Education Providers

Becoming an Environmentalist while trying to turn a profit

Photo: Close friend and Kansas farmer enjoys a break. Credit: Chris Higgins Thoughts of a businessman just trying to figure it out, while not messing up. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” – The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway In a previous article, I posed the question, Who Should Lead The Environmental Movement? In this […]

Continue Reading

We are all somewhere on a Spectrum

The role of light and spectrum on plant growth and metabolite production in CEA We know light exerts a powerful influence on plant growth. These effects can range anywhere from seed germination to leaf expansion and from flowering to fruiting. But, did you know it’s not only plants that benefit from changes caused by light? […]

Continue Reading

How will the Inflation Reduction Act affect indoor agriculture businesses?

By Sam Milton For business owners and operators in the indoor agriculture or controlled environment agriculture (CEA) space, whether you grow leafy greens, strawberries, or cannabis, or those  support these businesses, the main questions about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 are most likely going to be:  What is the Inflation Reduction Act?  How will […]

Continue Reading

Why the Jury is still out on Robotics and Autonomous Intelligence (AI) In Agriculture

Photo: Chris Higgins, Hendersonville NC. Recent company failures and layoffs will likely have people second guessing their commitment to the agtech movement and possibly controlled environment agriculture (CEA). The past 15 years of my career have seen a rollercoaster of interest in my chosen industry. In the 2000s, the Canadians and Mexicans drove investments as […]

Continue Reading

Future Food-Tech and Kraft Heinz Innovation Challenge: Unleash the Power of Tomatoes from Seed to Shelf, March 2023

The exclusive challenge seeks innovative solutions from food-tech start-ups to maximize the potential of tomatoes Future Food-Tech today announced an exclusive innovation challenge with The Kraft Heinz Company, culminating at the flagship Future Food-Tech San Francisco summit on March 16-17. The challenge seeks innovative solutions to unleash the power of tomatoes, delivering on taste, sustainability, […]

Continue Reading

Village Farms Fresh supports hope for the holidays

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is working to provide healthy meals for kids and their families.  Recently Village Farms Fresh has become part of this effort through a team volunteer endeavor in conjunction with their Mercy Kitchen location that provides meals to a variety of children’s after school programs in the greater Orlando, […]

Continue Reading

DesignLights Consortium Announces the Official Release of New Horticultural Lighting Technical Requirements

Proposed to take effect March 31, 2023, Version 3.0 fosters sustainable growth in the controlled environment agriculture sector, while supporting decarbonization efforts MEDFORD, MA – The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) has announced the final version of it Horticultural Lighting Technical Requirements Version 3.0, increasing the efficacy and establishing additional minimum performance baselines for LED luminaires, lamps and controls used by […]

Continue Reading

How is OptimIA helping vertical farms grow more efficiently and economically?

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 […]

Continue Reading

Indoor Ag Science Cafe talks with Robert Colangelo on the right size for a vertical farm

Last year, venture capitalist companies invested $51.7 billion in Ag Tech, but what exactly is Ag Tech? Ag Tech is technology focused agriculture that is meant to increase existing efficiency processes in agriculture and sustainability, which includes everything from aquaculture to new crops/genetics, to animal health to the controlled environment agriculture industry. With dwindling resources, […]

Continue Reading

Business Insider visits AppHarvest and talks advanced tech for agriculture

One Of The World’s Largest Indoor Farms Is Using Advanced Tech To Build A More Resilient Food System Business Insider — AppHarvest is exploring the future of indoor farming and agriculture technology by using up to 90% less water, human-assisting AI, and the power of the sun for reliable food growth. Alongside local education efforts, […]

Continue Reading

BBC “Follow the Food” series explore The Fight to Feed Humanity

From conflict to climate change, our food is under pressure like never before. Amanda Little meets farmers on three continents trying to rise to the challenge. Farmers try to increase yield and do so sustainably as the world population increases. Watch more of the series from BBC:https://www.bbc.com/reel/playlist/follow-the-food-a-new-world?vpid=p0d9xnpz

Continue Reading

Texas A&M AgriLife seeks input on controlled environment agriculture

Azlan Zahid, Ph.D., working on an controlled environment agriculture project at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Sam Craft) Grant-funded stakeholder meeting Dec. 5 coincides with annual controlled environment ag conference in Dallas By Adam Russell, Texas A&M AgriLife Developments within Texas A&M AgriLife’s urban agriculture efforts could […]

Continue Reading

Michigan State University invites you to participate in their CEA labor survey

Michigan State University invites you to participate in their Controlled Environmental Agriculture (CEA) labor survey. The purpose of this survey is to understand production-related labor requirements and estimate labor costs in CEA farms, including a vertical/indoor farm setting, containers or permanent greenhouses. In this survey, you will be asked about labor hours, level of automation […]

Continue Reading

Taking the pulse of CEA protein farming

“You should never hesitate to trade your cow for a handful of magic beans. “ — Tom Robbins   Protein Replacement is a hot topic  Nutrition and protein replacement in particular is a global health concern with implications for the future direction of the planet, not least because the tide could be turning on less sustainable […]

Continue Reading