Walmart Invests in Indoor Vertical Farming Startup Plenty
2022-01-31
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1Walmart, America's largest goods store, recently announced that it bought a share of the agriculture company, Plenty.
2Plenty specializes in vertical farming.
3In a statement, Walmart official Charles Redfield said the partnership will help the company offer the "highest-quality foods at the best prices."
4Plenty is based in San Francisco, California.
5Walmart is an international company based in Bentonville, Arkansas.
6Vertical farmers praise their methods.
7They say vertical farming grows more food while using less water and land.
8The method also does not use chemical insect control.
9It also permits produce to be grown all year near transportation centers, which increases the dependability of supply.
10Walmart did not comment on the size of its investment or the financial terms of the deal.
11The company said a Walmart representative will join Plenty's board of directors when the deal is completed.
12Plenty is one of several companies in the fast-growing field of indoor farming.
13Other vertical farming companies include AppHarvest in Morehead, Kentucky and Gotham Greens based in New York City.
14The company Agritecture is a business advisor.
15It recently said at least 74 indoor farming companies were established around the world in 2020.
16Plenty was founded in 2014.
17It has a vertical farm in South San Francisco.
18It also operates an indoor science research center in Laramie, Wyoming.
19Plenty is now building a center in Compton, California.
20It said the project will be the world's most productive vertical indoor farm.
21It is expected to open in the second half of this year.
22Plenty said its vertical farming towers are designed to grow several crops on one floor in a building the size of a large store.
23Its systems include vertical plant towers, special lighting, and robots to plant, feed, and harvest the crops.
24Plenty says its farms use one percent of the land that an outdoor farm requires.
25At the same time, the farm can produce anywhere from 150 to 350 times more food per hectare.
26Walmart said that under the deal, Plenty's Compton farm will send leafy vegetables, like lettuce, to Walmart's California stores beginning later this year.
27Walmart said the vertical farms will add to, not replace, traditional farming methods.
28It added that the vertical farms will increase the food supply in a way that is good for the environment and that does not waste resources.
29I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Walmart, America's largest goods store, recently announced that it bought a share of the agriculture company, Plenty. 2Plenty specializes in vertical farming. In a statement, Walmart official Charles Redfield said the partnership will help the company offer the "highest-quality foods at the best prices." Plenty is based in San Francisco, California. Walmart is an international company based in Bentonville, Arkansas. 3Vertical farmers praise their methods. They say vertical farming grows more food while using less water and land. The method also does not use chemical insect control. It also permits produce to be grown all year near transportation centers, which increases the dependability of supply. 4Walmart did not comment on the size of its investment or the financial terms of the deal. The company said a Walmart representative will join Plenty's board of directors when the deal is completed. 5Plenty is one of several companies in the fast-growing field of indoor farming. Other vertical farming companies include AppHarvest in Morehead, Kentucky and Gotham Greens based in New York City. 6The company Agritecture is a business advisor. It recently said at least 74 indoor farming companies were established around the world in 2020. 7Plenty was founded in 2014. It has a vertical farm in South San Francisco. It also operates an indoor science research center in Laramie, Wyoming. 8Plenty is now building a center in Compton, California. It said the project will be the world's most productive vertical indoor farm. It is expected to open in the second half of this year. 9Plenty said its vertical farming towers are designed to grow several crops on one floor in a building the size of a large store. Its systems include vertical plant towers, special lighting, and robots to plant, feed, and harvest the crops. 10Plenty says its farms use one percent of the land that an outdoor farm requires. At the same time, the farm can produce anywhere from 150 to 350 times more food per hectare. 11Walmart said that under the deal, Plenty's Compton farm will send leafy vegetables, like lettuce, to Walmart's California stores beginning later this year. Walmart said the vertical farms will add to, not replace, traditional farming methods. It added that the vertical farms will increase the food supply in a way that is good for the environment and that does not waste resources. 12I'm Gregory Stachel. 13Anne D'Innocenzio reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 14________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16vertical - adj. positioned up and down rather than from side to side: going straight up 17board - n. a group of people who manage or direct a company or organization 18grocery store - phr. n. a store that sells food and household supplies 19tower - n. a tall, narrow building or structure that may stand apart from or be attached to another building or structure 20leaf - n. one of the flat and typically green parts of a plant that grow from a stem or twig 21We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.