Sasha Preuss has joined Plenty Unlimited Inc. as its Vice President of Plant Science. Building on decades of experience heading up biology and biotech programs and labs for some of the world’s largest agriculture companies, including Bayer and Monsanto, Preuss is now leading Plenty’s team of more than 75 scientists in scaling up the company’s R&D work. Plenty Unlimited Inc is developing a new R&D facility in Laramie, Wyoming, which the firm believes will be the largest and most technologically advanced indoor vertical farming research centre in the world. “What drew me to Plenty was not just the company’s leading…
Author: Matt Peskett
Matt Peskett
Matt has worked in digital publishing and media for over two decades across the science, technology, food and agricultural sectors. With a lifelong passion for growing his own food, Matt also produces 300kg giant pumpkins for exhibition and volunteers with the Royal Horticultural Society. He has a sizeable horticultural social media presence and has been a finalist in the Garden Media Guild's blog of the year and social media awards. Matt also dabbles in start-up investment with companies like Small Robot Company, Drone Ag and RootWave.
After adding more than 150 new team members in three years, Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has attained B Corp™ accreditation, solidifying the business’ dedication to supplying the core equipment for sustainable crop production. Based on the B Impact Assessment™, IGS earned an overall score of 88.4, scoring highly across workers, environment, and community. The rigorous assessment requires commitment across all areas of a business, with the median score for businesses who complete the assessment currently 50.9. B Corporations™ are businesses working to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Team members from all disciplines across…
In June 2022, Continental and Dutch-Belgian technology company Octiva signed a collaboration agreement to develop autonomous mobile robotic solutions for horticultural applications. This month Continental plans to use Agritechnica (12-18 November, 2023) as a launchpad to demonstrate the progress of those robotic solutions and other non-tyre agricultural technology. At a press conference on Monday, November 13, 2023 Continental will provide more detail about its new greenhouse robot, capable of treating plants with ultraviolet light (UVC), selective harvesting and scouting activities. In partnership with Octiva, the robot is being readied for sale in 2024 and will be capable of operating multiple…
Located within a 30-minute drive of the heart of Dubai, Green Farm LLC’s new indoor growing facility has commenced operations and expects its first harvest this month. The vertical farm utilises iFarm Leafy Greens technology and is the first to do so in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Built inside an industrial building, the 7.5m ceiling provides space for 44 vertical racks. These deliver a total growing area of 730m², all used to grow ultra-fresh leafy greens, microgreens and edible flowers under the ‘Mama Natura Greens’ brand. Green Farm aims to grow over 3 tonnes of produce per month, destined…
US vertical farming company Kalera appears to be making good progress with efforts to restructure and become a profitable fresh food business. In January Growy Holdings BV acquired Kalera’s international farms in Kuwait and Singapore, then in April Kalera filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – a move which saw the company delisted from the Nasdaq whilst its US farms continued to operate. Now Kalera’s assets have now been acquired by Lactuca Holdings, LLC for an undisclosed sum, with financial backing provided by private equity investment manager, Sandton Capital Partners. The indoor farming facilities in Atlanta, Denver and Houston have been…
The great and the good of indoor farming gathered at the Vertical Farming World Congress 2023 in London today. In the face of some high profile indoor farming failures this year, press coverage of the sector has been none too positive, however, the general message coming from the various speakers on the congress’ first day was one of optimism, provided that business expectations are tempered with realism. “No profitability, stupid business models, trying to redefine a whole category, too many people buying in tech, trying to reinvent the wheel.” were some possible causes of failure put forward by James Lloyd…
When Kentucky based AppHarvest filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in July, the future of its four separate greenhouse facilities was unclear. Now Mastronardi Produce, a former AppHarvest distribution partner, has leased two of the AppHarvest facilities from Equilibrium Capital which purchased the facilities as part of AppHarvest’s bankruptcy process. The high-tech greenhouse facilities – separately located in Richmond and Morehead, Kentucky – represent a combined 120 acres of fully lit production. “We are very proud to keep the Morehead and Richmond facilities online and to grow with the teams there,” said Paul Mastronardi, President & CEO of Mastronardi Produce…
Gresham House plc backed vertical farming company Fischer Farms has expanded its business development team. Tom Scott joins the team as Business Development Manager from MM flowers, where he was responsible for managing and building key accounts across the UK retail sector. He also previously worked for the Bridge Farm Group, one of the leading growers and suppliers of pot and pack bedding plants and herbs into UK retail. In Scott’s previous roles, he has worked with some of the biggest retailers, including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Coop and Lidl, bringing almost a decade of commercial experience with him. Business Growth In…
The Danish Innovation Foundation has approved a grant for mobile robotics company Seasony. To date the Danish firm has been seeking to reduce labour costs on vertical farms with its autonomous mobile robot ‘Watney’ focused on transport and data collection. Now the company is also developing AI enabled early warning systems that utilise the robot’s image gathering capabilities. The AI project has two key tracks: The first track focuses on identifying poor seed germination to conserve water, energy, and nutrients from producing faulty crop. The second track is dedicated to the early detection of diseases and pests, enabling growers to…
The 2023 Vertical Farming World Congress takes place in London in just two weeks (9-11 October 2023) and we are excited to be media partners. Vertical Farming Today publisher Matt Peskett will be in attendance throughout the event. With programme sessions such as ‘efficient food production systems’, ‘growing plants in space’ and ‘strawberries all year round’ to name but a few, there’s a lot of topic breadth to keep attendees focused. As part of the congress, on Tuesday 10th October the winners of the 2023 Vertical Farming World Awards will be announced during a dedicated awards ceremony and dinner. Show…
