Business View Magazine | Volume 9, Issue 1

91 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1 HYDROPONI C SOC I ETY OF AMER I CA (H . S . A . ) As growers and investors look to the future of indoor farming, profitability remains at the forefront of their goals. Labor and electrical consumption are two of the greatest expenses. Automation is one of the areas of development for indoor farming that is being developed to reduce labor costs. Companies such as Iron Ox, in the San Francisco Bay area, are working with robotic planting and harvesting systems to improve efficiency and reduce the number of employees. There are other companies utilizing drones and high-tech sensors to monitor crop health and insure the uniform watering of plants. These advanced systems are considered to be an effective means of achieving greater AppHarvest, the largest greenhouse complex in North America, photo courtesy of AppHarvest Hydroponic cilantro