ABJ: Austin's future may depend on these farmers
AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- About 70 miles north of Austin, in a 20-acre agricultural manufacturing site, scores of lettuce seeds are evenly sowed by machines into dirt rows in palettes. Those palettes are then shuttled through a labyrinth of machines and conveyor belts, before coming to rest floating in water in a humid greenhouse.
Over the next 20 days, their exposure to sun is varied by a retractable roof and potential contaminants are meticulously measured. When the plants are ready to harvest, the palettes are moved back along conveyor belts into a frigid room, where machines and humans work hand-in-hand to pick them, wash them, package them and send them to grocery stores throughout the South.
It's a process that might be the future of farming and it's happening daily at Revol Greens Inc.'s new indoor greenhouse in Temple.
The company — which has brought its headquarters to Austin and its largest farming facility to Temple — now has four farms totaling 50 acres across the country, or the equivalent of 1,500 acres of farmland based on its land and water saving process. The Temple facility, which opened in May, already distributes leafy greens to 800 stores including locations of H-E-B LP, Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. and Walmart Inc.
Read the full story on the Austin Business Journal's website.