UW-Platteville hydroponics lab is growing the future of education, nutrition and sustainability

In a time when tariffs are being considered, what’s happening inside a lab at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville offers a resilient alternative, while educating students at the same time. The hydroponics lab in Glenview Commons, is an example of how new measures can be implemented to meet the need for sustainable, local food production. The student-run facility opened in 2019 and serves as a living classroom where they can explore innovative farming methods and contribute to the future of agriculture. UW-Platteville consumes about five tons of lettuce and spinach each year, with the lab producing one and a half tons of that annually. The system grows 100 pounds of lettuce per week, making the lab an integral part of the campus food ecosystem. The lettuce takes seven weeks to grow from seed to harvest, and it’s available to students within hours after being harvested.  One of the core principles of the hydroponics lab is its sustainability. The entire system only consumes 1.3 kilowatts of electricity per hour, costing just $1.25 per day to run.