I'm new to the site, so I don't know how much discussion, if any, there has been on vertical farming. I don't want to say that VF is the end all solution to agriculture and sustainability, but it does seem to help on many fronts. www.verticalfarm.org has the most accurate and comprehensive information on the subject, and I support the idea.

Another gauge of interest is how many people would be willing to somehow financially support this project  - and I don't just mean hedge funds.  How many individuals would be willing contribute time, money or work toward building this if it turns out that this idea really will help alleviate some of the food/agricultural issues we are faced with today? Here's an indicator  of the contributions that civilians would be willing to make - what about professionals?

Is corn vertical farming,and pumpkin horizontal farming?

Why would anyone need to make any special contribution or financial support other than to buy the produce? If they can't sell the produce at a competitive price then it makes no sense.

It wouldn't be a contribution to the sale of the produce, it would be a contribution to begin development of the project. Basically it's a smaller version of investing, so the return is that you get to see something you support succeed. 

I would buy the produce after the completion of the project, but this is focused on the way to reach the completion (or start even).  

Why would I want to donate money to a business I would not own or reap the fruits of? If they are selling stock or looking for investors then it would be worthwhile to look at.

But there is something to be appreciated about a business plan that can be summed up as: please send me money so I can start a business, get rich and keep all the profit to myself.

Well, as the developer is not the one who started the campaign that's not exactly how it works. If you don't want to try to buy invest in this building project with $5-10 dollars, be my guest.

This is a way to measure the amount of interest. It's an action that can basically can be summed up as: I think this project is such a good idea, I will commit a small amount of money to be contributed in the future. Developers will know that everyone that joins feels strongly about the idea.

Thanks for your exceedingly positive contributions.
 
Support Vertical Farming

Vertical Farm Project

Sorry, dot com, not org. That's the project site.

Very amophous.  Has anyone bothered to try to put together an outline spec or brief of what is required?  The green wall concepts make nice pictures, but the idea of picking tomatoes with a window washing type rig seems a bit far fetched.

I suspect the price of veggies will have to get really expensive to make this even remotely viable.

Start with an adaptive reuse of an old class C building for a pilot or demonstration project and look for grants for funding.

Do you think you could make a business plan for this that you could take to a bank and get a loan (even two years ago when they were still giving away money)?  When you can do that, developers will become interested.

Bruce

The concept is just a way to separate gullible cityslickers from their money. Anyone who would take the time to think about it for 30 seconds would figure out it's a sham.

How much more would an acre of vertical steel and concrete cost than an acre of soil?

Would it cost more to plant on the ground or on the side of a high rise steel and concrete structure?

Would it cost more to harvest produce on the ground or on the side of a high rise building?

Would it cost more to water plants on the ground or on the side of a high rise building?

Would plants get more of the sun they need on the ground or on the side of a high rise building?

How many more plants per acre can you plant on the ground compared to the side of a high rise? 

How many hours of direct, full sunshine do plants need a day to produce?

How many acres of farm land are there in the US compared to the area of the unshaded south side of every high rise in New York?

How many acres of back yard suburban gardens are there compared to the area of the unshaded south side of every high rise in New York?


Simple questions with very obvious answers that should make anyone realize the foolishness of the concept. Gullible city slickers, of course have no clue to the answers to those questions and will buy into the dream. And it's a lot easier to sell a dream than reality. If you stick to reality people will say you're not being exceedingly positive. LOL

Well, I am not holding my breath waiting for a design brief or a business plan ;-)

I work for a real estate developer who does a lot of high rise buildings and has a long (before the word green was ever used) history of energy saving and IAQ initiatives.  We are heavily involved in LEED and the USGBC (one of my colleagues was the chair of the C&S Committee) so I am always intrigued by some of the ideas that are put forward. 

Hopefully ths is a case of overly wishful thinking and not a scam.

Bruce

If you look at the way the site works (The Point) it shows that you only give money if the objective is met. For instance - another campaign just had $10,000 donated from over 150 people for a matching grant with the Crohn's and Colitis foundation. Their goal was $10,000 and no one paid until that number was reached. So yes, a bit of wishful thinking ;) but also a powerful tool!

But anyway - I don't claim to know all the logistics, but I do respect Dr. Dickson Despommier and I know he has been the head of most of this movement. I think it's great that many firms are involved with LEED and the USGBC, but I think it's always important to stay innovative on top of what's already out there.

How do they plan to grow the vegetation in this system? Is it Hydroponically? Will it be using Conventional methods?

Thanks,

Sound like a fascinating idea. Let robots farm....instead of the illegal immigrants! That way at least the US won't be losing jobs to foreigners! We'll be losing them to robots...err...made by the Japanese. (Please note the satirical humor, my wife is Mexican and I am for the Bush "guest worker" program as a way to keep food and other prices low.) Anyway, why do people with good ideas like this market them as solutions to impending doom? Never works...think global warming. I am interested because it looks healthier, more efficient, more modern and possibly could result in cheaper products if done correctly. (Think, no seasons, no disasters, no weather problems; just farming farming farming year around) Anyway, I agree with folks above that say if it isn't feasible as a money making business...it will and should die as an idea. I love all things "green" especially ICF construction, but at the end of the day it is not about the money....it is ALL about the money.

It's all about business. If it will cost higher to produce. Then it's not feasible.

well as far as VF is concerned Roof top gardens i dont think are the answers for the future. lets consider a major city say for New York, i think if we take them all also it wont be able to feed everybody in NY. also weight is a problem the old houses are not designed to take the weight of the farming!

Clareo,

Unlike some of the others that choose to respond, I am not as ignorant to think that this is a logical solution for the future of farming; However, I do agree that the start-up cost for this type of building would be astronomical. Overall there are some creative designs and interesting concepts. I don't know when this type of farming would be needed, but I can assure you that we can not continue to consume the way we do, with less and less cultivatable land available for farming. Vertical Framing is something that will be taken more seriously in the future, the question is when will we need to move our farms indoors.... After global warming destroys our crops? ..... When there is no land left to cultivate? .... When the world food supply is completely dry?

I won't be re-mortgaging my house to finance the first vertical farm, but I am interested to see what type of technology develops to meet our growing global population.

see polycore...the only hitch i have is the cost! the cost would be so high that it is pratcially impossible to implement. you tell me either we remove the old buildings and create new ones coz we cannot use the old buildings for the VF.
so my concerns are about the monetary involvement it is going to demand, if we plan a new city with new buildings then yes it can be taken into consideration

Yep! that we all realize that with shrinking farm lands, VF will be the only alternative left with us in the future, there should be a law which would make mandatory for all the newly constructed buildings to bear that extra 'load' just by keeping future in mind.