Vertical Farming On The (Vertical) Horizon?

Commonwealth and local officials recently announced that a new farm will soon begin operating in Northeastern Pennsylvania. A farming operation may not seem like front page news given Pennsylvania's long and rich agricultural heritage, or the fact that Pennsylvania has been one of the nation's leading agricultural production states, including tops in the number and acreage of permanently preserved farms. But what makes this particular farm newsworthy is its departure from well-known, century-old farming techniques: this farm is a technology-based, indoor vertical farming operation located within an industrial business park that is in close proximity to an interstate highway.

When asked about their vision of a farming operation, most folks would probably describe crops in fields or trees in orchards, animals in pastures or buildings, tractors and large equipment, barns and other outbuildings, silos and a house for the farm family, all of which are located on several