Contain Blog
Inside the World of Indoor Farming, CEA, Financing & Rural Living
Indoor Ag Funding in 2025, and Our Expectations for 2026
For all of the hoopla about high profile failures in the indoor ag sector, 2025 was about nothing if not…
January 12, 2026
November 2025 Indoor Ag Update: Vertical Farming Raises While Public Markets Stumble
November offered some encouraging signs amid a challenging vertical farming environment. Canada’s GoodLeaf Farms closed a major equity round to…
December 10, 2025
October Indoor Ag Update: Signs of Life in New Indoor Farms and Better Equipment Sales
October brought signs of life to the decimated indoor ag sector. Two new indoor farms opened, specialty crop funding continued…
November 10, 2025
September Indoor Ag Update: Vertical Harvest Secures Middle East Investment & Market Consolidation
In a quiet month for indoor agriculture, we saw three new investment rounds announced in September. In total, we saw…
October 11, 2025
August Indoor Ag Update: M&A Galore & Indoor Specialty Crops Funding
If there was a theme to indoor ag’s August, it was greenhouse collabs with two sets of majors making announcements.…
September 6, 2025
July Indoor Ag Update: Acquisitions Accelerate & Funding Returns
Vertical farm funding hit $4.8m in July, while we saw major M&A consolidation with Growcer’s acquisition of Freight Farms assets,…
August 5, 2025
Five Farms Making a Go of Indoor Agriculture
At Contain, we’re always on the hunt for indoor farming innovations to add to our Insights database of more than…
July 23, 2025
Dyson’s 250% Yield Breakthrough Headlines June AgTech: Vertical Farming Advances, M&A Activity, and Industry Setbacks
June saw the debut of Dyson’s rotating vertical system, along with expansion at Little Leaf Farms and more M&A in…
July 21, 2025
Indoor Agriculture Pivots to Home Gardens as Vertical Farming Failures Drive Strategic Reevaluation
The indoor agriculture industry is pivoting as high-profile vertical farming failures force tech manufacturers to reevaluate their business strategies. While…
June 19, 2025
Zordi Series B and May 2025 Indoor Agriculture Developments
May was one of the quietest months since we began tracking the sector, with just two funding events. One increasing…
June 14, 2025
Freight Farms Bankruptcy and iUNU’s $20M Raise Highlight April’s Indoor Ag Contrasts
The Freight Farms bankruptcy naturally dominated April’s news. It masked positive funding announcements, with a new round for automation firm…
May 10, 2025
Freight Farms Resources: Indoor Ag Companies Stepping Up to Support Freight Farmers
The indoor farming world lost a pioneer last week. On April 30, 2025, Freight Farms-the Boston-based company that brought container…
May 5, 2025
How to Finance Your Hydroponic Project in 2025: Finding Opportunity in a Shifting Market
Hydroponic financing in 2025 is at a crossroads. Over the past two years, high-profile bankruptcies and funding pullbacks have dominated…
May 4, 2025
Indoor Ag’s New Reality: Practical Advice from Investment Banker Adam Bergman
The past few years have been anything but smooth for the indoor agriculture sector. After a period of rapid investment…
April 17, 2025
Plenty Unlimited bankruptcy dominates March’s indoor ag news, overshadowing new farm plans
The Plenty Unlimited bankruptcy dominated indoor ag news in March. Linkedin commentators were quick to condemn the vertical farming industry…
April 5, 2025
80 Acres Farms secures $115m, Square Roots expands to Japan, and indoor ag sees farm shakeups in February
80 Acres Farms anchored the month with a $115 million raise and acquisition of plant science innovator Plantae Bioscience. Square…
March 2, 2025
Robobees take flight, vanilla goes vertical, and a new IPO is on the horizon in indoor agriculture’s January
January is traditionally a quiet month in the indoor ag sector, but this one proved surprisingly perky. We saw five…
February 3, 2025
Canadian Agriculture Grants: 7 Funding Opportunities for Indoor Farming in 2025
In a tough VC environment, everyone is looking to stretch a dollar. For Canadian growers in the indoor agriculture space,…
January 21, 2025
Indoor Ag Outlook: Funding Trends and 2025 Projections
In the not-so-distant past of 2020-2022, indoor farming attracted significant venture capital interest. Investors poured millions into vertical farms, as…
January 6, 2025
Oishii’s Latest Funding Round, Bitcoin Mining and More Cannabis Woes in November 2024
Oishii’s latest funding round is announced, an indoor ag firm pivots to bitcoin mining and cannabis turns in a rough…
December 3, 2024
Bowery Farming Closes, While Vertical Cotton Farming Gets Backing, in October 2024
Bowery Farming closes, a vertical cotton farming startup receives seed funding, and Natures Miracle tries a new format. 1. Vertical…
November 4, 2024
BrightFarms & Plenty Ag open new farms in September
BrightFarms and Plenty Ag’s new farms were just one of the bright spots in a busy September for CEA. We…
October 3, 2024
A Staple of Manufactured Housing: Champion Homes
In the evolving landscape of prefabricated housing, many new companies are making waves. Yet, one name has remained a cornerstone…
September 22, 2024
Blending Sustainability with Practicality: The Method Homes Approach to Modular Housing
As mentioned by our previous blog on modular housing, prefabricated homes are growing in popularity. From 2021 to 2027 there…
September 18, 2024
Atarraya: Innovating Indoor Shrimp Farming in the U.S.
Indoor shrimp farming presents unique challenges and opportunities, especially as demand for sustainable and locally produced seafood grows in the…
September 12, 2024
CEA’s Environmental Impact Defended in August 2024
CEA’s environmental impact was reassessed this month thanks to a new academic study. Though funding was slow, there were acquisitions…
September 8, 2024
How One Man Became a Leafy Green Seller from His Apartment: Alex Kranzberg’s Journey
At Contain, we’re often asked for recommendations on setting up a leafy green home grow, even though our primary focus…
August 21, 2024
Factory Homes? Modular Housing Against the Housing Crisis
For many Americans, owning a home reflects a key life goal. A 2022 study found that 74% of Americans view…
August 13, 2024
CEA Farm Funding is Back in July 2024
CEA farm funding rebounded in July. The $170m raised was 70% more than that raised in the whole of Q2. …
August 5, 2024
City Lights to Country Nights: Modern Rural Migration
When considering internal population migration, the first thing that comes to mind is usually the rapid trend towards urbanization. Rural…
July 23, 2024
Exploring Rooted Robotics and the Future of Automation in Agriculture
At Contain, automation is consistently one of the most popular categories on our Equipped pre-owned equipment marketplace. It’s popular…
July 19, 2024
A Wave of New Indoor Farms in June 2024
June brought several new indoor farms, with a whopping 377k ft2 of vertical farming capacity. Elsewhere, funding remained slow but…
July 7, 2024
Exploring the Potential of Hydroponic Hops: Benefits, Challenges, and Economics
The hydroponic hops market is gaining traction, driven by rising demand for craft beer and innovative approaches by companies like…
June 15, 2024
New Specialty Crops Highlighted in May 2024
If there was a theme to indoor ag in May, it was new specialty crops moving indoors. We saw moves…
June 9, 2024
USDA funding CEA farms in April 2024
April’s biggest surprise was the USDA funding CEA farms to the tune of $80m. The industry also saw an acquisition…
May 5, 2024
How has food price inflation impacted indoor veggie growers?
Food price inflation reemerged as a topic of conversation in the past few weeks thanks to an unexpectedly high March…
April 21, 2024
The CEA Industry in March 2024
Cox Farms’ launch announcement was a bright spot in a slow March. Urban-gro’s successful diversification strategy is the highlight of…
March 31, 2024
Is Plant Biology How CEA Fixes Its Business Model?
The Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry finds itself at a crossroads. Recent bankruptcies have spotlighted the sector’s struggle with profitability,…
March 10, 2024
The CEA Industry in February 2024
The CEA industry saw a month of highs and lows in February. On one end, we saw the largest fundraise…
March 4, 2024
Is the future in the country?
When we first started Contain, we thought that the bulk of our clients would be urban farmers. Indeed, we have…
February 26, 2024
Contain Inc Unveils Vendor Showcases and Enhanced Insights Platform to Serve the Indoor Agriculture Industry
Contain, a fintech hub for indoor agriculture, today announced the launch of two projects designed to empower farmers and vendors.…
February 13, 2024
Indoor Agriculture Industry in January 2024
January was a month of recovery for the indoor agriculture industry. Some new funding rounds were announced and there was…
February 5, 2024
Ten Urban Farming Grants To Boost Your Grow In 2024
With venture capital getting harder to find, as we’ve described in an earlier post, urban farming grants seem like a…
January 22, 2024
Five Ways to Up Your Vertical Farm Funding Odds in 2024
There’s no hiding that the vertical farm funding environment has been tough over the past year. The bad news is…
January 15, 2024
Five Farm Projects That Give Us Hope for Controlled Environment Agriculture
The controlled environment agriculture industry may be having a rough time right now, but there are plentiful signs of hope…
January 8, 2024
2023 CEA Funding In Review
In many ways, 2023 was an “annus horribilis” for CEA funding. As interest rates rose and venture capitalists retreated from…
January 8, 2024
Buy and Sell Pre-Owned Indoor AG Equipment on Equipped’s Enhanced Platform
Recent bankruptcies have sent ripples through the indoor farm landscape, impacting both new entrants and seasoned growers. The silver lining…
August 10, 2023
Buying & Selling Pre-Owned Indoor Agriculture Equipment
Buying and selling Indoor farm equipment can be a major obstacle for aspiring and established growers alike. However, the pre-owned…
July 14, 2023
Next in Indoor AG: Mushrooms. Exploring the world of Indoor AG’s rising crop.
Indoor agriculture mushrooms, specifically exotic mushrooms are growing in popularity and quickly becoming an ideal crop due to their high…
April 11, 2023
CEA fintech Contain Inc launches 2 white papers, reviewing CEA funding & stock market performance in 2022 & 2023
Indoor ag fintech specialist Contain Inc launches two white papers, reviewing the CEA landscape in 2022 going into 2023 and…
January 15, 2023
2022 In Review
2022 in review brought to the forefront some difficult hurdles of the industry while also shining a light on opportunities…
January 12, 2023
Indoor Ag in the Stock Market
Indoor Ag in the Stock Market is now of interest to practicioners as the industry matures. Indoor ag – growing…
January 12, 2023
Indoor Agriculture and Cosmetics
Indoor Ag is penetrating new sectors to make life more sustainable, accessible, and clean. One of the ones to watch,…
December 15, 2022
The Future of Indoor Ag and Education
Indoor ag and education are gradually becoming intertwined as growers and industry experts team up with school systems and educators…
October 1, 2022
Controlled environment ag specialist Contain Inc launches indoor agriculture stock index & vertical farm buzz index
Indoor agriculture fintech specialist Contain Inc announced today the launch of two data products, a public stock index and a…
June 1, 2022
What We Contain, We Sustain: ESG in Indoor Agriculture
Indoor agriculture’s ESG credentials have become a topic of discussion in the vertical farming industry. Environmental, social and governance (ESG)…
April 11, 2022
2021 Indoor Ag Funding In Review
2021 indoor ag funding was a banner year for industry funding with private fundraising tripling, M&A accelerating and even moves…
January 4, 2022
Strawberries are Opening Doors for Vertical Agriculture
A major criticism of indoor agriculture is poor economics, which many experts attribute to the variable value of its common…
September 6, 2021
Pinduoduo Unveils 10 Billion Agriculture Initiative to Support Agricultural Modernization
SHANGHAI, China, Aug. 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD: NASDAQ), China’s largest agricultural platform, today announced that it…
August 24, 2021
Hedging Against Global Supply Chain Shortages
COVID-19 has had an enduring, adverse impact on hedging against global supply chain issues. What started as a hand sanitizer…
July 23, 2021
ESG Investing is Reshaping Financial Markets and Supporting Indoor Ag.
Indoor agriculture is an emerging industry high on investor radars due to its low resource use, climate resilience, and decentralized…
June 28, 2021
iFarm Partners With Contain Inc., Increases Accessibility of Vertical Farms
On February 11th, 2021, iFarm officially became a partner with and an official vendor of Contain Inc., an indoor agriculture fintech…
April 16, 2021
Interview with Eric Levesque of Cultivatd
In early 2021, the Contain team welcomed Cultivatd as a new vendor. Cultivatd is a team of vertical farming brokers that can…
February 20, 2021
Who is an Indoor Farmer?
Any business conversation with pro vertical farmers inevitably turns to labor; how to build and train the best team is…
February 8, 2021
Contain's blog delves into various facets of controlled environment agriculture or CEA industry insights and the broader spectrum of rural life, with a specific focus on financing and leasing. The blog is intended for a diverse audience interested in CEA industry insights, covering the intricacies of vertical farms, greenhouses, growing crops, and equipment financing.
The blog provides in-depth insights into the latest trends, innovations, and challenges within the CEA sector. Whether you're a seasoned professional or a newcomer to the industry, Contain's blog offers valuable information to keep you abreast of the rapidly evolving landscape of controlled environment agriculture.
One of the key highlights of the blog is its coverage of financing options for CEA ventures. The articles explore different financing models tailored to the unique needs of vertical farms, greenhouses, and similar indoor farming setups.
Moreover, Contain's commitment to supporting the CEA community extends beyond informational content. The blog introduces readers to Equipped, a pre-owned equipment marketplace developed by Contain. This platform provides a practical solution for those looking to optimize costs by accessing high-quality, second-hand equipment for their indoor farming and greenhouse endeavors.
For those considering leasing options, Contain's blog offers a wealth of information on how leasing can be a strategic choice for indoor farms of all types. The articles guide readers through the advantages of leasing, helping them navigate the complexities of financial decision-making in the CEA industry.
In summary, Contain's blog is a hub for CEA enthusiasts, offering comprehensive insights into vertical farms, greenhouses, crop cultivation, and equipment financing. With a commitment to supporting the community, we would love to hear from you if you have a topic that you would like to see covered by the Contain team. Stay informed and empowered with Contain's blog as your go-to source for all things related to controlled environment agriculture and rural life financing.
Recent bankruptcies have sent ripples through the indoor farm landscape, impacting both new entrants and seasoned growers. The silver lining in these situations, however, lies in the flourishing pre-owned equipment market. With more equipment available due to these events, the market has learned a valuable lesson – keeping build costs low is pivotal to sustainable economics. In addition, pre-owned indoor...
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