40 Under 40, Class of 2016

Travis Higginbotham Jr.

Company

Battlefield Farms, Inc., Rapidan, Virginia

Job Title

Research and Development Manager

Accomplishments

  • Trialed a new greenhouse LED lighting system and then successfully implemented the lighting system into full-scale production.
  • Through trials and collaboration helped create an in-house rearing system of four species of nematodes for controlling fungus gnats, shore flies and Western flower thrips.

Extracurricular

In His Spare Time: Travis presses and frames multiple species of plants that he sells at local shops and markets. He also plays piano — when he started college he was pursuing a degree in classical piano performance before he changed majors.

Fun Facts

Duty Calls: Travis’s father was a colonel in the United States Army so he has lived all over the United States and Europe. When he moved to Virginia to work for Battlefield, it was the 19th place he has lived.