Producing for Locavores

Producing for Locavores

These days, a lot is changing in the food industry – a huge emerging market base is forming around local foods that are produced in a community, rather being trucked in from far away. Some call these consumers locavores, and others simply refer to a local food movement that gives certain kinds of farmers and entrepreneurs a lot of opportunity to innovate in the food market.

One of the main facts coming out of reporting around the local food movement is that hydroponics is a big part of this change. It’s a unique opportunity for additional production of food in local areas where climates do not naturally facilitate year-round food production.

Examples of Hydroponics Innovation

One of the best examples of this new kind of farming is the market for tomatoes. Chefs and others connected to the local food movement often explain that prior to the emergence of more hydroponics innovations and setups, tomatoes available on local markets were often of very poor quality in winter months. Large food makers breed tomatoes to be tough and durable, which can take away from their natural texture and taste.

This gives hydroponics growers a particular niche to take advantage of all of the benefits of this kind of very different vegetable production. Growing local tomatoes in the off-season and supplying them to restaurants or other customers is just a small part of what expert hydroponics growers can do with the equipment and resources that they put together, whether their projects originally started out as small-business plans or hobbies.

Talk to your hydroponics retailer about all of the stuff you will need to develop your own hydroponics system and contribute to the local food movement in your community.