July 2019 - 9

There are more vegetable growers
planting in more greenhouses. The
2017 census counted 10,849 greenhouse
vegetable farms - a 19% increase from
8,750 in 2012. In 2017, there were more
than 112 million square feet, or 2,584
acres, of space dedicated to growing
vegetables
or fresh-cut
herbs - up
nearly 15%
from 2012's
2,250 acres.
That was
as of 2017.
Since then, a
steady stream
of anecdotal
evidence,
including publicity about new megagreenhouses
opening, has made its way
to trade media.
In one notable move, fast food giant
DANIEL SUMNER
Wendy's in 2018 committed to only
vine-ripened greenhouse tomatoes.
In March 2019, startup AppHarvest
announced $82 million in funding from
Equilibrium Capital to build a 60-acre
greenhouse in Morehead, Kentucky.
" We see a tremendous opportunity for
the future of controlled-environment
foods, " Equilibrium Chairman Dave
Chen said in a released statement.
" Farming is undergoing a profound
shift to a capital and production
infrastructure intensive model to meet
the demands of consumers, retailers and
food processors for more reliable, yearround,
fresher, and sustainable foods. "
In the West, growers are becoming
concerned with competition for
greenhouse space. Cut flower
producers vying for a greenhouse lease
can often outbid vegetable growers.
The hemp and cannabis industries,
which were not counted in the federal
census, also have grown.
" You can grow a hell of a lot of
volume of cannabis, a lot of value
of cannabis, in not much space, "
said Daniel Sumner, director of the
University of California's Agricultural
Issues Center. " So, we did a project
with the cut flower people where they
were saying, 'Gee, the cannabis guys are
taking the greenhouses.' "
Sumner found that while some
greenhouses were changing hands, it
wasn't enough to affect the industry as
a whole.
" What our study showed was, yeah,
they'll get every greenhouse they
want. They grow $5 million worth of
cannabis in a greenhouse, " he said.
" But we said, gee, don't worry about
them taking all the greenhouses.
Any greenhouse they want, they got,
because they got the money, but it's not
going to be a huge quantity. "
Drought not an issue
Sumner said that most vegetable
growers in California seem unaffected
by the droughts of recent years.
" The processing tomato industry,
which is national, is going along, " he
The number of greenhouse vegetable farms rose 19% from 2012 to 2017, according to
the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
said. " Lots of people talked about the
drought here in California that lasted
for a while, but it didn't really affect
much in the way of the vegetable guys,
because they generate enough revenue
that they get the water if they want it.
So they may leave some cotton land
or some alfalfa or something idle in
the southern (San) Joaquin Valley, but
you're never going to leave your carrot
land idle. "
He said that the berry crops have
only increased in coastal California
(Monterey, Santa Cruz and Ventura
counties) and that has made business
more difficult for vegetable growers.
" They generate a lot of revenue from
berries and compete for land and water
and other resources with the vegetable
guys, " he said. They also compete for the
dwindling labor supply.
" The joke I like is, 'Farm workers
are getting a year older every year,' "
Sumner said. " But we're not talking
about the individual. So few people
are coming in as young people that
the average age is steadily going up.
And it's hard work. You don't have to
be 50 to feel your back when you're
bending over harvesting asparagus or
something. So every grower is trying
to figure out ways to stretch that labor
force, make the job less onerous and
higher wages if they can do it, to keep
workers out there longer in terms of
years. " VGN
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VGN | JULY 2019 | 9
http://www.gowanco.com
July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2019
