A First Look at Findings from the 2024 Global CEA Census
September 6, 2024 From May 31 to August 14, 2024, nearly 500 growers from around the world took the Global CEA Census, a research project that aims to build a dataset that reflects the true state of the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry. CEAg World partnered with Agritecture on the census for the first time this year.
Henry Gordon-Smith, CEO and founder of Agritecture, shared initial findings from the fourth edition of the census during his opening keynote speech at the CEAg World Conference and Expo in Raleigh, N.C. on August 28, 2024.
Each year, the census research centers around a different topic in CEA. This year’s theme was technology, looking specifically at the levels and types of technology growers already use and how they plan to expand their technology use in the future. Past editions have honed in on the demographics of CEA growers, the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, and sustainability.
Data From the 2024 CEA Census Showed That:
- Renewable energy is important.
- Growers are more concerned about infrastructure challenges and affordability when buying new tech.
- Most growers plan to increase their production area in the next 12-24 months.
- Most growers are seeking solutions for the seeding, harvesting, and post-harvesting areas of their operations.
- It’s important for all parts of the industry to work together.
“The more we work together, the more we’re going to grow,” Gordon-Smith said. “We have a lot of challenges and need to collaborate in order to survive and to thrive. There’s an art to sharing data without sharing anything that’s confidential.”
Henry Gordon-Smith sharing initial findings from the 2024 Global CEA Census.
Taking the Pulse of Ag Tech in CEA
This year’s census surveyed growers about the types of technology they’ve implemented in the following areas of their CEA operations:
- Climate control
- Lighting control
- Seeding
- Soil testing
- Irrigation
- Fertigation
- Weed control
- Crop-monitoring
- Harvesting
- Post-harvesting
Growers indicated whether they use sensors, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), mechanical equipment, or manual labor in their facilities. Then, they were asked which areas of operation they planned to improve with new technology over the next year and how far along they were in implementing it. Answer options ranged from “not considering” and “researching solutions” to “seeking options,” “evaluating vendors,” and “negotiating pricing.”
How Growers are Streamlining Operations With Ag Tech
Of the areas listed above, most growers were already seeking technology solutions for the seeding, harvesting, and post-harvesting areas of their business. As they looked to the future, respondents said they were researching options to improve climate control, evaluating vendors for fertigation, and negotiating pricing for lighting solutions.
Then, growers ranked the features they look for in technology and the challenges they experience when implementing it. Most growers sought out energy efficiency, remote monitoring, data analytics, and integration with the internet. Regarding challenges, they were mainly concerned with affordability and infrastructure limitations.
Of all growers surveyed, 51% agreed that integrating renewable energy into their operation is very important. And while only 20.4% of responses don’t yet use renewable energy sources, 79.6% of responses already use some form of renewable energy or plan to in the future.
Participants built their own farms in Gordon-Smith’s post-conference workshop.
Putting it into Practice
During his post-CEAg World Conference and Expo workshop, Gordon-Smith lent his expertise in a workshop entitled “How to Build Your Business: A Step-by-Step Approach to Planning a New or Expanding Your Current Greenhouse or Vertical Farming Operation” He taught 20 registrants how to successfully build or expand their CEA operation using Agritecture’s planning software and insights gained through research like the Global CEA Census.
Those who took Gordon-Smith’s workshop walked away with a better understanding of the decisions CEA growers and business owners must make to ensure their operation runs successfully.