Kalera, based in Orlando, plans to build the farm next year at 1302 London-Groveport Road near Rickenbacker Airport, company CEO Daniel Malechuk said. The 75,000-square-foot facility is expected to employ 65 workers and grow greens for restaurants, groceries, airports and institutions.

"With most of the nation’s greens grown on the West Coast, we’re thrilled to be able to provide Midwest customers year-round access to hyper-local produce," Malechuk said. 

Kalera opened its first farm in 2018 at the Orlando World Center Marriott, and early this year opened a second Orlando farm.

Since then, fueled by a $150 million round of investment, Kalera has started building farms in Atlanta, Houston and Denver, and announced another in Seattle. Malechuk said the company chose Columbus for its first Midwest farm because of its lively restaurant scene.

"Columbus is obviously a wonderful city when it comes to culinary activity and foods, with countless restaurant headquarters there," he said.

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"We see Columbus as being a wonderful point for us, not only to service Columbus but also the population around there — Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, and we'll stretch into Michigan and Indiana too."

Malechuk said Kalera hopes to open the Columbus farm in fall 2021 and harvest the first greens about six weeks after opening. Using LED lights, each hydroponic facility can produce "millions of heads of lettuce a year," Malechuk said.

"We do all types of leafy greens and micro greens — romaine, bibb, frisee, red oak leaf and a proprietary blend called Kalera Crunch."

The global vertical farming market is expected to reach $9.96 billion by 2025, according to the market research firm Grand View Research. As Grand View noted, vertical farming can be extremely efficient compared with traditional farming, but it might remain a niche industry because of the limited variety of crops produced in vertical farms so far.

Kalera would be the latest player in Ohio's fast-growing vertical farm industry. Several indoor, year-round farms already operate in the state, including Buckeye Fresh in Medina, 80 Acres Farms in Hamilton and Anderson Vertical Farms in Dayton.

Vertical farms promote their produce as being fresher, healthier and easier on the environment to produce. 

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"The No. 1 cause of food-borne illness is from bacteria, E. coli, through leafy greens out in the field," Malechuk said. "When you have traditional greens, they have to triple wash it in bleach or chlorine, and cut it in a field in Arizona and California, then stick it in a cooler, then spend five or six days across the country to get to Columbus. By the time it gets there, it’s probably 10 to 12 to 14 or even 16 days old, and the nutritional value has shrunk significantly."

Malechuk said its products "are put into the hands of the consumer still alive, within hours. They are never treated with a pesticide. It's fresh, it's clean, it's delicious ... and it's year-round." 

In addition, Malechuk said, vertical farming uses 3% to 5% of the water traditional farming requires.

Kalera's primary customers are restaurants, airports, casinos, and sports and entertainment facilities. In Florida, the company also sells its lettuce at the retail level in some Publix supermarkets. 

"We welcome Kalera’s plans for its first investment in Ohio, which brings an innovative hydroponic agriculture operation and 65 new jobs to the Columbus region,” said JobsOhio president and CEO J.P. Nauseef in a prepared statement. 

jweiker@spam-protectdispatch.com

@JimWeiker

Photo Credit: Jeff Herron

Source: Dispatch