Cultiva Farms Completes Next Phase of $10M Jennings, Florida Expansion
Cultiva Farms Completes Next Phase of $10M Jennings, Florida Expansion
March 25, 2018
JENNINGS — Cultiva Farms USA has announced the completion of its new cold storage facility, part of a $10 million project to build a leafy salad crop farm on a 460-acre ranch at Timber Lake.
Cultiva Farms USA is a partnership between an Italian family company, Cultiva, and the largest American producer of fresh-cut vegetables and fruit, Taylor Farms. The goal of the partnership is to bring specialized Italian growing techniques to the U.S. market to encourage significant production of salad crops in the eastern United States, close to big metropolitan areas where most of the consumption takes place.
The Hamilton County Development Authority awarded a two-part grant to support the company’s growth, based on its commitment to employ 34 people and the completion of its cold storage facility. Both milestones have now been met. The new cold storage facility allows the product to be stored, cooled and shipped in Hamilton County, rather than being shipped to another location.
“We see this project as an exciting opportunity not only for our company but for agriculture and Hamilton County overall,” Federico Boscolo, President of Cultiva Farms USA, said in a release. “Bringing new agricultural techniques to the east coast of the United States has the potential to dramatically increase production while creating local job opportunities in Jennings. We are thrilled with our progress and thankful for the community’s continued support of our business.”
Cultiva Farms is the first company producing baby leaf in high tunnels (not hydroponic or vertical farming) and, at the moment, it is also the largest one. The farm includes 800 tunnels (hoop houses), providing 125 acres of covered area to produce conventional spinach and arugula year-round and provide a buffer for adverse climate conditions.
In addition, later this month, Cultiva plans to have in production an additional 80 greenhouses to test organic productions; the aim is to have approximately 600 more tunnels which are 100 percent organic.
For Cultiva, it would create a true production and logistics hub in the center of the American Southeast. In Florida, Cultiva can produce non-stop from October to June, when the already too high temperatures would not allow any other type of production.
“Cultiva Farms USA is an incredible asset to our rich agricultural economy in Hamilton County,” Susan Ramsey, Executive Director of HCDA, said in the release. “Witnessing Cultiva’s growth over the last year has proven that they will be a long-standing corporate partner of our community and we are pleased to be a part of their investment and support their growth.”
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