January 2023 - 16

TECHNOLOGY
Investing in
INNOVATION
at Metrolina Greenhouses
Building a greenhouse is a complex process from start to finish but, if done right,
it can provide years of cost-effective productivity and profit to your operation.
BY ART VANWINGERDEN
S
tarting out building a new facility, it all comes
down to what you're planning to grow and your
operation's long-term goals. A vegetable farmer
might look at building a greenhouse in a totally different
way than a cannabis farmer does, and a grower producing
plugs will have completely different ideas from a finished
plant grower. It really depends on the crop that will grow
in the greenhouse, and then picking the right greenhouse
for the crop.
From there, determine what kind of efficiencies you
need and where you want to take the bulk of the work
out of production. The key to the growth of our business
at Metrolina Greenhouses is continuing to invest in
innovation. We try to take all the repetitive work out of
production that we possibly can. From environmental
controls to robotic transplanters and irrigation to table
movers, we use automated processes throughout our
facilities to improve efficiency and ensure our team has
the tools they need to make their work productive
and enjoyable.
There's no one right answer for every greenhouse, but
there is a right answer for your greenhouse - that's just
what you have to figure out.
16
JANUARY 2023 GPNMAG.COM
PLANNING FOR CONSTRUCTION
AND EXPANSION
Building efficiently is complicated, so you need a plan.
That includes considering local tax rates and securing
regional and local zoning laws when selecting a location.
Most greenhouses are built in rural areas, so permitting
is easier, but growers need to consider whether the site
offers ample water, electricity, gas and other utilities. Many
greenhouse owners have found out the hard way that
remote farmland can be less expensive, but digging wells
and acquiring basic utilities adds to the cost of setting up
an enterprise on that land. Then there's labor - the more
remote the business, the harder it can be to find enough
reliable labor locally.
It is crucial to design your greenhouse facility with an
eye to the future, considering the size of the greenhouse
operation and future expansion prior to building. One
of the bigger mistakes growers make while designing
a greenhouse or range is thinking too small. This goes
for the layout of the facility, as well as designing utility
infrastructure, as lead times for utilities can sometimes
take months or even years when building or expanding a
facility. Consider asking your engineer to prepare designs

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January 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2023

January 2023 - 1
January 2023 - 2
January 2023 - 3
January 2023 - 4
January 2023 - 5
January 2023 - 6
January 2023 - 7
January 2023 - 8
January 2023 - 9
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January 2023 - 46
January 2023 - 47
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January 2023 - 50
January 2023 - 51
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January 2023 - 60
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January 2023 - 68
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/november-december-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/new-varieties-digital-guide-2025
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/january-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/2024-guide-to-cannabis-production
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/november-december-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/new-varieties-digital-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-july-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-april-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/2023-guide-to-hemp-production
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/january-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/2023-guide-to-cannabis-production
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/november-december-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/gpn-new-varieties-digital-guide-2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/cannabisguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/hempguide-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/newvarieties-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/january-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/december-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/november-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/cannabisguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/hempguide-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/newvarieties-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/californiaspringtrials-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/cannabisguide-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/hempguide-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/californiaspringtrials-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/undercontrol-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/big-grower-january-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/GPN/january-2019
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