• James Altland (USDA-ARS): “New Concepts for Managing Soilless Substrates for Sustainability & Crop Growth”
• Bruce Bugbee (Utah State University): “Turning Photons into Food”
• Murat Kacira (University of Arizona): “Advancement of Plant Sensing Technology for Sustainable Crop Production Under Controlled Environment”
• Ricardo Hernández (NC State University): “Indoor Precision Propagation of Horticultural and Industrial Crops”

To learn more about our keynote speakers, please check out their bios on our conference page. 

The conference will also feature eight invited research presentations by academic and industry based controlled environment research groups.  

Fadi Al-Daoud (OMAFRA)
Luis Cañas (Ohio State University)
Brendan Higgins (Auburn University)
Michelle Jones (Ohio State University)

Peter Ling (Ohio State University)
Yujin Park (Arizona State University)
Uttara Samarakoon (Ohio State University)
Kellie Walters (University of Tennessee)

REGISTER FOR THE OHCEAC CONFERENCE TODAY!

Join us on July 19th for OHCEAC’s second annual conference “Advancement of Sustainable Controlled Environment Crop Production Sciences and Technologies“.

The OHCEAC conference will be accessible in-person at the Controlled Environment Agriculture Research Complex (CEARC) in Columbus, OH or online via Zoom.

Please visit the OHCEAC conference main page to register!

CONFERENCE SPONSORS

CONFERENCE MEDIA PARTNER

This presentation ’Growing leafy greens with a low-pH hydroponic solution for root-rot disease management” was given by Chieri Kubota (Ohio State University) during our 49th café forum on February 7th, 2023. Indoor Ag Science Café is organized by the OptimIA project team funded by USDA SCRI grant.

• Indoor Ag Science Café is an open discussion forum, planned and organized by OptimIA project team.
• OptimIA (Optimizing Indoor Agriculture) is a project funded by USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative and supported by many of you receiving this email (thank you!).

Café Archive

Check out our previous cafés in our Indoor Ag Science Cafe page on the OptimIA website!

Indoor Ag Science Cafe is organized by the OptimIA project team funded by USDA SCRI grants program.
Previous café recordings are available in the OptimIA project website.
Please contact for more info: kubota.10@osu.edu

Upcoming Cafes:

• March 28th (Tuesday),11 AM Eastern – Michigan State OptimIA Research Showcase by Nathan Kelly, Jiyong Shin, and Devin Brewer (Michigan State University)
• April 25th (Tuesday), 10AM Eastern – “Optimizing Productivity of Plant Made Pharmaceutical under Indoor Controlled Environment’” by Dr. Ryo Matsuda (University of Tokyo, Japan)
• May 9th (Tuesday), 11AM Eastern – “Climate-smart Credentialing of New CEA Employees by Resource Innovation Institute” by Rob Eddy (Resource Innovation Institute) 
• June 20th (Tuesday), 11AM Eastern – “Growing Culinary Herbs under Controlled Environment’” by Dr. Christopher Currey (Iowa State University) 

Interested in giving a talk to share your thoughts and experiences? Please contact us!

Upcoming Courses/Events/News:

• July 15-18, 2023: Cultivate’23 Annual Conference and Trade Show in Columbus, OH [More information]
• July 15, 2023: OptimIA at Cultivate’23 “Essentials of Hydroponics Production: A tHRIve Symposium” [More information]
• July 19, 2023: OHCEAC 2^nd Annual Conference “Advancement of Sustainable Controlled Environment Crop Production Sciences and Technologies” in Columbus, OH and online [More information]

Soilless Strawberry School

Greenhouse-focused Track

Learn all you need to grow strawberries in soilless substrates under greenhouse and high tunnel conditions. Online live lectures and discussion on March 26, 10am-3pm (EDT).

Recordings will be available for additional 2 weeks.

Registrations fees: $180 per person

Ohio resident discount available (please contact Chieri Kubota)

More information & registration

Register by 3/23/21

Contact Chieri Kubota for more information (kubota.10@osu.edu)

Dr. Chieri Kubota, the Director of the new center focusing on controlled environment agriculture and protected cultivation hosted this event to introduces the programs and membership.

What OHCEAC is unique about is that we are integrative, interdisciplinary, and inclusive team conducting collaborative research to respond to CEA stakeholder needs. Our focus inclusively covers various production systems and crop types. We use the terminology of CEA as having a very broad meaning including soil-bassed or soilless systems under various types of climate control or modification structures.

Growing ornamental and food crops in a controlled environment requires careful monitoring of plants’ physical and physiological aspects. This three-day virtual workshop will address the fundamentals of greenhouse management, from understanding water and nutrient needs to pest and disease control. Attendees will learn about the latest in plant monitoring tools.

Co-chairs: Peter Ling and Chieri Kubota

Flyer with agenda:
https://probe.osu.edu/sites/probe/files/imce/Events/GHMgmt_flyer_2021.pdf

Registration is $60 and provides access during the workshop and to presentation recordings until March 15, 2021.

This new, unique facility will support the needs of our faculty and students unlocking human potential for innovation. This greenhouse of the future will be a place for collaborative research, sustainable food production, and distinguish Ohio State from other institutions. The CEFPRC will be located at the Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory.

This facility will provide technology and research that will impact all Ohioans and beyond.

Learn more about CEFPRC.

CLEVELAND—GE Current, a Daintree company has gifted 272 horticultural lighting fixtures to The Ohio State University to benefit the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. 

The Arize Element L1000 LED fixtures will illuminate a state-of-the-art greenhouse being built within the new Controlled Environment Food Production Research Complex. The greenhouse was made possible with funding from Nationwide Insurance, as well as support from other Ohio-based companies.

“We are excited to be deepening our relationship with OSU,” said Melissa Wesorick, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Current. “This is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with this historic institution and the Ohio community, as well as inspire and empower the next generation of growers.”

With construction slated to begin in 2021, the production greenhouse will provide hands-on training opportunities for students to learn how to grow various crops in a greenhouse setting. The multiple tailored light spectrums offered by the Arize Element L1000 opens the door for unique research and scientific exploration into crop production and plant growth, as well as expand upon the understanding of how LEDs can further that growth. The facility will also serve as the location for future grower conferences and workshops. 

“Lighting is a key technology of controlled environment agriculture,” said Chieri Kubota, professor in Ohio State’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and lead researcher at the new greenhouse facility. “We are excited about potential research outcomes that will advance the science and technology of growing in these environments. We greatly appreciate Current’s generous and important gift to help make this happen.”

Kubota’s work encompasses plant physiology and horticulture engineering to enhance the understanding and efficiency of controlled environment agriculture production systems such as greenhouses, warehouses (vertical farms) and growth chambers.

Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Science offers science-based instruction and solutions in both the classroom (to over 3,200 undergraduate and 500 graduate students) and in Ohio’s 88 counties through OSU Extension. Learn more at cfaes.osu.edu.

About GE Current, a Daintree company
Current enhances commercial and industrial facilities, cities, greenhouses and all spaces in between with advanced lighting and intelligent controls. Working with our partners, we deliver the best possible outcomes for our customers. See why Current is always on at www.gecurrent.com. 

The Ohio State University
GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP

Improving Production via Listening to Plants
January 27-29, 2021

A virtual workshop from 10 am to 2 pm (ET) daily

Topics focus on fundamentals and use of sensor technology for improved environmental control for food and ornamental crop production, including:

• Greenhouse management fundamentals: Plant physiological and physical aspects, pests, and disease
• Plant monitoring tools: Just in time irrigation, graphical tracking, and more
• Commercial plant response-based technologies and tools
• OSU research updates

Speakers (confirmed) include Ohio State University faculty: Dr. Luis Canas, Dr. Francesca Hand, Dr. Michelle Jones, Dr. Chieri Kubota,  Dr. Peter Ling, and Dr. Uttara Samarakoon; Dr. Royal Heins, Michigan State University; Dr. Marc van Iersel, University of Georgia; plus industry speakers.

Watch for program and registration details at: fabe.osu.edu/greenhouse

Advanced learning and discussion for growers towards “an integrated approach based on physics and plant physiology, leading to a balanced growing method for high yields, quality, saving energy, and profitability in greenhouse controlled environments”

Instructor: Dr. Peter van Weel

• Author of ‘Plant Empowerment’
• Expert in greenhouse climate control
• Former PI at Wageningen UR, The Netherlands

Host: Dr. Chieri Kubota

The Ohio State University
Ohio CEA Center

The goal of this Workshop is for growers to empower crop production through a balanced growing method, through an integrated approach based on physics and plant physiology, for high yields, quality, saving energy, and profitability in greenhouse controlled environments

Textbook (optional): ‘Plant Empowerment’ available at www.plantempowerment.com

Registration is open through July 1.
Workshop fee is $20 per person.

For more information, contact Dr. Chieri Kubota, kubota.10@osu.edu

Webinar title: Off-season strawberry production under controlled environments

Date: November 21, 2019

Time: 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. EST

Presented by: Dr. Chieri Kubota

Register now at https://cornell.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BW_p9oDyS7Cmx1DllSCLbA

• Improve you crop productivity, from managing lighting, temperature and humidity to controlling disease and pests.
• Attend in person for educational sessions, greenhouse tours, and network reception. Attend via webinar for presentations only.  

Education Credits

• GAPs Certification of Completion will be provided.
• Continuing education credits have been requested for several certification programs. 

For those who are difficult to travel, the whole workshop (except tours) will be accessible for online participants via webinar.

Click here for online registration.

In this workshop, our hydroponics track focuses on Hydroponic Food Safety and GAPs provided by OSU Food Safety GAP training team.

The contents are relevant to indoor farms also.

Those who complete this track can receive a Certificate of Completion for Hydroponics food safety and GAPs training.

For those who are difficult to travel, the whole workshop (except tours) will be accessible for online participants via webinar.

For more information, please contact me (Kubota.10@osu.edu) or Peter Ling (ling.23@osu.edu).

Join Urban Ag News, Hort Americas and Current, powered by GE, for the inaugural Great Lakes Ag Tech Summit on Monday, September 23. The summit will be held at at the historic Nela Park campus in Cleveland, Ohio.

The one-day event features keynote presentations and panel discussions from leading researchers and innovative growers in the Great Lakes region. Attendees will be able to connect with growers, scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs as we shape the future of food and move controlled environment agriculture forward.

Due to the fact that Nela Park is a secure facility, we cannot register guests the day of the event.
Registration will close on Thursday, September 19.

Keynotes

Achieving Best-in-Class Economics for a Commercial Vertical Farm

Austin Webb, CEO and co-founder of mega-vertical farm Fifth Season (formerly RoBotany)

Austin Webb is the CEO and co-founder of Fifth Season (powered by RoBotany), a robotic indoor vertical farming company based in Pittsburgh. Austin holds a BA in Finance from Wofford College and an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie. Austin served as an Investment Banking Associate for FBR Capital Markets, where he caught the entrepreneurial fever. Austin originally hails from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but plans on keeping roots in Pittsburgh to achieve Fifth Season’s mission.

Fifth Season (powered by RoBotany) is a robotics and AI company with Carnegie Mellon University roots that builds and operates highly efficient commercial-scale vertical farms in urban communities. Fifth Season’s newest commercial-scale farm will open in early 2020 in Braddock, an historic steelmaking community in Pittsburgh, continuing the city’s legacy of industry-defining innovation. Fifth Season’s proprietary robotics and artificial intelligence technology profitably grows leafy greens and herbs for local grocery retailers, restaurants and consumers at unprecedented low costs, all year-round. The company designed its modular farms for simple, quick installation and is currently siting locations for similar farms in cities throughout the U.S.

Optimizing Plant Production Under a Controlled Environment – Research and Education Programs at the Ohio State University

Dr. Chieri Kubota, Leading controlled environment agriculture researcher and professor at Ohio State University

Dr. Kubota’s research mission is to serve in the development of science and technology in the area of controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Her projects are in an interdisciplinary area that encompasses plant physiology and horticultural engineering to enhance understanding and efficiency of CEA plant production systems such as greenhouses, warehouses (vertical farms), and growth chambers.

Vertical Farm Production of Young Plants, From Hemp to Tomatoes

John Jackson, CEO and co-founder of the USA’s first commercial vertical farm producing seedlings and transplants for field and the greenhouse, the Sustainable Indoor Growing Systems, Inc.

John is the CEO of Sustainable Indoor Growing Systems, Inc. (SIGS) born from an USDA funded industry-academic partnership with Grafted Growers, the University of Arizona, and North Carolina State University. John is an award-winning entrepreneur and University of Arizona alum with an MBA from the Eller College of Management. John has successfully launched investor and grant funded businesses and operated tech based companies to early stage revenue. Born in Compton, California, John continues his grandfather’s legacy as a sharecropper of tomatoes in rural Texas.

SIGS gives plants what they need to express the features that the market wants.

Sustainable Indoor Growing Systems, Inc. (SIGS) is a clean agricultural technology company that uses controlled environment agriculture to induce young generic plants to express enhanced physiological traits customers want – while increasing the economics of propagation. This is made possible by scientific discovery and development of unique growing recipes which are learned and enabled only by the SIGS multi-layered growing platform and architecture.

Are Consumers and Growers Putting Dollars in the Local Food Industry? Insights on Technologies and Preferences

Dr. Ariana Torres, Ag Economist and Assistant Professor at Purdue University

Dr. Torres’ background combines field experience in agriculture with theoretical and applied research on agricultural economics. She has worked on projects looking at the impact of marketing choices on technology adoption for fruit and vegetable growers; the economic implications of social capital on entrepreneurship; and the role of community support on the resilience of small business after disasters.

Dr. Torres uses economic analysis to support the economic viability of the horticulture industry. Her research focuses on the intersection between the horticulture industry and marketing decisions. Her goal is to conduct innovative outreach and applied research in specialty crops marketing, with the end of promoting economic sustainability for horticultural businesses.

Dr. Torres is currently working on a project evaluating the market, economics, and potential barriers to produce export-quality dried apricots from smallholders of southern Tajikistan. She is also working on evaluating the adoption of a solar dehydrator for selected dried specialty crops in Indiana and Georgia. Lastly, she is collecting foundational data and establishing long-term pricing reports for Indiana farmers markets.

How technology is changing controlled environment agriculture – from hemp to berries

Chris Higgins, General Manager of Hort Americas and Founder/Owner of Urban Ag News

Chris Higgins is General Manager of Hort Americas, LLC a wholesale supply company focused on all aspects of the horticultural industries. He is also owner of UrbanAgNews.com and was a founding partner of the Foundation for the Development of Controlled Environment Agriculture and the International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture in Panama. With over 20 years of industry experience, Chris is dedicated to the commercial horticulture industry and is inspired by the current opportunities for continued innovation in the field of controlled environment agriculture.

Panelists

We have added a panel discussion with industry experts to the agenda!

Paul Brentlinger is President of CropKing Inc., based out of Lodi, OH. He has extensive knowledge of growing high-quality food products and is a controlled environmental agriculture expert who has spoken at the University of Florida, Indoor-Ag Con, Cultivate and a variety of other conferences. Having been in business for 35 years, CropKing is the leader in commercial hydroponics and growing systems, with many techniques and practices applicable to a wide variety of crops. Under Paul’s leadership, CropKing consults for new operations, manufactures greenhouses and hydroponic systems, and distributes a variety of products in supports of both cannabis and produce growers around the globe.

Location

The Institute at Nela Park

1975 Noble Rd. Cleveland, OH 44112

Date & Time

Monday, September 23, 2019
9 am to 4pm

Registration

Early bird admission price is $30 if registration occurs before Sept. 16.
Regular admission: $50

Hotel

Hyatt Legacy Village
24665 Cedar Rd
Lyndhurst, OH 44124

The rate is $129 for the night of 9/22/19.

• Call the toll-free number at 1-888-492-8847 for Hyatt Place Reservations and ask for the “Great Lakes Ag Tech Summit” or code G-GLGT

• OR use this link https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/ohio/hyatt-place-cleveland-lyndhurst-legacy-village/clezl?corp_id=G-GLGT

About Urban Ag News
The mission of Urban Ag News is to be the leading science communicator for the commercial hydroponics, greenhouse vegetable, vertical farming and urban agriculture industries. Urban Ag News educates readers and provide an understanding of the industry’s latest technologies and luminaries.

About Current, powered by GE
Current, powered by GE, offers cutting-edge innovations in horticultural lighting. We’ve spent years perfecting our lighting technology and working with growers, systems integrators and plant scientists to establish the specific needs of the horticulture industry. The result? LED grow systems that maximize the potential of greenhouses and indoor farms by enabling efficient growth at an industrial scale.

The GLASE Webinar Series features the latest technological innovations and best practices in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry providing the participants an opportunity to discover new solutions and to connect with industry experts. The webinars are free.

July 25 • 2-3 p.m. EDT – REGISTER HERE
Supplemental greenhouse lighting during propagation
Presented by Erik Runkle and Roberto Lopez, Michigan State University

Aug. 22 • 2-3 p.m. EDT – REGISTER HERE
National greenhouse database
Presented by Erico Mattos, GLASE

Sept. 26 • 2-3 p.m. EDT – REGISTER HERE
Humidity control in greenhouses and other indoor plant environments
Presented by Nadia Sabeh, Dr. Greenhouse, Inc

Oct. 24 • 2-3 p.m. EDT – REGISTER HERE
Strawberry and tomato responses to light and CO₂ control
Presented by Neil Mattson and Jonathan Allred, Cornell University

Nov. 21 • 2-3 p.m. EDT – REGISTER HERE
Off-season strawberry production under controlled environments
Presented by Chieri Kubota, Ohio State University

Dec. 2019
LED basics applied to horticulture lighting systems
Presented by Bob Karlicek, Center for. Lighting Enabled Systems and Applications

Jan. 2020
Horticultural lighting systems energy-savings calculations
Presented by Neil Mattson, Cornell University, and A.J. Both, Rutgers University

Feb. 2020
Influence of temperature and daily light integral on culinary herb production
Presented by Roberto Lopez and Kellie Walters, Michigan State University

March 2020
Lighting approaches to maximizing profits
Presented by Marc van Iersel, University of Georgia

Technical Articles 

The GLASE Technical Articles series delivers the latest GLASE research updates. In a series of 10 publications researchers from Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rutgers University will cover a wide range of applied CEA technologies including new LED lighting systems, integrated CEA control systems, measurement standards, energy modeling and commercial case studies. The articles will be published on a monthly basis.

• July 2019 – New horticultural Research LED lights  
• Aug. 2019 – Light and shade system implementation (LASSI)  
• Sept. 2019 – Light measurements and distribution in tall canopy crops
• Oct. 2019 – A new greenhouse light spectral acquisition system
• Nov. 2019 – Plant responses to integrated light and CO₂ control
• Dec. 2020 – Horticultural lighting standards
• Jan. 2020 –  Remote chlorophyll fluorescence  detection system
• Feb. 2020 – Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) energy modeling
• March 2020 – A modified infra red gas analyses for light response curves
• April 2020 – GLASE commercial pilots – A case study