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AGRICULTURE/MARKETING--HIGH-TECH GREENHOUSE IN
BRIDGEWATER
AGRICULTURE/MARKETING--HIGH-TECH GREENHOUSE IN BRIDGEWATER
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Guy Brown, minister of agriculture and marketing, was on hand to
help officially open a high-tech greenhouse in Bridgewater
recently.
The new 1,620-square-metre (18,000-square-foot) facility at Pine
View Farm, a nursery operated by two generations of the Brown
family (no relation to the minister), is devoted to producing
"plug" transports for sale to the nursery trade.
"I am very pleased that the Department of Agriculture and
Marketing through the Agri-Focus 2000 program was able to play a
key role in this expansion," said the minister. "I want to
congratulate Chris Brown and his family for their enthusiasm and
initiative in developing this competitive high-tech business."
The Agri-Focus 2000 program provides development funds to help
agri-businesses pursue new business ventures.
Plug seedling production is a specialized, efficient method of
producing large quantities of seedlings using high-density
planting methods and little soil. Depending on the type of plant,
seedlings can be ready for market in as little as three weeks
from the time they are seeded.
The new greenhouse effectively doubles the capacity of Pine View
Farm and has enabled it to develop export markets for seedling
transplants. The company currently ships its products across
Atlantic Canada, to St-Pierre-Miquelon and as far west as
Alberta. Pine View Farm owners Chris, Mary, Chris Jr. and Karen
Brown are also working at developing markets in the United
States.
"Businesses based on new technology, marketing niches and export
markets help to create more employment and prosperity for our
rural communities," said Guy Brown. "They are the key to
sustainability in rural Nova Scotia."
The new greenhouse holds as many as 2.5 million transplants at
any given time. Pine View Farm plans to produce over six million
transplants this year.
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Contact: Susan Horne
Agriculture and Marketing
902-424-6734
trp May 12, 1997 - 2:45 p.m.
