NY greenhouse offers shelter from late blight

http://www.thedailynewsonline.com/articles/2009/08/25/news/5878974.txt


Giant greenhouse is shelter from late blight
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An 11-pound carton of tomatoes rolls off the packing line last week at Intergrow in Albion. The greenhouse ships about three tractor trailer loads of tomatoes daily. (Tom Rivers/Daily News)
An 11-pound carton of tomatoes rolls off the packing line last week at Intergrow in Albion. The greenhouse ships about three tractor trailer loads of tomatoes daily. (Tom Rivers/Daily News)

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Intergrow’s enclosed system guards tomatoes
By Tom Rivers
trivers@batavianews.com
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 10:40 AM EDT
ALBION -- When it opened in 2003, owners of the 30-acre Intergrow greenhouse on Route 98 wanted a controlled environment for producing nearly uniform tomatoes, regardless of the weather.

But the enclosed growing space has offered another benefit to the company, an advantage that is increasingly proving an asset to Intergrow. The glass walls and roof offer protection from late blight and other potentially devastating diseases that have been worrying growers who have crops in open fields.

Late blight has wiped out many garden-grown tomatoes throughout the Northeast. The cool temperatures and wet weather also have left commercial growers behind schedule or with a diminished tomato crop.

But Intergrow has been mostly immune to the weather and disease. And with food safety issues likely to loom even larger in the future, Intergrow will benefit, said Dirk Biemans, co-owner of the company with 70 employees in Orleans County.

Intergrow can already meet "traceability" standards, which may be required by major retail stores and the government. They want growers to be able to trace a food safety problem, such as last year's outbreak of salmonella in California, to the field where infected fruit or vegetables were grown.

That can be a major challenge to growers with crops in multiple locations. For a company like Intergrow, where everything is grown under one roof, it wouldn't be a problem.

"We can control the climate in here better than outside," Biemans said last week at the greenhouse. "It's safer in here."

Intergrow takes precautions against diseases, which can be carried into the facility by employees and visitors. The company has a foot bath and hand sanitizer near the entrance to kill viruses and bacteria.

Biemans also said the fruit size can be affected by the amount of sunlight and temperature. The more sun, the bigger the tomatoes. The hotter the weather, the faster they ripen.

Intergrow grows hydroponic tomatoes. They aren't grown in soil. Instead, the plants get a steady dose of a solution, a mix of water and fertilizer, that helps the plants to produce mature tomatoes in about two to three months, depending on temperature. Intergrow plants at various times of the year, so the greenhouse is producing tomatoes year-round.

Intergrow hasn't reaped a financial windfall from the late blight impact on tomatoes. Biemans said tomatoes are being shipped in from outside the region to make up for some of the shortfall.

Intergrow however can use its stability in a sales pitch to buyers. The company can nearly guarantee an abundant crop. Many of its buyers, including local retailer Wegmans, like the consistent product and Intergrow's proximity. Biemans said some buyers want to purchase a crop that is locally grown.

Intergrow has its own fleet of four tractor trailers. The company this summer has been sending three trucks filled with tomatoes out each day. The company sells mostly to buyers in the Northeast, but Biemans said the company wants to expand its customer base.

Intergrow in June hired a sales/marketing manager, Albion and Cornell graduate Sarah Brown, who grew up working at her family's business, Brown's Berry Patch. She will attend food shows throughout the country, trying to build the Intergrow brand. Intergrow in October will have a booth at the prestigious Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition in Anaheim, Calif. The company also is developing a new Web site at www.intergrowgreenhouses.com.