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Up Vertical Farms has begun operations at its hands-free vertical farm in western Canada and expects the produce to be available in retailers in the region this spring. The farm produces sustainably-grown, pesticide-free and contamination-free baby salad greens, at 350 times the yield of conventional field-grown greens. The fully automated farm’s customised LED lights and temperature-, humidity-, water- and nutrient-controlled systems enable optimal growing conditions. According to the company, it employs advanced, high-density growing technology that uses 99% less land, water and fertiliser when compared to traditional agriculture methods. The facility uses recycled CO2 and proprietary lighting technology to grow the greens to custom brix levels and flavour levels, with the produce lasting for more than 22 days refrigerated. It produces greens including rocket, kale, romaine, butter lettuce and baby choi. Up expects annual production of approximately 2 million pounds of salad greens and has the ability to fully customise packs to fulfil the specific needs of retailers and restaurants. This is due to the company growing the crops in an automated 13 to 21-day period, which allows blends to be tailored and grown instantaneously to keep up with ongoing trends. Bahram Rashti, co-founder of Up Vertical Farms, said: "We are honoured to do our part to help Canada navigate its food security issues by providing a healthier, more sustainable local farming solution that reduces farming's impact on the environment and Canadian consumers' dependence on imports from the US”.