Way To "Farm" In Urban Areas

Way To Farm In Urban Areas FARM HOME Food Business partners Ben Greene and Tyler Nethers are on a mission to bring farming to urban areas with the help of modular shipping containers and greenhouse structures “The ‘Farmery’ will be a hybrid of a farm and a store ” Greene says of the growing-and-retail concept they’re building They already have a couple prototypes of shipping containers for growing mushrooms with greens strawberries herbs and flowers growing on a vertical panel system on the outside wall within a greenhouse frame “The panels are movable and creating them was one of the most challenging jobs ” Greene said His expertise is industrial design – the Farmery was part of his Master’s thesis project Nethers has greenhouse experience and currently manages the aquaculture facilities at North Carolina State University Both grew up on farms The concept is to lease land in dense urban neighborhoods with few high rises that would block the sun Costs are reduced because the produce doesn’t need to be transported and electricity and lights do double duty – growing crops and lighting the retail store Customers will find added value in the shopping experience because they can see the produce growing and pick it themselves The produce can’t get any fresher and there’s less waste because it doesn’t have to be picked and shipped “By eliminating the middle man we create a much more efficient system that gives the grower and the retailer higher margins ” Greene says The Farmery will also use aquaculture to raise fish and hydroponics to grow the produce in nutrient-rich run-off water The business partners say the system is modular so it can grow to accommodate increasing local need Shipping containers are inexpensive stackable perfect for mushroom growing and easy to retrofit with the panels and greenhouse frames Greene and Nethers have been busy promoting their idea and by mid-October investors pledged about 40 percent of the $300 000 cost to set up the first Farmery The cities of Durham N C and Peekskill N Y have expressed interest in assisting them set up Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ben Greene Farmery 3125 Tryon Rd Raleigh N C 27603 ph 864 921-7967; www thefarmery com

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