US (VA): Red Sun Farms means business in the New River Valley
Red Sun Farms invested $20 million in the project. It got help from the governor’s opportunity fund, mostly to prepare the site near the New River Valley Airport for this partially pre-fab green house. It’s made by Richel Greenhouses, and assembled on site. So far they’ve put 18 acres under glass and plan to add the other 30 starting in 2016.
Red Sun Farms hired around 40 workers in the last 5 months, most at around 10 dollars an hour. They ride down the long isles on electric vehicles inside what looks like a towering tomato forest.
"What has changed is the level of output. When we first started, to give you an example, we were getting - a good year would be-45 kilograms per square meter. Now we’re looking at 65 to 70 kg per square meter. So we’ve almost doubled our production in the last 30 years but yet the price of tomatoes hasn't gone up," says master grower, John Secker
Secker says tomatoes still fetch 50 -60 cents a pound, but for organic tomatoes, the price is higher, a gap he believes will close in the next decade or so. A third of the tomatoes grown here are organic.
Megan O’Rourke, Assistant Professor of Food Science at Virginia Tech, says sales or organics account for around 30 billion dollars in sales. And they’re growing at 10 per cent a year. “Certainly there is going to be vast quantities of locally produced tomatoes available in south west Virginia. Technically if you’re talking about local produce, according to USDA definitions that’s purchasing within a 400-mile distance."
The first harvest from Red Sun Farms will start showing up in Krogers and Red Lions all over Virginia and North Carolina in a few weeks.
For more information:
Richel Group
ZA des Grandes Terres
13810 Eygalières
France
T: +33 (0)4 90 95 14 68
F: +33 (0)4 90 95 12 93
www.richel.fr
Source: wtvf.org