Five Farm Projects That Give Us Hope for Controlled Environment Agriculture

The controlled environment agriculture industry may be having a rough time right now, but there are plentiful signs of hope for a resurgence.  Here, we highlight five CEA farm projects that point the way to a new direction for the industry.

1. Bosch Growers and AppHarvest’s Greenhouses Shift to Strawberry Cultivation

Kentucky greenhouse grower AppHarvest’s 2023 bankruptcy filing was one of the year’s low points, but Bosch Growers’ acquisition of AppHarvest’s greenhouses marks a resurgence for their assets. Bosch Growers is a Dutch family-run agricultural business that was founded in 1854. The company specializes in growing green bell peppers and blackberries, and it is recognized for its expertise in high-technology cultivation.  This initiative repurposes AppHarvest’s greenhouses for strawberry growing.  The move to grow strawberries in a controlled environment also signifies a step towards ensuring year-round availability of the fruit, a long standing ambition of many a controlled environment ag player.  Others pursuing the same goal include Japanese gift strawberry grower Oishii and US vertical farmer Plenty’s collaboration with berry major Driscoll’s.

2. Indoor Hydroponic Coffee Farm: with Big Guns Coffee and Isothermal Community College

Attempts to grow coffee indoors are not new, but there was a fresh twist on the theme in 2023 thanks to a veteran-owned startup.  Big Guns Coffee, a coffee roaster in North Carolina, and Isothermal Community College, announced a collaboration aimed at creating an indoor Hydroponic Coffee Farm.  Spanning 2,300 square feet in Isothermal’s Spindale Campus Technology Building, the venture promises to showcase how controlled environmental conditions can lead to sustainable, efficient, and perhaps even more flavorful coffee bean cultivation.  It comes on the back of lengthy research at institutions like Wageningen University & Research, which began experimenting with indoor grown self-pollinating Arabica cultivar coffee back in 2017.

3. Saffron Growing in Vertical Farms

Saffron is one of the world’s most expensive spices, fetching anywhere between $500 and $5,000 per pound.  It’s a labor-intensive crop, primarily grown in one country, Iran.  Combined, this makes it an attractive option for adaptation to indoor farms.  The most recent commercial endeavor is from Israeli company Saffron Tech, which raised a $2.3m round of funding in 2023 to pursue indoor-grown saffron.  By growing saffron in a controlled vertical farm, the company expects a more consistent yield and a solution to labor shortages. Traditionally, saffron yields one harvest per year, but Saffron Tech says that it has already achieved two harvests and is targeting a third.  This kind of R&D will be crucial to creating a viable business model for the company.

4. Planet Farms moves into cosmetics feed stocks

When Italy’s Planet Farms raised one of the largest VC rounds of 2023, they cited a move into cosmetics and perfume feedstocks as one of their use of proceeds.  The leafy green grower seems keen to diversify into higher value crops, so avoiding mistakes made by the first generation of indoor growers.

Crops like Calendula, chamomile, peppermint and mushrooms are obvious targets for such an approach. It’s helpful that potential customers, like L’Oreal, are keen on working with vertical farms.  In November 2023, Interstellar Labs announced that it would be joining a program from L’Oréal Green Sciences Incubator through which it would be working on developing beauty product feedstock growth in controlled environments.  Interstellar Lab is a biotech American-French startup that specializes in designing, manufacturing, and operating advanced controlled environment agriculture biofarms.

5. Vanilla Production in Australia

Australian Vanilla Plantations is redefining vanilla cultivation in New South Wales, Australia. Their use of a prototype geodesic greenhouse, managed with Schneider Electric systems, demonstrates innovation in crop-specific climate control. This approach is crucial for vanilla, a crop highly sensitive to temperature and humidity fluctuations. Improved airflow and humidity management could lead to higher quality vanilla production, a significant achievement given the global demand for this flavoring agent.