A suspicious fire at the BlackSeed Agroecology Farm & Village on South Whidbey destroyed an estimated $250,000 worth of hydroponic equipment Friday afternoon.

Island County Sheriff Rick Felici said investigators gathered evidence from the scene and sent it to the Washington State Crime Lab to help identify whether any accelerant may have been used to start the fire.

Whether it’s a community garden or fully-dedicated land near a dense, city center, urban farming has surged in popularity in recent years. These farms impact local communities by providing education about climate change, food security, biodiversity, pollinators and nutrition.

Urban agriculture contributes between 15% and 20% of the global food supply, according to the USDA. This can help cities be more equitable because it creates easier access to fresh produce.

Julian Jacobs is the owner of Adrina Farms, which is located in Uptown Charlotte at the Innovation Barn. His farm is a hyperlocal, hydroponic farm where they grow lettuce, leafy green and root vegetables inside a 320-square-foot indoor space.

In partnership with the Deere Foundation, Freight Farms, the city of Rock Island, and the Quad City Botanical Center, Tapestry Farms announces today a significant expansion of our food-growing capabilities for 2024 and beyond.

This morning, a 320-square-foot self-contained hydroponics unit, which can grow between two and six tons of produce annually, arrived from Freight Farms in Boston by semi truck and crane to the parking lot of the Botanical Center. This container will give our organization the opportunity to double, or possibly triple, the amount of produce we can grow each year, said Ann McGlynn, executive director of Tapestry Farms.

Farmers across the U.S. are ditching industrial livestock farms for more sustainable and healthier vegetable farms, per a report by the Guardian. 

Thanks to Transformation, an organization dedicated to helping farmers leave poultry farming and begin vegetable farming, farmers now have the resources and knowledge to make the sustainable switch. 

On top of providing farmers with technical support, Transformation also gives grants ranging between $10,000 and $20,000 to farmers transitioning away from poultry farming. 

"We're constructing fully autonomous farms alongside manual farms across Japan and Southeast Asia. Our goal is to stay at the forefront of vertical farming innovations, which is why we have a co-research farm based in Osaka, collaborating with the local university on the most current research," says Hernan Ocampos, the Section Head of the Food Tech Department at Espec Mic Corp.

Espec Mic has been involved in horticulture and vertical farming since 1988, Espec Mic and has expanded its expertise to include climate chambers, greenhouses, vertical farms, hydroponics, nurseries, growing cabinets, and urban greening solutions.

Prospective GROW dwellers, Archinect detailed, can choose from 20 residential setups ranging from minimalist studios to expansive townhouses. The variety is intentional, meant to attract a diverse milieu, including "young professionals, students, and families with children."

Per Archinect, community members receive plentiful access to "activated social spaces" like GROW's signature rooftop urban farm — where residents can help with planting, maintenance, or even the assembly and weekly sale of harvest baskets.

The "Cubes" containers from the Swiss Mabewo Group is a good example of the application of the latest Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technologies to optimise plant growth and prevent pest infestation. Using special airlocks and precise process control, the cubes create an environment that guarantees optimum growth conditions for plants. Up to 1.5 tonnes of fresh grass, including grains and root mass, can be harvested daily with a four-cube system - proof of the efficiency and scalability of today's crop cultivation systems.

The programs and facilities include the “Freight Farm” where hydroponic gardens grow a variety of food inside donated shipping containers equivalent to 4 acres of farmland. It includes the Emerging Farmers Institute, offering intensive virtual coursework on the fundamentals of farming, while also including sessions aimed at tackling the most commonly faced mental stressors of working in agriculture.

Brad McNamara, Co-Founder and President of Freight Farms, joins us on this week’s episode to discuss:

- Scaling local food production around the world

- Decentralized vs centralized farming

- Drive-in farmer’s markets

- Notable customer stories

- The future of food production

- Two big ideas rotting in his idea graveyard

Land Betterment's portfolio company, ekō Solutions, and anu™ were recently featured on Middle Tech's weekly podcast with Co-Host, Logan Jones. During this fascinating conversation about innovative agricultural technology, Kirk Taylor, Land Betterment Co-Founder and Scott Massey, anu™ Co-Founder discussed how their jointly developed commercial-scale Pure Produce® Container Farms are revolutionizing how and where fresh produce is grown.

James Sprunt Community College is raising the bar on “smart farming” by implementing a Smart Farm Hydroponics Growing Container equipped with cutting-edge technology marrying food production and education.  More than just growing plants, we are growing the ways we improve our students, our communities, and our local economy.

Recently, the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission (NCTTFC) provided Four County Electric Membership Corporation (FCEMC) and JSCC with funding to purchase a hydroponic smart farm container. The Smart Farm is located at the JSCC WestPark Center in Warsaw.

There will be an app where people can join a rideshare group or ride the nearest available Bubblic Public. That is where you can also hail one for your delivery or smart farm purposes and the vehicle will be transformed according to your need. It is an interesting concept and one that we may actually see in the near future. Maybe eventually there will be even be a flying bubble so it will stay true to its name.

The Hydroponics Smart Farm — dubbed “Box to Bowl” — is the result of a partnership that includes JSCC, Four County Electric Membership Corporation, North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives, Duplin County, and the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission.

Box to Bowl consists of a 40-foot-long shipping container that provides growing area equal to two acres of land, in which plants are grown in a controlled environment absent soil and pesticides.

Back in 2016, my husband Dale and I founded ShipShape Urban Farms (SUF). Dale's expertise in environmental design, landscape architecture, and city planning, and mine in horticulture and hydroponics made for a perfect match and a clear mission to change the game in sustainable agriculture.

WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. - Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of hydroponic farming equipment was destroyed on Whidbey Island Friday. The equipment was recently donated to Black Seed Farms and is worth $250,000.Black Seed Farms, according to its website, is a local nonprofit that operates under its parent organization, Modest Family Solutions (MFS).

Kentucky native David Neville is currently growing lettuce in an indoor vertical farming house. The owner of Capstone Farms says crops are used for school lunches.

“As a farmer, I’m always looking for opportunities and I’m looking for different ways to do things,” Neville said.

The container allows farmers to grow the produce in time for the first day of school, despite the hot summer weather.

There are examples of innovations in the space. British Columbia-based QuantoTech Solutions, a vertically integrated ag-tech company, has developed a growing system that features 8 by 12 feet sheds with shelving units to allow for vertical farming, producing 4.8 between 7.2 tonnes of food per year, including leafy greens, strawberries, and cherry tomatoes.

Small business farmers are constantly seeking innovative methods to maximize productivity, sustainability, and profitability. Freight Farms presents a compelling solution through its hydroponic container farms, promising year-round crop production in a controlled environment.

Learn how to farm in the most advanced hydroponic container farm on the market, the Greenery, and the labor requirements you can expect. A career in farming has historically been associated with unpredictable schedules and long hours. However, through Freight Farms’ innovative technology, design, and automation, we've streamlined farm operations and significantly reduced the time required to manage a farm.

Pursuant to the Third Amending Agreement, Agrinam, Merger Sub and Freight Farms have agreed to extend the date by which Freight Farms may provide notice to terminate the Business Combination from June 28, 2024 to July 15, 2024.