Business Advice from CEAg World’s Top 25 Greenhouse Growers
(Left to right) Steven Newell of Windset Farms, Abby Prior of Cox Farms, and Renato Zardo of Great Lakes Growers. | Windset Farms, Cox Farms, and Great Lakes Growers
Over the past two years, dozens of high-profile greenhouse operations have shared their insights with CEAg World’s audience through media interviews and conference sessions. That includes firsthand advice from leaders across the Top 25 Greenhouse Growers in the U.S. — and here, we’ve compiled some of their best words of wisdom for growing and maintaining a successful CEA business.
“I’ve spent my life in the greenhouse industry, and I think the same challenges have always been there and always will be. It’s not an uncomplicated business—you have all the farming risk, and then you combine that with operations, logistics, sales, and marketing. You need to bring together a team of people who know their domains, with everybody pulling in the same direction to make it into a successful company.”
—Paul Sellew, CEO, Little Leaf Farms (CEAg World, August 2025)
“At Mastronardi Produce, we want our team members to see this as a place where they can grow, build lifelong careers, and make a difference. Our talented team has brought us to where we are today, and we are proud to support employee growth in any way we can.”
—Paul Mastronardi, President and CEO, Mastronardi Produce (CEAg World, February 2024). Mastronardi team members are offered paid professional development and tuition support for post-graduate education. The company also engages its employees in multiple fundraisers, fresh produce donations, and more under an employee engagement program to support local communities.
“First, you get good. Then you get big. Not the other way around. We’ve had that philosophy for 30 years as a family business. We want operational excellence. We want profitable greenhouses. We want a very positive corporate culture with a good team of people. At the end of the day, without that, all you have is a pile of glass, steel, and aluminum.”
—Steven Newell, CEO, Windset Farms (CEAg World, June 2025)
“We’ve invested deeply in our [retail] partners’ growth over time, and that has determined how we dedicate our capacity. We want to be their primary growth driver and the partner they come to for solutions.”
—Abby Prior, Chief Commercial Officer, Cox Farms (CEAg World, December 2025), discussing the company’s decade-old relationships with companies like Kroger, Walmart, and Ahold Delhaize USA via its BrightFarms brand.
“Retailers and consumers alike are increasingly seeking long-term, reliable access to greenhouse-grown produce. We’re taking a major step forward into controlled-environment agriculture as this acquisition allows us to continue diversifying our raw product supply — both in geography and growing method — while meeting the rising demand for high-quality greenhouse-grown salads.”
—T. Bruce Taylor, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product, Taylor Farms (press release, March 2026, announcing the company’s acquisition of leafy greens greenhouse Equinox Growers). The deal represents a major expansion beyond Taylor Farms’ traditional field-grown roots.
“Consumers will only pay so much for a head of lettuce. I’ll only invest in products that I think will make my greenhouse better. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if I use a high-tech piece of equipment or a sustainable method to grow my crops if I can’t sell them.”
—Renato Zardo, Director of Growing, Great Lakes Growers (CEAg World, October 2025), who regularly works with suppliers to trial greenhouse technology.
“Two inches wide and a mile deep. That’s something that has stuck with me. A lot of people try to be too many things and focus on different directions, when what’s working for them is right under their nose. If you just focus harder on what you’re doing, you’ve already surpassed the barrier of entry. So you can just do that better and better.”
—Connor Murphy, CEO, Goodness Gardens (CEAg World, Summer 2026). Goodness Gardens has focused its efforts on culinary herbs since its founding by Connor’s father, Brian Murphy, in the 1980s, and now comprises more than 30 acres of greenhouses.
“What is very important for us is that we are real growers. How we work is different. We are constantly looking for innovation, good discussion, and open discussions. That’s something that we value a lot in the Netherlands — to have good discussions with suppliers, with breeders, with fellow producers, with fellow greenhouse growers.”
—Wouter van den Bosch, Managing Director, Bosch Growers (CEAg World, July 2024). Bosch Growers is a sixth-generation, Netherlands-based operator that launched its U.S. operations in late 2023 through the acquisition of greenhouses formerly owned by AppHarvest.
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