$70 Million Vertical Farm Assets Head to Auction

Unused Bowery equipment sale reflects tighter capital focus in indoor agriculture

24 Feb 2026

A $70mn vertical farming facility in Georgia is being dismantled and sold off, drawing attention across the US controlled-environment agriculture sector at a time of tighter funding and greater scrutiny of profitability.

SecondBloom and M. Davis Group have partnered to liquidate equipment from Bowery Farming’s former site in Locust Grove. The facility contains automation systems, LED lighting arrays, irrigation units and climate control infrastructure. More than $32mn of the equipment was never fully commissioned. The assets were offered through a structured auction process, with online bidding closing in November 2025.

The sale is tied to a single facility rather than a broad retrenchment across the industry. However, it comes as vertical farming companies face more demanding capital markets and investors place greater emphasis on sustainable margins and cash flow.

For potential buyers, the auction offers access to commercial-scale equipment that would typically require significant upfront investment and long lead times if purchased new. Yet integrating complex indoor farming systems can be costly. Operators must assess compatibility with existing sites, regulatory requirements and installation expenses before redeploying assets.

Asset resales and liquidations are common in capital-intensive industries, including manufacturing and conventional agriculture. In that context, the Bowery site may reflect a period of operational adjustment rather than a structural decline. Rapid expansion during years of abundant funding has left some operators with large fixed assets that are difficult to repurpose quickly.

The episode highlights how infrastructure-heavy models can intensify both growth and contraction. Facilities can be built at scale when capital is available, but strategic shifts can return high-value equipment to the market just as swiftly.

Wider conclusions about the sector’s outlook would require data across multiple companies and regions. Even so, the Georgia auction underscores a central issue for vertical farming: financial discipline and asset optimisation are becoming as important as yield, technology and market access in determining long-term viability.