Speaker Archives - Vertical Farming Conference

05/03/202012/05/2020

Data-driven controlled environment agriculture: Planning & design

by Alberto Lopez, Agritecture Consulting

Discussion of the main takeaways of the first Global CEA Census Report, the most in-depth global survey of indoor & controlled environment agriculture ever conducted, with 316 total respondents from 54 countries. In the report, Autogrow and Agritecture paint a clearer picture of the global CEA industry by identifying important trends and contextualizing them for a wider audience. Adding to this information, the Agritecture Designer tool will be presented; the first digital platform to accelerate urban farming entrepreneurs around the world. A tool engineered to provide valuable data to assess the feasibility of a future agricultural project specific for your location.

17/02/202029/04/2020

The importance of the variety choice for vertical farming

by Jasper den Besten, HAS University of Applied Sciences

Choosing the correct variety is often underexposed in vertical farming. However, the differences between varieties are huge. The differences between varieties can be a factor 2 or more. Results of variety tests are limited accessible. Our basil varieties trial in Brightbox showed the importance of doing variety tests.

11/02/202013/02/2020

Air the way you want!

by Gerjo de Zeeuw, CEO, GrowAir. B.V.. Air is invisible, but the effects of air distribution and air handling are visible. How do you create a homogenous and optimal climate?

The people of KE Fibertec – GrowAir are driven to develop, produce and to market homogenous air distribution systems for the horticultural and many other different sectors. To create a good air-distribution system in a greenhouse, vertical farm or indoor facility looks very simple and easy, but it’s very complicated to reach a homogenous climate and maximum growing results.

05/02/202005/02/2020

The importance of the variety choice for vertical farming

by Jasper den Besten, HAS University of Applied Sciences

Vertical farming is a young industry and only at the beginning of its product-life-cycle. Technical developments go fast within the horticulture sector and even faster in the world around us. The innovation hype of vertical farming is over, the industry is getter mature and making more and more sense businesswise. The presentation gives an impression of challenges and future chances for this new type of farming.

03/02/202003/02/2020

The true ROI of indoor farming

by Maarten Vandecruys, Urban Crop Solutions

Indoor farming has been around for a while now and organisations of different sizes have implemented this technology as part of their supply chain. But which size of farm actually makes most financial sense? What level of automation should be chosen? Where do robotics come in?

As founder and CTO of Urban Crop Solutions, Maarten will share his insights.

12/06/201912/06/2019

Sky high nutrition content in food production

by Celine C.S. Nicole, Signify Research

Plant Factories (also known as indoor farms or vertical farms) are gaining widespread attention over the last few years. Pioneered in Japan, the last few years show an acceleration in the adoption of plant factories in other regions such as the USA, Canada, Europe and South-East Asia.

Leafy greens are crops that are very suitable to be grown in plant factories. Among them are lettuce, arugula and fresh herbs. Locally grown, these crops can reach the end-consumer faster and therefore the freshness can be guaranteed longer.

For those crops which are usually sold minimally processed, it is important that the quality and food safety is fulfilled. Apart from reducing risks from bacterial load and other micro-organisms, plant factories offer the possibility to grow these crops without pesticides.

01/05/201901/05/2019

Farming value beyond the economic: cases of social innovation through Controlled Environment Agriculture in New York

Presented by Wythe Marschall, Ph.D. candidate, Harvard University / Research associate, Cornell University

This talk examines the production of different social values by a network of agricultural technology entrepreneurs in greater New York City. I document how farmer–entrepreneurs relate agricultural practices such as hydroponics to claims about what makes a food “good,” and what makes a vision for the future of urban dwelling sustainable or just. I argue that, since few Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technologies are of recent invention, the novelty that my interlocutors produce is primarily social in nature—such as business models, imaginaries regarding urban future, and relations with consumers, including how consumers understand the category of “local,” plant nutrition, and the vocation of the farmer.

Click here for the complete conference program

02/04/201902/04/2019

Indoor Urban Farming, the Beginning of a Sustainable Era in Food Production. How We can Reduce the Energy Demand Cost – Presented by Dafni Avgoustaki, Aarhus University

Dafni Avgoustaki, Aarhus University, will speak at Vertical Farming Conference, on June 26, during AgriFood Innovation Event 2019 in Venlo, The Netherlands.

Until 2050, it is estimated that global population will scale up to 10Billion people. This rapid escalation of population dynamics creates a lot of difficulties in food production and distribution at a global scale. People have to be fed with nutritious and fresh food and at the same time, this procedure has to sustainable and efficient both for humanity and the environment.

Last years, scientific world is focusing in a new, innovative and promising technology called plant factories. Plant factories can partly solve the problems of food waste and unjustified run-offs in food production, by supplying fresh fruit and vegetables at the so-called megacities (population> 10Million).

This novel type of farming gathers many optimizations from different scientific fields (engineering, agriculture, and mechanics) and promotes the sustainability in food production. Plant factories allow users to cultivate their plants in a completely isolated environment simulating the solar radiation with different types of lamps, advanced ventilation systems for heating and cooling of the cultivation area and hydroponic substrates that are water efficient (up to 90% water economy).

25/03/201918/06/2019

Vertical Farming: Catalyst for Customer Value Creation in the Hospitality Industry – Presented by Cristian Toma, Kalera

Cristian Toma, Kalera (former Eco Convergence Group), will speak at at Vertical Farming Conference, on June 26, during AgriFood Innovation Event 2019 in Venlo, The Netherlands.

The vertical farming industry is now at the peak of expectations. However, this favorable window will close soon if we – as an industry – do not prove our economic viability. This is particularly challenging in a commoditized industry such as fresh produce supply. Technological innovation does not automatically lead to economic success – it must be applied in the right business context.

My presentation discusses how vertical farming can disrupt and innovate fresh produce supply in the hospitality industry. In order to be successful in a commoditized industry, one must be able to build durable customer relationships.

Vertical farming provides a platform that can be used as a catalyst for creating customer value, and the presentation shows how this can be achieved in the context of the hospitality industry.

05/03/2019

Vertical farming, a revolution in plant production – Presented by Leo Marcelis, Wageningen University

Leo Marcelis, Wageningen University, will speak at Vertical Farming Conference, on June 26, during AgriFood Innovation Event 2019 in Venlo, The Netherlands.

Today’s rapidly urbanising societies challenge our food system to feed cities. Vertical Farming can provide a secure and sustainable route to provide cities with fresh food. Advantages are: no pesticides, no nutrient emission, only 2-4 litres of water per kg produce, much less land use, less waste, and lower food mileage, though energy use is still high. Continue reading “Vertical farming, a revolution in plant production – Presented by Leo Marcelis, Wageningen University”