Costa Farms CEO Sheds More Light on Battlefield Farms Acquisition
January 14, 2024 
Late last week, Greenhouse Grower broke the story on Costa Farms, #1 on Greenhouse Grower’s 2023 Top 100 Growers list, expanding with the acquisition of Battlefield Farms in Rapidan, VA. This week, Greenhouse Grower Editor Brian Sparks caught up with Jose “Joche” Smith, CEO of Costa Farms, to learn more about the deal, and what it means for both companies.
Brian Sparks: Before we talk about Costa’s acquisition of Battlefield, can you talk about where Costa Farms is as a company heading into 2024?
Joche Smith: A big concern of ours the last couple of years has been struggling to grow the business. From 2010 to 2020, about 50% of our growth was organic, and the other half came from acquisitions. With the onset of the pandemic and after those first couple of months of panic, we realized how much growth was going to happen in the industry. We all benefited from organic growth in 2020 and 2021, and so acquisitions were put on the back burner at that point in time. 2022 was a pretty difficult year for us, and we weren’t in a position to acquire anybody. The organic growth also slowed down considerably in 2022. Going into 2023, we made a commitment to our entire team that our leadership was going to provide opportunities for growth, whether organic or through acquisition. The first half of 2023 was about getting out of the hole that we were in the previous year. By early fall, we were back to looking for the right opportunities to grow the business, and we visited with a few growers in different parts of the country. We’ve had a friendly business relationship with the folks from Battlefield Farms for a long time. It was something that we kicked around but never really got too serious about until a few months ago, when both of our companies decided it’s something that we wanted to do. From there, everything happened quick, and I’m actually shocked that we were able to get the deal done over the holidays. But both companies were dead set on getting it done in a way that it would not interfere with our spring customers and suppliers, which is why the deal moved very quickly.
Brian Sparks: How do you see the acquisition having an immediate impact on spring for both companies?
Joche Smith: We don’t really foresee anything changing. All the plans have been set now for several months. The day after we closed, all of the Battlefield team members became part of the Costa team, and we had to take care of immediate concerns like payroll. But for issues like purchasing and production, it will be a while before those things get integrated. For now, we’re running everything as is. 2025 will really be the year when we see what synergies we can incorporate among the different parts of the business.
Brian Sparks: When it comes to Battlefield, what were the specific attributes of the company that stood out and made the most sense for this kind of move?
Joche Smith: We’re very like-minded with their ownership. It’s a hard-working family that really likes taking care of their people, and they’re absolutely committed to developing a great team. I feel like I could be talking to any of the people on the senior Costa team when I’m talking to Bobby (Van Hoven) or his brother Anthony and their father Jerry. They’re always willing to look at a better way of doing things, and I appreciate that. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of transfer of knowledge going in both directions.
Brian Sparks: I would imagine that, with both companies having a long legacy in this industry.
Joche Smith: There’s no question, and I’m sure we’ll get to that point. I’m really looking forward to that. We’ve done a lot of acquisitions over the years, and honestly there’s never anything more valuable in any acquisition than the team members. There are several people on our team right now who came from different acquisitions over the years, and I’m again looking forward to these guys playing a key role for a long time.
Brian Sparks: It may be a little early for this, but do you have a sense for how this acquisition might affect the customer base for both Costa and Battlefield moving forward, or the various product offerings that you have?
Joche Smith: For our customers, there’ s no negative impact at all. We don’t want to complicate anything for either of our customers. It’s more about complementing certain categories.
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