Chickenhouses are a familiar sight for those on Delmarva. That includes the ones that are no longer in use. Aside from leaving them to fall to ruin, what can a farmer do with them? Money is needed to convert them for a new use, something that many farmers can't easily come up with.
While the amount varies based on many factors, for repurposing existing structures it can cost around $11 or more per square foot. That concerned Bill Owens and his daughter Amanda at A&B Indoor Farms in Frankford, Delaware, when they were deciding to convert their unused chickenhouses.
They want to repurpose the 60,000 square feet of chickenhouses they aren't using to grow produce and use a hydroponic growing system to do it.
"We wanted a cleaner way of growing. Nowadays, you don't really know what's used in your food. We only use beneficials (insects) here. We don't use pesticides. We know that it's being grown with the right things and the right amount of love and care, and we want to provide that to our community," Amanda said.
Read more at Delmarva Now
