New, Organic Indoor Farm in Colorado Announces Two New Hires
New, Organic Indoor Farm in Colorado Announces Two New Hires
A look into the largest, fully-automated greenhouse growing organic greens in the Intermountain West
SILT, CO., October 18, 2021 — Spring Born, a 2.5-acre organic greenhouse in Colorado, welcomes two industry experts to their team. The company introduced Danielle Davis, director of marketing and sales, and Josh Budka, head grower, to spearhead production and expansion.
Davis and Budka are industry experts in their respective fields. Davis, is a food systems, marketing, and sales expert with more than a decade of experience within fresh produce, meat and seafood. In addition, she is well-versed in Controlled Environment Agriculture “CEA,” previously leading a food business consulting agency and working for other high-tech farms. Budka, head grower, holds a Horticulture Science degree from Purdue University. Before joining Spring Born, he worked at various indoor farming operations and conducted research for universities and governmental agencies.
“We are very excited to welcome Danielle and Josh to our team at Spring Born. They both provide a different perspective and expertise for the business and are passionate about food production methods that better our food system and lead to thriving agricultural communities,” says Charles Barr, owner and president.
Spring Born’s initial retail and foodservice offerings are grown in organic peat (unique in the CEA industry) using 90 percent less water than large-scale outdoor farms. Spring Born is the largest, fully-automated and USDA-certified organic indoor farm in the Intermountain West. Spring Born is different in the CEA space, being wholly owned and operated by President and Owner, Charles Barr. This proprietorship allows the company flexibility in product development and responsiveness to customers without sign-off from additional stakeholders.
“We’ve just finished tweaking the environment and testing various cultivars to determine which we want to grow in our greenhouse,” says Budka.
“We’re listening and reacting to the ever-changing customer and consumer needs,” says Davis. “I think using natural sunlight and an organic soil medium to grow greens just makes sense – we’re having fun wowing customers and cooks with the freshness and flavor of our greens.”
Spring Born greens are available for distribution today. Learn more about Spring Born at www.springborn.us or by emailing info@springborn.us
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Spring Born – no hype, all reality
Located on a 254-acre ranch in Silt, Colorado, Spring Born is a newly established greenhouse company that will be providing organic leafy greens to the Denver market. Spring Born currently has 2.5 acres under glass and another 1.5 acres for processing, with a fully automated production system provided by Green Automation.
Spring Born: no hype, all reality
Spring Born is a state-of-the-art greenhouse company newly established in Silt, Colorado and wholly owned by entrepreneur Charles Barr. This, according to Charles, allows the company to be more responsive to the customer and turn on a dime if needed rather than responding to other stakeholders.
“I want to be a business that doesn’t overpromise, which we see a lot of with greenhouses owned by venture capital or publicly traded companies that make promises before being established. These companies need to respond to other stakeholders before the consumer,” Charles says.
As Charles explains, many newer greenhouse companies build websites and introduce themselves before construction has even begun in order to generate interest and attract investors. This can make it confusing to discern between companies in the design, construction or operational stages. With Spring Born, Charles is avoiding that approach by not making announcements until the greenhouse is absolutely ready to deliver.
“I certainly have plans for Spring Born but I won’t be putting anything out there until we have something concrete. We’re not selling an idea; Spring Born is no hype, all reality,” explains Charles.
“We are planting every seed we can get our hands on”
Spring Born has seeded its first crop in its greenhouse to ensure that all systems are working properly. According to Charles, the company is seeding every variety imaginable to test their assumptions and to determine the products that consumers want.
“We have 62 varieties in the greenhouse right now. We’ll be offering a baby leaf, cut product with leaves that are 100-110 mm long with high flavor and high nutritional quality. We’ll be shipping 10,000 packages every day, mostly to foodservice and retailers,” Charles explains.
Spring Born’s 4.5-oz packages will be coming off the production line within the next three weeks. Consumers will be able to purchase greens directly from the farm, but most of the sales will be to retailers and foodservice.
Promoting sustainability and local food systems
Spring Born is driven by sustainability both in an operational and environmental sense. Operationally, complete automation from seeding to packaging allows Spring Born to significantly reduce labor requirements within the greenhouse and improve hygiene throughout the system. From an environmental standpoint, Spring Born will be certified organic from the moment its first packages hit the shelves.
While many companies frame controlled environment agriculture as an alternative form of agriculture, Charles explains that Spring Born is adding another dimension to local food systems and not trying to supplant field-based agriculture. Spring Born is located on a 254-acre ranch which also plans to plant fruit trees to further develop the local food ecosystem.
Spring Born also strives to be as good a neighbor as possible by ensuring that greenhouse operations are not a nuisance to the region. For example, Spring Born will use HPS lighting during low-light periods but has installed shade curtains and will be lighting in the middle of the night when people are sleeping.
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Author: Rose Seguin
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Spring Born’s Inaugural Planting Has Begun
Spring Born’s Inaugural Planting Has Begun
Spring Born’s entire first harvest to be donated to local food banks
SILT, CO., August 9, 2021 — Spring Born, an organic hydroponic farm, kicked off production inside their Silt, Colorado facility. Their first harvest will be donated entirely to a local food bank, The Food Bank of the Rockies.
“We are testing around 50 varieties to ensure that we bring the highest quality and most unique flavors to the market,” says Josh Budka, head grower. “We are excited to work with our customers to determine the best varieties to fit their needs.”
Spring Born’s conveniently packaged leafy greens and salad blends are sustainably grown using less land, water, and emissions than outdoor farming. The 2.5-acre greenhouse will produce up to 10,000 packages per day, 360 days a year, utilizing a state-of-the-art, hands-free, automated production.
“Everyone deserves fresh, healthy food. I’m proud to be a long-term partner to our communities’ food banks,” says Charles Barr, president. “Our neighbors are very supportive of the business, and it’s Spring Born’s responsibility to support our neighbors.”
Spring Born’s donations will continue well beyond the first harvest. With an average cycle of 21 days, the company will give a percentage of each planting to various food banks in the Denver, CO, area. Learn more about Spring Born at www.springborn.us or by emailing info@springborn.us
Perishable News: https://www.perishablenews.com/produce/spring-borns-inaugural-planting-has-begun/
Daily Advent: https://www.dailyadvent.com/news/f07e0dac9420a3dffbeb13a1a71a90ac-Spring-Borns-Inaugural-Planting-Has-Begun
HortiDaily: https://www.hortidaily.com/article/9343496/us-hydroponic-farm-donates-first-harvest-to-food-bank/