Melbourne-based tomato, capsicum, zucchini and eggplant grower-packer Young Sang & Co. has announced an investment in a retractable roof greenhouse at one of its United Wholesalers & Growers (UWG) farm’s in Bundaberg, Queensland.
The protected cropping facility with an automated retractable roof will be rolled out over six years, in four stages. The first stage involves the construction of a 4.3ha protected cropping facility on one of Young Sang’s two farms in the region, with UWG to continue to grow open field crops during this time.
After seeing the retractable roofing in Mexico on a trip last year, Young Sang’s general manager Daniel Scavo said he was keen to bring the technology to Australia.
“We saw the facilities by greenhouse company Cravo in Mexico last year, and while they exist in Australia, at the moment they’re only for nurseries,” Scavo told Fruitnet. 'The retractable roof design makes it possible for our crops to grow under natural outdoor conditions, while protecting them from wind, cold, heat and rain.”
Scavo said this is just the beginning of plans to extend the company’s growing season, while improving quality and volume.
“We are developing a sustainable, hybrid-growing system to gain the best of both outdoor and protected systems,' Scavo said. 'It's the best of both growing methods – tomatoes have the cosmetic beauty of greenhouse-grown fruit ... with the firmness and taste of the open field.'
While Young Sang will own the facility, it will operate as a separate entity, with its own brand, explained Scavo. The facility will allow 70 per cent less pesticide use, and a 70 per cent reduction in water use compared to field-grown, meaning a more economically sustainable model of producing fresh produce.
With construction to begin at the end of April, Scavo is hopeful things will be up and running within three months, with the first crops to be harvested during spring, one from Young Sang’s speciality line, with the possibility of growing another more general line.
“At this early stage, we’re still toying with ideas of what’s we’ll grow. We’ll be running speciality lines for supermarkets so they’ll be grown under the structure, offering those customers the product for longer, and with better quality,” Scavo said.
The full story on Young Sang's new facility is available in the winter issue of Produce Plus.
