Using a USDA-REAP grant, TrueHarvest Farms is installing a solar photovoltaic system that will enable the leafy greens grower to reduce its energy costs by as much as $80,000 a year.
When business partners Jason Maks and Marshall McDaniel started operating TrueHarvest Farms in 2018, they knew growing leafy greens in Texas would be a challenge. Operating 4¼ acres of greenhouses in Belton, Texas, the company produces a variety of leafy greens, microgreens, and herbs that are sold to wholesalers and grocery stores from Alabama to Arizona, including Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods Market, Central Market, and United Supermarkets. The wholesalers it services sell to food service, restaurants, and schools.
"Climate is a challenge to growing leafy greens in central Texas," said Jason Maks. "We have done a lot of trialing since we began operating. In our initial 1-acre greenhouse we trialed about 60 different cultivars. It wasn't just a case of determining which crops would grow in this climate year-round, but also was there a market for the crops we could produce? We added another 3¼-acre Venlo glass greenhouse in 2023 which is being used to grow a variety of leafy greens, microgreens, and herbs.
Read more at Hort Americas.