New North American greenhouse statistics available

The latest U.S. Census of Agriculture Report counts 8,750 greenhouse vegetable farms. This is a dramatic increase of 115% from the report seven years earlier. It is interesting to note that 90% of these farms are <0.2 ac. (< 0.08 ha.) in size.

Although listed as “greenhouse” vegetables and herbs, the U.S. census definitions are very broad. In the fine print of the report, it notes that “greenhouse” is actually “under cover”. Their definition of “under cover” is “generally defined as greenhouses, cold frames, cloth houses, and lath houses”. In other parts of the report, they list “under glass or other protection”.

Canada
Statistics Canada uses the definition of “the total area under glass and plastic”. This is somewhat different than the U.S. definition. The latest data show 2,430 greenhouse vegetable farms.

Mexico
In Mexico, the Association of Protected Horticulture “AMHPAC” compiles the most complete statistics on the greenhouse vegetable sector. Their definition uses the term “greenhouse / shade house” for the data reporting. They report 30,932 “instalaciones”, which translates as “facilities” or “installations”.

A complete, detailed, data report on the latest statistics for these countries is available as the “North American Greenhouse Vegetable Production Statistics” publication. It is available from Cuesta Roble Consulting at www.cuestaroble.com