About OptimIA

The OptimIA project is a multi-state university research and extension collaboration among controlled-environment plant physiologists, agricultural engineers, and agricultural economists. Our long-term goals are to help develop indoor farming (vertical, warehouse, and container farming) as a specialty-crop segment of agriculture in the U.S.; to increase the sustainability, viability, and profitability of this rapidly emerging sector; and to provide the knowledge necessary to produce leafy greens locally that have higher quality attributes. Our major project goals and objectives are:

Defining optimal profitability of indoor farming

Collecting primary economic data
Developing input/output models for cost analyses
Modeling, analyzing, and evaluating data to maximize profitability

Optimizing environmental conditions to increase yield and high-value attributes

Developing novel lighting strategies
Co-optimizing light with temperature, humidity, air current, and CO₂
Designing and testing innovative air-distribution methods
Managing humidity around plants

Working together

Developing production guidelines, tools, and educational materials and courses
Providing learning opportunities
Hosting an online forum and discussion
Conducting on-farm trials of research-based experimental findings
Working with growers and academic groups with shared goals