Suffolk is a rural county, and much of its farmland is set to increase with the arrival of a multi-million-pound investment in a cutting-edge farm facility. Most farms you've seen will probably have been flat, or at the very most on a slight hill, while this farm is anything but conventional.
OneFarm is a sustainable food producer that has secured the cash to build a 6,400 square meter 'vertical farm' in Newmarket, promising to grow up to 415 tonnes of food each year to feed local people. The project has been backed by Suffolk County Council (SCC) and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (NALEP) and is due to begin construction later this year.
You're probably still wondering what the difference is between a normal farm and a vertical one, so here's a hint; it is exactly what you're thinking. The food doesn't just grow upwards, the whole farm is skyward reaching as crops are grown on 'towers' instead of fields.
These growth towers will stand up to nine meters tall, creating an area of 6,400 square meters without needing that in floor space. When complete, it will be the second largest farm of its kind in the UK, with a phase two planned to double that in the future - growing more than 1,000 tonnes a year. The farm will be repurposing a disused warehouse site in Newmarket and should be fully operational by early 2023.
Read more at suffolklive.com