But this farm is like no other in the central San Joaquin Valley of California , arguably the most productive growing region in the world.
This is a hydroponic farm system that can produce 25 pounds of leafy green vegetables every four weeks — and all without soil, tractors or pesticides.
The self-contained system known as a Flex Farmis about the size of a refrigerator. A light source sits in between two large panels that circulate nutrient-rich water to as many as 288 plants. And it’s all portable.
Fresno Unified plans to buy about 20 of these systems over the next two years, from the Wisconsin -based Fork Farms , one of the leaders in the hydroponic industry.
The company has about 3,500 Flex Farms installed throughout the United States , mostly in schools wanting to serve more nutritious foods while also teaching students about ways to grow food with less impact on the environment.
California Farm to School Grant Money
Amanda Harvey , director of nutrition services for Fresno Unified, was able to buy the systems through a $1 million grant from the state’s Farm to School program. Harvey previously received other grants from the state that also helped pay for nutrition education and a Farm to School coordinator, Tacu Vang.If everything falls into place, the Flex Farm systems will be placed at each of the high school cafeterias and other sites, including the nutrition center, next year.
“I thought this would be a really exciting thing to do at our district, especially since we are in the agricultural center of the state,” Harvey said. “But this also is an opportunity for our students to learn a different and unique way of farming.”
Harvey’s ultimate goal is to incorporate some of the Flex Farm food into the district’s lunch program.
Michael Niehoff , executive director of alternative education for the district, couldn’t agree more. He sees the district’s foray into hydroponics as a way to meet multiple goals for the students, including learning how food grows and how to do it in a more sustainable way.
“Hydroponics is part of the evolution of growing food in the U.S. and it engages students in real life sciences,” Niehoff said. “Students also take a lot of pride in growing food for themselves.”
Hydronponcis in Classrooms
Niehoff and biology teacher Jadrian Ejercito got an early jump on hydroponics last year with the help of local company Current Culture H20, a leading hydroponics manufacturer.Together they created several small systems inside Ejercito’s classroom at the Farber Educational Campus. The students grew herbs, lettuce and tomatoes.
This year they are growing lettuce, bell peppers, sweet potatoes and strawberries. One of their systems sprays the exposed roots of the plant periodically with a nutrient solution. Any excess water is captured and recirculated.
Ejercito is excited about receiving a Flex Farm system and he’s been pleased with how his students have embraced the hydroponic technology. This fall the class will be designing growing systems. And already, Ejercito said, several students are eager to start.
“This opens up a lot of possibilities,” Ejercito said. “We could have a student who wants to start building and selling their own hydroponic systems or they could start selling produce from their own hydroponic systems at farmers markets.”
Ejercito, a graduate of UC Davis, tells his students that hydroponics is getting more attention, especially from research colleges such as his alma mater.
The university studies hydroponics as part of its controlled environment agriculture program that focuses on operating indoor farms, urban agriculture and vertical hydroponic farming.
Growing Hydroponic Appetites
Nationwide, there were 2,537 hydroponic farms in 2023, up 4 percent from the previous year.Nutrition director Harvey plans to begin training teachers in the next several months as the district prepares for the Flex Farms to arrive.
Her hope is to not only provide students with a tool for learning, but also a means to add more leafy greens and vegetables to students’ lunches.
She says that one of the ironies of living in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley is that too often students don’t always benefit from the nutritious produce grown here.
“Even though a lot of our families work in the agriculture industry that harvests food for the world, they don’t always get to see the fruits of their labor,” she said. “But if they can be involved in the process and see how food is grown, it may help them buy into eating foods that are nutritious.”
©2024 The Fresno Bee. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
