When it comes to making the most of small spaces, owners of tiny homes would be impressed with what Illinois State University (ISU) can do with its modified shipping container farm.

In its new 320-square-foot vertical farm, ISU will be able to produce as many herbs annually as it could in 2 to 4 acres in an outdoor field.

It all started in 2019 when a group of ISU students in the Innovative Consulting Community (ICC) approached horticulture professor David Kopsell about growing a garden for their entrepreneurial project. He explained how hard that would be during an academic school year and offered another alternative — a Freight Farm container hydroponic system.

“I had heard about Freight Farm since 2013 when some of my colleagues started talking about them,” said Kopsell. Through much collaboration, that idea germinated and grew to the point it will be ready to start growing leafy greens this summer.”

The morning sun casts long shadows over the fields as farmers swiftly load crates of freshly harvested produce onto a waiting distribution truck. The scent of damp earth and ripened vegetables fills the crisp Minnesota air. A rhythmic chorus of voices calls out orders as hands pass boxes from one to another, each filled with vibrant greens and fragrant herbs. The truck’s reverse alarm beeps steadily, a signal of movement and progress. 

Standing at a distance, Marcus Carpenter watches with quiet satisfaction. His dream, Route1 — born from a time of crisis and a deep-rooted passion for agriculture — has manifested before his eyes. The food will soon be on its way to those who need it most, carrying a message of resilience and empowerment.

Our global food systems are under siege, with climate change, natural disasters disrupting supply chains, and conflicts affecting agriculture in vulnerable regions. Add to that a booming population—set to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050—and the math becomes startling. Experts predict we’ll need 70 per cent more food to sustain humanity. 

But, here’s the problem – soil quality is deteriorating fast, and we’re on track to lose most of the fertile ground we rely on. Traditional farming methods, while vital, seem ill-equipped to meet the challenge alone.

Urban vertical farming has emerged as an innovative solution. By growing crops in stacked layers within highly controlled environments, these systems use less land, water, and pesticides, with shipping containers offering a sustainable, space-efficient answer to the global food crisis.

The University of Evansville in Indiana is launching We Grow Aces!, a new initiative that brings together education, sustainability, and community engagement to provide access to extraordinary experiential learning, while addressing food insecurity and workforce development.

The program, funded through the Eli Lilly Endowment's Indiana Youth Programs on Campus grant, will make possible the purchase of a Pure Produce Container, a vertical garden system jointly developed by anu and eko Solutions, housed in an up-cycled shipping container capable of producing 3,920 plants per 40-day cycle, or several tons of vegetables annually.

Funded by a U.S. Department of Education Title III STEM grant, the FarmBox is a repurposed refrigerator container equipped with full-spectrum LED lighting, seedling trays, and moveable grow walls that can hold 3,888 plants. This system can produce as much as 2.5 to 3 acres of crops annually, harvesting 684 plants weekly while using only 3 to 5 gallons of water daily.

“The FarmBox uses programmable logic (PLC) to operate lights, pumps, timers, valves, and other equipment to grow the product,” said George O’Clair, MCC Electromechanical Technology Faculty. “The Electrical Mechanical Technology (ELMT) students study PLCs to operate those items. The FarmBox will be beneficial to the class to see an operating PLC in action.”

Addressing seafarers’ long-standing need for fresh vegetables as they undertake long voyages across oceans, shipping companies have for the first time installed technology-driven vegetable growing units on board merchant ships. The move has ushered in a quiet revolution in the maritime world, transforming both the meals and morale of the crew.

“It’s been a game changer for us at sea. The units ensure a continuous supply of fresh greens, requiring minimal maintenance from the crew while significantly enhancing onboard nutrition. For vegetarians, especially, this is a breakthrough — fresh salads and herbs have always been a luxury on long voyages, as I have witnessed first-hand over the last 30 years of my career at sea,” said Captain Rajesh K Verma, Master of the Synergy Marine group-managed Aframax tanker ‘Effie Maersk’. Four of Synergy’s merchant ships – 90 per cent of its 28,000-plus seafarers are Indian – had these hydroponics units installed last year.

Wasabi grown on shelves in a shipping container and in the Yokohama area to boot? And delivered straight to sushi chefs working nearby?

Not likely, purists might shout, thinking that Japanese horseradish can only flourish in mountain areas with pristine rushing water.

Going against the traditional image, a specialized factory module in Shin-Yokohama boasts the latest in sensing technology to ensure cultivation conditions remain perfect 24/7.

The operator is looking to pitch an autonomous system based on artificial intelligence (AI) at some point to maximize production.

Using a container for farming is the brainchild of Tokyo-based agricultural start-up Nextage Inc. With technical support from semiconductor trading firm Macnica Inc. in Yokohama, Nextage has begun selling the agricultural module in the Japanese market.

We are thrilled to announce a new agriculture project that will bring hands-on, sustainable learning to our students! In partnership with The Growcer, a Canadian agritech company specializing in year-round modular farms, we will be deploying a hydroponic farm at Prairie River Junior High School.

This innovative, climate-controlled system will allow students to grow food in all seasons, ensuring a consistent supply of fresh, nutritious produce for our community. In addition to gaining valuable knowledge about food security and agricultural technology, students will develop critical skills in teamwork, responsibility, and environmental stewardship.

Thanks to hydroponics, Neon Greens is bringing a fresh take on farm to table by farming along Manchester Road.

The vertical vegetable farm is located right next door.