Village Farms Plants 1st New Greenhouse

Village Farms International Inc. has completed the planting of 15 acres (6 hectares) of its new 30-acre greenhouse in Monahans, Texas. The remaining 15 acres will be planted in January. The Vancouver, British Columbia-based producer, marketer and distributor of premium-quality, greenhouse-grown tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers is in the final stages of completing the greenhouse and support structures, which will be fully operational before the initial harvest in late February.

Village Farms broke ground on the 30-acre Monahans greenhouse in June 2011. The greenhouse is based on Village Farm’s innovative proprietary technology, Gates, which has demonstrated yields surpassing 100 kilograms per square meter per year in the existing Gates research greenhouse. The Monahans greenhouse will provide year-round supply and enhance the Village Farms’ product offerings for its existing customer base.

“We are on schedule with construction as well as planting of our new facility in Monahans,” said Village Farms CEO Michael DeGiglio. “I would like to thank the development team and our contractors for not only adhering to a stringent schedule, but in fact building this facility in record time. Fellow industry professionals have made it a point to tell us they do not recall a traditional greenhouse, let alone one as complex as our Gates greenhouse, to have been completed so expeditiously.”

Village Farms’ premium product, as well as premium items produced under exclusive arrangements with other greenhouse producers, is grown in sophisticated, highly efficient and intensive agricultural greenhouse facilities in British Columbia and Texas. Product is marketed and distributed under the Village Farms brand primarily to retail grocers and dedicated fresh food distributors throughout the United States and Canada. Village Farms currently operates distribution centers in key markets in both countries.