Sales and Distribution: The Keys to Success for Local Farming

Above: Jeff Bednar and Chef Josh Romero at Urban Taco Collaboration is key to efficiency and profitfor local farmers. By Karel Holloway Almost 30 North Texas farmers, ranchers and other food producers are working with a new company to relieve the tedious chore of delivering products to area restaurants. It frees up more time for […]

Continue Reading

History of the Tower Garden®

By Morris Bryan, Inventor of the Tower Garden In 1974, I graduated from The Georgia Institute of Technology like the majority of the men in my family – my grandfather, father, two uncles, and three brothers – with a diploma I thought would change my life, but it wasn’t until that summer when I visited […]

Continue Reading

What are the challenges to running a successful indoor farm?

(I had the opportunity to host the Great Lakes Ag-Tech Summit in Cleveland on Sept. 23, 2019.) The amount of investments made in the vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture industries has been well documented. Those companies that successfully raise capital are seen as industry heroes and it’s quickly assumed that they must have all […]

Continue Reading

Making the switch to hemp—what should you consider?

Now that it is legal to grow hemp in the U.S., greenhouse vegetable and ornamental plant growers are considering whether it makes sense to switch crops. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly referred to as the 2018 Farm Bill, has legalized the production of hemp. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is the lead USDA […]

Continue Reading

Hydroponic growers should be promoting locally-grown produce

Whether or not hydroponic growers are using organic practices to produce edible crops, consumers are more likely to be interested in whether the produce is locally grown. There has been much discussion over whether controlled environment hydroponic food production should be allowed to be certified organic. Regardless of where you stand on the topic, Michigan […]

Continue Reading

Exploring the impact and future of Indoor Ag-Con Las Vegas

By guest author Rick Passo I have been with this Conference from the very start: learning, collaborating, networking and doing my utmost to create global recognition for how Las Vegas can lead the world in food policy, food innovation, food technology and food justice. I am interested especially in food and horticultural therapy for special […]

Continue Reading

Can vertical farms be profitable?

Although vertical farms producing leafy greens are receiving most of the press coverage, there are a variety of other crops being being grown and innovative growers are finding these crops to be profitable. When you think about a vertical farm what picture comes to mind? Ricardo Hernandez, horticulture professor at North Carolina State University, said […]

Continue Reading

Understanding the business of growing edible crops in a greenhouse or vertical farm

Regardless of whether specialty crops are grown in hoop houses, greenhouses or indoor vertical farms, growers are incorporating technology to improve production and profitability. When it comes to technology, most controlled environment growers are looking for ways to produce their crops as efficiently and as economically as possible. Purdue University horticulture and agricultural economics professor […]

Continue Reading

Want to know what’s happening in the indoor ag industry?

Attend an upcoming Indoor Ag-Con event if you are looking to learn about new technologies and network with the key players in the indoor agriculture industry. When Nicola Kerslake, founder of Newbean Capital, started Indoor Ag-Con in 2013, she was interested in becoming a provider of capital to the indoor agriculture industry. “Part of the […]

Continue Reading

Thank you for letting us get to know you

We want to thank the readers who took time to tell us a little bit more about themselves. Thank you for telling us about your businesses, your hobbies, and what you are growing. We put together the data and wanted to share it with you. We noticed that most of you are small businesses, greenhouse […]

Continue Reading

You don’t have to live near a large urban area to commercially grow hydroponic leafy greens

mGardens is growing hydroponic leafy greens in rural Kansas and marketing them to local grocery stores, restaurants and a farmers market. While much of the country’s indoor hydroponic food production is being done by growers located near large urban areas, mGardens in Gorham, Kan., is bucking the trend. Tom Murphy, who is the company’s operator, […]

Continue Reading

The Quality Standards for Hydroponic Lettuce

“Voluntary U.S. grade standards are issued under the authority of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, which provides for the development of official U.S. grades to designate different levels of quality. These grade standards are available for use by producers, suppliers, buyers, and consumers. As in the case of other standards for grades of fresh […]

Continue Reading

Big Tex Urban Farms uses hydroponic systems to teach, feed local Dallas residents

Big Tex Urban Farms has seen the benefits of hydroponic growing in its efforts to become a better community partner. Big Tex Urban Farms has exceeded beyond anything that co-founder Drew Demler could have ever imagined. Demler, who is the director of horticulture at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, said the growing operation […]

Continue Reading

What are the production and training issues facing controlled environment agriculture growers?

Ohio State University professor Chieri Kubota is focused on helping to resolve the production and training challenges facing controlled environment growers. Trying to produce vegetables in hot, humid conditions can be difficult for controlled environment growers whether growing in a greenhouse or a warehouse. “The challenges of greenhouse growing in Ohio and the Midwest are […]

Continue Reading