REIMAGINING CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE IN A LOW CARBON WORLD

Our team's long-term goal is to transform CEA strategically, managerially, technologically, and socially to position it as a viable food production system capable of producing sufficient and nutritious foods within the low-carbon economy.Our long term objectives are to:1) Reduce demand for heating and cooling in CEA, 2) Improve efficiency of CEA climate control, 3) Lower the carbon intensity of resource inputs, and 4) Shift consumer and producer behavior surrounding CEA products and practices.To accomplish this broad set of objectives, our team of plant biologists, biosystems engineers, agricultural economists, computer scientists, and horticulturists will engage in research, extension, and educational activities targeting a range of short- (S) and medium- (M) term objectives. These include:1. Improve plant temperature resilience through genetic and microbial approaches (M)2. Quantify impacts of novel cropping strategies (S)3. Utilize waste CO2 for plant production (M)4. Develop thermochemical methods that use agricultural residues for greenhouse heating and cooling (M)5. Utilize wastewater safely for irrigation (M)6. Improve greenhouse efficiency through design, modeling, and control (S, M)7. Map consumer willingness to pay across diverse populations and quantify production costs (S, M)8. Train future and existing producers through workshops and publications (S, M)9. Train future producers through gamified learning modules (M).