What Happened This Week in Indoor Farming?
Every Sunday, discover a free recap of the week from the world of indoor farming.
This edition is sponsored by AgriHub & AmplifiedAg.
Good morning readers, this week we’ve seen a new funding round, new planned facilities in the middle-east, and additional acquisitions/partnerships inked by companies throughout the sector.
Here is this week’s highlight:
This Week’s Editorial:
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This Week in Indoor Farming
In order to broaden its presence in the region, Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA) and AeroFarms signed a contract with QFZA and Doha Venture Capital (DVC) to construct a commercial indoor vertical farm in QFZ.
AeroFarms' newest generation of proprietary growing technology, which the company claims can achieve up to 390 times greater annual productivity per square meter than conventional field farming while using up to 95% less water and zero pesticides, will be used in the new commercial indoor vertical farm in Qatar. According to the press release, AeroFarms' revolutionary technology will enhance local food production, making high-quality food items available locally all year round, lowering imports, and raising the nation's self-sufficiency.
“AeroFarms is a pioneer in the food space and vertical farming, and we’re delighted to welcome them to Qatar Free Zones,” said HE the Minister of State and Chairman of QFZA Ahmad al-Sayed
Freight Farms has revealed a $17.5 million Series B3 funding round, that has been co-led by Aliaxis SA, a global pioneer in enabling access to water and energy through creative fluid management solutions, and Ospraie Ag Science, a top investor in cutting-edge AgTech firms offering smarter, more sustainable agricultural solutions. Using its range of adaptable, modular, and simple-to-use container farms and farm automation software, Freight Farms aims to enable anybody to grow food anywhere. The money will help the company in this endeavor. Spark Capital, Stage 1 Ventures, and Alkaline Partners also participated in the round as backers.
Rick Vanzura, CEO of Freight Farms, stated that these investments from top AgTech investors "further emphasize the relevance of Freight Farms' objective to leverage container farming technology to solve systemic difficulties within our food and agriculture systems and their effects on our environment." We are grateful for Ospraie's ongoing financial assistance as well as the addition of Aliaxis as a new strategic partner. Both companies are outstanding leaders in sustainable solutions.
In order to accommodate future expansion, additional in-house training for clients, and a greater level of research and development, all of which will be funded by this investment, Freight Farms launched its new headquarters in Boston in August 2021. Along with an emphasis on both hardware and software innovation, additional product options are already being developed for a multitude of farming needs.
Soli Organic Inc. announced plans to build a high-tech, automated indoor farm and a co-located packing factory in San Antonio, Texas' Brooks area. The Brooks farm will add 40,000 square feet of processing space, six vertical levels of production space, and 100,000 square feet of growing area to Soli Organic's national presence. By running high-tech farms in important areas around the country, the corporation will be better able to address the demands of merchants and end customers. Soli Organic grows in a denser and deeper six-level tray system that more effectively utilizes horizontal and vertical space to create considerably greater yields than certain controlled environment agriculture (CEA) companies that employ single-layer greenhouse technology.
The Brooks area in San Antonio was chosen by Soli Organic as the location of its new farm due to its advantageous location. The farm will boost the company's ability to provide more locally-grown products to the 3,000 stores and millions of customers throughout the rapidly growing Texas Triangle and the Southwest area. The new facility will also provide opportunities for management and grower talent coming out of a solid university and community college system in this booming and developing region.
Soli Organic's CEO, Matt Ryan, said: "We are beyond thrilled to be expanding in Texas as Soli Organic continues to grow and scale operations across the nation. We want to make sure that customers in the area have year-round access to the best-tasting, freshest, and most reasonably priced organic fruit available while record-breaking heat, drought, wildfires, and other extreme weather events wreak havoc across the Southwest and other regions of the country.”
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