May 20, 2021

Research could prove profitable to indoor farmers growing leafy greens

There is a free, online resource that growers can use to help make their indoor farming businesses more productive and profitable. It’s a website featuring research results from six horticulture, engineering and agricultural economics professors and Extension specialists, their graduate students and technicians at Michigan State University,  Ohio State University and Purdue University and the University of Arizona.

Born from a four-year, USDA grant-funded project called OptimIA, the web site is one tool researchers are making available to anyone interested in overcoming the technological, environmental, and financial challenges common to indoor farming.

In addition to the latest published research, the website offers trade articles authored by OptimIA project scientists, indoor production research highlights, recorded webinars presented by top national and international indoor farming experts, upcoming events related to indoor farming and the OptimIA project, and FAQs.

The OptimIA project’s ultimate goal is to define the environmental parameters within which leafy greens such as lettuce perform best in indoor vertical farms. While the work of each project researcher is unique, all centers around the effects of light, carbon dioxide, humidity, temperature, air movement and economics (operating, labor, equipment etc.) on the sustainability and profitability of using indoor farms to produce leafy greens and microgreens.

The site will be frequently updated with new research results, as they become available.

To access the OptimIA project website, visit here.

OptimIA is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative.