Selecting a Diverse Crop Mix
March 7, 2025 Tomatoes, cucumbers, berries, and leafy greens are the most common crops grown in CEA operations, typically with several variations of each. But with new market opportunities for asparagus and mushrooms grown under cover, the group of CEA crops continues to expand – as do business opportunities for growers.
Measuring Profitability Potential
Crop diversity is key at Bushel Boy Farms in Owatonna, Minn., a greenhouse operation that cultivates tomatoes, cucumbers, and stunningly sweet strawberries. According to Emily Andes, manager of research and innovation at Bushel Boy Farms, diversifying crops gives growers different revenue streams and expansion opportunities.
Emily Andes
“I didn’t have experience with growing strawberries and growing them at Bushel Boy was a good opportunity to learn,” she says. “But when you’re growing a new crop, you need to do a lot of data collection during the trial period because you have to prove the crop is profitable and will bring you more profit than the crops you already have.”
While Bushel Boy Farms still grows its tried-and-true tomatoes, they now cultivate 12 different varieties instead of three. By diversifying its crops, the company has successfully met customer demands and reduced production challenges.
“We mainly expanded [our varieties] based on the market,” Andes says. “Before I joined Bushel Boy, they only grew one type of beef tomato, one type of cherry on-the-vine tomato, and one type of grape tomato. We have an amazing base of consumers and retailers that encouraged us to grow more types of tomatoes. But there are production challenges, too. The brown rugose virus had us growing tomatoes that were resistant to the disease.”
Focusing on Demand
Growing a new crop variety is no easy task, especially if a grower has produced the same one for decades. By implementing new varieties of a specific crop over time, a grower is likely to stall production in their operation.
Elizabeth Moon
When John and Elizabeth Moon established Green Box Mushrooms in 2019, they grew only one type of mushroom. Now five years later, they grow six varieties of mushrooms in their CEA facility, including oyster mushrooms, king trumpet mushrooms, and beech mushrooms.
Back when the couple first entered the business, they knew they wanted to grow oyster mushrooms. They have gradually increased their mushroom varieties over the last five years by paying close attention to the different needs of the industry, even outside of their direct consumers. A prime example of this is when they tried to grow lion’s mane mushrooms a few years into the business.
“What’s really determining for us is supply and demand,” Elizabeth says. “Even though there is a consumer demand [for lion’s mane mushrooms], there isn’t a demand from a distribution perspective.”
Fun with Fungi
Self-admittedly, the Moons aren’t farmers by nature. While they have learned about mushroom cultivation before and during their time in the industry, they come from information technology (IT) and business backgrounds. As a result, they had to teach themselves to become mushroom farmers, and sustainable ones at that.
“You know, there are people who cultivate different types of mushrooms as a hobby or for fun,” Elizabeth says. “But from a business perspective, it really depends on demand and the economics of it all.”
That’s not to say the mushroom business can’t be creative, even if growers only focus on one mushroom variety. Take the Moons’ oyster mushrooms, for example, which they grow in different colors. Consumers are more familiar with gray oyster mushrooms, but they’re drawn to the colorful oyster mushrooms Green Box Mushrooms has to offer.
“We started growing pink, yellow, and blue oyster mushrooms because people started asking for them,” Elizabeth says.
While diversifying your crops could mean growing an entirely new fruit or vegetable, it also means adding a different variety to the same crop. The key to finding the right mix is to consider the current supply and demand in the market.