FFAR Releases 2022 Impact Report

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) released the 2022 Impact Report today, Leveraging Bold Science: FFAR 2022 Impact Report. This report highlights FFAR’s impact on food and agriculture research. In 2022, FFAR continued to outperform, raising over $82 million in matching funds and bringing FFAR’s total awards to $605 million. A comprehensive list of all FFAR grant awards […]

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USDA Offers New Crop Insurance Program for Producers Using Controlled Environments

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2023 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing a new crop insurance program designed for agricultural producers who use controlled environments in their operations. The new Controlled Environment program from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is specifically for plants grown in fully enclosed controlled environments and provides coverage against plant diseases […]

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USDA Offers New Crop Insurance Program for Producers Using Controlled Environments

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2023 – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing a new crop insurance program designed for agricultural producers who use controlled environments in their operations. The new Controlled Environment program from USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is specifically for plants grown in fully enclosed controlled environments and provides coverage against plant diseases […]

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The Biggest Challenge for CEA, LABOR

In July 2023, I posted the article The 2023 Controlled Environment Agriculture Market – How Are We Evolving? After fielding several questions and comments from industry professionals who I really respect, I feel the need for one (maybe two) follow-up articles.  This article is first because I firmly believe labor is the biggest challenge we […]

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USDA-ARS U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, FL To Add Vertical Farming Labs to Conduct CEA Vegetable Research

AmplifiedAg, an agricultural technology company focused in controlled environment agriculture (CEA), announces the contract award from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Fort Pierce, Florida to supply vertical farming research labs to the agency’s Horticultural Research Laboratory.  The labs will be customized to carry out CEA vegetable production research unique to the Fort Pierce laboratory.AmplifiedAg […]

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Lightstar Renewables Commences Development of First-of-its-Kind Agrivoltaics Solar Farm Project in New York

Located in Wappingers Falls, the Old Myers project is a 2MW community solar project that will give residents and businesses access to electricity bill savings through discounted community solar subscriptions September 06, 2023: Traditional territories of the Mohican and Wappinger people / Wappingers Falls, New York – Today, Lightstar Renewables is about to break ground […]

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Sakata Seed de México Celebrates Thirty Years, Mauricio Pineda Comments

Morgan Hill, CA; September 2023 – In August of this year, Sakata Seed de México celebrated its 30thanniversary. “We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sakata Seed de México and we are very proud of ourtrajectory”, said Dave Armstrong, President and CEO of Sakata Seed America. “We are currently leadersin several crops in Mexico, like […]

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Workshop on Water Management and Quality to be held in Ohio on September 8

A full day workshop titled, “Water Management and Quality for Greenhouse and Nursery Crop Production” will be held on September 8, 2023 from 9am to 3pm at the Hamilton County Extension Office (2055 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45202). The workshop will provide growers the most up-to-date information of the key sciences and technologies contributing to […]

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How can modeling help to grow a better indoor farm lettuce crop?

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 […]

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The 2023 Controlled Environment Agriculture Market – How are we evolving?

Photo: AppHarvest, Somerset Kentucky The U.S. controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry received lots of publicity over the past 10 years. From interviews on CNBC to articles in Forbes, investors and the general business community found interest in an industry that seemed new despite the fact that it was anything but.   (If you are interested in […]

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GLASE Consortium Announces New Executive Director: Gretchen Schimelpfenig

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 […]

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Can leafy greens be profitably grown in indoor farms?

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. […]

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Boon Consulting Adds Advisory Board Member to Expand Growth in Greenhouse Market

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 […]

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Wait…What, Grapevines can benefit from CEA?

Photo: Somewhere mysteriously in California  Grapes are an economically important commodity, supplying fresh, dried, and processed markets worldwide. Although grapes are not a crop you immediately consider a beneficiary of CEA technology, it may be possible to adapt field agriculture, putting in measures to circumvent climate change and disease.  The last few years I’ve been […]

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