Controlled Environment

Robotics to help Oishii bring vertical farming advances

Oishii, a vertical farming operator, is partnering with a Japanese robotics firm to bring vertical farming changes. Together with Yaskawa Electric Corp., a leading industrial robotics company based in Japan, Oishii plans to develop new... more »

Former Amazon exec joins Local Bounti as CEO

Former Freshly CEO and Amazon executive Anna Fabrega is joining greenhouse-vertical farm grower Local Bounti as CEO. The company’s co-founders and co-CEOS, Craig Hurlbert and Travis Joyner, will take on new roles as senior vice... more »

Ohio grower finds direct sales financially, personally satisfying

A grain grower is finding success with marketing fresh produce directly to consumers after deciding to stop selling wholesale to retailers. Tom and Tammy Brown’s Hilltop Harvest Farms in Wapakoneta, Ohio, grows a variety of... more »

LED lights help improve tomato yields

Research shows long-term exposure of far-red LED light in tomatoes can produce additional yields. Research conducted by Philips Horticulture LED Solutions, Wageningen University & Research and Nunhems shows using far-red light can produce an additional... more »

Mastronardi, InterGrow partner in New York state

Mastronardi Produce, a fourth-generation family-owned commercial greenhouse grower, is expanding its U.S. network through a joint venture with Intergrow Greenhouses. Mastronardi will acquire Integrow’s greenhouse facilities and trucking business in New York state. The new... more »

Virginia Tech developing a CEA-friendly snack pepper

The value of indoor agriculture is skyrocketing for both producers and consumers, and Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is at the center of the innovation hotspot. In partnership with the Institute for... more »

Purdue receives USDA grants for sustainable agriculture projects

Purdue University has received grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grants for five-year projects to enhance sustainable agricultural systems. The two grants exceed $1 million each. One... more »

Biobest names biopesticides business development director

Biobest Group, a biological control and pollination products provider, has appointed Lara Ramaekers to the new role of business development director of biopesticides. Ramaekers was global biocontrol portfolio lead... more »