Shenandoah Growers has begun harvests at its next generation BioFarm facilities in Rockingham and Elkwood, Virginia. The company will now grow, pack and ship locally grown, organic produce from its sustainable indoor farms to its customers in the Mid-Atlantic region 365 days a year.
Shenandoah's sustainable growing technology uses bioactive soil and fresh water, just like in nature, producing healthy organic plants and delivering on the company's mission to reduce its carbon footprint and lead in environmental stewardship.
Shenandoah Growers BioFarm mixed lettuce
The Rockingham BioFarm will supply 100% of Shenandoah's basil in the Mid-Atlantic region, marking the transition away from traditional field production. The Elkwood BioFarm will supply the company's new line of local organic lettuces to Mid-Atlantic customers.
"Being able to grow the totality of our basil demand inside our pack house and not fly or truck hundreds or thousands of miles from the field was inconceivable when I entered the business over 20 years ago," says Tim Heydon, CEO.
Chief Customer Officer Steven Wright intoned, "It's one thing to be able to grow indoors, it's quite another to harvest, pack and deliver with consistent quality 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year while meeting demand during peak seasons."
Shenandoah Growers BioFarm basil plants
The company points out that its indoor production units, many of which have been in operation for over 4 years, are proven efficient. According to company President, Phillip Karp, "Fundamentally we are about the democratization of sustainably grown organic produce, and for the promise of indoor agriculture to truly unlock its great potential, it must achieve cost parity with traditional farming. Anything we launch from our indoor farms will be scalable and profitable for us and our customers and affordable for the shopper."
The company is in the process of accelerating its indoor farming capacity with a clearly defined plan to deploy additional next generation USDA certified organic Biofarms across its entire national platform of operating locations.
For more information:
Shenandoah Growers
www.shenandoahgrowers.com