Vertical farming on the rise: Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and 80 Acres Farms enter research agreement

Fast facts

80 Acres Farms enters into master research agreement with the Experiment Station
Experiment Station scientists to propose collaborative vertical farming research projects
Collaboration aims to advance science of vertical farming

FAYETTEVILLE — Vertical farming business 80 Acres Farms has entered into a collaborative research agreement with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station to advance the science of vertical farming.
Scientists with the experiment station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will coordinate with 80 Acres Farms researchers to pursue a variety of vertical farming research topics, said Bryan Renk, director of commercialization for the division’s Technology Commercialization Office.
“Vertical farming is growing and trending,” Renk said. “There are multiple companies forming across the U.S. that are trying to take advantage of that trend.”
Jean-François Meullenet, senior associate vice president for agriculture-research and director of the experiment station, said the agreement provides a unique opportunity for research.
“We are very excited about this new research partnership with 80 Acres Farms,” Meullenet said. “Protected farming is a strategic research direction for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and 80 Acres Farm is a leader is this area.”

Renk said that the initial round of proposed and current research includes a project analyzing the chemical components of 80 Acres produce, exploration into new protocols for vertical farming, and evaluation of novel blackberry variety selections that are suited for the vertical farming environment.
“We have a great multidisciplinary team of faculty that can make great contributions to the development of vertical farming technology,” Meullenet said. “I look forward to seeing the impact we can have through this research.”
“80 Acres is expanding its vertical farming R&D facility in Springdale, Arkansas to develop the growing recipes for multiple leafy and fruiting produce crops,” said Victor Verlage, senior vice president for operations, agronomy, and research and development at 80 Acres Farms. “We are calibrating and aligning all the growing conditions, incorporating several proprietary AgTech capabilities that were not available until recently, to bring hyper-fresh fruits and vegetables loaded with taste and nutrition so our consumers can indulge in healthy diets,” he said.
Margaret Worthington, assistant professor of fruit breeding and genetics in the horticulture department for the experiment station and Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, is evaluating blackberry varieties that may perform well in these novel growing conditions.
“We hope to identify blackberry breeding selections that perform well in fully-controlled indoor environments and vertical farms,” Worthington said.
“Fruit breeding is a long-term effort,” she said. “We need to be forward thinking and consider how the potential varieties moving through our breeding pipeline are going to fit into new markets and productions systems that are just beginning to develop.
“The Arkansas Fruit Breeding Program has a history of mutually beneficial public-private research collaborations and I am looking forward to working with this new partner,” she said.
In addition to collaborating on research, 80 Acres Farms also plans to create internship opportunities for Bumpers college students.
“80 Acres Farms is eager to provide opportunities for the next generation of farmers where they will have access to best-in-class vertical farming technology," said Verlage. "The students will have immersive training right here in Northwest Arkansas, minutes from the university campus.”