by Jay Watson, Co-Executive Director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
Swing by the Summit or Jersey City farmers markets later this month and, in addition to peaches, you’ll find strawberries for sale. Market regulars might raise an eyebrow at this: the choicest local berries generally start generating hankerings, and herds of buyers, in June. By August, the best you can hope for is that somebody had the presence of mind to stash a quart in the freezer for a late-summer shortcake.
But the fat red berries you’ll find at the Oishii kiosk in Summit and Jersey City on Aug. 18 and Aug. 29, respectively, will be worth another look. That’s because they’ll be close to perfect in both flavor and appearance, according to buyers that include Michelin-starred chefs. And that’s even though they were grown in an environment that looks less like a sunlit field than a laboratory.
Oishii, which means “delicious” in Japanese, is one of the newest additions to the vertical farming scene in this state we’re in. This year, the company launched what its website calls “our largest, smartest farm yet” in a 237,500-square-foot facility in Phillipsburg. A giant solar field nearby helps power what goes on inside, including the buzzing of bees in indoor hives and the tending of plants by real farmers alongside AI (artificial intelligence)-powered robots.
Vertical farms are just what they sound like – a system of farming where crops are grown in vertical layers instead of horizontal rows. Towering flats of plants, often grown hydroponically or aeroponically, are stacked in enclosed spaces that rely on artificial temperatures, light, water, and humidity. Operators run the risk of losing a valuable crop the same way traditional farmers do if every element isn’t calibrated correctly. Done right, this type of farming can be more predictable than growing crops in the field.
The high-tech facilities have had a footprint in the Garden State since at least 2015, when AeroFarms, an industry leader, opened a 30,000-square-foot indoor “farm” in Newark to cultivate baby greens, like kale, and microgreens. Stores including Wal-Mart and Stop & Shop now sell them. The environmental benefits of AeroFarms and companies like it, including Greens Do Good in Hackensack and Bowery in Kearny, have a way of turning those who feel their fruits and veggies should have access to soil, sun and sky into believers.
A roll call of the farms’ good-for-the-planet attributes includes their ability to produce food around the clock; their size, which eliminates the need for sprawling acres of valuable land; their herbicide- and pesticide-free growing practices, which help preserve biodiversity and allow for rewilding; and the emissions they cut by reducing the need for long-haul truck distribution. Some vertical farms make their homes in refurbished old industrial buildings with rooftop solar panels, avoiding the giant warehouses many New Jerseyans abhor.
The way the farms use water is also arguably way more efficient. Last year, the World Economic Forum reported that, depending on the crop, they use up to 98% less. “Water is applied in exact doses,” the report says, minimizing wastage. Productivity gets a boost from recirculating and treating nutrient-rich water and capturing water that would otherwise be lost through transpiration.
The farms’ capacity to save the planet is debatable. A limited number of crops can be grown without rooting themselves in soil, and staples like wheat, potatoes, and rice aren’t among them. Buying and maintaining equipment like watering systems and robots is often prohibitively expensive for farmers (AeroFarms, despite its prominence in the industry, filed for bankruptcy in 2023; Oishii’s strawberries go for $10.79 on FreshDirect for a box of six to eight). And the energy vertical farms burn because of their tightly controlled climates and lighting systems, including LED grow lights, can offset sustainability, though consumption can be cut through renewable energy and measures like taking advantage of cheaper electricity rates at night.
Still, a possible solution to some of the problems of agriculture – especially urban agriculture at a time when city populations are exploding – isn’t easily dismissed. Desmond Hayes, the founder of GeoGreens, a vertical farm that opened in 2021 in Hamilton and is currently looking for a new, bigger New Jersey home, didn’t spend much time listening to doubters when he started growing arugula, collards, and other greens indoors.
“You can always find the disadvantages of something new and innovative,” he said. “There’s always going to be cynics. But feeding people is one of the most humane things you can do.” He started GeoGreens, which recently formed a partnership with the College of New Jersey to start an indoor agriculture innovation center, to help eliminate hunger locally. Instead of marketing his crops to grocers, which he said are often unwilling to sell products they aren’t familiar with, he plans to sell to schools. “In the communities I grew up in,” among them Philadelphia and several cities in New Jersey, “food insecurity is not a buzzword. It’s real.”
Hayes noted that companies fill different market niches. What works for him, and what enabled GeoGreens to grow to what he anticipates will be a 5,000-square-foot space in Camden County or Somerset County this year, is faith in technology. And his mission. “To me, success is feeding a lot of people. As many people as possible.”
To learn more about Oishii and find available markets, go to https://oishii.com/. Visit GeoGreens at https://geogreens.org/.
And for information about preserving New Jersey’s land and natural resources, visit the New Jersey Conservation Foundation website at www.njconservation.org or contact me at info@njconservation.org.
