I promised details of the last few data points from my annual Inside Grower survey, and I did not want to disappoint. I asked what your biggest concerns are, and while there were a lot of different answers, some of the more prevalent ones included: labor and finding younger workers; becoming more energy efficient; pest management and government regulations. One person also wrote of their concern about the cannabis industry taking away workers.

On the “what are you most proud of” front, a lot of you responded the following:

• use of technology to reduce labor and improve sustainability
• your IPM programs
• quality of products
• the ability to educate young people about food
• your hard-working staff

And finally, when asked what you’d like to see more of, the overwhelming response was growing tips, followed by pest and disease controls and biocontrols/IPM, along with stories about other growers. Duly noted, dear reader. I think we do a pretty good job of working the growing tips into the print supplement, but I will try to translate that more into my newsletter, as well. A final thanks to all those who took the survey!

As for that pest management and IPM program request, ask and ye shall receive. We have three new webinars coming down the pike, and two of them relate to pest control.

Our resident expert JC Chong (Associate Professor of Turf & Ornamentals—Entomology at Clemson University and Editor of our PestTalks newsletter) will talk about management tools and approaches to battling whiteflies and aphids in the appropriately titled webinar “These Guys Suck!” Editor Chris Beytes will host. That webinar is slated for 1 p.m. Eastern/Noon Central Wednesday, April 24.

Need more in the fight against piercing and sucking pests? Join us for a second webinar, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel (that’s some old school TV references right there) on Thursday, May 16 for a Beytes-hosted webinar with expert presenters Karla Addesso, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Agriculture for Tennessee State University, and Aaron Palmateer, Ph.D., Senior Technical Services Representative for Bayer. During this webinar you’ll hear about new research related to these pests and get best practice advice for how to combat them. You can even enter for a chance to win a free bottle of Altus Insecticide.

Before all that, though, Bossman Beytes will host a webinar called “What Makes a Growing Container Automation-Friendly?” with experts from HC Companies. That webinar will start at (you guessed it) 1 p.m. Eastern/Noon Central on Thursday, April 18 (that’s coming up soon!). HC Companies Director of Sales Chris Soltis and Marketing Product Manager Mark Hembree talk about greenhouse containers related to automation efficiency (one of the ways to combat that labor issue you said was a big concern).

Click HERE to register for any or all of these FREE webinars. As always, if you register and miss it, you can access the archived version at the same link. 

PIP stands for Precision Indoor Plants Consortium, and it’s a public-private partnership to help folks like you. It was launched earlier this month by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), which invested $7.5 million into the PIP Consortium initiative. Other members of the consortium matched that for a total investment of $15 million. Those other members are AeroFarms, BASF, Benson Hill Biosystems, Fluence Bioengineering, Intrexon, Japan Plant Factory Association and Priva.

So what’s the goal? To help CEA growers access innovative science and technology and produce new flavorful, nutritious crops specifically for indoor growing. In the news release about the initiative, FFAR Scientific Program Director John Reich recalls the taste of tomatoes from his childhood.

“If you’re like me, every summer you complain that commercial tomatoes today are not the same. Commercial tomatoes are abundant, shelf-stable and disease resistant—but not perceived as tasty as they once were,” he is quoted in the release. “However, PIP’s research could produce a tomato plant that grows quickly indoors, tastes great and is highly nutritious. This plant would require less energy to grow indoors, potentially increasing affordability, and could be grown anywhere regardless of environmental constraints.”

I would argue that some hydroponic tomatoes already meet that challenge, and many CEA tomato growers are working on their own breeding to continually enhance flavor and growth rates. But every little bit helps, and as the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. We’ll keep watching PIP to see what they come up with and report back.

Along with consistently pushing breeding to come up with better-tasting, more nutritious veggies, I’m happy to report industry companies also are pushing the boundaries of what we know about packaging. At least three companies introduced eco-friendly, compostable packaging options at the recent Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) event in Montreal earlier this week.

SUNSET Organic Angel Sweet won Best Organic Product Award, but the sweet spot was the 100% backyard compostable packaging that it came in. The packaging backs up Mastronardi Produce’s pledge to sustainability as it announced on April 1 that it would join the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC).

 
SUNSET Organic Angel Sweet Tomatoes in compostable packaging.

“We recognize the importance of this issue, and as a leader in the category, we felt it was important to contribute to addressing this issue on a broad scale,” a news release quoted Paul Mastronardi, President and CEO of Mastronardi Produce, and the fourth-generation family member to lead the organization. “By joining forces with coalition members and continuing to develop earth-friendly solutions, we hope to inspire change among our retailer partners, consumers, and even more broadly.”

Meanwhile, NatureFresh Farms has committed to sustainability as well with its new eco-friendly compostable tray for both its conventional and organic Mini Cucumbers program, which also was introduced at CPMA.

   
Nature NatureFresh Farms' Mini Cucumber program in a new compostable tray.

And Mucci Farms introduced its SIMPLE series of packaging featuring cardboard and 100% recyclable film. SIMPLE stands for Sustainable Innovation Made Purposefully for our Living Environment. The company highlighted multiple veggie snack items in the sustainable packaging.

  
The SIMPLE series of cardboard and recyclable film packaging from Mucci Farms.
  

Kudos to all these companies for beginning the hard work of finding better ways to package our produce!

Square Roots, a heretofore Brooklyn-based indoor farming operation famous for having Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal as one of its founders, recently signed on to a partnership with Gordon Food Services (GFS) to expand across North America.

The idea is that Square Roots indoor farms would be located either on or near the site of GFS retail stores and distribution centers, “enabling year-round growing of premium quality herbs, greens and more, and made available to Gordon Food Service customers.”

“Customers want an assortment of fresh, locally grown food all year round. We are on a path to do that at scale with Square Roots and are excited to be the first in the industry to offer this unique solution to our customers,” says Rich Wolowski, CEO of Gordon Food Services.

The Square Roots operation also brings with it the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, a way to train passionate people to become future leaders in the food industry. Along with that, it offers a Transparency Timeline, enabling customers to trace exactly how and where their food was grown and who grew it, all by scanning a QR code on the packaging.

It’s an interesting concept, and takes away the variables of volume and need for the grower. GFS, while a retail store, also services restaurants, organizations and event planners, which provides more stability to its vendors. There are more than 175 Gordon Food Service retail locations in the U.S., and GFS serves foodservice operators in the U.S. and Canada.