Indoor vertical farming is coming to Chesterfield. Governor Glenn Youngkin + county leaders announced a partnership with Plenty Unlimited Inc. at a press conference on Wed., Sept. 14.
The Plenty Richmond Farm Campus will be the world’s largest indoor vertical farm campus.
Plenty’s model of production grows crops 365 days a year in a controlled environment. Leaders emphasized how vertical farming increases yield while reducing waste + maintaining flavor.
“We’re on a mission to sustainably grow fresh food for everyone, everywhere,” Plenty CEO Arama Kukutai said.
The first phase of the farm will grow Driscoll’s strawberries. It should be open by winter 2023-2024.
Plenty expects to bring leafy greens + snacking tomatoes to the campus as well.
“We hope to not just create hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, but hundreds of jobs, and to have this be a historic moment in the development of indoor farming not just for Virginia, but globally,” Kukutai said.
By the numbers
💸 $300 million | The amount Plenty will invest in its Meadowville Technology Park campus over the next six years.
🌳 120 | The acres Plenty has acquired to build its campus.
💼 300 | The number of jobs the campus is expected to bring to VA.
🍓 4 million | The number of pounds of strawberries Driscoll’s intends to produce out of Chesterfield, annually.
🥬 20 million | The potential annual production capacity across multiple crops.
Bonus: Plenty has information on future career opportunities on its website.
