S5E57: Broadening the Farm: Providing Holistic Solutions & Innovation within the Vertical Farming Industry with Netled Oy’s Niko Kivioja

Episode SummaryCEO of Netled, Niko Kivioja spent the first part of his career in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) as a grower and has spent the last decade in high-tech closed-environment and vertical farming technology development. Today, Harry and Niko discuss how the vertical farming industry is growing and what opportunities exist for competitors within the industry to share technological advances to benefit all companies. Niko shares some exciting new projects and partnerships, including one with a Calgary-based wholesale supplier to bring Netled’s Vera vertical farming technology to the North American market.Thanks to Our SponsorsCEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/Key Takeaways04:27 – Harry welcomes CEO of Netled, Niko Kivioja, to talk about the proprietary Vera vertical farming platform he’s been managing and the research that goes into shifting focus to new produce such as strawberries14:34 – Providing holistic solutions and building a world-class vertical farming team18:33 – Advancements and specialization of technology in vertical farming and sharing resources so all companies in the industry benefit23:01 – Niko talks about the latest initiative between Netled and Calgary-based Rambridge Wholesale Supply to bring Vera vertical farming technology to the North American market33:15 – What excites Niko most about future innovations in the vertical farming industry35:54 – Niko shares a major production project he’s currently working on38:55 – Power consumption at a vertical farm41:06 – Raising awareness and educating the masses on vertical farming45:18 – What keeps Niko motivated48:35 – Harry thanks Niko for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can learn more about NetledTweetable Quotes“I see that, to actually make a difference in this field when there is a lot of new commerce to the business, you have to offer broader offerings than just the farm and just the details of that farm.” (14:19) (Niko)“That’s the problem for all technology companies. The technology is only as good as the people making it.” (16:45 (Niko)“It’s always difficult when you risk sharing information with your competitors. Then again, when there is a limited amount of talent, that would benefit the entire industry to actually make a successful method so that all the interests of different companies can be met.” (21:58) (Niko)“Since the early days of vertical farming, there were challenges of getting financially feasible technology for actual commercial production.” (28:10) (Niko)“We’re working probably in the most important field right now in solving these food-related issues.” (46:15) (Niko)Resources MentionedNetled Website – https://netled.fi/Netled LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/netled-oy/Netled YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxWdujAa_kBqCbOAYx7SJKQNetled Twitter – https://twitter.com/NetledNetled Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/netled_/Netled Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NetledOyNiko’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/niko-matti-kivioja-93333114/?originalSubdomain=fiSponsor Info Cultivatd’s Website – https://cultivatd.com/Cultivatd’s Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/cultivatdco/Cultivatd’s Twitter – https://twitter.com/cultivatdCultivatd’s Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/cultivatd/🎙️🎙️🎙️Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCastDiscover the best podcast services in the world at The Podosphere: https://www.thepodosphere.com/Mentioned in this episode:2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews2025 Precision Ag Report2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews2025 Precision Ag Report