AGROWN/CEA Worldwide CEO Dr. Sue Raftery has announced the development of the first US controlled environment agriculture (CEA) R&D center focused on creating technological innovations for the commercial greenhouse production industry.
The Center located at the Vermont Agriculture Business Education Center (VABEC), which was founded by Joe Famolare, in Brattleboro Vermont, to create an education site encouraging partnership between business, government, education and agriculture. The addition of new CEA research facilities will build upon this founding vision to create synergies for 21st Century food production and the technological intersection of energy-water-food.
The Center is designed to meet the growing need for the indoor agriculture industry to have a North American facility dedicated to CEA research and technological innovation. The facility currently has four renovated buildings and the Center is adding a custom greenhouse designed to meet the needs of commercial scale research/demonstration – quarter-acre discrete fully functioning sections to allow a variety of crops and testing. Participating firms will be able to own quarter-acre units or may lease space for their corporate research. Industry firms have noted the need to test yields of multiple crops, compare lighting, sensors, pumps, growth media etc. before deployment into commercial builds.
The VABEC site includes:
- 4 individual buildings-classrooms, office space, conference facilities, solar field, video conference center
- Redundant T1 internet
- Free parking
- 40 acres of farmland
- Brattleboro Foreign Trade Zone
- Central location-3.5 hours to NYC, 2 hours to Boston, 1 hour to Hartford
- Facility buildings are suitable for build-to-suit laboratories or industry marketing offices
Dr. Raftery noted, “Innovation is crucial to the success of every CEA grower as well as supply chain corporations. We are sure this research campus will help propel the CEA industry to provide greater domestic food security and safety.”
For more information
AGROWN/CEA Worldwide
Sue Raftery, PhD
+1-419-677-9109+1-419-677-9109