'Has CEA lost or won the first major battle?'

Robert Colangelo, founder and CEO of Green Sense Farms, has been diligent in writing an article on the current CEA industry, which he describes as a battlefield.   He begins his story by writing about WWII. "It was a little over three years into WW II before the British won their first major battle. On November 10,…

Infarm

The industry responds to Infarm news

About two days ago, the news broke that Infarm was laying off about 500 employees. Having said that, the company fired 50 employees in September this year. The facts are there. But how does the industry respond to the news? As many shared their opinion on LinkedIn, we put some of these 'thoughts'…

Lithuania: The potential, challenges and possibilities of urban agriculture

This discussion took place during the AgriFood Forum 2022 on November 15, 2022. The topic discussed was Urban Agriculture: potential, challenges, and possibilities. People from Hungary, Lithuania, Russia, and other countries were present. 

© Alexander Raths | Dreamstime.com

"Food shortages need local discussions"

Rising costs across the country and limited supplies of lettuce are shifting and changing what consumers are able to buy. The food shortage, coupled with the impact of inflation and the overall price increase in day-to-day living, doesn’t seem to be making life easier for many Lakeland residents, writes…

Vertical farms bring locally grown produce to supermarket shelves

"We grow from seed to finished product, to edible crop, so it comes in as a seed, and with most plants, we would like to start with germination, so germination happens here in the facility. Then after germination, it goes to our nursery, and then in our nursery, the plant matures under the right…

© MartinBergsma | Dreamstime.com

Canada: Lettuce prices going through the roof

Throughout the pandemic, supply chain issues have crippled the hospitality industry for everything from ketchup to soya sauce. Now in the tail end of 2022, outrageously priced lettuce has become the new normal. Heat stress caused by extreme temperatures in California is making life hard for crops like…

How rising energy prices, fluctuating exchange rate affects Dutch cultivation and trade, plus several other developments

Cindy van Rijswick, Senior Fresh Produce Specialist at Rabobank, expects the sky-high gas prices to lead to far lower Dutch greenhouse production this winter. "The question,…

© Marlene Vicente | Dreamstime.com

Canada: Mushroom growers have to pay the carbon tax unlike other greenhouse operators

Mushroom growers operate in greenhouses but are not allowed the carbon tax exemption that other fruit and vegetable growers can claim for heating their structures with natural gas or propane says the Canadian Mushroom Growers Association (CMGA). The Canada Revenue Agency has been unable to provide real…

$6 lettuce explained: Why leafy greens are so expensive right now in B.C.

Shoppers in the produce aisle of Stongs Market in North Vancouver did a double take on Wednesday when they saw the price of a head of romaine lettuce. "Well, I'm completely shocked at it being $5.99," said one woman. "I love my Caesar salad, but at $5.99, I'm definitely going to cut back on my salads and…

India: Business graduate sets up J&K's first hydroponic farm

An MBA graduate has become a successful agripreneur by setting up the Union Territory's first hydroponics farm at Pakkhiyan, Mishriwala, in Jammu. Saajan Gupta, a 29-year-old resident of Roop Nagar, Jammu, completed his master's in business administration and construction management from Amity University…

EU approves the CAP strategic plans of Estonia and Latvia

The European Commission approved the CAP Strategic Plans of Estonia and Latvia. The new common agricultural policy (CAP), set to start on 1 January 2023, is designed to shape the transition to a sustainable, resilient, and modern European agricultural sector. Under the reformed policy, funding will be…

Photo: Josef Kubes

"Sustainability claims behind booming food technologies lack evidence"

“Food system technologies are often surrounded by a sustainability halo. And many of them strive to reduce climate impact, but they disregard other dimensions of sustainability,” says Anne Charlotte Bunge, researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University and lead author of a recent…

EU Commission addresses availability and affordability of fertilizers

Fertilizers play a significant role in food security. Their production and their cost largely depend on natural gas. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a global mineral…

Li Xin/Sixth Tone

China: Smart agriculture promoted at CIIE fair

The wider application of digital technologies is driving China’s agriculture industry toward higher efficiency and an ecologically friendly path, according to experts in the field. The agricultural committee of Shanghai’s Jinshan District showcased its smart plant factory that was built in partnership…

Recall for lettuce varieties after exceeding limit for Lambda-cyhalothrin in Belgium

A Belgian lettuce company's own check has found an exceedance of the residue limit for the insecticide Lambda-cyhalothrin. The products concerned are lollo bionda, lollo…

Singapore: Building more farms throughout the city, powered by self-designed software and technology

"At Archisen, our objective is to build more farms in the city, aligning ourselves with the 30x30 goal and becoming the largest contributor to Singapore's food resilience. We want to work together with other farms to tackle critical problems cooperatively," says Vincent Wei, co-founder of Archisen.  Vincent…

UK: Collaboration on exploring the best practices in vertical farming

UK players from the world of CEA have come together to explore best practice in vertical farming to help accelerate the development of the industry in a sustainable way.  The collaboration centered around the Innovate UK-funded INFINiTE project (Integrated Farming Technology), which focused on optimizing technology…

"The future of UK plant breeding needs more diversity, collaboration and big data"

The future of UK plant breeding needs more diversity, collaboration, and big data. That was the key message from a knowledge exchange event held recently. The conference, hosted by Crop Health and Protection (CHAP) and the Soil Association, opened up discussions to explore how plant breeding can contribute…

Seth Bodine | Fort Worth Report

US (TX): Why companies and nonprofits are turning to vertical farms to boost food supply

Cameron Grant thought he would work in the crop fields of California when he started studying vegetable production at Texas A&M University. Then he learned about vertical farming. Instead of fields, Grant now monitors nutrients, growing conditions, and lighting of leafy greens on robotic vines that…

Indoor agriculture and cosmetics

Indoor Ag is penetrating new sectors to make life more sustainable, accessible, and clean. One of the ones to watch, proving to be a future hot spot for Indoor Ag, is the cosmetics and beauty industry. According to Statista, revenue in the Beauty & Personal Care market amounts to US$534.00bn in 2022, and the market is expected…

CBS

European food producers vexed by energy price increases

In 2019, energy had a 2% share in the total costs of food manufacturers in the EU. Given the sharp increase in energy prices, that share currently ranges between 7.5-10% (without price caps or compensation). There are also many signals that some food manufacturers have seen their energy bills rise to up…

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Indoor growing could feed Canadians, and others

Canada is highly self-sustaining when it comes to meat and dairy but relies heavily on imports for produce, making the country vulnerable to shortages and price fluctuations, according to the findings of a 2021 review article published in the scientific journal Agronomy by several University of Guelph…

'Brazil has large market opportunities for vertical farming'

“We're looking for investors to help us expand into 10 additional cities in Brazil. We have a big population to feed and with these 10 new farms, we plan to reduce our production costs even further to become even more competitive,” says Diego Gomes, founder and CEO of 100% Livre, a Brazil-based vertical…

© Photomall | Dreamstime.com

How could AI impact the future of vertical farming?

“This ability to control all aspects of the growing environment also removes the requirement for any herbicides or pesticides, thus producing clean produce,” says Jaz Singh, CEO, and founder of Innovation Agri-Tech Group. AI is already a leading technology in agriculture, including developing autonomous…

Image Credit: Space&Matter

Amsterdam: Vertical farming has shown technological progress but investors remain distant

“Vertical farms are all about minimizing carbon footprint, but today they still rely heavily on CO2 in cylinders or tanks, which is produced mainly as a byproduct of fossil fuels. Skytree’s decentralized direct air capture units can help close the loop,” says Max Beaumont, founder of Skytree. “Our direct…

© Puntasit Choksawatdikorn | Dreamstime.com

Virginia is well-suited for controlled environment agriculture, summit says

Virginia is working to be at the forefront of the fast-growing controlled environment agriculture industry. And based on information shared at this week’s CEA Summit East, it’s in good shape to achieve this goal. The event had around 230 attendees from 28 states, and it featured keynote speeches from…

© Wirestock | Dreamstime.com

Indoor ag science cafe #45 - right sizing a vertical farm

This presentation, 'Right Sizing a Vertical Farm,' was given by Robert Colangelo (CEA Technology Inc.) during our 45th café forum on October 11th, 2022. Indoor Ag Science Café is organized by the OptimIA project team and funded by a USDA SCRI grant.

© Branex | Dreamstime.com

Essential agriculture, sacrificial labor, and the COVID-19 pandemic in the US South

As farmworkers were reframed as "essential" workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, US growers demanded unfettered access to foreign farm labor. After initially announcing a freeze on all immigration processing, the Trump administration bowed to farmers' demands, granting a single exception for…

Are strawberries the cash crops for the Singapore market?

"As our crops are sold at a premium price, we're already at the top of the supply chain. With our margins, we can luckily still withstand cost increases. Although the business model is not to grow, we're more interested in supplying the entire ecosystem to other growers. That's why we offer a franchising…

Singapore: "Our demand is more than we can supply"

"We're expanding as the demand is growing, that's why we're taking a 3000m2 site in next month. We will be starting construction in January next year, and the farm will be ready for production by Q3 2023. Our new farm will be way more efficient in electricity and resource usage through economies of scale…

Philippines: Market is ready for high-value products such as berries and microgreens

VerticalFarmDaily was invited to visit three vertical farms in Manila, the Philippines, which are Urban Greens, Future Fresh and Herbivore Farms. Based on these interviews, we wrote a small update on the Philippine market, of which there are a lot of opportunities ahead, it seems. Click here to read…

Gov. Kemp talks importance of Georgia’s agriculture industry

The Georgia agriculture industry continues to grow, and Gov. Brian Kemp said it’s his mission to keep it on top. Gov. Kemp spoke about his goals with farmers on Tuesday at the 44th Sunbelt Ag Expo. “Agriculture is by far the number one industry in the state. It’s a very diverse industry, as you can…

© Chernetskaya | Dreamstime.com

Eritrea: ministry of agriculture promotes hydroponic fodder production

Starting from the second half of this year, the Ministry of Agriculture has been vigorously promoting hydroponic farming to dairy farmers. It is to be noted that the Ministry has been seeking a number of solutions to solve the constant shortage of animal feed in general and of dairy cattle in particular.…

© Michelle Arconti

Innovation in territorial good systems: collaboration is key

Professor Moya Kneafsey at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience argues the importance of EU and national public policies in the transition toward sustainable territorial food systems. The crisis in food systems is intensifying. The war in Ukraine, hot on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic,…

TOM LEE/STUFF

NZ's first big high-rise lettuce farm to fight cost of living crisis

As vegetable prices continue to rise, a vertical farm based in Hamilton has the potential to keep the shelves full all year round. The new business, Greengrower, is in the final stages of building New Zealand’s first large-scale vertical farm for lettuce and other leafy greens. It comes after food prices…

Australian plants to grow on the moon

The Australian National University (ANU) is one of the organizations working with space start-up Lunaria One to grow plants on the Moon by as early as 2025.   Australian Lunar Experiment Promoting Horticulture (ALEPH-1) is the first in a series of experiments investigating whether plants can thrive on the lunar…

Photo: Affa Chan/Tatler Hong Kong

Common Farms founder Jessica Naomi Fong on her mission to transform Hong Kong’s food system

Common Farms founder Jessica Naomi Fong was named one of 50 young global changemakers by the World's 50 Best Restaurants this year. The only Hongkonger to receive this honor, she tells Tatler about her mission to transform her home city's food system since 2017. "In Hong Kong, we import the majority of…

24 hours at the International Market of Rungis

The Rungis market has published a video showing life in the “Belly of Paris.” A dive into the heart of the world’s largest fresh produce market. Sectors of activity, logistics, training organizations, innovation, etc. Discover what goes on behind the scenes at the Paris wholesale market. 

Canada: Vertical farm shines light on innovation

Benjamin Feagin, owner of Agri Tech North vertical farm in Dryden, says their second-place recognition in Bioenterprise Canada’s Northern Ontario Innovation Challenge is beneficial by putting Northwestern talent in the spotlight. “While it’s painful to see that there’s no funding awarded at the second…

City sets GrowBoston advisory panel, awards grants for Grassroots Program

On October 1, Mayor Michelle Wu and community gardening and farm activists from around the city gathered at the Boston Housing Authority’s Franklin Field Elderly development on Ames Street in Dorchester to celebrate the announcement of the GrowBoston: Office of Urban Agriculture’s Advisory Board. The…

Source: AmplifiedAg

"Why controlled environment agriculture is mission critical"

"Over the course of my career in the software industry, I have observed, experienced, and created many important technology-driven paradigm shifts. Each of these has been characterized by new tech-enabled processes, platforms, and experiences that resulted in material transformations for businesses,…

Image: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

"How vertical farms could boost food production in India"

Projections suggest that India will become the most populous country before 2025. This puts into question the country's food production capabilities. The Global Food Security Index (GFSI), which benchmarks 58 unique indicators measuring the drivers of food affordability, availability, quality, and safety…

How to grow greener crop in UAE?

How to switch from pure biotechnology to agritech, hydroponics, and limitless opportunities to help farmers in the United Arabic Emirates and MENA region to grow better yields? How to launch your own company and thrive in business development if you work in the farming industry? Why do you need to know more about Mariam…

Future-proofing the world's food supply: vertical farming part of the solution

Today, the way we produce food is undermining the potential to feed ourselves in the future. Many of the critical challenges the world is facing are affected by food production, including climate change, water shortage, deforestation, forced labor, and corruption. That is why the world needs to treat…

Modular solutions for new building typologies in CEA

During one of the FarmTechSociety-hosted GreenTech 2022 panels in Amsterdam earlier this year, a truly intriguing battle for modified thinking over urban farming, the utilization of urban spaces, and the profitability of new ideas raged in a though-provoking set of interactions moderated by Tiffany Tsui,…

Photographer: Jim Wyss/Bloomberg

Hurricane Fiona pummeled Puerto Rico’s crops, but not those grown indoors

A few days after Hurricane Fiona slammed Puerto Rico with catastrophic flooding and whipping winds that destroyed much of the island’s agriculture, Francisco Santana was packing a box of bright green lettuce for delivery. “We’re the only ones in this part of Puerto Rico that have something to ship right…

© Photomall | Dreamstime.com

Circular design helps LED grow lights deliver on green potential

Across the LED lighting industry, manufacturers and researchers are exploring materials innovations to push LED solutions beyond energy efficiency to prioritize the circular economy in product design. One innovation is the 3D printing of luminaires from recyclable polycarbonate. They are typically not…

Report on CEA barriers and opportunities in North-West Europe

If you’re a grower or producer who wants to explore how to create optimal growing conditions for your crops using technology, this new report is for you. More and more growers and producers who want to optimize crop production explore controlled environment agriculture (CEA). CEA is a technology-based…