How AI Actually Works in Vertical Farming (Spoiler: It Doesn't Start With AI)

#ledlighting, #nedavaseghi, #gretchenschimelpfenig, #smartcontrols, #energyefficiency, Discover how cutting-edge innovations in vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) are transforming the future of sustainable food production in this insightful interview with industry leaders Neda from Microclimates and Gretchen from Greenhouse Lighting and Systems Engineering Consortium. Host Harry uncovers real-world strategies for boosting energy efficiency, leveraging smart controls, and integrating advanced environmental monitoring systems that slash overhead costs, drive profitability, and future-proof indoor farms. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, AgTech professional, or simply curious about sustainable agriculture, this episode explores actionable steps, the role of AI in crop optimization, and the power of data-driven decision-making—making it essential viewing for anyone interested in agtech innovation, CEA startups, or scaling profitable greenhouse and vertical farming operations. Subscribe for more expert insights on vertical farming trends, energy-saving CEA solutions, and sustainable indoor agriculture! Subscribe to our channel and watch past episodes here: https://youtu.be/bGQrI9nYcw8 🎧 SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST: http://vfpc.st/listen KEY INSIGHTS ——————————— 00:00 Discussing the CalNEX Project findings 03:17 Smart Controls Project achievements 07:52 Improving greenhouse energy efficiency 10:34 Energy consumption misconceptions 12:57 Diverse systems in cannabis farming 19:10 Automating greenhouse light management 22:22 Operational impacts in construction projects 25:40 Consulting on greenhouse tech needs 27:50 Discussing phased approach for innovations 29:57 Phased approach to AI implementation 35:51 Parental influence on IT security 37:02 Adopting AI and Automation Tools 41:17 Starting with basic crop monitoring 43:32 Indoor farming control techniques 46:39 Year of retrofits and opportunities 49:46 Appreciating industry partnerships MEMORABLE QUOTES ——————————— "Our job is to complement what's already there. The projects Gretchen mentioned, every site had something different… Our job wasn't to go in and just say, rip everything out for this control study and start over because we want to collect the data. It was really to take a look at what do you currently have, how can we complement that with adding more environmental insight, environmental visibility to that operation, and is there a way that we can integrate what you currently have?" "I'd say the biggest surprise and biggest lesson was that they didn't have enough environmental visibility. A lot of these operations had maybe one temperature humidity sensor hanging in the middle of the room representing the entire greenhouse or a section of the greenhouse. Your control system is only as good as the information it's taking in, like the input, right?" "If you don't have the thousands of data points, if you can't summarize the trends, if you can't make any recommendations and alerts, and you can't generate those reports based on the thousand data points, how is this AI going to actually get to know you?... First of all, we have to step back and say, are operators actually collecting data? We already said early on in this conversation they are, but they don't have enough environmental visibility, which means they actually are not collecting enough data." CONNECT WITH NEDA & GRETCHEN ————————— Website - www.microclimates.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Microclimates-Inc Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/microclimates Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/microclimates.inc LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/microclimates LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gschimelpfenig/ Resource Innovation Institute - https://resourceinnovation.org/ Microclimates - https://microclimates.com/ Priva Control Systems - https://www.priva.com/ Ritter Greenhouse Automation - https://rittergreenhouse.com/ EPISODE SPONSOR: ——————————— CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/ 2025 USA Indoor Farming Report: https://noteforms.com/forms/2025-usa-indoor-farming-report-access-ekkt4m VFP RESOURCES ——————————— Website - https://verticalfarmingpodcast.com ABOUT VERTICAL FARMING PODCAST ——————————— Join Harry Duran, Host of the Apple-recommended Podcast Junkies and Founder of FullCast, as he explores the world of controlled-environment agriculture (CEA). Tune in every week for fascinating conversations with CEOs, Founders and luminaries from the exciting and fast-growing world of Vertical Farming. If you've been interested in the world of Indoor AgTech and want to hear inspiring stories from the innovators on the frontlines of this fast-moving industry, then this most definitely the show for you! Podcast Production by FullCast: https://fullcast.co/vfpyt #verticalfarming, #controlledenvironmentagriculture, #environmentalmonitoring, #aiinagriculture, #horticulturallighting, #microclimates, #calnexproject,