Ryan Oates is the owner of Tyger River Smart Farm, a 13,000-square-foot hydroponic farm located in Reidville, South Carolina. Founded in 2012, Tyger River provides local restaurants, markets, and consumers with the highest quality sustainable hydroponic produce available in the area.
In this interview Ryan was asked to share about his journey building a hydroponic farming business, the challenges he's learned from, and his advice for people interested in emulating his success.
"As a kid, I had a real interest in plants. I liked spending time in the yard working with my mother. So I ended up majoring in biology in college, with an emphasis on botany. I then went on to study in a botany department in graduate school. I liked the idea of being a professor, but by the time I finished, I felt academia was not for me. So instead, I spent at least the next decade making a living in commercial woodworking."
"I always had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to start my own business. When you're working for someone else, you can't help but fantasize about your hard work directly benefiting you on a personal level. Well, a cousin of mine got us started on the idea of hydroponics and I was fortunate my mom already had a small greenhouse."
Read more on AMHydro.