Zeste Farms has developed its indoor vertical farm production system to be easy to operate and simple to repair. In April 2020 when Stan Kaplita started Zeste Farms, an indoor vertical farm in Paso Robles, Calif., the coronavirus pandemic was well established in the United States. “There was a lot of discussion of whether we should go forward with the business or not,” Kaplita said. “We had raised quite a bit of start-up money, so we made the decision to move forward given it was a prototype and we saw ongoing investment in this sector. We knew it was going…
Author: David Kuack, UrbanAgNews.com
Specialty crops like heirloom tomatoes, which have not been bred for commercial controlled environment production, require more attention to detail in regards to how they are grown. Photo by Timothy Vollmer, Cornell Coop. Ext. If you are considering growing specialty crops in a greenhouse or vertical farm, it pays to do your homework. Before starting to grow any controlled environment food crop, it pays (literally) to do your homework related to production and market potential. This is especially important with any type of specialty crop. Serge Boon, founder of Boon Greenhouse Consultancy, said regardless of the crop, a greenhouse or…
As the largest commercial lighting and controls company in North America, Acuity Brands is looking to bring innovative products and services to the commercial horticulture sector. Acuity Brands lighting, sensors, components, and controls products are used throughout North America in almost every major lighting segment including commercial indoor, outdoor, industrial, infrastructure and healthcare applications. The company consists of more than 25 individual lighting and controls brands of which several, such as Lithonia Lighting, date back more than 75 years. Driving innovative LED technology According to Jacob Palombo, director of product for horticulture, Acuity Brands has been at the forefront of…
Bruce Bugbee, professor of crop physiology at Utah State University, refers to the exclusive use of LEDs in closed indoor farms as electric light agriculture. He said no matter how efficient LEDs become, they are still competing with free photons from the sun. Photo by John Frey While controlled environment agriculture continues to expand, there is still the question of whether it can simultaneously achieve both economic and environmental sustainability. Even as controlled environment agriculture companies go out of business or file for bankruptcy, investors see economic opportunities. New indoor farms are coming online and others are expanding their operations.…
The current political climate in Washington, D.C., is not conducive for broad-based immigration, labor and workforce reform, which could help the horticulture and agricultural industries resolve worker shortages. The H-2A agricultural guest worker program may be an option—but it’s going to cost you. During the AmericanHort Impact Washington Summit in September, over 120 people from 25 states came to Washington, D.C., to discuss with their elected officials the major issues facing the horticulture industry. “Summit attendees had nearly 160 meetings with lawmakers and their staffs,” said Craig Regelbrugge, who is executive vice president advocacy, research, and industry relations at AmericanHort.…
One of the major objectives of OptimIA project researchers was to establish an outreach program to engage with stakeholders in the indoor vertical farming community. Photo courtesy of Chris Higgins, Hort Americas OptimIA project members are sharing their indoor farm research findings with the controlled environment agriculture industry and the public through a variety of educational and informational outlets. The indoor farm industry is very fluid right now with changes occurring on a weekly basis. New companies are starting, some are leaving the industry, while others continue to receive millions of investor dollars to expand their operations. While financial stability…
Research conducted in the University of Arizona UAg vertical farm using modeling and computer simulations showed vertical air flow compared to horizontal air flow was more effective at preventing lettuce tipburn. Photo courtesy of Murat Kacira, Univ. of Ariz. OptimIA researchers are using crop modeling to identify the most favorable environmental parameters for growth and yield of indoor farm lettuce crops and how to prevent tipburn. One of the research objectives of the OptimIA project, which is being funded by USDA to the tune of $2.4 million, is to study the aerial environment for producing indoor leafy greens. The aerial…
OptimIA economic researchers determined on average, a 1 percent increase in wages would reduce an indoor farm’s profit per square meter for a day of production by 6 cents. A 1 percent increase in the price of electricity would reduce profits by 5 cents per square meter per day. Photo courtesy of Murat Kacira, Univ. of Ariz. More importantly, will consumers pay a higher price for controlled-environment-grown produce? Over the last five years, leafy greens have been the “it” crop for indoor farm production. Most indoor farms have started with leafy greens, primarily lettuce, and have looked to expand their…
Lettuce being grown as baby greens at Purdue University are harvested 15 days after planting seeds. Seeds are sown close together to minimize loss of photons between plants. Photo courtesy of Cary Mitchell, Purdue Univ. Researchers with the OptimIA project are working to solve the environmental control issues facing indoor farm growers. While some might think that the environmental challenges facing indoor farm growers should be relatively minor and easy to overcome in a closed environment, they’d be wrong. “Some of the challenges and bottlenecks facing indoor farms include insufficient airflow leading to a non-uniform environment, lighting that is wasteful…
Researchers at Michigan State University have used the Controlled-Environment Lighting Laboratory to study the effects of different colors of light on the growth of leafy greens. Photo courtesy of Erik Runkle, Mich. St. Univ. OptimIA researchers are studying the impact light and its interaction with other environmental parameters can have on indoor leafy greens production. When members of the OptimIA project contacted controlled environment agriculture industry members about their concerns about the growing environment, light was at the top of the list. The OptimIA’s project objectives were based on feedback from indoor farm representatives, growers and lighting manufacturers related to…
The OptimIA project, which was funded by USDA in Sept. 2019, is focused on the study of the aerial environment and economics for producing indoor leafy greens. Photo by Rosemary Brandt, College of Ag and Life Sciences, Univ. of Ariz. OptimIA is a research and outreach project aimed at offering production and economic information that is useful and can be applied to the indoor farm industry. The concept of OptimIA originated when Erik Runkle at Michigan State University, Chieri Kubota at Ohio State University and Cary Mitchell at Purdue University were involved in an LED lighting project focused on greenhouse…
As the water moves though a nutrient film technique (NFT) production system it is near saturation with oxygen because of mechanical aeration that is occurring from the water recirculation. Photo courtesy of Hort Americas The oxygen level and temperature in the root zone can have a major impact on rate of plant growth and inhibiting root diseases. When it comes to hydroponic vegetable production the root zone environment, including oxygen levels and root temperature, play a critical role in the success of the crop. “For true hydroponics, which would include deep water culture and nutrient film technique (NFT), both have…
During the International Meeting on Controlled Environment Technology and Use, Chris Higgins (left), president at Hort Americas, moderated a panel discussion on Indoor Agriculture Economic Viability. Photo courtesy of Hort Americas The International Meeting on Controlled Environment Technology and Use gave representatives from academia and the CEA industry an opportunity to discuss the advancements and challenges facing researchers and growers. After a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic the 6th International Meeting on Controlled Environment Technology and Use was held in September in Tucson, Ariz. Hosted by the University of Arizona, the meeting was organized by North Central Extension &…
Drew Demler, the State Fair of Texas director of horticulture and cofounder of Big Tex Urban Farms, and his staff were able to achieve the farm’s Million Servings Mission ahead of schedule using a variety of controlled environment hydroponic production systems. Photos by Jessie Wood, State Fair of Texas Big Tex Urban Farms announced in July that using its controlled environment production systems it had grown enough vegetables to deliver a million servings to the local Dallas community. When Jason Hayes, vice president of branding and cofounder of Big Tex Urban Farms in Dallas, came up with the Million Servings…