How Andrew Butler Leads by Example at Green Valley Greenhouse

By Brian D. Sparks|October 2, 2022

Andrew Butler, Greenhouse Grower’s 2022 Head Grower of the Year, is the perfect person for his role at Green Valley Greenhouse, (No. 67 on Greenhouse Grower’s 2022 Top 100 Growers list) in Ramsey, MN. His background in education helped him learn quickly as he grew into his role. He leads and teaches a team of section growers at Green Valley Greenhouse. His main goal: to always look for ways to do things better, even if it means trying something brand new.

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Andrew Butler has been Head Grower at Green Valley Greenhouse since 2016, and he currently leads a team of section growers. All photos: Green Valley Greenhouse
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Education is an important part of the job at Green Valley, and Butler works closely with his team.
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Education is an important part of the job at Green Valley, and Butler works closely with his team.
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With the help of a grower app developed in-house, the goal at Green Valley Greenhouse is to run all equipment from a phone or tablet.
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Butler says the company culture created by Green Valley owners Brad Wolf and Aaron Davis makes people want to work there, and he’s glad to be a part of it.

Constant Learning Process

Butler’s career at Green Valley Greenhouse started as an after-school part-time job when he was a teenager. It became a full-time job in 1996 when he realized he wasn’t going to use his degree in education to teach (although as it turns out, education was still in his blood) and decided to return to the extended-family business.

“I was a section grower for many years, until our longtime previous head grower Duane Ducommun retired, and I took over in 2016,” Butler says. “Today, I’m the one that leads a team of nine section growers, along with our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Manager Sandy Romsdahl, without whom I would be completely lost.”

Butler learned many of the tricks of the trade from Ducommun, along with Green Valley’s longtime production manager Mark Guldseth. In addition to his in-the-field training, he also read — a lot.

“I would read every plant book I could find, and between that and what I was learning from our team, I began trying new things, like starting a potted flower program,” Butler says.

The Switch to Syncoms

Among Butler’s biggest learning arcs has been the transition from traditional crop protection chemistries to biocontrols and biostimulants, or “syncoms”, AKA synthetic microbial communities, a word he uses frequently.

“It’s been a lot of research, and that research has convinced me that syncoms are the missing link in indoor controlled-environment agriculture,” he says. “Our goal has always been to create the most sterile environment possible for our plants, and that starts with the plant’s rootzone microbiome, which I see as the largest contributor to plant health, disease resistance, yield, and growth.”

Because there has not been a lot of research into which plants need which microbials, the team at Green Valley Greenhouse has relied on a shotgun approach of putting large microbial populations on all the plants. So far, it’s working.

“We have virtually eliminated fungicide use, even on our most susceptible crops such as poinsettias and Easter lilies,” Butler says.

This approach has improved beneficial insect populations, as well as enhanced plant growth and shortened crop times.

“It’s been a huge benefit to our customers, and our employees love it, too,” Butler says. “We can tell our customers that, while we are not organic, here’s what we are doing to protect our plants.”

Trickle-Down Leadership Approach

Current supply chain issues are forcing all growers to plan far in advance — not just for next year’s production needs, but also for new endeavors down the road. The good news is Butler has been given a long leash by the Green Valley ownership team to go out and find the latest and greatest innovations. It’s something he and his team take full advantage of.

“We’re always aware of the need to stay solvent as a company, but we have a smart team that is able to research and vet a range of new products,” Butler says.

For example, he’s been experimenting with nano-structured silicon products for insect suppression.

“Trial and error like this can lead to less-than-ideal sleep patterns, but it can also help us discover new ways of doing things that no one else is doing.”

The freedom Butler has been given by Green Valley’s owners runs parallel to how Butler works with his own growing team.

“We meet every morning and communicate constantly through text messages,” Butler says of his leadership approach at Green Valley. “I try to be as hands-off as possible, so our team members can take ownership of the sections to which they’re assigned.”

New Technology at Work

The result of this experimentation is innovation in action at Green Valley, driven by both the needs of the team and the needs of the plants. Perhaps the best example of this is the development of an internal grower app that, while still a work in progress, has greatly improved efficiency.

“The goal is to track insect counts, and any materials we apply to the plants,” Butler says. “Our goal is to build a wide knowledge library of crop information and crop growth tracking, so that any section grower can instantly have the information they need.”

Green Valley Greenhouse is also investing in a range of new technologies, including:

Metazet FormFlex hanging basket system
Oasis weight-based basket watering system, and Genesis boom watering, from Control Dekk
Harvest Automation spacing robots
Visser Space-O-Mat system

These new and existing projects are all designed to save on labor, and they certainly address that need.

“As we look to expand (Green Valley is currently adding more than 3 acres of new growing space), our goal is to run everything by phone or tablet,” Butler says. “We’re not there quite yet, but it’s coming.”

A Rewarding Company Culture

The best part of Butler’s job, he says, is meeting with his team of growers every morning.

“They’re very enthusiastic, and because many of them came in young with little or no horticulture experience, I can teach them what I want to teach them,” says Butler, who also encourages his team to extend their learning outside the greenhouse by visiting other growing operations or attending trade shows.

The result, as he puts it, is a “cool and fun environment” at Green Valley.

“They’re super excited to be part of a growing program that’s pushing traditional boundaries and cutting down on chemical use,” Butler says. “As members of the next generation, that’s really important to them.”

Butler says the company culture created by Green Valley owners Brad Wolf and Aaron Davis makes people want to work there, and he’s glad to be a part of it.

“I learned from a great team, and I want to help our growing team learn from me as well.”

Words of Praise

In winning Greenhouse Grower’s 2022 Head Grower of the Year award, Butler received broad support from across the industry. Here are just a few of the comments and recognition we received:

“Andrew developed basic section grower procedures from complex protocols. This has allowed new section growers to take ownership and participate in decision making of their crops.”
“He has transitioned Green Valley’s growing practices from a strictly mechanical pinch and disbudding to a no-touches production practice. This has fundamentally changed labor use and efficiency.”
“Andrew is constantly searching out information to increase his knowledge, with an eye to greater efficiency and overall quality in his production. He keeps improving and keeps his company profitable in a highly competitive wholesale market.”
“He is considered a leader and influencer regionally. He tends to be an early adopter of new systems, new ways of thinking, and problem solving.”
“Andrew has the heart of a teacher cloaked in a tough head football coach exterior. He brings passion and innovation to growing that is unsurpassed and can be misinterpreted by the uninitiated. He continues to develop young section growers that have no previous growing experience. Each season, a section grower is shifted to a different section of the growing operation and will learn new equipment and crops that come with that shift. Within three years, the section grower will have the ability and confidence to have ownership of, and make growing decisions about, their crops. Andrew encourages the growers to develop their own out-of-the-box thinking and for them to develop an artisan sense of what to do for a crop.”

A Message from the Sponsor

WestRock congratulates Andrew Butler, Greenhouse Grower’s 2022 Head Grower of the Year. WestRock is deeply dedicated to supporting the grower community. Over 100 years of serving horticulture, we’ve built a long tradition of producing premium packaging and offering superior service to our customers locally, regionally, and globally. From investing in innovation and development, supply chain solutions, and sustainability, to continued expansion of our database of horticultural knowledge and consumer insights, we work hard to be a true partner to our customers by providing the best in tags, labels, point-of-purchase, packaging, and merchandising solutions. We also believe that being a leader in scale and capability comes with responsibility. Today, we are proud to further give back to the community by partnering with Greenhouse Grower to honor and recognize innovation and achievement in the grower industry.