One Industry Expert’s Take on the Greenhouse Produce Sector
March 23, 2024 
Henry Gordon-Smith, Agritecture
CEAg World recently caught up with a digital nomad passionate about progress, Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder and CEO of Agritecture, an advisory services and technology firm focused on climate-smart agriculture, particularly urban and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA). He has spent the last decade traversing the globe, advancing climate-smart, controlled-environment farming. He spoke with me about the past, present, and future of greenhouse produce with the following highlights from that talk.
A decade of greenhouse evolution – Gordon-Smith says the past 10 years saw rapid acceleration of North America’s greenhouse produce industry. He notes three primary drivers behind that trend:
- demand for clean and local food, whether from low- or high-tech greenhouses
- awareness of climate change and the need for resilience in food production
- rapid technological advances and related cost reductions, e.g., economical LED lighting
Greenhouses vs. vertical farms – In recent years, Gordon-Smith says, greenhouses were overshadowed by vertical farming. While massive increases in vertical farming investment were followed by staggering decline, greenhouses remained stable in their growth, making them more attractive and dependable in investors’ eyes. “It’s been this really interesting spillover effect, to see vertical farming rise and fall and how that has benefited greenhouses,” he says.
Impact of novel technology – Gordon-Smith emphasizes that greenhouse advances aren’t exclusively high tech. He points to some “novel interventions,” such as heat-blocking, season-extending greenhouse roofs, which can dramatically improve production in demanding climates for low- and high-tech producers.
Automation and green jobs – While automation benefits profitability, food safety and more, Gordon-Smith says it’s benefiting the greenhouse labor outlook as well. He notes that jobs in automated farms may be viewed as more meaningful. “Greenhouses have this very exciting future now where you can have high-paying jobs — reasonably high-paying jobs — doing something green and working with robots,” he says.
Greenhouse resurgence – Gordon-Smith admits he’s big on greenhouses. “I think greenhouses are really about to enter a new renaissance era … There’s so much innovation that you can still do at a greenhouse,” he adds. He sees current greenhouses as foundations, ripe for innovations based on specific market needs. He predicts more automation and data-capture strategies, including imaging and machine vision, leading the way for more data-empowered impact.
Shift to specialty crops – While most greenhouse growers remain focused on what can be considered commodity crops, Gordon-Smith sees more new and existing growers moving into uncommon specialty crops with better margins. Mentioning vanilla and dragon fruit as examples, he expects this shift will lead to more greenhouses fully customized for specific specialty crops.
Policy and architecture – Gordon-Smith explains that policymakers at municipal and regional levels worldwide increasingly understand the benefits of having greenhouses nearby. Agritecture is involved in several master planning projects integrating greenhouses into new and existing neighborhoods and communities. Demand for farm operators in those communities may follow.
Market obsession – Gordon-Smith shares this advice for anyone thinking about diving into greenhouse produce: “At Agritecture, we try to encourage the same message when planning any farm, and it’s don’t obsess over the technology; obsess over the market.” Targeting and connecting with your market’s wants and needs drives optimal returns, not technology alone. He names market and sales & operations as the business’s toughest parts. “Try to think about those as much in advance and try to prepare yourself for what those realities look like,” he adds.
Watch all three parts of the conversation featured as part of the CEAg Talks video series.