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Category Archives: Startup Profiles
Startup Profiles
19-Year-Old Combines Farming and Tech Experience, Develops iPhone App for Organic Farmers
/ May 16, 2012 6:24 pm
Alex Schimp started learning programming at age 11. Now, at age 19, he has developed an iPhone and iPod Touch application that will help certified organic farmers keep their crop records organized with simple clicks and taps of their fingers. Schimp launched his Seed to Harvest iPhone and iPod Touch app in March. The app—available as a limited free version Continue reading
Cape Cod Community-Supported Fishery Offers New Line to Sustainable Fishermen with Eye Toward Profit
/ May 14, 2012 5:50 pm
Seafood has long been a great source of pride for New Englanders and is as well known around the country as the region’s r-less accent. President Obama had clam “chowda” shipped from Boston for his inaugural celebration in 2009, and lobstermen in Maine have been shipping lobsters all over the U.S. for years. Unfortunately, in many parts of the region, Continue reading
From Paper Mill Residuals to Seaweed Byproducts, Tilth Expert Provides Sustainable Solutions to Invigorate Soil
/ May 9, 2012 6:42 pm
Organic waste is too precious to go unused—take it from a soil scientist. Andrew Carpenter, founder of Belfast, Maine-based consulting company Northern Tilth, makes a living helping others set up organic waste recycling plans for the purpose of improving soil fertility. Carpenter helps his clients make use of all kinds of organic matter-based byproducts, such as paper mill residuals, seaweed Continue reading
Web Dev Company Seeks to Arm Small Farmers with Suite of Sustainability Enhancing Tools
/ May 8, 2012 5:54 pm
Simon Huntley likes to say he puts a face on food, an electronic face that is. Huntley’s Pittsburg, PA-based company, Small Farm Central does just that by providing website development, hosting, ecommerce and CSA-management solutions for direct to market farmers. The company represents the marriage of his childhood spent on a farm and his college education in information technology. For Continue reading
Aquaponics Co. Hopes to Increase Food Security and Achieve Profit Via International Strategy
/ April 30, 2012 5:59 pm
With world population expected to exceed 9 billion people by 2050, there are concerns about whether there will be enough fresh food to feed them all. Some say aquaponics is the solution. The method combines aquaculture (fish farming) with hydroponics (growing vegetables in water and nutrients, without soil) to produce pesticide-free food while using substantially less water compared to conventional Continue reading
To Exploit Market Opportunity and Advance Sustainable Agriculture, Startup Develops Innovative Robotic Weeder
/ April 25, 2012 5:53 pm
Jorge Heraud, co-founder of Blue River Technology, a Stanford-derived startup that is leveraging concepts and technologies from the fields of robotics, machine learning, precision agriculture and more to advance sustainable agriculture, has deep roots in agriculture technology. Prior to starting the company, he spent 15 years at Trimble Navigation where at different points in his tenure there he headed up engineering for the company’s Continue reading
In Feat of Alchemy, Phoenix, AZ-based Startup Transforms Food Waste into Organic Produce and Profit
/ April 18, 2012 11:39 pm
What do you get when you feed a special ‘wine’ distilled from food waste to a giant sock filled with earthworms, seed and ground up coconut husks? You get a bounty of organic produce. This is not a joke, but rather a potential solution to address major worldwide issues related to food waste and food security. It is also the basic Continue reading
Los Angeles-based Sustainable Ag Venture Seeks to Create Network of Urban Farms to Feed and Foster Community
/ April 9, 2012 9:54 pm
What do cuisine, land use, architecture and renewable energy have in common? A lot, according to Urban Green, a company working to connect these “inter-related disciplines.” Urban Green operates three urban farms and a 4,800 square foot food facility in Los Angeles, CA. The farms employ a variety of growing practices, from traditional permaculture at the first site, which has Continue reading
Innovative Commercial Aquaponics Farm Emerges from Economic Downturn to Profit and Empower Others
/ March 27, 2012 8:57 pm
When married couple Susanne Friend and Tim Mann first started Friendly Aquaponics, a commercial aquaponics farm and training facility, on the beautiful big island of Hawaii, they weren’t really thinking about providing for their family, much less saving the world. “What started out very simply as the desire to make a good living by serving someone other than the very Continue reading
To Help Eaters Navigate Local Food Web, Online Resource Facilitates Connection to Sustainable Food
/ March 20, 2012 11:00 pm
While slogans like “eat local” and “know your farmer” have flooded our bumpers and the consumer consciousness, eaters searching for local, sustainably produced foods know that these ideals are not always so easily achieved. Kim Werner’s struggle to navigate her local food web inspired her to start FarmPlate, an online resource that helps eaters all over the country more easily Continue reading
Hudson, NY-Based Local Ocean Poised to Profit from World’s First Zero-Discharge Aquaculture System
/ March 12, 2012 9:24 pm
Efraim Bason, founder and Chairman of the Board of Local Ocean, a sustainable aquaculture company that has built and operates the world’s first commercial zero-discharge 100% recirculating aquaculture system, is no stranger to business. He owns a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from a health and beauty products distributor to a real estate company. Now the self-described fisherman with a deep Continue reading
18,000 Subscribers Strong, Washington-based Farm-to-Table Delivery Service Blankets West Coast with Organic Produce
/ March 6, 2012 7:41 pm
In the last 16 years, Andrew Stout went from farming three acres of rocky dirt to becoming the CEO of one of Western Washington’s largest organic produce businesses. His company Full Circle, a farm and organic food broker in Carnation, Wash., has 18,000 subscribers in four states, sells at 10 farmers markets, and has plans to begin distributing in more Continue reading
Company Aims to Profit From Restoration of Globe’s Devastated Grasslands, One Ranch at a Time
/ March 5, 2012 7:04 pm
Jim Howell thinks cattle get a bad rap. They have been charged with decimating grasslands, polluting the atmosphere with emissions, and competing with humans for food crops. That does not have to be the case, says the CEO of Grasslands, L.L.C., the for-profit arm of the Savory Institute that purchases ranches and grasslands in hopes of restoring them through holistic Continue reading
Built ‘From the Light Up’, Hydroponic Technology Startup Seeks to Revolutionize Urban Farming
/ March 1, 2012 8:28 pm
At first glance, Omega Garden’s product list might be a little confusing, with its Volksgarden® and Farmdominium™. But the Canadian-based hydroponics company isn’t selling bio-fuel vehicles or green housing complexes; rather, they’ve created a hydroponics system that may revolutionize not only urban agriculture, but agriculture in general. And 2012 is shaping up to be a big year for Omega Garden – so stay tuned. Continue reading
To Improve Quality of Life and Access to Fresh Food Urban Farming Co. Blankets NYC with Edible Green Rooftops
/ February 28, 2012 4:44 pm
While ‘city farming’ may seem more like an oxymoron than a practical career goal, Brooklyn Grange aims to make it a stable profession – and bring tasty, sustainable produce to New York at the same time. Brooklyn Grange is a 40,000 square-foot rooftop farm in Queens, New York. Though the company’s name might lead one to believe that it’s located Continue reading
Online Urban Farming Course Crosses Continents, Seeks to Boost Number of Farmers Producing Food Locally
/ February 21, 2012 7:03 pm
A three-quarter acre parcel of land in the city can be transformed into a successful urban farming business when combined with the right training. Or at least that’s the opinion of startup company GroAction, which offers an online class on the topic. About 470 people from around the world are now testing this theory. They are doing so through the Continue reading
