The Evolution of Agriculture: Urban Expansion is a New Frontier
Raise your hand if you grew up on a farm or know someone who did. Raise your hand if you have ever visited a farm. A yes answer to either of these questions is likely accompanied by an image of a traditional farm in a rural setting. Most of us have Norman Rockwell-like images in our minds of fields framed by a rolling country landscape.
These images of farms will remain accurate and relevant for generations to come; few dispute that. But hold onto your seat because agriculture is evolving before our very eyes, and at warp speed. A new face of agriculture can be found in urban settings framed by skyscrapers and urban warehouses rather than fields and forests.
Artificial Light Technology
Of the main environmental factors driving photosynthesis and plant growth, light has been the most challenging to recreate. We have technology to heat and cool a greenhouse and provide optimal growing temperatures and humidity. Irrigation technology complements natural rainfall outdoors and serves as the sole source of water indoors. Crop nutrition continues to advance and crop protection is entering a new era of biological control.
High intensity discharge lamps (HID) have been used successfully for decades primarily to provide supplemental light. Their use in northern climates during low light months has become standard practice to bolster low natural light levels in these regions during these seasons.
A handful of ornamental and edible crops can be grown indoors under HID as sole source light but mainstream crops cannot. African violets, sure. Edible sprouts, yes. But this list is short due to limitations in spectral composition of the two main HID lamps. High pressure sodium (HPS) and metal halide bulbs do not reproduce the spectrum of sunlight closely enough to do the job.
The advancement of light emitting diode (LED) technology is responsible for the urban expansion of agriculture more than any other single factor. Building greenhouses on city rooftops provides an excellent opportunity to use urban sunlight and is an exciting and cool way to urbanize agriculture. However, the exponential growth of urban agriculture will take place indoors using vertical production systems and artificial light.
Who’s in, Who’s Out?
Do you run a greenhouse, nursery, or farm? Are you working anywhere in the supply chain? Are you a researcher or an educator? If you’re reading this trade magazine, your answer is probably yes to one of these questions. A huge question facing agriculturists as urban farming expands who will sit at this table?
Much of the present effort in developing urban farms is being made by individuals and organizations outside of agriculture. There is a lot of technology required to create a farm inside a warehouse. Hence, companies with technologies not traditionally used are finding applications for their systems in an urban agriculture industry.
A need still exists for much traditional input into this new sector of production. A concern I have is that if we do not claim a seat at the table we could find ourselves on the outside looking in on a new industry that we have every right to stake claim to. Just because some of us grow crops in greenhouses doesn’t mean we don’t possess the skill sets to become successful indoor growers.
Land Grant University Ownership?
Speaking of who’s in and who’s out and the high level of technology involved in indoor agriculture, being a land grant institution isn’t a guarantee to a seat at the table. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created an urban agriculture project last year that immediately attracted international attention by its institutional reputation alone. Named the MIT CityFARM and run by architecture graduate student Caleb Harper, this project is focusing on creating urban farms inside high rise urban buildings.
Unlike a land grant university, MIT does not have a single plant scientist on its campus. My research greenhouse is thirty minutes from Boston, and after a meeting on campus through a lighting project I’m involved with, I became concerned that the project lacked horticultural expertise. After some communication between me, MIT, and the lighting company I’m working with, we found a way to collaborate and provide horticultural consultation to CityFARM.
Forging new collaborations is exciting and productive. A discussion of who will sit at the table and who won’t, who has something relevant to bring to the discussion, and who will embrace new opportunities to work together intrigues me. Caleb has been on a wild ride traveling the world and speaking at conferences in the project’s first year. An observation that he’s made about our industry has struck me.
He talks of CityFARM and an MIT philosophy of transparency where openness in sharing information is encouraged over secrecy. As he introduces the project to traditional agriculturists he has met a culture that values secrecy over transparency. This is a disconnect that we need to reconcile. My observation of our young generation of consumers and growers is that they are very much invested in open collaboration and cooperation. Think social media to lock in on this. This generation is fueling the locally grown food movement. They want to address world hunger, climate change, and other global issues and separate from the corporate, industrial agriculture model.
Replace or Complement?
Regarding industrial agriculture, a great question is being passionately debated. On one side is our traditional, industrial model of agriculture instituted after World War II in the 1950s. On the other is our locally grown movement focused on bringing agriculture back to its roots and consumption centers.
In my opinion, local agriculture, some of which will be urban, some suburban, and some rural, does not possess the capacity to replace industrial production yet. Figure 2 shows a field of celery in California. Standing in the field to take the picture I was impressed by its scale. It would take a lot of greenhouse and warehouse space to replace this field’s production. Assuming it can be replaced is still a bit unrealistic today.
More realistically, urban agriculture can complement industrial production and offer freshness and higher quality at the local level. Figure 1 shows a crop of carrots from my greenhouse hydroponic vegetable project. Grown in deep plug trays using flood and drain benches, I believe a niche market opportunity that capitalizes on freshness, quality, and year round availability is screaming to be filled. Locally grown, even through the winter.
Water is the Crux
A passionate hobby of mine is climbing Colorado’s highest Rocky Mountains. Each summit route has a distinctive section called its crux, comprising the route’s most challenging steps. When considering production inputs, water has become agriculture’s crux. It is now a precious and limiting resource globally. I’ve heard the prediction that in the near future wars will be waged over water rather than oil.
Here at home battles are already occurring between farmers and communities over water rights to the mighty Colorado River. As the flow of Rocky Mountain snow melt tightens my money says drinking water for us will likely trump irrigation water for our plants. Fortunately, our industry has been addressing runoff and recirculation and continues to make progress in water conservation.
In conclusion, urban agriculture offers a new frontier that will help return a portion of agricultural production to urban consumption centers, minimizing both distance and time from farm to table. LED lighting is making indoor food production feasible, new faces have claimed seats at the table, and exciting collaborations await.
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