Hydroponics

7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1 by 2026. Hydroponic growers would like to be able to take advantage of the word organic to get a piece of that very lucrative market sector. Organic growers believe the word should only apply to soil-grown crops that use specific organic practices. This issue is currently under debate right now in the ninth circuit court of appeals. Cannabis will be the biggest driver of the hydroponics market over the next ten years, a market worth more than the total value of most major crops (corn, beans, etc.) combined. Regardless, hydroponics will continue to play an important role in future farming and advanced technologies will continue to be developed to bring food to the table with greater consistency, quality and yields. The Hydroponic Society of America The Hydroponic Society of America (H.S.A.) was formed in 1977 at the University of California, Berkeley. It is a 501c3 non-profit organization that works with hobbyists, commercial growers, scientists, researchers and students to help them achieve their goals through the dissemination of information on hydroponics, controlled environment agriculture, vertical farming, and the related sciences. While there is a tremendous amount of information on hydroponics on the internet, there is very often a lack of perspective and context that can create confusion for those trying to learn. Bad information can result in wasted time and money, not to mention dead plants. The H.S.A. works extensively to guide people to reliable information to avoid the pitfalls of industry mythology. efficiency, but it will be some time before some of these robotic technologies can be amortized to a cost-effective level to grow fruits and vegetables at a price that can compete with field grown crops and organic farms. There’s a long running debate raging between organic farmers and hydroponic growers over the use of the word “organic” for their marketing and packaging. Consumer perception of the word brings in big dollars at the grocery store. According to a recent research study, the global Organic Food and Beverages Market was estimated at USD 220.00 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 620.00 billion