Well before sustainability became a buzzword, Village Farms was an innovator of environmental stewardship throughout its entire chain from germination to harvest. Village Farms has been growing vegetables and fruits hydroponically for over 20 years in the US and Canada. Raising produce hydroponically instead of field growing generates a wealth of environmental benefits for retailers and more importantly, to the communities and the customers they service. With our Hydroperfect® growing system we have become the leader in water conversation, land resource preservation, natural biological controls, reducing carbon emissions, and food safety. We did not set out to be trendsetters but from the very beginning we did recognize that what’s good for the environment is also good for business.

As one of earth’s most precious resources, increasing water efficiency is paramount at Village Farms. Our state-of-the-art greenhouses use a gutter and drip irrigation system delivering water directly to the root of the plant. This water is sterilized and then re-circulated four times before it leaves the greenhouse to be spread onto neighboring ranchland. This means 100% of the water used reaches the plants with no waste. Comparably to field grown, Village Farms tomatoes require only 1/7 of the water per pound. This translates to an 86% savings in water for Village Farms grown tomatoes.

Land resource preservation is another area of environmental stewardship important to Village Farms. Our plants are grown in a sterile medium of reusable coconut fiber, not in soil. With this there is no chance of groundwater contamination or soil contamination, and therefore no threat of soil erosion or depletion of precious soil nutrients. All of our growing methods maximize yield so we actually use less land to grow more produce. Hydroperfect® farming yields 20-30 times more product per acre than conventional field production. Every growing season we plant in the same indoor garden location, never having to rotate crops or clear new land to give the soil a "rest". A fifty acre greenhouse can produce the same amount of production as a 1500 acre farm. This means Village Farms uses 70% less land to grow the same amount of tomatoes.

Natural biological controls such as predator insects are used to reduce or eliminate insects and the diseases they carry. Village Farms practices an intensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that uses beneficial insects to eliminate pests and stimulate healthy plant growth. Outdoors, plants are more vulnerable to various types of diseases and insects whereas in a controlled environment we have the ability to keep a lot of these pressures under control. Hydroperfect® plants have no such risks. We keep our plants healthy by using bees for pollination and beneficial predator insects and sanitary conditions to combat bad insects.

Using hydroponic methods, Village Farms is committed to reducing our carbon footprint. We recycle carbon dioxide (CO2) into the greenhouse to enhance the plants' photosynthesis. Hydroponic facilities utilize carbon dioxide by recycling the output from our very efficient boilers that are used to produce heat to keep the plants warm and in turn produce food grade CO2 into the greenhouse. The plants then absorb the CO2 as part of photosynthesis creating near zero carbon emissions, while most of the CO2 is converted by the plants and emitted as oxygen. We are also committed to using bleach-free, recyclable corrugated cardboard boxes to pack and ship our loose produce. While our bagged produce (poly, net, and mesh), our cucumber film, and our clamshell plastic packages are all "blue bin" recyclable items.

In light of the proliferation of food borne illness reported in recent times Village Farms is working hard to ensure the quality of its products adhere to the strictest food safety standards in the industry. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) modeled after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Good Manufacturing Practices address important food safety issues such as, fertilizer usage, water sourcing and usage, pest control and pesticide monitoring, cooler operations, and harvesting practices, including worker hygiene, packaging storage, and product transportation. Village Farms maintains the highest documented Primus Food Safety scores in the industry. We achieve this by eliminating the dirt, the pests, and the foraging animals and creating the perfect environment for the plants to flourish, unaffected by many of the diseases that plague their field-grown counterparts. Hydroperfect® produce is protected from the rain that carries pollutants and the runoff that can carry bacteria.

Lastly but not least, we feel that hydroponic produce is superior in taste, appearance, shelf life and is available 365 days a year. Village Farms has defined the industry model of what’s good for the earth is also good for business, naturally. To find our more visit us at www.villagefarms.com.