Infarm to establish largest growing centre in Maryland

Urban farming company Infarm has unveiled plans to construct its largest growing centre to date near Baltimore, Maryland, marking its third facility in the US.

The 18,600-square-metre facility will be located in Columbia, Howard County, and will produce up to 45 million crops per year.

The growing centre will create more than 50 jobs in Howard County and supply crops, such as herbs, leafy greens, ready-to-eat salads, microgreens and mushrooms, to the Northeastern US. 

Erez Galonska, CEO and co-founder of Infarm, said: “With the opening of this new growing centre, we are now entering a region where vertical farming is already widely adopted and green innovations are thriving”.

He continued: “Once fully operational, our growing centre will provide the Northeastern US with a new food production capability that minimises climate and supply chain risk by growing more than 75 types of plants locally, sustainably and reliably 24/7, 365 days a year”. 

The vertical farming facility will join Infarm’s site in Seattle, Washington, and recently announced growing centre in Kyle, Texas, as part of the company’s US network. 

According to Infarm, more than 50% of the new facility is already pre-ordered, with the first harvest planned for spring 2023. The remaining capacity will be added by early 2024.