FarmBox Has Become an Essential Part of Ag Programs at Morgan Community College | SALUTE TO AG

Funded by a U.S. Department of Education Title III STEM grant, the FarmBox is a repurposed refrigerator container equipped with full-spectrum LED lighting, seedling trays, and moveable grow walls that can hold 3,888 plants. This system can produce as much as 2.5 to 3 acres of crops annually, harvesting 684 plants weekly while using only 3 to 5 gallons of water daily.

“The FarmBox uses programmable logic (PLC) to operate lights, pumps, timers, valves, and other equipment to grow the product,” said George O’Clair, MCC Electromechanical Technology Faculty. “The Electrical Mechanical Technology (ELMT) students study PLCs to operate those items. The FarmBox will be beneficial to the class to see an operating PLC in action.”