- See also: CEA Viability in Metro Areas
New resources
- The Promise of Urban Agriculture: National Study of Commercial Farming in Urban Areas – This 216-page report by CEA Viability in Metro Areas team member Anu Rangarajan and Molly Riordan provides details on a study to investigate the commercial promise of urban-based agriculture and uncover those specific urban farm characteristics that seem to be linked most closely to long-term sustainability and growth.
- DACUM Research Chart for Indoor Farm Operations Manager – Provides an industry-led foundation for discussing gaps and opportunities in existing indoor agriculture curricula at Cornell and beyond. Read more about the project | Download chart
Business planning tools for CEA
In 2016 and 2017 the Cornell Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) group and colleagues in the Dyson School and the Cornell Institute for Food Systems conducted studies and developed materials on CEA business and marketing with support from the U.S. Department of Agricultural Marketing Service.
CEA Background
By Neil Mattson
- Slides: Intro to CEA, common crops, systems, and market trends
- Slides: Ten things you should know when starting a CEA business
Interactive Spreadsheets for Greenhouse Lettuce and Tomato Production
By Irin Nishi, Miguel Gomez, and Neil Mattson
- Presentation with an overview of the spreadsheets and key findings
- Lettuce cost accounting tool
- Tomato 8 month production cost accounting tool
- Tomato year-round production cost accounting tool
Consumer Willingness to Pay for CEA
By Irin Nishi, Miguel Gomez, and Neil Mattson
A consumer willingness to pay study was conducted with more than 200 subjects to determine interest and potential price differentiation for greenhouse vs. field and in-state vs. out-of-state lettuce and tomatoes. According to the study, New York State consumers are willing to pay 30% price premiums for New York State grown tomatoes and an 18% price premium for New York State grown lettuce. No price differentiation was found between greenhouse vs. field grown suggesting consumers care more about produce origin than production system.
- Slides summarizing the Consumer Willingness to Pay study and key findings
- M.S. thesis: Consumer willingness to pay for local vegetables grown in a controlled environment: the case of lettuce
Insights from NYS Produce Buyers
By Julie Stafford
Interviews were conducted to identify the needs of a NYS commercial produce buyers. The results provide insight regarding products of interest as well as considerations that local CEA growers should be aware when marketing to different channels.
This project was supported by the U.S. Department of Agricultural Marketing Service through grant 15SCBGPNY0023. The grant was administered and supported by the New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI) and the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets. Project contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of USDA, NYFVI or the State of New York.