A Google-backed warehouse farm just raised $20 million to build in cities across the US

pulse

June 16, 2017 5:51 PM

Crops grow under LEDs and most of the processes are automated at the the indoor farming startup Bowery. Take a look inside.

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Indoor agriculture startup Bowery says it's creating the farm of the future.

Unlike traditional outdoor farms, Bowery grows greens under LEDs (which mimic natural sunlight) inside a giant warehouse in New Jersey. Instead of soil, crops sprout in nutrient-rich water beds on trays stacked from the floor to the ceiling. Throughout the growing process, sensors in the trays track the growing process.

The company just raised $20 million in Series A funding,

When Bowery launched earlier in 2017, co-founder Irving Fain told Business Insider the farm has the capacity to grow 100 times more greens per square foot than the average industrial

Out of those 80, Bowery is selling six types for about the cost of most organic greens. Available at select Whole Foods and Foragers stores in the tri-state area, a five-ounce package of greens costs $3.99.

Bowery is one of many urban farming startups that have emerged in recent years. Also in New Jersey, AeroFarms started commercial production inside a 69,000-square-foot warehouse in 2016. Brooklyn's Square Roots, which made its first harvest in early 2017, is growing its produce inside ten 320-square-foot shipping containers.

Unlike Bowery, which says it will now experiment with other crops besides greens, these companies solely produce leafy greens. Compared to other vegetables and fruits, greens usually make more financial sense for vertical farms — They can sell greens at a higher price per pound that most other types of produce.

Bowery Farm is now ramping up for large-scale production (Fain would not disclose the farm's size or growing capacity), and is already working on its next farm in the tri-state area. In the future, Fain hopes to expand internationally.

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