Agricultural Research Initiative (ARI)
The Agricultural Research Initiative, Inc. is changing how produce is grown.
EDUCATE
Our goal is to educate farmers and the community about straw bale greenhouse growing.
BUILD
We’re building eco-friendly greenhouses out of sustainable materials. We believe this will change how we can farm and provide food to communities.
GROW
Droughts have caused us to rethink how we grow food. Our greenhouses will use less water than traditional farming and produces more crops per square foot.
Climate Change Impacts Food Supply
As we were creating this website, our Founder Tracie Kingsford saw a sign at his local grocery store that read, “Due to inclement weather in their growing regions, strawberries are currently in short supply.”
That wasn’t exactly true.
The truth is that there is a strawberry shortage because of drought. With little rain, strawberries cannot grow as they have been traditionally planted. They need consistent water.
This isn’t the only crop for which we will see signs like this. There will for sure be others.
“Prolonged drought is one of the most profound issues facing the U.S. today,” said Tommy Beaudreau, assistant Interior secretary.
California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and our home state of Utah are all seeking water from the Colorado River. And the river is running out of water.
There is good news.
With your donation, the Agricultural Research Initiative, Inc. can begin Phase One of creating The Innovation Center. This is where we will teach farmers a proprietary way of farming that uses less water. Then consumers can get back to enjoying strawberries and other crops that have been in short supply because of drought conditions.
Our BIG GOAL is to raise $250,000 by March 2024.
With that funding, the USDA will match the same in the form of a grant. We can raise up to $2 million to get the match. With the full funding, we will build the first eight straw bale greenhouses. Each will house a different crop that is grown in a pesticide-free, hydroponic, eco-friendly environment.
About Us
The Agricultural Research Initiative, Inc. is the brainchild of Tracie Kingsford of Vernal, Utah. He has a passion for growing strawberries and is frustrated that the growing season is so short. He’s growing strawberries that his friends and family are purchasing. They love buying from someone they know, who grows strawberries in a pesticide-free environment. Year after year he is losing 10-20 pounds of produce because of the early and late frosts in the area. As he has researched this issue, he has found many other growers having the same problem. Over this time, he has learned that if an environment could be controlled, the strawberries could be produced year-round without interruption. That sent Tracie on a ten-year research project to find the best method to house these strawberries in a conducive environment for year-round production. He discovered the best method is to use net zero greenhouses. These net-zero greenhouses are revolutionizing the agricultural industry in the United States and around the world including the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, and China, among many others. He wants to share his knowledge with the community and teach others what he has learned.
Educating
Collaborating
Building
Growing
The Innovation Center is our first initiative with a purpose of educating farmers and the surrounding community about who we are and what we can do when we work together. It will include eight greenhouses with a different crop in each one. We’d also like to have a warehouse so our farmers can store and sell their crops.
The second initiative is collaboration with local farming organizations. We want to work with the United States Dairy Association, The Farm Bureau, and more, to teach this new way of farming.
The big dream is to build an organization that educates farmers and the community about a new way of growing crops that uses less water. We aren’t just building greenhouses, we’re also building partnerships with local Farm Bureau organizations, construction and plumbing companies, banks and loan officers. We’d love to partner with local tech schools and the Small Business Association (SBA).
Our Mission
The mission of the Agriculture Research Initiative, Inc. is to provide education, space, and opportunity to grow crops using our proprietary system and sell locally. The more people we can educate, the more people we can feed.
Our Gratitude
THANK YOU to all of you who have donated to us already! We appreciate our Sponsors and Donors and look forward to building our relationship with you as we grow. With the funds donated, we have been able to engage a team to create this website, learn about grant funding, and set a BIG GOAL
for 2024.
How It Works
Tracie has been studying how to build energy efficient greenhouses at affordable prices since he started losing a significant portion of his strawberry crops. Based in Vernal, Utah, the growing season for traditional farming was just a couple of months. If a freeze comes before the strawberries are done growing, they are lost to the cold. Strawbale greenhouses, hydroponics, and Agam Greenhouse Energy Systems will create a perfect environment for extending the strawberry growing season, as well as the seasons for other crops.
