Tag: sustainability

Ecoation Partners with Mucci Farms to Advance Greenhouse Technology

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on January 12, 2025. Posted in Blog.

Ecoation and Mucci Farms have announced a strategic collaboration to integrate Ecoation’s advanced Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and Yield Forecasting platform across Mucci Farms’ greenhouse facilities in the U.S. and Canada. This partnership reflects Mucci Farms’ commitment to adopting cutting-edge technology to enhance crop health, productivity, and sustainability.

“For years, we’ve sought a technology partner who understands the complexities of greenhouse operations,” said Bert Mucci, CEO of Mucci Farms. “Ecoation’s platform offers the insights we need to drive innovation and sustainability.”

Key Takeaways:

Ecoation has formed a strategic partnership with Mucci Farms, to deploy Ecoation’s IPM and yield forecasting platform across all Mucci facilities.
The collaboration aims to enhance crop health monitoring, pest management, and yield prediction through advanced digital tools and machine learning.
Mucci Farms will leverage Ecoation’s platform to increase productivity, reduce chemical use, and further sustainable agriculture efforts.
This partnership builds on years of successful collaboration and technology trials between the two companies.
Ecoation and Mucci Farms share a commitment to sustainability, operational efficiency, and technological innovation.

Scaling New Heights: UP Vertical Farms CEO on Innovation and the Future of Canadian Farming

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on December 17, 2024. Posted in Blog.

As pioneers in Canadian vertical farming, brothers Bahram and Shahram Rashti, Co-Founders of UP Vertical Farms, are redefining how leafy greens are grown and delivered. Together they have built one of Canada’s most innovative fully-automated, high-density vertical farms that merges sustainability, technology, and profitability to tackle food security challenges head-on. In this Q&A, CEO Bahram Rashti shares insights into UP Vertical Farms’ cutting-edge touchless growing methods, their key partnerships, and their ambitious plans to scale into the U.S. market. Readers can also hear directly from Bahram during the “Trends in Canada” panel at Indoor Ag-Con 2025, where he will discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping Canada’s controlled environment agriculture industry.

From Dentistry to Vertical Farming: Your career shift from dentistry to agriculture is unique, and you co-founded UP Vertical Farms with your brother, Shahram. What inspired this transition, and how has your partnership shaped the company’s vision and success?

(L-R) Shahram and Bahram Rashti, Co-Founders, UP Vertical Farms

The transition from dentistry to vertical farming was definitely not a traditional one, but it was driven by a deep desire to make a more direct impact on people’s well-being and the environment. Dentistry provided me with an understanding of health and the importance of sustainable living, but over time, I realized that agriculture, particularly food security, was a space where I could contribute on a larger scale. The idea of producing fresh, healthy food in an environmentally sustainable way really resonated with me.

My brother, Shahram, and I have always shared a vision of creating solutions that improve people’s quality of life. We believe that we’re on this planet once and we should try to help solve a problem while we can. After much research, we concluded that the time would soon approach where relying on the current food systems alone would lead to supply shortages due to the adverse effects of climate change. We realized the gap in the market will be significant and grow steadily over time leading to a massive emerging market in vertical farming. That was about 10 years ago when we decided to prepare for this shift from outdoor production to indoors, which is not just a once in a lifetime but a once in history event – producing commercial scale vegetable production without the need of the sun. Our partnership in co-founding UP Vertical Farms has been instrumental in pursuing this vision — my foundation in science and systems combined with his expertise in technology and business has allowed us to build a company focused on innovation and sustainability. Our complementary skills have enabled us to scale effectively and stay true to our core values of growing affordable produce while balancing environmental responsibility.

Innovation and Sustainability: UP Vertical Farms emphasizes innovation and sustainability. How do your touchless technology and unique growing methods address food security and market demands while ensuring profitability?

Innovation and sustainability are the cornerstones of UP Vertical Farms. We design, build, and operate our plant factories in a turnkey fashion, which enables us to customize and build exactly what is needed for a fraction of the cost. Our touchless technology in CEA is a game-changer in the farming industry — it automates key parameters for irrigation, seeding, growing, harvesting, and packaging, in turn minimizing human intervention and reducing labor costs while also maintaining hygiene. This ecosystem technology helps us optimize resource use, reduce waste, and achieve consistent, high-quality yields all year round with 99% less water, nutrient fertilizers, and land compared to traditional farming.

This not only makes our operations more sustainable in our 12-level industrial growing racks, but also more resilient to climate change, inflation, and supply chain disruptions. As a result, it allows us to significantly contribute to food security especially since our enclosed warehouse structures are closer to the regions we want to feed. Furthermore, deploying just -in-time production across our racks allows us to provide fresh, nutritious produce with longer shelf life to the market daily while reducing waste from overproduction. Therefore, our model is not just about sustainability; it’s also designed for profitability. Focusing on high density production, and by reducing overhead costs and waste, and ensuring a constant, predictable output, we’re able to offer competitive prices to consumers, and the market can’t seem to get enough of our crunchy tasty lettuce varieties and salad kits.

Building Partnerships: Partnerships have been critical to your growth—from collaborating with Oppy in your early stages to working with retailers like Costco. How have these relationships influenced your production, distribution, and business strategy?

Partnerships have been crucial to our success, both in terms of scaling and understanding market needs. Oppy, in the early stages, provided us with invaluable insights into the retail and distribution world, helping us refine our products and processes. Their experience in logistics and relationships with retailers allowed us to hit the ground running and reach a wider audience. Oppy understood our vision and the market opportunity from the very beginning, and they have been a great partner to align with to capture the increasing indoor grown leafy greens market in North America.

Working with major retailers like Costco has also been a game changer. It’s given us the ability to scale our operations and ensure that we can meet consumer demand for fresh, sustainable produce at a competitive price. These partnerships push us to continuously improve our production systems and ensure quality control at every level, from farm to store shelf. Meeting and surpassing their stringent quality and value requirements has allowed us to grow our programs and become a trusted supplier all year round – not all vertical farms can currently fulfill both.

Our business strategy has always been to build long-term relationships, not just with retailers but also with consumers, ensuring that we’re providing them with the highest quality produce while contributing to local economies. Consumers appreciate quality and value, which is evident as we steadily gain more market share. The trust we’ve built with the different retail, financial, and distribution partners has allowed us to scale efficiently while keeping our core values of innovation and sustainability intact.

Scaling Beyond Canada: Your recent expansion into Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba is a big milestone. What strategies are you using to scale operations, and how do you plan to navigate entering the U.S. market?

Expanding into provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba has been an exciting milestone. Our strategy for scaling is rooted in replicating our core operational model but adapting it to the unique needs and taste profiles of each region. Our company has recently rolled out 12 tasty salad kit offerings which pair perfectly with our crunchy baby leafy greens. Providing this many unique and market classic salad kits by a Canadian company to retail stores is another market first which we are proud of. Canadians want to eat more locally grown, fresh, long-lasting, and pesticide-free vegetables, naturally making our products highly successful and in demand. We’ve built a strong understanding of consumer preferences, which allows us to tailor our salad kit offerings to retail partners across each province.

When entering new markets, whether domestically or internationally, it’s essential to form strong partnerships with regional and national retailers and ensuring that we’re not just meeting the market’s immediate needs but also contributing to its long-term sustainability goals.

As for entering the U.S. market, our vision and strategy is quite long term as the American consumers are also searching for the high quality and value propositions which our products offer. We also plan to leverage the scalability of our touchless technology and our proven track record in Canada to demonstrate the viability of vertical farming as a solution to food security challenges in the U.S. We are in the process of establishing strategic partnerships with American retailers with the intention to eventually have local production facilities across certain states. This expansion will in part be fueled and accelerated by the capital raise that we are currently completing.

Future of Vertical Farming in Canada: As a pioneer in Canadian vertical farming, what do you see as the biggest opportunities and challenges for the industry’s growth in the country?

The future of vertical farming in Canada is incredibly promising. We currently import most of our fruits and vegetables across Canada with lettuce having one of the highest volumes. Even though Canada has a vast landmass and freshwater source, agriculture land is limited, and harsh seasonal climates do not allow for year-round field production of many staple crops. Vertical farming however offers a sustainable way to grow food close to where it’s consumed, reducing the reliance on long-distance transportation and always making fresh produce available. The demand for locally grown, pesticide-free, and sustainable food in Canada is only increasing, which presents a tremendous opportunity for vertical farming to fill that gap and help reduce the dependence on imports.

However, there are challenges to overcome. While the long-term benefits are clear, there can be a significant barrier to entry for new players. This is where partnerships, innovation, and government support will play a key role in driving the industry forward.

One of the challenges is that there is no ecosystem blueprint for new entrants to follow, and building the know-how and expertise in vertical farming can be very challenging and costly. Consumer education is another challenge. While vertical farming is becoming more well-known, there’s still a need to educate the public about the benefits of its sustainably grown produce. We have taken major strides in that direction with both partner retailers and government agencies, but continued collaboration across the industry will be critical. Other more talked about items include energy use, capital costs, and competition from existing field and greenhouse producers, all of which we have successfully managed.

Overall, I’m optimistic about the future of vertical farming in Canada. As the industry matures, we’ll see more innovation, cost reductions, and greater adoption, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and resilient food system.

After almost a decade of R&D and experience, our team at UP Vertical Farms has mastered how to build and operate vertical farms to provide affordable, profitable, and high-quality leafy greens. We are setting the benchmark in Canada for successful vertical farming by having low CapEx and OpEx coupled with high density production and yield. It’s the same know how and expertise that we are applying to other vegetable production as we bring them indoors and grow vertical. This is just the beginning – the sky’s the limit.

Learn more about Up Vertical Farms by visiting their website.

And join us at Indoor Ag-Con, March 11-12, 2025 for the panel discussion with Bahram Rashti and other leaders:

Trends In Canada: Insights From CEA Growers Across the Nation
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM

Indoor Ag-Con, Inside Grower Launch The CEAs — Cultivating Excellence Awards

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on November 7, 2024. Posted in Press Releases.

Nominations Now Open; Winners Will Be Announced At Gala Luncheon During Indoor Ag-Con March 11-12, 2025 Edition

Indoor Ag-Con and Inside Grower magazine are proud to announce the inaugural CEAs — Cultivating Excellence Awards. This prestigious new awards program is designed to recognize and celebrate excellence, innovation, and leadership within the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector, spotlighting achievements across three categories: Operational Excellence, Good Stewardship, and Product Innovation.

Presented at a special gala luncheon on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at the 12th annual edition of Indoor Ag-Con, held at the Westgate Las Vegas, The CEAs will honor trailblazing businesses and standout products that are shaping the future of CEA. Nomination submissions are now open, and all eligible businesses and products are encouraged to apply via www.indoor.ag/ceas-2025. Nominations are free and the deadline for submissions is December 16, 2024.

“This award program highlights the cutting-edge work our industry leaders and innovators are doing to advance controlled environment agriculture. It is a privilege to offer a platform for recognizing the incredible accomplishments of these businesses and individuals,” said Brian Sullivan, CEO, Indoor Ag-Con. “With The CEAs, we aim to drive excitement, inspire further innovation, and reinforce the industry’s commitment to sustainable growth.”

“We are excited to partner with Indoor Ag-Con to present these awards,” adds Paul Black, Publisher, Inside Grower. “By celebrating the CEA sector’s best and brightest, The CEAs help showcase the innovation and responsibility at the core of our industry. We look forward to shining a spotlight on the pioneers and products that are making a meaningful difference.”

Winners in three award categories will be announced at The CEAs gala luncheon:

The CEAs Operational Excellence Award will recognize a single CEA business or one location of a multi-location business that consistently delivers quality products while distinguishing itself through innovation in production, technology, marketing, and overall strategy. Judges will evaluate candidates based on their achievements in growing market share, sustaining product quality, and developing practices that set them apart in a competitive landscape. Three finalists will receive an All-Access Pass to Indoor Ag-Con and be invited to attend the awards luncheon. The winner will be honored with a cover feature in Inside Grower magazine.

Good stewardship is foundational in today’s CEA industry, and this award recognizes businesses that are exemplary in their commitment to environmental and community responsibility. Three finalists who showcase initiatives in resource conservation, recycling, employee development, and community service will be chosen for The CEAs Good Stewardship Award. Each will receive an All-Access Pass to Indoor Ag-Con and the gala luncheon, and the winner will be recognized in a feature story in a future issue of Inside Grower magazine.

The CEAs Product Innovation Award highlights the newest and most innovative products that solve critical industry challenges and drive customer value. Open to all 2025 Indoor Ag-Con exhibitors, this award will celebrate products that demonstrate the forward-thinking, problem-solving spirit of the CEA industry. Winning products will be highlighted through Indoor Ag-Con promotional channels, and in a special section in an upcoming issue of Inside Grower magazine.

For more information on the award categories, nomination guidelines, and to submit a free application, please visit www.indoor.ag/ceas-2025.

ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON

Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con has emerged as the largest trade show and conference for vertical farming | greenhouse | controlled environment agriculture (CEA). The event brings together industry professionals from across the globe to explore the latest trends, technologies, and innovations in the CEA sector. 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

ABOUT INSIDE GROWER

Part of the Ball Publishing family of media brands, Inside Grower magazine is a leading publication for the controlled environment agriculture industry, providing news, insights, quality crop-specific growing information and timely trend data that can help operations thrive in today’s market. More information, visit www.insidegrower.com

CEA Industry Leaders to Outline Future Trends at CEA Summit East Keynote

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on August 19, 2024. Posted in Blog, Press Releases.

Virginia October 1-2, 2024 Edition Brings Academia and Industry Together For Collaboration, Innovation

The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East is excited to announce that the keynote address, “Leadership Insights: Charting the Future Landscape of Controlled Environment Agriculture,” will take place on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 9 AM at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) Conference Center in Danville, Virginia.

This session is one of two featured keynote addresses joining the full conference line-up for the October 1-2, 2024 edition, providing attendees with a double dose of expert insights and forward-thinking discussions. This keynote will bring together leading executives in the CEA industry to explore predictions, strategies, and perspectives on the emerging trends that will shape the future of controlled environment agriculture.

The panel will feature Carl Gupton, CEO, Greenswell Growers; John McMahon, Co-Founder & COO, Better Future Farms; and Molly Montgomery, Acting CEO & Executive Chair, AeroFarms. The keynote will be moderated by Emily Gee, a member of the Board of Directors for the CEA Alliance and Director of Marketing, AeroFarms.

This engaging session will give attendees the chance to participate in the ongoing conversation shaping the course of sustainable and innovative food production. Whether you are a greenhouse grower, urban agriculture operator, vertical farmer, supplier in the CEA sector, this keynote promises critical takeaways that can help you navigate the evolving landscape of controlled environment agriculture. Look for more information coming soon on another keynote session.

ABOUT CEA SUMMIT EAST

Returning for its third year, the CEA Summit East will be held from October 1-2, 2024, at the IALR Conference Center in Danville, Virginia. Co-hosted by Indoor Ag-Con, the premier trade show and conference for the vertical farming, greenhouse, and CEA sector, and the Virginia Tech (VT)- IALR CEA Innovation Center, this summit continues to be a key event for industry collaboration and innovation, featuring two days of tabletop exhibits, networking and conference programming.

Building on the success of its 2023 edition, which drew participants from 33 U.S. states, Canada, the Netherlands, and Sweden, the CEA Summit East 2024 is expected to once again unite professionals from academia, business, and technology within the CEA industry. Attendees will include greenhouse growers, urban agriculture operations, vertical farms, outdoor growers exploring hybrid opportunities, educators, scientists, extension personnel and agents, suppliers, engineers, tech specialists, architects/developers, government officials, and other industry members.

For more information on the CEA Summit East and to register for the event, please visit www.ceasummit.east.

ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON

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. For more information, visit www.indoor.ag.

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA TECH – IALR CEA INNOVATION CENTER

The Virginia Tech-IALR Controlled Environment Agriculture Innovation Center is a joint project between IALR and Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center. By developing strategic partnerships with both industry and academia, the goal of the Innovation Center is to conduct research and educational programming to develop, promote and advance the CEA sector in the U.S. and internationally. For more information, visit www.ialr.org/cea

CEA Alliance Executive Director Tom Stenzel

Inside the CEA Alliance: Advocating for Growth, Innovation, and Sustainability

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on August 12, 2024. Posted in Blog.

Q&A With CEA Alliance Executive Director Tom Stenzel

In this edition of Indoor Ag-Content, we caught up with Tom Stenzel, Executive Director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Alliance (CEA Alliance), to discuss the organization’s pivotal role in shaping the future of indoor agriculture. From its early days as a food safety coalition to its expanded focus on sustainability, public policy, and industry collaboration, the CEA Alliance has become a driving force in the CEA sector. As the Alliance prepares to hold its 2025 annual meeting in conjunction with Indoor Ag-Con Las Vegas, Tom shares his insights on the challenges, opportunities, and trends that will define the future of controlled environment agriculture.

Let’s begin with an overview of the CEA Alliance. Can you describe your mission, goals and organization?

CEA Alliance Meets With the USDA — In January 2024, more than 30 members of the CEA Alliance went to Washington, D.C. to educate members of Congress and the Administration about the rapidly growing indoor farming sector of U.S. agriculture.

The CEA Alliance is a membership trade association representing and serving vertical farms and greenhouse producers growing fruits and vegetables in a highly controlled indoor production environment. The Alliance was formed in 2019 as the CEA Food Safety Coalition. At that time, a group of indoor leafy greens growers came together to develop food safety best practices for indoor production. In 2022, the group expanded to include all indoor produce production, not just leafy greens, and also expanded our portfolio to all issues affecting the sector. Our membership today is pretty equally divided between growers and their supplier business partners. Alliance member growers account for the vast majority of high-tech indoor-grown produce in North America.

We’re led today by a 10-person Board of Directors, with our primary work focused in four critical issue areas for the sector. Food safety continues to be a major focus, where we continue to develop best practices, define research needs for the sector, and represent our members working with regulatory authorities at the US Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture. Other issues areas with specific working groups include public policy, sustainability, and marketing communications.

You mentioned that public policy advocacy is a critical component of your work. What are some of the most pressing legislative or regulatory challenges facing the CEA sector today, and how is the CEA Alliance addressing them?

CEA Alliance Meeting — CEA Alliance members meet with Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow.

Our Public Policy committee is our largest working group, including more than 50 members. We’re working to make sure CEA production is supported in agricultural policy through the US Farm Bill, which is now under debate in Congress. Many current farm programs were developed long before anyone thought about growing food indoors. We need to make sure that indoor growers have access to the same programs and support as outdoor growers.

A really important new initiative is the Supporting Innovation in Agriculture Act, a bill we’ve been working on to create a new incentive tax credit to support capital investment in innovative agricultural technologies. Tax incentives have been used to support other sectors such as renewable energy, and can be an effective way for government to help drive private sector innovation that serves the greater good. This legislation would benefit both CEA growers and field growers investing in innovative technologies.

Can you tell us more about the recently released sustainability framework by the CEA Alliance? How do you envision this framework impacting the industry and supporting growers in their sustainability efforts?

The new Sustainability Framework for Controlled Environment Agriculture is the industry’s first sustainability framework developed by indoor growers, for indoor growers. The new framework features 60 metrics supporting 20 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across a variety of environmental and social aspects of indoor growing.

Because growers in indoor vertical farms and high-tech greenhouses have a greater ability to control their growing environment, producers are better able to measure key impact areas for sustainability, including carbon, water use, nutrient use efficiency and discharge, food loss and other attributes that are difficult to measure in field production.

We believe the framework will drive credibility, transparency and continuous improvement through standardized approaches for sustainability measurement, guiding indoor growers through both key impacts to measure and metrics for measuring them.

With the new partnership between the CEA Alliance and Indoor Ag-Con, what are your primary goals for the 2025 annual meeting and the educational program in Las Vegas?

The CEA Alliance is pleased to be holding our 2025 annual meeting in conjunction with Indoor Ag-Con. One of the core values of associations like ours is bringing together growers and their business partners, something that trade shows like Indoor Ag-Con do well. Our membership has grown over the past few years and now includes the majority of indoor produce production in North America, including leafy greens, tomatoes, peppers, cukes and berries. We also are finding companies coming aboard from around the world to participate in our food safety and sustainability programs. With that base of experience, we’re pleased to present a “State of the Industry” report at the show, sharing our members’ analysis of the challenges and opportunities for indoor agriculture.

The CEA industry is continuously evolving. From your perspective, what are the most promising advancements or trends in CEA that you believe will shape the future of the sector?

I believe the industry is transforming from a “technology sector growing food” to a “food industry leveraging technology”. It sounds like a subtle difference, but we have to focus first on delivering the freshest, highest quality, most nutritious and best tasting food to consumers. There are many ways companies can use technology to achieve that goal – vertical farms with either horizontal stacks or vertical towers, high-tech greenhouses with hydroponics or soil systems, hybrid combinations of vertical, greenhouse and outdoor, etc.

The industry also now seems to have a much healthier focus on profitability. We should never have been compared to tech start-ups that could invest millions of dollars and cash out at extraordinary multiples without ever making a profit. Indoor production is a key to meeting future challenges by using less scarce resources to grow more food. I still believe growing food indoors in high-tech farms is a revolutionary step in agricultural history. But it’s not an overnight step. We’re here for the long haul.

Learn more about the CEA Alliance by visiting www.ceaalliance.com

From Fast Company: Someday Your Jeans Could Be Grown In A Greenhouse Down The Street

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on June 14, 2024. Posted in Blog.

Fast Company recently featured an interesting story on Dutch denim label G-Star Raw and its partnership with researchers to grow cotton for denim in a greenhouse. It might be the future of fashion. As reported by Elizabeth Segran at Fast Company:

Over the past few years, Patagonia, Citizens of Humanity, and Christy Dawn have started sourcing cotton from farms that use regenerative agriculture methods. But soon, sustainable fashion brands might also consider cotton from another source: a greenhouse. Dutch brand G-Star Raw wants to turn this into a reality.

The brand partnered with a Dutch university on a small pilot project to grow cotton in a greenhouse, then use it to create denim. The end result was five pairs of jeans, made from end-to-end entirely in the Netherlands. Now, G-Star Raw is exploring how to scale this production so that denim brands around the world can create locally made jeans that have a far smaller environmental footprint.

THE LOCAL JEANS CHALLENGE

Cotton grows best in very hot, humid conditions, which is why most of the world’s crops are grown in China, India, Brazil, and the American South. Northern Europe? Not so much.

This presents some complications for European brands like G-Star Raw, a denim brand founded in the Netherlands in 1986. Given the current global supply chain, it must source its cotton from far away, which means shipping cotton long distances, generating extensive carbon emissions. “It also makes traceability more complicated,” says Rebecka Sancho, G-Star’s head of sustainability. “And the first step to sustainability is traceability.” She also points out that new regulations are rolling out in the European Union that demand brands track the entire supply chain of their products.

So it was intriguing to Sancho when Wageningen University, which is globally recognized for its agricultural research, reached out to the brand. Researchers were interested in collaborating on an experiment to see whether it was possible to grow cotton in the Netherlands by using a greenhouse. And they wanted to quantify the environmental footprint of this cotton, as compared to traditionally grown cotton.

Read full story at Fast Company...

Integration, Efficiency, and the Future of CEA: Q&A With Microclimates Founder Neda Vaseghi

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on June 14, 2024. Posted in Blog.

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is experiencing rapid growth, driven by technological advancements. At the forefront of this innovation is Microclimates, a platform that unifies various CEA systems, offering a holistic view of operations. By integrating data and controls from different sources, Microclimates helps growers improve productivity, manage resources efficiently, and ensure high-quality yields. In our conversation, Microclimates Founder Neda Vaseghi shares how their solutions are paving the way for sustainable and scalable CEA practices, setting new industry standards in California and beyond.

Q: The MicroClimates software platform integrates various aspects of controlled environment agriculture, such as lighting, climate control and irrigation. Can you explain how this integration benefits greenhouse operators and vertical farm growers in terms of productivity, quality, and efficiency?

At Microclimates, our vision from the start has been to provide a hardware-agnostic and user-friendly interface. Over the years, we have partnered with numerous companies to offer both wired and wireless (LoRaWAN) solutions. Staying true to our hardware-agnostic approach, we have developed a robust technology platform that integrates with various systems and programming languages.

Integrating the various aspects, can significantly benefit greenhouse operator and vertical farm growers in the following ways:

Improve productivity & streamline operation: By unifying siloed systems onto a single platform, we are able to streamline data integration for continuous improvement. These controls monitor conditions, facilitate inter-system communication, and provide a comprehensive facility-level view. This allows everyone to observe how mission-critical systems respond. Greater efficiency is achieved through ongoing engagement with data from integrated controls and analysis platforms. Alerts and reports offer insights to help growers update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and control sequences. As changes are implemented, benchmarking key performance indicators can verify improvements. Over time, more systems can be integrated and controlled from the unified platform, enabling remote control and automation for seamless decision-making across all systems. Like an orchestra, these systems work together harmoniously for optimal performance.
Resource Management: The Microclimates system offers sub-metering energy monitoring, enabling operators to track energy consumption of specific components like lighting and HVAC systems. This data, combined with local utility peak demand hours and fees, allows for operational adjustments to support energy savings. Optimizing lighting schedules and intensities reduces electricity consumption, while precise climate control minimizes the energy required for heating, cooling, and ventilation. Additionally, automated and precise irrigation systems reduce water waste and ensure that nutrients are delivered in the right amounts at the right time, enhancing resource use efficiency and reducing costs.
Data Today & Data Tomorrow: Data-Driven decisions are at the core of integrated software platforms, which not only collect and analyze data from various sensors and control systems but also empower growers to make insightful decisions for their operation today. By harnessing this data-driven approach, operators can identify trends and adjust strategies proactively to optimize growth conditions, enhancing productivity and quality. Moreover, the collected data serves as a valuable resource for future advancements, enabling machine learning and AI applications to further revolutionize CEA. Recognizing that data is power, the platform emphasizes the importance of collecting heterogeneous data from various sources, laying the foundation for the intelligent automation of the future, including machine learning & AI.
Scalable Growth With Cost Efficiency: The system is designed with scalability in mind, allowing it to grow alongside an operation. An operator can start their integration journey with one or two systems and expand as needed, ensuring that the system evolves with their business. This flexibility is crucial for keeping operational costs affordable, especially when competing with outdoor agriculture prices. By integrating various aspects of controlled environment agriculture, the system makes it easier to scale operations without a proportional increase in labor or operational expenses. As the operation grows, the software adeptly manages the increased complexity, facilitating a seamless expansion while maintaining a close watch on OPEX. This approach ensures that efficiency and cost-effectiveness are prioritized, supporting sustainable growth for greenhouse operators and vertical farm growers.
Quality: Quality is a key benefit of integrated systems, which provide uniform conditions that result in consistent plant quality. Each plant receives the same care, leading to uniform size, taste, and appearance, crucial for meeting market standards. By minimizing environmental stress through precise control, plants are less likely to develop diseases or pests, resulting in healthier crops with better nutritional profiles and longer shelf lives. Additionally, the ability to tailor the environment to specific crops or growth stages, such as vegetative or flowering, allows growers to maximize the quality of a diverse range of plants.

Your collaboration with ERI for the CalNEXT study on the benefits of integrated control systems for greenhouses and indoor farms is an exciting initiative. How do you envision these findings shaping the future of controlled environment agriculture in California and beyond?

The findings from our collaboration with ERI on the CalNEXT study have the potential to significantly transform the CEA industry in California and set a precedent for similar advancements globally. By focusing on the integration of smart controls for lighting, HVAC, and irrigation systems, we aim to demonstrate substantial energy savings and operational efficiencies in greenhouses and indoor farms.

Overall, the findings from the CalNEXT study will be instrumental in driving the future of controlled environment agriculture by promoting sustainable practices, reducing energy consumption, and improving crop productivity. This project represents a significant step towards achieving California’s climate goals and setting a benchmark for global agricultural practices.

Here is more detail in how we envision the study might shape the future of CEA. I certainly hope it’s the first of many studies on this topic.

Impact on California’s CEA Industry:

Energy Efficiency and Cost Reduction: The implementation of smart environmental controls will enable growers to optimize their resource usage, thereby reducing energy consumption and operational costs. This is crucial in California, where energy prices are high, and there is a strong emphasis on sustainability and reducing carbon footprints. We must identify ways to reduce our energy consumption in CEA. A lot of emphasis has been placed on LED lights, including rebates. Very little on integrated controls.
Enhanced Crop Yields and Quality: Intelligent control systems provide precise monitoring and adjustments to environmental conditions, ensuring optimal growth conditions for crops. This can lead to higher yields and improved quality of produce, benefiting both growers and consumers.
New Utility Rebate Programs: The goal for the study is to identify new rebate programs for utilities to support the adoption of these technologies. This financial incentive will encourage more growers to invest in smart control systems, accelerating the adoption rate and broadening the impact across the state.

Broader Implications:

Scalability and Replicability: The technology roadmap and insights gained from this study will serve as a model for other regions and countries. The demonstrated benefits in California can be replicated in other areas facing similar challenges, promoting global advancements in CEA.
Innovation and Industry Standards: By collaborating with leaders such as Cornell University GLASE consortium & ERI, we are setting new standards for energy efficiency and sustainability in CEA. This collaboration fosters innovation and encourages the development of next-generation technologies that can further enhance the industry.
Equity and Inclusion: CalNEXT is committed to ensuring that all Californians benefit from clean and healthy environments. The insights from this study will help us identify ways to support equity and inclusion in delivering these technologies, ensuring that small and disadvantaged growers also have access to the benefits of smart environmental controls.

With an extensive background in food safety – and considering your upcoming speaking role at the CEA Summit in Virginia – what do you see as the most critical food safety challenges currently facing the indoor agriculture industry? And, how does MicroClimates’ technology contribute to enhancing food safety in CEA operations?

The most critical food safety challenges in indoor agriculture revolve around pathogen control, water quality, cross-contamination, and traceability.

Often, the challenge is exacerbated because food safety is not adequately addressed during the design or build-out phase of agricultural facilities. When buildings and irrigation systems are not designed with food safety in mind, it becomes a much larger challenge to implement effective monitoring & management protocols. As for traceability, effective traceability systems are crucial in indoor agriculture for quickly identifying and containing contamination incidents. By tracking produce from seed to sale, these systems ensure compliance with regulatory standards like Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and facilitate swift recall management when necessary. This capability enhances transparency across the supply chain, bolstering consumer confidence in product safety and quality. Robust traceability not only safeguards public health by enabling precise removal of affected batches but also preserves the industry’s reputation for reliability and responsibility in food safety practices.

In 2006, a spinach recall due to contamination with E. coli bacteria significantly impacted consumer confidence and sales. The outbreak, linked to spinach grown in California, resulted in over 200 reported illnesses across multiple states, with several cases of severe illness and even deaths. This incident led to a widespread recall of spinach products from grocery stores nationwide, causing financial losses for growers and distributors alike and prompting consumers to avoid spinach products for a period.

Similarly, in 2011, a cantaloupe recall was initiated due to a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak traced to a farm in Colorado. The contaminated cantaloupes were linked to numerous illnesses and deaths across multiple states. The outbreak had severe consequences for the cantaloupe industry, with consumers avoiding purchases due to concerns over food safety. This led to a decline in sales and financial losses for growers and distributors, highlighting the devastating impact of foodborne illness outbreaks on consumer trust and market demand.

These recalls underscore the critical importance of robust food safety practices, including traceability systems, to quickly identify and remove contaminated products from the market. Such incidents serve as reminders of the need for stringent adherence to food safety standards and continuous efforts to maintain consumer confidence in the safety and quality of agricultural products.

Microclimates’ technology focuses on environmental automation. We have developed an easy-to-deploy mapping application that allows companies to upload a map, blueprint, or any image of their facility into the platform. This application can overlay various types of data onto these maps. Currently, we specialize in displaying environmental data, such as temperature and humidity. However, our platform is designed for integration and we welcome partnerships with companies interested in overlaying food safety data onto their facility maps. Tracking food safety data alongside environmental metrics can provide a comprehensive view of facility conditions, enhancing the ability to monitor and manage both environmental and food safety parameters effectively.

Overall, currently, our platform’s impact on food safety in CEA is limited. However, I am optimistic that we can identify customers who are eager and have the capacity to delve into integrating and aligning food safety protocols with our environmental automation capabilities. This proactive approach will enable us to enhance our platform’s contribution to ensuring safe and secure agricultural practices in controlled environments.

Given your years of experience across various facets of the industry, what do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the CEA sector today? How is MicroClimates positioning itself to address these?

Challenges:

Energy Consumption: One of the biggest challenges is energy consumption. CEA facilities often require significant energy for lighting, HVAC, and other systems. Lighting and HVAC alone consume about 70% of the energy. Managing and reducing energy consumption while maintaining optimal growing conditions is a major challenge. At Microclimates, we have launched a sub-metering energy monitoring wireless solution to address this issue. This allows operators to input their peak demand utility fees while measuring the energy consumption of their facility at a granular level. For example, our solution enables the differentiation of energy usage for specified periods of lighting versus HVAC or down to the equipment level—information that cannot be gathered simply from a utility bill. Understanding consumption and costs at such a granular level can be an eye-opener. This detailed information can be used to make modifications, resulting in significant cost savings.
Initial investments: Another challenge is the initial investment and ongoing costs associated with setting up advanced CEA systems, including infrastructure, technology, and automation. At Microclimates, we have stayed hardware agnostic, allowing our platform to integrate seamlessly with both existing environmental systems and new ones. As hardware prices continue to decline, our hardware-agnostic approach enables us to offer a very affordable entry fee for automation. This flexibility helps clients start with a cost-effective solution and scale their systems as needed over time, without being tied to specific hardware vendors. This approach not only reduces initial investment costs but also provides the adaptability required for long-term growth and efficiency.
Connectivity: To enable remote environmental monitoring and controls, operators rely heavily on solid internet connectivity. This model typically thrives in urban areas or developed regions where robust internet infrastructure is readily available. However, a significant challenge lies in ensuring that the benefits of advanced agricultural technology extend to underserved communities and bridging the digital divide. At Microclimates, we recognize this challenge and have partnered with edge computing hardware solutions to extend connectivity to areas with limited internet access. Through this partnership, we aim to first lay the foundation for connectivity and subsequently introduce automation solutions tailored for both indoor and outdoor farms. By addressing connectivity barriers, we can empower all farmers, regardless of their location, to leverage cutting-edge technology for enhanced efficiency and productivity.

Opportunities:

Technological Advancements: A significant opportunity in the CEA sector lies in technological advancements, particularly in LED lighting, HVAC systems, automation, and AI. Innovations in LED lighting and HVAC systems can greatly enhance energy efficiency and boost crop yields, making production more sustainable and cost-effective. Additionally, the integration of automation and AI technologies can optimize growing conditions, reduce labor costs, and increase scalability, allowing for more consistent and higher quality outputs. Microclimates Inc. is capitalizing on this opportunity by not only integrating various technological silos into a common user interface but also collecting vast amounts of data to support ongoing intelligent automation. This comprehensive approach ensures the continuous improvement and sustainability of CEA operations, setting a new standard for the industry both today and in the future.
Sustainability and environmental impact: Both are key advantages of CEA systems, which typically use significantly less water than traditional agriculture, addressing critical water scarcity issues. CEA also supports urban agriculture initiatives, reducing food miles and providing fresh produce to urban populations. Environmental automation plays a crucial role in these advancements by optimizing resource usage and minimizing waste, leading to more sustainable indoor farming practices. Additionally, Microclimates Inc. enhances these benefits by offering sub-metering energy monitoring, enabling continuous improvement in lowering energy consumption. This comprehensive approach not only boosts the sustainability of CEA operations but also sets a new standard for efficient and responsible indoor farming practices.
Year-round production: CEA ensures a consistent supply of fresh produce, independent of seasonal changes. This is particularly crucial given my years in food safety and firsthand experience with the challenges posed by climate instability in Salinas, CA, which impacts all agricultural products, including almonds. With CEA, we have a real opportunity to make a difference by maintaining a stable supply chain despite external environmental fluctuations. Microclimates Inc. plays a pivotal role in this by offering scheduling for seasonal automation and data analytics, enabling the replication of successful production cycles. This capability not only supports continuous and reliable production but also enhances the overall sustainability and efficiency of indoor farming practices.

Your passion for innovation and sustainability is evident. What is your long-term vision for Microclimates, and how do you plan to continue driving innovation in the indoor growing sector to create value for customers, partners & stakeholders?

Thank you for recognizing our passion for innovation and sustainability. At Microclimates, our long-term vision revolves around pioneering advancements in the indoor growing sector that enhance productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. We are committed to driving innovation by expanding our integrations with as many companies as possible, fostering collaboration even with competitors to create a unified industry ecosystem rather than silos. Our goal is to broaden our integration portfolio to support the entire industry and facilitate seamless operations for our customers, partners, and stakeholders.

Data analytics will be pivotal in our strategy, leveraging big data and AI-driven insights to revolutionize crop forecasting, optimize yield management, and enable predictive maintenance. This approach empowers our customers to make informed, data-driven decisions that enhance operational efficiency and maximize profitability.

Additionally, we are deeply invested in two specific areas: academia and underserved communities. We plan to continue our close collaboration with academia to drive technological advancements in CEA, ensuring we remain at the forefront of innovation. Simultaneously, we are committed to partnering with companies that share our values in addressing the needs of underserved communities, using our technology to promote food security and sustainability.

By focusing on these initiatives, Microclimates aims to lead the way in sustainable indoor growing practices while fostering collaboration, innovation, and social responsibility across the industry. Together with our partners and stakeholders, we are dedicated to shaping the future of CEA through technology and inclusive community support.

Learn more about Microclimates here.

Campo Caribe: Transforming Tropical Farming With High-Tech Innovation

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on May 21, 2024. Posted in Blog.

Jonah Helmer Head Shot — Campo Caribe Head Grower Jonah Helmer

Located in the mountains of Barranquitas, Campo Caribe is officially on its way to providing fresh produce to Puerto Rican families, creating new jobs and reducing the island’s dependence on imports. Following last week’s press conference where Puerto Rico’s Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi announced the expansion of the agricultural project’s state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse operation — the largest in the Caribbean – Indoor Ag-Con spoke with Campo Caribe’s Head Grower Jonah Helmer. Read on as he shares the cutting-edge technologies and innovative strategies the team is implementing to overcome tropical weather challenges, optimize growing conditions, and sustainably produce fresh, high-quality lettuce year-round.

Can you share how Campo Caribe will be leveraging its unique location in the central mountains of Puerto Rico to optimize growing conditions and mitigate the challenges posed by the tropical island environment, such as hurricanes and extreme weather fluctuations?

With our location in the central mountains of Puerto Rico, Campo Caribe has climatic advantages, including high levels of sunlight and mostly moderate temperatures due to the higher elevation. However, there are some additional issues we face in our tropical island location, such as risk of hurricanes, periods of excessive sunlight, frequent rain events, periods of low humidity and of excessive humidity, and periods of extreme air and irrigation water temperatures.

To control these variables, Campo Caribe is building one of the most technologically advanced and sustainable lettuce greenhouses in the Caribbean. At 5.5 acres, this is the largest hydroponic greenhouse in the Caribbean and the largest of only 3 greenhouses in the world combining the Cravo retractable roof structure and Hydronov deep water culture growing system. The Cravo retractable roof and shading system allows us to passively cool our greenhouse throughout the day. We can open the roof to maximize our light levels during cloudy periods and close the roof and shade system to reduce peak light intensity. We grow our lettuce in deep water culture, which uses a greater water volume to buffer fluctuations in water and air temperature around the plant. We added a Vifra high pressure fogging system to maintain optimal humidity levels for our plants to help them transpire, photosynthesize, and maximize growth all day long without becoming water stressed under the strong tropical sun.

Campo Caribe Research Greenhouse — Prior to completion of its commercial greenhouse, Campo Caribe built research and development greenhouses.

Our unique combination of location, facility design, growing equipment, and controls systems allows us to overcome these issues and puts us on the cutting edge of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry. This makes our facility more productive, energy efficient, and sustainable than those of our competitors, and makes our products tastier and healthier for our customers. Our greenhouse is built to withstand hurricane force winds up to 165 mph and will allow us to achieve a higher order fulfillment rate for Puerto Rican businesses.

The integration of the Cravo retractable roof structure and Hydronov deep water culture growing system are distinguishing features of Campo Caribe. Can you explain how this combination enhances plant growth and resource efficiency compared to traditional greenhouse setups?

Cravo Retractable Roof Campo Caribe — Cravo retractable roof

Conventional glass and plastic greenhouses are not designed to operate in tropical climates with high temperatures and humidities all year round. The Cravo greenhouse allows us to optimize the aerial environment around the leaves of the plants in our hot climate while the Hydronov deep water culture system provides deep, cool, and oxygenated reservoirs of recirculating nutrient solution that will support plant growth even with severe fluctuations in temperatures and interruptions in power supply that can occur in Puerto Rico.

The roof and sides of the Cravo greenhouse fully retract allowing us to combine the benefits of outdoor and CEA production systems to enhance plant growth. By maximizing natural sunlight and controlling the environment, Campo Caribe is able to exceed the average yields of lettuce grown in deep water culture without the use of any artificial lighting and with lower chemical inputs.

The retractable roof prevents the excess heat buildup that occurs in conventional greenhouses and ensures that we have uniform growing conditions throughout the 5.5 acre structure. Retractable cooling curtains help regulate the sunlight and air temperatures, while our high-pressure fogging system and horizontal airflow fans optimize the humidity levels around the leaf surface.

Campo Caribe uses minimal electricity since the retractable roofs and cooling curtains consume only 2-3 kw hours of electricity per day per hectare compared to over 1000 kw hours for conventional greenhouses cooled with cooling pads and fans. We are not using any supplemental lighting to grow our lettuce, which saves a significant amount of energy and expense compared to greenhouses in higher latitudes.

Tropical climates provide favorable conditions for foliar and root diseases due to consistently warm temperatures and high humidity and precipitation levels. Hydronov designed our growing system to reduce risk of crop loss from disease and improve productivity. Our growing system features 16 independent production ponds, each fed with ozone sterilized source water to prevent the introduction of water-borne pests and diseases into the ponds. We have precise control systems for the water temperature and oxygen concentration of our growing solution to further reduce disease risk and improve plant health to make our product top in quality and in safety.

The use of rainwater collection and high-pressure fogging systems reflects a commitment to resource efficiency and environmental sustainability. Could you elaborate on how these systems contribute to Campo Caribe’s overall sustainability goals and operational efficiency?

Campo Caribe Packaging — Campo Caribe’s lettuce will come in butterhead, romaine and spring mix varieties, and will be available in supermarkets and restaurants around the island, as well as at a direct sales stand at the farm’s facilities in Barranquitas.

Campo Caribe designed our production systems to improve the sustainability and reliability of produce available in Puerto Rico. By replacing imports with locally grown produce, Campo Caribe will help decrease Puerto Rico’s dependency on imported food, which currently stands at approximately 85%. The majority of lettuce available in Puerto Rico is grown in California or Arizona and shipped by truck and by boat to the island. It is not uncommon for some of this produce to go bad during this long journey and be wasted before it gets to consumers, contributing to higher carbon emissions.

To conserve resources, Campo Caribe utilizes collected rainwater from the roof of the greenhouse as the primary water source for the facility and saves 90% more water than conventional outdoor lettuce farms. By collecting and using our rainwater, Campo Caribe can support its production with less reliance on municipal or well water. This helps us to produce a reliable supply of lettuce for our customers all year round.

General Manager, Zuleyka Mendoza, and Farm Supervisor, Andrea Baez, in Research Greenhouse — Campo Caribe General Manager, Zuleyka Mendoza, and Farm Supervisor, Andrea Baez, in research greenhouse

The Cravo retractable roof structure significantly reduces the amount of energy used to vent and cool the greenhouse, but high solar radiation levels can cause severe spikes in air temperature and drops in humidity levels. To prevent our plants from getting water stressed, we have installed a Vifra high pressure fogging system to maintain optimal humidity levels and cool down peak air temperatures. Vifra’s high pressure fogging system produces water droplets 1 micron in size that evaporate immediately in the air, increasing humidity without wetting the leaf surface, which reduces risk of foliar disease.

The high pressure fogging system will work in combination with the retractable cooling curtains to reduce peak temperatures making our greenhouse more resistant to extreme temperatures caused by climate change. By maintaining optimal humidity levels during hot summer days, our crop will not become water stressed and instead can take full advantage of the sun’s energy to grow faster and yield more. The high pressure fogging system will only be required for several hours per day when the humidity levels drop below 60% which will reduce the amount of fresh water for cooling by over 95% compared to conventional pad and fan cooled greenhouses.

The Priva Control System will play a key role in maintaining optimal growing conditions. Can you discuss how this system improves operational efficiency and ensures consistent yields – particularly in a high-tech greenhouse environment like Campo Caribe?

Campo Caribe Commercial Greenhouse Pond Recirculation Corridor — Campo Caribe greenhouse pond recirculation corridor

Campo Caribe selected a Priva climate control system to monitor and control all climate variables and control the irrigation system in our greenhouse. Priva (based in De Lier, Holland) is a global leader in CEA control systems, developing software, hardware, and services for the horticulture industry worldwide. We collaborated with Priva partner, Borlaug, in designing, developing, manufacturing, shipping, installing, and commissioning our climate control system. Priva integrates with the Cravo greenhouse and production equipment so we can monitor and control the climate conditions in our greenhouse from anywhere with an internet connection via their online platform. We can monitor and control the air temperature, humidity level, light level, CO2 concentration, wind speed, and leaf temperature in the greenhouse. For each independent recirculating pond we can precisely add pH and nutrient adjusted solutions using a Priva Nutrifit system and monitor the pH, EC, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) in real time.

The Priva system notifies growing staff if climate variables are out of range so actions can be taken to resolve problems quickly and to return to optimal conditions. This high level of control and monitoring allows Campo Caribe to optimize the growing conditions at all times to produce high quality lettuce all year round, empowering the farm to hit 95% fulfillment for our customers.

Energy efficiency is a significant focus for Campo Caribe, as demonstrated by your energy management system and facility design. How do these systems contribute to reducing overall energy consumption while still meeting the demands of a large-scale lettuce operation – and what are the expected benefits in terms of cost savings and environmental impact?

Campo Caribe Team with Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi at press conference

To reduce our daily electrical usage, Campo Caribe is utilizing a Deep Sea Electronics generator controller to perform advanced electrical dispatching and integrate with Priva and the major loads of the facility. An easily programable load shed system turns off major electrical loads in the facility to save energy and to prevent overloading our electrical service and back-up generator. We prioritize the dispatching of power to equipment needed to maintain an optimal production climate for our plants including operations of the greenhouse roof and shade curtains, fogging system, and water recirculation pumps. We will only run some equipment at night, such as the Priva Nutrifit, to fill up the production ponds in order to reduce power consumption during the day when we are harvesting and packaging.

Other parts of our operation including the refrigerated warehouse were designed to maximize energy efficiency. Excess insulation in the warehouse and packing room coupled with fast acting roll-up doors will maintain cold food safe temperatures using less energy from the cycling of condensing units.

In case of electrical outages, we have a back-up generator that can support the entire facility. We are continuing our research to determine when our peak power demand occurs, and we are working with Ageto Energy to provide for a variety of power sources in the future. Ageto Energy’s ARC system will ultimately act as the single interface for the disparate energy resources and will optimize to provide the cheapest, cleanest, and most reliable power.

This unique power system and facility design allows us to be more reliable in the face of power outages and storms and provide a more sustainable product with less carbon emissions for our customers.

Learn more about Campo Caribe and keep up with its progress here — www.campocaribe.com

Press Conference With Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi

Puerto Rico Governor and General Manager in Research Greenhouse — Puerto Rico Governor and General Manager in Campo Caribe Research Greenhouse

Campo Caribe hosted a press conference on Monday, May 13 where Puerto Rico Governor Pedro R. Pierluisi and other officials participated in the announcement of the company’s expansion plans. Check out some of the press coverage from outlets, including:

Sin Comillas.com, Ey Boricua, WIPR, WAPA

Harvest Today: Revolutionizing Local Food Cultivation, One Wall At A Time

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on April 23, 2024. Posted in Blog.

Harvest Today is on a mission to transform local food cultivation, one wall at a time. From addressing food insecurity to building collaborative partnerships and embracing sustainability, the company is driven by a commitment to practical change. In this month’s CEA Q&A, Director of Global Sales and Marketing Peter Maher sheds light on the company’s straightforward approach to simplify, empower and revolutionize local food cultivation through its innovative Harvest Wall systems.

Harvest Today’s tag line is “Indoor Farming Made Simple.” Can you elaborate on how your Harvest Wall systems are revolutionizing indoor food production and what sets them apart from other methods currently in use within the CEA industry?

When developing the Harvest Wall, we had two objectives – maximize plant count per square foot and make growing SIMPLE – The Harvest Wall achieves both.

Farming, in and of itself is a simple concept – plant, grow, harvest – repeat. Though we all know it’s never that simple, especially indoors, that’s really what it comes down to.

The Harvest Wall Vertigation™ System was developed with the idea of simplicity always top of mind.

Every aspect of the wall was purposefully designed with the user in mind — from the stackable grow tiles, that make the grow system more economical for manufacturing and shipping, offer the best plant density per square foot available and are able to fit in any shape/size grow space — to the patented Vertigation™ System and flood rail, providing precision fertigation and eliminating the need for emitters.

Each Harvest Wall comes ready to go and is equipped with all the hardware and electronics needed to start growing. There is an integrated reservoir, irrigation pump and controller that can be accessed manually or through a smart phone. Whether you are a beginner or experienced grower – the Harvest Wall Vertigation™ System can suit your needs.

Your mission includes empowering communities to address food insecurity at its source. Could you share any examples of how your technology has already made a positive impact on local food access and sustainability?

A natural focus of Harvest Today’s sales has been the Canadian Market – where Founder, Rick Langille is from. Canada has no shortage of rural, northern hemisphere regions where fresh produce is simply unavailable. Harvest Today currently has several operating farms in rural communities across Canada. We work with numerous First Nation organizations for not only food production, but also ceremonial herbs and spices no longer available to the indigenous peoples of the area.

Collaboration seems to be a key aspect of Harvest Today’s approach, as evidenced by your partnerships with other suppliers, distributors, and growers. Can you elaborate on the importance of collaboration in driving innovation and scalability within the indoor ag sector, and how these partnerships are contributing to the success of Harvest Wall systems?

The phrase, “It Takes A Village,” always comes to mind when discussing Harvest Today’s partnerships and collaborations. Yes, we build walls, that’s what we do. But Harvest Today isn’t just here to build walls – our objective is to GROW FOOD, and we can’t do it alone. Having solid trusted partners to help round out the offering and provide expertise in their field is our village – whether it’s lighting, cooling, consumables or anything in-between, we want to be able to point our customers in the right direction.

I’d like to call out SpectraGrow here, as our go-to LED lighting partner. Having SpectraGrow as a resource means we can confidently provide our customers with the latest in LED hardware and technology. With so many options out there – it can be daunting for a potential customer to just google “grow lights.” We want to be that resource and having trusted partners is the only way to do it.

The company’s interest in ESG initiatives, particularly in bringing Harvest Walls to schools and prisons, is noteworthy. How do you envision these efforts making a positive impact, both in terms of food access and broader community engagement with sustainable agriculture practices

A cool thing about this business – for the most part, is that what’s good for ESG, is also usually good for business. It’s not a this or that sort of situation. No matter how or where a Harvest Wall is being used – it’s growing local food – and that’s what we’re here for.

We are very proud ESG efforts and make them a focus of our everyday operations and lives. From an access point of view – when we say we’re here to grow food, we mean it! That’s the number one objective, grow local healthy food. The positive impact of just that, growing local healthy food, knows no bounds.

Looking ahead, what exciting developments or initiatives can we expect from Harvest Today in the coming months?

We will be launching our 4 port grow tile for the Harvest Today Harvest Wall Vertigation™ System. Our standard 6 port grow tile consists of 6 2” plant ports. The 4 port grow tile will have 4 3.25” plant ports. The volume of each port on the 4 port grow tile will be nearly 5x that of the 2” ports. This will provide a significantly larger root zone greatly expanding the portfolio of plants that can be grown in a Harvest Wall – most notably – larger fruiting and vining plants like tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, peppers, and more.

For more information on Harvest Today, visit the website.

Produce Grower Magazine: Rooftop Empire

Written by Indoor Ag-Con on April 18, 2024. Posted in Blog.

This full article by Mike Zawaki was published by Produce Grower in April 2024

For greenhouse growers, the siren song of growth and expansion is undeniable. It whispers increased yields, broader markets and greater financial stability. But like any seductive melody, it masks a treacherous undertow. While brimming with potential, challenges lurk unseen, ready to overwhelm with complexities, resource strains and logistical nightmares.

(Photo Above- Gotham Greens CEO Viraj Puri, copyright Gotham Greens)

A fundamental entrepreneurial principle, especially relevant for greenhouse growers, is that expansion should be a deliberate strategic decision, not solely a reaction to opportunity. This principle rings true for Brooklyn, New York-based Gotham Greens, which has navigated numerous recent expansion projects with calculated precision. Led by the visionary leadership of co-founders Viraj Puri (CEO) and Eric Haley (CFO) and Chief Greenhouse Officer Jenn Frymark and supported by a dedicated internal team of horticulture pros, Gotham Greens carefully examined every expansion challenge and established effective best practices. This has empowered the grower to overcome the complexities of a revolutionary way of growing and providing fresh produce in the U.S.

Today, Gotham Greens is synonymous with urban agriculture and cutting-edge, sustainable growing practices, and its growth and expansion wouldn’t be done justice without highlighting its rapid ascent in the greenhouse grower market.

Its legacy is rooted in the heart of Brooklyn, New York, an urban, culturally diverse foodie paradise. In 2009, Puri and Haley collaborated on a shared dream to provide fresh, pesticide-free, sustainably grown produce directly to local communities. Two years later, the vision materialized on a Greenpoint neighborhood rooftop with Gotham Greens’ first 15,000-square-foot soilless hydroponic greenhouse, marking a milestone in traditional farming. At its heart, this revolutionary model addressed long-held agricultural challenges — how to overcome long distances, mitigate environmental impact and provide greater access to fresh, locally produced foods.

Continue Reading From Produce Grower…