The company has entered into an agreement with Second Bloom Auctions to facilitate the sale of its greenhouse structures, equipment, and nursery supplies.

Founded in 1956 by Norm and Hetty White, White’s Nursery has been a cornerstone of Chesapeake, VA, for over six decades.

Known for producing high-quality potted flowering plants and annuals, White’s recently decided to wind down its wholesale greenhouse operations due to economic challenges.

“The decision to sell our assets was not an easy one, but we believe it creates an exciting opportunity for a. new owner to build upon our legacy and take the business to new heights,” said Norm White, founder of White’s Nursery & Greenhouses, Inc. “We are confident that Second Bloom Auctions will find the right buyers who share our passion for quality and customer service.”

For over six decades, Whites Nursery & Greenhouses, Inc. has been a leading producer of premium potted flowering plants and annuals, servicing a loyal customer base throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

The company has consistently invested in state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure, positioning it as a top choice for wholesale buyers and garden centers. The assets, located at 3133 Old Mill Road, Chesapeake, VA, will be available through an online auction running until July 1, 2024.

The auction will feature a diverse range of greenhouse structures, equipment, and garden center items, with starting bids at $1. Potential buyers can view the full catalog and register for the auction at secondbloomauctions.com.

Key Assets to be Auctioned:

• Greenhouse Structures: Multiple structures for diverse growing needs including doubly-poly X. S. Smith Criterion Quon set Hoop Houses, double-poly X. S. Smith Arched-Roof Gutter-connected greenhouses, and double-poly X. S. Smith Gutter-connected Sun Roof greenhouses (VenloStyle)

• Equipment: Equipment includes Bouldin & Lawson Hopper, Pot/FlatFillers, Planting Robots, Watering Tunnels and Conveyors. Cherry Creek Watering Booms and Echo Hanging Baskets systems can be found throughout the greenhouses as well as expanded metal benches, HVAC systems, and other horticultural equipment.

• Vehicles: Including on and off road trailers, tractors

• Delivery Carts: Multiple styles of delivery racks including sliders, 40’ x 48’ pallet style, and new “CC-Racks” style

• Garden Center Items: Display benches and other garden center infrastructure elements.

Potential buyers should note that the sale includes assets only, and all purchased items will need to be removed from the current location. The land and permanent structures are not part of the offering.

“This is a unique opportunity for anyone looking to enter or expand their presence in the horticulture industry,” said Christian Lange, CEO at Second Bloom Auctions.” This is a chance to acquire well-maintained assets from a long-standing operation. With the right strategy, these assets can be leveraged to establish or expand a profitable horticulture business.”

“The assets available through this auction represent a turn key opportunity for buyers looking to quickly establish or expand their presence in the horticulture industry,” added Lange. “With the strong foundation built by Whites Nursery & Greenhouses, Inc., a new owner can hit the ground running and capitalize on the growing demand for high-quality plants and flowers.”

KeyDates:

• June 4 – June 30: Marketing and promotion of the auction event.

• July 1: Auction concludes.

• July 8 – August 2: On-site logistics, including pick up and post-auction activities.

• August 5 – November 1: Greenhouse structure removal.

To learn more about the Whites Nursery & Greenhouses, Inc. asset auction and to register as a bidder, visit secondbloomauctions.com or contact info@secondbloomauctions.com

About Second Bloom Auctions:

Second Bloom Auctions is a premier auction house specializing in the sale of horticultural and agricultural assets. Second Bloom has grown rapidly, leveraging technology-driven solutions to handle diverse auction types and streamline logistics. The company serves a wide range of clients in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) sector, offering services like automated bidding, reserve auctions, and comprehensive asset management.

About White’s Nursery and Greenhouses, Inc.:

Whites Nursery & Greenhouses, Inc. is a leading whole sale nursery located in Chesapeake,VA. Founded in 1956, the company has been providing high-quality annuals, perennials, mums, poinsettias, and other crops to the mid-Atlantic region for decades. Known for its state-of-the-art growing facilities and commitment to excellence, Whites Nursery & Greenhouses has established itself as a trusted name in the horticulture industry.

Meteor Systems’ HDPE floating rafts are easy to clean and exceptionally durable, outlasting traditional EPS rafts by four to five times. This longevity reduces the need for replacements, minimizing landfill waste and promoting more sustainable agricultural practices.

“Our goal continues to be focused on offering products that last, and we feel this is our best option for cost-effective, sustainable solutions at this point in time,” said Chris Higgins, president and co-founder of Hort Americas. “Offering a durable HDPE floating raft aligns with our commitment to bring more environmentally friendly solutions to the market. These rafts provide a longer lifespan and better insulation capacity than traditional EPS rafts.”

The HDPE floating rafts offer benefits designed to increase operational efficiency and profitability. They can be handled both manually and automatically, making them suitable for various farming systems, including deep water culture and vertical farming. 

The unique design also allows for customization in plant hole shapes and sizes. This makes for easier plant removal and transplanting.

“Our HDPE floating rafts are engineered to provide higher yields per square meter compared to traditional EPS rafts,” said Bas Dirven, head of research and development at Meteor Systems. “Also, their ability to be fully automated makes them an ideal choice for modern, smart farming environments.”

A standout feature of the HDPE floating rafts is their ease of cleaning using chemicals, high-pressure washing and hot water. This ensures a clean start for each growing cycle and reduces the risk of disease. The rafts can even be recycled into new ones.

“The total cost of ownership for HDPE floating rafts is less than 50% per lettuce head compared to EPS rafts, making them a much more profitable long-term investment,” Dirven added. “This partnership allows North American growers to transition to a more sustainable, cost-effective solution that supports higher yields and reduces environmental impact.”

In addition to floating rafts, Meteor Systems’ water culture tabletops for growing leafy greens and herbs combine deep-water culture, nutrient film technique, and ebb and flow systems. These tabletops provide plants with direct access to oxygen and nutrients, resulting in faster and healthier growth. The roller container system maximizes space in controlled environments to enhance efficiency.

About Hort Americas

Hort Americas is dedicated to playing an integral role in the different niches of commercial horticulture. We work closely with key manufacturers to develop and bring the highest quality, technically advanced and most cost effective products to the greenhouse growers and vertical farmers in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean and Mexico. Learn more today about our commitment, services and products at www.hortamericas.com.

About Meteor Systems

Meteor Systems is a global supplier of complete growing systems for greenhouse farming. The company designs, produces, and delivers innovative solutions that ensure optimal plant growth while minimizing water and fertilizer use. Meteor Systems’ products are known for their sustainability, user-friendliness and ability to reduce labor costs. Learn more about their horticultural solutions at www.meteorsystems.nl.

If you are considering growing specialty crops in a greenhouse or vertical farm, it pays to do your homework.

Before starting to grow any controlled environment food crop, it pays (literally) to do your homework related to production and market potential. This is especially important with any type of specialty crop. Serge Boon, founder of Boon Greenhouse Consultancy, said regardless of the crop, a greenhouse or vertical farm grower has to determine if there is a sustainable market for the crop.

“I have seen growers who have started very small and have developed a market and want to expand their production facilities to produce more crops,” Boon said. “They want to increase the volume of the crops they are growing. By increasing the size of the operation, production efficiencies should also increase.

“Unfortunately, there are still some growers who think they can produce a specialty crop and easily sell it. They may not realize that the crop may be difficult to produce and/or market.”

Boon said the terms specialty crop and niche market are often used interchangeably and can have a wide definition or application because they can mean different things to different people.

“In most cases, specialty crops would not include more common controlled environment crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and peppers, but it could include a special variety of tomatoes like heirloom tomatoes not commonly grown in controlled environment production,” Boon said.

Production systems for specialty crops

The large commercial greenhouse vegetable growers that Boon is working with are primarily producing tomatoes, cucumbers, and leafy greens. He is also working with commercial mid-size greenhouse operations that are focused on producing multiple crops, including specialty crops.

Boon said the production systems used to grow specialty crops are not usually that different than the systems used for more common controlled-environment-grown crops.

“It is different from the perspective of the growers’ needs,” he said. “Because of their production needs, these crops might require more attention from the growers in order to produce quality, salable crops.”

Boon said a well-bred greenhouse tomato will almost grow by itself.

“The lines of tomatoes bred for controlled environment production have been developed so that they produce uniform size fruit,” he said. “The emphasis is on the size and yield.”

Because specialty crops like heirloom tomatoes have not been bred for commercial production, they require more attention to detail in regards to production. These varieties may be more susceptible to pests, diseases, and physiological disorders such as fruit deformities.

“This also relates to automation including robotic harvesting being developed for the more common controlled environment crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens, and peppers,” Boon said. “The automation for some specialty crops may be more difficult to develop or not worth developing. The fruit of these specialty crops may also be more tender and more prone to bruising. The fruit may not be robust enough for mechanical harvesting. This will definitely have an effect on what automation can be used for planting, harvesting, and packaging. The production of specialty crops goes hand-in-hand with being more labor intensive.”

Boon said even specialty leafy greens could be more difficult to grow than some of the more commonly grown species and varieties.

“These specialty leafy greens could be more susceptible to nutrient deficiencies or they could tend to have a leggier habit,” he said. “These specialty greens could be more difficult to grow in mobile gutter systems because the plants fall over and they don’t lend themselves to automated harvesting.”

Boon said floating rafts are flexible systems that can accommodate even some of the more difficult to grow specialty crops.

“Mobile gutter systems are tailored more to certain varieties because the plants have to be able to stand up,” he said. “The crops have to be able to be seeded in a specific way.

“With floating rafts there is more flexibility. Production system and plant habit definitely should be taken into consideration. Some specialty crops require more hands-on attention which may not allow certain types of automation.”

Do you have the “right stuff”?

Boon said for each specialty or niche crop, growers need to consider whether they have the production expertise, the right production system and whether there is a market for the crops.

“Many of these specialty crops lend themselves to being grown near the markets where they would be consumed,” he said. “This also has application to lowering the risk from production loss.

“That’s not to say growers couldn’t produce large quantities of specialty crops as long as they have systems in place to deal with the plants’ shortcomings. This could relate to the production, harvesting and transport of crops. They may require a certain temperature and/or humidity for their production and/or transport. The risk of loss goes up for these crops.”

Growers need to be aware of the downsides of a specialty crop or variety.

“When picking a specialty crop, growers should know the benefits of it, but also know its downsides,” Boon said. “This will help to ensure growers are prepared to encounter difficulties.

“Sometimes this can be finding technical production information for some of these crops. There are reliable seed companies that know the varieties. The information may be available, but it may be more difficult to find the hands-on technical expertise and experience to assist in growing some of these crops. The information may be available, but finding someone with the production expertise may be limited.”

Do your market research

Boon said market research is critical to the production of any specialty crop.

“The design of the greenhouse or vertical farm and their production systems, what crops are going to be grown, growers can make those all work, but ultimately the crops have to be sold,” he said. “Being able to grow a crop doesn’t always mean you should. It can take multiple markets to be successful with these specialty crops.”

Boon said the changes in people’s eating habits bodes well for the specialty crop market.

“People are more willing to pay for produce that is nutritious and healthy for them,” he said. “In many cases, consumers don’t know how the produce available in grocery stores was grown. Knowing the source, knowing it is pesticide-free, knowing it is high in nutrition, these are all factors that will help increase the demand for specialty crops.

“U.S. consumers are starting to look for and are more willing to pay for these crops, which is already happening a lot more in Europe. There is a more direct-to-consumer market that is increasing. Growers need to determine how they can tap into that market and how to deliver the produce.”

For more: Boon Greenhouse Consultancy, serge@boongreenhouse.com; https://boongreenhouse.com/.

This article is property of Urban Ag News and was written by David Kuack, a freelance technical writer in Fort Worth, Texas.

DANVILLE, VIRGINIA (April 16, 2024) — The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Summit East returns to the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) Conference Center in Danville, Virginia from October 1-2, 2024. Co-hosted by Indoor Ag-Con, the leading trade show and conference for the vertical farming | greenhouse | CEA sector, and the Virginia Tech-IALR CEA Innovation Center, a joint project of the IALR and Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, the summit continues to serve as a premier platform for industry collaboration and innovation.

Building on the success of its 2023 edition, which attracted attendees from 33 US states, Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden, the 3rd Annual CEA Summit East is set to unite professionals once again from academia, business, and technology within the CEA industry. Attendees include greenhouse growers, urban agriculture operations, vertical farms, outdoor growers seeking hybrid growing opportunities, educators, scientists, Virginia Cooperative Extension personnel, suppliers, engineers, tech specialists, architects/ developers, government officials, and other industry members.

“Our partnership with the Virginia Tech-IALR CEA Innovation Center underscores our commitment to fostering an environment where industry leaders and academia come together to drive innovation and explore new opportunities within the CEA sector,” says Brian Sullivan, CEO, Indoor Ag-Con.

With a focus on facilitating meaningful connections and knowledge exchange, the summit will feature keynote presentations, panel discussions, networking/breakout sessions, and tabletop exhibits highlighting the latest advancements in CEA technology and practices. Attendees can also look forward to research facility tours, providing firsthand insights into cutting-edge research and development initiatives.

“The CEA Summit serves as a platform for showcasing the collaborative efforts between industry and academia in advancing CEA research and education,” adds Dr. Scott Lowman, Co-Director of the Virginia Tech-IALR CEA Innovation Center and Vice President of Applied Research at IALR. “We are eager to continue driving the momentum of the CEA industry and providing attendees with valuable opportunities for learning, networking, and growth.”

For more information on the 3rd Annual CEA Summit East, including registration, speaking and exhibit opportunities, visit the event website at www.ceasummit.com.

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. 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. More information  www.ialr.org/cea

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear from the front runners in the industry, engage in open discussions, and connect with like-minded professionals passionate about shaping the future of horticulture. At various stages, visitors can delve into the latest developments and insights: Meet the Xpert, Vision Stage, Technology Stage, Vertical Farming Stage, Medicinal Plants Stage and Amtrium Stage. Each stage has been carefully curated and provides invaluable perspectives and discussions on topics such as:

• ‘Tools and vision in Data and AI to create a better crop result’
• ‘Greenhouse: The road to a zero footprint?’
• ‘Future vision: A valuable tasty & healthy horticulture’
• ‘Dynamic lighting strategies; nonsense or the ultimate solution?’
• ‘What are the essentials for the ultimate strawberry crop?’
• ‘Dutch knowhow as catalyst for the green revolution in Asia and the Middle East’
• ‘Robotics: Futuristic dream or your next investment?’
• ‘Cultivation for compounds research update’
• ‘Cultivation systems for cannabis’

Side Events

• Tuesday 11 June: ‘GreenTech Innovation & Concept Awards 2024’. The winners in the categories Innovation and Concept will be announced during the official opening of GreenTech Amsterdam.
• Tuesday 11 June: 18.00 – 20.00: ‘GreenTech Party’. Relaxing evening with industry colleagues. Free entrance for exhibitors.
• Wednesday 12 June: 8.00 – 9.00: ‘GreenTech Run’. Sporty start of the day, 5 km run.
• Wednesday 12 June: 8.30 – 11.00: ‘Power Day’. GreenTech invites progressive growers & breeders, engineers, consultants, investors and solution providers to connect and discuss the topic ‘Human skills make the difference’.
• Wednesday 12 June: 14.30 – 18.00: ‘Research meets innovator’. Bringing together research pioneers to exchange knowledge, collaborate, and showcase innovations.
• Thursday 13 June: ‘HortiTalent Day’. In cooperation with AVAG, GreenTech gives students the opportunity to meet the horticulture industry and discuss possible career options.

Pavilions

On the show floor, visitors will find several country pavilions but also pavilions with exhibitors specialized in industry fields such as Vertical Farming, Medicinal Plants (Cannabis) and AI & Robotics. But also a Start-Up Pavilion for newcomers to the horticulture industry. Live demonstrations and the latest innovations will be showcased at the Robot Dome, Renewable Energy Demo and Drone Cage.

Routes

On the exhibition floor, visitors can follow the routes of exhibitors with the following themes: Organic, Vertical Farming, Robotics, Renewable Energy, Medicinal Plants, AI and Mid-tech.More information at: https://www.greentech.nl/amsterdam/.

Registration policy Visitors

GreenTech is offering a 3-day entrance ticket €95 excl. VAT per person, up to and including 7 June. Exhibitors can invite their clients free of charge up to and including 7 June. For an additional fee, upgrades such as a Premium, Overnight stay and Fun package, are offered.
More information and registration at https://www.greentech.nl/amsterdam/tickets.

GreenTech Amsterdam 2024
GreenTech Amsterdam 2024 will take place on Tuesday 11, Wednesday 12 and Thursday 13 June at RAI Amsterdam. The exhibition is a global meeting place for all horticultural technology professionals with the focus on the early stages of the horticultural chain and the current issues growers face. GreenTech is supported by AVAG, the industry association for the greenhouse technology sector in the Netherlands.More information via www.greentech.nl or follow Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Instagram or YouTube.

Acuity Brands lighting, sensors, components, and controls products are used throughout North America in almost every major lighting segment including commercial indoor, outdoor, industrial, infrastructure and healthcare applications. The company consists of more than 25 individual lighting and controls brands of which several, such as Lithonia Lighting, date back more than 75 years.

Driving innovative LED technology

According to Jacob Palombo, director of product for horticulture, Acuity Brands has been at the forefront of the transition of LEDs from traditional technology including metal halide and fluorescent light fixtures. 

“Acuity Brands has been designing and developing LED fixtures for over 15 years,” Palombo said. “The company is driving innovation in everything from LED fixture design and performance to advancements in quality and reliability as well as lighting controls.

“Sticking LED diodes onto a board and creating a light is not as simple as it seems. There are a lot of ways it can go wrong. That is why we have spent a great deal of time on how to build a robust system that is reliable and is designed to take advantage of the way LEDs produce light, how to dissipate heat, and how to use optics to control the light.”

Acuity Brands designs all of its own products in various innovation centers in the United States and produces almost all of its products in North America.

“This gives the company the ability to support customers with lower lead times, not having to wait for products to be shipped from overseas,” Palombo said. “We source a handful of plain vanilla products, but our spec and flagship products, the products that we design and produce in-house, are manufactured in North America.”

Illuminating the horticulture sector

Acuity Brands entered the horticulture lighting industry in 2022 with the launch of its Verjure Pro series of LED grow lights.

“Leading up to the launch of the Verjure Pro series, Acuity Brands participated in academic plant research in growing plants with LED lights to develop a science-forward approach in product and spectral development,” Palombo said. “The Verjure Pro series is a versatile platform that supports a wide variety of applications in commercial cultivation for indoor farms and greenhouses.”

Unlike other commercial LED grow lights that require wired controls, Acuity Brands introduced its Verjure Pro series with nLight AIR wireless controls. This scalable wireless controls platform eliminates the need to daisy chain the light fixtures with low voltage wiring.

“With the Verjure Pro series growers can order the lights with a wireless radio that allows all the lights to automatically talk to one another,” Palombo said. “This allows growers to group them and zone them to meet their needs and to give them more control in ways they could not before.”

In its efforts to expand its product offerings in the horticulture sector, especially in commercial greenhouse and vertical farming spaces, Acuity Brands recently acquired the Current Arize series of LED grow lights. These will become part of the Verjure brand. These fixtures are available from Hort Americas, a commercial horticultural supply company in Bedford, Texas.

“Acuity will integrate its wireless controls technology into the Arize products,” Palombo said. “Not having to wire each light manually with low voltage wiring will save growers a lot of labor and installation time. It may also make it easier for the lights to integrate with existing control systems. We are also excited to continue to build upon these platforms to deliver incremental functionality and performance.”

Focused on being sustainable, environmentally conscious

Even with its size and scope, Acuity Brands has not lost sight of its role to be a good steward of the environment and to make a positive impact in the communities where it operates its facilities. The company has initiated its EarthLIGHT strategy which reflects its comprehensive approach around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.

“Acuity Brands declared carbon neutrality in 2021 through a combination of its carbon reduction measures at its operations and offsetting measures,” Palombo said. “The company is focused on minimizing its carbon footprint and helping its customers improve theirs. Part of the company’s strategy is the intersection of technology and sustainability. It’s something we take very seriously and a part of EarthLIGHT is to be good stewards of the environment.

Palombo said EarthLIGHT strongly aligns with controlled environment horticulture.

“Indoor horticulture can be a more effective way of growing plants compared to traditional farming methods by using less water, fertilizer and land while increasing overall yields,” he said. “Indoor horticulture can also provide fresher, cleaner, and healthier food to communities that may not otherwise have access while reducing the carbon footprint for transportation. These are all things that are compatible with EarthLIGHT and are important to us.”

Building partnerships

Even though Acuity Brands is the largest lighting company in North America, Palombo said there are a lot of people in the horticulture sector who aren’t familiar with the company.

“My goal over the next year is to introduce Acuity to the industry and make people aware that it is a well-established company, and one of the true global leaders in lighting,” he said. “Some of the biggest companies in the U.S. from many different industries trust and use Acuity lighting and controls.”

Palombo said Acuity has a track record for performance and delivering a quality product.

“We use quality components and the lights perform in the environments they were designed for,” he said. “We stand behind our products with a warranty backed by a $4 billion publicly-traded company.

“Within the horticulture industry, there are lighting companies that may not be around in five years to stand behind their warranties. Growers in the controlled environment space are looking for products from companies they can trust and partner with. My goal is to make sure growers know Acuity Brands is that company.”

For more: Acuity Brands, https://www.acuitybrands.com/.
Hort Americas, (469) 532-2383; https://hortamericas.com/.

This article is property of Urban Ag News and was written by David Kuack, a freelance technical writer in Fort Worth, Texas.

The recent partnership between Acuity Brands and Hort Americas marks a new chapter in horticulture lighting, one focused on advancing technology and improving energy efficiency. With Acuity Brands’ acquisition of the Arize® family of horticulture lighting products in January, the company expanded its presence in controlled environment agriculture. 

Jacob Palombo, director of horticulture lighting at Acuity Brands, and Chris Higgins, president and general manager of Hort Americas, are key players in this initiative. The collaboration between both companies aims to bring advanced lighting solutions and new technology to the market, leveraging Acuity Brands’ position as North America’s largest lighting manufacturer.

Q: What motivated Acuity Brands to acquire the Arize® horticulture lighting product line, and how does Hort Americas view its role in this strategic move?

Palombo: Indoor horticulture is firmly aligned with where we want to focus as a company — the intersection of technology and sustainability. Our overarching goal is to use technology to solve problems in light and space (and more things to come), for our customers, communities and our planet. We believe and understand the growing importance of indoor horticulture in today’s world, and the role it plays in our communities. We have a strong focus on sustainability, and using technology to reduce our carbon footprint for both our business and our customers. Indoor horticulture lines up with this in a major way.

We launched our horticulture lighting-focused brand, Verjure, a few years ago, and were always looking to increase our presence and focus in this area at the right time. Acuity Brands believes this was the right opportunity to expand our presence and commitment to the indoor horticulture space

With the addition of these new Arize products into our portfolio, we feel we are well positioned to support every indoor horticulture application. Our next plan will be to leverage our strong focus on innovation, quality, and manufacturing to continue to build upon these platforms, and take performance and reliability to the next level to meet customer needs. 

Higgins: At Hort Americas, we understand the need to scale to compete in the global horticulture LED grow light industry. Therefore, it made sense for us to partner with North Americas’ largest LED light manufacturer. This partnership, combined with the products offered by Acuity Brands, will play a key role in enhancing greenhouse connectivity, especially as AI advances and value increases for additional sensors. 

Also, by leveraging Acuity Brands’ advanced technology, Hort Americas is strengthening its product offerings. At the same time, we’re able to enhance our customer service and support capabilities as the exclusive distributor for Arize® lighting.

Q: How does Acuity Brands anticipate this partnership will impact the horticulture lighting market, and what unique benefits does Hort Americas believe it can offer to customers through this collaboration?

Palombo: We understand how important lighting is in indoor horticulture, and that it is largely the lifeblood of a business. Growers need a lighting partner they can trust, from both a performance and reliability standpoint. They need to be able to trust their lighting company will be around to service their needs and stand behind the products.

Being the largest lighting manufacturer in North America with some of the most-trusted and most recognized brands, we feel we can be that partner of choice. We feel the grower will have peace of mind with a product warranty backed by Acuity Brands. 

We’ve pioneered and been at the forefront of much of the LED lighting technology from the beginning. So we have vast experience when it comes to designing and producing LED products. 

Quality and reliability are at the forefront of everything we do. We have extremely robust design methodologies using decades of experience in LED. We are very selective in the components and suppliers we use. We make use of sophisticated end-of-line testing technology with full traceability in our factories.  Producing much of our portfolio in North America, we can service our customers quickly and reliably, with scale to support any opportunity. 

Higgins: This partnership allows Hort Americas to continue providing top-quality products, backed by a strong warranty that gives growers peace of mind. Together, we’re also capable of scaling quickly and changing to meet market demands. 

From a sustainability perspective, we’re committed to environmental stewardship, which is reflected in Acuity’s EarthLIGHT mission that promotes eco-friendly practices within the horticulture lighting industry. This demonstrates a dedication to sustainability that benefits both growers and the planet.

The initiative is complemented by Hort Americas tailored customer service and extensive industry knowledge. This is especially important as demand grows for more efficient and effective horticulture lighting solutions.

Q: Can you discuss the technological advancements in LED fixtures that Acuity Brands has pioneered and how Hort Americas sees these innovations benefiting the horticulture industry?

Palombo: Part of what we bring to this industry is decades of experience in designing and producing reliable and high-performing LED lighting design, including drivers, optics, electro-mechanical design, light engine design, and controls. Acuity Brands has consistently set the bar for performance, efficacy, and feature sets for lighting in every industry we design products for. These include things like higher efficacy and output, more robust drivers, better thermal management, easier installation, seamless controls, etc. Our intent is to bring that same level of innovation to the horticulture industry and offer the customer a better and differentiated solution.

We are especially excited to extend our vast capabilities in wireless lighting controls to our new portfolio. We offer wireless controls and building management systems that are robust and scalable, and capable of not only controlling the lights, but also creating smarter spaces and integrating with other systems. We think this is a big opportunity to offer additional value to commercial growers.

Higgins: Acuity Brands has been at the forefront of integrating wireless technology and smart space concepts into LED fixtures. The company’s emphasis on reliable, innovative technology aligns with the needs of growers who depend on advanced solutions to optimize growing conditions. 

The advancements in LED fixtures by Acuity Brands — including enhanced efficiency, light quality and control capabilities — benefit growers in ways that can improve plant growth and yield. These are important innovations for driving the industry forward because they enable more precise and sustainable growing practices.

Q: How do your sustainability goals align with the development and distribution of horticulture lighting solutions?

Palombo: EarthLIGHT is a central tenet to our company strategy, and reflects our comprehensive approach around environmental, social, and governance (ESG topics).

 EarthLIGHT is comprised of a number of different areas, including:

• Focusing on minimizing our carbon footprint, and helping customers improve theirs.
•  Making a positive impact in the communities where we live and work.
• Operating with integrity and transparency.

Acuity Brands is 100% carbon neutral through a combination of our carbon reduction measures at our operations and offsetting measures. In FY22, we contributed to 100,000,000 metric tons of carbon avoidance through LED and controls sales.

EarthLIGHT is about being good stewards of the environment, and we feel this is very strongly aligned with indoor horticulture. Indoor horticulture can be a much more effective way of growing plants compared to traditional farming methods, using less water, fertilizer, and land while increasing overall yield. It can provide fresher, cleaner, and healthier food to communities that may not otherwise have access, while reducing the carbon footprint in transportation. These are just some of the aspects of indoor horticulture that are firmly aligned with our EarthLIGHT strategy.

Higgins: Hort Americas will continue to only partner with companies committed to sustainability and transparency, even though the industry continues to debate the concept and value of sustainability. 

The fact remains, there’s strong demand for sustainable solutions in the horticulture industry. Lighting, in particular, is essential to sustainable agricultural practices, underlining the importance of developing solutions that support eco-friendly and efficient growth.

Q: Looking forward, what trends do you predict will emerge in horticulture lighting, and how are you preparing to meet these future demands?

Palombo: We believe the indoor horticulture lighting market will continue to grow and evolve, and technology will lead the way. Lights will continue to become more efficacious, and more optimized for the plants and environment they are designed to serve, and easier to control.

There will be continued advancements and improvement in how the lights and environment are connected and interact. AI will play a role, using multiple sensor and data points for total optimization and predictability. 

We are excited to help lead this transformation, as we feel we are uniquely positioned to drive and lead this change with our Intelligent Spaces Group of Acuity Brands. 

Higgins: There’s growing interest in wireless dimming and integrated sensors. This reflects the industry’s progression toward more sophisticated and adaptable technologies. Advancements such as these signal a move toward more customizable lighting solutions. 

Preparations to meet these evolving demands involve continuous innovation and adaptation to customer expectations. Industry standards are likely to change too. We’re making sure that our offerings stay at the forefront of technology and sustainability in horticulture lighting.

The collaboration marks a significant step in providing comprehensive financial solutions and incentive opportunities for greenhouse growers and vertical farmers across North America.

Levitt brings over two decades of experience in utilities, incentives and financial solutions to the partnership. As co-founder of Encentiv Energy, Levitt was instrumental 

in introducing new rebate tools and incentive solutions to lighting manufacturers and their sales channel partners (agents and distributors), contractors, ESCOs, and facility stakeholders. This ultimately led to the rebate tool used by leading lighting companies such as Acuity Brands, lighting partner for Hort Americas. 

“This partnership with Lee ensures our clients have access to the most beneficial financial solutions,” said Chris Higgins, president and co-founder of Hort Americas. “Lee’s experience in processing or supporting millions of dollars in awards across all markets [and eligible rebate measures, including lighting and HVAC, etc.] has been invaluable in helping growers maximize their investments.”

The partnership unlocks new opportunities for Hort Americas’ clients, helping them navigate the complex landscape of utility rebates and incentives. By leveraging Levitt’s expertise, Hort Americas aims to help growers enjoy greater sustainability and operational efficiency, while maximizing their financial benefits.

“Joining forces with Hort Americas is an opportunity to bridge the gap between horticultural innovation and financial incentives,” Levitt commented. “I’m thrilled to share my experience in a way that benefits the sustainable efforts of growers in the CEA industry.”

About Hort Americas

Hort Americas is dedicated to playing an integral role in the diverse sectors of commercial horticulture. Working closely with key manufacturers, Hort Americas develops and delivers high-quality, technically advanced, and cost-effective products to greenhouse growers and vertical farmers in Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and Mexico. Discover more about our commitment, services, and products at http://www.hortamericas.com.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were raised to meet what investors felt were market demands. Now the economy, access to money and the cost of money has changed. Also, many farms that were recently built are now out of business.  

This leads me to a few questions:  

Was there ever a real need for locally grown fresh produce? If the answer is yes, is that need still there? And can controlled environment ag facilities fill those needs?

Inevitable reasons we started talking about innovating farming.
1.)  Feed the Future and its Population Growth.
The world’s population is expected to reach around 9.7 billion by 2050, according to United Nations projections. Accommodating this growth requires a significant increase in food production.

2.)  Climate Change
Climate change is affecting agricultural systems globally, leading to shifts in growing seasons, changes in precipitation patterns, and an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Adapting agriculture to these changes is crucial for future food security.

3.) Resource Scarcity
Challenges such as water scarcity, soil degradation, and a decrease in arable land pose constraints on traditional agricultural practices. Finding sustainable ways to produce more food with fewer resources is essential.

This review won’t discuss why these new businesses struggled or failed. Instead, we want to focus on the question, is “locally grown” still a thing? Or was it one of many consumer trends that have come and quickly past?  

First, let’s answer a few questions.

1. Why locally grown?
2. What is the definition of locally grown?
3. Where can you find locally grown products?  

Initial research (learn more about the research here) shows that consumers wanted access to locally grown products because they believed goods produced close to them were more environmentally sustainable, provided support for their local economy, and gave their families fresher and healthier options. While many consumers believe locally grown vegetables are worth paying more for, inflation has hit grocery budgets hard.  The cold reality is that a certain segment of the consumer shopping public buys imported produce because it’s more affordable, still a healthy option and generally good quality.

More immediate reasons to innovate the way we farm:

Globalization and Urbanization:
Increasing urbanization and globalization impact food distribution systems. The demand for food in urban areas is rising, requiring efficient and resilient supply chains to ensure that urban populations have access to a diverse and nutritious food supply.

Technological Advancements:
Leveraging technology and innovation in agriculture is crucial for increasing productivity, improving resource efficiency, and developing more resilient crop varieties. Precision agriculture, genetic engineering, and other advancements play a role in shaping the future of food production.

Sustainability:
There is a growing emphasis on sustainable agriculture practices that minimize environmental impact, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote biodiversity. Balancing the need for increased food production with environmental sustainability is a key aspect of feeding the future.

In addition, as time passes, it is becoming clearer that a certain segment of the consumer public and retailers are more conscious of the environmental impact their purchases make and what their brands represent. They believe that buying locally can help reduce the carbon footprint and lower transportation miles on the food they consume. 

While this remains true, more established businesses and knowledgeable investors are looking at the resources needed to produce in the off-season or in a controlled environment. This requires using electricity or natural gas to light, heat and cool their facilities to provide consumers and retailers with consistency and quality year-round, while still local. The most conscious farms now work to capture and report these numbers to convince consumers that locally grown is, in fact, a more environmentally friendly choice.

Example:  Farms such as Gotham Greens, Area 2 Farms and NatureSweet are choosing to become B-Corps.  

(Certified B Corporations are social enterprises verified by B Lab, a nonprofit organization. B Lab certifies companies based on how they create value for non-shareholding stakeholders, such as their employees, the local community, and the environment. Once a firm crosses a certain performance threshold on these dimensions, it makes amendments to its corporate charter to incorporate the interests of all stakeholders into the fiduciary duties of directors and officers. These steps demonstrate that a firm is following a fundamentally different governance philosophy than a traditional shareholder-centered corporation.)

Where locally grown produce really shines is in delivering fresh products, especially when consumers want seasonally and geographically appropriate options. This may also be where farmers ultimately produce the most sustainable options, as seasonally appropriate crops require the least amount of manipulation to the growing climate as well as the lowest capital investment. The only question(s) remaining with this locally grown option is whether the farmer has access to the land needed to produce enough of these crops to support their farming business and the mortgage on the land, while still providing their family with a reasonable lifestyle. 

The desire to produce more locally, while investing in technology, is also where we have seen the biggest changes in how and where farms get financing. Historically, farmers used traditional lending sources such as banks, state-sponsored programs or owner financing to purchase land and needed equipment. These investments were considered safe and conservative based on using the farmland and a farmer’s home as collateral.  

But new and innovative farming concepts seldom qualify for traditional financing. They are considered more risky due few unproven profit models and much greater need for capital per acre of farmable land. Due to this risk, farms that use greenhouses or indoor farm designs have had to look to new financing options. This includes angel, private equity and venture capital financing options where risk and opportunity are measured differently than traditional outlets.

So what qualifies as locally grown? 

The 2008 Farm Bill* defined local food as food grown and transported fewer than 400 miles or within the same state. This obviously means something different depending on the state of the country you live in.  

If, for example, you live in Texas, locally grown could mean the food travels 600-700 miles. Yet someone who lives in Vermont could have food that travels no further than 200 miles in state or 400 miles including surrounding states. Regardless, farms focused on providing locally grown food must look at size and scale much differently than traditional farms targeting conventional produce markets and retailers.

*The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. It provides an opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural and food issues.

Where can you find locally grown produce?

Consumers who look for locally grown products are also likely to shop differently than your average grocery store shopper. Farmers markets played a major role in the initial local food movements. The popularity of farmers markets gave farmers direct access to their consumers, allowing them to control messaging and branding, while developing relationships with buyers. 

This led to developing other direct-to-consumer sales channels that have increased access for farmers and consumers. You can’t underestimate consumers’ appreciation for the opportunity to interact with local producers and learn more about their food’s origin.  

Photos courtesy of Area 2 Farms

Next up is specialty retailers and restaurants. Both recognized the demand for locally sourced products and incorporated them into menus and other packaged goods. Grocery stores also added special sections dedicated to local products.

And here is where the story might be changing: Consumers who prioritize locally grown and seasonal produce are often willing and able to pay a premium for products. These  consumers value health, the environment and experience. They normally have more disposable income and can afford to purchase food for reasons other than convenience, calories and protein. 

I will never claim to be an expert on the economy, but the media in general wants you to believe that our economy is struggling due to inflation. According to Statista, the economy was down about 10% in 2022 and will probably be down again slightly in 2023. 

According to “Yale Insights,” inflation (or even the perception of inflation) changes how consumers value the items they shop for. Many consumers become more critical of their purchases. They look for sales, “trade down” for generic brands and seek best prices. They also change where they shop, looking for discounts from retailers they perceive as cheaper, or forgo certain purchases entirely. 

Does this mean that all consumers who once valued locally grown produce are gone? 

No. It simply suggests that, as the economy changes, the accessible market for a premium-priced product will likely change. It may be limited to those who can afford the purchase or still value the product(s) over other items they regularly consume.

Getting back to the original question(s) in this article’s title, is “locally grown” a fad or a trend that is alive or dead? 

Based on everything we see from the USDA and other organizations that talk about farming trends, I say locally grown is alive and well.  

However, it also represents values that are difficult to scale or market easily to the general shopping public and retailers that offer options to price-conscious shoppers. This will create problems for many farms that used “locally grown” as a key reason to attract investment dollars from private equity firms looking to invest in a company, operate them or manage them for a short period of time, and then sell the entity or its shares after showing profitable and scalable growth.  

Farms that took this type of capital will likely outgrow the local market and move into that of the average “Walmart” shopper. Walmart and retailers similar to them focus on providing low prices and value to middle America. These are the same shoppers who have been losing disposable income over the past two years due to inflation.   

So the question then is not, is locally grown dead or alive? The question is, how do you build a profitable farm that is sized and financed appropriately to service discerning consumers who want products that might cost more to grow but meet the values that are important to them in their food choices?

While controlled environment agriculture continues to expand, there is still the question of whether it can simultaneously achieve both economic and environmental sustainability.

Even as controlled environment agriculture companies go out of business or file for bankruptcy, investors see economic opportunities. New indoor farms are coming online and others are expanding their operations. These investors, however, often overlook the economic and environmental sustainability issues of growing food without sunlight and focus on CEA’s yield advantages over traditional outdoor farming.

“Some people confuse profitability with environmental sustainability,” said Bruce Bugbee, professor of crop physiology at Utah State University and president of Apogee Instruments. “Not all things that are profitable are good for the environment. We often assume that indoor ag is good for everyone.

“If a grower can stay in business, it must be good for the environment. That’s not necessarily the case. A company that stays in business is economically sustainable, but this doesn’t always mean it’s environmentally sustainable.”

Bugbee presented the keynote address at the recent GLASE 2023 Summit, which focused on Greenhouse Energy Resilience.

“Indoor agriculture should include both greenhouses and indoor farms,” he said. “The difference is that greenhouses use natural sunlight and indoor farms use electricity to generate photons for photosynthesis. The exclusive use of LEDs in closed indoor farms should be called electric light agriculture. Plants can’t tell whether photons are coming from electric lights or the sun. Photons from the sun are free, while photons from lights are generated from electricity. No matter how efficient LEDs become, they are still competing with free natural photons from the sun.” 

High input agriculture

Bugbee uses the term high input agriculture to include a wide variety of production systems.

“Horticultural food production is much higher input than agronomic food production,” he said. “More energy is used to grow tomatoes than soybeans or corn. It’s just the nature of the crops. Horticulture is high input and high value. Protected horticulture is higher input than field horticulture.

“Electric light agriculture is even higher input. Some people assume that high input agriculture will save the planet because it has the potential to use less water and fertilizer. But electric light agriculture currently uses fossil fuels.”

Bugbee said there is the potential to use renewable energy sources, including solar and wind.

“It takes a lot of photons to grow food crops,” he said. “But even the most efficient solar panels coupled with the most efficient LEDs, it takes 2 acres of solar panels to provide the equivalent of sunlight for 1 acre of greenhouses. Direct use of sunlight for photosynthesis is efficient, but it could be considered a lower-tech solution.”

One of the factors driving interest in electric light agriculture is climate change.

“Investors in indoor agriculture often refer to the risks of growing crops outdoors,” Bugbee said. “My experience is that growing crops without sunlight is economically risky. Growing indoors is dependent on a steady supply of energy. Many of the bankruptcies that have occurred with electric light agriculture operations in Europe were caused by political events like the Ukraine war, which impacted the cost of energy.

“Greenhouses are somewhere in the middle. They are protected and utilize free sunlight. The level of sunlight is much less in the winter than in the summer, but it is still a predictable resource. The supply of cheap energy is less predictable.”

Potential of agrivoltaics

Bugbee said one source of sustainable energy that has the potential to improve controlled environment agriculture energy efficiency is agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics, which is also referred to as agrisolar, uses land for both agriculture and solar photovoltaic energy generation.

“Agrivoltaics offers the direct use of sunlight as much as possible,” Bugbee said. “Greenhouses could be outfitted with solar panels that can be rotated to shade in the summer and open in the winter depending on how much light is needed by the crops.”

When there is too much heat from the sun, the solar panels can be rotated to produce more electricity. During winter when there is less sunlight, the panels can be oriented vertically and allow the maximum amount of sunlight to be delivered directly to the crops.

“This helps to provide temperature control and combined production of electricity with food production,” he said. “This facilitates the direct use of sunlight.

“Field crops are being grown under appropriately-spaced solar panels and this provides partial shade in the summer. For some crops, the light could be reduced by half during the middle of the day without significantly reducing yield. There is so much sunlight available during the middle of the day that the plants can be light saturated. Agrivoltaics provides both electricity production and food production in these systems. This high-input agriculture approach has a promising future.”

Improving the efficiency of LEDs

Bugbee said the improvements in LEDs over the last 10 years has increased their energy efficiency to almost 90 percent.

“With further R&D the efficiency of LEDs might be increased to 95 percent,” he said. “But the rate of improvement in efficiency is going to be much less than what has occurred over the last 10 years. The perfect device would be all light and no heat. LEDs approach this, but there is still energy in the photons and there is no way to produce a photon without energy.”

Bugbee predicts two things will continue to occur with LED grow lights: a reduction in cost and an improvement in reliability.

“Reliability has largely happened,” he said. “Ten years ago, manufacturers claimed LED grow lights would last 50,000 hours, but they didn’t last as long as the high pressure sodium lamps we were using. It wasn’t the LEDs, it was some other light system component like the power supply that would fail. Those issues have been largely resolved.”

Bugbee said LED fixtures are now far more reliable and will continue to improve.

“Photons from LED grow lights are still more expensive than photons from double-ended high pressure sodium fixtures in terms of initial capital costs,” he said. “But I see the cost of LED fixtures continuing to decrease because of economies of scale.

“Optimizing the light spectrum for individual crops will also improve light efficiency, but most of the biggest advances have already occurred, at least in our laboratory research. I don’t see further spectral optimization doubling yield, but increases of 20-30 percent are still on the horizon, and every increase provides exciting new opportunities”

For more: Bruce Bugbee, Utah State University, Department of Plants, Soils, and Climate, bruce.bugbee@usu.edu; https://caas.usu.edu/labs/cpl/. Apogee Instruments Inc., https://www.apogeeinstruments.com/.

Editor’s note: Bruce Bugbee will be doing a presentation on “Principles of nutrient and water management for indoor agriculture” at VertiFarm2024, the 3rd International Workshop on Vertical Farming, in Bologna, Italy, Jan. 16-19, 2024.

This article is property of Urban Ag News and was written by David Kuack, a freelance technical writer in Fort Worth, Texas.

TRACTTM,, the pioneering new food and agriculture sustainability measurement platform, has appointed Allison Kopf, successful US agtech entrepreneur, as CEO.

Kopf will take over in January 2024 from TRACT co-founder Roel van Poppel, who set up and led the initiative, including overseeing its incorporation, for more than two years.

Kopf’s expertise in tech startups and her vision for the agriculture sector will give TRACT a competitive edge as it moves towards its customer launch in early 2024 and beyond. In taking the CEO role at TRACT, Kopf will depart her current role as Chief Growth Officer at IUNU, the US-based company that acquired Artemis, a company Kopf founded, in 2021.

Kopf is an influential figure in the worlds of technology and agriculture. She was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 as well as the 2021 Global Women Fresh “Woman of Impact,” and has spoken on the future of agriculture at TEDx, Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit, Forbes AgTech Summit and the Alltech Ideas Conference. Kopf sits on the Boards of Santa Clara University’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Ciocca Center for Entrepreneurship.

Commenting on her new role, Kopf said: “I’m committed to bringing together thought leaders, pioneering technology, and forward-thinking investors to create a step-change in efficiency and positive impact in food and agriculture systems. The opportunities for TRACT are exciting, and I’m thrilled to work with the team to drive forward the future of sustainable agriculture.”

Tim Harry, Chairman of the Board, said: “Allison has already achieved an extraordinary amount in the agtech space. Her expertise and enterprise will be great assets for TRACT as we move into a new phase for the company. I would also like to thank Roel van Poppel, co-founding CEO, for his tenacity, vision and excellent leadership in building TRACT and preparing it for launch.”

Roel van Poppel led TRACT while on assignment from Olam, one of TRACT’s investors. He said: “One of TRACT’s key distinctions is that it has been developed by and for the food and agriculture industry and is the result of meaningful collaboration by significant players in the industry. I am very proud to have led this work so far and to hand over this exceptional platform to Allison for this new stage in its development. I look forward to seeing TRACT progress successfully through its customer launch and beyond to play its part in transforming the food and ag sector.”

We all know brands with products and services that represent quality. But have you ever been the person responsible for selling quality? For earning the premium price associated with producing quality products?  

Since my first job in 1996, every company I worked for, represented or owned believed they had the highest quality product in their market or class. However, I now realize that believing you have the best (even if it is true) does not mean you can convince your customer or that your customer values quality in the same way.

What does quality mean?

Dictionary definition: The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something.

Other definitions often depend on what quality represents. If you talk about a product, quality normally represents specific features. If you talk about a service, quality normally represents something that consistently meets customers’ needs. If you talk about a process, quality represents the ability to always meet specifications.

What is the problem with selling quality?

The issue with quality is that it is often subjective and based on feelings or marketing. Seldom is quality determined by objective facts. Personally, I consider quality as something that demonstrates reliability. In other words, quality is a function of performance measured over time.

Selling quality in controlled environment agriculture (CEA)

In today’s world of commercial horticulture, I struggle with the term “quality.” It seems everyone has best-in-class products and the highest quality. The situation is comical.  

Let’s break down two scenarios to determine how quality is defined. The first one focuses on consumer purchasing habits and the second on business purchasing habits and decisions.

First, let’s look at fresh produce sales and use greenhouse tomatoes as an example. Over the past few months, numerous articles have highlighted the competitive nature of the European greenhouse grown tomato industry.  

In August, the Spanish industry magazine Mecardo published this article: The Spanish tomato resists Moroccan and Dutch competition by betting on proximity and exclusivity. The piece discusses the challenges the Spanish greenhouse tomato industry faces in competing with Moroccan-grown produce. It states that Morocco has now displaced Spain and the Netherlands as the number one exporter of tomatoes to the United Kingdom. The conclusion is that Spain is losing the battle on price and that it should avoid competing on price and focus on quality, reliability, and service.  

What I find humorous is that if you are based in the Netherlands, you likely say the EXACT same things about Spanish tomatoes. The argument seems to be that if you cannot compete on price, you must have a better-quality tomato, especially in a consumer category where taste and flavor are highly subjective.  

(I acknowledge that you can measure certain qualities in tomatoes such as brix, aesthetics, size and shelf life. The question remains as to whether those qualities outweigh price when this article also states that tomato consumption is decreasing. “The sector is concerned about the decrease in tomato consumption that is occurring both in Spain and in the EU, which has fallen by 13% in volume and 2% in value in the 2021/22 campaign, according to the latest data collected by Fepex. Tomato consumption in Spanish homes has gone from 13 kilos per person in 2021 to 11.9 kilos in 2022.”)

For the second example, let’s use LED grow lights. This one is more challenging because the technology promises long-lasting reliability, but most commercial installations have not existed long enough to prove or test the reliability claims. 

Unlike other technologies in the commercial horticulture space, we have a third-party agency, Design Light Consortium, that collects performance data. Unfortunately, the agency does not always make internal unbiased testing data available.

LED grow lights have metrics we can measure and test, such as output (umols/s), efficacy (umols/joule) and spectrum. This ensures buyers get what they paid for, at least out of the box. However, this is where quality becomes a test of reliability over time. 

Anyone investing in a retrofit lighting system calculates a return on investment. The estimation compares the running hours the greenhouse uses per year against the difference in energy used at a given price per kwh. This determines the years needed to earn back the investment. If the product fails to perform at the same specification over the years, the initial return on investment becomes null and void.  

Much like the tomato discussion, the final component is price. A question that many debate today is, can the cheapest product on the market also deliver on quality claims? Even for someone deeply invested in understanding this technology, this gets confusing. 

What can be said is that the components used to build the light determines the product’s longevity. Cheaper components are less likely to deliver consistency over time. This is to be expected.

So back to the original question, what does quality mean?

You tell me. What is clear is that, in most cases, quality is more subjective than objective. Even when you can measure quality, you have to consider consumers’ interest in different levels of qualities for given products in certain sectors. Consumers continue to show they will forgo high-quality products in favor of good-quality products at a more reasonable price. This makes selling quality products a challenge.

Over the years, I have made three incorrect assumptions about quality. First, as a young sales person, I assumed that “quality” meant my product was better than competitors. And while I am fortunate enough to have only worked with high-quality products, these qualities did not always translate into a difference the customer valued.  

Second, I assumed everyone valued quality the same way I did. Personally, I always buy the best product that lasts the longest or performs better than comparable products. In other words, I only want to buy something one time. It took me years to realize that not everyone values quality and that good enough at the right price point often wins out.  

Finally, and probably most importantly, people pay premium prices for quality. This one confused me because people are complicated. Many of my customers drive the nicest cars and invest in the best homes. But when it comes to their business, they do not value every component required to operate in the same way. 

And who does? We pick and choose what’s important to us, what we can afford, and what we value. Plus, we continuously change our minds depending on the factors we face at that moment.

Ultimately, quality products need to align with the perceived value that customers derive from them. If companies cannot communicate and/or demonstrate the value proposition of their products, they will not achieve their desired premium pricing.  

If you are burdened with selling quality, my thoughts are with you. After 26 years of selling, my advice to you is simple:  

First, make sure the product you sell has multiple features that represent the qualities your clients want. Second, constantly listen to your customers and relay new information back to your company. Be transparent and truthful with your customers. They will value this as a premium service, which should never be overlooked.  

And, finally, I hope you are successful. If we have a chance at being environmentally sustainable, we need products to last longer. We cannot continue to live in a throw-away world.

Urban Ag News looks to hear from you.

ATLANTA, November 27, 2023 – Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) (“Company”) announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire the Arize® family of horticulture lighting products from Current Lighting Solutions, LLC (”Current Lighting”). The Company has also reached an agreement with Hort
Americas, LLC for it to remain as the exclusive distributor of these horticulture lighting products throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

“By adding these high-powered, greenhouse-focused luminaires to our horticulture lighting portfolio, Acuity Brands will be positioned to greatly expand our product offering to the fast-growing controlled environment agriculture market, while taking advantage of our lighting and controls expertise to help growers increase productivity while decreasing energy consumption,” said Tony Gineris, VP & General Manager, Industrial and Outdoor, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls. “In addition, we will be aligning ourselves with Hort Americas, an established leader in the commercial greenhouse space.”

Founded in 2009, Hort Americas (Bedford, TX) works closely with qualified manufacturers to bring to market quality, technically advanced, and cost-effective products for use in commercial greenhouses, vertical farms, and controlled environment agriculture applications. Hort Americas has focused on understanding how LED grow lights can help growers improve production and improve their operating expenses by decreasing energy consumption since 2010. They constantly work with growers to understand their needs and respond with science-supported educational materials, while working with their manufacturing partners to develop products that meet those needs.

“Hort Americas is extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Current Lighting (previously known as GE Current, a Daintree Company) to help develop a lineup of LED grow lights with proven reliability over time,” said Chris Higgins, President of Hort Americas. “We are now excited to partner with Acuity Brands and continue building on the success, as well as the products, technology, and services, so many growers have come to depend on.”

The transaction with Current Lighting is expected to close by the end of January 2024 when the Arize products will join the VerjureTM series of horticulture lighting products from Acuity Brands. The Hort Americas agreement will go into effect upon the closing of the transaction with Current.

“We know we need scale, proven customer service, strong warranties and a reputation for engineering high-quality products to be successful,” Higgins added. “Only a few companies in North America can offer all of these characteristics. We are confident that one of leading lighting technology companies in North America, Acuity Brands, will be a partner to help us advance the horticulture industry going forward.”

About Acuity Brands

Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. We use technology to solve problems in spaces, light, and more things to come. Through our two business segments, Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls (ABL) and the Intelligent Spaces Group (ISG), we design, manufacture, and bring to market products and services that make a valuable difference in people’s lives.

We achieve growth through the development of innovative new products and services, including lighting, lighting controls, building management solutions, and location-aware applications. Acuity Brands, Inc. is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company is powered by more than 12,000 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuitybrands.com

USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) connects agricultural producers with high-quality and affordable crop insurance sold by approved insurance providers. This includes the specific needs of urban and innovative producers, who may have smaller and more specialized operations.

In this Ask the Expert, Economist Claire White answers questions about RMA programs and opportunities for urban and innovative producers, including the new Controlled Environment crop insurance program.

Read the full article at farmers.gov