By Riyana Razalee
Last week we hosted at our facility in upstate New York for an experiential tour of our products and processes. In attendance were some of our ecosystem partners as well as media, making this group one of the first to see our actual space in-person.
Click on the image above to view the news coverage by WROC-ROC
For those that have been following us for a while, you’d know that we’ve been manufacturing a number of products through our Organic Cycling Science method for a few years now. The truth though is that, as with most, if not all manufacturing companies, there have been a number of product iterations. But what has remained consistent is that with every iteration, we’ve gotten better at providing the best in class in terms of organic hydroponic nutrients. Our facility and closed-loop, zero-waste, production process is testament to this.
"But what has remained consistent is that with every iteration, we’ve gotten better at providing the best in class in terms of organic hydroponic nutrients. Our facility and closed-loop, zero-waste, production process is testament to this." |
Admittedly, sometimes we forget to take stock of just how far we’ve come. But this facility tour and media event got us to pause and take note of the fact that we’ve made great strides over the years. Two things in particular stood out for us:
A Social Enterprise With Community Roots
We’re a for-profit social enterprise, led by a woman of color, with a diverse team that comes from various cultures and backgrounds. We’re often mistaken for representing the United Nations - that’s how incredibly diverse our team is! In many ways, it’s already in our DNA to push the norms in terms of what it means to be rooted in community. During our event, we were honored to have Greater Rochester Enterprise, LaunchNY, NextCorps, and Kodak with us, a few of the organizations that we consider part of our community. It would be remiss of us not to recognize that our journey has been supported by not just organizations, but actual people who run the ins and outs of these organizations.
Although we’re headquartered in New York City, we realized that we needed a secondary location to expand our manufacturing efforts. As such, we explored the State extensively and ultimately, selected Rochester because of its close proximity to many of our partners. Our belief in supporting local food systems meant that we needed to walk the talk. For that reason, we’ve consistently worked closely with major wholesale produce distributors and food processors within the region.
We then asked ourselves how we could set up an equitable pipeline of talent for the controlled environment agriculture industry. Between the pool of applicants from a manufacturing perspective, the strength of the local universities, and the economic growth opportunity that Monroe Country itself presented, we knew it was the right decision. During our event, we worked with The Arc of Monroe, an organization that provides programs and services for over 1,400 people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities in Rochester.
"We then asked ourselves how we could set up an equitable pipeline of talent for the controlled environment agriculture industry. Between the pool of applicants from a manufacturing perspective, the strength of the local universities, and the economic growth opportunity that Monroe Country itself presented, we knew it was the right decision." |
Closed-Loop Agriculture: A Reality We’re Making Come True
We successfully pivoted during COVID to put out a line of products that some of the most innovative indoor farms are now using today:
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Away We Grow© Organic Hydroponic Nutrient - A hyper-concentrated, water-soluble, liquid organic hydroponic nutrients sourced predominantly from sterilized, unrecoverable vegetative waste. By using Away We Grow©, a one acre farm eliminates 1.62 metric tons of CO2e from the atmosphere annually and removes 18.75 pounds of CO2e for every gallon of that would otherwise have been released from food waste sent to landfills.
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ReNu TERRA™ - A 100% compostable, sterilized grow substrate that features a combination of micronutrients for optimal plant growth, is heat and UV ray treated, and touts high water saturation and retention.
- Booster Shot© Biostimulant – A water-soluble, liquid biostimulant sourced exclusively from sterilized, unrecoverable vegetative waste, and plant extracts. Booster Shot© helps promotes vigorous root growth as a germination accelerant and immunity enhancer.
With our unique process, we truly believe that we’ve cracked the code on being able to convert unrecoverable vegetative food waste (including plant extracts and verified vegetative food byproducts) into commercial-grade, water soluble organic hydroponic nutrient products that are ideal for indoor farms. The proof is in the pudding and this can be seen clearly here where we showcase some of the crops grown using our organic hydroponic nutrient, Away We Grow.
"The proof is in the pudding and this can be seen clearly here where we showcase some of the crops grown using our organic hydroponic nutrient, Away We Grow." |
We’re just getting started with our mission to help global agricultural communities reimagine localized food waste for more sustainable, environmentally-friendly growing practices. As much as this is about supporting the indoor farms in going closed-loop, it also means that we have to do the same. We are continuously reviewing our sustainability practices, and through that process, we were able to identify more optimal water management opportunities. For example, the idea of ReNu Terra was birthed through this assessment. A big part of agriculture is water usage, and while we’re not an indoor farm, we take this seriously. This leads to another example: our reverse osmosis water system at our facility which ensures that all byproduct wastewater is reclaimed for reuse.
"We are continuously reviewing our sustainability practices, and through that process, we were able to identify more optimal water management opportunities. For example, the idea of ReNu Terra was birthed through this assessment." |
In essence, our experiential facility tour was a celebration of our journey, community, and the future of sustainable, closed loop agriculture.