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An increasingly viable solution for climate change is Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), implemented across the U.S., in states likes Florida.
The water, energy, and food security nexus is a real and present problem.
Here are some highlights from the website of The Agrarian Group:
As a species, we face the most complex and deadly problems we have ever encountered. Erratic weather events caused by climate change destroy crop yields each year. Pesticides have ruined our soil and water scarcity has become a national security issue. 70% of food cost is linked to fossil fuels, and prices are only expected to rise. The average food item travels 1500 miles to reach it's destination. However, despite everything we do, 40% of all food in the United States is thrown away post-harvest.
Why
The Agrarian Group was started as an answer to a question - How will we feed the projected 9.1 Billion people that will reside on earth in 2050? To achieve this, we need to increase our already stressed agricultural production by 70%. How do we grow better?
To learn more about Vertical Farming for states like Florida, visit The Agrarian Group
Agtech solutions can help solve the challenges we face.
Here is an example of Agtech Solutions in Florida:
Cutting-Edge Agriculture Reaching New Heights in Florida
Rolling through Wauchula on Highway 17 in Southwest Florida, it would be no surprise if a passerby didn’t notice the nondescript warehouse located roadside in the small town. But inside the building is a highly sophisticated farm — perhaps a model of the future of agriculture. Under the name Hardee Fresh, the operation planted its first crops in October 2019.
The team at Hardee Fresh had a vision of taking the concept of vertical farming to a higher, more refined level. Vertical farming, like the name implies, takes production up — stacking rows on top of another in a controlled-environment structure. Each row uses LED lights to replace sunlight, and nutrients are fed to plants on trays via hydroponic irrigation. While the building is about 1 acre in size, the growing area inside is about 10 times that. The towers in the facility comprise seven to eight vertical rows of growing space.
The environment inside the building is highly controlled to optimize the growth and quality of the crops being produced there. According to Dr. Tyler Jacoby, a Co-Founder of Hardee Fresh, there are few — if any — vertical farms in the country deploying all the types of technology being used in the Wauchula facility.
The farm is utilizing a technology that powers LED lights inside the building via digital electricity. This allows the farm to generate exponentially less unwanted heat in the growing zones in comparison to compact fluorescents, metal halides, or even other traditional LED systems.
