My 10 New Year Wishes for the Greenhouse Industry (Opinion)

The New Year of 2022 has arrived with all the hope it brings for yet-to-be-explored opportunities, new resolutions, and fresh life experiences. The past couple of years have thrown the expected and the unexpected at our industry, everything from illness and shutdowns to supply chain challenges, extreme weather events, new gardeners, and increased demand for our products. As always, we’ve proved to be adaptable, innovative, and resilient in the face of challenges and change.

While several factors are influencing our industry that we cannot control, we are fortunate there are many more that we can. One thing I know is our industry stands ready to embrace any and all things 2022 has to offer, both the good and the bad. As the New Year begins, here is my wish list, in no particular order, for the controlled-environment greenhouse industry. And, since I am sharing this list with you, I hope you’ll return the favor and share your wish list for the industry with me at [email protected].

• Many more enthusiastic plant lovers will join the 15 to 20 million new gardeners gained in 2020. This wave of new gardeners will become a permanent addition instead of a temporary one because our industry will find new ways to meet them at their gardening level and build on that foundation. We’ll provide consumer experiences that educate, engage, and inspire.
• We will convey the message to present and future gardeners that there is no failure when it comes to plants; there is only feedback. Every experience they have with plants, positive or negative, teaches them success. As Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” When prospective gardeners think about starting out with plants, they will see gardening as experimentation rather than a black-and-white scenario where they either have the “green thumb” chops or they don’t.
• Our industry will continue to hunger for new opportunities and be ready to take action to own them when they arrive. I hope we never settle for the status quo, that we continue to push ourselves to do better and move to greater heights.
• Suppliers, brokers, growers, retailers, and others will work together to balance supply and demand to avoid oversupply. We won’t misread the market demand for our products, and we’ll find the right tactics for effective pricing that attracts consumers and ensures continued sales success while allowing businesses to remain profitable. The prices we ultimately receive for our products will reflect their true value.
• Talented workers, both young and old, will flock to our industry because they are attracted by prospects of a fulfilling career. We’ll be able to entice them with good company cultures, competitive pay, and opportunities for advancement. We’ll attract and retain top talent.
• Our industry will lead the way in sustainability, heeding the call to make environmental protection a priority, focusing on energy- and water-use efficiency, cutting waste, and setting the example in global responsibility.
• Diversity will increase in the industry. New, undiscovered markets will open. We’ll find new homes for our products. We’ll continue to offer consumers new and exciting plants along with the tried-and-true performers and favorites.
• We will embrace technology and precision agriculture even more so than we do now.
• Breeders will find success in developing even more resistant plants that withstand insect and disease pressures and that solve production headaches. This will help not only growers with more efficient, less costly production but also consumers with gardening success.
• Finally, I hope the New Year brings a sense of getting back to business as usual, at our workplaces, in our homes, and our communities. However, I hope business as usual doesn’t mean returning to what we once were. I hope it means we’ve learned from the experiences of the past couple of years, changed what we needed to, moved on when required, innovated to new heights, and let things be when necessary.