If there's one thing we like, it's hearing from, writing about, learning from, discussing, talking to - whatever, as long as it concerns growers. Green fingers, boots in the fields - or mainly behind the computer nowadays? Well, here are 10 of our favorite stories from 2023.
Autonomous growing:
"The point isn't to eliminate human labor, but to make the work easier for my employees”
The current world is being taken over by AI. The internet has been flooded with illustrations, and even videos created by AI. While some people are concerned that may cost them their job, growers are very much looking forward to the infamous autonomous growing.
The road to that is getting shorter and shorter, also thanks to operations like DC Farms out of Leamington, Canada. “I saw this AI opportunity about 4 years ago.,” says Michael Del Ciancio, Manager at DC Farms. “The company I was working with at the time was biting more than it could chew. You know, everybody has these grandiose ideas, and that can get quite overwhelming. Eventually, it all comes down to which AI is good for me.” Michael describes a quite common situation in the horti industry, where growers need to find the way through tech companies claiming they found the sorcerer’s stone.
John McMahon, Better Future Farms:
"Our goal is to grow a high-quality product at an affordable cost”
As open field growers look to diversify their supply chain, greenhouses seem like a great solution and the newly announced Better Future Farms could be one of them. John McMahon is the grower behind the Virginia project. He teamed up with Generate Capital to build the 14.5-acre facility, that will be supplying open field grower Taylor Farms with year-round lettuce. Despite being equipped with supplemental LED lights, an automated growing system, a high-tech packing facility and several other modern techniques, John describes the company as quite conservative. “We’re a grower, not a technology company. Our goal is to grow a high-quality product at an affordable cost”.
Bosch Growers starts US expansion with AppHarvest Somerset acquisition
Pioneering is something they can do at Bosch Growers. Six years ago, the family business started growing blackberries under glass in addition to their bell pepper crop. And now, it's time for a new challenge. Last week, they bought one of the three greenhouses of the American nursery AppHarvest. It's a more than 12-acre facility in Somerset, Kentucky. "It's a huge opportunity, and we're looking forward tremendously to getting started here," says Wouter van den Bosch, who together with his brother Tijmen will run the Bosch Berries Kentucky company.
Combining vertical farming and greenhouse horticulture to decentralize lettuce production
The Salinas Valley, known as the "salad bowl of the United States," has been a vital source of lettuce and leafy greens for decades. The region has historically supplied most of the lettuce and leafy greens consumed across the nation. However, the recent disruption of supply chains, labor markets, water resources, and weather exposed some familiar pain points that continue to plague conventional growers and frustrate consumers with limited supply, deteriorating quality, and volatile pricing.
"So far, we've harvested twice as much as last year"
The Magikos Kipos facility that Andreas Lypas is showing us around is located in Kastro Viotias, Greece. "State-of-the-art," he exclaims. The foil-covered facility grows lettuce heads such as butterhead, lollo rosso, lollo bionda, and the unique "salad trio" lettuces for the Greek market. It includes a nutrient film technique (NFT) system in a moving gutter on 2.5 hectares, equipped with fans, LED lighting, and data-driven climate control. "However, technology alone does not guarantee a perfect crop; it needs great effort, attention to detail through crop walk, and proper data analysis," he sees.
Kinghaven Farms to supply Ontario with greenhouse grown lettuce
"Many big CEA players are opening US-based facilities now, intended to service the US market, but here in Toronto, we still primarily eat west coast lettuce. It's expensive and old, an issue that has been bothering me personally for a while." Speaking is Jay Willmot, President at Kinghaven Farms. He's hoping to start building a leafy greens greenhouse later this year in King Township, Ontario. "The focus has not been on our market, and that's hurting Ontarians everywhere."
CAN: Vermillion Growers opens 10 acre tomato greenhouse
Vermillion Growers celebrated the grand opening of its state-of-the-art greenhouse operations on July 27. Located in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada, Vermillion Growers has started growing tomatoes on the vine year-round, providing local, fresh produce to supply dozens of local grocery stores and bridge the gap in food production in Central Canada. Vermillion will begin growing across 10 acres, with plans to expand to 70 acres. The operation has hired 30 new full-time employees and will eventually bring 200 jobs to the Manitoba community.
"Hydroponics is rapidly gaining the attention of Indian corporates"
Tehri Hydroponics Farm, nestled amidst the scenic hills of Uttarakhand, India, has a five-and-a-half-year track record and spans an acreage of 86,000 square feet. Prabhat Ramoloa, the grower and owner behind Tehri Hydroponics Farm, shed light on the company's journey, challenges faced, and the future of hydroponics farming in India.
8 hectare in Texas
A peek in the new Revol Greens greenhouse
Revol Greens is in the process of expanding. The leafy greens grower, with greenhouses in California and Minnesota, has recently had an 8-hectare greenhouse built in Texas. In the future, the location could be expanded to 32 hectares. Quite a job for a greenhouses designer. Geerd van Geel is the project manager for DLVge, which takes care of the design of the entire greenhouse: construction, screening, water, energy, electricity, heating, and cooling. He's closely involved with the Texas project and offers us a sneak peek.
Denmark: Nordic Greens opens automonous greenhouse
Solar panels, double screens, LED lights, and cameras are used for scouting crops for pests and deficiencies. Several sustainable initiatives are visible in the new Nordic Greens facility, but there's much more happening inside this new semi-closed lettuce facility.
"We've created a customized system that enables us to grow with the lowest environmental impact possible," says grower Mads Pedersen with Nordic Greens, a Danish greenhouse business. He’s expecting to serve both the retail and food service markets with his indoor-grown teen leaf lettuce.