at the Purdue Student Farm

By Purdue Agriculture

November 11th, 2024

A Gift For Growth Into The Future

Through the Overbeck family’s generous donation of two large shipping containers, students at the Purdue Student Farm are learning innovative agricultural and horticultural practices. The Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture Facility now provides valuable hands-on learning experiences and paves the way for new research opportunities. 

.For The Mission

The change of seasons is in the air, which means the end of many traditional gardening and growing efforts in the Midwest. However, with controlled environment agriculture (CEA), lettuce and other greens are being grown at the Purdue Student Farm managed by the Department of Horticultural and Landscape Architecture,

This spring, two shipping containers designed to be vertical farms were delivered to Purdue University to offer students, staff, faculty and the community to learn and experiment with new horticulture and agricultural practices.

"The student farm is all about offering our students experiences in many different angles to production. So, the Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture Facility project was a great fit. We are excited to educate our students how to operate a container farm. With many students excited by new technology, we have seen great interest in these container farms and the learning opportunities they can provide."

~Petrus Langenhoven, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture and director of the Purdue Student Farm

For The Students

Brittany Weerts, hydroponic research operations administrator, manages the students at the Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture Facility and is proud of the "A to Z" growing experience that container gardening provides for them. Students monitor the health of the farm and the container, check fertilizer levels, read sensors, clean and complete production tasks. 

"We have found that students are really into new technology in farming. There is a large component of computer work within our container farm because you manage everything through the computer. I think there's a lot of possibilities, even from the agricultural and biological engineering side. It is exciting to see the students take ownership and learn.”

~ Brittany Weerts, research hydroponic research operations administrator, Purdue Student Farm

Isaac Damer, a junior in horticulture with a concentration in plant science, took his lifelong dream to grow plants in space and jumped at the opportunity for some hands-on learning in this new growing environment.

Isaac Damer, a junior in horticulture with a concentration in plant science, took his lifelong dream to grow plants in space and jumped at the opportunity for some hands-on learning in this new growing environment.

For The Community

The two containers are designed to grow vegetables and herbs on vertical, suspended, moving walls using a technology system and specialized lights. This technology continues to evolve. Currently, the containers have plantings that consist primarily of lettuce and greens. While production is still ramping up, the end goal would be to produce around 250 heads of lettuce each week per container. This would provide lettuce for the Purdue Student Farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes and other connections around campus.

Produce from the Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture Facility is currently being served on campus by Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) students in the College of Health and Human Sciences. Chief instructor and department chef Dawn Sieber is excited to have HTM students working with the Purdue Student Farm to select lettuces and greens that will best suit the meals they want to serve.

For The Future

With education at the forefront of this project, Langenhoven hopes not only to use the Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture Facility to train and prepare students, but also to provide faculty and staff with research opportunities. The end goal, according to Langenhoven and Weerts, would be to share their new insights with the community through an Extension program.

The Overbeck family celebrate cutting a lettuce ribbon on the Overbeck Controlled Agriculture Facility with Bernie Engel, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, left; and Linda Prokopy, department head of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, right.

"A gift like this can put us on the map and help us step into the future of farming and technology. We want to continue to provide opportunities for hands-on learning and growth across all aspects of agricultural production for our students. The Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture Facility gives us a wonderful tool to explore a new area of smart vegetable production and share the lessons learned with our stakeholders to help them grow. We are grateful."

~ Petrus Langenhoven

See how the Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture Facility sows the seeds for innovation and sustainability in farming, education, and community collaboration. 

Footnotes

Story by Ericka Bethel, photography by Joshua Clark and video by Erin Easterling