Building a Reliable North American Orchid Supply Program

Orchids have been part of my professional life for more than 20 years. During that time, I have worked with plants, greenhouse climate, irrigation, suppliers, logistics, customers, and production planning. Every part of that experience became useful when our team started building a large orchid program in Edmonton, Alberta.

At Bevo Farms, we try to offer a dependable source of high-quality orchids produced in North America. We work hard to deliver the right quality, at the right stage, and at the right time. Today, our Edmonton operation produces almost 5 million orchids each year and directly creates more than 100 jobs in the Edmonton area.

Experience That Supports Reliable Production

Orchids are beautiful plants, but producing them on a commercial scale is not simple. They have long growing cycles, sensitive roots, and very specific climate needs. Temperature, humidity, irrigation, spacing, nutrition, crop protection, and timing all affect one another. A small change in one area can have a large effect on quality, losses, labor, energy use, and final cost.

My role is to connect those decisions. Experience from different greenhouses, countries, suppliers, and markets helps me notice risks early and ask the right questions. In Edmonton, we could not simply copy a program from somewhere else. We had to understand our building, watch how the plants reacted, and create a system that could deliver steady production and quality our customers could count on.

Operating at Commercial Scale in Alberta

Our Edmonton greenhouse is an advanced semi-closed system. It uses mechanical ventilation, treated air, climate-air mixing, and positive pressure. The building was designed for another crop and had never been used for large-scale orchid production. On top of that, Alberta brings extremely cold winters, dry outside air, and big changes in natural light throughout the year.

We learned that we had to look at the whole greenhouse, not just one number on a computer screen. We compared climate settings with what the plants were actually experiencing. We adjusted irrigation based on root activity, moisture, temperature, and drying time. We balanced plant spacing with airflow, quality, and available greenhouse space. Every change was measured, discussed, and checked against the crop.

Building Consistent Quality and Local Employment

Producing almost 5 million orchids a year takes much more than growing knowledge. It takes daily teamwork between growing, operations, maintenance, planning, logistics, sales, and customer service. Clear routines and good communication help us protect quality while managing long production cycles and changing customer needs.

The program directly creates more than 100 jobs in Edmonton. These jobs support the full operation, from plant care and greenhouse work to planning, handling, shipping, and administration. Those jobs are connected to a clear business result: supplying customers with dependable volumes of high-quality orchids grown in North America.

Connecting Production With Customer Value

We do not judge success only by how many plants enter the greenhouse. What matters is how many healthy, saleable plants reach the customer on time and with consistent quality. Labor, energy, greenhouse space, losses, and crop timing are all part of the result. Saving money in one area does not help if it creates a quality problem somewhere else.

Our scale allows us to serve other companies as a reliable North American supplier. Customers need more than plants; they need good communication, dependable timing, and confidence in the product they will receive. That is the value we work to provide every day.

Strengthening North American Supply Resilience

International suppliers, especially those in Taiwan and Europe, are still very important to the orchid industry. Our North American pre-finished program is not meant to replace them. It gives growers another option. They can receive plants closer to the finishing stage, use less time and space in their own greenhouses, and reduce some of the risks that come with long-distance transportation, freight delays, changing plant condition, tariffs, and other border issues.

This only works when production and sales planning stay connected. Orchids have long lead times, so forecasts, varieties, crop timing, customer needs, and greenhouse space must be discussed early. Good relationships with breeders, young-plant suppliers, technical experts, carriers, growers, and customers help the whole supply chain work better.

Supporting Other Growers as a Reliable Supplier

We help other growers by being a supplier they can rely on. We do not manage their greenhouses or tell them how to grow. Instead, we provide high-quality orchids from a North American source. Customers can choose plants at the stage that works for their program, reduce part of their finishing time, and make better use of their greenhouse space.

Being reliable means more than having plants available. It means meeting quality expectations, communicating early about timing and varieties, responding when plans change, and delivering a product customers can confidently include in their own production and sales programs. Our job is to make their supply more dependable.

A Real North American Business Impact

The value of the operation is clear: almost 5 million orchids produced each year, more than 100 direct jobs in Edmonton, and high-quality North American products supplied to other companies. The program brings together international suppliers, Canadian production, local employment, and customers across Canada and the United States.

Why the Work Matters

I am proud of what our team has built because it turns a difficult production challenge into a real benefit for customers. A committed team, reliable suppliers, strong technical partners, and good customer relationships allow us to produce at a large scale while keeping the quality and consistency the market expects.

For me, leadership in horticulture means staying close to the plants, the people, and the market at the same time. Experience matters when it leads to a dependable result. By combining international orchid knowledge with Canadian infrastructure and a strong Edmonton team, we are giving other companies access to high-quality orchids from a reliable North American source.