November 2021—BG

Cover Story — Improving Controlled Environment Food Growing Operations

AppHarvest is developing harvesting robots to pick tomatoes in its 60-acre greenhouse operation, along with computer vision and data collection to increase production efficiencies, quality and yields.

Technology — Modeling Greenhouse Energy Use

Looking to make your greenhouse more energy efficient? Curious about the potential energy savings by updating or retrofitting an existing greenhouse? Interested in comparing different growing conditions for a crop and assessing the net impact on crop timing and overall energy use? This is all possible with the help of Virtual Grower, a software tool designed by scientists at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.

Think Business — A Smart Investment

Training should never be considered an expense. Instead, it should be treated as a worthwhile investment for your business.