Sustainable greenhouse crop production

Sustainability Tour wraps up

2010-10-31T05:31:00.017-04:00

Young anthurium plant production at Anthura.

What a week it has been. The Sustainability Tour ended on Friday with visits to two premier horticulture producers, Anthura and Koppert Cress. Anthura is a leading breeding and young plant producer of bromeliads and phalaenopsis orchids. Their new 30-acre semi-closed greenhouses have sustainable greenhouse production practices in place including complete recirculation of water and nutrients; use of retractable energy curtains; a tremendous amount of automation and thus, low labor costs (only 3 growers for the 30 acres of growing space); and CHP engines.

At Anthura, we learned about Plantum NL, which is one of the four major grower organizations in the Netherlands. Plantum has 16 staff, serve 420 member companies, and focuses on breeding and development of young plants.

We tasted several of the Koppert Cress herbs, each one

served separately with narration from the company's
owner (below).

Our next stop was Koppert Cress, a producer of distinctive herbs and micro vegetables that are used by top chefs throughout Europe. We tasted about a dozen of the 40 products offered, each with distinctive tastes including ones that taste like oysters, licorice, sugar, garlic, sea salt, and wasabi. My favorite was a single “Dushi Button”, where one tiny clover-like inflorescence tasted very minty sweet. Most of the products are produced in just three weeks. New greenhouses were being built with 26 foot gutters, LEDs from Lemnis, heated floors, etc. etc. This company absolutely fascinated me.

Rob Baan, owner of Koppert Cress, shows us their trials

with LEDs from Lemnis.

While at Koppert Cress, Lemnis Lighting showed us their LED products, ones for photosynthetic (high intensity) lighting and fixtures for photoperiodic (low intensity) lighting. Their high-intensity LED arrays are quite different from those of Philips; they use diodes that emit a very high intensity and are clustered very closely together. They emit a lot of heat and thus are cooled with recirculating water. Their photoperiodic LEDs are made to replace 100-Watt incandescent lamps and come in several different colors.

In the afternoon, many of people who we met with during the week joined us for a more formal discussion about sustainability in agriculture. Chris Beytes of GrowerTalks magazine did an excellent job summarizing the key points that we learned as a group about greenhouse sustainability in the Netherlands and potential applications and limitations in the U.S. We also heard perspectives from Dutch bankers, ministry officers, university researchers, and grower and organization leaders. It was a great way to wrap up the very stimulating, energizing week.

Combined heat and power (CHP) for greenhouses

2010-10-29T05:02:00.002-04:00

Beginning in 2001, greenhouse growers in the Netherlands have been able to generate electricity and sell what is not used to the electrical grid at a reasonable price. Since then, the amount of power generated by the greenhouse industry has rapidly increased and today, greenhouse growers produce around 10% to 15% of the electricity consumed in the Netherlands. Amazing. How is that done?

Combined heat and power (CHP) engines burn natural gas and generate heat, electricity, carbon dioxide, and water. Yesterday, we visited GE Jenbacker and learned more about the technology. Their gas engines can produce from 250 kilowats to 4.4 megawatts of energy. Although most of them burn natural gas, they can be adjusted to burn methane, landfill gas, and other alternative gas fuels. Efficiencies can be 90% or higher.

CHP engines provide heat, electricity, and CO2 to tomato

grower Red Star

The CHP engine creates electricity that is used to power artificial lighting and other electrical devices, or can be sold to the electrical grid at a reasonably good price (the price depends on the season, time of day, market conditions, etc.). Heat that is generated is used to heat greenhouses immediately or heat water that is stored in insulated tanks for later use. Carbon dioxide is used to increase photosynthesis, which is especially useful in the production of vegetables and cut flowers because it increases yield. The water that is released by burning natural gas goes down the drain, but in the future, Jenbacker plans to add filters so that it can be used to irrigate plants.

Unfortunately, some of the benefits of the CHP engines are difficult (and sometimes impossible) to realize in the U.S. greenhouse industry. Connecting generated electricity to the power grid is difficult, permitting is usually excessive and can be extremely expensive, regulations very widely from state to state, and prices received for electricity sold to the power companies are often not reasonable. What a shame. This green technology could be widely implemented in the U.S. with very favorable outcomes to the grower and society in general.

Efficiency is the key

2010-10-28T09:11:00.018-04:00

Last night, our group of Sustainability Initiative Tour participants enjoyed a traditional Dutch dinner, during which we discussed the components of sustainable agriculture. We all seemed to agree that the term must be versatile and relative. Some of us don't even care for the word itself because it can be associated with false or negative attributes, such as a less profitable growing strategy. Regardless, a key element of "sustainability" is efficiency.

A monoculture at the brand new ultra-modern and sophisticated Ter Laak Orchids.

Grading and sorting of tomatoes at Greenpack.

We have visited a number of leading agriculture operations this week, including companies serving different aspects of the production chain. A commonality is efficiency: efficiency of inputs (water, light, heat, fertilizer, etc.), efficiency of handling and transportation, and process efficiency (transplanting, grading plants and fruits, etc.). Efficiency can result in reduced inputs, reduced waste and shrink, reduced labor, and increased profitability. Of course, efficiency improvements can also require substantial investments. Those investments must have a reasonable return on investment or they may not be economically sustainable.

Manufacturing of authomatic transplanters at Visser.

Production efficiency is much more easily achieved when one or a few floriculture crops are grown within a growing operation. In contrast with most greenhouses in North America, most Dutch greenhouse growers produce a monoculture. When growing only one kind of plant, a crop can be produced very efficiently by optimizing the growing environment, plant culture, and handling systems. It is virtually impossible to optimize any of these factors when growing dozens or even hundreds of different crops in the same greenhouse facility. Will growers in the U.S. move to more of a monoculture growing situation? I think our industry is headed in that direction already.

PS, To view a few videos that Chris Beytes at GrowerTalks published, visit http://www.youtube.com/growertalks

Biological control of insect pests

2010-10-27T03:17:00.009-04:00

One of the components of "sustainable" greenhouse crop production can be to minimize the use of pesticides. It is especially important in the production of edible crops, such as tomato and pepper. Yesterday we visited a very impressive, ultra-modern vine tomato producer, van der Lans in Maasdijk. A representative from one of (if not the) leading biological control companies, Koppert Biological Control, was on hand to discuss the different ways that predatory mites and insects are used to control pests of tomato. In addition, boxes containing bee hives are placed throughout the greenhouse range, where the bees function to pollinate the tomato flowers.

Biological control has come a long way in the past decade. It was interesting to learn that Koppert is now beginning to look at ways to control root pathogens. Wouldn't it be great -- and sustainable -- if for example naturally occurring bacteria can be added to a growing media to inhibit the activity of pathogens that cause roots to rot? Fortunately, biological control of insect pests is gaining ground, not only in the Netherlands, but also in the production of oranamentals in the U.S. From what I understand, there are still some challenges with the strategy, but as a non-entomologist, I am very optimistic about its future.

FloraHolland flower auction

2010-10-26T04:18:00.007-04:00

We just left the largest flower auction in the world, located in Aalsmeer, which is about 20 minutes outside of Amsterdam and near Schiphol airport. It's my fourth visit to this auction over the past 10 years or so, and each time I have visited, I've been amazed. Last year, 11 billion cut flowers and 1.3 billion plants were sold through FloraHolland's 6 locations. This auction is the largest, with approximately 670 acres of building space. Flowers and plants arrive from 60 countries and are exported to 140 countries.

Here, this video shows the distribution of flowers that have already been auctioned. Information about who bought the flowers is stored electronically. The driver of the cart scans the bar code and retrieves the information about the buyer's location within the auction.

Something that I had never thought about was the expense of transporting cuts and plants through the auction. We were informed that 40% to 60% of the product's cost was for transportation. Clearly, there is interest in "sustainable" transport methods -- reducing the use of air freight and maximizing use of container sea transport. We learned about their cold-chain management and the possibilities and obstacles that exist to make shipping improvements. Is it "sustainable" to produce cut flowers in South America, ship to and sell them in the Netherlands, and then transport them to the buyer in North America? The answer of course depends on your definition of sustainablity. We certainly need flowers in our lives, I just wonder what can be done to streamline the production chain.

The future of greenhouse lighting

2010-10-25T11:40:00.003-04:00

Today I saw and learned a lot about the future of greenhouse production. One of topics that interests me most is the future of greenhouse lighting. I recently wrote an article that appeared in GPN magazine entitled "The future of greenhouse lighting". Cary Mitchell at Purdue provided some helpful input. Are there attributes that I didn't mention, or perhaps aspects that someone may disagree with?

The LEDs developed by Philips for photosynthetic lighting were very interesting -- read more in the newly created lighting forum. Because they emit relatively little heat, the LEDs can be placed very close to the leaves without causing leaf scorch. The lighting spectrum can be adjusted to the plant for economic efficiency. Of course, the LEDs come at a cost. The consensus in academia seems to be that (with some exceptions) we are 5 to 10 years away before LEDs will be economical in greenhouse crop production. In instances where electricity costs are high and lighting is used for a significant portion of the year, returns on investment may already be in the realm of possibility. Regardless, everyone seems to agree that LEDs are the future of greenhouse lighting. Philips speculates that over 75% of the greenhouse lighting in 2020 will be from LEDs.

The "Tour" has begun -- chime in!

2010-10-24T23:21:00.007-04:00

The Sustainability Initiative pilot program has begun, with an opening introduction and dinner last night in Amsterdam. There's a diverse group of participants from the U.S and Canada. We visit 24 companies / research sites this week, during which we will talk about sustainable practices of the present and future with an emphasis on greenhouse crop production. Everyone is encouraged to share their opinions and experiences this week and beyond -- chime in!

The Netherlands is the floriculture capitol of the world. Some interesting facts, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation:

The Netherlands is the world's second largest exporter of agriculture products (the U.S. is the largest)
84% of the world's cut flowers are produced in and distributed through the Netherlands
83% of the total flower bulbs produced are from the Netherlands
One out of 10 trucks in the Netherlands is carrying ornamentals

What is "sustainability"?

2010-10-18T17:15:00.001-04:00

The driving force to developing this blog is my upcoming participation in "The Sustainability Initiative", which is a pilot program of the Agricultural Counselor's Office of the Dutch Embassy in Washington, D.C. The project "is designed to generate discussion among frontrunners in agricultural sustainability and innovation, with a particular focus on the uses of social media as a communications tool", according to the organizers. I am honored to be included in the project's trip to the Netherlands, October 23 to 30.

The word "sustainability" is frequently used throughout agriculture, and the term is extremely subjective. That's fine; what is sustainable to one person isn't necessarily to another. I'm not going to try to define the term, but it often includes practices that reduce a company's environmental impact, or carbon footprint.

I work with greenhouse crops, so common objectives for floriculture crop producers are to reduce energy use, use renewable energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, and geothermal), conserve use of water and fertilizers, recycle plastics and other materials, and use local inputs. At the same time, sustainable practices also have to be economically viable. One of my interests is to reduce energy consumption through efficient production of crops and technological greenhouse improvements. Some of the ways that greenhouse energy can be minimized are presented on our Greenhouse Energy Resources website.

It will be intesting to learn more about how others, especially Dutch greenhouse producers, are becoming more sustainable. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and experiences in the days to come.

Introduction

2010-10-11T21:49:00.001-04:00

As an associate professor with a research/extension appointment, my mission is to develop and communicate research-based information to the floriculture industry in Michigan and beyond. My areas of interest include greenhouse energy conservation, production efficiency, managing the growing environment, and use of plant growth regulators to improve floriculture crop quality.

Communication with industry is key. Although individual phone calls and E-mails are sometimes needed to discuss specific production issues, much of the information that my research team generates is shared at state and national grower meetings and via electronic newsletters and magazines with a broad domestic circulation. I also manage the MSU Floriculture Production website, which contains most of our recent trade magazine articles and additional production information.

I've been writing for several years for GPN magazine on topics that are related to some of the more technical aspects of floriculture crop production. The column, entitled Technically Speaking, focuses on managing temperature and light, greenhouse energy, and growth regulators in an economical, sustainable manner. I'm excited to share more thoughts and research-based information in this blog. Thanks for reading.