Vertical Farming Podcast - Conversations with CEOs, Founders & Leaders in AgTech & CEA

Episode Summary Henry Ernst currently occupies the role of Assessment Manager at Control Union UK Ltd, an organization that specializes in sustainability in agriculture, fisheries, textiles, plastics, timber, biofuels, and food safety. He is the Team Lead for MSC Fisheries Assessments and is passionate about sustainable food production. Today, Henry and Harry discuss plant protection, renewable en...

Episode Summary Tristan Fischer has been involved in sustainable energy and sustainable food for over twenty years. He has been the Chairman or CEO of numerous companies, including Fischer Farms , a vertical farming/hydroponics business. Today, Tristan joins the show to discuss the benefits of vertical farm crops over field-grown crops, the looming food security crisis, and the importance of being...

Episode Summary Tim Hade is Co-founder and COO of Scale Microgrids, an organization that builds and invests in the world’s most cutting-edge microgrid solutions. Today, Harry and Tim discuss the importance of making our energy infrastructure cleaner, more affordable, and more resilient. Tim speaks to the vulnerability of our power grids, the concept of decentralization, and the actions we must tak...

Episode Summary Dr. Isaac Berzin is the Founder and CTO at Vaxa Life, an organization that is developing sustainable algae-based feed and food ingredients. He was named one the 100 most influential people in politics, business, and science in 2008 by the Time Magazine for his work in sustainability and climate change. Today, Harry and Dr. Isaac discuss the biology of algae and its role in the food...

Episode Summary Tom Adamczyk is the Founder & CEO at Planted Detroit , a beyond-organic farm that grows nutrient-packed greens and micros in a sustainable & controlled environment. Today, Harry and Tom discuss the origins of Planted Detroit, the revitalization of the city of Detroit, and Tom’s background in finance. Tom touches on the lessons he learned as a leader and CEO during the Covid...

Episode Summary Brandy Keen is the Co-founder & Senior Technical Advisor at Surna, an organization that designs, engineers and manufactures application-specific environmental control and air sanitation systems for commercial, state, and provincial-regulated indoor cannabis cultivation facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Today, Harry and Brandy discuss the origins of Hydro Innovations and their...

Episode Summary Nadun Hennayaka is the Founder and CEO at GAIA Project Australia, an organization with a vision to combine the most developed technologies to produce sustainable food & electricity to every human on this planet. Nadun has over twenty years of experience in engineering and technology and is well-versed in the global technology arena. Today, he and Harry discuss the current offer...

Episode Summary Magdalena Szawarska is the Co-Founder and CEO of Nangatech , an organization that designs the most effective nanogas technology to boost the productivity of farming. Today, Harry and Magdalena talk about the state of AgTech in her hometown of Warsaw, Poland, her background in psychology, and the numerous benefits that nanogas and nanobubble technology has on the agriculture industr...

Episode Summary Eric Lang is the President and co-founder of ZipGrow, an organization that educates, equips, and empowers local farmers to grow better food for their communities using their patented ZipGrow technology. Today, Harry and Eric talk about the importance of educating the masses on the overall AgTech industry, why local is better than organic, and what ZipGrow is doing to fix the broken...

Episode Summary Dr. Christian Toma is the Founder and Chief Science Officer (CSO) at Kalera , a technology-driven vertical farming company that is delivering sustainable ultra-clean, nutrient-dense produce year-round. Kalera is the world’s largest operator of vertical hydroponic farms. Today, Harry and Dr. Christian discuss the nuances of shifting from CEO to CSO, the inspiration behind the HyCube...

Episode Summary David Ahmed is the Founder and CEO of HexaFarms , an Ag-Tech Startup that develops software for vertical-farming systems. They harvest data and leverage the potential of AI to identify optimal growth conditions for various crops grown in vertical farms. Today, Harry and David expound on the impact of Artificial Intelligence and other technologies on vertical farming, Normalized Dif...

Episode Summary Allison Kopf is the Chief Growth Officer at iUNU , a software development company that’s building the future of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry through their AI-driven LUNA platform that enables growers to develop a feedback loop between capturing data and managing processes to create precise, predictable production. Today, Harry welcomes Allison back to the s...

Episode Summary Henry Gordon-Smith is the Founder of Agritecture , a global leader in urban agriculture consulting services. Today, Harry welcomes Henry back to the show for Round 2 where Henry talks all about his recent travel and nomadic lifestyle, the importance of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and the evolution of the overall AgTech industry. Henry expounds on the consolidation and...

Episode Summary Keenan Pinto is the founder and CEO of Nordetect , a real-time nutrient analysis product with cloud-connected hardware and accessible software that allows farmers to test their own soil samples and see results in real time. Today, Harry and Keenan talk about his vision for improving the equity, quality and footprint of food through technology, his entrepreneurial journey and why he...

Episode Summary Eric Eisele is an entrepreneur, environmentalist and CEO of Growflux , a horticultural tech company offering automation and cloud technologies aimed at resource efficiency and yield expansion for indoor farms, and greenhouses. Today, Harry speaks to Eric about Eric’s Philly roots and his rich experience in design and architecture, wireless engineering and renewable energy. Eric exp...

Episode Summary Founder and CEO of CityCrop , Christos Raftogiannis, joins the show to share his passion for agriculture, how the Indoor AgTech industry has evolved in Greece, and the challenge of assembling a team to take on the complexities of vertical farming. Today, Harry and Christos engage in a discussion on what inspired Christos to launch CityCrop, how Christos has grown as a founder and t...

Episode Summary Founder and Chief Content Director of From Farms to Incubators, Amy Wu joins the show today to share her mission of highlighting women in food, farming, and farmtech, especially women of color. Amy is an entrepreneur, storyteller, and award-winning writer for the women’s ag and agtech movement. Today, Amy speaks to the work she’s doing to tell the stories of women innovators and le...

Episode Summary Co-Founder at Ekonoke , Inés Sagrario, joins the show to share her eclectic background, including her time at The Cluster Competitiveness Group, and the work she’s currently doing at Ekonoke, a sustainable indoor farming start-up. Ekonoke develops knowledge and technology to produce great quality hops year-round with significantly lower water and carbon footprint. Today, Harry and...

Episode Summary Founder and CEO of VegBed , Albert Lin joins the show today to share the work he’s doing to create a better and easier way to use growing medium for the hydroponic community. Albert speaks to his experience as an early stage startup operations expert, the entrepreneurial mindset he has cultivated and the biggest piece of advice he would give to founders. Thanks to Our Sponsors CEA...

Episode Summary Founder and CEO of HRVSTS, Ali Daniali joins the show today to share his engineering background, the origin story of HRVSTS and the importance of supporting and promoting small farming both domestically and abroad. Today, Harry and Ali discuss decentralizing the food distribution network, some big wins HRVSTS was able to achieve recently and advice Ali would give to first-time farm...

Episode Summary Founder and CEO of Contain and recurring guest, Nicola Kerslake joins the show today to discuss three exciting and innovative areas of AgTech she and her team at Contain are focusing on currently. Nicola touches on a new microlearning platform they’ve launched, the importance of diversifying revenue streams and what trends she’s noticing in the overall AgTech industry. Thanks to Ou...

Episode Summary Founder and CEO of Vertical Future, Jamie Burrows is a passionate leader with extensive knowledge of the indoor AgTech space. Vertical Future is the world’s leading vertical farming technology and research company, providing revolutionary products and services that enable people and nature to thrive. Today, Harry and Jamie talk about Jamie’s passion for health, life sciences, and a...

Episode Summary Founder and CEO of KETOS , Meena Sankaran joins the show to discuss her passion for leveraging disruptive technologies to make an impact as a social entrepreneur. KETOS is a vertically integrated water intelligence platform that is on a mission to transform how water operators measure, manage, and forecast water quality. Today, Harry and Meena talk about Meena’s inspirational immig...

Episode Summary CEO of Indoor Ag-Con , Brian Sullivan joins the show to share his years of experience in event management and what led him to acquire Indoor Ag-Con, the premier trade show & conference for indoor vertical farming & controlled environment agriculture. Today, Harry and Brian discuss the highs and lows of the events industry, the resilience Brian showed throughout the course o...

Episode Summary CEO and Founder of VoltServer, Stephen Eaves joins the show to share over twenty years of experience in the energy industry and his passion for doing things that have never been done before. Stephen is an expert in battery management, power electronics and energy infrastructure and has fifteen patents issued or pending related to energy storage and power conversion. Today, Harry an...