Growing beyond the field: What is controlled environment agriculture?

What do hoop houses, vertical farms and DIY hydroponic systems all have in common? They are all part of controlled environment agriculture, or CEA — a rapidly growing field that lets farmers, researchers and even home gardeners produce crops year-round by shaping the growing environment. In this episode of Cultivating Curiosity, we sit down with Rhuanito Ferrarezi, associate professor of horticulture in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), and Ruchika Kashyap, assistant professor of plant pathology at CAES and UGA Cooperative Extension specialist.Both are members of the college's “fab five” of CEA. Together, they unpack what CEA is and how it differs from traditional farming, why Georgia — and CAES in particular — are emerging as a hub for greenhouse innovation, and what it could mean for food security, sustainability, and local access to fresh produce in the years ahead.Content from CAES:CAES alumnus joins UGA-Griffin faculty to expand food production through controlled environment agricultureControlled environment agriculture poised to become a growth industryCAES partners with Agrify to grow vertical farming effortsCAES vertical farming research sheds light on producing medicinal compoundsGet social with us!Follow CAES on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and check out UGA Extension on on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for the latest updates.