Representatives of both the Port of Othello and the Adams County Development Council reflected on the viability of indoor or vertical farming greenhouses in Grant and Adams Counties after they attended the 11th Annual Indoor Ag-Con on March 11-12 in Las Vegas.
"What kind of spurred this is in Pasco, Local Bounti is the company, they are opening an indoor ag commercial greenhouse, which is kind of the first of its scale in Washington," Niehenke said. "Hearing about them opening that was like, 'OK, wait, that's a good fit for us,' especially for the port here; we have a ton of water, we have a ton of electricity, and we have a ton of land."
Indoor agriculture utilizes automated and temperature-controlled systems to grow crops year-round. Faix said the systems seem to accommodate a wide range of different crops.
Niehenke said the benefits include increasing the availability of locally grown produce and decreasing the transportation costs, especially for crops grown outside the area and shipped in when they are out of season. At the conference many people were surprised how little land and power costs were in Grant and Adams Counties, Niehenke said. "I think we've definitely found out that our land is affordable," Faix said. "We're not gouging anybody."
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