Urban Ag News Issue 13 is Live

Urban Ag News Issue 13  |  April 2016

Urban-ag-news-online-magazine-issue-13-green-sense-farms

At Hort Americas, we are proud to be sponsors of Urban Ag News. They continue to raise the bar on covering the latest innovations and technology in urban agriculture and vertical farming. We hope you enjoy their latest issue as much as we do!

Urban Ag News’ Issue 13 cover story looks at Green Sense Farms’ efforts to meet the increasing demand for clean, safe produce in both the U.S. and China. Founding farmer and CEO Robert Colangelo talks about how his company is opening additional vertical farming operations in both countries along with a training facility to create job-ready graduates to grow in controlled environments.

Thinking about installing a water treatment system for your growing operation? University of Florida professor Paul Fisher said you should know your goals before investing in a treatment system. A treatment system won’t add value to your product, but it will reduce the risk of crop losses.

Duron Chavis, indoor urban farm director at Virginia State University, is helping citizens of Richmond and Petersburg, Va., have access to locally-grown produce year round. His efforts along with community leaders and university colleagues are helping people eat and live healthier through urban agriculture.

 

ISSUE 13 INCLUDES:

UrbanAgNews-Logo-smallOn the cover: Robert Colangelo, founding farmer and CEO at Green Sense Farms
Green Sense Farms to expand its Vertical Farming Operations in the U.S. and China

Helping people eat, live healthier through urban agriculture, with Duron Chavis

An Interview with NASA’s Dr. Gary Stutte

Urban Ag Zoning: Lessons from San Antonio

NY SunWorks: Is the future of farming in public schools?

Know your goals before investing in a water treatment system

Tour de Fresh 2016 by Chris Higgins
Indoor Ag Con
 Las Vegas April 2016
e-Gro Webinars
Japan Plant Factories Special Report by Eri Hayashi
FDCEA 2016 Events to Attend
University of Arizona, CEAC, Patricia Rorabaugh Retires
Infographic: Living Wage Calculation for Dallas, Texas

News from the Industry features these and more:

How LED lighting treatments affect greenhouse tomato quality
AeroFarms offers new level of safety and flavor for delicious, nutritious leafy greens
Dr. Roberto Lopez joins Michigan State University Horticulture faculty
Lettuce See The Future: LED Lighting Helps Farming Go High-Tech In Japan
Interim president and CEO of AmericanHort steps down
Growtainer and Glenn Behrman
HydroGarden starts international school sponsorship to mark 20th year in business
The Diane Rehm Show: The Growth Of Large-Scale Indoor Urban Farming
GreenTech 2016 to be packed with inspiring sessions and speakers
CropKing Introductory Grower Workshop
2016 Tour de Fresh Sponsorships Available Now
New white paper available on the immense potential of Asia’s Indoor Ag Industry
Critical Foodscapes: what does the future hold for urban gardening?
New Case study on Urban Produce available from Hort Americas
Study Finds Philips LED Lights Provide Improved Energy Efficiency and Production for Growing Food Crops in Space
Sustainable Agriculture Training / Cal Poly Pomona Launch New Hybrid Course and a New School Name

 

Reprints worth Reading:

New Growing System Arrives in UK

The Tour de Fresh 2015 was an intense ride, successful at putting salad bars in schools

After four days of intense and strenuous riding through the Blue Ridge Mountains all the way to Atlanta, Ga., the Tour de Fresh is complete. As a result of the ride, many public schools across the country will have fresh salad bars installed in their cafeterias.

Thank you for your support and donations. A special thanks to Village Farms, Riococo, Houweling’s Tomatoes, Grodan,  Age Old Organics, UrbanAgNews.com for their sponsorship of Hort Americas’ rider Chris Higgins, General Manager. All of our efforts will directly benefit the Earl Nance Sr. Elementary School in the St. Louis Public School system.

Hort Americas Sponsors Tour de Fresh Ride

BEDFORD, Texas, Sept. 22, 2015 — Hort Americas is a proud sponsor (and rider participant) of the Tour de Fresh. This one-of-a-kind collaborative event unites the most significant brands and influencers in the fresh produce industry for a four-day cycling event that raises funds to benefit the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign. The inaugural 2014 event raised over $142,000 and placed over 40 salads bars in communities in 11 states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Texas, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia.

Tour-de-fresh-2015-hort-americas-sponsor

The goal of Tour de Fresh 2015 and its participants is to privately finance 100+ new salad bars in school districts across the country. At a cost of less than $3,000 per salad bar per school, sponsors and participants strongly believe that providing healthy eating opportunities for school children should be a requirement and is the foundation of creating positive change for our future.
This year Hort Americas efforts are also being supported by Village Farms, Riococo, Houweling’s Tomatoes, Grodan, Age Old Organics, UrbanAgNews.com as well countless other friends and family. All of our efforts will directly benefit the Earl Nance Sr. Elementary in the St. Louis Public School system.

For those interested, there is still time to contribute. Please visit Hort Americas Donation Page for more details.

Contact: Maria Luitjohan, 1-469-532-2383, mluitjohan@hortamericas.com

Deardorff Family Farms donates school salad bar during Tour de Fresh

Deardorff Family Farms in Oxnard, Calif., donated a salad
bar to Sequoia Middle School in Newbury Park, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2014. The
donation was part of the Tour de Fresh four-day fundraising cycling event. The company was
a silver sponsor of the event.

Tom Deardorff II, president at Deardorff Family Farms,
who attended the launch of the salad bar at the school said he was amazed by
the response of students.
“Kids began to back up one behind the other in the two
lines going to the salad bar,” Deardorff said. “It was awesome. They were
smiling and joking and asking if they could use the big food trays instead of
the small trays. They went for it hard and fast and kept coming.
“I could hear the staff saying, “We need more salad. We
need more kiwi.” Kids were chomping on carrots and loving every bite. In the
end, it was probably a 65/35 split with 65 percent of the kids choosing to go
through the salad bar line.”

Deardorff
Family Farms donated a salad bar to Sequoia
Middle School in
Newbury Park, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2014.
 The donation was part of the Tour de
Fresh four-day
fundraising cycling event that raised $124,303.

Tour de Fresh
exceeds fundraising goal

Tour de Fresh was the first collaborative fresh produce
industry event that raised funds for the United Fresh Start Foundation’s Let’s
Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign. The goal of Tour de Fresh and its
participants was to raise $120,000 to privately finance 40 new salad bars in
school districts across the country. The foundation exceeded its fundraising goal and raised $124,303, ensuring more than 40 schools will receive salad
bars.

The inaugural Tour de Fresh started in Monterey, Calif.,
on Oct. 13, and ended 275 miles later in Anaheim. The event aimed to bring
awareness to the LMSBTS program originally founded by Food Family Farming
Foundation, National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, United Fresh Produce
Association Foundation and Whole Foods Market in support of First Lady Michelle
Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative.

For more: Deardorff
Family Farms, (805) 487-7801; http://www.deardorfffamilyfarms.com. Tour de
Fresh, http://www.tourdefresh.com.

Visit our corporate website at https://hortamericas.com