3rd Annual Controlled Environment Agriculture Summit East Returns to Virginia, October 1-2, 2024

Event Brings Academia and Greenhouse, Vertical Farm, Urban Ag, Other CEA Business Sectors Together To SpurIndustry Collaboration, Innovation DANVILLE, VIRGINIA (April 16, 2024) — The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East returns to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) Conference Center in Danville, Virginia from October 1-2, 2024. Co-hosted by Indoor Ag-Con, the leading trade show […]

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GreenTech Amsterdam 2024: Unveiling the future

Experience the future of horticulture at GreenTech Amsterdam, set to host 12,000 visitors and 560 exhibitors, from 11 – 13 June at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre. Delve into pioneering topics like ‘Tools and vision in Data and AI’, ‘Greenhouse: The road to a zero footprint?’, and ‘Future vision: A valuable tasty & healthy horticulture’, […]

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Acuity Brands looks to light up the CEA industry

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 […]

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How Acuity Brands and Hort Americas Are Shaping the Future of Horticultural Lighting

Ferme Gadbois in Quebec using the Verjure Arize Element L2000. Photo credit: Harnois Industries The recent partnership between Acuity Brands and Hort Americas marks a new chapter in horticulture lighting, one focused on advancing technology and improving energy efficiency. With Acuity Brands’ acquisition of the Arize® family of horticulture lighting products in January, the company expanded […]

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Hort Americas Partners with Utility Rebate Expert Lee Levitt to Enhance Savings and Promote Energy Efficiency for Growers

DALLAS—Commercial horticultural supplier Hort Americas announced today an exclusive partnership with utility rebate specialist Lee Levitt, Energy Advisors 360.  The collaboration marks a significant step in providing comprehensive financial solutions and incentive opportunities for greenhouse growers and vertical farmers across North America. Levitt brings over two decades of experience in utilities, incentives and financial solutions […]

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Locally Grown – A Fad or a Trend? Dead or Alive?

Early in the ag-tech, vertical farm and greenhouse-grown movement, everyone talked about reasons for innovating the way we farm. Industry insiders discussed everything from changing the way we feed the future to the demand for more locally grown fresh produce options.  Hundreds of millions of dollars were raised to meet what investors felt were market […]

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Can Vertical Farms be Profitable Using LED Grow Lights?

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 […]

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TRACT announces agtech entrepreneur Allison Kopf as new CEO

Incoming CEO Kopf signals a new era for TRACT, as the sustainability measurement platform prepares for customer launch TRACTTM,, the pioneering new food and agriculture sustainability measurement platform, has appointed Allison Kopf, successful US agtech entrepreneur, as CEO. Kopf will take over in January 2024 from TRACT co-founder Roel van Poppel, who set up and […]

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Does Quality Matter? If So, Prove It.

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. We all know brands with products and services that represent quality. But have you ever been the person responsible for selling quality? For earning the premium price associated with producing quality products?   Since my first job in 1996, every company I worked for, represented or […]

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Acuity Brands Reaches Agreements with Current Lighting Solutions, Hort Americas to Expand Acuity’s Horticulture Lighting Offering

Agreements include acquiring horticulture lighting products from Current to be exclusively distributed by Hort Americas, a leading supplier to the controlled environment agriculture market. ATLANTA, November 27, 2023 – Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) (“Company”) announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire the Arize® family of horticulture lighting products from Current Lighting […]

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Ask the Expert: Crop Insurance Options for Urban and Innovative Producers

From the USDA USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) connects agricultural producers with high-quality and affordable crop insurance sold by approved insurance providers. This includes the specific needs of urban and innovative producers, who may have smaller and more specialized operations. In this Ask the Expert, Economist Claire White answers questions about RMA programs and opportunities […]

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CEA Alliance Food Safety Best Practices To Be Featured in IFPA Virtual Town Hall, November 8

The CEA Alliance’s new best practices document Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for Controlled Environment Agriculture Produce Production of Leafy Greens and Herbs will be the focus of the International Fresh Produce Association’s Virtual Town Hall on Wednesday, November 8 at 12:00 Noon Eastern.  The Virtual Town Hall is free to all participants.  The document provides guidance in all […]

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USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program Pays More Than $1.77 Billion to America’s Producers in Support of Conservation and Climate-Smart Agriculture

Agricultural producers and landowners have chosen conservation on more than 23 million acres of private land nationwide WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued more than $1.77 billion this year to agricultural producers and landowners through its Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a critical piece of the Department’s efforts to support climate-smart agriculture and […]

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The 2023 GLASE Summit

Growers, manufacturers, researchers, and efficiency professionals from across North America are attending the Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering (GLASE) consortium’s annual Summit this month to explore pathways to greenhouse resilience and profitability. The two-day event will take place in Leamington, Ontario on October 25 and 26, 2023. The first day features a keynote address, industry […]

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