Australia’s first robotic farm goes commercial

Australia’s first robotic, vertical farm has signed contracts to supply the restaurant and retail industry with herbs and leafy greens.

Gold Coast former internet tycoon Daniel Tzvetkoff’s new business robotic farming venture is ready for takeoff. Picture: Adam Head

AIRLINE passengers and fast-food customers will soon be eating herbs and leafy greens grown in Australia’s first fully automated vertical farm.

After four years of research and development, former internet tycoon Daniel Tzvetkoff’s Stack Farm on the Gold Coast has signed contracts to supply major food wholesalers including Sumo Salad and Morco Fresh with herbs and lettuces from January next year.

Mr Tzvetkoff made international headlines in 2010 when he was arrested over money laundering charges. He faced a 75-year jail term in the US but became an informant and was allowed to go free and return to Australia after paying a $13 million fine. The Brisbane born IT whiz kid, who made his fortune in software for the multi-billion dollar poker industry, has now turned his tech nous to an earthier pursuit in herbs, vegetables and edible flowers.

Stacked Farm chief executive Conrad Smith said the Burleigh Heads facility uses the latest technologies to see seedlings through to a packaged product within 21 days.

“Produce life is increased due to the controlled growing environment, the technology and the fact it’s packed within seconds of harvest and there’s no need to wash it – which can be a big degrader of product quality,” Mr Smith said.

He described the business model as the most socially responsible farming method “on the planet”.

“A good crop is not weather dependent and can be grown using up to 95 per cent less water than conventional farming. It eliminates the use of pesticides and other climate related hazardous processes as the growing is fully contained and controlled,” Mr Smith said.

The concept has already taken off overseas in areas of high urban density, including Japan, the US and Singapore.

But the model is not meant to compete with traditional farming methods, but support it, particularly in times of drought.

“It’s a game-changer for the cattle industry. We have identified that we can grow livestock feed on mass very quickly, and again using up to 95 per cent less water. A 1000 sqm vertical farm will have enough output to feed hundreds of cattle daily.”

Stacked Farm’s 200 sqm Gold Coast test facility claims to be the nation’s first entirely robotic, indoor vertical farm.

The company will add to its stable a 4000 sqm growing centre in either Victoria or Queensland next year to enable production of some 50 tonnes of horticultural produce a week.

Another 2000 sqm plant growing fodder for livestock is in the pipeline for central Queensland or New South Wales.

Production is currently focused on leafy greens, herbs and livestock feed, but there are plans afoot with the CSIRO to develop more products suited to vertical farm growth.