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UP Vertical Farms launches new vertical farming facility in British Columbia

After nearly a decade of researching and developing the latest technology to grow crops at 350 times the yield of conventional field-grown greens, UP Vertical Farms has launched its inaugural facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia.

Grown using 99 per cent less land, 99 per cent less water, 99 per cent less fertilizer, and no pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides, UP is fully automated from seeding through to harvest. Using recycled CO2 and proprietary lighting technology, leaves are grown to custom levels and flavor profiles while lasting 22+ days refrigerated. Because the greens are never touched by human hands, they are ready to eat right out of the package with no need to wash them.

“We are thrilled to go live after many years of research, development, and planning,” says Bahram Rashti, co-founder of UP Vertical Farms. “With climate change affecting the fresh produce supply in a multitude of ways, we’re honored to help Canada navigate its food security issues — as with recent shortages experienced in the traditional leafy greens sector, for example. These limitations in supply will be a continuous issue, one we had foreseen and for which we developed a commercial-scale solution to address. Our facility will further limit Canada’s dependence on imported greens in the provinces we supply, and we anticipate expanding our footprint quickly.”

Forecasting production of just under 2 million pounds — or 6.3 million bags — of salad greens per year, UP Vertical Farms also can customize packs specific to the individual needs of retailers and restaurants. Because crops are grown in an automated 13 to 21-day period, blends can be tailored and grown instantaneously to keep pace with ongoing trends, which adds to quality and consistency.