World’s Largest Vertical Farm Will Produce 2 Million Pounds Of Produce
As documentaries like Food Inc. have conveyed, large-scale agricultural farming is not a sustainable method of producing food for the world’s growing population. But vertical farming might be…
A start-up AeroFarms is presently building what will be the largest vertical farm in the world.
Vertical farms are “a form of indoor controlled agriculture, utilizing as many levels possible of rowing beds stacked vertically in a single-story building,” explains Marc Oshima, co-founder of AeroFarms. “We use 95% less water than traditional field farmers, utilizing aeroponics to mist the roots with water and nutrients — offering 70 times greater productivity per square foot annually than traditional farms.” – Fox News
This facility will grow 22 crops per year with the help of LED lighting and a controlled environment.
- Harvested at Peak Flavor
- Locally Grown
- No Pesticides
- Highly Nutritious
- Uses over 95% Less Water
- Grown from non-GMO Seed
- Ready to Eat
- Soil and Land Conservation
- Committed to the Community
No doubt about it, vertical farms are likely to become a very popular method of growing food in the near future, especially in urban environments.
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| Credit: Inhabitat |
AeroFarm’s $39 million facility will transform an old steel mill in Newark into a high-tech green haven capable of producing over two million pounds of kale, arugula, and other produce in a year. The food will then be sold locally.
Said David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms:
“We want to go where the mouths are. Newark allows us to go to New York City and throughout New Jersey. We’re focused on the places that have economic trouble too—so we can go in and help out.”
LED lights and a controlled environment help the produce mature faster. For example, a seed that usually would take 30 days to grow can reach its full development in 16 days, according to Rosenberg. The shorter span of time in return allows the facility to have 22 crops turns per year instead of just three in a normal field.
And because the weather can be quite unpredictable, such a facility offers stability concerning the future of food production.
“There are currently five medium-to-large vertical farms operating in the United States and over ten smaller ones (mainly growing microgreens and herbs). All of them are planning on expanding,” says Maximilian Loessl, Co-founder and Vice Chair of the Association for Vertical Farming. “We are estimating that the numbers will double next year.”
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Top photo credit: Archinect
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