by Joel L. Cuello, Ph.D. Originally published by the Association for Vertical Farming The vertical farming industry will likely in turn ultimately enable NASA and other space programs to realize their future food production systems on the Moon, Mars and even beyond. As the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s first Lunar landing and moonwalk on 20 July 1969 is observed this year, it is fitting to recall the myriad innovation spinoffs that NASA’s space program had gifted mankind, ranging from the integrated circuit to computer microchips to satellite television to cordless tools to electric vehicles to freeze-dried food to memory foam, etc.…
Author: urbanagnews
Webinars The GLASE Webinar Series features the latest technological innovations and best practices in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry providing the participants an opportunity to discover new solutions and to connect with industry experts. The webinars are free. July 25 • 2-3 p.m. EDT – REGISTER HERESupplemental greenhouse lighting during propagationPresented by Erik Runkle and Roberto Lopez, Michigan State University Aug. 22 • 2-3 p.m. EDT – REGISTER HERENational greenhouse databasePresented by Erico Mattos, GLASE Sept. 26 • 2-3 p.m. EDT – REGISTER HEREHumidity control in greenhouses and other indoor plant environmentsPresented by Nadia Sabeh, Dr. Greenhouse, Inc Oct.…
A negative situation is brewing in Canada that could spread across borders and set back aquaponics’ progress worldwide. CanadaGAP, a government-recognized food safety certification program, stated that it will withdraw CanadaGAP certification for Aquaponic production effective March 31, 2020. Unfortunately, the decision appears to be based on faulty and/or incomplete information: “New information has come to light related to potential chemical hazards (antibiotics, for example) associated with aquaponic production. Further, there may be potential for leafy greens to uptake possible contaminants found in the water from the aquaculture production. Unfortunately, peer-reviewed scientific studies are limited at this time.” This decision…
A webinar series focused on greenhouse-grown industrial hempWhen: Thursdays, July 18 – August 8, 2019Time: 12:30 – 2 p.m. EST Heidi Lindberg, Michigan State University ExtensionIndustrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is cannabis cultivated to produce fiber, grain, biomass, or non-intoxicating medicinal compounds, such as cannabidiol (CBD). Recently, the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the production of industrial hemp in all 50 states. Therefore, many greenhouse and nursery producers are now looking at industrial hemp as a new opportunity for their businesses. Join Michigan State University Extension for a webinar series to cover the basics of growing industrial hemp and considerations for growers considering entering…
University of Florida Greenhouse Training Online courses Advanced Nutrient Management Train yourself, or your staff, to make better crop management decisions by learning in depth aspects of plant nutrition management. Advanced Nutrient Management is the third course of the 2019 Greenhouse Online Training program offered by the University of Florida IFAS Extension. This course is advanced level and designed for an experienced, well-trained grower, or upper university level. Topics covered include multiple aspect of pH management, how to formulate your own fertilizer from individual salts, and diagnose nutritional problems and take corrective actions. The course is offered in English and…
Hort Americas is the sole distributor of Current, powered by GE horticulture products to North American customers, including those in the booming regulated cannabis growing industry. Cultivate 2019 is also an industry showcase for Current’s Arize Element Top Light horticulture solution, the industry’s first one-to-one LED replacement for 1000W HPS lighting. COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 13, 2019 – Current, powered by GE today announced Hort Americas as its sole distributor for LED horticulture lighting solutions in North America. The news is being featured as part of Hort Americas’ exhibit (#3317) at the Cultivate conference, where Current is showcasing its new Arize…
Dan Gillespie presented his research for the fulfillment of his MS degree in Horticulture and Crop Science at the Ohio State University on July 2, 2019. “Effects of Low Nutrient Solution pH on Hydroponic Leafy Green Plant Growth, Nutrient Concentration and Pythium Zoospore Infection”
September 23rd – 27th, 2019 In response to increasing global demands from indoor farmers, researchers and future entrepreneurs in the exciting emerging field of plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL), also known as vertical farm, this coming September, Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA) together with Chiba University will host again an intensive five-day introductory training course in English on PFAL. Since 2010, JPFA and Chiba University have been organizing various in-depth and practical sessions, including introductory to advanced courses. This five-day introductory session in English, held September 23rd – September 27th, covers what you would need to know before or after starting…
Connecting Global High-Level Value-Chain Leaders in Miami, Oct 22 – 24 Press Release – Keynote, a global leading event company for emerging technology, announced today the Company’s next strategic decision to expand into the AgriTech industry through a new event: Sustainability and Digitalization Leadership Network (SDLN) – Miami Forum. The 2019 SDLN Miami Forum connects AgriTech’s investors with innovators and their ideas, moving the most critical conversations forward to improve the planet’s future in sustainable agriculture and emerging tech. SDLN is dedicated to addressing today’s food supply challenges by creating a platform for collaborative, open dialogue and high- level networking…
Conference Theme Announcement: Putting Out Fruits 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 movement is expanding rapidly, and the Aquaponics Association’s annual conferences are growing along with it. Two years ago we were in Portland, Oregon for “Putting Down Roots”; and last year we were in Hartford, Connecticut for “Putting Up Shoots”. Finally, this year’s theme reflects the culmination of our journey as we…
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 industry. This includes greenhouses, vertical farms, indoor rooms and hoop or tunnel houses. Both Agritecture and Autogrow believe a great deal of CEA activity worldwide is not well documented, with data being fragmented and often unreliable, making it difficult to provide support or solutions on a larger scale. “We do a lot of work with…
CEAC and Biosphere 2 are proud to announce the 2019 USDA/NIFA Az-CEA Conference September 9 – 12, 2019. The purpose of the conference is to Plan an Interdisciplinary Controlled Environment Indoor Agriculture R&D Roadmap and Coordinated Research Plan. Full details of the conference can be found at the are here https://ceac.arizona.edu/usda-nifa-conference. To pre-register your interest please complete this short survey https://uarizona.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9S9iwtobPyjXZHf by June 30th. This conference will facilitate interdisciplinary discussions centered on several major thematic R&D areas for CEA/VF/GH, each of which will interface with the others to identify cross-disciplinary areas of synergy, opportunity and need. Thematic areas include: EconomicsEngineeringProduction SystemsPlant BreedingPest and Disease ManagementFood…
Press Release – The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) partnered with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the 2019 Grand Challenges Explorations—Tools and Technologies for Broad-Scale Pest and Disease Surveillance of Crop Plants in Low-Income Countries program, which develops tools to improve crop pest and disease surveillance globally. FFAR contributed $300,000, which was matched by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a total program amount of $2,000,000. Pests and plant diseases wreak havoc on crops worldwide, reducing major food crop yields by an estimated 10 to 40 percent. While all farmers are negatively affected by pests and pathogens, farmers in low-income…
Press Release – At the first day of GreenTech Amsterdam, GreenTech Americas has been launched. The spin-off will take place from 24-26 March 2020 in Querétaro, Mexico. This is a logical next step, as Mexico is a major agricultural producer, the number of hectares under protected agriculture is growing exponentially and it is the gateway to US, Canada and South America. The first day of GreenTech Amsterdam was already a success due to the amount of visitors, the high quality of exhibitors, knowledge sessions and innovations. Remarkable is the growth of interest in the exhibition of visitors coming from the…