Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiences engaged during the planning project included diverse stakeholders critical to the success of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) initiatives. These included greenhouse growers, greenhouse industry part suppliers, and greenhouse equipment and technology manufacturers. Further, the project reached urban hydroponic growers, small-acreage growers, and aquaponic growers, identifying the unique needs of these groups. Other key stakeholders included university research and extension faculty from different land grant universities, who contributed expertise and collaboration, as well as partnered farm advisors, who provided insights and support to identify the needs of the industry in their respective geographic locations, which led to the development of a comprehensive research and extension plan for the SCRI-SREP proposal. Changes/Problems:The planning activities were carried out as the team proposed. One of the deliverables for the Planning Grant was the submission of an SCRI-SREP proposal. Due to timeline constraints, the team requested and received a no-cost extension to accommodate the revised timeline for completing the deliverables. Our 2024 SREP proposal was designated as a High Priority but was not selected for funding. Recently, we resubmitted the pre-proposal and anticipate the outcome in early 2025. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project enabled team members' participation in conferences, growers' meetings, and visits to major CEA industries, providing valuable exposure to commercial CEA production settings and enabling the identification of critical industry challenges aligned with their research expertise. These activities contributed significantly to the professional development of faculty members and enhanced academic-industry engagement to establish research programs targeting to address the industry's real challenges. This project also promoted brainstorming among team members, increasing collaboration on other initiatives. Regular project team meetings encouraged collaboration, offering many early-career faculty members in our team, including the PI, opportunities to engage in multiple additional projects. During the full proposal development stage (SCRI-SREP 2024), postdoctoral researchers from the PI's lab were actively involved in proposal preparation and team meetings. These activities provided them with hands-on experience in proposal development, team coordination, managing proposal documentation, and communication management, further enhancing their professional development. Additionally, postdocs were encouraged to attend conferences and interact with the CEA industry, including growers, to understand industry needs better and establish a collaboration network. These engagement opportunities supported their professional growth and directly contributed to one postdoc securing a tenure-track faculty position at a land-grant university. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?This project involved organizing a stakeholder meeting and survey to identify the most urgent needs and challenges in the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry, specifically for the hydroponic production of leafy greens and other high-value crops in hot and humid regions. The project team analyzed the information collected to identify and prioritize the industry's most critical needs. The analyzed results were not reported directly to the public or researchers, but this helped the project team to identify the main challenges and areas where research and support are most needed. Using these insights, the team developed a detailed research and extension plan to address the industry's priorities. This plan became the foundation for the SCRI-SREP proposal, ensuring it directly addressed the challenges identified by stakeholders. The process also helped build stronger connections and collaboration among growers, researchers, and industry partners and established an advisory panel for the project. Our team is conducting similar activities, and once enough data is gathered and analyzed from our future activities, it could result in a journal publication. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this SCRI planning project, various communication pathways were adopted to interact with the relevant stakeholders and identify the critical needs of the CEA industry. The team members have directly communicated with hydroponic, greenhouse growers, and other industry-related stakeholders. The project team organized a stakeholder listening session on "Needs and Challenges in Greenhouse Hydroponic Industry" at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension - Dallas Center in Fall 2022. The four-hour listening session was attended by industry stakeholders, greenhouse growers, and academia experts from Texas, Florida, and California to share experiences and provide input to establish research priorities to support the CEA/greenhouse industry. Representatives from many large greenhouse operations attended the listening session, such as Gotham Greens, Texas Green Star, True Harvest, Eden Green Technologies, and Hort America, to name a few. The discussion topics included microclimate management, energy management, nutrient solution/recipe management, and labor and marketing. During the listening session, each topic was scheduled for round-table discussion for one hour, with growers and industry stakeholders sharing information regarding their needs and challenges. The growers discussed many significant challenges to their production operations and highlighted their need to establish successful greenhouse operations. The project team categorized the industry needs/challenges into different categories. From this stakeholder session, the team analyzed that intelligent controls, resource use optimization, and crop selection for the greenhouse were the top needs indicated by the stakeholders. The team also co-organized a CEA meeting at Texas A&M Dallas Center in Fall 2022/2023. The participants were mostly growers and industry stakeholders. The CEA conference offered a good opportunity to engage with producers, attracting many industries and academia to come together in one place to share progress and challenges. The project team capitalized on the participation of the greenhouse industry at the annual CEA conference to ensure a larger pool of stakeholders is involved in developing the research plan for the SCRI SREP proposal in 2024. We invited speakers from academia and industry to share their work and experiences with the meeting participants, which was also useful for the team to get a detailed understanding of the industry's current needs and recent research trends. Further, as part of this proposal, we conducted a stakeholder survey to increase the stakeholders' input in identifying the industry's critical needs. The team prepared the questionnaire for the survey, which was distributed to the growers and industry stakeholders through direct emails and in person at the CEA conference. The questionnaire data was collected and presented to the team during virtual meetings. The team analyzed the growers' and stakeholders' inputs and categorized them to identify the industry's critical needs, which were used to develop the SCRI SREP proposal. In addition, the team interacted with greenhouse CEA hydroponics growers through farm visits (Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio) and virtual meetings (in other states: Wyoming, Ohio, California, Georgia, and Florida) to solicit stakeholders' inputs. This expansion enabled our team to gain insights into diverse industry needs and establish collaborations to tackle urgent challenges. The team members also attended various national conferences, such as ASHS conferences, ASABE conferences, and regional CEA conferences, such as Ohio State University, the University of Wyoming, and Cultivate, to meet with growers and stakeholders, gain detailed insights on industry needs and challenges, and network with academia to develop a comprehensive research solution for the industry's needs. Engaging in meetings with growers and academia advanced the growth of our industry-academia network, which led to the development of a diverse advisory panel for the SCRI-SREP proposal. Finally, based on the analyzed information gathered through these activities, the team achieved three primary objectives for the SCRI-SREP proposal: 1) identify the industry needs and develop a comprehensive research and extension plan to provide practical solutions, 2) recruit new team members with research and extension expertise related to the SCRI-SREP proposal goals and objectives, and 3) develop a project advisory panel that includes representatives of the industry, growers, and academia. Lastly, we developed the SCRI-SREP proposal by formulating goals and objectives based on input from stakeholder engagement activities. The team submitted the SCRI SREP proposal in Spring 2024, which was designated as a high priority but not recommended for funding. Based on the reviewers' feedback, we revised the proposal's scope and have resubmitted the SREP pre-proposal for FY 2025 consideration.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience that was engaged during the project meetings and survey included greenhouse growers, greenhouse industry suppliers, and greenhouse technology manufacturers. Other target audiences include urban farmers, small acreage, aquaponic growers, and extension agents. Changes/Problems:The project tasks are carried out as proposed by the team. The team completed most of the work, including one survey (southern grower-focused) and one stakeholder meeting, and submitted the SCRI-SREP pre-proposal. The project team plans to conduct another stakeholder meeting in Dec 2023 at Texas A&M Dallas Center and an online survey to determine the needs and challenges of diverse stakeholders operating greenhouses in different regions. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has enabled the team members to attend conferences and growers' meetings and visit key industries. These activities lead to professional development of the faculty and increased academic-industry engagement. The project team meetings have fostered conversation and collaboration among team members, enabling young faculty to engage in multiple other projects, improving US agriculture. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project team has conducted a survey and stakeholder meeting to determine the urgent needs and challenges of the industry. The analyzed data of the survey and stakeholder meeting, highlighting the pressing needs of the industry, will be presented at the Annual Controlled Environment Conference at the Texas A&M Dallas Center in December 2023. The team has planned another meeting and survey to increase the grower's participation and increase the data collection. Once all the activities are completed, the team will use the data for peer-reviewed research publication. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project team plans to conduct a stakeholder listening session during the Fall 2023 Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) conference at the Texas A&M Dallas Center and a survey to increase the stakeholders' input. The CEA conference (organized by project team members) offers a good opportunity to engage with producers as it attracts many industries and academia to come together at one place to share progress and challenges, and participation in the conference is increasing every year. The project team plans to capitalize on the participation of the greenhouse industry at the annual CEA conference to ensure a larger pool of stakeholders is involved in developing the research plan for the SCRI SREP proposal in 2024. The team has submitted the SCRI SREP pre-proposal. The project team also plans to attend the indoor Ag-Con conference 2024 (March/April) to meet with growers and stakeholders to get detailed insights on industry needs and challenges. Engaging in meetings with growers will foster the growth of our industry-academia network. This expansion will empower our team to gain insights into diverse industry needs and establish collaborations to tackle urgent challenges. The team also planned to extend visits to greenhouse industries from other participating states. The information collected from the above activities will be used in the SCRI-SREP full proposal.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The team members have directly communicated with hydroponic, greenhouse growers, and other industry-related stakeholders. The project team organized a stakeholder listening session on "Needs and Challenges in Greenhouse Hydroponic Industry" at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension - Dallas Center in December 2022. The four-hour listening session was attended by industry stakeholders, greenhouse growers, and academia experts from Texas, Florida, and California to share experiences and provide input to establish research priorities to support the CEA/greenhouse industry. Representatives from many large greenhouse operations attended the listening session, such as Gotham Greens, Texas Green Star, TruHarvest, Eden Green Technologies, and Hort America, to name a few. The discussion topics included microclimate management, energy management, nutrient solution/recipe management, and labor and marketing. During the listening session, each topic was scheduled for round-table discussion for one hour, with growers and industry stakeholders sharing information regarding their needs and challenges. The growers discussed many significant challenges to their production operations and highlighted their need to establish successful greenhouse operations. The project team analyzed the industry needs/challenges and categorized them into different categories. From this stakeholder session, the team analyzed that intelligent controls, resource use optimization, and crop selection for the greenhouse were the top needs indicated by the stakeholders. In addition, the team interacted with greenhouse hydroponics growers through farm visits (Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio) and virtual meetings (in other states) to solicit stakeholders' inputs.
Publications
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