Food Production in the Greenhouse by Ron Eberly of American Clay Works & Supply Company

1. Urban Agriculture
Ron Eberly
American Clay Works & Supply Co.
857 Bryant St.
Denver, CO. 80204

2.  Time is passing to start enduring change.
 We must start to create change.
 Markets change – Our industry experienced
tremendous growth in the 90’s and first part of the 21st
Century.
 5 to 6 years ago, market began to flatten.
 3 years ago, market began to dip.
 Still a good market, with a huge exposure to retail
public.

3.  A need to look outside the traditional box.
 What worked last year, may not work next year.
 This presentation is about looking outside the box at
some different ideas.

4.  Ministry of Agriculture of Spain
Andulusian Province
 Almeria, Spain – Extension Service
 This area – 54 miles long x 10 ,miles wide
 Conference March 30‐April 4, 2009
 Representatives from United States, Chile, Mexico, and
Morroco

5.  History – 40 years ago, government of Spain realized
it did not have enough land to grow food for its
expanding population.
 Faced with a decision, grow their own food, or import
it.
 Tried a new approach, growing food in greenhouses.
 After many failures, they came upon a formula that
works.
 Location – Almeria is located on the southern coast of
Spain.

6. Almeria, Spain
 Greenhouse food production
 27,000 Hectacres (67,500 acres) of greenhouse
structures
 Food production
 Structures
37% flat roof
52% sawtooth
5% gutter connect

7.  Greenhouse heating not necessary
 Structures are simple, mostly covered with polyfilm.

8.  The formula that works.
 NGS Technology (New Growing Systems)
 NGS consists of 3 parts
 1st part – Multilevel Trough Technology
 2nd part – Fertigation
 3rd part – Specialized fertilizer
 These systems combined provide enormous harvest
rates per square foot of greenhouse.
 1 acre of NGS is equal to 4.4 acres of growing in the
soil.

9.  NGS Technology uses 60 to 70 % less water.
 NGS is simply defined as: The movement of water to
the right place at the right time in the right amount
with the correct blend of fertilizers and nutrients.
 NGS ‐ The main advantage of the NGS system over
other forms of hydroponics is that the plant roots are
exposed to adequate supplies of water, oxygen and
nutrients. In all other forms of production there is a
conflict between the supply of these requirements,
since excessive or deficient amounts of one results in
an imbalance of one or both of the others.

10.  Savings are significant.
 This is possible because plants are not in soil but a
nutrient rich solution that is constantly monitored by
sophisticated software or by the growers experience.
 These advancements allow this area to produce more
food in less acreage using less water.

12.  Ventilation – natural airflow
 Heating – few structures

13.  Multilevel Trough Technology (NGS)
 Different sizes for different crops
 Tri‐level tunnel
 Second level membrane – very strong
 The main advantage of multilevel trough technology
is that the plant roots are exposed to adequate
supplies of water, oxygen and nutrients.

14. Fertilizers
 Vegetable oils as a nitrogen source
 Humic acid & amino acids
 Chemically sequestered micro nutrients
 Non organic fertilizers are supplemented with urea
and ammonium sulfate.

15. Fertigation
 The proper mixing of nutrients in the correct amount
 Monitored manually or with software

16. Fertigation
 Fertigation – more money is spent on this than on the
structures

17. CROP PRODUCTION
 Key Crops
 Tomatoes
 Lettuce
 Squash
 Herbs
 Peppers
 Melons
 Eggplant
 Cabbage, Beets, Onions, Cucumbers
 Strawberries

20.  270 Growers and Cooperatives
 Gross production 1, 450,000,000 Euros annually
 Government is not encouraging more space but more
efficiency
 90% of the production is exported to Europe
 10% used locally

23. Planting in the Greenhouse
Inground planting
 Hydroponic
 Irrigation
 Drip method
 Hydroponic

26. Hydroponics
 Primaflor –largest grower in Andulusia
 10,000 acres in hydroponic food production is equal to
40,000 acres in ground planting for lettuce
 60‐70% reduction in water use
 Lettuce –germination to harvest 90 days
 Cherry tomatoes – 18 kilos per square meter/year
 Strawberries –plant in September, harvest in
November, 7 kilos per square meter

27.  Primaflor grows both in greenhouse and open field.
All crops are grown hydroponically.
 Primaflor grows 82 varieties of lettuce.
 Primaflor grows strawberries, eggplant, and peppers.
 Primaflor propagates, grows, packages and distributes
its products through the Primaflor distribution chain.
 Primaflor has an extensive research facility.

28.  Government encouraging more efficiency, not more
growing space.
 Moving multilevel trough horizontally
 Moving multilevel trough vertically
 Portable multilevel trough technology

37. Organic/Traditional
 70% ‐ traditional growing methods
 30% ‐ organic growing
 Yield 30% less in organic operations vs. traditional
 Economics
 Strong economy organics sell for approximately 30%
more than traditionally produced crops
 Slow economy – no difference in selling prices

39. Yields
 Crops
 Crop cycle
 5‐6 month rotation
 Organic tomatoes, yield 6‐7 kilos per square meter
 Traditional/conventional 10‐11 kilos per square meter
 9 month rotation
 Organic tomatoes, yield 11‐12 kilos per square meter
 Traditional/conventional, 18‐19 kilos per square meter

41. Pollination
 All crops (traditional and organic) are pollinated by
bees

45. Labor
 3‐4 people per hectacre
 General maintenance
 Harvesting

47. Definition of Organic Crops
 European standards
 No application of pesticides and growth regulators
 Use of natural fertilizers with conventional
micronutrient supplements
 European organic growing standards are less restrictive
than those in the United States.

48. RESEARCH
 Algae production
 Research is conducted by IFAPA Institute for the
Development of Agriculture and Fish production for
Andulusia
 100% government funded, similar to USDA
 IFAPA – 14 hectacres of greenhouse and row crop
production
 Employs 200

50. ALGAE PRODUCTION for FOOD
 2 PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
 Horizontal
 Vertical
Main ingredients in each system
Algae – Scenedesmus Almeriensis
Water
Nutrients – sodium bicarbonate, potassium sulphate
CO2
Polyethylene Beads

54. ALGAE PRODUCTION FOR BIOFUEL
 Algae – Murellopsis
 Higher level of fatty acid
 Nutrients ‐ sodium bicarbonate, potassium nitrate
 CO2 & Water
 Production in vertical bags or open troughs
 Yield ‐ One 10x6 foot unit 80 grams per day

56. IFAPA
 IFAPA and Cajamar provide funding for research
 CAJAMAR – local bank specializes in funding
agricultural research and production

57. SUMMARY
 Past 5 Years in USA
 Changes in available water, labor and transportation
 Changes force food production to decline in the
traditional field production
 Concerns of importing foods
 NFT Technology in combination with co‐operatives and
a dedicated banking system have made this area one of
the most productive areas in the world.
 Could this be a possible emerging market?

58. Alternatives
 Spanish government and growers have shown high
yield in crops grown in greenhouses with
 Less labor
 Reduced water usage
 Less transportation costs with crops grown locally or
regionally
 Fresher produce