The 2023 Vertical Farming World Congress takes place in London in just two weeks (9-11 October 2023) and we are excited to be media partners. Vertical Farming Today publisher Matt Peskett will be in attendance throughout the event. With programme sessions such as ‘efficient food production systems’, ‘growing plants in space’ and ‘strawberries all year round’ to name but a few, there’s a lot of topic breadth to keep attendees focused. As part of the congress, on Tuesday 10th October the winners of the 2023 Vertical Farming World Awards will be announced during a dedicated awards ceremony and dinner. Show…
Author: Matt Peskett
Matt Peskett
Matt has worked in digital publishing and media for over two decades across the science, technology, food and agricultural sectors. With a lifelong passion for growing his own food, Matt also produces 300kg giant pumpkins for exhibition and volunteers with the Royal Horticultural Association. He has a sizeable horticultural social media presence and has been a finalist in the Garden Media Guild's blog of the year and social media awards. Matt also dabbles as an individual investor in agritech start-ups like Small Robot Company and Drone Ag.
Vertical farming start-up Grønt Fra Laks or ‘Green from Salmon’ has begun shipping sprouts and herbs from its latest growing facility in Fauske, Norway. The company utilises salmon sludge, a by-product of salmon farming, to feed plants via aquaponics in a grow-rack system. The first 150 boxes of GFL’s microgreens were delivered to customers in mid-September with the company planning to produce 4 million units of lettuce and 100,000 boxes of microgreens annually. The current staff of five employees at Fauske is expected to increase to a total of ten as the vertical farming company scales up production. “This is an…
Abu Dhabi’s Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) innovator Pure Harvest Smart Farms has announced an exclusive partnership with global professional greenhouse manufacturer Richel Group. The three year deal will deploy over US$150 million worth of smart growing systems across the Middle East and Asia. Pure Harvest has revolutionised the design and build of climate controlled greenhouses in the harsh desert climate of the Middle East. Focusing on hydroponics over soil, the company’s tech-focused approach to monitoring plant growth and yield enables local-for-local production of affordable, sustainably grown, clean, fresh produce anywhere. Richel Group has developed, manufactured and installed complete greenhouse solutions…
US based vertical farming company 80 Acres Farms has opened its largest, most advanced, and most productive vertical farm in Boone County, Kentucky. Built inside a former printing facility, the farm covers 200,000 square feet and will support the company’s new grab-and-go salad kits. Positioned to serve customers across multiple US states and markets, the farm can grow up to 40 million servings of produce per year, using the company’s proprietary hardware and software solutions to operate more efficiently than ever before. The farm is about three times the size of the company’s previous largest farm and at least four…
After a period of financial uncertainty following its Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing in June, US vertical farming leader Aerofarms has today announced the successful completion of its restructuring process and exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In July Aerofarms signed an Asset Purchase Agreement (APA) with a newly formed entity – AF NewCo, Inc. – owned by a group of existing Aerofarms investors. This APA has been approved by the bankruptcy court. The restructuring substantially strengthens AeroFarms’ balance sheet, injecting the necessary funds to reach profitability at the firm’s flagship operation in Danville, Virginia. The company says that it has eliminated…
Last week (Wednesday 6th September) UK supermarket chain Asda announced that it was the ‘first British retailer to stock vertically grown salad’. However, UK supermarket chain Iceland began selling vertically farmed produce in February, with Tesco launching a range of vertically farmed ready-to-eat salads on 26th July, Kent based GrowUp Farms’ lead the charge into UK supermarkets. Iceland sells the vertical farming company’s branded Fresh Leaf Co. red + green salad mix. Tesco sells GrowUp Farms’ Unbeleafable® salad, a range that is grown at the company’s vertical farm in Pepperness. Asda’s slightly later entry to this market sees them stock…
Vertical farming pioneers, Fischer Farms, have reached a major milestone as they secure the coveted Red Tractor and Global GAP accreditations, enabling the team to sell their produce to both domestic and international markets. To bolster these new achievements, Fischer Farms has now met all the criteria to become an approved SEDEX member. With the farm now fully operational, the two industry-leading certifications give retailers and food service operators further confidence that Fischer Farms’ produce has been cultivated to meet the highest standards of food safety, traceability and sustainability. Following stringent site visits recently, both Red Tractor and Global GAP…
In April 2023, US vertical farming business Upward Farms announced that it was ceasing operations and laying off 73 staff. Its New York (Brooklyn) based farm was closed along with a new farm it had been developing in Pennsylvania. Equipment from the company’s farm operations will be available to purchase in a timed online auction taking place on Thursday 7th September 2023. Equipment for sale includes: Mayer – Visser Horti Systems Seeding Line (new 2020) Mayer Soil/hopper/aggregator and model 6012 soil mixer Visser twin station tray filling machine with conveyor to seeder Visser Roullette XL inline seeding system with dust…
UK-based Eider VF (Vertical Farming) called in administrators P Armstrong and D Shambrook in May 2023 with 17 staff made redundant. Equipment from the firm’s previous operations will be available to purchase in an online auction taking place on Tuesday 19th September 2023 at 11:00am BST. Equipment for sale includes: Visser-Viscon Through Feed 400mm x 18,000mm Automatic Seeding Line (2023) 8 x 15M Hydroponic Growing Shed with Associated Lighting, Air Humidification, Nutrient Watering Systems and Automated Conveyor (2023) 20: 1.2 x 2.4 x 2M Nylon Growing Tents with Hydroponic Growing Equipment 5: 2.4 x 3.5 x 2.2 Nylon Growing Tents…
Two UK-based vertical farming companies have seen their product lines reach new customer bases this month. GrowUp Farms has done an ‘Unbeleafable’ deal with leading UK supermarket Tesco, whilst Fischer Farms will be supplying produce to the foodservice sector. GrowUp Farms & Tesco GrowUp Farms sees its Unbeleafable® ready-to-eat salads go on sale in selected Tesco stores from today (26th July 2023). The Unbeleafable range of salads is grown at GrowUp Farms’ vertical farm, Pepperness, in Kent. Kate Hofman, Founder of GrowUp Farms, who was the only vertical farming industry representative to attend Rishi Sunak’s Farm to Fork Summit earlier…
