Is the Future of Farming Soilless?
- None.
- Powering LED lights, software, and sophisticated growing systems can be more expensive than the sun and rain. Hydroponic practices also face obstacles such as the proper disposal of the growing media and the energy consumption and carbon footprint of specialized grow lights.
From an economic standpoint, the anticipated increase in global food production needs by 70% by 2050 highlights a significant market opportunity for companies involved in agricultural innovation. Controlled environment agriculture (CEA), including hydroponics, offers a potential solution to the challenge of feeding a growing population with diminishing arable land. The shift towards CEA could lead to a restructuring of agricultural supply chains, potentially reducing transportation costs and spoilage while providing fresher produce to urban centers.
The adoption of CEA technologies could also impact traditional agriculture sectors and labor markets, as it may reduce demand for some types of farm labor while increasing the need for skilled technicians and engineers. Additionally, the environmental benefits of CEA, such as reduced water usage and pesticide application, align with increasing consumer demand for sustainable food production, which could drive market growth for companies that invest in these technologies.
Indoor farming's role in mitigating climate change cannot be overstated, given that traditional agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. The adoption of CEA methods like hydroponics can significantly reduce water usage, which is critical as agriculture accounts for 70% of freshwater withdrawals. Furthermore, the use of mineral wool as a growing medium, particularly when made from recycled content like slag, can contribute to waste reduction and sustainability goals.
However, the energy consumption associated with indoor farming, particularly the use of LED lights, poses an environmental challenge. While LED technology has become more energy-efficient, the overall carbon footprint of indoor farms remains a concern. Innovations that further reduce energy use and integrate renewable energy sources will be key to ensuring the environmental viability of these systems.
The projected valuation of the global indoor farming tech sector at over $32 billion by 2028 indicates robust growth and investment potential. Consumer trends favoring fresh, locally sourced produce can drive demand, making CEA a strategic area for investors. Technological advancements, such as the reduction in LED lighting costs and the development of more efficient growing systems, are likely to continue, enhancing the economic appeal of indoor farming.
However, the industry must navigate challenges like the disposal of growing media and ongoing energy costs. Companies that can innovate in these areas to reduce environmental impact while maintaining or improving yield will likely capture significant market share. As such, continuous monitoring of technological advancements and consumer preferences in the food industry will be crucial for stakeholders.
Words by Abha Malpani Naismith
Originally published on TriplePundit
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / The global population is predicted to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. To feed everyone, it is estimated that global food production will need to increase by up to 70 percent in the next 30 years.
Meanwhile, rapid urbanization is reducing the availability of agricultural land, and climate change is expected to make the land that's left less suitable for staple crops like wheat, rice, corn and oats.
What's more, food systems produce around a third of global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities and account for 70 percent of the world's freshwater withdrawals. Traditional agriculture also contributes to deforestation, soil erosion and over-reliance on pesticides around the world.
So, how do we help feed more people?
Moving outdoor agriculture indoors
Growing crops indoors is not new. Greenhouses have been around for centuries, and hydroponics - growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil - has roots going back to at least the early 1900s. Now, renewed interest in this space is rising quickly.
Also known as controlled environment agriculture (CEA), the earliest modern reference to hydroponics was by plant nutritionist William Frederick Gericke in 1929, who popularized the idea that plants could be grown in a solution of nutrients and water instead of soil. Such solutions are known as growing media.
"The role of growing media is to provide physical support for plant growth by facilitating optimum water management, air and nutrient availability, and distribution for the plant,"said Monica Navarreto, Ph.D., horticulture research and development program leader for Owens Corning's Vidawool, a mineral wool growing medium made of 70 percent recycled content. "Today, there are a ton of such alternatives that are commercially available."
CEA offers unique opportunities around local food, safe food and supply chain resilience, according to a recent WWF analysis. Indoor farming helps farmers adapt to a warming planet and allows them to grow more food in less space with less water whilst avoiding pesticides.
Agriculture irrigation accounts for 70 percent of water use worldwide and is a major polluter of water. Improving agriculture's water management is essential to a sustainable and productive agro-food sector.
Hydroponic systems use as much as 10 times less water than traditional field crop watering methods because water in a hydroponic system is captured and reused rather than drained into the environment or evaporated. It can also be more land efficient, reduce the use of fertilizers and save on other resources, research shows.
Using mineral wool as a growing media
Mineral wool is one type of growing media used in hydroponics that serves as a water management solution in the process.
"Mineral wool is highly porous, and it provides consistent water absorption, distribution and drainage. That results in optimum water management that directly impacts nutrient availability, because water is the carrier for the nutrients," Navarreto said. "If you have good water distribution through the media, then you're going to have good nutrient distribution throughout the media, too."
In hydroponics, nutrients need to be added to the water for plants to grow. Porous media makes those nutrients readily available to the plant and decreases the amount of water evaporating out of the system.
Rock and mineral wool products are traditionally created by melting and fiberizing basalt rock. In search of alternatives that are not directly taken from the environment or are recycled,a waste material called slag was discovered to make soilless media, VidaWool.
"Slag is stony waste matter separated from metals during the smelting or refining of ore that is usually thrown into landfills," Navarreto said. "Owens Corning remelts this slag and then uses it in the fiberization process. So, instead of using 100 percent basalt rock to make our mineral wool, we're using a little bit more than 70 percent recycled slag."
VidaWool has innovative benefits over alternative growing media options like other rock wools, peat, moss, and coconut coir, to name a few. "When you look at our organic growing media counterparts, there is a lot of inconsistency and variability from one batch to another," Navarreto said. "So, growers must relearn and make adjustments every time. However, with VidaWool we have managed to achieve a great amount of consistency in our products. When growers use Vidawool, once they have worked out their own recipe of irrigation and nutrients, their process can be repeated."
However, such indoor agriculture methods come with their own issues. Powering LED lights, software, and sophisticated growing systems can be more expensive than the sun and rain.
"Hydroponic practices also face some obstacles that need to be addressed to ensure their long-term viability and environmental compatibility. One of these challenges is the proper disposal of the growing media." Navarreto says. "Another challenge is the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the specialized grow lights that many growers use, which require investment and maintenance costs. These spaces pose opportunity for innovative solutions that can reduce their environmental impact and enhance their economic feasibility."
Despite the obstacles around energy and waste, indoor farming is a relatively young industry with technologies that continue to improve. The cost of LED lights, for example, has dropped dramatically over the past decade, and modern LED bulbs generate far more light per kilowatt-hour of energy consumption.
Even today, indoor farming is a viable solution in many contexts. The global indoor farming tech sector is projected to be worth more than
This article series is sponsored by Owens Corning Mineral Wool, LLC and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team
(Image: barmalini/Adobe Stock)
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Owens Corning on 3blmedia.com.
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SOURCE: Owens Corning
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