It was Fork Farms Distribution Day at the Southwest Wisconsin Technical College (SWTC) campus on Aug. 13, as Fork Farms, a company operating out of TitletownTech in Green Bay, distributed their "Flex Farms" to 22 area school districts.
A Flex Farm is an indoor, hydroponic growing system that can grow up to 394 pounds of fresh food a year, while taking up only nine square feet of space. They're primarily used to grow leafy greens, herbs, and fruiting plants.
Flex Farms has been used in food service, as well as in the classroom in many Wisconsin school districts, as well as some college campuses, including SWTC, but now they have made their way to southwest Wisconsin through strategic partnerships with local schools and businesses. The Cummins Foundation provided a grant to help fund the initiative, and Rockwell Automation is supporting the project's technological and automation components.
SWTC Interim President Caleb White said a few words to the area teachers, state officials, and SWTC representatives, before turning it over to Randy Romanski, Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, who referred to the Flex Farms as "an investment in education and training" in Wisconsin's $16 billion agricultural industry, which Romanski stated accounts for 10 percent of all employment in the state.
Read more at SW News 4 U
