December 19, 2019

By Lynda Kiernan

AeroFarms announced it is investing $42 million to construct its largest and most sophisticated indoor, vertical farm in Danville, in rural Pittsylvania County, Virginia. 

“At 150,000 square feet, our new farm more than doubles the size of our last major commercial farm in New Jersey that will help us meet the strong consumer demand for safely grown produce that delivers peak flavor always,” said David Rosenberg, co-founder and CEO, AeroFarms.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, as a Certified B Corporation, AeroFarms uses advanced technologies to take agricultural production to the next level without the use of soil, herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides. Employing proprietary technologies and software-controlled LED grow lights, AeroFarms’ vertical indoor farms grow crops suspended above a nutrient rich solution with water, oxygen, and nutrients misted onto the plants’ roots. This system allows AeroFarms to produce crops twice as fast as traditional farming, reflecting productivity 390 times greater per square foot, using 95 percent less water.

Nutrient uptake is closely monitored, and the company’s horticulturalists and engineers employ sensors and algorithms to collect plant data which is then analyzed to understand what inputs and factors cause certain crops to include particular traits and attributes, such as flavor or leaf texture – meaning AeroFarms can create bespoke crops  grown for customers’ particular needs.

Through its business, AeroFarms is able to disrupt traditional supply chains, producing the highest-quality, hyper-local sustainably-sourced, and pesticide-free produce that can then be delivered at its point of peak flavor and nutrition.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Pittsylvania County, the City of Danville, and the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance to bring this project to Virginia.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam also approved a $200,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund, and a $200,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development (AFID) Fund, to help back the project.

“AeroFarms is a leader in agricultural innovation with farming technologies that make high-quality, local produce available to more communities,” said Governor Northam. “We are bringing capital investment and economic opportunity to rural Virginia by recruiting innovative companies like AeroFarms. I thank the company for choosing Virginia for this important venture and commend Danville-Pittsylvania County for helping to secure this project.”

Vertically Building Confidence

Since 1982, 24 million acres of U.S. farmland have been lost to development, and the loss continues at a rate of 40 acres of farm and ranch land every hour, according to the American Farmland Trust. More specifically, the California Climate & Agriculture Network noted that California, one of the top-producing agricultural states in the country, has lost an average of 50,000 acres of farmland each year for the past 30 years due to urbanization and development. Meanwhile, in the next 30 years, we will have to produce more food than has been produced in the last 10,000 years.

Furthermore, traditional agriculture accounts for the use of 70 percent of all the available global water supply, and the U.S. alone uses over 700 million pounds of pesticides per year.

These combined factors are leading to greater investor confidence in the vertical ag production model.

“AeroFarms is a perfect example of how blending technology with agriculture can provide an environmentally responsible solution to growing nutritious food,” said Fred Shanks, chair of the Danville Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority. “Given the history and importance of agriculture to this region, I cannot think of a better place for AeroFarms to locate. We are delighted to welcome them to this great community.”

This confidence in the vertical farming business model, and in AeroFarms in particular, has recently been expressed by Time, which named AeroFarms as one of the 100 Best Inventions of 2019 for Food & Beverage.

“We at AeroFarms are incredibly honored to be recognized by Time for our pioneering work in indoor vertical farming and food,” said AeroFarms’ Rosenberg. “We are transforming agriculture and importantly providing locally grown, safe, nutritious, and delicious produce. The AeroFarms culture is one of constant innovation – growing over 800 varieties of plants, improving quality, reducing capital and operating costs of our proprietary farming technology, and creating more and more commercially viable options for society.”

“We are working with great strategic partners and continue to welcome more on our journey, appreciating our ambitions are high and our impact is greater collaborating within the broader agtech and food ecosystems.”

– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to the GAI News and Agtech Intel platforms. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.