Maximum Yield Australia/New Zealand July/August 2020 | Page 24

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FACTS
Aussie Taps into Hydroponic Vanilla Growing
When Australian inventor David Soo learned of the lucrative
market for fresh vanilla, he developed a commercially viable
method of growing the sometimes tricky and labour-intensive
crop. He built a custom, 535-square foot greenhouse with
controlled growing conditions that can be adjusted remotely.
Soo has 200 vanilla vines that are growing three times faster
than in a plantation environment thanks to vertical soil-filled
trellises, which allow the vines to take root and get nutrients at
all levels. The trellis columns rotate automatically so the vines get
equal light. “The trellises are designed for what we call threedimensional
plants — because they’re vines and they have their root
structures coming out of the nodes at all different parts along the
vine, they don’t come from the bottom,” says Soo, adding he was
confident of yielding about 2,200 pounds of vanilla beans from his
crop, which would be worth about US$387,000.
— abc.net.au
USDA Announces Urban Agriculture Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the
availability of $3 million for grants through its new Office of Urban
Agriculture and Innovative Production. The competitive grants
will support the development of urban agriculture and innovative
production projects through two categories: Planning Projects
and Implementation Projects. “These grant opportunities underscore
USDA’s commitment to all segments of agriculture, including swiftly
expanding areas of urban agriculture,” says Bill Northey, under secretary
for Farm Production and Conservation. “Such projects have the potential to
address important issues such as food access and education and to support
innovative ways to increase local food production in urban environments.” The
USDA is making $1 million available for projects initiating or expanding urban
farming efforts of people and organisations in urban areas and suburbs. The other
$2 million is for Implementation Projects that accelerate existing and emerging
models of urban, indoor, and other practices that serve multiple farmers.
— hortdaily.com
Startup Generates Interest with Environmental Breakthrough
A Purdue University-affiliated startup focusing on technology that turns city
wastewater algae into specialty chemicals recently received its second financial award
in just two weeks. Gen3Bio boasts proprietary technology that redirects waste algae
from an environmental hazard into profitable, environmentally friendly products.
Gen3Bio got a $20,000 investment through the Elevate Nexus Regional Pre-
Seed competition and another $20,000 pilot plant grant. Algae is produced by
wastewater treatment facilities and is typically disposed of in a landfill at great
cost and subsequently releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Gen3Bio’s
technology transforms the waste algae into biobased specialty chemicals such as
aquaculture fish food, succinic acid, and biodegradable plastics. “There is a way to
repurpose algae from costly waste (into) beneficial material. Our patented
enzyme technology breaks open the algae and extracts the nutrients
required to create chemicals that create useful and environmentally
beneficial products,” says Kelvin Okamoto, founder and CEO of Gen3Bio.
— purdue.edu
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