Author: urbanagnews

Morgan Hill, CA; September 2023 – In August of this year, Sakata Seed de México celebrated its 30thanniversary. “We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sakata Seed de México and we are very proud of ourtrajectory”, said Dave Armstrong, President and CEO of Sakata Seed America. “We are currently leadersin several crops in Mexico, like broccoli, and this has been thanks to many growers, packers, processors,and dealers who have helped us achieve these results. We are developing new crops such as hotpeppers, lettuce and melons, and we hope to become leaders in these new markets very soon. Mexicohas great growth…

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DANVILLE, VA – AeroFarms President and Chief Financial Officer Guy Blanchard will lead a keynote address at the 2nd annual edition of the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East, Sept. 19-20, 2023, at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) Institute Conference Center in Danville, VA. Blanchard’s keynote will shed light on AeroFarms’ journey towards resiliency, emphasizing the conference’s core mission to unite the CEA business and academic sectors, fostering learning, networking, and collective growth in the face of industry challenges. Guy Blanchard’s keynote is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20, 2023, at 9 a.m. The CEA Summit East is…

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Seattle, WA – It was announced today that Stichting Wageningen Research, research instituteWageningen Plant Research (WPR) and IUNU have entered into an agreement to work onclosed-loop autonomous growing for the most common commercially grown lettuce varietals. This is the world’s first closed-loop, comprehensive autonomous growing solution developed forthe greenhouse industry. Other solutions focus on smoothing climate and are typically based onsmall sampling datasets. The solution developed by IUNU uses computer vision tocomprehensively monitor crop growth for every plant in the greenhouse and autonomouslyexecutes crop strategies based on how crops are performing. “WPR has long served as a leader in the…

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North Carolina State University researchers Professor Ricardo Hernandez and Cristian Collado worked with Current’s Arize® Element L1000 LED top lighting in a greenhouse setting to explore the impact of light levels on the production of cuttings, plant growth, flower production, quality, and water use of a cannabis sativa variety commonly cultivated for its high levels of CBD. The impact of different levels of light throughout the vegetative and reproductive phases of growth was isolated by controlling all other environmental factors, such as temperature, fertigation, CO2, and water usage. Cannabis water use efficiency (WUE) refers to the amount of water a…

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GLASE’s annual in-person summit will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 25, in Leamington, Ontario, Canada, at the Aleksander Estate Winery. The theme of this year’s summit is Greenhouse Energy Resilience: greenhouse efficiency and profitability in a world of increasing energy prices. The summit will consist of presentations by researchers, academics, and industry professionals, and will take a look at the CEA industry in Ontario, Canada. Speakers include Bruce Bugbee from Utah State University, Jim DiMenna from Red Sun Farms, Gretchen Schimelpfenig from GLASE, and representatives from the Harrow Research Center and IESO. Registration is now open. Attendance is limited, so…

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DANVILLE, VA – Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew Lohr will lead the opening morning keynote address for the 2nd annual edition of the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East, September 19-20, 2023 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) Institute Conference Center in Danville, VA. Secretary Lohr’s presentation sets the stage for two days of education and networking built around the summit’s goal of bringing CEA business and academic community members together to boost growth opportunities for the entire sector. The CEA Summit East is co-hosted by Indoor Ag-Con, the largest vertical farming | CEA gathering, and the CEA…

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Improve your prevention and management of diseases in nurseries and greenhouses by registering forDisease Management, part of the award-winning Greenhouse Online Training program offered by theUniversity of Florida IFAS Extension. This course is intermediate level and designed for people with someexperience or entry university level, who are in production, technical, or sales role for greenhouse and nursery crops. Topics covered include how to differentiate between a disease and other issues, disease prevention tips, organic and conventional disease management options, and how to safely apply and handle fungicides. The course is offered in English and Spanish. Rated 4.2 out of 5…

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The “JPFA International Symposium on Plant Factory” will be held on September 4 and September 5, 2023, at the Kashiwa-no-ha Conference Center and online, organized by the Japan Plant Factory Association (JPFA). There will be keynote speeches on the latest technology and interdisciplinary research on PFALs and open discussions on business trends, needs for technology development and collaboration specific to PFALs, and future possibilities for social activities with key players such as PFAL operators actively involved internationally. Poster presentations, exhibitions, and sponsored lunch sessions will also be held at the venue, providing an opportunity for interaction and high-level networking among…

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A full day workshop titled, “Water Management and Quality for Greenhouse and Nursery Crop Production” will be held on September 8, 2023 from 9am to 3pm at the Hamilton County Extension Office (2055 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45202). The workshop will provide growers the most up-to-date information of the key sciences and technologies contributing to water management and quality for greenhouse and nursery crop production. This event will bring internationally and nationally renowned speakers of key areas of irrigation water management, water quality, root-zone substrate sciences, and crop production to advance the sustainability of greenhouse and nursery crop production to…

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Develop the skills to accurately estimate production cost and profit for your greenhouse or nursery business. Costing & Profitability is part of the award-winning Greenhouse Training Online program. Lead instructors are the highly respected economist Dr. Charlie Hall from Texas A&M University and horticulture scientist Dr. Paul Fisher from University of Florida IFAS Extension. Topics covered include crop enterprise budgets, income statements, allocation of overhead, seasonality, space use, shrinkage, labor cost, and much more. This course is advanced level and it is designed for experienced, well-trained growers, or people with upper university education. The course is offered in English and…

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Free, downloadable report provides information and guidelines to help support the adoption of efficient practices in indoor farms and greenhouses. PORTLAND, Ore. (June 29, 2023) — Resource Innovation Institute (RII), the leading not-for-profit energy and water benchmarking organization for CEA producers, announced today the availability of its long-awaited Water Circularity Best Practices Guide for Controlled Environment Agriculture Operations. It can be downloaded from RII’s resource catalog at this link. “This report is the result of a comprehensive, collaborative effort between equipment manufacturers, academia, regulators, utility providers and RII’s in-house experts,” said Derek Smith, Executive Director of Resource Innovation Institute. “It…

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Village Farms has been farming in the Chihuahuan Desert, also known as the “Big Bend Region”, just north of the USA and Mexico border, for almost three decades. Here the company is rolling out a whopping 112 million pounds of fresh produce a year, all from their greenhouses located just outside the towns of Marfa and Fort Davis.  Both small towns are at an average elevation of approximately 4700 feet above sea level, with temperatures that can range from a high of 100+ degrees Fahrenheit to low of 0 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the time of year. “Extraordinary” would be…

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Fund focuses on partnering with the best AgTech entrepreneurs and funding the development of new AgTech innovation to solve real and compelling problems for Midwest agriculture producers. OMAHA, NE – Jul 18, 2023 – Grit Road Partners recently announced it closed its Grit Road Ag-Venture Fund, raising more than its $11 million goal. “We could not have done this without all the trust and support from our partners, our bench, and portfolio companies,” said Mike Jung, Managing Partner. “We are excited to continue to work with our existing portfolio and establish new partnerships with other AgTech entrepreneurs.” The Fund focuses…

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Companies sign intellectual property license agreement to offer joint solution for growers Langley, BC – Ahead of AmericanHort’s Cultivate’23 event in Ohio this week, Bevo Farms announced today that it has chosen IUNU and Corvus Drones to supply computer vision and AI software for its propagation business. Bevo Farms is an innovative supplier of choice for wholesale vegetable growers and retailers of floral plants across the whole of North America. With more than 83 acres of growing space, Bevo Farms focuses on producing the highest quality plants within a modern, hygienic environment. The team has invested heavily in automation to…

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