HortiDaily Newsletter | Tuesday, January 14, 2025

“When we seed with the Amiga, everything falls perfectly on the track”

Farm-ng is optimizing growing practices from planting seeds to harvesting crops with its Amiga robot—a modular, scalable, intelligent robotic platform…

The pest could disrupt the next horticultural season

"Parvispinus" affects 30% of the pepper area in Almeria

Thrips parvispinus continues to be a major challenge for pepper producers in the province of Almeria, Spain. "Originating in Southeast Asia, this…

"The most productive pepper cultivation research conducted under LEDs at Delphy"

Delphy, a globally recognized leader in agricultural research and consultancy, partnered with Sollum Technologies to trial dynamic LED lighting for…

Opportunity for turnkey acquisition opens up in Canada

A rare turnkey greenhouse acquisition opportunity is being made available to potential purchasers. BMO Capital Markets has been engaged to offer for…

Mike Gitzels after a year at the helm of the Gitzels family business:

"The place is still there, so something must go well"

Mike Gitzels, 30, has been the owner of the family business Plantenkwekerij Gitzels in Wervershoof, North Holland, for a year now. As such, he is part…

British berry growers face rising costs and import competition despite £2 billion market milestone

British berry growers are bracing for a challenging year in 2025 as rising energy costs, wage increases, and insufficient returns from retailers put pressure…

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign receives Green Leaf Award

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been presented with the 2024 Conviron and Argus Controls Green Leaf Award. Argus and Conviron's Account…

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Seed companies join forces to provide better labor conditions in India

Founding partners BASF, Syngenta, and Arisa announced today that HM.CLAUSE, Enza Zaden, and SeedWorks have signed on as partners in the Wage…

New LED fixtures to aid tissue culture growers

RAYN Growing Systems announced an addition to its horticultural lineup this week with the Ciara line of fixtures. The Ciara S40 and D80 are LED…

Coöperatie Hoogstraten

Michiel Vermeiren (Coöperatie Hoogstraten):

"Belgium lighted winter crop volumes surpass pre-COVID levels for the first time"

Not long ago, most farms halted lighted cultivation in winter due to the energy crisis. At the time, questions arose about whether lighted cultivation…

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Pakistani lettuce project set to begin seeding in February

Imperial Limited is progressing with its Hydroponics Project, with seeding operations scheduled to begin in February and the first harvest of iceberg…

US interest in Dutch knowledge and technology is strong

Recent research initiated by InnovationQuarter and conducted by Hillenraad, has explored opportunities for Dutch greenhouse horticulture companies in…

153 Nobel and World Food Prize laureates call on world leaders to prioritize agricultural research

More than 150 Nobel and World Food Prize laureates have made a plea for financial and political backing to develop "moonshot" technologies with the…

Zone College Zwolle

Tree tomatoes Tamarillo grow in Dutch pepper greenhouse

After almost two years of sowing and tending, the Cultivation & Technology course at Zone College in Zwolle has succeeded: the first fruits of the…

Food prices in Russia have surged to their highest levels in the past two years, with resources reportedly being diverted to military spending

Food prices in Russia reach record levels in two years

According to The Moscow Times, citing data from Rosstat, the annual increase in food prices has reached 10.9%, the highest rate since November 2022. "Inflation…

Unlocking potential of Ukraine's greenhouse industry and its expansion into European markets

Until 2014, Ukrainian greenhouse enterprises primarily focused on the domestic market, but the changing geopolitical situation prompted them to expand into…

Searching for solutions to strengthen Ghana's horticulture industry

The horticulture sector plays a significant role in Ghana's agriculture, contributing to food security, employment, and income generation. The sector…

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US: $150,000 grant to University of Nevada to boost food system

University of Nevada, Reno Extension has received federal funding to plan the first food hub in the greater Las Vegas area. The project will be…

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US: How to train your staff to be safe in the workplace

Cultivating a culture of safety at your business is critical—especially given the inherent safety risks your employees face every day, just by virtue…

Thailand: Chia Tai Fair 2025 to host more than 600 different plant varieties

Chia Tai Company Limited in Thailand is set to host Chia Tai Fair 2025. This year, the event will feature 600 high-quality plant varieties, as well as…

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US: Outer Edge Farms owner joins Harris Organics

Adam Cattani, proprietor and owner of Outer Edge Farms of Salinas, California has officially joined Harris Organics LLC as of December 2024. Adam said…

Reflections after a decade in vertical farming

Rodrigo Pereyra, the VP of AgScience at Bowery, discusses the direction vertical farming has taken since its inflection point and highlights some…

US (VT): Vegetable and berry growers annual meeting on 28th of January

The Vermont Vegetable and Berry Growers Association (VVBGA) is set to hold its Annual Meeting on January 28th at the DoubleTree Hotel in Burlington.…

Kompany kicks off Dutch season

€50 per cucumber to raise money for Kidsbase

Kompany's first harvested cucumbers were sold at auction at ZON this week. Rob Linders of Linders Fruit & Vegetables made the first bid. He purchased…

Isagri announces acquisition of Sencrop

Groupe Isagri has acquired Sencrop, and the partnership comes at a crucial time as farm margins are under severe pressure and climate change is forcing…

Grupo Agroponiente increased its sales volume in its Granada centers in the summer season

The Spanish company Grupo Agroponiente has reported that its five collection centers in the Sierra de Granada experienced significant growth in the summer…

Spain launches pilot project to enhance agricultural import controls, starting with Morocco

Spain has launched a pilot project at the Port of Algeciras to enhance controls on agricultural imports from third countries, with a focus on Morocco. This…

VBT Belgium

Tomato price recovery in week 52

In the last week of 2024, VBT middle prices rose for cucumbers and tomatoes. Prices for head lettuce and oakleaf lettuce also increased while the middle price for strawberries…

Dreamstime

As part of new fruit and veg pledge: Asda donates 1mln meals

Sainsbury’s: Paper packaging across its own-brand Ripe & Ready Avocados twin pack

Austria: SPAR expands with 16 SPAR Express forecourt storesSPAR Austria, in partnership with petrol station operator SOCAR, is expanding its network of…