In a press release, Cubic Farms announced the appointment of a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to guide and advise CubicFarms.

The SAB, per the release, is “comprised of top experts in the fields of agriculture and technology” and will be “primarily responsible for making recommendations to the Company’s senior leadership team regarding research and development priorities.”

“We’re proud to have an accomplished and diverse group of scientific and research experts as the members of our Scientific Advisory Board,” said Dave Dinesen, CEO, CubicFarms. “This world-class team of scientific advisors bring their significant knowledge and expertise in land use, controlled-environment agriculture, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and data analysis. They understand the complexities of navigating issues like food waste, and they’re committed to finding solutions to the real-world problems of food scarcity and food security. This will significantly contribute to our local chain ag-tech solution to convert the industry’s traditionally long and unsustainable food supply chains.” 

Inaugural members of the SAB include: 

Dr. Lenore Newman (SAB Chair) — Director of the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley (UVF) where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Food Security and Environment. She’s an associate professor in the department of geography and the environment at UFV and is a member of the Royal Society of Canada's New College. She holds a PhD in Environmental Studies from Toronto’s York University and has published over 50 academic journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Newman research includes agricultural land use policy, agricultural technologies, and bioengineering in the food system. She was a member of the British Columbia Premier’s Food Security Task Force, sat on the B.C. Minister of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Revitalizing the Agricultural Land Reserve, and regularly speaks to government and community groups. Her first book, Speaking in Cod Tongues, was published to wide acclaim in 2017 and won a Saskatchewan Book Award. Her second book, Lost Feast, was published by ECW Press in 2019, was awarded silver in the 2019 Forward INDIES, and was the winner of a Canadian Science Writers Award.

Dr. Tammara Soma — Dr. Soma MCIP RPP is an Assistant Professor at the School of Resource and Environmental Management (Planning program) at Simon Fraser University and Research Director of the Food Systems Lab. Originally hailing from Indonesia, she conducts research on issues pertaining to food loss and waste, food system planning, food access, and the circular economy. Dr. Soma is the Co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Food Waste, and co-founder of the International Food Loss and Food Waste Studies group, a global network of food loss and waste researchers and practitioners. Dr. Soma was selected as a committee member of the U.S. National Academies of Science and co-authored the consensus study A National Strategy to Reduce Consumer Food Waste. She is registered professional planner (RPP) and holds a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP) designation.

Dr. Laila Benkrima — Director of Program Development for the new Agriculture Technology Program at Simon Fraser University and Director of LB Plant Biosciences Research and Consulting Inc., Dr. Benkrima has extensive experience in research, training, and teaching horticulture techniques and as a crop consultant to greenhouse and farming operators. She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Biology and Master of Science Degree in Plant Physiology from the University of Paris, France. She has been responsible for the planning, development and creative problem solving of various projects from plant micropropagation and functional/medicinal crop cultivation to hydroponics and laboratory design. Dr. Benkrima works as an independent consultant for companies in the agricultural, horticultural, and nutraceutical sectors. She has experience in advising various types of agriculture, horticulture and biotechnology related projects in commercial production, and resource development. She’s identified and recommended potential market opportunities, product line expansions, new product development and recently assigned patents for many B.C. companies. Dr. Benkrima provides specific experience in working with micropropagation, a technique widely regarded as the preferred option for large-scale commercialization of many economically important crops.

Dr. Evan Fraser — Professor Evan Fraser, PhD, is a full professor at the University of Guelph, the Director of the Arrell Food Institute, a Fellow of the Trudeau Foundation, and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. Dr. Fraser helps lead the Food from Thought initiative, which is a $76.6 million research program based at the University of Guelph exploring how to use big data to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint. He works with large multi-disciplinary teams on developing solutions to help feed the world’s growing population. He co-chairs the Arrell Food Summit and manages the Arrell Food Scholarship program, as well as the Arrell Food Innovation Awards that deliver hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to groups that have made tremendous impacts on global food systems. As a researcher, Dr. Fraser is a co-author on over 100 academic papers and book chapters and played a leadership role in teams that have raised over $100M in research funding. Dr. Fraser’s non-fiction book Empires of Food: Feast, Famine and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations was shortlisted for the James Beard Food Literature Award. His web video series on “feeding nine billion” has been watched over 500,000 times; he has self-published a graphic novel #FoodCrisis about a fictitious food crisis that hits North America in the 2020s; and he created a card game about global food security that won a gold medal at the International “Serious Play” conference.  

In addition to these members, the SAB will also include current leadership from CubicFarms including Leo Benne, founder of CubicFarms; Tim Fernback, Chief Financial Officer, CubicFarms; and Edoardo De Martin, Chief Technology Officer, CubicFarms. 

Shared via press release, AmericanHort applauds the passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 (H.R. 1603), in the House of Representatives on March 18. The bill passed by a vote of 247-174, earning significant bipartisan support in a contentious political environment.

“The advancement of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act is the necessary first step in addressing the horticulture industry’s ongoing workforce challenges,” said Senior Vice President Craig Regelbrugge. “Our growers have dealt with a broken immigration and agricultural visa system for far too long. We extend our sincere appreciation to the bill negotiators and all those Representatives who voted in favor. We now look to Republicans and Democrats in the Senate to take up the issue and consider legislation addressing the three pillars of reform for the essential farm workforce.”

Background: The Farm Workforce Modernization Act has now passed the House of Representatives for the second time, having previously passed in 2019. It was the first agricultural workforce reform legislation to pass the House since 1986. The bill provides solutions that stabilize the current agricultural and horticultural workforce, improve the legal channels for future seasonal and permanent workers in the farming sector, and advance integrity in the hiring process. AmericanHort joined over 250 agricultural organizations in a support letter to House Leadership earlier this week while also coordinating broad grassroots action in support of the bill.

Click here for more news and information about AmericanHort.

OPer a press release, Oishii announced the closing of $50 million in Series A funding led by SPARX Group’s Mirai Creation Fund II. The fund was established by Toyota Motor Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and SPARX. Existing Oishii investors include Sony Innovation Fund, PKSHA Technology, Social Starts, and several prominent angel investors.

Oishii operates what it says is the world’s largest vertical strawberry farm. The farm, located in Manhattan, is built using Japanese vertical farming methods and the berries themselves are grown using Japanese production methods.

Per the release, it plans to expand into other crops in the future and add more farms. Its berries are currently used in several high-end restaurants and sold at retailers such as Eli’s Market. Oishii’s most notable variety is the Omakase berry, “an artisanal Japanese varietal, unique for its sweetness, aroma, and creamy texture.”

“Our mission is to change the way we grow food. We set out to deliver exceptionally delicious and sustainable produce,” said Oishii CEO Hiroki Koga. “We started with the strawberry -- a fruit that routinely tops the dirty dozen of most pesticide-riddled crops -- as it has long been considered the ‘holy grail’ of vertical farming. We aim to be the largest strawberry producer in the world, and this capital allows us to bring the best-tasting, healthiest berry to everyone. From there, we’ll quickly expand into new fruits and produce.”

The company has raised a total of $55 million since its founding in 2016.

CubicFarms, per a press release, announced that Edoardo De Martin has joined its senior leadership team as Chief Technology Officer.

Prior to joining CubicFarms, De Martin spent 10 years at Microsoft working in various roles including General Manager of the Microsoft Vancouver Development Centre, as well as driving innovation as GM of Dynamics Mixed Reality Applications on HoloLens.

Per the release, CubicFarms believes De Martin will “bring significant experience to advancing artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and mixed reality technologies supporting the Company’s innovative growing technologies and ambitious goal to feed a changing world.”

“I want to use my experience to help make a meaningful impact on the world, something that my children and future generations will be proud of. I was inspired by the world of AgTech through my role as a mentor at Creative Destruction Lab in Vancouver,” De Martin said. “The path then led me to CubicFarms where I was blown away by their innovative solution to indoor automated growing. In my opinion, this company has really focused on what is the most important: understanding what growers need. My job will be creating the digital technology to further accelerate innovation and scale. I am excited to start this next journey in my career.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Edo De Martin, a strong Canadian technology leader, as our CTO. Under Edo’s leadership, we’re confident that he will accelerate the growth of our systems and create the next generation of indoor growing technologies,” said Dave Dinesen, CEO, CubicFarms.

De Martin’s broad software experience across video games, holographic, and enterprise solutions, coupled with his leadership ability in leading technical innovation teams, will bring a unique perspective.

A graduate of Simon Fraser University, De Martin began his career in telecommunications before transitioning to roles in the video game industry where he is known for creating highly sought-after games. He delivered Need for Speed Underground, the franchise-leading, number-one selling game worldwide, and earned back-to-back ‘Best Company’ honors for operational excellence at Next Level Games, which was recently acquired by Nintendo.

In 2010, De Martin joined Microsoft to lead an innovation studio in Victoria, B.C. for HoloLens, the world’s first holographic computer.

In his role as General Manager of Microsoft Vancouver, De Martin grew the development center from 400 to 1,200 employees onsite. He played a key role in global operations as well, overseeing site strategy and heading up a Dynamics 365 product team focused on Mixed Reality applications for frontline workers. As an advocate for British Columbia’s tech industry, he has served on the board of BC Tech, Cascadia Innovation Corridor, and was Co-Chair of the Canadian Digital Supercluster.

“With visionaries like Edo, we’re continuously attracting the best talent in the world to our team,” continued Dinesen. “We’re committed to building an exceptional team with people who are passionate about revolutionizing agriculture now, and for future generations.”