This Week's Top 10 News - 20th May

Discover the weekly edition of the top 10 controlled environment agriculture news.

Good morning readers, new carbon commercialization program, additional projects in Abu Dhabi, the largest strawberry vertical farm and much more!

Here are the top 10 controlled environment agriculture news of this week!

US Foods Partners With Kalera. Credit: US Foods

1- CubicFarms and Deloitte Join Forces on New Carbon Commercialization Program

Building on university research confirming greenhouse gas emission reductions from using its indoor growing technologies, CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSX: CUB), announced that its HydroGreen division has entered into an agreement with Deloitte LLP to develop a carbon commercialization program designed to provide high-quality carbon credits to a fast-growing global market.

HydroGreen’s commercial-scale Automated Vertical Pastures™ technology helps meet the increasing demand for valuable farm-based inset and offset carbon credits from all manner of organizations with net-zero goals. HydroGreen will be uniquely positioned to supply carbon credits through the Company’s agreement with Deloitte.

New research data demonstrates that feeding cows fresh livestock feed grown indoors in the Company’s Automated Vertical Pastures™ significantly reduce methane emissions.

• Feeding dairy cows HydroGreen fresh forage lowers methane emissions by approximately 24 per cent on a per-unit milk output basis. As a greenhouse gas (“GHG”), methane’s 100-year global warming potential is up to 34 times greater than that of CO2. Measured over a 20-year period, that ratio more than doubles.

• Preliminary studies of beef cattle have demonstrated up to approximately 48 per cent lower methane emissions on a per kilogram weight gain basis.

• Overall, every cow fed HydroGreen fresh forage reduces methane emissions by about one metric tonne of CO2 equivalents, per year, per animal.

• HydroGreen further cuts GHG emissions by reducing the number of acres needed to grow feed crops, which in turn eliminates the need to till, fertilize, and irrigate those lands, as well as ship feed long distances.

“We’re thrilled to develop a carbon program for HydroGreen by leveraging our extensive background in carbon management for agriculture and livestock,” said Nathan Steeghs, a Partner in Deloitte’s Sustainability & Climate Change practice. “We need to focus on tech solutions that can help close the emissions gap in getting to net-zero and we believe in investing in solutions that are commercially viable today and technologies that have the potential to unlock significant carbon reductions for future generations.”

2- Two New USD 84 Million Projects Awarded In Abu Dhabi

To ensure the country’s food security, the UAE have taken several actions in recent years to further its resilience. After launching the Food Tech Valley business park, setting plans to build the largest indoor vertical farms in Abu Dhabi and near the Dubai Expo site, the country has taken extra steps by awarding two new USD 84 million projects to private companies in order to build and operate two new farms. The two projects are part of the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority’s efforts to expand agricultural projects and investments.

According to the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), two agreements have been awarded, the first (Valued at USD 71 million according to ME Construction News) being with Emirates Hydroponics Farms to build and operate a hydroponic farm for the production of vegetables, fruits, and mushrooms in controlled environments with a surface area of 325,000 sqm.

The second was signed with the Emirates International Agricultural Advanced Company for the construction of an Aquaponic farm costing about USD 13.6 million and with a surface area of 750,000 sqm.

3- US Foods Partners With Indoor Farming Company

US Foods Holding Corp. (NYSE: USFD) announced a strategic agreement with Kalera®, one of the world’s leading hydroponic indoor vertical farming companies. This is US Foods’ largest vertical farming relationship to date. The agreement underscores US Foods’ commitment to bringing foodservice operators a broad assortment of high-quality produce, year-round. It will also expand the portfolio of local farms that US Foods is sourcing from in various markets in support of its growing Serve Local program. As part of the agreement, Kalera and its wholly-owned seed technology business Vindara, will work closely with US Foods to develop and launch new products to US Foods customers in markets across the country.

Kalera will bring consistently fresh, sustainable produce year-round to US Foods through its network of a controlled environment, and indoor farms. The innovative indoor farms use cleanroom technology, advanced proprietary equipment, and plant and seed science to provide a wide range of high-quality greens such as whole head lettuce, salad mix blends, microgreens, and burger leaf toppers, and arugula with less water as compared to traditional field farming.