The indoor agriculture (IA) offers an environmentally sustainable alternative to small or large-scale leafy green production, even in regions with less favorable climates, using significantly less water and land resources, little, if any, pesticides, and providing year-round fresh produce to urban dwellers. Although the concept is not new, only recently relevant technology has achieved economic feasibility enabling the industry to grow at a fast pace. However, while significant efforts have been made towards developing growing systems involving farmers, engineers and plant scientists, little has been produced in terms of social and economic analysis of IA. By encompassing all aspects of the food value chain stages from production, through harvesting, packaging, distribution, and retailing, these urban indoor farms have the ability to generate a range of jobs in urban areas.

This presentation will demonstrates the industry’s employment capacity by showing preliminary results obtained from an internationally distributed greenhouse and indoor farm labor survey. We will also invite you to participate in the phase 2 of this survey. Final results will be used to identify and estimate social and economic impact of urban indoor farms.

Dr. Simone Valle de Souza

Dr. Simone Valle de Souza is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics. Her work incorporates economic analysis of the interactions between the development of sustainable food production systems and consumer preferences. Her research seeks to provide a mapping of the trade-offs between inputs and outputs within an agricultural production system to promote industry development, environmental sustainability and improve local community development as well as foster access to high quality fresh food.

By Eri Hayashi, Japan Plant Factory Association, Industry Expert

For anyone who believes plant factories (PFALs)/vertical farms are only for leafy greens or for anyone who has given up growing strawberries in plant factories, they may have to reconsider their way of thinking. There is a great future ahead for strawberries, especially after the Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA) held its 96th monthly workshop on “Next-Generation Strawberry Growing System.”

The workshop gave participants the opportunity to learn what is happening in Japan’s commercial strawberry PFALs. Also during the workshop, academic researchers and research institutes provided updates on what they have been working on with state-of-the-art strawberry cultivation methods which further raised the excitement about the positive growth potential of strawberry PFALs.

Workshop topics

JPFA has been organizing workshops every month together with companies and academics/research institutes since 2009. Every session deals with different subjects and allows for the exchange of views from various backgrounds. During each workshop more than 100 PFAL-conscious farmers, companies, researchers and individuals invigorate the discussions.

The most recent workshop sessions included:

• LED grow lights. Product features were presented by seven of Japan’s major LED grow light companies to learn about each product’s characteristics based on real data that had been released by the companies.

• The real issues related to workability, operational management, sales and distribution confronting commercial farm operators. The details of actual experiences were talked about by large scale commercial PFAL farms. One of the topics covered was how these farms have overcome operational issues and improved their profitability after having received support from Chiba University and JPFA, etc. Unique vegetable suppliers and distributors shared their expertise with the attendees.

• Current situations on leading Japanese greenhouse farms (CEA).

Much more than education

On July 13, 2016, JPFA will be celebrating its 100th event in Kashiwa-no-ha campus. Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA) is a non-profit association devoted to academic and business advancements in the plant factory/vertical farm/CEA industry. More than 10 consortium R&D projects are conducted in PFALs and greenhouse facilities onsite. Along with the monthly workshops, JPFA also offers training courses and intensive business session courses every month for professional growers and potential industry entrants. Business matching, consulting service, research activities and any collaborations are always welcome.

For more: http://npoplantfactory.org/english.html

]]> https://urbanagnews.com/blog/exclusives/japan-plant-factory-association-workshops-focus-on-plant-factory-production-business-issues/feed/ 0 3720 https://urbanagnews.com/blog/exclusives/urban-agritourism-brings-extra-farm-revenue/ https://urbanagnews.com/blog/exclusives/urban-agritourism-brings-extra-farm-revenue/#respond Tue, 07 Nov 2017 16:00:07 +0000 https://urbanagnews.com/?p=3714 Originally published in Issue 14

By Mitch Hagney

Sometimes rather than bringing crops to the customers, customers come to the crops. The public’s enthusiasm for urban farming goes far beyond buying the produce, and that means that many customers seek to be more than just recipients of local food, they want to be participants in the process. 

Experiences at the farm allow the public to participate directly, which can bring farmers additional revenue sources that are less tied to their production capacity. For small farms, that can provide a big boost. Customers coming to the farm certainly isn’t a totally new phenomenon. Navigating corn mazes, attending petting zoos, shopping at farm stands, and picking their own fruit have allowed members of the community to directly connected to farms throughout the years.

Today’s growing culture of local agriculture is spurring even more creative relationships between the public and their local farms.  Pop up dinners and restaurants on site are emerging throughout the United States.

Bed and breakfasts on farms are an older tradition, but new online renting platforms like AirBnB have really unlocked agritourism as a revenue option for “farmstays.”  Many rural getaways on big acreage are featured on the site which all across the world, but short-term space renting from tourists who want a unique experience is an option that’s particularly tempting for urban agriculture.

AirBnB’s own “wish list” of urban farms to visit has 32 entries. Many of these are simply beautiful vacation rooms with had impressive backyard gardens. Several fall into a permaculture tradition of living with the land. A few are truly commercial urban farms that happen to have a guesthouse or room available for others to experience life on an urban farm in addition to their planned trip to a city.

Earlier this year AirBnB CEO Brian Chesky said, “The No. 1 reason people chose to travel on Airbnb is they want to live like a local. They don’t want to be tourists stuck in long lines, fighting with the crowds to see the same thing as everyone else. Our hosts offer more than just generic hospitality — they welcome travelers from around the world into their communities.

In Austin’s eastside, Hausbar Urban Farm welcomes travelers into both downtown Austin and their farm community. They’re a true commercial farm, delivering their their poultry, eggs, rabbits, and vegetables to around nine restaurants every day. On the same property they rent out a guest house through AirBnB.

Dorsey Barger and her wife Susan Hausman opened the guest house in 2014. Dorsey describes it as an unusual type of hospitality. “We are completely passionate about urban sustainable agriculture, and we like to give others the chance to really jump into the experience – to harvest some crops, hangout with the animals all day, to find out how their guest house compost buckets become part of the farm. If they’re less interested or don’t have the time, they can just learn a little about it indirectly as they stay here and explore Austin.”

Unique local experiences like HausBar’s urban farm match up closely to the direction AirBnB has been prioritizing for the last few months. They are offering an “experiences feature” which allows guests to book additional tours, activities, and services when they book a room.

For example, guests pay a little extra to go on a tour of Muir Woods when visiting San Fransisco with a local, or pay to go out to drinks with Parisians when in the city of lights. Urban farm experiences, whether in the form of classes, tours, farm-to-table dinners, or pick your own produce, can bestow unique opportunities on visitors who are seeking an authentic interaction with a place. They pair up well with locations that also offer overnight stays, but sites that don’t want to be host guests overnight can just list activities, as long as the program is in their city.

According to Dorsey from HausBar Urban Farm, “If it is at all possible for anybody to do urban or suburban agriculture, it’s a fantastic additional source of income. A guest house helps to diversify and provides a good cushion, even if you have a bad season. People are becoming more and more interested in where their food comes from, so there seems to be a lot of demand.”

For years, WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, has gotten volunteers all over the world to visit organic farms and contribute labor in exchange for a place to stay. Their farm listings have grown to 61 countries and tens of thousands of volunteers have participated.  Agritourism and farm stays can turn that momentum into a monetized resource for sustainable farms.

HausBar Urban Farm ran into a problem with the city when they enforced a law that prevented multiple dwellings on an urban farm property. For a while, Dorsey and Susan had to stop selling their produce, so they began to rely more on their guest house.  “It’s is why we’re still in business,” Dorsey said. “Our customer base had pretty much gone away, but we were able to keep the farm alive through the guest house.”

Eventually, there was a public outcry and the laws were adjusted so that HausBar Urban Farm could reopen. Dorsey says, “Now that the farm is really thriving by selling to restaurants, it’s great additional income. I love hospitality and taking care of people. As our guest house business has grown, our farm has grown with it. I think there’s a correlation.”

Mitch Hagney is a writer and hydroponic farmer in downtown San Antonio. Hagney is CEO of LocalSprout.

As the rules of the Food Safety Modernization Act are finalized, greenhouse growers will be required to ensure the edible crops they produce are safe for human consumption.

Recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 48 million people are sickened each year by foodborne pathogens. That’s one in six Americans. Of those people about 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die each year.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 4, 2011. The purpose of the law, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is “to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus from responding to contamination to preventing it.” In September 2015, two of the FSMA’s rules, referred to as preventive controls rules, were finalized. These rules, according to FDA, “focus on implementing modern food manufacturing processes for both human and animal foods.”

“We’ve been working with states, food companies, farmers and consumers to create smart, practical and meaningful rules,” said Michael Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. “And we have made a firm commitment to provide guidance, technical assistance and training to advance a food safety culture that puts prevention first.”

FSMA’s seven rules are scheduled to be finalized in 2016. FDA said the rules “will work together to systematically strengthen the food safety system and better protect public health.”

The rules are changing

Phil Tocco, food safety educator at Michigan State University Extension, said FSMA is the first law in the United States to regulate food production, harvest and the movement of fresh produce at the farm gate.

“Up until now if you were a retail grocer, a retail restaurant, or if you were preparing food, you had regulations placed upon you and how you did things,” Tocco said. “If you were manufacturing a food product from raw materials, there were rules that you had to follow, particularly if you were working with potentially hazardous foods such as seafood or if there was a potential issue if you were slaughtering animals. There were regulations in place. However, there were no regulations for the harvest and transport of fresh produce at all. If you were harvesting fresh produce you didn’t have to follow any rules to do so.”

Understanding food safety

Tocco said growers need to think strategically about food safety when they first start out.

“Some of the best growers I know actually came from the retail restaurant side that went through a program like ServSafe,” he said. “All restaurants have to have at least one person on staff that has ServSafe certification. They have taken a test indicating that they are ServSafe certified. They understand the concepts related to food safety.”

Tocco said many growers he has met were successful chefs before they moved to food crop production.

“These former chefs brought their knowledge of food safety with them,” he said. “It makes a huge difference because these growers start evaluating the practices that they do. They can ask themselves if their food handling practices pass muster.

“If a grower sells his product at a farmers market, he better be able to answer the questions that consumers are going to ask about food handling and food safety. A grower can’t answer “Nobody has ever gotten sick eating any of my produce so I don’t have any problems.””

Reduce the risk of pathogens

Tocco said growers should treat packing areas as if they were cooking in a kitchen.

“Packing areas should be clean and sanitary,” he said. “The bottom line is growers are dealing with a fresh product. There is only one way to really ensure the elimination of the overall pathogen load and that is to cook them. A lot of the things that are grown, especially in a greenhouse, are meant to be eaten fresh and raw. Greens are meant to be eaten fresh and raw. Growers can’t eliminate the risk. But they can reduce the risk.”

Tocco said people are really good at spreading disease and the diseases that people pick up tend to spread relatively well.

“Outdoors on small farms there may only be one to two people that come into direct contact with the plants,” he said. “Those people may not be exposed to a lot of other people outside of their social network. I expect there are more indoor growing facilities doing production in urban areas. There is a greater likelihood that individuals who deal with indoor environments would come into contact with people with norovirus or people would come into contact with environments that could be contaminated with norovirus. The chance of someone accidently bringing in contamination into the production area is probably somewhat greater.

“We say “wash your hands” and “if you’re sick, don’t pick.” Washing your hands can only go so far. There is a potential if you come in contact with a norovirus that you’re asymptomatic.”

Water source, production site safety

Tocco said greenhouse growers who are using municipal water to irrigate and package their crops are using the absolute safest water source. The next safest water source is well water followed by pond water, considered a static water source, and water sources that move like streams, lakes and rivers.

“A water source in motion varies because the water taken out right now is very different than the water taken out 10 minutes later,” Tocco said. “If a pond is the water source, the water taken out now is usually the same water taken out 10 minutes later. With well water, the water that is taken out now is going to be the same 10 minutes from now. I can expect that a water test of well water is going to be the same whenever the test is taken.”

Tocco said many greenhouse growers who are using a closed recirculation system often treat their water. Also, the production system a grower is using will determine whether the water even touches the edible parts of the plants.

“A lot of the production systems that use water recirculation have a substrate like rockwool that gets between the actual edible portion of the plant and the roots. The water may never touch the leaves of the plants let alone the edible portion of the plants, such as a cucumber or a tomato crop. Even if a grower is producing greens, the water typically is only going to be touching the root system. The water is not going to be sprayed on the leaves.”

Tocco said the food safety risks encountered by an outdoor field grower are much reduced in a controlled environment warehouse or greenhouse.

“A greenhouse or warehouse grower is going to have much more control over wildlife,” he said. “There are some vertical set ups where it is going to be difficult for wildlife to climb up to eat leafy greens or to mess with the production area. Those kinds of things make a huge difference in maintaining food safety.”

Tocco said one of the factors that help outdoor production systems is sunlight, which is a good disinfectant.

“Another food safety issue is previous uses,” Tocco said. “If a grower is moving into a warehouse that has had some industrial uses there may be some existing contamination within the building. Starting to grow plants in these structures, there potentially could be a problem.

“Another issue with these old buildings is cost of conveyances. Some warehouses may have older pipes that may leach chemicals into the water supply that are coming into the production area. This wouldn’t happen in a new construction area. There are some things that growers should be cautious of when they’re taking on an indoor environment.”

For more: Phil Tocco, Michigan State University Extension; (517) 788-4292; tocco@msu.edu; http://gaps.msue.msu.edu.

David Kuack is a freelance technical writer in Fort Worth, Texas; dkuack@gmail.com.

Originally published in Issue 10

So, you have been dreaming about starting an urban farm or are about to launch your new career with an indoor farm. You have gotten funding from friends and family (and Kickstarter) but have you really dotted all the i’s and crossed all the t’s as far as what challenges you will be taking on as you get your business up and running?

The truth is that many urban farming operations enter the business from one perspective. They may be started by a grower who knows a ton about growing but little about the business and legal end of things. Or, the operation may be started by someone with a business perspective who wants to see a farming operation thrive, but has little knowledge of the daily ins and outs of running a farm.

Many urban farms fail. It’s good to be as prepared as possible when starting out so you don’t repeat the same mistakes as others.

Here are some important things to think about before getting started. Any one of these roadblocks could delay your project for several months so it’s best to look at these things ahead of time rather than letting them derail your progress.

Zoning, code issues

Since urban agriculture (as it’s known today) is a relatively new field, many municipalities are unfamiliar with it and do not have any sort of code on the books for how to permit your project. If you can’t obtain a permit, then you can’t obtain a business license.

Your options will be to move your project to another location where it is permitted, permit under a different classification such as a food processing facility (if you can convince the planning department), work without a permit (there are work arounds depending on the location of the facility) or wait until legislation is updated. Many city planning departments will not be familiar with indoor agriculture projects so it is very valuable to do your homework first.

It is good to have at least basic drawings to show them how the facility will be laid out and will operate. It is also good to be familiar with cities that have urban farming legislation on the books so that you can show that to local planning departments as needed.

Business model

What is your business model? How will you make money? Will you sell your product wholesale? To restaurants? Direct to consumers? To supermarkets? At farmers markets?

Each of these particular customers may require certifications before they will purchase your product. These might be as simple to obtain as county ag permits or as complex and expensive as organic certification or regular tests for pathogens. It is important to know what your customers will ask of you beforehand so that you are prepared.

Water

Water is a key ingredient in your facility whether hydroponic or soil-based. Important questions to consider are: Can you use the existing municipal water? Will you need to invest in expensive filtering equipment to remove excessive salts or metals? Are there restrictions on water use (such as in California)? Are there disposal issues to be educated about regarding disposal of nutrient-rich water?

Growing medium

Hydroponic farming can be done with different growing media. Do you have a guaranteed supply of that medium, especially for operations where the medium is only used for a short period of time and replaced? If you are looking for organic certification, does the medium meet the requirements for certification? If not, what alternatives are there? If you are using soil, what tests do you need to do and what adjustments will you need to make to the soil?

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Electricity, energy

If you are running an indoor farm, energy costs can be one of the most expensive budget items. Using lights and dehumidifiers can really be expensive.

Do you know what your power rates are? Do you know when power is most expensive? Do you know how much light your plants need ? Is the electricity in your area reliable or should you have a back up generator on hand? Do you know how much power your facility needs and how much does the property you are looking at offers? Is the existing electrical system up to code? How much will an upgrade cost?

Floors

If you are running an indoor facility, floor design is of key importance. You need to simultaneously design your floor for multiple factors such as being able to be cleaned easily, drainage, traction and bacterial control.

Input sourcing

Just like when you are baking bread, if you run out of flour, you have a big problem. The same is true with your farm. You will have numerous inputs and if any one of them runs out, your production will be slowed or might even stop. Make sure you have a reliable source for all your inputs and a reliable backup source just in case.

Controllers

So much of indoor farming and even aspects of outdoor farming are based on monitoring data and adjusting as necessary. What controllers will you use for your operation? How will you use the data that are being produced to your advantage?

Are you the type of person that feels more comfortable seeing everything in person and making adjustments on site or are you comfortable with making adjustments to your growing operation remotely? These questions are very important to think about before you get started so that production data can be easily understood and analyzed and the appropriate adjustments can be made to your operation when needed.

Perspective

When looking at your urban farming business, I have found it very valuable to analyze production and costs on a square foot basis. I have a background in real estate and using a square foot methodology has proven very valuable and easy to understand.

Full Cycle Planning

Many operations do intense planning for how to grow their product but don’t think about the best way to harvest and package until it is upon them. Unfortunately, harvesting and packaging can be very labor intensive and if not well planned beforehand, can turn a profitable venture into one that loses money. Talk with your buyers (especially supermarkets) about specific packaging needs they may have from the start and from there, plan a system that reduces labor costs whenever possible.

These are just some of the items that need to be thought about when launching an urban farming operation. There are many more that will undoubtedly arise based on your particular situation. If you are prepared with the ones listed above, it will significantly reduce headaches, time delays and money lost in your urban farming venture.

David Ceaser has over 20 years experience working with plants and agriculture in numerous capacities and countries.  He has studied agroecology, horticulture and business along with several years working in real estate development.  He currently does consulting work and operates a small outdoor urban farm specializing in herbs and salad greens.  To contact David, please e-mail farmer@gsvfarm.com

What’s your definition of a living wage? Average wage for farming is $21,680. This does not cover the annual living expenses for a family of 4 in Dallas, Texas (fairly cheap place to live.) Not even if you multiple it by two assuming both adults are working. Thoughts? (Info graphic was created by Urban Ag News with data from MIT.)

 

Veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan often face overwhelming challenges transitioning to civilian life. Ground Operations is the story of a growing number of veterans who’ve discovered farming as a way to heal from the trauma of war and continue their service by ensuring a safe, local food supply for America.

>>> More from Issue 4