Highlights from the 2022 International Plowing Match
The ZipPod was on the move this September, craned in with various live plants to the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) in Kemptville, Ontario.
This was the grand debut of our latest technology, launched June 2022, and the first opportunity for the public to tour our container farming system, see firsthand how crops are grown in ZipGrow hydroponic Towers, and connect with the team behind its development.
The IPM is a 110-year-old event and the largest event of its kind in North America. It typically draws crowds of up to 70,000 visitors worldwide and is a five-day celebration of agriculture and rural living.
What’s unique about the IPM is that the venue changes each year within the province of Ontario. It takes place in rural areas with the support of local farmers, residents and municipalities. This year, the event was on two sites, the former Kemptville College Campus, where ZipGrow Inc. leases the greenhouses for research and development, and a locally owned and operated farm, Rideauside Farms. The tented city festival includes educational opportunities, plowing competitions, rodeo shows, live entertainment, and a myriad of vendors who support all types of agriculture.
With over 1,000 volunteers, the planning and orchestrating an event of this magnitude are complex and highly dependent on community involvement. The IPM committee has confirmed that over the course of the 5 days for the 2022 event, 67,128 people attended. Like we said, it’s large!
Most visitors to the IPM are traditional agricultural farmers, including large-scale cash crop farming, hobby farms, meat and dairy, and everything in between. The region of Eastern Ontario is known for its agricultural prowess and is farmer proud.
What’s in the box?
Surrounded by vendors showcasing their colossal farming machinery, tractors, cranes, tillers, and the like, the ZipPod container farm turned some heads and offered the unexpected. New tech at a century old ag show.
For many visitors, it was their first time stepping their rubber boots into an indoor vertical farm.
“Wow!”, “awesome,” “super interesting,” and “highlight of the show” are just some of the reactions as people entered the farm.
The ZipPod condenses annual production of 2-4 acres of farmland into a 3,800 cubic foot container farm, where fresh produce such as leafy greens, herbs, and fruiting crops grows vertically. We had a third of the farm in operation, with a bounty of full Tower crops. Space for people to walk through, explore the HVAC, plumbing, and the seedling station.
There were a lot of questions and curiosity. It sparked great conversations about the future of farming and the need to keep pushing boundaries on how fresh food can be grown and distributed. Many visitors commented that they understand the need for indoor farms to support food production, especially through the winter months and as they adapt to climate change.
Next gen
The event was buzzing with energy. Mid-week we were happy to connect with a younger generation when local schools explored the grounds. We were thrilled to see so many teachers and students come to our booth and show interest in the concept of soil-less growing through hydroponics.
When they can see it, touch it and smell it (thank you, basil) it’s much easier for them to understand the big picture of how an indoor system replaces soil, sunlight and nutrients.
We hope that this led to further discussion in the classroom on how plants can be grown vertically in a healthy and sustainable way.
You say potato we say pot-ahhh-to
You grow in soil; we grow without
You grow outdoors; we grow indoors
You grow with advanced technology; hey, so do we!
Technological advancements have supported traditional farming so have improvements in controlled environment agriculture, especially within the last decade. The support and positive reaction to hydroponic growing from traditional growers at the International Plowing Match was somewhat unexpected but incredible for our team to see. It’s clear in this region that there is acceptance for all types of agriculture that supports the common goal of fresh and localized food production.
Common questions were around operating costs and yields, what crops could be grown, and who would grow hydroponically?
The simple answer to the latter is anyone!
While we may not be able to grow potatoes hydroponically in a ZipGrow Tower (at least not on commercial production levels), we are proving solutions to growing leafy greens, fresh herbs, and small fruiting crops in home systems through to commercial farms, and the kicker is that they grow year round. Ahhh!
We thank everyone who took the time to visit us and tour some of our systems.
An event of this scale would be impossible to put on without hundreds of volunteers and generous support from the business community, so a big thank you also goes out to the organizers and volunteers who made this event a huge success.
We’ll be back!
