Interest in urban indoor farming is (ahem) growing. Urban farming, or farming in indoor spaces in cities, can improve food access while providing environmental benefits. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Urban Indoor Farming "can reduce transportation costs, help reduce runoff associated with heavy rainfall, and lead to better air quality."
Researchers, scientists, urban planners, city leaders, environmentalists and, of course, farmers are all looking at the sustainability benefits that come in addition to the simple advantage of greater access to fresh local food. Yet, one inhibiting factor to urban farming is often the lack of open space. That’s where storage solutions, such as our GROW mobile system, come in.
ActivRAC & Urban Farming
There are many different approaches to urban indoor farming. Farmers can grow crops in raised beds or container gardens by utilizing closed-loops aquaponics systems, or use high-density storage to establish a vertical farm. The possibilities are endless.
Yet one common challenge in indoor farming is the limited access to growing space. sFacing zoning regulations, city planning opposition, and building code concerns, as well as limited access to water, these farmers cannot expand their operations.
Affordable ActivRAC mobile shelving solutions can improve production practices and profitability. With this heavy-duty mobile storage system, stationary rows of shelving are mounted on carriages that move side-to-side on wheels and a rail system.
Using an ActivRAC Industrial Mobile Shelving System, an urban indoor farmer can increase capacity per square foot in an existing space without costly expansion or disruption to daily activity. One moving aisle replaces multiple dedicated aisles, creating up to 100% more space for more racking or shelving, in the same footprint.
That means salvaging space that was being sucked up by crop shelving or racks in the past. The farming operation can now devote that space to inventory fulfillment, new revenue-generating crops, or other value-added activities.
Advantages of ActivRac Urban Indoor Farming
Added space isn’t the only benefit. A well-thought-out layout of the urban farm’s production area allows for fast, easy inventory access by employees or forklifts. This efficiency boost can make it easier for farmers to do more with fewer people, which also helps profits.
Mobile multi-tiered food shelving systems address the inefficiency of standard growing tables. Strategically shelving crops for space optimization makes it easier for cultivators to address microclimate concerns. Plus, added space provides the plants with the room they need to grow healthy and pest-free.
Our ActivRAC system eliminated wasted aisle space for Columbus Artisan Growers, a hydroponic farm that provides local produce to Columbus-area restaurants and distributors. Because of the added space, the indoor farmers can designate spots for different growing heights, lead schedules, and watering cycles - and get crops planted and picked faster.
Supporting the Future of Indoor Farming
At the end of the day, urban indoor farmers aren't going to produce an entire city's worth of food. But they can bring people closer to the sources of their food, and make cities themselves more diverse, interesting, and green.
Patterson Pope can help urban farmers achieve these lofty goals while regaining space and increasing profits with ActivRAC mobile shelving. Find out more about our storage solutions, and how they can help vertical growers and urban farmers yield healthy crops.
