Growing the Future

Vertical Farms Aren't Coming for Your Acres

Episode Summary

Vertical farming – yes, you heard that right! Picture crops reaching for the skies instead of sprawling fields. Harry was hooked and couldn't help but wonder about the origins of our food. Why do some folks still struggle to find fresh produce in today's high-tech world? 🌱

Episode Notes

Vertical farming spent several years as the most overfunded idea in agriculture, and then the money stopped. Harry Duran has interviewed the founders on both sides of that correction.

He came to it sideways, from corporate marketing into podcasting, and built a show around controlled environment agriculture just before the industry hit its reckoning. This conversation is about what survives the hype cycle and what the honest case for indoor growing actually is.

What's Inside

• Why the industry is working through what he calls its trough of disillusionment, and what is being recalibrated
• The core premise that has not changed: growing fresh produce close to where it gets eaten rather than shipping it across a continent
• What precise control over light, temperature, humidity and nutrition actually buys, and what it costs to run
• Why he argues indoor growing is a partner to field agriculture rather than a competitor, and where the two do not overlap
• Where it genuinely wins: harsh climates, regions importing almost all their food, dense urban centres, and places with no grocery access
• The range of what exists now, from shipping containers to countertop units to commercial leafy green facilities
• What separates the operations that last: committed buyers before you build, and an honest view of the power bill
• On finding your own voice, which is the other half of what he does

Connect with Harry: 

Website: https://harryduran.com 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harryduran/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarryDuranFu... 

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