Crop & demand
Define what will be grown, when it is needed, and how it should arrive. Varieties, crop cycles, pack formats and customer requirements shape the production brief.
From site conditions
to a working farm.
A productive campus begins with a crop, a market and a place. Its buildings, resources and daily operations are designed around those three things.
This is how the parts come together—and the decisions that make each campus fit its location.
Campus design & operationsStart with the site
Site & market
The design starts with the place.
A greenhouse can free production from dependence on fertile soil. The site still has to make sense for water, energy, people and the market it serves.
We look for opportunities to turn marginal land into productive growing space close to demand. Crop choice, expected volumes and buyers’ requirements inform the growing area, packing capacity and delivery plan together.
Land & access
Assess buildable area, access roads, logistics and room for supporting infrastructure. Land suitability includes the practical work of building and operating a farm.
Water & energy
Understand source availability and quality, treatment requirements and the farm’s energy needs before selecting the infrastructure.
Climate & people
Local light, temperature and humidity shape the growing environment. Staffing, training and maintenance capability belong in the same plan.
Controlled-environment production
Give the crop the conditions it needs.
The greenhouse envelope, climate controls and growing system are selected as one production environment.
Venlo-style glasshouses provide the physical framework. The local climate and crop requirements determine how ventilation, cooling, heating and dehumidification are combined. Light is a productive resource, and climate control has to work with the light available at the site.
Three connected layers.
One growing environment.
- 01
The envelope
Structure, glazing and ventilation.
- 02
The crop zone
Temperature, humidity and airflow.
- 03
The root zone
Contained irrigation and drainage collection.
The design needs to support daily work as well as plant growth: tending crops, checking equipment, harvesting and moving produce into the packhouse. Those movements are considered alongside climate performance.
Read about our approach to light and growing →Water recovery & reuse
Every irrigation return has a route back.
Irrigation is delivered within a contained growing system. Water that the crop does not use is collected and returned to treatment, rather than draining into the ground.
Follow the irrigation cycle.
Fresh water replenishes crop use
Collected. Treated. Reused.
- 01
Store & supply
Treated water and nutrients.
- 02
Irrigate
Contained growing channels.
- 03
Collect
Capture unused irrigation.
- 04
Treat & rebalance
Prepare water for reuse.
↺ Back to storage and supply
Collect at the crop
Drainage collection is part of the growing system itself. It gives unused irrigation a defined return route from the crop to the water infrastructure.
Prepare it for reuse
Returned water is treated and its composition checked before it is supplied again. Water and nutrient management remain connected throughout the cycle.
Replenish crop use
Recirculation recovers unused irrigation. Fresh treated water is still needed to replenish what the crop uses and what leaves the system through evaporation.
Harvest, packing & cold storage
A short journey from crop to customer.
The packhouse and cold chain are part of the campus from the outset. Their capacity and position matter as much as the growing area.
On-site handling reduces the distance between harvest and protected storage. Packing and temperature management are planned for the crop and the customer, while traceability keeps the produce connected to its growing origin.
One harvest. A traceable journey.
01 Harvest
Growing origin recorded
LOT A-01402 Pack
Lot identity retained
LOT A-01403 Cool
Quality protected
LOT A-01404 Dispatch
Linked to its order
LOT A-014
Row-to-punnet traceability
Order Desk connects growing origin with packing, dispatch and invoicing, carrying the production record into fulfilment.
Explore the operating technology →Renewable energy & carbon
Match the energy system to the farm.
Growing, irrigation, treatment and cold storage create different demands across the day. Energy infrastructure is designed around that combined load.
Solar generation is integrated into the campus plan. Battery storage and any supplementary supply are assessed against the local resource, the operating schedule and the needs of critical equipment. Biomass is considered where reliable local feedstock and a useful thermal demand make it practical.
- Generation
- Match solar capacity and available area to the farm’s demand profile.
- Storage & continuity
- Assess how essential services are supported when solar output is lower.
- Shared loads
- Plan growing, water treatment, packing and cooling together.
People, data & daily operation
A campus has to work every day.
Buildings and equipment provide the capacity. People, procedures and connected information turn that capacity into a working farm.
Farm Manager
Connects climate and farm-performance information to growing decisions, with attention to yield, water, energy and climate risk.
Order Desk
Connects production to orders, packing, dispatch and invoicing so that growing and fulfilment share an operational picture.
Training & support
Hands-on programmes and Drylands Academy support the skills, procedures and supervision needed to operate consistently.
Maintenance access, equipment checks and the movement of people and produce all belong in the design brief. An integrated campus needs a workable operating plan alongside its physical layout.
From concept to commissioning
A shared model. A site-specific plan.
The principles carry across locations. The crop plan, infrastructure and development sequence are worked through for each project.
- 01
Define the brief
Establish the crop and market opportunity, site conditions, resource availability and intended scale.
- 02
Develop the design
Bring greenhouse, water, energy and fulfilment requirements into one technical and operating plan. Test the project assumptions through feasibility work.
- 03
Build & commission
Coordinate delivery and check how systems work together, including irrigation recovery, climate control and the harvest-to-dispatch process.
- 04
Operate & improve
Train the team, establish operating procedures and use production and resource data to guide improvements.
Start a conversation
Bring us a site.
Let’s work through its potential.
A location, an intended crop or market, and what you know about water and energy are a useful starting point.