Finding ways to support a more sustainable agricultural industry has been an ongoing issue for many years. Farmers nowadays face many issues enhanced by global warming and a limited resource supply on Earth. Whether it be the heavily depleted nutrient contents of soil used for crop harvest, excessive and inefficient use of water, a lack of arable land to establish new farms on, or an inability to keep up with imminent demands on food supply, there are many issues to be dealt with in the modern agriculture industry.

For my civic issues blogs, I will be addressing the advantages and disadvantages of a few alternative methods to traditional farming that aim to create a more sustainable agricultural industry.

Hydroponic Farming

The first alternative to pursue more sustainable farming methods utilizes the science behind hydroponics. Essentially, hydroponic farming substitutes the nutrient-delivering medium in which plants grow to be water instead of soil. With a replacement base for roots to anchor from, plants that are grown hydroponically receive all the necessary nutrients and oxygen through a special nutrient-induced water solution.

Though the models can differ in setup, each hydroponic farming system requires freshwater, with a balanced pH; separation from direct contact with the water, so that the plants do not drown; base support for the roots of the plant to grow from; appropriate nutrients such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium for nourishment, the same as on a traditional farm; and a steady stream of light for photosynthesis (“The What and Why of Hydroponic Farming.”). While the environment is more controlled indoors or within a greenhouse, hydroponics is so versatile as to flourish both indoors or outdoors under the exposure of natural sunlight. An outdoor setting would, of course, include those drawbacks of changing weather and naturally fluctuating water acidities, though.

Many of the benefits of hydroponic farming come into play both economically and environmentally. For one, a vast amount of space is saved from not having to use soil as the main method of delivering nutrients to crops. While normal agriculture methods would have a few square feet of untouched soil per plant, hydroponic farms can nourish several individual growths in the same amount of space. Only enough room is required for a small root holder, often chunks of coconut fiber or peat moss, and the growth of the roots to directly access the water, instead of several feet of soil to deliver the same amount of nutrients (“Hydroponics vs Soil: Which Is Better?”). This allows, too, for versatility in where the plants are grown. No restrictions on climate, soil, or season which can otherwise be emulated indoors means that even the most barren of countrysides can see fruitful harvests through hydroponic farming.

Hydroponic methods also produce a higher crop yield in a shorter amount of time. Without having to worry about predatory insects and herbivores, pesticides, invasive weeds, or collecting nutrients from the soil, hydroponic plants generally grow 30-50% faster and with a more bountiful, chemical-free harvest. With particular plants such as lettuce, harvests can even be made twice as fast in one growing season (“Hydroponics vs Soil: Which Is Better?”).

Additionally, hydroponic plant systems use up significantly less water than traditional farms. Although pictures may indicate that much water is required to flow through pipes and circulate under the roots of the plants, you may not realize that once established, that water supply can be recycled for years on end if maintained properly. Recycling the water supply allows hydroponic systems to use only 10% of the water it takes to grow the same crop yield, and in 1/10 of the space.

Why, then, has the agriculture industry not embraced the workings of hydroponic farming, if there are so many benefits? The principal answer is cost.

Despite the exceedingly high benefits, hydroponic farming requires a great deal of funds in setup expenses. Many local hydroponic farms are established through personal funds and take a few years to pay off before making a profit. The equipment and nutrient solution required to upkeep hydroponic farms are rather costly and may have to be bought repeatedly. Even though the water is recycled for a long time after establishment, the nutrient levels have to be tested and maintained every two weeks, making for frequent trips to buy the nutrient solution or at minimum the ingredients to make it themselves (“The What and Why of Hydroponic Farming.”).

Another setback is the limited variety of plants that can thrive in hydroponic farming conditions. The majority of plants, particularly vegetables, will do well being raised on a hydroponic farm, especially in settings for local farms or in homes. However, these methods cannot support those cash crops such as corn or wheat at the supply of which they are demanded. These two large drawbacks continue to prevent the success of hydroponic farming on more than a small farm scale.

Aquaponics

An interesting and less popular subdiscipline of hydroponics is aquaponic farming. Through aquaponics, farmers establish a delicate ecosystem raising both fish and hydroponic plant growth. The water for the plants gains its nutrients from the fish and their special feed and, in turn, the plants purify the water for the fish to live in. Since both the fish and the plants require an acidity of around 6-6.5 to grow healthily, it is an ideal system for one nutrient solution circulation.

Aquaponics mimics the balance of an ecosystem in a lake or river and does not require the use of any pesticides or chemical fertilizers. It similarly uses 1/6 of the water and produces eight times the crop yield of traditional farming (“What Is Aquaponics?”). Leafy vegetables are most commonly the best match for growing with fish, but plants as big as tropical fruit trees can be supported by aquaponic ecosystems.

Introducing systems like hydroponics and aquaponics is one method to standardize sustainable farming, at least on the local level. Being able to grow large quantities of better quality crops with less time, space, water, and other resources could pose as an ideal improvement to traditional farming, if not set back by the initial costs.

I hope you are starting to see a little bit of why the traditional farming methods we still use today need to be improved upon. I will go into other alternative forms of farming in my following civic blogs!

Works Cited:

“Hydroponics vs Soil: Which Is Better?” Rural Living | Backyard Chickens | Generators, 10 Oct. 2020, https://rurallivingtoday.com/hydroponics/hydroponics-vs-soil/#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20hydroponics%20is%20often,What%20is%20this%3F&text=You%20can%20grow%20more%20in%20less%20space%20because%20hydroponic%20systems,nutrients%20you%20give%20the%20plants.

“The What and Why of Hydroponic Farming.” Vertical Roots, 13 Jan. 2022, https://www.verticalroots.com/the-what-and-why-of-hydroponic-farming/.

“What Is Aquaponics?” Nelson and Pade, Inc, https://aquaponics.com/aquaponics-in-schools/aquaponics-information/.