CEA inSight

Six years and 200 research trials paid off — as shown in this 30-foot-tall example of the Plenty® #strawberry cultivation towers gracing the company's new Richmond, Virginia-area farm campus. The farm launch represents an exclusive pairing of Plenty technology with global berry leader Driscoll's strawberry genetics. Promoted as the world’s first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale, the Plenty Richmond Farm is designed to produce more than 4 million pounds of strawberries annually in less than 40,000 square feet using the 30-foot towers. The first strawberries from the farm will be available in early 2025. Read more about the farm, the proprietary technology behind the vertical growing environment, and what's next for the grower and the partnership, with quotes from Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin, Plenty CEO Arama Kukutai and Driscoll's CEO Soren Bjorn. You'll find "Plenty tower technology delivers on vertical strawberries at scale" on CEA inSight: https://lnkd.in/dpbYtS3u

13 years, 13 greenhouses, 40 acres — and production capacity of 100 million heads of lettuce annually. Let's just say that 2024 has been a big year for Gotham Greens — and it isn't over yet. It’s been 13 years since the grower opened its first greenhouse in Brooklyn, New York. Gotham opened its 13th greenhouse nationwide in January, and it managed expansions at existing locations as well — leveraging the expertise of its Chicago-based Chief Greenhouse Officer Jenn Frymark and her team of expert growers across the country.  With more than 40 acres (1.8 million square feet) across nine states, Gotham’s annual production capacity has now reached approximately 100 million heads of lettuce per year, and its products are available in more than 6,500 retail locations across all 50 states. Earlier this month, the grower celebrated the one-year anniversary of its Georgia greenhouse (No. 12) as co-founder and CEO Viraj Puri and the team showcased new technology and products from the state-of-the-art hydroponic farm to attendees at the Global Produce and Floral Show 2024. And they're rounding out the year with a new product launch in December. Read more about Gotham's year so far at CEA inSight: https://lnkd.in/gyfTNfN4 #Lucky13 #lettuce #leafygreens #hydroponics #greenhousegrown #localfood

Nielsen confirms it: Little Leaf Farms is officially the country's fastest-growing salad brand. To support that growth, the company's Pennsylvania campus continues to expand. After breaking ground in September 2023, the company’s third greenhouse on the McAdoo, Pennsylvania campus site is now open — and the grower broke ground on an adjacent fourth greenhouse facility. The two facilities represent the Little Leaf's 6th and 7th facilities nationally. The expansion will support Little Leaf Farms’ rapid growth as, according to Nielsen 52 Weeks Ending 09/07/2024, the brand is now the fastest-growing packaged salad brand in the country! “Our continued expansion in Pennsylvania will advance our progress against our goals to grow our capacity and bring our lettuce to more and more consumers throughout the country,” said Paul Sellew, Founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms. “We’re incredibly excited about this new milestone of being the fastest growing packaged salad brand and believe it’s true evidence of not only the promise of CEA, but also our efficiency in scaling our operations to enable the broadening of our retailer footprint.” Read more about the expansion on CEA inSight here: https://lnkd.in/gHCqezcc #CEA #controlledenvironmentagriculture #leafygreens #lettuce #greenhousegrown #Pennsylvania

Mark your calendars and get your tickets now! The Aquaponics Association will be hosting their 13th Annual Aquaponics Conference September 13-15, 2024. This time the event is happening in Dallas, Texas. Be sure and come early to get in on the pre-conference workshop on September 12. The three-day conference celebrating aquaponics is expected to draw more than 300 attendees from diverse backgrounds spanning nonprofits, industry players, producers, academia/students, educators, and interested stakeholders. The event includes two days of presentations from industry experts, researchers, students, nonprofits, and others involved in aquaponics as well as one day of touring Timberview Farmstead, a local aquaponic farm. The one-day preconference workshop on September 12 at Texas A&M AgriLife Center - Dallas. The workshop is geared toward beginning aquaponic farmers, students and anyone who wishes to further their aquaponic learning! (Workshop tickets purchased separately.) Read more details about the event on CEA inSight: https://lnkd.in/giakqytE For more information, reach out to the Conference Coordinator Josh Dusci!

We're back from holiday just in time to share the latest news from Oasis Grower Solutions, A division of Smithers-Oasis Company. New OASIS RhizoPlug Tray singulated foam substrate is ushering in the future of precision vegetative propagation. (And we have to admit the roots on those plugs are pretty impressive!) OGS Director of Global Grower Operations and Research Vijay Rapaka shares that this next-generation, automation-ready engineered substrate proved itself in trials, with extreme uniformity, consistency and quality for superior young plants. Compared to loose fill and specialty substrates, the OGS team says RhizoPlug Tray delivered up to 20% faster times to root, extract and transplant. But Rapaka also stresses the cleaner propagation experience: “I cannot stress enough about the all-round cleanliness this product offers. This not only helps reduce pest and disease pressure and benefit the production of clean and healthy young plants during that immediate crop cycle, but also beyond that rotation with the next propagation cycles,” he says. "We are thrilled to offer every grower, large and small, an ultimate propagation experience from stick to transplant with precision, cleanliness and performance. This technology allows faster recovery, rooting and transplant thereby improving operational efficiency and reducing costs.” Read more about the launch and the benefits of the new OASIS RhizoPlug Tray on CEA inSight: https://lnkd.in/gX6nZgx7

For the third year running, a team from leading aeroponics technology company LettUs Grow will cycle from London to GreenTech Amsterdam to encourage sustainable travel and raise money for charity. The team hopes to raise £2,000 for two organizations: Caring in Bristol and Serve the City Amsterdam. Five cyclists from LettUs Grow will take off from London on June 9th and be joined by cyclists from RAI Amsterdam. The GreenTech Grand Tour will cover approximately 137 miles in the two days between their launch and the GreenTech Amsterdam show, which runs June 11-13, 2024. Close to the hearts of the team, Caring in Bristol is a charity that works with the homeless community in LettUs Grow’s home city. Serve the City Amsterdam organizes volunteer-based activities to support different communities and projects in the city of Amsterdam, including projects focused on people in need, including the homeless, disabled, young and elderly. You can contribute to the effort and encourage the LettUs Grow peloton at: https://lnkd.in/gwekXD8W

For kids around the world, Little League International provides much more than afternoons at the ballpark. Now NatureSweet has committed to year-round support of local leagues — and that support could extend to yours! Yes, North America’s largest vertically integrated agriculture company (and world’s largest Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) employer to become a B-Corporation), NatureSweet has added “The Official Snacking Vegetable of Little League Baseball and Softball” to the list. “We are thrilled to work with our partners at NatureSweet as we continue to find new ways to provide all our families with a fun, healthy and memorable Little League experience,” said Elizabeth DiLullo Brown Little League Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Business Relationship Officer. “As a community-based program, we are excited to align with NatureSweet’s commitment to providing a positive social, environmental, and economic impact within its communities and look forward to partnering with them through 2025.” Sergio D. Trujillo, MBA, NatureSweet’s Brand Manager of Snacking Tomatoes adds, "We’re thrilled to announce our official sponsorship with Little League as ‘The Official Snacking Vegetable of Little League Baseball and Softball,’ and we are dedicated to aligning both our commitments to providing a positive impact within communities and supporting thousands of Little League programs across the nation.” Read more about the partnership, the two million kids in League and the more than one million volunteers that make it tick. It's on CEA inSight here: https://lnkd.in/gCxaaYUz #CEA #controlledenvironmentagriculture #LittleLeague #baseball #softball #snackingvegetables #BCorp

Skytree launches Cumulus #Leasing Program. Amsterdam-based climate tech leader Skytree continues to write the future of on-site direct air capture (DAC) CO2 for CEA growing operations. Since the company captured our attention by winning the Concept Award at GreenTech Amsterdam 2023, Skytree CEO Rob van Straten and the team have delivered a steady stream of innovation in both products and services. The latest is the company's new Skytree Cumulus Leasing Program, designed to offer smaller-scale CEA operations an easier and more cost-effective option to begin on-site generated DAC CO2. The program offers 4- and 6-year terms, with purchase options. Read more of the details on CEA inSight: https://lnkd.in/gmtpj9P3 #CEA #controlledenvironmentagriculture #directaircapture #CO2capture #CO2generation

Who says vertical farming's future is hazy? Not Signify's international segment marketer for vertical farming for Philips Horticulture LED Solutions, Anne Jancic. Jancic foresees a VF future bright with promise — and collaboration, automation and diversification. Among Jancic's insights: Complete control over growing conditions, independent of the location — including light spectrum and intensity — allows producers to affect growth rate, plant architecture and shelf life, but also specific elements such as vitamins, minerals and flavor components, to a greater or lesser extent. “For example, with Philips LED lighting, we have already succeeded in growing arugula with twice as much vitamin C, bok choy with more vitamin K and dietary fiber, and strawberries with a higher sugar content,” Jancic says. “Cultivating to generate certain compounds is not only of interest for the food industry, but also for other applications, such as the biochemical and cosmetic industries. There are numerous opportunities for product range and market expansion, including in market segments that don’t necessarily revolve around edible crops. For example, growing crops with compounds that have special health, medicinal, aromatic or cosmetic properties.” Read more about Signify's vision for vertical farming's future, seen through Jancic's lens, on CEA inSight. #CEA #verticalfarming #controlledenvironmentagriculture #agtech #LEDlighting

Resource Innovation Institute's much-anticipated collaborative CEA Footprint Project "Guide to Environmental Accounting and Reporting for Controlled Environment Agriculture Operations" is now available on the RII site as a FREE download! Resulting from the work of the CEA Footprint Project over the past year, the How-To guide proposes standardized environmental accounting and reporting systems and methodologies, and encourages their market adoption across CEA operations. “Comparing resource outputs and inputs at a facility level and across agricultural segments is increasingly critical for CEA investors and operators, as well as governments and utilities,” said Derek Smith, Executive Director of Resource Innovation Institute. “Agreement on how resources are measured is particularly important, as is the establishment of boundaries determined within the measurement systems. The sooner data can be standardized, collected and analyzed, the quicker and better decision makers can guide efficiency and decarbonization strategies and incentives.” Read more about the partners involved in this collaborative effort on CEA inSight. Then download a FREE copy of the report at: https://lnkd.in/gc2svhQ2 #CEA #controlledenvironmentagriculture #sustainableagriculture #resourcemanagement #standardization