The System

The autonomous container farm, engineered end to end

A modified 40ft high-cube shipping container, fitted with vertical growing racks, IoT sensors, ML-driven climate control and a cloud dashboard — a complete production system, not a kit of parts.

The short version: every MetroFarms unit is a self-contained container farm — sensors read your growing environment, machine-learning models adjust it in real time, and a cloud dashboard lets you watch and manage it from anywhere.
40ftHigh-cube container
95%*Less water
24/7IoT/ML/cloud control
Robotic arm tending rows of leafy greens in an automated vertical farm, representative of the automation inside a MetroFarms container
Automation throughout: sensors and machine learning manage climate, water and nutrients around the clock.
Specification

What's inside the container

Indicative figures pending our published spec sheet — final numbers vary by configuration and are confirmed during the demo and quoting process.

Indicative MetroFarms container farm specification (subject to confirmation per configuration).
Spec Value
Container typeModified 40ft high-cube shipping container
Growing area*Indicative — confirmed per configuration
Rack levels*Indicative — multi-level vertical racking
Yield capacity*Up to 7 acres field-equivalent / yr*
Power draw*Indicative — confirmed per site & crop mix
Water systemClosed-loop hydroponic, ~95% less water than field farming*
Climate control range*Indicative — tuned per crop by the ML controller
Connectivity4G / Ethernet + cloud uplink

*Marked figures are indicative, pending our published spec sheet. See ROI & Economics and Crops & Yields for the assumptions behind capacity figures.

How the system thinks

IoT sensors, ML control, and a cloud dashboard

Three layers work together so the crop is managed continuously, not checked once a day.

IoT sensor mesh

A network of sensors reads light, temperature, humidity, CO₂, electrical conductivity (EC) and pH throughout the growing space, continuously and in parallel across every rack level.

ML-driven climate & nutrient control

Machine-learning models trained on sensor history adjust dosing, airflow and lighting in small increments — correcting drift before it shows up as stressed plants or lost yield.

Cloud dashboard

Remote monitoring, alerts and yield forecasting from any device — see the current state of every reading, and get notified the moment something needs attention.

Remote updates & support

Controller software is updated and supported remotely by our team, so ML models and dashboard features improve on your unit without an on-site visit.

Capacity at a glance

What one container is engineered to do

7 acres*Field-equivalent yield / year
95%*Less water than field farming
365Days of year-round production
1Dashboard to run the farm

*Indicative figures pending our published spec sheet — see Crops & Yields and ROI & Economics for the assumptions.

Rows of leafy greens growing under LED lighting on vertical racks, representative of a MetroFarms container's growing racks
Engineered, not improvised

Every layer designed to remove operator guesswork

LED racking, closed-loop hydroponics, sensors and controller are integrated as one system before the container ships — so what arrives on-site is ready to commission, not assemble.

See the delivery process
Built on data

Every reading feeds the model

Sensor and yield data from every unit feeds back into our ML models, so the climate and nutrient control on your farm keeps improving over each growing cycle — the same platform behind the numbers in ROI & Economics.

Run your ROI
Engineer reviewing sensor and control data on a laptop, representative of the IoT and ML platform behind a MetroFarms container
Common questions

People also ask

What's inside a MetroFarms container?

A modified 40ft high-cube shipping container houses vertical growing racks, LED lighting, a closed-loop hydroponic water and nutrient system, climate-control equipment, and an IoT sensor mesh — all coordinated by an on-board controller and our cloud platform. Exact rack counts and growing area are confirmed per configuration.

How does the ML control system work?

Sensors continuously log light, temperature, humidity, CO₂, EC and pH. Machine-learning models trained on this data adjust dosing, airflow and lighting in small increments to keep conditions inside the optimal band for the crop being grown, correcting drift before it affects yield or quality.

Can I monitor the farm remotely?

Yes — the cloud dashboard shows live sensor readings, growth-cycle status and yield forecasts from any device, and sends alerts if a reading moves outside its expected range. Software updates and support are also delivered remotely by our team.

What connectivity does a container farm need on site?

Each unit ships with 4G and Ethernet connectivity options for its cloud uplink, so it can be sited without needing an existing on-site network — a stable power and water connection is the main site requirement.

Ready to see it running

Book a demo and bring your own numbers

We'll walk you through a live unit, show real sensor and yield data, and help you model the economics for your site in the Netherlands.