USDA Reports Large Increase In CEA Production, With Caveat

From 2009 to 2019, controlled environment agriculture (CEA), that includes greenhouses, vertical agriculture, hydroponics, aquaponics, and other controlled production methods, saw significant growth in both the number of operations and production of fresh produce in the United States. Indoor farming can control factors such as temperature, wind, lighting, and precipitation. These systems help to increase production while limiting factors that could inhibit growth, such as adverse weather conditions and common pests.

The report, Trends, Insights, and Future Prospects for Production in Controlled Environment Agriculture and Agrivoltaics Systems, was produced by the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Major report findings include:

• The amount of specialty crop production with CEA systems is small compared to outdoor production, but the number of individual CEA operations more than doubled to nearly 3,000 between 2009 and 2019.
• The quantity of crop production increased by 56% over that same period, from 502 million pounds to 786 million pounds.
• The aggregate sales value for CEA crops rose from $296 million in 1998 to $769 million in 2014 (in inflation-adjusted terms) but declined to $626 million in 2019 due to declines in the sales value of the dominant CEA crops (particularly tomatoes). This number is likely partly due to increased competition from imports, putting downward pressure on the value of sales per unit.
• Additionally, new technologies were used to produce a large share of total CEA production, with more than 60 percent of tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce grown using hydroponics in 2019.
• Recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding to support research and commercialization of CEA systems has increased substantially, including the awarding of contracts and grants exceeding $50 million since 2022 through USDA’s Office of Urban and Innovative Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

LightNOW encourages readers to keep one caveat in mind. A significant decline in the CEA industry occurred between 2019 and today. This sharp decline is not reflected in this USDA report (2009-2019). Updated data from the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Horticultural Specialties are expected in December 2024.

The full ERS-USDA report can be downloaded here.

All images: Economic Research Service of USDA

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and President of Lighting Solution Development, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has co-chaired ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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