December 2020 - 36

CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE
Driscoll's, Plenty research vertical farming for strawberries
By Stephen Kloosterman
Associate Editor
Strawberry growers know about
raised beds - but vertical farms are
something else entirely.
Berry industry heavyweight
Driscoll's and vertical farming
innovator Plenty in October
announced a collaboration on
strawberries - marrying Driscoll's
proprietary genetics and berry
expertise to Plenty's advanced indoor
farming technology and plant science
expertise.
Driscoll's strawberries will initially
be grown and developed in Plenty's
Laramie, Wyoming, farm, " the largest
privately-owned vertical farm research
and development center in the
world, " according to a news release.
Driscoll's said the project would
make use of the benefits of controlled
growing environment, while " creating
expansion into regions that have
historically been difficult to serve. "
So, how does one grow strawberries
vertically? Mike Schwieterman, head
of flavor and nutrition at Plenty, who
has a Ph.D. in plant molecular and
cellular biology from the University of
Florida, will be one of the leaders of
that few consumers have had the
opportunity to experience.
VGN: Wendy's started using
indoor tomatoes a few years back. Is
controlled environment agriculture
mainstream, or acceptable to most
customers at this point?
MS: There's definitely growing
A Plenty worker is seen through a vestibule window at the grower's south San Francisco
farm. Photos: Plenty
the project with Driscoll's. He recently
participated in a question-and-answer
exchange with Vegetable Growers
News.
Vegetable Growers News: What
season or seasons, or particular
market would be best served by indoor
strawberry growers?
Mike Schwieterman: Indoor
strawberry farms can grow strawberries
regardless of season or climate. Once
you take seasonality and climate out
of the equation, indoor growers have a
unique advantage - neither snow, rain,
heat, or gloom of night are barriers to
providing delicious fresh fruits and
vegetables to local markets. Currently,
strawberries grown outdoors need very
specific climates to thrive. Bringing
them indoors allows us to place a farm
just about anywhere and deliver fresh
strawberries locally.
Today, a strawberry that leaves a
California field can travel upward
of 3,000 miles before it reaches a
wholesale market on the East Coast.
This cross-country trip takes a toll
on flavor, shelf life and nutrition.
By building indoor farms that can
produce continuously next door to the
communities and markets we serve, we
can get strawberries onto shelves and
onto taste buds almost directly after
harvest - ensuring the sort of freshness
demand and excitement from
customers for pesticide-free, flavorforward
food. Retailers are excited
about innovative agriculture that
can deliver delicious, fresh food
consistently. Our new partnerships
with both Albertsons (leafy greens)
and Driscoll's (strawberries) is a
good example of the scale of this
momentum.
An increasing emphasis from all
sectors on resilient and sustainable
food systems are also drivers here. The
COVID-19 pandemic and West Coast
wildfires uncovered the fragility of
traditionally complex and convoluted
agricultural supply chains. Grocery
store shelves stood empty and crops
couldn't make it out of the field.
Climate change is also impacting
agriculture. Seventy percent of crop
loss in 2019 was due to extreme
weather. Rising trends in aridity
and unpredictable weather threaten
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December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of December 2020
