"This story gets worse as you go further off the highway," Mr. Feagin adds. He combined his experience as a research scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy with Mr. Velez's agricultural roots to build a vertical farm, promising increased access and a 25 percent price reduction of fresh produce for Indigenous communities in the far North.
But shortly after investing in the technology, Mr. Feagin quickly realized it didn't live up to its marketing claims. "The costs of operating these facilities are just so high, and the systems have been economized to maximize energy to such an extent that they don't perform how they claim to anymore."
AgriTech North pivoted to a "living labs" model, using the operating farm as a test bed for new vertical-farming technology. It began designing less expensive greenhouse exterior technology, a thermal and climate-management system to improve the interaction between air conditioners and dehumidifiers in vertical farms, and software for managing complex food systems in remote communities.
They're also tackling an issue known as the "carbon gap" in northern communities. "If you're growing in minus-40 degrees or lower you don't want to bring that air into your farm because it's going to kill your crops," Mr. Feagin says.
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