SUN FARMING.

SUN FARMING.Solar energy is the most economical and secure source of energy for the future, and farmers are tapping in to practice sun farming. 
SUNfarming feels an obligation to observe this responsibility. They are convinced that with every newly-installed photovoltaic system we come a step closer to the goal of renewable energies as the source of energy supply. 
With a solar energy system you can produce your own electricity at a cost of around 11 cents per kWh. Surplus power can be fed in to the grid.
 The SUNfarming Food & Energy Urban Concept.According to the World Bank studies, the urban consumption of urban life will triple urban consumption by 2030. By 2030, about 40 percent of humanity will be insufficiently supplied with water. At the same time, global energy consumption and food consumption will increase by 36 % by 2025. If urban infrastructures are to keep pace with these onslaught, we need to make them more intelligent. Technological knowledge and the available resources in the water, energy and nutrition sectors must be used sustainably in order to create an environmentally and climate-friendly development in cities and municipalities. SUNfarming has developed the unique “Food & Energy Urban Concept”: Sustainable solar energy and regional food are produced together – on the same area. In addition to the solar power, vegetables, fruits, flowers or fish, regional or local PV production can be gained in new or already built PV open-air installations between the module series or in special agro-solar food & energy greenhouses. JOIN IN, BECOME A SUNFARMER.

Data driven indoor agriculture.

Data driven indoor agriculture. Indoor agriculture is growing everywhere on the planet, and it's growing fast. As land and water supplies are harder to find, the traditional agriculture methods are changing drastically and moving to indoor vertical farming, container farming and hydroponic greenhouses. With indoor farming, the possibilities are endless. You can grow greens, micro-greens, herbs, cannabis, tomatoes, strawberries, lemons, flowers and even indigenous crops if you like. We can help you create the perfectly well-balanced environment for the crop's specific needs. In addition, new agriculture methods are becoming automated with electronics: artificial intelligence is everywhere, and data collection and analysis are the key points of having a highly profitable farm. Did you know that you could grow a lettuce indoors 4 times faster than outdoors? In this era of agtech, that's how Motorleaf can change the world. Data driven indoor agriculture.

Hospital greenhouse grows healthy food for community.

Hospital greenhouse grows healthy food for community. Tiny peppers, with leaves waving proudly, may not hold a whole lot of meaning for the average New Jersey backyard gardener. But in the South Ward of Newark, inside less than 2,000 square feet of space, this greenhouse is changing the way of life for a community. “You can’t teach people how to eat if you don’t have the food to provide to them. So, down in an urban environment like Newark, or what they consider a food desert, there is a lot of food insecurity. So this is a way to tie everything together and connect it with your health and wellness,” said Barbara Mintz, senior vice-president for healthy living and community engagement at RWJ Barnabas Health. The Beth Greenhouse, located just next door to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, pumps out more than 10,000 pounds of food a year. Employees teach nutrition education, farming and cooking. It’s got all the staples, including kale, zucchini, tomatoes and basil. But in a unique format, the hospital sells it right in the outpatient lobby once a week. “We harvest it every week and we bring it into our farmers market, which is in the lobby of our hospital, every Thursday,” said Mintz. “We sell it not only to the employees, but to the community as well, patient families, visitors and so on.” Hospital greenhouse grows healthy food for community.

NatureFresh Farms develops unconventional pest management methods.

NatureFresh Farms develops unconventional pest management methods. A pest outbreak in the fall of 2016 left all bell pepper growers in the Leamington area highly concerned.

 Pepper Weevil (Anthonomus Eugenii) is an unconventional pest that a regular Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system cannot maintain and cannot be spotted by humans which makes it nearly impossible to catch early on.

 Once the pest spreads, it is essentially a death sentence for the crop as no beneficial bug is strong enough to combat it and sprays just irritate the pest forcing it to reproduce more. 

 Cam Lyons, Research and Development and IPM Technician at NatureFresh Farms, realized that there had to be a solution and conducted countless development sessions.

 “Dogs are a very intelligent animal. Many worker dogs are trained to recognize and discover scents associated with drugs or bombs, so it seemed possible to train a dog to recognize pepper weevil.”

 After a lot of research, NatureFresh Farms adopted Chili, a 15-month old female Belgian Shepherd who was bred as a working dog. Chili underwent 8 weeks of training and was certified by The American Working Dog Association who verified that Chili was the first dog certified for pest related scent detection on a farm. 

 This certification also allows Chili to work in the farm without any food safety concern.

USDA helping growers build success with new technology.

USDA helping growers build success with new technology. Everyone loves that burst of flavor you get when you eat a fresh fruit or vegetable. But we often don’t think about all the research, propagating, and growing by plant breeders that happens prior to giving us that great food experience. Plant breeders work hard to develop new varieties, which are crucial to continued agricultural production, at levels that provide us with food security. New varieties help address the challenges we face - from plant pest and disease outbreaks to an increasing world population. USDA

Smartphone camera used to estimate vegetable taste.

Smartphone camera used to estimate vegetable taste. Makuta Amenity Co developed a smartphone application that enables to estimate the taste and nutrients of vegetables and fruits just by taking their pictures with a smartphone camera. 

 The application analyzes the images of the external appearances of agricultural products such as vegetables and fruits. 

It creates histograms of the three primary colors of visible light and estimates the taste of the targeted agricultural product based on the correlation between the histograms and taste data that has been quantified by using a taste sensor in advance. 

As a taste sensor, Makuta Amenity used a system developed by Intelligent Sensor Technology Inc, a venture firm that develops taste sensors. Japan

7 top tips for calf pneumonia vaccination.

7 top tips for calf pneumonia vaccination. Calf pneumonia is the greatest single cause of morbidity and mortality in cattle in Ireland – responsible for 32% of deaths in this age group². Hence, it is a cause of major economic loss for the cattle industry. Benefits Of Vaccination Vaccination against calf pneumonia in young and growing animals is a cost-effective method when implemented as part of an overall pneumonia control plan. This plan must also address other environmental and management factors that contribute to the spread of the disease. Selecting a vaccine, which contains relevant viruses and bacteria, and observing best