Innovation in the horticulture industry

Once upon a time, I was a vacuum cleaner salesman.

Well, sort of.

I was PR manager for a major vacuum brand. Same difference, really.

One year, the brand released a new “state-of-the-art” consumer vacuum cleaner. Word from the top was that we wanted to push it as a high-tech option for the cutting-edge buyer with disposable income for things like high-end wireless speakers and ultra-thin laptops.

My team and I set ourselves to thinking. You see, vacuums aren’t that innovative, no matter what that British dude says. (And anyway, he’s moved on to hair dryers.) So, we had to come up with an innovation story.

At the time, home 3D printing was in its infancy, though still relegated to techy hobbyists. What if, I wondered, we created a series of vacuum accessories for niche applications (picking up toy building bricks, for instance) that were only available for 3D printing? To my surprise, nobody said no.

After building a partnership with a premier 3D printer company, working with our own engineers to make accessory designs and jumping through what seemed like endless legal hoops, we were ultimately able to premiere our vacuum and the accessories alongside 3D printers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Was it a success? Well, the project did get its own brief mention on the tech blog Gizmodo. As for the vacuum? Let’s just say it’s in the dustbin of history, having never made its intended buzz.

The moral of the story? True innovation is not something that you can simply bolt on to the commonplace. Innovation is baked into the process of creation from the beginning. It is collaborative and exciting and difficult to stop, even when roadblocks are presented.

I was lucky enough to talk with some true innovators for this month’s issue. On the public side, I spoke with researchers from the USDA’s Application Technology Research Unit. Funded by your taxes, the team at the ATRU is building solutions for agriculture that drive efficiency in the industry. They work efficiently, too, ensuring that what they build can cross growing sectors.

I also spoke with the founder and CEO of Leaficient, Brian Stancil, who has developed a solution that he says can track photosynthesis of plants in real time. His tech is currently being tested by leafy greens growers who are seeing the potential.

These stories show us that innovative thinking is alive and well in our industry. We just have to make sure we start with innovation in mind.

Otherwise, you’re just left with something that sucks.

Patrick Alan Coleman
Editor | pcoleman@gie.net