In the space between 4/20 Legalize Weed demos and Wednesday’s Earth Day, the Washington Post hopefully explains “How shipping containers are making fresh local produce a reality during bitter winters“:
An ambitious attempt to change the way we eat is playing out in a shipping container plopped in a parking lot in Minneapolis.
Ryan Sweeney, who owns the container, isn’t your typical farmer. He relies on LED lights, not sunlight. He monitors his crops on his smartphone. He doesn’t used pesticides or soil. But he’s growing basil year round with a healthy profit margin.
Sweeney had no farming experience when a Kickstarter video about hydroponic farming inside a refrigerated shipping container caught his eye in 2012. Sweeney engrossed himself in research on hydroponic farming, and then took the plunge. There were early hiccups. He had to redesign the irrigation system on his Freight Farm, which arrived that spring.
Initially he sold basil in bulk to wholesalers for $8 a pound. Now he sells for $40 a pound straight to co-op groceries. He says he has a 50 percent profit margin before interest, amortization and taxes…
Brad McNamara and Jon Friedman co-founded Freight Farms with hopes of letting anyone become an urban farmer. The idea is to produce fresh local produce year round. They looked into rooftop farming and greenhouses before concluding that refurbishing refrigerated shipping containers was better.
While traditional farmers plant one or two plants per square foot, a Freight Farm can allow for 240 plants per square foot. Growing in a shipping container, where the light and water can be controlled exactly, allows farmers to deliver a consistent product no matter the season or city.
This spring they’re releasing their third-generation product, the Leafy Green Machine. Its starting price is $76,000 and costs an estimated $13,000 a year to operate before labor and insurance. There’s actually a stereo system built into the shipping container…
While Freight Farm’s economic viability may still be an open question, my inner sci-fi kid finds the concept thrilling. (Nope, I did not see Silent Running back in the day… )
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Apart from dreams of greenery, what’s on the agenda for the day?
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Local GreensPost + Comments (47)