July 2024 - 42

BIG GROWER
Therefore, when the consumer gets the product in
the grocery store, he or she will have 14-21 days of
freshness. The same thing applies to restaurants.
" Chefs want the quality they expect when they open
the bag, " Bonner said.
On top of all that, Great Lakes Growers recycles all
water, doesn't use chemicals or pesticides, and focuses
on sustainability in all aspects of the business.
" We don't store things. We
don't pack things and put it
in a cooler and hope to sell
it later. But we harvest and
ship within 24 hours. "
- John Bonner
A BUSINESS CULTIVATES
It was in 2012 when Bonner joined forces with Tim
Ryan to start Great Lakes Growers.
Bonner was no stranger to the ag industry, having
grown up on a family farm in Burton, Ohio, which
comprised 30 acres of corn, soybeans and greenhouses.
" My family has been around the horticulture industry
for decades, " he said.
His grandfather was well known in the area for
running Burton Floral and Garden, the Midwest's largest
horticultural supply distributor, while John's father owned
Dillen Products, a top supplier of plastic containers for the
plant industry, and his sister owns Eagle Creek Growers, a
six-acre annuals nursery.
By seeing those companies operate firsthand,
and marrying that knowledge with a college degree
in business administration, Bonner ran his family's
greenhouse for six years after graduating. He had a
progressive approach to production and sustainable
energy, and carved out a name for himself among
growers in the area.
He eventually met Ryan, a political science major who
earned his master's in business administration from
Cleveland State University. He spent 13 years working
for Swagelok Company of Solon, an industrial fluid
manufacturing company, serving as a regional director
for the Asia Pacific region.
42
JULY 2024 BIG GROWER
Great Lakes Growers does not store their greens;
everything is harvested and shipped within 24 hours.
THE BUSINESS GROWS
When Great Lakes Growers began, it was just one
300-square-foot greenhouse, which was built from parts
Bonner found at Home Depot. A dozen years later, the
business operates more than 160,000 square feet and is
almost fully automated.
" The only things we don't do automatically are
transplant and actual harvest, " he said. " For cut
products, we cut it by hand. We're about to make both
those investments at the end of this year when we make
our next expansion. We'll add robotic transplanting and
automatic harvesters then. "
As far as ergonomics and the product moving through
the facility - the packaging, the weighing - all of that is
done with machinery automatically.
" That's been an evolution and COVID really spurred
that on to necessitate that, " Bonner said. " It improved
things dramatically. The way I track things in my

July 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2024

Table of Contents
Editor's Report | Summertime decisions
Lighting Research | Supplemental lighting strategies
Technology | Transforming with automation
CAST 2024 | Remarkable releases for 2025
CEA | The importance of canopy ventilation
Climate Control | Enhancing greenhouse management
Special Advertising Section | Grower's Guide: Professional Growing Media and Biologicals
Variety Information | New take on smooth hydrangeas
Big Grower | Hydroponic farming
Product Showcase
Plant Health | Setting ground rules
Forty Under 40 Perspectives | Turning a lifelong education into a business
Culture Report | Grama grass
Technically Speaking | Why crops don't flower (on time)
Product Marketplace
Industry News/Events
Classifieds/Ad Index
July 2024 - 1
July 2024 - 2
July 2024 - Table of Contents
July 2024 - Editor's Report | Summertime decisions
July 2024 - 5
July 2024 - Lighting Research | Supplemental lighting strategies
July 2024 - 7
July 2024 - 8
July 2024 - 9
July 2024 - 10
July 2024 - 11
July 2024 - Technology | Transforming with automation
July 2024 - 13
July 2024 - 14
July 2024 - 15
July 2024 - CAST 2024 | Remarkable releases for 2025
July 2024 - 17
July 2024 - 18
July 2024 - 19
July 2024 - 20
July 2024 - 21
July 2024 - 22
July 2024 - 23
July 2024 - 24
July 2024 - 25
July 2024 - 26
July 2024 - 27
July 2024 - CEA | The importance of canopy ventilation
July 2024 - 29
July 2024 - 30
July 2024 - 31
July 2024 - 32
July 2024 - 33
July 2024 - Climate Control | Enhancing greenhouse management
July 2024 - Special Advertising Section | Grower's Guide: Professional Growing Media and Biologicals
July 2024 - A2
July 2024 - A3
July 2024 - A4
July 2024 - A5
July 2024 - A6
July 2024 - A7
July 2024 - A8
July 2024 - A9
July 2024 - A10
July 2024 - A11
July 2024 - A12
July 2024 - A13
July 2024 - A14
July 2024 - A15
July 2024 - A16
July 2024 - Variety Information | New take on smooth hydrangeas
July 2024 - 36
July 2024 - 37
July 2024 - 38
July 2024 - 39
July 2024 - 40
July 2024 - Big Grower | Hydroponic farming
July 2024 - 42
July 2024 - 43
July 2024 - 44
July 2024 - 45
July 2024 - 46
July 2024 - Product Showcase
July 2024 - Plant Health | Setting ground rules
July 2024 - 49
July 2024 - 50
July 2024 - 51
July 2024 - Forty Under 40 Perspectives | Turning a lifelong education into a business
July 2024 - 53
July 2024 - Culture Report | Grama grass
July 2024 - 55
July 2024 - 56
July 2024 - 57
July 2024 - Technically Speaking | Why crops don't flower (on time)
July 2024 - 59
July 2024 - Product Marketplace
July 2024 - 61
July 2024 - 62
July 2024 - 63
July 2024 - 64
July 2024 - Industry News/Events
July 2024 - Classifieds/Ad Index
July 2024 - 67
July 2024 - 68
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https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/gpn-new-varieties-digital-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/cannabisguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/hempguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/newvarieties-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/cannabisguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/hempguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/newvarieties-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/californiaspringtrials-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/cannabisguide-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/hempguide-2020
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