金瓶艳史

The COVID-19 pandemic gave 'quite the digital boost' to not only consumers' buying habits, but also the buying habits of the B2B horticulture market. Alumat Zeeman's new webshop is visited a lot, tells Bert Strikkers, one of the company's directors.? "It's increasingly normal to purchase items via a webshop,??

金瓶艳史

During the corona crisis, it's a challenge for growers to sell not only a quality product, but also to be uncompromised with regards to food safety. ?°Being fresh herbs exporters ourselves allows us to follow our vision to control our product development and marketing from the seed to the customer site. In??

金瓶艳史

Dutch herb specialist, Greenfresh, has always focused strongly on cultivation in Eastern Africa. Kenya is their top country of origin, supplemented by Tanzania and Uganda. The limited airfreight capacity hasn't made things easy recently. That's resulted in sharp price increases. This was a turning point??

"Big development in Chinese tomato breeding industry"

?°The current acreages dedicated to tomatoes in China are about 16 million mu, of which more than 9 million mu are for pink tomato, a main product that we breed. Currently, pink tomatoes in the north mainly face diseases where the whole plant becomes dead or where new leaves turn yellow. Against this??

"Integration of practical experience and science, a golden combination"

How are things going with Aldo van Os, the organic grower who stopped last year to start coaching (organic) growers, with his partner Mark Velders of The Conscious Farmer? Good, as it shows after reading the story below in which both gentlemen share their experiences. "Organic crop protection and??

Startup pioneering vertical agriculture in Latin America raises close to one million dollars

AgroUrbana completed the second round of funding, raising close to one million US dollars to finance the company??s plans for developing and optimising their technology, opening up the market and developing its first commercial plant, and consolidating their place in the market as pioneers in Vertical??

?°Demand for our mini cucumbers is higher now than it was pre-pandemic?±

Snacking products have become increasingly popular in recent years, but MamaMia Produce has been supplying the market with their mini cucumbers for the past 15 years. Daniel Mosquera says: ?°We were actually one of the first companies to get the item into retail stores, when it was still relatively??

Scandinavian countries have discovered Sicilian aromatic herbs

Mountain air and unspoiled soil are essential to cultivate high-quality aromatic herbs in the same environments where they grow spontaneously. Concetto Dinatale "We just sow plants using geometry where they would grow anyway. We reorganize nature in tidy rows of oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, bay and??

Growing media sector presents ambitious agenda for the future

With the policy ?°A strong, indispensable basis?±, the Dutch Potting Soil and Substrate Manufacturers Association (VPN) has presented the agenda for the future. An 'ambitious agenda' according to the VPN. The substrate sector is committed to continuous improvement with regard to quality, safety and??

Maarten van Hagen joins Holland Gaas

Maarten van Hagen has started working at Holland Gaas and will contribute to the success of mesh systems for growers. Maarten introduces himself: "I have a great passion for horticulture and have already been wor??

Robert-Jan de Goeij appointed as commercial director (CCO) Codema

Recently Robert-Jan de Goeij joined as commercial director (CCO) and shareholder to the management of Codema. The total supplier of essential horticultural solutions was not unknown to De Goeij. As an industry partner from previous positions at Dalsem and Megaphoton, he already had a link with Codema.??

Goldsmith.company

Floating farm for chickens and vegetables

Following the success of the 'floating farm dairy', Goldsmith is now planning 'floating farm poultry' in Rotterdam. This is going to be an urban farm combining facilities for 7,000 hens with a level for farming vegetables, herbs and cresses. Similar to the adjacent cow farm, the new floating construction??

Demand for spinach helps fuel hydroponic farm growth

Hydroponically grown baby spinach continues to see strong demand from local consumers. ?°The demand for baby spinach continues to grow,?± says Abby Prior of Irvington, NY-based BrightFarms, adding that because hydroponically grown spinach is a softer leaf that??s not tough, it??s more of a salad or??

Many farmers in India take up hydroponic farming

With the ever-growing population and volatilities in modern?supply chains, farmers go for alternatives that require less land and bring?agriculture?production closer to consumers. Several farmers in India take up hydroponic farming over traditional?farming. Rising trend of hydroponic farming -??

"I see a future in direct sales to consumers?±

The first orders have been picked up and sent out, and with that, the webshop set up by Dutch grower Joost van Luijk of Hot Pepper King is now officially launched. ?°It is a fun way for us to supply the ??pepper diehards???±, says the pepper grower, who doesn??t see pricing in the market as all that good yet.??

Viruses in intensive horticultural crops; new challenges for sustainable agriculture

The epidemiological dynamics followed by viruses in protected horticultural crops in the Mediterranean Arc of Spain has evolved from a majority of those transmitted by aphids to the predominance of whitefly-transmitted ones. Later, due to the shift towards an integrated control that has been quite??

"We see that local service is more important than ever"

"In 2012, I spent a year in Mexico. I saw a lot of opportunities there, and decided to jump in on a market demand for 'on the spot' technology." Dennis de Zeeuw is Director General of DQ Hortisoluciones and talks about his company and working in the Mexican market.? Hortisoluciones sells horticultural technology??

Kampan Butshi | Dreamstime.com

Three actions slashed energy costs 40% for this Canadian greenhouse grower

Greenhouse growers can proactively save a lot of money on their energy use. In these perilous economic times, they need every advantage they can get. After all, energy nearly always represents the second largest cost centre for a grower. Greenhouses can no longer afford to passively view energy as an??

Plant vesicles inspire methods to protect crops

Biologists studying extracellular RNA (exRNA)??and the tiny spherical structures known as exosomes that shuttle this genetic information from cell to cell??typically focus on mammals. As long ago as the 1960s, however, scientists found that plant cells also generate vesicles that carry cargo out of the??

Indian food designer rediscovers forgotten vegetables

Fresh out of a food designing course in Italy and an internship in the Netherlands, Akash Muralidaran went back home earlier this year to explore the underlying eating??

Sweet Palermo Instagram

Yellow Sweet Palermo awarded highest possible rating by International Taste Institute

Earlier this month, Rijk Zwaan??s yellow Sweet Palermo pointed pepper received the highest possible rating of three stars in the International Taste Institute??s Superior Taste Award 2020, and the red Sweet Palermo was awarded a two-star rating. Sweet Palermo is the first sweet pointed pepper to receive??

Pongpipat Yatra | Dreamstime.com

Survey gauges demand for organic certified hydroponic nutrient solution

New research from Monash University is looking to conduct market research within the overlapping hydroponics and organic farming spheres in the form of a five-minute survey, or ten-minute phone interview. This research will be used to gain a better understanding of customer needs and preferences in this??

Shay Zeltzer

Dundee community groups supporting vulnerable locals with vertically grown veg

Community groups across the Dundee area have been delivering fresh produce to local residents who have been most heavily impacted by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The produce has been grown by IGS in Scotland??s first vertical farm based at the James Hutton Institute in Invergowrie.??IGS grows purely for R&D??

Wageningen University & Research

Resilience of seed sectors in Africa and Asia at stake due to pandemic

Wageningen University & Research launched an important synthesis on effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the seed sector in four countries this week, informing stakeholders in other low and middle income countries facing similar challenges with insights and options to act. Rapid assessments give insight on??

Herbal bounty for impoverished communities

In an effort to bring sustenance and hope to poverty-stricken areas during the national lockdown, the troops of Break Time Buddies have harvested basil and celery crops and shared the bounty with the surrounding community. Break Time Buddies is a component of Nelson Mandela University??s INMED??s??

Spain approves hiring 80,000 unemployed and immigrants to cover farm shortfall

The Spanish Government approved on April 7 the temporary hiring of tens of thousands of immigrants or jobless people during the peak food-harvesting season.Announcing the measures, Minister Luis Planas said they would be in force?until June 30?and were also intended to?guarantee?exports?to other EU??

What will the urban greenhouse of the future look like?

The market for fresh produce in China is looking very interesting. With a growing middle class, and safely produced, healthy food being high on the agenda in light of the current pandemic, all the ingredients are there for growth. So it's no surprise that China was chosen as the location for the second??

30% of raspberries destroyed by hail and rain in Serbia

The bad weather has so far destroyed 30% of raspberries, and purchasers are already offering a price of RSD 250 per kg (?2.10), while last year, the price ranged between RSD 65 and RSD 170, the President of the Association of Raspberry Growers of Serbia stated. He recalled that last summer cold storage??

New environmental packaging line for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry

Cascades, a company who works with eco-friendly recycling, hygiene and packaging solutions, announced the launch of its new range of Cascades Fresh packaging products for??

New X-ray inspection system for beverages, liquids and solid foods

Mekitec Group, a global manufacturer of food quality control systems based on X-ray technology, announces the launch of a completely new X-ray inspection system, Sidemekitm, targeted for the product safety and quality control needs of food and beverage producers worldwide. Mekitec describes their newest??

Kyle Barnett and Rob Spivock talk Ag Tech

In a new two-part episode of the CropTalk series, #KyleTalksAgTech, Kyle Barnett speaks with Robert Spivock, Director of Technology at GE Current about what makes an LED horticulture light truly reliable, using cars as a reference point for the listeners. Listen to the podcast here.?

Jason Bull new Chief Technology Officer at Benson Hill

Benson Hill, a crop innovation company dedicated to unlocking the natural genetic diversity of plants, has named Jason Bull as Chief Technology Officer to oversee all platform and product development. Bull is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of industry experience unlocking synergies between biology??

Bananas: Walmart's bestselling product

Vice.com did a report on Walmart, stating: ?°You may associate the world??s largest retailer with toys and tires and the occasional leather thong, but Walmart is also the??

Freshfel Europe calls for EU and UK negotiators not to let the fresh fruit and vegetable sector down

Freshfel Europe calls for EU and UK negotiators not to let the fresh fruit and vegetables sector down and to allow businesses to recover after COVID-19 before major changes??

LDC launches corporate venture capital program

Louis Dreyfus Company B.V. (LDC) launched its corporate venture capital program, ??LDC Innovations??, as an essential element in LDC??s strategic plans to reinforce its position as a key value chain participant. ?°This program is another positive step in our strategic growth plans, as part of which we are??

Rain doesn??t end problems for Irish vegetable growers

There may have been rain over the past few days, but vegetable growers will be counting the cost of recent drought conditions for a long time to come. Over the past three??

Self-isolation exemption for seasonal agricultural workers UK

Seasonal agricultural workers arriving in the UK will not have to self-isolate for 14 days, as long as they follow specific instructions, the government has said. Those??

Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets has chosen Locai

US: Union demands food retailers reinstate hazard payThe United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), which represents 1.3mln workers in grocery stores and other businesses, has called on major supermarket chains such as The Kroger Co. to reinstate hazard pay following news reports that??

What makes a fertilizer high-grade?

Quality is highly important to Prayon, a fertilizer producer. More fertilizers have been sold than in recent years, so it is important to keep stock and quality at a high??

"I don't want weeds in my nursery"

Recently an industrial floor sweeper was delivered to Schrijnwerkers. Schrijnwerkers is one of the largest blueberry plant nurseries in Europe. Located in Overloon, the Netherlands, it consists of a five hectare container field and a five thousand m2 greenhouse in which multiplication and propagation of??

"Sustainable packaging management is decisive for us as well"

Germany and Austria have always been the most important sales markets for the Central European growing regions. This is also true for Hungary, where tons of plums, sweet and sour cherries, and fruit vegetables - such as tomatoes and peppers - are produced annually for the German-speaking market.??

Sri Lankan coir industry is resilient in the wakes of the Covid-19 pandemic

Due to the growing popularity of coco substrates in the horticultural industry and the quality of the Sri Lankan coco products, the industry has seen rapid growth. That means that the effects of the lockdown were also very big, both for the horticultural supply chain as for the 20,000 people working in??

Green refrigeration system

At A.C. Hartman in the North of The Netherlands, mainly tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers are grown for customers like the premium supermarket chain Albert Heijn and Bakker Barendrecht, one of the largest fruit and vegetable companies. Recently Hartman was acquired by Best Fresh Group. The ambition of Best Fresh is to market??

FDA warns to avoid certain ?°Garden Salad?± products from 3 Midwest retailers due to cyclospora

The FDA issues a warning to consumers to avoid certain store brand packaged and labeled ?°Garden Salad?± products from three retailers in the Midwest due to Cyclospora. Frank??

"We welcome the restarting of the trade fairs"

2020 promises to be an exceptional trade fair year. Since many events have already been cancelled or postponed, others are switching to virtual solutions. One trade fair that will continue to be held on its original date is the Fruit Attraction that will take place in Madrid at the end of October. Some??

UK: Morrisons selling 11kg fruit and vegetable boxes

Morrisons has launched new fruit parcels packed full of fruits and vegetables. The new boxes contain no less than 135 portions of fresh produce. A typical box weighs in at??

Launch and sale of new CubicFarms control room system

CubicFarms announces the launch of its new Control Room system for sale to growers looking to grow crops more efficiently by controlling every aspect of the growing environment. CubicFarms?? Control Room is assembled inside its proprietary stainless steel, fully insulated growing chamber with the option??

Room for two