What is vertical farming?
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops using vertically stacked layers. It often incorporates soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, making it ideal for indoor and urban agriculture.
Controlled Environment Agriculture
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim of CEA is to provide protection and maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the development of the crop. Production takes place within an enclosed growing structure such as a greenhouse or building. Plants are often grown using hydroponic methods in order to supply the proper amounts of water and nutrients to the root zone. CEA optimizes the use of resources such as water, energy, space, capital and labor, and uses technologies such as hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaculture, and aquaponics.
For the purpose of Sunspring Farms, our vision is to apply hydroponic CEA technology within our vertical farms to allow us to reduce our physical footprint, while using less resources in order to grow healthy, pesticide free food for all Calgarians.
If you are interested in learning more about CEA and vertical farming, visit the Association for Vertical Farming.
FAQs
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Most farms aim to grow the most amount of healthy food per square meter of space used. To achieve this, stacked growing beds or towers are used to reduce the physical footprint of the farm in combination with LED lighting to maintain the perfect light level in the production space, technologies such as aquaponics, aeroponics or hydroponics as growing mediums for the crops being grown, and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar to offset the energy used to grow produce within the vertical farm and help The City of Calgary achieve net-zero emissions.
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The sky's the limit (pun totally intended!), but it boils down to the feasibility of the crops being grown. Today, that typically includes high value small crops like leafy greens and microgreens. However, it also depends on the demand of the local market and the potential of expanding into other crops such as strawberries and mushrooms, which are expansion opportunities for Sunspring Farms.
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There are a number of resources available to educate yourself on the world of vertical farming and CEA, but for starters, we recommend visiting the Association for Vertical Farming and the Vertical Farming Academy for in-depth knowledge on the topic.
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Physical footprint
Traditional agriculture currently occupies over 80% of the world's arable land that is suitable for growing crops. By the year 2050, we will need 109 million hectares of additional land mass in order to feed the expanding world population if we continue to use these conventional methods. That is 20% more land than the entire country of Brazil.*
Traditional farming
Conventional methods rely heavily on raising crops within arable soil, which require a large amount of land in order to produce the yields necessary to match the demands of the world population. Additionally, over 50% of crops planted are not harvested, either due to climate factors such as heat waves, or waste produced during harvest.*
Vertical farming
Crops grown vertically typically require 0% soil and reduce the physical land required for producing food. For most farms, 1 acre of vertical farming space can equal to 10 to 20 acres of soil based traditional farming depending on the crops being grown. And since the growing conditions are controlled by the farm, close to 90% of crops planted are harvested.*
Resources
Our continuous use of resources such as water and fossil fuels will eventually have a large impact to our global food supply. Over 70% of our available fresh water currently goes towards crop production and raising animals, and the food sector accounts for 30% of global energy consumption while producing 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.*
Traditional farming
With the majority of crops being outside and exposed to the elements, between 50-80% of the water used is typically lost to evaporation and runoff. Additionally, food travels an average of 2400 to 4000 kilometers in order to reach your plate, which has a major impact on the fossil fuel usage in the industry today.*
Vertical farming
Thanks to CEA technology like hydroponics, vertical farming uses 70-95% less fresh water than traditional farming methods. Its focus on local production also helps reduce the need for long distance supply chain models, ultimately diminishing the use of fossil fuels and ensuring quality and freshness.*
Health
Food borne diseases and contamination within our food production has been a growing concern over the years. Increased usage of pesticides and recalls of fresh produce due to Salmonella and E. Coli are becoming more common. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 582 million cases of 22 different food-borne diseases were experienced in 2010.*
Traditional farming
In order to combat pests that pose a threat to crop production and overall yield, 5.2 billion pounds of pesticides are used worldwide. Studies also show that only 0.1% of applied pesticides reach the intended target, leaving 99.9% to impact the environment.*
Vertical farming
As the name implies, CEA controls all of the growing conditions for crops that are grown indoors or within enclosed greenhouses. As a result, 0% pesticides are used since crops are not exposed to the elements that breed insects that may impact food production.*
* Source: Association for Vertical Farming
Want to know more about how Sunspring Farms will use CEA and vertical farming?
Calgary, Canada
