By Jim Pantaleo Back in September, I had the good fortune to sit down with Blake Lange of Philips City Farming. The below is an excerpt from a lengthier article to be published in the January (Issue 12) of Urban Ag News. JP: Blake, thanks for sitting down with me. What’s with the pink? BL: (Laughs) What a funny question. So typically what we see in the industry is a lot of blue and red diodes mixing together and creating a pinkish or purplish hue. Humans see light differently than plants do and plants have a broader sensitivity to light…
Author: urbanagnews
The final rules for Food Safety and MA were published in the Federal Register on Friday, November 27, 2015. Attached are the official published documents for the following: • Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption; • Environmental Impact Statements: Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption; • Foreign Supplier Verification Programs for Importers of Food for Humans and Animals; and • Accreditation of Third-Party Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits and to Issue Certifications. View PDFs: Accreditation of Third-Party Certification Bodies Final Environmental Impact Statement Produce…
Shan Halamba, CEO of RIOCOCO, Wins Stevie Gold Award — Executive of the Year — at 12th Annual International Business Awards IRVING, TX–(Marketwired – October 27, 2015) – Irving-based entrepreneur Shan Halamba, CEO of Texas-based Ceyhinz Link International, Inc., won the Gold Stevie Award for Executive of the Year, Management Award under the category of All Other Industries. Nicknamed the Stevies from the Greek word “crowned,” the awards were presented at a gala event on Friday, 23 October at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Michael Gallagher, President and Founder of the Stevie Awards, presented Shan Halamba with the award.…
Marco van Leeuwen has joined the Green Sense Farms Advisory Board. Van Leeuwen is Managing Director of Rijk Zwaan, a world leader in the market of vegetable seeds. Based in the Netherlands, Rijk Zwaan produces more than 1,000 varieties of seeds representing 25 vegetable crops. Formed earlier this year, the Green Sense Farms Advisory board will assist Green Sense as it continues expanding in both domestic and international markets. The Board consists of business leaders representing agriculture, the environment, finance, LED lighting, genome sequencing, information technology, and more. Bob Parker is chairman of the advisory board, and is Vice President and…
Greenhouse Bioproducts Use Survey The Ohio State University would like to invite you to participate in a survey on bio products used in the greenhouse production of ornamental and vegetable plants at http://go.osu.edu/ghbioproducts. This survey will provide valuable feedback to set research priorities and assist in the development of educational materials on bio products for the industry. The survey will involve approximately 10 minutes of your time. If you would like additional information, have specific comments or questions, please contact Beth Scheckelhoff, OSU Extension Educator for Greenhouse Systems at 419-592-0806 or at Scheckelhoff.11@osu.edu. Bioproducts for Controlled Environment Plant Production…
Here is another video update reporting how great the Tour de Fresh was! NBC News 12 in Phoenix, Arizona reported on it and shows how a local elementary school is enjoying a salad bar now with healthy fruits and vegetables. Tour de Fresh has raised money for the Let’s Move Salad Bars back to School initiative, and 80 new salad bars will be making their way to new schools.
The Story of ZipFarm Starting a farm is nearly impossible to the farmer with low capital, no crew, and no farmland. These requirements help no one; they only keep great farmers from farming. But what if starting a farm required only a small portion of the startup capital, only a small space, and only one person? It would be great! In fact, we think that this is ideal. In this case, the one person would need only a few things: equipment that can fit into a small space, a way to start small and scale slowly, and the information on…
Leading US Indoor Agriculture Conference Partners with Microsoft to DiscussPlant Factories, AgTech At Its First Asia Event SINGAPORE. (October15, 2015) —As it offers solutions to drought, food supply chain challenges and the scarcity of new farmland, indoor agriculture is one of the fastest-growing aspects of global farming. Indoor Ag-Con –the US indoor agriculture’s industry’s leading conference –will be hosting its first event in Asia on January 18-19, 2016 to discuss the prospects for this tech-rich industry in the region. The two-day seminar will be hosted at Microsoft’s campus in Marina Bay, Singapore, and is tailored toward corporate executives from…
Click here to download the issue. Urban Ag News Issue 11 | October 2015 Greenhouse growers continue to look for ways to produce their crops more sustainably. Houweling’s Tomatoes new greenhouse tomato operation in Mona, Utah, takes sustainability to the next level by incorporating waste heat and carbon dioxide from a neighboring power plant in this 28-acre facility. Even better, 95 percent of the tomatoes are sold “locally” within the state. Greenhouse growers looking to produce edible crops will want to be sure to read the article on food safety. Phil Tocco, food safety educator at Michigan State University Extension, discusses…
Vegetable producers, health-minded consumers, and many inventive chefs have realized the advantages of microgreens – tiny leaves of vegetable plants less than 14 days old. Microgreens, which are smaller than “baby greens” and harvested later than sprouts, offer intense flavor and vibrant color and add an appealing touch to garnishes for salads, sandwiches and soups. Whether they’re spinach, arugula, beet or lettuce, microgreens are believed to be exceptionally nutritious, even more so than the “baby” versions of these vegetables. Microgreens grown in a controlled environment such as a hydroponic greenhouse system are of consistent quantity and quality, and are available…
College goes hydroponic as students grow their own ingredients on-site! Horticulture and hospitality students at Peterborough Regional College have embarked on a collaborative initiative with Local Roots Limited which will reduce the food miles associated with some of the ingredients used in the College’s own Parcs Restaurant to zero. Led by sustainability experts Dr. Ian Tennant and Gloria McNeil, Local Roots Limited provides expertise and a fully serviced solution to allow caterers and organizations to grow their own food on site. Local Roots Limited has set up a small version of a new vertical farming system, VydroFarm, recently launched by hydroponics innovator HydroGarden,…
CropKing is a supplier of quality hydroponic growing supplies and equipment. But more than just supplying the best equipment for growing, it is important to educate both new growers and potential growers about the industry that they are venturing into. A good understanding of what is involved in the growing process, as well as the options that are available gives a potential customer the ability to make smart decisions. What Information is Covered in the Grower Workshop? An introduction to greenhouse and hydroponic systems and plants as well as the cropping practices that take place in these systems are the main topics of…
BEDFORD, Texas, Sept. 22, 2015 — Hort Americas is a proud sponsor (and rider participant) of the Tour de Fresh. This one-of-a-kind collaborative event unites the most significant brands and influencers in the fresh produce industry for a four-day cycling event that raises funds to benefit the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign. The inaugural 2014 event raised over $142,000 and placed over 40 salads bars in communities in 11 states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The goal of Tour de Fresh 2015 and its participants…