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The Fifth Annual [Virtual] NYC AGTECH WEEK
Our 2-day virtual conference features farm tours, panels, workshops, and presentations highlighting the fast-growing and innovative AgTech sector in NYC, the US, and Internationally
THE FIFTH ANNUAL [VIRTUAL]
NYC AGTECH WEEK
OCTOBER 20-21, 2020
Produced by the NYC Ag Collective: a Non Profit organization dedicated to educating and sharing the opportunities and benefits of AgTech. NYC AGTECH WEEK is the only AgTech conference on the East coast run by the leaders of the industry themselves.
Our 2-day virtual conference features farm tours, panels, workshops, and presentations highlighting the fast-growing and innovative AgTech sector in NYC, the US, and Internationally. NYC AGTECH WEEK brings together industry Founders, Investors, CEOs, Startups, and Thought Leaders through curated networking events and opportunities.
GET YOUR TICKET HERE
Use the following Discount Code: iGrow10
20 October 2020 - 21 October 2020
20 October
Day 1: The Local View - Session I
Session I: Introduction to NYC Urban Agriculture - Oko Farms Tour - Farm.One Tour
[Virtual]
12:00 PM - 01:30 PM
Tickets
20 October
Day 1: The Local View - Session II
Session II: NYC Food Resilience During COVID-19 - Opening remarks and introduction
[Virtual]
02:00 PM - 03:15 PM
Tickets
20 October
Day 1: The Local View - Session III
Session III: NYC AgTech Startups: Where They’re At Now - Product/ tech demos
[Virtual]
03:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Tickets
20 October
Day 1: The Local View - Session IV
Session IV: Networking Breakout Rooms
[Virtual]
04:15 PM - 05:30 PM
Tickets
21 October
Day 2: The Global-View - Session I
Session I: Spotlights & Comparisons of Global Urban Agriculture Hotbeds - Region
[Virtual]
12:00 PM - 03:00 PM
Tickets
UA-CEAC Online Hydroponic Tomato Intensive Workshop
Are you interested in growing tomatoes hydroponically? Join the University of Arizona Controlled Environment Agriculture Center for the Hydroponic Online Intensive Workshop - November 16th& 17th via Zoom
The University of Arizona Controlled Environment
Agriculture Center Is hosting Its First-Ever
Hydroponic Tomato Online Intensive Workshop
On November 16th and 17th
Are you interested in growing tomatoes hydroponically? Join the University of Arizona Controlled Environment Agriculture Center for the Hydroponic Online Intensive Workshop - November 16th& 17th via Zoom.
Taught by Dr. Stacy Tollefson, this two-day event is perfect for novice growers and will be packed with tons of critical information and research discoveries that UA-CEAC has assembled into their courses and programs for over 20 years.
You will get access to numerous lecture materials, personal question follow-ups, certificate of completion, and tons of knowledge!
Click Here To Register!
Limited seats are available
For questions, please email arizona.ceac@gmail.com
GE Current Donates Horticulture Lighting Fixtures To The Ohio State University
“We are excited to be deepening our relationship with OSU,” said Melissa Wesorick, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Current. “This is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with this historic institution and the Ohio community, as well as inspire and empower the next generation of growers.”
GE Current, a Daintree company has gifted 272 horticultural lighting fixtures to The Ohio State University to benefit the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
The Arize Element L1000 LED fixtures will illuminate a state-of-the-art greenhouse being built within the new Controlled Environment Food Production Research Complex. The greenhouse was made possible with funding from Nationwide Insurance, as well as support from other Ohio-based companies.
“We are excited to be deepening our relationship with OSU,” said Melissa Wesorick, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Current. “This is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with this historic institution and the Ohio community, as well as inspire and empower the next generation of growers.”
With construction slated to begin in 2021, the production greenhouse will provide hands-on training opportunities for students to learn how to grow various crops in a greenhouse setting. The multiple tailored light spectrums offered by the Arize Element L1000 opens the door for unique research and scientific exploration into crop production and plant growth, as well as expand upon the understanding of how LEDs can further that growth. The facility will also serve as the location for future grower conferences and workshops.
“Lighting is a key technology of controlled environment agriculture,” said Chieri Kubota, professor in Ohio State’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and lead researcher at the new greenhouse facility. “We are excited about potential research outcomes that will advance the science and technology of growing in these environments. We greatly appreciate Current’s generous and important gift to help make this happen.”
Kubota’s work encompasses plant physiology and horticulture engineering to enhance the understanding and efficiency of controlled environment agriculture production systems such as greenhouses, warehouses (vertical farms) and growth chambers.
For more information:
www.gecurrent.com
cfaes.osu.edu
Publication date: Thu 8 Oct 2020
Five Tips For Horticulture: New Video On Monitoring Hydroponic Systems
This video is part of the series called “Five Tips for Horticulture” featured on the Greenhouse Training Online channel (https://tinyurl.com/ufgto)
Dr. Paul Fisher from the University of Florida IFAS Extension hosts Jon Greene of Bluelab Corporation in a new YouTube video (https://youtu.be/Yxt7OZnieng). They discuss technical tips for pH and electrical conductivity (EC) monitoring in hydroponic plant production, as well as water management and the importance of maintaining monitoring equipment.
This video is part of the series called “Five Tips for Horticulture” featured on the Greenhouse Training Online channel (https://tinyurl.com/ufgto). The series highlights technical topics from university and industry experts. Look for upcoming videos on topics such as growing media, vermicompost, and hydroponics substrates. The channel is sponsored by the Floriculture Research Alliance (floriculturealliance.org).
For more information on hydroponics, take the UF IFAS Extension online course for growers on Hydroponic Vegetable Production beginning on November 9 (https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/) in English and Spanish.
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
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Vertical Farming Startup Takes Crown In Ahold Delhaize Innovation Contest
Evergreens Farms, founded in 2017 in Massachusetts, brings fresh and local produce to the New England market regardless of the season by using technological processes to grow crops indoors with "no need for soil, sunshine, pesticides, or excess water," according to the company's website
Author: Rosie Bradbury
Oct. 8, 2020
Dive Brief:
Vertical farming startup Evergreens Farms won Ahold Delhaize’s supply chain innovation pitch competition, Retail Business Services, the services company of the food retailer’s U.S. operations, announced in a press release. The startup’s winning pitch involved a solution to provide vertical farming technology in any climate year-round. A panel of retail and venture capital experts determined Evergreens Farms had the most viable technology.
Evergreens Farms, founded in 2017 in Massachusetts, brings fresh and local produce to the New England market regardless of the season by using technological processes to grow crops indoors with "no need for soil, sunshine, pesticides, or excess water," according to the company's website.
Dive Insight:
By scouting out and building relationships with high-tech vertical farms start-ups, Retail Business Services can integrate new agricultural technologies to supplement produce sourcing for stores. Regional vertical farms startups such as Evergreens Farms cut down on food waste and transport costs by growing produce close to where it is consumed, as well as appealing to consumers’ penchants for locally grown fruits and vegetables.
Their shorter supply chain also allays consumers’ concerns of contamination risks such as E. coli, and market research suggests that consumers will be more willing to pay more for locally-grown products. Large grocery retailers have increasingly taken notice of the advantages of vertical farming. In August, supermarket chain Albertsons announced its partnership with farming tech firm Plenty to supply salad greens to 430 of its stores. Farming firms such as Plenty and Evergreens Farms also appeal to grocers’ efforts to adopt sustainable practices, as their technology-intensive approaches cut down on both land and water consumption compared to traditional commercial farms.
Greenhouse operator BrightFarms, a major player in farming technology, also supplies packaged greens to Ahold Delhaize, Walmart, and Kroger stores. Earlier this year, BrightFarms expanded its distribution to Food Lion stores in the Mid-Atlantic region.
For stores left with unnecessary floor space as much of its operations shift to online, miniature vertical farming hardware could act as a savvy supply line as well as an attractive use of space. Kroger and Whole Foods have both recently installed small produce farms inside stores.
Recent efforts by Ahold Delhaize indicate it is looking to cultivate partnerships with young companies on the technological cutting edge. Earlier this year, Ahold Delhaize scouted more than 380 smart cleaning technology companies to participate in a Cleaning Bot Challenge.
Lead photo: Courtesy of Bayer
Reminder RSVP - Indoor Ag Science Cafe October 20th 11 AM Eastern Time
Learning critical control point for hydroponic food safety - "Hydroponic Crops How can you produce safe vegetables?"
October Indoor Science Cafe
October 20th Tuesday 11 AM Eastern Time
If you already signed up, thank you!
Learning critical control point
for hydroponic food safety
"Hydroponic Crops
How can you produce safe vegetables?"
by
Dr. Sanja Ilic (The Ohio State University)
Please sign up so that you will receive Zoom link info.
Indoor Ag Science Cafe is an open discussion forum, organized by Chieri Kubota (OSU), Erik Runkle (MSU), and Cary Mitchell (Purdue U.) supported by USDA SCRI grants.
Sign Up Here
More Than $30 Million of Additional AgTech Deals in Abu Dhabi’s Pipeline
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) announced today upcoming developments in Abu Dhabi’s agriculture sector as part of continued plans to bolster local AgTech capabilities and innovations in desert agriculture
September 24th, 2020
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) announced today upcoming developments in Abu Dhabi’s agriculture sector as part of continued plans to bolster local AgTech capabilities and innovations in desert agriculture. In the coming months, more than AED 110 million (USD 30 million) in financial incentives are to be offered to AgTech companies looking to establish or fast track their growth in Abu Dhabi.
The update was given at ADIO’s first sector-focused webinar, “Inside Abu Dhabi: Innovation in Agriculture”, which took place on 23 September and highlighted opportunities in the emirate’s AgTech space. The webinar was attended by participants from all across the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and India.
The new pipeline is part of ADIO’s incentive programme, established under the Abu Dhabi Government’s Ghadan 21 accelerator programme. The incentive packages include competitive financial incentives and other non-financial benefits for companies that develop and commercialise new arid and desert agriculture solutions based on pre-determined criteria.
The new deals will build on the milestones achieved by the four AgTech pioneers – AeroFarms, Madar Farms, Responsive Drop Irrigation (RDI), and RNZ – ADIO partnered with earlier this year to establish R&D and production facilities in the emirate.
H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, said: “We have made significant headway towards realising our mission of turning sand into farmland, prioritising innovation that has the potential to make real, lasting change in the region and beyond. Despite the current global conditions, 2020 will be a transformational year for AgTech in Abu Dhabi as we close in on deals to bring more pioneering companies to the UAE. We will continue to work closely with ecosystem players like the Ministry of Food Security, the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), and ADQ to support AgTech founders and startups with the resources and infrastructure they require to achieve long-term success in the emirate.”
ADIO announced in April that it made AED 367 million (USD 100 million) in financial incentives available to four AgTech pioneers, partnering individually with AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RDI, and RNZ to establish new R&D and production facilities in Abu Dhabi. During the first “Inside Abu Dhabi” webinar, each company announced significant milestones in their respective projects over the past five months.
USA-headquartered vertical farming company AeroFarms has set up its corporate office at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to plug into the emirate’s innovation ecosystem and support R&D plans aimed at tackling agriculture problems within desert and arid climates. The company has also built out a local team, including hiring a general manager to lead AeroFarms’ Abu Dhabi strategy.
David Rosenberg, Co-Founder, and CEO of AeroFarms, commented: “Our excitement grows as we advance in Abu Dhabi the building of the world’s largest R&D indoor vertical farm in the world. We have set up corporate offices and started to build out an incredible team including our General Manager. We are working to finalise partnerships to co-innovate together in our Abu Dhabi facility as we work to solve some of the most pressing problems in agriculture in the region and the world. We are honoured to be working closely with ADIO to make Abu Dhabi a nexus for AgTech innovation and we encourage companies and universities to reach out and partner with us as we work on the next generation of agriculture breakthroughs.”
Madar Farms, a home-grown UAE AgTech innovator, has made significant progress in developing the local food offering in the market. The company has launched new products and is reaching consumers through expanded distributors and platforms. It is also partnering with a UAE education institution to teach students about AgTech and hydroponic systems, educating them about sustainable indoor agriculture from an early age.
Abdulaziz AlMulla, CEO and Co-Founder of Madar Farms, said: “We are happy to be part of the conversation. At Madar Farms, we are already leading a new agriculture revolution by growing a wide range of high-quality fresh produce every day here in the UAE with the use of advanced farming technologies. We want to create a lasting change by providing a holistic approach to sustainability and every day we are working towards achieving our vision and establishing Abu Dhabi as a global AgTech leader.”
RDI, which has developed an innovative irrigation system to transform water usage in UAE agriculture, has secured a facility in Abu Dhabi’s integrated trade, logistics, and industrial hub, KIZAD, to be used for industrial research, product manufacturing, and distribution. Given the emirate’s strategic location at the intersection of the Middle East, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia regions, the new distribution hub will allow RDI to reach more water-stressed countries that can benefit from its irrigation solution. The company is also set to install pilot projects using green technologies in Abu Dhabi over the coming months, paving the way for the development of the best AgTech practices in desert environments.
Jan Gould, Co-Founder, and CEO of RDI, commented: “The foresight and vision of Abu Dhabi’s ruler and its government leaders to focus and support innovations in agriculture has defined the UAE capital as a leader in ensuring food security for its citizens, developing local food supply chains, addressing challenges and preserving the planet’s precious resources for the future. Responsive Drip Irrigation is committed to working with ADIO and our partners in the AgTech programme to build a greener tomorrow for generations to come. With Abu Dhabi’s leadership and support, there is hope for recovery if we all work together. We just need to plant the seed.”
RNZ, which produces customised solutions for farming communities, has broken ground on a plot in KIZAD and laid the foundations for its new R&D centre, expected to be operational towards the end of the first half of 2021. The team is steadily being assembled with both a Head of Research and Head of Production appointed. The centre will look into developing effective agri-inputs to yield higher productivity, with an early focus being the development of 100% organic and residue-free solutions to support the region’s date palm farmers.
Raza Soomar, CEO of RNZ, said: “As our new R&D centre in Abu Dhabi begins to take shape, we are just months away from looking into solving problems for farmers and bringing effective solutions to the market that are relevant in Africa, Asia, and the Gulf. We are proud to be part of Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem and excited about the possibilities for RNZ’s new R&D hub.”
ADIO will announce further details of its upcoming AgTech deals in the coming months.
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How To Prevent And Identify Plant Diseases In Hydroponic Growing Systems
Depending on what kind of disease or virus your crops have, it’s possible the sickness could destroy your entire crop as it spreads from one to the next.
Plant diseases in hydroponic gardens can be detrimental if not properly taken care of. Depending on what kind of disease or virus your crops have, it’s possible the sickness could destroy your entire crop as it spreads from one to the next. In this article, we’re going to discuss how to identify and prevent plant diseases in hydroponic growing systems.
Preventing Plant Diseases
To prevent plant diseases from occurring in your hydroponic garden, you’ll want to follow these rules:
Promote good air circulation by adding fans to your growing area, spacing out plants, and pruning or removing dead or diseased plants.
Make sure your hydroponic system has good drainage by not overwatering and checking to see if there’s any standing or oversaturated water.
Try growing plant species that have been bred for growing indoors since they are made to be disease-resistant.
Prevent your plant’s stress by ensuring they have the necessary nutrients, and the correct temperature and humidity. Stressed plants can be more vulnerable to diseases.
Clean and sanitize your tools, growing media, and trays regularly.
Check for signs of plant diseases at least 1 to 2 times per week.
If able, allow for a one to two-month crop-free period once a year to eliminate all threats of disease.
Check for signs of pests because they can introduce and spread diseases amongst your plants.
Signs of Plant Diseases
Depending on what kind of disease your plant has contracted will determine the symptoms and signs to look out for. Plants are susceptible to viruses, diseases, fungi, and pythium. Once a pathogen enters your plants you’ll notice a development of galls, swellings or leaf curls, yellowing or stunted leaf, fruit, or root growth, or plant tissue die-off (wilting, rotting, browning, etc.).
Bacteria: If your plant has been contaminated by bacteria, you will notice a slimy, brown-colored coat on the plant’s roots. Try seeing if this brown coating is on your hydroponic reservoir’s walls, tubes, and water pump filter.
Fungi: Evidence of a fungal pathogen is when you notice powdery or fuzzy growths on the plant’s roots or leaves. These growths are typically gray, blue, white, or green colors.
Pythium: This type of disease is known for being the most deadly for hydroponic growing systems. Pythium will blacken the plant’s roots, ooze a foul-smelling odor, and halt the growth of the plant. This pathogen is highly contagious and can spread quickly to ruin entire crops.
Virus: While viruses in plants are rare, they can be fatal when they do occur. Viruses are typically brought about by outside insects or outdoor soil. When introduced to a virus, the virus will spread quietly through the crop and can hide dormant in plants waiting to come out later. If not treated, a viral plant infection can lead to the destruction of the entire crop.
Want to Learn More?
We at the Nick Greens Grow Team have a plethora of knowledge covering hydroponic growing. Join our new Patreon page so you can get behind the greens, which is a behind the scenes look at growing food inside a closet and on kitchen counters. Learn every process of how to hydroponically grow strawberries, lettuce, green onions, kale, cucamelons, lemon cucumbers, and microgreens. We upload how-to and informational videos twice a week.
#plantdiseases #hydroponicsdiseases #hydroponicdiseases #hydroponic #hydroponics #hydroponicsfarming #hydroponicsgrowing #hydroponicfarming #hydroponicgrowing #usinghydroponics #hydroponicsfarmer #hydroponicfarmer
US - NEW YORK: Yemi Amu’s Urban Farming Concept Takes Root In The Big Apple
Earth is the only home we have. If we don’t start now to turn around the environmental damage we have caused, we might not be around to save it and the plants and animals that we depend on
By Tony Binns | October 6, 2020
Earth is the only home we have. If we don’t start now to turn around the environmental damage we have caused, we might not be around to save it and the plants and animals that we depend on. As a possible solution, many metropolitan cities are turning to urban farming and aquaponics. In Brooklyn, New York, Nigerian-born Yemi Amu has been a part of this movement by opening the city’s only teaching aquaponics farm, Oko Farms.
What is aquaponics and why is it important to the sustainability of our planet?
Aquaponics is farming in water. It is the cultivation of fish and plants together in a symbiotic aquatic ecosystem whereby fish waste provides nutrients for plants while plant roots filter the water for the fish. This farming method allows you to raise both fish and plants while using up to 80% less water than traditional farming. Aquaponics is also scalable and can occur both indoors and outdoors.
As we deal with the environmental impacts of climate change including soil erosion and drought, alternative growing methods like aquaponics can help create food security for vulnerable communities.
What is Oko Farms and how did it find a home in Brooklyn?
Oko Farms is an aquaponics farming and education company in Brooklyn. In 2013, we converted an abandoned lot in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, into the Oko Farms Aquaponics Education center — NYC’s first outdoor — and only publicly accessible — aquatic farm. We were able to acquire the lot through a partnership with the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation and GreenThumb NYC.
In addition to growing a wide variety of vegetables and fish, we provide workshops, tours, and support individuals and organizations with setting up their own aquaponics farms.
What type of produce and fish do you grow on your farm?
We grow a variety of vegetables on our farm, including leafy greens, herbs, onions, tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, cabbage, sorghum, rice, millet, squash, etc. We also raise catfish, bluegill, tilapia, goldfish, and koi
How did you get into aquaponics?
I learned about aquaponics while I was managing a rooftop farm that I helped to create. The rooftop farm was located at a housing facility for formerly homeless adults in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in 2011. One of the neighborhood volunteers introduced me to aquaponics and I was attracted to the fact that it saves water while producing both fish and vegetables. After that, I spent a couple of years studying and visiting aquaponics farms in Florida and the Midwest.
Are there career opportunities for people of color in the field?
Aquaponics farming is a great option for people of color interested in a career in farming, especially those living in urban areas. Access to land for farming can be challenging for people of color in the U.S, but some cities like Detroit, Philadelphia, and Atlanta have urban ag[riculture] policies that support farmers of color with land access.
For more information, visit www.okofarms.org.
Lead photo: Yemi Amu, director of Oko Farms (Photo courtesy of Harrison Chen)
Four Innovative Design Responses To The Climate Emergency
Design Emergency began as an Instagram Live series during the Covid-19 pandemic and is now becoming a wake-up call to the world, and compelling evidence of the power of design to effect radical and far-reaching change
October 4, 2020
Design Emergency began as an Instagram Live series during the Covid-19 pandemic and is now becoming a wake-up call to the world, and compelling evidence of the power of design to effect radical and far-reaching change. Co-founders Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn took over the October 2020 issue of Wallpaper* – available to download free here – to present stories of design’s new purpose and promise.
The redesigned System 001/B, The Ocean CleanupTragic, and destructive though the Covid-19 crisis has been, it is one of a tsunami of threats to assail us at the same time. A concise list of current calamities includes the global refugee crisis; spiraling inequality, injustice and poverty; terrifying terrorist attacks and killing sprees; seemingly unstoppable conflicts; and, of course, the climate emergency. Since the start of the pandemic, global outrage against systemic racism following the tragic killing of George Floyd, and the destruction of much of Beirut have joined the list. Design is not a panacea to any of these problems, but it is a powerful tool to help us to tackle them, which is why Paola Antonelli and Alice Rawsthorn are focusing Design Emergency on the most promising global efforts to redesign and reconstruct our lives for the future.
Thankfully, there are plenty of resourceful, ingenious, inspiring, and empathetic design projects to give grounds for optimism. Take the climate emergency, where design innovations on all fronts: from the generation of clean, renewable energy, to new forms of sustainable food growing, and rewilding programs are already making a significant difference to the quality of the environment.
Here Are Four of Paola Antonelli And Alice Rawsthorn’s
Favorite Design Responses To The Ecological Crisis
Urban farm
Photography: © Nature Urbaine
Looming beside the Porte de Versailles subway station in south-west Paris is the colossal exhibition venue Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. By the time it hosts the handball and table tennis events in the Paris 2024 Olympics, Paris Expo will also be the home of Agripolis, the largest urban farm in Europe. Agripolis already operates other urban farms in Paris and occupies 4,000 sq m of Paris Expo’s roof. Over the next two years, it plans to expand across another 10,000 sq m, to produce up to 1,000kg of fresh fruit and vegetables each day using organic methods and a team of 20 farmers. The produce will be sold to shops, cafés, and hotels in the local area, while local residents will also be able to rent wooden crates on the roof to grow their own fruit and vegetables. Once it is completed, Agripolis’ gigantic rooftop farm at Paris Expo should place the Ville de Paris’ program of encouraging urban agriculture at the forefront of global developments in greening our cities.
The Ocean Cleanup
The redesigned System 001/B, The Ocean Cleanup
Scientists claimed that it wouldn’t work. Environmentalists warned that it risked damaging marine life. Few design projects of recent years have been as fiercely criticized as the Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch social enterprise founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, who quit his degree in design engineering to try to tackle one of the biggest pollution problems of our time by clearing the plastic trash that is poisoning our oceans. Despite its critics and a series of setbacks, notably, when the original rig had to be towed back to San Francisco to resolve technical problems, the Ocean Cleanup has persevered. The redesigned System 001/B (pictured top) successfully completed its trials in the Pacific last year, and System 002 is scheduled for launch next year. The Ocean Cleanup has also developed a parallel project, The Interceptor, a solar-powered catamaran with a trash-collecting system designed specifically for rivers, and which can extract 50,000kg of plastic per day.
The Great Green Wall
Photography: The Great Green Wall of the Sahara and Sahel © UNCCD
Few regions are hotter, drier, and poorer than the Sahel, on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The brutal climate has wrought devastating damage in recent decades by causing droughts, famine, conflicts, poverty, and mass migration. The Great Green Wall is an epically ambitious project launched in 2007 by the 21 countries in the Sahel to restore the land by planting an 8,000km strip of trees and plants from the Atlantic coast of Senegal to Djibouti on the Red Sea. The practical work on the Great Green Wall, which is run as an African-led collective supported by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, is executed by each of the 21 countries. So far, more than 1,200km of greenery has been planted, although the focus of the project is less on the progress of the wall itself than on its impact in persuading each country in the Sahel region to transform what has become arid desert back into fertile farmland.
Zero-waste village
Photography: © Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images
This was to have been the year when the people of Kamikatsu, a village on the Japanese island of Shikoku, would achieve their goal of becoming a zero-waste community. The 1,500 villagers may struggle to produce no waste at all in 2020 but will come impressively close to doing so in a 20-year experiment that demonstrates the contribution a resourceful group of individuals can make to curb the climate emergency. The initiative began in 2000 when the local government ordered the closure of Kamikatsu’s incinerator. Rather than ship their waste elsewhere, the villagers took a collective decision to reduce and, eventually, eliminate it. They opened a Zero Waste Academy, where waste is sorted into 45 categories for reuse or recycling. Anything sellable is dispatched to a recycling store; fabric is upcycled at the craft center. The villagers have now eliminated over 80 percent of their waste, but are still struggling to recycle leather shoes, nappies, and a few other tricky exceptions.
Vertical Farms Are Overserved: Global Food Resilience Needs A Rebalancing Act
Recent moves by Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek in the food and agritech space have prompted a rethink of what the political economy of food could look like over the next decade
By Huiying Ng
Oct. 11, 2020
Focusing investment in agritech among a few, powerful corporations is not the right way to ensure the future of food security and agricultural sustainability, writes Huiying Ng.
Recent moves by Singapore’s state investment firm Temasek in the food and agritech space have prompted a rethink of what the political economy of food could look like over the next decade.
Urban farm models—which Singapore is intent on exporting—will stream proprietary genetic information, business profits, and property assets to the same companies and individuals at the expense of both people and global, diverse multi-crop ecosystems. Many urban farms in Singapore are receiving large amounts of state support—including nearly $40 million in funding announced earlier this month.
As Temasek increases its investments in the agricultural and food technology space, it is worth looking at how a state sovereign fund uses its wealth.
In the last few years, Temasek supported German company Bayer’s buyout of Monsanto in 2018, funded Impossible Foods and Just Food, and reinvested as Impossible’s third-largest investor in 2020. Some of these groups have stirred controversy: Monsanto, a seed and agrichemicals giant, is facing several ongoing class-action lawsuits in the United States from farmworkers stricken with cancer from the use of the herbicide Roundup. Bayer later paid $10 million in settlements, which comes down to an average of less than $160,000 per plaintiff not considering litigation fees—while continuing to sell the very same pesticide to farmers.
This year, Temasek expanded its agri-food investments by partnering with Bayer to set up a company, Unfold, to sell genetically modified seeds to vertical farms.
Merged with Monsanto, Bayer-Monsanto is one of the largest agri-food conglomerates supplying most of the world’s seeds and agrichemicals, controlling 30 percent share of the world’s proprietary seed genetic material and agrichemicals. This means that many farmers are at the mercy of seed-agrichemical pairings made by a limited number of agribusiness companies.
Bayer-Monsanto’s investment decisions actively create a world of petrochemical and genetic dependence. Their products narrow the range of genetic resources and make resources that exist in the commons into commodities we have to pay for.
This is done in the name of food security. But in practice, these companies drive capital towards commodity production lines that require scale and homogenization. Their work strips smallholders of land, knowledge, and agri-cultures, and propagates the inequalities that took root in the Green Revolution, the era after World War II when synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides were used to boost production, causing long-term chemical-based soil degradation.
While the Green Revolution is said to have lifted smallholders out of hunger and poverty, in practice it was a war on smallholders across the world, orchestrated over half a century by companies in Western Europe and the United States. Temasek’s choices indicate the state’s investment in dependence on big agritech at a time when global agriculture needs to be nourished and our knowledge capacities rebuilt, and its protective and regenerative functions renewed.
Seed laws, genetic diversity, and organic farming
Seed laws
Many seed laws such as the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) define seeds as a “creation and invention” belonging solely to seed corporations.
This effectively prohibits farmers from the free breeding and exchange of certain seeds.
Dietary diversity
Currently, no more than 120 cultivated species provide for 90 percent of human food supplied by plants, and 12 plant species and five animal species alone provide for more than 70 percent of all human food. Seed laws, which are generally used to develop standardized, homogenous crops to meet the demand of urban populations, have the effect of limiting genetic diversity in farmed crops. This negatively impacts the range of foods in our diets.
Crop uniformity
Seed corporations have asserted the need for crop homogeneity in response to industrial agriculture’s application of chemicals to control pests, diseases, weeds, or to fertilisers. This makes them less able to cope with continuously evolving pests and diseases. Organic farmers, however, tend to grow diversified crops as a way to adapt to the same challenges, but which do not threaten food resilience.
The global political economy of food
It’s clear that food security cannot be achieved through production alone. What is more important is the continued viability of our living environments to sustain and renew themselves. A political economy is needed that supports regenerative agriculture and ensures the fair distribution and management of resources—including financial capital.
Financial support for a narrow range of companies will create a market where people will eventually depend on a particular brand of farm, and increasingly that will mean indoor, ‘hi-tech’ vertical farms.
The global indoor farming market size was worth US$100 billion in 2018. By 2030, innovation in food and agriculture could be worth $700 billion. Hi-tech farms designed to grow a single crop will guzzle energy for air-conditioning, use up land, and give up on the land’s ability to be restored. Even with the new jobs high-tech farming will create, workers will have no real power to disengage from a system that narrows the planet’s genetic seed stocks, land, and knowledge resources.
In Asia, where so much of the future of food is at stake, we need to have public conversations about agritech to get greater clarity and transparency about the impact of new farming models on people and the planet, and how to create socially responsible products.
Companies can either increase social inequality and environmental degradation or join a global community working to increase our shared human access to land, knowledge, food resources, and peace. Agritech firms play an important role in shaping where investors put their money, and if 2020 makes anything clear, it is that neither business-as-normal nor the new normal can achieve food long-term security and sustainable agriculture.
Agritech’s climate responsibilities
Businesses have always had the power to look after the needs of people—and they are under more pressure than ever to do so today.
This decade will see more transboundary environmental disasters. Agritech and its funders would be wise to consider how their investments shape greater transboundary resource renewal, including the regeneration of lands and waters.
What agritech can do
There are five things agritech and agrifinance can do to redistribute equity in the food system:
1) Invest in solutions that increase the amount of arable non-monocrop food forest and arable land that commits to using regenerative multi-cropping techniques
2) Commit to working with national or regional seedbanks to increase genetic diversity, encouraging clients and customers to use saved, native, and heirloom seed varieties in gardens and urban farms
3) Broker regional peace and trust by improving food distribution logistics and addressing bottlenecks in the food supply chain. More food production is nothing if we do not address this.
4) Ensure food is grown with the principles of nutrition, diversity and equity in mind, by bringing the food insecure into the conversation, ensuing profits are redistributed among local communities to develop relationships in neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools.
5) Begin real dialogues with food sovereignty organizations and networks.
Seeds produced for vertical farms are highly profitable for the companies that produce them. But it is not in these companies’ business interests to replenish the arable land and water resources that we need to live on this planet.
We need to invest in practices that renew agricultural knowledge across our generations, reforest degraded and degrading lands, and redistribute resources that have been taken from elsewhere.
And we need to invest in technologies that support seed banks, enable innovation in the use of available low-carbon resources, and help people make the right choices about what to plant locally.
Now is the time to create the pathways that will afford us better solutions for the planet, not profit—and these solutions need to bear fruit within our lifetimes. Let’s invest appropriately.
Huiying Ng is partnerships and research lead at the Soil Regeneration Project.
The sidebar was written by Edmil Chue and Amanda Foo from Project Rewild.
FOOD & AGRICULTURE
Vertical farms ‘underserved’ when it comes to new seed varieties
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Lead photo: A vertical farm. Are investments in seeds for vertical farms being concentrated among fewer, large corporations? Image: SkygreensThanks for reading to the end of this story!
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Rooftop Greenhouses Take Urban Farming To New Heights In Quebec
Lufa claims this latest site, opened this summer, becomes the world's largest rooftop greenhouse
BY EMMA JACOBS (FREELANCE REPORTER/PRODUCER) , IN MONTREAL
Lauren Rathmell co-founded the company Lufa, whose latest rooftop greenhouse opened in Saint-Laurent, QC earlier this year. Photo courtesy: Lufa.
October 8, 2020 — Cherry tomato plants tower over Lauren Rathmell’s head in the latest greenhouse built by the company she co-founded, called Lufa.
"We train everything vertically so that we can keep these plants a lot longer than a typical garden tomato plant," she explains. "We're in the probably 15 to 20-foot-long plant range now. They're really high."
Emma Jacobs Rooftop greenhouses take urban farming to new heights in Quebec
Their height makes it hard to tell that the greenhouse encloses a space the size of three football fields — all dedicated to growing varieties of tomatoes and eggplants.
It’s also four stories off the ground, on the roof of a former Sears warehouse not far from Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport.
Greenhouse-grown produce is a relatively small but growing part of agriculture in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Lufa claims this latest site, opened this summer, becomes the world's largest rooftop greenhouse.
The NCPR team has worked tirelessly to make sure you and your neighbors can depend on us for journalism like this story in this challenging time. And you’re essential to that work. If you’re able, please make a donation now to ensure our effort can continue to be everything you count on.
"Once everything's picked and ready, it's going to go down right to our warehouse below us and packed into tomorrow - early tomorrow morning, into the baskets for the day," says Rathmell. The baskets containing the items customers' order online get delivered around the Montreal area and as far away as Quebec City in the company's electric delivery vehicles.
"We forecast really accurately and we try to pick just what's needed for that day's baskets. It's better for taste, it's better for quality, and it means no waste in the end as well," she says.
Lufa's latest 163,000 square foot greenhouse is located on top of a former Sears warehouse in Saint-Laurent, QC. Photo courtesy: Lufa.
Rathmell, originally from Vermont, founded Lufa with her husband to try and eliminate the environmental footprint associated with shipping produce across the continent. Lufa is named for a Lebanese cucumber. Rathmell’s husband is Lebanese. They call their customers "lufavores."
While greenhouses use a lot of energy, especially up north, Rathmell says putting them on a rooftop cuts winter energy use in half.
"We benefit by just passively receiving the heat that's coming from that building below, rather than being on a cold ground level in wintertime," she said. The greenhouse also creates an insulating bubble over the building below. The former Sears building now also contains other offices and warehousing.
Lufa established what was then the world’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse back in 2011.
With its latest, the company now operates four sites in the greater Montreal area, which have year-round growing seasons. Building on a rooftop does come with extra costs but Rathmell says energy savings and proximity to consumers help to offset them.
At the start of the pandemic, those customers doubled virtually overnight. People looking to order groceries for delivery signed up at rates that took the company by surprise.
"Within a week or two we had gotten a waitlist in place, first time ever we've never had a waitlist before, but we couldn't keep up," Rathmell recalls.
The company had to reorganize its greenhouses and warehouses for safety while also increasing the density of plants in its greenhouses. But Rathmell says it was a useful test for their business, which she’d like to expand someday to other cities, potentially in the northeastern United States.
Eggplants grow in the Saint-Laurent rooftop greenhouse. Photo courtesy: Lufa.
She’s also interested in expanding the range of crops.
"We do have two banana trees at one of our greenhouses as well," she says. "You can basically grow anything in a greenhouse. Is it worth growing in a greenhouse? Maybe not. But yeah, the bananas, I think they took like a year and a half, but we did get bananas.
So Quebec’s probably not the next banana capital, but certainly, a good place to experiment with greenhouse farming in cold climes.
Related Topics
montreal · environment · quebec · canada · agriculture
PMA Virtual Town Hall: Global Societal Macrotrends And How They Affect The Produce Industry
The first of the macrotrends that was discussed was that of globalization
This week’s PMA virtual town hall focused on five important macrotrends in society and how these trends affect the produce industry. “It is always a good time to think about the big picture, but especially now, when what happens in the future is so critical to guiding our everyday operations,” Lauren M. Scott of PMA says. She was joined by Marc Oshima, Co-Founder and CMO of AeroFarms, Sharon Foo, who works as a consultant, Elizabeth Nardi, CEO of Organically Grown Company, and Wyard Stomp, VP of Sales and Marketing to discuss this topic.
Globalization
The first of the macrotrends that was discussed was that of globalization. “In the context of COVID-19, the interdependency of our supply chain has become increasingly clear,” says Oshima. “This interdependency is due to globalization. We have to think more specifically now in terms of food security and resiliency in the supply chain due to the pandemic,” he adds.
While globalization has been an important factor that has been increasingly impacting the entire world for decades now, and even arguably for centuries, the outbreak of the pandemic has also brought forth an increased popularity of locally grown produce. Nardi explains: “This is definitely something we have been seeing here on the West Coast, this trend of hyper-localization. The pandemic has given consumers a real desire to know where their food came from. Consumers are looking for trusted sources and want to support local economies.”
Population diversification
The diversification of populations is the next macrotrend that was discussed. This topic can be approached in many different ways. Nardi, for example, looked at the different lifestyle trends among the population: “We’re seeing that non-gmo has become one of the most recognized labels in the world, and organic has been seeing a significant growth in popularity. There is a shift in how people think about the products they are purchasing.”
For Oshima, the population diversification translates increasingly into product diversification. “With regard to food trends, borders have become seamless. Food continues to play a powerful role in bringing people together, so we think about it as a way of preserving customs and traditions of specific cultures through food.”
For Stomp, generational diversification is also an important aspect of this trend. “Millennials and Gen Z are a whole new game, and we are working to understand them better, especially Gen Z, who are now coming into play as consumers.”
Precision technology
The advancement of technology has always been closely integrated with the produce industry. This is something that AeroFarms, for example, was built on: “For us, it’s about optimizing the key attributes that consumers are looking for. We are working with chefs and the menu development now starts at the farm. We’re able to use technologies to build smart farms, which allow us to bypass season and deliver product consistently year-round,” Oshima shares.
“It’s not science for science’s sake, but for a greater reason,” Foo adds. “Today’s technology helps to solve the problems of the consumers. It’s important that people have a clear grasp on the drivers behind certain developments so that we can understand that the technology is there to enable great access for consumers to the healthy foods the industry has to offer.”
Climate adaptation
Changes in the climate and the environment are central to the agricultural industry, and so this next macrotrend is vitally important for everyone in the supply chain. “We like to look at agriculture as a way of reversing climate change,” says Nardi. “There is so much we can do to pull the carbon out of the air and put it back into the soil.”
Foo explains that she looks at it in terms of regeneration rather than sustainability. “Realistically, there’s not much left to sustain, so we need to change our vocabulary and start looking at it as regeneration instead. We need to build a circular economy and build solutions.
Accelerated urbanization
The final macrotrend that was discussed was urbanization. The majority of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and the consumer trends in urban areas differ widely from those in rural areas. “Our produce is grown by the community, for the community. We have farms located in inner-city schools and growing inside cities. It is about diversifying the supply chain and improving last-mile efficiency, and indoor farming is a big part of that,” Oshima says.
Stomp sees urbanization as a creator of additional opportunities. “This macrotrend is one of the most important ones, from the sales and marketing point of view. Urbanization rates create a lot of opportunities, but they also require that we adjust how we approach the market. For example, people in urban areas shop more often, sometimes even going to the store multiple times a day. This creates a lot of opportunity, but in order to capitalize on these opportunities, we need to recognize the trend and translate the data into a strategy. In the produce industry, so much of the business is focused on the short term – day to day and week to week, but it’s very important to keep track of these macrotrends, analyze the data and simplify to see how it impacts your business, what opportunities you can take from it, and then drive actionable strategies from there,” Stomp concludes.
Next week’s virtual town hall will focus on global trade issues and will include insights from leaders in trade about how to navigate difficult environments and address trade disruptions.
Publication date: Thu 1 Oct 2020
Author: Annika Durinck
© FreshPlaza.com
BARBADOS: Agricultural Push
“To date, we have some 800 farmers signed up to be trained for the FEED program and in St George North I am prepared to come here and identify space, where Toni can have Freight Farms which is also a Hydroponic system on a lease-to-own basis to young people who are interested in getting involved in agriculture.”
10/10/2020
Agriculture Minister Indar Weir
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is pressing ahead with plans to breathe new life into the sugar cane industry.
Speaking at the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) public meeting at Newbury, St. George on Thursday night, Minister Indar Weir reported that the strategy to revitalize this country’s oldest industry has already gone to Cabinet.
“We are modernizing our sugar industry to the extent that we are using a full value chain industry which goes from sugar for domestic consumption, molasses for our rum industry, and then the waste matter is being used to generate renewable energy.”
Minister Weir thereby explained the government’s foresight is to “bring the industry to profitability”.
“And all of you who are part of the labor force in farms and in the sugar industry would have an opportunity for the first time in our existence to own shares where you can get a return on the profits made through the sugar industry transitioning program.”
The Agriculture Minister also informed the people of St. George North that he will honor the BLP candidate Senator Toni Moore’s wish to introduce Hydroponics and Aquaponics into the constituency.
He said this will be achieved through the Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED) program aimed at reducing agricultural imports into the island which will ensure national food and nutrition security. Currently, farmers are also being trained in Apiculture and Freight Farming.
“I say to you St. George North that you do not have the traditional jobs that you used to get – we do not have enough land space even. And so, we must embrace technology, where you can take a freight farm and with your mobile phone, laptop, tablet and you can operate that farm, get to production faster and get greater yields. Yet, you do not have to use pesticides and of course, it is a revolving system so, therefore, it is less water-intensive, and you do not have to worry about climate change and prolong droughts,” he explained.
“To date, we have some 800 farmers signed up to be trained for the FEED program and in St George North I am prepared to come here and identify space, where Toni can have Freight Farms which is also a Hydroponic system on a lease-to-own basis to young people who are interested in getting involved in agriculture.” (TL)
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is pressing ahead with plans to breathe new life into the sugar cane industry.
Speaking at the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) public meeting at Newbury, St. George on Thursday night, Minister Indar Weir reported that the strategy to revitalize this country’s oldest industry has already gone to Cabinet.
“We are modernizing our sugar industry to the extent that we are using a full value chain industry which goes from sugar for domestic consumption, molasses for our rum industry, and then the waste matter is being used to generate renewable energy.”
Minister Weir thereby explained the government’s foresight is to “bring the industry to profitability”.
“And all of you who are part of the labor force in farms and in the sugar industry would have an opportunity for the first time in our existence to own shares where you can get a return on the profits made through the sugar industry transitioning program.”
The Agriculture Minister also informed the people of St. George North that he will honor the BLP candidate Senator Toni Moore’s wish to introduce Hydroponics and Aquaponics into the constituency.
He said this will be achieved through the Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive (FEED) program aimed at reducing agricultural imports into the island which will ensure national food and nutrition security. Currently, farmers are also being trained in Apiculture and Freight Farming.
“I say to you St. George North that you do not have the traditional jobs that you used to get – we do not have enough land space even. And so, we must embrace technology, where you can take a freight farm and with your mobile phone, laptop, tablet and you can operate that farm, get to production faster and get greater yields. Yet, you do not have to use pesticides and of course, it is a revolving system so, therefore, it is less water-intensive, and you do not have to worry about climate change and prolong droughts,” he explained.
“To date, we have some 800 farmers signed up to be trained for the FEED program and in St George North I am prepared to come here and identify space, where Toni can have Freight Farms which is also a Hydroponic system on a lease-to-own basis to young people who are interested in getting involved in agriculture.” (TL)
Agriculture, Industrial And Consumer Equipment Sales Veteran Dan Schmidt Joins CubicFarms As Senior Vice President of Global Sales
In Dan’s new role, he is responsible for growing and leading the Company’s global sales strategy as it enters its next phase of rapid growth
VANCOUVER, BC, OCTOBER 8, 2020 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV:CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dan Schmidt as Senior Vice President of Global Sales, effective immediately.
In Dan’s new role, he is responsible for growing and leading the Company’s global sales strategy as it enters its next phase of rapid growth.
Dan has spent more than 20 years forging a successful, proven track record for building commercial brands with some of the largest heavy agricultural equipment manufacturers in the world.
He has been responsible for establishing and growing independent dealer-partner channel relationships for multi-national organizations, including John Deere, JCB, and Stanley Infrastructure, while mentoring, developing, and advancing the teams that work with him.
Prior to joining CubicFarms, he served as Vice President of Sales at Stanley Infrastructure, a division of Stanley Black & Decker – a manufacturer of hydraulic attachment tools – and led the integration of five independent sales organizations into one division comprising 180 sales staff and approximately US$500 million in annual revenue.
As JCB Americas’ former Vice President of North American Sales, Dan was responsible for recruiting and leading 120 JCB Americas dealers and sales staff to achieve US$650 million in annual revenue. He also held various senior roles within JCB, including Vice President of North American Agriculture – where he led the development of an independent agriculture dealer network of 120 dealers for revenue diversification, as well as Sales Director for Eastern Europe – where he built brand awareness for JCB’s heavy equipment line in 15 Eastern European countries.
At John Deere, a world-leading manufacturer synonymous with the farm tractor, he served in manager-level sales and marketing roles, implementing the southern U.S. division’s annual marketing and sales plans through multiple distribution outlets, combination dealerships, independent dealerships and mass channel partners. He also led a cross-divisional channel sales team that generated over US$500 million in annual consumer revenue.
Dan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Political Science and Business Communications from the University of Kansas, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Georgia’s Terry School of Business.
CubicFarms CEO Dave Dinesen commented: “After an exhaustive search for a proven sales leader, Dan emerged as the right candidate to help propel our business onto the global stage. He deeply understands our customers’ operational and financial objectives and has the experience to educate and partner with them to ensure overall satisfaction and longevity with CubicFarms. His expertise in developing relationships with global distributors and dealers, and coaching in-house sales teams, will be a huge asset to our company. I’m excited to work with Dan and extend him a warm welcome to our executive team.”
Dan Schmidt, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, commented: “Having worked in agricultural equipment manufacturing and distribution sales for the last few decades, I have witnessed the agriculture industry’s evolution of new farming techniques and the adaptation of technology to help manage the fields. I’ve always kept my eye on emerging concepts such as vertical farming, which could alter the future of how and where we get our fresh food.
“When I discovered the innovation built into CubicFarms’ proprietary systems, I knew I wanted to be part of the bold idea that agriculture could take place anywhere without being at the mercy of Mother Nature. I believe that CubicFarms really could be the next technological evolution of the tractor!”
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 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 CubicFarms™ system, which contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops indoors, all year round. 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.
Information contact:
Kimberly Lim
VP, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Mobile: 236.858.6491
Office: 1.888.280.9076
Email: kimberly@cubicfarms.com
VIDEO: Net Zero Festival: Vertical Farming - Food For Thought In A Net Zero World?
In the first of three Glimpses reports looking at potential net zero gamechangers, BusinessGreen looks at the role for vertical farming in delivering a more sustainable food system
To view the video, please click Here
VIDEO: In the first of three Glimpses reports looking at potential net-zero game-changers, BusinessGreen looks at the role for vertical farming in delivering a more sustainable food system
One of the most devastating and direct ways in which the climate crisis impacts on society is on our food and farming system: water scarcity, drought, and soil degradation are just a few of the problems that are being exacerbated by the planet's rising temperatures. Meanwhile, our unsustainable food production system is also a major contributor to climate change, accounting for around a quarter of humanity's greenhouse gas emissions.
But the demand for change from consumers, policymakers, and businesses is growing, as shoppers seek greater transparency over where their food comes from, and more and more people cut down on their meat and dairy intake.
As a result, businesses are being forced to respond in increasingly innovative ways. In the first of three of 'Glimpses' videos produced for the world's first Net Zero Festival last week, BusinessGreen takes a look at the challenges facing the food and farming system, and also visits Vertical Future, a company developing indoor farming technologies that could be set to play an increasingly integral role in the future net-zero economy.
All of the panel debates, keynote speeches, and presentations from the world's first Net Zero Festival - which took place over three days from 30 September featuring hundreds of top speakers from business, politics, and academia - are now available to watch again on demand through the Net Zero Festival website.
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Second Chances Farm Announces New Farm In Philadelphia
The farm will be part of the North Station redevelopment of several million sq. ft. of vacant buildings and land near the Temple University campus being led by Bailkin’s Arete Group
Second Chances Farm founder Ajit Mathew George recently announced that he has reached an agreement with Philadelphia developer Michael Bailkin, who will invest the capital needed to open a 30,000 square feet farm – roughly 10 times larger than Second Chances Farm’s current operation – with enough space to eventually expand to 100,000 square feet.
The farm will be part of the North Station redevelopment of several million sq. ft. of vacant buildings and land near the Temple University campus being led by Bailkin’s Arete Group.
Second Chances Farm will not be putting capital into the project but is considered a minority partner because staff from the Wilmington operation will be sent to Philadelphia to help get the new farm up and running. The new farm is slated to open in 2021. Michael said that he intends to use Philadelphia as a headquarters site, while opening satellite farms in “older industrial cities” throughout Pennsylvania.
Michael has been very interested in indoor vertical farming for a long time, and his wife, Billie, and son, Cole, were looking at a whole range of opportunities.
“And then we met Ajit about a year ago,” he says, who is active in Opportunity Zones, “and we became very intrigued by the technical approach that he had, setting up a vertical farm, and doing that in a way that was going to make a major social impact by bringing in returned citizens and providing a job base and other opportunities for them. It was the combination of those two things that made us focus on doing something with our budget and over the next year or so, we continued working with him.”
Michael and Second Chances Farm agreed to do a large project in Philadelphia, essentially as the headquarters, at least the regional, possibly national, headquarters for expansion. Starting off with a 30,000 sq. ft. facility with a potential to expand it up to a 100,000 sq. ft., they will open a series of smaller units, of 15 to 20,000 sq. ft. in Opportunity Zones in some of the older industrial cities in Pennsylvania like Scranton, Coatesville and Norristown, while also doing economic development in those cities. The most important consideration will be on creating opportunities for second chance citizens.
The second target of the partnership is to provide healthy food for areas that are food deserts, which most of these opportunities are. The third is economic development, which is what Michael brings to the table. “Second Chances Farm will be the anchor and catalyst for other economic development activities in each of these opportunities zones,” Bailkin says.
For more information:
Second Chances Farm
www.secondchancesfarm.com
Publication date: Wed 30 Sep 2020
UK: £5m Funding Award For John Innes Centre To Modernize Horticultural Facilities
A little over £3m of the investment will provide new Controlled Environment Rooms (CERs) for plant and microbial experiments. CER’s offer scientists precise control of environmental factors such as light, temperature, and humidity
A multi-million-pound project to modernize the horticultural facilities at John Innes Centre has been approved.
The £5.1m upgrade is funded by UKRI-BBSRC. Work will begin in Autumn 2020, and the project set to be completed by March 2021.
The company's Horticultural Services support the world-renowned science of the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory and occupies a large site on the Norwich Research Park.
A little over £3m of the investment will provide new Controlled Environment Rooms (CERs) for plant and microbial experiments. CER’s offer scientists precise control of environmental factors such as light, temperature, and humidity. The upgrade will also improve the containment measures required for experiments that investigate plant pathogens, or for growing genetically modified plants.
The new infrastructure offers energy efficiency and sustainability gains due to LED lighting, wastewater treatment, and rainwater harvesting. The reduction in utility costs from installing these technologies is estimated to be £116,000 per year.
Further savings will be achieved by more efficient use of glasshouse space (£200,000 per year) and reduced reliance on off-site horticultural facilities (£240,000) per year.
The current glasshouses (which cover an area of 5,775m2) is mostly single-span structures designed and built several decades ago. This investment is the start of a long-term move away from using glasshouses and towards controlled environments which better enable consistency of inputs and experimental results.
Head of Horticultural Services at the John Innes Centre, John Lord said: “World-class science needs world–class, market-leading technology. This investment is timely because there is a desperate need for our scientists to work on solutions to the challenges that face us. From understanding pathogens that cause plant diseases, to creating climate-resilient, nutritious crops that feed the world.
“This investment will bring a much-needed upgrade, providing facilities that are relevant and appropriate for the world-leading plant and microbial science that takes place on the Norwich Research Park. It also future proofs the site to fit with longer-term ambitions to redevelop the infrastructure here.”
Features of the new modernization include 30m2 of large walk-in growth space which offers LED lighting, nutrient enrichment, climate control, and state-of-the-art irrigation systems. The spaces will be configurable, it can be divided into multiple layers or used as a large open space, offering the next step towards bigger trials for crops.
The new facility will also benefit from a sustainable water supply, as it will harvest rainwater. The rainwater will be monitored and treated onsite to ensure it is free from phytopathogens, and that it has the correct pH. This soft, nutrient-rich harvested rainwater means that scientists will be able to minimize the use of fertilizers, and the consistent, monitored water supply will ensure that scientific experiments are reliable and repeatable.
“This is the start of a wider, long term project to update horticultural services at the John Innes Centre to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of science of today while being flexible enough to meet the needs of tomorrow as problems and new technologies arise,” said John.
For more information:
John Innes Centre
www.jic.ac.uk
Publication date: Thu 8 Oct 2020
VIDEO: Urban Fresh Farms Launches New ZipGrow Facility In Dubai
A 1,000 square foot ZipGrowTM ZipFarmTM was recently installed in Urban Fresh Farm’s facility in the Industrial center of Dubai and will soon be producing pesticide-free fresh herbs and leafy greens for the local market
October 8, 2020
ONTARIO, CANADA & DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - With more than 80% of food being imported into the UAE, Urban Fresh Farms, Dubai’s newest indoor vertical hydroponic farm from ZipGrowTM, is doing its part to contribute to a more sustainable local food system.
A 1,000 square foot ZipGrowTM ZipFarmTM was recently installed in Urban Fresh Farm’s facility in the Industrial center of Dubai and will soon be producing pesticide-free fresh herbs and leafy greens for the local market. Urban Fresh Farms is a new company, founded by people who always had an interest in sustainable agriculture but thought they did not have the knowledge or financial backing to get into the industry.
“We, as a group, always found vertical farming really interesting and knew there would be a strong demand for it in the Dubai area”, said Scott Naude, co-founder of Urban Fresh Farms. “We were hesitant to jump in at first, but the combination of ZipGrow’s technology and ongoing training, the increasing demand for higher quality and fresh produce, and the Middle East’s booming tech sector all aligned perfectly for us to begin this venture.”
As with the rest of the world, COVID-19’s impact on the local supply chain has also impacted the Dubai area, with food selections being limited in local grocery stores during the peak of lockdowns.
“Around the world, we are hearing from all our growers that food retailers are actively looking for local food goods to supply”, explains Eric Lang, President of ZipGrow Inc. “We are also hearing from government’s around the world, including in the UAE, who want to actively seek out ways to reduce supply chain lengths to ensure a more consistent and high-quality food stream.”
Hydroponic growing, as an industry, is still recently new to the Middle East region. The UAE government is a leader in the Middle East region, and in 2018 launched a National Food Security Strategy 2051, led by the Minister of State for Food and Water Security, Her Excellency Mariam bint Mohammed Al Mheiri. This strategy aims to increase local food production in the UAE, while simultaneously maximizing the use of modern technologies to bring fresh and sustainable food to the region.
“There's also a demand for healthy eating options and this has given rise to a number of excellent meal plan services and all-in-one meal ingredient boxes which in turn is creating a need for the best, freshest vegetables to be readily available” adds Naude. “We’re planning on starting out growing primarily herbs such as basil, parsley, and coriander, and hope to have our first crop available in December.”
Urban Fresh Farm and ZipGrow Inc. plan to use this new facility to showcase this vertical farming technology to the UAE and the wider Middle East region. Naude adds; “We’re excited about our ongoing partnership with ZipGrow Inc. There is so much educational content available, as well as a fantastic team. So even for someone like myself who is new to all of this, ZipGrow provides all the tools needed to get growing.”
ZipGrow Inc. is an international leader in indoor, vertical farming technology. Our flagship product, the ZipGrowTM Tower, is a core component of many of the world’s most innovative farms; from indoor hydroponic warehouses to vertical aquaponic greenhouses and high-density container farms.
For more information contact:
Gina Scandrett at hello@zipgrow.com or at 1-855-ZIPGROW.
425F Fourth Street West, Cornwall, Ontario K6J 2S7, Canada www.zipgrow.com 1-855-ZIPGROW
Why Kroger And Publix Are Bringing The Farm To The Grocery Store
In March, Publix’s GreenWise market in Lakewood, Florida, added a 40-foot container hydroponic farm in the parking lot
October 8, 2020
By Jesse Klein
Just like every other retailer, grocery stores are focusing on the customer experience to get people back in store. Grocery delivery was already a rising trend, and the pandemic kicked it into the next gear. In May, U.S. online grocery sales had grown to 40 percent. So grocers including Kroger and Publix are looking at onsite vertical farms as one way to attract consumers.
"That experience of going into a grocer and picking something essentially off the vine is compelling from a customer experience standpoint," said Shireen Santosham, head of strategic initiatives at Plenty, a vertical farm company based in San Francisco.
According to Grant Vandenbusschet, chief category officer at Fifth Season, a robotic vertical farm company based in Pittsburgh, fresh produce is keeping a lot of traditional grocery stores alive. It’s the main category still driving traffic into stores, he said, so innovating and investing in this department has been a focus for most retailers.
On-site container farming is not a new idea for grocery stores, but as urban vertical farming has advanced to become a more mainstream part of the supply chain, the idea is becoming more feasible. Some big players have finished their strategic analysis and pilot programs, and are leaning into vertical farming in a bigger way.
That experience of going into a grocer and picking something essentially off the vine is compelling from a customer experience standpoint.
In two Seattle stores, for example, Kroger installed modular vertical farms from German startup Infarm. While the seedlings spend the first few days at Infarm’s centralized nursery, most of the growing happens on-site at the grocery stores.
In March, Publix’s GreenWise market in Lakewood, Florida, added a 40-foot container hydroponic farm in the parking lot. Customers can see the equivalent of three acres of traditional farmland through the container’s windows. It grows about 720 heads of lettuce each week, all sold in the store. But it’s still early days and the process has kinks to work out. At first, Publix wasn’t getting the yields it was expecting.
"It takes time to grow the product and offer consistent quality, flavor, and size," said Curt Epperson, business development director at Publix. "I believe over time, once hydroponic growers refine their processes, and scale-up, we’ll find more efficiencies."
According to Vandenbusschet, one of those efficiencies may be a focus on supporting vertical farms at a large-scale grocer’s distribution center instead of at every single retail location. To get significant business and sustainability impacts from vertical farming, companies will need to get large enough to take true advantage of economies of scale.
"We think a lot of retailers are looking at this format if they are going to have high enough volumes of product to start replacing [traditional] grown products inside of all of their stores," Vandenbusschet said.
Growing is a hard, finicky business. Retailers are experts at retailing, and it’s hard to be good at both retailing and growing, so expect to see key partnerships materialize. Along with the Infarm and Kroger partnership, Publix’s onsite farm is run and managed by Brick Street Farms.
"Finding systems that are not over-encumbering to their operations, things that they can plug-and-play well is really going to be critical," Vandenbusschet said.
If retailers pursue this model, the customer experience might be more akin to going to a farmers’ market than going straight to the farm. But this model has a better chance of scaling well for businesses while also creating sustainability benefits such as cutting freight emissions, lowering water usage, and prolonging shelf life.
Lead photo: Publix is hoping to lure shoppers back to grocery stores with new onsite vertical farms.//Courtesy of Publix