Vertical Harvest

This interview details Vertical Harvest, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Vertical Harvest.

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What is the origin story of Vertical Harvest?

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Vertical Harvest is North America’s first indoor vertical hydroponic greenhouse. We’ve been growing food and futures in Jackson Hole, WY since 2016. Our co-founders, Nona Yehia and Caroline Croft Estay, recognized two key challenges in Jackson:

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First, there was low access to fresh, locally-grown produce, especially outside of the town’s short growing season.

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Second, there was a dearth of meaningful jobs for people with disabilities. Our CEO, Nona Yehia, an architect and self-described foodie, has a brother with developmental disabilities and has always been aware and attuned to both issues. Yehia found that by addressing them in tandem, the Vertical Harvest team was able to get the community mobilized behind the indoor vertical farm. In this way, growing microgreens, leafy greens, and tomatoes not only helps to bolster the local food economy but also creates a social impact. Today Vertical Harvest in Jackson Hole grows up to 100,000 pounds of produce on 1/10th of an acre. The farm has been featured on NBC’s TODAY Show, CBS Morning Show, PBS, Forbes, and Fast Company.

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Nona’s vision extends beyond Wyoming to include Westbrook, Maine (opening summer 2024) and Detroit, Michigan (opening 2025) - both of which are projected to grow 2.6M lbs annually - with a plan to establish 10 local farms nationwide within the next five years

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Vertical Harvest in the future?

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We sometimes get mistaken for a non-profit because of our commitment to social impact. We’re not. In fact, we love profit! It’s the engine for what we hope to sustainably accomplish.

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As we’ve started scaling nationally, we’ve had to educate stakeholders that we’re approaching things from a human-centered perspective. That can be challenging, especially as the industry is making headlines by over-indexing on technology and driving up the capital requirements to scale. 

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We believe there’s another way. Instead of building ‘warehouse farms’ on the outskirts of town, we’re building community hubs downtown, acting as civic infrastructure that provides a bounty of food and opportunity. But we’ve definitely had our fair share of headwinds disrupting the status quo.

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What is unique about Vertical Harvest compared to competitors?

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Two things: Our inclusive customized employment model and the flavor and freshness of our greens. In the competitive landscape, many indoor farms are building robots and using AI to automate every facet of their farms. While we also use automation, what sets us apart is our workforce – 40% identify with a disability. Our goal is to use automation to make jobs more accessible and inclusive, not to automate them away. Additionally, our person-centered approach to customized employment aligns professional, personal, and community components of the workplace ensuring the development of job skills, growth, accountability, and engaged citizenship.

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Through a collaborative process, we work closely with employees to identify their skills, aspirations, and support needs. This approach ensures that we as employers, and our employees, both benefit from a perfect fit, leading to greater job satisfaction and success. This can range from determining workforce supports, communication styles (including non-verbal options), sensory accommodations, and feedback preferences. In this way, inclusion and equity make up our DNA. 

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The second differentiator is the vibrant flavor and radical freshness of our greens. We’re committed to feeding locals first so that means prioritizing distribution within close proximity to the farm. In Jackson, our produce often travels less than 10 miles from the farm to the fridge. Our greens are harvested at their peak freshness, which offers unmatched taste and texture while also helping to reduce food waste - no more buying greens and finding they’re wilted mush only a day or two later.

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What is the current size of your growing area(s)?

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Jackson Hole, WY: 1/10th an acre; 13,500 sq ft; 3 floors

Westbrook, ME: 1/4th an acre: 52,000 sq feet; 3 levels packed with growing racks floor to ceiling (the building itself is equivalent to 6 stories on a normal office building) with a total growing area of 200,000 sq ft.

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Do you use CO2 in your operation today -- if so, how much and what do you pay for it? What are your thoughts in CO2 usage in indoor farms?

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Our Jackson, WY facility does not currently have an efficient supplemental CO2 system. We are actively working on upgrading our CO2 supplementation in the facility, including an investigation into the use of recaptured excess CO2 from a local brewery that uses a direct air capture system. Our Westbrook, ME farm will use advanced LED lighting from Thrive Agritech, and operate at a scale that requires up to 1.3 tons per day of supplemental CO2 in order to maximize yields. At the volumes we require for all our future farms, sustainable sourcing of supplemental CO2 has become a critical question for us to ensure we are promoting positive environmental outcomes.

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Direct air capture technology is promising for our industry and it is advancing to levels that make it feasible at scale and sustainable in terms of the energy required. We encourage sustainable sourcing from our suppliers and we are keeping a close eye on new technologies that enter the market.

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Energy is a big topic in indoor farming right now. How much do you pay for electricity (kWh)? Is it mainly from the grid or renewables?

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Our electricity pricing and sourcing is site-specific. With the complexity of local energy markets, we recognize the need to create a local sourcing plan for each farm site. Sourcing plans depend heavily on whether markets are regulated or deregulated. Our Jackson, WY operation utilizes grid energy with around 95% renewable fuel mix. We expect to pay around $0.07-$0.14 per kWh depending on the market and our demand levels.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Vertical Harvest ?

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For thought leadership CEA industry updates, and all things Human Potential follow our co-founders on LinkedIn, Nona Yehia and Caroline Croft Estay. To receive updates on our farms, people, and produce, subscribe to our newsletter and of course, socials: Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

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