This winter , arctic air sank much of the U.S. into a deep freezing , with book lows and temperatures plunging below zero . Thankfully , our refreshed food provision chain has evolved hugely to the point that most consumer do n’t have to skip a beat or common beet during the winter months to keep intelligent intellectual nourishment on the tabular array .
However , engineering science is bringing a whole new chance to improve the resiliency of produce provision chains . peachy - savor Lycopersicon esculentum are grow in Michigan and Virginia . Beautiful strawberry are thriving in Ohio and New York . And overbold salad greens are being harvested from Minnesota to Pennsylvania . That ’s the new world of indoor husbandry , also known as Controlled Environment Agriculture ( CEA ) .
CEA facilities like indoor vertical farms and eminent - tech greenhouse employ a change of agricultural recitation and engineering to create optimal growing conditions by closely regulating factors like temperature , humidity , and illumination . In many ways , CEA is the ultimate in precision Agriculture Department , enhance overall efficiency and yields while reducing solid food permissive waste and the consumption of precious resource .
Long recognized as a cost increase for sustainability , retailers and consumers are coming to realize that the yr - round availability of fresh , high-pitched - quality green goods may be one of the most of import welfare of indoor farming .
" Our farms are capable of pilot temperature differentials of up to 100 degrees , seamlessly transitioning between extremes , " said Tom Thompson , Chief Revenue Officer , Revol Greens . " With farm in multiple portion of the land , Revol can chord our operations year - round across diverse climates . "
The growth of indoor farming is accelerating across the body politic and around the world . Dwindling natural resources such as land and water , explosive weather conditions , provision chain disruptions , and the need to slim solid food waste are all driving this speedup .
" Vertical agriculture bump off the one insufferable - to - ascendance ingredient that has blight husbandry for millenary : the weather condition , " said Matt Williams , Chief Sales Officer , Bowery . " Growing independent of extreme weather precondition is especially important in the glacial winter months when need for sassy produce continue gamy , but the choice for topically develop selection is very depleted . "
The next farm bill will be critical to supporting this of import and growing sphere of U.S. agriculture . Most current farm programme were design before indoor farming was even imaginable , let alone at a commercial scale leaf .
Congress has an chance to build on the two-party success of the 2018 Farm Bill by including elements of the Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act of 2023 , which would better proficient assistance , expand R&D , improve data point collecting , and aid with workforce development and credentialing .
In addition , the House and Senate Agriculture Committees should look to the Food Supply Chain Capacity and Resiliency Act , which would provide decisive substitute funding for CEA farm and other similar capital letter - intensive industries like dairy farm or poultry processing by enhance and create lasting USDA ’s previous Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program .
" Indoor farming can help create the ideal conditions for garden truck such as leafy greens and herbs to flourish , provide a year - circle supply of unused produce that is always in season , " said Viraj Puri , CEO and Co - Founder of Gotham Greens . " With multiple mellow - technical school , climate - hold in readiness in nine States across the state , it ’s always the gross meter to grow fresh , high - character , and longer - lasting salad green . "
Beyond the confines of the farm bill , high upfront cap cost remain a important barrier to the expansion of CEA and the deployment of other innovative agriculture engineering in specialty crop . In 2022 , the bipartizan members of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture voted unanimously in support of investiture revenue enhancement credits as one style Congress could support CEA producers . This type of time - confine , grocery store - found insurance would be transformative for U.S. CEA producers as they take care to compete on the spheric microscope stage but could easy be spread out to back the deployment of innovative precision agriculture technologies for outdoor specialty crop producers , too .
irrespective of advance , technology will be critical to making supply chains more live .
" control surround USDA is unambiguously position to treat solid food security , as we do n’t front many of the same challenges as field farm , include inclement weather , drouth , flooding , freezing , or overspray from neighbor farms , " said John Ketler , President , Nature Fresh Farms
" Consumers note value eubstance and strike in love with brands that can fork out systematically surpassing production experiences , " say Leah Vanwoerkom , VP of Marketing and Brand at 80 Acres Farms . " Now , we ’re bringing that kind of consistency to agriculture and to supermarket produce section across America — delivering the same fresh , nutritious , and tasty commons in January that we do in June , no matter what ’s going on outside . "
As winter begins to thaw , we know that new supply chain flutter are just around the corner . Congress must do everything it can to ameliorate the resiliency of our food organisation . Indoor husbandry will be an increasingly crucial opus of the puzzle , and the next farm poster must know that .
For more info : Tom Stenzel , Executive Director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture AllianceCEA Alliancethttps://ceaalliance.com/
The CEA Alliance is a not - for - net trade association supporting and representing indoor farming . Tom Stenzel is the former President and CEO of United Fresh Produce Association , from 1993 - 2022 . His consulting business , the CEA Alliance keep on the Stenzel Group .
