Hydroponics
A Hydroponic Twist on the Family Farm
October 18, 2016 | Dave Fidlin
David Quick, head farmer at Quickley Produce Farm, which is run by four generations of family members. Photo credit: Alisa Welch.
Quickley Produce Farm represents a modern take on the family farm. It’s not a farm that has been passed down from one generation to the next, but rather a newly formed high-tech hydroponic farming operation run by four generations of family members.
Located in Galena, Missouri in the heart of the Ozarks, the farm, which officially took root in 2011, is run by David and Terry Quick. The couple’s daughter, Alisa Welch, and son-in-law, Russ Welch, play a pivotal role in day-to-day operations, and their three children — Dusty, Dawson and Bristol – lend a hand. Terry’s mom, Pauline Hedrick, also pitches in to make the farm a true family affair.
The family’s lineage points to a strong background in farming and gardening, but more recent generations had been working in a different trade: construction. That all changed in 2008 when the economy began to slow. Read More
Community College Hort Professor Prepares Students to Work in Indoor Greenhouses of the Future
October 17, 2016 | Trish Popovitch
Students in Professor Valerie Loew’s Horticulture class at Fullerton College in Orange County, CA. Photo courtesy of Fullerton College.
When it comes to Controlled Environment Agriculture [CEA], Valerie Loew wants the U.S. to catch up with Europe and China before it’s too late.
“The rest of the world is so far ahead of us, because they are so limited with their own resources,” says Loew, who is professor and horticulture department head at Fullerton College in Southern California. “They are taking advantage of this technology way before us because we have sunshine and we have water; but we really don’t. Between Europe and China, the amount of greenhouses they have is just off the charts. We need to start catching up.” Read More
Hydroponic Farm in Alabama Finds Success with Focus on Health and Local Food Demand
September 28, 2016 | Vanessa Caceres
A view of the greenhouse at Owls Hollow Farm in Gadsen, Alabama. Photo courtesy of Owls Hollow Farm.
Rod Palmer of Owls Hollow Farm in Gadsen, Alabama, wants people to think a little more about what they’re eating.
If they continue to eat the same processed foods that have led to an epidemic of diabetes and obesity, then they shouldn’t be surprised if their health isn’t improving.
If they continue to buy expensive produce grown outside the U.S. at the supermarket, then they won’t be able to stretch their dollars that much.
Owls Hollow gives both residents and employees at local companies in nearby Birmingham a way to eat healthier while saving money.
Palmer comes from a background in home building, and he never focused on farming as a career. When growing up, everyone around him, including his family, lived on a small farm. It never seemed like something unique. Read More
From Christmas Trees to Hydroponic Produce, Farmer Holds onto Roots with Eye to the Future
August 29, 2016 | Lydia Noyes
Hydroponically grown red and green mixed varieties of lettuce at Mock’s Greenhouse and Farm in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Photo credit: Mock’s Greenhouse and Farm.
For Paul Mock, founder of Mock’s Greenhouse and Farm in Berkeley Springs, WV, farming is more than a career; it’s a way of life.
“My family’s been farming for over a hundred years,” says Paul. “I’ve technically been in the business since I was five years old.”
The greenhouses, with their soilless growing systems, in which Paul Mock now spends his days stand in stark contrast to the Christmas tree farm he grew up on. After working on the family farm for most of his adult life, Paul moved off the farm in 2003 to start his own hydroponics greenhouse operation. His reasons for this dramatic change were straightforward.
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Urban and Indoor Farms to Highlight Seedstock Conference’s “Future Farm Field Trip”
August 29, 2016 | seedstock
The Grow Local OC Conference field trip will stop at, from top left to right: Alegria Farm, Future Foods Farms, The Riverbed, and Urban Produce LLC.
The Grow Local OC: Future of Urban Food Systems Conference presented by Seedstock in partnership with the OC Food Access Coalition, and scheduled for Nov. 10 – 11, 2016, at California State University, Fullerton, will explore the community and economic development potential of fostering local food systems in cities.
The Future Farm Field Trip on Day 2 (Nov. 11) of the conference offers an excursion into the diversity of urban and state-of-the-art hydroponic and aquaponic agriculture operations in Orange County. Tour participants will be treated to lectures and sessions from pioneering farmers who are embracing innovative business models and growing systems to both increase food security and take advantage of the escalating demand for local food. Read More
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