Irvine, CA, August 2016 – Urban Produce, Orange County’s CEA indoor vertical farm, has hired Optivest Investment Banking to oversee the financial expansion of their patented High Density Vertical Growing System. Since Urban Produce launched in January 2015, the company has seen significant growth and now looks to move into phase two of expansion based on the continued interest internationally. Urban Produce currently holds patents in seven different countries including the U.S. and Canada. All discussions between Urban Produce and prospective financial and strategic investors will be overseen by Paul Donnelly, Sr. Managing Director with Optivest Investment Banking. “We have…
Author: urbanagnews
By Kimbal Musk Announcing Square Roots. An urban farming accelerator that will empower 1,000’s of millennials to become #realfood entrepreneurs. [ Tweet it: “Why I’m empowering 1000s of #millennial #realfood #entrepreneurs with #VerticalFarming” by @kimbal @SquareRootsGrow http://ctt.ec/UJ9u1+ ] Strong communities are built around local, real food. Food we trust to nourish our bodies, the farmer and planet. This is #realfood. Sadly, many people in our biggest cities are at the mercy of industrial food. The industrial food system ships in high-calorie, low-nutrient, processed food from thousands of miles away. It leaves us disconnected from our food and the people who…
Irvine, Calif., August 2016 – Urban Produce, a CEA organic vertical farm, using patented vertical growing technology, announced the appointment of its newest board member, A.G. Kawamura. The former Secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture (2003-2010) has joined Urban Produce’s board of agriculture industry leaders and innovators. The Urban Produce board is now comprised of 5 leaders who offer expertise in sustainability and urban farming. The board members provide insight and support to further Urban Produce’s mission to build sustainable farms in urban areas worldwide, and address issues concerning the rapidly evolving urban agriculture landscape. “I am proud to welcome A.G.…
The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today announced that world-renowned plant pathologist Jaimin Patel, Ph.D., has joined the center, further strengthening the LRC’s horticultural lighting and plant pathology program. Dr. Patel will collaborate with Dr. David Gadoury of Cornell University’s Division of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology and Dr. Mark Rea of the LRC on a $1.7 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study the novel use of light to suppress a broad group of plant pathogens affecting sustainable production of organically grown crops. “In…
The Apex-Brinkman Conference 2017 will be PCA’s 14th biennial event bringing 450+ industry people together over 3 ½ days on 9-12th July 2017. Adelaide was selected as this year’s host city due to its accessibility of quality farm tours sites and the brand new first class venue, the Adelaide Convention Centre, West Wing. The state-of-art, hi-tech venue also prides itself on using local, fresh produce – which is our forte too! The successful formula includes a large trade exhibition with 60+ booths open for 2 ½ days. Sunday afternoon is open to the general public to maximise exposure. Then 2…
Growing Green with Chris Higgins of Urban Ag News, Singularity University, HP’s Deforestation Goals Aug. 7, 2016 Chris Higgins of Urban Ag News and Hort Americas joins us for our feature, a look at the latest in green agriculture, Growing Green. He’ll tell us about the new Agrihood trend. Singularity University is a benefit corporation that helps people, businesses, institutions, investors, NGOs and governments understand cutting-edge technologies, and how to use them to positively impact billions of people. Nicholas Haan is Director of Global Grand Challenges and Team Project Leader at Singularity University. The year 2020 could be a big…
Urban Produce Opens 100% Organic Farm Store 10% of Grand Opening Sales Benefited Bracken’s Kitchen Irvine, CA, July 2016 – Urban Produce, Irvine’s organic indoor vertical farm, hosted the Grand Opening of their Farm Store on Saturday, July 9. Acting as a weekly pop up shop, the Urban Produce Farm Store will be the first on-site retail addition to their indoor growing facility in Irvine, CA. Chefs and consumers alike will be able to find a variety USDA-certified organic produce at wholesale pricing. “Our mission at Urban Produce is to make nutrient dense foods more accessible on a global scale; and the…
Indoor crop trials with Innovatus and Delicious Cook provide fresh and safe produce close to customers in the Japanese urbanized areas of Kanto and Fuji Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam ticker: LIGHT), a global leader in lighting, today announced results from trials of crops of lettuces and herbs grown at two Japanese vertical farm customers equipped with horticultural LED lighting. Consumers in Tokyo have welcomed pesticide-free, wash-free lettuce grown with horticultural LED lighting by Innovatus Inc., one of the world’s largest vertical farms. Also, convenience stores in the Kanto area which holds around one third of…
PRESS RELEASE. August 8, 2016 European food producers and policy makers are set to play a growing role in harnessing global efforts to provide enough safe, nutritious food to an expanding population, one of the biggest challenges facing the world today. The Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) will be launching its European edition in The Netherlands from 9-10 May 2017 at the Jaabeurs Expo Centre in Utrecht. When GFIA was launched in Abu Dhabi in 2014, it was borne out of the passion of 40 influential organisations including the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, Bill &…
Slated for Thursday, November 10 (Conference Day) and Friday, November 11 (Urban Food Systems Field Trip) at California State University, Fullerton, the Inaugural Grow Local OC Conference: The Future of Urban Food Systems presented by Seedstock and the OC Food Access Coalition will focus on the community and economic development potential of urban and local food systems efforts in Orange County – to improve food access and health outcomes, connect people to their food, and create new jobs and business opportunities by employing innovative business models and farming systems of the future. The conference will serve to galvanize the citizens,…
Join the 443 growers who have successfully graduated from Greenhouse Training Online courses offered by the University of Florida IFAS Extension (UF). This advanced course is designed for experienced growers or technical managers in the US and other countries. The course is offered in English and Spanish. by learning about lime, water quality, plant species, nitrogen form, and root substrate. Convert fertilizer units and formulate a fertilizer from individual salts. Diagnose nutritional problems and take corrective actions. The course runs for 4 weeks, from August 22 to September 16, 2016. It costs $US 200 per participant, and includes a personalized…
Manitowoc, WI – August 3rd, 2016 Dramm is pleased to introduce our new, 50-gallon Ferticart with on-board agitation and aeration. The FC50-A works with either the Dosatron 20 or 40 gallon per minute injectors to provide an agitated or aerated stock solution. Perfect for use with fungicides, plant growth regulators and other agro-chemicals, the Ferticart will keep them all in suspension using our unique agitation bar and 4 gallon per minute recirculation. With a flip of a switch, air is injected into the recirculation stream to provide oxygen to the tank. Nematodes and other biological products can be kept healthy…
Motorleaf, a technology company for indoor farmers, is launching a $750,000 financing campaign on AgFunder, the leading agriculture-focused online investment platform. Motorleaf has built a smart and automated indoor growing hardware and software platform for the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector. Motorleaf, a Montreal, Canada based provider of indoor growing hardware and software, is launching a $750,000 convertible equity financing campaign on AgFunder, the leading agriculture-focused online investment platform. The company sells technology solutions for the growing process in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector. Motorleaf has built a smart and automated indoor farming operating system, consisting of hardware devices…
Deadline extended! Wednesday, August 17! INUAg’s 2016 International Leaders in Urban Agriculture Awards Applications are live! They are offering prizes for 1st ($1,000) 2nd ($700) and 3rd ($300) place in three different categories to urban farmers around the world: Educating Communities: Projects that empower youth, students, or community members to grow food in urban settings Food Justice: Projects that use urban agriculture to improve access to fresh food in underserved communities Innovation: Ideas or products that increase the viability of urban farming Interested in applying? Here’s how it works: http://bit.ly/298vNLA Contact Hayley Fager (hayley@inuag.org) if you have any questions.