By Rodrigo M. Pereyra I was recently watching the movie “Up in the Air” and beyond being a great portrayal of the human cost of job loss and itinerancy of modern life, I was interested by another thread in the story: the introduction of new technology to fundamentally change a business. During an argument with Anna Kendrick, the bright new employee bringing in a innovative “outplacement” technology, George Clooney’s character, the seasoned industry veteran, has a wonderful quote: “Before you try to revolutionize my business, I’d like to know that you actually know my business.” That quote struck a chord.…
Author: urbanagnews
Your best return on investment to ensure a knowledgeable workforce is through online training of existing staff. University of Florida IFAS Extension provides four-week, award-winning, online training courses in English and Spanish. The first course of the year, Greenhouse 101, starts on June 1, 2020. To register, visit http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/. Each course is completely online, and includes streaming videos, readings, and assignments. They are available any time of the day, and new modules are activated each week during the course. Experienced university instructors are available for help and interactive discussions. Graduates receive a personalized certificate of completion. Online course schedule for…
Paul Lightfoot presented the competitive advantages of indoor and greenhouse growing and locally distributing leafy greens as oppose to more conventional outdoor production. He also introduced the new CEA Food Safety Coalition, inviting indoor and greenhouse farms to be a member. Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of our project OptimIA, funded by USDA SCRI grant program. The café forums are designed to serve as precompetitive communication platform among scientists and indoor farming professionals. The Café presentations are available from YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjwIeYlKrzH_uppaf2SwMIg4JyGb7LRXC Contact Chieri Kubota at the Ohio State University (Kubota.10@osu.edu) to be a Café member to participate.
Amsterdam – 13 March 2020. GreenTech Americas is moving from 24 – 26 March 2020 to 25 – 27 August 2020. The significant increase in the global spread of COVID-19 has resulted in this decision. RAI Amsterdam and Tarsus, as organizers, have complied with the explicit wishes of both exhibitors and visitors to reschedule the event. Due to the Corona virus, many travelers are confronted with travel restrictions and measures put in place by the authorities. To maintain the international reach and quality of the event, a new date has been set. International characterGreenTech Americas is the first regional event in…
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The College of Agriculture’s Urban Agriculture team is launching the online Urban Agriculture Certificate in partnership with Purdue Online, to be offered 100% online. Registration is open, and the “Growing Guide for Healthy Crops” course begins March 16. Urban agriculture focuses on raising food in urban or suburban areas. These efforts are often launched to help meet the nutritional needs of a community and practiced through such creative means as finding ways to optimize limited space. Cities and towns that support urban agriculture may see increased food security, youth development, small business development, reduced blight in neighborhoods and…
Indoor Ag Sci Café presents ‘Managing Water Quality and Biofilm for Indoor Production’ by Dr. Paul Fisher (University of Florida). This comprehensive summary is an essential information for indoor farming! February Indoor Ag Sci Café focused on water quality and biofilm for indoor production. Dr. Fisher discussed characteristics of different source water and their potential issues (alkalinity, chlorine, salinity, and pathogens) as well as mitigation measures. Key steps of biofilm management was introduced and efficacy of different commercial products was discussed. Indoor Ag Science Café is an outreach program of our project OptimIA, funded by USDA SCRI grant program (http://www.scri-optimia.org).…
Conference Pass Discount, Expanded Educational Offerings, Cross-Over Business Growth Opportunities Among Promotional Partnership Offerings PRESS RELEASE – Indoor Ag-Con, the premier indoor agriculture conference and trade show, has announced a marketing partnership with the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) for the 8th annual conference taking place May 18-20, 2020 at the Wynn Las Vegas. The three-day conference program will offer insight from keynote speakers and 50-plus subject matter experts in four tracks focused on Business, Science & Technology, Alternative Crops and Greenhouses & Precision Ag. Designed to showcase the business growth opportunities both organizations offer to association members and event attendees alike, the alliance will…
By Leora Radetsky The US vertical farming market is projected to reach $3 billion by 2024, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of over 24 percent, according to a February 2019 report. Another report, by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, put the annual electricity consumption of US horticultural lighting installations at 5.9 terawatt hours – equal to the annual usage of about 550,000 US households, and projected that to increase 15 to 25 percent annually. Horticultural lighting comprises the largest percentage of power demand in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facilities for fruit and…
Illumitex terminates LED lighting operations to accelerate FarmVisionAI™, a computer-vision artificial-intelligence platform uniquely enabling the digital transformation of indoor farming PRESS RELEASE – Illumitex, the digital horticulture company, is pivoting to become a pure AgTech computer-vision AI company that deploys edge vision systems, edge AI, and cloud services to provide visualization and augmented intelligence for controlled environment agriculture, CEA. “With installations ramping, we are seeing that FarmVisionAI™ is more valuable to farmers than LED lighting and we are refocusing our resources to accelerate deployments” said Jeff Bisberg, CEO. “By capturing images of every plant at every moment, we create a…
Press Release – During GreenTech Americas fifty Mexican and international speakers will present various topics for ‘crop optimization in protected horticulture’ and ‘strategic themes focused on business and investment’. The objective is to present trends, knowledge and new solutions to all levels of professionals in the horticultural industry of Latin America. The show and program will be held from March 24 to 26, 2020, at the Congress Center, Querétaro Mexico. ProgramWithin the framework of this event, a programmme of conferences and panels is developed with 2 main themes 1: Crop optimizationand 2: Business and investment. A few of the many highlights are: Saber Merismailli,…
The partnership will create a hub of innovation and economic development in an industry expected to grow to $4 billion The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) is partnering with the Virginia Tech School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center to launch a Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center on IALR’s campus in Danville, Virginia. The Innovation Center will leverage technology and research to accelerate advancements, economic development, and regional participation in the developing industry of indoor farming. The value of U.S. greenhouse-grown food crops is expected to exceed $4 billion this year. “We are delighted…
University of Arizona – Controlled Environment Agriculture Center – Short Course Join us March 2 – 6 for CEAC’s Short Course! REGISTER HERE! Click HERE to reserve your room at the Tucson Marriott University Park Hotel Get your questions answered and increase your hydroponic growing know-how at the Greenhouse Crop Production & Engineering Design Short Course! Expand your knowledge during a four-day intensive conference including 3 full days of lecture, 1 day of hands-on training workshops at CEAC facilities, and a commercial Arizona greenhouse tour. This jam-packed event is full of information from experts in research, production and the bottom-line business of controlled environment…
PRESS RELEASE – Toronto, CANADA / A tech-based vertical farming company focused on cost-effectively growing leafy green vegetables at mass scale, Elevate Farms Inc. (“Elevate Farms”) is pleased to announce the closing of a $1.8M funding led by Brightspark Ventures. Elevate Farms unique solution uses hydroponics and a proprietary automation system, paired with photobiology, to grow high-quality leafy greens (such as arugula, kale and basil) in a climate controlled environment. Elevate Farms’ system aims to deliver a product that is larger, tastes better, and has higher nutritional content than traditionally-grown leafy greens – all at a lower cost. The produce…
A multi-university team of horticulturists, engineers and agricultural economists led by Michigan State University (MSU) has received a four-year, $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to study indoor production of leafy greens. Industry partners have matched funding, bringing the project total to $5.4 million. The investigators on the grant include: Erik Runkle, Roberto Lopez and Simone Valle de Souza of Michigan State University, Chieri Kubota of Ohio State University, Cary Mitchell of Purdue University and Murat Kacira of University of Arizona. Leafy greens include commonly consumed vegetables such as lettuce, kale, and microgreens. Production challenges outdoors have…