Vertical Farming Yield Calculator

Work out vertical farming yield instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Vertical Farming Yield Calculator

Vertical farming multiplies floor area by the number of stacked layers, then by yield per square metre per cycle and cycles per year. Leafy greens at 3-4 kg/m2 every 25-30 days in a six-layer rack produce well over 200 kg per square metre of floor a year, which is the economic argument for the capital and energy cost.

Formula

Vertical yield

Growing area = footprint x layers; annual yield = growing area x yield per cycle x cycles per year

Worked example

With the default values below, Vertical Farming Yield Calculator returns Annual Yield of 25,200.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Growing Footprintminimum 0.1 m2: 100 m2
Number Of Layersaccepts 1–30: 6
Yield Per m2 Per Cycleminimum 0 kg/m2: 3.5 kg/m2
Cycles Per Yearminimum 0.1: 12

Results

Annual Yield: 25,200.00
Total Growing Area: 600.00
Yield Per Cycle: 2,100.00
Annual Yield Per m2 Of Floor: 252.00

Step by step

1Values used
2Vertical yield
3Annual Yield= 25,200.00
4Total Growing Area= 600.00
5Yield Per Cycle= 2,100.00
6Annual Yield Per m2 Of Floor= 252.00

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which crops suit vertical systems?

Fast, short, high-value crops — lettuce, basil, microgreens, strawberries. Tall or long-duration crops cannot repay the lighting and cooling cost per kilogram.

What limits the number of layers?

Ceiling height, light fixture depth, working access and heat removal. Beyond about eight layers, air distribution and maintenance access usually become the binding constraint.