Harvest Singularity Holding Co. will plant the first of two $66 million industrial hydroponic greenhouses in Newberry next year as it becomes the first private sector company to join the city’s F-300 AgFoodTech Innovation Park. 

Newberry formally announced the partnership on Wednesday during a press conference at the UF/IFAS Extension Alachua County office. The City Commission gave the final votes needed to complete the previously confidential agreement referred to as “project hydro” during a regular meeting on Monday. 

Representatives from the city, state, UF and Harvest gave presentations and fielded questions at the press conference about the project, which aims to make Florida the national leader in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) while addressing local and global food insecurity.

“The project is more than just an investment. It’s truly a statement,” said Jessica Norfleet, U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack’s deputy chief of staff and district director. “It says innovation belongs in rural communities. It says the future of farming is being written right here in North Central Florida, and it shows when private industry, local leadership and research institutions come together, great things happen.” 

Founded in 2021, the Tampa-based Harvest Singularity is investing $660 million over the next seven years to build a state-wide network of 10 hydroponic greenhouses that run on CEA technology. Newberry’s two are the first.

According to Harvest’s website, CEA combines engineering, plant science and computer-managed farm control technologies to optimize plant growing systems, quality and production efficiency.  

Benefits of CEA include local growing and distribution, harvests at peak growth, “from seed to plate” product traceability, energy-efficient production, supply chain stability and reduced food waste, according to the company. 

The $66 million for each hydroponic greenhouse in Newberry will fund the building of a 325,000 square foot facility in the city’s AgFoodTech park adjacent to the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Extension Alachua County office and create over 50 new jobs paying an average annual wage of $91,000. 

The technology-driven greenhouses will utilize precision agriculture, AI and robotics to each produce nearly four tons of non-genetically modified and organic leafy greens like lettuce, kale and arugula every day.  

Although each facility will be connected to municipal water in case of an emergency, they are designed to capture enough rain for the 40,000 gallons of water needed daily. Year-round growing processes will use 95% less water and 94% less land than conventional farming without any pesticides, fungicides or herbicides to produce more than 20 harvests a year. 

Harvest intends to collaborate with UF/IFAS to provide educational and job opportunities for students and the first greenhouse is expected to open in 2027. 

State Rep. Chad Johnson, R-Chiefland, said the opportunity to work with Harvest will keep Newberry at the forefront of agriculture without losing its identity during the development for future generations.

“We used to think that agriculture was always cows, sows and plows, and in this day and age, yes, there’s still some truth to that,” he said. “But it’s the robotics, it’s AI, and I’m so excited to have that kind of technology for tomorrow’s future.” 

CEO Charles Garza said Harvest spent two years looking for the right place to build the greenhouses before it found Newberry. He said that while a lot of communities were resistant or uninterested, Newberry understands agriculture and jumped on the opportunity. 

The Florida Chamber Foundation recently found the state to be the 15th largest economy in the world, just behind Australia, and Harvest’s technology aims to secure the state and cities like Newberry as agricultural leaders.

Kamal Latham, a consultant for Newberry, said he heard from the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce about seven months ago after Harvest reached out to them. Following one visit to the future site of the AgFoodTech park, Garza wanted to call Newberry home for his company.

In order to seal the deal with Harvest, the Newberry City Commission unanimously approved an ad valorem tax exemption package and impact fee mitigation for the company during a regular meeting on Monday.

“It’s keeping Newberry’s past in agriculture, but it’s also firmly planting a foot in our future,” said City Manager Jordan Marlowe at the meeting. “Newberry will be an agricultural community from here on out.” 

Newberry Mayor Tim Marden said the city has invested $2.7 million into the project, which has been a collective effort between Gainesville chamber’s referral of Harvest and the inspiration for the AgFoodTech park coming from Alachua’s San Felasco Tech City. 

Marden said there’s already a few other companies interested in coming to the park. But for now, he said it’s time to stop and smell the roses and understand what the city did to get here so that it can see what it’s going to take to continue the momentum.

“As Florida goes, so goes a lot of the rest of the country. We’re happy to be on the forefront,” Marden said. “Newberry is great about finding creative solutions for different things and this is just another trophy in the trophy case.” 

Editor’s note: This story was underwritten by a grant from the Rural Reporting Initiative at the Community Foundation of North Central Florida. To learn more or get involved, click here.