SXSW Just Showcased The First-Ever Traveling Indoor Farm

March 16, 2017

Each year some of the most imaginative and innovative minds from all over the world gather at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. The first-ever traveling indoor farm was presented this week. 

The SXSW trade show offers exhibitions that range from promising startups to well-established global corporations, affiliate KEYE reported. Companies from across the world descend on Austin to display their products in hopes of catching the eye of an investor, networking or just showing what they have to offer. 

Local Roots has created a traveling indoor farm that uses a scalable, proprietary growing system that promises to provide "predictable production and quality." 

"We have a circulating irrigation system and we recapture all of the water that flows through the system to reduce our water consumption down just what the plant needs to be able to grow," said founder and CEO of Local Roots Eric Ellestad.

Ellestad said his company is proof that technology is needed everywhere.

"The root zone lives down in the irrigation system drinking its nutrient-filled water day in and day out," Ellestad said. 

Local Roots compares their technique almost the same as outdoor farming since they are using the same seeds, nutrients, minerals and light to activate photosynthesis. The major differences are that the light is supported by LED lights instead of the sun. The soil has also been removed in order for plants to be able to collect dissolved nutrients in the water. 

The California-based company promises that their plants grow twice as fast and plants grow with much higher nutrient densities.