Written by: Djavid Amidi-Abraham September 13, 2023 Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is a rapidly growing segment of the farming industry. Demand for localized food systems and the products coming from them is rising, and companies are responding to it. Vertical farms and greenhouses are seeing much more capital investment than they had in the past, and CEA businesses are improving their unit economics through new technologies which attract investment, as well.  Many investments come from venture capitalists who want to treat vertical farming like a tech investment. However, a ..read more

Image courtesy of Sollum Technologies Written by: Rose Séguin, Agronomist, Sollum Technologies September 5, 2023 Horticulture lighting science and technology have significantly advanced since the advent of HPS lighting. LED options are now overtaking HPS lighting in many regions, owing to the improved energy efficiency and advanced controllability of LED lighting, as well as the growing body of research pointing to its benefits. Dynamic LED lighting has emerged in recent years and provides greenhouse growers with unparalleled control over their lighting, and more specifically, over the four f ..read more

Images: courtesy of Yale Climate Connections Editor’s Note: New research suggests that reducing food waste, shifting dietary patterns, and improving resource-use efficiency can mitigate more than half of anticipated global heating due to food-related emissions. Eating less factory-farmed red meat, which is 2-5x more resource-intensive than other animal proteins, and reducing food waste, which globally would be the third largest emitter behind the US and China, are the lowest-hanging fruits to reducing our food-related climate impact. CONTENT SOURCED FROM YALE CLIMATE CONNECTIONS Written by: D ..read more

Image: Songsak P / shutterstock.com. courtesy of Modern Farmer Written by: Brakeley Bryant August 10, 2023 To certify or to not certify? Many new CEA operators ask themselves this question while planning their new farm and trying to connect with their customer base and/or differentiate themselves from competitors. Certifications, such as USDA organic or Non-GMO project, are official attestations or confirmations of particular qualities of a thing, a person, or an organization. Often, but not always, some kind of external evaluation, instruction, assessment, or audit offers this validation.&nb ..read more

Grace Lim and colleague at their proof-of-concept farm, GroGrace. courtesy of Urban Farming Partners. Written by: Niko Simos August 2, 2023 Singapore, a captivating island country and city-state nestled in maritime Southeast Asia, has long been renowned for its breathtaking skyline, bustling city life, and vibrant cultural tapestry. With a population of 5.454 million as of 2021, this thriving metropolis faces a unique challenge when it comes to sustaining its food supply. The Singapore Food Agency reveals that over 90% of the nation's food is imported, making it highly dependent on external s ..read more

To develop a farm or to develop a technology, that is the question. Author’s note: I recently launched a weekly LinkedIn newsletter in an effort to explore new opportunities to engage with peers, colleagues, and industry participants. The post below was taken from my newsletter’s second issue.  Written by: Henry Gordon-Smith July 26, 2023 Welcome to the second edition of my newsletter! As I pondered the topic for this round, I felt drawn to delve into a significant hurdle frequently encountered by vertical farming companies. If you're exploring the intricacies of investing in, or develop ..read more

  Credit: Plenty.   Written by: Brakeley Bryant July 27, 2023 Oren Harari once said, “the electric light did not come from the continuous improvement of candles, ” a sentiment often heralded by innovators and echoed in innovation theory itself with Schumpeter's key concept of creative destruction. Over the past decade, vertical farming has been touted as just such a disruptor in agriculture. More crops, longer shelf life, no pesticides, fewer bacteria, less land, 99% less water, climate independent. These benefits sound like a magic fix to a litany of sustainability challenges, part ..read more

Credit: Babylon Micro-Farms. Written by: Sarah Jordan and Dorothy Braun July 6, 2023 Founded by University of Virginia students Graham Smith and Alexander Olesen, Babylon Micro-Farms was established in 2017 in an effort to provide food security for refugees. At the time, Richmond, where Babylon Micro-Farms is currently located, reported a 15.8% rate of food insecurity, which has likely increased due to the lasting effects of the pandemic. Credit: VP Kamala Harris. Developing technologies to simplify the growing process was at the forefront of Smith and Olesen’s work, and they thus created a ..read more

  Credit: AZoM.   Written by: Sarah Jordan June 15, 2023 Renewable energy has the potential to significantly improve indoor agriculture by providing climate-smart power sources to farmers. Currently, around 80% of global energy is generated by burning fossil fuels, so renewable energy sources are a welcome change for the preservation of our environment. The recent variability of standard energy sources has upset many CEA operations. While standard energy sources typically come at a lower cost, the reliability of the cost of renewable energy is helpful (and necessary) for farms to pl ..read more

Credit: Mojan Farms. Written by: Niko Simos May 26, 2023 Climate change presents a significant threat to global water and food security. The MENA region is experiencing higher temperatures, more severe droughts, and increased occurrences of extreme weather events with greater intensity and frequency. Among the 17 MENA countries affected by water risks, 12 are currently grappling with high water stress levels, including the UAE. Credit: World Resources Institute According to Strategy and PWC, GCC countries import about 85% of their food and approximately 56% of vegetables, largely due to the ..read more