| Industry | Agriculture |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 in Finger Lakes, New York, U.S. |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Products | Aeroponic technology |
| Website | aerofarms |
AeroFarms is a sustainable indoor agriculture company based in Danville, VA [1] and uses a patented aeroponic growing system to grow produce.
AeroFarms began in 2004 in the Finger Lakes area of New York. In 2015, the company relocated its headquarters to Newark, New Jersey. The company was co-founded by CEO David Rosenberg, [2] CMO Marc Oshima, and CSO Edward Harwood. [3]
In 2015, AeroFarms started a growing space in a 30,000 square-foot former paintball and laser tag arena in Newark, New Jersey. [4]
In September 2016, the AeroFarms Global Headquarters opened in a 70,000 square-foot facility in Newark, which is the largest indoor vertical farm in the world based on annual growing capacity. [5] The farm was built in a 75-year-old former steel mill facility and has the capacity to produce up to two million pounds of leafy greens per year. [6]
In 2022, AeroFarms opened a farm in Danville, Virginia, where the company is now headquartered.
On June 8, 2023, AeroFarms filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [7] AeroFarms emerged from its bankruptcy in September 2023 following the court’s approval of its restructuring plan involving major investors such as Grosvenor Food & AgTech and Doha Venture Capital [8] , and stated that it was once again nearing profitability. The company has ceased spending on all of its projects excluding its Danville farm as part of its post-bankruptcy turnaround plan. [9]
AeroFarms uses aeroponic technology in their farms. Unlike hydroponics, aeroponics utilizes a closed loop system to mist the roots of the greens with nutrients, water, and oxygen. The growing cloth medium is made out of BPA-free, post-consumer recycled plastic. The cloth can be fully sanitized after harvest and then reseeded with no risk of contamination. Acting as a barrier between the mist and the plants, the cloth allows for a clean, dry and ready to eat product. [10] LED lights are engineered to have specific spectrum, intensity, and frequency which controls the physical and flavor components of the produce. [11] The controlled indoor environment disrupts the normal cycle of indoor pests. This pest-resistant design does away with the need for pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. [12]
Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in an artificial environment. Terrestrial or aquatic plants may grow freely with their roots exposed to the nutritious liquid or the roots may be mechanically supported by an inert medium such as perlite, gravel, or other substrates.
The AF2 was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup championship in August. The AF2 continued to operate while the AFL suspended operations for its 2009 season. The league was effectively disbanded in September 2009 when no team committed to playing in 2010, but several of the stronger franchises transferred into the reconstituted AFL.
Newark is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 311,549. The Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 304,960 for 2023, making it the 66th-most populous municipality in the nation.
Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture with hydroponics whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants.
The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It is named for the New Jersey Meadowlands, upon which it was built.
Aeroponics is the process of cultivating plants in an air or mist environment, eliminating the need for soil or an aggregate medium. The term "aeroponic" originates from the ancient Greek: aer (air) and ponos. It falls under the category of hydroponics, as water is employed in aeroponics to deliver nutrients to the plants.
The Horsehead Holding Corporation, formerly The New Jersey Zinc Company, was an American producer of zinc and related materials based in Pittsburgh. The operations of the historic company are currently conducted as American Zinc Recycling.
Belmont Park is an oceanfront historic amusement park located in the Mission Beach area of San Diego, California. The park was developed by sugar magnate John D. Spreckels and opened on July 4, 1925 as the Mission Beach Amusement Center. In addition to providing recreation and amusement, it also was intended as a way to help Spreckels sell land in Mission Beach. Located on the beach, it attracts millions of people each year.
Prudential Center is a multipurpose indoor arena in the central business district of Newark, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2007, it is the home of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball team. By 2023, it was among the top five concert venues worldwide by earnings. The arena is owned by Josh Harris and David Blitzer and operated through Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics. Some common choices of structures to house vertical farming systems include buildings, shipping containers, underground tunnels, and abandoned mine shafts.
American Dream Meadowlands is a large retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. As of 2024, it is the second-largest shopping mall in the United States with more than 450 stores.
Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) -- which includes indoor agriculture (IA) and vertical farming—is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim of CEA is to provide protection from the outdoor elements and maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the development of the crop. Production takes place within an enclosed growing structure such as a greenhouse or plant factory.
Olympia Trails, also doing business as Megabus Northeast, LLC for the Megabus service that it directly operates, is a bus operator serving northern New Jersey with local and commuter bus service. It also formerly operated as Red & Tan in Hudson County for operations in Hudson County, New Jersey, and also formerly operated ONE/Independent Bus for local bus service in Essex and Union counties in New Jersey. It has been owned by Coach USA since 1998.
The Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league with teams in the Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern United States. The FPHL began operations in November 2010 as the Federal Hockey League. Don Kirnan is the league's commissioner. The league also occasionally branded itself as the Federal Professional Hockey League from 2015 to 2018 until it began using the name Federal Prospects Hockey League and completing the rebrand in 2019.
Jerry B. Kurz is a founding father of the now-defunct Arena Football League. He was one of the earliest leaders of Arena football, and was part owner of Gridiron Enterprises, original owner of the proprietary, formerly patented, Arena football system.
Edward "Ed" Harwood was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and one of the pioneers of aeroponics. He was the founder of Aero Farm Systems, L.L.C. (AeroFarms), as well as the chief inventor of “Method and apparatus for aeroponic farming".
Agricultural technology or agrotechnology is the use of technology in agriculture, horticulture, and aquaculture with the aim of improving yield, efficiency, and profitability. Agricultural technology can be products, services or applications derived from agriculture that improve various input and output processes.
Gotham Greens is an American fresh food and indoor farming company founded and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, that grows local produce year-round in greenhouses, with its lettuces, herbs, salad kits, salad dressings, dips and cooking sauces sold under its brand name.
Bowery Farming is a New York-based vertical farming and digital agriculture company with farms in New Jersey, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It grows and delivers pesticide-free lettuce, leafy greens, and herbs. The largest vertical farming operation in the United States, it serves major retailers at over 850 locations throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, including Whole Foods and Walmart, and supports local, fresh produce supply for a number of food-delivery companies.
AppHarvest, Inc. is an American food production company developing and operating indoor farms in Appalachia. The company operates a 60-acre tomato farm in Morehead, Kentucky, with plans to operate an additional 3 farms across Kentucky.