In the August 1982 issue of sister publication Greenhouse Manager (now Greenhouse Management), Dr. P.A. Schippers, a former Senior Research Associate at Cornell University, speculated on the future of the greenhouse vegetable industry. Its headline was “U.S. greenhouse vegetable market: Feast or famine?” and examined the effects of elevated gas prices in the 1970s on greenhouse businesses. “During the early ‘70s, some experts predicted that the increase in fuel prices … would put the greenhouse grower out of business in a hurry,” the author states.

However, Schippers says that the growers who were most affected were those with “old, leaky glasshouses which needed large amounts of fuel to keep them properly heated.” It was then that we saw a decline in areas that relied on older greenhouses, like Ohio. Interestingly, Schippers mentions a shift from vegetables (mainly tomatoes) back to bedding plants. In Schippers’ words, bedding plants are “season-bound” crops, or plants that are only grown during a specific time of year. Instead of producing vegetables during the coldest winter months, growers were focusing their energy on growing bedding plants during a warmer time period, therefore reducing greenhouse heating costs substantially.

Another shift that Schippers mentions is one that has continued into the present day: relocating production sites closer to cities. “The interest in establishing greenhouses closer to population centers is growing and, once this interest has taken concrete form, it seems likely that a greenhouse industry near metropolitan centers will become a significant source of fresh produce of high quality for these centers,” he says. Later, Schippers makes the case for hydroponic growing methods, as “good quality horticultural soil” may not be found in urban areas.

One factor that’s remained constant is the need to continually innovate to feed populations during the entire year. This month, we’re looking at some of the women entrepreneurs that are doing just that in the world of controlled environment agriculture. We feature four trailblazers whose businesses are advancing the industry and availability of fresh produce in urban areas. One is enabling indoor farmers to better utilize their greenhouse system data to improve operations, while others have cultivated fresh produce and relationships with the community at the same time. Click here to meet these female innovators.

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Twitter: @Karen_GIE

This year’s PMA Fresh Summit conference was held in Orlando, Fla., where more than 20,000 attendees from 65 different countries gathered for education sessions, networking opportunities both on and off the trade show floor and of course, new marketing perspectives. Here are a few of the overarching themes observed throughout the event:

1. Food safety is No. 1.

As the industry nears the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) October 2017 compliance dates, safety proved utmost importance during the summit. Dr. Bob Whitaker, PMA’s Chief Science Officer, presented a session on Day 1 about the importance of food safety in an ever-growing population.

By 2050, there will be an estimated 9 billion people on the planet, according to the World Health Organization. “We want them to consume fruits and vegetables,” Whitaker reported via his presentation. “We can’t grow consumption if people are concerned about safety.”

Dr. Whitaker took a challenge-versus-opportunities approach as he outlined 10 major trends in food safety. These trends included pathogens, technology convergence, the need for talent, data, the legal and financial climate and more. While some of the challenges included costs, the need for more testing and data analysis, opportunities for producers include the integration of food safety as part of a business plan, leveraging technology and developing communications plans that meet consumers’ needs.

2. You can brand yourself on a small budget.

PMA presented speakers with genuinely inspiring branding advice, two of whom included New York Times Bestselling Author of “Salt Sugar Fat,” Michael Moss, and serial entrepreneur (and classic prankster) Johnny Cupcakes.

Moss, who presented during the first day of educational sessions, had a full and attentive audience as he spoke about ways small growers can self-identify by borrowing ideas from food giants. He outlined the potential to collaborate with retail outlets and grocery stores, partnering with local universities to attract a younger demographic, taking advantage of notable spokespersons or characters (i.e. PMA’s eat brighter! campaign), and selling the idea of fun, rather than touting the benefits of being healthy. As an example, Moss referenced a mock broccoli campaign that he helped facilitate, which took this approach to inspire consumption of the healthy green veggie.

Johnny Cupcakes’ name is a moniker the entrepreneur designated himself when he started his namesake company, which, ironically, is not a bakery that sells cupcakes. Instead, his business venture is a T-shirt shop — themed with vintage ovens and refrigerators that display the clothing products, vanilla-scented air fresheners to build on that theme, as well as pastry-box packaging that every customer receives at the purchase. The idea began as an underground phenomenon, one that was a joke to tease customers into craving the frosting-topped treats, but it evolved into a retail success with a cult-like following after building momentum via social media.

Johnny Earle (the owner’s real name) has found his own success, but the company built on that success via collaborations with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Hello Kitty which has created even more influence with consumers. Earle also believes in the power of packaging, noting that, “Good packaging doesn’t get thrown away.” Instead, it continues to work for you to help consumers remember your marketing message.

3. Innovate before adversity strikes.

The final day of Fresh Summit began with a keynote presentation about the “5 Obsessions of Innovators” from another New York Times bestselling author, Josh Linkner.

Linkner, who founded and sold ePrize, which is touted as the largest interactive promotion agency in the world, said that business owners must innovate their businesses before they are forced to react to change. While it may be tough if you’ve utilized the same business model for decades, Linkner swears by the art of humoring our own curiosity, and releasing the “old” to make way for the “new.” Linkner says the ability to do so can “fuel our continued sense of wonder.”

And to do so, it’s not about having the biggest balance sheet, but instead possessing a “tenacity and resilience” to move forward.

One of our favorite examples he provided also came from a broccoli campaign, this one by a brand called Tenderstem broccolini — serving up the tagline “Get Tender Tonight.”

4. The packaging is as important as the product.

We learned this earlier from Johnny Cupcakes — but that message has already been implemented by many of the growers we saw on the trade show floor. Packaging choices are beginning to evolve past the classic bag and clam-shell into more sustainable solutions — like top-cover films that reduce plastic waste — to even compostable containers that can help keep produce fresher longer.

Marketing produce to kids is a hot topic right now. From what I can see happening in the marketplace, produce growers are still reaching for straws when it comes to finding tactics that work. Getting kids to eat their veggies has never been easy, and marketing produce to kids still fundamentally comes down to what kids are willing to eat, or refuse to eat.

I had what could be considered epic throwdowns over eating anything that contained an onion. In fact, I threatened to vomit if I was ever served one, and I followed through on that threat. One episode of my refusal to eat cooked carrots resulted in my being forced to remain seated at the dinner table for hours after dinner was over, until I figured out the orange discs would stick to the underside of the table, at least for long enough to be excused. That ruse lasted about an hour, once the carrots hit the floor. I served hard time for that one.

Biological defenses

Ultimately, good marketing boils down to providing a solution to a need and communicating it in a language that resonates with your target. But it’s not that easy when it comes to combining kids and vegetables. There are both biological and psychological reasons why kids are naturally averse to eating their greens, and even fruit. A sophisticated two-pronged defense if you will.

Biologically, kids need a lot of energy. Veggies are not calorically dense. So, it makes sense that kids are going to go for foods with more calories, carbs and fat content to meet their biological needs. Additionally, kids typically don’t like the taste or texture of veggies because many are bitter. In nature, bitter taste, and even bright colors, potentially indicates poison. There’s food preference research, such as that carried out by the University of Arizona, Rutgers University and others, to show that kids may be more averse to bitter tastes as a natural survival instinct.

As we age and gain experience, we learn what is safe to eat and develop a more sophisticated palette, apart from many husbands — you know who you are — who still refuse to eat their veggies as adults.

Drawing the line

Then there’s the emotional, or stubbornness component. Kids (and husbands) are seeking control and testing the waters of authoritative boundaries. That means refusing to eat something simply for the sake of having the control to do so. No amount of parental pleading, forced eating or marketing may change that dynamic, and can in fact make the situation worse.

Go small

Let’s first look at ways that produce growers and marketers are working to circumvent these natural defenses. One major trend I’ve spotted revolves around making produce cute and small snacks — kid-sized produce, if you will.

Simply making fruit and veggies accessible to kids in smaller sizes, that better fit their little hands and mouths, makes logistical sense. If kids can’t handle a big peach on their own, they may be less inclined to choose it for a snack. The Summer Fruit Heroes line from DJ Forry features to-go packs of peaches, plums and nectarines, all in the 3.5 to 5.5-oz. size, which they intend to be more easily handled by kids as healthy snacks. They have fun names like Neutron Nectarine, Power Plum and Punch Peach. Lil’ Snappers, also marketed as “kid-size fruits,” offers up handled bags of small apples, citrus, pears or mixed bags. Their website offers kid-friendly recipes for foods that include their produce, such as “Apple Smile Sandwiches” and “Lil’ Snappers Critters.”

ROCKIT apples, produced by Chelan Fresh in New Zealand, are a small (1.5x the size of a golf ball) bright red apples packed in a grab-and-go container that resembles a tennis ball container. Their target is the snacking market.

Snacks rule

And snacking is apparently the “new thing.” I know, here we all thought that we were all already experts on snacking. But despite growing waistlines around the country, new innovations in snacking are on the rise in a big way. At the same time, everyone is looking for ways to encourage healthier eating at the kids table. Another marketing trend is to take the approach of marketing produce similarly to junk food — but that approach may not sit well with some parents. Produce growers and marketers do have a good opportunity to get in on the snacking trend in a way that’s good for their bottom line and everyone else’s, and parents are looking for good and authentic motives.

Another major trend is that of leveraging the power of popular cartoon and movie characters to promote produce. There is research out of Virginia Tech that indicates kids make strong connections to non-human entities, and that cartoon-type brand mascots can potentially influence a child’s eating habits now and in the future. As such, food producers need to be responsible with which types of foods they market using such influential characters when targeting children. Healthy food producers can potentially use these non-human brand advocates to help kids and parents develop better eating habits over time.

Narrow the focus

However, ultimately a pepper is still a pepper. And if your kids hate peppers, chances are a cartoon character on the label isn’t going to change that dynamic. Moms I spoke with say the topic of conversation of trying to get kids to eat more produce is almost an obsessive one, both in person and online. It’s a topic that causes a lot of fear and anxiety for moms who worry about their kids’ health. Ultimately, the trick to getting their kids to eat at least some produce seems to come down to identifying one or two veggies or fruits that an individual child will tolerate, then feeding them that offering on a regular basis different ways. That involves getting creative with ingredients.

Get sneaky

This has led many parents to try to follow the advice of book authors and bloggers to hide vegetables in less-healthy foods, or replace certain foods, such as pasta, with similar looking veggies. Think spinach baked into the brownies or spiral cut zucchini noodles. I asked several parents if this approach works for them, but, yet again, the overall response was dismal. In fact, some parents have found the only way to encourage their kids to eat their veggies is to not trick them from the get go. Dallas mom Katrina Kennedy worked to put unpackaged fresh veggies on the table early on and attributes her daughter’s affinity for veggies to “never tricking her or sneaking it in her food.”

Many parents agree that the, “You will clean your plate or else,” scenario is not always a win-win. See my previously referenced cooked carrot story. “If I can give one single example where my kid chose to eat a vegetable, it’s when she has planted, watered, tended and grown the vegetable herself,” says Shawna Coronado, mom, wellness advocate and vegetable grower in Chicago. “Outside of that it's a daily war waged in the mom trenches.”

Responses like these, anecdotal as they are, beg the question — should you try so hard to directly target kids with your marketing, or should you instead focus on mom and dad?

Shrink to fit shoppers

It seems to me that we should take the shrink-to-fit approach to a more tangible level if we want to reach kids with our marketing — or rather for them to reach the produce. I love the new trend I’ve seen lately where grocery stores are offering tiny shopping carts labeled for “future customers.” Why don’t we treat kids like they are already customers now, instead of future customers? How about a store-in-store kids produce section where the displays are kid-high and size appropriate, stocked with produce they can pick up? I can’t say I’ve ever seen one. That way, kids can be physically involved in choosing produce that directly appeals to them, and that gives them the power to make good choices. If they’ve chosen the produce on their own, perhaps there’s a greater chance they’ll eat it rather than it going to waste.

POP solutions

Packaging and POP takeaways that include creative and kid-friendly ways to prepare produce would also be helpful, such as recipes on packaging and recipe cards in displays the kids can also see and select. Mom Nikki Rosen from Dallas agrees. “I think I need help not on how to get my kid to try new veggies, but how to prepare the few they like,” she says.

Most likely, good produce marketing to kids relies on appealing to both mom and kid separately yet simultaneously, and in ways that are authentic. The things that may be important and appealing to moms are factors such as increasing the frequency of produce consumption, organic foods, reduced sugar and diet sensitivities such as gluten content. Kids, on the other hand, want power in the decision-making process, while still choosing foods that seems fun.

We have reached our sixth and final article in the 2016 Hydroponic Production Primer series. Previous articles have focused on production systems, water, nutrition, light and temperature. However, there is another aspect of hydroponic and controlled-environment food crop production that is less appreciated because it can be difficult to see or feel — atmospheric gases. There are several gases that we need to keep in mind when producing hydroponic crops in controlled environments, including carbon dioxide (CO₂), oxygen (O₂) and water (H₂O).

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is the precursor to the carbohydrates that are fixed through photosynthesis. When CO₂ concentrations in the growing environment decrease, the growth and productivity of your crops diminish. The less carbon that is available from CO₂, the less there is that can be converted to carbohydrates, which ultimately are used for growth or stored. This highlights one of the reason CO₂ management can be critical for food crops: Unlike ornamental plants, which are sold by units, food crops are frequently sold by weight.

The outdoor, ambient atmosphere contains about 400 ppm CO₂. When greenhouses are being ventilated and outdoor air is frequently being introduced into the greenhouse, the CO₂ concentration in the greenhouse can be similar to outside. However, CO₂ concentrations can decrease to concentrations below 400 ppm when the greenhouse is not being ventilated. This occurs mostly in the winter when cooling is not required to maintain the desired air temperatures in the greenhouse. When light levels are strong, CO₂ concentrations can decline quickly if plants are actively growing in the greenhouse, since uptake is increased.

To improve the growth and productivity of crops, CO₂ can be added inside the greenhouse. When increasing CO₂ concentrations, it is common to not simply increase concentrations to the point of ambient (~400 ppm), but to increase the concentrations to 800 to 1,000 ppm. A simple way to think about it is by looking at CO₂ as you would a fertilizer. We don’t think twice about providing 12 macro- and micronutrients to our plants on a regular basis, and we can view CO2 similarly — low concentrations can slow growth, so we can increase concentrations to improve growth.

There are two methods of injecting CO₂ into a greenhouse: 1) burners or 2) liquid. Each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages. Burners can be simple to install and use (Fig. 1). However, it is extremely important to monitor their function to avoid undesirable gases for both plant growth (ethylene) and human safety (carbon monoxide). Liquid CO2 can also be used, but you will need to check if you can store the tank properly, and be prepared to pay tank rental fees.

As previously mentioned, CO₂ can be limited when greenhouses are venting less — from the later fall, through winter, into early spring — for many locations. The use of CO₂ should only occur when vents are closed. Otherwise, the CO₂ introduced into the greenhouse can be lost. Once the venting season has begun for cooling, you’ll want to reduce or discontinue the use of supplemental CO₂, as the costs increase when it is more challenging to contain the CO₂ in the greenhouse.

Oxygen

Another gas to keep in mind is oxygen. For traditional greenhouse crop production, there is little to no concern about oxygen concentrations during production. While the same is true for hydroponic production atmospheres, it is important for nutrient solutions in nutrient-film (NFT) and deep-flow technique (DFT) systems. Adequate oxygen concentrations need to be maintained in these systems where roots are partially or completely submerged in nutrient solution.

A few different factors affect dissolved oxygen concentrations. First, the production system you use affects O₂ concentrations. NFT systems will contain higher concentrations of dissolved oxygen because the nutrient solution is aerated as it is passed through channels, drained into the nutrient reservoir and recirculated. Alternatively, O₂ concentrations in nutrient solutions for DFT systems can diminish more quickly, since there is no agitation of the nutrient solution to incorporate O₂.

In addition to production systems, the temperature of the nutrient solution affects dissolved O₂ concentrations. The solubility of O₂ in water decreases as water temperature increases. This is especially important for DFT systems in the summer, as they have a larger volume of water or nutrient solution per plant. This increases the capacity of the system to hold heat.

Another factor that can affect dissolved O₂ concentrations is the size of the bubble used for aeration. The smaller the bubble that is introduced into nutrient solution, the higher the O₂ concentrations. This is due to the fact that, with smaller bubbles, the amount of surface area relative to the volume of gas is high compared to larger bubbles, and more surface area increases the solubility in solution.

H₂O

Our final gas we need to consider is water vapor. The amount of water vapor is measured as relative humidity or vapor pressure deficit. Water vapor or humidity can impact the growth and development of plants as well as pathogens.

When humidity is high, plants diminish their transpiration. One of the biggest problems associated with low transpiration is tip burn on lettuce. Since calcium is taken up passively when plants take up water, less water uptake also causes less calcium uptake. This is why air movement, which reduces humidity around shoot tips, is used to reduce tip burn of lettuce.

In addition to water use and nutrient uptake, humid environments can favor the development of pathogens. Powdery mildew and botrytis are two pathogens that can thrive in humid environments. One of the best methods to reduce humidity in your greenhouse is to vent at night when you are heating, as this practice will help expel humidity from inside the greenhouse.

Take-home message

While we can see light and feel temperature, gases may be a less obvious component of the growing environment. However, they are no less important! Consider using CO₂ enrichment to boost the productivity of your crops. Keep nutrient solutions well aerated to promote healthy root growth and development. Minimize humidity in the greenhouse to discourage pathogen development and enhance transpiration. These actions will all contribute to a more productive hydroponic crop.

Christopher is an assistant professor of horticulture in the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University.