Prof. Howard Weiss, who developed the Excel OM and POM software that accompanies our text for free, shares an interesting thought.
One of the location factors displayed in Figure 8.1 of your Heizer/Render/Munson textbook is the size of the potential location. One way to increase the size available for operations is to build vertically. This is why there are skyscrapers in so many cities. As the populations in cities grew there was a need for more room for both housing and business and skyscrapers create more room on the same building footprint.
The concept of expanding operations vertically has now reached the farming industry. Vertical farming is a technique where crops are grown on top of each other, typically indoors inside a facility that may be a skyscraper, warehouse or shipping container.
There are several advantages to vertical farming. First, of course, is that more crops can be raised on a smaller facility footprint. These farms operate in a highly controlled environment. Weather has minimal or no effect on these farms because the temperature, humidity, light and water are completely controlled. Also, different crops can be developed simultaneously whereas on a traditional farm different crops are planted and harvested in succession. Because the farms are indoors there is year- round crop production. Water can be recycled and reused. The farms can be located closer to urban centers reducing transportation costs. Less labor is required.
However, there are several downsides to vertical farming. While fewer employees are required than on a typical farm, these employees need to learn new skills. The startup costs for a vertical farm are higher than the startup costs for a traditional farm. While the environment is controlled, the energy costs to do so are higher than energy costs on a typical farm. In addition, energy costs have been rising both in the U.S. (8.4% higher) and Great Britain (58% higher) over the past few years and the carbon footprint of a vertical farm is larger than that of a typical farm. The cost to the consumer of the food that is grown is higher than food from typical farms. The types of crops that can be grown is not as large as that of a typical farm.
Classroom Discussion Questions
1. How could an individual take advantage of vertical farming when growing vegetables?
2. Are there any vertical farms located near your university location?
How do they compensate for the reduced direct sunlight?
They use LED lights – especially blue/red/purple.