AG DAY
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Greenhouse
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the economy and make a foray into
controlled-environment agriculture...
and grow food year round for con-
sumption,” Green said. “This facility
is a prototype of what could be a new
industry in John Day that’s run by the
private sector, but we wanted to do it
as part of our treatment plant concept
to prove that it works.”
Green pitched this idea to the city
council in his job interview. The idea
matched what the council wanted, which
helped him get his current position.
A common misconception peo-
ple have about this project is that
consumers will be getting produce
nourished from untreated, raw sew-
age, according to Green. He said the
treated wastewater used for the pro-
duce will be of drinking water qual-
ity that comes from a class A waste-
water facility.
Keeping the agrarian
roots in mind
Along with finding a purpose in
wastewater, the greenhouse was stra-
tegically placed in an area that pro-
motes economic and community
development.
A key part of this project has been
to honor John Day’s past but continue
into the future with the new resources
available for the agriculture business
of 2020.
“We’re making a new investment
in a new hyrdo-ag industry at the site
of an abandoned mill property because
we want to honor the past, we want to
stay true to our heritage as an agrar-
ian society,” Green said. “We can’t go
back to 1920 agricultural practices in
a 2020 economy. We’ve got to plan
for the future. Growing year-round
and being able to control the environ-
ment demonstrates that rural is rele-
vant even in the digital age.”
The project provides an exciting
opportunity for the city to demon-
strate new technology and create
opportunities for people to learn
about this industry, according to
Green. The greenhouse currently
has plans to implement a learning
center where high school students
can be trained and taught about
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
operating a greenhouse.
Green said he does not view the
city as being in the agriculture indus-
try, per se, because the goal is not to
compete with industry. If the city is
successful, they will bring compa-
nies or create local companies that can
clone what the city is doing. There are
no plans to expand beyond the 10,000
square feet as a city operation, and if
it goes beyond that in the future, it
will be because other companies have
been brought in to do it.
The economics of the greenhouse
have provided challenges when estab-
lishing the goal of the facility and
what produce to grow. The goal for
the city has been to grow a variety of
crops to demonstrate that many things
can grow using reclaimed water
in the city’s environment and do it
successfully.
“If a private company were to
scale, they would scale one prod-
uct line and dedicate greenhouses
just to grow one product, and
that’s where you become profit-
able,” Green said. “At this point,
we are just trying to break even and
recover our operating expenses,
John Day Basin Office | Oxbow Conservation Area
Dunstan Conservation Area | Forest Conservation Area
The Confederated Tribes of
Warm Springs has a long tradition of natural resource stewardship.
The John Day River basin is within the Tribes ceded lands and
supporting sustainable agriculture and watershed restoration
efforts are an important part of maintaining cultural foods and fish
populations.
and that’s the goal for next year.”
Benefits from the greenhouse
and the future
Local contractors building the
greenhouse was a highlight for Green
in this experience. He said he loved
putting money back into the commu-
nity during a rough winter when peo-
ple were struggling to get employed
and find long-term projects.
“We were able to keep six or seven
people employed, and they felt a sense
of pride in what they did,” Green said.
“It was a great opportunity for us to
reinvest in John Day using John Day
taxpayer money and it going back into
the city.”
The produce from the greenhouse
has been a flavorful benefit. Green
said the produce tastes great, and he
said the cucumbers were the best he
has ever eaten.
He added that this is a huge ben-
efit in a community that struggles
to get fresh produce and keep it on
the shelves. The greenhouse also
addresses concerns with feeding a
community as food security becomes
a rising concern in the time of pan-
B3
demic and the new coronavirus.
“We’re creating a self-reliant
community by showing that we can
use our local resources to grow food
year-round and not become depen-
dent on external companies to feed
us,” Green said. “We can create an
environment where we can feed our-
selves, and I don’t think we’ll ever
regret having the ability to feed
ourselves.”
For the future, Green said more
optimization is needed for the green-
house to reach peak output, and the
team is working toward that. Get-
ting students into the greenhouse
is something Green looks forward
to since it will give them hands-on
experience and an advantage if they
are interested in going into agricul-
ture production.
“If you’re supportive of the con-
cept and want to sell our produce in
your stores, we want you to reach
out to us and we can start planning
for that,” Green said. “If we are
only capturing a quarter or fifth of
the market locally and there is addi-
tional need, we want to know what
the rest of the market is.”
Ranching is
hard work.
I’ll work hard to protect your ranch and auto.
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CALL ME TODAY.
The Tribes want to recognize the value of local agriculture, and
the landowners that work to build and maintain the lands and
communities that we live in.
®
Jeanette Radinovich, Agent
John Day Basin Office
320 W. Main St., John Day | 541-575-1866
S177093-1
Jeanette Radinovich, Agent
101 W Main Street
101
Main OR
Street
John W Day,
97845 Bus:
John
Day, OR 97845 Bus:
541-575-2073
541-575-2073
jeanettehueckman.com
jeanettehueckman.com
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Indemnity Company, Bloomington, IL
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, State Farm General Insurance Company, Bloomington, IL
State Farm Florida Insurance Company, Winter Haven, FL
State Farm Lloyds, Dallas, TX
S178804-1
Licensed in the State of Oregon
Lori Hickerson, Principal Broker, GRI • Office: 541-575-2617 • ljh@ortelco.net
Sally Knowles, Broker, GRI • Office: 541-932-4493 • sknowles@ortelco.net
Babette Larson, Broker, GRI • Office: 541-987-2363 • ddwr@ortelco.net
dukewarnerrealtyofeasternoregon.com
S176258-1
Family Owned for 36 Years
Providing Grant County with feed and farm supplies for
its agricultural industry.
S178426-1
311 N Canyon City Blvd, Canyon City
541-575-2050
S178310-1
J OHN D AY
NAPA
IS PROUD TO SPONSOR
E ASTERN O REGON ’ S
A GRICULTURE B USINESS .
S177905-1
W E HAVE BEEN HELPING KEEP FARM
& RANCH EQUIPMENT RUNNING
SMOOTHLY SINCE 1966.
721 W Main • John Day • 541-575-1850
S177199-1