The Vertical Farm at Illinois State University officially opened on Thursday, May 1, 2025, to train and prepare students for careers in agriculture and horticulture specialty crop production and as a demonstration site for local community groups, schools, and business entrepreneurs. The $200,000 project is a joint partnership of The College of Applied Science and Technology, Department of Agriculture, and Office of Sustainability and is located adjacent to the Office of Sustainability at 305 North School Street, Normal, Illinois.
“This project is about more than just growing food,” said Illinois State University President Aondover Tarhule. “It’s about harnessing the power of technology to reduce our dependence on traditional, resource-demanding agricultural methods. Vertical farming technology can be used to address some of the biggest challenges we face, including food security, environmental responsibility, and sustainability.”
The Vertical Farm uses a repurposed shipping container with an enclosed, controlled environment for growing plants year-round. The 40-foot-by-8-foot (320 square feet) container is designed using a vertical hydroponic growing system with a recirculating nutrient solution and light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system. The Vertical Farm unit will be able to grow 4,600 plants, production equivalent to 1-2 acres of field production, using 95% less water or approximately 5 gallons of water per day.
“In addition, fewer chemicals are necessary to ensure the vitality of the plants and no pesticides are needed in the controlled space,” said College of Applied Science and Technology Dean Chad McEvoy. “Our students and community will benefit from this new facility as an example of sustainable urban agriculture.”
The Vertical Farm’s technology includes sensors and monitors to functionally control many aspects of the growing cycle, including:
- Temperature
- Lighting
- Relative Humidity
- Carbon Dioxide Concentration
- Nutrient Solution Concentration and pH
Within the shipping container, plants are seeded and grown to a transplant size over 3 to 4 weeks in small, compostable root cubes. A work bench with shelves holds seedling trays that are irrigated with the hydroponic system. Water delivery and lighting are controlled with timers. Crop transplants are then grown to a harvestable size in vertical towers over the course of another 3 to 4 weeks. The container holds 256 individual, 7-foot-long towers which hang vertically from hooks. Inside each tower is a removable, coarse spongy material that plant roots are suspended in. When plants are mature, each vertical tower is taken off its hook and brought to the work bench for plants to be clipped at their base, weighed, and bagged for delivery. Following replacement with a new young plant transplant, the transplant-filled tower is placed back in its growing location, ready to be harvested again in another 3 to 4 weeks.
“I still remember first proposing the idea back in 2019,” said Dr. David Kopsell, Professor of Horticulture within the Department of Agriculture at Illinois State. “From the very beginning, the Vertical Farm Project has been about our students, and I cannot express how excited I am to bring this opportunity to our campus and their learning experiences.”
Led by Kopsell, students will begin growing cilantro, basil, and parsley this summer. For more information, visit https://facilities.illinoisstate.edu/projects/vertical-farm/.
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