Wow! The International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture in Panama was simply amazing. Vendors, speakers, panelist and participants all had only positive comments regarding the content of the presentations and the opportunities for networking. So, As I promised in my last post, here are the highlights from my first few days in Panama City (which I will break into three separate post over the next three weeks.) (Go to Twitter to see post and photos from the event.) Accommodations: Let me start by describing the host hotel and amenities as “excellent” and “great value.” When I travel, there a few things that always make…
Author: Chris Higgins
I am writing this post from my flight to Panama for the International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture (for those following on social media #ICCEA or #ICCEA2015.) My excitement for this unique event is really starting to build as I review the 3 day program. It is clear that this will be a great opportunity to learn and network with some of the leading minds in horticulture. It is also clear that the theme of the event could or should be “control”. Why you ask? As we continue to search for innovative ways to produce food and feed “9 billion…
Spring is simply flying by! Its been one month since we released the Issue 9 of Urban Ag News. This was by far our best and most read issue. For those that have never read one of our issues, let me provide you an understanding of our mission: Our MISSION is to become the leading connector for a growing industry, bringing together growers with growers, growers with manufacturers, growers with suppliers and growers with consumers. Urban Ag News is an educator providing content through a variety of different media. Through its educational efforts, Urban Ag News seeks to provide its users with a basic…
The 2015 Indoor Ag-Con Las Vegas was (like always) an excellent event. It was a chance to hear from business leaders from outside the industry, leaders from within the industry as well as (many) new comers and innovative thinkers with goals of revolutionizing the world of fresh produce. There were two presentations that I really enjoyed. The first one was from Meiny Prins of Priva. For those of us in the industry, we are all familiar with Priva and the products and services they have been offering greenhouse vegetable and ornamental growers for years. But, how many know how Priva looks…
Its Sunday evening and I am on a flight headed to Las Vegas, Nevada. Fortunately, I will be skipping the Strip, the mega hotels and the casinos. Instead I will be headed downtown for a intense week at Indoor Ag-Con. My week will include being a judge at the Agritecture Workshop with Dr. Dickson Despommier, moderating a presentation given by my friend Dr. Gene Giacomelli from the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center and sitting on a panel to discuss “How should we go about designing our indoor farm?” with the Technical Team from Crop King. Its going to…
The next few of months are shaping up to be an amazing spring if you are interested in learning about opportunities, ideas, innovations, inspirations and techniques that will ultimately shape the way we grow, ship and eat fresh produce. UrbanAgNews.com will take complete advantage of these opportunities by attending 3 events that focus on innovation of the food delivery and production system. The first event will be TEDx Manhattan in New York City, New York. TEDx Manhattan began in 2011 and is focused on “Changing the Way We Eat.” This years event is on March 7th and will feature a…
One of the most impressive features of the International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture, also know as the ICCEA2015 (http://www.icceapanama.org/), is the ever growing list of speakers and panelist. Here is the current list of speakers: Dr. Toyoki Kozai – Chiba University Dr. Leo Marcelis – Wageningen University Dr. Wei Fang – National University of Taiwan Dr. Vasco Duke Hernandez – University of Panama Dr. Michiko Takagaki – Chiba University Dr. Toshitaka Yamaguchi – Chiba University Dr. Ricardo Hernandez – University of Arizona Dr. Yang Quichang – Institute of Environment and Sustainable Agriculture, China Dr. Jung Eek Son – Seoul…
It is not often that I get a chance to go to a new event that relates to issues and topics that are likely to have a direct impact on the world of controlled environment agriculture. This week is one of those rare opportunities. I will be attending the North American Strawberry Symposium hosted by the North American Strawberry Growers Association. This event is being held in Ventura, California. For those that don’t know California produces more than 75 percent of all strawberries grown in the US and (as with many ag crops) California and its growers have a major…
As #ICCEA2015 in Panama gets closer, I am getting more excited for this unique opportunity. Why? It is simple, the list of speakers and panelist continue to grow and become more and more impressive. I have already highlighted some of the speakers including industry leading researchers and professors like Dr. Kozai (Chiba University), Dr. Marcellis (Wageningen University) and Dr. Wilkerson (formerly Texas AM University, now with Caliber Bio Therapeutics.) If you would like to see a complete list of speakers, follow this link. Now we would like to introduce the growing list of panelist, which we are equally as excited…
Whether it is vertical farming, plant factories, city farming, urban agriculture, greenhouse growing or rooftop farming it appears that people around the world are interested in the opportunities in controlled environment agriculture. From inspirational drawings to increased news articles and from blogs to social media the amount of “chatter” has increased drastically over the past 5 years. People in developed countries are paying more attention to what they eat, how their food is grown and where it comes from which means big agribusiness and small family farms are trying to quickly adapt to the consumer demand and consumer created opportunity.…
Ever since I started sharing information on the International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture, I keep getting one question (over and over.) Why is the #ICCEA2015 being held in Panama City, Panama? There are many possible answers: 1.) The Panamanian Governments is extremely interested in developing and building their controlled environment agriculture industry. (My next blog entry will highlight this and the financial incentives.) 2.) Due to the Panama Canal, Panama plays a very important role in logistics and the global transportation of food . 3.) This is an international conference and Panama is a good location that is easy to…
I am excited to announce the addition of two amazing speakers for the ICCEA Panama in May 2015. First, let me introduce Dr. Ricardo Hernandez of the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center. Ricardo is currently conducting research in plant physiology in controlled environments. His current project (and part of his presentation) focuses on the evaluation of LED lights as supplemental and sole source technology for greenhouse crops including plant responses to spectral evaluation, and supplemental LED lighting comparison with conventional High Pressure sodium lighting and cool white fluorescent lighting. Ricardo is bilingual and is an excellent addition to…
Just Released from the ICCEA: It is our great honor to inform you that the INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE 2015 will take place on May 20th- 22nd 2015 at the Sheraton Hotel in Panama City. For the first time in Latin America you will find a Congress dedicated to indoor Agriculture including Vertical Farms, Greenhouse and AG TECH. This one of a kind congress offers the opportunity to hear conferences and panels with international well known speakers with focus on the six components of CEA (controlled environment agriculture), including: Managing the Environment, Managing Nutrient Solutions, Managing your Growing…
2014 has been a pretty amazing year for both Hort Americas andUrbanAgProducts.com, but it appears 2015 is going to be even better! First, as sponsors of the 2015 International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture in Panama we are excited to get confirmation that Prof. Leo Marcelis will be presenting on the 1st day of the Congress. Dr Marcelis is the Head of Horticulture and Plant Physiology at the University of Wageningen University in The Netherlands. Watch this video to learn more about In addition, Hort Americas will also be sponsoring an e-Grow Webinar on Growing Lettuce and Culinary Herbs Hydroponically.…