A truly circular food production platform
2020
Columbi Farms is established to provide the world with a circular and efficient food production platform. Our solution will yield up to nine kilograms of edible greens for every kilogram of salmon produced, simply by reusing valuable nutrients from fish farms.
Ongoing research projects
Together with our research partners, Columbi Farms is carrying out research projects to identify synergies between aquaculture and agriculture. Columbi Farms is currently in the process of conceptualizing a vegetable farm in which food can be produced in a sustainable manner, while contributing to local jobs and a better quality of life in the communities in which we are present.
Circular food production
The food gap will require us to produce 56% more crop calories than we produced in 2010. Columbi Farms will produce more food with fewer resources and use less land than what is the norm in the industry today.
2050
According to projections, there will be close to 10 billion people to be feed in the world by 2050. In order to feed the growing population, we need to significantly increase the food production volume in the years to come.
Announcements
- November 8
- October 4
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October 28
Planlegger storstilt vertikal grønnsaksproduksjon i Trøndelag
Med sterke samarbeidspartnere i ryggen planlegger Columbi Farms bærekraftig grønnsaksproduksjon i stor skala, i det som skal bli Norges største vertikale gård. Gigantanlegget ventes å stå klart allerede i 2024. -
December 17
Columbi Farms interviewed in a Global Seafood Alliance article
Growing lettuce by using fish sludge and water from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) has become a hot topic in the seafood industry. This week, Columbi Farms was interviewed by the Global Seafood Alliance to talk about how we aim to produce… -
September 8
PRODUCING SALAD WITH WATER EMITTED FROM SALMON FARMING
Columbi Salmon, NIBIO, Morefish, and BioMar, have conducted a study which concludes that there is great potential in growing plants in the same system as fish. The innovation supports the UN sustainability goals and Columbi Salmon seeks to realise this…
Our process
Circular food production
We reuse nutrient-rich fresh water, free of particles, from the early stages in fish production farms nearby. This water contains essential nutrients for plants, such as macronutrients N, P, K and Ca, Mg and S, and micronutrients B, Cu, Fe, Cl, Mn, Mo and Zn.
The elements are essential for plants development and growth. In our farms, the plant roots are constantly in contact with the nutrient-rich water. We give them their required conditions to effectively assimilate the nutrients from this water, e.g. suitable pH and oxygen levels.
Indoor vertical farming
We produce soilless in several layers in our vegetable farms and add nutritious water, fertilizers and CO2 in the right amount for each type of crop grown. It is essential to give a suitable light quality and regime during the crop cycle. These buildings are thermally insulated and nearly airtight to completely control climate conditions, including aerating, temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels.
The production area consists of multiple layers, providing a low environmental footprint per kg produced due to the stacking technology. These systems can be built everywhere in the world, only demanding clean water and electricity.
The production is pesticide-free, and the products have a longer shelf life than field-grown produce due to less bacterial load.
Seedlings
In a Columbi Farm, seeds are distributed mechanically to seed trays that have been prepared with growing media. At our farms, we use peat-free growing media to produce vegetables in a circular way without reducing the quality. These trays allow the seeds to get enough water and air to sprout efficiently, in a process that takes 3-5 days.
Following the automatic seeding process, we give them optimal climate conditions in growing chambers to germinate, making them ready for our vertical vegetable farm. For lettuce varieties, this usually takes about 10-20 days before the transplanting process can begin.
Shallow Water Culture (SWC)
The seedlings are automatically transplanted into our vertical farming facility, where the magic happens. When producing healthy vegetables without soil, we use nutrient-rich water supply from a fish farm nearby. This water contains everything plants need for their growing, both macro and micronutrients.
Through employing nutrient-rich water produced by fish farms as organic fertilizers for the plants, the process can be seen as a circular way of producing food. Still, in order to optimize the vegetable production and grow several different types of vegetables, we have to add a minor amount of required nutrients, such as iron and other fertilizer components.