Indoor Ag-Con To Change Dates, Location For 2021

Co-Location With The NGA Show Shifts To 2022 Edition

Press Release — With safety in mind, the Indoor Ag-Con management team has made the decision to push the dates for its previously announced May 16-18, 2021 agriculture trade show and conference for the indoor and vertical farming industry to the third quarter of 2021. The decision is in keeping with The NGA Show | National Grocers Association decision to shift its show — which was previously scheduled to run concurrently at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas — to the third quarter as well. While venue and space limitations in the Las Vegas marketplace prevent co-location for this later time frame in 2021, the two events will come together in 2022. 

The Indoor Ag-Con team is currently gathering feedback from its board and monitoring leading sources of health information to secure a fall date pattern and convenient venue that ensures a safe, cost-effective show.  The new 2021 dates and location will be announced shortly.  

“The safety of the indoor ag community is our top priority,” explains Brian Sullivan, co-owner, Indoor Ag-Con.  “By moving our event to a Fall 2021 pattern, we’ll be better aligned with the expanding Covid-19 vaccine rollout and growing confidence levels in travel and attendance at live events.  And, looking ahead to 2022, we’re excited to renew our plans to co-locate with The NGA Show and give our audience the incredible opportunity to connect with supermarket and food retail industry professionals.”

“We were very much looking forward to co-locating The NGA Show with Indoor Ag-Con this year and celebrating the synergy between the two events,” said Courtney Muller, chief corporate development and strategy officer with Clarion Events North America. “Delivering a cross-over resource to help retailers partner with growers in a new way to address supply chain challenges, transparency in food sourcing, and meeting consumer demand will only grow in value until we are able to co-locate the two events in 2022.”

For 2022, Indoor Ag-Con and The NGA Show will co-locate at Caesars Forum Convention Center in Las Vegas , February 27 – March 1, 2022. The NGA Show 2021 edition will be held September 19-21 at Paris Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

Indoor Ag-Con, launched in 2013, provides exhibitors and attendees with the latest technology and business strategies for growing crops in indoor systems, using hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic techniques, bringing together growers, investors, chefs, produce buyers, academics, policymakers, industry suppliers and advocates.  The 2021 edition will feature an expanded exhibit floor, new networking opportunities, and some of the industry’s top innovators and business leaders presenting keynote addresses and participating in a range of panel discussions.

About Indoor Ag-Con
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has emerged as the premier trade event for vertical farming | indoor agriculture, the practice of growing crops in indoor systems, using hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic techniques. Its events are crop-agnostic and touch 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 – acquired Indoor Ag-Con LLC,  setting the stage for further expansion of the events globally. More information is at https://indoor.ag.

About The National Grocers Association
The National Grocers Association (NGA) is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of formats. The independent grocery sector is accountable for close to one percent of the nation’s overall economy and is responsible for generating $131 billion in sales, 944,000 jobs, $30 billion in wages and $27 billion in taxes. NGA members include retail and wholesale grocers, state grocers’ associations, as well as manufacturers and service suppliers. For more information about NGA, visit www.nationalgrocers.org.

 About Clarion Events

Clarion Events (www.US.ClarionEvents.com) produces 37 events across 13 sectors of both trade and consumer events. Clarion Events, which is the U.S. division of Clarion Events UK and backed by The Blackstone Group, has become one of the fastest-growing event companies in the U.S. with aggressive growth through both acquisition and launch. Clarion acquired PennWell in early 2018, bringing four Tradeshow 200 events into the U.S. portfolio and supercharging the already rapid growth. Clarion Events has offices in Trumbull, Conn.; Kennesaw, Ga.; Boca Raton, Fla.; Tacoma, Wash., and Fairlawn, N.J. www.US.ClarionEvents.com

Farmland Asset Class Holds Strong During Volatile Year; Learn More At Global AgInvesting Events

NEW YORK (January 29, 2021) – Global AgInvesting (GAI) will host the preeminent community of agriculture investment stakeholders at a special edition of its flagship U.S. gathering on 13-15 July 2021 at the prestigious Sleepy Hollow Country Club here, just an hour north of NYC. Uncompromising industry-leading content and networking opportunities will be presented in-person while providing extra precautions for safety at this all-outdoor event.

“Through an unprecedented year of challenges across all businesses, farmland investing stayed resilient and gained greater recognition from institutional investors,” said Kate Westfall, COO of GAI for HighQuest Group, the parent company of Global AgInvesting. “And our global GAI community did not waver in its commitment to advancements and investments in the burgeoning sector during a year of virtual events. We are, however, very excited about coming together again this summer in a unique and safe way.”

The conference agenda will provide insight into agriculture as an impact investment, key in on sustainable strategies in the sector such as opportunities in regenerative agriculture and carbon capture, and highlight the value of investing in the stability of ag, as evidenced by NCREIF, the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) Farmland Index, numbers.

For the first quarter of 2020, NCREIF cited total returns that were down -0.10 percent – the first negative total return for the Index in nearly 20 years. While this might not seem inspiring at first glance, when compared with other indices, it highlights the strength of farmland as an asset class. For example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Q1 having fallen by more than 23 percent, the Russell 3000 Index fell by 20.9 percent for the quarter and the S&P 500 posted a total return for Q1 of -19.60 percent.

“These factors are not unnoticed by institutions who are increasingly focused on stability in their investment portfolios,” said Westfall. “As the food and ag community comes together to find sustainable solutions through ESG initiatives and a commitment to natural capital, we expect to see growing allocations to agriculture as an asset class. GAI will continue to be the source for unrivaled networking and education in the sector, both through our annual conferences and year-round webinars.”

The GAI Community also will gather later this year for Global AgInvesting Asia, 28-29 October in Tokyo, and Global AgInvesting Europe in London, 6-7 December.

Register here for Global AgInvesting in New York, or here for the latest complimentary webinar, or to view any of the nearly 20 previous webinars on topics such as carbon markets, investing in Australian agriculture, COVID-19 and the impact on the agricultural sector, supply chain disruptions and the latest Global AgInvesting Rankings & Trends Report.

Connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

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Global AgInvesting, a brand of HighQuest Group, is the world’s most well attended agricultural investment conference series and leading resource for news and insight into the global agricultural sector. www.globalaginvesting.com

A New White House Signals New Opportunities For AgTech Startups. Are We Up For The Challenge?

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February 9, 2021

Editor’s note: Ponsi Trivisvavet is CEO at Inari, a seed genetics startup based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The views expressed in this guest article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of AFN.

Much has been analyzed and debated as the new administration enters the White House, but President Joe Biden has made a number of appointments that clearly illustrate his commitment to addressing climate change and the critical role science will play.

He has elevated the role of Science Advisor to a cabinet-level position. It will be filled by mathematician, geneticist, MIT professor, and founding director of the Broad Institute, Eric Lander.

Biden has also created a new White House Office of Climate Policy. And one of his very first acts as president was signing executive orders to enable the US to rejoin the international Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation.

It’s also clear that agriculture will play a major role, with Biden saying, “we see farmers making American agriculture first in the world to achieve net-zero emissions and gaining new sources of income in the process.”

Invest with Impact. Click here.

Secretary of Agriculture nominee Tom Vilsack, who looks set to return to the post he held during the Obama administration, has indicated that he will quickly ramp up programs to combat climate change.

Simply put, “expect administrative actions aplenty from a variety of USDA [US Department of Agriculture] agencies to combat climate change,” he said.

The time is right

The need couldn’t be more pressing, or more clear. 2020 was one of the hottest years on record, tied with 2016 .Carlo Buontempo, director of the EU’s Copernicus service, noted it is “no surprise that the last decade was the warmest on record, and is yet another reminder of the urgency of ambitious emissions reductions to prevent adverse climate impacts in the future.”

Research reported by ScienceNews projects global farmland will need to grow 3.4 million square kilometers – approximately the size of India – by 2050 to meet the needs of a growing population. But, as the article notes, an overhaul of the global food system could drastically reduce the need for land while still feeding the world’s ever-expanding population.

The need to address climate change is nothing new, but the new White House is signaling new opportunities for agriculture to lead the way with science and technology.

Agriculture has an impressive history: the technology of recent times has allowed food producers to keep pace with the spectacular growth in the population, with approximately 6 billion more mouths to feed in the last 60 years alone. But agriculture currently requires more resources than can be replaced. This is clearly not sustainable.

A radical new approach is needed, and startups have the agility to bring new technology to market at the pace which is required. So, are we up to the challenge?

Leading with technology

The problem to date isn’t a lack of desire to address these pressing environmental issues. Simply put, existing practices and technology cannot sustainably feed a world of 8 billion people.

There is a great deal of focus being put on soil, which is critical; but let’s not forget the seed. Everything we grow begins with a seed – it holds all of the potential and determines the resources needed to grow.

The seed technology on the market today is primarily focused on pest and weed management. This was critical in meeting the demands of the recent past and will certainly continue to be relevant as we move forward.

However, in our efforts to address these issues, we inadvertently reduced the diversity in major crops – one of nature’s best survival tools – by selecting for traits that best met the needs of the day.

So, how can we bring back biodiversity without sacrificing productivity or growing crops that require more resources?

By designing better seeds.

At Inari, our SEEDesign platform aims to take on this challenge with the ambitious goal of satisfying demand while enriching the environment. Through predictive design and advanced multiplex gene editing, we are developing seeds that generate a positive impact on the planet. This technology is capable of addressing any crop in any geography.

Advanced multiplex gene editing opens the door to new possibilities with seed because it can address very complex genetic challenges.

President Biden and the future of regenerative agriculture in the US – read more here

To make a significant impact on yield or dramatically improve a plant’s use of water, you have to make multiple changes within a single plant. Basic gene knockout is often too blunt of an editing tool to properly address all of the changes required. While you might need to knock out a gene in one part of the code, another might require only a slight adjustment; whereas another might need to be replaced altogether, all within the same seed.

These types of edits aren’t simple, but are possible with the right technology. By understanding the full potential of seed, we can unlock new possibilities and better address the specific needs of growers based on their land, creating more diversity in the seeds being planted.

It’s not that others have decided not to tackle these complex issues within a seed – it’s simply that the technology didn’t exist. As startups, this is where our agility comes into play. When you are small, it’s easier to be nimble and quickly pivot.

Value creation across the system

Despite historical advances, the people who grow our food have not always received their fair share of the value created by new technology. While Vilsack recently spoke of creating a “whole new suite of revenue streams” for farm income, it’s equally important to ensure value creation with new technology being brought to market.

Part of the struggle in the past is that regulatory hurdles associated with genetic modification of seeds added significant time and cost. This made it nearly impossible for anyone but the large industry players to compete. The added time and costs also played a role in driving competitive intellectual property and exclusivity strategies, which only contributed to further to cost.

Conversely, the regulatory environment for gene-editing technology in the US will enable a clear and efficient path to get the technologies in the hands of growers. This will also help to democratize the technology and let players of all sizes compete in the development of new solutions.

In order to ensure value creation across the food system, we’re going to have to work with the new White House to ensure clear paths to market. This will encourage competition at every level and bring more viable solutions to growers.

In sharing value creation with farmers, we not only protect their income, but allow their communities to benefit as well.

Making agriculture the climate hero

With clear signals from the Biden administration, now is the time for startups to show our leadership with truly innovative solutions.

Many of us have dedicated our work to finding more sustainable solutions for agriculture. We have been asking for the opportunity to show how agriculture can mitigate climate change and we’ve seen a number of organizations roll-out ‘net zero’ commitments. This is a great start.

I challenge my fellow agtech leaders – especially those in the startup space – to work towards a shared goal of positively impacting the environment with the technology we bring forward. We know our organizations are best suited to move at the speed which is required to meet the challenges ahead. Let’s work in cooperation to address the needs of our industry and the planet.

So, are we up for the challenge?

I believe we are.

WIA Summit Europe Agenda Announced

International Women’s Day marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. Take your place at the virtual Women in Agribusiness Summit Europe where we celebrate women’s expertise in the Ag industry and find solutions to tipping the scales toward parity.

Sessions And Interactive Workshops Include:

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Farming Goes Indoors

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By JOY LEE

06 Feb 2021

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Beyond profits: Lim, seen here briefing an investor, says the company is also looking at creating new high-valued jobs and generate income for local communities.

THE pandemic has shone a light on many of the gaps that exist in the country’s economy. And one of these is the need for better food security, an issue that resonated with Gerard Lim long before Covid-19.

Many years ago, he started noticing that most of the vegetables sold in local supermarkets and grocers were not necessarily the best of quality as top-grade vegetables grown here were mainly exported. That means locals were consuming lower grade vegetables.

Additionally, a lot of the vegetables that can be grown in Malaysia were, in fact, imported.

Lim wasn’t a farmer but he knew that technology could help boost quality production for local consumption and improve the local supply chain for vegetables.

“My exposure and experience with farming started about five years ago when I introduced smart farming solutions using sensors, the Internet of Things, and Big Data to various farmers. But I found that many farmers in Malaysia were smallholders who could not afford the technology.

“I knew that if I wanted to move the needle, I had to adopt the technology and build large commercial scale, industrial-grade farms to achieve better economies of scale.

“What was compelling to me was that I was not alone in wanting better quality food and vegetables. There was a ready and strong demand from friends and contacts who wanted the same good quality, clean and fresh vegetables, ” he points out.

Lim has vast experience with tech startups and had previously served in the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

When he left the regulatory body last year, the time seemed right to embark on a venture that would focus on scaling up smart farming. And with the Covid-19 pandemic ongoing, it became even more evident that there was a need to grow food and vegetables closer to where they are consumed.

He founded Agroz Group Sdn Bhd, an agritech and indoor vertical farming company, to simplify the distribution supply chain of vegetables while reducing the long- and mid-haul transport of vegetables from far away farms. This is done by establishing indoor vertical farms to grow vegetables in local neighbourhoods instead.

Lim is targeting to build 100,000 sq ft of indoor vertical farms in Malaysia this year to make Agroz the largest indoor vertical farm operator in Malaysia.

While it should seem like a no-brainer to support a move into the agriculture industry at a time like this, Lim notes that it is not all straightforward. A lot of stakeholders do not understand that smart farming is different from traditional farms.

“Malaysia does not have policies to support the use of advanced technologies for smart farming, urban farming and indoor vertical farming. So, existing special grants, incentives and loans are provided for the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides for traditional farming but there are no grants, incentives and loans for the use of technology in smart farming, ” he says.

This makes it a challenge for the company to access ongoing assistance for the agriculture industry.

The lack of policy support and guidelines also make it difficult for them to get funding from financial institutions. Lim says most banks in Malaysia were not particularly supportive of indoor vertical farming as they do not understand these new modern, high-tech forms of farming.

Agroz is currently seeking to raise RM100mil through the issuance of redeemable convertible preference shares to fund its expansion.

Lim says the company has drawn interest from several investors, both local and foreign, and they are in the midst of evaluating some of these offers. He is, however, open to any other interest.

To sweeten the deal for potential investors, Lim is looking at exit plans in five years’ time, either through an initial public offering or via a trade sale to a special purpose acquisition company.

At the moment, Agroz has a small farm in Seri Kembangan, Selangor. It is in the midst of building a 3,000 sq ft farm in Sg Buloh and upgrading a commercial-scale indoor vertical farm in Shah Alam to 90,000 sq ft.

Lim believes Agroz’s indoor vertical farms will complement traditional farming.

“Customers who demand for higher quality will prefer to buy their vegetables from sources like Agroz, which delivers clean, fresh and quality vegetables from farms that you can see and are located within your neighbourhood.

“At the same time, we need to recognise that the market is huge with Malaysia importing over RM5bil worth of vegetables in 2019 alone. And this number is increasing.

“So it will take an entire industry of indoor vertical farmers to grow clean and fresh vegetables in farms within the city before we even make a dent in the traditional agriculture space. Taking even a 10% share, which is only RM500mil, of the multi-billion ringgit market would take some time, ” he says.

However, its efforts, and perhaps that of many other budding agritech companies that have popped up in recent times, are moving in the right direction.

Lim points out that Malaysia ranks 28th on the 2019 Global Food Security (GFS) Index, according to the Economist Group. Singapore, on the other hand, which hardly produces its own food, has topped the index two years in a row, in 2018 and 2019.

A myriad of advanced technologies to ensure that the methods and approach of growing food is repeatable, scalable and traceable to feed a growing population is key to achieving better sufficiency to meet domestic demands.

“We also aim to create hundreds of new high-valued jobs and generate income in our local communities heading into this post-Covid-19 era, ” Lim says.

In some countries, green jobs have been mulled over as a potential area to generate jobs to help with economic recovery. This could also be a space that policymakers could explore further.

Currently, Agroz’s produce is sold directly to consumers through a subscription programme and also supplied to neighbourhood grocers, eateries, restaurants and the hospitality industry.

The company is already growing 200kg of produce per month and will soon have the capacity to grow 1 tonne per day from the various farms already committed.

Once its 100,000 sq ft of indoor vertical farms is achieved, it is expected to produce 3 tonnes of vegetables every day.

Agroz has a current order book of RM5mil to license its technology including supply of its indoor vertical farm systems to warehouses and land asset owners as well as through supply of vegetable products to consumers and businesses. Lim says its got more orders in the pipeline.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:SME , Startup , Indoor Farming , Agroz ,

TOPIC: Corporate News SME

How Vertical Farming Is Taking Off

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By George Nott

5 February 2021

Food supply chains are under more scrutiny than ever in the era of coronavirus and Brexit. The vertical farming movement offers solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing agriculture today

This feature is the first in a two-part series on the future of farming 

Michiel Peters has been fielding some frantic calls in recent weeks. “People are saying, ‘You have to come now! We’re sorry we didn’t call you a year earlier!’” the CEO of vertical farming company PlantLab reports.

It seems vertical farming has reached a tipping point. For a long time, any consideration of the method soon ended with unit economics. But the price of produce has been rapidly falling – to the point that it’s now beginning to compete with traditional farms. And the unique advantages of vertical farming are suddenly coming into sharp relief for manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. So much so that the sector is preparing for a huge boom in interest and investment.

Indeed, demand is so heightened that Peters and his peers are having to turn potential customers away. Could now be vertical farming’s big moment?

“It’s not really a question of ‘if’ anymore. It’s going to happen,” Peters says. “And it’s already happening. It’s a matter of scaling up now.”

The benefits lie in the vertical farming method. Produce is grown indoors under LED lights, with a plant’s roots typically suspended in nutrient-rich water or mist. Temperature, humidity and light is carefully regulated within the sealed environment, and more plants can be packed into a space, on racks that can be seven storeys high.

While yield per square metre, low water consumption and lack of soil or pesticides have long been touted as the method’s main selling points, another one is becoming increasingly important: a guaranteed, year-round supply situated right where it is needed.

“On a small island or in remote locations, vertical farms can have a tremendous impact on food supply, especially in Covid times,” says Peters. “The food chain is typically very long and sensitive. When things break down, people realise their security of supply is not always a given.”

“It’s not really a question of ‘if’ any more. It’s going to happen. It’s a matter of scaling up now”

That’s not to say vertical farming businesses have been immune from the effects of the pandemic. The construction of Amsterdam-based PlantLab’s second overseas site in the Bahamas is being thwarted by current travel restrictions, for example. But Covid, and the disruption it has wreaked on global supply chains, is ultimately helping the sector make its case.

“There’s huge interest from island economies, hot economies and countries that have a higher propensity to import and have less arable land,” says Jamie Burrows, CEO of London-based Vertical Future. “From Iceland to Singapore, they all have very similar requirements.”

Plus, the pandemic isn’t the only threat to imports, Burrows adds. “If you import a lot of food, climate change is going to impact the countries that are producing that food for you. Even now, there have been pretty significant inflections in price on shelves and availability because of small fluctuations in temperature during the key growing seasons,” he explains.

And there is yet another factor that is throwing vertical farming into the spotlight in the UK, specifically: Brexit. That’s not just down to the immediate effect of imports disruption. The local produce sector remains riddled with uncertainty over access to the many seasonal workers that used to come from the EU, with a potential labour crisis looming.

Indoor farms, which are typically highly automated, require far fewer people to run. Furthermore, with constant harvesting, a small and constant rather than large and seasonal workforce is needed.

The yield and potential of vertical farming

The market opportunity for vertical farms is huge. Barclays Research analysts estimate the size of the global fruit & vegetable market is roughly $1.2tn (£800bn), and calculate that the addressable produce market for vertical farms is closer to $700bn (£513bn), leading to an approximately $50bn (£36.7bn) market opportunity. Plus, vertical farming boasts some environmental benefits, as produce requires less water and space to grow

Jones Food Company’s Scunthorpe vertical farm is a prime example. It has 26 tennis courts of growing space, operating 365 days a year – with a staff of six.

“Imagine if you have next to no labour in a farm that big. One of your largest costs is one you can really attack,” says James Lloyd-Jones, JFC CEO, and founder.

As a bonus, businesses such as JFC can boast lower carbon emissions than outdoor farms. While energy-intensive – to make up for the lack of natural sunlight – sector argues overall carbon savings are made when indoor farms are positioned close to where produce is needed, drastically reducing food miles.

Furthermore, Peters says, “if you make the chain radically short, you don’t need to waste so much of the harvest. You can avoid it altogether.”

This element could be particularly important to retailers with ambitious carbon commitments. “Retailers are being asked more questions than they’d probably like about carbon. You can’t just fudge it any more,” says Lloyd-Jones.

It’s not all plain sailing, though. There are some major hurdles for the sector to overcome – chiefly,  the huge capex needed to build an indoor farm. Because of this, many vertical farming companies, whose main interest is in providing the technology for the farms to function, are becoming farm operators and even consumer brands.

PlantLab launched its first US production site – or ‘Plant Paradise’ – in December, within a former battery factory near Indianapolis city centre.

Having spent some time “working in relative silence” on the technology, PlantLab is now a site developer and operator. Local partners distribute and brand the end product into local supermarkets. As patent holder for its indoor farming tech in 74 countries, it is also in talks with major players about licensing the IP. But, adds Peters: “We’ve started this company to change the world, not just sit behind a desk and talk about licenses.”

It helps that PlantLab can point to the success of its own farms. Because building farms yourself is necessary to prove the technology and economics, says Lloyd-Jones. “There’s a lot of vertical farming companies that are tech companies, but they don’t grow anything so the person buying is the guinea pig,” he says.

For his part, he’s looking to refine the JFC concept further before embarking on a licensing model. The company already has plenty of expertise. Ocado-backed JFC is Europe’s largest vertical high-care farming operation, its 5,000 sq m facility stacking up 12 metres high with more than 17 layers of produce. But it will go one step further with its two new sites in the Midlands and the south west, due to open by the end of this year.

They will be more technologically advanced – “it’s like we built the first iPhone in Scunthorpe. We’ve jumped to making the iPhone 8,” Lloyd-Jones says – and will provide enough produce to meet 25% of UK demand for herbs.

The end goal is to develop a “cookie cutter” vertical farm that can be quickly and cheaply built wherever needed. “Once we’re happy with that we’ll look at a licensing model where we build these facilities all round the world. But anyone building them will know they’ve been stressed, used and run at 100%,” he says.

The model for vertical farming firms then is likely to be akin to Ocado and Ocado Retail, where the latter proves the case for the former’s technology, which rivals then adopt.

So similar, in fact, that Ocado itself is looking to get involved. In February last year, it  formed Infinite Acres – a joint venture with Netherlands-based automation tech provider Priva Holding BV and US-based 80 Acres Farms, a vertical farm operator and brand. Customers have two options. They can either partner with Infinite Acres to build their own farm, or they can have 80 Acres run a farm on their behalf using that same technology.

If companies get it right, the licensing model can be lucrative. See Vertical Future for proof. It has two farms in London, with three more being built, but the output of the farms is only a small part of the business. “We retain them to keep our finger on the pulse and customer trends and it validates what we’re doing,” says Burrows. “Ninety-five per cent or more of our revenue now is from technology sales and software.”

Funding flurry

That potential has prompted a flurry of investment in the sector, kicked off in 2017 by Japanese media giant SoftBank, Alphabet’s Eric Schmidt and outgoing Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ funding of San Francisco vertical farming startup Plenty. Plenty has now raised more than $200m in venture funding.

With it has come a lot of hype. “There is a lot of hot air in vertical farming,” Burrows says. “People can make crazy claims – one company said it could grow a head of lettuce in five days, which is ridiculous. And there is a lot of smoke and mirrors and low-grade companies trying to jump on the bandwagon.

“The risk is farms will fail and make the sector look bad,” he adds. “The impact for the good companies is investors will look at the sector and say it seems risky.”

Nevertheless, the pile-on is ultimately a positive thing, says Peters. “It’s maybe a matter of culture. In the US things tend to be more hyped and people tend to promise the world – then figure out after they have the money, they still need to do all the R&D,” he explains. “But it all helps to underline it’s really happening, and makes it acceptable and credible to consumers.”

Just how big vertical farming can get remains to be seen. Barclays estimates a $50bn (£36.7bn) market opportunity. As a total share of fresh produce output, it’s “going to be a single digit for years” says Burrows. “But as a standalone sector the growth rates are very high and will continue to be.”

Indeed, although it is currently focused on a small range of herbs and leafy greens, ultimately “you can grow anything” says Lloyd-Jones. While staples like rice and wheat might not be viable now, that will soon change. Competitive prices will doubtless be added to vertical farming’s multitude of advantages.

“We don’t want to get stuck in just being a premium, niche product that will only be affordable by a small part of the market,” says Peters. “We want to change the world.” Suddenly, that aim seems within reach.

Five firms leading the global vertical farming movement

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InFarm

Vertical farms don’t have to be on a grand scale. In fact, they can fit in a chiller cabinet. InFarm places production right in the supermarket aisles at clients including Whole Foods Market and M&S.

“Modern agricultural production is built on a supply chain that is vulnerable to ecological and supply shocks. The global pandemic highlighted this. Retailers are having difficulties importing fresh produce, highlighting the need to develop a local and sustainable supply chain,” says Daniel Kats, VP of corporate sales.

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Source: LettUs Grow

LettUs Grow

Bristol start-up LettUs Grow specialises in aeroponic farms that fit within a shipping container. Customers can purchase the full “business in a box”, which includes the grow beds and control system.

“Unlike a traditional farm, you’re not limited by location or climate. Your container farm needs no fertile land to operate and with its advanced climate control system, every day is a perfect summer’s day with ideal growing conditions,” LettUs Grow says. The company has raised a total £3.4m.

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Source: PlantLab

PlantLab

This Dutch indoor farming firm launched its Indianapolis site in December. The 54,000 sq ft farm, developed in partnership with the Englewood Community Development Corporation, will provide an annual supply of close to 45,000 kg of fresh herbs and lettuce to local supermarkets and foodservice companies.

The fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and herbs grown in the ‘Plant Paradise’ are being marketed under the brand name Uplift, with the tagline ‘good food on purpose’.

Source: CropOne

CropOne

The world’s largest vertical farm is being built in Dubai, a joint venture between US firm Crop One and Emirates Flight Catering.

The $40m, 130,000 sq ft controlled environment facility will produce 6,000 pounds of high-quality, herbicide and pesticide-free leafy greens, harvested daily.

“We secure our own supply chain of high-quality and locally-sourced fresh vegetables, while significantly reducing our environmental footprint,” said Saeed Mohammed, EFC CEO.

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Source: AeroFarms

AeroFarms

US firm AeroFarms last year announced it was building a 90,000 sq ft vertical farm in Abu Dhabi, which will be the world’s largest indoor agriculture research centre. The facility will house research centres for plant reproduction, seed breeding, machine learning and vision as well as robotics.

The company has grown more than 800 varieties of crops and is eyeing opportunity beyond food production in other industries like pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical and nutraceutical.

The Grocer

Lead photo: Source: AeroFarms

Topics: Farming Fruit & Veg Supply chain Sustainability & environment Technology

Purdue Plant Science Startup Receives NSF Funding to Advance In-Home Greenhouse Technologies

February 8, 2021

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A Purdue University-affiliated startup that designs, distributes and supports direct-to-consumer, in-home greenhouses has won a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant.

The SBIR grant, worth $256,000, is in addition to $50,000 in matching funding from Elevate Ventures to conduct research and development work on multispectral photomorphogenesis in rotary aeroponic cultivation chambers.

Heliponix LLC, founded by Purdue Polytechnic Institute graduates Ivan Ball and Scott Massey, sells the GroPod Smart Garden Appliance. It is a small in-home greenhouse to grow daily servings of Pure Produce from subscription Seed Pods. The dishwasher-sized device fits under a kitchen counter and grows produce year-round, providing consumers with lettuce and other greens that are fresh and pesticide-free.

Heliponix, a Purdue-affiliated startup that designs, distributes and supports direct-to-consumer, in-home greenhouses, has won a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant. (Image provided)

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Heliponix LLC, founded by Purdue Polytechnic Institute graduates Ivan Ball and Scott Massey, sells the GroPod Smart Garden Appliance. It is a small in-home greenhouse to grow daily servings of Pure Produce from subscription Seed Pods. The dishwasher-sized device fits under a kitchen counter and grows produce year-round, providing consumers with lettuce and other greens that are fresh and pesticide-free.

As a leader in tunable horticultural research lighting systems, the Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications (LESA) Center of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is working with Heliponix to provide research-grade, multi-spectral, tunable LED modules and associated programmable control systems compatible with Heliponix’s rotary chamber.

These modules are based on the LESA Center’s TIGER horticulture research lighting modules and will provide the research flexibility needed in Phase I to optimize the LED illumination impact on plant growth variables in leafy greens including biomass, crop yield, nutritional content and energy efficiency.

“NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, division director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. “With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.”

Massey said, “In the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic’s disruptive force on produce cultivation and recurring food safety recalls, there’s an urgent need to democratize cultivation to establish food sovereignty. We are incredibly thankful for the backing of the National Science Foundation, Purdue University, Elevate Ventures and the countless Hoosiers who have supported our pursuit to grow to become the world’s largest farm through our connected, smart garden appliances known as GroPods without owning a single acre of land.”

Once a small business gains a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant (up to $256,000), it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase II grant (up to $1 million). Small businesses with Phase II grants are eligible to receive up to $500,000 in additional matching funds with qualifying third-party investment or sales.

Startups or entrepreneurs who submit a three-page project pitch will know within three weeks if they meet the program’s objectives to support innovative technologies that show promise of commercial and/or societal impact and involve a level of technical risk. Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions and commercial potential are encouraged to apply. All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. Learn more about America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF.

About the Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) Center

The LESA Center is a graduated National Science Foundation engineering research center, with matching fund support from the New York State Empire Development Corporation and corporate membership. LESA is an interdisciplinary, multi-university center developing “Systems that Think.” It is dedicated to developing autonomous intelligent systems to address modern challenges in the connected environment and is housed at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. To learn more, visit https://lesa.rpi.edu.

About Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is America’s first technological research university. Rensselaer encompasses five schools, 32 research centers, more than 145 academic programs and a dynamic community made up of more than 7,600 students and over 100,000 living alumni. Rensselaer faculty and alumni include more than 145 National Academy members, six members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, six National Medal of Technology winners, five National Medal of Science winners, and a Nobel Prize winner in physics. With nearly 200 years of experience advancing scientific and technological knowledge, Rensselaer remains focused on addressing global challenges with a spirit of ingenuity and collaboration. To learn more, visit www.rpi.edu.

About the National Science Foundation's Small Business Programs

America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $1.75 million to support research and development, helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.1 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Writer: Chris Adam, cladam@prf.org

Source: Scott Massey, scott@GroPod.io

Bringing The Future To life In Abu Dhabi

Amid the deserts of Abu Dhabi, a new wave of entrepreneurs and innovators are sowing the seeds of a more sustainable future.

Image from: Wired

A cluster of shipping containers in a city centre is about the last place you’d expect to find salad growing. Yet for the past year, vertical farming startup Madar Farms has been using this site in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to grow leafy green vegetables using 95 per cent less water than traditional agriculture. 

Madar Farms is one of a number of agtech startups benefitting from a package of incentives from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) aimed at spurring the development of innovative solutions for sustainable desert farming. The partnership is part of ADIO’s $545 million Innovation Programme dedicated to supporting companies in high-growth areas.

“Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’,” explained H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, in November 2020. “We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms.”

The pandemic has made food supply a critical concern across the entire world, combined with the effects of population growth and climate change, which are stretching the capacity of less efficient traditional farming methods. Abu Dhabi’s pioneering efforts to drive agricultural innovation have been gathering pace and look set to produce cutting-edge solutions addressing food security challenges.

Beyond work supporting the application of novel agricultural technologies, Abu Dhabi is also investing in foundational research and development to tackle this growing problem. 

In December, the emirate’s recently created Advanced Technology Research Council [ATRC], responsible for defining Abu Dhabi’s R&D strategy and establishing the emirate and the wider UAE as a desired home for advanced technology talent, announced a four-year competition with a $15 million prize for food security research. Launched through ATRC’s project management arm, ASPIRE, in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation, the award will support the development of environmentally-friendly protein alternatives with the aim to "feed the next billion".

Image from: Madar Farms

Global Challenges, Local Solutions

Food security is far from the only global challenge on the emirate’s R&D menu. In November 2020, the ATRC announced the launch of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), created to support applied research on the key priorities of quantum research, autonomous robotics, cryptography, advanced materials, digital security, directed energy and secure systems.

“The technologies under development at TII are not randomly selected,” explains the centre’s secretary general Faisal Al Bannai. “This research will complement fields that are of national importance. Quantum technologies and cryptography are crucial for protecting critical infrastructure, for example, while directed energy research has use-cases in healthcare. But beyond this, the technologies and research of TII will have global impact.”

Future research directions will be developed by the ATRC’s ASPIRE pillar, in collaboration with stakeholders from across a diverse range of industry sectors.

“ASPIRE defines the problem, sets milestones, and monitors the progress of the projects,” Al Bannai says. “It will also make impactful decisions related to the selection of research partners and the allocation of funding, to ensure that their R&D priorities align with Abu Dhabi and the UAE's broader development goals.”

Image from: Agritecture

Nurturing Next-Generation Talent

To address these challenges, ATRC’s first initiative is a talent development programme, NexTech, which has begun the recruitment of 125 local researchers, who will work across 31 projects in collaboration with 23 world-leading research centres.

Alongside universities and research institutes from across the US, the UK, Europe and South America, these partners include Abu Dhabi’s own Khalifa University, and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, the world’s first graduate-level institute focused on artificial intelligence. 

“Our aim is to up skill the researchers by allowing them to work across various disciplines in collaboration with world-renowned experts,” Al Bannai says. 

Beyond academic collaborators, TII is also working with a number of industry partners, such as hyperloop technology company, Virgin Hyperloop. Such industry collaborations, Al Bannai points out, are essential to ensuring that TII research directly tackles relevant problems and has a smooth path to commercial impact in order to fuel job creation across the UAE.

“By engaging with top global talent, universities and research institutions and industry players, TII connects an intellectual community,” he says. “This reinforces Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s status as a global hub for innovation and contributes to the broader development of the knowledge-based economy.”

USA - ARIZONA: UA-CEAC 2021 Online Short Course

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Only a few weeks away from the 2021 Online Greenhouse Crop Production and Engineering Design Short Course put on by the University of Arizona's Controlled Environment Agriculture Center. This virtual program will be hosted through Zoom on Wednesdays- March 3rd, 10th, & 17th from 10 am-3 pm (MST). Come expand your knowledge, sharpen your skills, and hear innovative presentations given by industry leaders and academia experts in Controlled Environment Agriculture.  Click here to register.  Registration will close on February 26th.

For more information, visit ceac.arizona.edu/events/cea-short-course or email ellenworth@email.arizona.edu

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USA - ALASKA: Big Grants & New Ideas

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Customized Vertical Farming

VH Hydroponics has modular growing systems, cabinets, and shipping containers for scalable vertical farming to meet the needs of anyone - individuals, organizations, communities, hotels, and schools - who want fresh, healthy choices and food security.

Multiple Delicious Options

Micro-Grant Scoping Pre-Application

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Due February 15th

$1.8 million dollars in Mico-Grants for Food Security are available in 2021.

Full details at the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Agriculture

The first step is to submit the Pre-Scoping Application by the February 15th deadline.

How Vertical Farming Will Shape The Post Pandemic Food Supply Chain

We're building for a future where modular vertical farming solutions are an accessible means of food production in urban areas. By modular vertical farming solution, we are referring to turnkey grow systems from the size of a shipping container down to a household appliance.

Q&A with Alexander Olesen, Co-Founder | Babylon Micro-Farms

Tell us about yourselves and Babylon Micro-Farms.

While still taking full course loads at the University of Virginia, we were actively involved in the Social Entrepreneur Program, a reflection of our values and determination to incubate a socially good company. Our original vision of starting an environmentally responsible company to provide fresh food to refugees living in camps by building hydroponic farms was put to the test when logistical realities of adequate power supply and access to clean water forced them to put that aspect of the business on hold. We became determined to develop a technology-based solution reducing the cost, complexity, and infrastructure requirements to grow fresh food. This technology is the backbone of Babylon’s platform today, the R&D has taken a dedicated effort for over 4 years. Our commitment to building Babylon into a successful company required an unforeseen amount of perseverance and we ran into a few issues along the way. We're now a team of 23 people working tirelessly towards the same goal of creating an integrated platform for modular vertical farming. It's inspiring to work alongside so many talented people and it's so rewarding to see how well our products are being received in the market and we're just getting started.

How have your customers' priorities shifted due to the pandemic?

Our institutional customers, predominantly from the education, healthcare, hospitality, and senior living spaces, have had a completely different set of priorities since the advent of COVID. We have been amazed at their complete commitment to their people - staff, students, patients, residents, and visitors. They were required to do an incredibly hard, fast pivot to safeguard the safety of the people they are responsible for and to and have done an outstanding job. Schools had to close their doors and learn how to operate virtually, hospitals were hit hard and continue to be, and the hospitality industry will take some time to recover. Senior living community residents have been the most vulnerable to the pandemic and the protocols that were put in place almost instantly have saved many lives. We are proud of how our partners responded to the ongoing public health crisis and that in the midst of all the challenges we continued to be able to supply them with fresh food, despite the lockdowns and quarantines. Our remote management system enabled us to make sure at least one thing stayed consistent for our partners during a difficult time for them.   

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How do you feel urban farming, and specifically modular indoor farming, addresses these new problems and priorities?

1. Supply chain resiliency - We provide peace of mind that fresh produce is being grown there on-site.

2. Reduced Food waste - Our customers love harvesting highly-perishable produce as needed and not having to waste anything

3. Improved Nutrition - We have much higher quality produce that is free from pesticides and it's helping our customers improve their diets.

 How has the pandemic shaped the trajectory of indoor farming?

The pandemic has focused a very bright light on the frailty of our food systems and supply chain. The growth of the indoor farming industry has been rapidly escalating as a result, as demonstrated by the enormous sums being raised by companies that are actively involved in addressing the vulnerabilities and trying to ensure a safer, more sustainable, and hopefully a more equitable food system for the future. 

Why is Babylon’s software platform important to the industry? How is it different from what’s out there today? 

We're solving a very different set of problems to most people in this industry. We're building for a future where modular vertical farming solutions are an accessible means of food production in urban areas. By modular vertical farming solution, we are referring to turnkey grow systems typically from the size of a shipping container down to a household appliance. We do not compete with the large industrial growers at all. Most companies in this emerging segment are focused on creating configurations of hydroponic systems to optimize specific markets, aesthetics, or certain crop varieties, etc. There's nothing wrong with that and it's exciting to see all the innovation. However, our firm belief is that there is not a one size fits all solution to this market and that every modular vertical farming solution shares the same scalability challenges. These are the challenges we are trying to address through our remote management platform. The platform enables us to control semi-automated hydroponic systems through the cloud and aggregate the data from all the farms in our fleet. We combine this with an automated inventory fulfillment system that enables us to prepare and ship consumables to our customers while they interact with their farm through a simple app. The software infrastructure we are developing creates a superior user experience for the end consumer and provides data analysis that is critical to scaling support for a distributed network of vertical farms. In this way, we seek to be an enabling platform that can help grow the market for modular vertical farming solutions as an accessible alternative to large scale, capital intensive, commercial growers.

What is Babylon’s vision for the future? 

See above. We envision a world where controlled environment crop cultivation becomes the predominant source of major highly-perishable produce categories, such as, leafy greens, herbs, vine crops, berries, etc.. As the market grows we need modular vertical farming solutions that are accessible and can scale more easily than the large scale, capital intensive, commercial operations that dominate the headlines today. These solutions are not mutually exclusive and we need both in order to reform our food system. New technologies and new business models are making modular vertical farms viable. We're aiming to be the platform that drives this segment forward.

About Alexander Olesen
Alexander Olesen, CEO, and Co-founder of Babylon has embraced and excelled at every opportunity he has encountered, from academic challenges to bootstrapping his second company, Babylon Micro-Farms, at the age of just 21 while still taking a full course load at the University of Virginia. Originally from England, Alexander relocated to attend the University and was actively involved in the Social Entrepreneur Program, a reflection of his values and determination to incubate a socially good company. The original research into the technology that became the basis for Babylon's success was based on research to provide low-cost food systems for refugees. He maintains the vision for the company and is an expert at managing people and bringing on partners and investors.

The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AgriTechTomorrow

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02/04/21

Indoor & Vertical Farming, Processing & Supply Chain | Containers, modular, Urban Farming

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Warehouse Becoming Vertical Farms — And They’re Feeding New Jersey

Image from: New Jersey 101.5

New Jersey's vertical farms are transforming agriculture by helping farmers meet growing food demand.

New Jersey Agriculture Secretary Doug Fisher said that while conventional farming in outdoor fields remains critical, vertical farming has its advantages because of its efficiency and resistance to pests and thus less need for chemicals.

Vertical farming is the process of growing food vertically in stacked layers indoors under artificial light and temperature, mainly in buildings. These plants receive the same nutrients and all the elements needed to grow plants for food.

Vertical farms are also versatile. Plants may be growing in containers, in old warehouses, in shipping containers, in abandoned buildings.

"That's one of the great advantages — that we can put agriculture in the midst of many landscapes that have lost their vitality," said Fisher.

ResearchandMarkets.com says the U.S. vertical farming market is projected to reach values of around $3 billion by the year 2024.

The one drawback is that its operational and labor costs make it expensive to get up and running.

Image from: AeroFarms

In the past decade, however, vertical farming has become more popular, creating significant crop yields all over the state.

AeroFarms in Newark is the world's largest indoor vertical farm. The farm converted a 75-year-old 70,000-square-foot steel mill into a vertical farming operation. AeroFarms' key products include Dream Greens, its retail brand of baby and micro-greens, available year-round in several ShopRite supermarkets.

Kula Urban Farm in Asbury Park opened in 2014. Vacant lots are transformed into urban farms and there's a hydroponic greenhouse on site. That produce is sold to local restaurants.

Beyond Organic Growers in Freehold uses no pesticides and all seeds and nutrients are organic. There's a minimum of 12,000 plants growing on 144 vertical towers. On its website, it says the greenhouse utilizes a new growing technique called aeroponics, which involves vertical towers where the plant roots hang in the air while a nutrient solution is delivered with a fine mist. It also boasts that by using this method, plants can grow with less land and water while yielding up to 30% more three times faster than traditional soil farming.

Vertical farms in New Jersey help feed local communities. Many are in urban areas and are a form of urban farming.

Fisher predicts that vertical farms will be operational in stores and supermarkets around the state.

"It's continued to expand. There's going to be many, many ways and almost any area in the state has the opportunity to have a vertical farm," Fisher said.

Is AppHarvest the Future of Farming?

Special purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, are red-hot right now, with investors clamoring to get into promising young companies.

In this video from Motley Fool Live, recorded on Jan. 28, Industry Focus host Nick Sciple and Motley Fool contributor Lou Whiteman discuss AppHarvest, one such SPAC that is looking to disrupt the agriculture industry. Here are the details on what AppHarvest wants to do, and a look at whether the company represents the future of farming.

Nick Sciple: One last company I wanted to talk about, Lou, and this is one I think it's -- you pay attention to, but not one I'm super excited to run in and buy. It was a company called AppHarvest. It's coming public via a [SPAC] this year. This vertical farming space. We talked about Gladstone Land buying traditional farmland. AppHarvest is taking a very different approach, trying to lean into some of the ESG-type movements.

Lou Whiteman: Yeah. Let's look at this. It probably wouldn't surprise you that the U.S. is the biggest global farm exporter as we said, but it might surprise you that the Netherlands, the tiny little country, is No. 2. The way they do that is tech: Greenhouse farm structure. AppHarvest has taken that model and brought it to the U.S. They have, I believe, three farms in Appalachia. The pitches can produce 30x the yields using 90% less water. Right now, it's mostly tomatoes and it is early-stage. I don't own this stock either. I love this idea. There's some reasons that I'm not buying in right now that we can get into. But this is fascinating to me. We talked about making the world a better place. This is the company that we need to be successful to make the world a better place. The warning on it is that it is a SPAC. So it's not public yet. Right now, I believe N-O-V-S. That deal should close soon. [Editor's note: The deal has since closed.] I'm not the only one excited about it. I tend not to like to buy IPOs and new companies anyway. I think the caution around buying into the excitement applies here. There is a Martha Stewart video on their website talking up the company, which I love Martha Stewart, but that's a hype level that makes me want to just watch and see what they produce. This is just three little farms in Appalachia right now and a great idea. This was all over my watchlist. I would imagine I would love to hold it at some point, but just be careful because this is, as we saw SPACs last year in other areas, people are very excited about this.

Sciple: Yeah. I think, like we've said, for a lot of these companies, the prospects are great. I think when you look at the reduced water usage, better, environmentally friendly, all those sorts of things. I like that they are in Appalachia. As someone who is from the South, I like it when more rural areas get some people actually investing money there. But again, there's a lot of execution between now and really getting to a place where this is the future of farming and they're going to reach scale and all those sorts of things. But this is a company I'm definitely going to have my radar on and pay attention to as they continue to report earnings. Because you can tell yourself a story about how this type of vertical farming, indoor farming disrupts this traditional model, can be more efficient, cleaner, etc. Something to continue paying attention to as we have more information, because this company, like you said, Lou, isn't all the way public yet. We still got to have this SPAC deal finalized and then we get all our fun SEC filings and quarterly calls and all those sorts of things. Once we have that, I will be very much looking forward to seeing what the company has to say.

Whiteman: Right. Just to finish up along too, the interesting thing here is that it is a proven concept because it has worked elsewhere. The downside of that is that it needed to work there. Netherlands just doesn't have -- and this is an expensive proposition to get started, to get going. There's potential there, but in a country blessed with almost seemingly unlimited farmland for now, for long term it makes sense. But in the short term, it could be a hard thing to really get up and running. I think you're right, just one to watch.

Advice For New Vertical Farmers: Grower Spotlight on Andrew Worrall

Last week we spoke about running a farm at LettUs Grow. What excites you about vertical farming? 

It’s the future of the industry. Also, the amount of salad that these farms can produce for their local community. We want to be able to eat salad all year round and we import to make that happen. However, just a small farm can easily provide for its local community, very efficiently and all year round. The sustainability element is also exciting: with our salad there’s no food miles, it’s very minimalistic. You could use an electric van or bike to distribute this crop if you wanted to. It’s a step forward in terms of what we need to do to take care of our planet. 

What do you think are the biggest downsides to vertical farming?

It’s still a new technology and it can be expensive. The biggest roadblock facing the industry is that we need more people and companies to collaborate together to make sure we can build these farms at a sensible rate, so we can provide farms to anyone. We want to be able to provide farms to people, communities and countries that don’t have a lot of money, so that they can provide affordable fresh produce to local people. 

How has vertical farming impacted your life?

Massively!  I wanted to find my passion, a job that I loved - that was very important to me. It’s satisfying to be in a position now where I’m very happy to be doing what I do and I look forward to going into work. I was happy to make the move from London to Bristol. I would have moved even further if it meant being able to continue working within this industry.

Image from: LettUs Grow

How do you see vertical farming playing a part in the future? 

When indoor farming first came about, it had a reputation of being competition for outdoor farming, which just isn’t the case. There’s so much we can’t grow that outdoor farming can provide, such as cereal crops. I’m glad we’re at a stage where indoor and outdoor farms can start to work together to optimise both methods. With these new relationships, there should be a good increase in the amount of indoor farms you’ll be seeing. What LettUs Grow offers with DROP & GROW™ is an exciting project because that’s a 40ft shipping container which can be placed pretty much anywhere. It’s not that big - it could go in a car park or behind a restaurant, but actually provide quite a lot of salad to that area. 

How much of our food should be grown this way? 

Good question. If you had asked me a while back I would have just said salad, but now I’ve changed my mind. Indoor farming can have a massive impact on propagation, especially aeroponics, because of how we aerate and nourish our roots. We could start lettuce for greenhouse projects and we can also propagate tomatoes, strawberries and tree whips. Propagating trees in this way could potentially be hugely beneficial and it’s something we want to do more of. 

We can also quickly grow large amounts of microgreens, baby leafs, herbs and we can grow fruiting crops like strawberries. We are slowly chipping away and it’s really exciting. I’m waiting to see if I can ever say I’ve grown or propagated every crop that can be grown in these farms! 

What do you think are the biggest benefits of vertical farming? 

How fast these crops can grow! The turnover can be as short as 5 days from seed, depending on the crop. Also how clean it can be - I’m very dedicated to making sure these farms are built to ensure they are easy to be maintained and clean. The most exciting part is the crop growth rate though - it’s incredible how fast our crop grows from seed to plate. In a very well maintained growing calendar, which Ostara® is great for supporting, you can optimise your beds so that the day you harvest can also be the day you germinate onto that same bed. Your farms can be forever providing salad at very fast rates. 

Image from: LettUs Grow

What was the biggest change you encountered during your years indoor farming?

Moving from being a production grower to an R&D grower. It has been a great change! As a production grower I knew what I needed to know about growing the plant safely and getting it onto a plate so it was good for the consumer. Now I’m fully optimising, learning and understanding the plants completely, so that I can help the grower that I used to be. We spend a lot of time on crop recipes to make sure that whoever we sell our farms to can start up very quickly and they won’t have to spend months developing their crops. If they have the customers and clients behind them, they can buy DROP & GROW and start producing salad as soon as it's been commissioned. 

What was the biggest change you encountered in the industry?

More and more people are speaking about what’s going on in the industry and getting involved. I get so many messages on LinkedIn with people who want to get into this career. It’s exciting to see that indoor growing is a career people can access now. When I was developing my skills I didn’t know I would end up in indoor farming. There are more opportunities than ever before. For example, our Crop Technician is doing a placement here for 2 years. The aim is that they can gain the skill sets and knowledge they need to then go off and do the same practice in any farm they want. 

What advice do you have for people who are looking to start a career in growing? 

Reach out to companies who are already out there. You could start off part-time or as an assistant. If you are patient and dedicated then it’s a journey I promise you won’t regret. It takes a lot of work, but the outcome is amazing - you’ll be learning so much about this new technology. You’ll also build great relationships: there are so many amazing people in this industry who are so interesting, with different backgrounds, who are willing to share their knowledge. You can always learn more and other people are a great source of that. 

What about for those looking to start a vertical farming business?

Do your homework.  There are people out there who you can reach out to and it’s very easy to get information. It’s very easy to get excited about the idea and jump straight into it, because it is exciting and can be very rewarding, but it’s really important to do it step by step. Know how to scale properly, learning the differences between a small and larger farm. Understand how many people you’ll need and the logistics. I’d also advise people to get some practical work experience before you buy. You want to start the company knowing the tricks of the trade. 

Image from: LettUs Grow

LettUs Grow Blog: www.lettusgrow.com/blog/advice-for-vertical-farmers

US - NEW MEXICO: ‘Farm in a Box’ Coming To Grants

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BY KEVIN ROBINSON-AVILA /

JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Fresh, locally produced vegetables will soon sprout from hydroponic beds in an enclosed, converted shipping container parked at New Mexico State University’s branch campus in Grants.

The 40-foot “Farm in a Box” will provide hands-on education and workforce training for local students and others interested in studying the emerging science of “indoor agriculture” as a new, potentially sustainable, enterprise that could offer fresh economic development opportunities and job creation in an area hard hit by the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

NMSU, the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, and the National Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) are collaborating on the project.

It’s one of several initiatives under development with local, state, and federal backing to diversify economic activity in Cibola, McKinley, and San Juan counties, where coal-fired power plants and associated mining have provided a financial mainstay for workers and communities for decades.

Both Cibola and McKinley counties are reeling from last year’s shutdown of the coal-fired Escalante Generating Station near Grants, plus the closure of Marathon Petroleum’s oil refinery in Gallup, which together eliminated hundreds of stable, high-paying jobs in those northwestern communities.

Unemployment hit 10.8% in Cibola County in December and 10.2% in McKinley County, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. That compares to an 8.2% average statewide unemployment rate.

To ease the impact of Escalante’s closure and assist in transitioning local communities, Tri-State provided $5 million in grants in January to four local economic development organizations. It is also now sponsoring the Farm in a Box initiative, providing $250,000 to set up and equip the high-tech container unit that houses the indoor agricultural operation, with forthcoming grants for NMSU faculty and student assistants to work on the project.

“We realize that closing such coal facilities as the Escalante plant that have traditionally employed significant workforces creates very difficult challenges for local communities to replace those jobs,” Tri-State spokesman Mark Stutz said. “Our goal is to find opportunities in support of economic development with new technologies when we can.”

Tri-State permanently closed the 253-megawatt Escalante power plant in Pruitt last summer as part of the association’s long-term plan to completely withdraw from coal generation over the next decade. It laid off about two-thirds of the plant’s 107 employees, Stutz said.

TriState also plans to close a much larger, 1.3-gigawatt coal facility in Craig, a municipality in Moffat County, Colorado, where the company sponsored another Farm in a Box project that EPRI set up last November.

“We don’t want to just walk away from these communities that we’ve been a part of for decades,” Stutz said.

High tech

EPRI has set up similar Farm in a Box projects in 13 states, said its principal technical leader Frank Sharp, project manager for the institute’s indoor agriculture-and-lighting research efforts.

It’s part of an emerging concept of indoor farming for urban areas and isolated rural communities where food could be grown year-round right where it’s consumed. It could lead to huge energy and water savings through efficient, high-tech growing processes, contributing to carbon reduction by using electricity rather than fossil fuels in agricultural operations and by eliminating long-haul transport of produce to market.

For economically stressed communities such as Cibola and McKinley counties, it could be scaled beyond shipping containers to retrofit under-used or abandoned buildings and to construct new facilities, such as greenhouses, on empty plots, Sharp said.

“It all translates into community impact, job creation, and beneficial use of electricity,” Sharp told the Journal. “Vacated buildings with the infrastructure already in place can be retrofitted, with opportunities to also build new facilities.”

Electric Power Research Institute principal technical leader Frank Sharp, left, with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association CEO Duane Highley, inside the Farm in a Box agricultural container that was set up in Moffat County, Colo., last November. (Courtesy of Tri-State Generation and Transmission)

Research needed

Research is still needed to maximize efficiency and production, measure benefits, make contained farming systems profitable, and train the workforce. That’s where NMSU comes in, said Jay Lillywhite, agricultural economics professor and co-director of NMSU’s center of Excellence in Sustainable Food and Agricultural Systems.

NMSU faculty and students will study the entire container system, which includes vertical, hanging plastic enclosures to grow crops connected to a closed-loop plumbing system to recycle all water. Researchers will monitor all energy and water use, plant productivity, the impact of red and blue LED lighting spectrums on plant growth, and the economics of the whole operation, Lillywhite said.

“We’ll record everything and transmit all the data wirelessly to EPRI,” Lillywhite said. “It needs to be profitable. Indoor agriculture has had mixed reviews in terms of profitability, so we’ll look at a model that makes sense for New Mexico and the Southwest.”

Other applications

Opportunities extend into many disciplines beyond agriculture, including electrical engineering focused on energy efficiency and renewable generation as alternative systems, such as solar panels, are added to indoor operations, said Rolando A. Flores, dean of NMSU’s College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences.

“The project has excellent potential to address social, environmental, and economic facets of sustainability, and become a resource-efficiency model for urban agriculture, provided that renewable energy can be incorporated from the beginning,” he said.

State Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Grants, said indoor agriculture can offer significant opportunities alongside other initiatives to diversify the local economy.

Lundstrom sponsored legislation last year that now allows counties with coal plants that are closing to set up special economic districts with bonding and taxing authorities to invest in infrastructure, business recruitment, and retention to create jobs and promote economic development.

That led to the launch in December of the McKinley County Electric Generating Facility Economic District, which is focused on converting the Escalante site in Pruitt into a new industrial zone to recruit more businesses to the area.

“Value-added agriculture is one of the opportunities we can work to develop there with help from the partners on this project,” Lundstrom said. “It can have a significant impact as we work to recruit new, sustainable industry to the local community.”

President Biden & The Future of Regenerative Agriculture In The US

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February 5, 2021

Steve Groff

Editor’s note: Steve Groff is a farmer, a regenerative agriculture consultant, and the founder of Cover Crop Coaching, which educates farmers and farm advisors about effective cover crop use. The views expressed in this guest article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of AFN.

With a new administration in Washington, the next few years could be interesting for efforts to improve agriculture production while addressing environmental issues at the same time.

President Joe Biden has expressed support for climate-friendly farming practices, but there are questions about what that ultimately will mean. Will helping American farms be a high priority for the new president or will it get lost amid other pressing concerns, including the Covid-19 pandemic? And just how open is a good portion of the agriculture community to the government getting involved in what they do?

Among other proposals, Biden has vowed to pursue policies that would expand and fortify the federal Conservation Stewardship Program. One desired result of this effort would be to make more money available for payments to farmers who reduce their carbon footprint through a variety of methods, including the use of cover crops.

While the big-business side of agriculture has been more willing to use government programs, grassroots farmers involved in regenerative agriculture tend to be leery of government programs and handouts. Most of them, in fact, suggest getting out of government-related programs – particularly the use of crop insurance.

Invest with Impact. Click here.

Those in the regenerative agriculture movement come from the perspective that we have ruined the resiliency of our soils and if we ‘regenerate’ them, they can better handle weather extremes brought on by climate change.

But one challenge for the regenerative agriculture movement is getting farmers educated on how to use these practices. That is a huge reason why I wrote my book, The Future Proof Farm. I wanted not only to educate but to inspire farmers to take their first step in that direction.

I firmly believe regenerative agriculture is scalable, as we now have large farms with thousands of acres that are successfully using these practices with little to no inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides.

And yes, most of those farms are doing it with no government help.

But on the other side are farmers drooling over the potential to get paid to use cover crops, no-till, and other soil health practices that can sequester carbon. Farmers are primed like never before to try those practices due to rising awareness over the past 20 years or so. In any business, it’s ‘all about the money’ – so if a farmer can get paid to engage in a good practice, it’s a favorable thing in their minds.

How do farmers feel about cover crops? We asked a cover crop coach – read more here

I am biased toward letting the market work, as we know there is a demand for food and fiber grown using regenerative agriculture – and we can accomplish what we need to without government help. With regenerative agriculture, we can lower our costs of production.

That being said, there are not enough resources to help farmers learn these methods. I believe we have an education hurdle – not a need for another handout. I also believe we need to take a deeper look at how regenerative agriculture actually leads to a more nutritious or nutrient-dense food product, whether it is fed to livestock or ends up on the kitchen table.

I do see some merit in the government helping farmers for a few years to get started in these carbon-sequestering practices, but more important are educational efforts to help farmers be effective in using those practices. The old adage applies: give a person a fish and you will be giving them fish for a lifetime; teach each person to fish, and they will meet their own needs for a lifetime.

If the Biden administration can somehow capture a holistic approach by supporting the education necessary for farmers to grow healthy food, it will be a win for producers, a win for the people, and a win for the planet.

Light Company LumiGrow Has Ceased Operations

The lighting company LumiGrow has ceased operations and is now out of business. 

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LumiGrow was a company focused on LED lights, and it hit the headlines at the beginning of 2020 for the purple glow that illuminated the sky over Navajo County, Arizona, which was coming from a cannabis greenhouse where LumiGrow LEDs were installed. 

The company has not shared specific information as to why operations have been ceased. For sure, the global pandemic together with the fierce competition in the LED sector of horticulture have had an impact. 

Publication date: Tue 2 Feb 2021

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Does Vertical Farming Actually Work?

Our Changing Climate

Feb. 03, 2021

In the outskirts of Newark, New Jersey, tucked between a packaging manufacturer and an aquatics center lies a farm. Except, if you're driving down the nearby highway you probably wouldn't be able to tell that this particular farm is churning out thousands of pounds of greens each year. In fact, all you'll see is a bunch of buildings, because this is a vertical farming operation called AeroFarms, which grows all their food in a warehouse. Like the owners of AeroFarms, tech enthusiasts across the world have embraced the dream of vertical farming, exclaiming that their operations are the answer to feeding a growing global population, combating climate change, and eradicating food deserts.

The many-shelved farming operation that is AeroFarms is just one of many companies that use vertical space to grow vegetables. What sets AeroFarms apart, however, is that it grows in a fine mist filled with nutrients instead of a typical growing environment like Rockwool and nutrient-rich water. But AeroFarms is an outlier in the vertical farming space. The typical vertical farm looks a lot more like that at Bowery, a company that uses a more traditional hydroponics system to grow their produce.

Essentially, Bowery grows greens and other veggies in a nutrient-rich tray of water, which is consistently recycled in a closed-loop system. This system is then replicated en masse and expanded not horizontally, but vertically to maximize space. But because all these plants are stacked on top of each other, access to light becomes a big obstacle, which means that each shelf is equipped with LED lights to act as artificial sunlight. Some operations like Plenty go even further by shining only the beneficial colors in the light spectrum for growth. While some of these large-scale vertical farms can quickly become laden with advanced technologies like robotic arms and AI monitoring systems, at their most basic, vertical farms use a combination of artificial sunlight and vertical space to maximize the amount of yield per acre. These food factories seem promising, but they also seem like a lot of work. So why are people so excited about them? For that answer and a deeper behind-the-scenes look at vertical farming, make sure to check out the video above.

Our Changing Climate is an environmental YouTube channel that explores the intersections of social, political, climatic, and food-based issues. The channel dives into topics like zero waste and nuclear energy in order to understand how to effectively tackle climate change and environmental destruction.