Developing a Center of Excellence for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in Kennett (PA)

Transcription

1 Developing a Center of Excellence for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in Kennett (PA) Dr. Eric W. Stein Barisoft LLC, President Assoc. Professor Business, Penn State Please do not distribute this presentation without permission Copyright 2017 Eric W Stein. All rights reserved.

2 About the Presenter Affiliations Associate Professor of Business, Penn State Former Director New Ventures and Entrepreneurship MBA Program, Penn State Areas of expertise Entrepreneurship Corporate innovation and strategy Sustainability and social ventures Information Technology Experience Consultant to business and industry Local leader in town government Councilman (Media, PA ) Educator and researcher Founder and CEO of e3garden

3 Outline 1. Key Trends and Drivers 2. Future Ag: Indoor Farms 3. Examples of Indoor Farms 4. Why the Mushroom Capital Can Benefit from Diversification 5. Center of Excellence a. Vision and Mission of Center b. Kennett Region Advantages 6. Next Steps a. Feasibility Study b. Sponsorship 7. Summary and Conclusions 3

4 Why Agriculture is Moving Indoors and Closer to Cities

5 Key World Trends Population Growth Migration Food Land Water Energy 5

6 Population Growth Sources: United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision, medium variant (2011). 6

7 Migration to the Cities Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2014). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352). p. 7 7

8 Costs to Produce Food 8

9 % of Arable Land of Total Total Land Area Worldwide: 129,733,000 square kilometers Total Arable Land Worldwide: 13,751,698 square kilometers Source: 9

10 Water Use Worldwide 10

11 Conclusions About The Future of Food Production We need to be more efficient and sustainable in food production We must maximize the use of existing space Production can be localized to urban and peri-urban areas Growing food without pesticides with less water, energy and resources is becoming a financial necessity Technology can help to produce sustainable food production systems 11

12 Agricultural Technologies of the Future: Indoor Farming

13 Typical Crops Grown Indoors Lettuces Kale Swiss Chard Cress Herbs: Basil Dill Parsley Mustards Tomatoes Strawberries and many others 13

14 Typical icea System Lighting HVAC Growing System Power 14

15 Benefits of Indoor CEA Farms Grow year-round in urban and peri-urban areas Reduces distribution costs Grow vertically in less space 5-10x plants per square foot Eliminates pesticides Grow with fewer chemicals Post-organic Grow with less water 90% less water Less Labor E.g., weeding, thinning, soil mgt, etc. Creates Green Tech Jobs Meets the Market Consistent with the farm-to-table movement, organics, and localizing food production 15

16 Examples of CEA in Urban and Peri-Urban Settings

17 Gotham Greens - NYC 17

18 BrightFarms - PA 18

19 Lufa Farms Montreal CAN 19

20 AeroFarms- NJ 20

21 AeroFarms - NJ 21

22 Mushroom Farming - PA 22

23 Why the Mushroom Capital of the World Should Embrace Other Crops

24 Limits to Mushroom Industry Growth Requires many complex production phases Requires lots of raw materials and labor Must be located near raw materials and labor Generates unpleasant byproducts and odors Better located away from population centers Typically sold as lowmargin commodity Low ROI limits further investment 24

25 Mushroom Farming is icea Same overall year-round business model Construction, engineering, and maintenance of production facilities is similar Distribution and logistics are similar and can be leveraged Markets are complementary Requires minimal land for high output Similar production inputs: Seed Water Light HVAC 25

26 Benefits to Indoor Crop Other indoor farming crops have potentially higher return-oninvestment than mushrooms Raw materials and byproducts from green produce are more benign than from mushrooms Siting is flexible and can be better integrated into urban, suburban and rural landscapes Technology and support readily available regionally (e.g. Philadelphia, NJ, NYC) Diversification can be incremental, spreading out required investments and reducing risks Diversification 26

27 How Kennett Region Can Take the Lead in Indoor Agriculture with a Center of Excellence for CEA

28 The Need for a Center There is no center for the CEA industry May be hampering growth Most conferences and centers are located in universities or at private companies Need for a freestanding and independent center that represents needs of both industry and academia 28

29 Vision for the Center The Center of Excellence for Controlled Environment Agriculture in Kennett (PA) region will become a national hub for CEA investment, production, distribution, logistics, research, development, and training. 29

30 Mission of The Center Industry and Business Development Serve as a resource for the CEA industry Hub for business development Facilitate training and workforce development for both the mushroom industry and new CEA crops Applied Research Conduct research on new CEA production and distribution methods, best practices, technologies Pilot introduction of crops such as lettuces and herbs into the existing mushroom-based production and distribution infrastructure Resources and Financing Obtain government investment (e.g., USDA, etc.) through grants and loans Coordinate investment opportunities in CEA and related industries Coordinate regional economic development 30

31 Kennett Region s Competitive Advantages 250 Million consumers are within a 24-hour trucking radius of Kennett Kennett has a mature, reliable and scalable supporting infrastructure and workforce that was developed for the mushroom industry Kennett is largely cropagnostic in terms of facility construction and maintenance, public utilities, packing, cold storage and distribution. Firms growing other CEA crops here can scale production rapidly without having to invest in building such an infrastructure. 31

32 Summary and Conclusions There is a need for a Center of Excellence for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Kennett (PA) region is uniquely positioned to host such a site Opportunity to create a unique public-private partnership for CEA Expected to lead to continued economic development and green tech jobs for region 32

33 Next Steps: The Feasibility Study 33

34 Conduct Feasibility Study Situational Analysis SWOC of CEA industry and region Visualization and Organization Identify key designs, structures, functions and administration of COE Formulate Business Model Impact Scorecard of Region Jobs Economic Development 34

35 Key Stakeholders We Plan to Work With Industry Large and small mushroom farmers Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) suppliers and businesses Potential CEA Investors Regional Township of Kennett and nearby municipalities Chester County and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Regional Economic Development Agencies Universities University of Delaware Penn State Other regional and national universities and educational institutions 35

36 Levels of Participation in the Feasibility Study Be Informed Be Interviewed Be a Sponsor 36

37 Next Steps What level of participation? Informed Interviewed Sponsor Benefits to Sponsors Listed as sponsor in report Greater access to report data Offers customization of report to local needs Can support your other projects Next Steps Contact Eric Stein at 37

38 Discussion

39 Phone: Twitter: ericsteinphd e3garden.com Skype: cire3500 Web: ericwstein.com e3garden.com Contact Info: Eric W. Stein, Ph.D. Please do not distribute this presentation without permission

40 References Images History.aspx (Clarkson University) Documents Eric W. Stein, Ph.D., A Feasibility Study for the Development of a Center of Excellence for Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) located in Kennett Township Project Proposal. 4/12/

41 Appendix 41