Infarm, the rapidly growing global urban farming company, announced the establishment of its third Growing Center in the US, and the world’s largest urban farm, will be house in Howard County.
The new Growing Center in Maryland will produce up to 45 million crops per year, creating more than 50 jobs in Howard County. More than 50% of the new Growing Center is already pre-ordered with the first harvest planned for Spring 2023. The remaining capacity will be added by early 2024.
“We’re thrilled that Infarm has chosen Howard County for this expansion of its innovative, data-driven vertical farming operation,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. “Maryland’s strategic location makes it an ideal site for the new Growing Center and will allow the company to bring its nutritious produce to millions of new customers on the East Coast. We are proud to welcome Infarm to Maryland’s business community and applaud its commitment to unique and sustainable farming methods” (press release).
“Our Gateway District continues to be an engine of economic growth, and Infarm’s investment brings more jobs to our community with a welcomed focus on sustainability. Infarm is revolutionizing how we grow and consume food locally and we look forward to a long partnership to advance the sustainability of our food system” said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. (press release). The County Executive also took to Twitter to spread the news:
According to Infarm’s press release:
The company’s modular farming systems are highly efficient, capable of growing more than 500,000 plants annually on just 430 sqft of floor space. In addition to using 95% less land, Infarm requires 95% less water than traditional farming methods and uses no chemical pesticides. So far, Infarm has saved more than 30 million gallons of water, 1.9 million sqft of land, and nearly 1.6 million food miles with its production methods. Infarm has committed to setting a science-based net-zero carbon target through The Science Based Targets initiative. Infarm’s operating entities are embedded in a holding company, infarm Indoor Urban Farming B.V, which is registered in The Netherlands. For more information, please visit http://www.infarm.com.
Learn more about the company, and read Infarm’s full press release.
The Maryland Department of Commerce also released the news, including a quote from Infarm CEO. “Howard County is a great strategic location that will allow us to serve over 23 million customers across the Tri-State and Mid-Atlantic areas,” said Erez Galonska, CEO and co-founder of Infarm. “Once fully operational, our Growing Center will provide the Northeastern U.S. with a new food production capability that minimizes climate and supply chain risk by growing more than 75 types of plants locally, sustainably and reliably 24/7, 365 days a year” (Maryland Commerce press release).
