​“4 Things Every Investor Should Know About Vertical Farming: Lessons Learned From AVF Summit”
Chris Powers, AgFunder News
 
Hydroponic micro-greens emerged from our Ecotrust research as a way to get leafy greens into urban areas, and also emerged from the Bowman Analysis as a winning category for investment. So—what do we do next as investors? In this article, writer and entrepreneur Chris Powers outlines four key takeaways from the Association for Vertical Farming’s summit in Amsterdam last month to educate investors on the state of affairs in vertical farming and tips for involvement.
 
A state of the industry landscape scan indicates that most vertical farming operations provide micro-greens and lettuces to select restaurants and CSA’s. While the technology exists for sophisticated vertical farming, we need entrepreneurs with a mastery of techniques and breadth of knowledge to build the industry. The biggest hang-up for these entrepreneurs are a slew of startup costs that, if unaccounted for, can easily thwart an otherwise solid business plan. The author closes with ways that investors and entrepreneurs alike can go above and beyond to make vertical farming as sustainable as possible, for instance by growing in point-of-sale locations and eliminating food miles.

​“Buying Organic Honey? Here’s What You Should Know.”
Elizabeth Grossman, Civil Eats
 
The dilemma presented in this article is a prime example of the challenges that make us ask, “what is ‘good enough’?” in food systems work. While increased farm acreage at first appears to be a good thing, we must ask questions like “what kind of acreage?” “where is this acreage?” and “at what cost?”
 
Domestic organic honey may soon become a thing of the past for the United States. As industrial farming expands and encroaches on remaining prairies and woodlands, pesticide and herbicide-free land that is safe for bees diminishes. Even in remote parts of North Dakota, the “last best place in the country to grow organic honey,” beekeepers see a direct (and adverse) relationship between increased farm acreage and pounds of honey produced per hive.