Specialty Crop

San Francisco, California-based Plenty announced in early 2023 that it plans to build the world’s largest and most advanced vertical farming research center in Laramie. Construction of the projected 60,000-square-foot facility is planned to get underway in 2024, with the facility scheduled to open in 2025 or 2026.

“Our research and development has already driven Plenty to achieve industry-leading yields in our core crops of leafy greens, strawberries, and tomatoes. With this new, state-of-the-art facility, we will accelerate our pipeline, further increasing yields and bringing more diverse crops to market sooner,” says Plenty co-founder and Chief Science Officer Nate Storey. “As a Wyoming native who has devoted his career to advancing plant science here, I’m proud to be a part of helping the state play a leading role in advancing a new field.”

The project is supported by a $20 million grant from the State of Wyoming through the Wyoming Business Council with additional funding, land, and support provided by the City of Laramie and others. When complete, the facility is expected to add 125 employees to Plenty’s Laramie team across a range of fields including science, research, engineering, and data analysis.

Plenty is building the first indoor vertical farm to grow strawberries at scale near Richmond, Virginia.

Plenty is one of 100 companies nationwide making TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential Companies” list for 2023. “(Plenty’s) patented indoor-farming tech can grow peak-season-quality produce anytime, with up to 350 times the yield of conventional farms and just a fraction of the land and water,” writes Jared Lindzon in his July 3, 2023, story about Plenty. You can see the complete story, along with the other 99, at https://time.com/collection/time100-companies-2023/