Vertical Farming Facility From The Netherlands To Set Down Roots Howard County

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Based in The Netherlands, global urban farming company Infarm will set down roots in Howard County by constructing its third growing center in the U.S. in Columbia. The company already has a vertical farming facility in Seattle, Wash., and recently announced it will construct one in Austin, Texas.

Infarm plans to roll out its network of cloud-connected farming facilities with a size of more than 500,000 square feet from coast to coast. The new growing center in Maryland will add an estimated 200,000 square feet to Infarm’s U.S. portfolio and produce up to 45 million crops per year. The growing center will create more than 50 jobs in Howard County.

“It is exciting to have one of the world’s largest urban farming operations locate its newest facility here in Howard County, which is a magnet for innovative businesses like Infarm,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. “Our Gateway District continues to be an engine of economic growth, and Infarm’s investment brings more jobs to our community with a welcomed focus on sustainability. Infarm is revolutionizing how we grow and consume food locally and we look forward to a long partnership to advance the sustainability of our food system.”

Erez Galonska, CEO and co-founder of Infarm, added that Howard County is "a great strategic location that will allow us to serve over 23 million consumers across the Tri-State and Mid-Atlantic areas.”

“With the opening of this new growing center, we are now entering a region where vertical farming is already widely adopted and green innovations are thriving. Once fully operational, our growing center will provide the northeastern U.S. with a new food production capability that minimizes climate and supply chain risk by growing more than 75 types of plants locally, sustainably and reliably 24/7, 365 days a year,” Galonska said.

More than 50 percent of the new growing center is already pre-ordered with the first harvest planned for spring 2023. The remaining capacity will be added by early 2024.

Infarm’s growing centers are set up with modular, cloud-connected farming units — each occupying 430 square feet of ground space and 33 feet in height — producing more than 500,000 plants per year while saving 95 percent of ground space and 95 percent of water. To date, Infarm saved more than 30 million gallons of water.

Infarm offers more than 75 products, such as herbs, leafy greens, ready-to-eat salads, microgreens and mushrooms. This year, an additional 40 products like strawberries, peppers, cherry tomatoes and peas will be added.