Sunday Wrap-Up: What Happened in The Indoor Ag Sector This Week?
Discover more from Indoor Vertical Farming Newsletter®
Sunday Wrap-Up: What Happened in The Indoor Ag Sector This Week?
Every Sunday, discover the recent news highlighting the week in the indoor ag sector.
This edition is sponsored by Ark Ltd & AmplifiedAg. Want to sponsor an upcoming edition? Contact us here.
Good morning readers, today we are going over this week’s indoor ag stock performance and the news highlighting the week in the indoor ag industry.
Indoor Ag companies haven’t had a great week in stock markets as most of them lost more than 10% of their stock value as a result of surprising news, desperate attempts to save the company’s future on markets, and driven by overall market conditions.
In Indoor Ag this week, we have a couple of partnership announcements calling for future funding in the industry as well as a company expanding its product portfolio to meet its demand.
The Supply Chain Behind Indoor Farms: An Upcoming Strategic U-Turn?
AmplifiedAg is a leading provider of modular, flexible, and scalable farming platforms empowering turnkey deployment, expansion ease, and variable crop production. Discover all the range of products they offer here.
Stock Market Recap Over The Past 5 Trading Days
Agrify Corp AGFY 0.00%↑ lost 87.67% of its value since its 1:10 reverse stock split falling to USD 2.22 a share at closing on Friday
Kalera KAL 0.00%↑ lost 60.46% of its value since the beginning of the week driven by its decision to divest its seed subsidiary as well as international assets in the hopes of becoming cash flow positive sooner than anticipated. The stock closed at USD 0.28
Edible Garden EDBL 0.00%↑ lost 4.35% of its value this week but is at risk of a de-listing notice as the stock has been trading under USD 1.00 a share for over 30 days and received on the 11th of delisting notice from the Listing Qualification Staff of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Urban-Gro UGRO 0.00%↑ gained 17.53% over the past 5 days driven by the company's announcement of USD 50M in signed contracts following the acquisition of Emerald Construction as well as the announcement of a binding letter of intent with a Texas-based Engineering company
ARK supports entrepreneurs, organizations, and communities with sustainable food & energy production systems. Closing the loop and leveraging agile frameworks help you grow organically and cultivate a consumer-first mindset. Discover their products and services here.
This Week in Indoor Ag
Besides, Kalera’s move to divest its Seed subsidiary and international assets, there have been certain announcements that marked the week in the indoor ag sector.
First, Vertical Harvest Farms and FundHer World Capital formed a partnership for long-term growth to support the indoor farming company’s plans to expand locations starting with the large-scale farm in Maine.
“Vertical Harvest Farms was founded by an all-female team and they have inspired us by their unique and successful approach to shaping a new model of civic infrastructure in the U.S. They co-locate their urban indoor vertical farms with affordable housing, all while creating jobs for the underemployed and producing sustainable nutrition-rich produce. While investments are typically transactional, I am looking for our investments to be transformational. Vertical Harvest speaks directly to this goal.” Rose Vitale, co-founding partner of DRA Family Office and Angel Investor with FundHer World
The company mentioned in its press release, that the partnership comes after the closing of their Series A and “lays the foundation for a Series B funding round, with the support of DRA Family Office”
“We have a clear path and vision for the future of U.S. cities that address climate solutions, nutritious food access year-round, and social equity for an underserved population. We are thrilled to partner with women who value this vision, see the sound business model, and want to be part of a better future for our cities and the people who live there,” comments Nona Yehia, co-founder and CEO of Vertical Harvest Farms
The other news is Bill Gates’ Energy Venture fund is said to consider other sectors including indoor farming in a bid to expand beyond climate mitigation towards climate adaptation as the world faces increasing disruption from climate change. Though the company is no stranger to indoor farming (They led the latest funding round by Texas-based Iron Ox), the firm is said to focus on several areas to assist farmers facing increasing droughtiness, and hotter temperatures and ensure crops remain productive.
This move follows a recent announcement made by the Gates Foundation with the Qatar Investment Authority to jointly invest up to USD 200 million over the next two years to help prepare farmers in developing countries to adapt to climate change. The partnership focuses on introducing climate-adaptive farming methods (such as indoor farming) and technology to communities that depend on agriculture for both food and income, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, said Mark Suzman, chief executive officer of the Gates Foundation.
Lastly, Surna Cultivation Technologies, a subsidiary of CEAD industries is expanding its product portfolio offering water treatment solutions to its clients. In its press release, the company says that it “understands the need for pure, clean water to ensure consistent and healthy crops and will provide a comprehensive water treatment system based on clients’ unique water treatment needs”.
“Surna recognizes that not all water is the same and can vary widely from location to location,” stated Leandru Schiau, Surna Product Manager. “For example, a cultivator on the west coast may have different water chemistries than one on the east coast. Surna can now provide a holistic water purification solution, designed to the cultivator’s water quality, peak water demands, and storage needs.”