CEA inSight

First-timers? That's what Gotham Greens will be at this week's Southeast Produce Council's Southern Exposure 2025 show in Orlando, Florida, March 6-8. Now that the New York-based grower put down Southern roots with its most recent greenhouse launches — in Georgia and Texas — seems like a perfect fit. Since opening the Georgia and Texas greenhouses, Gotham Greens has quadrupled the output at both facilities to meet the growing demand for its local, sustainably grown packaged salads. “We’re excited to be a first-time exhibitor and we’re proud that our greenhouse-grown salad greens and herbs are always in season, regardless of the geography and weather conditions outside,” said Viraj Puri, Gotham Greens Co-Founder and CEO. “Our state-of-the-art greenhouses consistently deliver high-quality, fresh and longer-lasting produce to our retail, restaurants, and food service partners throughout the South and across the country. As we enter our 14th year in operation, we are bringing the Gotham Greens brand to more grocery stores and consumers than ever before and look forward to sharing more at the show.” The company now operates more than 40 acres (1.8 million square feet) of greenhouse production across nine U.S. states. Read more about the new products Gotham Greens will showcase at the event on CEA inSight. https://lnkd.in/g3TJnZ4v

Virus-free plant material just got another boost. Fully equipped, mobile #TissueCulture labs are hitting the global market in a new collaboration between container manufacturer?CEA Advisors LLC?and Lab Associates B.V., one of the world’s leading suppliers of plant science laboratories and Tissue Culture (TC) equipment. The feature-packed container TC labs are housed in customized 40-foot or 53-foot Growtainers, from . And, the companies report, the labs are affordable, too. Jeroen Naus, managing director and owner of Netherlands-based Lab Associates, noted, “The worldwide availability of these affordable TC Labs will have a significant impact on the availability of virus-free young plant material. Growtainer is a very interesting addition to our current range of products which we are proud to represent. This will help us provide TC equipment to all segments of the market.” Glenn Behrman, founder and president of CEA Advisors added, “The collaboration between our team of horticulture industry experts and the Lab Associates team quickly identified and defined the opportunities in the global TC industry. We were able to design and build the lab to produce many different varieties of highly sought-after cultivars including food, ornamentals, medicinal crops and floriculture products in either a 40-foot or 53-foot Growtainer at a reasonable price and with a fast turnaround from order to delivery." Read more about the collaboration and how you can catch up with the crew on CEA inSight. #CEA #controlledenvironmentagriculture #tissueculture #containerfarming #TClabs #horticulture #floriculture

Indoor Ag-Con is less than two months away, and we're counting down the days. This 12th annual event officially kicks off the CEA season with a firsthand look at the latest tech and trends across the CEA industry. With more than 200 exhibitors, you are bound to find something (and learn something) to lift your operation to new levels of efficiency and profitability this year. Check out some of the booths that caught our interest on CEA inSight (Concert Bio, Oasis Grower Solutions, A division of Smithers-Oasis Company, Skytree, Priva Horticulture, 4XROBOTS and Rooted Robotics, we're looking at you!) Then pop over to the full list on the Indoor Ag-Con site: https://lnkd.in/eUS-888s

State-of-the-art, carbon-negative CEA coming to Upstate New York. Empire State Greenhouses (ESG, LLC) and award-winning Scottish vertical farming technology provider,?Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS), have announced plans to construct a state-of-the-art, carbon-negative circular “GigaFarm” in Cobleskill, New York. The international team reports the planned 385,000-square-foot CEA facility will take a “revolutionary circular approach” to crop production, with 100 IGS vertical farming Growth Towers integrated with on-site renewable energy generation and Food-Energy-Waste (FEW) systems intended to cut energy costs for produce production by one-third. “Agriculture and energy are inextricably linked, and until energy for CEA farming becomes predominantly renewable, agriculture will continue to be a leading cause of climate change — representing part of the problem rather than the solution,”?said?Louis Ferro, ESG president and chairman. “Working closely with IGS, we are building a new paradigm in agriculture, integrating our on-site renewable energy Food-Energy-Waste systems with state-of-the-art advanced technologies. This is a new type of farming, built on a circular economy model, creating a resilient food system with a carbon-negative footprint.” Andrew Lloyd, CEO of Intelligent Growth Solutions, commented:?“IGS is delighted to be working in partnership with ESG. From the offset, the ESG team’s system-wide, circular ethos has been a close match with our own. In particular, the careful consideration of on-site energy generation hits at the Achilles heel of vertical farming, ensuring the business has resilience against market fluctuations by taking control of the supply." Learn more about the carbon-negative GigaFarm project on CEA inSight. #GigaFarm #verticalfarming #CEA #controlledenvironmentagriculture #energygeneration #carbonnegative #beyondnetzero #renewableenergy

Starting 2025 with an update on #lettuce research from researcher Elahe Javadi Asayesh on plant responses to fluctuating light intensities in dynamic environments from the Horticulture and Product Physiology - Wageningen University and Research team. #CEA #CEAresearch #controlledenvironmentagriculture #leafygreens #greenhousecrops

What does Plenty?’s Compton closure mean for Virginia? When the vertical farming leader?announced the closure of its Compton, California, leafy greens facility this month, the news took some CEA watchers by surprise. When the grower?launched the Compton facility?in May 2023, after a decade of R&D, the move represented a giant step from CEA startup to commercial greens producer. But Compton’s loss was framed in strawberries — and Plenty's advances at its?new Virginia strawberry facility?launched this fall. Presented as the world’s first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale, the Plenty Richmond Farm is designed to produce more than 4 million pounds of strawberries annually in less than 40,000 square feet. A lot of berries to be sure. With the Compton closure announcement, Plenty noted rising operational costs in California, and shared that the move to strawberries "finalized a strategic shift." With its first commercial strawberry crop now planted at the company’s 120-acre Richmond, Virginia campus, Plenty joins a number of other growers moving away from leafy greens toward higher margin crops. Case in point, Edible Garden AG Inc. recently announced a shift to higher margin herb crops was behind a 300%+ YOY gross profit increase. One thing's certain as Plenty narrows its focus to strawberries, it has the support of Virginia's CEA-minded government including the Commonwealth's Governor Glenn Youngkin. Read more about Plenty, the shift from greens to berries, and its Virginia future on CEA inSight. #strawberry #strawberries #CEA #verticalfarming #controlledenvironmentagriculture #softfruits #Virginia

Climate tech pioneer and decentralized Direct Air Capture (DAC) leader?Skytree?has acquired Dutch DAC startup?ReCarbn in a move that solidifies Skytree's technological dominance in the DAC sector. The acquisition integrates ReCarbn’s intellectual property, most notably its innovation in filtration and sorbent circulation, into Skytree’s DAC product portfolio. In addition, all three ReCarbn co-founders —?Guus Dubbink?(CEO),?Ewout Ruijs?(CPO), and?Sophia Hummelman?(CCO) — will join the Skytree team, bringing unique expertise in research and development, product strategy, and commercial finance, respectively. “This acquisition marks a pivotal moment for Skytree and the broader DAC sector. ReCarbn’s talent and innovative technology will enable us to deliver more cost-effective DAC solutions that make carbon capture more accessible to businesses around the world,” said?Rob van Straten, CEO of Skytree. “By integrating ReCarbn’s team and technology, we will further expand our industry leadership in cyclical filtration and sorbent innovation as well as scalable DAC architecture. We’re excited to welcome ReCarbn’s founding team, which brings invaluable expertise and will help us realize our vision of capturing 10 million tonnes of CO? annually by 2030.” “This acquisition aligns perfectly with ReCarbn’s vision of scaling DAC to tackle the global climate crisis,” said Dubbink, who will lead R&D at Skytree, focusing on capture materials and innovation. “By combining our efforts, Skytree will be poised to solidify its position as a global leader in Direct Air Capture, delivering technology that addresses climate change at scale and helps the world transition toward a carbon-negative future.” SKytree burst to the attention of the broader global CEA industry when the company’s DAC technology — then known simply as Model 5 — was?awarded the GreenTech Concept Award?at GreenTech Amsterdam in 2023. That win was quickly followed by Skytree’s launch of?Cumulus, the first Direct Air Capture unit for onsite CO2 generation?in September 2023. Skytree’s second decentralized DAC unit, the?Stratus, launched in March 2024, and targeted large-scale CEA operations. Read all about it on CEA inSight: https://lnkd.in/ggW_2ZyQ

?? DEADLINE EXTENDED! ?? Are you a college student passionate about the future of agriculture, sustainability, and innovative technology? Here’s your chance to take your education beyond the classroom and into the real world! Sollum Technologies, a global leader in fully dynamic LED lighting solutions for greenhouses and controlled environments, is proud to sponsor the Sollum Student Scholarship to Indoor Ag-Con. This scholarship offers two deserving college students the opportunity to attend the March 11-12, 2025 edition of Indoor Ag-Con, the premier trade show and conference for the controlled environment agriculture (CEA), vertical farming, and greenhouse industries. This is your chance to learn from industry leaders, network with key players, and gain insight into the future of agriculture innovation. Apply today to be one of the two students selected for this incredible opportunity! Apply by January 25, 2025: https://lnkd.in/e-8HX2wP #Indoorfarming #verticalfarming #controlledenvironmentagriculture #greenhouse

Will it be three in 2024? When BrightFarms announced it would open three regional hub greenhouses in 2024, it sounded like an ambitious plan. This week, the grower announced the opening of the second of those three hubs, this one in Lorena, Texas. The opening in the Lone Star state comes on the heels of BrightFarms' Yorkville, Illinois greenhouse opening three months ago. With Georgia up next, the company appears poised to hit its three-in-2024 goal as the year comes down to the wire. At 1.5 million square feet (and 250 Texas jobs), the new Texas facility brings BrightFarms' brand of green to the South Central and Southwest for the first time. “Texans deserve the freshest, highest-quality produce, and we’re thrilled to deliver just that,” said?Steve Platt, Bright Farms CEO. “With our greenhouse expertise and cutting-edge technology, we’re bringing year-round access to fresh greens to the Lone Star State. As proud members of the?GO TEXAN Program, we’re committed to not only providing top-tier produce but also supporting the growth of?Texas?agriculture.” The new greenhouse opening also builds on the recent news that BrightFarms' parent company, Cox Enterprises and its CEA arm Cox Farms now comprise the largest greenhouse owner in North America. That title was achieved when Cox brand Mucci Farms acquired Greenhill Produce, which lifted Cox's greenhouse holdings over the 700-acre mark. “Cox Farms is building a leading indoor farming company in?North America, and BrightFarms, one of our brands, reflects that commitment,” said?Steven Bradley, president of Cox Farms.?“With the opening of our new greenhouse in?Texas, we are taking another significant step toward securing a sustainable food supply. This milestone reinforces Cox’s investment of over?$2 billion?in sustainable businesses and technologies, ensuring healthy, responsibly grown produce for generations to come.” Cox isn't the only CEA grower to GO TEXAN in the last few years. Notably, Revol Greens and Gotham Greens are already established in the region. Read more about BrightFarms, the Texas expansion and more on CEA inSight. #CEA #controlledenvironmentagriculture #leafygreens #lettuce #Texas #CEAexpansion #greenhousegrown #localfood

?? Only 3 DAYS LEFT to sign up with Early Bird Registration for #IndoorAgCon2025! Register now before prices increase. ?? ?? Take advantage of discounted early bird rates before they're gone! THIS FRIDAY, December 13, is the last day to save up to $400 on your Full Access Pass to the largest greenhouse, vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture industry gathering -- Indoor Ag-Con, March 11-12, 2025 at the Westgate Las Vegas. Don't miss out & grow your future today by registering early for Indoor Ag-Con 2025: https://lnkd.in/etmsxp7 #indoorfarming #verticalfarming #controlledenvironmentagriculture #greenhouse