Originally published in Issue 7 Chris Lukenbill at Fresh With Edge is differentiating his hydroponically-grown greens and herbs by delivering them to his customers while still in their vertical production towers. Photos courtesy of Fresh With Edge. As Chris Lukenbill and his wife Lisa became more educated about what they were eating and how their food was distributed they felt there were a lot of things that could be done better. “There are a lot of things that are occurring in agriculture that need improvement is probably the best way to say it,” Chris said. “We felt that this was…
Author: urbanagnews
By Talking Biotech Podcast hosted by Kevin M. Folta In the race to feed 10 billion people by 2050 some agricultural production will shift to where people live. The idea of vertical farms or repurposing urban space for agriculture is becoming increasingly feasible, as lighting, cooling, and automation advances are more and more efficient. These concepts are being explored worldwide. The International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture met in Panama City, Panama, and it was a great opportunity to interview the experts about how to grow crops in limited space. Interviews with David Proenza, Chris Higgins, Leo Marcelis, Chieri Kubota, and…
Globally acclaimed teacher, Stephen Ritz, author of “The Power of a Plant” shows how in one of the nation’s poorest communities, his students thrive in school and in life by growing, cooking, eating, and sharing the bounty of their green classroom. His innovative program began by accident. When a flower broke up a brawl among burly teenagers at a tough South Bronx high school, Stephen saw a teachable moment to connect students with nature. By using plants as an entry point for all learning, he witnessed nothing short of a transformation. Attendance soared from 40 to 93 percent. Disciplinary issues…
By Lee Frankel and the Coalition for Sustainable Organics “Conflicted” is the most common sentiment of National Organic Standards Board members moving forward on the issue of the role of containers in the USDA organic program The members of the Crops Subcommittee of the NOSB who wrote the Discussion Document calling for the elimination of hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic production methods from the USDA organic program presented the basis for their document and then invited feedback from each of the board members individually at the recently concluded Spring 2017 NOSB meeting in Denver. The most common theme emerging from the thoughts…
Do you have grower staff who are irrigating and fertilizing greenhouse crops, but have not had formal training in horticulture? The University of Florida IFAS Extension can help them make better crop management decisions. For the third year, they will be offering online training courses in English and Spanish starting on June 19, 2017. This year will feature a brand new course, Costing and Profitability. Each course runs for 4 weeks, and includes a personalized certificate of completion. Classes are completely online, and include streaming videos, readings, and assignments. They are available any time of the day, and new modules…
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…
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…