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Tag: AeroFarms

AeroFarms to add 66 jobs in Pittsylvania

New Jersey-based leafy greens producer AeroFarms plans to add 66 more jobs as it increases production at its vertical farm in Pittsylvania County, the governor’s office announced this week.

This is in addition to the 92 jobs promised in its operations at Cane Creek Centre, a $42 million investment in what is promoted as the world’s largest indoor vertical farm. The company, a certified B Corporation that is one of the leading producers of salad greens, said it is expanding to meet increased customer demand. Greens grown there will primarily go to grocery stores in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast markets, within a day’s drive of Pittsylvania.

“Virginia continues to be the premier location for companies using technology and innovation to become leaders in their industry by generating massive benefits to consumers and investors,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement. “I want to thank AeroFarms for their continued commitment to the commonwealth and commend Danville-Pittsylvania County for their cooperative and highly effective approach to economic development that will create new jobs and economic opportunities for Virginians.”

Virginia competed with other states for the project, Youngkin’s office said. To attract the project, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Pittsylvania County. Youngkin additionally approved a $33,000 grant from the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, which the county will match with local funds. AeroFarms also is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Job Creation Grant program.

AeroFarms sells its Cane Creek property

AeroFarms has sold its 138,670-square-foot property in Cane Creek Centre to MDH Partners and leased it back for 20 years, the companies announced June 1.

MDH Partners bought the property at 1526 Cane Creek Parkway for $19.1 million and leased it back to AeroFarms. The industrial park where AeroFarms is located is jointly owned by Danville and Pittsylvania County.

The indoor agriculture company recently opened its Southern Virginia facility and has been growing short-stemmed leafy greens, herbs and microgreens and will process them for shipping to retail outlets and restaurants within 250 to 300 miles.

With this purchase, MDH Partners has grown its footprint to more than 650,000 square feet of property in Virginia and has acquired more than 6 million square feet of property throughout the U.S. since last January, according to the company.

MDH also owns a 237,861-square-foot property in Ashland and a 284,580-square-foot property in Suffolk.

AeroFarms plants roots in Cane Creek Centre

AeroFarms won’t harvest the first crops at its new Cane Creek Centre facility until summer, but the company is already expanding.

In December 2019, the Newark, New Jersey-based indoor agriculture company announced it would invest $42 million and create 92 jobs in the 136,000-square-foot facility building in the industrial park owned by Danville and Pittsylvania County. Now the company has upped that to $53 million and as many as 150 jobs.

“We’re seeing so much interest and demand, we’re thinking about how can we service that by expanding our workforce,” says Marc Oshima, AeroFarms cofounder and chief marketing officer.

Those jobs, says Pittsylvania County Economic Director Matt Rowe, will pay a collective $4 million to $5 million annually.

AeroFarms will grow and harvest short-stemmed leafy greens, herbs and microgreens and process them for shipping to retail outlets and restaurants within 250 to 300 miles — “from seed to package under one roof,” Oshima says. The vegetables, nurtured with efficient lighting, a mist of water and nutrients, grow in a patented cloth medium made out of natural fiber. The proprietary system uses up to 95% less water than outdoor farming and no pesticides. Because growing conditions are optimized and another growing season can begin almost as soon as one ends, the system can be up to 390 times more productive than growing the same plants outside, the company says.

“It’s really writing a new playbook in agriculture,” Oshima says.

AeroFarms chose Cane Creek Centre because it’s within a day’s drive of 50 million potential customers.

AeroFarms is a B corporation, meaning it’s certified as a for-profit company committed to transparency and social and environmental responsibility.

That mission includes giving formerly incarcerated people a second chance. “We owe them an opportunity to help address recidivism [and] provide career opportunities,” Oshima says.

In Newark, AeroFarms put working farms in schools, senior centers, community centers, even City Hall. The company plans to do the same sort of thing in Virginia. “The ambition is to extend these community farms into the communities that we operate in,” Oshima says, “so people have an opportunity to be hands-on with their growing and appreciate where their food’s coming from.”

Rowe seems convinced AeroFarms is a good catch.

“It’s great news to bring in companies,” he says. “It’s better news to bring in companies that have a history of watching out and taking part in the community.”