Inside a New Vertical Farm Full of Robots

We visit Plenty's new vertical farm in California to learn all about the benefits of this style of farming, and the technological innovations that make it possible.
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[@Goo38]

i wonder if those plastic containers used to sell the food in could be replaced with something sustainable or biodegradable.

[@pablosousa4061]

I mean, they could be replace at the moment but it would cost more. This idea could be or all the “green” and “sustainable” that is advertised but at the end of the day, this is a company ruled by profit (as all the other technological agriculture ones).

[@Simon-dm8zv]

@@pablosousa4061 It doesn't have to be perfect to be far better than conventional solutions.

[@gardendeeds]

Yes, there are many options, from reconstituted pineapple heads to mushroom containers.

[@owenlarson07366]

A material with 5% fail rate can slow up the whole operation. Plastic sucks but it’s reliable.

[@gardendeeds]

@@owenlarson07366 Agreed, however, the horse and cart were also reliable. We need to evolve now.

[@evlnte]

To really create a system that can sustain humanity, they need to apply this to high starch foods like potatoes and rice. If they can make that work, this could be the key to living on other planets.

[@ICDeadPeeps]

High starch and carbohydrate foods are leading more and more people to obesity and diabetes. This is having disastrous negative outcomes like weakened immune system, heart disease, etc. worldwide. So I'm not sure if I agree with your statement. If anything, we need to be consuming more protein and less carbohydrates.

[@evlnte]

​@@ICDeadPeeps I am speaking to the ability to feed a given population on-mass and under constraints of space and resources. No natural food is unhealthy when unprocessed and consumed in moderation within a balanced diet. Fats and starches contain more kilojoules of energy by unit weight.

[@ramramakrishnan3025]

I read that google had a project a while ago and tried exactly that, trying to grow what they called staple crops. But they ended up abandoning the project as they were not able to.

[@pablosousa4061]

@@ICDeadPeeps thats true, but not because people are eating potatoes and rice, but because people eat ultra-processed foods. Cereals and tubers should account for 25% of our diets (referring to whole grains preferably). These foods are full of carbohydrates, but it should not be confused with free sugars like sucrose (table sugar) or fructose. Instead, these carbohydrates are know as “slow releasing” and they are essential for our metabolisms. Plus, they are a great source of proteins (yes, around 7-10% of the cereal nutritional content are proteins), fibers, vitamins and other essential nutrients.

[@rv8804]

@@ramramakrishnan3025 google is known to give up on things that do work they cancel services all the time. I'm sceptical on if they actually tried properly.

[@daishawnhunt2292]

They had an exhibit at MOSI (Chicago) I saw a few years ago about this, looks as though they're really putting it to work, that's pretty awesome!

[@derekwheatley7450]

This is definitely one future innovation that I believe will greatly benefit humanity

[@jondoe6608]

The marketing with "renewables" is eye roll induing. You can now add extra steps and cover fields with solar panels instead of plants, basically defeats the entire point of it. Places where renewables are cheap is also where its simpler to grow things the old fashioned way. The technology becomes interesting when you can pair it with compact & reliable power sources, like nuclear energy. This allows for year round 24/7 operations that are not dependent on the environment. This could make food that normally has to be imported producible locally no matter the climate region your in. This can also be useful for nations that don't have lots of arable land to become self reliant and generally help with global food security. I also really like the automation here, its impressive, it would be wonderful to eliminate the grueling, inhuman and underpaid labor that farms currently use.

[@dee4071]

👏👏👏we need more of this type of innovation

[@snoopaka]

As long as it can run on renewables, I am all for it. Wish there was one nearby!

[@grodt88]

renewables?? you mean these one use plastic boxes to pack few green leaves for quick profit? 3:34 yea... renewables my a...

[@Simon-dm8zv]

@@grodt88 Whatever. That is absolutely nothing compared to the fossil fuels required if they did not use renewable electricity.

[@grodt88]

@@Simon-dm8zv YOU DON'T NEED electricity to grow plants, you have sun

[@menzlo]

@@grodt88You need to transport produce from farms to stores, and vertical farms can be located closer. Land and fresh water are finite resources. Plenty can produce 350% of the produce of a conventional farm in the same land area, while using only 1% of the water a conventional farm uses. Indoor farming does not replace conventional farming; they have different strengths.

[@jimmyjimmy3289]

@@grodt88 They grow them inside, so they need lights, which requires electricity.

[@crawkn]

Easy pest control is an aspect of indoor farming that I haven't heard mentioned before. Since eliminating pests and pathogens from the environment eliminates undesirable chemicals while preventing crop damage, food is produced organically and chemical free with no yield downside, and less expensively. And by precisely controlling light supply, the energy from the sun isn't wasted on damaging heat and over-saturation.

[@gbriank1]

Excess business office capacity easily converted to food production. Plus in places around large volumes of fresh water (Great Lakes, NYC) would benefit the most.

[@aqueousone]

3:32 and there’s the single-use plastic box, which will be used for four days and last forever.

[@thinktoomuchb4028]

Would be great to see a comprehensive comparison of resources used in vertical vs "standard" farming. Are they using Digital Electricity?

[@MachinistNumbr7]

Consider the fact that water is much more scarce than electricity, and not mentioned in this video, vertical farms use something like 3 or 4% of the water compared to conventional farms.

[@dmcarstensen]

I'd be a bit surprised if they weren't fully running their systems on DC along with digital electricity for their lighting.

[@TaoDeChing-ls5gz]

Is land area considered a resource?

[@thinktoomuchb4028]

@@dmcarstensen Digital Electricity from Voltserver could power it all. Another company calls their version Digital Current, but I think Voltserver may have more experience in the indoor agro space.

[@thinktoomuchb4028]

@@TaoDeChing-ls5gz Yes. It certainly should be.

[@Rygom]

That is the future of farming right there.

[@mini2nut67]

I would love to see the monthly SCE bill for all of the electricity usage.

[@CanadaBananaFarms]

Geothermal is the perfect fit for indoor farming.

[@menzlo]

We're going to need to utilize all of the renewable energy techniques to reach our goals.

[@Fenthule]

wait, you guys sold my friend a banana tree once lmao I had no idea you had a youtube page. :)

[@ommanipadmehung3014]

So great to have something BEYOND organic!

[@-_-GT350]

I work in IT everyday and all I have to say is wow the application is amazing ! Imagine the Egyptian with access to engineering like this groundbreaking what a time to be alive

[@andrewradford3953]

Great idea for harsh climates. Looks like there is more plastic packaging than plant leaf.

[@critical_always]

... And then they package it in thick plastic trays. Well done Plenty.

[@Gio-cg8yz]

Amazing start

[@playframe6231]

"Protect the luminescent IP" God forbid other companies to grow better and cheaper food.

[@Fenthule]

Capitalism and greed. It WILL be the destruction of our society unless we can change people's views. We need a system that isn't based on money and personal greed. Where Hoarding resources for yourself is viewed by all around you as selfish and looked down upon. We should judge billionaires harshly for their practices and ethics, not kiss the ground they walk on.

[@osc3892]

They're a company. They did the RND. I'm sure they'll let other companies use it eventually for a royalty. You'd do the same I'm sure

[@peepeepoopoo969]

@@osc3892 the man who invented the patent for insulin sold it for $1 because he thought it was unethical for one person or company to own something that could benefit billions of people. Maybe it’s time to take an ethics class…

[@osc3892]

@@peepeepoopoo969 I know the history of that, which is why I find it extremely unethical that the insulin patent is handled the way it's handled. A president, any president, should do an executive order to have that patent transferred to the public domain. My other thing is if research that leads to a patent uses any kind of public funding at all, it should immediately transfer to the public domain as soon as the RND company recoups it's money (plus some margin). If a company uses only their own money though, it is truly their patent and property, even if it can help billions. I'm not some pro-corporation lunatic, but we also can't just be the wild wild west

[@JB-gr6om]

What about the energy to make the wind farms and solar panels?

[@jamessssssssssssssssssssssssss]

the light they are using to control the plants is near infra red light. some good their secrecy is.

[@morrgash]

Impressivem this could also be used in space and other planets one day :)

[@ThePilot631]

It’s a great idea for big cities like New York, Tokyo etc, where there is no land for cultivation

[@RoomersToTheContrary]

Inspiring. This enterprise will experience exponential growth as cheap, renewable energy tech matures e.g. deep geothermal, fusion, etc.

[@yvan2563]

"Planty", I laughed at that pun-style brand name because it's both funny and on-topic. Good choice!

[@princeramos3893]

the real gamechanger with vertical farming is when rice arrive at those factories

[@thtiger1]

Now this is a perfect partner for large Solar Farms. Supplies power while the sun shines and does not matter if the power takes a dip in the evening. Field crops don't get twenty four hour sunlight after all. So it does not matter that the power is intermittent. Though you'd have to have some base load power for the data systems. But that's small potatoes compared to the energy those grow lights must consume. Still, SMRs would be even better. Imagine a fifty Mw pocket nuclear plant centered on an area with dozens of these facilities. They are already working on such plants that can be factory built and fit in a large shipping container. Just imagine plants like this in the far north, where out of season greens are incredibly expensive. Right now they use diesel generators, but small nuclear would be clean and cheap in comparison. And six months of no sun with infrequent wind would make it the perfect power source.

[@jondoe6608]

Yah I don't like the marketing here, With "renewables" you can now add extra steps and cover fields with solar panels instead of plants, basically defeats the entire point of it. Places where renewables are cheap is also where its simpler to grow things the old fashioned way. The technology becomes interesting when you can pair it with compact & reliable power sources, like nuclear.

[@Ilamarea]

It would make a lot more sense if they were using greenhouses instead of lights.

[@fastSPX_90]

could you provide some data as to the co2 emissions and energy and various other ressources consumption of this process compared to regular farming? We can't make our minds on this technology just based on vague "we cut the transport emissions" statements

[@ESaboHowGravityWorks]

Yes! Eliminating all the costs of major transport. Plus, less or no chance of being exposed to toxins everywhere, beginning from seed to eventually the grocery store refrigerated shelfs.

[@ttarantulas4u258]

You didn't read about the Gates MRNA Lettuce towers yet? Enjoy that gmo-slop.

[@matthewboyd8689]

Don't forget to make a heat exchange system for pumping the heat into the city so that you can lower the energy bill of residents for heating.

[@ICDeadPeeps]

Despite all the promises of vertical farming, this industry has been struggling with reaching economic feasibility. I wonder if this company managed to solve this problem.

[@stephen7938]

if they could get the same farming subsidies that traditional farms get they would break even very quickly. if they do it without then they're doing very well.

[@menzlo]

It appears from this video like they've automated away many of the labor costs. The other two major reasons indoor farms struggle is location and equipment cost. Compton is in a high population area and I think they're at least somewhat vertically integrated (no pun intended) with regard to equipment.

[@ICDeadPeeps]

@@menzlo Well, I've seen other automated vertical farms and high operational cost inputs such as electricity and chemical fertilizer prevented them from becoming economically feasible. So, what I want to know is what this company is doing that is drastically different in terms of efficiency gains that the other automated vertical farms haven't been able to do.

[@ryanthompson3737]

​@@ICDeadPeepsNothing to do with efficiency and all to do with lacking subsidies. You think farmers aren't using fertilizer? Of course they get subsidized as a farmer, and these guys are treated like a tech company with billions in easy investment potential.

[@jockojohn3294]

Look at vertical farms in places like Dubai where there is plenty of sunshine and solar would become a viable energy source to power AI/high tech vertical farms. They have some pretty impressive ones on the Tube. I'm very interested in doing this. I see this as a way to feed the world. Notice there are little to no field crops in these farms yet. If you could get corn, soy beans, rice and crops like that to grow in these places, that would be a game changer. You could grow your own energy - ethanol. There are new kinds of energy sources being developed now, that could change the economics of generating the power to run these farms on site. When that happens in an economical way, this kind of farming will change the world.

[@glennnile7918]

Growing lettuce is so exciting.

[@menzlo]

Been watching Nate Storey since is bright agrotech days. I'm a fiend for any news about Plenty.

[@myozinaung]

Should try with expensive produces to be more competitive.

[@SVIIVII]

Is the price of the end product really sustainable for the average American family though? A 4.5 oz Plenty crispy lettuce is around $5.39 before tax in Southern California.

[@TrumpetGapper]

Don’t forget, vertical farming has been around for decades.

[@aaronalquiza9680]

yes but not with automation like this.

[@bige8549]

A necessity!

[@e.v.k.3632]

Salad is really old News Wake me when there they grow something new

[@1lllllllll1]

show me how this works with grains!

[@rick-yo]

How can this kind of approach to food production address these shortcomings: 1) High energy consumption: just how much electricity does it take to make 1 head of lettuce for example, and how much power as a whole? If they were to strictly use renewables, is it even possible? 2) Local jobs: how many people from the community does the business hire? Since it’s all automated, it hardly needs workers. Do they support scholarships so locals can learn high levels skills like engineering? 3) Profit sharing: how much of the revenue benefits the locality? They probably pay taxes. But does the majority of the profits leave the area and into the hands of VCs who funded it?

[@asmircar1]

Great way to farm underground, in bunkers, on moon or mars... But we should combine that with hydrofarming and roach farming so u dont use any fertilizers or pesticides.

[@cxsey8587]

They could also use natural sunlight and reduce their energy usage... like every efficient green house... you know.

[@-htl-]

The idea is brilliant. The nutrient density from bio external grown is questionable however if it reduces cost and can override unhealthy choices like non-bio, processed and fastfood it is a certainly a win. The plastic is bad in every angle. There is no plastic that does not releases chemicals into the food, it supports the petrochemical industrie, there is a waist cycle which does not work always very well and again costs more energy and chemical industry. If they can guarantee that it has not been sprayed for a long shelf life, as is now the case with all pre-packaged lettuce and is very bad for your microbiome, it has another plus point.

[@neihgnot8320]

How are they harvested and how do these foods compare in terms of nutritional content and safety to consume?

[@AndyGaskin]

Really impressive technology. If it can be financially viable, let's do it.

[@PatrickPecoraro]

I’m waiting for vertical wheat.

[@user-jb5ew6dc8e]

تكنولوجيا ممتاز جدا ❤❤👍

[@patrikolsson297]

Super!!!

[@mattcool97]

This is like The Matrix but for plants

[@J_MM]

From all of this, I'm trying to figure out how are ppl able to patent a light spectrum

[@OkamiiRamii]

Planting straight outta Compton. (PWA) Plants witta attitude

[@bobwallace9753]

altitude

[@OkamiiRamii]

@@bobwallace9753 🤣🤣

[@alex3261]

Most likely, those towers must be pumped up with CO2. Also, using renewable energy instead of the plain solar light will be a major contribution to saving the planet.

[@outtathyme5679]

Not sure I understand why there’s a distracting soundtrack

[@Mike__B]

Great, if I want a salad I'll know where to go... but hey they're looking at tomatoes next so something extra for my salad.

[@jacooosthuizen3593]

Def wont be cheaper. All those lights you have to power, they will just spin it to say indoor grown so please pay double..

[@bobwallace9753]

Hard to say. As things scale up costs usually drop. And renewables are becoming cheaper and cheaper.

[@ryan98gaming9]

Plenty logo it’s very old style, they should revisit it, they have a vision and innovation. A clean minimal logo would be perfect…

[@bajrangbalikabhakt5]

They use plastic container to grow foods a lot of plastic can leach into plant .

[@varcoliciulalex]

damn, Compton sure got gentrified

[@LoveFactorySweatShop]

I played this level in Titanfall 2.

[@Andreas-gh6is]

could they grow pot that way?

[@dpharr100]

Is it profitable?

[@megamansgo]

the plant matrix

[@whatthefunction9140]

The zip grow guy?

[@danstenis660]

Mass production of vertical farms would allow mass production of freeze-dried food for a rainy day. Food depot filled with freeze-dried foods can be placed throughout the world just in case a catastrophic event occurs. Coupling vertical farms with renewable resources, we can even end food shortages throughout the world. Also, wouldn't it be nice if every country can mass produce vertical farming and provide free food for all of its citizens to eliminate one necessity we don't have to spend time procuring.

[@bamaraiderable]

The arc of history has been to innovate, so we can live better, with fewer hours devoted to mere survival, so we have more time for quality of life and have the time to think and create. Energy is the key and we are not that far off from massive increases in the use of hydrogen power sources, cleaner and safer nuclear, and the promising liquid fluoride thorium reactors. A new nuclear reactor recently went on line in Finland and for a short time the energy costs were less than zero per (I forget the unit they used). Cheap, reliable, abundant energy will change the world. Maybe we should focus more R&D on that.

[@omerozuzunn]

Nice but unbelievably expensive

[@ingemar_von_zweigbergk]

horizontal shelves would be necessary to grow potatoes, rice and wheat

[@dhickey5919]

3D indoor and climate-controlled farming instead of 2D outdoor with random weather farming. Yes, please.

[@kotgc7987]

Staple foods would be good...potatoes are almost solved for vertical farming.

[@skidmarks4360]

Oh ya, saw this in Battlefield 2042

[@Finallyatheist]

It all comes down to what they are feeding these plants. If we are still using oil based fertilizers, we are missing vitamins and minerals that soil brings to the party. Soil is a living thing that exchanges vitamins and minerals for sugars from the plant. The plants look fine, but they are lacking for what our bodies are use to. Everything our ancient bodies have evolved having. I am skeptical, but hopeful.

[@brunosco]

Not only the rich soil, but also the natural light, not mentioning other factors that make plants thrive in a natural environment. If it can work, maybe, but there’s no way this is an ideal solution. Why not permaculture instead?? Less sexy for a tech-oriented society, I guess.

[@pengurrito7136]

It's a good idea, but if you can't do this with grains like corn, wheat and rice, or starches like potatoes and carrots, you're not going to solve food insecurity.

[@felix_five]

Scary

[@tomo1168]

I think if that 100gramms of green leaf is packaged in 150gramms of plastic as shown, we are doomed anyways.

[@VictorGallagherCarvings]

I would be more impressed if they were growing something other than lettuces and spinach such as cabbage and turnips.

[@alien9279]

Gotta start somewhere right

[@_Painted]

There are some other vertical farm companies that grow other plants, such as strawberries and tomatoes, along with greens. There is a large one in Kentucky.

[@imightbebiased9311]

Maybe they should be focusing on deploying AI and robots for all the types of mind-numbing assembly-line tasks they're suited for first instead of having them draw bad art and be wrong on the internet?

[@Fenthule]

That will happen eventually, it started decades ago in the car industry. The robots doing all the labor here is the only reason it's at all viable. As a warning though, once all manufacturing jobs are gone and unemployment rates skyrocket, we're *GOING* to need a new economics system, OR we're going to need a Universal Basic Income in order to support the system from crashing. Having our world structured around a system requiring constant growth, in a world of finite resources, is a really dumb thing we've done for ourselves.

[@zoemayne]

I want to know what pesticides/chemicals they are using..... I just don't believe it's pesticide free.... Although it can be since it's indoors...

[@paulg9484]

Hope renewables pickup steam quickly. World energy demand is growing at huge pace

[@Simon-dm8zv]

Electrification actually decreases overall energy demand.

[@menzlo]

@@Simon-dm8zv it increases electricity demand.

[@Simon-dm8zv]

@@menzlo Correct. But energy demand decreases due to better efficiency.

[@cfwin1776]

Farmer: I left the city after I lost my job to the robots. Now they are taking my farming job. What should I do next? Career advisor: join the revolution to overthrow the robot overlords.

[@XX-qi5eu]

I want a cannabis one in my bedroom.

[@blatherskyt]

Where is the corn, carrots, tomatoes, beans, etc....? Greens... zzz...... this has been around for decades. Impress me already!

[@aaronalquiza9680]

i wish they showed more types of plants than lettuce and spinach.

[@menzlo]

They're currently building a facility on the east coast to produce strawberries through a partnership with Driscoll's

[@Fenthule]

we haven't quite "cracked the code" so to speak on other plants, for now it's only truly viable with leafy greens and a select couple others. We're REALLY close for potatoes, and I've heard some companies are starting to look into wheat, but being such a tall plant, and the growth cycle it has, it makes it a whole different beast from what I understand.

[@waynecmontgomery]

Compton, CA used to be home to Gangbanging

[@matthewbaynham6286]

If the earth gets hit by a massive meteor or if a super volcano goes off, and we end up with a nuclear winter where zero light is getting through to planet earth for a decade or two. Then this technology will save a few rich people.

[@BradA1878]

Lord Quas

[@leonhuke929]

i used to do this stuff in minecraft years ago, so nothing new to me

[@tbur8901]

Vertical farming can free up grounds for nature, agro-forestry and free range live-stock to return and provide a reliable food source while climate change is increasing the chances of failing harvests. To do this though it will need governmental support financially or via legislation because in good harvest years and with increasing vertical volumes it can't compete with produce from the soil. A governments basic functions are to safe-guard the food supply like fresh water, housing, protection and medical care.

[@HarpreetSingh-nw3ec]

And most of the stuff tastes watery with very little flavour and aroma. Solution to save nature is to reconnect with nature. Manmade procedures like these have landed us in trouble in the first place.

[@roe2012]

Alright, future for small plants is clear. What about solutions for big plants, how put it on vertical, it's big plants, right.

[@Aragorn7884]

yeah, but...can it grow *money?* 🤔🤑

[@HOVA2195]

It's doing just that Brody 👌🏽

[@OptimizeWithRajan]

I’m cool off that garbage and his hope for the future.. real good regenerative agriculture

[@benjaminabdullah3289]

This method isn't really the answer for climate change. Farming should not only about growing food but also about building holistic ecosystem and carbon sequestering into the soil.

[@menzlo]

It's best to use a multifaced approach. This method solves many problems (land use, water use, transportation, pesticides). Conventional farming methods actually release carbon in the tilling process. We should get them to adopt sustainable farming methods such as cover cropping , inter cropping, etc.

[@benjaminabdullah3289]

@@menzlo There is movement called regenerative farming and ranching which one of the components is no-tilling and let the soil, microbes, and fungi structured not disturbed. Organic is not enough, regenerative is better. At the small scale there is guy like Charles Dowding who popularized no-dig garden.

[@nicolaireedtz8015]

They tryna copy titanfall ? 😂

[@ACE-gk5gi]

. I see plastic packaging Ya goofy m8te from Australia

[@Busaio]

I’ll be honest, this innovation isn’t as impressive as people think. What matters most is finding a more ethical and sustainable way to produce meat like chicken and beef.

[@pavin12]

but i thought there was a lot of farming equipment crossing the border.

[@samurisnark6940]

LOL!

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Plenty was valued at a whopping $2.3B at one point. And flush with cash, most vertical farming companies didn't bother to spend it efficiently, either in capex or opex. They overbuilt expanded their presence or their CEA products too quickly, and all the while not minding their burn rate. Many assumed, and not without reason, that they could just get more money. In a recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the vertical farming space, a basic business question arises: do they have a sound business model but just structured poorly? Or is it a fundamentally bad business model to begin with?