Fukuoka was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of methods traditional to many indigenous cultures from which he created a particular method of farming, which he called
"Do nothing farming."
I must confess that much of my postings in the past few months have been rather somber affairs, especially those centered around filling our bellies and quenching our thirst. I noted the decades of heated arguments about our food supply (organic versus conventional, the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), the proliferation of "food deserts" and the massive use of processed foods.
Further, I revealed the huge, often successful, efforts employed in the last 20 years to feed a population forecast to be nine billion by 2030. However, I also noted that 14 percent of the present world's population faces starvation on any given day.
Other posts discussed how our thirsty world is rapidly running out of fresh water sources amidst drought conditions from California to Africa. My report(s) also noted that scientists are in near total agreement that the world is warming fast enough to melt glacial ice, change animal migrations and create water wars.
Hopefully, that gloomy outlook will be brightened a bit in this post about Agritech (aka Agriechology) which is the result of a marriage of mankind's oldest business (farming) to it's newest (hi tech). The partnership has created an ever increasing number of well funded, urban farming programs designed to change how the world eats while dramatically reducing water usage.
In a real sense, food is becoming a basic part of the long predicted Internet of Everything (IoE), the networked connection of people, data and process, which also includes the highly touted Internet of Things (IoT), defined by Wikipedia as "The network of physical devices, vehicles, buildings and other items-embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data."
A report by Boston Consulting Group (published in Manufacturing Close-Up Magazine on January 26, 2017) said "Grow Pod Solutions, a developer of technology-enabled automated indoor farms, said that investments by companies and venture capitalists in agricultural technology reached a record $25 billion globally in 2015."
Farmers and ranchers have long embraced technology, despite a perception from those outside of agriculture who don't always see this industry as being very tech savvy. Automation and robotics have evolved and continue to evolve on the ground worldwide. The use of drones and elaborate harvesting machines (some driven autonomously) are common now. Relying solely on rainfall has become a thing of the past, with the advent of sophisticated macro irrigation systems (e.g. movable central pivot machines spraying acres at a time) as well as micro irrigation (using sensors for precision drip and low flow systems). Valuable but thirsty crops like pistachios, walnuts and grapes, are at the leading edge of this type of precision agriculture, known as “smart farming”.
But it is not only fruit and nut farmers who benefit from being precise. Row crops, such as the corn and soybeans that cover vast areas of the American prairie, are setting record harvests due to the use of advanced technology. Everything from seed to harvest is computer-controlled; soil conditions are monitored continually.
The Economist magazine report , published on Sept. 6, 2016, noted that "Farms, then, are becoming more like factories... and thanks to better understanding of DNA, the plants and animals raised on a farm are also tightly controlled. ... “genome editing”, makes it possible to change a crop or stock animal’s genome down to the level of a single genetic “letter”. This technology, it is hoped, will be more acceptable to consumers than the shifting of whole genes between species [GMOs] ... because it simply imitates the process of mutation on which crop breeding has always depended, but in a far more controllable way."
So conventional farming has evolved in many positive ways. However, more recently, new technologies have been adapted to indoor farming, which often utilizes aquaculture (hydroponics), applied analytics and big data as well as supply chain and logistics software for innovative food production.
These "smart farms" include massive, high-tech greenhouses where vegetables and flowers are grown in various types of soil and are enclosed with glass or various types of plastic. Other urban farms grow foods vertically in shipping containers, large warehouses and tall buildings. The term “vertical farming” refers to a method of growing crops, usually without soil or natural light, in beds stacked vertically inside a controlled-environment building.
The urban farms listed below share some characteristics, such as recyclable, plastic "clam shell" packaging, proximity to large cities and products that sell for prices similar to organics found in upscale markets and farmers markets every summer. Of course, GMOs, herbicides, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are universally forbidden. (It also appears to this reporter that every human being involved in urban farming is about 25 years old, wears casually hip, plaid shirts and is directly hooked up to every conceivable digital device and social media source available on the planet.)
Vertical farms use LED lighting; greenhouse growers use natural light. Both have a strictly controlled environment and both profess to save water -- Vertical systems profess to save about 95 percent by continual recycling. Greenhouses generally save more water than outside farming, but the percentage varies enormously depending on site, crops, and degree of evaporation. Here is a short list of some of the more prominent players:
The Bowery (Manhattan, NY) Vertical growing of Kale, lettuce (red, green and Romaine), Arugula and Basil. Pricing is similar to organics, at $3.99 for a 5-ounce container. Uses purified water only. Markets to 3 markets and 2 restaurants.
Bright Farms (Greenhouses in Bucks County, PA, Culpeper, VA, and Rochelle, IL.) Hydroponic greenhouses on store rooftops, parking garages, and empty lots. Products: spring mix, spinach, Kale, Romaine, Arugula (all baby types), spinach blend, Asian greens, basil, and tomatoes (cocktail, minis, tomatoes on the vine) Sold at dozens of supermarkets and Walmart. Grocers are guaranteed that prices will never exceed average inflation. Price sampling not available on line. Also sells a wide range of indoor farming equipment for indoor vertical farms as well as greenhouses along with smaller systems for homes and business development tools – most of which are under the trademark “ZipGrow.”
Square Roots (Brooklyn, NY) Vertical grow of 40 varieties of greens and herbs in shipping containers. Sold by subscription or delivered in 5 oz clam shell packs. (1 per week--$7, 3 per week--$15, 7 per week--$35). Also sold to restaurants, specialty markets, offices, gyms and fitness centers.
Aero Farms (Newark, NJ) Vertical grow of baby type super greens, arugula, Spring mix, Kale, watercress in 4.5 oz clam shells which cost about $3.99 each. Uses unique, patented water misting system. Sells technology and system components to start-ups. Also sells 2 million pounds of greens to numerous restaurants, grocery stores and the dining rooms at the Times, Goldman Sachs, and several other corporate accounts in New York. The AeroFarms clam shell package appears to be the same size as its competition’s but it holds slightly less—4.5 ounces instead of five. It is priced at the highest end, at $3.99. The company plans to have its greens on the shelves soon at Whole Foods stores and Kings, also in the local area.
Gotham Greens (4 facilities in New York, Chicago) Urban roof top greenhouses comprising 170,000 square feet. 9 kinds of lettuce, Kale, Basil, Bok Choy, two offerings of cherry, cocktail and grape tomatoes. Prices not available on line (without making an order). 100% clean energy powered, climate-controlled. Sells to multiple retail, restaurant, and institutional customers.
Plenty (San Francisco, CA) Newest Vertical grow outfit with plans to compete with the existing supply of greens from conventional California farms. The company’s first crops are described as "anything except tree fruit and root vegetables". Promises to sell its veggies at costs that are competitive with typical prices for organic vegetables. Undisclosed supermarkets and available online in the San Francisco area next year.
UPDATE: In June 2017. Plenty has acquired Bright Farms in an effort to reach “field-scale” which I assume means production that meets conventional farming levels. Mergers like this are bound to occur just like other highly competitive business endeavors.
Freight Farms (Boston, MA) A complete vertical, hydroponic farming system built inside a shipping container. Capable of growing a variety of lettuces, herbs and greens. Pre-built system with all necessary components for year-round commercial food production. Built entirely inside a 40’ x 8’ x 9.5’ shipping container. Functions in any geographic location. Delivered cost is a whopping $85,000 (prices vary internationally). Average costs are about $13,000 per year (including electricity, water and growing supplies).
Many other countries are involved in this new frontier, but no one does it better than Holland. The current issue of National Geographic magazine has an article called "A tiny country feeds the world". The members only website has not posted the new issue as Neon Leon went to press, but here's a brief rundown: There is a beautiful photo of a sea of greenhouses as far as the eye can see surrounding one farmer's home that is a jaw dropping window of why the Dutch have become the leader if agricultural innovation.
A flyover at night shows huge, surrealistic clusters of something akin to endless, square, corn rows of glowing gold light.
Check this out from their national website: "The agri-food sector is one of the major drivers of the Dutch economy with a contribution of...60 billion dollars...to Dutch GDP which provides work and income for more than 660,000 people."..."the Netherlands is the world’s second largest exporter of agri-food products, after the USA [which is 237 times bigger]. A big portion of that agriculture effort is due to 4,000 greenhouse enterprises that operate over 23,000 acres of greenhouses and employ some 150,000 workers, producing almost 9 billion dollars of vegetables, fruit, plants, and flowers, some 80% of which is exported."
Other statistics: (1) For decades, Holland has continually invested in the renewal of agricultural production chains. (2) It is the home of several world-renowned agri-food multinationals. (3) It employs about 4% of the Dutch labor force but produces large surpluses for the food-processing industry and accounts for 21 percent of the total exports. (4) Recent official Ministry of Agriculture numbers: Produces one quarter of all of the world's exported tomatoes, and the trade of one-third of the world's exports of chilis, tomatoes and cucumbers goes through the country. (5) Exports two-thirds of the world's total of fresh-cut plants, flowers and bulbs. (6) "The Netherlands is a hotbed of agri-food R&D, due largely to the ... knowledge base at at universities, research institutes and industrial R&D centers. (7) The government strongly supports...initiatives in public-private partnerships [and] innovation programs...".(8) Finally, "Dutch greenhouses are built all over the world...[with] ...site supervision [by] an experienced Dutch greenhouse builder."
The United Nations is convinced the future of food should be in the hands of agroecoly and small farmers. The UN meeting on sustainable development in July this year listed of lofty goals such as ending poverty and hunger everywhere, saving the oceans, etc.
We shall see how successful they are, but it is perhaps more constructive to see what was said in 2014. The Ecologist News chronicled a clear and severe warning by United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Prof Hilal Elver, to wit: "Food policies which do not address the root causes of world hunger would be bound to fail." She declared that "One billion people globally are hungry, and [and urged] governments to support a transition to agricultural democracy...which would empower rural small farmers." She emphasized that "Modern agriculture...is more resource intensive, fossil fuel dependent...and based on massive production. This policy has to change...resource scarcity, increased population, decreasing land availability and accessibility, emerging water scarcity, and soil degradation require us to re-think how best to use our resources for future generations."
She also warned the Amsterdam audience that "There is a geographical and distributional imbalance in who is consuming and producing...In the crowded and hot world of tomorrow, the challenge of how to protect the vulnerable is heightened. That entails recognizing women's role in food production...as women are the world's major food providers. It also means recognizing small farmers, who are also the most vulnerable, and the most hungry. Across Europe, the US and the developing world, small farms face shrinking numbers. So if we deal with small farmers we solve hunger and we also deal with food production."
As reported in earlier posts, Industrial agriculture receives 80% of subsidies and 90% of research funds. I also noted that some 70% of food consumed...is created by small farmers. Elver expands on the subject thusly: "This is critical for future agricultural policies. Currently, most subsidies go to large agribusiness. This must change. Governments must support small farmers. As rural people are migrating increasingly to cities, this is generating huge problems. If these trends continue, by 2050, 75% of the entire human population will live in urban areas. We must reverse these trends by providing new possibilities and incentives to small farmers, especially for young people in rural areas."
But others disagree. Following her speech, Marcel Beukeboom, a Dutch civil servant specializing in food and nutrition, said "While I agree that we must do more to empower small farmers, the fact is that the big monocultural farms are simply not going to disappear. We have to therefore find ways to make the practices of industrial agribusiness more effective, and this means working in partnership with the private sector, small and large."
For this reporter, urban farming has a long way to go before they can make a major dent in the food supply. Virtually all of the American vertical grow companies outlined earlier produce leafy greens only, which are too pricey for most folks other than Whole Foods devotees. Their considerable output thus far still couldn’t come close to feeding, say, the entire city of New York, let alone the United States. And the average American craves a considerable amount of meat, dairy and root crops like corn, cauliflower, beets, etc. Commercial vertical farms are spendy operations because of their use of mountains of LED lighting, and they must be close to big cities. Urban greenhouses have more potential value because they can be part of existing buildings that have other uses. And those greenhouses on rich soil can grow root vegetables out of season; witness the success of the Dutch.
In reality, the major challenges that our global agricultural system faces cannot be solved by urban farms alone. As the effects of climate change set in, farmers’ growing and harvesting seasons may change dramatically, and the amount of food produced yearly becomes more of a crap shoot. America’s food system is currently set up so that farms dedicated to specific foods — whether it be avocados, strawberries, or beef — are typically concentrated in a single location. So when different parts of the world are battling their own blizzards, droughts, or floods, Americans would most likely experience frequent and significant shortages of specific goods. We all like to eat such things as blueberries and melons in the dead of winter, but this heavy dependence of imports from afar
reveals a system that is ultimately frail and not very capable of responding if something were to happen to it.
The secret weapon teaser refers to the human brain; a gift from the Good Lord which enables us to figure out all manner of problems faced by humans for centuries, including how to grow food better and conserve water.
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