PEPPERS: HIGH-TECH GREENHOUSE vs. OPEN-FIELD
An open-field farm with 100 acres growing peppers in Ventura County, California, is considered. It is assumed that the crop is planted in a 60-inch bed, two-row, 12-inch configuration. Annual yield is assumed to be 1,800 carts/ acre where one cart weighs 25 lb. The entire operation is expected to require 15 gallons/lb of water and 0.23 kWh/ lb of electricity to produce 45,000 lb/acre of peppers in a year. Transportation costs have been estimated assuming demand center locations at Chicago and New York. To compare with a CEA farm, a 10-hectare greenhouse is considered. The growing technology employed in the farm is a hydroponic system with substrate slabs and drip-irrigation tubing. The farm uses industry standard LED lighting which has a PPE of 2.6 mmol/j. The farm is expected to produce approximately 312,345 lb/acre per year consuming three gallons/lb of water and 9.5 kWh/lb of
electricity. Transportation costs have been assigned an industry standard assuming the farm is local – within 300 miles – to the urban demand center. Result: Per pound of produce, the total landed costs for greenhouse-grown peppers are 1.5 times more than for open-field peppers (see Figure 6). Labor, electricity and overhead, accounting for almost 50% of total greenhouse costs, are not as significant a cost driver for greenhouses as they are for vertical farms, due to a lower reliance on artificial lights and less expensive climate control. However, a greenhouse typically produces ten times more annual yield per acre, uses 85% less water and has 70% less transportation costs per pound of produce compared to open-field growing. Vertical farm operations require 30 times more electricity per pound of peppers grown compared to open field.
TOTAL LANDED COSTS FOR VERTICALLY GROWN PEPPERS ARE 1.5 TIMES MORE THAN ORGANIC OPEN-FIELD GROWN PEPPERS
Total landed costs [USD/lb, 2022]
Annual yield [lb/acre]
Open-field 100 acres California
High-Tech Greenhouse 10 hectare <300 miles of Chicago/NYC
312,325
10 X
Size of farm Location
33,750
Open-field
Greenhouse
Total landed costs [USD/lb, 2022]
Water use [Gal/lb]
2.2
0.3 0.5 0.1
19
-85%
1.5 X
1.5
3
0.6 0.1 0.4 0.4
Open-field
Greenhouse
1.4
Electricity use [kWh/lb]
9
Open-field
Greenhouse
30X
0
Growing costs Overhead costs
Packaging costs Transport Cost
Open-field
Greenhouse
Source: UC Davis costs studies, Agriculture Consulting,Roland Berger Figure 6: Overview of pepper cost structure – Open-field farming vs greenhouse
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