2-Acre Vertical Farm Run by AI and Robots Out-Produces 720-Acre Flat Farm
So far, everyone growing vertically is growing crops that are almost entirely water because they&#x27;re the only things that grow fast enough to turn a profit. They then sell them to rich people who pay 5x for taste and the feeling of eating local. It&#x27;s a quality-differentiated product, not a solution to food scarcity or security.<p>Until someone can grow cash crops, vertical isn&#x27;t gonna make a dent, and it&#x27;s gonna be really hard when competing with the free rain, free sun, and insane automation available for field agriculture already. Even Plenty with SoftBank&#x27;s extra &#x27;nutrients&#x27; tops out at strawberries. See <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.eater.com&#x2F;2018&#x2F;7&#x2F;3&#x2F;17531192&#x2F;vertical-farming-agriculture-hydroponic-greens" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.eater.com&#x2F;2018&#x2F;7&#x2F;3&#x2F;17531192&#x2F;vertical-farming-agr...</a> for some raw data on unit economics.<p>One application of vertical that does make sense to me is as a community hub or a public health initiative around healthy eating. See <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thegrowcer.ca&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.thegrowcer.ca&#x2F;</a> who makes container farms for isolated communities in northern Canada and measures success by community outcomes and entrepreneurs inspired, or <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;farm.bot&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;farm.bot&#x2F;</a> which encourages hardware hacking and food supply awareness.