CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE IN GREENHOUSE AND ANIMAL FACILITIES HAS RISEN STEADILY SINCE 2007. CONTROLLED MICROCLIMATES FOOD PRODUCTION MAY CREATE EFFICIENCIES NOT POSSIBLE IN OPEN-AIR ENVIRONMENTS, YET STUDENTS ARE TYPICALLY NOT BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE AND EXPERIENCE COMPUTER-BASED FARMING BECAUSE OF THE HIGH RISK OF PRODUCTION LOSS. WITH INCREASING TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION COMES A NEED FOR INDIVIDUALS TRAINED IN MANAGING AND USING THE TECHNOLOGY. IMMERSIVE, EPISODIC VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING, COUPLED WITH TRADITIONAL TRAINING METHODS AND MODELING IN HIGH-RISK ENVIRONMENTS, INCREASES COGNITIVE RECALL, IMPROVES TRAINING OUTCOMES AND ALLOWS USERS TO OBTAIN EXPERIENCES NOT POSSIBLE THROUGH ANY OTHER FORMAL EXPERIENCE. THIS PROJECT'S LONG-TERM GOAL IS DEVELOP A VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING SOFTWARE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY CONTROLLED GREENHOUSE PRODUCTION. THE OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP A GREENHOUSE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL PROTOTYPE AND TEST THE EFFICACY FOR TRAINING IN HIGH-RISK PRODUCTION SCENARIOS. OUR RATIONALE IS THIS RESEARCH WILL ADDRESS THE CURRENT LACK OF COMPUTER-BASED, ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY IN CLASSROOM SETTINGS BY PROVIDING VIRTUAL TRAINING SCENARIOS. OUR TEAM IS WELL-POSITIONED TO CONDUCT THIS STUDY IN THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED BOTH INDUSTRY AND ACADEMIC SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECT, AND HAVE A PROVEN HISTORY OF DEVELOPING VIRTUAL REALITY PRODUCTS FOR HIGH-RISK TRAINING. IN THE PAST 13 YEARS, OUR RESEARCH TEAM HAS PRODUCED MULTIPLE DATA VISUALIZATION TOOLS, NUMEROUS HUMAN OBSERVATION VIRTUAL REALITY PROTOTYPES, WORKFORCE TRAINING, WORKSPACE DESIGN, AND DATA VISUALIZATION TOOLS. THIS PROJECT IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THE RESEARCH OUTCOMES WILL BROADEN POTENTIAL USE OF VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINING SOFTWARE AND DECISION-SUPPORT TOOLS IN PRODUCTION, RESEARCH, AND EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS.