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Hydroponic Seedling Propagation Session Joins Indoor Ag-Conversations Series - August 12, 2020 @ 2pm EST

Indoor Ag-Con, LLC will bring together a panel of industry experts to discuss best practices, technology developments and more during the Free Webinar, "Hydroponic Seedling Propagation," on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, from 2-3 pm EST

'HYDROPONIC SEEDLING PROPAGATION' SESSION JOINS

INDOOR AG-CONVERSATIONS WEBINAR SERIES | AUGUST 12, 2020 @ 2 PM

LAS VEGAS (AUGUST 3, 2020) --  Indoor Ag-Con, LLC will bring together a panel of industry experts to discuss best practices, technology developments and more during the free webinar, "Hydroponic Seedling Propagation," on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, from 2-3 pm EST. The latest addition to the Indoor Ag-Conversations webinar series, the panel will be moderated by Joe Swartz, Vice President, AmHydro;  and feature John Jackson, CEO, Sustainable Indoor Growing Systems, Inc (SIGS); Dr. Vijay Rapaka, Ph.D, Corporate Research Manager, Smithers-Oasis and Nick Greens, Founder | Agriculture Specialist, Nick Greens Grow Team.

"The only way to achieve high quality, uniform crops is to start with high quality, uniform seedlings," explains moderator Joe Swartz, AmHydro. During the session, Swartz and the Indoor Ag-Conversations panel will take a deep dive into hydroponic seedling propagation, covering areas including “best in class” techniques & methodologies netting outstanding yield results; technology advances from LEDs and NFTs; environmental controls and more.

The Indoor Ag-Conversation webinar is free and attendees can register at www.indoor.ag/webinar Panelists include

Joe Swartz, Vice President, AmHydro, is a  master hydroponic farmer. He has more than  55,000 hours of hands-on greenhouse production time. He is a year-round grower for 35 years and a consultant to the hydroponics industry for more than 20 years. His specialties include professional grower training, system design,  and crop production methods.  Other specialties include biological pest control,  greenhouse business management, specialty produce marketing, and food safety protocols. He has consulted for companies, growers, and investors across the globe.  He also has successful growing operations in 66 countries around the world.

Dr. Vijay Rapaka, Ph.D., Corporate Research Manager, Smithers-Oasis, is responsible for new product development and technical support. He also leads the efforts to provide technical support to other Oasis Grower Solution units located globally. Bringing 12 years of industry experience to his position, Rapaka plans to continue Oasis Grower Solutions’ growth by developing innovative products and helping the customers to be more successful. Rapaka also is working to expand the Oasis Grower Solutions’ footprint into new markets and countries. Rapaka is an accomplished researcher who is regularly published in scientific journals and industry trade publications

John Jackson, CEO, SIGS,  is an award-winning entrepreneur and University of Arizona alum with an MBA from the Eller College of Management and McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship where he serves as an adjunct lecturer. John has successfully launched investor and grant-funded businesses and operated tech-based companies to early stage revenue. Born in Compton, California, John continues his grandfather’s legacy as a sharecropper of tomatoes in rural Oklahoma and looks to empower all growers to be more sustainable, environmentally responsible, and efficient in their operations by providing the best young plant inputs possible. SIGS aims for growers to “Grow Plants not Seeds," ensuring an optimal head start to their production cycle.

Nick Greens, Founder |Agriculture Specialist, Nick Greens Grow Team started his growing career in 2002 as an apprentice grower for a hydroponics shop in San Diego, California. In 2010, Nick moved to his native Chicago to start growing for Blue Star Produce. During his time there, he perfected his compost tea recipes and became a pioneer in organic microgreens and leafy greens production. He worked for and advised many Chicago indoor farms, including Garfield Produce, Bright Farms, Windy City Greens, Plant Chicago, and Closed Loop Farms. Nick also created the microgreens program at FarmedHere in 2014. He built its first NFT systems, creating crop and lighting recipes, and helped improve monthly sales by nearly 20% by 2016.

Indoor Ag-Con LLC, producers of the premier event for the indoor|vertical farming industry, created the new Indoor Ag-Conversations series to share content originally planned for its May 2020 in-person annual conference that has been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  

To learn more about this session, as well as other upcoming programs

on the schedule, visit www.indoor.ag/webinar

ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON LLC
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con, LLC produces the premier event for the indoor | vertical farming industry touching all sectors of the business —  produce, legal cannabis, hemp, alternate protein and non-food crops. In December 2018, three event industry professionals – Nancy Hallberg, Kris Sieradzki and Brian Sullivan – purchased Indoor Ag-Con LLC, setting the stage for further expansion of the events globally. For more information, visit: https://indoor.ag

Indoor Ag-Con, 950 Scales Road, Building #200, Suwanee, GA 30024, United States

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CEA Success Story About Small Family Farms Using CEA Technologies To Feed Their Local Communities

To learn more about Snuck Farm and what they're up to, check out their website and instagram. If you’re near Pleasant Grove, Utah, consider visiting their Farm Stand or ordering a Snuck Share!

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To learn more about Snuck Farm and what they're up to, check out their website and instagramIf you’re near Pleasant Grove, Utah, consider visiting their Farm Stand or ordering a Snuck Share!

Would you like to be featured in a Grower's Highlight, or do you know someone who would be a good fit? Let us know!

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Ground Broken on New Hydroponic Facility To Serve The Marginalized Communities in Torrington CT.

The mission of the farm is to provide entry-level, safe, clean “green jobs” to members of the community

Published on July 6, 2020

Joe Swartz

Vice President/Lead Horticulturalist at AmHydro - 36 years as Controlled Environment Ag Consultant and Commercial Grower

June 30, 2020, was an exciting day for the local Connecticut organization, New Opportunities. http://www.newoppinc.org/ After years of planning, the ground was broken on a new hydroponic farm project called "CT Food4Thought" that is going to bring fresh, nutritious, pesticide-free food to local food banks, shelters, soup kitchens, and schools to communities throughout Connecticut. In addition to that, the farm will also supply retail grocery stores and co-ops with fresh produce as a way to generate income for programs through selling the produce grown. New Opportunities partnered with industry-leading Controlled Environment Agriculture Technology company AmHydro of Arcata, CA. (https://amhydro.com/ )

The groundbreaking marked the start of three greenhouses, containing AmHydro’s soilless hydroponic growing systems, being constructed in partner with Borghesi Engineering with plans to expand up to 12 greenhouses in the future. AmHydro VP Joe Swartz and the Commercial Growing Team at AmHydro will provide on-going support and grower training to ensure a successful project and economic sustainability.

New Opportunities is a social service organization that serves marginalized and low-income communities throughout Connecticut. The mission of the farm is to provide entry-level, safe, clean “green jobs” to members of the community. Specifically, CT Food4Thought wants to offer these job opportunities to those with developmental disabilities, those who have been previously incarcerated, and those who are unemployed as a way to provide a path to higher-level employment opportunities in both this industry and others, such as: the field of nutrition, food safety, environmental management, and horticulture.

Dr. James H. Gatling, Ph.D., CEO of New Opportunities, speaks prior to breaking ground.

New Opportunities Foundation had a vision and worked directly with hydroponic industry leader AmHydro to develop the most optimum growing system and production methods available. This hydroponic farm will use 90% less water than conventional field agriculture and will be able to produce more than 10 times the amount of produce that traditional growing methods yield. The farm will also be able to operate year-round due to the environmental controls inside the greenhouse that can simulate the perfect growing conditions for plants even in the dead of winter. This will allow people in Connecticut to have access to fresh, local produce all year in comparison to the normal outdoor growing season in the area that lasts approximately 120 days.

Bill Rybczyk, New Opportunities, Joe Swartz, AmHydro, Jon Jensen, the Corporate Advisory at the project site this Spring.

AmHydro is proud to partner with New Opportunities on their new project CT Food4Thought and is excited to continue to be a part of and support the project through providing training to members of New Opportunities and members of the community.

Quote, from Bill Rybczyk, Director of Research, Planning, and Development for New Opportunities Inc : “We’re planting seeds for lettuce and other herbs, but we’re also planting seeds into people’s lives, and they can then take that, and they begin to grow….and that impacts not only their lives but their children’s lives and their grandchildren’s lives into the future…..and that’s what this project is all about."

For more information, please contact Joe Swartz, VP, AmHydro at Joe@AmHydro.com

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Joe Swartz

Vice President/Lead Horticulturalist at AmHydro - 36 years as Controlled Environment Ag Consultant and Commercial Grower

Please check out this amazing project that American Hydroponics is proud to be a part of. New Opportunities will be producing fresh, pesticide-free food, local "green jobs," and economic empowerment to marginalized communities.

Truly wonderful. hashtag#LocalFood hashtag#LocalFarms hashtag#WeGotThis hashtag#HelpingOthers hashtag#SustainableFarming

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