Fresh Faces in CEA Spaces: Ekene Tharpe
June 19, 2024 In our 2024 Fresh Faces in CEA Spaces series, we’re talking to young professionals in CEA about their work and where they see the industry going in the future. CEAg World recently chatted with Ekene Tharpe, Head Grower at Babylon Micro-Farms.
CEAg World: What first interested you in horticulture, then later, CEA?
Ekene Tharpe: I was first interested in horticulture because I did 4–H (a youth development program) when I was in fourth grade and ended up sticking with it through high school. I have to give 4–H all the credit, because that’s where I learned what agriculture is. I went to competitions that introduced me to ranchers and foragers who I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Through that exposure, I learned a lot about land grant universities and how you could get further in your education if you went to a land grant university and majored in agriculture. So, I followed that path into horticulture.
I was more interested in the controlled aspect of it, and my advisor led me to horticulture because you can work with greenhouses in that realm. I ended up getting an undergraduate research job with the weed science lab where I managed a greenhouse. It was built in the 1950s, so it didn’t have the highest tech, and I had to manually roll in the windows and manually shut them every morning and night.
I was responsible for the propagation of these weed species, spraying them with different pesticides and rating how resistant they were. But through that hands–on experience, I knew I loved CEA and wanted to continue with it.
CEAg World: How did you eventually end up focusing on CEA after your start in agriculture?
Ekene Tharpe: I got my Master’s in CEA at Virginia Tech, but I didn’t know I wanted to do that specifically when I first started. I actually didn’t know indoor agriculture was a “thing” until I started school in 2014. I did a research project when I was in a greenhouse class and they had us make a greenhouse and tell them exactly how it worked. In my head, I wanted to make a small greenhouse, but then I decided I wanted to make smaller systems in a bigger greenhouse and work within those.
That’s when I first started really getting into CEA. Then, for my senior project, I tried to build a controlled environment box and that was my first stab at indoor agriculture. I ended up going to Syngenta Flowers for an internship after undergrad and that was my first experience with a massive greenhouse. I worked with tons of breeders, then I transitioned in my internship to another role with sunflower oil breeding and I just loved it.
When I went to Virginia Tech to further my education, I was originally interviewing for programs focused on nursery settings. Then I met my director, Michael Evans. He saw my experience with greenhouses and wanted me to explore the CEA Center more.
I ended up being his student and focused my research on CEA. After that, I landed at Babylon Micro-Farms. It’s been a wild ride, and I guess my path in horticulture just narrowed as time went on. I started with horticulture, discovered greenhouses, then discovered indoor agriculture.
Leafy Greens Grown in a Babylon Micro-Farm
CEAg World: Can you tell us more about what you do now at Babylon Micro-Farms?
Ekene Tharpe: I’m the head grower at Babylon, and a lot of what I do here is watch our fleet. Since our fleet is remotely managed and all over the country, we’ve got to keep eyes on these farms. We have great account managers that guide everyone through the training process on how to use our farms.
But you know, accidents happen. For example, if someone doesn’t change out a nutrient bottle in time. We have to watch that and try to prevent it from happening. If plants get sick and we missed something or can’t figure out what happened, that’s when I have to step in as the head grower.
I’ll look at the plants and assess the situation – that’s a huge part of what I do here. Aside from that, we have set menus that we offer customers and the horticulture department watches over that as well. I’m constantly keeping up with our fleet, making sure our crops are performing the way we’re saying they are and building relationships with seed suppliers.
The last big chunk of my job is research. Aside from maintaining our fleet, I’m always looking at the next best thing. So, that usually involves improving the nutrient formulation that goes into these farms because we’re growing a lot of crops at once. We must have our nutrients tailored specifically to each plant.
CEAg World: What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?
Ekene Tharpe: One day that really sticks out to me is meeting the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris. I shook her hand and educated her about hydroponics. That is a moment I’m going to carry with me for the rest of my life. But other instances I’m proud of that aren’t specific moments are educating people.
Ekene Tharpe Talking to Vice President Kamala Harris
I’ve spoken at several different conferences, including [one at] Lewis Ginter, which is a Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia. I spoke at their Winter symposium, where I got to see people light up and get excited about horticulture and indoor agriculture, especially if they hadn’t heard about it before. They asked me tons of questions and were curious about doing it themselves. They came up to me after I spoke and wanted to know more about my story– that’s a huge accomplishment for me.
I’ve gotten two degrees and have worked at really cool places, which is awesome for me, but I love inspiring other people to pursue CEA, too.
CEAg World: As a “fresh face” in CEA, have you noticed any trends in the industry so far?
Ekene Tharpe: We’re seeing a lot of change in the current “age of disillusionment.” When indoor agriculture first started to gain traction, we were all excited about growing 365 days a year. We have a lot of awesome technology now, but people are really focused on defining their companies as either a technology company or a produce company.
Sometimes companies will pour tons of resources into a certain technology without honing in on what it actually is. So, I see the trend of people focusing on one specific lane and conquering it. That’s a huge trend that I think is going to become more solidified as time goes on.
CEAg World: What do you hope to see in CEA in the future?
Ekene Tharpe: I want people to know how important Controlled Environment Agriculture is because CEA is not a household acronym. I would really love for regular people who aren’t in the industry to question where their food comes from and to understand the quality of CEA–grown produce compared to what else is on the shelf at their local grocery store.