Indoor farming company Fischer Farms is building what it claims is the world’s largest vertical farm at the Food Enterprise Park at Easton near Norwich. The company already operates a vertical farming facility in Lichfield.
The 25,000 sqm facility, which will cost £25 million, will produce 6.5 tonnes a day of salad leaves, herbs and ‘other fresh produce’ for UK supermarkets, with the developers saying it will have the same production capacity as 1,000 acres of land. Funding of the project came from sustainable asset management firm Gresham House.
The company says it ‘will use advanced data analytics tools to optimise its fully automated growing, harvesting and reseeding systems.’ All crops will be grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides, ensuring the highest quality fresh produce. Operations will have no impact on the surrounding countryside from issues typically associated with traditional farming, such as topsoil erosion or chemical run-off.
Fischer Farms CEO, Tristan Fischer, commented, ““Fischer Farms is the future of farming, fresh food production and food supply chains in this country. Our plans use the very latest vertical farming innovations, technology, and 100% renewable energy to enable us to farm more responsibly, sustainably, and more productively in order to feed a growing population.”
The new facility will be completed in 2022, and Fischer Farms says that, over the next 10-15 years, it plans to scale up its operation and reduce its cost base to enable it to ‘ultimately grow soya beans, rice, and wheat in significant volumes and at price points that compare favourably to global commodity prices.’
Photo source: Fischer Farms