Photo courtesy of Revolution Farms
Revolution Farms, expanding its farm this summer with the addition of two new acres of indoor greenhouse space. The state-of-the-art facility will use the latest agriculture technologies, including a fully automated plant-to-harvest system, to grow fresh, local produce year-round.
Located in in Caledonia, Michigan, Revolution Farms can produce up to 500,000 pounds of fresh lettuce and greens annually. The greenhouse expansion will allow the farm to grow and distribute up to 1.5 million pounds of salad greens each year, to meet increasing demand from a growing list of grocery retailers and chefs.
Revolution Farms recently added 24 West Michigan Meijer stores to the list of retailers carrying the local lettuce, which also includes D&W Fresh Market, VG’s, Family Fare and Forest Hills Foods, as well as independent stores statewide, and direct-to-consumer deliveries via Doorganics.
“Michiganders want to eat better, and literally eat greener. We can grow the highly nutritious, more sustainable salad greens that Michiganders want, all year round,” said John Green, co-founder and CEO of Revolution Farms. “Adding two more acres gives us the ability to grow more of consumers’ favorite lettuces, such as romaine, but also create ideal indoor ecosystems to grow more varieties of leafy greens and herbs.”
Pioneer Construction is the contractor for the 87,000 sq. ft. greenhouse addition, which started in February. It is expected to be complete in July and fully operational by the end of the year. The farm’s addition will introduce an advanced system that fully automates the planting, tending and harvesting process from seed to package.
The new technologies will
complement Revolution Farms’ computerized climate control systems, which will
allow the farm to achieve higher efficiencies from its core lettuce products,
and create customized environments suitable for new varieties.
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