Controlled Environment Agriculture to Produce 68,000 Pounds of Daily Feed
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 14, 2022 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) (TSX:CUB), a leading local chain agricultural technology company, today announced a 10-machine Automated Vertical Pastures™ sale valued at CAD$3.8 million.
Automated Vertical Pastures™ Sale in West Texas
Owned and operated by Jim Cnossen, the Cnossen Dairy located in Hereford, West Texas, currently milks 11,000 cows over 7,500 acres of farmland. The Company’s HydroGreen division will install a 10-machine Automated Vertical Pastures™ commercial scale system to grow year-round, consistent nutritious fresh forage for the Cnossen Dairy, providing a reliable source of fresh forage during the drought conditions across the western United States.
“We’ve endured extreme peaks and valleys of inconsistent feed during one of the driest periods on record and needed a simple to use, innovative fresh feed technology to survive these water shortages,” said Jim Cnossen. “After evaluating numerous on-farm indoor growing technologies, HydroGreen emerged as the leading solution to reliably produce the high-quality feed necessary for optimal herd health and performance.”
As a trusted on-farm advisor and new HydroGreen Certified Dealer Network member, Dairy Specialists, a division of Standard Nutrition Company, placed orders for 10 HydroGreen Automated Vertical Pastures™ machines for Cnossen Dairy. This is the first of a multi-phase installation, with the potential to add additional machines capable of producing up to approximately 270,000 pounds of fresh forage per day.
Based in Omaha, Nebraska, Standard Nutrition Company was started in 1886 with the introduction of livestock nutritional supplements for American family farmers. As a HydroGreen Certified Dealer operating in Kansas, Dairy Specialists will offer nutritional products and feeding strategies to help dairy producers achieve better health, faster gains, and higher milk production.
“Vertical farming is going to be important for all dairies raising their own feed, regardless of drought conditions, and the HydroGreen product benefits are unique in the industry,” said Bill Dyer, Chief Executive Officer, Dairy Specialists. “Adding HydroGreen fresh forage to the ration improves feed intake with better digestibility, sugars make it more soluble, and transition cows can increase milk production. We’re pleased to support innovative ag-tech like HydroGreen to meet the land and water savings needed by the farmers who put their trust in us.”
Three New HydroGreen Certified Dealers
In addition to Dairy Specialists, Advanced Dairy Systems and Penner Farm Services have also joined the HydroGreen Certified Dealer Network, with another sale of one HydroGreen machine.
Advanced Dairy Systems, based in Phoenix, Arizona, brings over 24 years of experience bringing innovative and efficient dairy industry technologies and sustainable products to over 300 dairy farms, with a focus on higher milk production and happier cows. As a respected advisor for dairy farmers and new HydroGreen Certified Dealer, Advanced Dairy Systems placed an order for one HydroGreen machine for Golden Rule Dairy.
Golden Rule Dairy is a small family-owned and operated Jersey cow dairy located in the valley of Elfrida, Arizona. “We take immense pride in feeding our cows the best diet, choosing high-quality inputs that are beneficial to both our cows and the people consuming our dairy products,” said Jared Strite, Owner and Operator at Golden Rule Dairy. “We were impressed when we visited HydroGreen’s Innovation Center in South Dakota and met with the team, and we’re excited to see the heath and performance benefits of adding fresh HydroGreen to the rations for our herd.”
Since 1956, Penner Farm Services has helped Canadian producers run more efficient and profitable farms with a focus on high quality and technically advanced equipment. Penner offers end-to-end farming improvements including construction, equipment systems, farm supplies, and farm advisory services. Penner Farm Services will support HydroGreen sales in Manitoba.
“There is tremendous need for daily consistency and herd health for dairies all over, with particular need in West Texas and other drought areas,” said Dan Schmidt, President of the Company’s HydroGreen division. “Repurposing valuable land and water savings is important with the added labor-saving benefits of automation in a controlled environment. We’re helping more farmers like Cnossen Dairy and Golden Rule Dairy meet their daily nutritional needs and we’re pleased that new HydroGreen Certified Dealers like Dairy Specialists, Advanced Dairy Systems, and Penner Farm Services are helping deliver and support farmers across Canada and the U.S.”
About HydroGreen
HydroGreen’s Automated Vertical Pastures™ technology utilizes a unique process to sprout grains, such as barley and wheat, in a controlled environment with minimal use of land, labour and water. HydroGreen’s fully automated indoor growing technology performs all growing functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding – all with the push of a button – to deliver nutritious fresh forage for livestock without the typical investment in fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, field equipment, and transportation. Automated Vertical Pastures™ not only provide superior nutritious feed to benefit the animal, but also enables significant environmental benefits to the farm.
About CubicFarms
CubicFarms is a leading local chain agricultural technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary ag-tech solutions enable growers to produce high quality, predictable produce and fresh livestock feed with HydroGreen Nutrition Technology, a division of CubicFarm Systems Corp. The CubicFarms™ system contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops onsite, indoors, all year round. CubicFarms provides an efficient, localized food supply solution that benefits our people, planet, and economy.
For more information, please visit www.cubicfarms.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
“Dave Dinesen”
Dave Dinesen, Chief Executive Officer
This release may contain certain “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking terms such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “potential,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “believe,” “plan,” “outlook,” “estimate,” or “expect” and other words, terms and phrases of similar nature are often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company including but not limited to statements with respect to expected revenue recognition and completion of the sale and installation of the HydroGreen machines. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.
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“Our family is dedicated to protecting the prairie. We strive to work smarter on our ranch by applying our business and consulting expertise and focusing on ranch innovation and sustainability. With climate change, technology advances and decreasing natural resources, we know we must operate our ranch differently. With the HydroGreen system, we can now produce better, faster, and stronger for ourselves and the planet.”
“My family is originally from Holland, I grew up on a dairy farm, and I’ve been in the industry all my life. Talking with my parent’s friends who are immersed in the veggie industry, they recommended Iinvestigateoptions to produce lettuce in a sustainable way. I looked into the greenhouse and indoor vertical warehouse systems, but they could not meet my needs. I needed to minimize my risk, space and lower my labor costs.
“After a significant drought and taking over my family ranch, I was looking for a more cost-effective way to produce our fodder. I knew there were better producer options out there, but most of the systems had too much manual labour and seed obligations that were not cost-effective. The HydroGreen system’s value proposition was compelling. The fodder’s nutritive value is exceptional for our herd and the system is time-efficient. I run one piece of machinery for 35 mins a day when in the past, it would have taken me a few hours a day and three machines using traditional equipment. In our neck of the woods, one six-rack HydroGreen system is the equivalent to 320 acres of South Dakota prairie sitting inside a 60 x 40 building. It is essentially drought resistant ‘Land on a Stand’ which produces grass every day, in any weather, in less than an hour.”