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vertical farming

Vertical farming: Professor Changhoo Chun discusses Samsung’s horticulture LEDs

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A ‘smart farm’ is an intelligent farming system that applies information and communication technologies (ICT) to agriculture.

One example of a smart farming system is vertical farming, wherein food is produced in vertically stacked layers.

Vertical farming has been attracting attention in recent times as a potential future agricultural model thanks to the advantages it offers, including its economical use of space and resources, environmental-friendly form of cultivation, and the reliable harvesting.

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Top 25 vertical farming companies

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The phrase “vertical farming” probably doesn’t need to be explained even though it’s quite new. But anyway, vertical farming refers to the practice of producing fruits and vegetables vertically, in stacked layers, perhaps on many floors inside a building, using artificial lights instead of the sun, and a whole range of relatively new technologies.

The two main reasons why it’s a much-discussed topic now is because:

  1. there are a number of startup companies emerging in the sector and attracting tens of millions of dollars in investment; and
  2. more people live in cities than do in rural areas, a global trend which seems irreversible, and this means that the demand for fresh produce will increase in urban areas, and bringing the production closer to the consumer would make sense.

The third thing we could have added is that there is the range of new technologies available now that make vertical farming in urban areas cost-effective and possibly profitable. But we already mentioned that.

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Samsung moves into the vertical farming market

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Agricultural innovations are essential for feeding our ever-growing global population.

Especially these days, as industrialisation and global warming continue to negatively affect soil fertility and reduce the amount of arable land.

According to the United Nations, the world’s population is set to reach 9.8 billion by 2050.

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Australian university focuses on future food systems

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Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researchers will play a key part in developing smart logistics to link growers with their markets and high-tech methods of growing customised food, with the announcement of the Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre.

The Future Food Systems CRC will involve more than 50 commercial and research partners, with the Federal Government injecting AUS$35 million in funding over 10 years along with almost AUS$150 million in support from the research centre’s educational and commercial participants.

QUT’s involvement in the CRC is spread across the centre’s three research and development programs of planning and logistics in linking growers to their markets, developing smart automated indoor cropping and creating nutrient-dense foods and hybrid food and medical goods tailored to growing domestic and export markets.

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Report: US vertical farming market worth $3 billion by 2024

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The US vertical farming market is projected to reach values of around $3 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of more than 24% during 2018-2024, according to a new report from Research and Markets.

The vertical farming technique offers speedier supply chain for seedling production and with an eight-week turnaround time of seedling ordering system.

These systems will help farmers to meet the growing demand and offer promotions and special offers to consumers in the US market.

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Samsung Electronics expands LED lineups for vertical farming

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Samsung Electronics has announced new horticulture LED lineups, including full-spectrum packages and modules as well as colour (monochromatic) LEDs.

Optimised for lighting in greenhouses and vertical farming, the new LEDs provide a broader spectrum of light for healthier plant growth, enhanced farming environments and reduced lighting system costs.

Full-spectrum light encompasses a continuous range of wavelengths from blue and green to red, creating a light blend suitable for horticultural uses.

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Vertical farms in urban areas ready to grow after harvesting tons of seed money

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Even if you’ve never heard the term before, you probably understand what “vertical farming” is. 

Unlike some buzz phrases, it sounds like what it means – farms built upwards, inside a building on multiple levels, unlike traditional farms, which occupy large, flat, single-level fields, covering thousands of acres of earth if done on an industrial scale.

The concept of vertical farms has been around a long time, but perhaps only now is the technology available to sustain the sector commercially.  [Read more…] about Vertical farms in urban areas ready to grow after harvesting tons of seed money