Urban Vertical Farming - The Key to a Sustainable Future

“Signify recognizes that to feed a growing population efficiently, growers need to be on the cutting edge of technology to be efficient in production while minimizing land and water use.” says Blake Lange, Business Development Manager for Vertical Farming at Signify.

Blake comes from a long line of farmers, who have been growing corn and soybeans for more than 160 years. He understands the challenges of running a farming business like no other, and for the last decade, he’s been helping farmers across North America shift to a new way of growing, with dynamic LED lighting systems.

And what makes our technology unique?

The challenge that comes with indoor farms, is that there is no natural light- while light is essential part of plant growth. But not all light is equal, and different plants have different lighting needs. Philips LED grow lights in combination with GrowWise control system, do not only provide the necessary light levels, but give farmers a full flexibility and control over their lighting. It enables them to create their own light recipes; including a time set up, the duration, intensity, and spectrum to fit plant specific needs.

“With Philips GrowWise controls, we can steer specific plant characteristics, such as compactness, color, branch development and flowering.  We can also change the light recipe over time to be able to change crops efficiently.  For example, growing baby leaf greens in Spring and herbs around Thanksgiving.” adds Blake.

When asked about the most exciting and remarkable project he has worked on, Blake buoyantly refers to Kalera, one of the fastest-growing vertical farming companies in the world. “It all started with a meeting in Orlando with the cofounders of Kalera where we had an opportunity to show the reasons to trust Signify and our Philips LED lighting technology.  We started with a small trial with our first-generation production modules.  Since then, we’ve been continuously collaborating on Kalera’s expansion throughout the US with our latest Gen 3 production modules,” says Blake.

Meet Signify at Indoor AgCon

Interested in learning about our cutting-edge LED technology and controls and how you can get a tailored solution that’s just right for your vertical farm? Stop by our booth (3004) to learn more about Philips GrowWise Control system. We also invite you to join Blake in a panel discussion on The Next Technical Frontier for Lighting, where he  will share his knowledge and perspective on a range of topics – spectrum, light recipes, creating flavor profiles, heat mitigation and more.

Brighter Lives and a Better World

At Signify, we aim to unlock the extraordinary potential of light to support a sustainable future – this includes enabling access to a sufficient supply of fresh and healthy food for the growing global population. One of the key challenges of this century is to limit the impact on the environment and further climate change. And innovation in agriculture lighting and vertical farming is a central part of the solution.