Hydroponic Fodder Farming: A Growing Market Opportunity?

In recent weeks, companies have sold an increasing number of modules/ facilities and new companies have emerged in various markets from Australia all the way to the United States.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Is hydroponic fodder the next big thing?

Hydroponic fodder has been around for a long time as some primitive systems were used back in the early 20th century. Nonetheless, in recent years, with the advent of climate change, the need to reduce carbon emissions as well as the cost of food has taken hydroponic fodder back on the front stage.

Indeed, important deals were closed in the United States, and an increasing number of companies in the Middle East (and in other regions) now focus on hydroponic fodder systems.

Today, livestock feeding is a problem as the successive heatwaves, droughtiness and flooding have led many farmers throughout the world to sell part of their herd as there is not enough food to feed all of them. Farmers have also taken on their winter stocks leaving them with no other option but to buy expensive & scarce fodder, hays, and other cereals to feed their animals. In turn, this may exacerbate an already pressured food chain and may contribute to shooting inflation rates higher than they already are.

So, is hydroponic fodder farming a solution? What are the effects on animal weight? Is it profitable? Where is the market growing?