Future Farm

A new farm just opened outside Chicago, Illinois—and it looks like no farm you’ve seen before. For one thing, it’s inside a building. Racks of leafy greens rise to the ceiling, and purple light shines from above. The site, called FarmedHere, is one of the largest vertical farms in the country. Vertical farms are multistory structures where food grows indoors.

Most fruits and veggies are grown on rural farms and trucked into cities. But that takes a lot of energy, like fuel and electricity, and food can spoil during the trip. Plus, in many places, it’s too cold to grow crops in winter. And droughts or diseases can wipe out an entire harvest. 

A new farm just opened outside Chicago, Illinois. It’s like no farm you’ve seen before. For one thing, it’s inside a building. Racks of leafy greens rise to the ceiling. Purple light shines from above. The site is called FarmedHere. It’s one of the largest vertical farms in the country. Vertical farms grow food in many stacked layers indoors. 

Most fruits and veggies come from farms in the countryside. Then they are trucked into cities. But that takes a lot of fuel. Food can spoil during the trip. Plus, it’s too cold to grow crops in many places in winter. And lack of rain can wipe out an entire harvest. So can diseases.

Vertical farms help solve these problems, says Dickson Despommier. He’s a biologist at Columbia University in New York City. 

Indoor farms can provide city dwellers with fresh food in any season, he says. Large ones can grow 900,000 kilograms (2 million pounds) of produce every year.

Vertical farmers don’t have to worry about pests or natural disasters, says Despommier. “Indoors, you control everything,” he says.

Vertical farms help solve these problems, says Dickson Despommier. He’s a biologist at Columbia University in New York City. Indoor farms can give city dwellers fresh food in any season, he says. Large ones can grow 900,000 kilograms (2 million pounds) of food every year.

Vertical farmers don’t have to worry about pests or natural disasters, says Despommier. “Indoors, you control everything,” he says.