From over 10,000 to a maximum of 6 settings: making growing easier

“I was a grower myself. All day long I was reading the crop, adjusting all the settings to get the job done. That’s more than 10,000 settings, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. That’s not working if you want to expand the greenhouse industry. And it’s not just these growers – it's also the next…

AppHarvest breaks ground on second high-tech greenhouse

AppHarvest has started construction on a second high-tech controlled environment agriculture facility in Central Appalachia. Located in Madison County, KY, the farm, when complete, will exceed 60 acres. The indoor facility will grow non-GMO, chemical pesticide-free fruits and vegetables to be distributed…

Dutch business opportunities in South Korea, Argentina and Colombia

For many years, Dutch horticulturalists are exporting their products and transferring their knowledge abroad. In many countries, the Dutch products and methods are being used, but there are always opportunities to expand further. In yesterday's Xpert Theatre webinars during the GreenTechLive & Online…

Canadian smart LED lighting producer raises $3.15M

Sollum Technologies received $3.15 million Canadian dollars of funding through the Technoclimat program. This major investment in Sollum’s growth was preceded by $5 million Canadian dollars in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (STDC) and $3.9 million Canadian dollars from…

BrightFarms

BrightFarms secures $100 million Series E round of funding

BrightFarms has secured more than $100 million in debt and new equity capital to support its expansion plans. The Series E round of funding was led by Cox Enterprises, which now owns a majority stake in the company, and includes a follow-on investment from growth equity firm Catalyst Investors.…

Japan: Hybrid edition of agri- and horticultural shows welcomes 23,175 visitors

Last week, from October 14-16, three Japanese agri- and horticultural shows were held in a hybrid format; offline at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo and online on a digital platform. The shows were held concurrently and attracted 23,175 visitors. Even though the number of visitors is lower compared to last…

Erik Rasing starts soft fruit propagation with RasGrow Plants

Since Spring this year, a new name is written on the facade of a company specialized in strawberry propagation under glass located in the Dutch town of Hout-Blerick. That name is RasGrow Plants, and Erik Rasing runs the company. At the end of his studies, he came into contact with grower Gerrit van der…

Itility

Predicting quality of tomato seedlings

Wageningen University Research (WUR) has developed a machine for rapid plant phenotyping that is capturing the plants’ observable characteristics. This machine (called the MARVIN3D) uses multiple cameras to capture each plant from multiple angles and additionally creates an 3D-model of the plant. It is used…

Netherlands: Fear causes the sales of niche products to drop by eighty percent

Before the Dutch government's corona press conference on the 13th of October, the amount of orders at PUURgroenten had been declining steadily for past weeks. With a decrease of as much as eighty percent recently, grower Han Lammers notices. He says it’s due to the fear that people currently feel. Anna Koster…

Aleph Farms

Growing meat on Mars

Aleph Farms, a company that grows quality steaks directly from non-GMO cells, isolated from a living animal – is taking a bold new step toward accelerating extraterrestrial food production, which has been a main barrier for long-term space missions. The company announces the launch of its ‘Aleph Zero’ program. This project will…

New "Tomato Monitor" website launched to help enforce Tomato Suspension Agreement

The Florida Tomato Exchange recently launched TomatoMonitor.com, which allows individuals and companies in the tomato trade to report suspected violations of the Tomato…

SwarmFarm

SwarmFarm raises $3.2 million to develop open platform for ag robotics

Australian company SwarmFarm Robotics has raised A$4.5 million (US$3.22 million) in a funding round led by local VCs Tenacious Ventures and Artesian. The Queensland Business Development Fund also supported the round. The start-up was founded in 2012 by farmer couple Andrew and Jocie Bate. SwarmFarm is…

Canadian company launches new labelling technology line

If the pandemic has highlighted one thing for growers across North America, it is their relationship with labor. Given the challenges growers have seen this year in accessing labor for field/grove/orchard work or in packing houses, maintaining the health of workers and much more, it’s no surprise that…

Colourbox

Plants communicate at a molecular level

Working together with researchers from the University of Tübingen, the University of Tromsø, the UC Davis and the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, biologists from FAU have discovered how tomato plants identify Cuscuta as a parasite. The plant has a protein in its cell walls that is identified as…

Typhoon-hit South Korea suffers cabbage shortage

A series of typhoons that hit South Korea this summer has left the country facing a kimchi catastrophe. Whole fields of cabbages — which are usually seasoned with spices this…

September brought strong fresh produce gains

The pandemic caused changes in virtually all shopping habits, from when and where people shopped to the types, amounts and brands they purchased. These changes were driven by anxiety over in-store visits that prompted fewer and shorter trips as well as by out-of-stocks, more meals at home and greater…

New Zealand food supplies: Local Auckland companies step into breach

Mike Chapman, CEO of Horticulture New Zealand, has stated that about a third of New Zealand fruit and vegetables are imported. A large proportion of that is bananas. New…

Ten biggest shipping companies in 2020

The slowdown in manufacturing and export orders worldwide has resulted in a moderate container trade growth in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic further impacted global demand in…

Autumn abundance in US stores this week

Autumn abundance was reflected in US stores this week as seasonal items became even more prominent. Cranberries, persimmons, and pomegranates adorned the fruit aisles, while cooking greens, Brussels sprouts, and sweet potatoes freshened up the vegetable sections. Total ad numbers this week were 322,232,…

ACI Medellín

Colombia: Antioquia to increase agricultural production with state-of-the-art greenhouses

The appearance of the Coronavirus brought along a large challenge regarding the food sourcing of the department of Antioquia, showing the importance of the agricultural sector and the pride of a territory with agro-producers who are harvesting the best quality produce of the country. Antioquia is the…

Agricultural Trade Multipliers showcase the many ways agricultural exports affect U.S. economy

The Agricultural Trade Multipliers, one of many data products offered by the USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS), provide annual estimates of the effects of trade in farm and food products on the U.S. economy. These effects, when expressed as multipliers, reflect the amount of economic activity and…

US (MI): Over $1.9 million to support growers

U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, announced $1,992,250 million to support Michigan specialty…

Modfos | Dreamstime.com

U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will stay closed another month

The U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico will stay closed to nonessential travel for at least another month. Bill Blair, Canada's public safety minister, tweeted on Monday, "We are extending non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until November 21st, 2020. Our decisions will continue to…

Argentina starts blueberry export season 2020

Argentina has started its blueberry export season 2020. This year, the nation will continue being focused on preserving quality and ensuring the sweetness that makes its fruit stand out in the productions of the region. It will also focus on the production of organic blueberries and on increasing the sea…

First Arizona stores for ALDI

US: Southeastern Grocers makes IPO filing public over two years after bankruptcySoutheastern Grocers Inc, the Florida-based operator of supermarket chains Winn-Dixie and Bi-Lo, made its filing for an initial public offering public, more than two years after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Last month, the company…

From war zone to award-winning coconut coir factory

Raj Janan “Janan” grew up in Northern Sri Lanka and fled the country when the civil war broke out in 1984. He met business partner John Tastad back in 2001. Over the years, they’ve started three different ventures together, ranging from technology companies to rebuilding houses after the 2004 Sri Lanka…

American Hydroponics

New compound from blueberries could treat inflammatory disorders

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), caused by chronic inflammation in the digestive tract linings, can be debilitating and life threatening. Therapeutic options include…

Is this the drive-through supermarket of the future?

What will the supermarket of the future look like? That's something many people are considering. But, there's not yet any single answer. This animation shows a creative store concept. Who knows? In a few years, you might be visiting a drive-through store like this. 

New OEM-agreement for shelf-and-lighting panels for vertical farming

Senmatic and LED iBond International have entered a strategic partnership for OEM delivery of shelves with built-in grow light to be included in Senmatic’s offering of industrial vertical farming solutions. The new vertical farming shelves are based on LED iBond’s patented lighting fixture, which…

Corona gives boost to Dutch greenhouse builder in China

The construction of a 17.5 hectare greenhouse near the Chinese city of Shanghai is in full swing. The delivery of the first phase is expected in spring. The greenhouse is a cooperation between Dutch company FoodVentures and Chinese real estate developer Evergrande. FoodVentures CEO Dirk Aleven: "Corona…

Florida growers optimistic about fall/winter growing season

Following a difficult spring for many Florida growers, fall crops are getting underway and growers feel fairly optimistic. “Everything is on track and looks good,” says Stephen S. Madonia Sr. with Chapman Fruit Company Inc. in Immokalee, FL. This follows the spring growing season in which growers had to…

Grower2Grower

New Zealand: Light fluctuates like a yoyo

Last week, light levels were erratic with some fantastic days proceeded by very dull, wet and windy days. Some crop reports showed 25% less light compared to the previous week. The weather pattern is not uncommon for this time of the year but never the less it is extremely hard on older crops or crops…

USDA cites VA company and files action against FL company for PACA violations

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on Benny F. Hall & Sons LLC, Oak Hall, Va., for violating the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. These sanctions…

US: Western Growers hires Walt Duflock as Vice President, Innovation

Increasing its efforts to quicken the pace of technology solutions for the fresh produce industry, Western Growers has added Walt Duflock as Vice President, Innovation. In this role, Duflock will be singularly focused on accelerating agtech for Western Growers (WG) member companies, including expanding…

FarmJet

India: Grounded pilots use hydroponics to grow and deliver veggies

What would you do if you’re cruising at 30,000 feet in the air daily and are suddenly grounded for months? Well, these pilots started a hydroponics business on their terrace. A long-held ‘project’ in the mind of Mumbai-based domestic airline pilot Harsh Parekh, the Covid-19 lockdown paved the way to…

Sensei Farms

US (HI): Billionaire’s greenhouse now exporting produce statewide

A pioneering hydroponic greenhouse farm on Lanai established by tech billionaire Larry Ellison has begun to export produce statewide. The enterprise, Sensei Farms, announced this month that it is now supplying all 32 Foodland Super Market Ltd. stores in Hawaii with “premium” leafy greens. The expansion…

Bakker Brothers rounds up their best round tomatoes

Bakker Brothers is increasingly getting more known for their tomatoes; they have a lot of tomato varieties for sale. In fact, they have so many in their product portfolio that they have them categorized. The breeder rounded up their best performing round tomatoes and their most exciting upcoming new…

Focus on the use of regenerative energies

Agricultural and horticultural businesses can again receive funding from the Federal Energy Efficiency Program. The German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) is…

Practical applications of plant biostimulants in greenhouse vegetable crop production

The research interest on plant biostimulant applications in vegetable crop production is gradually increasing and several reports highlight the beneficial effects that such…

CRISPR used to make sweet potatoes larger and more nutritious

Samuel Acheampong hails from a farmer family from the Ashanti Region of southern Ghana. His family cultivated cassava, yams, plantains, tomatoes, peppers and other crops.…

New solution for weighing and packaging TOVs

Packaging tomatoes on the vine has always been an expensive and slow process in fact, in most cases, operators work in front of scales and weigh each punnet singularly until the exact weight is reached. As a consequence, the weight of packets can be uneven and there can be a high level of giveaway. Watch…

US: Agricultural Research Service releases three new blackberries

The best of eastern and western blackberry genetics have been melded to create Eclipse, Galaxy and Twilight, three new blackberry varieties released by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). ARS' Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, working in cooperation with the Oregon State…

Tomato grower expands product line to bring blueberries to market in December

Magic Sun, grower of conventional and organic tomatoes, has taken its agricultural expertise to a new commodity and expanded their product line to include blueberries. Grown in the Mexican region of Jalisco, there are approximately 52 acres (21 hectares) of blueberries planted across three varieties:…

“Top-sealed trays reduce materials used in packaging by 45%”

There have been many different trends fueling the packaging industry over the years but sustainability has remained at the forefront of everyone’s minds, as well as efficiency and protection. Proseal America’s GT1e machine is one of the company’s most popular packaging machines for the produce industry,…

"Due to Corona, 2020 has been a sluggish marketing year so far"

The marketing of cresses traditionally takes place in autumn in a rather quiet way. This gives us the opportunity to look back on the past, eventful months. "Due to Corona, 2020 has been a rather sluggish marketing year for us so far. In my opinion, it is also difficult to make a forecast for the…

Great export window for Zimbabwe's organic fresh produce

Zimbabwe is exporting between US$120 and 122 million worth of horticulture products annually, a figure below the country’s peak of about US$143 million between 1998 and 1999.…

Etihad Cargo launches direct flight between Nairobi and Amsterdam

Etihad Airways is the second-largest airline and flag carrier of the UAE, after Emirates. Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Abu Dhabi's International Airport. The company commenced operations in November 2003. Etihad Cargo has launched its direct flight between Nairobi and Amsterdam…

NSF International honors United Fresh’s Dr. Jennifer McEntire

NSF International, a global public health and safety organization, announced United Fresh Produce Association’s Dr. Jennifer McEntire, Senior Vice President of Food Safety and…

Virtual event to feature retailer insights on organics

The Organic Produce Network has announced a virtual online event featuring Stew Leonard, Jr., President and CEO of Stew Leonard’s and Scott Schuette, vice president of produce and floral for Fresh Thyme Market, discussing how the organic fresh produce industry has fared at retail in 2020, sales and…

DENSO

Smart Horticulture in Japan

On 12 November, the Netherlands Embassy will organise a Netherlands-Japan horticulture webinar. With professional growers and industry-government-academia partners, the online webinar will discuss the development of technologically-advanced horticulture in Japan, including perspectives from the Netherlands. Experts are invited…

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