CropTalk

Alex Tyink is the president of Fork Farms, and he believes anyone can be a farmer. With their vertical hydroponic technology, Fork Farms is transforming the way schools, businesses, healthcare facilities, nonprofits, and home users can grow healthy food year-round. Topics in this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech include the power of community growth through indoor growing systems, the potential for farming and healthy food to improve mental health, and how recent lettuce price increases are improving the viability of indoor growing methods for institutions.

On this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech I speak with Tobias Peggs, CEO at Square Roots indoor farms. With a unique partnership with Gordon Foods, Tobias and I discuss growing the business over the years, asking the question, is CEA vertical farming a bubble like the 2000 dotcom bust? and some key strategies to recession-proof your company as we prepare for a potential economic winter.

Jennifer Waxman has been growing hydroponically for over 20 years and understands what it takes to grow quality produce. On this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech we talk about some of the critical issues the industry is facing, the importance of keeping the grower experts in the decision-making process, and what the future of the indoor farming industry may look like.

Growing strawberries in a vertical farm is hard. How do you pollinate? Can you automate your facility with robotics? Can I start my strawberries from seed? Can I use my own cuttings? Alexandre Van Deun, Founder of Urban Harvest and I discuss these questions and many more in this strawberry themed episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech

Jacob Eisenberg is the Director of BioPharma Solutions at OnePointOne, a vertical farming technology company specializing in high tech aeroponic systems. On this epsiode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech Jake and I discuss the power of vertical farming for medicine development, his global experience within vertical farms, and what to expect in the coming years within these industries.

"Growing food hydroponically will save 99.999% water compared to conventional farming!" We've all heard this line, and while hydroponically growing greatly reduces water consumption compared to conventional farming, we must be on high alert to back up our claims with clear data.

On this "water" episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech Kyle Lisabeth, VP of Horticulture at Silver Bullet and I discuss, you guessed it- water, the importance of accurate data and predictions for the future of CEA.

Paul Brentlinger is the second generation owner of CropKing. Being raised in an environment where hydroponics was a constant, Paul has developed a clear, honest and insightful perspective on the current state of the CEA Industry, what to expect in the future and some fundamental lessons learned along the way.

Armando Suarez is one of the first graduates of the University of Arizona's CEA program. On this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech I speak with Armando on a wealth of subjects within CEA and the lessons he's learned along the way. Topics include strawberry and cannabis production, tissue culture, the similarities between high-tech greenhouses and vertical farming, along with what the CEA industry may look like in the future.

Rebekah Moses is their VP of Impact Strategy at Iron Ox. With a background of over 5 years at Impossible Foods, Rebekah is helping define what impact looks like within the controlled environment agriculture industry and beyond. Topics on this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech include advice on your grow operations energy usage, potential strategies to reduce impact in the future, and how the vast number of ways to grow continually expands.

David Farquhar is the CEO at Intelligent Growth Solutions Limited (IGS). With a mission to engineer sustainable solutions to enhance indoor environments across agricultural and commercial spaces, David is driven to not only assist CEA but growers from all arenas. On this episode of CropTalk #KyleTalksAgtech David and I discuss hands-free growing, vertical farms assisting deglobalized supply chains and the potential future separation of tech vendors vs. Growers.