CEA grower Plenty continues to redefine vertical farming and controlled-environment agriculture with the official launch of its Compton, California, farm. Billed as “the world’s most technologically advanced indoor vertical farm,” the vertical tower farming facility boasts production capacity of up to 4.5 million pounds of leafy greens annually — all from a single Compton city block.
While other vertical farming operations grow on vertical stacks of horizontal racks, Plenty’s 3D vertical towers — nearly two stories high — redefine “vertical” production. The facility automates every step of the production process from seed to harvest. The company’s first commercial leafy greens debuted straight outta the ultra-high-tech indoor facility, destined for Bristol Farms, Whole Foods Market and Singapore Airlines flights out of LAX.
“The Plenty Compton Farm is bringing field-scale farming back to Compton and introducing a new generation of our community to careers in agriculture — more than 30% of the farm’s hires came from Compton,” said City of Compton Mayor Emma Sharif. “Plenty’s farm is a model for how we can increase access to fresh, locally grown food for urban populations while supporting cities’ economic development.”
“After investing nearly a decade into research and development, Plenty has cracked the code on a scalable platform for indoor farming,” said Plenty CEO Arama Kukutai. “With Plenty’s first commercial farm, we’re proving that our uniquely vertical indoor farms can deliver a reliable, year-round supply of fresh produce with positive unit economics. This is the first step in putting indoor-grown produce on a path to becoming a meaningful part of the global food supply, and we’re honored to be taking that step in our home state of California with the community of Compton.”
Photo courtesy of Plenty.