The farmers haven’t stopped growing — or experimenting. Demler’s latest project is culinary mushrooms. He and his team of five produce 50 to 60 pounds of mushrooms a week.

“We had no clue where this was going to go,” Demler said. “We had no idea what was going to come, and I like to think that hopefully, we still don’t know what’s to come yet.”

The program recently launched a shipping container farm, added edible landscaping to its fair displays and partnered with a Texas A&M AgriLife facility for outdoor growing.

On top of feeding the community, Big Tex Urban Farms is also an educational hub. It just finished its second year with a cohort of local high schoolers. The class spends six months training in urban farming and hydroponics.

Pittsburg High School is on a mission to get its students to be more health-conscious about their meal choices.

The idea is so important that they decided to have a hydroponic container farm on school grounds.

A Freight Farm is not your traditional farm; it's a cutting-edge, self-contained ecosystem housed within a repurposed shipping container. Inside these compact and versatile structures, we harness the power of hydroponics and vertical farming to grow fresh, nutritious produce year-round, regardless of climate or location. From leafy greens and herbs to fruits and vegetables, Freight Farms empowers individuals, communities, and businesses to cultivate a sustainable future while minimizing environmental impact.

As a global Life Sciences executive and strategic advisor with a passion for sustainable Agri-Food systems, Brad has accelerated startups and turnarounds, transformed commercial and manufacturing operations, and grown multibillion-dollar P&Ls.

Previously as Chief Commercial Officer at Kansas-based Compass Minerals, Brad led the global commercial Plant Nutrition and Salt businesses, global supply chain, and global R&D. Prior to Compass Minerals, Brad spent over 17 years with Monsanto Company in agriculture and pharmaceuticals. Brad is also an Operating Partner at Ajax Strategies and Skyline Global Partners, and he is an Independent Board Director for Midwestern BioAg.

We joined forces with Seneca College in Toronto to transform a 20’ shipping container into a technologically advanced, thriving indoor farm. 

Want the inside scoop on the hurdles we encountered and overcame, and how the farm has benefited the entire Seneca community?

Discover How We Did It

We're excited to share more about the latest harvest from our Pure Produce® Container Farms, grown in collaboration with anu™ (previously gropod)™. This time, we've cultivated a beautiful variety of greens, herbs, and leafy vegetables, including:
Mustard Leaf
Mizuna
Dill
Cilantro
Listka Lettuce (Red Leaf Lettuce)
Divisor Lettuce (Green Oak Leaf Lettuce)
Red Russian Kale

Each of these crops was grown using Rotary Aeroponics® technology inside ekō Solutions' up-cycled shipping containers, allowing us to produce fresh, zero-waste, sustainable food even in challenging environments.

Anu™, a health and wellness brand developing innovative controlled-environment agriculture systems, won first place and $20,000 among 10 small businesses at the national SCORE 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition in Des Moines, Iowa. SCORE, or Service Corps of Retired Executives, is a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Purdue University alumni Scott Massey and Ivan Ball founded anu. The company has received financial support from the Purdue Research Foundation.

“This funding will support sales and the rapid growth of our intellectual property portfolio, focusing on AI computer vision control systems that optimize yield and energy efficiency in our cultivation containers,” said Massey, who acts as CEO.

Controlled environment farming company Sea to Sky Farms has grown to become among the most efficient per square foot lettuce growers in the world, using modular containers, with its expansion plans including the use of renewable-energy sources.

Sea to Sky’s vertical farming operation was established in 2019. It continues to serve as a global research and development centre for proprietary technology development. The commercial operations for Sea to Sky include 14 modular containers at the property in Alberta.

CFO and co-founder Daniel Cruz tells Engineering News that the company’s modular container farming solution produces ‘living’ full-head lettuce with the root on, which ensures a product that remains fresher for longer and is more nutritious compared with “dead” bagged lettuce counterparts from traditional farming.

Down a narrow path in the middle of Governors Island sits an 8-foot-by-40-foot shipping container on the grass. Inside, you won’t find cargo that belongs in a retail warehouse or cars fresh from the factory. Nope, this container holds something potentially far more valuable: The future of urban farming.

Step inside and you’ll find a series of parallel movable walls—almost as if they’re hung on curtain rods—with columns of floor-to-ceiling sponges. Tucked into the sponges are shoots of kale sprouting every few inches.

“This is part of our commitment to creating the clean energy future,” says Bill Fairechio, a department manager in Con Edison’s Research and Development department.

Following its announcement of a new partnership, Denver7 traveled to Sedalia to meet with Colorado-based FarmBox Foods LLC and learn how its container farms will soon help people around the world.

Land Betterment's portfolio company, ekō Solutions, and anu™ were recently featured in iGrow News. The story explores the high impact results and potential these two innovative companies are achieving by combining their industry expertise to create efficient farming solutions.

The partnership between ekō Solutions and anu™ is strategic, leveraging each company's strengths to create a robust, commercialized product. ekō brings its extensive background in manufacturing and construction, having worked on projects ranging from automotive manufacturing to custom residential and commercial construction projects. anu™ contributes cutting-edge plant science, particularly their rotary aeroponics technology.

The program was launched in March in partnership with the By the Hand Club and Kenilworth Union Church. The hydroponic container farm operates in any climate and without the use of harsh chemicals. So far, it’s produced eight harvests.

"When we have a full container, we’re looking at about 4,000 heads of lettuce that we’re currently growing," said Joe Jones, senior director of entrepreneurship at Bowen Harvest. "The cycle is about 4,000 and that equates to about four acres a year."

In this episode, I speak with Juan Gabriel Succar, the Co-founder of Verde Compacto, as he returns to share the latest developments in the world of vertical farming. Since our last conversation in 2022, Juan and his team have been busy refining their approach, focusing on standardizing their product offerings and expanding their reach.

Hamilton Horne was the one approaching restaurants when he launched King Tide Farms, which produces leafy greens with names like red streak arugula, fern parsley and bronze fennel — some of which Horne conjures up himself.

His pitch differed from other local farmers: the Sullivan’s Island native promised to deliver what he dubbed the “chef’s cut,” a smaller-sized green that could go directly from his farm to the plate.

Because of the enclosed environment that Nitzkowski grows the vegetables and greens in, Pantry Manager Dan Schnebeck said they're able to provide fresh produce to people year-round, making it feel even more like a traditional store.

"In the past, we pretty much had iceberg lettuce that we purchase, now this is an alternative and it's healthier," Schnebeck said.

FarmBox Foods LLC and New Alternative Green Energy, Inc. (New A.G.E.) announced the signing of a partnership Monday that will provide food security to underserved communities and support initiatives related to clean energy and environmental stewardship.

FarmBox Foods is a Denver-based manufacturer of tech-driven, controlled-climate farms housed in shipping containers. New A.G.E., based in Riesel, Texas, is a veteran-owned technology company with a portfolio of
patented solutions aimed at improving global quality of life.

Founder & CEO of Morrissey Market and Founder of Freight Farms, Brad McNamara, in this episode interviews Director of Crop Research and Development ‪@Freightfarms‬ David Harris, to talk crop R&D, food as medicine, where in the world is David Harris?, and an interesting call to action for new entrepreneurs, and Director of Business Development ‪@Freightfarms‬ Alison Rabschnuk, to chat about new business opportunities at Freight Farms and the impact that container farming is having on communities and organizations across the world.

Gourmet Caterers, a Boston-based food service management and catering company, has been New England's leader in dining hospitality for over 50 years. 

Known for their talented chefs, impeccable service, and production of thousands of unforgettable events—including corporate functions, weddings, galas, and mitzvahs—Gourmet Caterers has built a long-standing reputation for innovation, creativity, and exceptional customer service.

In 2022, Gourmet Caterers began container farming to enhance their event experiences and commitment to sustainability.

Hydroponically grown plants are lining the shelves at Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, thanks to a new partnership between the food pantry and a Castine-based nonprofit hydroponic farm called the Good Table Foundation.

Hydroponic plants are grown without soil. At the Good Table Foundation, they are grown in a 40-foot shipping container on a rotational basis, so the produce can be harvested and delivered to Loaves and Fishes each week throughout the year.

Agrinam Acquisition Corporation (TSX: AGRI.U) (the "Corporation") and Freight Farms, Inc. ("Freight Farms") today announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate the previously announced business combination agreement dated October 4, 2023, as amended on March 14, 2024, March 19, 2024, June 28, 2024, July 15, 2024, July 18, 2024 and July 19, 2024 (the "Business Combination Agreement") which was entered into in connection with the Corporation's proposed business combination transaction with Freight Farms.