Dyson Farming, the agricultural arm of the British technology company, is expanding its innovative approach to food production. The company's latest project is a custom-built vertical growing system designed to increase strawberry yields, reduce energy use, and help produce high-quality fruit year-round in the UK.
"Growing things is like making things," says Sir James Dyson, founder of the British technology firm. "I'm a manufacturer. And so I suppose in a way I've approached farming from that point of view. How can we make it more efficient? What technology can we bring in that will improve the quality, the taste of the food, use the land better so that we can invest further and make a difference to farming?"
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The biggest rig Dyson has ever made
The structure itself is a feat of engineering. "I think this is the biggest rig Dyson's ever made," says Rob Kyle, Dyson Engineer. "Twenty-four metres long, five-and-a-half metres tall. Each wheel is 500 kilograms."
Constructed entirely in-house by Dyson engineers, the system reflects years of development work. "We did the whole thing ourselves. Every bit of wiring, every nut, every fastener," adds Joe Evans, fellow Dyson Engineer.
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Stacking strawberries to maximise yield
At its core, the system enables strawberries to be grown across multiple vertical levels within Dyson's high-tech greenhouses, but stacking crops does come with its challenges. "What we're working on here with the Dyson engineers is a whole different growing system to get much, much higher density fruit in a covered environment," explains Daniel Cross, Managing Director at Dyson Farming. "The challenge you then get is light levels and shadowing, making sure the leaf and the leaf canopy get enough sunlight to really develop."
To overcome that, the system allows the plants to move, rotating through the structure to ensure maximum exposure to natural light. "By using this system, we're able to move the plants around and make sure every plant gets the maximum natural energy from the sun, so we can use as little energy as possible, supplementing that with the LED lights," says Cross.
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Precision growing through sensor technology
Alongside the structural innovation, Dyson has developed bespoke monitoring systems to fine-tune growing conditions. "Our Dyson-owned sensor packs have a very high accuracy CO₂ sensor, relative humidity, and temperature. On top, an Apogee PAR sensor detects only the wavelengths that the strawberry plant is interested in, and then we know how much we need to top up with our artificial light," says Rob Kyle.
Water use has also been optimised through a closed-loop irrigation system designed entirely in-house. The system delivers water via a central manifold, which distributes the supply evenly across the growing structure. As the water flows through the system, it drains into a collection channel, where it is captured and recycled.
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A 2.5-fold increase in output
The results are already tangible. "We get a two-and-a-half times uplift in the output of the greenhouses," says Sir Dyson. "This vertical growing system will allow farmers to produce the very best food in England and make Britain more secure in its own food production."
For him, the project is about the future of British agriculture. "We import all our strawberries in England, except in the height of the summer season," he notes. "What I've done is to build two huge greenhouses, and from that we can produce the tastiest strawberries you could imagine all year round. We've got wonderful land and we should be able to grow everything we eat."
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For more information: 
Dyson Farming
James Dyson, Founder
www.dysonfarming.com