Hydroponic farming...still viable?

I remember my first introduction to hydroponic farming...Lost in Space. While it may work efficiently for small colonies, what about a large city. We shall see in KC.

"Hydroponic farm project sprouts on KC riverfront"

by

Kevin Collison

March 22nd, 2013

The Kansas City Star

After years of trying to redevelop its downtown riverfront, Kansas City is close to landing its first private investment, a $4 million hydroponic farm expected to grow a million pounds of fresh tomatoes, lettuce and herbs annually.

BrightFarms, a firm that traces its roots to rooftop gardens in New York City, has struck a deal with the Port Authority of Kansas City to build a 100,000-square-foot greenhouse on a 5-acre tract just east of the Heart of America Bridge and next to Berkley Riverfront Park.

A formal announcement is set for Monday at City Hall, but those involved discussed the plan Friday.

“We’re trying to change how the food supply chain works around the country,” said Paul Lightfoot, CEO of BrightFarms. “We wanted to go to markets that are welcoming, and Kansas City stands out as a progressive city. … Everybody has rolled out a redevelopment red carpet.”

The local project is part of the first wave of national ventures by BrightFarms, which began as a nonprofit in 2006. Lightfoot became CEO in 2011 and the first greenhouse operation outside New York recently opened near Philadelphia. The firm also is planning projects in St. Louis, St. Paul, Minn., and the New York borough of Brooklyn.

“BrightFarms will be producing whole and fresh foods crops in an environmentally and logistically friendly way,” Lightfoot said. “This project will serve as the first of many expected announcements.”

The hydroponic farm, which is expected to begin operating this year, also would be the first fruit of a riverfront redevelopment effort that has been pursued by the Port Authority for more than 10 years.

About $12 million has been spent cleaning up a 55-acre area controlled by the authority around Berkley Park, and while a hydroponic farm wasn’t part of the master plan — the area was earmarked for residential development — city and agency officials say it will fit well with the apartments they want to have developed.

“The dominant use will still be residential,” Port Authority executive director Michael Collins said, “but people also are paying attention to commercial uses. We can still have an urban garden and build housing.”

Proponents also believe the hydroponic farm would be a good buffer between the potential residential area along the riverfront and the Heart of America Bridge. The proposed greenhouse site also abuts railroad tracks.

“This spot wasn’t on the Port Authority’s radar because they didn’t think they could develop it,” said Kansas City Councilman Scott Wagner, a proponent of the greenhouse plan.

Lightfoot said the greenhouse will not produce water runoffs or odors and would be a good neighbor for any future homes. He pointed out that BrightFarms got its start with rooftop greenhouses in heavily populated New York.

A final contract for a 10-year lease has not been completed, but the Port Authority and city officials are confident a deal will be reached soon. The greenhouse would create 25 full-time jobs and generate about 100 construction jobs.

It is also expected to produce enough fresh vegetables to feed 5,000 people a year.

Lightfoot said BrightFarms wants to partner with a local supermarket chain to distribute its produce but is still in negotiations. Supermarkets benefit by selling produce that is freshly grown locally, he said. For its part, a long-term contract means BrightFarms has the guaranteed revenues to obtain financing for its plan.

“It’s all about producing produce at the same price, but thousands of miles closer or hours old instead of weeks,” he said. “It’s tastier, fresher and more delicious.”

The plan has strong support from political leaders who say it will benefit Kansas City economically and nutritionally.

“The 1 million pounds of food that will be produced at this BrightFarms location will allow our region to take a major step toward ecological sustainability,” said Missouri Sen. Jason Holsman, a Democrat from Kansas City.

Holsman supports legislation that will encourage future urban agriculture development in blighted communities across Missouri.

He was joined by Mayor Sly James and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II in endorsing the BrightFarms plan.

“This farm advances the sustainable redevelopment of our riverfront, our city and our community, creating green-collar jobs and bolstering our local economy,” Cleaver said.

Collins said the Port Authority will be making infrastructure improvements to assist the project, including truck access and electrical service, but no incentives are being offered.

The project is within a redevelopment area established by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and could apply for a property tax abatement from that agency.

Hydroponics [Wikipedia]

Update on the emerald ash borer and Kansas City, Missouri

"Emerald ash borer finally reaches KC metro area"

by

Katy Bergen

July 25th, 2012   

The Kansas City Star

It’s finally reached Kansas City.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture officially confirmed Wednesday that the emerald ash borer, an insect native to Asia that feeds on and kills ash trees, has been found in Platte County.

Officials had been watching for its arrival ever since the emerald ash borer was found in southeast Missouri in 2008.

Wednesday’s announcement could be a slow-moving death sentence for many ash trees in the metro area.

“If there is just one borer, that tree will die,” said Mark Nelson, a forestry regional supervisor with the Missouri Department of Conservation. “It’s fatal 100 percent of the time.”

Ash trees are common in the metro area, with 40,000 lining Kansas City streets alone.

This new confirmation marks the furthest West the metallic green insect has ever been found. But it’s likely, Nelson said, that the borer has been in the area for some time.

“It’s hard to find the insect because the main damage is inside the tree,” he said. “It can go years undetected.”

As adults, the insects lay eggs on the bark of ash trees, which they feed off of. When the eggs hatch, larvae burrow into the layer of the tree that brings water and nutrients from the roots, and eat living tissue, eventually cutting off all nutrients.

The Platte County confirmation comes less than two weeks after a local arborist found signs of emerald ash borer damage in a residential tree south of Weatherby Lake.

Brett Cleveland, of Urban Tree Specialists, saw the signs when he responded to a dead tree removal call in the Parkville area: the shoots sprouting out at the base of an otherwise dead tree — a sign the tree had fought to stay alive — the “S-shaped” larvae tunnels underneath peeling bark and the tiny “D-shaped” exit holes smaller than an eraser head.

He took pictures and sent them immediately to the Missouri conservation department, which, along with other state departments, sent experts out to access the site.

“We knew we needed to be on the lookout,” said Cleveland, who had been trained to look for signs of the insect. “But we didn’t expect to find it so soon.”

The emerald ash borer was first found in the United States in southeast Michigan in 2002 and was thought to have been transported here in cargo ships. It has since spread to more than 15 states, primarily through the transport of firewood.

It was discovered at a Wappapello Lake campground in Missouri’s Wayne County in 2008, and officials have said it was only a matter of time before the insect spread throughout the state.

The state also said Wednesday that ash borers had been found in Reynolds County, located next to Wayne County.

Nelson said those borers were found through traps.

Even with the Platte County confirmation, Nelson said it’s too soon to speculate on how fast an infestation could spread.

The Missouri Department of Agricultural, the Missouri Department of Conservation and members of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will survey the area in half-mile increments until they’ve determined the perimeter of the infestation, Nelson said.

If it is substantial, the county could enact a quarantine, regulating the movement of lumber, firewood, ash wood and the insect itself in and out of the state.

“That has been the strategy in the past and in other states,” Nelson said. But quarantines have proven only temporarily effective, as evident by the quick spread of the insect since 2002.

“Look at the number of states it’s gone through in 10 years,” said Dennis Patton, a horticulturist with Johnson County Extension.

Cleveland says recent droughts won’t help the problem because borers tend to seek out weakened or declining trees. Because the insects can only fly a half-mile, they are primarily spread through the transfer of lumber and firewood.

While there are prevention methods, insecticides that deter the insect are expensive, not 100 percent effective and often have to be performed by a professional, officials said.

Many communities have already chosen to beat the insects to the punch, chopping down ash trees and replacing them with different species before the bugs even arrived. Kansas City removed about 60 ash trees from eight Benton Boulevard blocks in 2010. This past spring, St. Louis cut down more than 900 ash trees surrounding the grounds of the Gateway Arch.

Even if the infestation proves to be a substantial problem, the spread won’t happen overnight, and many urge those who own ash trees not to be alarmed.

“I have an ash tree in my front yard,” Patton said. “I’m not going to panic.” He said if you own an ash tree, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to run out and treat it. Rather, it’s more important to spend money on water or properly pruning it because the bugs tend to target unhealthy trees.

Nelson said that if people think they’ve found specific signs of insect damage — a dying ash tree, “S-shaped” channels underneath loose bark and “D-shaped” exit holes — to call a local forester.

“Just because you see a hole in a tree doesn’t mean it’s an emerald ash borer,” Nelson said.

Still, now that the emerald ash borer has been found in the Kansas City area, it means that in some time, probably a matter of years, that the insect will spread.

Cleveland summed it up:

“It was a bad day for ash trees.”

Emerald ash borer vs Ash trees