LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – When the cold of the winter months prohibits the growth of fruits and vegetables, many traditional farms stop growing, but Artesian Farms continue to produce. 

The company opened their doors in 2011, breaking ground as the first of its kind in the Midwest, and one of the first hydroponic farms in the U.S.  The farms grow food in tiers indoors using artificial light and a special water system enabling food production year-round in a largely controlled environment.  

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“You can control your light levels, your temperature, humidity, irrigation − many, many other environmental and cultural parameters, which then allows you to increase your yields,” said Roberto Lopez, an assistant professor at the Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “You’ll have the same yield throughout the year, unlike outdoors, where you can have based on the climate … a drought, extreme heat, wind.”

The indoor farms are also more efficient with land and water usage according to CFO Keith Kudla.  He explained that the farms can produce more lettuce in the 500 square feet of a vertical farm than on an acre of land, or 43,560 square feet, outside and can harvest lettuce at a rate of 17 times a year compared to the one or two times a year that outdoor Michigan farms can gather lettuce. 

Artesian Farm reports that the hydroponic farming allows for water recycling which leads to 98% less water use than conventional farms and by using a large building with tiers, it uses 96% less space than conventional farms.  Additionally, the carbon footprint is far less because of low emissions in the growing and harvesting process and the carbon neutral energy sources. 

Recent partnerships between hydroponic farms and food distributors indicated that the need for certain foods year round is necessary. 

“Revolution Farms, Michigan’s premier hydroponic lettuce farm and one of the leading innovators of sustainable farming in the Midwest, is partnering with Grand Rapids-based retailer Meijer to bring local lettuce and salad greens to consumers year-round, across the retailer’s six-state footprint” a release said, “Products include cut, whole leaf, and whole head lettuce varieties, as well as the cut lettuce for all of the retailer’s fresh, ready-to-eat salads.”

An advantage to hydroponic farms is that it would cut down transportation costs if built in areas that have limited farm land. 

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An advantage of places such as Revolution Farms, is the high volume of production, and that RF can go from  farm-to-plate in one to two days, less than half the time it takes for lettuce grown on the West Coast to make it to the Midwest and be grown year round according to PR Newswire.  

This aspect is particularly important for those already facing hunger in Michigan.  According to nonprofit Feeding America, more than 1 million people face hunger, and 297,150 of them are children.  

Artesian Farms makes two trips to Metro Detroit every week, delivering fresh basil, lettuce and kale to Whole Foods, Cantoro’s market and Busch’s Fresh Food market in addition to several local restaurants, Kudla said.

One critique of this farming process is the amount of energy needed to produce the fruits and vegetables.  

“It’s very energy intensive because you’re using electricity for the lights, as well as for the heating and cooling systems and ventilation,” Assistant Professor at the Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Roberto Lopez said. “Typically, you’ll see that leafy greens (lettuces, culinary herbs, micro greens) are the ones that are grown in these indoor farms because they tend to require lower light levels than, let’s say, a tomato or cucumber.”