Hi folks,

Not sure if this is the right place for this question but my daughter is a Sophomore studying agriculture at Rutger's New Brunswick at the moment. She always wanted to get into hydroponics and vertical farming and all was ok until we saw what happened with Bowery. Now we are wondering if this is the right career for her and whether she should pivot (if she can) into some other field.

All constructive thoughts welcome

Thanks

What happens to all the r&d when these vertical farms go under? I think the research and designs on these farms should become open source. Don't do a Monsanto and gatekeep the technology.

Plenty is still alive. I think Gotham is still running as well. Both raised hundreds of millions in 2022 and should be able to last for a while. Who else?

Now that it's shut down, happy to indulge all of you enthusiasts: https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/bowery-indoor-farming-agtech-company-ceases-operations

I will answer as many questions as possible whilst preserving anonymity

https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/bowery-indoor-farming-agtech-company-ceases-operations

We have a 2020 greenery from freight Farms. They are discontinuing their original app to monitor & control the farm in the next month and I don’t want to pay the 20 grand they estimate to put in a new controller so we can link to their new software that they then want to double the monthly cost of to utilize. As a small farmer, I can’t afford that, but I do still need to have remote access to turn different settings on and off (like lights or dosing or set a watering schedule) and the ability to monitor trends over time with my system to identify potential issues. I am in no way a programming person, but I know there has to be a better and more cost-effective way to get the results we need. I’m hoping someone out here can point me in the right direction or potentially wants a project to help build a solution utilizing the current Agrowtek controller that won’t cost a small fortune.

See news article here...

https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/bowery-indoor-farming-agtech-company-ceases-operations#:\~:text=Bowery%20Farming%20sent%20out%20a,decided%20to%20cease%20all%20operations.&text=Bowery%20Farming%2C%20a%20leading%20agtech,PitchBook%20and%20multiple%20company%20employees.

I'm currently working here at the Houston farm and we all got some bad news. The entire production is shifted to the Denver location until they generate profit.

The CEO came by and gave us the news himself and from what I understand about 40% of the entire company is being affected by them consolidating all their investments to the Denver farm.

This sucks for a variety of reasons but mostly because I woke up today thinking I was going to get a raise.

Hello and thanks to helpers, I’m new on this subject and I want to open a small business based on sunlight/greenhouse vertical fames. What’s your guys opinion can I make profits? I will not use any artificial lights. The only electricity I will run is for automatic watering and cost is minimal.

Like the title says, where can I study vertical farming, in Canada? Any college or university offer programs in this yet? Or is it better to hit the ground running and just start a small crop.

Could anyone tell me what is permitted and not permitted to grow in vertical farming indoors according to the Agricultural council of BC in order to obtain a licence?

Thank you.

Currently planning out a feasibility report for a warehouse in the UK for an indoor farm. The warehouse needs to be biosecure, in addition to have HVAC and water/fertigation systems installed. Has anyone retrofitted a pre existing space, before? If so, could you advise an experienced contractor to advise for a quote or share average costs per square metre based on your experience?

A building in Berlin is planning on converting it's entire terrace into a farm. Love to see ideas like this.

https://preview.redd.it/t09ljijhzpsd1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3b8633bb578f5d61900c19b8fbb4556c7a867ce

Hey everyone! I'm 100% Oneida and currently have 4 acres on the settlement, being able to use that to my benefit I have had serious thought on starting a small operation to grow. Any wisdom and advise is appreciated, now I know I didn't go into much detail and that was on purpose, just wanted to get a general feedback thanks

I’ve designed a planter that could be hung in multitudes vertically. Would love for someone to tell me if it’s been done or market potential.

I recently bid on and won a ZipGrow Farming System through Second Bloom Auctions, and the experience has been a disaster from start to finish. After winning the auction, I was hit with a series of confusing and unprofessional issues that make me seriously question the legitimacy of this site.

First, I was told that the tax would be removed since they don’t have a tax nexus in my state (Washington), but when I logged in to pay, I found three open orders for the same item—each still showing taxes applied. Despite their FAQ claiming I would be connected with the seller to arrange pickup, I never received any seller contact information. The seller is an affiliate of Lange Group Capitol, which also owns Second Bloom Auctions, so why is there no direct communication with the seller?

Then the payment issues began. I received an email offering a 2.5% discount if I completed my order within 24 hours, but there was no way to apply that discount during checkout. Worse, my credit card was charged immediately without any confirmation page, and I was later told that the 2.5% discount didn’t apply to my order, even though the email clearly stated it would. Adding to this nightmare, my credit card was charged a second time without my consent at 2:33 a.m., even though I didn’t save any card information on the site.

And then came the icing on the cake—a "Credit Card Processing Fee." Instead of modifying my existing orders to include this fee, they created a completely separate invoice for it. This fee wasn’t mentioned anywhere on their website or FAQ, nor was it disclosed during the checkout process. When I asked them to waive this fee, given that it was never listed or communicated upfront, they flat-out refused. They also wouldn’t honor the 2.5% discount their own email promised.

In short, my experience with Second Bloom Auctions has been filled with hidden fees, broken promises, and a disorganized, unprofessional process. The only positive aspect has been their quick email responses, but that hardly makes up for the rest of the mess. I strongly advise anyone thinking about bidding on this platform to steer clear—there are too many red flags, and I cannot recommend them.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for insights from those who have experience operating vertical or indoor commercial farming operations. Whether you’re selling at a local farmers market or working with larger retailers, I'd love to learn more about your data operations. Specifically, I’m curious about the following:

• What kind of data did you track?
• Were there specific metrics that were most important to you?
• Did you use any software to manage this? If so, was it a dedicated solution or something cobbled together?

Any feedback or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated! For context, I've built small systems for a few years, mostly for R&D purposes. Starting to look at the commercial space and I'd like to better understand the needs there.

I vividly remember being awestruck and almost changing my professional trajectory back in 2013 when I stepped into my first vertical farm; after doing the numbers in my head I concluded that it was too early due to the CAPEX. This summer I "babysat" a family member's greenhouse for a few days in the scorching summer heat, which got me thinking about automation and so started a deep dive into the state of the art anno 2024, to my disappointment and surprise (in equal parts) the CAPEX does not really seem to have come down a lot and I struggle to fathom why, hence this post.

It seems that anything over 1000sqm (entry level commercial) with some embedded automation immediately enters multi-million dollar territory. Could someone please walk me through the numbers and business case. Why has there not been a massive cost reduction in lighting, hydro/aeroponics, automation equipment and software? Even the actual racks are still exorbitantly expensive. Am I crazy to think that a 10-20x cheaper greenhouse setup with some home made (think Rasp Pi, off the shelf moisture, nutrient and light sensors would always beat a vertical farm? Am I missing something crucial? Maybe there is some budget alternatives that has managed to reduce the price?

I am thinking of opening a vertical farm business in my home country, India. So, my question is what kind of study do I need to do? Moreover, what could be an estimated investment for this kind of business? I believe that vertical farming could be the future of agriculture because climate is making a huge impact on traditional agriculture. 

Hi

Im trying to move away from old piecework tracking methods, and looking for a digital approach.

But there seems not to be so many options to choose from.

I tried 2 products, one didn't work well and the 2nd wasn't affordable because of additional fees. Would someone be so kind and share a good solution for tracking boxes picked by workers digitally?

Using a throwaway account, but after ~4 years with the same vertical farming company, I’m looking for a new job. Is it worth it to even still search for work in this sector or is it truly a bust? The company I work for seems to change their business plans so often that the whiplash is burning me out. I love the idea of this tech, and its sustainability potential, but the people running them seem to be incompetent, greedy, and/or not even have ag or commercial food production backgrounds. Any good ones I should look at?

As the title says, I recently made the decision to sell my vertical container farm. Overall it was a good experience with a lot of ups and downs. Attached a picture of some of the produce we grew!

The unit as it stands now

Chef's loved this stuff in super small batches. Was impossible to move wholesale

Some of my favorite lettuce heads for their yield rate.