Plants in a Gilroy greenhouse are being grown with 90% less water than traditional farms, thanks to Silicon Valley agricultural startup Iron Ox. The business is optimistic about its growth, with big sustainability goals – and even a robot – on full display.
Greens, basil and strawberries grown in the naturally lit greenhouse KCBS Radio visited earlier this week were beautiful, uniform, locally grown and sustainable.
All are in high demand, too.
"We've been sold out from this facility every week for about a year-and-a-half now," Iron Ox CEO Brandon Alexander told KCBS Radio.
Fresh produce from the Gilroy greenhouse is sold to restaurants and grocers, including Whole Foods. The company also operates a farm in San Carlos.
And at a time when California residents are asked to conserve water due to widespread drought, consider this.
"Most people don’t realize, but food production takes 70% of our fresh water," Alexander said. "With our hydroponic system, we're able to reduce our water usage in growing by 90%."
Iron Ox also uses proprietary robotics and artificial intelligence systems to grow more efficiently. A robot named Grover – as in “grow,” plus “rover” – autonomously navigates the farm, monitoring from seed through harvest.
Cutting-edge science is combined with horticulture techniques, and Alexander said it’s all in an effort to make agriculture carbon-negative.
Iron Ox is attracting a lot of interest. The company just raised $53 million a Series C funding round, led by Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Iron Ox also recently broke ground on a 535,000 square-foot growing facility just outside of Austin, Texas in Lockhart. That’s just a next step, according to Alexander.
"We're not going to rest until you can get it in sub-Saharan Africa, and all around the world," he said.
But it started here in the Bay Area.
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