Sheep's wool could be a solution for both the sustainability and supply challenges for indoor growers and nurseries.
Drought, floods, plagues, and pestilence. It may sound like a reading from the bible, but it's just a year in the life of our New Zealand growers. Living in Pukekohe, Jacinta from Fleecegrow became acutely aware of the challenges our growers were facing. "I worked in technology, but while doing my Masters, I started to explore how future technologies could solve some of the challenges around weather and labor shortages. Then covid hit, and the supply chain turned into the major issue of the day".
While working with COVE Food & Fibre on an agritech STEM kit, Jacinta identified that sheep's wool could be a solution for both the sustainability and supply challenges for indoor growers and nurseries. "Sheep's wool is biodegradable but slowly, which means it can be used for long periods of time as a substrate."
Notably, almost all of our current substrates are imported, so having a local supply can avoid those supply chain issues. While the shipping impacts of covid have lessened, drought in Panama and attacks by Houthis on ships using the Suez Canal are still causing delays and price increases.
Read more at www.grower2grower.co.nz