Why Shipping Container Farming?
A tool to decentralize our food system.
Our food system is largely centralized. Take a look at some of the numbers: The amount of U.S. farms has dropped by roughly 70% since the 1930s. The average meal in the United States travels about 1,500 miles from farm to plate.
You would think the growing demand for local products would change this — but the reality is that farms are continuing to disappear. Studies show that only about one-third of small farms have a designated successor in the family, in part because many young people are unwilling to make the significant financial investment in an industry that requires them to dedicate long hours and significant physical effort for meager rewards. There’s a need for a new generation of farmers to provide that local food we seek.
Beyond this, a centralized food system poses concrete risks: widespread foodborne illness outbreaks; shipping interruptions caused by natural disasters that cause food spoilage in one part of the world while people on the other side are cut off from their food source; and depletion of our land and natural resources.
It’s time to decentralize. Shipping container farming has the power to do just that.
The Container Farming Solution
Container Farming as a Business
More than just a cool piece of technology and a solution for the future, the container farm is a platform for a viable business plan. A single vertical container farm can grow the equivalent of 2.5 acres of produce annually — a lucrative prospect — and a single farmer can comfortably operate up to 3 shipping containers. Plus, a modular and stackable design that conserves space and can be placed almost anywhere makes it easier to scale a vertical farming business compared to other farming methods.
Container farming works well in both urban and rural settings and can function as a standalone business or as an accessory to an existing farm or restaurant. Beyond food production, a container farm is an asset for small businesses and organizations — an easy way to incorporate sustainable practices, educational curriculum, community engagement, or job training into their programming, and a huge positive differentiator for their business.
Our Container Farm
Learn more about Freight Farms’ shipping container greenhouse, the Greenery™ S, and our farm automation software, farmhand®.
Central to our mission here at Freight Farms is to provide the hardware, software, and training needed to simplify the learning curve for new farmers and ensure their business is successful. Although some Freight Farmers come from farming backgrounds, most are new to the agriculture industry.
The Greenery S streamlines farming, simplifying it to an intuitive science with the aid of farmhand, which allows our Freight Farmers to remotely monitor and control operations inside the farm such as lights, temperature, and humidity, so they know what’s going on inside their container, even when they’re not there. Farmhand’s control also allows farmers to manipulate environmental conditions to bring out the best in their plants and grow produce that’s superior in aroma, taste, looks, and nutrition compared to average greens.