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Sunday Recap: Expansions, New Funding & A Christmas Miracle

Discover every Sunday a complete wrap-up of the week in the indoor farming sector.

Sepehr Achard

Dec 18, 2022

This edition is sponsored by AgriHub & AmplifiedAg.

This Week’s Editorial

Indoor Vertical Farming Newsletter®

Monday Opening Bell: 2023 Worse Than 2022?

Good morning readers, to start the week are going to look at future economic indicators from the UK, EU & US which will largely dictate the economy in 2023. The UK's GDP expanded by 0.5% Month on month, above expectations of 0.4%. The 0.6% increase in services was the primary factor in GDP growth. For the month, product…

a year ago · 1 like · Sepehr Achard

Indoor Vertical Farming Newsletter®

Will Cannabis Live Up To Its Promise?

Good morning readers, in the following four to five years, the medical and recreational segments are expected to continue to grow. Due to the far greater number of users, it is predicted that the recreational segment will surpass the medicinal segment in growth. Deloitte predicted that the Canadian cannabis business may be valued at close to $2.7 billion. Growing operating costs and greater competition from both legal and illicit producers are challenges faced by cannabis growers…

a year ago · 3 likes · Sepehr Achard

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This Week in Indoor Farming

Farm.One, after a failed crowdfunding effort in the first half of 2022, the New York City-based indoor vertical farm reported that they had been successful in finding an investor to support their expansion.

The firm, which was founded with the intention of supplying high-end restaurants in New York City with vertically grown greens, had to change its plans during the pandemic since the succession of lockdowns drove most of its professional clients to change their plans as well. Since the epidemic, the business has switched to a subscription model where clients may get local greens (and other speciality crops) delivered to their doorsteps anywhere in the city. The firm tried to raise money to support its expansion but was unsuccessful, forcing it to close its farms until, according to the company, an investor agreed to provide it the money it needed to carry out its objectives.

“By September we were convinced the dream had been extinguished beyond any hope. But somehow, despite everything, underneath it all, a little seed stayed alive. ‍ At the very last minute, we were found by a new investor. One with the resources to support our plans to expand our facility and grow for the long term.‍ Farm.One is about to be better than ever.” the company commented on its website.

The company is now planning to begin its first harvests in early 2023 after having fixed up the farm building on Bergen street and adding more production capacity.

Vertical Future has entered into a collaboration with Vertical Farm Systems (VFS) the company announced, a new company established to work on the Singapore Advanced Vertical Farming (SAVE) project. The project was funded by both Innovate UK and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) to broaden research and development (R&D) ties between the two nations. Two farms in two distinct climates will test and implement the new, fully integrated system. One is at Vertical Future’s R&D facility in London, while the other is at HSL’s “AgriHub” in Singapore, where the two parties have already agreed to construct a farm that will be used for commercial production. The UK team will concentrate on nutrient consumption and absorption throughout the early stages of system development before integrating with Vertical Future’s current systems, at which point parallel experiments will continue with the Singapore team.

“We are incredibly thrilled to be cooperating with HSL, through VFS, to strengthen components of our system offering, as well as tackling particular concerns in Singapore and the larger ASEAN area,” stated Jamie Burrows, CEO, and founder of Vertical Future commenting on the announcement. “This partnership aims to promote the implementation of more integrated systems throughout the ASEAN region, particularly bigger farms in Singapore. If Singapore wants to achieve its “30 by 30″ aim, this will be essential. The backing of ESG and Innovate UK is a tremendous endorsement of Vertical Future’s patented technology and its future development. In order to progress the global vertical farming business and cooperate with the larger CEA industry, Vertical Future is looking forward to collaborating with VFS and strengthening our connection.”

The crops in scope for the project will be ‘full sized’ Spinach, Pak Choi, Bayum, Basil, Coriander, and Shiso, representing crop types popular in Singapore. The non-indigenous varieties, such as Basil, are currently imported from Europe, and the others are imported from surrounding countries such as Vietnam. The project will be key to hastening the deployment of vertical farming systems in Asia and help to drive sustainable food production globally.

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Winter Farm, the Quebec-based company whose aim is to replace 10% of Canada’s strawberry imports, announced that it has raised $46 million in a funding round that has seen the participation of the Quebec Government and Investissement Québec, and the addition of new investors (Desjardins, Farm Credit Canada, Financière Agricole du Québec, and Capital Financière Agricole Inc., as well as two private partners). The Vaudreuil site will ensure that nearly one million kilograms of succulent Fraise d’hiver strawberries will reach the market each year. In the coming months, six 600 m2 vertical farms will be added to two existing farms already in operation. These installations will use 20 to 25 times less space compared to open field production and generate minimal greenhouse gases.

“The additional partner represents a vote of confidence in the industrial potential of Winter Farm and our capacity to provide fruit of the highest caliber. A more competitive and sustainable local agriculture that can compete with import markets must be developed via innovation. We appreciate the St-Denis family joining us on this voyage. Their participation will immediately help to Vaudreuil become a top-tier technological showcase for the vertical farming sector! “, according to Alain Brisebois, Winter Farm’s president, and CEO.

Vertical farming consolidation: the advantages and challenges | Forward Fooding Article. Read more here.

Are DFIs on track to catalyze investments in African agriculture? | AgFunder News. Read more here.

‘Making Global Food Local’ | Q&A With Crop One CEO Craig Ratajczyk By Indoor Ag-Con. Read more here.

Meet the Two Biggest Enemies of Indoor Farming | The Food Institute. Read more here.

Food startups Aleph Farms and Iron Ox grow from net zero roots | Greenbiz.com. Read more here.

Events To Attend

Environmental Sustainability of Commercial Urban Farms | An FAO Event. Read more here.