14 minute read
EDEN LAUNCHES THE HIPPOCRATES INITIATIVE
Eden Grow Systems announced it has agreed to a collaboration with Grand Farm and Dr. Kalidas Shetty of the Global Institute of Food Security and International Agriculture at North Dakota State University. The purpose of THE HIPPOCRATES INITIATIVE is to address the growing need for research that can be applied to the global food and health crisis. It aims to marry Eden's NASA-derived growing technology with the cutting-edge medicinal plant research being performed by Dr. Shetty.
According to Dr. Shetty, "One of the best parts of this collaboration is increasing the diversity of fresh food that is available to individuals globally to have better nutritional security." Dr. Shetty's research at NDSU is focused on maximizing specific compounds within medicinal plants that can be used to counter and manage co-morbidity diseases such as diabetes. This research has the potential to improve immunity against many infectious diseases. Dr. Shetty also hopes to increase the understanding of the link between nutrition and diet-linked comorbidity disease burdens. "This approach is bringing the benefits of NASA space-age technology to a wider global challenge and need for health-targeted food security."
According to Eden's CEO Bart Womack, "Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician considered the father of modern medicine, said 'Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food'. This is exactly the goal of this collaboration. At Eden, we believe our decentralized food production system is the answer the world desperately needs now in the face of the continued supply chain and health crises we have faced in the last few years."
Grand Farm, led by Emerging Prairie (whose mission is connecting and celebrating the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem), aims to capitalize on the region's potential in the agriculture and technology industries.
"Grand Farm believes that innovation takes a collaboration between industry, academic and public/private partnerships to drive change. We had the honor of witnessing this partnership develop and, after seeing the passion, drive and intelligence from Dr. Shetty and Eden Grow Systems, I know that something special is being developed," said Andrew Jason, Grand Farm Ecosystems Director.
About Eden Grow Systems
Eden Grow Systems is feeding the future by creating next-generation modular farming and survival systems. The company adapts NASA technology, bringing cutting-edge science down from space and into your home, making it possible for every family to become completely independent. The company's first product, the Eden Grow Tower, is small enough to fit in a kitchen pantry, grows a wide variety of crops as well as fish for protein, and is now available for pre-order. The company is based in Houston, Texas.
Dr. Kalida Shetty is the Founding Director of the Global Institute of Food Security and International Agriculture and Professor of Plant Sciences at North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota. His specific research interests focus on scientific, educational and policy strategies to advance climate-resilient, health-targeted foodsecurity solutions to address malnutrition and hunger challenges.
Grand Farm, led by Emerging Prairie, is accelerating research and innovation into technology for the farm of the future and empowers a neutral platform for industry, producers, higher education, and government to collaborate on autonomous and advanced agriculture technology. Grand Farm works with companies and startups from North Dakota and around the world to better understand their products, provide capabilities for demonstration and development, and amplify the technologies in North Dakota. It currently operates a test site on donated land to demonstrate and test new and innovative ag technologies.
Jeff Raymond is the Chief Operations and Technology Officer for Eden Grow Systems. Eden is based out of Houston, TX, but he works from White Salmon, Washington. Jeff holds three degrees, an Associates of Arts, as well as a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Embry Riddle, and a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga. He chose to start his entrepreneurial journey 10 years ago but made the leap into full-time entrepreneurship three years ago.
Jeff Raymond is the Chief Operations and Technology Officer for Eden Grow Systems. Eden is based out of Houston, TX, but he works from White Salmon, Washington. Jeff holds three degrees, an Associates of Arts, as well as a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Embry Riddle, and a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga. He chose to start his entrepreneurial journey 10 years ago but made the leap into full-time entrepreneurship three years ago.
Eden Grow System’s mission is to provide sustainable food and energy independence to local communities around the world, and one day, off it. Jeff speaks about those they serve, saying “We serve the planet….no really we do. Anyone who eats is our future customer. We tend to focus on organizations, non-profits, individuals/families who want to grow their own food, people in urban areas with no land.”
“We want to empower people to have healthy lives through the use of technology to provide them the basics they need to live happy and free.”
Jeff also shares why Eden Grow Systems was developed.“ The short answer…sustainable living. The longer answer: we are trying to solve the problem of not consuming more than you need. Not taking more than you should. Living in balance. But also living comfortably. We don’t like how we see corporate organizations trying to control the food delivery process, from growth to sale. We want to provide a method for individuals, families, and communities to grow their own food. To do that, we need systems that make it easier to learn, or remove the need to learn all that goes into the miracle of growing food.” When he reflects on the highs and lows of his journey, Jeff says, “Every day is a blessing. We’ve been blessed with funding and amazing people. Answered prayers all around. And the work we do is extremely rewarding. We are literally trying to feed the world. Hard to beat that feeling. Every day is also hard work. I mean really hard. We work super long hours and still can’t get to everything. Making payroll is my #1 priority and stress. We can’t do this without a team, and keeping the team paid, putting food on their families' tables is my top priority and stress.”
As he thinks of ways our community can support Eden Grow Systems in their next stage of growth, he explains, “We are in need of connecting to others who share our vision. Who see the problem, and understand that to help feed everyone, to help make our food supply chain more secure, we need to take an “all the above” approach to food production. Eden doesn’t compete with traditional farmers, we supplement them. Our systems are not meant to compete with large cropland, but they are meant to help decentralize the food production chain and enable the individual, the family, the community to produce a large portion of their food all year round. We need to connect. We need our message out. And of course, we need funding to help us scale up.”
You can learn more about Jeff and his work Eden Grow Systems by visiting their linkedin, facebook (@edengrowsystems), twitter (@eden_grow), Instagram (edengrowsystems), or YouTube (TheRealMartian).
Grand Farm Announces 2022 Program and Event Schedule
Grand farm is gearing up for another season of energizing AgTech across our region, country and the world. This year will feature conferences focused on agriculture in space, emerging and autonomous technology, and programs taking closer looks at issues pivotal to the future of agriculture. More information and registration can be found at grandfarm.com.
Space Ag Conference (April 14, 2022)
Memorial Union, University of North Dakota Virtual Participation Available grandfarm.com/space-ag-conference
Space Ag is a half-day conference exploring advanced agriculture technologies and providing the opportunity to dream about how we solve the ultimate agriculture problem: how to produce agriculture in space? Our world food production system is undergoing a dramatic shift towards sustainable food practices and increased food security. Space agriculture, and the technology it creates, could catalyze the development of high-yield crop production that requires less land and less energy, providing farmers with the ability to create more with less. Often, solving for challenges in Space can help solve challenges on earth.
Cultivate Conference (June 30, 2022)
Fargo, North Dakota grandfarm.com/cultivate
Cultivate is an agriculture technology conference that convenes innovators to explore technology innovations they’ve created, are currently building, or are searching for in their industry. The conference seeks to energize the AgTech community by showcasing the latest innovation in AgTech and how it solves real-world problems faced by the agriculture industry.
Kansas City, Kansas biokansas.org
The Innovations in AgTech Conference is designed to highlight innovation that is happening in the agricultural industry in the Midwest. For this event, BioKansas is partnering with Grand Farm to draw in stakeholders interested in growing Midwestern innovations. The conference will include numerous presentations, panel discussions, and opportunities for attendees to experience local culture and food.
Autonomous Nation (August 25, 2022) Fargo, North Dakota grandfarm.com/autonomous-nation
Autonomous Nation focuses on the autonomous industry, connecting the industry with policymakers and exploring how it relates to key sectors including energy, agriculture, urban air mobility, and unmanned systems. City employees, policymakers, and industry leaders will converge to share and discuss innovations, autonomy, and technology. The conference explores the impact that autonomous systems can have across our region, solving issues such as workforce shortages, inefficiencies, and technology gaps.
Innovation Series
Tickets available in-person and virtual grandfarm.com/innovation-series
Grand Farm’s Innovation Series is a regular meetup that covers a different topic in AgTech at each event and serves as a gathering of entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and innovators.
March 31 - Rural Connectivity May 26 - Soil and Crop Health July 28 - Carbon September 29 - IOT October 27 - Traceability November 17 - Ag and Energy
Highlighting Innovations in Indoor Agriculture
ccording to certain estimates, the global indoor farming market size was valued at $32.3 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 10.9% from 2021 to 2028. Adding to the rapid growth of indoor farming is the fact that agriculture is under increasing environmental, economic and political pressure as humanity figures out how we will feed 10 billion people. What role will indoor agriculture play in helping augment the strain on agriculture going forward?
That's what Grand Farm examined at its first Innovation Series of 2022, co-hosted with Food of the North and focused on Indoor Agriculture. Grand Farm’s Innovation Series is a regular meetup that covers a different topic in AgTech at each event, and serves as a gathering of entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and innovators. two startups focusing on the production system and energy required. • Eden Grow Systems, whose mission is to provide sustainable food and energy independence to local communities around the world, and one day, off it, unveiled their new indoor grow tower at the event.
The tower will contain a plant health project between Eden Growth Systems,
North Dakota State University, and Grand
Farm and will be featured in Grand Farm’s downtown Fargo offices in the Prairie Den
Events and Coworking Space.
• An input that must be considered in utilizing indoor agriculture is the energy needed for production. BIOO, a biotech startup that generates electricity produced as a result of the decomposition of organic substances by microorganisms within the soil, joined the event to discuss the concept of biological batteries and preview the real-world applications already in process. BIOO's microbial fuel cell is powered by a consortium of microorganisms living in their natural medium. Organic matter from fertilizers and the soil is dragged by irrigation and rain-water inside the cell and microorganisms break down the organic molecules setting electrons free, thus generating an electrical current in the cell.
• The event next explored indoor agriculture projects and production already underway in North Dakota. Larry's Hydro Lettuce, based in Fullerton, North Dakota, utilizes hydroponic technology to grow fresh and tasteful lettuce with a mission to provide safe, top-quality, and long-lasting lettuce. With the help of NDSU researchers, owner Larry Schumacker has developed a stateof-the-art indoor growing system. Larry discussed the systems he utilizes in his lettuce production and the business side of indoor agriculture.
Scaling the kind of production Larry’s Hydro Lettuce is using may sound futuristic, however, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (MHA Nation) Native Green Grow (NG2) Green House Project is doing just that. Lead Architect Randy Lindemann of the MHA
Nation NG2 Green House Project joined the event to walk through the ongoing project.
• NG2 is a food sovereignty initiative that creates environmental stewardship by reducing the amount of flared gas on Fort Berthold while creating a stable food system and economy for the MHA Nation nation by growing their own healthy, accessible and fresh food. Self-contained, climatecontrolled greenhouses will grow vegetable produce from heat and electricity generated by converting captured gas from oil wells that is currently being flared. Greenhouses will cover an area approximately the size of seven football fields.
Having heard from companies working in the indoor agriculture field and projects to move the concept forward, Food of the North led a panel discussion on how indoor agriculture can help expand food access with the North Dakota Rural Grocers Initiative, Great Plains Food Bank, and Rhombus Guys Pizza.
North Dakota Department of Commerce Awards Grand Farm $10 Million Matching Grant to Advance Autonomous Agriculture Technology
The North Dakota Department of Commerce recently announced it has selected Grand Farm as a recipient of the department’s Autonomous Agriculture Technology Matching Grant.
The $10 million grant was created with funding from the 67th Legislative Assembly to encourage and support the advancement of autonomous farming technology by awarding a 1:1 match of funding for the deployment of an innovation facility, project management for complex North Dakota-based and global autonomous agricultural concepts, and workforce initiatives to upskill the autonomous agriculture workforce with qualified professionals to ensure advanced farming techniques. Grant proposals were evaluated through a multi-department evaluation and selection process.
Gov. Doug Burgum announced the award at a press conference with Grand Farm.
“North Dakota has always been a leader in ag innovation. This private-public matching grant using legislatively approved federal funds is an investment that will further
accelerate ag innovation and have a transformative impact on the future of North Dakota and our nation’s agriculture industry,” Burgum said. “Our state is an innovative leader in agriculture technologies, and Grand Farm and its partners’ work will advance cutting-edge research and commercialization of new farming concepts to increase productivity and profitability, reduce inputs, improve soil health and help address workforce needs through automation.”
“With this grant award, Grand Farm is poised to amplify this energy through the creation of an Innovation Facility that will drive significant positive impacts to North Dakota,” said Brian Carroll, Director of Grand Farm. “Grand Farm’s Innovation Facility will be intentionally designed to be a continually adapting, demonstration and innovation space that will stay at the forefront of technology innovation.”
The legislature allocated grant funding to Commerce to invest in matching grants toward autonomous agricultural technology in North Dakota.
“Our state can be the leader in advanced agriculture technology as a place bringing together growers, established businesses, aspiring companies and entrepreneurs,” said state Sen. Ron Sorvaag (R-Fargo).
“The funding dedicated by the legislature is the result of great enthusiasm by legislators from all corners of the state and a recognition that Grand Farm will be a large part of North Dakota agriculture as we move forward into the 21st century,” said state Rep. Michael Howe (R-West Fargo).
Grand Farm empowers a neutral platform for industry, producers, higher education, and government to collaborate on autonomous and advanced agriculture technology. Grand Farm works regularly with companies and startups from North Dakota and around the world to better understand their products, provide capabilities for demonstration and development and amplify the technologies in North Dakota. It currently operates a test site on donated agricultural acres to demonstrate and test new and innovative ag technologies.
