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Drygair at Indoor Ag-Con

DryGair Is Saving Energy and Improving Yields Across N. American Horticulture

Dehumidification system manufacturer, DryGair (Indoor Ag-Con Booth 207), has been at the forefront of the horticulture humidity control market since its inception in 2010. The company has recently established its N. America branch, in order to better serve the U.S. and Canadian markets, as the system is becoming more and more popular, in a wider variety of crops.

Director of the N. America branch, Douglas Miller, mentions DryGair’s success in Europe, most notably in the Netherlands.

“Growers in Europe have been using DryGair for a long time, in a variety of different crops and facilities. It’s become a staple, especially in flowers and other ornamental plants, as well as herbs, leafy greens, and many types of vegetable and vine crops.”

Growers Use DryGair for a Variety of Benefits

The patented dehumidification system was developed at the Volcani Agricultural Research Center, as one of the first solutions for active humidity reduction in horticultural environments. Advanced greenhouses were quick to adopt the technology, as it was shown to not only prevent diseases and improve yields, but also save a significant amount of energy.

“When people think of dehumidification, they think of mold prevention”, Miller says. “But it’s much more than that. Maintaining an ideal relative humidity range, coupled with a uniform climate (thanks to DryGair’s patented air circulation mechanism), has a major impact on the crop. It creates an active climate that stimulates growth and improves quality.”

“The system also saves a lot of energy. By making ventilation unnecessary, you can retain heat inside, which significantly reduces heating requirements. We’ve seen an average of 50% savings, compared to traditional humidity control methods, in trials and customer experiences.”

DryGair’s Success in the Cannabis Sector

In contrast to the European markets, in the U.S. and Canada, DryGair was mostly popularized in cannabis production.

“We’ve had a lot of success in commercial and medical cannabis production in the U.S. and Canada. Cannabis growers were early adopters, quickly realizing that effective humidity control can make or break entire grow cycles” Miller mentions.

“Of course, when it comes to cannabis, humidity control is extremely important, as it’s the main tool for mold prevention. It’s necessary in all stages of cultivation and is actually a GMP requirement for medicinal cannabis production.”

Popularizing Dehumidification in Vegetable and Flower Cultivation

“However, more and more ‘traditional’ growers have been taking note.” Miller adds. “Vegetable, flower, and potted plant growers are realizing the benefits their counterparts across the world are reaping.”

Drygair At Indoor Ag-Con 2024Once growers understand that this tool can both improve yields and reduce costs, it’s an easy decision,” he adds.

DryGair will be presenting their humidity control solution at the upcoming Indoor Ag-Con. Visit the company at booth #207 to discuss effective humidity control and energy savings possibilities for your facility.

Cannabis

New Cannabis Conference Track Joins Indoor Ag-Con’s Conference Line-Up March 11-12, 2024 at Caesars Forum In Las Vegas

200+ Exhibitors, Three Keynotes, Engaging Conference, and Networking Events Come Together For Largest and Leading Show Dedicated To Indoor Agriculture At Caesars Forum

Indoor Ag-Con, the largest and leading trade show and conference dedicated to vertical farming | greenhouse | controlled environment agriculture, will return to Caesars Forum March 11-12, 2024 for its 11th annual event. Indoor Ag-Con unites farmers, growers/cultivators, ag tech leaders, suppliers, advocates and enthusiasts under one roof to experience all that Indoor Ag-Con has to offer including for the first time, a NEW Cannabis Conference track for cultivators.

Indoor Ag-Con attendees will also have access to the National Grocers Association (NGA) Show, the leading tradeshow and conference for independent grocers, which will once again co-locate with Indoor Ag-Con.

“After a successful 2023 event, we are excited to once again converge in Las Vegas to bring together our exhibitors, speakers, partners, and attendees from around the globe,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO, Indoor Ag-Con. “Indoor Ag-Con is the place to experience the most cutting-edge indoor agriculture products from the most innovative companies in the world, engage in important conversations at our Conference sessions, hear from the top leaders in our industry including three inspiring Keynotes and connect with peers in the industry.”

Cannabis Track Joins Robust Conference   

The Conference features two jam-packed days of educational and insightful sessions from 80+ speakers in four tracks including the NEW Cannabis track, designed specifically for cannabis cultivators and will dive into the key industry issues and best practices for ideal grow environments. Track sessions include: Past, Present & Future: The State of the Evolving Cannabis Landscape,” “Elevate Your Cannabis Grow: Finding the Right Vertical Racking Systems for Optimal Efficiency,” “Crossroads of Cannabis: MSO Evolution and Legacy Resilience,” “Unveiling the Essence: Mastering Terpene Excellence in Cannabis Cultivation,” and “Bridging The Gap: Integrating Cannabis Cultivation with Traditional Horticulture for Operation Excellence.” Additional tracks include Planning & Operations, Grower, and Cultivating Possibilities. Indoor Ag-Con’s Conference sessions will span multiple topics including “Bridging the Gap Between CEA Producers and Buyers”, “Roadmap to Data Standardization In CEA,” “Mushrooming Success: Navigating Trends and Opportunities in the Culinary Mushroom Market,” among others that are making an impact on the indoor agriculture industry.

New for 2024, the Indoor Ag-Con CEA Food Safety Pre-Event Workshop: Internal Review Certification, will be held on Sunday, March 10, 1-5pm and is designed for anyone in the controlled environment agriculture industry dedicated to ensuring the highest standards of food safety and quality. Internal auditing certification is a mandatory GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) requirement that demonstrates an individual’s ability to conduct internal assessments of any food safety program.  Indoor Ag-Con has partnered with Ceres University, a leading provider of IACET-accredited food safety training and certification, to offer a cost-effective, convenient way to build your career AND help fulfill GFSI scheme requirements.

Three Keynote presentations

In addition to Indoor Ag-Con’s Conference sessions, the event will feature three inspiring Keynote speakers, including this year’s headliner, Paul Sellew, Founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms, who will give the 2024 edition’s opening morning headline keynote address on Monday, March 11th at 8 am. Sellew has built a successful career on his belief in sustainable agriculture. With over 30 years of experience developing and leading successful companies, Sellew is on a mission to transform the way food is grown through peri-urban agricultural practices that are rebuilt for the modern world.

Additional Keynote speakers will be announced soon.

Expanded Expo Hall

The expanded Expo Hall, will be home to 200+ world-class exhibitors featuring the most cutting-edge technologies, products and services in the indoor agriculture industry from lighting and control systems to substrates, equipment, irrigation systems and much more. Don’t miss sessions on the Expo Floor in the Expo Hall Theater where industry leaders offer 45-minute presentations on hot topics.

Networking Events

Mix and mingle with new and old friends at daily events including the Vivid Canopy Panel & Networking Event   hosted by GLASE – the Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering Consortium – and Eden Green Technology, Conference Lunches, Expo Hall Happy Hour, and many more fun and engaging events.

For more information on the full line-up of sessions, exhibitors and events, please visit www.indoor.ag.

ABOUT:

Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has emerged as the largest trade show and conference for vertical farming | greenhouse |controlled environment agriculture. Its events are crop-agnostic and touch all sectors of the business, covering produce, legal cannabis | hemp, alternate protein and non-food crops. More information, visit www.indoor.ag.

XtremeLUX and Triple Ring Technologies Announce Collaborative Solution to the Biggest Problems Hampering Indoor Ag

Advanced spectrally-controlled lighting and biotech will combine to push indoor agriculture past the goal of economic sustainability.

 

XtremeLUX, a designer and supplier of advanced lighting systems for indoor farming, and Triple Ring Technologies, a co-development firm that helps innovators and entrepreneurs develop science-based technologies for a broad range of markets, will introduce at the Indoor Ag-Con Conference on Feb 28 in Las Vegas, an advanced solution for optimizing energy usage and for helping growers to creatively solve their biggest biotechnical problems. The heart of the technology is the customization of spectral inputs to the particular species and lifecycle stage of the plant; dramatically reducing energy usage, improving yield and quality, and enabling industry-sustaining economic benefits. Extreme spectrum control and integrated sensors provide extra tools for attacking pathogens, repelling bugs, detecting malnourishment, and solving many other problems.

Silicon Valley-based Triple Ring Technologies, is pleased to support XtremeLUX, including the exhibition of their technology at Indoor Ag-Con. “Triple Ring is excited about the potential for the XtremeLUX system and advanced spectral control to support the scaling of vertical farming,” said Joe Weber, Vice President for Strategic Markets at Triple Ring. “Our experience developing technology and products involving photonics, sensors, and complex systems in a broad range of markets including in the ag tech world have positioned us well to support startups such as XtremeLUX.” he continued.

“XtremeLUX is very thrilled to be exhibiting our fourth generation of products at Indoor Ag-Con this year. As we grow our partnerships in the vertical farming space and advance our product line, we are looking forward to enhancing the role of CEA in global agriculture.” said Chiamin Cheng, CEO of XtremeLUX.

About XtremeLUX

Founded in 2011, XtremeLUX has developed an innovative system of controlled lighting for the vertical farming and cannabis industries.  Based on their adaptive spectrum control capability, their systems have been adopted to great benefit by large-scale leafy green and cannabis growers and by researchers. XtremeLUX’s open lighting control interface is designed to be interoperable with industry-standard communication protocols, including Modbus, MQTT, and USB-to-I2C, for easy integration with previously installed climate control, power management, fertigation, and other systems.

About Triple Ring Technologies

Triple Ring Technologies is a co-development company headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in Boston, Toronto, and Copenhagen. They partner with clients in medtech, life sciences, and sustainability & the environment to create new technologies, launch innovative projects, and start new ventures. Their capabilities span early R&D, product development, manufacturing, regulatory approval, market access, strategic investment, and incubation. For more information, please visit www.tripleringtech.com.

Contact for XtremeLUX:  Chiamin Cheng, chiamin.cheng@xtremelux.com.  Contact for Triple Ring Technologies:  Tracy Li, tli@tripleringtech.com.

Agnetix and JARS

Jars, Agnetix Partner For Large-Scale Vertical Farm In Arizona

JARS Cannabis has selected Smart Horticulture Lighting technology leader and Indoor Ag-Con 2022 exhibitor, Agnetix, for a new high-tech vertical farming project in Phoenix, Arizona.

Purpose built for Agnetix lighting, this new state-of-the-art facility will feature over 2000 liquidcooled PHENOM luminaires in a high energy density double-tiered configuration.

JARS Director of Cultivation, Ian Haselmire, spoke about why they were drawn to Agnetix: “JARS began this project with a simple goal: build a highly effective vertical cannabis farm. Vertical growing introduces additional design and operational challenges over single-tiered facilities. We selected the new water-cooled Agnetix PHENOM LEDs for their ability to displace heat before it accumulates inside our tiered benches, maintaining a consistent environment without stagnation and microclimates. The dense array of sensors built into the PHENOM platform further enables us to confirm the effectiveness of our HVAC and supporting equipment, highlighting areas of concern for immediate improvement.”

Dr. Ihor Lys, Agnetix co-founder and CTO, explained: “The Agnetix HMI provides a unique three dimensional view of these sensors, clearly showing the conditions, plants and process in real time. JARS found this capability quite compelling. The PHENOM platform provides unparalleled insight for crop steering, facility management and operational improvement.” Ian continued: “In the short term, this capability speeds commissioning. Every facility goes through
a break-in period, and the faster you can identify areas for improvement the faster you drive the projects’ return on investment.”

For more information about the PHENOM vertical farming lighting systems, visit www.agnetix.com or contact sales@agnetix.com.

About JARS:
Founded in 2020, JARS is a vertically integrated multi-state operator committed to providing the best quality cannabis with the widest variety of options at affordable prices. JARS is a progressive cannabis company that provides a welcoming and uplifting environment for its employees and customers. JARS dispensaries offer an abundance of product choices with knowledgeable staff that can provide insight into customers’ medical and lifestyle needs. Our approach to products, design, and community is helping change the conversation about cannabis in a positive way. In a short amount of time, JARS has built a trusted and powerful brand resulting in rapid growth across multiple states. JARS owns and operates eleven retail locations in Michigan and four retail locations in Arizona, with multiple cultivation and extraction sites in Arizona coming online in early 2022. www.jarscannabis.com

About Agnetix:
Agnetix is a technology company on a steep growth trajectory focused on the development of advanced smart horticultural lighting and information technology solutions for commercial indoor and greenhouse growers – both in fresh produce and cannabis markets. The Agnetix Responsive Agriculture™ platform delivers meaningful plant and energy data insights for quick, informed decisions. The Agnetix system includes highly efficient, water-cooled LED lighting,
environmental sensors, AI (Artificial Intelligence) imagers, data, and real-time monitoring solutions. Agnetix helps serious controlled environment agriculture (CEA) growers to significantly improve their crop yield, reduce their operating cost, reduce their carbon footprint, and run a more profitable business. www.Agnetix.com

Argus Controls | Sustaining Cannabis Production With Fertigation

Article Sourced From Greenhouse Grower magazine.

By Alex Fermon, Product Marketing Manager with Argus Controls, a founding member of the Sustainable Cannabis Coalition.

The United Nations estimates that by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed countries. With roughly 70% of the freshwater around the world being used for agriculture — a number that could climb to 90% in developing countries by 2030 — the need for efficient water management and sustainable irrigation is at a critical point.Argus Controls At Indoor Ag-Con 2022

Sustainable irrigation is defined as, “the rational practice of all activities related with the irrigation of plants, whether in the areas of horticulture, landscape, and ornamentals so that it helps to satisfy the respective survival and welfare needs of the present without compromising those of future generations.”

It considers the impacts of manufacturing and transportation of required equipment and materials, as well as incurred discharges and waste impacts.[1] For traditional horticulture and commercial agriculture, irrigation is a necessary process for plant growth and, although it can be done manually, automating this process could bring several benefits to growers.

Improving irrigation efficiency can contribute greatly to reducing production costs, making the industry more competitive and ultimately sustainable. Through proper irrigation, average yields can be maintained (or increased) while minimizing environmental impacts caused by excess applied water and subsequent agrichemical leaching.[2]

Fertigation as a Bridge to Sustainability

Fertigation is the process of delivering nutrients and water to a plant through automated irrigation. The goal is to not only produce a crop with higher yields, but to also run a more streamlined and sustainable operation. An automated system eliminates the need for constant monitoring and watering of plants and therefore will reduce overall workforce demands. Automation will also allow for consistency in quality that hand-watering cannot.

There are two common methods of delivering fertilizers through an irrigation system for sustainable production: dilute tank control and in-line injection.

Whether you select dilute tank feeding or an in-line injection system, there is a range of options for automating the nutrient dosing process. While automated dosing systems offer many management, productivity, and sustainability features (including reduced fertilizer and water runoff and better crop quality), they tend to be more complex and cost-prohibitive.

Consider a dilute tank control system when:

  • The whole crop can be administered with a single feed solution.
  • The dilute feed composition and strength (EC) do not change often.
  • The pH of water does not need frequent adjustment.

Consider an in-line injection system when:

  • Irrigation scheduling and nutrient dosing are integrated.
  • Supplying more than one nutrient formulation on the same irrigation system (different crop requirements).
  • The ability is needed to vary the feeding strength (EC) without having to prepare new stock solutions.

Some automated environmental control systems only manage the nutrient dosing equipment, while other horticulture nutrient systems can integrate irrigation scheduling with nutrient dosing activities. An automated fertigation system can be integrated with the facility’s environmental control system where it can be monitored and managed from a centralized user interface along with all other controlled processes within the grow operation.

Fertigation equipment and systems vary with each application and should be capable of adapting to the design and operation of the overall facility. This may include controls and monitoring for:

  • Tank levels
  • EC
  • pH
  • Acid/base dosing equipment
  • Water temperature
  • Soil moisture levels
  • Leaching rates (over drain)
  • Nutrient dosing equipment
  • Pump controls
  • Irrigation zone valves
  • Line purging
  • Recirculation management
  • Water treatment equipment (filters, pasteurizers, ozone, UV, etc.)

There are several factors to consider when planning, designing, and automating an irrigation or fertigation solution in a horticultural facility. Planning for sustainability will result in more efficient use of available resources allowing for long-term viability and success.

As the horticulture industry continues to evolve, so do sustainability solutions like greenhouse automation systems. The future of irrigation controls promises more intricate, intuitive systems with advanced sensors to support more sustainable practices.

REFERENCES:

[1] What we understand for sustainable irrigation. “Asociacion del Riego Sostenible”. Available at: http://www.riego.org/asociacion-riego-sostenible/la-asociacion/sustainable-irrigation-definition/ (Accessed: 29 January 2021).

 

[1] Munoz-Carpena, Dukes (2018) Automatic Irrigation Based on Soil Moisture for Vegetable Crops. University of Florida. Available at: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae354 (Accessed: 21 January 2021).

 

Neff, Jeff, “Automated Irrigation Techniques”. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwWU9BxVJZ0/ (Accessed: 29 January 2021)

First Major Asian-American Owned Cannabis Enterprise In Norcal Partners With Agnetix Lighting Technology For Three Large-Scale Greenhouses In 2021

Agnetix and BP Logistics

Agnetix, a pioneer in data-driven horticulture lighting technology, has been selected as primary lighting partner by BP Logistics, currently constructing several new Cannabis greenhouses and indoor grows totaling over 110,000FT2 in the San Francisco area for a total of over 2,000 high-powered A3 luminaires.

BP Logistics is a California-licensed cultivation group owned by Minh Mai, CEO, and Chauncey Man, COO. Along with their team of experienced cultivators, the high-energy pair is determined to bring Asian Cultivators to the northern California Cannabis market with a forward-thinking grow strategy. Selecting Agnetix A3, the world’s most energy-efficient and most powerful LED horticultural grow light, will ensure they have a significant advantage. This partnership marks a pivotal step in the team’s plan to develop technology-forward and sustainable facilities powered by energy-efficient and intelligent systems including lighting, HVAC, water management, nutrient control, and data capture.

“Agnetix is by far the best grow lighting system on the market today,” said Mr. Mai. “The A3 water-cooled lighting system delivers a tremendous amount of high-quality light that benefits our plants while greatly reducing our carbon footprint.”

The team chose Agnetix as their primary lighting and cultivation management system for its high energy efficiencies and data visibility. Agnetix provides a full suite of value-added benefits and a one-of-kind decision support system, employing energy-efficient LED lighting, canopy-level sensors, networking technology, and data analytics.

“As we make this major shift in our model, having Agnetix as our partner will provide us with a sure path to exceeding our business goals,” adds Mr. Man. “The superior level of customer service from the Agnetix team is unparalleled.”

“We are thrilled to partner with this team and support their unique vision for sustainable growing facilities,” said Jordan Miles, CEO, Agnetix. “Crop visibility, data-driven insights, and remote control are just a few ways we endeavor to mitigate risks across all of their growing facilities and provide a greater peace of mind.”

For more information about the Agnetix A3 water-cooled lighting system visit www.agnetix.com or contact sales@agnetix.com.

About Agnetix

Agnetix is an SEC-registered technology company on a steep growth trajectory focused on the development of advanced horticultural lighting and information technology solutions for commercial indoor and greenhouse growers – both in cannabis and fresh produce markets. The Agnetix Responsive Agriculture™ platform delivers meaningful plant and energy data insights for quick, informed decisions to mitigate risks. The Agnetix system includes highly efficient, water-cooled LED lighting, environmental sensors, AI (Artificial Intelligence) imagers, data, and real-time monitoring solutions. Agnetix helps serious growers to significantly improve their crop yield, reduce their operating cost and run a more profitable business.     www.agnetix.com