Only way is up for world’s largest vertical farm
‘We plan to be able to supply 70 per cent of the UK’S fresh produce within 10 years’
THE “Garden of England” is to be replicated in a warehouse in Gloucestershire by a company building the world’s biggest indoor vertical farm.
Rows of Led-lit trays stacked to the rafters will be tended by an army of robots and provide 148,000 sq ft of growing space, equivalent to almost 70 tennis courts.
“Kent is traditionally described as the Garden of England with its fertile soil and abundance of farms,” said James Lloyd-jones, who established his firm, the Jones Food Company (JFC), in 2017.
“Vertical farming allows us to create ‘gardens of England’ in every part of the country improving food sustainability, reducing food miles, reducing use of pesticides and allowing everyone to grow locally.”
Vertical farming maximises space by growing crops in various stacked layers in a controlled environment, with water, nutrient levels and light all strictly supervised.
Lights are controlled by timers, plant food is administered by ultra-efficient hydroponic systems and air in the building is rich in CO2 to maximise plant photosynthesis and growth.
JFC opened its first facility, the biggest of its kind in Europe, in 2018 in Scunthorpe, Lincs, and then received funding from Ocado in 2019 to go further.
A second base, JFC2, which is almost three times the size of its predecessor, will be built in Lydney, Glos, and open next year, with ground being broken today.
“[Vertical farming] is a global movement, revolutionising the way the world grows produce – it is the future,” said Mr Lloyd-jones. “Building the world’s biggest vertical farm puts the UK at the vanguard of this global movement – we’re leading the revolution.”
The facility will have 17 rows of trays standing 40ft tall and employ 16 people to support the robots.
“Given the world-leading technology we have and the intensely pressing need for more sustainable forms of farming over coming decades, we plan to be able to supply 70 per cent of the UK’S fresh produce within the next 10 years,” Mr Lloyd-jones said. “We already supply thousands of British retail stores with basil grown in our first facility in Lincolnshire, but this new site, which is three times bigger, will allow us to supply tens of thousands more stores and to widen our product offer with our partners.”
Kent got its nickname as the “Garden of England” due to its warm climate and fertile ground. It specialises in fruit and, as of 2016, it was home to almost 10,000 holdings, a third of England’s total.