The Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering consortium prepares for growth and resilience [Ithaca, New York] – The Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium is thrilled to introduce Gretchen Schimelpfenig as their new Executive Director. With an impressive background in Civil Engineering and extensive experience in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry, Gretchen brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her new role. Ms. Schimelpfenig’s educational journey includes an M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University in 2014 and a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Wyoming in 2012. As a licensed Civil Professional Engineer in California…
Author: urbanagnews
University of Florida Greenhouse Training Online courses Nutrient Management Level 1 Starts July 10! One of the biggest factors affecting the success of your crop is correctly managing nutrients in the root zone. Nutrient Management Level 1 is part of the award-winning Greenhouse Online Training program offered by the University of Florida IFAS Extension. This course is intermediate level and designed for people with some experience or entry university level, who are in production, technical, or sales role for greenhouse and nursery crops. Topics covered include common nutrient problems, essential nutrients, fertilizer types, growing media, and testing (soil, nutrient solution…
Hendersonville, NC – Boon Greenhouse Consultancy sees the addition of industry veteran Christopher Higgins to their Advisory Board as a way to provide additional strategic guidance to the company’s already innovative approach to greenhouse growing processes and operations that are tailored to unique agricultural businesses. Serge Boon (owner of Boon Greenhouse Consultancy) is in no way new to the challenges and ever-changing landscape of the commercial greenhouse industry. Serge grew up in the Netherlands (the land of greenhouses.) He is a native of Westland, (one of the largest greenhouse regions in the world), he rode his bike past rows and…
SAN RAMON, Calif., May 31, 2023 – Valent U.S.A. LLC announced today a new product assessment framework with specific criteria that enables the company to evaluate and define “sustainable solutions” across its broad portfolio of agricultural products. The new framework, called the Sustainable Solutions Criteria, is designed to help growers and customers attain a more sustainable agricultural crop production operation. The criteria is part of Valent’s and parent company Sumitomo Chemical’s commitment to advance sustainable agriculture through innovative products, practices and solutions that benefit agriculture, the environment and society. Using relevant U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guide, the criteria…
The Ohio Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (OHCEAC)’s annual conference will host four internationally and nationally renowned speakers of key areas of plant lighting, root-zone substrate sciences, plant sensing technologies, and crop production physiology to advance the sustainability of controlled environment agriculture (CEA). To learn more about our keynote speakers, please check out their bios on our conference page. The conference will also feature eight invited research presentations by academic and industry based controlled environment research groups. Fadi Al-Daoud (OMAFRA)Luis Cañas (Ohio State University)Brendan Higgins (Auburn University)Michelle Jones (Ohio State University) Peter Ling (Ohio State University)Yujin Park (Arizona State University)Uttara Samarakoon (Ohio State University)Kellie Walters (University of Tennessee) REGISTER FOR…
Want to join the growing horticulture industry? Need to freshen up your horticulture knowledge? Do you have employees that would benefit from knowing the why of their day-to-day work? Train yourself or your staff with University of Florida IFAS Extension’s award-winning online program. All Greenhouse Training Online courses are taught in English and Spanish. The first course of the year, Greenhouse 101, starts on May 29, 2023. To register, visit http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/training/. Each course is completely online, and includes pre-recorded videos, an interactive discussion board with PhD professors, supporting educational material and quizzes. The course material is available any time of…
Are you new in strawberry? The Ohio State’s comprehensive learning opportunity for greenhouse strawberry production is back! Dr. Chieri Kubota & Mark Kroggel, the North American experts of Controlled Environment Agriculture Strawberry Physiology and Technology, are offering this opportunity online. The self-paced course will consist of previously recorded lectures covering basics on strawberry physiology and production practices in greenhouses – topics include 1) cultivars, 2) transplants and flowering physiology, 3) crop schedule, 4) nutrient solution and rootzone management, 5) environmental conditions and benchmark yields, and 6) IPM and environmental disorders.Students will be given two weeks (May 1st to 11th) to complete all…
The produce safety teams from Auburn University, Alabama A&M University, and the University of Georgia would like to invite you to participate in this survey to collect information about knowledge gaps in food safety practices among indoor produce growers. Who should participate? You may participate if you are an adult over 18 years of age and are a produce grower, harvester, packer, seller, food safety personnel, or otherwise involved in the production of fresh produce using indoor agriculture methods, including hydroponics and aquaponics. Participants will be asked to complete an online Qualtrics survey, which will take around 20 to 30 minutes,…
The EU wants to make the transition to a circular food system, where waste is minimised, waste products are recycled and our impact on the planet is reduced. But what will we eat in the circular food system? What kinds of animals will we keep? And what crops will we grow? An international group of researchers led by Hannah van Zanten (Wageningen University & Research) has outlined the opportunities for the EU & the UK (EU27+UK) in four scenarios, starting with the current system and culminating in a fully circular food system. Their findings were published in Nature Food on…
5,207 professionals, 40% more than in 2022, and 200 exhibiting companies from 19 countries attended the third edition of GreenTech Americas. 95% of the exhibitors already booked their stand for 2024. The international protected horticulture event, held on 21 – 23 March at the Querétaro Congress Center, Mexico, offered a range of technological solutions to increase production and value. The next edition of GreenTech Americas will be staged from 12 – 14 March 2024. GreenTech Americas is organized by RAI Amsterdam in partnership with Tarsus Mexico. AttendanceThe event was attended by 200 exhibiting companies from 19 countries; Mexico, Canada, the…
Roberto Lopez, an OptimIA project researcher and Michigan State University horticulture professor, is studying how environmental parameters can impact plant growth, quality, yield and morphology of controlled environment crops. Photo courtesy of Roberto Lopez, Mich. St. Univ. OptimIA researchers are studying how the environment can be manipulated to improve crop quality, increase yields and change the plant morphology of leafy greens. You know how important maintaining the proper environment plays in the production of controlled environment crops. Is it possible to change the environmental parameters to improve crop quality and yield? Researchers with the OptimIA project are looking at how…
Indoor Ag-Con, Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center To Co-Host 2nd Annual Edition September 19-20, 2023 in Danville, VA DANVILLE, VA– The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East is proud to announce its return on September 19-20, 2023 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in Danville, VA. Focused on convening the CEA industry and academia, the annual event is co-hosted by Indoor Ag-Con, the premier global gathering of the vertical farming/CEA sector, and the Virginia Tech-IALR CEA Innovation Center, a joint project between IALR and Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and…
Indoor AgTech is coming to New York Times Square in 2023, bringing together the world’s leading growers, retailers, tech providers, seed companies and investors on June 29-30 to meet, expand networks and produce fruitful partnerships. After a pivotal year for the CEA sector, the summit will explore what’s needed to ensure the indoor farming industry can continue innovating and growing into a crucial part of the global agri-food supply chain. From multi-acre scale facility design to seed optimization for vertical growing, and from multi-million dollar funding rounds to the fine margins of running profitable farms, an international speaking faculty will…
Survey to provide insight on emerging Controlled Environment Agriculture trends now live SEATTLE, WA March 20, 2023 – IUNU today released their fourth State of CEA Survey. This survey will provide insights on emerging trends and challenges in the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry. IUNU has been releasing the leading industry report on CEA since 2016. The report was formerly titled State of Indoor Farming and managed by Artemis, which was acquired by IUNU in 2021. This year, the company will expand the report to focus on the different leading segments of the Controlled Environment Agriculture industry: greenhouse fruit and…