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"Do Organic Farmers Using Soil Have A Right To Exclude Aquaponic Farmers?"
Marc Laberge pleading for including all plants in organic rules
If there's one thing the soil-growing and out-of-soil producers can agree on, is that the debate around the organic & soil production is upsetting. If there's two, it's that hydro- and aquaponics should not be entering the organic world via a back door. But how should it be? In- or excluded? With one week to go before the Quebec public consultation on aquaponics ends, Marc Laberge with ML Aquaponics holds a plea for including all plants in the Quebec organic rules.
"Aquaponics is here to stay and is a great way of farming. Aquaponics has the potential to supply year-round organic fruits, vegetables and fish at a reasonable price, yet this entire type of farming, this fundamental Mother Natures’ purest, most organic, way of growing clean, dirt-free plants is at stake here", Marc with ML Aquaponics says. His aquaponics farm ML Aquaponics has harvested millions of crops of lettuce and rainbow trouts over the years. Following the Canadian Aquaculture Organic Laws, none of these has ever been certified organic - but that can change since the organic certification requirements of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) were extended to aquaculture products early this year.
Roots in water
"However Quebec’s organic watch dogs, the CARTV, are still not convinced that plants having their roots growing in water should be allowed to carry the organic certification", Marc explains. Currently the CARTV is asking for he public's opinion on this matter and Marc doesn't want the industry to miss out on this opportunity.
"We have every right to be called organic and are proud of it. Although our voices are outnumbered by at least a 1000 to 1, does this mean we have no rights?"
He shows Google answers on the search for organic:
1. Relating to or derived from living matter. “organic soils”. Synonym: living, live, animate, biological, natural.
2. (of food or farming methods) produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents. Synonym: pesticide-free, additive-free, chemical-free, nonchemical, natural
"If you look at the evolution of plants on this planet, you will find that they derived from water, starting out as some type of algae. Water is the essence of life on plant Earth, the Mother of all “Mother Natures” if you like", he says. "Organic farming is a method that grows plants in living matter without using synthetic chemicals. Synthetic fertilizers mean man made, we’re not talking about salts and minerals that are extracted from nature by man, but rather created by processes that would most likely never take place naturally."
Synthetic vs organic
"One of such procedures that comes to mind, is the use of petroleum to create nitrogen and then used as a synthetic fertilizer. So then, what is living matter? Besides the obvious, can soils be considered living matter? Of course, they can if they haven’t been burnt-out by harsh chemicals. What about water? The same applies, cities must kill off many living organisms in order to provide safe drinking water, but take a look under a magnifying glass at water from a natural source such as lakes, rivers, ponds and you will see life, lots of life."
Out of habit
Continuing on this point of view, Marc says that the combination soil-organic is mainly a combination made out of habit. "Organic farming using soil has been around for a long time, so long as a matter of fact, that some people are now saying that organic farming must use soil. Aquaponics is a farming method using fish to provide nutrients to plants that are grown in water. Although aquaponics has been around longer than soil farms, only in the last few decades has this way of producing food intensively, under controlled environments become of interest, to a new generation of organic farmers."
Questioning
That's why Marc now urges the public to take the opportunity and send out their point of view to the CARTV, currently holding a questioning on the matter. "The CARTV claim that only “aquatic” plants can be allowed to be organic, and that “terrestrial” plants must use the soil organic rules that, ironically do not allow cultivation in water. Looking at the definition of Organic, and knowing all terrestrial plants arose from water, we can only wonder if the organic farmers using soil, are trying to prevent other new organic aquaponic farmers from entering their niche markets?"
He's pleading for a more united industry and calls out to the industry to use the opportunity and fill in the Quebec questioning.
"We all believe in organic food the same way the soil people do, we share so many values and yet like siblings continue this fight", Marc says. "Have we forgotten what the essence of life is and that nothing will grow without it? Do the organic farmers using soil have a right to exclude aquaponic farmers from this label? Has the word Organic evolved into another meaning over time? If so, what definition should we use? What does Organic mean to you?"
Alberta, Canada: Hydroponic Lettuce Revolution In Bruderheim
Arthur Green
More from Arthur Green
January 29, 2019
A look at the new addition to Thiel’s Greenhouses in Bruderheim, Alberta.Thiel’s Greenhouses has invested in this new technology from Dry Hydroponics to mass produce fresh lettuce. Arthur C Green/The Record
Growing green and growing clean, in lettuce Thiel’s Greenhouses trusts.
An Ontario-Alberta-Netherlands connection has led to the sky glowing pink over Thiel’s Greenhouses in Bruderheim, Alberta.
Since 1958, Thiel’s Greenhouses have been serving the Fort Saskatchewan, Bruderheim, Lamont and Vegreville areas. The company has been focused on creating superior product quality and with the recent upgrade they look to enter a new market.
Nadine Stielow grew up in the Bruderheim area and as a little girl, she frequented the business she now has made her own. Arthur C Green/Submitted Image
Owner Nadine Stielow grew up in the Bruderheim area and as a little girl, she frequented the business she now has made her own. Stielow is taking Thiel’s Greenhouses to the next level of plant cultivation with the installation of a hydroponic system to grow lettuce.
Stielow was thrilled to give Postmedia a tour of the brand-new equipment purchased from Dry Hydroponics in the Netherlands. Stielow made the decision to purchase after visiting with Dry Hydroponics in NL where they have demonstration/trial greenhouses showcasing their product.
“I was there last January to learn from them,” Stielow told The Record.
The state of the art system uses cultivation ponds built of cement. Nutrient-rich water is added to the ponds and the crops grow in crop holders placed on floats. Arthur C Green/The Record
The Dry Hydroponics system is suitable for short-cycle crops, like lettuce, herbs and flowers according to the company’s website. Thiel’s Greenhouses will be able to produce 1500-1900 heads of fresh lettuce a week with the new equipment.
“The state of the art system uses cultivation ponds built of cement. Nutrient-rich water is added to the ponds and the crops grow in crop holders placed on floats,” Stielow said.
The design has been patented by Dry Hydroponics and allows crops to acquire sufficient amounts of water, light, nutrients, CO2 and oxygen, Stielow told Postmedia.
The designs give an ideal microclimate and allow the crops to grow in a natural way.
A shot of Thiels Greenhouses in the night sky. Residents of Bruderheim will now see a glow of pink in the evenings. Arthur C Green/The Record
‘The Ontario-Alberta-Netherlands Connection’
Thiel’s Greenhouses, which is located in Bruderheim, Alberta uses a hydroponic supplier based in Ontario named AMA Horticulture.
“I also get some of my spring plant supplies from AMA Horticulture as well,” Stielow said. “Shawn Mallen who is a specialist with that company is here helping with the setup.
Capping an incredible wk with Fri goodbye/vaarwell to my ON-AB-NL #DreamTeam
For NOW! Time to GROW #epic #finalbuild #VeniVidiVici @amahort @Dry_Hydroponics @PhilipsHorti @BallHort @AFSC_AB @Bruderheim @ThreeSixtyAB @AsGr8AsHome @1BIOBEST #liveit12:08 AM - Jan 28, 2019
See Thiel's Greenhouses's other Tweets
Martin Naaborg is a specialist with Dry Hydroponics and has traveled nearly 7,000 kilometers to install the system for Thiel’s Greenhouses.
“Both Shawn and Martin were here for the week to consult in the final stages of the project,” Stielow said. “AMA Horticulture is the Canadian dealer for Dry Hydroponics. Both companies are stellar in the tech support and overall help they provide to customers.”
‘Growing clean and looking to enter new markets’
Thiel’s Greenhouses has invested in this new technology from Dry Hydroponics to mass produce fresh lettuce. They will in turn market this product to local consumers and the high-end restaurants.
“To be considered organic in Canada plants must be grown in soil,” Stielow said. “I am growing clean; no pesticides will be put on our plants. I do not use chemicals in our greenhouses.”
The water heaters that were installed at an additional cost. The system is state of the art. Arthur C Green/The Record
You can walk up to any plant and eat it without a worry about it affecting your health. But this type of growing is not considered organic, Stielow added.
“Everything is being started from seed,” Stielow said. “We obtained seeds that are specifically created for hydroponic growing.”
Stielow admits that although lettuce is her company’s main focus right now, she would like to add different products as time progresses.
“I would love to try growing some new products such as bok choi and lemongrass,” Stielow said. “There are others I would like to try but I won’t go too crazy yet.”
Arthur C Green/The record
If you would like to visit Thiel’s Greenhouses, they are located on 4916 45 Street in Bruderheim. Or they can be found on the web at www.thielsgreenhouse.ca
“Our mission is simple,” Stielow said. “To supply the highest quality plants, products and services for our customers”
Village Farms Spreads The Word About Healthy Eating
The Transformer Bumblebee even got in on the action to create some buzz about eating healthy!
Press Release – Village Farms recently sponsored and participated in “Cars for the Cure”, a car show benefitting the American Lung Association. This event showcased an array of the most distinctive and unforgettable cars from around the world during a daylong, family-friendly festival.
A team of volunteers from Village Farms spent the day giving away almost 2000 pounds of their authentic Heavenly Villagio Marzano® tomatoes to participants, attendees, and volunteers. The Transformer Bumblebee even got in on the action to create some buzz about eating healthy!
“Village Farms was proud to be a sponsor and support Cars for the Cure in its 15th year,” said Helen Aquino, Director of Brand Marketing and Communications. “Participating in an event like this for such a good cause was especially rewarding. We truly enjoyed getting out in our community to promote health and wellness and we loved hearing time and time again how much people enjoy the Garden Fresh Flavor® of our tomatoes!”
Now in its second century, the American Lung Association is the oldest voluntary health organization in the United States and the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. Founded in 1904 to fight tuberculosis, the American Lung Association today fights lung disease in all its forms, with special emphasis on asthma, tobacco control and environmental health.
About Village Farms
Village Farms is one of the largest producers, marketers, and distributors of premium-quality, greenhouse-grown fruits and vegetables in North America. The food our farmers grow, along with other greenhouse farmers under exclusive arrangements are all grown in environmentally friendly, soil-less, glass greenhouses. The Village Farms® brand of fruits and vegetables is marketed and distributed primarily to local retail grocers and dedicated fresh food distributors throughout the United States and Canada. Since its inception, Village Farms has been guided by sustainability principles that enable us to grow food 365 days a year that not only feeds the growing population but is healthier for people and the planet. Village Farms is Good for the Earth® and good for you.
Historic Flood Losses Faced By Nebraska Farmers “Will Impact Food On Your Table”
The combination of historic rains, melting snow, and frozen soil have left swaths of the country’s biggest farming states underwater
The combination of historic rains, melting snow, and frozen soil have left swaths of the country’s biggest farming states underwater.
March 19th, 2019
by Sam Bloch
Historic flooding is submerging parts of the Midwest and Great Plains under inches of water. Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin—among America’s most valuable and productive farm states—have declared states of emergency. Parts of Iowa have been declared disaster areas.
By now, you’ve seen the photos. Vast fields covered in water, with grain silos and barns sticking up through the glassy surface. Warming temperatures melted hard-packed ice, and in combination with recent rains, have caused a deluge that has overwhelmed rivers and levees and spread across the plains. The inundation is visible from outer space.
Nebraska has been hit hardest. The strongest, most intense waters have come from the failure of the 90-year-old Spencer Dam. After the “bomb cyclone” poured rain across the state, the failure of the dam ignited a flash flood that emptied into the Missouri River, and linked up with snowmelt from South Dakota and Iowa. Now, large swaths of the state are underwater. Three of the four deaths caused by the floods have been here. Hundreds more have left their homes.
Jane Fleming Kleeb, Chair of the state’s Democratic party, tweeted that the historic losses faced by Nebraska families “will impact food on your table.” Farmers have already suffered over $1 billion in corn and livestock losses, with additional economic losses expected. There are 79,000 miles of waterways in the state—and more rain is forecasted to be on the way.
In Nebraska alone, early estimates have put ranching losses at around $500 million, and grain losses at $400 million.
According to ABC, two storms are forecast to move through the flood zones over the next week, with the first storm system arriving through the Midwest today, The first system should move through the Midwest. today, dropping up to an inch of water. A second system will arrive from the West Coast by the weekend, delivering an additional 2 inches in some areas.
The flooding couldn’t come at a worse time for growers. Farms filing for bankruptcy rose by 19 percent last year across the Midwest, the highest level in over a decade, according to the American Farm Bureau. The ongoing tariff battle with China has made one of the country’s riskiest and least predictable professions even more unstable, and the U.S. government hasn’t been buying their crops. But it’s also a particularly tricky time in the growing season: the onslaught has arrived just before spring planting, when farmers should be preparing to put seeds in the soil.
“Some of these place need an extended period of dry weather to get fieldwork started,” Dan Hicks, a meteorologist, told Bloomberg. “But I don’t see an extended dry spell.”
It’s not just that water is soaking the farms. The floods are destroying the network of farming infrastructure. “The rail lines and roads that carry their crops to market were washed away,” The New York Times reported from Nebraska. Farmers have been cut off from their animals “behind walls of water,” and others can’t get into town to buy supplies. Where highways and roads have been flooded, the National Guard has been airlifting hay and animal feed to marooned farms.
The inundation is visible from outer space.
The floods have also cut off access to ethanol, which Iowa and Nebraska produce more of than any other states. As of Sunday, more than 40 state and federal highways in Nebraska were closed due to flooding, along with all the county roads in the affected areas. That includes the roads surrounding a Cargill ethanol plant just north of Omaha, which means farmers can’t haul their grain into the plant, cattle feeders can’t pick up grain, and ethanol can’t be shipped out of town, due to closed railways. Ethanol prices have risen to a seven-month high, Bloomberg reports.
How did this happen? Mindy Beerends, a meteorologist, told The New York Times that these rains have been so devastating because there hasn’t been anywhere for the water to go.
The problem actually began to take shape in the fall, when Nebraska was inundated with heavy rainfall. The soil was saturated with water just as winter rolled in, freezing the moisture underground. Then the plains were covered in snow. As spring has come along, and snow has melted, the resulting water hasn’t had anywhere to retreat to.
Omaha, which averages less than an inch of rain in March, has already seen over two inches this month. The flat, frozen plains have been unable to soak it in, and runoff has quickly filled rivers and streams.
Nebraska has 6.4 million head of cattle, making it the second-largest cattle state in the country. It’s also the country’s third-largest corn-producing state—the crucial ingredient in feed. To understand what these floods mean to ranchers, Laura Reiley of The Washington Post spoke to Anthony Ruzicka, a fifth-generation Nebraska rancher.
The floods are destroying the network of farming infrastructure.
As she reported, just one day before they spoke, Ruzicka and his neighbors had chased most of his herd of 300 cattle a half-mile up to higher ground. But the rapid failure of a nearby dam led to a flood that swallowed up many of his calves, which would typically be ready for slaughter between 12 and 18 months. It also felled all of his bulls, a rancher’s chief moneymaker (they breed future herds) and destroyed farm buildings and feed bins.
“There’s not many farms left like this, and it’s probably over for us too, now,” Ruzicka told another reporter. “Financially, how do you recover from something like this?”
Ruzicka’s own alfalfa and corn fields—the feed for his cattle—were filled with ice chunks. After the water subsides, and the floodwaters recede, grain farmers will have to clean their fields, and get a late start on planting. Both will mean significant costs. Waterlogged fields can rot, mold over, or fail.
“The water is chock-full of stuff. This is a toxic brew that is going down the river—the water took out gas stations and farm shops and fuel barrels,” John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union, told the Post.
It’s hard to see a clear path to recovery. So far, in Nebraska alone, early estimates have put ranching losses at around $500 million, and losses to grain farmers could be around $400 million, the Nebraska Farm Bureau told the Post. It could be months, or even years, before farmers rebound.
If you’re a farmer looking for help, the University of Nebraska has links for flood resources available online.
Shipping Container Farms Expanding To Grocery Stores Around The Country
Container farming startup Square Roots partnered with a major distributor to bring locally grown food to cities nationwide
By Liz Stinson Mar 8, 2019
Photo: Square Roots
A few years back, Square Roots set up shop in a parking lot in Brooklyn’s Bed Stuy neighborhood. The urban farming startup, founded by Kimbal Musk and Tobias Peggs, built a compact hydroponic farming system inside tricked out shipping containers designed by ORE Design’s Thomas Kosbau.
Now, Square Roots is expanding operations (and keeping the shipping containers). The startup just announced that it’s partnering with Gordon Food Services, a distribution company that works with retailers across the country. The plan is to build Square Roots facilities (i.e. shipping containers) on or near GFS’s distribution or retail locations in order to shorten the amount of time it takes to go from hydroponic pod to store shelves.
Photo: Square Roots
Photo: Square Roots
Fast Company reports that each new Square Roots location will get somewhere around 10 shipping containers, though that number could grow in the future.
“We’ll start with putting 10 containers down in a market, and as demand for locally grown produce increases, we can very quickly expand our footprint by adding more modules,” Peggs told Fast Company.
With each container generating around 50,000 pounds of produce each year, that’s a major upgrade for locally grown food.
Via: Fast Company
The House of The Future: Super-Sustainable With Room to Grow Your Food
The house and garden of the future is sustainable and produces its own food. Photo: supplied
MELISSA HEAGNEY SENIOR JOURNALIST
MAR 3, 2019
The phrase “house of the future” may, at first, provoke images of cartoon family The Jetsons with sky-high homes, flying cars and robot servants.
But according to the experts, the reality is much more sustainable and green. And it’s already here.
One display at the upcoming Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show will feature a range of sustainable builders’ ideas and products linked to the house and garden of the future.
Future homes are set to be highly sustainable, have minimal impact on the land and produce enough fresh food to feed several adults over a year, according to participant Brendan Condon.
Mr Condon is director of three sustainability companies including gardening outfit Biofilta, and part of an award-winning deep-green development The Cape at Cape Patterson in South Gippsland.
Homes can and will have minimal impact on the land around it. Photo: Supplied
“We’re showing people can harness design and breakthrough technology that is already being used on houses around the world,” Mr Condon said.
He said sustainability was a must for the future of big cities like Melbourne and Sydney, especially when it comes to living a healthy and comfortable life.
“Suburbia now needs to become the new nature,” he said.
“Cities have huge opportunities to combine rainwater or rooftop rainwater runoff, waste stream organics like composted food waste and surplus city spaces with clever urban farming systems to grow huge amounts of fresh produce.”
Mr Condon said a new gardening system would be launched at the show to demonstrate to people that they could grow food anywhere.
Biofilta recently partnered with a local coffee company to set up pop-up farms in two car spaces in Rocklea Drive, Port Melbourne.
The aim is to grow over 300 kilograms of fresh food in over a year using used coffee grounds and chaff. They have already produced 180 kilograms of food in four months.
Gardens can be grown anywhere – including rooftops and car parks. Photo: Supplied
Mr Condon said there were opportunities to turn urban areas and high-rise blocks into environments for not only food production but also other types of biodiversity.
That included setting up areas of wetlands which would encourage frogs and insects to find a home in urban areas. More plants offering shading would also help with the urban heat island effect.
As well as food production, the house and garden of the future will also use solar energy and solar batteries to produce more power than they need. This could power electric cars – even if not actual flying cars promised by The Jetsons.
Director of modular home group Ecoliv Building Ashley Beaumont agreed, saying sustainable home design was now at a point where heating and cooling appliances were minimally used.
Passive solar design – using the sun to heat and cool homes – meant power bills would be massively reduced.
Mr Condon said this could be by as much as $2500 every year where efficient, all-electric appliances were used.
“Climate-adapted, resilient, comfortable homes powered by renewable energy with super-low energy bills, coupled with productive urban farming, are definitely the future,” Mr Condon said.
Firm Takes Leap Into Future With Robot Strawberry Picker
PUBLISHED: February 2019
Dr Vishuu Mohan at the University of Essex Picture: VICKY PASSINGHAM
A prototype fruit-picking robot being developed on an Essex jam maker’s farm has featured in a report on farming of the future.
Wilkin and Sons’ Farms manager Andrey Ivanov has been working with Dr. Vishuu Mohan, a computer science and engineering lecturer at the University of Essex, to develop the robotic strawberry picker.
“The researchers at the university, like many across the world, are trying to develop a robotic piece of equipment that will be capable of identifying when a strawberry is ready to be picked then make a decision and pick the fruit by snapping the stem without damaging or touching the actual berry to avoid bruising,” said Mr Ivanov.
The challenge for the researchers is developing a robot capable of picking strawberries of all sizes in all weathers and conditions. “Dextrous manipulation in unstructured environments is a big challenge for robotics today,” admitted Dr Mohan.
The study is featured in a new report from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), which looks at what the food and farming industry might look like in 20 years, with robots, vertical farms and virtual fencing.
The Future of Food 2040 report highlights the importance of establishing a future domestic agricultural policy which enables the industry to increase its productivity, profitability and resilience.
Looking beyond Brexit to how the country will evolve socially, technologically and environmentally, it delves into how changing trends will affect food production
The Tiptree plant’s collaboration is one of three case studies featured.
NFU East Anglia Regional Director Rachel Carrington said: “Agriculture is a progressive and forward looking industry and farmers in East Anglia have always been quick to adopt new technology.
“Our farmers already utilise satellite-guided tractors, drones to survey crops and soil structures, probes to monitor moisture in fields and robots in glasshouses. However, there are still many jobs that have to be done by hand and cannot be replaced by technology, at least in the short-term.
“This report provides an exciting glimpse of the future, but, to get there, it is crucial that farm businesses are not only given the support they need to survive and thrive now, but they start to plan and prepare for the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
Agri-Tech East director Dr Belinda Clarke said: “This NFU report rightly positions agri-food production as an industry with enormous potential. Measures to improve the use of finite resources such as soil and land and to increase productivity are to be encouraged and Agri-Tech East welcomes this report.
“However, to encourage the wider adoption of new technology it is vital to establish the business case for farmers and growers. We would like to see a process for independent evaluation of the return on investment.
“We agree, as stated in the report, that innovation needs to meet regulatory approval, but also understand that this can be problematic if the science is progressing ahead of the regulators. We would recommend creating advisory panels that include scientists and technologists as this would be beneficial to all.”
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Living Greens Farm Becomes One of the Largest Indoor Farms in the World
On Feb. 22, Living Greens Farm Will Open Their Third Grow Room In Faribault, Minn.
FARIBAULT, MINN. (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 13, 2019
With the opening of a new grow room, Living Greens Farm, a vertical, indoor aeroponic farm that provides year-round fresh salads, microgreens and herbs, is set to become the largest vertical plane aeroponic farm in the world on February 22, 2019. This brings their farming operation to 60,000 square feet – allowing Living Greens to offer produce that’s better for you and the environment. Unlike most produce, Living Greens Farm never uses pesticides, herbicides or GMOs – delivering the highest standards in food safety. Because Living Greens’ products are fresher, they contain more vitamins and nutrients than conventional produce.
While aeroponics has been around for decades, Living Greens Farm has discovered a way to successfully transition and improve this technology for commercial production. Aeroponics is the practice of suspending a plant’s roots in the air and spraying them with a nutrient-rich solution, instead of burying them in soil. Living Greens Farms’ patented vertical plane design allows one acre to produce the equivalent of hundreds of conventional acres. A high-tech computer system manages the plants growing conditions for variables such as light, temperature, humidity and CO2 to grow year-round produce. Overall, Living Greens Farms’ system uses 200 times less land and 95 percent less water than traditional growing methods. While other vertical aeroponic farms are larger in square footage, Living Greens Farms’ vertical plane design is the first of its kind and is more efficient than other aeroponic growing methods which decreases labor by up to 60 percent.
“Our patented growing technology has changed the game of aeroponics, within one year our new farm will save 24 million gallons of water and several hundred thousand miles of shipping – saving over 35,000 gallons of diesel and nearly a million pounds of CO2 emissions," said Dana Anderson, Chairman and CEO of Living Greens Farm. “With our third grow room, Living Greens Farm will nearly triple its capacity, move into major market segments and position the company for even stronger growth in 2019. The expansion places Living Greens as the world’s largest vertical plane aeroponic farm in the world.”
Living Greens Farm’s new grow room will allow an expansion of their consumer product line into new states including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota by February 2019.
ABOUT LIVING GREENS FARM
Headquartered in Minnesota, Living Greens Farm is the world’s largest vertical plane aeroponic farm. Living Greens Farm produce requires 95 water and 99 percent less land to grow year-round and all products are grown without pesticides or GMOs. Living Greens Farm has a full product line that includes salads, microgreens and herbs available throughout the Midwest. For more information, please visit http://www.livinggreensfarm.com
Modern Farming, A Must To Boost Local Food Supply: UAE minister
Hydroponic farming is cost-efficient and it yields more vegetables and herbs in a shorter time.
Angel Tesorer
February 13, 2019
Combatting climate change also means embracing modern farming practices to diversify food sources and achieve sustainable development in the agricultural sector.
This was given emphasis by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, in an interview with Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.
Al Zeyoudi said: "We at the ministry have developed a policy for food biodiversity where we encourage a change in the behaviour of our local farmers - towards more resilient agricultural practices - to produce the right crops."
He noted that employing modern technology and tools will bring about a two-pronged result: increased food production and lesser carbon footprint.
Al Zeyoudi cited hydroponic farming as an example of a more sustainable option as it uses around 90 per cent less water than regular farming. It also requires less space for plants and vegetables to grow, making it the best solution to the challenges presented by the UAE's limited arable land.
On the economic side, he noted that hydroponic farming is cost-efficient and it yields more vegetables and herbs in a shorter time. And more importantly, its carbon footprint is minimal as the greens are grown locally.
The UAE imports 85 per cent of its food requirement and some studies show that food importation is set to rise from $100 billion in 2014 to $400 billion in 2025.
Al Zeyoudi said they are urging small-scale farmers to move to commercial agriculture and embrace modern cultivation practices to increase their contributions to the local food supply.
"We are subsidising farm materials, including seeds that can grow in an environment with high temperature, humidity and salinity," he said.
While the technology is available, the minister cautioned farmers against utilising it on their own.
"There are many experts and engineers at the ministry who can provide them with trainings. They should not just use hydroponics or build greenhouses without first understanding them."
Last week, Al Zeyoudi visited several farms in Dubai and Abu Dhabi where he inspected various water and energy-saving technologies, including greenhouses.
"The results are amazing," he said. "Farmers are happier because the technology is tailored-fit to the conditions of the UAE."
Greenhouse Co2 Measurements For Higher Productivity And Higher Quality
We have collected the essential facts for you to take into account when selecting an instrument or searching for the optimal instrument location.
Greenhouses are demanding environments for measurement devices. We have collected the essential facts for you to take into account when selecting an instrument or searching for the optimal instrument location.
The following topics are covered in the document:
The importance of CO2 measurement control in a greenhouse
CO2 for plant growth
Tips for selecting an instrument for a greenhouse
Tips for transmitter placement in the greenhouse
Fill in the form given in the link below to download the PDF document and learn about greenhouse CO2 measurements to optimize plant growth.
https://www.vaisala.com/en/lp/greenhouse-co2-measurements-higher-productivity-and-higher-quality?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=GreenhouseManagement&utm_campaign=&utm_content=CO2MonitoringInGreenhouses
Freight Farms Announces New Container Farm "The Greenery"
The “Greenery” Features More Growing Space Than The Company's Previous Farm, Among Other Attributes
March 6, 2019
Freight Farms has announced the Greenery, the successor to the Leafy Green Machine (LGM). According to a press release, the Greenery offers farmers 70 percent more growing space than the LGM in the same 320-square-foot container.
The Greenery features a mobile rack system that allows growers direct access to every plant, 70 percent more growing space than the LGM and rigid LED panels that replace rope lighting in the LGM. It also has a climate control system that reduces moisture.
According to the press release, each farm is outfitted with sensors that relay all climate, component and camera data to farmhand, Freight Farms' digital platform that allows growers to monitor their farms remotely via a smartphone, tablet or computer.
The Greenery retails for $104,000 and is currently available for pre-sale.
Photo courtesy of Freight Farms
Twitter Former CFO Joins SoftBank-Backed Farming Startup Plenty
Twitter Inc.’s former chief financial officer has joined Plenty Inc. in that role as the indoor farming startup prepares for international expansion and improvements to its vertical growing technology.
By Selina Wang
March 15, 2019
Mike Gupta will help company as it expands internationally
An IPO pro, Gupta led market debuts for Twitter and Zynga
Mike Gupta Photographer: Jim Graham/Bloomberg
Twitter Inc.’s former chief financial officer has joined Plenty Inc. in that role as the indoor farming startup prepares for international expansion and improvements to its vertical growing technology.
Mike Gupta helped take Twitter public in 2013 and left for Docker Inc. two years later. Earlier, Gupta was treasurer at gaming company Zynga Inc., helping to lead its initial public offering, and had previously spent about eight years in various roles at Yahoo.
“It’s not new for me to be in hypergrowth companies that are entering unchartered territory," Gupta said in an interview. "This is a very capital intensive business so having someone who can think about how we raise and deploy capital in the long run will be very important.”
SoftBank Group Corp.-backed Plenty has made several high profile hires in recent years, including Tesla Inc.’s former battery directory Kurt Kelty and the electric carmaker’s former vice president of engineering, Nick Kalayjian.
Founded in 2014, Plenty boasts it can yield more produce in a given area than conventional farms, with only a fraction of the water. Its backers include funds that invest on behalf of Eric Schmidt, a director of Alphabet Inc., and Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc. Plenty is betting that with its technology and a previous $200 million investment from SoftBank, it will be able to scale its farms around the world.
The startup is in the process of building a new version of its farms, called Tigris. Matt Barnard, a co-founder and chief executive officer of Plenty, said that the new farm will be able to produce more than 40 times the amount of leafy greens that its current farms can grow, while using less energy. Plenty aims to roll out Tigris later this year.
The company currently has 200,000 square feet of indoor space in south San Francisco, but is only using a small portion for produce it sells. The majority of the space is used for testing and research and development. Plenty, which has been delivering produce in the Bay Area since June 1, sells its its food online and in neighborhood grocery stores.
Vertical farming technologies have yet to revolutionize agriculture and several companies have shut down in recent years because they weren’t economically sustainable. While most vertical farms grow produce on parallel shelves, Plenty uses tall columns from which plants sprout horizontally. The company says the method allows it to more cheaply remove excess heat emitted by LED grow lights and reduce energy needed to deliver nutrients to the plants.
Plenty has a team working on early stage development in China, and is in discussions with distributors and partners in Japan, Abu Dhabi and other regions.
Video: Vertical Farming: Growing Food In The Air And The Role of Big Data
Posted on 8 Mar 2019 by Nick Peters
The world’s food chain faces a growing crisis from climate change, population growth and the contamination of water and soil via intensive farming.
With insect populations, so vital to plant propagation and fertilisation, also under threat, the planet is heading for a crisis, one that cannot be solved by simply tweaking the existing, creaking system of agriculture. A new type of agriculture – vertical farming – has been developed that offers hope, and food, for the future. And it is all made possible by data and lean manufacturing.
Vertical farming is not a new concept. The theory that food can be grown in large quantities inside tall buildings has been around for decades. Only recently has it become possible at a price point that matches that of produce grown using traditional methods, and that is thanks to the same digital manufacturing technologies that are revolutionising our factories.
AeroFarms of Newark, New Jersey, is a pioneer of aeroponic farming with an ambition to set up vertical farms in towns and cities across the world to meet the growing ecological and human crisis of the next few decades. (Unlike hydroponics, where plant roots sit in a small container of water, aeroponics involves ‘misting’ roots with water and nutrients.)
Nick Peters, Editorial Director of The Manufacturer, discussed the project with CEO David Rosenberg:
The technologies that enabled David Rosenberg and AeroFarms to create the food chain of the future inside urban factories were provided by Dell EMC.
Nick Peters spoke to Nigel Moulton, Global CTO at Dell EMC, about AeroFarms and how successful businesses navigate their way on the digital journey:
This story appears in the March edition of The Manufacturer. Be sure to get your copy every month. Subscribe here!
Learn more about AeroFarms here and more about what Dell Technologies did for Aerofarms here
Hydroponic Indoor Farming is the Future of Local Food
Polly Campbell Cincinnati Enquirer
March 6, 2019
CEO Mike Zelkind poses inside a room of vertically grown tomatoes under grow lights at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Sam Greene, The Enquirer
Farms don't often get funding from venture capitalists.
But 80 Acres Farm in Winton Place just got a big financing round from a private equity group from California.
And BrightFarms, an advanced greenhouse operation in various locations, got $55 million in investments in June, and $9 million of that is going toward expanding their operations in Wilmington.
These indoor farming operations, which mostly grow greens, herbs and lettuce, are part of a wave of a new kind of farming that is building capacity all over the country. The sector more than tripled from 2015-2017 and has now come to the Cincinnati area.
80 Acres is an indoor farm with a completely controlled indoor environment without soil, rain or sunlight. At BrightFarms, a hydroponic greenhouse, there's no soil, and sunlight is supplemented with artificial light. Another indoor farming company, Waterfields, has been growing microgreens for restaurants in both greenhouses and warehouses for years.
Labeled containers are stacked before filling and shipping at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019.
Sam Greene, The Enquirer
Ironically, not far from 80 Acres and one of Waterfields' locations, there used to be a cluster of thriving tomato greenhouses. They went into a long fatal decline as agriculture consolidated in California and Florida, and there wasn't a place left for local producers. But the pendulum has swung back.
Now many consumers want locally grown food, and these farms are a natural response. They may not be the small, organic, diversified operations that local food advocates first had in mind. But they aim to address problems that have been pointed out in the current agricultural system, particularly the long delivery chain that brings most produce to market. But this is a difficult business to get into; quite a few operations have gone out of business. And while technology solves some problems, it has its own drawbacks.
Mike Zelkind, the CEO of 80 Acres, has worked for 40 years in the food industry, moving from frozen to canned to fresh food. He knows food supply chains. He likes to show graphics that detail the typical route of a bag of greens from farm to consumer. From field to packer to cold storage to trucks and distribution centers and warehouses, there is a multitude of steps. At each stop, the produce gets older, less nutritious and a little more is wasted. The lettuce and cherry tomatoes from 80 Acres need none of that to get to local customers. "The technology we use replaces all that steel on the supply chain," he said.
Seed germinating media is laid out before being filled with seeds at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019.
Sam Greene, The Enquirer
The tech is impressive. The facility in Winton Place is as far from an earthy, muddy traditional farm as you can imagine. You have to wipe your feet before you enter the farm. The 1/4 acre building that replaces 80 acres of land is a series of grow zones, rooms with environments perfect for one crop.
There is an herb room, a lettuce and greens room, a place to grow cherry tomatoes and baby cucumbers on vines that climb on single wires. They are experimenting with table grapes and strawberries.
Basic is in various states of growth under grow lights that appear pink at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019.
Sam Greene, The Enquirer
It's all eerily lit by purple LED lights. The plants are rooted in a soil-less grow mat and fed a liquid solution that is the right recipe for that plant and its stage of growth. They have air moving over them to stress them in just the right way. The air is condensed, the water analyzed, so that the growers know what the plants have taken in and what they need. They do not use pesticides. "We grow food in a clean, consistent way," said Zelkind.
One of the advantages of indoor farming is that it eliminates some kinds of risks. An extended tour Zelkind took to talk to farmers was one inspiration for 80 Acres. "They were constantly struggling to do well in bad years," he said. Weather and other uncontrollable factors are a constant unknown factor in farming. That risk is another thing the technology seeks to replace.
Bright Farms has many of the same benefits of a vertical farm without quite as much technological control. They grow greens in huge glass houses. "When we don't have sun for heat, we use a boiler system," said Paul Lightfoot, CEO. "When the sun doesn't have enough light, we use supplemental lighting. We use a lot less water. We don't use pesticides and we're herbicide-free."
Shipping labels are rolled in a packaging area at 80 Acres Farms in the Spring Grove Village neighborhood of Cincinnati on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Sam Greene, The Enquirer
He also points out that localized growers are able to build a product for flavor, not transport durability. "The product is grown for customers, not the supply chain." The greenhouse in Wilmington offers good year-round jobs – badly needed in Wilmington – in harvesting, packaging and maintenance. They pay a living wage and offer benefits.
The critiques of indoor farming have to do with the practice's energy use and the limitations on what can be grown.
First, there's the irony of paying for energy that contributes to global warming instead of using free sunlight. 80 Acres is working on lowering their energy use. LEDs are becoming more efficient, they're experimenting with using an anaerobic digester to convert waste into energy, and they buy renewable energy from Duke.
It's very expensive to build and maintain a indoor farm facility, (hence the venture capital) and the end product is more expensive. So only crops that can command a premium price make sense. The pristine freshness and flavor of 80 Acre or Bright Farms' local lettuce, greens and herbs do offer a value some might pay extra for. Plus they grow quickly for frequent harvests. But when it comes to "feeding the planet," it would be very difficult to grow and sell more nutrient-dense foods like potatoes or beans this way because you can't charge a premium for a fresh potato.
Byrd has found her mission at Waterfields. Byron McCauley
"For everyone who's started (in this sector), someone has failed," said Daniel Klemens of Waterfields. "There's so much price pressure from retailers, it's hard to get it right." Waterfields' goal when they started out was idealistic, but in a different way. It was to create agricultural jobs in the city. So they decided on high-margin crops that take a short time to produce. They grow microgreens and some specialty salad mixes. "We are focused on quality and consistency for our customers," said Klemens. Those are mostly chefs who want the decoration and pop of flavor that pretty tiny leaves can add to a dish.
Working with nonprofits like the Urban League and Santa Maria Community Services, they have hired 12 hard-to-employ people and given them good jobs and promotions. And their pretty little red-veined leaves show up on a lot of beautiful photos of Cincinnati restaurant food. They make no claims about feeding the hungry or changing the food systems.
But Zelkind has a lofty vision that includes fresh food in places that don't have it and contributing to a better way of distributing food. He says their precision technology has driven down costs. Their next step is a new facility in Hamilton that will be completely automated. In a competitive field, he thinks their investment in technology will make local food more easily available.
VIDEO: New York Restaurant Basement Farm to Table
Underneath two-star Michelin restaurant Atera in Lower Manhattan is an actual working farm. Using LED lighting and hydroponics, Farm.One grows rare herbs and greens for some of New York City’s top restaurants. We talk to the founder Rob Laing about his venture and get a taste of what he’s growing.
FRI, MAR 15 2019 • 1:02 PM EDT
The Founders of The Farm Project Announce Nationwide Launch of Lettuce Grow
Founded by Jacob Pechenik and Zooey Deschanel as an initiative of The Farm Project, Lettuce Grow is calling all front yards, backyards, patios and balconies to move fresh food production back into our communities
THE FOUNDERS OF THE FARM PROJECT ANNOUNCE NATIONWIDE LAUNCH OF LETTUCE GROW: A NEW MEMBERSHIP EXPERIENCE EMPOWERING AMERICANS TO GROW 20% OF THEIR FOOD AT HOME
Los Angeles, CA, and Austin, TX (March 13, 2019)
The Farm Project is proud to announce today the nationwide launch of Lettuce Grow, providing everyone the tools, encouragement and inspiration to grow 20% of their food at home while building an expanding community of passionate growers who connect deeply through food and sustainable living. Lettuce Grow is now available for pre-orders, with membership programs starting in April 2019.
Founded by Jacob Pechenik and Zooey Deschanel as an initiative of The Farm Project, Lettuce Grow is calling all front yards, backyards, patios and balconies to move fresh food production back into our communities. By building the world’s largest distributed farm, Lettuce Grow is on a mission to change our food system, closing the gap on food mileage and resource waste, all while re-establishing a deeper, lasting and experiential connection with the food we eat.
The company will donate one Farmstand and membership for every ten member sign-ups to a school or community-based organization via its Lettuce Give program, in order to advance fresh food access and help cultivate the next generation of sustainable farmers, chefs and consumers.
”We couldn’t be more excited to finally bring Lettuce Grow to homes across the country,” say Founders Jacob Pechenik and Zooey Deschanel. “It’s something we’re extremely passionate about – empowering people to grow a substantial portion of healthy, fresh food at home while also helping to reduce waste and create more sustainable communities. We hope to inspire people to develop a new, more healthy relationship with the food they eat.”
More and more people want to grow their own food, but the lack of space, time, dependability and expertise keeps many from making it a reality. With Lettuce Grow, members only need a power outlet and 9 square feet of sunny outdoor space – everything else required to become successful master growers is included with the membership.
Lettuce Grow Farmstands use self-watering hydroponic technology and are sustainably made from ocean plastic. They’re designed to save time and space, delivering about the same yield as 40 square feet farmed conventionally in raised beds, with only a few minutes needed for maintenance and harvesting each week.
Lettuce Grow sends members bi-weekly deliveries of living baby plants, so their Farmstands are always fully stocked. Growing plans are curated based on eating preferences and include over 75 varieties of leafy greens, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers – even watermelons! Lettuce Grow’s data-driven approach takes into account the member’s location, individual environment, weather data and seasonality to make sure members can successfully and reliably harvest meaningful quantities of fresh food at peak harvest.
Along the way, members have access to educational content and support from expert horticulturists as well as their own interactive farming dashboard, which always shows them what’s growing and what’s ready in their Farmstands. And because the goal is to help members meet their personal healthy eating goals, Lettuce Grow provides them a steady stream of exclusive recipes and how-to’s to accompany their harvests.
Lettuce Grow Farmstands start at $399, with a monthly membership at $49 per month. For more information about how to sign up for Lettuce Grow and to start growing at home, visit
lettucegrow.com. Follow Lettuce Grow on Instagram at @lettucegrow and Facebook at @LettuceGrow.
Waitrose Brings Hanging Vegetable Gardens to the Supermarket
Published in Foodon 04-03-2019
Is the end of the packed salad in sight? By the end of this year, British supermarkets, under the direction of Waitrose , want to have their own picking gardens and vertical farms in their stores.
Save in an old railway tunnel
Bio-engineers have unveiled plans to set up hanging vegetable gardens in supermarkets. The systems do not use earth, are portable and can be placed in urban environments such as shops and supermarkets. Crops are grown vertically: with their roots suspended in a cylinder, where they are fed with a nutrient-rich spray.
Retail group John Lewis , which includes premium supermarket chain Waitrose, has confirmed to The Telegraph that it is currently in talks with bio-engineering firm LettUs Grow, which grows many types of vegetables in a disused railway tunnel in Bristol.
"No choice but surprising customers"
John Lewis wants to use the cylinders to grow lettuce on the shop floor, so that customers can choose their own fresh salad. They look at whether the introduction is still possible in 2019, otherwise it will be 2020. "You really come into contact with the food system and the origin of our food", explains the beautifully fitting named Jack Farmer, co-founder of LettUs.
"I think it really has to do with the way people see the shopping experience in the future, with the rise of Amazon and other online retailers, and the retail experience needs to become much more experiential," he said in Farming Today on the BBC. "In recent years, seismic changes have occurred in our sector, with a new measure of customer expectations every time they shop. Stores simply have no choice but to inspire and surprise customers - with fantastic products as well as personal, seamless experiences ", confirms Peter Cross, customer experience at John Lewis.
MicroGenesis Provides Locally Grown Microgreens
March 5, 2019
WESTOVER — Just across the Monongahela River in Westover, Jordon Masters, a native to the state, has been working on what he believes will be a game changer for the Appalachian community.
MicroGenesis was founded by Masters after he won the business plan competition hosted by WVU in 2015. Through the competition and networking, Masters was able to grow his venture.
“It really helped launch everything,” Masters said. “I was a student at the Launch Lab back in 2014, so they were able to help me get to know everyone I needed to know to get funding and get this project off the ground.”
Masters said during the time he was studying at WVU, the farm-to-table movement was taking off. He recognized flaws that came with local farmers competing with corporations.
“The issue then and still now is people want to buy local products, but the quality, consistency and the price points are not really competitive with what somebody would get from Sysco,” Masters said. “I wanted to look at how we can make a product that has consistent quality and is as good or better than what people are currently getting, while still costing the same amount.”
MicroGenesis supplies locations such as the Mountain People’s Co-op, Sargasso, Hill & Hollow,
Table 9, and Morgantown Marriot hotel. It also supplies wholesale distribution through the Crook Brothers, a distributor outside of West Virginia. Masters plans to eventually turn the greenhouse into a model for other farmers in the state.
“Let’s say there is a farmer here in Monongalia County who is primarily a cattle farmer but wants to diversify his agricultural portfolio or supplement his income a little bit more. He can take this model and use it on his farm,” Masters said.
The greenhouse is able to basically operate itself through the technology rooted in it. Masters plans to teach other local farmers how to operate the technology necessary to sustain this type of greenhouse.
“The whole greenhouse operates on a cloud system,” Masters said. “Around the greenhouse, there are about 40 different sensors that monitor everything from temperature and humidity to light and CO2 levels.”
Although the greenhouse can essentially operate itself, the team at MicroGenesis is constantly prototyping new technology to create a smoother growing process.
“We developed the first tabletop-sized harvester, which makes harvesting a breeze,” Masters said. “The robotic seeder, which we are prototyping right now, should be ready in a few months.”
Masters said through the use of technology to monitor each process, it allows for consistency, so each and every plant grown is guaranteed to look identical to the last.
“We are trying to dial in on every single input that the plant needs, so every week the plants look exactly the same,” Masters said.
Along with consistency in taste and color, the plants in the greenhouse have a steady growth time ranging from five days to five weeks, depending on the variety of the plant.
“We sow and harvest every week, so everything is continuously rotating in the greenhouse,” Masters said. “Pretty much every week we sow one-quarter of the greenhouse and we harvest one-quarter of the greenhouse.”
Inside MicroGenesis, there are rows of microgreens, baby greens, herbs and mini heads of romaine lettuce, but because of its innovative design, the possibilities of what can be grown are endless.
“The irrigation system we designed is a hybrid system, so its hydroponic and non-hydroponic, but the beauty is it can grow whatever I want it to,” Masters said.
Looking forward, Masters hopes to see his project benefit other local farmers throughout West Virginia.
“We want to spread out amongst the state, so instead of having 100 acres of greenhouse under one roof, we have 100 acres of greenhouse amongst a whole group of farmers,” Masters said. “We wanted to do that, so we can develop what will probably end up being an agricultural revolution.”
TWITTER @DominionPostWV
This story was provided by Gabriella Brown
Dramatic Rainfall Changes For Key Crops Expected Even With Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions
by CIAT Comunicaciones | Mar 11, 2019
By 2040, rainfall on wheat, soybean, rice and maize will have changed, even if Paris Agreement emissions targets are met. Projections show parts of Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australia will be drier, while the tropics and north will be wetter.
Even if humans radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short term, important crop-growing regions of the world can expect changes to rainfall patterns by 2040. In fact, some regions are already experiencing new climatic regimes compared with just a generation ago. The study, published March 11 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, warns that up to 14 percent of land dedicated to wheat, maize, rice and soybean will be drier, while up to 31 percent will be wetter.
The study uses four emissions scenarios from low to high to predict time of emergence (TOE) of permanent precipitation changes, meaning the year by which precipitation changes remain permanently outside their historical variation in a specific location. The research shows that quick action on emissions – in line with 2015’s Paris Agreement – would push TOE projections deeper into the future or reduce the size of affected areas.
Drier regions include Southwestern Australia, Southern Africa, southwestern South America, and the Mediterranean, according to the study. Wheat cropland in Central Mexico is also headed for a drier future. Wetter areas include Canada, Russia, India and the Eastern United States.
The four crops in the study represent about 40 percent of global caloric intake and the authors say that, regardless of how much mitigation is achieved, all regions – both wetter and drier – need to invest in adaptation, and do so urgently in areas expected to see major changes in the next couple of decades. However, in the scenarios with low greenhouse gas emissions, most regions have two-three decades more to adapt than under high-emission scenarios.
Low-emission scenarios, the authors stressed, likely imply less need for potentially costly adaptation to new rainfall regimes.
Wheat under heat
Drier conditions are expected for many major wheat producers. In Australia, about 27 percent of wheat-growing land will see less precipitation, under a mid-emissions scenario. Algeria (100 percent), Morocco (91 percent), South Africa (79 percent), Mexico (74 percent), Spain (55 percent), Chile (40 percent), Turkey (28 percent), Italy (20 percent) and Egypt (15 percent) are other major producers that will be affected. Higher emissions mean a larger amount of land will become dry sooner, the study found.
“These are definitely countries that will need to think rather quickly what they’d like to do with their wheat production,” said Maisa Rojas, the study’s lead author and climatologist at Universidad de Chile. Colleagues at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, the University of Leeds, Chile’s Center for Climate and Resilience Research, and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) co-authored the study.
“What we’re predicting are probably conservative years for time of emergence,” said Rojas. “Detectable precipitation changes are of course not only important for agriculture, but for water resource management more in general, so our results are relevant for other sectors as well.”
Speed of change
One stunning aspect of the study is how quickly global precipitation is changing. The baseline for comparison is 20 years spanning 1986-2005. A handful of regions already have crossed that “historical” average into an entirely new rainfall regime, including Russia, Norway, Canada and the parts of the East Coast of the United States. The study projects that up to 36 percent of all land area will be wetter or drier under a high-emission scenario.
“Farmers growing crops in those areas are going to experience significantly different conditions than what they are used to,” said Julian Ramirez-Villegas, a scientist with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). “They’re going to be completely outside their normal historical environments and many farmers are already struggling with historic variability.”
Areas not reflected in the study are likely to have precipitation changes as well, said Rojas. But because natural variation in those areas is high, extreme change is needed before researchers can detect their times of emergence.
“Other studies have examined time of emergence in global temperature and precipitation,” said Fabrice Lambert, a UC professor and co-author. “The interesting thing about this study is that we overlay the climatic results with spatial cropland distribution and growing seasons to show which agricultural production regions will be impacted by precipitation changes, and how much time they have to prepare.”
The world’s most populous countries – China and India – are among those that will have much wetter fields for the four crops included in the study, under any emission scenario. Percentage of cropland that will extend into high double-digits. Asia’s other big rice producers, including Japan, Korea and the Philippines will have TOEs for increased rainfall.
Wheat fields northern Europe, the United States, Canada and Russia will have higher precipitation.
More precipitation may mean higher production, but when coupled with rising sea levels, higher temperatures and increased potential for flooding, higher production is not assured, said the authors.
“The precise nature of the changes is impossible to predict,” said Andy Challinor, a co-author and Professor at the Priestley International Centre for Climate at the University of Leeds. “What this study tells us is that adaptation needs to be agile. For the first time, we can tell what changes to be ready for – and when they are expected – in our major crop-growing regions. Prior to this study, the rainfall changes experienced by crops were thought to be so unpredictable that no real advice could be given.”
Major crops facing drier conditions without reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
Major crops facing wetter conditions without reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
This infographic shows a selection of areas and crops that will be affected by reduced rainfall in coming decades due to climate change, according to a 2019 study in PNAS. Percentages refer to the area of land currently dedicated to cultivation of the specified crops.
CREDIT: Lucelly Anaconas / International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
Funding and partners
The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) contributed funding to this project, which is carried out with support from CGIAR Fund Donors and through bilateral funding agreements. For details, please visit https://ccafs.cgiar.org/donors.
The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is a CGIAR research center. CIAT develops technologies, innovative methods and knowledge that enable farmers, especially smallholders, to make agriculture more competitive, profitable, sustainable and resilient. Headquartered in Cali, Colombia, CIAT conducts research for development in tropical regions of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. https://ciat.cgiar.org
CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. Its science is carried out by 15 research centers in collaboration with hundreds of partners across the globe. https://www.cgiar.org
Funding was also provided by the Center for Climate and Resilience Research, (CR2), a center of excellence of the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) of Chile. Its objective is to deepen the understanding of the processes and impacts of the climate system in Chile and globally from an interdisciplinary perspective. It also aims at contributing to the definition of adaptation and mitigation measures for climate change that contribute to social resilience. www.cr2.cl
The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK, with more than 38,000 students from more than 150 different countries, and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. The University plays a significant role in the Turing, Rosalind Franklin and Royce Institutes. www.leeds.ac.uk
Gordon Food Service and Square Roots to Bring Local Food to Cities Across North America
The strategic partnership will see new campuses of Square Roots’ indoor farms built on or near Gordon Food Service distribution centers and retail stores across the continent, enabling year-round growing of premium quality herbs, greens, and more, which will then be available to Gordon Food Service customers.
March 6, 2019
BROOKLYN, NY
Gordon Food Service has linked up with Square Roots, a leader in urban indoor farming, to provide customers across North America with locally-grown food. The strategic partnership will see new campuses of Square Roots’ indoor farms built on or near Gordon Food Service distribution centers and retail stores across the continent, enabling year-round growing of premium quality herbs, greens, and more, which will then be available to Gordon Food Service customers.
Rich Wolowski, CEO, Gordon Food Service
“Customers want an assortment of fresh, locally-grown food all year round,” stated Rich Wolowski, CEO of Gordon Food Service, in a recent press release. “We are on a path to do that at scale with Square Roots and are excited to be the first in the industry to offer this unique solution to our customers.”
Gordon Food Service has linked up with Square Roots, a leader in urban indoor farming, to provide customers across North America with locally-grown food
The press release noted that this partnership enables Gordon Food Service to bring a modern offering to meet growing customer demand for local food across North America. It also signifies the first significant expansionto new locations for Square Roots.
Tobias Peggs, Co-Founder and CEO, Square Roots“
This partnership means we will grow delicious, local real food at huge scale,” said Tobias Peggs, Co-Founder and CEO of Square Roots. “We’re so happy to be working with a mission-aligned partner in Gordon Food Service—leveraging technology to bring real food to a huge number of people across the country, while delivering real social impact by empowering thousands of young people to become our country’s future farmers.”
Customers can scan a QR code on packaging to trace how their food was grown and who grew it
Square Roots utilizes a high-tech farming platform with its Next-Gen Farmer Training Program to train young people to become future leaders in the food industry. In addition to this tech, the company's Transparency Timeline enables customers to trace exactly how their food was grown and who grew it, simply by scanning a QR code on its packaging. Two winning tech solutions, if you ask me!
Stick with us here at AndNowUKnow for the latest in new partnerships.
Gordon Food Service Square Roots
Distribution Gordon Food Service New Partnership Square Roots Locally-Grown Rich Wolowski Tobias Peggs
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Gordon Food Service
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