US: Nature Fresh Farms plans 175-acre greenhouse in Delta, Ohio

Nature Fresh Farms has plans to build a 175-acre greenhouse just outside of Delta in Fulton County, Ohio. Construction on the project’s first phase is expected to begin as soon as the weather breaks this spring, and officials say they hope to ship their first cases of tomatoes by the end of the year.

“We’re not turning our back on Canada, Ontario or Leamington by any means — we’re expanding there, but we’re expanding here as well,” company president and owner Peter Quiring told The Windsor Star Tuesday.

Construction begins in the spring on a 15-acre greenhouse in the small village of Delta, west of Toledo. Nature Fresh Farms’ business plan is to see its greenhouse footprint there expanded to a 175-acre complex by 2022, a $200-million investment.

Click here to read the complete article at blogs.windsorstar.com.

Nature Fresh Farms started in 1999, when founder and greenhouse designer Pete Quiring decided to build a high-tech, 10-acre greenhouse as a sort of proof-of-concept that his design could help revolutionize the industry.

The new greenhouses are creating up to 300 full-time jobs. Matt Gilroy, executive director of the Fulton County Economic Development Corp., said the company told county officials the jobs would pay an average wage of $17 an hour. Total payroll is expected to reach nearly $12 million annually by 2022.

Click here to learn more at the Tolede Blade