Urban Ag News recently visited Golden Fresh Farms in Ohio. Golden Fresh Farms, a subsidiary of Red Sun Farms, has completed Phase 1 of their high-tech greenhouse in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Phase 1 includes 20 acres of cultivation space and a 23,500 sq. ft. distribution center. The first 200,000 tomato plants were transplanted into the greenhouse in January, 2017. The greenhouse is growing three different tomato varieties. Phase 1 is capable of producing 16 million pounds of tomatoes per year. The long term plan for Golden Fresh Farms is to expand to 200 acres of cultivation area over eight phases. Golden Fresh…
Author: urbanagnews
Aquaponic Systems Utilize the Soil Food Web to Grow Healthy Crops Download their fact sheet, click here.
Published by the Dallas Morning News You want fresh? Dallas’ Central Market is growing salad behind the store By Maria Halkias Fresh is a word that’s used loosely in the grocery business. To the consumer, everything in the produce section is fresh. But most fruits and vegetables are picked five to 21 days earlier to make it to your neighborhood grocery store. Central Market wants to redefine fresh when it comes to salad greens and herbs. It also wants to make available to local chefs and foodies specialty items not grown in Texas like watermelon radishes or wasabi arugula. And…
Indoor Ag-Con – the indoor agriculture industry’s premier conference – will be returning to Las Vegas for the fifth year on May 3-4, 2017 to discuss the prospects for this increasingly important contributor to the global food supply chain. Indoor agriculture – growing crops using hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic techniques – has become popular as consumer demand for “local food” leads growers to add new farms in industrial and suburban areas across the country. Indoor Ag-Con – the industry’s premier conference – will be returning to Las Vegas for the fifth year on May 3-4, 2017 to discuss the prospects…
Are You a Hydroponic Grower of Food Crops? Michigan State and Iowa State University Researchers Need your Input! Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) production researchers Roberto Lopez and Kellie Walters at Michigan State University and Christopher Currey at Iowa State University have developed a survey to gain a better understanding of current hydroponic food production practices and needs to focus their future research and extension efforts. This survey focuses on which crops are being grown, plant propagation methods, growing environments and technologies, and what areas of research would benefit your operation. Make your needs heard by taking this short survey (less…
Controlled Environment Agriculture growing with LED lights March 31, 2017 Price and technology is changing to make controlled environment agriculture more affordable and efficient. Growing indoors with LED grow lights is becoming more important. It also allows growing year-round in environments and locations where there isn’t much sunlight throughout the year. About Green Sense Radio: Founding Farmer Robert Colangelo is also founder and host of the nationally syndicated Green Sense Radio show. Recorded live on the Farm, Green Sense Radio features entrepreneurs, innovators, academics, and policy makers who are making the world a better place. The program is heard coast to coast…
How are plants grown in space? March 30, 2017 Following a new NASA bill, passed in March by the US Congress and which authorizes $19.5 billion spending for space exploration in 2017, manned missions to Mars are closer to reality than ever before. As both public and private enterprises gear up towards a return to the Moon and the first human footsteps on the Red Planet, there is a renewed focus on keeping people alive and productive in these extreme environments. Plants, and specifically crop plants, will be a major component of proposed regenerative life-support systems as they provide food,…
Originally published in LightHort The cover photo (taken by Joshua Craver) of the January issue of the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science features microgreens. Microgreens are a specialty horticulture crop consisting of vegetables and herbs harvested and consumed during the fully-expanded cotyledon or first true leaf developmental stages. Mustard (right) and mizuna (left) microgreens were grown under sole-source lighting using light-emitting diode (LED) arrays with a light ratio (%) of red:green:blue 74:18:8 (R74:G18:B8). See the paper by Craver et al. Light Intensity and Light Quality from Sole-source Light-emitting Diodes Impact Phytochemical Concentrations within Brassica Microgreens Abstract By Joshua K. Craver, Joshua…
Dr. Ricardo Hernandez seeks to revolutionize specialty crop production by synergistically uniting new controlled environment technology (lighting), environmental recipes (plant eco-physiology), and exotic germplasm (plant genetics) to improve plant efficiency, and quality (nutritional content, flavor, morphology) of selected horticultural crops (leafy greens and compact fruiting crops). With recent developments in lighting technologies, it is now possible to optimize the production of certain crops under indoor systems (VF: vertical farms). As shown in Dr. Hernandez’s current research, distinctive light and environmental recipes are capable of manipulating plant responses to increase plant growth rate and quality (nutritional content, flavor, morphology). His research…
By Brian Poel, originally published in LightHort New technologies in controlled-environment agriculture allow growers to manage crop production in ways like never before. Dr. Xiuming Hao and his team at the Harrow Research and Development Centre (HRDC) are guiding Ontario greenhouse vegetable growers to implement these technologies in their production systems. Their mission is to “develop and transfer new technologies for the production and protection of greenhouse vegetables and ornamentals.” With federal, provincial, and industry support, mainly the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, their research prioritizes growers’ problems and needs. Dr. Xiuming Hao and his staff at the Harrow Research and…
March 20, 2017, SCOTTSDALE, Az. – Pinewell Capital, a private equity investment firm, announced today they have completed the acquisition of Chandler, Arizona based Fogco Systems Inc. Fogco is an industry leading manufacturer of high pressure fog systems used in a variety of climate control applications for a worldwide customer base. Manufacturing and distribution will remain under the Fogco name and management will remain onboard to realize Fogco’s promise. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed. “We are eager to leverage our 29 years of industry experience combined with the committed resources and support of Pinewell Capital,” said Gary Wintering,…
As of today Urban Crops will change its name to Urban Crop Solutions, highlighting the core of the company being a global turnkey solution provider in automated plant growth infrastructure and plant growth recipes. In alignment with the adoption of the new name Urban Crop Solutions has also launched a new website: urbancropsolutions.com. “We are very excited about the introduction of our new company name and believe that the name Urban Crop Solutions allows us to better represent our business model, being an independent turnkey vertical farming solution provider with an extensive after sales model”, explains Maarten Vandecruys, co-founder and…
Leafy green and herb greenhouse growers should verify that edible crops are on the insecticide labels when treating for insect pests. Use this handy ‘cheat sheet’ to determine which products are recommended for certain insect pests and are labeled for leafy green and herb crops. An increasing number of ornamental plant producers are venturing into growing potted herbs or are harvesting leafy greens and herbs in their greenhouses. Cut and potted lettuce, mint, and basil are becoming quite popular for greenhouse producers (Fig. 1 and 2). Many other greenhouse growers are growing leafy green or herb transplants for consumers, or…
Helping growers learn about the latest advancements in supplemental, photoperiodic, and sole-source horticulture lighting and making the best decisions for their plants and business. Learn from Michigan State University (MSU) leading lighting experts and researchers Erik Runkle, PhD, and Roberto Lopez, PhD, as they showcase their current studies and students in the MSU Research Greenhouses and then breakdown their wealth of knowledge and research into business-relatable terms. Get educated then make a better informed and smarter decision on how to invest in greenhouse and indoor lighting technologies for vertical farms, tissue culture facilities, hydroponics, etc. Click below for presentation…