Author: Chris Higgins

Chris Higgins is the Founder and Editor of Urban Ag News. Chris is also the co-Founder of both Hort Americas and the Functional Plant Company. Learn more about Chris Higgins by visiting and connecting with him on LinkedIN.

Learn the 3 things to consider when choosing energy efficient lighting in your greenhouse or vertical farm. __________ Before we get started, let’s set some ground rules for this article. 1. I want to believe that everyone wants to do what’s right for the planet as long as they think their business can afford it, so we will not focus on energy efficiency and its impact on sustainability. 2. In this article I will not post the name of suppliers or the price of the lights. The price of the light will definitely impact people’s decisions and will vary widely…

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Photo: Shenandoah Growers, Virginia Remember: It is possible to operate a successful and profitable hydroponic farm in a hoop house, a greenhouse, vertical farm or even outside in parts of the world. There are only three primary reasons a grower or a farmer should invest in technology. Yet if you listen to anyone in the industry selling specific technologies, you’ll hear hundreds of reasons. The fact is, most growers should forgo investing in technologies and save their money. As you go through this article, keep in mind that the reasons a commercial greenhouse or vertical farm should invest in technology…

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Photo: Our decisions today affect our planet tomorrow. Protect what you love, whether that be work or play. Simple answer, those with the most passion and perseverance. As the controlled environment agriculture industry we spend a significant amount of time discussing how we are going to improve our communities, the environment, the farming experience and the quality of food we eat. By themselves these are major commitments. Together they are an enormous commitment. This got me thinking about a simple question, “who should be the leaders of this proposed revolution?” In this post I am going to discuss how we can…

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Hint: They are all just irrigation systems. One of the questions that I get most frequently is, “Which hydroponic system is the best?” I am fairly sure that my standard answer of, “it all depends” annoys most of the people I am speaking to. From suppliers to growers and from researchers to hobbyists there is always a desire to know and understand which system is the best. So why do I answer, “it all depends”? Whether we are talking about nutrient film technique (NFT), deep water culture (DWC), drip irrigation systems, aeroponics systems, ebb and flow systems, or any other…

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Why do you keep saying buffer capacity? For anyone that has called me to discuss the design of their new vertical farm or greenhouse, they have probably grown quickly tired of me using the term buffer capacity. But, of everything I have learned over the past 25 years, the understanding of “buffer capacity” might possibly be the most important. It makes your production system easier to manage, more predictable and more stable. All traits that can be found in all successful farming and commercial horticulture production facilities. (You might remember my recent article on simplicity, well this goes right back…

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By Chris Higgins What is the number one thing to look for in commercial horticulture and agriculture equipment? Simplicity. Simple well engineered commercial horticulture equipment performs best. Regardless of the product or the product category the best selling and most successfully used products are easy to learn, easy to use and easy to fix. But, this is not to say that they are actually simple. They are usually far from that. But, they are engineered with simplicity in mind. Why is that so important in commercial horticulture? To understand the answer to that question we need to agree to a few…

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By Chris Higgins Over the past few months I have watched many small farmers who were solely focused on servicing the food service and restaurant industry change simply to stay alive.  I have been amazed and impressed by their conviction and ability to create new opportunities to survive.  Their actions have inspired me to share these thoughts with all of you. Just so we are clear, no one actually knows how to navigate this ever-changing and new business world we are living in.  Anyone that tells you any differently is at worst flat out lying to you and at best…

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Top 3 Reasons to Consider RED/BLUE LED Grow Lights By Chris Higgins LED grow lights have been a very hot topic for more than a decade now and as with any (relatively) new technology, the first decade of LED grow lights has seen massive changes and improvements. From the amount of companies selling LED grow lights to the technology powering what they are selling, we have all heard or read why each company feels their technology is the best. In recent months, that conversation has included topics ranging from fixture design to cooling to efficiency (umol/j) to intensity (umol/m2/s) to…

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It’s hard to believe we are already in the year 2020. For someone who was born in the 1970’s, it has been a bit of a let down. I feel like I was promised flying cars, robots, hoverboards and bubble covered cities. I must admit that I was most excited for the hoverboards, but unfortunately we ended up with a hoverboard that uses two wheels? Complete let down. Not all has been lost on me, however. I am amazed at our ability to carry computers in our pockets and wear them on our wrist. I have seen the rise (and…

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(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 the answers. But, the big question is…do they? In order to answer that question, it is important to be specific about the questions we are asking, the assumptions we are making and to understand that the answers will come from a wide variety of different…

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The International Congress on Controlled Environment Agriculture brought together industry-leading participants in controlled environment agriculture to focus on working to reach its full potential. What happens when you bring together leading educators, researchers and thought leaders from the horticulture and agriculture industries? What happens when you combine those leaders with enthusiastic growers, entrepreneurs and personally-invested individuals focused on horticulture and agriculture innovation from around the world? Finally, what happens when you provide these people with a platform in which they can discuss problems, create solutions, share ideas, break bread and most importantly have fun? One word: Magic. The International Congress…

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“Knowledge builds on itself so that the pace of discovery is faster when knowledge is freely available.” USDA-ERS, Nov. 10, 2016 The Urban Ag News team is continuing to adapt to the changes we recently announced. It has not been easy and as anyone who tries to effect change knows, it doesn’t always go smoothly. But, we continue to believe in our mission and the reasons why we have made those changes. We will continue to bring you the scientific research as well as the experiences of qualified individuals that will help you build a successful controlled environment agriculture (CEA)…

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This month I had the pleasure of attending the 2017 North Central Extension & Research Activity (NCERA-101) annual meeting. It was an excellent opportunity to meet with many leading plant science researchers from universities, institutions and corporations in the U.S. and Canada. Over the course of two intense days I was able to obtain research updates as well as share ideas and thoughts on where we all think the industry is headed and what we each need to do to get us there. NCERA-101 is a USDA committee organized to help plant scientists understand how to use controlled environment technology effectively…

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Even as Urban Ag News’ method of delivering information on the controlled environment agriculture industry changes, it will continue to diligently work to provide a variety of platforms to disseminate science-based, unique content to industry members. Part 1: Urban Ag News is changing formats Some of you might be wondering (at least I hope some of you are wondering), where is the new quarterly issue of Urban Ag News. I have some bad news and some good news. Let’s start with the bad news. It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing Issue 16 of Urban Ag News…

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