Freight Farms

Last updated
Freight Farms
Industry Agriculture
Founded2011;13 years ago (2011) in Worcester, Massachusetts
Founders
  • Jon Friedman
  • Brad McNamara
Headquarters,
United States

Freight Farms is a Boston-based agriculture technology company and was the first to manufacture and sell "container farms": hydroponic farming systems retrofitted inside intermodal freight containers. Freight Farms also develops farmhand, a hydroponic farm management and automation software platform, and the largest connected network of hydroponic farmers in the world. The company has installed more than 600 farms around the world, on behalf of individuals, entrepreneurs, educational and corporate campuses, and soil farmers.

Contents

Early history

In 2010, while experimenting with rooftop gardening projects in the Boston area, Jon Friedman and Brad McNamara realized that shipping containers, common to Boston's port, would make sturdy and standardized substructures for vertical farms. Furthermore, refrigerated containers feature insulation that would make it possible to maintain internal environmental conditions year-round in any location. International adoption of freight containers for transportation also meant such a vertical farm could shipped anywhere in the world with relative ease.

In 2011, the two co-founded Freight Farms and, after a successful crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter, [1] hand-built the first container farm prototype on the Clark University campus in Worcester, Massachusetts.

The Leafy Green Machine

In 2013, Freight Farms began to manufacture and sell container farms under the model name Leafy Green Machine (LGM).

Each Leafy Green Machine was a retrofit 40-ft. refrigerated container, and was divided into two sections: the seedling station, and the main growth area. The seedling station consisted of a multifunction worktable featuring irrigated germination shelves where seedlings sprouted from seeds. The main growth area consisted of 256 vertical crop columns, irrigated with an overhead drip hydroponic system. Each column could detach from the hydroponic circuit and lock into place on the seedling table, meaning all planting, transplanting, and harvesting could be accomplished at waist level without bending down.

Both sections were exposed to high-efficiency LED arrays that provide plants with the energy required for photosynthesis, and all excess water was recirculated, filtered, and reclaimed. The average Leafy Green Machine consumed less than five gallons of water and 125 kWh of electricity per day. A skilled farmer could grow up to four tons of food annually in one LGM.

Major sales included Google, [2] Ford Foundation, [3] Sodexo, [4] Compass Group, and Square Roots.

In February 2019, Freight Farms announced [5] that after five years and eight design iterations, the 2018 Leafy Green Machine would be succeeded by the company's next-generation container farm, the Greenery and its performance model, the Greenery S.

The Greenery

Freight Farms' next-generation container farm was conceptualized based on feedback from existing farmers, and organized around three design goals: better yields, improved sustainability, and more IoT-connected automation. [6] Improving on the technology and design of its predecessor, the crop columns and LED array are replaced by plant panels and LED panels respectively, which can slide laterally to accommodate larger crops or in-row farming work. The output of the LED array is also upgraded, meaning plants will grow more quickly, and the seedling table is upgraded to supply the farm with sufficient seedlings.

Farmhand

Farmhand (styled "farmhand") is a software platform developed in-house by Freight Farms, designed to allow hydroponic growers to control farm components remotely, automate certain tasks, analyze past and current growing data, and manage their business. [7] The software was originally developed for Freight Farms' customers, but is now compatible with any hydroponic operation that uses a grow controller.

Grown by Freight Farms

Grown by Freight Farms (or "Grown") is an on-site farming service offered by Freight Farms and intended for medium and large institutions like educational campuses, office parks, retail locations, hospitals, and residential buildings.

In contrast to an outright container farm purchase, Grown clients subscribe to the service for a period of time. Freight Farms, in turn, installs one or more container farms at the desired location, employs a farmer to manage the day-to-day operation of that farm, and delivers the resulting produce to the subscriber. Delivery comes in two types: "Grown to Share", a CSA program managed by Freight Farms, or "Grown to Supply", which is simple produce delivery to a kitchen, prep station, or other destination.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydroponics</span> Growing plants without soil using nutrients in water

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.

Vegetable farming is the growing of vegetables for human consumption. The practice probably started in several parts of the world over ten thousand years ago, with families growing vegetables for their own consumption or to trade locally. At first manual labour was used but in time livestock were domesticated and the ground could be turned by the plough. More recently, mechanisation has revolutionised vegetable farming with nearly all processes being able to be performed by machine. Specialist producers grow the particular crops that do well in their locality. New methods—such as aquaponics, raised beds and cultivation under glass—are used. Marketing can be done locally in farmer's markets, traditional markets or pick-your-own operations, or farmers can contract their whole crops to wholesalers, canners or retailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquaponics</span> System combining aquaculture with hydroponics in a symbiotic environment

Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture with hydroponics whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroponics</span> Mist-based plant growing process

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 Greek words aer ("air") and ponos ("work"). It falls under the category of hydroponics, as water is employed in aeroponics to deliver nutrients to the plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market garden</span> Small consumer-oriented agriculture

A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under 0.40 hectares to some hectares, or sometimes in greenhouses, distinguishes it from other types of farming. A market garden is sometimes called a truck farm in the USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herb farm</span>

A herb farm is usually a farm where herbs are grown for market sale. There is a case for the use of a small farm being dedicated to herb farming as the smaller farm is more efficient in terms of manpower usage and value of the crops on a per acre basis. In addition, the market for herbs is not as large as the more commercial crops, providing the justification for the small-scale herb farm. Herbs may be for culinary, medicinal or aromatic use, and sold fresh-cut or dried. Herbs may also be grown for their essential oils or as raw material for making herbal products. Many businesses calling themselves a herb farm sell potted herb plants for home gardens. Some herb farms also have gift shops, classes, and sometimes offer food for sale. In the United States, some herb farms belong to trade associations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Container garden</span> Practice of growing plants exclusively in containers

Container gardening or pot gardening/farming is the practice of growing plants, including edible plants, exclusively in containers instead of planting them in the ground. A container in gardening is a small, enclosed and usually portable object used for displaying live flowers or plants. It may take the form of a pot, box, tub, basket, tin, barrel or hanging basket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vertical farming</span> Practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep water culture</span>

Deep water culture (DWC) is a hydroponic method of plant production by means of suspending the plant roots in a solution of nutrient-rich, oxygenated water. Also known as deep flow technique (DFT), floating raft technology (FRT), or raceway, this method uses a rectangular tank less than one foot deep filled with a nutrient-rich solution with plants floating in Styrofoam boards on top. This method of floating the boards on the nutrient solution creates a near friction-less conveyor belt of floating rafts. DWC, along with nutrient film technique (NFT), and aggregate culture, is considered to be one of the most common hydroponic systems used today. Typically, DWC is used to grow short-term, non-fruiting crops such as leafy greens and herbs. DWC was invented accidentally in 1998 by a legacy cannabis grower who goes by the name of “Snype”. This occurred because “Snype” and his (unnamed) associate had to take a trip to Amsterdam and needed a way to feed their cannabis crop while they were away. They built nutrient and water reservoirs that would keep the plants thoroughly fed in their absence, and thusly the DWC system was born. They revised this system in 2010 to create RDWC. The large volume of water helps mitigate rapid changes in temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and nutrient solution composition.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban horticulture</span> Science of growing plants in urban environments

Urban horticulture is the science and study of the growing plants in an urban environment. It focuses on the functional use of horticulture so as to maintain and improve the surrounding urban area. Urban horticulture has seen an increase in attention with the global trend of urbanization and works to study the harvest, aesthetic, architectural, recreational and psychological purposes and effects of plants in urban environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intensive crop farming</span> Modern form of farming

Intensive crop farming is a modern industrialized form of crop farming. Intensive crop farming's methods include innovation in agricultural machinery, farming methods, genetic engineering technology, techniques for achieving economies of scale in production, the creation of new markets for consumption, patent protection of genetic information, and global trade. These methods are widespread in developed nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nutrient film technique</span>

Nutrient film technique (NFT) is a hydroponic technique where in a very shallow stream of water containing all the dissolved nutrients required for plant growth is re-circulated past the bare roots of plants in a watertight gully, also known as channels.

Agriculture in the United Arab Emirates, including fishing, was a minor part of the UAE economy in the early 1990s, contributing less than 4 percent of GDP. Since the formation of the UAE, the availability of capital and the demand for fresh produce have encouraged agricultural development. The main farming areas are Digdaga in Ras al-Khaimah. Falaj al Mualla in Umm al Qawain, Wadi adh Dhayd in Sharjah, Al Awir in Dubai and the coastal area of Al Fujairah. Total cultivable land was around 70,000 hectares as of the early 1990s.

A hanging garden is a form of sustainable landscape architecture that can take several different forms, such as roof gardens, but will always be defined as a garden planted at a suspended or elevated position off the ground. These gardens are created with walls, fences, planted on terraces, growing from cliffs, or anything where the garden is not touching the earth. Space optimization is the main intention with the gardens, however, aesthetics and providing cleaner air are also popular reasons for setting one up. Hanging gardens are popular in urban environments where there is limited space, such as in New York or California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural machinery</span> Machinery used in farming or other agriculture

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windowfarm</span>

A Windowfarm is a hydroponic urban gardening system that was originally developed by Britta Riley using open-source designs. A Windowfarm is an indoor garden that allows for year-round growing in almost any window. It lets plants use natural light, the climate control of your living space, and organic “liquid soil.”

The Kratky method is a passive hydroponic technique for growing plants suspended above a reservoir of nutrient-rich water. Because it is a non-circulating technique, no additional inputs of water or nutrients are needed after the original application, and no electricity, pumps, or water and oxygen circulation systems are required. The Kratky method has applications both for commercial food production and as a small-scale and low-maintenance technique for home growers. It has been described as "the simplest hydroponic system."

Eden Green Technology is an agricultural technology company headquartered in the city of Cleburne, TX. The company develops and manufactures hydroponic vertical growing systems for commercial food crops and research and development greenhouses. In 2021, the company recently received a $12 million investment which will help open up a new facility.

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.

References

  1. "Freight Farms: Grow Fresh Food in Any Environment". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  2. Bort, Julie. "These Google employees are using high-tech, dirt-free shipping containers to grow organic herbs". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  3. "Ford Fund, Cass Community Social Services Unveil Freight Farm Allowing Agency to Grow Fresh Food Year Round | Ford Media Center". media.ford.com. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  4. "Webinar Recap: Freight Farming on Campus". Freight Farms. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  5. "Freight Farms Reveals The Greenery™". Freight Farms. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  6. "Greenery Webinar". Freight Farms. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  7. "Farmhand". Freight Farms. Retrieved 2019-04-24.