Indoor agriculture is touted as sustainable, but it requires a lot of materials – plastics, rockwool, and packaging, for example. How can these be made more circular? Continue reading Biobased Materials: Where Should They Come From, Where Should They Go?
Last week, Heeren XVII, the biosystems engineers’ society at Wageningen University, organised an evening featuring three companies in the greenhouse horticulture industry. The first of these was Ammerlaan Construction (known as Maurice Kassenbouw in The Netherlands and Belgium), presented by Continue reading The Untapped Energy in Water Vapour
Last Thursday I attended Circular Horticulture 2025, an event organised by Wageningen Research’s Greenhouse Horticulture business unit. The topic was their vision and goals for future research within circular horticulture. Continue reading Circular Horticulture 2025, Part 1: Visions and Goals for Research
Two Saturdays ago I went to TechnoHouse, an event organised at Rijk Zwaan’s headquarters in Westland, for sharing knowledge, networking, and showcasing the latest in breeding vegetable crops and greenhouse horticulture. Continue reading TechnoHouse at Rijk Zwaan
Greenhouse climate control consists of lots of if-then statements, basically decision trees. Can a genetic algorithm optimise these trees? I am about to find out in my MSc thesis. Continue reading Rule-Based Climate Control Using a Genetic Algorithm
Last July, I followed a two-week summer school about agri-business at the University of Nottingham. I spent the first 10 years of my life in rural England and knew a few people with a farming background, but the ins and Continue reading Nottingham: What Drives Success in Agri-Business?
A month ago I attended GreenTech 2019. There were quite some changes and new observations. Now for some proper substance – one of my favourite presentations at GreenTech 2019. Continue reading GreenTech 2019: General Observations and an Aquaponics Presentation
Last week, I attended an evening organised by Heeren XVII, the biosystems engineers’ society at Wageningen University. The theme was insects. A presentation was given by Bart de Ruiter, director of R&D at Proti-Farm, a Dutch company producing insects. Continue reading An Evening with Proti-Farm
Could it be that the logical conclusion of controlled-environment agriculture is natural ecosystems? If controlled-environment agriculture is to become sustainable, it must be able to use waste as an input for nutrients. In 2016, the AVFami project group* realised that Continue reading Bacteria and Biofilters Are Underrated
For the past month, I have been following one of Wageningen University’s flagship courses: Greenhouse Technology, given by Cecilia Stanghellini, Bert van ’t Ooster, and Ep Heuvelink. Last Thursday, we went on an excursion to three companies: Ter Laak Orchids, Ridder Growing Solutions, and Holstein Flowers. Continue reading A Floricultural Excursion