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The Business of Hydroponics 10-1 |
Lesson Ten |
The demand for premium, healthful produce has risen dramatically over the past ten years.
Consumers today want and will pay a premium price for produce that is known to be safe
and free of harmful pesticides and herbicides.
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The combination of hydroponic technology and a con- trolled environment greenhouse is an ideal solution to fill- ing this demand. With this combination, known as Soil- less/Controlled Environment Agriculture (S/CEA), a grower can produce extremely high quality produce close to the marketplace. This eliminates the cost and damage that occurs in commercial trucking of field produce. A commercial hydroponic operation uses up to 1/20 of the |
There are hydroponic farms throughout the United States and worldwide. Most hydroponic
farms in the US are family or small business operations. Several large hydroponic facilities,
covering as much as 80 acres, are spread throughout the United States.
The smaller hydroponic farms usually have 1/8 -1 acre in hydroponic production while the
larger facilities average 20 - 40 acres. The smaller operations generally have the advantage
of offering vine ripened produce and being near the marketplace.
The premium quality of hydroponic produce is due to the controlled environment, green-
house grade, pure nutrients and the lack of herbicides and pesticides.
The most popular hydroponic crop in the US is tomatoes, with second being cucumbers, third, leaf crops and fourth, herbs, peppers and flowers. Ironically, there is more hydroponic pro- duce flown into the United States from Holland, Canada, Europe and Mexico than is grown here. As more and more hydroponic farms are established in the United States, this will change. |
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