FarmBox Foods LLC is excited to announce the official launch of its Hydroponic Fodder Farm.
The company hosted a public open house on Sept. 27 at our home base in Sedalia, CO. Guided tours of the new indoor farm — the third product line offered by FarmBox Foods — were provided. Attendees also received a tour of the company’s other tech-assisted, containerized farms: the Vertical Hydroponic Farm and Gourmet Mushroom Farm.
What exactly is fodder? It’s a nutrient-dense hay that’s used as a dietary supplement for horses, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, sheep, rabbits and alpacas.
(Want to learn more about FarmBox Foods? Watch our July appearance on ABC News here)
By growing fodder on site year-round, farmers and ranchers can avoid supply chain disruptions, sourcing issues and spikes in hay prices. The controlled-climate farms provide a reliable, hyperlocal source of fresh food while shielding the barley fodder from weather and climate impacts, including drought, heat waves, freezes and floods. The farms are housed inside upcycled, insulated shipping containers outfitted with plumbing, electrical and sensors to control conditions inside. The 320 square-foot farms also capture, filter and recycle water for maximum water efficiency.
Protein-rich fodder improves the overall health of livestock, supplements hydration and adds weight to beef cattle. It also promotes the production of better-quality milk for dairy cows and goats, improves fertility rates, reduces the likelihood of illness, and decreases methane output because of its superior digestibility compared to traditional alfalfa hay.
Because barley fodder requires only a 7-day growth cycle, a staggered schedule allows farmers and ranchers to harvest around 880 pounds of fodder per day.
Every consumer knows that sticker shock at the grocery store is now a common occurrence.
Food price increases this year are expected to far exceed those observed in 2020 and 2021, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service.
Every consumer knows that sticker shock at the grocery store is now a common occurrence.
Food price increases this year are expected to far exceed those observed in 2020 and 2021, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service.
Supply chain delays caused by, among other things, pandemic-related shutdowns, a truck driver shortage and a logjam at our nation’s ports were already causing issues with the U.S. food supply. Then, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a ripple effect that we still see playing out globally. It has impacted fuel prices, food exports and the supply of fertilizer needed to maintain food production levels in places like Brazil, a top producer of goods like sugar and soybeans. Even avian flu is affecting the price of eggs and poultry.
The Consumer Price Index for all food in the U.S. increased 1 percent from March 2022 to April 2022, and food prices were 9.4 percent higher than in April 2021.
It’s an inescapable phenomenon that’s disproportionately affecting those who were already struggling to feed their families. So when will it end? There are, of course, differing opinions on when or even if food prices will level out anytime soon.
The cost of fresh vegetables is expected to go up by 4.3 percent this year, the USDA says, a point that underscores the need to decentralize the production of certain veggies. Hyperlocal production of nutrient-dense food can help control costs, primarily because it eliminates fuel price fluctuations and supply chain delays from the equation. It also helps reduce the rate of food loss, because the veggies make their way to the fridges and plates of consumers much more quickly.
Having a localized level of control takes the power away from negative external influences, and places the power back in the hands of urban farmers, who can nimbly grow at scale using a combination of greenhouses, outdoor community gardens and containerized, tech-assisted farms. A container farm takes up 320 square-feet of space — or about 5 parking spaces — and can be placed anywhere there’s a reliable water supply and an electrical hookup.
Businesses that serve underprivileged communities can come together in the name of food security and provide these food production systems that operate in perpetuity and provide jobs and educational opportunities in the process. Although veggies comprise only a portion of the food consumed in America, it’s incremental changes like this that can move the needle in a direction that eases the burden on consumers.
We’re incredibly proud to announce that our CEO, Rusty Walker, is among the honorees for the Who’s Who in Agriculture awards for 2022. The annual award from the Denver Business Journal and Colorado Farm Bureau recognizes an industry leader’s accomplishments in helping to put food on our plates and generate nearly $50 billion in collective economic activity each year.
Rusty Walker, center, with two of FarmBox Foods’ founders, Tony English, left, and Jake Savageau.
Rusty is featured in the April 1 edition of the Denver Business Journal and was honored during a ceremony on March 31 at Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House in Denver, alongside other deserving recipients.
Probably the coolest thing about this recognition is that two separate organizations decided to nominate Rusty unprompted. His influence and leadership are a big part of our success story, and we’re glad that people outside of the company see that.
Read more about Rusty Walker here
Proudest accomplishment of the past year?
Helping to feed people in areas of need, because no one should go hungry. I’m also proud of helping build a team at FarmBox that truly believes in our mission of empowering communities to grow their own food.
What impact has the pandemic had on your area of focus?
Sourcing of materials has become more challenging, but the supply chain disruption has thrust local farming into the spotlight in a good way. Hyperlocal farming provides a secure source of food near the consumer without concern for delays related to supply chain issues. The disruption has brought to everyone’s attention how important having decentralized food production is. This disruption provides a unique opportunity for us to focus on a product that can have a meaningful impact. Our farms have come about at an opportune time to bring attention to just how vulnerable we were as a society.
What would you say is the biggest challenge Colorado’s agricultural industry faces today?
Drought conditions would have to be up there. It’s become so much harder for farms to thrive because of weather and climate impacts. Water shortages are a real thing, and we have something that can be part of the solution. Colorado is in a precarious position for a number of reasons and our farms enable people to conserve this important resource. We can help farmers who are struggling with uncertainty and provide a reliable, secure source of nutritious food.
What could the state of Colorado do better to fix it?
Incentivize alternative methods of farming that decrease risk of crop loss, reduce water usage, and have less impact on the environment. We have been embraced by the farming community because we provide a lifeline that enables farmers and ranchers to grow food year-round, and especially during times in which weather negatively affects crop yields. What we’re up against is out of our control, but we provide the ability to focus on things that are in our control.
What’s one thing you wish Coloradans understood about your job that most don’t?
Even though we’re a for-profit company, we’re very much a mission-driven organization. That means people and their right to food security doesn’t get lost in the decision-making process. We’re very intentional about how we have grown, and how we operate, and that’s been key to our success. There are few industries that controlled-environment agriculture doesn’t fit into, and so it’s figuring out where we can have the most impact.
When I was asked to be CEO, it was a blessing. It was taking on the responsibility of carrying on that blessing and all of its challenges, and we have a purpose-driven mission that’s not taken lightly. Anytime you have an opportunity to carry out a purpose like this, you have to know that this is much bigger than myself or this company, because we have something that can have a huge effect on the world. The importance of that is not lost on me or the FarmBox team.
What trends are you watching in your field in 2022?
We try to take a broad look at trends related to how impactful our farms are in the communities that our farms serve. It’s measuring the impact of our farms in communities where they’re placed, and how that affects those communities, coordinating with local organizations, including 501c3s, in getting these farms where they need to go.
What advice do you have for young professionals in your field?
Continue exploring ways to do more with less by using science and tech to solve concrete problems facing the world. Continued improvement is part of our culture, and I find that’s the best way to go about your professional and personal life. I also think you should never go it alone. You should work on being a team player and surround yourself with people who want to achieve a goal together, and go at it in a selfless way.
What do you do in your free time?
I love to spend time with my family, read, exercise, golf and just enjoy life in Colorado.
Drought, flood impacts create uncertainty for food producers
An alarming pattern has emerged in the farming industry over the last two decades, and experts believe the impact on food production won’t relent anytime soon.
A recent analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that payouts to U.S. farmers for crops destroyed by droughts and flooding climbed by more than 340% between 1995 and 2020. During that time period, farmers received over $143.5 billion in federal crop insurance payments, according to the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that analyzes research data and spotlights breakthrough findings to inform decisions that govern everyday life.
While the conditions threaten the current livelihoods of farmers across the country, there are also intangible, permanent effects that can’t be ignored, such as the exodus of families who have been farming for decades and, in some cases, centuries. They’re simply giving up due to variables that are beyond their control.
The EWG points out that while crop insurance provides a crucial safety net for farmers, the program is doing little to mitigate climate-related risks. Taxpayers pick up about 60% of premiums, which means farmers cover the other 40% to get a crop insurance policy. EWG says the “costs are expected to go up even more, as climate change causes even more unpredictable weather conditions,” according to an article on CommonDreams.org.
This inevitability has decision-makers at the federal and state level considering drastic alternative measures, especially ones that help farmers adapt to changing conditions, enabling them to produce crops regularly without external factors.
One of those solutions is farming in controlled environments that eliminate outside impacts and promise reliable yields. Shipping containers are being repurposed and outfitted with a network of sensors and high-tech systems that regulate temperature, humidity, nutrient concentrations, watering and lighting. They enable farmers to grow food year-round — regardless of weather or climate — and drastically reduce the amount of water needed to grow crops, because the water is recycled and filtered and not lost to evaporation or transpiration.
“We see ourselves not as a replacement for traditional farming, but rather a tool that allows farmers to have that steady source of income throughout the year, without the stress,” said Rusty Walker, CEO of a Colorado-based company called FarmBox Foods, which designs, manufactures and sells enclosed hydroponic farms.
The containerized farms are also a critical element for crop production on islands, which currently import the vast majority of their food. The automated farms essentially add acreage to an island for the purpose of food production, cutting out potential supply chain issues and shipping costs that inflate food prices.
As Congress develops a new farm bill in 2023, the EWG is calling on lawmakers to consider focusing on “how to effectively fund farm programs so that farmers can adapt to and fight the climate crisis.”
Tracking the rise of community-supported agriculture, or CSAs.
From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, fresh vegetables were hard to come by in rural areas outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The cost of the produce that was available began to increase, and the quality was decreasing.
It was then that Kris and Brenda Sutton circled back around to an idea that Kris had researched a few years earlier: vertical farming.
They learned that growing produce in the community where it’s consumed eliminates supply chain issues from the equation and can give customers peace of mind knowing where their food is coming from. It also means consumers get fresh, nutrient dense produce compared to those being shipped in, losing nutritional value as they are transported. Additionally they learned that the vertical farms — housed inside insulated, controlled-climate shipping containers — can operate year-round, regardless of the season, allowing for quality and consistency for the food.
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The idea was tossed around for a short time between the husband and wife, but after Kris was briefly put off his work as an airplane mechanic following a back injury, he laid on the couch and daydreamed more and more about running his own vertical hydroponic farm. He saw this career as a less physically demanding and more rewarding one. His “happy place” during recovery was thinking about “getting back to gardening and planting seedlings in the Spring.”
Kris and Brenda decided to contact and visit a nearby vertical farm and quickly embraced the concept and all it could offer.
“She was more excited than I was at that point,” Kris says, then adds, “well, close. On the same level.”
The owner of the container farm they visited, however, pointed out some of its inefficiencies, and recommended buying a farm from their competitor, FarmBox Foods, which offers a system that requires less labor, is more efficient and can produce larger yields.
Months later, the daydream became a reality when a FarmBox Foods container farm was placed in their backyard. Within weeks, the first crop was on its way and Sutton’s Vertical Gardens was officially in business.
Together Kris and Brenda developed a start up plan that includes selling a variety of lettuces to local grocers and restaurants between Halifax and Enfield, Nova Scotia. Sutton’s Vertical Gardens also has plans to further serve their community in the future by hopefully offering the container farm as a venue for school field trips, volunteer experience and educational purposes.
”Yes, we want to make money and have a livelihood but we also want to try and educate and inspire others to be farmers, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Who better to start sharing these ideas with but our future generations?!” Brenda said.
Kris, the business’ main farmer, who comes from a family of green thumbs and has an existing 14-by-24-foot greenhouse filled with bell peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes, gets up at 5:30 a.m. every morning and embarks on the shortest commute he’s ever had. He walks to the FarmBox Foods container farm in his backyard in Enfield, NS, a mere 30 feet away from the fenced-in play area for the Sutton’s adorable odd couple Boston Terrier and Great Dane, and walks into his new office.
The fresh scent and the sight of the ever growing and changing plants are a daily reminder that the Suttons are right where they should be, creating something they’re proud to soon be sharing with their local communities.
“They always say ‘try to find a job where you do what you love and it will never feel like work,’” Kris says. “I feel very lucky to be able to say I’m doing just that.”
Learn more by following Sutton’s Vertical Gardens on Instagram and Facebook.
Sutton’s Vertical Gardens grew lettuce for its first crop.
Tracking the rise of community-supported agriculture, or CSAs.
From the outset of the pandemic, Community Supported Agriculture programs throughout the country saw a surge in demand as the worldwide food supply chain ground to a halt. Health-conscious consumers wanted to make sure they had access to a reliable source of fruits and veggies, and farms large and small in communities across the country were suddenly booming.
CSAs also provided a convenience factor, as people no longer had to brave the madness of the grocery store during COVID-19 related restrictions. And instead of selecting from display cases filled with questionable produce that has lost most of its shelf life and nutritional value in transit, consumers found growers right down the street — and many of them haven’t looked back.
Community-supported agriculture is made much easier by the trend of container farming, a fast-growing market that has buy-in from a broad spectrum of producers and end users. Natural Grocers recognized the benefit of growing vegetables on site at its stores, and partnered with Colorado-based FarmBox Foods, a manufacturer of automated container farms that grow leafy greens, peppers, culinary herbs and even gourmet mushrooms.
CSAs offer membership to both individuals and suppliers. Members pay an upfront fee in return for a share of what the farm grows and harvests during a specific season.
According to Vera Fabian, an operator of a CSA in Cedar Grove, North Carolina, who was interviewed for an article for Eater.com, demand for CSA membership is even higher this year than it was in 2020.
A historic dude ranch in the mountains of Colorado is using a high-tech container farm to broaden its focus on farm-to-table options for guests.
Having been in business for 102 years, C Lazy U Ranch in Granby has a storied reputation as a luxurious, year-round mountain getaway with 8,500 acres of land for a multitude of activities. The ranch’s culinary program is also well known for its ability to craft the perfect meal, and some of the fresh leafy greens that come with those meals will soon be grown on site in an automated Vertical Hydroponic Farm built by Colorado-based FarmBox Foods.
“We saw an opportunity with FarmBox Foods to essentially have a year-round farm-to-table option,” said Paul Klees, assistant general manager of C Lazy U Ranch.
Guests and members will have the opportunity to tour the futuristic, controlled-climate farm — based inside a repurposed shipping container — and see where the food they’re eating is grown. C Lazy U Ranch is planning to grow lettuce and culinary herbs inside the 320-square-foot farm, where the entire growing process, from seed to harvest, takes place. The sensor-based technology and insulation in the container farm are superior to greenhouses, which are susceptible to the bitter cold of the Colorado Rockies, Klees said.
Purchasing a Vertical Hydroponic Farm is “just another step in the ranch’s continuing effort to create authentic farm-to-table dining,” Klees said.
“There are economic aspects to it because we’re shipping in all of the food, including produce,” he said. “When guests eat at our restaurants, we want the meals to resonate with them, and what people are looking for is healthy, organic, fresh produce.”
The 200 horses on the property already benefit from C Lazy U’s sustainable approach to food sourcing; most of the hay they eat is grown on the ranch. C Lazy U is also supplied with water by its own spring and operates its own wastewater facilities.
The exterior of the container farm will be finished with a rustic scheme so it will easily blend in with its natural surroundings, which include a creek and historic structures.
C Lazy U began tending beehives last year, and Klees described the move as a “huge win” because both tours and ranch honey have become popular among visitors. The container farm is slated to be the next hands-on attraction at the ranch, where guests and members could have the opportunity to harvest their own veggies and prepare meals with a chef.
“It’s interactive, it’s educational, and it builds into our vision and mission statement of having a sustainable model,” Klees said.
Using Blackhawk Equipment for prefabrication, RK Mission Critical for manufacturing and assembly, and Absolute Logistics for transport, the container farm is scheduled for delivery in mid-August.
Lakewood, Colo. – Michael Boardman knows it takes exactly 82 steps to get from the GardenBox to the produce display at Natural Grocers’ store in Green Mountain – Lakewood.
Boardman manages the first of what could eventually be more Natural Grocers GardenBoxes, a shipping container-based farm that grows several organic lettuce varieties right behind the store it supplies. That means instead of spending about 10 days going from a farm to a distribution center to a truck to a display case — losing about half of its nutritional value and shelf life in the process — the fresh greens go immediately from the container farm to the aisle.
That’s how Boardman knows it takes precisely 82 steps to walk to what ends up being a vibrant, colorful produce display: he’s done it a few times.
The use of a GardenBox could be a sign of what’s to come. More retailers (and consumers, for that matter) that specialize in healthy living are learning that produce doesn’t need to be shipped in from elsewhere. Natural Grocers is taking its pilot program to the next level, with the help of Colorado-based FarmBox Foods, an innovative company that designs, builds and sells the automated, controlled-climate container farms.
Boardman is creating the GardenBox playbook from scratch. He spent weeks developing a nutrient blend that allows Natural Grocers leafy greens to maintain their certified organic status, while enabling the produce to thrive in a hydroponic farm. So far, the company has tried 8 types of lettuce with great success.
To help promote the idea of produce growing outside the store where it’s sold, Natural Grocers gave away about 1,000 heads of lettuce in late June. The produce is now being sold at the Green Mountain – Lakewood location.
“People have loved it. They have been really impressed with it. It’s definitely a much better tasting green, and it’s fresher,” he said.
Boardman, who has spent 8 years with Natural Grocers and also has a background as a produce buyer, said there are “very few products on the market that are living,” pointing out that shoppers who buy heads of lettuce grown in a GardenBox can actually keep them alive in water until they’re eaten.
From alkindus, brentwood to hampton lettuce and mirlo lettuce, there’s plenty to be excited about. Boardman, who particularly enjoys the incredibly flavorful Marciano red butterhead lettuce grown in the GardenBox, says his favorite aspect of the process has been learning what works best to get the plants to thrive.
“Figuring out the solution to it, how to do this organically and sustainably, and watching this grow and be successful has been the best part,” he said.
The Vertical Hydroponic Farm used to grow the produce can simultaneously hold about 11,000 plants in various stages of growth, including about 7,000 seedlings. The plants go from seed to harvest all within the 320-square-foot space in the GardenBox purchased from FarmBox Foods. It’s a game-changer for helping decentralize the food supply chain and empowering individual communities.
SEDALIA, Colo. – A post-pandemic resurgence in sales across multiple industries has put an unprecedented strain on shipping, and the logjam shows few signs of easing.
In recent months, ships have stacked up at ports worldwide, waiting weeks to deliver their imported goods. Likewise, demand for flatbed trucks and dry vans has skyrocketed, resulting in longer delivery timeframes and significant logistical entanglements.
According to the American Trucking Associations, a national trade association for the trucking industry, manufacturing output is expected to rise by 7.2% in 2021. The transportation system’s capacity is being tested, and for those shipping food, it’s becoming an even tougher task to get goods from point A to point B. The ever-increasing rate of online sales and consumers’ growing expectations of quick delivery have resulted in a reprioritization of what is shipped and when.
The American Trucking Associations anticipates a 3.7% rise in food manufacturing this year, and U.S. exports of food could climb as much as 10%.
It’s only in times like these that massive shifts in behavior manifest themselves, and the idea of decentralizing the food supply chain begins to look better and better. For businesses that grow produce in the communities where that food is then consumed, the shipping challenges are a peripheral issue.
FarmBox Foods, a Colorado-based company that builds automated farms inside repurposed shipping containers and sends them to food deserts around the world, has had its eye on decentralization from the start. The company’s leaders say empowering communities by placing container farms within a short distance of consumers could have positive ramifications on low-income populations for decades to come, and render supply chain woes inconsequential.
“We’ve got an unpredictable supply chain with a bunch of variables, and the expenses can add up quickly,” said Rusty Walker, CEO of FarmBox Foods and a veteran of the supply chain industry. “Our solution makes things more reliable and eliminates some of these vulnerabilities.”
The strategic placement of controlled-climate container farms in places that have traditionally lacked access to farm-fresh food has side benefits, like lower cost for food, a reduction in the burning of fossil fuels to transport goods, a longer shelf life for the produce, educational opportunities for local populations, and greater nutritional bang for your buck because the fruits and vegetables won’t lose any of their nutritional value while in transit.
It also allows consumers to sidestep the headaches that arise when a backlog in the shipping industry puts everyone else at a standstill.
