Regulatory changes expected to restrict smaller companies’ ability to provide beneficial microbes

While early 2020 cast a dismal outlook for Green Search Inc., the biotech company quickly bounced back amid the pandemic and finished the year with its high revenues yet. According to Remco Kostwinder, president of Green Search Inc., “The magic was in being flexible and seeing where we could fit in the…

Planted Detroit

"We’re retrofitting with the variables we have in place"

“The Square Room is a big block of pink lights with eight levels, where all our growing is done. Everything after germination is done in the same room, both harvesting of our baby greens and microgreens. Because we’re almost done with our PARS (Planted Automated Racking System), which is the big…

Signify

Five years of feeding tomorrow’s cities

Ellis Janssen, Director city farming at Signify explains: “At the GrowWise Center, we believe in vertical farming. Over the past five years, we have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and pioneers all over the world discover how they can feed tomorrow’s cities and grow plants faster, in a more sustainable…

Dreamstime: Airubon & MartinBergsma (f.l.t.r.)

Creating agtech campuses in Kansas that use renewable energy

Kansas Freedom Farms is a technology company based in Overland Park, Kansas with a goal to build multiple state-of-the-art agtech “campuses” as commercial real estate developments across the state. Planned for 2021 to 2026, the construction will typically occur in five phases with each including an…

Microgreens and edible flowers hugely sought after by high-end restaurants in Hong Kong

For Full Nature Farms, COVID-19 came as a blessing in disguise. The Hong Kong fresh produce market, which has always been relying heavily on imports, suddenly realized the benefits of local produce: reduce carbon footprint, lower transportation costs and even more importantly, a fresher product. “People…

Photo 82570250 © Ruslan Mitin | Dreamstime.com

Should pizzerias grow toppings onsite?

Imagine a day when heading to your nearest pizzeria comes with the expectation that the spinach or herbs topping your pie were cut fresh from the store's onsite mini-farm. Now, I'm not speaking here of higher-end restaurant brands, but everyday pizza places and QSRs with value-based offerings that an…

Heron Farms

What do saltwater vertical farming and sustainable coastlines have in common?

Recently Evolve.ag held a podcast on 'What do saltwater vertical farming and sustainable coastlines have in common?'. Their series focuses on what's trending in food and food tech. In the podcast, Heron Farms, a sea beans cultivator, is featured. Heron Farms uses its vertical farm and is also restoring…

McCain Foods invests millions in vertical farming operation GoodLeaf

McCain Foods Limited has made a substantial investment in TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture and its wholly owned subsidiary GoodLeaf Farms, Canada's largest commercial vertical farming operation, to help drive the company's growth and expansion plans. "With this investment, GoodLeaf Farms is embarking on…

Karma Verde Fresh

Introducing vertical farming to Mexico and beyond

Karma Verde Fresh (KVF) is a vertical farm based in Monterrey, Nuevo León (northeastern Mexico), producing a variety of seedlings, leafy greens, strawberries and beans, and manufacturing its own cultivation systems which can be installed in any urban environment to promote local agriculture. First…

US lettuce grower raises $90 million to fund East Coast expansion

Little Leaf Farms has raised $90 million in debt and equity financing. Equilibrium Capital led the latest funding round, with Coppermine Capital, joining founding investor Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America has also committed more than $20 million to date, with an additional $20…

YouTube: ZipGrow

Join the virtual farm tour

Recently, ZipGrow has opened its doors for a virtual farm tour to demonstrate 'how all things are put together'. The tour was kicked off at the germ chamber, then, after passing through the vestibule viewers are lead to the indoor farm.  In ZipGrow's seedling station plants the crops are propagated until they are suitable for transplantation…

GrowUp FARM

Growing sprouts in a former slaughterhouse

Grow Up FARM has recently launched a new product, named Eat-Grow-Repeat: small pea shoots that grow on a small hemp-square in a bag. "Rip off the upper section of the bag, and the bottom of the bag is now the pot," Lasse Vilmar, Chief Executive Grower of the company, explains. "Place the bottom of the…

Sensei Ag

“Autonomy will not happen until we start sharing data”

In an emerging industry with companies eager to prove their technologies’ worth, Sensei Ag remains form-factor agnostic, meaning that the agtech company remains unbiased towards different farm hardware solutions – focusing more on software and plant biology. Sensei Ag is a market-changing agtech company…

"Everyone should have a living, aeroponic tower on their back porch, balcony or even inside their home"

Chapala Gardens is a rooftop aeroponic farm in Santa Barbara, California. Established in 2012, Chapala Gardens was the first such rooftop farm in the Western USA and includes 32 Tower Gardens up to 8’ in height.  The farm is installed atop a 110-year-old 2-story building by the beach, which required founder…

"I think that we should be pushing for proper food sustainability, which includes pricing"

What began as a vertical farming company in Southeast London is now reaching into Asia, the Middle East, and further. Vertical Future is a London-based vertical farming company that designs, builds, and licenses advanced hardware and software technologies for the vertical farming industry. After spending…

Malaysia's first in-store indoor farm

Vegetory is a Malaysian-based company that has developed a plant factory indoor farming system. This farm grows plants from seeds in a controlled indoor environment, providing the exact amount of light, air and nutrients recipe for the plants’ optimum growth, and nothing else, thus keeping the original…

The Hindu

India: Kerala govt commends two young farmers for their promising work

Sreevidya M and Saifulla P are two young farmers instituted by Kerala Government. While Sreevidya converted a rocky terrain into green patch, Saifulla grows medicinal plants and other crops on leased land. Kolathur village of Kasaragod district has a star in Sreevidya M. 6 years ago no one would have…

Eden Green

Creating exponential positive change

In this episode of the Vertical Farming Podcast, Eden Green Technology's CEO Eddy Badrina is joining Harry Duran, the podcast's host.  Eden Green Technology places greenhouses equipped with sustainable vertical farming technology. In this episode, Harry and Eddy discuss Eddy’s entrepreneurial journey, from…

Bill Gates becomes largest farmland owner in the US

Billionaire Bill Gates is a well-known personality world-wide, but now he is also America’s farmland king. The Microsoft co-founder has become the largest owner of farmland in…

The business of vertical farming: what it is and what it isn’t

“Vertical farming is a tremendous opportunity,” says Glenn Behrman, founder and President of CEA Advisors, consultants and advisors to the global vertical farming industry and a 50-year veteran of the horticulture industry. It’s definitely the future of agriculture but it’s also an opportunity for people…

Photo by Jon Cleveland

US (NB): "I've started growing my own food during the pandemic and turned it into a small business"

"I am originally from New Brunswick, where I grew up on a farm. After going to art school and moving around the country, I ended up settling in Montreal eight years ago and worked full-time in the arts as a lighting designer in theatre and dance. When COVID hit, I (like many other people) lost all my…

“Sharing technology is the only way the industry will grow”

“There is a lack of know-how amongst farmers to apply those techniques in a successful way,” says Joe Swartz, Vice president and Lead horticulturalist at AmHydro. In every situation, according to Joe, from geography to the skill of the grower or climate control, all play into what types of technology…

CNA

The Vatican and Taiwan are celebrating first harvest from joint project

Representatives of Taiwan and the Vatican on Friday celebrated the first harvest from a new indoor farming facility, which the two sides said would showcase the role of technology in developing more sustainable agriculture. Ambassador to the Holy See Matthew Lee (李世明) toured the farm on the grounds of…

Natalie Radu

“I’m opting for localized franchised farming”

“In the States, the food system is so inefficient both in the way it’s produced, at a massive scale and in terms of quality,” says Natalie Radu. "The problem is that consumers are left in the dark. They don’t know what pesticide is used on the food they’re eating. GM foods are not labeled. Let aside the…

Grupo Vesan

Securing a part of Puerto Rico's food supply

A small business in the southern region of Puerto Rico, practices vertical farming in a growing container. They aim to provide food security and reduce the need for imported produce.  Francisco Santana founded Grupo Vesan in 2015 with a simple concept: farming differently and more effectively. He looked to…

Karma Verde Fresh

Mexican Tec graduates use vertical farming to eradicate hunger

Every night, seven million people go to bed hungry in Mexico. It is estimated that the coronavirus pandemic will cause that figure to increase. According to the latest report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 130 million people will be affected by chronic hunger worldwide by…

US (PA): Fifth Season official supplier of ice hockey teams the Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that Fifth Season, a vertical- and robotic-farming company headquartered in Pittsburgh, will be the team's official greens provider for the 2020-21 season. The team chef, Chef Geoff Straub, will use Fifth Season's greens in the team's pre-game meals throughout the…

"This year, we’re kicking off the launch of three new showcase farms in Italy, France and Spain"

“Today, more than ever, the food industry is in need of modernization, and the global adoption of indoor vertical farming will revolutionize food production and distribution," says Bernard Sleijster, Partner and Director of Urban Health Farms (UHF). This year, we’re kicking off the launch of three new…

Sustenir Agriculture

HK: "We are able to bring ultimate freshness to customers here"

Many would agree that developing a sustainable food system is important for our next generation. While this encompasses a wide scope of practices, sustainable agriculture is at the forefront of maintaining a green-conscious ecosystem. Singapore agritech company Sustenir is passionate about finding a new…

“Cost-effectiveness can be ensured but cannot be true in every geography today”

“We can ensure cost-effective growth with our systems, however that cannot be true in every geography today,” says OnePointOne’s CEO, Samuel Bertram. “Not only does vertical farming technology have a long way to go before ubiquity is realized. However, energy prices and indoor-specific cultivar…

Fork Farms

US (WI): "We're experiencing growth in vertical farming"

Fork Farms, a Green Bay-based vertical farming company has said to experience growth in vertical farming. Their hydroponic walls with fresh greens might have been noticed before at the Appleton International Airport. The company has more than 600 hydroponic installations and recently expanded into the…

“The Singaporean market is not only suitable for vertical farming, but also has a great ecosystem”

“We’re about two years on the Singaporean market now as we’ve always had a plan to build a farm there. We managed to obtain co-founding from governments and our shareholders to supply the remaining part,” says Henner Schwarz, CEO of &ever. According to Henner, the Singaporean market is an interesting…

Indian grower feeds neighborhood with aquaponic fresh produce

Since 2016, Pune-based Sameer has been growing vegetables using aquaponics, and has experimented with different kinds of fish to refine his technique. He has regular customers in his neighborhood who buy fresh produce from him.  In 2016, Sameer A, an IT professional and avid reader, came across an aquaponics…