Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
University of Arizona - Controlled Environment Agriculture Center - SHORT COURSE
Join us March 2 - 6 for CEAC’s Short Course! REGISTER HERE!
Join us March 2 - 6 for CEAC’s Short Course! REGISTER HERE!
Get your questions answered and increase your hydroponic growing know-how at the Greenhouse Crop Production & Engineering Design Short Course! Expand your knowledge during a four-day intensive conference including 3 full days of lecture, 1 day of hands-on training workshops at CEAC facilities, and a commercial Arizona greenhouse tour.
This jam-packed event is full of information from experts in research, production and the bottom-line business of controlled environment agriculture. Enjoy face-to-face time with industry experts, as well as networking time with industry leaders!
For more information please call us at (520) 626-9566 or go
to: https://ceac.arizona.edu/events/cea-short-course
Can New Agriculture Technology Grow Food That is Better Than Organic?
New technologies are changing the landscape of food in America. Now, there is the ability to grow food that may be better than organic. How is this possible?
January 28, 2020
Written by: Randy Huft
New technologies are changing the landscape of food in America. Now, there is the ability to grow food that may be better than organic. How is this possible?
It helps to understand that there are some huge misconceptions about organic food.For starters, despite popular belief, organic farms can use pesticides. The difference is that they only use naturally-derived pesticides, rather than the synthetic pesticides used on conventional farms. Natural pesticides are believed to be less toxic, however, some have been found to have significant health risks
Some studies have indicated that the use of pesticides—even at low doses— can increase the risk of certain cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, brain tumors, breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Children and fetuses are most vulnerable to pesticide exposure because their immune systems, bodies, and brains are still developing. Exposure at an early age may cause developmental delays, behavioral disorders, autism, immune system harm, and motor dysfunction.
Pregnant women are more vulnerable due to the added stress pesticides put on their already taxed organs. Plus, pesticides can be passed from mother to child in the womb, as well as through breast milk.
The widespread use of pesticides has also led to the emergence of “superweeds” and “superbugs,” which can only be killed with extremely toxic poisons like 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (a major ingredient in Agent Orange).
Rinsing reduces but does not eliminate pesticides. It is important to wash your fruits and vegetables, but in most cases, this will not eliminate all traces of pesticides. Even organic foods can use certain pesticides, and outdoor-grown organic food can pick up pesticide residue from nearby farms.
According to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization that analyzes the results of government pesticide testing in the U.S., the following fruits and vegetables have the highest pesticide levels:
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Cucumbers
Celery
Potatoes
Grapes
Cherry Tomatoes
Kale/Collard Greens
Summer Squash
Nectarines (imported)
Peaches
Spinach
Strawberries
Hot Peppers
There is also confusion about organic food labels:
Organic foods are described on product labels in a variety of ways, but they mean different things:
100 percent organic. This description is used on certified organic fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat or other single-ingredient foods. It may also be used on multi-ingredient foods if all of the ingredients are certified organic, excluding salt and water. These may have a USDA seal.
Organic. If a multi-ingredient food is labeled organic, at least 95 percent of the ingredients are certified organic, excluding salt and water. The nonorganic items must be from a USDA list of approved additional ingredients. These also may have a USDA seal.
Made with organic. If a multi-ingredient product has at least 70 percent certified organic ingredients, it may have a "made with organic" ingredients label. For example, a breakfast cereal might be labeled "made with organic oats." The ingredient list must identify what ingredients are organic. These products may not carry a USDA seal.
Organic ingredients. If less than 70 percent of a multi-ingredient product is certified organic, it may not be labeled as organic or carry a USDA seal. The ingredient list can indicate which ingredients are organic.
Is there something better than organic?
Yes. Recent developments in agtech provides the ability to grow food without any pesticides or harmful ingredients. Controlled Environment Micro-Farms allow growers to cultivate fruits, herbs, and vegetables in a sealed environment that virtually eliminates the need for pesticides and harmful chemicals.
These tightly managed ecosystems use much less water and fertilizer than on conventional farms and allow growers to cultivate throughout the year, regardless of the season or weather.
A 40-foot Controlled Environment Farm can yield about 3,500-4,000 heads of lettuce every ten days. The greens are priced competitively with traditional produce, yet the process uses 97 percent less water than a conventional farm and no pesticides or herbicides since bugs and weeds are much less likely to get in. In fact, some say that produce grown in a Controlled Environment Farm is actually “better than organic,” noting that organic growers can still use certain pesticides.
Closer to Consumption
The Controlled Environment Farm (CEF) provides higher quality food that’s grown closer to where it will be consumed, which means food arrives ripe and ready to eat, with less cost and environmental impact. CEFs are also resource-friendly and use less water, energy, space, labor, and capital than other methods of farming.
Shipping containers are ideally suited to be repurposed into Controlled Environment Farms. There are millions of shipping containers in the world, but only a fraction of them are in service and used actively. Many of the remaining containers are wasting away in ports and storage yards across the world.
Repurposing these gentle giants into robust farms is not only good for producing clean, healthy food, but it is also good for the environment.
Real-World Uses
When Michael Bissanti opened Four Burgers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he knew he wanted to create a restaurant with a strong sense of sustainability. Initially, that meant procuring only ingredients deemed natural, as well as sourcing from organic and local farms. But Bissanti quickly realized that the “natural” label wasn’t a panacea for a sustainable food system — and so he went looking for a way to bring sustainable, local ingredients even closer to his kitchen.
Today, those ingredients could hardly be closer — Bissanti only needs to walk out the back door of his restaurant to pick all the fresh lettuce, arugula, mustard greens, and herbs he needs. Even in the cold Boston winters, Bissanti is merely feet away from fresh produce, in spite of the fact that his restaurant is located right in the middle of an urban thoroughfare between Harvard and MIT.
That’s because Bissanti is one of the hundreds of farmers across the country growing produce in Controlled Environment Farms built into repurposed shipping containers.
Companies that manufacture these farms, such as GP Solutions and Freight Farms, say that even traditional greenhouses and rooftop gardens require the expertise of an engineer, a plumber, an electrician, and a horticulturist. And, rooftop greenhouses are also expensive, costing between $1 million to $2 million to get started. A “GrowPod” from GP Solutions or a Freight Farms unit, by comparison, costs only around $48,000-$100,000.
One of the key differences in these Controlled Environment Farms is that everything is included. Everything from water to the LED lights in the units are digitally controlled, and each unit is also connected to the internet so that it can be monitored and managed from anywhere in the world.
“Everything is fully contained within the GrowPod so that it arrives as a turnkey product, ready to grow,” said George Natzic, President of GP Solutions.
These containers allow growers to generate local food production in any location. And manufacturers point out that unlike other indoor growing operations, the shipping container farms are scalable. You can locate the system in a parking lot or the corner of a warehouse and expand incrementally.
Meeting the needs of a changing world
With 54 percent of the world’s population residing in urban areas—expected to increase to about 66 percent by 2050, Controlled Environment Farms allow growers to reduce their agricultural footprint on the environment and address food security of the urban population.
Kimbal Musk (brother of Elon) says that these high-tech shipping container farms are creating “a real food revolution.”
What do you get by growing hyper-local to the end consumer? The answer is that the food you are eating right now at the restaurant was grown right outside and picked minutes ago. This is in stark contrast to traditional agriculture that often supplies produce that was picked when still hard, could sit in a warehouse for weeks, and has chemicals applied that allow ripening just prior to distribution to stores and restaurants.
In summary, there is a great need for controlled-environment agriculture as it allows produce to be grown locally and delivered to the final consumer very shortly post-harvest.
Consumers have a desire for locally-grown clean produce during all periods of the year which they can buy at a competitive price. Controlled Environment Farms are a solution that are sustainable, easy to implement, affordable to acquire, simple to operate, and produce high-quality food that can be considered better than organic.
US (PA): Hydroponic Farm Provides Hunger Relief
The pilot farm, which is now in production, is growing leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens
First Light Project announced the opening of their pilot for a hydroponic vertical farm located at the W. Berks Street warehouse location of the Delaware Valley’s largest hunger-relief organization, Philabundance.
The pilot farm, which is now in production, is growing leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens. These greens are grown using hydroponic technology in a 5-tier vertical racking system that supplies nutrient-rich water to the plant’s roots. High efficiency LED lights mimic optimal sunlight conditions up to 18 hours a day.
The 312 sq.ft. Pilot Farm is the precursor for First Light Project’s full-scale indoor hydroponic farm. The pilot farm is growing:
9 varieties of lettuce
2 varieties of Arugula
Varieties of Mustard Greens, Asian Greens, Kale and Swiss Chard
Genovese Basil
Mild & Spicy Microgreens
Crop cycles vary from 12-17 days for Microgreens, 31 days for lettuce and up to 45 days for Basil. Over the next 6 months, the pilot will grow continuous small batches of leafy greens, microgreens, and herbs to test for growth rate, yield, flavor and visual appeal. This testing enables First Light Project Farm to determine which optimal attributes of taste, size, and texture appeal to the customer base.
The host for the farm pilot is Philabundance who serves 90,000 people each week, 30 percent of whom are children and 16 percent of whom are seniors. A portion of the food grown by First Light Project Farm will be available to the community through Philabundance and its network of 400 member organizations. First Light Project Farm is one of a number of innovative community partners working with Philabundance to end hunger for good.
For more information:
First Light Project
Lois Davidson, Co-Managing Director
ldavidson@firstlightproject.org
www.firstlightproject.org
Publication date: Fri 24 Jan 2020
Why Vertical Farming Isn't A Miracle Solution To Food Security
Vertical farming is great for growing lots of food in a small space, but productivity comes at a cost: high energy use
Vertical farming is great for growing lots of food in a small space, but productivity comes at a cost: high energy use. We need to consider other, more sustainable, types of urban agriculture, says Andrew Jenkins
Friday 28 September 2018
A company in Scotland has unveiled what it claims is arguably the world’s most technically advanced indoor farm. Intelligent Growth Solutions’ vertical farm uses artificial intelligence and specially designed power and communication technologies. The firm says this reduces energy costs by 50 percent and labour costs by 80 percent when compared to other indoor growing environments, and can produce yields of up to 200 percent more than that of a traditional greenhouse.
Vertical farms like this aim to minimize water use and maximize productivity by growing crops “hydroponically” in small amounts of nutrient-rich water stacked in a climate-controlled building. But it’s important to recognize that the increased productivity of indoor vertical farming comes at the cost of much higher energy usage due to the need for artificial lighting and climate control systems.
By 2050, global food production will need to increase by an estimated 70 percent in developed countries and 100 percent in developing countries to match current trends in population growth (based on production information from 2005 to 2007). But in countries that already use the majority of their land for farming, this is easier said than done.
The UK, for example, uses 72 percent of its landmass for agricultural practices but imports nearly half of the food it consumes. To improve domestic food security and prevent natural habitats from being destroyed for new farmland, countries such as the UK need to consider new methods of food production.
Urban farming presents a unique opportunity to grow food on already developed land, increase domestic food production and minimize the distance food travels. Since the publication of Dickson Despommier’s 2010 book The Vertical Farm: Feeding the World in the 21st Century, vertical farming has become synonymous with urban farming. Although the agricultural skyscrapers illustrated in Despommier’s book are yet to be realized, the idea of growing food vertically has captured the minds of designers and engineers alike.
Aquaponic systems that grow food with the help of fish are a naturally lit option (Andrew Jenkins)
The energy demand associated with vertical farming, however, is much higher than other methods of food production. For example, lettuces grown in traditionally heated greenhouses in the UK need an estimated 250kWh of energy a year for every square metre of growing area. In comparison, lettuces grown in a purpose built vertical farm need an estimated 3,500kWh a year for each square metre of growing area. Notably, 98 percent of this energy use is due to artificial lighting and climate control.
Even with the reductions promised by Intelligent Growth Solutions, the energy demand associated with most vertical farms would still be very high, which positions vertical farming in a grey area. On the one hand, the world needs to produce more food, and on the other hand, it needs to reduce energy use and the production of greenhouse gases.
Urban alternatives
But indoor vertical farming isn’t the only way to grow food in cities. A plethora of naturally lit methods also exists, from raised beds in communal gardens to rooftop aquaponic systems that grow food with the help of fish. These methods all require less energy when compared to vertical farming because they don’t need artificial lighting.
Lufa Farms makes use of vacant roof space to grow food in naturally lit hydroponic greenhouses (Wikimedia Commons)
When viewing cities from above, it is clear to see just how many flat roofs are left vacant and the agricultural opportunities they represent. In the city of Manchester in the UK, unoccupied flat roofs account for an area of 136 hectares, representing one-third of the city’s inner urban area.
Gotham Greens in New York and Lufa Farms in Montreal, for example, are both commercial farms that use vacant roof space to grow food in naturally lit hydroponic greenhouses. Given the success of such projects and the area of roof space available, it seems strange that so many companies would skip ahead to methods of food production that still need a lot of costly development, as well as more energy to operate. Although they can’t grow as much food, rooftop greenhouses need at least 70 percent less energy for each square metre of growing area than artificially lit vertical farms.
Lead Photo: The method is a tempting solution for city designers low on space... but it’s not the only one out there ( Reuters )
How Stockholm Wants To Be 'The Green Food Tech Hub of The Future'
At Grönska, 1.3 million plants are grown each year in long rows of racks filled with stacked drawers. This hall in Huddinge in Stockholm county is not just a business premise, but a high-tech vertical farm
Lead Photo: Photo: Stina Stjernkvist / TT
In 2017, the Swedish food retail sector was worth 272 billion kronor. But how can the Nordic nation embrace innovation to make the food chain more sustainable? Several startups and business accelerators are investing heavily in sustainable development in the form of foodtech.
At Grönska, 1.3 million plants are grown each year in long rows of racks filled with stacked drawers. This hall in Huddinge in Stockholm county is not just a business premise, but a high-tech vertical farm. Food is grown locally in a controlled and space-efficient environment.
"Sweden imports 60 percent of its food and a third to a quarter of the emissions in Sweden comes from transporting food," Natalie de Brun, one of the co-founders of the startup, tells The Local.
"Sweden has a short season of three to four months where food can be produced. By producing food in a vertical farm, we do not depend on the climate. We are replicating nature inside and stacking the crops, which is very space-efficient. Each shelf has its own LED lighting and circulating water system. Here we can grow strawberries all year round."
Foodtech is a movement of companies that are trying to change the way we grow, transport and consume food. By combining traditional and innovative technologies, the idea is that food can become more efficient, sustainable and healthier.
Bright LED lights light up the business space in Huddinge. The plants follow an artificial daylight rhythm to grow as efficiently as possible. Delicate plants such as different kinds of herbs and lettuce are growing in stacks of about 20 metres wide and six metres high. Grönska employees are walking around and taking care of the plants.
"Food is something everyone consumes every day, and you can have a direct effect on it yourself," explains de Brun. "We are selling our products to local restaurants, supermarkets and even an airline. Growing the amount of arugula or lettuce we grow in one year would require at least 15 times more space if grown on an open field, and 100 times more carbon emissions from transportation."
The vertical farm located in southern Stockholm is one of Europe's largest. Photo: Lars Pehrson / SvD / TT
In an office in the Söderhallarna building on Stockholm's Södermalm, Sweden Foodtech brings companies together by organizing events and focuses on major themes around the future of food. One of the key questions is simply: How do we manage to feed future generations?
Together with supermarket Coop and impact hub Norrsken, Sweden Foodtech offers support to companies that want to 'reshape the food system'.
"Food is a huge market, from production and transportation to supermarkets and restaurants. But innovation in the sector is very minimal. That's something we would like to change," says Federico Ronca, Innovation Consultant at Sweden Foodtech.
"One-third of all the food in the world is wasted," he adds. "A few big producers are managing the whole food market. We are trying to work with them and convince them to open up to new initiatives and technologies. We're connecting the dots, and creating an 'orchestra of the players'."
The initiative started as a food festival, SMAKA -- Good Food Festival, which grew into one of the biggest food festivals on the planet and developed into Sweden Foodtech. Ronca sees Sweden and Stockholm as perfect places for foodtech projects.
"There is a large tech sector and a great digital infrastructure. Sweden and the Nordics are the best in sustainable development, they are leading in the world. Sweden also doesn't have a strong food tradition, as France and Italy have. That makes that people are very open-minded about food," he explains.
Stockholm as a hotspot for innovative businesses
The same goals are shared by Stockholm Business Region, the Swedish capital's official promotion agency, which is dedicated to creating a good ecosystem for innovative businesses and hopes to turn the Stockholm into a "leading foodtech hub".
"Stockholm truly is an innovation-driven place. It's full of early adopters", says Irena Lundberg, a business manager at Stockholm Business Region.
"These consumers are aware of their responsibility and like to buy eco-friendly products. There is natural support from the city for all kinds of sustainable projects, and Sweden itself is a very steady environment for starting a business."
The public interest, environmental awareness, Nordic culinary traditions and active tech community in the city make Stockholm the place to be for foodtech initiatives, she believes.
But despite strong ambitions, there are not yet any figures or statistics available to fulfill the hopeful expectations. Stockholm Business Region is currently monitoring 300 businesses in the foodtech industry, and according to Lundberg, expects to see results "in about one year".
At Grönska, we walk along the rows of racks where all kinds of herbs and lettuce varieties are grown. The founders of this vertical farm have experienced the opportunities available to startups in Sweden firsthand.
"Stockholm is a great place to start an innovative business. There is a great startup culture, we really feel empowered and encouraged here. There are a lot of facilitators and enablers that help us grow our business," says de Brun.
In the vertical farm in Huddinge, various herbs and lettuce varieties are grown locally and used in supermarkets and restaurants. Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/TT.
Until now, traditional greenhouse production is the norm. This type of production is less energy effective and has higher transportation emissions. But Grönska sees a big technology shift coming up.
"In the near future we can inexpensively build high tech vertical farms and grow food on a large scale," says de Brun. "This way we can grow our food local and more energy-efficient and people can eat better and healthier. There will be more space for other players in the food market."
But she admits that it will take time to change the food industry.
"We are working with a fresh, organic and alive product," explains de Brun. "It's a complex and established industry. Everyone needs food every day, you can't change that system overnight. There's a lot going on, and it's cool to be part of that wave. Food is key."
Are In-Home Vertical Farms The Next Big Appliance For Connected Kitchens?
Whether you’re contemplating your own home grow system or just curious, here’s a look at what’s available and what’s in the pipeline
A little less than a year ago, The Spoon looked at a number of hydroponic farming devices that could fit into the average person’s apartment. These were, for the most part, table-top models or units that could hang on a wall. At the time, the concept of having a grow system in your own home seemed more than a little novel.
Fast forward to now and things have changed. Putting an indoor vertical farm in the average consumer’s home isn’t yet a mainstream concept, but as more startups and major appliance-makers alike have shown over the last 12 months, the idea is making its way into the Everyman’s kitchen with more speed these days. Now, thanks to a bunch of concepts shown off at this year’s CES, suddenly the idea of having a smart farm in your kitchen doesn’t seem so novel.
Whether you’re contemplating your own home grow system or just curious, here’s a look at what’s available and what’s in the pipeline.
Aspara
If you’re like me, you have minimal space (almost none, really) in the home for adding much in the way of smart farming systems. Aspara’s hydroponic growing device could potentially solve that problem because it’s small — 14 inches high and 21 inches wide — and could reasonably fit on a countertop, shelf, or even on top of the refrigerator. The system uses a combination of LEDs, an auto-watering feature, and sensors that detect nutrient levels, humidity and air, and other factors to create the optimal grow “recipe” for the plants.
After a user does the initial planting of the seeds, the Aspara app manages most of the grow process, notifying the user when it’s time to refill the water tank and harvest the plants. It also includes tips and recipes for growing and lets you monitor multiple Aspara farms at the same time.
The device is currently available in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the U.S. through online retailers. For U.S. buyers, the device currently goes for $259.99 on Amazon for just the machine and $339.99 with a starter seed kit included.
Rise Gardens
Chicago, IL startup Rise Gardens is one of those companies aiming to make a truly “plug in and go” indoor vertical farming system for the home. This one is a standalone console that can be purchased with one, two, or three “levels” for plants and weighs between 60 and 106 pounds depending on the size.
A user assembles the garden — much as you would a piece of furniture from IKEA, from the looks of it — then downloads the app, which controls the lighting and nutrients schedule and reminds the user when it’s time to water the plants. Each garden comes with a starter pack of 12 plant pods that can be inserted directly into the grow trays.
Price ranges from $549 for a single-level console to $949 for a triple.
Agrilution’s Plantcube
Not to be confused with Plantycube (see below), the Plantcube made headlines at the end of 2019 when its maker, a German company called Agrilution, was acquired by appliance-maker Miele. Less device than full-on kitchen appliance, the Plantcube automates temperature, light, climate, and water levels of the indoor vertical farm, and can be controlled from within the Agrilution app.
The appliance looks like a wine cooler and is about the same size. However, unlike a wine cooler or any of the systems listed above, the Plantcube is meant to be built directly into your kitchen cupboards or beneath a countertop. That would perhaps explain the price point: €2,979 (~$3,300 USD), a figure most consumers wouldn’t spend on an indoor farm right now. Even for those who would, the device is currently only available to those in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg or the Netherlands.
Even so, the concept Plantcube pushes is one to watch. It’s entirely possible that appliances like these eventually become as common in the home kitchen as microwaves. The price point would have to come way down for that to become a reality, which is one reason we’re watching Plantcube closely in the future.
GE Home Grow
As The Spoon’s Mike Wolf wrote recently, CES 2020’s standout in the consumer kitchen was GE because, “rather than create product demos designed as show-off vehicles for new technologies, GE illustrated how these technologies could be employed in a cohesive, systematic way to provide consumers answers to some of their biggest problems.”
Among those technologies was Home Grown, GE’s indoor gardening concept that uses a combination of hydroponics, aeroponics, and soil-based grow systems that are built directly into the kitchen design. For each of the three systems, water, nutrient, and light delivery are controlled through an app, which also guides the user through the seeding and harvesting stages of the grow process.
The system also offers consumers information on the health benefits of each plant as well as how to prepare herbs and greens in meals once they are harvested.
Home Grow is purely conceptual at this stage, so there’s no price point on these systems. Like the Plantcube, however, GE is thinking bigger than the just-another-appliance concept and imagining a system that can encourage healthier eating, reduce food waste, and increase consumer education around the foods they’re eating.
Honorable Mentions
We’ve covered these in-depth already, but LG and Plantycube are also at the forefront of bringing vertical farming technology into the consumer kitchen. Both showed off products at CES this year.
LG’s forthcoming appliance is the size of a fridge and, as I wrote recently, “takes many of the functions found in commercial-scale indoor farming and applies them to a device specifically made for the average consumer.”
N.thing’s Planty Cube, meanwhile, is a highly modular indoor farming system that can be small enough to fit on a countertop or large enough to serve cafeterias at schools, offices, and other institutions.
Since things are never as simple as they seem, there are obviously still a lot of questions around these “plug-in-and-grow” systems. Will they raise consumers’ utility bills significantly? What happens if they break? Are they worth the cost if they can only grow leafy greens and not more substantial veggies, like carrots or broccoli?
Many more questions will sprout up as companies introduce new systems to the consumer market, and it’s ok that those questions won’t get answered immediately. The more important point here is that entrepreneurs and corporations both are testing new ways to make food cleaner, more local, and more in the consumer’s control. Right now, we need concepts as compact as an Aspera and as conceptual as GE’s Home Grown right now to help get us there.
3 Challenges of Growing In A Vertical Farm
As our world faces challenges associated with population growth, climate variability and the loss of arable land and freshwater, we humans need to find new and efficient ways to grow food
March 25, 2019
As our world faces challenges associated with population growth, climate variability and the loss of arable land and freshwater, we humans need to find new and efficient ways to grow food. Vertical farming has emerged in the past decade as one of the tools we can implement to face some of those challenges. In most cases, the vertical farm (VF) is characterized by an array of shelves stacked vertically and side-by-side, filling the volume of a warehouse-type space with lettuce greens and culinary herbs that are usually spaced tightly together. Under this configuration, a farm can grow upwards of 5 to 10 times the number of plants for a given footprint as compared to field-grown crops. Theoretically, the number of plants grown is only limited by the height of the building.
This unlimited growth potential is a lucrative proposition and has created a “sky is the limit” mentality for many prospective VF growers and developers who envision a space filled to the brim with plants. Unfortunately, this perspective has led many down an unrealistic path of ”packing them in,” considering only how much space is required between each vertical rack to fit the growing media, the lights, the full-height plant and sometimes even the arms of the automated harvesting machine. The space requirements for HVAC equipment and air circulation around the plants are often overlooked, resulting in the two most commonly identified difficulties when controlling the environment: humidity control and air movement.
Challenge No. 1:
Temperature and humidity
The first climate management challenge that vertical farmers must overcome is figuring out how much cooling, dehumidification, and heating is required to manage the temperature and humidity of the grow space. In a VF, lighting contributes the greatest source of heat, followed by motors used to operate fans, pumps, and automation. Because VFs are often well insulated and designed to operate day and night throughout the year, cooling is usually required 24/7 and year-round to remove the heat generated inside the space.
Dehumidification is also constantly required to remove the moisture added to the air via evapotranspiration (Et) from the plants and irrigation system. The rate and quantity of Et depends on several variables, including light intensity, air temperature and humidity (or vapor pressure deficit), air movement and the irrigation method. Although Et is greatest when plants are mature and the lights are on, Et does not stop when the lights go out. Plants continue to respire and give off moisture when the lights are off, and for continuously recirculating irrigation systems (e.g. NFT and aquaponics), evaporation from these systems can remain constant all day. Therefore, the size and operation of the dehumidification system should take into consideration both the maximum and minimum Et rates expected inside a VF.
Heating systems in the VF are rarely required, due to all the heat generated inside the space by lights. However, if the air conditioning (AC) system is used to both cool and dehumidify the space, then the AC system will create very cold air to remove (or condense) water out of the air. Typically, we don’t want to deliver that cold air (eg. 45° F) back to the plants, so we reheat it before sending it to the room. This is the most common use of heating in a VF.
Challenge No. 2:
Air circulation
The second biggest challenge is figuring out how to deliver the conditioned air everywhere within the vertical farm to create a (hopefully) uniform growing environment. When racks are spaced tightly together — both vertically and horizontally — it is difficult to create uniform conditions everywhere. In the horizontal direction, the plants and lights obstruct the flow of air from Point A to Point B, often resulting in temperature, humidity and airspeed differences from one end of the rack to the other. When the vertical height is very short (say 4 inches or less), this obstruction of air movement is magnified. On top of that, the air moving across the shelf is picking up heat (from lights) and moisture (from plants), causing it to become hotter and more humid along its path. Shorter vertical heights exacerbate this trend, as they limit the volume of air that can be squeezed between the rack levels, thereby restricting the amount of heat and moisture that can be absorbed and causing the air to heat up and humidify even more quickly as it travels from end to end. The result: large differences in temperature and humidity levels from Point A to Point B. And the longer the shelf, the longer the path of air and the greater the difference.
Several strategies can be applied to facilitate air movement in the VF. Many farmers employ the use of small circulating fans, installing them at incremental positions within the racking system and above the plants to help boost airflow from one end to the other. Air movement can also be enhanced by considering where conditioned air is introduced into the space and where it is then removed after loading up with heat and moisture. The type of air diffusers can also help distribute and push air into desired locations, as well as help mix cold air near the floor with warmer air near the ceiling to prevent the stack effect.
Cooling is usually required 24/7/365 in a vertical farm. Photo: Adobe Stock
Challenge No. 3:
HVAC equipment location
Space considerations aren’t limited to moving conditioned air through the racking system; they also include where to put HVAC equipment. Depending on the design, HVAC equipment can include air conditioners, dehumidifiers, circulation fans, ductwork, chillers, boilers, pumps, and pipes. Cooling and dehumidification equipment are best located outside the building, where heat and moisture can be rejected to the outdoor air. Some equipment (air conditioners, dehumidifiers, etc.) are ideally located on the roof of the building or on the ground outside and next to the room it is serving, helping to limit ductwork. Other equipment, such as chillers, need a designated area away from the building to accommodate the larger equipment. Inside the building and the VF itself, better air movement can be realized if adequate space is provided for ductwork, fans, and air delivery and mixing in general.
Conclusion
No matter what crop is grown, managing humidity control and air movement in a vertical farm is essential to plant productivity, harvesting schedules, quality control and, ultimately, profitability. Every developer, designer and dreamer would do well to include climate management as a foremost systems consideration — in line with lighting, racking, irrigation and automation — during the conceptual and facility planning stage. Only then can vertical farming rise to its full potential.
Nadia is the president and founder of Dr. Greenhouse, Inc., an agricultural and mechanical engineering firm that specializes in the design of HVAC systems for indoor plant environments.
Lead photo: Photos: Adobe Stock
Dr. Nadia Sabeh
Vertical farms Aquaponics Lettuce NFT Herbs Temperature Climate control
Malaysian Brothers Cultivate Indoor Farming
Agriculture technology firm Plant Cartridge Sdn Bhd has developed a growing kit to enable sustainable urban farming at home
Agriculture technology firm Plant Cartridge Sdn Bhd has developed a growing kit to enable sustainable urban farming at home. Now, it is utilising its knowledge for the growth of smart industry-scale farms in response to an insatiable demand for safe and sustainable food produce.
By collaborating with Cultiveat Group Sdn Bhd, another innovative agritech company, Liang and his team have been able to industrialise their humble growing kit. It is based on the simple science of hydroponics but refined and upgraded using a one-step soilless growing method.
The current venture with brothers John-Hans and John-Ian Oei of Cultiveat involves the extension of Plant Cartridge’s existing business and the former’s expertise in developing and managing industrial farms. Plant Cartridge provides the technology, which includes its highly successful growing kit — a 2ft-long covered rectangular ultraviolet-coated polyethylene tank that has holes to fit eight pods that contain select seeds and growing medium as well as a hole in the centre for irrigation purposes.
Meanwhile, Cultiveat worked on clearing the land it owns and is in the process of constructing greenhouses on a two-acre plot at the edge of Kapar, which is less than 3km from the coast of the Straits of Malacca. It already has a greenhouse on a plot of land in Klang, where it is growing 18 types of lettuce.
Read more at The Edge (Pathma Subramaniam)
Publication date: Mon 13 Jan 2020
Underground Farms Sprout in Seoul's Subway Stations
Subterranean vegetable farms are cropping up at subway stations in Seoul in a collaboration between Seoul Metro and an agricultural startup to utilize vacant spaces and diversify the subway operator's revenue sources
Consumers give thumbs up to less polluted air
KOTARO HOSOKAWA, Nikkei staff writerJ
ANUARY 14, 2020 JSTSeoul
Metro and startup Farm8 are exploring innovative methods of food production in urban areas. (Photo by Kotaro Hosokawa)
SEOUL -- Subterranean vegetable farms are cropping up at subway stations in Seoul in a collaboration between Seoul Metro and an agricultural startup to utilize vacant spaces and diversify the subway operator's revenue sources.
Seoul Metro is renting idle spaces to Farm8, a startup with about 300 employees which supplies vegetables grown indoors efficiently and safely to retailers and restaurants.Farm8 is also testing farm cafes in three stations and plans to open more outlets in the future, as well as to export longer-life vegetables, including paprika, to Japan.
Passing through a ticket gate at Sangdo Station on Line 7 of Seoul Metro in the central area of the city, passengers can see a glass-walled room filled with leafy vegetables in an underground space. Business people and families are seen relaxing at a cafe equipped with juicer-mixers and coffee machines next to Metro Farm, which opened in September last year.
As South Korea's subway stations contain large underground spaces, most transfer hubs and other big stations have commercial areas with restaurants and shops. However, locations further away from ticket gates are often left unused because they are unattractive to retailers.
Hydroponically grown vegetables at a Metro Farm in Seoul's Dongjak district.
(Photo by Kotaro Hosokawa)
Seoul Metro has been seeking tenants that will help improve the image of subway stations without additional costs as part of efforts to make use of unoccupied spaces, said Kim Seong-jin, a Seoul Metro manager. Farm8, which runs vegetable farms nationwide, grabbed Kim's attention.
Unlike with ordinary tenants, Seoul Metro signed a 10-year contract with Farm8 to cover rents and provide a fixed amount of profit. The store also provides a space next to the cafe in which children can learn about agriculture.
Some 30 types of vegetables, including varieties of lettuce, basil, and edible flowers, are grown in a cultivation room of about 200 sq. meters. The plan is to harvest 30 to 40 kg of vegetables a day on shelves of about 4 meters and sell them as ingredients for the cafe's salads, priced at 5,900 won ($5.04), and 3,000-won vegetable juice. Vegetables that are unsuitable for consumption at the cafes will be sold to outside restaurants.
Growing hydroponic vegetables under light-emitting diodes is 40 times more efficient per unit area than growing them outdoors, according to Yeo Chan-dong, assistant manager of Farm8. The company's hydroponic vegetables are gaining popularity among consumers, particularly parents, who are wary of vegetables grown outdoors because of air pollution caused by PM2.5 -- particulate matter that measures less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter -- which is seen as hazardous in South Korea.
The company will operate stores combining cultivation rooms and cafes depending on locations, including setting up salad box vending machines at subway stations in business districts. Farm8 has already started testing "smart farms" in which artificial intelligence-powered robots will plant and harvest vegetables as well as adjust water quality. It also plans to develop new types of stores so that it can reduce operation costs, and it will open two more outlets in early 2020.
There is still so much to do to improve the profitability of the subway station business, Yeo said, but Farm8 plans to open more Metro Farm stores, betting that opening "plant factories" at subway stations used by several million people per day will have a huge advertising impact. The effort is likely to draw attention as a new method of local food production for local consumption in urban areas.
New Dubai Vertical Farm Set To Start Operations In Q2 2020
Spanning an area of 50,000 sq ft, the facility will have the capacity to produce 3,500kg of high-quality fruits and vegetables on a daily basis
17 Dec 2019
Dubai Industrial City will host Badia Farms' upcoming new large-scale high-tech vertical farm
The Badia Farms facility in Dubai Industrial City is rare as it will combine fruits and vegetables on a commercial large-scale basis.
Dubai Industrial City has announced it will be home to Badia Farms’ upcoming new large-scale high-tech vertical farm.
Badia Farms, a regional AgTech leader, said the vertical farm is expected to start operations in the second quarter of 2020.
Saud Abu Al-Shawareb, managing director of Dubai Industrial City, and Omar Al Jundi, founder and CEO of Badia Farms, signed an agreement formalizing the partnership.
Spanning an area of 50,000 sq ft, the facility will have the capacity to produce 3,500kg of high-quality fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.
From Dubai Industrial City, Badia Farms will grow more than 30 varieties of fruits and vegetables sustainably, it said in a statement.
Vertical farming uses high-tech methods to produce crops in a controlled environment leveraging vertical space, without pesticides, and using fewer resources compared to traditional farming.
The Badia Farms facility in Dubai Industrial City is rare as it will combine fruits and vegetables on a commercial large-scale basis.
The signing ceremony was also attended by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, who said: “Badia Farms is an exceptional example of how the UAE’s agricultural industry can thrive while protecting our environment for future generations.
"This new high-tech vertical farm will contribute to the UAE’s commitment to becoming more sustainable. Hydroponic technology is a major contributor to agricultural sustainability and food diversity, as it improves crop production and lowers its cost. This is evident in the successful production achieved by Badia Farms in the very short time since its inception.”
Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, Minister of State for Food Security, added: “The UAE has set clear plans to enhance its food security, relying on an integrated ecosystem to produce and manage food – a system that employs advanced modern technologies to develop solutions to the challenges the UAE faces, most notably water scarcity and lack of arable land. Controlled-environment agriculture systems are an important solution for producing food in the UAE and the world. The UAE is now home to several vertical farms equipped with hydroponics and soilless farming technologies.”
Al Jundi said: “As founders of the first vertical farm in the region back in 2016, we are committed to innovation in the AgTech space to achieve our ultimate goal of elevating the UAE and the region from importers to exporters of fruits and vegetables.”
For all the latest tech news from the UAE and Gulf countries, follow us on Twitter and Linkedin, like us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube page, which is updated daily.
VERTICAL FARMING VERTICAL FARM IN DUBAI BADIA FARMS DR THANI BIN AHMED AL ZEYOUDI UAE'S MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD SECURITY FOOD SECURITY UAE DUBAI INDUSTRIAL CITY TECOM GROUP
SWITZERLAND: Migros Basel And Growcer Launch Joint Vertical Farming Project
Switzerland's first "Robotic Vertical Farm" is currently being built in a hall located on the Wolf site in Basel. From sowing to irrigation and harvesting, machines take over the work fully automatically
“Vertical Farming Meets The Demand
For More Sustainability And Regionality"
Together with the Migros Basel cooperative, Growcer is developing the first "Robotic Vertical Farm" in Switzerland, in order to grow regional foodstuffs there in the future, independent of weather conditions, pesticide-free and water-saving, and - thanks to the shortest transport routes - to deliver them quickly to the Migros branch. The start of production is imminent, and the first products are expected to be available exclusively in the MParc Dreispitz in the summer.
Switzerland's first "Robotic Vertical Farm" is currently being built in a hall located on the Wolf site in Basel. From sowing to irrigation and harvesting, machines take over the work fully automatically. The production chambers are sealed off from the environment, which means that production can take place all year round without soil, without any pesticides and with up to 90 percent less water.
In addition to all this, land consumption is, of course, minimal, as the cultivation beds can be stacked. This creates around 1,000m2 of cultivated area on a surface area of just 400m2. The farm can produce leafy vegetables and herbs all year round and, thanks to the immediate proximity of the sales point in the MParc Dreispitz, these can be delivered absolutely fresh within hours of being harvested.
Regionality and continuity
"Switzerland, like many countries, is dependent on imports. Via Growcer we bring regionality and continuity into it. In addition, pesticides are a problem for the population and nature, which we can solve by doing without them. With Migros Basel we have found a partner who supports our values and goals and is committed to the introduction of a new generation of sustainable products", says Marcel Florian, CEO of Growcer AG.
"Vertical farming is a trend that meets the demand for more sustainability and regionalism", says René Lori, Head of Supermarkets/Catering at Migros Basel. "The cooperation with Growcer gives us the opportunity to invest in an innovative and future-oriented project".
Year-round production
The production facility on the Wolf will be completed next spring, and the first products are expected to be available exclusively at Migros in the MParc Dreispitz in the summer. It is planned to produce further vegetables or fruit all year round at a later date and to supply other branches.
Migros Basel and Growcer are looking forward to the cooperation.
Source: Migros Basel
Publication date: Fri 17 Jan 2020
The Planty Cube is A Vertical Farming System Assembled Like LEGO Bricks
Agriculture IoT startup n.thing has developed ‘planty cube,’ an automated vertical farming system that allows users to maintain crops at any time and from anywhere. the system connects like LEGO bricks with a modular design made up of multiple capsules called pickcells that contain the seeds of each plant
jan 14, 2020
Agriculture IoT startup n.thing has developed ‘planty cube,’ an automated vertical farming system that allows users to maintain crops at any time and from anywhere. the system connects like LEGO bricks with a modular design made up of multiple capsules called pickcells that contain the seeds of each plant.
images courtesy of n.thing
to demonstrate its potential, n.thing has developed a smart hydroponic farm that uses the planty cube design. shaped like a shipping container, it is made of stacked rows and shelves of planters on each wall with each pickcell roughly two inches in width, length, and depth. after seeds are sown through their smart seed capsules, a computerized system controls the environment by monitoring plant health and adjusting the LEDs, temperature, and humidity, accordingly. the planty cube system, which uses sensors to collect data on the plants, can also be controlled via a smartphone, presenting the unique opportunity to farm remotely.
the grow system can work in a number of different settings, from an apartment to a cafeteria, and is automated enough that plants can thrive without constant human attention. the ease of use also makes it simpler for clients who want to start vertical farming businesses, to increase the size of their farm at low-costs, over longer periods of time, and in line with their individual business growth.
a number of companies are developing vertical farming concepts including LG who launched its own indoor vertical farm at CES 2020. unlike glasshouse production, which relies on sunlight, vertical farming makes use of led lighting to provide different wavelengths of light, according to crop and growth stage need. these high-tech units are being presented as the solution to many of the challenges facing traditional production methods, such as pollution and water use.
Farmshelf Takes Growers From Seed to Plate
Kitchen gardens are going high-tech as the development of smart, efficient hydroponic grow systems helps both novice and experienced growers from seed to plate
Farmshelf is A Smart, Automated Farm For Hotels,
Restaurants And Corporate Cafes
BY CORRIS LITTLE ON JANUARY 15, 2020
BROOKLYN, NY—Kitchen gardens are going high-tech as the development of smart, efficient hydroponic grow systems helps both novice and experienced growers from seed to plate. One such company is Farmshelf, based here, which builds smart indoor farms that enable people to grow leafy greens, herbs and flowering crops where they live, work and eat.
“Our bookcase-sized smart, indoor farms are small enough to fit into a restaurant and powerful enough to provide pounds of fresh produce every week. Farmshelf brings the outdoors inside and grows food two to three times faster than conventional farming,” said J.P. Kyrillos, co-founder, Farmshelf.
Farmshelf’s bookcase-style growing system was invented by Andrew Shearer, Farmshelf co-founder, and CEO. He found inspiration through his passion for food, technology, engineering, and community.
“He married his years of volunteering experience to fund education in agriculture in Nicaragua’s food-insecure communities, and professional tech experience in Silicon Valley to build a tool that allows people to grow healthful, flavorful food anywhere, any time and know its source,” said Kyrillos.
As a result, the hospitality industry has taken notice. At HX: The Hotel Experience Powered by AAHOA, Farmshelf was the winner of the Best of Show award. Farmshelf has also captured the attention of hotel chefs and high-profile New York restaurateurs like Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster and Jose Andres of Mercado Little Spain, who have entered into partnerships with the company.
“They find as much value in the five to six pounds of leafy greens and herbs the units produce weekly as they do the organic marketing value,” Kyrillos said. “Our partners in the hospitality space share with us that the units add beauty to whatever space they are in. We designed Farmshelf to be eye-catching, and we often see hotel guests and diners in the restaurants that house Farmshelf taking time to really look at the unit, discover what it is and admire what it provides.”
Kyrillos also noted that the chefs at the hotels where Farmshelf is stationed regularly praise the accessibility and freshness of the produce.
“We aim to shorten the distance between farm to plate—a journey that’s often hundreds or thousands of miles—and having fresh herbs and greens right at your fingertips not only allows for speedy and easy access, it provides superior freshness,” he said.
Sustainability is a key facet of the Farmshelf business.
“Farmshelf helps minimize food waste because you know exactly how much produce you are able to harvest at any time, and no food expires in transit,” he said. “Nearly 40% or more of the food we grow in the U.S. ends up in a landfill. That equates to millions of dollars and pounds of food that could have otherwise been used. It’s a solvable problem, and we’re working to lay the building blocks to address it in a scalable way. In addition, Farmshelf uses 90% less water in comparison to traditional soil growing. By enabling you to harvest just what’s needed, Farmshelf also eliminates packaging, environmental impacts from transportation, and food waste.”
Kyrillos noted that the Farmshelf leadership team has seen firsthand the devastation that a lack of access to food causes.
“At Farmshelf, we are passionate about ensuring people have access to fresh, healthful food, anywhere and anytime,” he said. “And, while we are still a young company, we are working to scale our technology so that more people can have access to food.”
Andrew Shearer Farmshelf food waste garden Gardening HX: The Hotel Experience Hydroponic J.P. Kyrillos Sustainability
Wasabi Japonica Grown Under GE LED Grow Lights
Contact Hort Americas if you are looking to learn more about using the Current LED grow lights to produce crops grown in tissue culture and micropropagation facilities
The “Hardest to Grow” Plant in the World
The Opportunity
Wasabi Japonica is widely accredited as the “hardest to grow” plant in the world. The plants are native to Japan and require a very specific set of environmental conditions to successfully produce healthy plants.
Wasabi is most commonly associated with Japanese food, where it is used as a unique spice and as a condiment on sushi, but many are now learning of its secondary metabolites that possess distinct health benefits including significant anti-cancer and antimicrobial properties. Unfortunately, few growers outside of Japan have successfully grown Wasabi Japonica commercially. This has led not only to a high global demand for fresh grown product, but also to an increasing amount of interest from commercial growers trying to tap into a market that now pays an estimated $325/£250 per kilo of rhizome.
The Possibilities and the Challenges
Successful field cultivation is difficult because of the specific parameters required for growth over a relatively long harvest period of up to 2 years. Wasabi is also highly susceptible to pests and disease. Although resistant strains are available in Asia, the West is restricted to two main varieties: Mazuma and Daruma. Vegetative propagation can be successful for F1 generations, but thereafter, endogenous fungal infection leads to poor yields and major crop loss. Therefore, it is important to grow from clean stock produced under controlled environmental conditions.
A small startup in Scotland called The Functional Plant Company is currently working with LED grow lights from GE Current, a Daintree company to grow wasabi. The Functional Plant Company is using a variety of hydroponic and micropropagation techniques to produce plantlets from tissue culture through to acclimation and eventually full maturity. They are proving that light intensity and spectrum are equally important factors in establishing new cuticle and stomatal development. Their aim to prove this can become more efficient and faster by using GE LED battens as compared to natural daylight.
Finding Success with LED Grow Lights
Trials show the plants have established good root production using the Arize Lynk LED Grow Lights at 60umols/m2/s, although they noted the leaf canopy growth is slower and darker than when using TLEDs at equal intensity. The Functional Plant Company added that interesting results also arose when trying other spectrums of the Arize LED grow lights. They have noted a darker callus at higher light levels with high percentage of red light, while lower intensity prevents leaf burn and dehydration during early acclimation.
They concluded by noting that the Arize LED grow lights are very energy efficient, generating little heat—which is perfect for Wasabi as even a small temperature increase can cause wilt and plant loss.
Contact Hort Americas if you are looking to learn more about using the Current LED grow lights to produce crops grown in tissue culture and micropropagation facilities.
US: Lynchburg, Virginia - Lynchburg Hospital Offers Unique Experience With Home-Grown Lettuce
Centra in Lynchburg is offering fresh lettuce that’s grown in the building at its salad bar. Centra partnered with a Charlottesville company to grow four different kinds of lettuce, including romaine. Nutrition service officials said they can control the plant’s environment and receive alerts on their phone if something is wrong
Lettuce takes two to four weeks to grow before served to patients, families
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Feedback has been good for one hospital that’s taking dining to another level.
Centra in Lynchburg is offering fresh lettuce that’s grown in the building at its salad bar.
Centra partnered with a Charlottesville company to grow four different kinds of lettuce, including romaine.
Nutrition service officials said they can control the plant’s environment and receive alerts on their phone if something is wrong.
“We have chefs who serve things. We want the food to be nutritious. We want the food to be good tasting. So, things like this are innovative. We are the first ones to have this in the U.S. This does not exist in any other hospital,” Timothy Schoonmaker, executive chef of Centra Nutrition Services, said.
Schoonmaker said it takes about two to four weeks for the lettuce to be ready and served to patients and families.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Magdala Louissaint
Magdala Louissaint is an award-winning journalist who joined WSLS 10 in July 2017 as the Lynchburg bureau reporter.
A First International Project For Inno-3B
Using Inno-3B Technology, Madar Farms plans to triple its current production of microgreens. Inno-3B’s vertical farming towers enable high yields while producing plants at low cost and with little energy, in a limited space
Saint-Pacôme, Quebec, Canada, January 14, 2020
This document is to announce that Inno-3B, a company specializing in the development of automated vertical farming technology, has recently entered into an agreement for the design, construction, and delivery of an automated production tower with a major customer in Dubai ̧ in the United Arab Emirates. The delivery is scheduled for the summer of 2020.
Using Inno-3B Technology, Madar Farms plans to triple its current production of microgreens. Inno-3B’s vertical farming towers enable high yields while producing plants at low cost and with little energy, in a limited space. Madar Farms also plans to produce tomatoes exclusively under LED lighting in this same facility, which will be located halfway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, a world-first according to the company.
"We are very proud and enthusiastic to export our know-how from here to the international market. This agreement marks the deployment of our sales efforts on a global scale," says Martin Brault, President, and co-founder of the Canadian company.
About Inno-3B:
Inno-3B is a young innovative company based in Saint-Pacôme, Québec, Canada. The company designs and manufactures vertical farming towers with controlled environment for growing high-density plants. The technology developed aims to offer sustainable solutions to global food production issues while reducing greenhouse gas emissions related to agriculture.
About Madar Farms:
Madar Farms is a company that uses advanced methods to grow high-quality fresh produce, with a mission to help solve the food and water security problems in the region.
Madar Farms aims to provide a holistic approach to sustainability by supporting sustainability education in schools through learning content, resources, and practical experiences, working with governments to inform policy, ensuring that the crop is sustainable and always provides an excellent product, developing future solutions for food sustainability.
Headquartered in Dubai and with a research and development center in Abu Dhabi, Madar Farms also operates Sustainable Futures, a program for schools to give the next generation the awareness, knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to create a sustainable future for us all.
An Urban Farm Is In The Works For Milwaukee's Near West Side
Planet2Plate's plans include a building at 817 N. 27th St. and a lot at 2734 W. Wells St. that will be used for growing, processing and serving the produce grown on-site
Sarah Hauer Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Dec 30, 2019
Building at 817 N. 27th Street in Milwaukee, site of proposed urban farm.
Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
An urban farm is in the works for Milwaukee's near west side.
Planet2Plate Inc. has filed applications to develop a building and lot off Wells Street west of downtown into an urban farming site. The Brooklyn-based company that designs edible learning spaces and hands-on education programming is planning to launch its first project in Milwaukee.
Planet2Plate's plans include a building at 817 N. 27th St. and a lot at 2734 W. Wells St. that will be used for growing, processing and serving the produce grown on-site.
At 817 N. 27th St., Planet2Plate applied to use the first and second floors as a commercial farming enterprise with food processing, a sit-down restaurant, a retail area, an assembly hall and space for personal instruction. Planet2Plate plans to use the lot at 2734 W. Wells St. to grow plants with plans to build a new greenhouse.
Building at 817 N. 27th Street in Milwaukee, site of proposed urban farm.
Michael Sears / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The building on 27th Street is owned by Cecelia Building LLC, which is led by Rick Wiegand, the owner of the Ambassador Hotel. He said earlier this year he was considering plans to redevelop buildings at 801-813 and 817-831 N. 27th St.
Planet2Plate says that it revitalizes existing urban spaces with green infrastructure for hands-on learning opportunities. It said in December 2018 that it was looking for a space in Milwaukee to develop its new project.
Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Instagram @HauerSarah and Twitter @SarahHauer. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Be MKE at jsonline.com/bemke.
HVAC For Indoor Farms - Dr. GreenHouse - West Coast Winter Workshop - February 20-21, 2020
Whether you’re growing in a greenhouse, a warehouse or a container, climate management is key to your success
For More Information: www.DoctorGreenhouse.com/workshop
Wageningen Researches Efficiency of Vertical Farming
Researchers of Wageningen University & Research are looking at how vertical farming can be more efficient
14 Jan 2020
Researchers of Wageningen University & Research are looking at how vertical farming can be more efficient.
“In a high-rise building – on a surface area about the size of a soccer field – you can grow enough vegetables for 100,000 people who each eat 250 grams of vegetables a day. You have complete control over the production process, so you are not dependent on the weather, the temperature, the daylight and the season. This makes vertical farming possible everywhere – also in infertile areas, in the desert or on Mars”, says Leo Marcelis, professor of Horticulture, in his blog on the website of Wageningen University & Research.
Vertical farming 1 of the solutions to the global food issue
“Vertical farming will not solve food shortages. It does not lend itself to rice and cereal production, but it is good for healthy, fresh vegetables, packed with fiber and vitamin C, and grown without contamination by pesticides or harmful microorganisms. That makes vertical farming one of the solutions to the global food issue”, says Marcelis.
Vertical farming takes place in buildings – the crops are grown on top of each other in several layers. - Photo: AFP
2 to 4 litres of water to grow a kilo of tomatoes
Vertically grown vegetables can make do with much less water. “We can recycle all the water and recover most of the water that the plants evaporate. As a result, we only need 2 to 4 litres of water to grow a kilo of tomatoes, whereas we use 17 litres of water in a Dutch greenhouse and in theory at least 60 litres for soil cultivation in for example southern Europe, and in practice often 200 litres,” says Marcelis.
In the closed cultivation system, nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates are also retained, while outside cultivation they end up in the soil, groundwater and surface water.
Pesticides a thing of the past
The use of pesticides is also a thing of the past, the professor emphasises. “By ensuring high hygiene levels, we can prevent insects and diseases from entering the building with employees, materials, seeds or air.”
Marcelis says the fact that the vegetables are not sprayed is good for our health, the environment and the preservation of plant and animal species. Moreover, thanks to local production, no shipping over long distances is required, which means that the CO2 footprint for transport is a lot smaller.
LED light healthy for plants?
The vegetables are grown on multiple floors of a high-rise building without daylight using special LED lamps, which often emit purple or bright pink light. Is LED light healthy for plants? “If we adjust the amount, colour and duration of the light, the amount of water and the temperature and composition of the air very precisely, we can give the crops much more nutritional value. I am absolutely convinced of that; there is already evidence that these factors influence nutritional value. In addition, we can also improve taste and shelf life.”
High energy consumption
Even though LED lamps are economical, a quarter of the costs goes to energy consumption says Marcelis in his blog. “If you can make substantial savings on this, the investment will become more affordable,” he says. Together with colleagues, he is studying options for reducing energy consumption. “We want to ensure that the light is used more efficiently by the plant. If we can optimize the temperature, humidity, the concentration of carbon dioxide and availability of water and fertilizers and can determine the optimum intensity and color of the light for every moment of the day, we can produce much more per unit of light,” says Marcelis. He also wants to improve the efficiency of climate control technologies.
Improve the crops
Current crops have been bred for outdoor cultivation and greenhouse cultivation. “We can also breed crops for these indoor circumstances, but that is a long-term task. Plant breeding projects easily take ten years.” And finally, the buildings can also be made more energy-efficient, for example by using the heat generated by the light for the heating of houses and offices.”
5 million euros for research into vertical farming
The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) has awarded 5 million euros to Wageningen research into vertical farming. “Our greenhouse horticulture sector is leading and has a lot of technology and knowledge that the Netherlands exports worldwide, also in the field of vertical farming. That is why it is important that we stay ahead,” says professor Marcelis.
Greenhouse cultivation is very efficient in the Netherlands and therefore much cheaper than vertical farming. In many places in the world, however, it is too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer to keep growing vegetables all year round. And sometimes there is simply not enough land available, for example in the city-state of Singapore. Singapore, but also the US, countries from the Middle East and Japan, are interested in vertical farming, according to the professor. “In Japan, food safety has become very important since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and vertical farming is very safe,” explains Marcelis.
The Humble Veggie Patch Just Went Hi-Tech
Growing vegetables and herbs is set to get a whole lot easier with big tech companies creating indoor 'vertical farms'
Forget battling insects and having to remember to water your veggie patch, growing herbs and vegetables at home is set to become hi-tech with new indoor farms.
by Tanya French
9th Jan 2020
Growing vegetables and herbs is set to get a whole lot easier with big tech companies creating indoor 'vertical farms'.
Samsung and LG have both spruiked their answer to the humble vegetable patch - creating indoor gardening appliances that enable people to have their own veggie garden, even if they don't have a backyard.
Samsung's Chef Garden technology integrates with its next-generation Family Hub refrigerator and automatically regulates light wavelengths to enable users to grow and enjoy fresh, pesticide-free fruit and vegetables all year round.
Samsung's vertical farm.
"There is a growing interest in healthy food," said Samsung LED technology centre's Chohui Kim.
"Horticulture LED is playing a key role in vertical farming and indoor crop cultivation, and we are looking to expand its applications in various fields."
The indoor farm integrates with the Family Hub fridge.
While Samsung's offering can easily fit into an existing kitchen, LG's version needs to be in-built into new or renovated kitchens.
The LG vertical farm consists of 24 pods which all have seeds and fertiliser in-built.
The machine recognises the amount of light and water it requires for optimum growth.
The farm - which takes 4-6 weeks to grow - will produce enough leafy vegetables to feed a family of four.
LG’s vertical farm solution. Photo: Tanya French
There's no word yet on when the technology will be available in Australia or what it will cost but an LG spokeswoman said it was 'very high end and part of a bigger kitchen solution'.