垂直农业成为当地种植农产品的可行来源

In 伊甸园之东, Adam Trask invests his fortune in the dream of transporting fresh produce from the fertile Salinas Valley across the continent during the winter months. Delays in crossing the Rockies resulted in railcars full of rotting lettuce arriving in New York, costing Adam a chunk of his wealth and making him the laughingstock of Salinas, 加州.

Transporting fresh produce has become safer and more reliable in the century since this scene took place. Now we can get not only fresh fruits and vegetables from across the country but also bananas from Ecuador, 墨西哥鳄梨, 和来自秘鲁的洋葱. 这种便利, 然而, 以牺牲环境为代价, which is affected by the worldwide distribution of what was once grown locally, 人们又开始寻找当地的选择.

“There's an enormous amount of transportation and heavy labor from the center of the 美国 or the Central Valley of 加州ornia, 大部分的农作物生长在哪里, 到美国两岸的人口中心,马特·威廉姆斯说, 哈斯凯尔利弗莫尔地区总监, 加州.、办公. “It doesn't make sense to grow 食物 where it's farthest away from the people who are going to be eating it.”

With population growth and 环境 awareness creating greater demand for locally grown 食物s, 垂直农业正在成为一种可行和可持续的选择.

一想到农业，就会联想到一望无际的田野. In 垂直农场ing, the fields are floor-to-ceiling vertical walls of cells holding plants. 而不是土壤, 植物生长在有机细胞中，这些细胞通过气耕法得到营养, 水和营养物质通过喷雾输送, 或水产, 植物生长在营养丰富的水中.

“你不一定要有巨大的, multimillion-square-foot facilities; you could have hundreds of small 垂直农场s that can serve city blocks versus an entire city,威廉姆斯说. “垂直农业在城市中心效果很好. 你可以在几百平方英尺的土地上种植一英亩的农产品, 所以你不一定需要有那么大的足迹. 随着科技的进步, 这个过程变得越自动化, 在室内种植效率越高.”

垂直农业的吸引力, 除了提供本地农产品, is that it could increase 食物 production to meet the needs of the growing global population, 哪一个预计会领先 到2050年达到90亿. 目前，美国有超过 2000个垂直农场，包括小型和大型种植者. 这种做法也在亚洲蔓延开来, 欧洲, 以及中东地区, 在哪里，水资源短缺是寻找可耕地的一大挑战. The global 垂直农场ing market, currently at $781 million, is expected to reach $1.未来10年将达到50亿美元，年复合增长率(CAGR)为6%.85%.

垂直农业还解决了生长季节的问题, weather and pests by offering a controlled environment for growing 食物.

“在成长的过程中, 你可以控制食物生长的环境,威廉姆斯说. “你正在使用专门的灯，这样农产品就可以一天24小时生长. 你不必完全依赖太阳. You can reduce the amount of water loss and use of pesticides because the growing area is enclosed.”

启动 costs for 垂直农场s are not insignificant and vary by growing method and size of the operation. Some companies use proprietary technology that must be able incorporated into the building’s design. 在这种情况下, 选择一个架构, 工程 and construction (AEC) partner with extensive design-build experience in the manufacturing space, 比如澳门足彩app, 能否证明投资回报最大化的无价之宝.

“As you're going through the design process and trying to figure out the technology and what type of space is needed, understanding the capital requirements for the project is crucial to making sure you’re spending their investors’ money wisely,威廉姆斯说. “通过我们的设计和施工背景, 澳门足彩app is able to provide cost feedback in the early phases to help provide a certainty of outcome and understanding of what it's going to take financially to build these projects.”

而垂直农场空间具有独特的设计方面, 它与其他类型的食品生产设施非常相似.

“在建造垂直农场时, you have to make the best use of space that can provide the highest yield while optimizing people and product flow within the facility,威廉姆斯说. “A lot of the knowledge we have from work in other 食物-manufacturing markets is applicable with 垂直农场ing. 他们有特殊的技术，需要设施的支持, 不管是结构上的支持还是公用事业系统的支持, 配水系统, 施肥系统或电气要求. There's a lot of synergy between our typical 食品生产 and indoor farming.”

Vertical farms are starting to supply fresh produce to Michelin-starred restaurants, 农贸市场, 杂货店. Consumers in New York will still be able to buy fresh strawberries in the middle of January, but now they’ll be grown down the block instead of shipped from thousands of miles away.

“这是一个不断增长的市场，而且呈上升趋势，”威廉姆斯说. “If even 25% of the produce for a major population center is grown locally, 这是非常有影响力的, 这是朝着正确方向迈出的一步. 它不一定会取代所有的传统农业, 但随着人口的持续增长，它肯定会产生影响.”