Urban Ag News continues to evolve

Even as Urban Ag News’ method of delivering information on the controlled environment agriculture industry changes, it will continue to diligently work to provide a variety of platforms to disseminate science-based, unique content to industry members.

Part 1: Urban Ag News is changing formats

Some of you might be wondering (at least I hope some of you are wondering), where is the new quarterly issue of Urban Ag News. I have some bad news and some good news.
Let’s start with the bad news. It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing Issue 16 of Urban Ag News was the last issue of our digital magazine. For the last four years the team at Urban Ag News has thoroughly enjoyed putting together this quarterly publication.

We have covered a wide range of topics. These include the science-based issues that affect the ability of greenhouse growers, vertical farmers and urban agriculturalists to consistently grow high yielding crops in a wide variety of conditions. We have particularly enjoyed interviewing those growers who have been willing to share their experiences so that others can learn from both their mistakes and their successes. As you can see from the UAN magazine covers below, we have learned a lot over the years and enjoyed the journey.

Now the good news. Urban Ag News isn’t going anywhere! The UAN team is going to continue to produce unique content on a regular basis. Our mission is not changing, we are simply adapting so that we can better achieve our goals.

UAN will continue to connect the industry

UAN’s Mission Statement is to be the “connector” of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry, bringing together growers with growers, growers with researchers, growers with manufacturers and growers with suppliers.

We will achieve this mission by providing sound science-based information as well as industry experiences from CEA leaders. We will become a bridge for the industry’s educators by building platforms focused on providing science-based content through a variety of different media. Through this educational effort, we seek to provide our readers with a basic understanding of the CEA industry and to keep them informed of the latest advancements and technologies.

Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim of CEA is to provide protection and maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the development of the crop. Production takes place within an enclosed growing structure such as a greenhouse or building. Plants are often grown using hydroponic methods in order to supply the proper amounts of water and nutrients to the root zone. CEA optimizes the use of resources such as water, energy, space, capital and labor. CEA technologies include hydroponics, aquaculture, and aquaponics systems used in greenhouses, vertical farms and tissue culture labs.

Why UAN is changing

We are changing UAN so that we can provide a better user experience. The decision to change did not come easy, but if we are to achieve our goals then we must be realistic. The digital magazine format was “old” and did not allow users to easily search and source the information they were looking for. If we are to become the go-to bridge builder in the industry, then we must do this in a way that allows all users to easily search and source the information we want to share.

For those of you who have been on the journey with us for the past four years, thank you! We will improve and we hope your experiences will prove that.

For those of you who are new to UAN, welcome. Please let us know when you have questions or comments that will make the experiences of all users more educational and enjoyable.