The all-new facility will open in early 2023 and will occupy a 200,000 square foot industrial building built in 2015 but yet to be occupied. The building will be turned into a state-of-the-art, vertical, aeroponic farm ultimately employing approximately 120 people. It will feature automation that helps growers fully realize the inherent natural potential of the crops grown there, while seeding, transplanting, harvesting, processing, and packaging these crops in an efficient, high-speed manner. It will produce the equivalent of two million acres of farmland.
Once the new indoor farm is fully constructed, it will have the capacity to grow and harvest five million pounds of leafy greens each year without the use of pesticides. Additionally, the advanced farming system can produce these nutrient-rich greens using significantly less water than traditional farming methods, saving the planet 103 million gallons per year (the equivalent of 156 Olympic sized pools). This will include a wide variety of great-tasting leafy greens packaged into ready-to-eat bagged greens and salad kits. The Muncie facility will provide fresh leafy greens, from harvest to shelf within 24 hours, to markets as far east as Pittsburgh, north as Detroit, Milwaukee, Kansas City and the Twin Cities, and south to Nashville and Charlotte, and all markets in between.
"The Muncie facility is in an ideal location to take a significant step in our national geographical expansion," said George Pastrana, CEO of LGF. "It will help us to better supply our current retail partners, such as Walmart, Whole Foods, HyVee, UNFI, and others, as well as allow expansion into additional leading retail and wholesale customers across the Midwest and Midsouth."
Vertical indoor farming is a growing, but young, industry with indoor production of leafy greens still only approximately five percent of total production in the United States.
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"I wish to thank the people of Muncie and Delaware County for the work they put into making this new farm a reality," added Pastrana. "As we are from a rural town in Minnesota, we quickly came to a mutual realization that Muncie is an environment that will work very well for us."
"Indiana is leaning into the future of agriculture technology, with company-partners, like Living Greens Farm, choosing to grow next-gen solutions here in the heart of America's largest commodity crop production region," said Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers. "Living Greens Farm's investment in Indiana builds momentum in the agtech sector for even more innovation and growth to follow."
County Commissioner President Sherry Riggin said, "We are so pleased to have the Living Greens Farm investment in Delaware County. Diversification of industry in our community is incredibly important. The leafy greens product is a wonderful addition and we're happy to welcome them to the county."
