In Charlotte, an indoor vertical farm at the Innovation Barn is positioning itself as an alternative to traditional outdoor growing by moving lettuce production into shipping containers and using a controlled, water-powered system designed to limit outside exposure.

.The town will now be able to grow fresh produce from a shipping container.

Ford Heights native Derek Drake runs a hydroponic farm company called Ditto Foods. He can make a 320 square foot trailer as productive as a three-acre farm.

2024 saw the installation of Freight Farm growing containers at the farm. These metal boxes allow the students to grow vegetables year-round in a controlled environment. This is where most of Sieber’s lettuce is grown.

Prior to the containers, the farm did sell to HTM but the year-round lettuce production has boosted the farm’s ability to sell to the school, Adair said.

“Food insecurity is one of the most urgent challenges facing our community, and it requires both immediate support and longer-term system change,” says Mayor Bryan Paterson. “Through the City’s Food Framework and the Fines for Food pilot, we are using an innovative, partnership-based approach to help local organizations provide fresh, nutritious food while strengthening Kingston’s local food system.

"We also have four converted shipping container farms at a neighboring research site," he said. "Later this year, we'll be able to conduct indoor growing trials and study how different light types and wavelengths affect crop production and quality."

At Smart Fodder Farms, we work with hydroponic fodder production containers designed for livestock companies that want to reduce their dependence on external feed suppliers, imported forage and logistics costs.

As growers face challenges from limited land, unstable climate conditions, labor pressure, and the need for a stable food supply, container farms are becoming a practical option for modern agriculture. Aurlant has developed a series of container farm solutions designed to help growers produce crops in controlled environments with more flexible space use and year-round operation.

A partnership between Akoma Holding and EduHaus aims to employ Black Nova Scotians in hydroponic farming.

Inside a converted shipping container in Westphal, N.S., the Akoma Hydroponic Garden is growing fresh basil and teaching young people about horticulture.

India is at an inflection point. Urbanisation is accelerating, arable land is shrinking, water tables are falling, and a growing middle class is demanding year-round, pesticide-free fresh produce. Container farming — the practice of growing crops inside repurposed or purpose-built shipping containers — is emerging as one of the most compelling answers to this challenge.

In Huanghu town, Yuhang district, Hangzhou, two stacked containers sit in an open area of the PUKU Smart Agriculture Park. Inside, lettuce grows on metal racks while tomatoes thrive under carefully controlled lighting.

After 10 years in business, vertical farming company Growcer highlights how a slow-and-steady approach to growth provided stability in a sector that has experienced some turbulence.