Engineers hope their Oregon greenhouse will revolutionize agriculture

Four engineers have created a 2,500-square-foot autonomous greenhouse in Marion County that can produce 16 tons of leafy greens and herbs annually with a goal of making farming more efficient and cost-effective.

The greenhouse built in Hubbard is equipped with machines that handle the planting, transplanting, sorting, crop monitoring and harvesting with little to no human interaction. It also provides an alternative for minimizing environmental footprint.

David Ashton and Justin Gravett co-founded Canopii in 2021. The name is inspired by the verticality of the greenhouse. "When you look up in a forest to see the canopy, the same feeling comes when looking up in our farm," Ashton said.

The two met in 2015 and were roommates at Cal Poly where they graduated with degrees in agricultural engineering and aerospace engineering, respectively. They kept in contact after graduation. Ashton wrote a 30-page business proposal on an autonomous greenhouse and they got an initial backing of $250,000 in grant funding from the National Science Foundation.

The two spent a year developing a sub-scale prototype in a warehouse in Portland and were awarded more NSF funding and raised capital through investments for a total of $2.3 million.

Sam Pepperwood, a Colorado School of Mines graduate, was hired in 2022 and helped Ashton design and build the greenhouse prototype. Lewis Drapete, an electromechanical engineer, also was hired two years ago.

In 2024, the four built the greenhouse in Hubbard with the help of J&R Construction and GK Machine, who leases property to the team.

The original concept was an autonomous greenhouse model that could be people's backyards and is "still doable," Ashton said.

Cannopii was awarded the Innovative Project of the Year award from SEDCOR , a nonprofit focused on strategic economic development in the Mid-Willamette Valley.

"Canopii has introduced a fully automated robotic nursery that is transforming the production of leafy greens and herbs," SEDCOR said. "Their revolutionary prototype operates without human contact from seeding to harvest, making Canopii a leader in agtech innovation."

How Canopii's autonomous greenhouse works

The vertical farm has LED lights to support plant growth during the night and in the winter but utilizes natural light as a primary source during daylight hours.

Human intervention is needed once every couple of weeks for things like refilling nutrients and seeds, filter cleaning and pest control.

Plants are grown by hydroponics — a liquid nutrient solution rather than soil. Machines plant seeds, add nutrients to the water, water the plants and pump depleted water into reservoirs to be reused.

"Water consumption is reduced by 95%, at least," Ashton said. "There's no runoff."

When ready to harvest, as mechanical arm moves the plants tp an area where they are cut off their roots and come out on a conveyor belt.

After harvest, the equipment is programmed to be sanitized before the next crop is started.

The greenhouse operation can be controlled using a phone, computer or iPad, and operates for 24 hours a day.

Predator insects are released in the greenhouse for biological control of pests that can damage or eat the crop. The engineers also use reusable plastics instead of one-use plastic.

Ashton said Canopii's NSF grant is through the environmental technologies cohort with a focus on sustainability, as well as providing social and environmental benefits.

Future plans

The engineers are still in the prototype phase, testing what needs to be improved, experimenting and planning for the future, including obtaining organic certification.

They say there is a possibility their greenhouse could grow more than herbs and leafy greens, including some vine-ripened foods such as dwarf strawberries and peppers.

"With changing climate, more foods are going to have to be grown under cover," Pepperwood said. "Doing that in a wide distribution of smaller scale, I think, is the healthiest way forward."

The greenhouse was designed to fit zoning codes in Marion County, but the engineers are confident they could make tweaks to fit zoning codes in any county.

They also are developing post-harvest technology that would allow harvesting plants with the roots intact and palletizing them.

The engineers plan to offer greenhouses for sale in 2026 at about $1 million, with installation in 2027. Ashton said a greenhouse will pay for itself in up to three years.

They will only be available to growers in Oregon and southern Washington for the foreseeable future.

"There's nothing on the market that's this automated at this price point," Ashton said.

Alexander Banks is an AAJA-SPJ reporting intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach him at abanks@statesmanjournal.com .

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Engineers hope their Oregon greenhouse will revolutionize agriculture