CAN (AB): Ornamental plant grower opens hydroponic lettuce greenhouse

Thiel's Greenhouses is a household name in the horticulture industry. Serving the Lamont, Fort Saskatchewan, Bruderheim and Vegreville areas in Alberta with ornamental plants since 1958, current owner Nadine Stielow has taken the business to new levels. The next phase in the grower's career is the…

"New generation of substrate pots helps to meet global demand for soft fruit"

The world of substrate pots and trays innovates constantly. Besides the addition of pots for blueberry cultivation, the pots and trays are constantly being improved to optimize the cultivation of soft fruit. Aart Jan Bos, general sales manager at Beekenkamp Verpakkingen, brings us up to date.…

"FDA public messages will continue to include farms not responsible for E.coli contamination"

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acted quickly to protect consumers from an emerging outbreak of E.coli O157:H7…

Production started in most recent Whole Leaf expansion

With consumers looking for more from their produce, at least one Canadian greenhouse grower is positioning itself as an environmentally-friendly and safe choice for leafy greens. Coaldale, Alberta-based Whole Leaf is a greenhouse grower of a variety of lettuces including romaine, butter, Batavia and other assorted greens.…

CAN (ON): Taking standardization of greenhouse cogeneration to the next level

When in 2010 Gruppo AB, together with a few former Jenbacher employees, created AB Greenhouse Power Netherlands (ABGPN), it was with a vision of taking cogeneration in the greenhouse sector to a whole new level. Over a period of more than 2 decades, Jenbacher in the Netherlands had continually updated and optimized their…

Two weeks earlier harvesting with successor to well-known strawberry tunnels

Royal Berry, one of the largest Dutch strawberry growers, is working on the mini air in the NEXTgarden greenhouse area. Royal Berry is the first grower in the Netherlands to utilize this system. The new system is the successor to the already well-known strawberry tunnels. With the help of this new system, the 'tunnel…

US (MN): Living Greens Farm to expand to 60,000 square feet

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 one…

French tomato grower trials full LED growing

There are variable reasons for growing under a hybrid (LED and HPS) or full LED grow light system. One is temperature: the radiation heat from HPS is necessary at certain times of the year. When the temperature outside is rising do you still need to use grow lights? Or is it warm enough, so you only need…

Michael DeGiglio rates cannabis vs. tomatoes as cash crops

Michael DeGiglio is the CEO of Village Farms International a company transitioning from produce to cannabis in Canada as well as possibly industrial hemp/CBD (cannabidiol) in the United States. While a shift to cannabis may seem like a money grab to some, and honestly money grabs aren't always a…

Siberian startup secures $1 million to develop vertical farms

iFarm, a Novosibirsk, Siberia-based startup, has secured $1 million in a round led by Gagarin Capital – the California-based VC firm founded by Nick Davidov and Mikhail Taver – with participation from individual Russian investors. The details of the deal have not been disclosed. iFarm’s first experimental projects were…

Spanish supply dominates EU tomato market

Tomatoes Spanish batches dominated with regard to round tomatoes, flesh tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. Only in the case of cherry tomatoes did Italy surpass Spain a little bit. Morocco, the Netherlands, Turkey and Belgium also participated in the business. The first Greek products opened the Greek season…

Two weeks earlier harvesting with successor to well-known strawberry tunnels

Royal Berry, one of the largest Dutch strawberry growers, is working on the mini air in the NEXTgarden greenhouse area. Royal Berry is the first grower in the Netherlands to utilize this system. The new system is the successor to the already well-known strawberry tunnels. With the help of this new system, the 'tunnel…

"Patents on classical plant cultivation should not be possible"

A ruling of the Technische Kamer van Beroep of the European Patent Office of December 5 2018, seems to have opened the door to patents on vegetables from classical cultivation. In response to parliamentary questions, Carola Schoten, minister for Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit , stated that she is…

French tomato grower trials full LED growing

There are variable reasons for growing under a hybrid (LED and HPS) or full LED grow light system. One is temperature: the radiation heat from HPS is necessary at certain times of the year. When the temperature outside is rising do you still need to use grow lights? Or is it warm enough, so you only need…

Japan: The progress of the farming industry

Apure Inc. in Hokkaido grows 28 varieties of chemical-free vegetables at its facility. Weather and temperature are not an issue because everything is planted inside two greenhouses. Apure’s vegetables do not even need soil to grow as they are cultivated hydroponically. What makes Apure a leading-edge company in the…

Naturipe Farms rebrand inspired by Millennials and Gen Z

Naturipe Farms, a farmer-owned produce company since 1917, is speaking directly to Millennials and Gen Z with a fresh rebrand. Starting this month, consumers will begin to see a new logo, packaging, and in-store merchandising in grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada. The rebrand is a result of a comprehensive consumer research…

Canada: Arctic Inspiration Prize awards a team's cold-climate greenhouse project

A team from Yukon working to address food insecurity in the North received $500,000 for the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in Teaching and Working Farm Extended-Season Greenhouse…

"Vertical Farming needs a consumer label "

On February 1st 2019, the FarmTech Society hosted its first workshop in Brussels titled ‘An energy efficient equation for indoor growing’.  FTS is an international non-profit association for the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry. CEO, business developers and consultants, in all 15 participants from the CEA…

Malaysian company uses stickers to keep fruits fresh

Throughout the ages, the most important issue for fruit growers and marketers is shelf life. Generally, fruits don't last long. However, a Malaysian company called Stixfresh has developed a sticker that will extend the shelf life of fruits by 14 days. The Stixfresh stickers can be plastered on fruits like apples, pears,…

US (MN): Living Greens Farm to expand to 60,000 square feet

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 one…

AI-driven grading robot for fruit and vegetables to be developed

Evaluating the quality of fresh produce is still a job mainly done by hand. Gearbox Innovations developed a grading robot that combines vision technology with Artificial Intelligence to evaluate the quality of up to 100% of passing fruit and vegetables. To bring the innovation to market, Gearbox receives…

United Fresh launches 2019 produce industry compensation survey

The United Fresh Produce Association has launched its 2019 Compensation Survey for the fresh produce industry. The data collected will be published in an research report that…

Production started in most recent Whole Leaf expansion

With consumers looking for more from their produce, at least one Canadian greenhouse grower is positioning itself as an environmentally-friendly and safe choice for leafy greens. Coaldale, Alberta-based Whole Leaf is a greenhouse grower of a variety of lettuces including romaine, butter, Batavia and other assorted greens.…

Corteva Agriscience chooses Casablanca as hub for North-West & West Central Africa

Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, launched its official North-West & West Central Africa (NWAF & WCAF) regional headquarters in Casablanca, Morocco. The Casablanca office will act as Corteva Agriscience’s business centre for customers, partners and consumers in its main…

CAN (AB): Ornamental plant grower opens hydroponic lettuce greenhouse

Thiel's Greenhouses is a household name in the horticulture industry. Serving the Lamont, Fort Saskatchewan, Bruderheim and Vegreville areas in Alberta with ornamental plants since 1958, current owner Nadine Stielow has taken the business to new levels. The next phase in the grower's career is the…

A peek inside a large Iranian greenhouse

Paryas Greenhouse is a large Iranian grower that uses gutters to cultivate on three hectares of land. The project is expected to expand to seven hectares in the east of Iran within two years. At the moment cherry tomatoes are grown on one hectare and vine tomatoes on two hectares. Have a look behind the scenes of the grower…

"Disrupting big agriculture means taking your crops indoors"

West Michigan farmers are bringing their crops indoors, taking advantage of new technologies to harvest a variety of produce year-round. With new techniques like hydroponics and aquaponics — as well as carefully curated hoop houses — these futuristic farmers are closing the gap for fresh, home-grown,…

US (WI): Outdoor Wisconsin features Nelson and Pade Aquaponics

Outdoor Wisconsin, a well-loved and award-winning television show, featured Nelson and Pade Aquaponics recently. Show host, Jeff Kelm, interviewed Rebecca Nelson, Co-founder and President of Nelson and Pade. Devoted to the outdoor enthusiast, “Outdoor Wisconsin” is a half hour weekly magazine series that travels Wisconsin covering a…

"With specific test we will soon be able to detect ToBRFV even faster"

In several countries worldwide the tomato virus ToBRFV has now surfaced, including recently in Germany. Naktuinbouw (the Netherlands Inspection Service for Horticulture) is…

Southern Africa: Concrete measures needed to tackle droughts

Although there has been some rains in some parts of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa and Namibia over the past week, these have come too little too late and…

Canadian grocers have few options when it comes to storm-delayed produce

Ensuring fresh produce is available for their customers is an ongoing challenge for every grocery store. They don’t need stormy weather, like the three days of high winds and…

France sets limits to commercial promotions at points of sale

Since January 1, the "Ordinance on sales at a loss and the organization of food product promotions" has come into force in France. It regulates, among other aspects, the promotion of food products at the points of sale. The objective is to prevent these products from losing their value. According to the French Ministry…

Chinese pepper prices warmed up briefly but now falling again

The price of hot peppers was depressed in the period before the Chinese Spring Festival [February 5th, 2019], but began to warm up after the festival ended. One trader from…

Greenhouse industry mourns loss of leading figure

It is with great sadness that the Richel Group announces the passing of its founding father. Pierre Richel passed away on Wednesday 23 January 2019, aged 92, after what he himself described as a fulfilling, colourful career. Standing among those visionaries who are always ahead of their time, Pierre Richel recognised the need to…

CAN (ON): Taking standardization of greenhouse cogeneration to the next level

When in 2010 Gruppo AB, together with a few former Jenbacher employees, created AB Greenhouse Power Netherlands (ABGPN), it was with a vision of taking cogeneration in the greenhouse sector to a whole new level. Over a period of more than 2 decades, Jenbacher in the Netherlands had continually updated and optimized their…

Vegetal-derived biostimulant enhances adventitious rooting in cuttings

Plant-derived protein biostimulants exhibit hormone-like activities promoting plant growth and yield, yet detailed investigations on hormonal function have remained limited. A…

Spain's most powerful R&D sector threatened by seed piracy

The pirates we are talking about don't wear hooks or eye patches, but they plunder about one hundred million Euro per year from the Spanish agricultural sector. In the short…

“The robot currently picks a strawberry every five seconds”

All over the world, people are working on harvesting robots, but there wasn’t yet a robot for harvesting strawberries. After the Fruit Logistica last week, that robot has arrived on the market, because Belgian company Octinion presented the Rubion, a completely autonomous harvesting robot that can take…

Black carrots could reduce risk of Neurological Diseases

New research suggests that eating black carrots on a regular basis could have positive benefits in reducing the risk of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Some components of black carrots -including its anti-inflammatory properties and anthocyanin- can play an important role in treating these…

Vegetables and cheese presented as healthy snack

The British G's Fresh Group has taken advantage of its presence in the international trade fair Fruit Logistica, held between February 6 and 8 in Berlin, to present its next launch, ready to hit the European shelves. Launched under the new brand Love Fresh®, G's Fresh Group is expanding its range of healthy snacking, ready-to-eat products. The…

"New generation of substrate pots helps to meet global demand for soft fruit"

The world of substrate pots and trays innovates constantly. Besides the addition of pots for blueberry cultivation, the pots and trays are constantly being improved to optimize the cultivation of soft fruit. Aart Jan Bos, general sales manager at Beekenkamp Verpakkingen, brings us up to date.…

Michael DeGiglio rates cannabis vs. tomatoes as cash crops

Michael DeGiglio is the CEO of Village Farms International a company transitioning from produce to cannabis in Canada as well as possibly industrial hemp/CBD (cannabidiol) in the United States. While a shift to cannabis may seem like a money grab to some, and honestly money grabs aren't always a…

Spanish supply dominates EU tomato market

Tomatoes Spanish batches dominated with regard to round tomatoes, flesh tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. Only in the case of cherry tomatoes did Italy surpass Spain a little bit. Morocco, the Netherlands, Turkey and Belgium also participated in the business. The first Greek products opened the Greek season…

"Sustainable medium to grow microgreens with"

Hort Americas and VegBed have announced a new partnership to offer microgreen farms a sustainable medium to grow with. The agreement complements the current growing media product lineup at Hort Americas and strengthens the distribution reach of VegBed’s sustainable microgreen mats. It will give farmers a new…

Facts and figures about organic development

In the past year, the share of domestic eco-land increased by 109,863 hectares (plus 8 percent) to around 1.5 million hectares. The Federation of Organic Food and Beverage…

New cold store and cooking facility for Swedish vegetables

The new branch of cooperation Sydgrönt in an old Findus factory in Bjuv, Sweden, will enable growers to sell more vegetables. The factory has a surface area of 3,200 m2 and…

"FDA public messages will continue to include farms not responsible for E.coli contamination"

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acted quickly to protect consumers from an emerging outbreak of E.coli O157:H7…

Canada: Western Health initiative to foster fresh produce consumption

Some people in western Newfoundland are enjoying fresh, local vegetables in the dead of winter, thanks to a Western Health initiative to introduce hydroponics kits to community groups. "We know that vegetable and fruit consumption is really low in Newfoundland in general, and western Newfoundland particularly, so we're…

Wageningen University out in full force at Fruit Logistica

Wageningen University & Research was represented by several fruit experts at Fruit Logistica. There were plenty of opportunities for the WUR experts to show what the solutions developed in Wageningen can do for companies in the global fruit trade. Robotics Janneke de Kramer talked about new robots that use advanced…

US: Virginia is deemed 'ripe' for berry growing

Virginia is not just for lovers, but for berry growers, too, according to Dr. Reza Rafie, Virginia State University (VSU) Extension specialist in horticulture. That’s because after conducting extensive research of berry production across central and southside Virginia, Rafie is confident that Virginia’s…

'Low demand for Turkish peppers after Christmas'

The situation on the German wholesale markets is very subdued, so shortly after the turn of the year. In Nuremberg the market has stabilized as well, after the increased sales during the Christmas season. January is also a quiet month for Turkish retailers, confirms Ali Macara of Ikram Gbr/Macara Fruits,…

Siberian startup secures $1 million to develop vertical farms

iFarm, a Novosibirsk, Siberia-based startup, has secured $1 million in a round led by Gagarin Capital – the California-based VC firm founded by Nick Davidov and Mikhail Taver – with participation from individual Russian investors. The details of the deal have not been disclosed. iFarm’s first experimental projects were…

US: A fleet of networked mushroom farms is spreading across New York

Between the pasta and deli counters in the middle of a Whole Foods is the last place you’d expect to find a contraption that simultaneously evokes a rave and a forest floor, let alone a brand-new way of farming. Yet Smallhold’s Minifarm is all of these things. The sleek metal and plexiglass case holds blue, pink, and…

Sustainability and the cultivation of quality cannabis

Tantalus Labs grows at SunLab, one of the first commercial-scale cannabis greenhouses in North America. Since their inception in 2012, they’ve shared detailed information about their methodologies, unique growing processes and the resulting reduced environmental impact. "This commitment to transparency…

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