A New Meaning for Green House - Essay Example

A new meaning to green house Introduction A greenhouse defines a structure with a house like covering that is used for agricultural activities. It majorly serves the role or regulating environmental conditions for a favorable sustenance of plants. This paper seeks to explore Houwelings Nurseries and Greenhouses, their properties and significance to agriculture. Houweling Nurseries as a forward-looking example to other agricultural business The history of Houweling nurseries that includes its humble beginning, its success, and long-term sustainability capacity that it has demonstrated establishes it as a model for other agricultural business to emulate.

Houweling is for instance five decades old, a characteristic of a corporate form of business with perpetual succession. This aspect serves as an example that the agricultural industry is also viable for long-term investment strategies. This is further demonstrated by the organization’s history that evolved from a small-scale personal economic activity whose primary objective was to generate financial resources for meeting basic family needs, to a renowned enterprise for large-scale production of tomatoes.

It also stands out as a model for other agricultural businesses because of its entrepreneurial initiatives that are characterized by a high level of innovation (Houwelings, p. 1). The enterprise also demonstrates sensitivity to environmental concerns through social responsibility initiatives. It for example heavily relies on natural solar energy that is environment friendly. Its source of energy that substitutes carbon-based sources of fuel ensures reduced air pollution that is estimated to relieve the environment of an equivalent pollution by about 300 vehicles.

Houweling also harvests and stores water for its use and apply computerized technologies in its irrigation scheme, an approach that ensures its efficiency in the resource utilization and facilitates its independence from seasonal rains. Such acculturated level of efficiency has also been translated into the enterprise’s unit productivity that is estimated to be more than 2000 percent of a typical land’s unit productivity level. It also recycles its used resources (Houwelings, p. 1). Apart from expansion initiatives with respect to its physical land resource, the business has invented new facilities for its competitiveness.

It for example became the largest “commercial greenhouse in the lower mainland of British Columbia” and the largest vegetable supplier in the state of California under greenhouse agriculture. Innovation into developing its facilities also demonstrates independence potential towards efficiencies and effectiveness. Its innovation into development of “ultra-clima greenhouse” and “cogeneration power system” as well as trade in crafted tomatoes increased its resource base for both profitability and sustainability (Houwelings, p. 1). Consequently, Houweling demonstrates, to other agricultural businesses, the commercial scope of agriculture that requires both entrepreneurial and managerial skills for a long-term sustainability, and efficiency and effectiveness for economic and competitive advantage.

It is also a role model to other agricultural organizations in environmental conservation initiatives. The enterprise has therefore deviated from traditional agricultural scope towards a technology-based approach that focuses on managerial techniques that establishes an example for other agricultural business, which are still traditional in their operations, to transform for higher economic benefits (Houwelings, p. 1). Significance of construction of more green houses to farmers Construction of more greenhouses would imply a wide scope of significance to farmers through potential advantages of greenhouse farming.

One of the implications of constructing more greenhouse structures, to farmers, is an increased productivity level that is estimated to be at least ten times higher than productivity in normal agricultural set ups because of favorably regulated environmental conditions. This would further mean increased income for the farmers. Constructing greenhouses would also mean increased reliability in crops’ life cycle that also depends on environmental factors (Organic, p. 1). This is because greenhouse farming would induce consistently regulated factors towards optimum levels for crops.

Such constructions would also ensure continuity in agricultural productions, even for seasonal crops because of the induced independence from natural environmental conditions that varies with seasons. The ability of greenhouse farming to sustain hybrid crops through achieving any desired condition is another advantage to farmers towards freedom of choice in farming (Agritech, n.p.). Significance of construction of more green houses to the agricultural industry Apart from the benefits of constructing greenhouses, to farmers at individual levels, such initiative would also have an industrial significance.

First is the cumulative benefit that farmers would enjoy such as increased productivity and income, now considered at the agricultural industry level. Similarly, existence of many greenhouses and a demonstration of their viability, as has been the case in Florida, attract investments from other sectors through financing and research and development. As a result, the industry, and farmers at a secondary level, benefit from third party investments due to stake in already constructed greenhouses (Smallfarms, p. 1). Works cited Agritech.

Low cost green houses for vegetable production. Agritech. N.d. Web. September 14, 2012. Houwelings. Houweling’s: About us. Houwelings. 2011. Web. September 14, 2012. Organic. Knowledge a must for greenhouse farming. Organic Farmer Magazine. October 12, 2011. Web. September 14, 2012. Smallfarms. Green houses production in Florida. University of Florida. 2006. Web. September 14, 2012.