Through towering windows, a glimpse inside the Westbrook facility reveals busy workers in the final stretch of preparing for a soon-to-open vertical farm in the heart of one of Maine's largest cities. "We like to call these the Willy Wonka of greens," said Nona Yehia, CEO and founder of Vertical Harvest.
Vertical Harvest is a 51,000-square-foot, vertical hydroponic indoor farm in downtown Westbrook. "We grow a variety of leafy greens here—everything from your head lettuce to your microgreens and everything in between," said Chris Eckerson.
This isn't just any farm—it's a super farm. "The ceiling is 32 feet, the rack itself is 29 feet," Eckerson said. The farm's vertical design allows it to produce the equivalent of 250 acres of traditional farmland. "So, 3 million pounds of produce for the local food economy," Yehia said.
Building a farm of this scale required expertise from the best in the industry. "We looked across the pond, and in a country the size of Maryland, the Dutch have been farming under glass at a commercial scale for 30 years," Yehia said. "And because of that work, they've become the second-largest exporter of food behind the United States."
Vertical Harvest operates 24/7, 365 days a year—even when Maine is buried under snow. "So, in the middle of winter, we can be farm to fork within 24 hours," Yehia said.
Source: wmtw.com