As we’re visiting the 5th Indoor Ag-Con in Las Vegas this week, vertical and indoor farming will be significantly in the spotlight in our news updates for the coming days. Today we kick off with a Q&A with John Choo, co-founder and recently appointed CEO of Indoor Harvest. We asked him about their current developments within the indoor farming space, the purpose of indoor farming in a marketplace that is currently under pressure, the European ambition and Indoor Harvest’ High Pressure Aeroponics.
Indoor farming was introduced as the fresh produce farm of the future. Lately it's been increasingly associated with cannabis growing. For which of these two industries would you say indoor farming provides the greatest potential?
John: "When you look underneath the data and what is really being represented you have licenced operators from the cannabis industry falling in line with the regulators and public health guidance. On the other side of the fence food safety paints the box you need to live in from seed to sale. We have seen enough groups who are committing to a more robust infrastructure strategy whether the crop is a medicinal plant, leafy green or specialty micro. The family of controls are the same, nutrient delivery, environmental management and an effective lighting spectrum are the pillars. Wrapping a controls and redundancy platform around an effective energy strategy is an identical path to developing these facilities despite their crops. The greatest potential is what the longevity will be for all the emerging commercial operators who have gleamed lessons from both camps in regards to a centrally planned facility. I am an advocate for these kind of associations in the right context, with one outpacing the other it delivers to the industry a vetting tool for the industry suppliers themselves, which would always move faster with more public data.
Over the last years we have seen a lot of new suppliers and developers of turnkey indoor grow operations enter the industry. Sometimes I have the idea that there are more developers and technology supply companies than actual commercial projects being realized. Are there, aside from all the cannabis projects, any other exciting commercial vertical farms that you are currently working on?
John: "I agree the fight for the greatest LED title has it's fair share of contenders. It seems almost daily suppliers are reaching out about their product's data sheets. Shift over to cultivation tech and at a commercial scale, some have an effective position or are better suited to a smaller R&D type environment as a container module. Mind you, those are the most accessible roads into the space and we're glad to see that volume of companies, it shows the investors are paying attention. We need those options to bring these developments to life. We design and build to suit, so relying on market leading partners and that flexibility during planning is critical for us. I believe over the next two years we will see an emergence of realized commercial scale operations, at least within North America. Planning for some of these larger groups has taken years but it took the heartbeat of the industry fighting it's way to this point, to push the tech leaders to the top and be part of those installations. We most definitely have some robust commercial projects in Canada and the US to share the moment we can speak about them, no one is more eager. There will be energy strategies running through these farms that should spark some healthy conversations. That's most exciting to us."
In 2016 you announced plans to target the European market. In a news release you stated that in Europe, the interest in vertical farming is growing faster than in North America. What is the current status of your European ambition?
John: "Vertical farming had it's fair share and continues to encourage the smaller owner / operators moving into the space. We saw an outpace of activity overseas than we did in North America at that time. The discussions were happening here, real activity was not as aggressive though. The larger commercial operators coming out with their planning and taking part in the right conversations, has helped tip that scale back to North America. Our interest in Europe and the surrounding regions remains steadfast. There is much to align with CEA facilities outside of greenhouse applications across hardware and a centrally planned view. Along with our joint venture partners a small demo and R&D farm is being built along with the core team in Lisbon, Portugal, today. More news to come, another development we're eager to share as well very soon."
Over here in Europe, we have the idea that vertical farming can only take off in North America, were the local aspect plays a critical role. Do you believe that European consumers want to pay a premium for a locally, vertical farmed head of lettuce, which can also be grown in a greenhouse nearby, or trucked in from a Spanish field within 24 hrs?
John : "What if that local vertical farm had an operational cost similar to the greenhouse and sold at near similar margins? The buying decision would go to the food experience and the branding. I believe there will be a place for both supply chains, it's impossible to imagine a vibrant greenhouse operator being displaced but competition is a health signal to the space."
Tell us something about your aeroponic technology, what makes it so much better than current hydroponic production methods?
John: "I wouldn't say it's better than other hydro methods, it is really better suited, for a specific role in hydro cultivation. What came out of years of third party testing and millions in investment was that the High Pressure Aeroponics modules that made up that cultivation IP as we designed, provided precision agriculture. At a level where highly atomized nutrient mist would allow the membranes of the suspended roots to somewhat breath in their food in a direct and cellular fashion. That level of finite control and reduced inputs to manipulate plant expression came out to be extremely effective through the Cannabis research done in Canada. That HPA IP and it's use in Cannabis research and cultivation is currently being merged with a US Pharmaceutical group. We continue to embrace all forms of hydroponic methods as they're economically suited to the client's operations as we build these other plant farms."
Indoor Harvest