To Power Hydroponic Operations on the Cheap, Ag Startup Seeks to Turn Wind into Water

November 12, 2012 | Danny Jensen

Scarcity of clean water poses an enormous threat to food security around the world. Both in the developing world, including China and India, and even here in the United States, farmers increasingly face the arduous challenge of obtaining sufficient clean water to grow crops. Faced with this daunting challenge, the team behind the GreenTop platform developed an innovative system that uses wind power to capture atmospheric water moisture, which in turn is used to grow fruits and vegetables hydroponically. By creating an affordable, scalable technology that relies solely on renewable energy, the GreenTop platform enables farmers to boost food production, particularly in developing countries where the climate is arid, arable land scarce and access to clean water limited. Read More

Responsible Farming, Community Outreach Helps Family Farm Grow Customer Base

August 7, 2012 | Danny Jensen

Located less then an hour from the spotlight of Hollywood, Underwood Family Farms (UFF) have been providing sustainable produce to Ventura and Los Angeles counties for more than four decades. And while the farm’s verdant fields have been utilized as bucolic filming locations, Underwood Family Farms has never relied on camera tricks to educate the public on the importance of sustainability and healthy eating. Read More

Sustainable Ag Startup Sees Aeroponic Technology as Key to Re-integrating Agriculture into Urban Environs

February 14, 2012 | Danny Jensen

Eating locally within a hundred mile radius is certainly an impressive feat. But imagine the convenience of picking fresh produce from a farm that’s only a hundred feet away, or even ten, while still living in a crowded city.

The Waters Wheel, a Los Angeles-based company, aims to do just that by bringing the farm to your doorstep or rooftop by using aeroponic tower farms – recirculating systems that use clean recycled water in place of soil to grow food. Read More

Against Tide of Antiquated City Ag Laws, Sustainable Urban Flower Farm Flourishes In Los Angeles

February 10, 2012 | Danny Jensen

Valentine’s Day finds most romantics dashing to the neighborhood florist for a fresh bouquet of flowers for their sweetheart. But roses that have been doused with toxic pesticides and shipped half way across the globe, hardly inspire romance, especially for the environmentally conscious consumer. Thankfully, Tara Kolla of Silver Lake Farms in Los Angeles, dedicates herself to growing and selling locally-grown, organic flowers for those who like to keep it green even when they’re wearing red.

Kolla’s commitment to growing flowers sustainably, and the obstacles she has faced in doing so, has even helped change gardening laws in Los Angeles to allow more people to grow and sell fruits and flowers. Read More

Cardo’s Farm Project: Planting Seeds of Sustainability Deep in the Heart of Texas

January 13, 2012 | Danny Jensen

Farms across Texas suffered widespread drought and wildfires during 2011, the Lone Star state’s driest year on record. Thanks to sustainable practices, however, two young farmers in northeast Texas are helping to set a smart agricultural example for a state and a country facing a rapidly changing climate. Cardo’s Farm Project, located in Ponder, TX, is a working vegetable farm and education center founded by Daniel Moon and Amanda Austin in December of 2010. Read More