Florida company opens Colorado’s largest vertical farm

AURORA (KDVR) — A Florida-based vertical farming firm referred to as Kalera simply opened the biggest vertical farm in Colorado.

It appears like one thing out of a James Bond film. However it isn’t. “That is vertical farming.” says Aric Nissen, the chief advertising and marketing officer for Kalera. “Vertical farming is rising meals up in stacks.”

5 acres of farmland, all in an 80,000 square-foot industrial constructing in Aurora.

“We develop 5 kinds of lettuce right here, from Romaine and butter and frisée and pink oak, and we additionally develop microgreens and herbs,” Nissen stated.

It’s all below specifically designed LED lights.

“The pink and the blue assist the crops develop greatest. The mixture of these two is that this actually cool magenta coloration,” Nissen stated.

No soil, no pesticides, no bugs, and Nissen stated there are 13 rising seasons yearly at Kalera versus one at a standard farm.

“A standard farm within the subject, you plant within the spring and also you pull it out within the late summer season,” Nissen stated.

The know-how required for such a facility, a few of it proprietary, requires substantial capital to create.

“These aren’t low cost to place collectively. I might estimate, relying on the scale, about $10 million,” Nissen stated.

Water is a treasured commodity in Colorado and Nissen stated they solely use 5% of what’s usually used for standard farming.

On the surface, the vertical farm appears like your common, big warehouse. On the within, Nissen stated, is the way forward for farming.