USDA-DOE workshop on Vertical Agriculture & Design and Sustainable Urban Ecosystems
Dr. Tessa Pocock from RPI and Dr. Kale Harbick from Cornell attended the USDA-DOE public sessions and participated in the closed-door sessions for group expert discussion. Expert groups included systems engineering, crop breeding, pest management, economics, urban societal effects and sustainability.
Pocock and Harbick were part of the systems engineering breakout group and some of the challenges and opportunities crossed over between groups. Education and trained workforces, capital costs and the need for more research were brought up time and again so that manufacturers and growers alike would be able to make informed decisions about products being made and sold to the horticultural industry.
