The 2nd Vertical Farming World Congress on 20-22 September will now be held entirely online, to ensure complete certainty for participants and to avoid potential travel disruption. “We have the most fantastic programme, featuring numerous industry leaders and innovators alongside awards, workshops, panels, exhibits and networking,” commented organiser Richard Hall, Chairman of food and drink consultancy Zenith Global. Highlights include: Industry leadership panel with Infarm, Kalera, Plenty and YesHealthFuture visions from 80 Acres, Bowery, CubicFarms, IGS, Vertical Field and Vertical FutureMarket overview from Hort Americas and RabobankRegional pioneers from Chile, India and JapanRetailer and investor panels with IKEA and Metro…
Author: urbanagnews
Media, PA – The Center of Excellence for Indoor Agriculture, a U.S. based company that supports the growth and development of the vertical and indoor farming industry, will announce the first winners of its Center of Excellence “Best in Class”TM Awards for indoor farm manufacturers at a virtual event scheduled for August 4th with Indoor Ag-Con. The goal of the “Best in Class” Awards is to recognize operational excellence in the indoor agriculture industry through an analysis of KPI’s on indoor farm operations and the supporting equipment. The announcement will take place in the context of a virtual panel discussion…
80 Acres Farms CEO Mike Zelkind will lead the Day Two CEO Keynote Address for the in-person October 4-5, 2021 edition of Indoor Ag-Con at the Hilton Orlando. Themed “Growing Your Business,” the trade show and conference for indoor |vertical farming | controlled environment agriculture will give attendees the opportunity to explore new resources on the expo floor and hear from Zelkind, other CEOs, thought leaders and industry experts from today’s cutting-edge farms and innovative companies. Mike Zelkind 80 Acres CEO keynote speaker at Indoor Ag-Con 2021 “80 Acres has been making headlines this year in a number of areas…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced today an investment of over $7 million in research grants to U.S. Non-Land-grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCA). These grants aim to increase research, education, and outreach capacity at Non-Land-grant Institutions to support development of the innovations and workforce needed to sustain the agriculture industry in the future. “The National Institute of Food and Agriculture awards research, education and extension grants to solve the grand challenges before us,” said NIFA director Dr. Carrie Castille. “These efforts will help improve rural economies, increase food…
The lit cultivation of tomatoes has increased strongly in Northwest Europe in recent years. In the Netherlands, more than 60% of the cultivated area is already under lights in winter. Increasing the scale of these lit growers means that production has to be spread, which also means planting dates are spread. For propagators this means a higher possession in summertime. Many might think it’s nice to have the nursery filled up which is true, but propagating tomato plants in the summer is a true specialism. The biggest issues are high night temperatures (> 16°C) and high radiation levels ( > 750 Watts) during the summer days, shares Hans van Herk of Propagation Solutions. He…
During the Online Challenge 46 teams from 24 countries grew virtual lettuce with the help of artificial intelligence, and evaluated images of lettuce in different growth stages. The U.S.-based team ‘Koala’ has won the Online Challenge, the first phase of the 3rd edition of the International Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge, organized by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and Tencent. This was announced during a webinar this afternoon at the conclusion of the Online Challenge. A team from South Korea and China came second and third. During the Online Challenge 46 teams from 24 countries grew virtual lettuce with the help of…
“As a millennial, it’s no surprise, from a very early age I was taught about the ‘Three R’s’ of environmental responsibility and sustainability, ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’”, Madison Wilson, Marketing Coordinator for Village Farms Greenhouse Grown brand tells us. She goes on to say, “For many of my peers, the 3 R’s are now engrained into our daily routines and life practices”. Finding reusable options, using less, and recycling have simply become a way of life for this generation. Millennials, as well as Gen X and Z, prioritize products that align with their sustainability goals and healthy lifestyles. Health is valued by this demographic…
Press Release – The 2021 Global CEA Census has launched with a focus on growers’ perspectives on sustainability and how they are measuring specific ESG (environmental, social, and governance) outcomes. This year Agritecture Consulting will partner with AgTech leader WayBeyond who has taken over responsibility of the Census from automation business Autogrow. “Our WayBeyond ethos for sustainable crop production technology fits perfectly with this year’s Census. Understanding the impact of CEA (Controlled Environment Agriculture) on the planet allows us to continue highlighting the growers doing remarkable work to reduce environmental impact while producing quality crops.There’s clear evidence showing consumers,…
With the theme of ‘Raising Expectations’, the 2nd Vertical Farming World Congress will host industrymembers, from global leaders to new start-ups, on 20-22 September at a hybrid event online as well asin person. “This will be the most substantial dedicated event of the year, featuring many of the world’s leadingcompanies and technologies, offering unparalleled networking opportunities as well as training for newentrants,” commented Richard Hall, Chairman of event organiser Zenith Global. “We’re hoping as many people as possible will attend in person, so we’ve selected a hotel within theLondon Heathrow airport complex. Many others will wish to join us online,…
Accurately estimate production cost and profit for your greenhouse or nursery business by taking Costing & Profitability, which is the third course in 2021 of the award-winning Greenhouse Training Online program from the University of Florida IFAS Extension (UF). Topics covered include crop enterprise budgets, income statements, allocation of overhead, seasonality, space use, shrinkage, labor cost, pricing, and more. This course is advanced level and designed for experienced, well-trained growers, or people with upper university education. The course is offered in English and Spanish. Instructors include economist Dr. Charles Hall, Ellison Chair in International Floriculture from Texas A&M University, Dr.…
JPFA Cares about Interactivity in Pandemic Times The Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA) has taken a look at how better it can offer workshops, which the coronavirus pandemic forced it to hold online, and has resolved not to sacrifice interactivity. The JPFA has a rich history of running over 140 workshops since the first one in October 2009, most of which were done on-site before the pandemic. So, online workshops with recorded lectures held so far in pandemic times were somewhat unsatisfactory for the nonprofit organization. The JPFA has thus moved to run new online workshops live with a seminar…
Amsterdam – The theme of GreenTech Live & Online, from 28 – 30 September at the RAI Amsterdam, will be ‘Happy Food Healthy Flowers’. This theme is central in the programming during the exhibition, where more than 50 knowledge sessions can be followed in 2 theatres. In The Xpert Theatre the focus is on more in-depth product and cultivation-oriented topics and tips and tricks, in The Vision Stage more macro-economic themes and trends are discussed. In addition, the sessions can also be followed online. Theme With the theme ‘Happy Food Healthy Flowers’ GreenTech Live & Online contributes to the global…
BrightFarms Accelerates Indoor Farming Innovation Tenfold with the Formation of R&D Hub Led by Bayer Veteran and Greenhouse Expert “BrightLabs” will expand the company’s focus on the development of biotechnologies that increase the profitability of its indoor farming operations and deliver breakthrough product innovations IRVINGTON, N.Y. – BrightFarms, the leading grower of indoor leafy greens, today announced the formation of BrightLabs, a world-class innovation and research hub launching at its Ohio growing facility. Matt Lingard, PhD, a former Bayer plant scientist with over 15 years of experience working at the intersection of biotechnology and greenhouse science, will lead the BrightLabs…
Full autonomous control of a greenhouse lettuce production The winners of the first stage of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge will be announced during a freely accessible webinar on 14 July. The first part of the 3rd edition of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge is held as an open Online Challenge. It aims at testing machine learning and computer vision skills of participants of the Artificial Intelligence community. During the webinar, the winners of the Online Challenge will be announced, the best teams will present their strategy and an expert panel will discuss with the future of Autonomous Greenhouses. The Autonomous Greenhouse…