The sound of running water fills the lab as students navigate between large plastic tubs and styrofoam sheets holding green plants in one of the classrooms at Ranken Technical College’s campus in Troy, Missouri, outside of St. Louis.
Tilapia at different life cycle stages fill the blue tubs. Their water is then filtered to draw out nitrogen that passes through tubes to the other half of the room, where it fertilizes the various plants growing under bright lights.
Ranken’s facility is providing its students a chance to work in one of several indoor farming formats, many of which are popping up around the country and in Missouri.
The U.S. is home to an estimated 2,000 indoor farms, and the industry is expected to grow at 9.8% annually between now and 2033.
Though many of these facilities have appeared in recent years, the industry remains relatively small due to how new it is, said Nick Crosse, who teaches Ranken’s aquaponics class.
“There aren’t a ton of employment opportunities specifically in this… it’s just not a huge industry at the moment,” Crosse said. “So we’re looking for ways to train them in other areas… so that when they leave here, they’re just kind of a multifaceted, multi-skilled technician.”
The classroom at Ranken uses aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture — growing fish indoors— and hydroponics — growing plants in water. It uses a closed system, where the only input the school purchases is food for the fish.
Other forms of indoor farming, also known as controlled environment agriculture, have also been appearing around the state, such as vertical farming startups.
The different forms of indoor farming are a response to the changing face of agriculture, where farmers face dry conditions, extreme weather and more pests. Farming indoors could offer a way to produce local food with less space and inputs, while also decreasing emissions from transporting products elsewhere.
St. Louis as a leader Last December, the World Wildlife Fund’s Markets Institute found that St. Louis is positioned to become a global leader in the indoor agriculture sector, according to an analysis from the group.
Because of the region’s influential players in the bioscience, plant science and agtech industries, as well as several universities and foundations, the WWF found that the area will be suitable to help grow this industry.
Hope for the future Despite the challenges of starting an indoor farming business, the students in Crosse’s class at Ranken are hopeful about the future of this new industry.
Abbigail Gifford, one of Crosse’s students, plans to eventually use her aquaponics experience in a farm-to-table approach.
“I would love to open up this exact facility somewhere and make it like a commercial business, sell to restaurants, sell at local farmers markets,” she said.
Chris Ken, another student in the lab, is seeking a different avenue with his future indoor farming career. Ken’s parents grow cannabis indoors at their facility in central Illinois, where he discovered his passion for indoor farming, and he hopes to eventually start an operation of his own.
Source: stlpr.org
Photo Credit: gettyimages-tlillico
Categories: Missouri, Crops, Weather