In this month's newsletter, we are thrilled to feature Living Greens Farm, the largest indoor aeroponics farm in the United States. Headquartered in Faribault, Minnesota, Living Greens runs a 40,000 square-foot facility that produces fresh salads, bagged salad kits, microgreens, and herbs year-round. The farm's products are carried by a variety of national and regional retailers, including Walmart, Whole Foods, Cub Foods, and HyVee, and, in 2021, Living Greens continued to expand distribution of its product line in partnership with UNFI Produce / Prescott and UNFI / Albert's. UNFI's distribution channels focus on independent, specialty, and co-op retailers, extending Living Greens' reach to hundreds of stores in the Midwest and beyond.
Unlike traditional farms, which require hundreds of acres to operate and are vulnerable to drought, freezing temperatures, and pestilence, Living Greens Farm grows its crops in a climate-controlled setting year-round. The farm's proprietary indoor grow systems use aeroponics, a cultivation technique that saves space by suspending plants in the air and that maximizes plant health by spraying nutrient-rich mist directly to their roots. This is achieved by planting seedlings in patented A-frame structures, a method known as vertical farming. Unlike other vertical farms, which can experience high disease rates and are expensive to build and operate, Living Greens uses patented nozzle and climate control technologies that prevent disease without the use of herbicides and pesticides and minimize equipment and operating costs. In conjunction with aeroponics and vertical farming, Living Greens' state-of-the-art systems automatically determine ideal light, irrigation, and temperature conditions for growth, yielding robust produce that is more colorful, flavorful, and nutritious.
In addition to producing higher quality produce, Living Greens Farm's technologies are significantly greener than those used in conventional agriculture. Living Greens' aeroponics and vertical farming methods require 95% less water than field crops, use 99% less land, and eliminate the need for harmful herbicides and pesticides. Moreover, Living Greens climate-proof growing environment enables consumers to buy fresh and local all year, reducing emissions generated by long-haul transportation of produce shipped from temperate climates out west.
As a pioneer of vertical farming, aeroponics, and other technologies, Living Greens is driving forward urgently needed innovations in farming. The United States Department of Agriculture has sounded the alarm on the potentially devastating effects of climate change - new solutions are needed to protect crops from unpredictable weather and to reduce dependence on increasingly scarce farmland. By reducing climate impacts without sacrificing quality, nutrition, or taste, Living Greens Farm is revolutionizing agriculture and is leading the industry to a more sustainable future.
Originally published June 21, 2021
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