20236801238994

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), or the production of food crops in greenhouses and indoor spaces, is expected to increase 5-fold in market size over the next ten years. CEA increases food security and reduces the number of miles that food needs to travel before it reaches consumers' plates. It also helps produce more fresh fruits and vegetables on a year-round basis, thus helping reduce nutritional insecurity.

Despite these benefits, CEA infrastructure is a massive energy consumer and, in its current form, is fundamentally incompatible with a low carbon economy. Much of this energy is used for climate control, artificial lighting, and chemical fertilizer. Our team's long-term goal is to transform CEA strategically, managerially, technologically, and socially to reposition it as a viable food production system capable of producing sufficient and nutritious foods within the low-carbon economy.

This project is supported by the CEA industry: a comprehensive survey of 35 horticulture producers reveals strong interest in sustainable practices, water quality and quantity, and labor shortages. This project is informed by an advisory board composed of stakeholders representing both production agriculture and CEA equipment vendors.

Our long-term objectives are to 1) reduce the demand for heating and cooling in CEA food production environments, 2) improve the overall efficiency of CEA climate-controlled environments, 3) lower the carbon intensity of resource inputs, and 4) shift consumer and producer behavior surrounding CEA products and practices. To this end, we are engaging in research, education, and outreach activities in a wide range of fields including plant biology, horticulture, biosystems engineering, computer science, and economics.

The outcome of this multi-discipline approach will be to create new breeds of plants that are more tolerant to extreme temperatures and cropping strategies that lower energy demand. Additional benefits include the demonstrated use of bioenergy and wastewater for plant production, optimal greenhouse control strategies, education of current and future producers, and insights into how consumers view green CEA produce.

These outcomes directly benefit the US CEA industry which is over $74 billion in size with an expected 10% annual growth rate. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry, such massive growth must be accompanied by appropriate reductions in energy use, improvements in energy efficiency, and a switch to clean energy sources - all of which are outcomes of this project.

Our efforts to reduce carbon emissions from CEA will have the secondary benefit of lowering energy consumption and costs for producers as much as 25%. With energy bills making up a large component of production costs, this would be a huge win for farmers, consumers, and the environment.

Auburn University

10.310 - Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)

Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment (IBCE) [USDA - NIFA]

Auburn University, Alabama 36849-0001 United States

Single Zip Code

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Sustainable Agricultural Systems (USDA-NIFA-AFRI-009002)