US (NY): Why farming is moving indoors

A car park opposite the infamous New York City housing estate where rapper Jay-Z grew up seems an unlikely place for an agricultural revolution. Ten shipping containers dominate a corner of the Brooklyn parking area, each full of climate control tech, growing herbs that are distributed to local stores on…

US (VA): CIT GAP funds invests in on-demand modular farming

The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced that its CIT GAP Funds has made an undisclosed investment in Babylon Micro-Farms, a provider of on-demand indoor farming services. Founded in 1985, CIT focuses on the seed funding and early commercialization of innovation, and provides support to tech…

US (MI): Conveyor systems to improve vertical farming efficiency

As sustainable agricultural operations such as vertical and indoor farms become more prevalent, conveyor technology systems can be part of the solution, according to Ultimation Industries . Vertical farms can potentially achieve higher yields for the surface area dedicated to production by controlling…

US (FL): Off-grid aquaponics at Everglades University

AquaGrove has developed an innovative aquaponics system that allows users to grow their favorite fruits and vegetables (and fish) in one very small footprint, and in nearly any climate or season. With AquaGrove's latest project launched at Everglades University in Sarasota, Florida in April 2019,…

Crop One and Sananbio to jointly develop vertical farms

Crop One and Sino-Science North America Photobiotech (SNAP) have formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop future vertical farm projects. SNAP is the owner of Sananbio. For future projects developed jointly, Crop One will lead project development and plant operations, contributing its plant…

How to feed 10 billion people?

The American news platform Bloomberg launched a new video ‘How to feed 10 billion people’ in the series called ‘Problem Solved’. These videos focus on how scientists are trying to solve some of the biggest challenges the world faces. How to feed 10 billion people by 2050? That is one of the questions to which NPEC research can…

Uganda holds first ever aquaponics awards

Farmers in several parts of Uganda have been recognised for their outstanding performance in the country’s first-ever aquaponics farming awards ceremony. The awards were presented at an event organised by the Water Governance Institute in Kampala which aimed to bring aquaponics operators from different…

Will vertical farms tackle the world's growing food crisis?

“If you can have a system that’s independent of the climate, the weather and availability of land you’ve got a very disruptive new food supply system and that’s what indoor vertical farming can potentially do,” says Professor Colin Campbell of the James Hutton Institute, a Scottish research centre that…

Five takeaways

Could vertical farming meet the food needs of tomorrow's cities?

The majority of today’s global population lives in cities and by 2050, our population will have reached 9 billion people with 70% - 80% living in cities and urban areas. Apart from large scale food security concerns, the world is also facing the loss of arable land and decreased access to fresh water…

US (ME): Aquaponics could be key in extending the growing season

At Springworks Farm in Lisbon, there are no mooing cows or bleating sheep. Visitors can hear only the bubbling sound of water moving between fish tanks and beds of lettuce. Trevor Kenkel started this aquaponics operation in 2014 during his first year at Bowdoin College. “It’s a system in which the fish…

US (FL): Girl Scout Gold Award aquaponics project provides chefs with herbs

Helen Works' Girl Scout Gold Award aquaponics project has taken root at The Arc of the Bay. "It's better than what I could've ever imagined," said Helen, 17, during an Aug. 9 celebration in Lynn Haven. Her aquaponics garden features five herbs — basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary and cilantro — that will…

Backyard Fresh Farms:

"100,000 square foot facilities near every major US city"

"We're doing for farming what Henry Ford did for the automobile," said entrepreneur Jake Counne. Counne has found a way to grow produce locally, even when it's below 50 outside. He said the answer is using cameras, software and a conveyor belt in what's called a vertical farm. "I came across vertical…

Urban farming goes through the roof

Urban farming is increasingly going vertical, and not just indoors. Rooftop farms have been popping up for quite some time now, and they're getting bigger and bigger. For instance, a building in NYC will get the city's biggest rooftop farm: a 140,000-square-foot facility in Sunset Park. In addition to…

Van Namen Specialties is taking shape

First herbs from mushroom cell are on the shelves

Here's a riddle. It comes from a white mushroom nursery and can be found in the local supermarket of Kerkdriel since last week. What could this be? Hint: they are not white mushrooms. Another hint: it grows under pink growing lights, in a cultivation setting with multiple layers. Can you guess it? Maybe…

Sahara Forest Project expands to 20 hectare

Jordan: Expansion for salt water desert greenhouse thanks to cruise ship deal

Costa Group, through its Costa Crociere Foundation, joins forces with the Sahara Forest Project Foundation to enlarge the scope of the innovative initiative to revegetate the desert in Jordan with sustainable technologies. The agreement was signed by Lars Myren, Chairman of the Sahara Forest Project…

Manila company plans to bring the AirBnB model to urban farming

Urban Greens is the brainchild of Luxembourg-born entrepreneur Ralph Becker. The man behind the plan went to university in the UK, Paris and Singapore, before taking on a corporate job with Sony Electronics. During his 10-year tenure working in business and product development, he crossed the world,…

“People tend to forget that there is a ‘farming’ in ‘vertical farming’”

After two years of operation, the Princeton Vertical Farming Project (PVFP), which introduced students to sustainable farming practices and provided fertile ground for research, has come to an end. The PVFP was launched in April of 2017 by Paul Gauthier, who served as an associate research scholar in…

US (MO): Urban farmer trying to help boys grow into responsible men

An urban farmer in Kansas City is using his skills and life experience to cultivate the minds of young men. Dre Taylor is the founder of Males to Men, a rite of passage program that works to raise “strong, conscious and productive young men.” “A man has accountability and responsibility with himself and…

Can vertical farming solve Asia’s food crisis?

Vice Asia released a new video on the vertical farming industry in Singapore. The video takes an in-depth look at Sustenir agriculture, a vertical farm located in Singapore. Only 1% of the land in Singapore is available for farming and as such growers need to look towards different solutions, like…

Georg-August University Göttingen observes:

Fifty percent of consumers would buy 'vertical agriculture' products

Rising populations and worsening weather conditions due to climate change make it difficult to produce enough healthy and fresh food. A contribution to solving this problem could be provided by so-called vertical agriculture. Here, the vegetables and fruits are grown on floors one above the other. This…

US (IL): Chicago grower looks towards indoor vertical farming

Leafy greens typically don’t get kids excited. So Jake Counne knew he’d grown something special in his indoor vertical farm when his children, aged 5 and 7, were snacking on fresh spinach “like it was a bag of chips.” Other, more refined palates also have been impressed by Counne’s spicy wasabi arugula,…

Family of entrepreneurs looks to pioneer vertical farming in Utah

A Utah family of Korean immigrants is hoping to tap into the vertical farming market. Since moving to Utah in 1987 to pursue a master's in bioengineering at the University of Utah, Chihan Kim and his family have headed up a string of local business ventures, from a gas station to glove manufacturing and…

World’s largest vertical farm to service Expo 2020 Dubai

Currently under construction, the 130,000 square foot vertical farm will produce 2,700 kilos of herbicide- and pesticide-free leafy greens every day, using 99% less water than outdoor fields. Gillian Hamburger, senior vice president – programming at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “With 50 million meals expected…

Diversifying your farm through hydroponics

The future of agriculture is currently clouded. Drastic swings in weather, rising labour costs, increasing interest rates, trade disputes, to name a few, dim a bright future. It’s useful to think about what can complement your existing operation in a way that doesn’t take up too much time or resources as…

Pink Farms secures early funding to bring vertical farming to Brazil

SP Ventures, a Venture Capital investment fund manager specialized in agribusiness, and Capital Lab, a proprietary investment platform for starting and venture capital, announced their two million Real ($532,000) into vertical farming start-up Pink Farms. Pink Farms is one of the first urban vertical…

US (NC): Wilmington's 1st indoor farm to grow 365 days with the help of former convicts

A lot of things have had to come together in order to make Second Chances Farm, founded by entrepreneur and TEDxWilmington organizer Ajit George, a reality. As an Opportunity Zone project, there were applications and approvals; a reentry program was established with a Delaware Department of Corrections…

CAN (ON): How a grocery store delivers hydroponic greens year-round without any packaging

NU Grocery is the first zero-waste grocery store in Ottawa. Instead of picking up pre-packaged items to unwrap at home, customers scoop their own pasta, fill jars with coffee beans, or warm-up beeswax wrap to preserve a piece of cheese. The store’s mission is to avoid single-use packaging and offer…

Can conveyors improve yield for vertical farming systems?

Vertical farms or indoor farms have the potential to achieve great efficiency in food production, promising less use of water and delivering fresh food produced efficiently from nearby geographic locations. However challenges remain – and conveyors and better vertical farming technology will likely be…

Russia: Video shows timelapse of vertical farm construction

The new iFarm vertical farm in Novosibirsk is a large industrial facility with an area of 1,000 sqm. The farm is looking to produce 26 tons of salads and herbs annually. The installation of racks and equipment is an important stage in running a farm, in the video below you can see how it is done. For…

Australia: Native bush foods are growing swimmingly at Pundi Produce

Growing up on the NSW South Coast, Yuin man Dominic Smith always had a love of nature and growing things. "I definitely inherited my maternal grandmother's green thumb," he says. He was drawn to do a certificate in conservation and land management, but it was the short course in aquaponics that really…

CAN (AB): Large CubicFarm system comes to Calgary

On June 29, 2019, CubicFarms signed an agreement for a large scale commercial CubicFarm system in the Calgary, AB area and received a deposit from the customer. “This agreement and deposit covers the Calgary region where this customer will be the exclusive CubicFarm licensee”, said Dave Dinesen, CEO,…

US (CO): Aeroponic greenhouses arises above Japanese restaurant

As one of the largest vertical aeroponic rooftop gardens in the country, Altius currently grows varieties of lettuce, herbs and edible flowers galore. Part of the new S*Park condo community, Altius landed at the RiNo location where the land historically has been farmed since the 1930s. The greenhouse…

Australia: Organic aquaponics farm to expand with $250,000 grant

Cobbitty agtech farming group Green Camel has become the first New South Wales beneficiary of Woolworths' $30 million Organic Growth Fund . Through a range of biological processes, Green Camel produces organically certified leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers and barramundi in a symbiotic manner. Green…

Contracts signed, delivery planned first quarter 2020

Wageningen University goes into vertical farming

This month, a consortium of Light4Food, Maurice Kassenbouw, Signify and Ridder signed the contract for the realization of a new research facility at the location of the Business Unit Greenhouse Horticulture & Bulbs of Wageningen University & Research in Bleiswijk (Netherlands). Vertical Farming…

Scottish start-up creating urban aquaponics concept

Scotland’s Rural College Innovation Hub is supporting a new business looking to revolutionise crop production in urban areas. The Aquaponics Garden Ltd. is working with SRUC to develop a closed-loop farming method where trout waste fertilises food and non-food crops all year-round. The technology aims to…

4 success factors for an aquaponics facility

Efficiency is part of every decision at EFC Farm. For example, they choose to grow basil because it is a fast-growing crop that does not take up much space and is prone to few diseases. They harvest it before flowering, so the plant's lighting needs do not change. Unlike a lot of other hydroponic farms,…

U.S. vertical farms are racing against the sun

Leafy salad greens grown under banks of LED lights, with mist or drips of water are having their day in the sun. Several top U.S. indoor farms, stacked with plants from floor to ceiling, tell Reuters they are boosting production to a level where they can now supply hundreds of grocery stores. Plenty,…

The state of vertical farming in Australia

With drought gripping much of Australia, there are calls for the government to support new and emerging methods of agriculture. Indoor vertical farming is being touted as a future source of fresh produce, but fledgling companies in Australia are struggling to move beyond the start-up phase. SBS News…

September 20-22, Frankfort

US (KY): Annual conference puts out “fruits” to advance the practice of aquaponics

This year’s Aquaponics Association Annual Conference theme is “Putting Out Fruits”. Putting Out Fruits will take place in Frankfort, Kentucky at Kentucky State University on September 20 – 22nd, 2019. Head to the Putting Out Fruits homepage for ticket info. ( http://bit.ly/2UuUzxz ) "The aquaponics…

CAN (NT): Co-op's hydroponic greenhouse 'is a hit'

Yellowknife's Co-op grocery store says its hydroponic greenhouse is a success, several months after being installed. The greenhouse, designed to allow year-round, local production of fresh produce, has been operational since March. Jeff Kincaid, the Co-op's business development manager, said the…

Ugandan vegetable growers look to hydroponics

Providing quality nutritive food to millions of people by 2025 will be a major challenge for Uganda. Increasing population, decreasing land, water holding and global warming are some of the major impediments for agriculture, the backbone of the country. Various biotic and abiotic stress factors are…

Biomimicry helps urban farmers scale up

The Biomimicry Institute sat down virtually with Felipe Hernandez Villa-Roel, CEO and founder of Hexagro Urban Farming , to ask him about his experience as an entrepreneur and Biomimicry Launchpad participant. What motivated you to start HEXAGRO? Hexagro started as a bachelor’s thesis in Product Design…

UK: Sausage making company Heck Food plans vertical farm

North Yorkshire sausage making company Heck Food has revealed plans for a new vertical farm as part of the latest phase of its innovation programme. "The plans for vertical farming is hugely exciting as this method is precise, time-efficient and waste-free method of growing and will provide inspiration…

Vertical greenhouse production becoming popular in Turkey

Turkey is looking to improve its position in the global agriculture market and has directed its focus to vertical greenhouses. Vertical greenhouses are expected to triple within the next 30 years and they will bring significant savings in transportation, environmental and energy costs. Vertical…

Tanzania to get vertical farming training center

The African Association for Vertical Farming (AAVF) and KilimOrgano are announcing their close cooperation and active support for each other in the fields of vertical farming and sustainable urban food systems for Tanzania. Both organizations advocate for a broad implementation of these innovative…

US (IN): Aquaponics makes a splash at Huntington University

The Ware Plant Science Production Facility at Huntington University is expanding its production from soil-grown flora and fauna to plants grown in water, thanks to the addition of an aquaponics system this semester. “Huntington University continues to look for ways to strengthen the presence of food and…

US (MI): Square Roots starts farmer training program in September

Square Roots is an urban farming company with a mission to bring local, real food to people in cities around the world by empowering next-gen leaders in urban farming. Their Next-Gen Farmer Training Program provides an accessible pathway to the forefront of urban agriculture for more young farmers. In…

Israel: Start-Up Nation Central turns to chefs and urban farming

Start-Up Nation Central, the non-profit organization that grew out of the bestselling 2009 book by Saul Singer and Dan Senor, has done much in the last five years to connect the globe with Israeli innovation. Now it’s turning to the culinary world. The high-tech matchmaker recently opened L28, a chic Tel…

US (OH): A look inside an aquaponics operation

Hidden from prying eyes and tucked beneath a four-story steel and concrete parking garage in the heart of downtown Toledo sits the most unlikely of things — a farm. But this one has no tractors, silos, or scarecrows. Go inside Balance Farms, an 8,168-square foot high-tech aquaponics operation located on…

Bronx apartment complex comes with its own greenhouse

A Bronx affordable housing development with lots of green perks launched a lottery this week for 46 units. Dubbed the Bedford Green House, the 13-story building at 2865 Creston Avenue offers its residents unique amenities that center around healing through nature, a concept called biophilic design.…

US (CA): Plenty debuts "flavor-first" vertical farm

Plenty debuted its new farm, Tigris, designed for the flavor while producing with efficiency and cleanliness. "Plenty is on a mission to change the way we eat by growing produce with craveable flavor while increasing availability to a world that long ago ran out of additional fruit and vegetable…

US (DE): Plans for vertical farm take root in NE Wilmington

Second Chances Farm has entered into a Letter of Intent to purchase a 50,000-square-foot warehouse at 3030 Bowers St. in Northeast Wilmington and plans to open its first vertical farm by this fall if everything falls into place. The goal is to help state or federal inmates from Delaware obtain jobs – and…

July 16, Columbus

Leafy Greens 101: How to Start and Optimize Your Hydroponic Production

Hydroponic leafy green production can present commercial growers with exciting opportunities. New crop varieties, greater control, improvements in quality, consistency and yield, and year-round production are just some of the many benefits. But it can be intimidating to get started in hydroponics. What…

US (FL): Aeroponic Tower Gardens introduced to student learning experience

Urban agriculture can provide healthy, local food in more populated areas through home vegetable gardens, farmer’s markets, backyard poultry, and other production methods. This growing trend has extended to the University of Florida’s Gator Dining Services in a partnership with the Field & Fork…

Scottish vertical farm looking to go global with £5.4 million funding boost

Intelligent Growth Solutions, the Scottish-based vertical farm technology business, announced a £5.4 million Series A funding round led by US-based S2G Ventures. IGS opened its first vertical farming demonstration facility in August 2018. Since that announcement, the company has received significant…

Expo 2020 Dubai and Emirates Flight Catering create fresh and eco-friendly F&B vision

Fresh produce grown at the world’s largest vertical farm will be served to millions at Expo 2020 Dubai as part of a collaboration with Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC) to provide delicious and diverse culinary choices while showcasing the future of sustainable gastronomy. The tie-up will also introduce…

Why decoupled aquaponics

Most aquaponic systems are single loop and fully recirculating. This means that the fish and plants exist in a single loop and share the same nutrient-rich water. The reason these are the most popular is because they are simple to build and operate. But single loop systems are also a compromise because the plants, fish and…

US (OK): Aquaponics-based research learning comes to Tulsa-area schools

Symbiotic Aquaponic will collaborate with the Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES) along with Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance (TRSA) , the Outdoor Classroom at Woodward Park to bring aquaponics-based research learning to Tulsa-area schools for a STEM education project. Symbiotic will receive…

France: €20 million bio-based protein plant to feature vertical insect farm

Ÿnsect announced the official launch of the first fully automated industrial facility to produce premium insect protein. The project, called Farmyng, is based in the city of Amiens, in northern France, and is co-funded by the European Commission and the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) who…

Germany: Exhibition showcases plants in space

How can astronauts feed themselves in space? Where does their food come from, where does the oxygen that they need to breathe come from? Today, the foundations for these future technologies are already being developed. The exhibition “Plants in Space” provides insight into current space research in the…

Global CEA Census launched to help drive agriculture industry forward

Global automation specialist Autogrow and New York based Agritecture Consulting are appealing to growers to take part in the inaugural Global CEA Census. The Census seeks to understand the scale and nature of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) to better determine the roadblocks to accelerating the…

Singapore: Vertical farm receives urban farm certification for organic vegetables

Sky Greens, an urban farm in Lim Chu Kang (Singapore), has been awarded the world's first national standard for organic vegetables grown in urban environments, developed in Singapore to address key challenges such as limited land, lack of soil and water and higher operating costs from energy consumption…

US (SC): Catering company teams up with vertical farm

As of Mon. June 10, Vertical Roots has partnered with Hamby Catering & Events, Charleston’s oldest local catering company, to be their exclusive lettuce provider in a shared effort to increase the amount of locally grown food consumed in Charleston. Vertical Roots is only 16 miles away from the…

Infarm gets $100 million financial boost

Urban farming platform Infarm has announced a $100M Series B investment led by Atomico, with participation from existing investors Balderton and Cherry Ventures. The new funding will be used to scale Infarm’s growth in Europe to the US and beyond, and grow the R&D, operational, and commercial teams.…

US (WI): Students use aquaponics to grow food for school

When Augusto Freitas heard what they were cooking in his family consumer science class at Deforest High School on Tuesday he quickly told his teacher how excited he was. “I was hyped because today we are preparing tilapia, and that is a main fish dish in Brazil, I used to eat every week, I feel nostalgic…

"Hydroponic growers should be promoting locally-grown produce"

Whether or not hydroponic growers are using organic practices to produce edible crops, consumers are more likely to be interested in whether the produce is locally grown. There has been much discussion over whether controlled environment hydroponic food production should be allowed to be certified…

UK: Brewery plants vertical strawberry farm in sustainability drive

A London brewery will grow its own crop of strawberries via an innovative on-site vertical farm to maximise how it uses its "premium" city location. Camden Town Brewery has partnered with Rootlabs, which builds urban farms, to launch the UK's first brewery-based vertical farm at its Enfield site. The…

Growing Underground

From offering shelter to cultivating food

Growing Underground is a hydroponic vertical farm—using 70% less water than your typical farming operation. They utilize a closed-loop ebb and flow system where water with nutrients floods the beds of sprouts a few times a day and then is recycled through a reservoir and reused. The plants float in a…

CAN (QC): Renovated public market to include aquaponics systems

Discerning foodies in Quebec will soon have a beautiful new market to buy their locally grown fare. Local architectural firms Bisson Associés and Atelier Pierre Thibault are at the final stages of converting the Pavillon du Commerce, which dates back to 1923, into the light-filled Grand Marché, a public…

What's got investors betting on the future of food

Boston venture firm Spark Capital has backed some of the tech sector's biggest hits: Twitter, Slack, Tumblr and Medium, just to name a few. So, what does Spark cofounder Todd Dagres see as the next hot thing? Try scarlet kale. Well, not kale itself but, rather, an innovative way of growing the leafy…

Singapore grows more with less on 'sky farms'

Singapore aims to increase its own food production by growing vegetables on top of office buildings. It also has set up tiered fish farms and is using laboratories to grow shrimp, a popular treat. That way, the island nation will not have to depend as much on imports to feed its 5.6 million people.…

UK: Octopus launches two ‘vertical farming’ tariffs

Octopus Energy for Business has launched two new tariffs designed to grow the vertical farming industry. The company claims the Vertical Power tariffs “pave the way” for agritech businesses and control-environment farms to bring down energy costs and reduce their environmental impact. The two new tariffs…

US (NV): Securing the future of food with aquaponics

Somewhere off a dirt road in the middle of Dayton Valley, a large facility lights up the night sky with a pink glow. It’s not anything alien or a scientific experiment gone wrong, it is the home of Dayton Valley Aquaponics (DVA), a unique farming facility that marries aquaculture with hydroponics and…

Nijssen presents new model MyGrowthRoom at GreenTech Amsterdam

During the GreenTech horticulture trade show in Amsterdam, Nijssen presents a new model of MyGrowthRoom, the successful multifunctional mobile walk-in climate chamber for cultivation tests and indoor farming production. In the rapidly developing indoor farming market there is undiminished demand for a…

US (MN): Aeroponics grower adds new lettuce and microgreen offerings

Year-round, Midwestern grower, Living Greens Farm, is bringing new lettuce and microgreen products to the Midwest retail market. The new items are available in clamshell, micro-packaging and convenient bagged options, the later representing the first time that fresh produce has been processed by an…

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