By DOUG SCHMITZ

Iowa Correspondent

DENVER, Colo. — Demand for fresh, local, year-round supplies of high-quality produce, especially from urban consumers, is strong and growing, causing metro areas to become the latest hot spots for growth in controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) across the United States.

That’s according to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division (KED), which has been studying CEA, or hydroponics – a technology-based approach toward food production to use optimal growing conditions and often indoors, in all 50 states.

“The rising demand for local, high-quality food, and the need for a year-round supply of it, is creating market opportunities,” said Christine Lensing, specialty crops senior economist for KED, who conducted the study. “Although there is a steep learning curve, high cost and other barriers to CEA, this segment is likely to continue growing for the next five years.”

The aim of CEA, the report said, is to provide protection and maintain optimal growing conditions throughout the development of the crop. Since production takes place within an enclosed growing structure such as a greenhouse or building, plants are often grown using hydroponic methods to supply the proper amount of water and nutrients to the root zone.

Lensing said urban vertical farms and other forms of CEA have become more prevalent, expanding rapidly since the late 1990s, with the pace of growth picking up in recent years as technology has grown.

“Being closer to their customers contributes most to the favorable positioning of U.S. growers,” she said. “This greatly reduces transportation and distribution costs and allows for enhanced product freshness and quality.”

By 2014, U.S. sales of food crops grown under protection totaled approximately $797 million, with CEA operations using hydroponic technology accounting for almost two-thirds of that production.

Currently, the vast majority of the large facilities growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are in the Northeast, West and Southwest, with growing conditions better suited to winter and year-round production in western regions.

CEA growers are entering the market in record numbers, with consequentially new capacity being added in the central and eastern parts of the country, partially due to price premiums and significantly higher yields the technology – such as hydroponics – provides.

“What has happened with tomatoes over the last 20 years, where about 50 percent of all domestic tomatoes are grown using CEA, is starting to happen in other industries,” Lensing explained. “There are significant opportunities in leafy greens, microgreens, herbs and other novelties such as turmeric and ginger.

“However, as new ventures are coming online, they must be very aware of three things: the high cost of operating, fluctuations in the market and competition in this growing space.”

In fact, establishing a CEA hydroponic vegetable operation requires considerable capital investment. “Depending on the size of the operation and the level of technology involved, the capital expenditure can run into the tens of millions of dollars.”

In addition, these types of systems usually have high operating costs, which is a huge challenge for growers and has implications for the length of time it takes to realize a profit.

“Knowledge is a further barrier to entry,” Lensing said. “The success of a CEA hydroponic venture requires skilled labor and a range of horticultural, engineering, and business skills. Hydroponics can be very profitable, but the stakes are high given the required level of investment and know-how; because of this – if and when businesses fail – the losses can be significant.”

While opportunities abound and the rewards are attractive, she said the learning curve for CEA systems is steep and the risks are high – especially since many new ventures fail because this industry has its challenges despite myriad technological benefits and advances.

“Nevertheless, despite being capital- and knowledge-intensive, CEA crop production is likely to continue to grow due to the advantages it offers,” she said. “CEA will not take the place of conventional agriculture in the future, but all indications point to it being an important tool for meeting the world’s food needs.”

That’s why an area of expansion in which one Iowa State University doctoral student in horticulture – working specifically in hydroponics – has been exploring is growing food in space.

“We realize how hard it is to actually go and live in space,” said Ph.D. candidate Alex Litvin, who worked for 10 weeks last summer in NASA’s Greenwerks lab at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a group of scientists who are looking at ways to grow salad-type plants in space as part of its vegetable production system.

“Growing food in space would be more economical for deep space travel than taking all of the food needed for the entire mission,” he told Inside Iowa State. “Every little bit of weight costs a lot of money. If you think about space flight, the amount of money you would need to make a rocket for the amount of food you need to survive – it’s not reasonable.”

Litvin said NASA’s goal is to grow a plant from seed to harvest through an automated growth system at a station in space so the plant will be ready to harvest when an astronaut arrives.

“I’m just like anyone else,” he said. “I’ll forget to water my plants, so I’ll let my plants die. But I’m really good at taking an hour or so out of my day, building a circuit, putting sensors into a pot and a faucet spigot and just having it water itself.”

Because hydroponics is growing plants without soil, Litvin said it could be good for space travel and may be an answer for growing in a microgravity environment like that found in space.

“It’s a very low commitment for materials because you’re not chugging along soil into your system. You just have tubs that you can immediately grow the plants in with the water they need. Water is continuously recycled in space.”