UK vertical farming company GrowUp Farms has been granted planning permission to extend its Pepperness site at Discovery Park, near Sandwich in Kent. GrowUp Farms was the first vertical farm in the UK to launch a branded salad into a major supermarket group with the launch of Fresh Leaf Co. into Iceland stores across the UK earlier this year. The council approved extension plans will raise the height of the current farm to from 18.9 metres to 24.87 metres, this extra 5 metres will allow the building to accommodate additional growing chambers. These taller chambers will help the farm to…
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.
AeroFarms® has filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company operates the world’s largest aeroponic smart farm in Danville, Virginia and the world’s largest Research and Development farm in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The grower’s leafy greens can be found at major retailers like Ahold Delhaize, Amazon Fresh, Harris Teeter, The Fresh Market, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, and more. In addition to the petition for bankruptcy, the Company has filed various ‘first day’ motions with the bankruptcy court requesting customary relief that will enable…
Earlier this year, Oreon, the Dutch developer and manufacturer of high-end LED grow lights for greenhouse horticulture, introduced a new multilayer LED fixture called Embrace XL. It has been specially developed for vertical and indoor farming. The firm says the new fixture is efficient, robust, and flexible – all without direct heat radiation and with perfect light distribution. At a time when energy costs are proving to be a prohibitive barrier to the profitable advancement of high-tech vertical and indoor farming, Oreon is pleased to have developed their new water-cooled multilayer LED fixture, it can be installed in any rack…
Israeli start-up Growee has secured an undisclosed funding round, led by several renowned impact angel investors, the Israeli Innovation Authority, and the Israeli Ministry of Economy. The agritech firm offers a unique hardware and software platform tailored to small-scale growers. This includes urban hydroponic and vertical farmers, educational and research facilities, container farms, and even home growers. With 6 different patents, Growee’s platform leverages proprietary IoT and analytics technology to continuously monitor and balance water chemistry, crucial for optimising plant growth. The data collected is managed via the Growee cloud, offering real-time insights and control to growers using the Growee…
Dutch start-up Source.ag – a leading AI provider for greenhouse growers, has secured an additional US$4 million in an extension of its Series A funding round, taking the total raised to US$27 million. SK networks (of South Korea) invested US$2 million through its US investment corporation Hico Capital and an existing investor – MIT-affiliated E14 fund, provided a further US$2 million. Source.ag has garnered significant acclaim for developing the first-ever AI model to generate optimised growing methods and outcomes for indoor ag operations. Their innovative solutions harness the power of AI technology to offer-valuable recommendations on ideal planting schedules, strategic…
This September (13th-14th), Dubai hosts the Global Vertical Farming Show (GVF 2023), an event that will be in its fourth year. It will showcase the latest advancements and trends in the vertical farming space and promote food security in the region. With the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) confirming its support, the show’s organisers are certain that the event will open doors to new opportunities for participating organisations. MOCCAE is responsible for developing and implementing policies and initiatives that promote environmental protection, sustainable development and dealing with the effects of climate change. It creates and enforces environmental…
Over a decade ago I worked with a web developer in rural India who was offline for six hours each day because the electricity on which he depended was diverted to local farmers for their irrigation pumps. Although India has made significant advances since then, the lack of electricity infrastructure in India continues to be one of the factors that has prevented high-tech vertical farming deployment to date, but this is set to change. Vertical Future – the global vertical farming technology and data company, based in London, has partnered with MODI FRESH, an India-based retail brand, founded by the…
Revol Greens, the largest greenhouse lettuce grower in North America, has unveiled the world’s single-largest controlled environment agriculture (CEA) lettuce facility. It boasts state-of-the-art technology which includes artificial intelligence tools to monitor and adjust climate control, irrigation, and energy management for maximum output and efficiency 365 days a year. The newly erected greenhouse is expected to create 130 jobs in Texas while significantly expanding Revol Green’s distribution in the US state and the central and southern United States. With the addition of this new facility, Revol Greens has extended its reach to over 70 percent of the US market when…
With its unique 3D vertical architecture in place, alongside dozens of patent assets, US firm Plenty says its newly opened farm is the most technologically advanced indoor vertical farm in the world. Based in Compton, California, the new farm will deliver an industry-leading yield of up to 350 times the yield per acre of a conventional farm. It is forecast to grow up to 4.5M pounds (2M kg) of produce annually to supply partners including Bristol Farms, Walmart and Whole Foods Market. “After investing nearly a decade into research and development, Plenty has cracked the code on a scalable platform…
Founded in 2011, GoodLeaf Farms is the largest vertical farming company in Canada. Its microgreens and baby greens are available in most leading retailers in Ontario and sold in more than 600 locations. The business has now secured a CA$78 million syndicated debt financing from CIBC and Farm Credit Canada (FCC) to support the growth and expansion of its network of indoor farms across Canada. New farms in Calgary and Montreal will add 200,000 square feet of production to GoodLeaf’s capacity, each able to produce approximately two million pounds of locally grown, fresh leafy greens each year. The completion of…
