Craft Farming in NY – The Craft Brewery Model for Vertical Farming
We see a future where every city has a farm like Farm.One, providing fresh, local produce all year round.
By Derek Pitts
Chairman & CEO – Farm.One, Inc
Linked In
June 2023
Excerpt:
In Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, lies a demonstration of agricultural innovation and culinary expression: our 10,000 sq. ft. hydroponic indoor vertical farm. Born from a desire to simply enjoy fresh, flavorful herbs year-round, we have transformed from a small specialized Chef’s farm into an evolving example of how to develop a sustainable, local urban farming model focused on leafy greens. This transformation has been both strategic and necessary, driven by the global pandemic and guided by a vision to create a new category in indoor vertical farming – the Neighborhood Farm.
In 2016, our journey began in the creative kitchens of New York’s Michelin-star restaurants where we supplied chefs the freshest and most vibrant microgreens, herbs and edible flowers grown anywhere in the world. We carved out a niche for ourselves, marrying technology with agriculture to grow extraordinary produce in an urban setting. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the restaurant industry, like others, was critically impaired, we had to adapt. We pivoted to a direct-to-consumer model by broadening our line of leafy greens to include salad mixes and other amazing, impossible to find, flavorful greens for home cooks, salad aficionados and families at large. From there we forged a direct relationship with consumers who appreciated our commitment to quality, freshness, flavor and sustainability.
