Considering starting a VF? Think like a farmer, not an engineer

Added on 29 October 2024

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Considering starting a VF? Think like a farmer, not an engineer

Stan Kaplita, co-founder and president of Zeste Farms, said potential CEA growers should not become preoccupied with the technology of any type of production system. Photos courtesy of Zeste Farms

Zeste Farms has developed its indoor vertical farm production system to be easy to operate and simple to repair.

In April 2020 when Stan Kaplita started Zeste Farms, an indoor vertical farm in Paso Robles, Calif., the coronavirus pandemic was well established in the United States.

“There was a lot of discussion of whether we should go forward with the business or not,” Kaplita said. “We had raised quite a bit of start-up money, so we made the decision to move forward given it was a prototype and we saw ongoing investment in this sector. We knew it was going to take time to procure all the equipment required to operate the facility. But we figured the pandemic would be over in a few months and we would be fine.