I certainly agree with you. The idea is indeed great but one has to be very sure about its economies of scale when setting up a vertical farm. I have a small setup in my apartment and it needs a lot of upfront setup cost and recurring monitoring, electricity cost etc.

Vertical farms, if designed in a sustainable way, can be profitable in a long run. Since it can be automated one should automate it completely saving on man power.

Also, understanding of what crop to grow, how to grow and most important how to sell it will make any vertical farm profitable.