Jul 7, 2022
Justin holding a pearl oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) mushroom block at University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (UA CEAC) mushroom fruiting trailer
Editor’s Note: Get to know the amazing team at Agritecture! This interview features Justin Hyunjae Chung, Agriculture Technologist at Agritecture Consulting.
Justin holding a variety of vine crop harvests at the UA CEAC teaching greenhouse; image sourced from Marketing Specialist Ellen Worth
Originally from Seoul, South Korea, a metropolis whose population density is almost twice that of New York City, Justin has been familiar with the systemic challenges of overpopulation from a young age. Because of this, he’s “always been fascinated by how cities, and more broadly civilization, will look in the future.”
After witnessing vast investments being made in renewable energy, particularly in solar panels and wind turbines, and “feeling disillusioned about the true environmental impact of these projects," Justin focused his attention on building and investigating climate-adaptive solutions in other fields.
This is how Justin landed in agriculture.
In learning that “emissions from agricultural production currently account for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions,” and that this is on the rise given our planet’s increasing density and demand for food, Justin found a place he could make a difference.
“I looked at examples of how the Dutch were growing food and tried to envision how agricultural systems would have to change [in shape and form to meet] with increasing land, water, and labor pressures globally. I also profoundly realized that agriculture and climate are inextricably intertwined,” shares Justin.
“It is our generation’s challenge to evolve past the unsustainable agricultural practices that are contributing to the deterioration of Earth’s health. ”
With this realization and growing interest, Justin started building his path to Agritecture.
Working out of Tucson, Arizona, Justin has been with the Agritecture family for almost a year now. Prior to this role, he gained his BSc in Finance from Georgetown University and MSc in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Arizona, where he worked at the prestigious Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC).
Justin pictured touring the metro farm “Farm 8” in the Seoul subway system
With this background in computer science, finance, and most importantly, biosystems engineering, Justin “worked on a variety of projects related to vertical farming, greenhouses, and specialty mushroom cultivation.” He shares that his “coursework revolved around hydroponics, controlled environment systems design, sensors and controls, mycology, and entrepreneurship.”
His thesis narrowed in on his passion for the fungal kingdom. It involved “retrofitting an existing vertical farm to measure the carbon dioxide respiration rate of mycelium during spawn run.”
Today, Justin is a valued member of the Agritecture team.
As an Agriculture Technologist, on a daily basis, Justin “focuses on identifying gaps and opportunities within the food value chain.” He shared that “as technology disrupts agriculture and resource-use efficiency becomes increasingly important, my role is to assist with evaluating and advising on the most appropriate systems based on our clients’ vision. Also, I’m the go-to person within the team for anything related to mushroom cultivation.”
Where he believes he can make the most impact on the sector is by “using first-principles thinking to evaluate and integrate technology systems that form a larger network of distributed agriculture infrastructure. Furthermore, I want to help the sector ally with the fungal kingdom by harnessing the power of mycelium in all sorts of mysterious ways related to agriculture.”
When asked about his favorite project so far, Justin lit up and shared a meaningful project that’s being planned close to home - All That Seeds. Justin shares that this client’s planned facility “is just a short walking distance from my parent’s apartment, and because most Koreans don’t know about the wide variety of edible flowers, sprouts, and microgreens from the Western world, I was able to participate in a taste test to give my feedback!”
Justin inside the bottle-line mushroom factory, “Chae-In Mushroom Farm,” in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
He goes on to share that the client’s vision for distributed farming and hyper-local distribution in a metropolis environment is brilliant.”
What hopes does Justin have for the future of the industry?
Looking to the future, Justin shares that he hopes “to see the industry evolve past leafy greens, vine crops, and berries (all of which are still huge uncaptured markets), and experimenting with various crop types that can contribute to a more nutritious diet. Furthermore, I hope to see CEA merge with other sustainability systems, such as waste management facilities, anaerobic digesters, renewable natural gas power plants, and solar energy providers.”
On the topic of mushrooms, Justin hopes “to see more investment in adjacent circular systems such as insect production, compost production, aquaponics, and poultry production. Ultimately, I hope to see the CEA industry merge with regenerative agriculture to live in harmony with nature.”
Lastly, Justin’s biggest wish is to see more young students studying and pursuing careers in agriculture. Justin says this because “there is plenty of room for innovation in agriculture and AgTech, but not nearly enough people.”
