With fuel prices having crossed the $3 per gallon mark back in May for the first time since 2014 — and input and labor costs tracking similarly — growers should be doing everything within their power to conserve energy and fuel heading into the 2022 growing season.

If you’re still using forced-air heating systems that have to warm up a giant volume of air from the ground all the way up to your greenhouse roof, Stuppy Greenhouses thinks its Hydronic Heat2O™ bench heating systems are a worthy structure upgrade that can provide immediate cost savings to your operation.

“Essentially, the system radiates heat on or under the bench and creates a sort of ‘heat envelope’ around the bench,” Michael Kovalycsik explains. “It’s ideal in propagation, as well as for growers that want to concentrate on heating the benches versus warming up the entire greenhouse.”

The concept is rather simple, and yet it’s innovative as well compared to traditional greenhouse heating systems. Growers can either run EPDM rubber tubes on the bench tops, or for higher heating output, install Stuppy’s all aluminum fin product underneath the bench. Depending on how many benches you are heating, the system can have a heat source as small as a standard home water heater unit, says the marketing manager and regional sales specialist. Naturally, for higher heating loads a boiler will be used for your heating source.

“It’s a simple closed-loop heating system, so there’s no need for you to refill or constantly monitor water levels,” he adds. “You can integrate it with a digital thermometer or most common greenhouse controllers, and it will basically run itself as needed depending on your desired soil temperature.”

Noting that in general any water heating system will be “much more efficient” than any of its forced-air counterparts, Kovalycsik suggests to growers that the Hydronic Heat2O system can save an operation 25% to 30% annually on its fuel consumption, even when fuel prices are in the affordable range. And Stuppy has designed the system to be completely DIY from an installation standpoint with no special tools required, so growers won’t necessarily have to hire installation crews.

“It’s energy efficient, designed for the grower to install, and offers total energy savings from the initial startup,” Kovalycsik says.

For more information on upgrading your heating system to Stuppy’s Hydronic Heat2O system, head over to bit.ly/StuppyHH. Most installs take place between October and December so growers are prepared to kick off early production between January and March.

The whole idea behind a greenhouse is that the plants are indoors and covered, so whatever material a grower is using to cover their greenhouse is crucial. Since indoor plants aren’t in direct sunlight, it’s important for a grower to use a greenhouse covering that allows a sufficient amount of sunlight to enter through the covering and into the greenhouse. But, if you haven’t updated your own greenhouse covering in a while, you could be missing out on some of that precious sunlight that’s supposed to be coming in through the roof.

Photos courtesy of Roehm America LLC

According to Sibylle Viz, business manager at Roehm America LLC, when light transmission is lost or reduced due to a bad covering, growers face consequences of lower yields and poor plant quality. These consequences are especially dire for crops that need UV light to grow and reach their full potential. Viz also notes that poor light transmission can result in increased operating costs, as a grower may have to employ more supplemental lighting and additional heating and cooling to their plants.

Luckily for growers, Roehm’s ACRYLITE® greenhouse coverings are made from acrylic and thus allow for the highest possible light transmission and are both rigid and lightweight. “Acrylic has a naturally high light transmission,” Viz explains. “Even with two layers of acrylic in a double-wall construction, our premium ACRYLITE greenhouse product transmits up to 89% of PAR, nearly 20% more than a similar geometry of polycarbonate glazing.”

Viz recognizes that upgrading a greenhouse covering isn’t an easy decision for growers. “There are many choices for growers when considering greenhouse coverings, such as films, glass, polycarbonate, acrylic, single wall, double wall, etc.,” she explains. “Many factors influence this decision, such as the local climate, the intended crop & yields and your business plan (ROI).” Each grower has to think carefully and weigh their options to make the best decision for their greenhouse.

If a grower picks an ACRYLITE product, updating their greenhouse coverings isn’t something they’ll have to do frequently. According to Viz, “because of its long lifecycle, ACRYLITE is often installed once and does not require replacement for decades.” This longevity is a massive advantage for growers, as they won’t have to spend time and money replacing their covering every few years. Since ACRYLITE is UV stable and doesn’t degrade as time passes, it won’t turn yellow or see its light transmission reduced. “We are so confident of this performance, that we warranty ACRYLITE against yellowing for 30 years,” Viz adds.

If you need to upgrade your greenhouse covering and you’re nearing the end of your current growth cycle, you may want to consider getting started, as Viz says that “in general, it’s best to upgrade and improve the covering between growth cycles so that there is a minimal impact.”

For more information, go to www.acrylite.co

Harnois Industries is a North American company manufacturing modern greenhouses since 1962 with more than 25,000 projects built across the world. The company prides itself on three words: quality, expertise and innovation.

More volume, increased light, a higher load support and a better resistance for enhanced performance. In a nutshell: That’s what the Luminosa gutter connected greenhouses provide. It’s a greenhouse designed for professional growers.

“Our experts and engineers have come together to design a greenhouse that boosts agronomic performance while maximizing the use of passive energy such as sun radiation and ventilation,” says Corenthin (Félix) Chassouant, Harnois’ agronomist and export sales director.

The gothic shape with a roof angle of 45 degrees allows more light to come in with a stronger steel structure. It has also a tremendous impact on the ventilation rate and condensation prevention providing an optimal climate to grow plants. The structure is also reliable with unique innovations at a competitive price. The Luminosa greenhouse is adaptable to areas with very high snow and wind loads. It can be built everywhere in the USA according to the International Building Code (IBC).

Photo courtesy of Harnois Industries

Félix recommends growers learn more about Harnois’ standard wider span versions (26’3”, 28’, 30’, 31’6” up to 36’ wide). In his opinion, they are the best “large volume” options with a buffer area that will regulate extreme temperature and humidity variations. A “large volume” option reduces the stress on crops helping the production manager to control the climate inside the greenhouses. With the current evolution of climate change including heavy snow, heat waves and strong winds, it will be imperative to have greenhouses that can perform in summer and winter regardless of outdoor conditions.

For example, Félix says the 30’ wide Luminosa version is a perfect solution for hydroponic leafy greens cultivation. There is enough surface for the hydroponic system, large spacing between posts and arches, and it is very ergonomic and bright.

Moreover, wider models are also optimized for growing vegetables according to an intensive crop organization, with rows spaced 1.6 or 1.8 meters. Félix says they are ideal for hanging crops such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. This size greenhouse optimizes the growing space and maximizes the operation’s profitability.

“Luminosa will be your perfect tool to help you grow,” Félix says. “Based on our years of experience in the industry and feedback from growers, we have observed that the current trend is towards wider and higher greenhouses. It is time to upgrade your structure!”

Art: newrossosh | Adobestock

Saying that business has been booming in the green industry for the past year and a half would be an understatement. It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns led to consumers spending a lot more money on plants in 2020 and 2021 than they had in recent years past. Though many sectors of the economy have struggled, horticulture businesses have done well. We’ve covered this boom in depth here at Greenhouse Management, as well as some of the reasons behind why the green industry has done so well.

And although it sometimes felt like we’d never make it this far, 2022 is indeed on the horizon. So, as 2021 comes to a close and we (hopefully) crawl our way out of this pandemic, now is the time to look ahead to 2022 and figure out what growers can expect for the upcoming year. To do that, we’ll ask the experts.

Where spending is headed

Purdue University’s Dr. Ariana Torres sees a lot of factors that are going to influence consumer spending on plants in 2022. One of the biggest factors is that instead of spending their money on plants, people will likely want to spend their money doing things they haven’t been able to do thanks to the pandemic. For example, after a year and a half of ordering takeout instead of dining in at their favorite restaurants, people will probably be going out to eat much more in 2022. Additionally, people will start traveling and vacationing as more and more places lift restrictions and people feel safer to fly on airplanes again. This return to dining out and traveling will leave people with less money to spend on keeping up with the gardening hobby that they’ve developed over the course of the pandemic.

Torres attributes these shifts in consumer habits to COVID fatigue. After abiding by the rules and foregoing the experiences they love since March 2020, people are tired of being cooped up at home. They want to leave their houses and eat with their friends and travel with their families. However, with the surging number of COVID cases thanks to the infamous Delta variant of COVID-19, it’s hard to say whether the dining and travel restrictions will come back. For now, though, it looks like a lot of people will spend their 2022 doing both.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that consumer spending on plants is going to completely disappear. Though there’s been fear that we are in the midst of a demand bubble bound to burst, University of Georgia’s Dr. Ben Campbell says that such a burst is unlikely, opting to describe his prediction as a “slow leak.” Yes, many people won’t be spending as much money on plants in 2022, but a lot of people still will, especially in the produce sector, and growers won’t see their 2020 and 2021 gains erased overnight. Demand and sales figures will decline in 2022, but it’ll take time, and the decline will likely be gradual. Even better, demand and spending will still be relatively high, as the decline is unlikely to take figures to below pre-pandemic levels from 2019. 2019 figures represent an equilibrium that growers should expect to approach as we enter and go further and further into 2022 and further and further away from the pandemic.

THE RETURN TO DINING OUT AND TRAVELING WILL LEAVE PEOPLE WITH LESS MONEY TO SPEND ON THE GARDENING HOBBY THEY’VE DEVELOPED OVER THE PANDEMIC.

Ignore the outlier

Now, how should growers prepare for that 2022 decline? When forecasting revenues for 2022, our experts encourage growers to treat 2020 and 2021 figures as outliers. After all, with the expected decrease in consumer spending on plants, it would be unreasonable to expect 2022 to be a repeat of 2020 and 2021. Torres and Campbell suggest using 2019 figures when forecasting your revenues.

On a slightly different note, Dr. Charlie Hall of Texas A&M University advises that it’s always best practice to take the average of the last three years for your forecast. Looking at 2019 figures will give growers a good idea of where things are likely to go after consumer plant spending approaches the pre-pandemic equilibrium that our experts are expecting.

According to Hall, the key thing growers should keep in mind when planning for the coming year is not to over produce. He says to take that three-year average and base your inventory levels off that. After all, you don’t want to get to the end of 2022 and realize that you’re holding onto way more inventory than you actually sold because you thought you’d sell everything like you did in 2020.

All three experts anticipate that growers will face increasing production costs in 2022, chiefly driven by increased wages. Like every other business today, growers are facing a labor shortage, and it won’t ease up on its own. To combat this labor shortage, growers will have to offer higher pay to attract workers. Obviously, wage increases can cut into profit margins, so our experts also say that growers will have to raise prices in an effort to offset some of that change.

How to handle pricing

Raising prices has been a hot topic among growers lately, and it’s going to be extremely relevant for 2022. Hall’s advice? Raise prices by 11-13%. Hall anticipates that consumers will be willing to pay those increases, but Campbell warns that you can only increase prices so much and still retain customers, so growers will likely still have to eat some of the added costs of higher labor. That being said, growers still have other options to cut costs, like working to become more efficient, maximizing labor productivity, ensuring they aren’t wasting water, and turning to automation.

Hall also says that businesses have to make sure they retain the skilled and experienced labor that they already have. If businesses can hold onto their current employees, then they’ll save money by not having to recruit, hire and train new employees. One strategy Hall suggests will help in that regard is to provide referral incentives to current employees. If your employee is monetarily rewarded for bringing in a friend to join the business, that employee will stick around and do your recruiting for you so they can get their bonus.

So, while growers should indeed be cautious going into 2022, they should not despair. Though 2022 may force them to take two steps back, they will continue to move forward. But to keep moving forward, Torres says that businesses need to go into 2022 with a plan. They need to get informed and make smart decisions based on solid business plans and economic analysis.

This article is an update to a previously published cover story, "Tactical Economics" from the January 2021 issue. Read the story at https://bit.ly/tactical-economics