Exeter To Become Indoor-Grown Tomato Capital

EXETER, RI — Rhode Island Grows broke ground Tuesday for its 25-acre indoor tomato farm at the Schartner Farms site located on Route 2.

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Rhode Island Grows specializes in controlled-environment agriculture, or CEA. The company deploys advanced technologies to provide sustainable local produce all year round. Hydroponic growing yields ten times more produce per acre than field growing, the company says. The greenhouses use computerized monitoring and robotic-assisted plant maintenance. The model is highly successful in the Netherlands.

The plan is to build additional facilities in Rhode Island over the coming decade.