Texas A&M grad using vertical farm to help feed students in need

Texas A&M University’s Urban Farm United (TUFU) is using vertical farming to produce high-value/specialty crops to help feed students.

The project, started by December graduate Broch Saxton, is in a greenhouse on the Texas A&M campus. It currently includes 24 towers in which a variety of produce is grown, with plenty of room to expand.

The urban farm project began as a collaboration between Saxton, a graduate of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, and Lisette Templin, an instructional assistant professor from Texas A&M’s Department of Health and Kinesiology.

“I have dreamed of running greenhouses in this form,” Saxton said. “Using the knowledge obtained from my degree, I want to help people have better access to greater food, all while ingraining hydroponic farming into the university. My experience in this process has been completely driven by networking and passion. This is what I want a career in.”

Saxton earned his bachelor’s degree in plant and environmental soil science Dec. 13.

“Hydroponics have huge potential to benefit many people,” he said. “When I approached the Texas A&M Office of Sustainability with my idea of a vertical farm project, they suggested I partner with Ms. Templin, who had approached them with a similar idea.”

Templin and Saxton envisioned a project that could feed Aggie students and staff on campus, and submitted an abstract to the Aggie Green Fund. In January 2019 they received a $60,000 grant and permission to use space in a greenhouse owned by the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology.

Using the grant funds, they purchased towers and a closed-loop watering system that provides nutrition to the plants. They also bought 800 seedlings from an urban farm in Austin to use for their initial crop. They will be self-sufficient and seed their own plants for future

The first crop included four different types of lettuce, kale, snap peas, snow peas, herbs, chard, bok choy, tatsoi and celery. They plan to expand the project to include peppers in the next round.

The team manages each tower individually to ensure the pH of the water is appropriate for the stage of growth and nutritional requirements are met.

Saxton reached out to Jacqueline Aitkenhead-Peterson, associate professor of urban nutrient and water management, to advise the project.

“The fact that this project was not research based was very unusual to me,” Aitkenhead-Peterson said. “However, this project is about feeding people and educating them on the possibilities of feeding themselves, which I deem to be a very important exercise.”

The produce harvested by TUFU is distributed by the 12th Can Food Pantry, a student-run program on the Texas A&M campus, which serves all students, faculty and staff in need of assistance.