By David Ceaser Originally published in Issue 10 So, you have been dreaming about starting an urban farm or are about to launch your new career with an indoor farm. You have gotten funding from friends and family (and Kickstarter) but have you really dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s as far as what challenges you will be taking on as you get your business up and running? The truth is that many urban farming operations enter the business from one perspective. They may be started by a grower who knows a ton about growing but little about…
Author: urbanagnews
Urban Ag News proud to feature Dr. Chieri Kubota’s class on Greenhouse Plant Physiology and Technology. Dr. Kubota was a professor at the University of Arizona and is moving to The Ohio State University this summer. Week 4-1: Wind This week, you will take the 3rd series of lectures discussing “Plant Responses to Environmental Conditions”. The environmental factors that you learn this week is “wind” and “temperature”. Wind effect, particularly the positive side of it, is somehow overlooked by plant scientists but very important to understand in controlled environment plant physiology. The importance of temperature in plant production is well understood, but the importance…
By Penny McBride Once again Congress is preparing to take on the US Farm Bill, which is a billion dollar web of agriculture subsidies, welfare payments and environmental support. One of the goals of the Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) is to build political consensus around food and agriculture policy that has the potential to impact our members. This year’s 2017 Summit, taking place in Washington DC September 22 and 23, will address segments of the Farm Bill and help AVF Members negotiate these often confusing waters. Typically the Farm Bill is renewed every 5 years; the last farm bill that expired at…
Brooklyn, August 10, 2017 – Two leading agtech companies have joined forces to offer award-winning automation software and hardware to indoor farms. For the first time ever, growers will be able to use technology to automate processes that have previously been decided based on incomplete data. Agrilyst, based in Brooklyn, is the market leader in farm management and automation software for indoor farms. Motorleaf, based in Montreal, is a market leader in IoT, plug-and-play sensor, and controls hardware and software for hydroponic and greenhouse automation. It is now possible to connect Motorleaf devices to Agrilyst’s platform. Growers can visualize all…
Johannesburg, South Africa – Africa’s increasing concerns for food security to feed its growing populations and sustain economic development are to be tackled head-on by the region’s foremost experts, regulatory authorities and various agriculture industry stakeholders at the Urban Agri Summit 2017 happening on September 7-8 in Johannesburg. Several agri-sector leaders herald emerging innovative solutions such as vertical farming to address the continent’s increasing need for an adequate and sustainable food supply. “Vertical Farming will inevitably be Africa`s future pathway to food security and environmental sustainability,” said Aliyu Abdulhameed, Managing Director for the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for…
AVON, IN (August 08, 2017) – Co-Alliance, LLP announced today its investment for an ownership stake in Indoor Farms of America, LLC, a Nevada-based company specializing in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) innovation. “Becoming a part owner of Indoor Farms of America represents our belief in its products and people,” said Co-Alliance CEO, Kevin Still. “We see the potential of integrating this world class indoor agriculture equipment into traditional farming operations as a way to diversify family farms, add a year-round income stream, and bring the next generation back to the farm.” In addition to its investment in Indoor Farms of…
Urban Ag News proud to feature Dr. Chieri Kubota’s class on Greenhouse Plant Physiology and Technology. Dr. Kubota was a professor at the University of Arizona and is moving to The Ohio State University this summer. Week 3-2: CO2 This week, you will take the second series of lectures discussing “Plant Responses to Environmental Conditions”. The environmental factors that you learn this week are “photoperiod” and “CO2”. Photoperiodic response is probably one of the plant physiology-based knowledge widely applied in floriculture and ornamental crops. In “CO2” lecture, I hope you enjoy how physics can help you understand the effect of high CO2 on photosynthesis,…
The Aquaponics Association 2017 National Industry Conference – Putting Down Roots November 3-5 Red Lion Hotel, Jantzen Beach Portland, Oregon The Aquaponics Association has announced its 2017 national conference, Putting Down Roots, to be held in Portland, Oregon November 3 – 5. The Conference will feature the following aquaponic experts: Dr. Nick Savidov, Lethbridge College Murray Hallam, Practical Aquaponics Jon Parr, SchoolGrown Angela Tenbroeck, Center for Sustainable Agricultural Excellence & Conservation Arvind Venkat, WaterFarmers The Conference will also feature tours of local aquaponic operations including Live Local Organic, a certified organic aquaponic farm that supplies 71 individual stores and 10 retailers. The…
Urban Ag News proud to feature Dr. Chieri Kubota’s class on Greenhouse Plant Physiology and Technology. Dr. Kubota was a professor at the University of Arizona and is moving to The Ohio State University this summer. Week 3-1: Photoperiod This week, you will take the second series of lectures discussing “Plant Responses to Environmental Conditions”. The environmental factors that you learn this week are “photoperiod” and “CO2”. Photoperiodic response is probably one of the plant physiology-based knowledge widely applied in floriculture and ornamental crops. In “CO2” lecture, I hope you enjoy how physics can help you understand the effect of high CO2 on photosynthesis,…
By Qingwu (William) Meng You’re considering new LEDs for your vertical farms. What colors should you get? Would you be better off with classic red and blue light or broad-spectrum, white light? It mainly comes down to whether green light is useful to plants, how much it costs, and how we perceive it. To answer this question, we need to better understand light and how plants use it. Just like what we see in a rainbow, light comes in a spectrum of colors depending on its wavelength. A rainbow has light ranging from violet to red (400 to 700 nm).…
South Bend, IN- Ivy Tech Community College and Green Sense Farms hosted a groundbreaking on July 19 to kick off construction of their commercial indoor vertical farm and training facility, located at the college’s South Bend campus. The 20,000-square foot indoor vertical farm will be an innovative workforce training center for the next generation of farmers as it grows micro greens, baby greens, herbs, and lettuces for local customers. Many of these customers were on hand to celebrate the groundbreaking and show their support, including representatives from Martin’s Super Markets, Morris Inn at the University of Notre Dame, Café Navarre,…
Urban Ag News proud to feature Dr. Chieri Kubota’s class on Greenhouse Plant Physiology and Technology. Dr. Kubota was a professor at the University of Arizona and is moving to The Ohio State University this summer. Week 2-2: Light Intensity and quality 2 This week, you will take the first series of lectures discussing “Plant Responses to Environmental Conditions”. The environmental factor that you learn this week is “light” in terms of its “intensity” and “quality”. There are various terminologies in plant light environment and one goal is to be familiar with terminology. You will also see what I mean by “Quantitative understanding” of…
Originally published in Issue 11 By Eri Hayashi, Japan Plant Factory Association, Industry Expert After the 1980s and 1990s, Japan has been experiencing its third boom of commercial plant factories equipped with artificial light (PFAL). This has been occurring since 2009. Besides government-funded projects, many Japanese companies started to enter the PFAL industry as growers and/or system manufacturers. Not only agri-preneurs (agri-ventures) and food companies, but many firms from a wide variety of industries including electronics, chemical, energy, engineering and transportation have become active in the Japanese PFAL market. These companies include major players in the various industry sectors. Some…
Theo Crisantes, VP Wholesum Harvest, Recommends Improvements to Organic Policy Washington, DC, July 13, 2017 – Theo Crisantes Vice President of Operations for Wholesum Harvest and Board member of the Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) was invited to testify at the Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing on “Opportunities in Global and Local Markets, Specialty Crops, and Organics: Perspectives for the 2018 Farm Bill” to share his concerns about recent attempts to limit the availability of organic produce. Mr. Crisantes explained to the Committee how the uncertainty created by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has limited his willingness to expand production. “The NOSB has…