Vertical Farming is a good thing
Vertical Farming is a good thing
Using less land, less fertilizer and making propagation more efficient. And that's just for starters.
When you think of farming lettuce and/or strawberries you might think of low-lying, long stretching patches of brown dirt with a carpet of green plants.
This is aesthetically pleasing, but is it overly efficient? Could it be improved? Could it be moved to cities, to improve urban life?
The good news is yes.
Welcome to vertical farming.
“Growing on vertical towers enables uniform delivery of nutrients, superior airflow, and more intense lighting, delivering increased yield with consistent quality.”
Those are the words of Arama Kukutai the CEO of Plenty a company focused on vertical farming. Plenty has started with a vertical lettuce farm in California and strawberries in Virginia.
This is a glorious example of combining technology, AI and years of learning about farming to create new efficient farms.
Plenty was founded in San Francisco in 2014 by Mr. Kukutai and if focused on addressing the challenges of traditional agriculture, such as water scarcity and land limitations.
Using AI optimizations the growing conditions of Plenty's indoor farms (temperature, humidity, feeding and lighting) are precisely controlled, leading not only to higher yields but also a reduced environmental impact.
Take the Virginia strawberry plant, where the farms use less than 40,000 square feet, but are still capable of producing over 4 million pounds of strawberries annually. Compare this to data from the 2017 USDA NASS Census which found the average size of a strawberry farm in the US to be 6.7 acres! To boot, Plenty’s patented pollination method further enhances productivity and quality.
Over in Compton, California, Plenty has opened a vertical farm dedicated to leafy green vegetables. This facility takes the Plenty effort further automating more tasks and addressing new legacy issues like pests and weather-related disruptions.
"Vertical farming offers a solution to the challenges posed by climate change and food insecurity," Kukutai explains. "By growing crops indoors, we can produce high-quality produce year-round, regardless of external conditions."