers, to complete their growth cycle and be offered to the consumer.
The hubs grow seeds across more than 65 combinations of herbs, microgreens and leafy greens and also deliver special varieties, like Peruvian Mint or Wasabi Rucola, directly to chefs for use that day.
The fruit and vegetables growing in vertical farming takes place in a controlled environment
One reason vertical farming can help reduce the ecological waste associated with traditional industrial farming, according to Infarm, is that it uses 95 percent less water and 75 percent less fertiliser.
It also uses no chemical pesticides, no genetically modified seeds and says it is able to save 14 litres of water per kilogram of produce.
Evita said: 'Growing fresh produce creates a huge environmental burden on our planet.
'People want to eat the same foods at all times of the year, and this, combined with lengthy transportation routes, and overtaxed soil take a heavy toll not just on the environment but also on the taste and nutrition of what we eat.'
He believes that more retailers are now interested in vertical farming due to the current climate uncertainty.
However, vertical farming is not the cheapest resource out there and has been predicted by some agriculture experts to be three to five times more expensive than traditional farming.
But Infarm says that the product they provide is worth the extra money, especially with the benefits it brings to the environment.
Retailers set the price for the produce Infarm provides in-store with M&S currently charging £1.20 for herbs.
It said the price does not tend to be significantly higher than their other produce offerings.
Vertical farming helps reduce the ecological waste associated with industrial farming
Evita added: 'We find that in recent years, investors from around the globe have been drawn to innovation that addresses the need for sustainable solutions to the challenges that affect our planet.
'Certainly, these are challenges that many countries and regions are dealing with now, and they are becoming increasingly urgent for all of us.'
Coronavirus has also posed many problems to the vertical farming industry, including the need to implement social distancing measures at hubs, although Infarm said it has been able to keep growing during this period.
It added that the global pandemic has seen increased interest from both investors and consumers in the industry with Infarm clients experiencing a 222 percent sales growth in the second quarter of this year.
This means the business has more than doubled its employees since June last year.
The future of vertical farming definitely looks bright. Infarm started just under a decade ago and since then, it has grown to more than 900 farms in supermarkets and distribution centres all around the world, allowing it to harvest over 250,000 plants a month and growing.
It is now expanding from just Europe to the United States with Kroger and Canada with Sobeys as well as recently announcing plans to enter Japan and build the first vertical farming network in Asia through a new partnership with Konikuniya.
Source: This is money
Photo Courtesy of Infarm
VIDEO: Will Tech Make It Easier For Us To Grow Veg?
Vertical farming, where plants are grown in stacked layers, enables a greater number of crops to be grown in the same space
To View The Video, Please Click Here
Vertical farming, where plants are grown in stacked layers, enables a greater number of crops to be grown in the same space.
Yields can be increased further by optimizing the amount of light and nutrients each plant receives.
The technique is now moving from commercial applications to consumer products, but what are they like to use and why do people want them?
BBC Click’s Lara Lewington reports.
Chinese Startup Gets In On Ground Floor Of High-Rise Farms
Looking ahead, the costs associated with conventional farming will match those of vertical farming around 2025, according to Zhan Zhuo, Sananbio's general manager. If this forecast is accurate, opportunities for vertical farms to spread quickly would explode, Zhan said
Sananbio Develops Techniques And
Hardware To Drive Indoor Agriculture
Sananbio has successfully grown more than 300 types of plants without the help of the sun. (Photo courtesy of Sananbio)
XIAO YAN, 36kr
August 17, 2020
BEIJING -- A Chinese company expects the future of high-rise farming to arrive in 2025. That's when the costs of conventional farming are expected to match those of vertical farming, when growing food inside urban towers will be able to address population and environmental issues in a more economical way, and when the indoor agriculture market is expected to be worth $9.9 billion.
Sananbio is the vertical farm leader in China, and the market estimate is from Grand View Research of the U.S.
The sector is still getting off the ground, but overseas startups have succeeded in raising large amounts of money.
Sananbio was created in 2015 by the Institute of Plant Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Fujian Sanan Group. It inherited the Institute of Plant Research's plant technology and Fujian Sanan's capabilities in optoelectronics, a field concerned with the use of electronics and light. With these tools, it conducts research into biotechnology, photobiology, indoor agriculture, and other areas.
It currently holds 416 patents, nearly 60% of which have been filed with the Patent Cooperation Treaty, an international organization that helps patent holders gain international protection for their inventions.
Sananbio has set up research facilities in Fujian and Anhui provinces and operates large indoor farms in Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities.
In the U.S. state of Nevada, it is developing cultivated varieties for the North American market. In Singapore, it is developing indoor farming technologies for desert and island countries.
In 2015, Sananbio worked with another research institute to build a 10,000 sq. meter indoor farm that grows leafy vegetables with artificial light, the first such facility in the world.
Its latest triumph is Uplift, a system for unmanned agricultural factories that can create construction plans for factories based on internal layouts so that sowing, dividing roots, and daily management can be automated. The system also can reduce the use of pesticides.
The company has successfully grown more than 300 types of leafy vegetables, fruits, herbs, edible flowers, and medicinal herbs.
Sananbio's business model is to provide hardware and vertical farming solutions to farmers who want to innovate and companies looking to enter agriculture. It also provides ongoing technical support. Its research facilities in Fujian, Anhui, and the U.S. already supply technology, and globally the company either owns or services 120,000 sq. meters worth of indoor farms. More than 50 indoor agricultural facilities in the U.S., Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the U.K., Saudi Arabia, and Germany use Sananbio facilities.
Looking ahead, the costs associated with conventional farming will match those of vertical farming around 2025, according to Zhan Zhuo, Sananbio's general manager. If this forecast is accurate, opportunities for vertical farms to spread quickly would explode, Zhan said.
The company says it is also making progress in other areas, such as plant-based bioreactors, planters for home use, and exhibition indoor farms for educational purposes.
36Kr, a Chinese tech news portal founded in Beijing in 2010, has more than 150 million readers worldwide. Nikkei announced a partnership with 36Kr on May 22, 2019.
For the Japanese version of this story, click here.
For the Chinese version, click here.
Kuwait JV Opens Large-Scale Indoor Vertical Farm
&Ever Middle East, a joint venture between Kuwait’s NOX Management and German company &ever, in partnership with German engineering companies SAP and Viessmann, has opened the first commercial indoor vertical farm in the Middle East
August 16, 2020
&Ever Middle East, a joint venture between Kuwait’s NOX Management and German company &ever, in partnership with German engineering companies SAP and Viessmann, has opened the first commercial indoor vertical farm in the Middle East.
Kuwait, a country that previously relied on European and overseas imports for most of their leafy greens and herbs, can now locally grow up to 250 varieties of greens and herbs using dryponics technology.
The facility, with approximately 3,000 sq m growing (or farming) space, has a daily output capacity of up to 550 kg of salad, and herbs. The products are available in all leading retailers and co-operatives under the brand name &ever Kuwait.
The farm produces high-quality and sustainable crops indoors, which increase the nutritional quality and decrease environmental impact. The cutting-edge vertical farming method uses 90 percent less water compared to traditional farming, 60 percent less fertilizer, and zero pesticides. Using a sustainable “farm to fork” model, the technology is able to preserve the plants’ nutritional value until the produce reaches the customer, said the statement.
“Previously, Kuwait’s restaurants imported all of our greens and herbs, mainly from Europe,” said Faisal AlMeshal, Director of Strategy and Business Development, NOX Management. “Our JV with &ever and the partnership with SAP and Viessmann on this indoor farm is enabling the local farming supply chain to save on costs and logistics, to minimize waste, and to make a better choice for the planet. Our customers have enhanced experiences with tastier and fresher produce.”
This knowledge exchange complements Germany and Kuwait’s trade ties. Bilateral trade is €1.3 billion, and Germany’s private sector invests €14.6 billion in Kuwait, according to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.
Germany and Kuwait are strong partners not only in politics but also in business, said Stefan Möbs, German Ambassador to Kuwait, who recently participated in a virtual media roundtable about the farm’s success hosted by the German Business Council Kuwait.
“I welcome the innovative business idea of German company &ever specifically here in Kuwait. Both countries are seeking new ways in difficult times. Even better to work together!”
Climatized rooms
The farm has partnered with Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions to develop highly efficient climatized rooms which are used in its indoor vertical farm. The technology is 40% more energy-efficient than other indoor vertical farming systems when it comes to energy use for climatization, said the statement.
&ever built its operating system, &ever Cloud, using the SAP Business Technology Platform -- SAP HANA in-memory platform and SAP Cloud Platform. Farmers can monitor, analyze, and adjust hundreds of data points on plant health, airflow, light, carbon dioxide levels, humidity, and temperature in real-time.
“Technology is the foundation for transforming customer experiences in restaurants and agricultural production in Kuwait, and for fostering diversified economic growth and sustainable agriculture worldwide,” said Andy Froemmel, Managing Director, SAP Kuwait. “Digitally transforming Kuwait’s agricultural sector supports New Kuwait 2035 goals, and helps to foster the local innovation economy and job creation.”
&ever is ready for global roll-out
Building on the global deployment capabilities of its key partners, &ever will scale its operations quickly and globally. “Our vision is to bring better tasting greens with high nutritional value to more and more people,” says Mark Korzilius, Founder of &ever. “We have an interesting pipeline of opportunities around the globe,” adds Dr Henner Schwarz, CEO of &ever. “We hope to be able to travel internationally again soon to get our next farms live as quickly as possible.”
The German Business Council Kuwait is a non-profit organization and business platform, founded in 2005, in order to promote and cultivate relations between German-speaking individuals and companies with their counterparts from the host country and the region. - TradeArabia News Service
Swegreen Vertical Farm Goes In-Store in Gothenburg, Sweden
Swegreen's first automated farming unit takes place at ICA Focus in Gothenburg
Swegreen's first automated farming unit takes place at ICA Focus in Gothenburg
Swegreen inks contract with ICA Focus in Gothenburg, to become the exclusive producer of hyper-locally grown vegetables via an automated cultivation system inside the store itself. The agreement is based on Swegreen's subscription-based Farming-as-a-Service, which gives food retailers and restaurants the opportunity to offer their customers fresh crops all year round – harvested directly on-site or in-store.
From left: Andreas Dahlin, CEO at Swegreen. Elsa Adlersson, ICA Focus' responsible for the In-Store greenhouse. Marcus Petersson, chairman at Swegreen.
The contract between Swegreen and ICA Focus concludes that the Gothenburg-based store will be the first in Sweden to offer its customers hyper-locally produced greens grown from seed to fully-grown size inside a store itself. The cultivation facility, which is provided by the Swedish startup company Swegreen, is based on so-called hydroponic cultivation technology that is both resource-efficient and climate-smart. The technical solution also includes the company's special lighting and nutrient recipe, air conditioning system for control of heat, humidity, and CO2 content plus a complete digital monitoring – as well as a data-driven intelligent system for optimization of all cultivation processes.
Through Swegreen's subscription-based business model, Farming-as-a-Service (FaaS), the cooperation between the parties is based on a long-term commitment where Swegreen ensures efficient production at agreed volumes and quality.
- Our FaaS model means that every store and restaurant owner can offer hyper-local, fresh and high-quality crops that are fantastically nutritious and tasty – at very competitive prices, says Swegreen's CEO, Andreas Dahlin.
- We are very proud and happy to start this collaboration with ICA Focus. It is a store that has the will to be at the forefront, and we think there are going to be many who desire to follow their footsteps.
ICA Focus is located in the Gårda district in central Gothenburg, just a stone’s throw away from the famous amusement park, Liseberg, and the Swedish Exhibition and WTC. A flagship store that always has a large assortment of environmental-friendly products.
- Our customers have demanded more locally produced and sustainable greens in our assortment – and it will not be more local and greener than this! Says Daniel Åkerhage, Store Manager at ICA Focus.
- Now we look forward to our first on-site harvest, which we expect to take place later this month.
At full capacity, it is possible to deliver and harvest around 300 units of fresh salad heads and herbs per day in the cultivation facility in the ICA Focus store.
With hydroponic cultivation technology, where the crops grow without soil with lighting from special LED lamps, it is possible to grow vegetables in an urban environment – and thus produce food very close to the consumer. It also removes unnecessary, expensive, and climate-damaging transportations. In addition, the crops do not need to be sprayed by pesticides or herbicides – they are ready to be eaten directly off the growing system. Up to 95% of the irrigation water is reused via the recycling system. Nutrients are also recycled, while the plants receive carbon dioxide through a filtered air intake from the store itself.
Swegreen has developed the cultivation module to be able to create integrated plant environments together with partners in the food and restaurant sector. Therefore, Swegreen has developed a cloud-based control- and monitoring system to make production easy to manage. Through data collection of current factors in the cultivation environment, the system can continuously refine and further optimize the cultivation processes by the use of artificial intelligence.
For more information contact:
Andreas Dahlin, CEO of Swegreen, +46 70-924 00 32, andreas.dahlin@swegreen.se
Daniel Åkerhage, store manager ICA Focus, +46 76-117 16 20, daniel@icafocus.se
Swegreen is a Swedish FoodTech company that combines advanced technology, data science, and agricultural knowledge to be able to efficiently produce high-quality and climate-smart crops in an urban environment. The company offers a subscription-based cultivation service called Farming-as-a-Service (FaaS). It gives food retailers and restaurants the opportunity to offer their customers hyper-locally produced, fresh, nutritious, and tasty greens all year round. www.swegreen.com
ICA Focus is a unique grocery store that has been a rendezvous place for food-loving Gothenburgers for over 25 years. With an assortment of over 35,000 items, you have about twice as much to choose from as in an ordinary ICA store. ICA Focus also has its own bakery, charcuterie and restaurant. The store also has one of Gothenburg's best fish delicate retailers, Fisk i Focus. ICA Focus is located in Focushuset, Gårda, in central Gothenburg.
Infarm, The New Generation of Farm
Labeled as the new generation of farm, German startup Infarm farms everywhere—in supermarkets, restaurants, bars and warehouses—lowering the carbon print by cutting out millions of miles between the farm and the final consumer
Labeled as the new generation of farmers, German startup Infarm farms everywhere—in supermarkets, restaurants, bars and warehouses (Credit: Infarm)
by Melanie Epp
August 11, 2020
Infarm was founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and brothers Erez and Guy Galonska. They built the world’s largest in-store farm in Metro’s flagship store in Paris.
(This article was first published in our sister publication AgriExpo)
Labeled as the new generation of farm, German startup Infarm farms everywhere—in supermarkets, restaurants, bars, and warehouses—lowering the carbon print by cutting out millions of miles between the farm and the final consumer.
It all started when two people from Israel came to Berlin and couldn’t find their typical herbs—and couldn’t understand why, when they tried, the herbs wouldn’t grow in Berlin. They picked up the idea of vertical farming and a hydroponic method of farming to create their farming system which resembles a giant glass-door fridge. They understood, then, that people would no longer need to import herbs from distant countries because they could be grown on-site, explained Key Account Manager at Infarm Jakob Peter
“We can grow herbs throughout the year at the same price. We’re focusing on cities for our pilot projects, but we’ll go into rural areas and plan on producing 1000 farms in the next years.”
The startup always looks for places in need before deciding where they should implement their idea in order to fill in the gaps. They’ve already put their farm in restaurants, including Good Bank Restaurant in Berlin, with several other projects underway. They’re currently operating more than 50 farms across Berlin in supermarket aisles, restaurants kitchens, and distribution warehouses.
The company has deployed operational farms in Copenhagen, London, and Seattle. One thousand in-store farms are being rolled out in Germany alone. Infarm is expanding to other European markets every day, partnering with leading supermarket chains, and planning its North America expansion program. For co-founder Osnat Michaeli,
“Recognizing the requirements of our customers, we have recently launched a new product: the DC farm, a ‘Seed to Package’ production facility tailored to the needs of retail chains’ distribution centers.”
Courtesy of Infarm
How the Farm Functions
The farms are connected to the internet and information is exchanged via the cloud. So they can “communicate with all the farms” no matter where they are. This hyper-connected solution is all about urban precision farming.
It’s 2m² with several levels and can produce 1,200 herbs per month (per farm), or 800 heads of lettuce at 800 grams each. It’s a modular system and can have both herbs and lettuce. It can be placed in offices, dead space, storage facilities and idle buildings.
The farm allows exact monitoring of light, climate, pH value of water, etc. and can be tailored depending on the type of produce. The company ensures transportability and availability of herbs and lettuce via the information stored in the cloud, attributing the system the title “harvest on demand”. Infarm generates transparency for end-users and can initiate discussion between family members when they see the farm. But the product has to be good for this concept to work.
“A fancy vertical farm with the best LED lighting system would be useless if the end result equalled bad produce.”
Its hydroponic system uses 90% less water than conventional farming and only needs water replacement twice a month for hygiene purposes. No pesticides are needed and the product can be taken directly from the farm, so it’s convenient. Herbs are always delivered with the roots and must be placed in water to remain fresh and good for two days. The door of the farm is always locked and only trained InFarm employees can open the door for hygiene reasons.
“We offer a service. We don’t sell a farm. We own the farm and you pay a monthly rent. We harvest for you. Our technicians come when there are issues with the farm.”
As each member thinks like a farmer, having a background in farming, they define themselves as a farming business. They even produced all the technical products involved in the farming system themselves.
Courtesy of Infarm
Retailers willingly welcome the concept as it provides a larger variety for clients, and an added bonus is that retailers can set their own prices.
After introducing the concept of in-store farming to the world from Metro Cash & Carry in Berlin, Infarm and Metro partnered again. In 2018, they inaugurated the world’s largest in-store farm in Metro’s flagship store Paris. The 80 m2 vertical farm produces approximately 4 tonnes of premium quality herbs, leafy greens, and microgreens annually. Metro will become completely self-sufficient in its herb production with its own in-store farm.
This urban farming solution of in-store farming impacts the environment in a positive way: It reduces CO2 simply by cutting down the supply chain, avoiding major transportations from various countries. The startup is currently in contact with universities to do research on how much CO2 they’re reducing compared to the typical supply chain.
Basil at Metro
Farming Goes Vertical - The New Supermarket Trend For Growing Herbs In-Store
Marks and Spencer is the latest UK retailer to adapt vertical farming into its stores, with a selection of herbs now freshly grown and harvested in stores across London for shoppers to buy
The new supermarket trend for growing herbs in-store could help the environment - how does it work?
Vertical farming works by growing fruits and veg in vertically stacked layers
Claims it can significantly reduce environmental damage
M&S Simply Food is one of the latest UK retailers to introduce vertical farming
By GRACE GAUSDEN FOR THIS IS MONEY
4 August 2020
Top of the agenda for many big firms across Britain and the world in recent years is to find ways to help reduce their environmental footprint and become more sustainable.
This has been driven by consumer demand for change and warnings over irreversible damage by large companies, who can make small improvements to help that add up.
One such way is vertical farming and it has seen one middle-class supermarket favorite get involved at some stores.
Marks and Spencer is the latest UK retailer to adopt vertical farming into its stores, with a selection of herbs now freshly grown and harvested in stores across London for shoppers to buy.
Vertical farming works by growing fruits and vegetables in vertically stacked layers inside
It has partnered with Infarm, a fast-growing vertical farming firm based in Berlin, that also now operates in other supermarket chains across Europe.
Ocado has also invested £17million in vertical farming while John Lewis plans to grow salads in store in the future in a partnership with LettUs Grow.
Aside from Marks and Spencer, Infarm has recently partnered with the online sustainable supermarket Farmdrop, which stocks a selection of herbs and salad leaves.
These 4 Reasons Tell Us Why It’s Time To Shift To Indoor Farming
Though growing indoors can never be a replacement for outdoor agriculture, it can certainly help in growing certain vegetables, herbs, microgreens, and more
By Ecochirp Foundation in Environment
6th August 2020
Traditionally, agriculture was done on large open farms, having a large dependence on external environmental factors. In recent times, there is a new vertical emerging in agriculture, giving promising results i.e., Indoor farming or vertical farming. Particular challenges that were faced in conventional cultivation techniques have been resolved with indoor agriculture. Though growing indoors can never be a replacement for outdoor agriculture, it can certainly help in growing certain vegetables, herbs, microgreens, and more.
Let’s have a comparative study of indoor growing vs. outdoor growing.
Weather Dependence
Traditional outdoor growing is largely dependent on weather conditions. Only seasonal crops can be grown. Weather conditions can be the biggest nightmares for farmers as things like thunderstorms, floods, droughts can damage crops overnight. By growing indoors, we eliminate our dependence on the weather. Instead, growers can control the climate inside the indoor growing system creating the ideal environment for maximum outputs. Using a wide range of sensors, indoor growers can check their plants at all times.
Pesticides And Herbicides Requirement
Do you also wear a mask while consuming those??
The crops are more prone to pests and other animal damage as they are exposed to the outer environment. We recently saw the locust attack that happened; it devastated large areas of crops. We saw how fast they traveled and farmers couldn’t take measures in time. They had to spray large amounts of pesticides to protect the remaining crops that eventually went into our systems. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers used are a root cause of major ailments like cancers, immune disorders, infertility, and cardiovascular diseases.
Indoor grown edibles need fewer chemical additives to grow well. Being indoors, they are not prone to pests. Also, the environment is controlled; therefore, there is no need for pesticides or herbicides. Therefore, the vegetables are pure.
About 70% of the world’s freshwater goes to agriculture. And with increasing populations, this water requirement is expected to go up by 15% by 2050. This is a thing we should be afraid of, as the freshwater resources are declining. If things keep going in the same way, there is a possibility that we might not be able to keep up with the requirements. Taking the case of indoor growing, techniques such as hydroponics take up to 90-95% less water. They use a closed-loop system, where there is no wastage, and resources are optimally utilized.
The Nutritional Content Of Edibles
The current agriculture system is centralized. Therefore, fruits and vegetables have to travel thousands of miles before they reach us. In the meanwhile, they lose a considerable amount of nutritional content. For example, spinach loses about 50-90% of its vitamin C within 24 hours of being harvested, which means the vegetables and fruits we eat at our homes in cities is not as nutritional as it should be.
In the case of indoor growing, which is generally done in cities near our homes, transportation time is less than 5-6 hours. Therefore, they are fresh and highly nutritious.
Pre And Post-Harvest Losses
About 40% of the world’s food is wasted due to the pre and post-harvest losses. Pre-harvest losses occur before harvesting begins, and may be due to insects, weeds, and rusts. Post-harvest losses occur between harvest and the moment of human consumption. Fruits and vegetables are perishable products and tend to get spoiled or degraded with time and unfavorable factors. Indoor growing has very low wastage as they rarely get diseases; they are near to cities and therefore, have lower transportation times. The edibles are consumed soon after they are harvested.
This comparison is just a brief glimpse of how growing indoors is more beneficial as compared to conventional growing. However, this article does not mean that indoor growing can replace proper farming. Outdoor farming can not be eliminated but can be decentralized, and with the help of indoor growing techniques, we can revolutionize the current agriculture system for the better.
About the author: Palak Kumar is an insatiably curious Mechanical Engineering student, passionate about flying, clouds, literature, and plants, working towards revolutionizing Indoor Vertical Growing.
Hydroponic Propagation: A Webinar Event You Don’t Want to Miss
On August 12, 2020, we will be a part of a free, informative event to cover hydroponic propagation for seedlings
On August 12, 2020, we will be a part of a free, informative event to cover hydroponic propagation for seedlings.
This free webinar will cover the best in class techniques and methodologies to use to yield results, technology advances, how to create and deliver environmental recipes, and more! We’ll be partnering with other experts who will talk about all there is to know with hydroponic seedling propagation. Still, want to know more about hydroponic propagation? We’ll help you understand more in this article.
The 3 Life Stages for Seedlings
Before we can describe hydroponic seedling propagation, you’ll need to know about the plant’s life stages first. Since hydroponic plants don't require soil, seeds have to get their nutrients through other methods. When it comes to seeds, there are 3 life stages that you’ll need to pay attention to in order to have successful yields. The three stages are:
Germination: This occurs when a seedling goes from a dormant state to an active one. The radicle breaks out from the outer shell and becomes a root. However, this usually happens during warm and moist conditions, which is why it’s essential to take note of the temperature when growing seedlings. Once you can see the plant expelling from the seed, it’s time to move them to the propagation system.
Propagation: This stage is when the seedlings start to grow roots and true leaves. The propagation stage ends when the roots have nearly fully developed. Once you notice this, you can begin the transplant process.
Transplant: During this stage, you will move the young seedlings into your growing system to watch them reach their full growth.
The Importance of Temperature
One of the main driving forces to your plant’s growth success can boil down to temperature. Depending on the plant you’re growing, you’ll need to ensure that the correct environmental conditions are met per crop type. This boils down to if you’re planting warm or cool weather plants.
Warm Weather Plants: Basil, oregano, thyme. Typical herbs and fruiting crops such as tomatoes, and peppers.
Cool Weather Plants: Lettuce, Kale, Swiss Chard, Spinach, tomatoes, and other greens.
Tips for Hydroponic Propagation Success
In this section, we’re going to discuss a few tips you can use to ensure propagation success.
Do not overexpose your plants to heat. This is because seedlings are especially vulnerable and sensitive to heat. It’s best to keep in mind that seedlings shouldn’t be overexposed to anything from nutrients to pesticides to fertilizers.
Don’t keep your media too wet. This can lead to damping off which can invite various molds and fungi to form, leading to a loss in stem structure.
Give your plants nutrients after you notice the first set of true leaves. Around this stage, the plant will need more external nutrients from things like soil or synthetic fertilizers. It’s best to use the same nutrient mix you’d use during your grow out, just make sure to dilute way more.
Hydroponic seedling propagation is an easy task once you learn the in’s and out’s of your plants. We at the Nick Greens Grow Team strive to educate everyone on the benefits of growing microgreens and plants right from your house. Sign up for the Indoor Ag Conversation free webinar to learn more about hydroponic propagation success. We look forward to seeing you there!
#hydroponicpropagation #hydroponicseedlingpropagation #hydroponicgrowing #hydroponics #hydroponic #hydroponicsystem #hydroponicgarden #hydroponicfarming #hydroponicfarm #hydroponicsfarm #hydroponicgardening #hydroponicsvegetables #hydroponicsystems #hydroponictomatoes #hydroponiclettuce #hydroponicherbs #hydroponicfarms #propagation #seedling #seedlings
Local Company Providing Fresh Produce, Tools to Grow It All Year Long
Since opening its doors last July, Cold Acre Food Systems has been perfecting its indoor hydroponic growing systems for greens and herbs that can be harvested continually throughout the year.
August 6, 2020
The Yukon isn’t the place in the world most suited to year-round farming, given its long winters and short, unpredictable summers, but one local company is trying to change that.
Since opening its doors last July, Cold Acre Food Systems has been perfecting its indoor hydroponic growing systems for greens and herbs that can be harvested continually throughout the year.“
Hydroponics is a very old growing system and can be done in different methods,” said Carl Burgess, Cold Acre Food Systems CEO. “It’s essentially nutrient water delivered to roots to grow plants.”
The benefit of it in food production for a community sense is that there is less soil management because there is no soil management and in that way it can stabilize production year-round,” Burgess added.
The company does the majority of its farming in two shipping container-style growing facilities located on Titanium Way in the Marwell industrial area.“
Right now we are operating 6,000 planting spaces,” Burgess said. “One of those (containers) is basically equivalent to an acre of a market garden,” and “one container can give, at minimum, a weekly supply of greens to about 100 to 200 people.”
Denise Gordon, Cold Acre Food Systems lead grower, holds trays of microgreens in front of their growing unit in Whitehorse on July 26, 2020. (Crystal Schick/Yukon News)
Environmentally, the system uses 10 to 20 percent less water than the traditional method of growing, Burgess said. The carbon footprint is also greatly reduced since produce only has to travel a couple of blocks to its destination compared to being shipped on trucks, food waste is almost nonexistent because of the high reliability of growing indoors, the company uses compostable packaging, and there are no storage facilities.“
We harvest and go,” Burgess said. “It’s usually within two hours of harvesting that the produce is in the grocery stores or dropped off at someone’s home.”
What began as some test lettuce crops have turned into a diverse selection of leafy greens, like bok choy, arugula, kale, mizuna, and rainbow chard, as well as several different types of microgreens, which are similar to sprouts in appearance, and basil. The company is also experimenting with growing edible flowers and mushrooms.
Cold Acre Food Systems currently sells the vegetables it grows to several grocery stores in Whitehorse, restaurants, and cafes, and through a subscription box.“
The last year of business has been lots of fun,” Burgess said. “We went from being a very small food producer to a medium-sized food producer (in the Yukon).”
But selling the vegetables it grows isn’t the end game for this company. Building, selling, and installing growing systems is also part of Cold Acre’s business model. The company can build custom growing facilities for just about any client, from smaller at-home units to the larger commercial shipping container-style units.
Right now there are two large units that will soon be providing fresh produce to Yukon communities. The first, in partnership with the University of Calgary, is at the Kluane Lake Research Station near Silver City. Once it is up and running it will provide food to the Haines Junction and Burwash Landing areas. The second, currently still in Whitehorse, is owned by Na-Cho Nyäk Dun Development Corporation (NNDDC) and will be ready to feed people in the Mayo area this spring.
Leafy greens grow under neon lights in a shipping container style facility in Whitehorse on July 26, 2020. (Crystal Schick/Yukon News)“
We are currently fabricating a small-scale unit for demonstration/growing inside the Mayo Foods Store as part of the NNDDC project,” said Burgess.
The objective of Cold Acre Food Systems is to reduce food scarcity in the North and to enable everyone access to fresh produce year-round. “Success will be twofold,” said Burgess. “Our goal is to activate indoor growing. So success will look like a handful of growing facilities around that we either deployed or helped deploy. And success for us looks like a large growing facility that’s displacing a number of food products that right now are coming up the road and doing that cost effectively for consumers.”
Contact Crystal Schick at crystal.schick@yukon-news.com
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.
Are Automated Indoor Growing Facilities The Future For Fresh Produce?
Can growing veg in urban units scale up to meet demand, or is vertical farming a cottage industry focussed on leafy greens? Interest in Controlled Environment Agriculture is increasing internationally. Agri-TechE bring together Controlled Environment Agriculture technologists, producers and investors to discuss the current landscape and promising developments
CEA-Lite is an online debate on precisely that question,
taking place on 10th Sept.
Agri-TechE bring together Controlled Environment Agriculture technologists, producers and investors to discuss the current landscape and promising developments
Can growing veg in urban units scale up to meet demand, or is vertical farming a cottage industry focussed on leafy greens? Interest in Controlled Environment Agriculture is increasing internationally. In the UK autonomous growing systems have attracted funding from the Government’s Transforming Food Production program and tens of millions are being invested in a new training and demonstration facility; but the industry still has many challenges.
Agri-TechE is hosting an event “CEA-lite”, which is discussing the drivers for innovation and investment with leading entrepreneurs, producers, and investors on 10th September 2020.
Are new business models emerging?
Dr Belinda Clarke, Director of Agri-TechE says new models of food production are gaining traction. “Year-round intensive cropping of high-value crops becomes economically viable if the technology can scale. The Transforming Food Production call focussed on big, inspirational projects and this will help de-risk the technology, particularly around automating the monitoring and harvesting, which are so problematic for open field production.”
Jock Richardson of Growpura agrees: “A lot of operators have some great technology but to grow bigger means a linear (or worse) growth in costs. Scale-up is vital but there are operational challenges of how we grow plants at scale and at low cost.”
Could scaled-up vertical farms create economic value in vacant retail units?
“I have seen repurposing of buildings for CEA but location remains vitally important”, says Investor Kiryon Skippen of Capital Agri International, “landlords of these buildings need to be realistic in their rent demands and preferably have a real interest in the vertical farming business and work with it, taking the longer term view.”
Jock has seen uplift in interest in localised crop production, but as their system requires cleanroom conditions, refitting an older building could be too costly. “We’ve been talking to major retailers and its clear there is real interest in the use of hydroponics (growing in water) to fulfil the demand for fresh produce but of course it has to be at a competitive cost and offer a reliable supply,” he says.
The company will announce funding for a large training and demonstration facility in the coming days, which may provide over 200 jobs and internships in the South East Midlands area. “A vibrant hydroponics industry is essential in the UK. On the licensing front there has been interest from a number of countries particularly in the UAE and Asia and also for non-food products which we are progressing keenly,” Jock continues.
Can the industry look beyond leafy greens?
This international interest is a trend David Farquar, of Intelligent Growth Solutions, has also seen. He says; “Interest from NW Europe, the Middle East, and SE Asia is increasing the diversity of the food grown under secure conditions to reflect local diets and cuisine; encouraging the CEA industry to look beyond leafy greens and salads. For example, we have seen more demand for roots and fruits over recent months and interest in re-localizing as much of the food supply chain as possible.”
Phytoponics has recently raised £0.5M to develop its next-generation deep-water culture modules that offer a sustainable more profitable alternative to hydroponics substrates, such as rock wool and coir, and the company has started a series of strawberry trials with Total Produce. CEO Andy Jones, says the funding environment is challenging but that investment is there for companies with the right solutions.
He continues: “For growers, costs remain the big issue and one of the biggest is labor. New approaches need to give growers an economic advantage by reducing those costs.”
Are we swapping a labor shortage for a skills shortage?
However Max McGavillray of Redfox Executive says Brexit, and then COVID-19, has resulted in a marked increase in protected cropping roles as the UK adapts to a new normal: “We’re seeing individuals with plenty of cash establishing vertical farms but with very little experience in agriculture and foods, so there’s a real need for those with growth expertise in controlled environment agriculture.”
CEA Lite is an online event being held
on 10th September 2020 15:00 – 17:00.
Register your interest at bit.ly/ATEeEvents
About Agri-TechE – www.agri-tech-e.co.uk
Agri-TechE is a business-focused membership organization that is supporting the growth of a vibrant agri-tech cluster of innovative farmers, food producers and processors, scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs.
Agri-TechE brings together organizations and individuals that share a passion for improving the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of agriculture. It aims to help turn challenges into business opportunities and facilitate mutually beneficial collaboration.
Photos:
1 – Credit: Growpura / Caption: Growpura is set to create a hydroponic farm, training and demonstration facility in Bedford, UK
2 – Credit: IGS / Caption: IGS has seen more demand for root vegetables and fruits in recent months as vertically farmed crops diversify
3 – Credit: IGS / Caption: Phytoponics has recently won funding and is undertaking commercial trials of its deep-water hydroponics modules