The world's largest vertical farm will have a secret ingredient: fish

A sprawling new building that will soon be constructed in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania—at 250,000 square feet, roughly the size of two entire city blocks in Manhattan—will be the largest vertical farm in the world when it's completed in 2023. Inside, though, you won't find just vegetables: Tanks full of fish will sit near vertical stacks of trays filled with certified organic microgreens.

In the vertical farming industry, which is raising billions from investors, many startups grow greens like spinach or bok choy inside carefully-managed indoor spaces, and then selling the fresh produce to local consumers. But Brooklyn-based company Upward Farms is unusual in its use of fish, a version of a centuries-old practice called aquaponics. While others use synthetic fertilizer in their growing systems, the company uses fish waste that it filters out of tanks to provide nutrients to its plants. Both the fish and greens are then sold for food.

"What we're really focused on as a vertical farm, which differentiates us from peers, is the microbiome," says Upward Farms CEO, Jason Green. In humans, the microbiome—the invisible layer of bacteria that lives in and around us—helps maintain health. The same is true in plants. "What's well understood is that the microbiome of plants has a huge influence on the outcomes of those plants, from the perspective of quality, nutrition, yield," Green says. Using nutrients from fish, instead of synthetic fertilizer, helps build that healthy environment for the plants.

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Photo: Upward Farms

Source: Fast Company