Produce Grower magazine

Produce Grower magazine Serving vegetable and fruit greenhouse operations of North America. Subscribe for free at producegrower.com. Published by GIE Media.

FMI – The Food Industry Association released The Power of Produce 2025 report for the seventh consecutive year at the So...
04/24/2025

FMI – The Food Industry Association released The Power of Produce 2025 report for the seventh consecutive year at the Southeast Produce Council, Inc.'s Southern Exposure conference in March.

With 94% of produce shoppers actively using social media platforms and 36% discovering new fruits and vegetables through these channels, digital engagement, especially with younger shoppers, is proving to be vital.

Read more about more of the report's findings here:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/fmi-food-industry-association-power-produce-2025-report-research-social-media-e-commerce/

Danielle Clade and Brian Whipker in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University research ...
04/22/2025

Danielle Clade and Brian Whipker in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University research nutrient disorders.

As part of the CEA HERB project, in this article, they focus on basil, one of the most-grown culinary herbs due to its popularity and versatility.

Although basil is a warm-season crop, year-round demand necessitates growing it in controlled environments such as greenhouses and indoor farms. Hydroponic systems offer growers the ability to optimize year-round production, but it requires careful monitoring of numerous environmental and nutritional parameters.

Beyond pH, electrical conductivity (EC), light and temperature, visually monitoring plants is crucial for early detection of nutrient disorders, which can greatly impact yield and visual quality, leading to unmarketable fresh-cut herbs.

Their goal is to intentionally induce specific deficiencies to identify and document the symptoms of different nutrient deficiencies, including nitrogen, magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium and boron:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/culinary-herbs-research-basil-nutrient-disorders-hydroponics-cea-north-carolina-state-university/

Our latest issue is out now! On the cover:BrightFarms opened its first greenhouse in 2013 in Yardley, Pennsylvania, with...
04/15/2025

Our latest issue is out now! On the cover:

BrightFarms opened its first greenhouse in 2013 in Yardley, Pennsylvania, with an idea to serve hyper-local markets with fresh, indoor-grown salad.

The dream was big, but the scale was small. There were only a few companies developing an indoor-grown salad program in the United States, and sales in that category were low compared to outdoor-grown lettuce. The greenhouse growers’ share of that category was almost nil.

“At that point, it was much more of an idea than it was a proven opportunity for growth in the industry,” explains Abby Prior, chief commercial officer at BrightFarms.

The growth since then has been slow but steady. The proof is in the, well, clamshell.

“Indoor salads now have one-sixth share of the total salad category,” Prior says. “But the indoor segment is really driving growth in the salad category. Over 95% of the growth in the category is coming from indoor. And it’s estimated that this segment will surpass $1 billion in sales by 2028.”

Find out how BrightFarms has quadrupled capacity in six months with three new operations:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/brightfarms-lettuce-salad-greenhouse-expansion/

The Consumer Curiosity Report from Curious Plot surveyed more than 850 “early food adopter” consumers.Early adopters are...
04/10/2025

The Consumer Curiosity Report from Curious Plot surveyed more than 850 “early food adopter” consumers.

Early adopters are those who are interested in food experiences such as cooking, restaurants, health foods and drinks, and food festivals; interact with food content online at least once per week; and consider trying new things to be important.

Use these insights into curious consumers to help you make marketing decisions for fresh produce:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/consumer-curiosity-report-curious-plot-early-adopters-food-nutrition/

FEWA, along with several allied organizations, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the H-2 community against the U.S. Departmen...
04/08/2025

FEWA, along with several allied organizations, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the H-2 community against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services over a new rule governing the H-2A and H-2B guest worker visa programs.

The rule allows DHS to blacklist employers for “illegal” fees paid by H-2 workers — fees that employers may not be aware of or have control over in other countries.

The rule also grants DHS authority to blacklist employers based on past violations of federal, state or local labor laws, even if those violations do not involve H-2 program participation.

“We want to stop this illegal rule and return DHS to its primary function of assessing H-2 visa eligibility, not enforcing labor laws,” said FEWA Chief Operating Officer Arnulfo Hinojosa.

https://www.producegrower.com/article/h-2-visa-rules-lawsuit-homeland-security-citizenship-immigration-services-fewa-raid/

The University of Evansville in Indiana is launching We Grow Aces! The program will make possible the purchase of a Pure...
04/04/2025

The University of Evansville in Indiana is launching We Grow Aces! The program will make possible the purchase of a Pure Produce Container, a vertical garden system jointly developed by Grow Anu and ‍ekō Solutions llc, housed in an up-cycled shipping container capable of producing 3,920 plants per 40-day cycle.

UE will then provide accompanying programming that will equip students with practical skills in nutrition, agriculture and sustainability. Students will engage in hands-on learning opportunities that introduce them to advanced agricultural practices, including vertical farming with Rotary Aeroponics.

Through UE's ChangeLab program, it will also connect these resources to the Evansville Promise Neighborhood, allowing expanded access to healthy food and education:

https://www.producegrower.com/news/university-evansville-we-grow-aces-food-insecurity-anu-eko-solutions-cea/

It may seem challenging to maintain confidence amidst the volatility in the marketplace. There’s a fine line between pro...
04/01/2025

It may seem challenging to maintain confidence amidst the volatility in the marketplace.

There’s a fine line between productive, sustainable stress and caustic stress. The “sustainable” kind may spur innovation and promote collaboration.

Despite a rather thorny year in 2024, there’s still confidence brewing in the industry. Hear more from editorial director Kelli Rodda:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/controlled-environment-agriculture-cea-industry-employees-stress-editors-letter/

In the second article in our sister publication Greenhouse Management magazine's six-part series from the Controlled Env...
03/20/2025

In the second article in our sister publication Greenhouse Management magazine's six-part series from the Controlled Environment Agriculture Herb Extension & Research Base (CEA HERB) project team, Samson Humphrey and Kellie Walters from UThort explore how increasing the sowing density of culinary herbs can lead to greater yield but potentially lower quality:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/sowing-culinary-herbs-density-yield-controlled-environments-cea-research-university-tennessee/

In the first article in our sister publication Greenhouse Management magazine's six-part series from the Controlled Envi...
03/19/2025

In the first article in our sister publication Greenhouse Management magazine's six-part series from the Controlled Environment Agriculture Herb Extension & Research Base (CEA HERB) project team, Bridget Knight and Erik Runkle from the MSU Department of Horticulture delve into light quality and how the light spectrum can be manipulated to regulate growth and especially crop height of herb transplants:

https://www.producegrower.com/article/best-practices-producing-culinary-herbs-controlled-environments-cea-research-michigan-state/

The Controlled Environment Agriculture Herb Extension & Research Base (CEA HERB) project team received a grant from the ...
03/18/2025

The Controlled Environment Agriculture Herb Extension & Research Base (CEA HERB) project team received a grant from the USDA to develop science-based information relevant to greenhouse and indoor production and economics of potted and fresh-cut culinary herbs produced in controlled environments.

The team is led by Dr. Roberto Lopez at MSU Department of Horticulture and consists of faculty, researchers and graduate students at MSU, UThort, North Carolina State University, Iowa State University Department of Horticulture, TTU Department of Plant and Soil Science and the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

The project objectives are to: 1. increase the demand and marketability of culinary herbs; 2. increase growth, quality, shelf life, disease management and food safety of herbs through environmental control and cultural practices; and 3. develop effective marketing, production, plant protection, technology adoption, post-harvest and food safety guidelines for CEA herb growers.

This article is the first of eight to appear in Produce Grower in 2025 and 2026. A complementary six-part series of articles will also be published in sister publication Greenhouse Management magazine throughout the year. In total, these 14 articles will provide research-based information on a variety of production, marketing and food safety topics focused on culinary herbs.

In this first article, Danielle Clade and Brian Whipker from NC State University delve into their research focusing on nutrient disorders of culinary herbs. (The attached photos show the effects of nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus and calcium deficiencies on cilantro.)

https://www.producegrower.com/article/culinary-herbs-research-cilantro-nutrient-disorders-nc-state-university-cea/

In the second episode of The Growth Industry podcast, Emily Showalter, chief of human resources at Willoway Nurseries, I...
03/13/2025

In the second episode of The Growth Industry podcast, Emily Showalter, chief of human resources at Willoway Nurseries, Inc. and part of the third generation of ownership, discusses how the company her grandparents founded has evolved during the past 70-plus years.

The conversation is part of our Leading Women of Horticulture series, which includes articles, videos and podcasts featuring interviews with industry leaders as part of Women’s History Month in March.

Although Emily works in the ornamentals industry, she shares some great information applicable to anyone in horticulture about what drives the company today, how they motivate teams and foster accountability, and how “The Great Game of Business” style of transparency with company finances has revolutionized the business.

Listen at the link below or wherever you get your podcasts!

https://www.producegrower.com/media/growth-industry-podcast-emily-showalter-willoway-nurseries-leading-women-horticulture-gie-media-episode-2/

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Produce Grower Magazine

Produce Grower is a business management and production publication for growers that specialize in growing vegetable and fruit crops in a protected environment. Produce Grower provides readers with the most relevant and up-to-date information, including topics such as pests and diseases, food safety, marketing and management, new varieties, production and others, to run their growing operation more efficiently and profitably.