Large scale Indoor Farming,a working model.The future is here!

My partner and I develop alternative businesses,this is without a doubt the best idea Blaine ever brought to the table.We're in the seventh month of this project so I can present it for others to do as well.I'll tell you, this may be the Big one.Blaine learned about some folks in New York city who purchased an abandoned high rise[every city has these]and did something radical with it.The cost of renovation and location(surrounded by other abandoned buildings) was the reason this and many other buildings had no real value.In other words,they got it Cheap.

the entire building was fitted out with lights and a water system and turned into a multi level indoor FARM! Is that Cool or What?

This project will be most successful in Northern cities but may benefit others as well due to shipping costs and a growing market for affordable fresh organic produce.As fuel prices rise so will the price of the purchases we make.That is a virtual guarantee of success because energy used in an indoor farm[when properly outfitted]is proportionally much lower.

I contacted these folks[wonderful Eco minded people] and asked for the results of there two years in business.I found an everyone benefits business that had very few minor draw backs.I'd estimate a success factor of 80 to 90 percent,failure would almost certainly be operator related.

The full cost of outfitting is roughly 1/5 of renovation for any sort of habitation because the expensive finishing out is eliminated[plants don't have an appreciation for fine art,hardwood floors etc].

The high energy consumption and short life span of traditional grow lights is substituted with fluorescent light combinations of red and blue based[soft and bright]tubes,bringing the consumption of electricity over all[considered here is the complete elimination of the electrical necessity's...TVs,Ranges,Refrigerators,etc,for habitation]to a comparable level if habitation had been installed.

Water usage is higher than habitation but still acceptable.

Heating is not as high as habitation requires because most crops grow comfortably at lower temperatures.Specialty crops have area heaters installed and ventilation consists of an intake fan at one end of each floor.

Light manipulation and the use of stationary assembly lines where the plants are moved along as they grow to maturity provides weekly harvests.Produce can be harvested at the peak of ripeness and sold absolutely fresh.Imagine peak of ripeness fruit and vegetables,that's a flavor few enjoy,

Space maximization through tiring[stair stepping]the assembly lines doubles yield.

Here's the best part,No Pesticides!In door farming done properly isn't subjected to the pests that out door farms suffer.Of course care must be taken to protect against infestation by accidental means.

these folks sell fresh locally grown organic produce at two thirds the price of imported produce.

There numbers over two years indicate that there one forty story farm can feed fifty thousand people year round with fresh ripe pesticide free produce.

This plan can be adapted to any size building which makes it flexible enough for most cities and towns regardless of location.I'm sure it can even be done in the home using spare rooms,basements etc.

SO

The city has abandoned buildings taken care of and increases revenue through taxes,not to mention the negative visual image that these buildings lend.

Consumers get fresh ripe organic produce at roughly 1/3 lower prices.

The farmers realise a respectable profit.

The national economy is strengthened due to lower energy consumption in various areas such as fuel used to ship from other parts of the country and world,revitalisation of blighted buildings and entire areas in cities across America.It further reduces costs buy eliminating high crime areas and this spiral continues into many other secondary positive effects that are not at first obvious.

Our Story

We formed a corporation and purchased two nine story buildings that will be ready for planting in January 2010.We've added one feature that is new.The basement and ground floor of both buildings have been filled with above ground Department store swimming pools with individual heaters and filtration systems for farming a variety of fish including tilapia,trout,and perch.We hope to market "the freshest fish you can buy"in about three months.The fish will be harvested when purchased so you can go from water to frying pan in an hour.

UPDATE

May 5Th 2010:

First harvest is in and distributed to markets and area stores.We have had minor difficulties getting supermarkets to carry our produce due to fears[I suspect]of losing sales of less desirable imported mega farm produce,a nuisance at worst.This project has yielded a considerably higher profit to cost ratio than we projected but we've only been in sales for a very short time.Weekly harvests are coming along nicely and the fish idea has been spectacular though we had to open a retail outlet in one of the farms[factored in cost did bite into profit margin a bit].The price of our fish is static while gulf and ocean caught fish is expected to increase dramatically,not to mention pollutants.We have been approached by charitable groups asking for contributions and are considering various ideas in terms of out reach but have no models to follow and must wait for this project to stabilize in terms of cash flow as well as employees required.

I've received many e-mails inquiring about this venture but am to pressed to answer individually.It appears that these hard economic times are a Boone for small alternative businesses as virtually all of our projects have heated up.I hope to write an article with details when I have time.I highly recommend this project and urge you to research it and Go for it.Be sure to form corporations for each of your ventures to avoid the domino effect if one fails.

Dean