June saw the debut of Dyson’s rotating vertical system, along with expansion at Little Leaf Farms and more M&A in the listed sector.

Industry News

Dyson Farming Unveils Facility

Dyson’s latest unveiling of its UK strawberry facility captured media attention. The centerpiece is a custom-built vertical growing system—the largest rig Dyson has ever engineered—measuring 24 meters long and 5.5 meters tall, with each wheel weighing 500 kilograms. Constructed entirely in-house by Dyson engineers, this system is designed to dramatically increase strawberry yields, reduce energy use, and deliver high-quality fruit year-round in the UK. Sir James Dyson described his approach as treating farming like manufacturing: “How can we make it more efficient? What technology can we bring in that will improve the quality, the taste of the food, use the land better so that we can invest further and make a difference to farming?”

The Hybrid Vertical Growing System technology stacks strawberry plants over multiple vertical levels and rotates them through the structure.  It ensures that each plant receives maximum sunlight, overcoming challenges of light levels and shadowing inherent to high-density growing. The rotation allows for optimal natural energy use, with LED lighting supplementing only as needed. Precision is further enhanced by bespoke sensor packs developed by Dyson, which monitor CO₂, humidity, temperature, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) to fine-tune growing conditions. Water use is minimized through a closed-loop irrigation system. The company says that the technology, tested in Dyson’s 26-acre Lincolnshire greenhouse, has achieved a 250% increase in strawberry yields while maintaining fruit quality.

Rotating Concept Isn’t New

The rotating concept isn’t new. Singapore’s Sky Greens pioneered similar technology over a decade ago with their A-shaped aluminum towers featuring 38 rotating tiers. Its system also rotated crops for uniform sunlight exposure but struggled with commercial viability and has since significantly downsized operations.  We visited the farm some years’ ago, and workers attributed growing challenges to the plants “not liking being rotated”.  The key difference with Dyson appears to be scale and integration. While Sky Greens focused primarily on the rotating mechanism, Dyson’s approach combines the rotation technology with automation, robotic harvesting, sustainable energy from anaerobic digesters, and strong financial backing.  In addition, Dyson benefits from tech that wasn’t around a decade ago.

Farmshelf Closure Announcement

Farmshelf, a Brooklyn-based hydroponic indoor farming startup, officially closed its operations after nine years in business.  CEO Jean-Paul Kyrillos announced the closure on LinkedIn. The company specialized in bookcase-sized indoor farming systems that enabled users to grow leafy greens and herbs. It shipped 500 units across three product versions, raising $20 million in funding, employing 100 people, managing 450 supply chain components, testing 300 plant varieties, and producing 200,000 pounds of fresh produce. 

In his closure announcement, Kyrillos stated that while the company had “people, product, resources and customers,” they “didn’t have enough of them all at the same time,”.

Little Leaf Expansion

Little Leaf Farms has announced plans for a 215-acre campus in Manchester, Tennessee. It marks the company’s third major facility expansion since its founding in 2015. The Tennessee site will initially accommodate 40 acres of greenhouse space with potential expansion to 80 acres. It complements the company’s existing operations in Devens, Massachusetts and McAdoo, Pennsylvania, where they currently operate approximately 50 acres of hydroponic production facilities. It is scheduled to begin construction in summer 2025 with operational launch in fall 2026. The Company is working with VB Group for greenhouse construction. The Tennessee facility represents a measured geographic expansion to serve Midwest, Southeast, and Texas markets.  It continues Little Leaf’s incremental growth strategy of adding approximately one greenhouse facility per year.

Listed Company News

In a quiet month for the listed sector, we saw a disposal plan initiated and ongoing audit issues at CubicFarms.

Gibraltar Industries Board Approves Sale of Renewables Business

On June 30, 2025, Gibraltar Industries announced that its Board approved the sale of the company’s Renewables business. This marks a strategic portfolio realignment. The Renewables segment, which generated $44m in net sales for the first quarter of 2025, had been experiencing declining performance. It saw a 15% decrease in revenue compared to the previous year and an operating margin of -7.2%. The divestiture decision comes as the company refocuses on core business areas while facing challenges in the solar market.

This move occurs within a broader context of significant M&A activity across the greenhouse, vertical farming, and agricultural technology sectors. The global agriculture market witnessed $76 billion in deals during 2024. Recent years have seen transactions including Cox Farms becoming one of North America’s largest greenhouse operators through acquisitions of facilities like Greenhill Produce’s 150-acre operation and Hacienda Farms’ 160-acre facility. Elsewhere, Gotham Greens made its first acquisition with FresH2O Growers in 2022. 

CubicFarm Systems Still in Default

CubicFarm Systems Corp. announced on June 16, 2025, that it remains unable to file its annual audited financial statements for fiscal year 2024. These were originally due April 30, 2025. The company is operating under a Management Cease Trade Order (MCTO) that extends their filing deadline to June 30, 2025. During this time only the CEO and CFO are prohibited from trading company securities while the audit process continues. While CubicFarm emphasizes that there have been “no material changes” to their business operations and “no material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed,” the repeated delays in financial reporting suggest challenges with their finance function.  The company has faced similar filing delays and management cease trade orders in previous years.

Disclaimer

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash.

The information provided on this blog is for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis of the securities, markets, or developments referred to. While we strive to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information, the content of this blog does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, trading advice, or any other advice. You should not treat any of the blog’s content as such. 

We do not recommend that any securities listed or discussed be bought, sold, or held by you. Nothing on this blog should be taken as an offer to buy, sell, or hold securities. Please conduct your own due diligence and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. 

Forward-looking statements made in this blog are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.