GrowPods are self-contained, high-tech modular farms built inside repurposed shipping containers, allowing them to be deployed anywhere in the world, from bustling urban centers to remote desert areas. These smart farms create the perfect growing environment for fresh, organic produce, regardless of external weather conditions.

“Saudi Arabia’s commitment to food security and sustainability aligns perfectly with the capabilities of GrowPods,” said Shannon Illingworth, Founder of GP Solutions. “Our advanced technology makes it possible to produce high-quality, nutritious food locally, using a fraction of the water and land required by traditional farming.”

What is unique about AdventHealth Farm compared to other farms? Instead of growing food outdoors or in a greenhouse, AH uses vertical racks inside a shipping container. LED lights provide light adjusted for the optimal mix of red and blue light for the photosynthesis of each plant species being grown. Instead of plants growing horizontally such as in traditional outdoor farms, AH crops are grown vertically on tall, dual-sided towers hanging from the shipping container ceiling in rows, with carefully regulated nutrient water flowing from top to bottom.

Babylon Micro-Farms, the leader for on-site indoor farming with over 300 micro-farms across 40 states and 5 countries, today announced the appointment of Marc Oshima as its new Chief Executive Officer, following an in-depth search process. 

“I am delighted to have been appointed CEO to lead Babylon Micro-Farms and build on the original vision of the founders Alexander Oleson and Graham Smith to simplify on-site indoor farming and provide more access to good food,” commented Marc Oshima. “

We’re in a trade war. Whether the tariffs are on, off, paused, or decreased, the fact remains that nothing is as it was.

This can be a good thing.

Within the Growcer network we’re starting to see a surge in interest for locally-grown greens. On a national scale, we’re starting to see a renewed conversation for increasing local food infrastructure. Let’s grow more here. Let’s process more here. Let’s buy local where we can.

Leafy greens more susceptible to tariff threats

Canada imports 90 per cent of its leafy greens, a majority of which comes from the United States. A heavy dependence on importing leaves leafy greens exceptionally vulnerable to tariff threats. They’re also perishable so stockpiling isn’t an option to minimize price shocks.

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture has announced recipients of the 2025 Farm Transition Grant to bolster agricultural production of both new and existing farm operations. More than $527,000 has been awarded to fund 29 projects throughout the state, including to a farm in Tolland.

Collinswood Mushrooms on Tolland Stage Road, via the New Farmer Microgrant, is to receive $4,450 to purchase climate control systems and shelving to outfit a mushroom fruiting chamber in a 40-ft shipping container.

"We are dedicated to strengthening the resilience of our agricultural community, and these awards represent a strategic investment in advancing that goal," Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt said.

If you're looking for Parisian carrots or Hakurei turnips in a pinch, a new Veggie Vault in the Strip District has your fix.

Why it matters: GetBlok Farms' first refrigerated food locker is open in The Terminal, delivering leafy greens, vegetables and herbs.

The Aliquippa company operates a hydroponic produce farm in a converted freight container, using sustainable farming practices and wind energy.

How it works: To use it, place your order on the GetBlok website and select a pickup day.

• They deliver orders three times a week.

• Use a code to unlock your unit and snag the veggies.

Land Betterment Corporation, a Certified B Corporation and environmental solutions company fostering positive impact through up-cycling former coal mining and industrial sites to create sustainable community development and job creation, is pleased to announce that Scott Massey CEO and Co-Founder of anu™ is attending Indoor Ag-Con Las Vegas 2025.

Scott will be conducting meetings with industry investors, demonstrating their cutting-edge Controlled Environment Agriculture, (CEA) technology and participating in industry panels. To schedule a meeting please email scott@growanu.com.

The skate park at 4DWN includes two hydroponic gardens in shipping container. They are concealed by a porch and a blue skate ramp.Brian Reinhart

There is a small triangle of South Dallas that is condemned, even more than some parts of the neighborhood, by the cruel judgment of urban planners. Its three sides are bounded by Interstate 30, Interstate 45, and the central rail yard where DART services and stores its train cars.

These few blocks are loud from surrounding highway traffic, and hard to reach except by car, since every approach is dominated by bridges with fast drivers and swirling winds.

Look closely, though, and something beautiful is growing here. That’s not a metaphor. This pocket is home to one of Dallas’ most improbable urban gardens, hidden inside one of the city’s most improbable skate parks.

Kirk Taylor, President and Co-Founder of ekō Solutions commented, "Our team has worked relentlessly to provide real solutions across several critical industry verticals. We are thankful to be accepted as a member of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium.

By delivering modular container-based solutions for agriculture, housing and technology deployment, ekō Solutions will be an invaluable supply chain partner for our national defense."

One of the essential technologies ekō Solutions is able to provide is nearly automated farms through our Pure Produce® Containers.

A local indoor farming company is growing its inventory with the unveiling of a new product with a lower price tag. 

Scott’s Addition-headquartered Babylon Micro-Farms recently introduced its Galleri Lite Micro-Farm, a new iteration of its flagship Galleri Micro-Farm – an automated indoor vertical farm that the company introduced in late May 2022. 

Although it has the same dimensions, plant space and hardware as the original Galleri product, Galleri Lite has removed some technical complexity of the original and comes with a much lower price tag.

Differences include taking away the remote management features from the original Galleri Micro-Farm, which is used to grow food for consumption and is targeted at universities, corporate cafeterias and senior living facilities that want on-site greens options for their menus.

In the heart of Minnesota, a revolution in urban agriculture is taking root inside an unlikely vessel: a shipping container. This isn’t just any container—it’s a sophisticated hydroponic farm capable of producing 200 pounds of fresh produce weekly, equivalent to the yield of 2.5 acres of traditional farmland. At the helm of this innovative venture is Marcus Carpenter, founder of Route 1, whose vision extends far beyond mere food production to addressing generations of systemic inequities in American agriculture.

“During that fateful summer of 2020, I had an opportunity to take a step back, as we all did, and really think about why we were where we were in our society at that time,” Carpenter reflects. His contemplation led to a stark realization about the foundation of generational wealth in America: land ownership. This insight would become the cornerstone of a movement that’s now transforming urban agriculture and community empowerment.

When the mercury drops and the snow falls, operations at Foothills Farm in Greenfield Center remain unaffected.

Inside a 320-square-foot shipping container converted to a vertical hydroponic farm, thousands of plants thrive in an ideal environment with precisely controlled temperatures and humidity levels. At designated intervals the crops receive programmed amounts of water and nutrients. When they’ve matured, they’ll make their way to area restaurants and Skidmore College’s dining hall, providing some of the freshest local produce available.

Max and Nikki Poritzky co-founded the farm in 2023 shortly after relocating to the area from Newton, Massachusetts, in September 2022. The undertaking was five years in the planning, sparked by Max’s visit to a San Jose technology museum with the couple’s second daughter several years ago.

There, he stumbled upon a kiosk with an exhibit about vertical farming technology.

“I thought it was so cool that there was now such a thing that you could bring local agriculture to any environment on Earth,” he said.

Once complete, this campus will be home to a herculean and wholesome food production effort that will include nutritious food and skilled training, an expanded community garden and traditional food growing methods, hydroponic freight farm for year-round, low-resource food growing, and a deep winter greenhouse that will offer innovative, year-round food growing.

The campus will include a distribution center to accommodate FeedMore’s partner hunger relief agencies, as well as its home-delivered meal services and other targeted feeding programs

Taking delivery today of three more hydroponic growing container farms to add to the two we already have. So grateful for our partnership with Campus Dining.

The Auburn University Transformation Garden is continuing to be transformed by new technology, facilities, new gardens, and amazing faculty, staff and students all working together. hashtag#auburnhorticulture

Thanks to Glenn Loughridge, Desmond R. Layne, Ph.D., Jack Maruna, Daniel Wells and the Team at Auburn for entrusting us with the opportunity to expand capability on campus. Also thanks to Kenneth Mintz, Eric Timmerman and the Team at STEEL LION LLC https://opsteellion.com/ for the first class logistics support in making it happen!

Square Roots has announced Square Roots Japan, a new company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

Square Roots Japan has licensed and will build upon the modular and flexible indoor farming platform developed and deployed by Square Roots in the United States, while partnering with traditional Japanese farmers to future-proof the production of specialty crops.

"We've created a flexible and scalable platform for innovation that is enabling partners across the global agri-food ecosystem to shape the future of food," said Tobias Peggs, Square Roots' CEO and cofounder. "We're honored that the team behind Square Roots Japan has chosen to build on our platform, with a business model inspired by tradition while looking firmly towards the future."

The partnership originally took root during a joint field trip to visit specialty farmers in Hokkaido, an island in the north of Japan.

New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr. presented a $175,000 check to PS 811X: The Academy for Career and Living Skills, in the South Bronx for the school’s new hydroponic classroom.

The check was presented as Salamanca joined students, teachers, parents and faculty at PS 811X for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of the new hydroponic lab. Also on hand for the ceremony were members of the nonprofit New York Sun Works, which builds state-of-the-art hydroponic classrooms.

Students at the school will use the new lab to learn about and conduct experiments related to hydroponics, which involves growing plants with water-based nutrient solutions instead of soil.

"We can literally put these things anywhere," Marcus Carpenter, founder of Route 1, said about the retrofitted shipping container that is equipped with advanced hydroponic technology.

In the middle of its first Minnesota winter, the 320-square-foot modular farm produces as much food as four acres of traditional farmland.

There are lights inside it that emulate the sun, allowing growth — even with snow on the ground. 

"I'm a fourth-generation farm kid and I just believe that our communities need help — specifically Black and Brown communities," Carpenter said.

Route 1 is an organization working to bring the farm to the people, especially in underserved communities. 

"The way that we can help these communities the most is through food," Carpenter said. "Food brings the community together." 

It's why Route 1 is focusing on lifting up farmers like Maggie, Jane, Colleen and Joyce.

Fork Farms, an innovator in food access technology, is proud to announce a new partnership with HPS LLC, a Delaware not-for-profit limited liability company that works to strengthen communities by helping its members fulfill their missions.

This two-year agreement, effective February 1, 2025, through January 31, 2027, brings @HPS’ member institutions access to sustainable, hyper-local food production. The HPS reference contract number is 1080 and will reflect the most current pricing and availability.

HPS' membership is made up of more than 4,900 organizations in 36 states. Membership includes: hospitals, medical groups, senior living facilities, schools and educational groups, senior nutritional feeding programs, county governments, religious organizations, camps, jails, and more.