Reading The 2016 Greenhouse Grower Top 100 Rankings: The Big Keep Getting Bigger

2016 Top 100 Average Annual SalesThe annual Top 100 Growers list is always one that ebbs and flows, as production among the nation’s largest growers contracts and expands, and it has always been dependent upon the self-reporting of grower operations. Our list changes annually, but one thing that seems to remain constant is that each year, the Top 100 Growers get bigger. These growers continue to take over a larger share of the industry with continued innovation, investment in advanced technology, and more attention to streamlining their operations to be more effective, efficient, and hopefully, more profitable.

Top 100 Growers Capture More Market Share

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For the past 32 years, Greenhouse Grower’s Top 100 Growers List has ranked the largest greenhouse growers in the U.S. by total square feet of environmentally controlled greenhouse space. We also gather intelligence about how much production these growers have in shade and field acreage to provide more information on just how much of the market these large growers control.

In total, the 2016 Top 100 Growers List represents 233,736,168 square feet, or 5,351 acres, of environmentally controlled greenhouse space, as well as 1,306 acres of shade greenhouses and 9,243 acres of field production. To put that into perspective, consider that total tracked U.S. production of floriculture crops accounts for 733 million square feet, based on the USDA Floriculture Crops 2014 Summary, released in June 2015.

The USDA reports total covered area for floriculture crop production in the 15 states with the most production. In year-over-year growth, the Top 100 Growers’ total environmental square footage is up 1.8% from 2015.

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Growers’ Juxtapositions For 2016

Following the annual trend, the top 10 largest growers are typically the ones reporting the most change.
• Color Spot Nurseries has decreased production to 19 million square feet, compared to 2015’s 21 million square feet, but it’s still No.1
• Altman Plants, No. 3, has grown by nearly 3 million square feet
• Seville Farms in Texas joins the Top 100 Growers — and the Top 10 — with 4,800,000 square feet, now ranked No. 9

Other growers reporting significant expansion over the past year include:
• Ivy Acres, No. 12, is at 3,950,250, growing 566,280 square feet with a new acquisition.
• Bela Flor Nurseries jumps up seven spaces with a 348,480-square-foot expansion.

Sadly, we also learned that Clearwater Nursery (No. 46 in 2015) has closed its doors. The property in Nipomo, CA, will be sold by the end of this month.

Growers Join The Ranks In 2016

With newcomers to the Top 100 List, our “smallest” grower is Cuthbert Greenhouses with 631,807 square feet, compared to Micandy Garden Greenhouses with 500,940 square feet in 2015. Growers joining the Top 100 are Seville Farms, Masson Farms of New Mexico, Pineae Greenhouses, Countryside Greenhouse and Farm Market, Red Oak Greenhouses, Baucom’s Nursery, Green Valley Greenhouse, Green Valley Floral, and McLellan Botanicals Taisuco America Corp. Greenhouse Grower welcomes these growers, and congratulates all of the Top 100 Growers for 2016. We also extend our thanks to all participating growers for taking Greenhouse Grower’s Top 100 Growers survey for 2016.

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