As the last 18 months have laid bare for us all, the ability to pivot, or change course quickly to outmaneuver a market development that is rapidly baring down on you like a runaway freight train, is incredibly important.
Take for example this month’s cover story subject, Rocket Farms (https://bit.ly/blasting-off-again) out on the West Coast. The nearly 40-year-old indoor grower’s backstory is littered with successful pivots and audibles, and I would guess that many of you have experienced the same in your businesses as well.
After focusing on its ornamental division for years and years, Rocket made the (some would say no-brainer) decision in 2020 to go all-in on potted edible veggie and herb transplants after seeing the segment explode in interest during the pandemic.
That pivot, while both a gigantic risk and opportunity at the same time, paid off big time. The operation saw a 38% increase year-over-year on its edible crops business, while demand for its potted ornamental offerings mostly remained flat over the same period.
Unfold, whose CEO talked with editor Chris Markham this month (https://bit.ly/unfold-developing-genetics), is a new startup that is working hard to pivot the industry itself away from the field grown varieties that many indoor and vertical farms have been forced to shoehorn into their production systems. The West Coast innovator is 100% focused on breeding seeds and varieties with “quality traits” for both indoor farmers and end-consumers alike. Think short and compact and still bursting with flavor and color.
And it’s not just about new traits or varieties at Unfold. The startup is hoping to unlock a new wave of crops that indoor growers who have mastered lettuce and microgreens and things like that can pivot to, if need be. Crops like strawberries and peppers and cucumbers, all of which could be considered “hot crops” with robust demand from consumers, foodies and chefs.
So, as the fall season gives way to winter, and you’re looking at what you should do at your indoor farm for 2022 and beyond, don’t let the opportunity to pivot pass you by. Keep an open mind when that fork in the road appears.
Produce Grower: What are some mistakes CEA operations can make that leave them at risk for a food safety issue?
Sanja Ilic: There are sometimes controlled environment growers that operate under the assumption that a controlled environment always offers a lesser risk for contamination. But the conditions that make a controlled environment more sustainable and better for growth of produce also make it more conducive for proliferation of bacteria. Just because produce is not known in the field, does not mean that there is no risk of contamination with pathogens. We have seen in the past from previous studies that contamination can be tracked in the greenhouse and that once it’s contaminated, it can be difficult to clean out ... because a greenhouse or controlled environment is so heavily reliant on water, water becomes one of the most common ways produce can become contaminated. With lettuce, for instance, the contact with water is constant and consistent. That can be a risk.
PG: In terms of standards, are there well-established food safety best practices for a controlled environment setting?
SI: There are two things to think about. One is asking what the standards are and what is available as mitigation measures. The Food Safety Modernization Act actually prescribes a set of standards that apply to any produce grown in a field or a greenhouse; the best practices that can prevent contamination are mostly known for field production, because your CEA industry is still blooming. But food safety measures are just now being studied. So, for instance, in our lab, myself and Dr. Melanie Lewis Ivey, who studies plant pathology, are performing experiments that are supposed to determine the parameters that are going to be optimal for reduction of risks and elimination of contaminants in a controlled environment. So there is still work to be done.
PG: What steps can growers take to actually develop a plan?
SI: In any environment, depending on how your production is set up, your controls are going to be different. It is important that producers actually do have a food safety plan and that plan has to include everything from quality of the irrigation water, to sanitation of the environment, to worker health and hygiene, to post-harvest handling. It’s a great start if a producer can develop a flow of product and know exactly what steps are involved in production, and then they must ensure that there are preventive measures at every step.
Note: This interview has been edited for space and clarity.
Differentiating broad spectra
Features - Lighting research
Substituting white light with red and/or blue light influences lettuce production.
In the previous article, we compared warm-white light with red + blue light for indoor lettuce production. From an energy efficiency standpoint, warm-white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) had lower photon efficacy than red + blue LEDs. However, this alone did not mean warm-white LEDs were inferior. From a crop productivity standpoint, light-use efficiency of lettuce was higher under warm-white LEDs than under red + blue LEDs with 11% or more blue light. Therefore, warm-white LEDs can have a similar or higher crop yield per unit energy than red + blue LEDs. The take-home message was that fixture efficacy was not everything; crop responses under different light spectra should also be considered.
Unlike red + blue LEDs, broad-spectrum (white) LEDs can reveal the true colors of plants, which facilitates the inspection of crop growth, nutrient conditions, insects, and diseases in a visually pleasing environment. High color fidelity under broad-spectrum LED lighting can be desirable inside vertical farms and sunlight-limited greenhouses. A variety of broad-spectrum LED fixtures is available for indoor crop production, but not all of them have the same spectrum, output, or efficacy.
White LEDs are blue LEDs with a phosphor coating that converts some of the blue photons to photons at longer wavelengths (i.e., green, red, and far-red). Depending on the material and amount of phosphor coating, white LEDs create different hues, as indicated by the correlated color temperature (CCT). With a low percentage of blue light, warm-white LEDs have a low CCT of 2,500 to 3,500 K. In contrast, neutral-white (3,500 to 4,500 K), cool-white (4,500 to 5,500 K), and daylight (5,500 to 7,500 K) LEDs have higher percentages of blue light and higher photon efficacy.
These white LEDs also differ in how they reveal the true colors of plants, as indicated by the color rendering index (CRI, negative to 100) or the TM-30 fidelity index (Rf, 0 to 100). Higher indices mean higher color fidelity. Other specialized white LEDs also exist, such as mint-white (also known as EQ-white) LEDs. Developed by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, these are blue LEDs with an efficient green phosphor coating that can be combined with red LEDs to create high-CRI white light.
Horticultural lighting companies often supplement white LEDs with monochromatic red and/or blue LEDs. First, this allows for spectrum customization to elicit specific plant responses (e.g., high yield, compact growth, and increased production of secondary metabolites). Second, including more efficient red and/or blue LEDs increases overall fixture photon efficacy while white LEDs provide acceptable color rendering and are low in cost.
Although there is a wide range of broad-spectrum LED fixtures on the market, it is unclear how different broad spectra with and without supplemental red and blue LEDs compare to each other in crop production. To address this, we conducted an experiment to evaluate how indoor hydroponic lettuce responded to four different broad spectra.
Fig. 1. Photos and spectral distributions of four indoor broad-spectrum LED lighting treatments. WW, warm white; MW, mint white; B, blue; R, red; CRI, color rendering index. The number after each LED type is the photon flux density in µmol·m–2·s–1.Fig. 2. Shoot fresh weight and dry weight of red-leaf lettuce ‘Rouxai’ grown under the four indoor LED lighting treatments in Figure 1 and in a greenhouse. For each parameter, values followed by different letters are statistically different (a = 0.05).
Experiment protocol
In an indoor growth room, we sowed seeds of red-leaf lettuce ‘Rouxai’ in 1-inch rockwool cubes soaked in deionized water and placed them in trays with transparent humidity covers. Seeds germinated under warm-white LEDs (CCT = 2,700 K) at a total photon flux density of 50 µmol·m–2·s–1 during the first 24 hours at an air temperature of 68°F (20°C). Next, we grew them under 180 µmol·m–2·s–1 of warm-white light for 20 hours per day at 72 °F (22 °C). We sub-irrigated rockwool cubes with a nutrient solution made from a 12N–1.7P–13.3K fertilizer and magnesium sulfate (target nitrogen concentration = 125 ppm). The nutrient solution had a pH of 5.7 to 5.9 and an electrical conductivity of 1.2 to 1.4 dS·m–1.
On day 4, we transferred lettuce seedlings to four broad-spectrum treatments at the same total photon flux density of 180 µmol·m–2·s–1 under a 20-hour photoperiod:
warm white (WW180);
mint white (MW180);
mint white + blue + red (MW100B10R70);
mint white + blue + red (MW100B50R30).
The number after each LED type is the photon flux density in µmol·m–2·s–1. The CRI and spectral distributions of the lighting treatments are in Figure 1. Warm white had 7% blue + 29% green + 54% red + 10% far-red photons, whereas mint white had 9% blue + 60% green + 28% red + 3% far-red photons.
On day 13, we transplanted lettuce seedlings in an indoor deep-flow hydroponic system. We grew plants at 72°F in recirculated and aerated nutrient solutions (initial nitrogen concentration = 150 ppm). For comparison, we transplanted additional lettuce seedlings in containers filled with a peat-based substrate in a greenhouse at 72°F. We performed the experiment twice in time. On day 30 or 33, we measured crop yield, shape, and coloration.
Fig. 3. Plant diameter and leaf length of red-leaf lettuce ‘Rouxai’ grown under the four indoor LED lighting treatments in Figure 1 and in a greenhouse. For each parameter, values followed by different letters are statistically different (a = 0.05).
Results
Lettuce yield was the highest under warm white and mint white among all treatments (Figure 2). Although warm white and mint white had distinctly different spectra, lettuce grew similarly under these two LED types (Figures 2 and 3). With similar blue percentages (7% in warm white and 9% in mint white), these two white spectra had different green, red, and far-red percentages.
Low blue light was a strong signal to increase leaf area. In addition, the 10% far red in warm white and the 60% green in mint white also likely increased leaf expansion. The larger leaves under these two white spectra allowed plants to capture more light for photosynthesis. Therefore, the head size and yield of lettuce were the highest under these two white spectra. However, red-leaf lettuce appeared mostly green with a lack of red coloration because the red pigments, anthocyanins, were low under these low blue light treatments.
When mint white was partially substituted with blue + red light, lettuce growth depended on the blue-to-red ratio. Substitution with a low blue-to-red ratio (1:7) mainly decreased green light and increased red light, which decreased lettuce fresh weight and increased red coloration. Lettuce fresh weight and leaf length under MW100B10R70 were 12% and 8% lower, respectively, compared to MW180. On the other hand, substitution with a high blue-to-red ratio (5:3) mainly increased blue light and decreased green light, which also decreased lettuce growth and increased red coloration. Lettuce fresh weight, dry weight, plant diameter, and leaf length under MW100B50R30 were 44%, 28%, 18%, and 14% lower, respectively, compared to MW180.
Lettuce grown in the greenhouse had the lowest yield, smallest plant size, and reddest leaves among all treatments, even though the greenhouse had a higher daily light integral of 16 to 20 mol·m–2·d–1 than indoor LED treatments (13 mol·m–2·d–1). High light in the greenhouse increased anthocyanin concentration and limited plant size. Nonetheless, the greenhouse treatment was for reference only in the same growing period because a number of environmental and cultural factors were different in the greenhouse versus indoors.
Take-home messages
Different white spectra, such as warm white and mint white, can have similar effects on plant growth and coloration, although other white spectra may have different effects. When a white spectrum is supplemented with blue and/or red light, the blue, green, red, and far-red photon flux densities determine plant responses. The amount and ratio of supplementary red and/or blue light can make a big difference in plant growth and coloration, even in the same white-spectrum background. Growers interested in broad-spectrum LEDs should conduct plant trials under different broad spectra at the same photon flux density to identify the desired spectrum based on production goals.
Acknowledgements We thank Osram, Osram Opto Semiconductors, Michigan State University’s Project GREEEN, the USDA Specialty Crops Research Initiative, and horticulture companies that support vertical farming research at Michigan State University.
Dr. Qingwu (William) Meng (qwmeng@udel.edu) is an assistant professor of controlled-environment horticulture in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware. Dr. Erik Runkle (runkleer@msu.edu) is a professor of horticulture in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University.
Q&A: Freight Farms’ Rick Vanzura on Greenery S, tech upgrades, and more
Features - Production
Vanzura also discusses why recipes are a key feature of the latest Freight Farms model.
Produce Grower: What are some of the notable changes with this newest Freight Farms model?
Rick Vanzura: Dynamic Lighting Control. The Greenery S takes a huge leap in LED technology by allowing farmers to customize the lighting spectrum, intensity, and duration of light to achieve their desired plant yields. The Greenery S features Freight Farms’ proprietary LEDs, which emit light with 60% greater intensity and 50% better efficiency compared to off-the-shelf options. Farmers have precise control over their lights with brand new Eco (prioritizing farm efficiency by reducing power consumption), Performance (prioritizing plant growth for greater yields), and Standard (balances the two) modes.
Secondly, we are also featuring an all-new Workstation. As Freight Farms continues to define and refine what a farm can be, the company focuses specifically on optimizing workflow for their farmers with an all-new Workstation, a sleek, self-contained, multi-functional farm command center. Technical components – water and nutrient tanks, dosing panel, pumps – are hidden from view, yet easily accessible with a simple push-to-open mechanism for instant access. The ‘Tabletop Riser’ separates the workstation into two work zones, and includes an integrated, multi-functional LED bar (for tabletop illumination, plant spacing guidance, and task timing) and four full-range Bluetooth speakers.
And lastly, new lighting Recipes. The Greenery S launched with a huge update to our farmhand® software which includes a feature called Recipes. Recipes allow farmers to achieve consistent harvests with the touch of a button. Operators simply choose the crop they wish to grow, and farmhand automatically adjusts in-farm settings for that crop production. In-farm cameras and sensors gather information and continuously improve the precision of the recipes over time, aggregating data from the entire farmer network to determine patterns that lead to exceptionally successful harvests.
PG: How does the company work on deciding what kind of changes to do from model to model?
RV: The Greenery S is the 10th generation of our farming technology, and it leverages everything that we have learned from building these farms for nearly a decade. As a whole, we look for solutions that improve the performance, ease-of-use, and sustainability of our product to ensure our customers are able to support their communities with fresh, local, and sustainable food year-round. In addition to tireless R&D efforts within the company, many of the improvements made in the Greenery S were driven by direct user feedback, implementing the user research we conduct with our farmers about what works and what could be improved.
PG: What are the next steps for Freight Farms as a company?
RV: As a company, our priority is to grow and continuously improve our product capabilities to drive our mission of improving access to fresh, hyper-local produce throughout our global community. From there, we hope to use our entire knowledge, data, and technology base to accelerate the overall AgTech industry beyond the scope of our containers.
Freight Farms can customize LEDs to emit only select colors, such as the red and blue light that plants need to grow strong.
PG: How key are the recipes to what Freight Farms is doing? And do you find that having recipes is a way to bridge the knowledge gap for customers without detailed horticulture backgrounds?
RV: Recipes are truly the key to unlocking every farmer’s potential, regardless of their previous growing experience. Just as we have been developing the technology for nearly a decade, we have also been learning and collecting data that whole time. Recipes are a way for us to easily share all that institutional knowledge with our customers in an easy and effective way. Furthermore, recipes are not only the result of our learnings, but of the learnings of the whole farming network, meaning the available selection of recipes will become more robust as our community grows.
PG: What kinds of crops are available via Recipes right now? And do you get different growers trying out new things or new crops?
RV: Currently, our Recipes focus on general crop types versus singular crops, with farmers able to choose from four options: Lettuce, Salad Mix, Herbs, and Flowers. As a first release, we felt these would be the most useful for the greatest range of our customers, since these crop types typically get the highest yields and market prices. Farmhand and the Greenery S can be calibrated to be as specific as possible, and we always encourage our customers (if they’re comfortable) to experiment with new settings and new crops. This is how we grow the knowledge of the overall network.
PG: Why does Freight Farms go with LEDs vs. other types of lighting?
RV: LEDs are powerful and long-lasting and – of all the other indoor grow light options such as halogen, fluorescent, HID, etc. – have the lowest heat output and the highest efficiency. Additionally, we are able to customize LEDs to emit only select colors, such as the red and blue light that plants need to grow strong. LEDs are also the type of indoor light seeing the fastest technological advancement, allowing us to pass on benefits to our customers quickly. As previously mentioned, with the Greenery S, we are able to use bulbs that are 60% more powerful and 50% more efficient than those used in previous models, even the ones released just 12 months ago.
Top: Shipping containers built out with hort tech allow for full climate and lighting control for high yields.
PG: Take me into the workspace – what is it like to work in it?
RV: The Greenery S is a relaxing place to spend your time. The balanced temperature and humidity, combined with the lush canopy of oxygen-emitting plants is an instant mood booster, with the insulated container walls blocking out the outside world.
As for layout, the 320 sq. ft space is divided into two sections: the Nursery Station and the Cultivation Area. The Nursery Station is set alongside the wall on the front left side. It holds two irrigated seedling troughs, where seedlings spend approximately 3 weeks before being moved into vertical panels in the Cultivation Area. The Nursery Station also doubles as a worktop where the majority of farming activities take place. Farmers seed, transplant, and harvest their crops in this one versatile space. Across from the station is an empty, multipurpose area that can be customized according to the farmers’ wants: some install microgreen racks, others add additional storage, and some have even put in armchairs (to go with a wall-mounted TV).
The Cultivation Area consists of four mobile grow rows and four LED arrays (two mobile, two wall-mounted), and takes up the majority of the interior space. The mobile grow rows and LED arrays are mounted onto overhead racks, with a simple rack-and-pinion system making it easy to shift the farm arrangement at will. This is useful for farmers looking to do in-row plant care, harvesting, or maintenance.
Mostly, the Greenery S is optimized to make farming easy and enjoyable. This is where features in the new Workstation, such as the multi-functional LED bar and integrated Bluetooth speakers, or the push-to-open tanks come in. We want to streamline as much of the operations as possible so the farmer can focus on their business.
PG: With where you are now vs. the original model, is it easier to explain what FF does and what it entails?
RV: What has changed most since we built our first Freight Farms model in 2013 is not so much the complexity of the technology, but the general awareness of indoor farming and appreciation for local food production. The result is, yes, today it is easier to explain not just the technology, but the value of the technology for a variety of applications.
PG: What does purchasing a Freight Farm look like exactly – can you walk me through the process of buying one?
RV: The buying journey is different for every single customer. We’ve had sales cycles ranging from mere hours to several years.
First, is education. A lot of people are looking for a lifestyle change or a meaningful investment, but are not familiar with hydroponics, container farming, or controlled environment agriculture. For this reason, we host several events ranging from webinars and farm tours to farmer Q&A sessions where any questions about the technology and the lifestyle can be answered.
Second, is project development. Once a person decides they want to pursue a Freight Farms project, our business development team steps in to ensure they have all the tools to secure land, financing, partnerships, anything they need — we make it our business to be experts in everything related to launching a successful farming venture. Oftentimes, our farmer network is also involved, providing helpful tips.
Third, is support. After signing a purchase agreement, new customers are instantly introduced to our client services team, which guides farmers through every step from site preparation to first harvest.
This article originally appeared on ProduceGrower.com. It was edited for clarity and format.
Access to fresh food
Features - State of the industry
Farmers markets are growing their role as essential sources of healthy food for rich and poor.
For many Americans, buying fresh local food at one of the estimated 9,000 farmers markets across the U.S. is one of summer’s pleasures. But farmers markets aren’t just nice amenities. Over the past 18 months, many have filled food supply gaps caused by COVID-19 shutdowns.
While numerous farmers markets shut down at the start of the pandemic, many soon reopened under state or local guidelines that mandated masks, social distancing and other precautions.
When grocery store supply chains were disrupted, consumer interest in local foods spiked, along with concerns about exposure to the coronavirus while shopping. Farmers market managers adapted swiftly, experimenting with options like prepackaged goods and drive-thru pickup.
In fact, many farmers markets enjoyed their strongest-ever sales in 2020. Affluent shoppers became more interested in buying local food, while lower-income buyers were able to use federal benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Stepping into this expanded role was no mean feat – but we know from our research in city planning and urban food systems that with adequate support, marketplaces respond vigorously to crises and opportunities.
The fall and rise of urban farmers markets
Farmers have been selling their goods at public markets in the U.S. for centuries. Many U.S. cities evicted or sidelined street vendors in the mid-20th century to make room for large-scale retail stores. But in the 1970s and ‘80s, farmers markets started reappearing in middle-class communities and suburbs.
This resurgence, which reflected the rise of the environmental movement, was most evident in university towns like Berkeley, California and Madison, Wisconsin. In these communities, restaurants, farmers markets and educated consumers converged around the idea of eating locally produced food. Consumers wanted to taste flavors they remembered from childhood, and a new generation of growers were learning and practicing ecologically friendly farming methods.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture became interested in the related phenomena of organic products and local foods sold directly to consumers. In the 1990s, the agency began to document the number of U.S. farmers markets.
Cities like Des Moines, Iowa, and San Antonio began to promote “placemaking” initiatives around markets, using them to help create quality public spaces. By the 2000s multifunctional markets became common, often serving racially and economically diverse populations.
For example, by 2019 Chicago had 27 outdoor farmers markets across the city, offering goods such as clothing and furniture along with food. Some cities repurposed sites such as fairgrounds and drive-in theaters to house outdoor markets.
Governments began to view markets as policy tools for promoting food security, fostering new farmers and supporting place-based community development. Advocacy organizations supporting farmers markets also emerged to help markets attract public and private support. In 2008 the Farmers Market Coalition, a California-based nonprofit, was launched to represent markets around the country.
The products you sell to farmers markets promote health and wellness, and help bring communities together.
The pandemic worsened food insecurity in the U.S., where it already was a serious concern. A lack of reliable access to healthy food contributes to many long-term health issues, and has severe implications for child development.
According to the nonprofit organization Feeding America, food insecurity in the U.S. rose dramatically because of the pandemic. In 2020, 45 million people – including 15 million children – experienced food insecurity, up from 35 million in 2019.
Farmers markets have become important tools for reducing food insecurity over the past 15 years. Most studies that measure food access focus on two factors: households’ proximity to food sources and access to transportation. Food sources can include supermarkets, discount stores, convenience stores, farmers markets and food pantries. Among these options, consumers purchase healthy food mostly at supermarkets and farmers markets.
Federal funding distributed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture transformed food security during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program took a variety of steps to move locally and regionally produced food into schools, food banks and farmers markets.
About US$19 billion went to these various outlets. Farmers markets helped to expand access to food, with most states declaring them to be essential services.
While there are no uniform national statistics, surveys and media reports show that many food-insecure people shopped at farmers markets during the pandemic. A survey by the Farmers Market Coalition found that in the summer of 2020, purchases using SNAP benefits – the largest federal food assistance program – increased over 2019 levels at nearly 40% of markets that responded. From central Texas to western North Carolina to Connecticut, farmers markets reported dramatic increases in customers using SNAP and Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer cards.
Farmers markets for the 21st century
As the pandemic showed, farmers markets make communities more resilient during catastrophic events. We are working to help markets become more effective and efficient so that they can play even larger roles in their communities.
We have developed a toolkit called Farm 2 Facts for market managers to help them collect and analyze economic, ecological and other data to address a wide range of questions. For example, markets have used the program to track visitor counts and demographic trends, conduct outreach to low-income and minority shoppers, and estimate the markets’ local economic impacts.
We also are developing ecosystem metrics to help farmers and markets educate consumers about farmers markets’ important ecological benefits. This tool will enable farmers to measure how their products promote environmental goals such as biodiversity and soil health.
Technology investments are helping farmers markets to grow. One priority is having the capability to process electronic benefits transactions so that the markets can serve customers at all income levels. And decision-support software like Farm 2 Facts can help them document how farmers markets promote health, equality and sustainability.
The next time you visit a farmers market, look past the corn and cucumbers. You’ll see an organization that’s promoting health and wellness, contributing to the local economy and bringing people together.
Edna Ledesma is assistant professor of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Alfonso Morales is the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This article was republished with permission and originally appeared in The Conversation, theconversation.com/us.
Chris Manning
