Maumee Valley Growers : Programs

Label/Hang Tag Program - An effective way of affixing our names to pots & hanging baskets is the use of labels/stickers and hang tags. Ideally they should be printed directly on the containers, however, labeling and hang tags give us more flexibility especially when introducing a new program. As a result, in early 2007 the Maumee Valley Growers printed 332,100 labels highlighting the MVG logo. Of those, 150,675 contained individual greenhouse addresses.

We are planning on printing hang tags later this year.

Computer Training, Classroom - A survey conducted by Beth Fausey , Director at the ABE Center in Bowling Green indicates a strong need for the growers to receive basic computer training. The industry often depends on 30 year old technology offered by the fax machine for much of their business correspondence. Many growers do not use e-mail nor see the value the Internet can provide.

In January of 07, OSU Extension, ABE Center & MVG's collaborated to provide computer training for members of the Maumee Valley Growers. Much of the focus centered on using e-mail, becoming comfortable searching the web as a resource tool and learning basic fundamentals of Microsoft's WORD and EXCEL software programs.

It is felt by creating this awareness and adding practical computer skills to their arsenal many will in time incorporate more computer technology into their business tool kit.

Success will be determined by identifying the #'s of growers enrolling in the class and how many growers begin using e-mail regularly within a 1 year period. The graphs below indicate that progress.

* - Nearly everyone with email also has fax machines
** - No email/fax or won't give information

Computer Training, On-Site - In September, we hired computer technician Walter Guy to begin visiting our growers on-site. 10 hours per grower was allocated for those that attended the classroom program in January. The participants in this initial round were the owners from the Bostdorff, Creque and Dearing Greenhouses. In addition, time was spent to network 5 computers at the James Hancock Senior Center in Oregon .

Generational Succession - Membership in the University of Toledo Family Business Center is open to established family businesses where the family has controlling interest in the firm; one or more family members work in the company and the family expects to continue its management and/or control of the business. The program is run by Executive Director, Debbe Skutch and is dedicated to serving the specific needs of family businesses. Several of their programs address the issue of generational succession. Called Affinity Groups, small confidential round table discussion groups consist of no more than ten participants in similar roles in their family business. These meetings enable each generation as well as non-family managers to share business challenges from the same perspective.

Debbe keeps the growers informed through their newsletter and program notices throughout the year.

Alternative Energy - There are several alternative energy systems available for growers to consider when determining their overall energy strategy. Of those, two different types of photovoltaic (PV) systems were introduced as optional retrofits this past year. They were solar thermal and the typical PV systems used to generate electricity. Periodically, grant money is available through Ohio 's Office of Energy Efficiency and the USDA's Renewable Energy Systems Improvements programs.

“Solar thermal is the direct heating of air and water from the heat rays of the sun. Water is circulated by a small pump through a collector panel typically mounted on a roof. Copper tubing and fins inside the insulated collector box transfer the heat collected from the suns rays directly to the water. The heated water is then stored throughout the system and/or in a larger tank either at or below ground level depending on climate location and system design .”

In addition to tempered watering needs, a solar thermal system can also be used in a radiant heating system typically channeled through the concrete floor or ground's subsurface within the greenhouse. It is a very efficient system which can provide an attractive single digit ROI especially if installed in a new construction.

Accelerated first year depreciation for equipment purchases, state and federal grant funding, and in some cases equipment tax credits and green tags etc. are tools available to the consumer. Manufacturers have additional saving opportunities.

Radiant heating can be a desirable consideration for a greenhouse application. Heating the ground close to the plants does not waste energy typically used to heat ambient air.

A photovoltaic array system can be considered in both new and retrofit applications to create electricity. It is especially useful in areas where electricity is unavailable or too costly to install. However, the payback of such a system can still be 25+ years. Grant awards for systems under 3-4 kW could reduce the return on investment to about 15-25 years.

State of the art energy saving equipment is an important consideration when old equipment needs to be replaced or for new constructions. There are several organizations that can assist in evaluating and sizing these renewable systems in our area such as Honeywell Inc. and CIFT.

Several meetings and seminars were dedicated to creating awareness of these alternative energy applications in the greenhouse industry this past year. We are hopeful the later part of 2007 will generate renewable installations resulting in actual energy savings in 2008.

Audits & Grants - Rick Mazur, Environmental Program Manager and Dave Beck, Executive VP for CIFT provided information to both the MVG Advisory Group and those attending the regular monthly meetings outlining a cost benefit analysis gained through an energy audit. They also explained procedures needed to qualify for the USDA and State of Ohio 's Office of Energy Efficiency programs.

Grant submissions are typically due in the spring so it is advisable for everyone to plan as much as six months prior to initiate the process. This allows adequate time to gather time sensitive data and properly complete the application. Typically CIFT can handle about a dozen full or partial assessments throughout the year and are currently assisting others with several grant applications for submission.

Audits are conducted by Rick Mazur and Somik Ghose , Environmental Engineer at CIFT . Step I involves an initial onsite visit free of charge to the greenhouse growers. Afterwards, general observations and recommendations are made. If this “walk-through” suggests additional follow-up visits, step II will begin with the installation of several data collection monitoring devices. This step focuses on a facility needs assessment and may require a fee. The fees vary depending on the scope of project. Data collected determines which energy solutions might be recommended. A cost benefit analysis is conducted to identify a reasonable ROI from the menu of improvement options. If there are no strong recommendations, the study is concluded. However, if several solutions become apparent then data collected from this study can be included in the grant application process (step III).

Recently, Corn Burners have become popular energy saving heat source considerations. Dave Beck, Executive VP from CIF awarded a $5,000 demonstration grant to Jeff Creque of Creque's Greenhouse for the purchase of one of these units. An additional $6,000 was invested by Jeff for its installation. Initial estimates suggested an ROI of about 6 years and 06-07 annual savings of $1,000 per year. However, this was based on the cost of a bushel of corn at the implementation of this program in October of 06. As we have seen, corn as an ethanol additive has driven its costs upward significantly.

The unit's operational cost and performance will be closely monitored throughout the 06 and 07 winter heating seasons. An overall program assessment including data collection, equipment and system study is being conducted by CIFT . Published results are anticipated after one-two years of operation .