Horticultural Team Sheds Light on Growing Sea Beans in Shipping Containers

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By Tony Bertauski

June 20, 2020

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Sea beans grown in a hydroponic system which feeds the plants a layer of nutrient solution on a timed schedule. Lindsey Clarke/Provided

Trident Technical College horticulture students Lindsey Clarke and Clara Wooters work at an unusual farm located inside 40-foot-long shipping containers.

For more about Heron Farms, visit www.heronfarms.com.

Sam Norton is the founder of Heron Farms. He did his graduate research on halophytes, which includes sea beans, also known as sea pickle. He’s not your typical farmer. He wears a white lab coat and nitrile gloves. He’s more of a farming scientist and, like many good scientists, affectionately refers to the crop by its genus rather than common name, Salicornia.

Sea beans are succulent halophytes that don’t produce beans or pickles. The foliage is edible and salty. Succulents are plants that store water in their leaves. Halophytes tolerate saline conditions. And as halophytes go, sea beans are among the saltiest.

Sea beans grow in hypersaline soils that are uninhabitable for most plants. They are the first plant into a barren salty flat. As it pulls salt from the soil, it transforms the ground into a habitable region for other plants and, over time, sea beans are crowded out. As a crop, this makes it difficult to farm outdoors.

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The halophytes pull salt from the soil, which transforms the ground into a habitable region for other plants. Lindsey Clarke/Provided

A shipping container can grow 4,800 plants. While sea beans are their main crop, they are growing four new halophytes and plan to grow as many as 35. They use a hydroponic system called nutrient film technique that only uses 20 gallons of water a week. Plugs of sea beans grow in plastic channels, or gutters, three inches apart. A thin layer of nutrient solution cycles through the channels on a timed schedule.

The foliage tips are harvested three times from seed to the final cut in 60 days. These are the fleshy parts that can be cooked or eaten raw. The stems are woody and don’t have much of a culinary use, but breweries have used them in gose-style beer for a salty flavor.

With a proficient research background, Sam is maximizing production within the confines of a shipping container. He and his team follow every plant, from seed to harvest, and study the effects of light, nutrients, spacing, and other environmental factors.

Sunway Goes Into Agritech

By Jennifer Jacobs | The Edge Markets | June 5, 2020

Sunway Chief Innovation Officer and Sunway iLabs Director, Matt van Leeuwen

Sunway Group is venturing into agricultural technology (agritech) to help reduce Malaysia’s food import bill and encourage and reduce the carbon footprint on the food consumed in the country.

It is building a 50,000 sq ft urban farming innovation hub, Sunway FutureX, to help urban farming professionals, tech companies, researchers and young talents collaborate and create solutions for food and agritech. The hub should be completed by the third quarter of this year.

Sunway FutureX, an initiative led by Sunway Innovation Labs (Sunway iLabs), will be located in the heart of Sunway City Kuala Lumpur and it will feature FutureX Farm, an indoor and outdoor smart farming area, FutureX Talent, a research and development centre, and FutureX Campus, a training and collaborative space.

“Bringing together a wide pool of expertise and resources from ecosystem players, Sunway FutureX will aim to create decentralised urban farms to serve local communities, and to address supply chain challenges and the distance between the farm and the fork. 

“We hope to build new innovations, which will contribute to improved long-term food security and sustainability in our nation,” says Matt Van Leeuwen, the Sunway Group chief innovation officer and Sunway iLabs director, in a press release.

It is looking to create an agritech ecosystem and one of its first partners will be Sunway Property. “We aim to nourish our communities with the fresh produce grown at our farms and educate them on sustainable living and urban farming.”

Ultimately, it hopes to empower homeowners to grow their own food. “This will be a model for Sunway Property to replicate throughout their cities in Malaysia and allow us to scale up quickly.”

The press release quoted reports that claimed Malaysia imports most of its food from countries such as China, India, Thailand, Indonesia and New Zealand because only about 8% of its agricultural land is used for agro-food production. 

“Malaysia’s food import bill has grown significantly over the last two decades and exceeded RM52 billion in 2018. Research shows that imported food loses an alarming amount of nutrients during processing, packaging and transportation before it reaches consumers.

“In addition, traditional farming methods and existing logistics involved in the supply chain contribute in a big way to the carbon footprint. With the world experiencing unprecedented challenges amid the global Covid-19 pandemic, the threat to food security has increased,” the press release adds.

It goes on to say that in urban cities like the Klang Valley where land is limited and expensive, Sunway sees the potential of harvesting the power of talent and technology to build urban farms in underutilised spaces such as rooftops, car parks and even within buildings.

Sunway adds that recent developments in technology have enabled efficient urban farming techniques that require less water and no pesticide to produce consistent yields while revitalising underutilised spaces. “In recent years, urban farming has rapidly gained attention in cities all over the world as a feasible instrument in realising food sustainability and sustainable development.”

FutureX Farm will partner with Thought For Food (TFF), a global non-profit organisation dedicated to entrepreneurial innovation for food and agriculture.

“We see many exciting opportunities to collaborate with Sunway iLabs to provide a sandbox for start-ups from our global TFF innovation platform to carry out pilot projects to test out their solutions to fit local market needs,” Thought For Food chief executive officer (CEO) Christine Gould says.

Thought for Food will be partnering with Sunway iLabs to launch various programmes, including the TFF Digital Asean Lab, to engage, empower and accelerate the next generation of purpose-driven food and agritech innovators.

Sunway Group embarked on its journey towards food sustainability last year by repurposing 40 hectares of undeveloped land in Sunway City Ipoh for food and agriculture. Located at The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat, Sunway Organic Gardens produces pesticide-free fruits and vegetables with fresh water from mountains for its guests, locals who work there and their communities.

Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) and Sunway Hotels & Resorts have also joined forces to introduce the "Food CPR — Compost. Plant. Reduce." campaign aimed at tackling the food waste problem in Malaysia. Food waste will be channelled into Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Hotels & Resorts on-site compost machines to be processed into fertilisers. The compost will be free for the public to collect at Sunway Pyramid’s compost collection area at B1 Blue Zone Carpark Lobby.

NEW YORK: Vertical Farming Takes Root in Hudson Valley

By Phil Hall 

June 20, 2020

Among the more disturbing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic involved food costs and supplies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a 2.6% increase in food prices nationwide from March to April, marking the largest monthly increase in 46 years. These increases have been fueled by disruptions in the supply chain due to worker illnesses in processing plants.

For restaurants and food retailers, not being able to access materials or being charged higher-than-normal exacerbates an already acute problem of trying to maintain revenue streams during the pandemic.

However, a pair of regional businesses have begun using agricultural technology from the Israeli company Vertical Field that takes the farm-to-table concept and turns it into a container-to-table approach.

“The way it works is that we take a container, just the standard shipping container,” explained Sam Miner, Vertical Field’s U.S. launch manager.

“And the main thing that we do is we put these modules on the wall that have irrigation lines behind it. We simply fill those modules with soil and we put in the right lighting equipment. And once you put plants in there, they just grow fairly simple.”

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John Lekic, chef and owner of Poughkeepsie’s Farmers & Chefs restaurant, poses in front of his Vertical Field container used for growing greens and herbs. Photo courtesy Vertical Field.

Vertical Field launched in Israel in 2006 as an agricultural supply solution for the nation’s urban markets. Miner stated the firm began as a “green wall company” that took the horizontal aspect of rooftop gardens and switched it on its side.

The company now has 400 projects around the world, including a massive installation in Vietnam that Miner described as being “tremendous, like a football field.”

This spring, Vertical Field made its way into the U.S. market through a pair of Hudson Valley installations. John Lekic, chef and owner of Poughkeepsie’s Farmers & Chefs restaurant, learned about the technology at a Culinary Institute of America symposium in late 2019 and was intrigued about operating his own food source.

“We were planning to bring in the container in March and we actually brought in a container days after the emergency thing was declared in New York,” he said. “It was a perfect timing. Ten days later, we planted our first crop, mostly salad greens, and in the middle of May we already had to harvest. We are going to have a third one this week.”

Lekic praised the technology for allowing several harvests per week, noting the ability to “harvest them the day of serving.” He also praised the user-friendly aspect of the 20-foot containers.

“It’s super easy to maintain,” he said. “Once the container is set up and the mechanism is in place, you have an app that does the irrigation and controls the temperature and the humidity. It’s not really complicated — after you do it once or twice, the planting and everything else becomes really easy to maintain. It does not require a lot of time.”

Lekic is now growing herbs and leafy vegetables in the containers, adding “it’s still a playground for us.”

Another Hudson Valley business that has Vertical Field’s technology in place is the Evergreen Kosher supermarket in Monsey, which installed its containers at the end of May. Menachem Lubinsky, president of Brooklyn-based Lubicom Business Consulting and marketing director for Evergreen, praised the product for creating a speedy supply of produce.

“If something takes normally three months to grow, the technology can accelerate that to three weeks,” he said. “A restaurant or a supermarket can be in control of their supply.”

Lubinsky said he reached out to Vertical Field following news reports during the pandemic of truckers not being able to deliver goods and farms destroying crops because they suddenly had no outlets for selling. Besides selling the harvested crops, Evergreen is planning to make the containers a visitors’ attraction.

“The customer will be able to see the process of how it grows because one of the walls of the container is glass,” he said. “It’s kind of like an educational experience just for a family to go over to see how this whole process grows. And there’s a very large kosher constituency there who are concerned about consuming insects. This eliminates that concern because of the way it grows — it is insect-free.”

Lubinsky said that Vertical Field is planning to build on its technology to accommodate the growing of a wider variety of items, including strawberries and vegetables.

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• TAGS AGRICULTURE EVERGREEN SUPERMARKET FARM TO TABLE FARMERS & CHEFS

• ISRAEL MONSEY POUGHKEEPSIE TECHNOLOGY VERTICAL FIELD

Expert Insights: Advancing Indoor and Vertical Farming Opportunities during COVID-19

The indoor and vertical farming industry has fast-tracked many opportunities to help feed consumers during a global pandemic. The virtual Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit will identify how the world’s leading farm operators found a gap in the market to meet consumer demand and deliver fresh and healthy produce with discussions led by Lipman Farms, Gotham Greens and Smallhold.

Here’s what our experts have to say about the current crisis:

Elyse Lipman, Director of Strategy, Lipman Farms, USA

Will the legacy of COVID 19 be further automation in the food production sector? Will we ever reach a contactless food system? COVID-19 has raised awareness about prospects of automation, but it’s also reinforced the importance of people in this business. At Lipman, each and every stage of the value chain requires coordination and care by our team members. The human element of what we do is important for providing food for people to eat – and we know that the quality of our products and sustainability of our company depends on the people behind the scenes. That said, where there are opportunities for automation that make sense such as machines in packing houses and indoor environments. I think it’s fair to say that humans can be relieved of those tasks and refocused on others. To help us stay ahead of the curve on food safety, for example, we use a web-based training platform that helps customize training, track completions, and easily identify opportunities for improvement. COVID-19 has only reinforced how technology can serve as valuable tools, while also creating new roles for people that are still safe and distanced across the food system.

At Lipman, we’ve diversified our farming techniques over the decades with indoor, outdoor, and hybrid growing environments. We know that growing produce in any capacity requires ingenuity, a learning mindset, and constant adaptation. Two years ago we acquired Huron Produce and while our Suntastic hot house brand continues to deliver high-quality products on the retail shelf, some of the most exciting learnings for us have come from the collaborations between teams.  We see indoor ag as both distinct and complementary to our conventional farming practices. I think COVID-19 also revealed to our customers the vulnerabilities of relying on any one supply source, and the value in being able to source from multiple channels.

Viraj Puri, CEO and Co-Founder, Gotham Greens, USA

Demand for local and resilient supply chains is growing, how can indoor agriculture capitalize on this opportunity? Given current pressures on the U.S. food system, one thing is clear: the importance of strengthening our country’s food supply chain through decentralized, regional supply chains. Our business model has enabled us to remain nimble during these unprecedented times and continue to deliver fresh, locally grown produce to customers and our communities. Growing produce indoors certainly has an increasing role to play in the future of sustainable food production. While indoor farming may not represent the future of all fresh produce production, for certain types of crops like leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes and cucumbers, it will become more prevalent.

Gotham Greens has been rapidly expanding our footprint across the US, including opening four new greenhouses in the past 6 months. Today Gotham Greens operates 500,000 square feet of greenhouse across five U.S. states with more than 350 employees. Just last month we opened our newest greenhouse in the Denver Metro area. Although we never envisioned our Denver greenhouse opening during a global pandemic, we’re proud to be providing people in the Mountain Region and across the country with healthy, safe and fresh food options they can get excited about.

Andrew Carter, CEO, SMALLHOLD, USA

Although somewhat harder to find, consumers are still out there. How have Smallhold gone about finding them?
Strangely, consumers have found us. People who try our mushrooms love them and tell their friends. While we scrambled a bit in the beginning, we kept moving full steam. Instead of shutting down, we implemented South Korean-style measures for our warehouse, farm, and office. Then, we launched a new nationally distributed product that allows folks to grow mushrooms at home rather than travel to the grocery store. Now Smallhold is in homes in every state as we gear up for a national expansion of our retail presence in 2020. The product was featured in Bon Appetit, Vice’s Garage, and HypeBeast and is still going strong, although it is not a core business line for us, we continue to see it grow.

How can a grower best manage the expectations of their investors in times as uncertain as these?
Fortunately, as we mentioned above, things are weirdly going well for us. There was a brief period during which we were uncertain, but once our DTC campaign results came in, we became our investors’ case study for what to do in situations like these. As with many things in life, communication is key. At Smallhold, we’ve always had an open dialogue with our investors, and the pandemic hasn’t changed that. Even as the global outlook changes week by week, we’ve worked to provide our investors with a regular cadence of communication and data alongside a clear narrative and plan of action that makes them feel comfortable with the quick decisions we have to make every day. When the world shifts, success can take many forms, and our stakeholders are happy with how we’ve managed it.

CubicFarms Leverages Its Expertise In Controlled-Environment Agriculture And Announces Launch of new Control Room System And Sale To Career Field Farmer And Entrepreneur

VANCOUVER, BC, JUNE 18, 2020 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV:CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the launch of its new Control Room system for sale to growers looking to grow crops more efficiently by controlling every aspect of the growing environment.

CubicFarms’ Control Room is assembled inside its proprietary stainless steel, fully insulated growing chamber with the option to customize features such as lighting, automated irrigation, and nutrient delivery, and full climate control for temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. The system has a variety of sensors available, all of which can be remotely monitored and controlled.

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Photo: Inside a CubicFarms Control Room, complete with LED light fixtures, an automated heating, cooling and ventilation system, and wired environmental controls.

The Control Room enables growers to have complete control over the growing environment that is so crucial for high yields and quality – a capability especially well suited for research and development purposes. The temperature, humidity, lighting, and airflow can be properly calibrated to suit crop requirements.
 
“We are pleased to launch a new product that allows growers to conduct their own growing trials inside a controlled-environment chamber. We’ve had numerous inquiries for this kind of solution and are pleased to be able to support our customers with this technology. We see good market potential for this solution that helps growers fine-tune the optimal environmental parameters for growing crops indoors,” commented CubicFarms CEO Dave Dinesen.
 
“We are confident that once growers experience the consistency and quality of yields achieved in the Control Room, they will seek to automate growing inside our Fresh Produce system, which is essentially the Control Room plus motorized rows of trays containing crops that follow a patented path inside the chamber to ensure all sides of the crop are evenly bathed in light to maximize growth.”

CubicFarms control rooms can be placed inside an existing warehouse or greenhouse to serve as controlled-environment growing chambers to test and develop crop varieties. They can also be placed outside in many environments. It is well-suited for many types of growers, including:

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Photo: CubicFarms control rooms being installed at the customer’s site.

• Greenhouse growers and vertical farmers who have a need to hold larger plants in an environment separate from their existing facility. As an example, a hemp grower who would like to hold the mother plant used for cloning in an ideal environment; 

• Growers in the floral or nursery industry who need to hold plants or bulbs at a specific temperature or humidity; and 

• Growers undertaking research activities that require different environmental controls than their typical growing space.

• 
  CubicFarms announces first sale and installation of control rooms to BC-based field farmer and food entrepreneur
   
  The Company is pleased to announce that it has sold three control rooms to a customer in British Columbia. The control rooms were recently installed at the customer’s site. The customer, an experienced field farmer, and consumer packaged foods expert, plans to engage in controlled-environment growing trials of various crops that have traditionally been grown in the field. Mr. Dinesen added: “I’m very excited that CubicFarms can support our customers by leveraging technology we already have, but in this unique way. Our customers never cease to amaze me in how creative and inspiring they are when looking to grow their businesses.”
   
  Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor it’s Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
   
  About CubicFarm® Systems Corp.
   
  CubicFarm Systems Corp. (“CubicFarms”) is a technology company that is developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary technologies enable growers around the world to produce high-quality, predictable crop yields. CubicFarms has two distinct technologies that address two distinct markets. The first technology is its patented CubicFarm™ System, which contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops. Using its unique, undulating-path growing system, the Company addresses the main challenges within the indoor farming industry by significantly reducing the need for physical labor and energy, and maximizing yield per cubic foot. CubicFarms leverages its patented technology by operating its own R&D facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, selling the System to growers, licensing its technology and providing vertical farming expertise to its customers.
   
  The second technology is CubicFarms’ HydroGreen System for growing nutritious livestock feed. This system utilizes a unique process to sprout grains, such as barley and wheat, in a controlled environment with minimal use of land, labor, and water. The HydroGreen System is fully automated and performs all growing functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding – all with the push of a button – to deliver nutritious livestock feed without the typical investment in fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, field equipment, and transportation. The HydroGreen System not only provides superior nutritious feed to benefit the animal but also enables significant environmental benefits to the farm.
   
  Cautionary statement on forward-looking information
   
  Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to the market potential of the Control Room system and system capabilities. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors including evolving market conditions, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of CubicFarm Systems Corp., or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information including the Company obtaining the approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict", and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur, or be achieved.
   
  These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance, and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except as required by securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if the Company's expectations regarding future events, performance, or results change.

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cubicfarms.com

Kimberly Lim
VP, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Mobile: 236.858.6491
Office: 1.888.280.9076
Email: kimberly@cubicfarms.com

VIDEO: June Indoor Science Cafe Recording Is Now Available!

Selecting An LED Fixture For Indoor Plant Production

This presentation 'Selecting an LED Fixture for Indoor Plant Production' was given by Dr. Erik Runkle (Michigan State University) during our 20th cafe forum on June 16th, 2020. Indoor Ag Science Cafe is organized by the OptimIA project team funded by the USDA SCRI grant program.

From Macau's Casinos To a Kallang Farm: The Gaming Industry Professional Who Now Grows Baby Spinach

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Mr Ray Poh founded Artisan Green in 2018. (Photo: Artisan Green)

By Cindy Co

23 May 2020

SINGAPORE: For five years, Mr. Ray Poh mingled with high rollers in Macau, which has been dubbed the gambling capital of the world. 

It was a lucrative career filled with opportunities to travel frequently. But in 2015, Mr. Poh gave all of that up.

“I did think about making it a career,” said Mr. Poh, who had studied in Australia since the age of 12. “But I think at the end of the five years, I realized that I’d been away for most of my life from my mum, who was back in Singapore. That was one of the main factors (that led me to leave).”

It took him a year to completely leave the industry, but by 2016, Mr. Poh had decided on a very different career path: Urban farming.

His indoor hydroponics farm, Artisan Green, specializes in growing baby spinach. The 3,200 sq ft farm is located in Kallang in central Singapore, with its entire set-up costing Mr. Poh slightly under a million dollars.

Although Artisan Green was founded in 2018, a year before Singapore announced its ’30 by 30’ goal to produce 30 percent of Singapore’s nutritional needs locally by 2030, it is part of an increasing wave of indoor farms looking to use sustainable methods to grow to produce locally.

In April, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources announced a S$30 million 30x30 Express grant for the agri-food industry to speed up the production of commonly consumed food items like eggs, vegetables, and fish.

READ: COVID-19 pandemic highlights importance of strengthening Singapore's food security, say experts

READ: Interest in urban farming sprouts amid COVID-19 outbreak

A FAMILY BUSINESS

While casino gaming was never something he had been interested in, a chat with his mother post-graduation was enough to convince Mr. Poh to enter the family business.

“I was thinking of entering the banking industry, but the thought of being behind a desk didn’t appeal to me much. So we were having a discussion and she said, why don’t you give this a try. Your father needs some help in the company, perhaps you can go out and see what you can do,” he said.

Initially, he did business development with his father’s manufacturing company, developing products such as slot machines. As he became more involved in product design, so his interest in the industry grew, he said.

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The exterior of Artisan Green. (Photo: Artisan Green)

After a year, his boss convinced him that he ought to head to Macau to advance his understanding of the industry, which turned out to be a fruitful experience.

“I think at the very start when I first went there, I didn’t know anything or anyone in Macau, so the main thing I did was to network around. I met a lot of good people, and at the same time, obviously, you meet people that are not so good.

“What I did was learn what to do and what not to do. It was a very good experience,” he said.

Being new to the industry also meant that people did not take him seriously. Mr. Poh had to work hard to brush up his knowledge on the casino gaming industry by doing research, reading industry magazines, and making friends who could teach him – skills which would later put him in good stead to enter a completely different industry.

CONTRIBUTING TO SUSTAINABILITY

When he told his family that he wanted to move out of casino gaming, they were supportive of his decision, said Mr. Poh.

“I think from the business aspect of things, it was more of a diversification. I’ve always thought that agriculture is something that’s evergreen. People will always need to eat. Whereas casino gaming is something like the entertainment sector,” he said, adding that he wanted to “do something more to contribute to the sustainability segment”.

“At first I thought about doing landscaping, but I didn’t really want to go back to study more. So I thought farming might be an easy way in. 

“But I was very wrong about how easy it was. After doing the research, I quite naively thought that I would do this for about a year and network around, meet more people, and then move into landscaping. But it just took me down towards farming all the way,” he said.

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Artisan Green has 120 growing racks, with six layers in each rack. (Photo: Artisan Green)

Just like when he started out in Macau, Mr. Poh had “zero knowledge” of the agriculture sector, and people also did not take him seriously when he started.

“I knew I had to build up my knowledge from ground-up again,” he said.

He attended courses and conferences, forged relationships with people in the industry, watched Youtube videos, and built prototypes.

Building the prototypes gave him the confidence to decide that he wanted to build his entire farm from scratch. After leasing space from Mapletree and procuring all his supplies and tools, Mr. Poh set himself to work as the main contractor of his own farm.

Save for the electrical wiring and the plumbing, Mr. Poh put the entire 3,200 sq ft farm together with his own hands over the course of three months.

“When I was building the farm, I was there from 9 am to 10 pm. I’d only eat one meal a day during the building because I didn’t want to waste time. So I would only eat one really huge brunch and then just work the entire day in the farm,” he said.

It was challenging work, as he did all the sawing, drilling, and lifting and even suffered a back injury from hunching over and moving around too much. While he admitted that he should have gotten a partner to build the farm with him in hindsight, Mr. Poh said that the process was necessary.

“Now that I’ve gone through this, I can safely say that I know pretty much everything in the farm. I’ve sourced for every single piece of equipment by myself which makes it even easier for me to understand other people’s systems.

“I can look at other people’s systems, I can derive how it’s built, how it’s done, and that experience isn’t something you can get from reading books or watching tutorials online,” he said.

WHAT KEEPS HIM GOING

Even with his extensive research, his lack of science and engineering knowledge posed challenges for him.

“I didn’t really do chemistry, so that was kind of hard to pick up, and I knew that I needed to get the foundational knowledge of farming in terms of the science aspect to be able to do well in it,” he said, as science was an integral part of farming.

He also had to engage professional engineers to help him ensure the farm was built well.

This was in addition to the time he had to sacrifice in those early months, when he was just starting out, with many weekends spent at the farm just to make sure that everything was running well.

And even with the farm up and running, the team also ran into other problems, such as nutrient deficiency issues for their spinach.

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Artisan Green's team packing spinaches. (Photo: Artisan Green)

But what kept Mr. Poh going was his desire to “see the final product”.

“And we’re quite proud of what we’ve done with this current farm. We’ve had people from the industry – from the US, Europe – coming to visit us and they were quite impressed with the farm we’ve built. They told that it was comparable to some of the more advanced overseas farms as well.

“Hearing that gives us the motivation and a stronger belief in what we do.”

FUTURE PLANS

In the short-term, Artisan Green hopes to scale up its production from its current 30kg to 250kg of vegetables per week.

Although Malaysia’s Movement Control Order has temporarily disrupted the farm’s supply of equipment which they require to scale up, Mr. Poh is hoping to at least double the farm’s output by the end of the “circuit breaker” period and to hit 100kg per week by the end of the quarter.

In the longer-term, Mr. Poh is also looking to build his second farm – this time bigger, and with a wider variety of crops. But rather than growing specialty crops, Mr. Poh said he now wants to start growing crops such as Chinese cabbage, which he says there is a bigger demand for in Singapore.

“The next farm will have to be more automated, from end-to-end. That’s what our future goal is: to build the second farm and also to grow different crops, not just baby spinach, and work towards something where we can fulfill the whole ’30 by 30’ vision by the Government,” he said.

Source: CNA/cc

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Tagged Topics

• urban farm farming environment

10 Crops You Can Grow At Home: Hydroponic Growing

Growing your own fruit and vegetables at home may be something you’ve considered before, but if you’ve hesitated because of the space the plants will take up or the mess it will make in your home, the good news is that neither of these things needs to stop you. Whether you have no floor space to spare, can’t grow outdoors, or simply don’t consider yourself green-fingered, it’s never been easier to grow your own crops at home.

What is Hydroponic Growing?

Hydroponic growing is a method of growing plants in nutrient-enriched water – just water and nutrients. There’s no soil involved; instead, nutrition is added directly to the water, to make up for what the plants would normally receive from the soil. Many plants will root and grow in something as simple as a glass jar, but you can make your hydroponic system as big or as little as you want.

What can I grow?

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You can grow a massive variety of vegetables hydroponically so it really depends on what your favorites are.

Here’s a list of ten common fruit and veggies to get you started:

Lettuce

Probably the most common vegetable to be hydroponically grown, it’s not unusual to find people placing the head of a used lettuce into a glass or jar filled with water and leaving it to regrow. It really is that simple! You can harvest the lettuce as it grows, meaning you can have crispy lettuce leaves to add to your salads or sandwiches without affecting later harvests.

Spinach

As with many leafy vegetables, spinach also grows well in hydroponic systems. It is a cool plant, meaning it does not require much light and likes cool to warm temperatures so storing it near a window is the best option to ensure your spinach flourishes. You can harvest spinach all at once, or tear off some leaves as and when you need it.

Tomatoes

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Whether you think of the tomato as a fruit or a vegetable, you can definitely grow it without soil. Many types of tomatoes take well to hydroponic systems, including traditional and cherry tomatoes. Whichever variety you grow, tomatoes require a lot of light. The good news is that, as they are a vine and can be trained to grow upwards, they only require a small amount of ground space.

Cucumber

Given enough space and support, cucumbers will grow abundantly in a hydroponic system – which is no surprise given that it is a water-loving fruit. Cucumber vines grow vertically, so it’s important to ensure they have some sort of structure or support to hold them up.

Peppers

Similar to tomatoes, peppers require lots of light and warm conditions. There are a few varieties or pepper that take well to hydroponic growing, but some of the best are Jalapeno, Habanero, Nairobi, and Fellini.

Celery

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Celery is a great way to snack healthy, as well as being a great addition to soups, stir-fries, and stews. The fastest way to grow celery at home is to use the base of the last bunch you had from the grocery store. Simply place the celery on a plate of room temperature water until you see new growth from the roots, and then you can transplant it into your hydro system – even if that just means placing it into a tall glass which can support the celery as it grows.

Radishes

Radishes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow, thriving in cool conditions, and not requiring much light. They are usually harvested within a month, meaning you can have multiple harvests in a year. That being said, if radishes are kept constantly and persistently soaked, rot can become an issue, so make sure it’s the roots that are kept in water, rather than the radish itself.

Spring Onions

When it comes to spring onions, you can use the ends of a shop-bought onion and place it in a glass to allow for regrowth, or you can start them from bulbs. The bulbs and roots will sit down in the water, whilst the leafy green stems will rise upward: this makes it possible to grow a lot in a small amount of space.

Kale

Kale is another leaf that is easy to grow in a hydroponic system; in fact, it has been farmed hydroponically for years. The crop grows relatively quickly, and will happily regrow if you only harvest a couple of leaves at a time.

Strawberries

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As strawberries enjoy wet conditions, they actually thrive in a hydroponic system; they provide bigger fruits than when grown in soil and can provide harvest all year round. Using a hydroponic system also means that strawberry plant containers can be stacked vertically, saving you floor space.

Hydroponic growing is becoming more popular due to the fact that in can be done from anywhere and doesn’t need to take up a lot of space. It’s a great way to get the satisfaction of growing your own crops, without needing a large gardening space.

We at the Nick Greens Grow Team understand that not everyone has the space to grow their own crops, but the joy of hydroponics is the simplicity of the process. Want to learn more about growing plants in water systems? Stay up-to-date with our weekly blog articles, and subscribe to our YouTube channel to learn more.

#hydroponics #hydroponicsystem #hydroponicsfarm #hydroponicsvegetables #hydroponicsstarwberry #hydroponicscelery #hydroponicsradish #hydroponicskale #hydroponicsgrowing #hydroponicsfarming #growfoodwithhydroponics #growingfoodathome #hydroponicgrowing #hydroponicfarming #hydroponicfarm #hydroponicsfarm #growathome #growfoodathome

Aquaponic Urban Farming In Berlin

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REWE.de Nutrition 

Perch and Basil From The Capital

Yes, you read it right! Thanks to modern concepts, the Berlin start-up ECF Farmsystems is now breeding "perch" and "basil" in the middle of Berlin. You can buy both in around 140 REWE stores in Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Together with the start-up, REWE is committed to holistic, sustainable and regional food production.

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Perch and basil in the middle of Berlin

Regional and sustainable foods are absolutely on-trend right now. More and more people are concerned about the environment, want to avoid unnecessary transport routes and unnecessary packaging material. They like to buy products from their region, but groceries straight from the big city have so far been rare. Thanks to the aquaponics method, it is now possible to grow fruit, vegetables, and even fish in the city. Industrial wasteland and other unused areas in cities can be wonderfully upgraded as “urban farming” areas. Large flat roofs will also be the best areas for urban food cultivation in the future. The Berlin start-up ECF Farm is breeding on the site of an old malt factory fresh cichlid and basil in the middle of the capital. With success! The two entrepreneurs Nicolas Leschke and Christian Echternacht spent five years working on the ideal method of combining fish and plant breeding. Meanwhile, the two true experts in the field of aquaponics and advise interested parties across Europe.

Aquaponics?

AQUAkultur = Fish and other marine animals are raised in large basins on land.

HydroPONIK = Plants are not grown in soil, but in an inorganic substrate (gravel or expanded clay) in greenhouses and fed with an aqueous solution.

How does aquaponics work?

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Aquaponics is a mixture of aquaculture and hydroponics, i.e. fish farming and vegetable cultivation are combined in an ingenious way. The principle is very simple: The fish are bred in large fish tanks in aquaculture and fed with organic food. In contrast to conventional aquacultures, the fish are not given antibiotics. Fish excrete ammonium, which is converted to nitrate in a special aquaculture filter. Nitrate is again the main component of the hydroponic plant fertilizer. Here comes the highlight of the method: The water in the fish tanks has to be replaced by three to five percent every day. It is guided from the aquaculture into the hydroponics facility using a special technique. There the basil is irrigated with the water from the fish tanks. The basil is fertilized automatically by the nitrate contained in the water. One can say that the fish feeds the basil. Incidentally, the urban farmers do not use pesticides or genetic engineering for growing herbs. All processes are optimized to protect the environment and resources. The water that the plants do not absorb is cleaned by a natural filter and remains partly in the hydroponic cycle and partly returned to the fish tanks. This creates a constant and resource-saving cycle. is cleaned by a natural filter and remains partly in the hydroponic cycle and is partly returned to the fish tank. This creates a constant and resource-saving cycle. is cleaned by a natural filter and remains partly in the hydroponic cycle and is partly returned to the fish tank. This creates a constant and resource-saving cycle.

Sustainability through "urban farming"?

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Thanks to on-site production, manufacturers save six tons of plastic waste a year. For short transport, for example, you can completely do without plastic trays for irrigation. But not only the environment benefits from the short transport routes, the customer can also look forward to locally produced and extremely fresh products.

Is aquaponics a concept with a future? Certainly! With this technology, unused areas in the city can be used sensibly. In addition, water consumption is significantly lower than in conventional agriculture. The quality of the herbs and vegetables is also very high, as it is much easier to control in a closed cycle. However, it has not yet been possible to breed native fish using this technique. In the summer it gets very warm in the fish tanks and at these temperatures only tropical fish feel comfortable. For example the African cichlid, African catfish or the pakus from South America. The options for fruit and vegetable cultivation, on the other hand, are diverse: whether salad, herbs, tomatoes, Strawberries or zucchini - many types of fruit and vegetables can be easily grown in aquaponic farms. The big advantage: fruits and vegetables are only harvested when they are ripe. As a result, they taste much better than green harvested goods that only artificially ripen during transport.

In the vision of the two urban farmers, supermarkets will grow their own vegetables on roofs or other urban open spaces in the future. A first step in this direction is the sale of “perch from the capital” and “basil from the capital” in Berlin's REWE stores. Demand is high and customers are very satisfied with the regionally grown products.

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WEBINAR: Agritecture And Indoor Ag-Conversations To Present "Megatrends In Indoor Farming" - June 24 @ 2 PM EST

“MEGATRENDS IN INDOOR FARMING’ WEBINAR “

ON JUNE 24, 2020 @ 2 PM EST 

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LAS VEGAS (June 9, 2020) – Indoor Ag-Con, LLC is pleased to announce “MegaTrends In Indoor Farming,”  the latest topic to join its new Indoor Ag-Conversations monthly free webinar series. Hosted by Agritecture Consulting, this panel discussion will cover megatrends in food, agtech, and vertical farming. Scheduled for Wednesday, June 24 at 2 pm EST, the program will be moderated by Agritecture Founder & CEO, Henry Gordon-Smith, and include panelist Menachem Katz, former head of WeWork Food Labs. Additional panelists to be announced soon.

“From Covid-19 to climate change to food security concerns, there are a number of factors accelerating megatrends shaping the indoor agriculture marketplace,” said Nancy Hallberg, co-owner, Indoor Ag-Con. “We’re excited to have Henry Gordon-Smith and his expert panel share their insights into these key trends and the opportunities they can offer for our growers, suppliers, and other industry members.”
Indoor Ag-Con LLC, producers of the premier event for the indoor vertical farming industry, created the new Indoor Ag-Conversations series to share content originally planned for its May 2020 in-person annual conference that was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the 60-minute webinar, Gordon-Smith and his panelists will take a deep dive into some of the megatrends impacting indoor vertical farming, including plant-based proteins and other consumer-driven food demands, automation/artificial intelligence, urban farming/local food, food security and more. Indoor Ag-Conversation webinars are free to industry members. To register for the upcoming June 24, 2020 session, visit www.indoor.ag/webinar. Indoor Ag-Conversations presenters include:

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Moderator Henry Gordon-Smith is a sustainability strategist focused on urban agriculture, water issues, and emerging technologies. His firm, Agritecture Consulting, primarily helps entrepreneurs with vertical farming feasibility studies, recruiting, and systems design. He serves on the advisory board of numerous AgTech startups, including Smallhold and Foodshed.io.; serves on the board of directors for the not-for-profit food access organization Teens for Food Justice in NYC; has spoken on the topic of urban agriculture in 4 continents; and has been interviewed about urban and vertical farming for the WSJ, Futurism, Men’s Health, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, Arabian Business, CNBC, and many more media outlets.

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Panelist Menachem Katz has 20 years of food industry experience in roles ranging from operations to technology and logistics to culinary. He started his career as an Executive Chef, first at Artichoke Restaurant in Tel Aviv, and then at 1868, a restaurant chain in Jerusalem that he co-founded. From there he served as Executive Chef for multiple companies; co-founded and led Culinary & Operations at Goodmeal, a delivery startup; led operations and expansion at Kettlebell Kitchen; and most recently, served as Head of WeWork Food Labs.

More details on the upcoming Megatrends session, as well as access to the recording of the June 3 series launch session - "United Fresh Presents Produce Trends & New Business Opportunities For Indoor Growers Emerging From The Covid-19 Pandemic," and other programs joining the new Indoor Ag-Conversations series, can all be found at www.indoor.ag/webinar. 

ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON LLC
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con touches all sectors of the business, covering produce, legal cannabis, hemp, alternate protein, and non-food crops. In December 2018, three event industry professionals – Nancy Hallberg, Kris Sieradzki, and Brian Sullivan – purchased Indoor Ag-Con LLC, setting the stage for further expansion of the events globally. For more information, visit: www.indoor.ag

ABOUT AGRITECTURE
Agritecture is a global urban agriculture consulting firm, whose mission is to empower impact-driven organizations to develop feasible urban farming solutions, turning their business ideas into practical and sustainable realities. Agritecture has completed more than 100 consulting projects in over 20 countries, working with a range of clients including entrepreneurs, real estate developers, educational non-profits, corporate food- & agri-businesses, and city agencies. Agritecture’s popular blog and social media presence have a total digital following of 100,000. www.agritecture.com

Indoor Ag-Con, 950 Scales Road, Building #200, Suwanee, GA 30024, United States

Creating A Business Based on Hydroponics And Agricultural Technology

June 14, 2020

PLAY EPISODE

Featured Guest:

Alex Tyink, Fork Farms
101 W Edison Ave
Suite 224
Appleton, WI 54915

Email: info@forkfarms.com
Direct: 920.515.0730
Toll-Free: 877.886.7736

BizTalk Air Date: June 6, 2020

Fork Farms is a leader in hydroponics and agricultural technology-based here in the Fox Cities.  Listen to Alex Tynik, founder and president explain how they have developed the products and organization needed to enable individuals and organizations to produce low cost, high-quality food.

Fork Farms has built a national and international reputation in just five years and theirs is a story that will inspire others thinking about creating a social enterprise balancing business results and improving society.

Business PlanningFinanceMotivationSales & MarketingStrategic Management

Sustaining The Future of Indoor Vertical Farming With Microgrids

June 15, 2020, By Guest Post

Schneider Electric’s Don Wingate discusses how microgrids can help the indoor vertical farming movement realize its full potential. 

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Don Wingate, vice president of utility and microgrid solutions at Schneider Electric

While indoor agriculture has steadily gained traction in recent years as the world seeks alternative ways to feed growing populations, the uncertainty of today’s global pandemic has accelerated a rethinking of the way we obtain our food. In the last few months, modern supply chains experienced volatility like never before and it wasn’t long before we started to see the impact beyond medical gear and personal protective equipment and began to affect food production. According to the Institute of Supply Chain Management, 75% of companies reported some kind of supply chain disruption due to COVID-19.

Indoor vertical farming is emerging as an alternative to conventional farming because it both requires lower land-use and introduces the opportunity to bring agricultural production closer to consumers — shortening supply chains and increasing footprint productivity. This is especially important during times of turmoil, which is broader than the current pandemic as weather events and changing climate patterns continue to put constant strain on traditional farming practices. In addition to shortening supply chains, indoor farming has many other advantages in comparison to traditional agriculture such as using zero pesticides, employing 95% less water, and reducing food waste. Health benefits also include fresher food, increased urban availability, and pollution reduction.

Despite the major advantages, there is one looming barrier to mainstream adoption: the process is very energy-intensive.

Solving for the energy intensity problem

Vertical farming presents a unique opportunity to grow food on already developed land and increase domestic food production, but the energy demand required to power these facilities is much higher than other methods of food production. In fact, we’ve identified indoor agriculture as one of the four major drivers that will increase electricity consumption in the next decade, along with electric vehicles, data centers and the electrification of heat. This is why more of today’s modern farming companies are turning to microgrids as a possible solution to ease their energy challenges.

Although most of today’s facilities are not equipped to meet the electricity needs of an indoor agriculture operation, microgrids can provide dynamic energy management and the resources required to support maximum productivity, sustainability, and energy efficiency. They can provide localized power generation and utilize renewable distributed energy resources to help deliver power and reach clean energy goals, while also allowing users more control and reliability. Additionally, microgrids can capture and repurpose CO2 emissions to help in crop production.

Moreover, microgrids provide resilience from unexpected outages that could result in a loss in production. A key advantage of vertical farms is their ability to allow crops to grow year-round, and communities rely on their ability to deliver on this promise. Microgrids not only have several clean energy benefits, but they also increase business continuity that maximizes output. Given their ability to operate either in conjunction with or as an island from the utility grid, they can keep the farm producing even when the grid goes down.

The case for investment: Securing an affordable solution 

Building and operating a vertical farm requires various technologies that can translate to high startup cost and design complex processes. At the same time, it is more expensive to maintain a vertical farming operation than traditional field farming. Microgrids offer a compelling value proposition, but they’re inherently complex machines and not many companies have the upfront capital or in-house expertise needed to make the investment. Fortunately, innovative business models such as energy-as-a-service (EaaS) help provide price certainty and make the investment attainable.

For example, a modern farming company, Bowery Farming, created a facility wherein crop production is 100 times more efficient than traditional farmland. This generated a need for a greater need for reliable, efficient power. Thus, the company made the decision to integrate a hybrid microgrid system that would feature a rooftop solar array, natural gas generator, and a lithium-ion battery energy storage system through an EaaS business model. Through EaaS, Bowery Farming saved upfront capital that can be used toward additional operational investments.

By 2050, the world’s population is expected to grow by another 2 billion people, and feeding it will be a major challenge. According to the projections of the Food and Agriculture Organization, we have to increase overall food production by 70% by this timeline. Coupled with new concerns that have surfaced as a result of today’s global pandemic and unstable weather, vertical farming will play a key role in future food production and institutions will take notice. However, the technology that will help ease some of the industry’s ongoing energy challenges will be just as important to aid the transition.

Don Wingate is the VP of utility and microgrid solutions at Schneider Electric.

Fifth Season Opens Flagship Farm And Partners With NHL Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux

Pittsburgh | Business Wire | June 11, 2020

Partnership comes as Fifth Season announces opening of industry-leading vertical farm, expanded partnerships with Whole Foods and Giant Eagle, and its innovative direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform

Fifth Season, a company that combines vertical farming with proprietary robotics and artificial intelligence to disrupt the country’s produce market and deliver an entirely new category of hyper-local fresh food, announced today it has partnered with NHL Hall of Famer and co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mario Lemieux. The company has also launched a new e-commerce website with expanded product offerings and all products shipping from Fifth Season’s newly-opened indoor vertical farm.

The partnership will accelerate Fifth Season’s expansion plans as the company scales the flagship commercial-scale farm in Braddock, PA, a 60,000-sq.-ft. solar-powered farm with twice the efficiency and capacity of traditional vertical farms. The company’s smart design will allow Fifth Season to produce and market over 500,000 pounds of produce in the first year of full operation. Through AI and robotics, Fifth Season's technology tends to each plant’s individual needs at unprecedented levels of efficiency and precision, providing the perfect light, nourishment and environment for healthier produce, higher yield and better flavor.

“Fifth Season’s exciting technology is a game-changer for Pittsburgh,” said Lemieux. “They are positively impacting people's health and happiness by growing large quantities of delicious fresh food, right here in our hard-working industrial communities. Fifth Season is advancing the legacy of our city and I am proud to partner with the team.”

The new, fully-operational farm is accommodating Fifth Season’s increased demand from a growing list of retailers and restaurants, including an expanded retail presence with Whole Foods and Giant Eagle. At the farm, Fifth Season is growing more than 10 unique leafy greens and herb crops with two proprietary salad blends, spinach and arugula hitting shelves first. The company has plans to quickly expand into more leafy green varieties within the year.

“The events over the last several months have revealed that resilient supply chains and consistent access to fresh foods are more critical than ever,” said Fifth Season co-founder and CEO Austin Webb. “The opening of our first commercial-scale farm comes at a perfect time as Fifth Season works to accelerate our plans to reach new and expanding customer bases.”

The company also announced this month the launch of their industry leading direct-to-consumer program, providing both salad greens and salad kits for order and delivery via Fifth Season’s e-commerce website at www.fifthseasonfresh.com. Customers in the Pittsburgh area can place their order directly via the website to have locally-grown and crafted salads delivered right to their homes.

“Consumers want to connect with farms that reflect their values, and they seek convenience in how they receive their fresh food, whether that’s from their favorite grocer, delivered directly to their doorstep, or picked up from the farm,” said Webb. “Everybody prefers locally grown fresh food to flavorless, days-old greens and we’re proud to provide solutions that make choosing local and living healthy easier.”

By delivering its produce within hours of packaging, Fifth Season is setting a new standard for fresh food, at a price competitive with conventional produce. All Fifth Season produce is grown locally and without pesticides and has an average shelf life of weeks, not days. What’s more, Fifth Season’s produce is grown using up to 95 percent less water and 97 percent less land than conventional farming.

These announcements top off a monumental quarter for Fifth Season, which won a World Changing Ideas Award from Fast Company, an honor that highlights projects actively changing what we eat, how we eat and how we get our food. The company also won the Best Build-to-Suit from the NAIOP for its indoor vertical farm design. During the COVID-19 pandemic the company has increased donations of fresh greens and salad kits to essential workers and community organizations throughout Pittsburgh.

About Fifth Season

Fifth Season’s vertical farms combine proprietary robotics and AI with sustainable agriculture to disrupt the country’s $60 billion produce market and deliver an entirely new category of hyper-local, fresh food. Fifth Season’s newest vertical farm in Braddock, Pa., a historic steel town on the edge of Pittsburgh, features a 25,000-sq.-ft. grow room with twice the growing capacity of traditional vertical farms. It is set to grow more than 500,000 lbs. of produce in its first full year of operation. The company’s fresh, tender lettuces, spinach, arugula, “Bridge City” and “Three Rivers” blends, as well as their herbs, receive individualized attention as sensors monitor every condition — humidity, pH, light, nutrient mix — and adjust to each plant’s needs. Fifth Season can even determine the perfect nourishment to give varietals their own buttery or crispy, soft, sharp, or tangy flavor and texture. For more information on Fifth Season, its technology and produce, visit www.fifthseasonfresh.com.

Contacts

Media Contact

Quinn Kelsey
646-677-1810
FifthSeason@icrinc.com

KEYWORD: PENNSYLVANIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ENVIRONMENT SPORTS HOCKEY SUPERMARKET FOOD/BEVERAGE RETAIL AGRICULTURE NATURAL RESOURCES ONLINE RETAIL

SOURCE: Fifth Season

Copyright Business Wire 2020.

PUB: 06/11/2020 08:00 AM/DISC: 06/11/2020 08:02 AM

Bridge City Blend (Photo: Fifth Season)

"After Summing Up All Production Costs, The Plants Cost Less Than 0.25$, Which is 2% of The Total Sum of Normal Farmers"

Cost-Effective Growing

We’re working with high efficiency LED lights and cooling systems, which basically are our only costs. Therefore, our produce is way cheaper than with traditional farming. ”After summing up all production costs, the plants cost less than 0.25$, which is 2% of the total sum of normal farmers”, Tony English, Founder and Visionary of FarmBox Foods says. If a grower spends 2 cents more per plant, they can deliver organic produce with FarmBox Foods growing containers. The seeding process starts in organic fiber where organic nutrients are used. Next to that you can use filtered water and cultivation without pests. But it’s all up to the grower what plants they choose.”

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The seedling table

Self-Sanitizing Farm

The growing process is fully automated, except for harvesting. “We purposely chose moveable walls, so when our containers are installed, people with disabilities can participate during projects.” The company uses peat moss plugs for the seedling table, alongside an ebb and flow system. “When the plants are two inches high, they’re transferred to the grow walls. When one batch is harvested, a new one goes in immediately to maintain a constant production cycle,” English adds. These containers are maintenance-friendly and self-sanitizing. The grow towers are cleaned with ozone, a bacteria and disease killing gas. “It works better than bleach or other commonly used sanitizing agents.” When watering the plants, ozone is added into the nutrient solution, allowing the grow walls to clean themselves.

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The moveable grow walls

New Designs

The system development took about a year to complete; during this time, FarmBox Foods designed a grow tube which solved all the problems that they came across during the R&D phase. The team is currently testing and researching new crops and designs. The R&D prototype has been sold and is now in use in Georgia. “We build our containers one at a time, and when we think of doing something better, we apply it. For now, we have three containers placed, but we’re looking into manufacturers around the States to speed up the production process.”

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The Self-Sanitizing Farm

“We were actually going to build containers for homeless people for the major US cities, as there’s a big shortage of fresh produce, especially for those who won’t have access to them. We bought land and designed a hydro system. When they told us it would take up to 5 years before they would even look at our proposal. It would have been insane to wait for that approval. Well, we had a great hydro system thus why not move them inside a shipping container that we can provide to homeless shelters, churches, and anyone who could grow food for the people who need it the most?” The start-up supplies fully-automated containers for vegetable farming in the US.

Increasing Demand

FarmBox noticed an increasing demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They now have a major hospital chain buying their farms. “We have a system suitable for schools, and at first we were donating them to schools. We are not going to do that anymore as we’re too busy with fulfilling the demand for our containers farms.”

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For more information:
FarmBox Foods Tony English, CEO and Founder
tony@farmboxfoods.com 
www.farmboxfoods.com 

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Publication date: Tue 16 Jun 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com

An Aussie Vertical Farm Company Has Gained International Interest Amid Concerns About Food Supply Chain During The Coronavirus Pandemic

By Sharon Masige | Business Insider | 5 June 2020

• Stacked Farm, an Australian automated vertical indoor farm, has received international interest during the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns about the continuity of food supplies.

• The farm produces salad greens and has the capacity for tomatoes and strawberries.

• CEO Conrad Smith told Business Insider Australia Stack Farm received significant interest from the Middle East.

Aussie company Stacked Farm, a fully automated vertical indoor farm, has been gaining international interest amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Stacked Farm, founded in 2017, produces salad greens and herbs like lettuce and rocket and has the capacity to produce tomatoes and strawberries. It's even looking at testing out a type of blueberry next year.

The company has been receiving a lot of interest during the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns about virus clusters breaking out in the food supply chain. Back in May, a coronavirus cluster broke out at Melbourne's Cedar Meats abattoir, which was linked to 62 cases, according to the ABC.

"People are more concerned than ever about who is handling their food, where it’s coming from and how many stops it made before arriving on supermarket shelves," Stacked Farm CEO Conrad Smith said in a statement.

The company is headquartered in Burleigh Heads, Queensland and has plans to open up farms across Australia as well. "A scaled-up farm in Victoria will be our first major commercial farm," Smith told Business Insider Australia. Its farm is fully automated, with the produce packed and sealed once its harvested by robotic farming.

"It doesn’t pass through the usual supply chains either – greens and herbs can go directly to wholesalers, retails, hotels and restaurants, unlike traditional produce which passes through a number of hands before reaching our shelves," Smith said in a statement.

Stacked Farm has a partnership with fresh produce supplier Morco Fresh and counts Dnata as one of its clients as well, which provides aircraft services like flight catering.

"We are not too dissimilar to a normal farm where we go through markets and we go through wholesalers and food service distributors," Smith said.

And while it mainly supplies to the food service industry, Stacked Farm is looking at a move into retail so people can grab its produce from supermarket shelves as well. "We haven't got the capacity to do that at the moment," Smith said. "But when we scale up to our Victorian farm, we will certainly have the capacity to do that and we'll be looking for retail partners to jump on the journey that we're on."

The farms are temperature controlled and automated

Stacked Farm grows its produce 12 months a year, without relying on different seasons. Its products are grown in a temperature-controlled environment that is fully automated from seeding to harvesting. The company is looking at post-harvest automation as part of its next business phase.

Stacked Farm also makes barley-based livestock feed. "In a drought-vulnerable country like Australia, there's a lot of opportunity there because while we all think about human consumption, animals are a massive part of the food chain that needs to be considered," Smith said.

The company's employees are mainly in the science and tech field rather than traditional farm labourers.

"We're not like traditional farms where we require pickers, packers and harvesters," Smith said. "We employ more labour leaning towards engineering, software engineering, mechanical engineering, CAD designers [and] horticultural scientists."

The company has been receiving interest from the Middle East

Stacked Farm has received international interest in its farm during the coronavirus pandemic, mainly thanks to concerns over food safety, quality and security.

"There's a lot of food chains that have been broken throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, and we've had interest from the Middle East to set up farms there," Smith said.

"We have been very enthused by the interest from particularly a couple of states in the Middle East that have governments that really support local industry and local farming." Smith gave the example of Dubai which relies predominantly on imports. According to Bloomberg, the United Arab Emirates imports up to 90% of its food.

Smith explained that in Dubai, "a lot of produce can't travel by sea".

"They've immediately recognised that there's a problem in their food chain and they need to bring tech businesses to their country to support feeding their people." And, in the case of Stacked Farm, can help feed livestock too.

Smith added that Stacked Farm can support the future of food production, particularly in extremely hot and dry or extremely cold climates. He explained that one in nine people go hungry around the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, by 2050 world food demand is expected to rise by 70%.

"Having urban indoor vertical farms is definitely [an] exciting prospect for the future," Smith said. "We can literally shave days off out of the logistics process, we can extend the shelf life of products so there's less wastage and that in turn will benefit the community."

Bowery Farming Debuts New Lettuce Variety

Posted by Chris Manning | June 3, 2020 | Produce Grower

Bowery Farming, per a press release, announced its newest leafy greens launch, Bowery Crispy Leaf Lettuce (Crispy Leaf). A reinvigorated version of iceberg lettuce that is refreshing and simple, Crispy Leaf boasts a bold color and satisfying crunch. The much-anticipated product, which goes from harvest to shelf in just a few days, will be available in the produce aisle at over 250 grocery stores and specialty markets in the Tri-State area and Mid-Atlantic region beginning in June 2020. Crispy Leaf will also be available through Bowery’s online partners, including Amazon Fresh, Peapod and Hungryroot.

"With unparalleled flavor and crunch in every bite, we're confident that Crispy Leaf has the potential to disrupt the traditional iceberg market," said Carmela Cugini, EVP of Sales, Bowery Farming. “Crispy Leaf is one of the most in-demand leafy greens from Bowery based on current retailer orders. We've had to ramp up production to meet retail demand,” continued Cugini. “Early feedback from buyers indicates Crispy Leaf is poised to change the way consumers interact with lettuce by introducing a completely new sensory experience to the category."

Crispy Leaf is grown locally at Bowery’s commercial farms in Kearny, New Jersey, and White Marsh, Maryland, and has zero pesticides. The mild and versatile green is the ideal base for salads and grain bowls and serves well as a culinary garnish.

A Guide To Vertical Farming Techniques

If you don’t already, chances are you’ll be eating more produce from indoor farms in the near future. Learn what that means.

Our ancestors first learned to farm nearly 12,000 years ago. By cultivating and domesticating seeds, these once hunter-gatherers broke away from their nomadic lifestyles, settled down to produce controlled and reliable food sources (weather permitting, of course) and, little did they know, change the course of the planet’s future.

Fast forward to the 20th century when a group of architects started planning to alter food production in their own way. They aimed to decreased dependency on traditional land-based farms and harness spatial efficiency in our dense built environment; think less wide-open spaces with tractors and more structures growing stacked layers of crops. This practice—widely referred to as “indoor” or “vertical farming” (taken from Gilbert Ellis Bailey’s 1915 book of the same name)—is alive and booming today, and especially in the New York metro area.

Columbia University professor emeritus and ecologist Dickson Despommier helped to envision the modern vertical farm and indoor agriculture while teaching a graduate-level course in 1999. His students realized that simply using rooftop gardens would been grossly insufficient to feeding the population of Manhattan so inline with urban agriculture predecessors, he began researching different techniques and structures. Despommier is among several academics and vertical farming thought leaders who see vertical farming today as part of the answer to a range of global problems (many partly caused by agriculture) including climate change and water scarcity.

There are a lot of ways to farm indoors and below are three different soilless processes recommended by Despommier. Done properly at various scales, they’re as effective as at growing crops in skyscrapers as they are in 500 square foot studio apartments:

HYDROPONICS

One of the oldest and most common methods of vertical farming, hydroponics includes growing plants without soil and in a water solvent containing mineral nutrients. The simplest hydroponic method (called the floating raft system) suspends the plants in soilless raft like a polystyrene sheet and lets the roots hang to absorb the oxygen-aerated solution. Another common method is the nutrient film technique, which is popular for growing lettuce. Here, a stream of the nutrient-dissolved solution is pumped into an angled channel, typically a plastic pipe, containing the plants. This runs past the plants’ root mat and can then be recirculated for continuous use. New York’s Gotham Greens and Square Roots use hydroponics.

AEROPONICS

It’s no surprise that NASA has been backing research on aeroponic growth for the past two decades as it’s free-floating-roots aesthetic is typically used in futuristic sci-fi movies. With aeroponics, the dangling roots absorb a fine mist comprised of an atomized version of the nutrient solution sprayed directly onto the roots by a pump. Although aeroponics enables plants to grow much more quickly than hydroponics, it requires more solution and therefore is more costly. Newark’s Aerofarms uses aeroponics.

AQUAPONICS

Like hydroponic systems, an aquaponic system contains a soil-free plant bed suspended over a body of water containing nutrients necessary for plant growth. But within the body of water is a population of fish (typically herbivores) that produce waste that function as fertilizer for the plants. In turn, the plants help purify the water to make the water suitable for the fish.

Given that a balance must be achieved to ensure the system of both life forms, aquaponics requires greater attention than hydroponics or aeroponics although filtration and aeration systems can help manage these complications. Furthermore, the types of plants one can grow are much more limited as the necessary plant nutrients must be compatible with those necessary for the fish. Brooklyn’s Edenworks and Oko Farms use aquaponics.

By Matthew Sedacca | Edible Manhattan | May 3, 2017

Lead Illustration by Chamisa Kellogg

Looking Up: Vertical Farms Fill Produce Supply Chain Lag During Pandemic

By Jesse Klein | Green Biz | June 11, 2020

The great panic buying of 2020 revealed the time it takes for food to go from farm to shelves. The curtain was pulled back on something the shopper rarely thinks about — supply chain logistics. As grocery store shelves emptied, the problem wasn’t necessarily lack of food but a drastic shift in demand that caused traditional distribution engines to sputter.

For example, lettuce takes between 30 and 45 days to grow in a field farm. According to a 2001 study by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, traditionally grown lettuce travels about 2,000 miles to get to Chicago grocery stores. So by the time prepackaged greens are bought by consumers, that produce can be almost two weeks old. These long lead times caused those empty shelves in March. 

Vertical farms have struggled to become a major force in the grocery market. Their products are usually limited to leafy greens, and the high labor costs have made turning a profit challenging for many. But the pandemic clarified their role within a more sustainable food system. Vertical farms, with their hyperlocality and ability to quickly grow new crops, can step in to fill retail shelves when traditional farms falter.

"We are a really critical part of this food supply chain, and we can fill a gap when there is a crisis," said Shireen Santosham, head of strategic initiatives at Plenty, which sells vegetables at 20 locations around the San Francisco Bay area.

Location always has been a core part of the vertical farm appeal and business model. During the pandemic, many have taken advantage of the fact that their growing operations often use abandoned warehouses in urban areas and therefore are much closer to retail stores.

Fifth Season Connection, a vertical farm that leverages robotic technology, operates a 600,000-square-foot vertical farm in the food deserts of Pittsburgh. Its chief category officer, Grant Vandenbussche, called me from inside his delivery truck. He was delivering that day’s produce to grocery stores a mere 24 hours after the greens were picked. His company has seen a 50 percent increase in orders over the past few months, even as its restaurant market has dwindled.

"We have fantastic retail partners that we have really leaned on," he said. "Our partnerships have allowed us to get more onto the shelves and expand our offerings."

The consumer also benefits from the quick turnaround time, especially during the pandemic. According to Vandenbussche, vertical farm greens typically last longer after purchase because they haven’t been out of the dirt for as long as traditional produce. So when every trip to the grocery store feels like a risk, shoppers are looking for products that will last longer than a few days.  

According to AeroFarms, its advantage has been the ability to produce baby greens in a third of the time of traditional farms, typically 12 days. AeroFarms operates four vertical farms in New Jersey harvesting almost 2 million pounds of produce a year using aeroponic mist instead of traditional irrigation, resulting in 95 percent less water usage than a traditional farm. According to Marc Oshima, co-founder and marketing director of AeroFarms, most field farms don’t have the nimbleness to respond to a quick change in market demand.

"Because we are inside, we are able to grow all year round," he said. "We can pivot as needed and adjust to the marketplace. We plant, seed and harvest for our customers based on their orders. That allows us to be very customer- and market-driven in how we grow."

Plenty has seen a threefold increase in demand from its retailers since the start of March. The pandemic opened up opportunities with new retail partners for Plenty because the stores were experiencing a disruption in supply chain and looking for alternative means of keeping shelves full, according to executives. 

"[The increase in demand] came from both our existing stores as well as from additional stores that called us up and said, ‘Hey, we are having trouble keeping our shelves stocked, could you add some volume with us?’" said Roger Kirkpatrick, director of business development at Plenty. 

Plenty was able to meet the demand as it already was gearing up its volume for placement in new stores but coronavirus accelerated the pace, Kirkpatrick said.

Vertical farms are hoping to capitalize on this moment. Shelves empty of a consumer's habitual brands help force consumers over the initial barrier of trying a new product such as those sold by Plenty. Once people do try Plenty's produce, according to Kirkpatrick, they tend to stick with the brand. So even as panic buying has calmed down, Plenty has seen its demand stay level, he said.

And even though the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization guidelines agree COVID-19 is unlikely to be passed through food contamination, vertical farms are using consumers’ increased awareness of the food supply chain to push their product as a safer and better alternative.

"[Consumers] will continue to gravitate towards local clean options because, now more than ever, they're thinking about where is my food coming from, who is touching it and how has it been processed," Vandenbussche said. 

Kalera and University of Florida LED Lighting Study Sheds New Light on Cost-Effective Modes of Increasing Nutritive Value in Lettuce

The New Study Reveals Exciting Findings For Both Consumers and

Vertical Farming Industry Practices

June 04, 2020, | Source: Kalera

ORLANDO, Fla., June 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, technology-driven vertical farming company Kalera announced the publication of a new study, “Effect of End-of-Production High-Energy Radiation on Nutritional Quality of Indoor-Grown Red-Leaf Lettuce,” conducted in partnership with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The Kalera-sponsored study found that by using high-energy LED lighting prior to harvest, red-leaf lettuce significantly increases the production of antioxidants and especially of anthocyanins, compounds in plants that may offer health-promoting benefits by protecting cells from free radicals — exciting news for health-conscious consumers. By only using high-energy LED lighting for the last few days before harvest, both yield and quality could be maximized indoors, indicating promising and cost-effective future practices for the vertical farming industry.

The entire study can be read here.

View fullsize

Representative plants at harvest after exposure to EOP treatments

While numerous studies have evaluated the effect of high-energy light as a means to increase nutritional quality of lettuce grown in vertical farms, most research has focused on providing constant light quality or quantity throughout the production cycle, which typically reduces yield or increases production costs. In this new University of Florida study, Dr. Celina Gómez, Assistant Professor of Controlled Environment Horticulture at the University of Florida, who led the study, evaluated the use of end-of-production (EOP) high energy light as a cost-effective, pre-harvest practice that can allow growers to manipulate product quality and increase market value of lettuce without negatively affecting yield.

“Dr. Toma approached me to discuss the possibility of leading the study, which resulted in exciting findings for the vertical farming industry and consumers of healthy produce alike. The objective of the study was to compare growth and accumulation of secondary metabolites such as antioxidants from two popular red-leaf lettuce cultivars grown indoors and exposed to different strategies of EOP high-energy lighting. In general, EOP with blue or high-intensity lighting increased anthocyanin content and antioxidant capacity,” noted Dr Gómez. “Considering potential implications on production costs, EOP with additional blue light is an effective strategy to increase the quality of indoor-grown red-leaf lettuce plants.”

“Given the positive effects of pre-harvest light treatments on nutritional value and marketability of red-leaf lettuce cultivars, vertical farms like Kalera offer tremendous opportunities to deliver fresh, high-quality produce to local markets. This is just one example of what vertical farming can do,” noted Dr. Cristian Toma. “By investing in new developments in science and technology, Kalera is positioning itself as a leader in the vertical farming space and as an expert in the ag-tech revolution. This new research reflects the importance of constantly educating our company, our customers, and our industry on best practices, even as we continue to expand and grow into new markets.”

The new study is being released shortly after Kalera announced its expansion into Atlanta, GA, with its newest facility. Kalera opened its second Orlando, Florida indoor vertical farm in March. While Kalera’s Orlando farm is currently the highest production volume vertical farm in the Southeast, the new Atlanta facility will be more than double the size while generating over 70 jobs for the local community. As was the case in Orlando, Kalera is able to quickly open its newest growing facility in Atlanta with its proprietary technology as a result of a streamlined design and construction process, further illustrating its ability to rapidly scale and expand its vertical farms. The Atlanta facility is the third indoor vertical farm in Kalera’s portfolio and will soon be joined by more in the United States and abroad.

About Kalera
Kalera is a technology driven vertical farming company with unique growing methods combining optimized nutrients and light recipes, precise environmental controls, and cleanroom standards to produce safe, highly nutritious, pesticide-free, non-GMO vegetables with consistent high quality and longer shelf life year-round. The company’s high-yield, automated, data-driven hydroponic production facilities have been designed for rapid rollout with industry-leading payback times to grow vegetables faster, cleaner, at a lower cost, and with less environmental impact.

About UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.

ifas.ufl.edu | @UF_IFAS

Media Contact:
Elka Karl
Phone: 510-508-7328
Email: elka@dadascope.com

Microgreens Launched By Vertical Farmer April Sun

Food & Beverage | June 4, 2020

Just in time for this year’s winter season, vertical farmer April Sun launched its range of sustainably grown microgreens from its new commercial-sized micro-farming facility in Melbourne.

With a philosophy of true sustainability and paired with cutting-edge technology, the local farm wants to provide the community with a range of nutrient-packed microgreens available year-round to their nearby community.

Co-founder Darren Nichol, April Sun visionary of Australia’s cleanest and highest nutritional food supply who has a wealth of knowledge due to his agricultural background, says, “This is a particular focus of the Darebin Council. They have an actual goal to increase food production within its municipality.”

These super foods are grown without pesticides and utilise 95 percent less water than traditional farming methods due to a hydroponic based (closed loop) watering system. Co-founder Ty Dickson, April Sun technologist and facility designer, said this system guarantees the plants do not receive too little or too much water.

“The watering targets each individual plant or root system and is drained back to the holding tanks,” he said. “Traditional farming methods would see water being lost to the ground and you would use more water to achieve the same level of fertigation without the ability to recapture the excess.”

With custom-spectrum lights developed in-house, the microgreens are grown in their ideal conditions, allowing for year-round production and minimal waste.

“We use a combination of specific wavelengths of blue, red, far red and full spectrum light to stimulate the chlorophyll A and B of the plants, while giving the right signals to ensure proper colour, increased nutrients through stress and, above all, a very healthy plant,” Dickson said.

“We are a non-single use plastics company; we opt for PLA compostable packaging. Our facility uses the highest efficiency components and equipment available. We do run on electricity, although we are engaging in using 100% renewables, and are in preliminary talks with the Darebin Council to implement 100kW of solar panels on our warehouse roof.” said Dickson.

In traditional farming, external factors such as drought, pollution, soil erosion and more can impact crop success. However, the world of vertical farming is “most often done indoors in a controlled environment”, he adds. “Vertical farming when done sustainably has less impact on the environment, there are significant reductions in water usage, land usage, gas usage and many other resources. This is all achieved whilst controlling the indoor growing environment with minimal impact to it outside.”

“By controlling every factor in the plant’s environment, you end up with a high-quality product on a number of levels,” said Nichol.

“We can grow to a timeline and the removal of variables such as the weather allows us to more accurately forecast and grow to our customers’ demands. This can reduce the amount of waste and also increase consistency of supply to customers. This is a huge problem for traditional farming and is the cause for the large price jumps and shortages of produce on the market.”

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