Is the Future of Farming Indoors?

• News & Highlights

The effects of climate change could endanger the future of the world’s agriculture. While some regions might become more suited to growing necessary crops, others that currently provide a large share of the regional food supply, like California’s Central Valley, may become dust bowls. Some predictions say that climate change will lead to more extreme weather: more severe storms, droughts, and floods. Others predict that climate change opens the doors to non-native pests that could destroy crops. For all these reasons and so many more, the future of global farming is uncertain.

However, with uncertainty often comes opportunity for innovation. In the case of farming, this uncertainty has sparked the movement of indoor farming. Climate change could alter so many weather and environmental elements that entrepreneurs are seeking to cut out weather altogether. By fusing together agriculture and technology, indoor farming startups are striving to create weather-independent environments.

What does an environment like this look like? Well, by moving crops indoors, growers can create optimal conditions for growing efficiency. For one thing, water doesn’t evaporate to the same extent it does outdoors. CO2 levels can be manipulated such that they are ideal for plant growth. LED lights can lengthen the hours of sunlight to encourage plants to grow faster. Growers can effectively create the best possible conditions for the crops being produced.

In the US these farms were slow to gain a foothold. Founders had to fight strict government regulation, zoning-laws, and an agriculture system geared toward commodity crops. However, now indoor farms may be beginning to gaining traction. This year the winner of the TechCrunch Disrupt startup competition was an agriculture technology startup called Agrilyst. The company developed a software that linked together every aspect of an indoor farm: from fans, to lights, to shades, to electricity together. The software controls and optimizes these elements from a central control. The software marks a massive step for the industry, but it turns out that the US is already a bit behind.

A number of farms abroad have already dialed in various technologies to achieve an astounding level of productivity. For example, one indoor farm in Japan has blown away all beliefs about what productivity is possible for farming. The 25,000 square foot farm has been producing 10,000 heads of lettuce per day, which is nearly 100 times more per square foot than typical methods, and some estimates declare that the “vegetable factory” uses 40% less power, creates 80% less food waste, and uses 99% less water than traditional methods. The farm makes use of custom LED lighting created by GE. The lighting is designed to help plants grow two and a half times faster. With other conditions optimized for growth, the productivity has been simply off the charts. Farms similar to the one in Japan are under construction in Hong Kong, and plans are being discussed to build facilities in Mongolia, Russia, and China.

But what are some of the drawbacks to indoor farming? There are plenty. For one, while traditional farming is already resource intense, indoor farming is even more so. Traditional farms use massive amounts of water, fertilizer, and pesticides, but they use the free resources of the sun, air, rain, and soil. In an indoor farm, producers have to pay for LED lighting, a controlled air climate, and water in addition to other resources. Furthermore, these farms require a massive investment up-front to cover the cost of the greenhouse and machinery.