Growing amid the chaos

Expanding any well-established business — even during the best of times — is a process fraught with unique challenges and potential potholes. Now stir in some COVID-19 supply chain funny business, and sprinkle in some domestic labor force woes and, well, you’ve got yourself one hell of a needle to thread. And that’s not even mentioning the exploding cost of, well, basically everything under the sun right now.

Oy vey!

This issue of Greenhouse Management is headlined by our cover story on Green Circle Growers' historic expansion plan and execution — as well as practical tips from other industry professionals on how your peers are deftly maneuvering supply chain hurdles.

And, unfortunately, from what I was told by many suppliers over the last few weeks, we shouldn’t be expecting this dinged up supply chain to miraculously revert to its full just-in-time capabilities anytime soon, either.

The truth is, we’re more than likely going to be dealing with a fractured supply chain well into the third quarter of 2022, some say perhaps even well into 2023.

The advice from industry experts remains the same as it was this summer when these issues first started cropping up: get those orders in as early as possible; if it’s something you know you’ll need moving forward, consider ordering significantly more than you normally would if you have space for storage; and be ready to consider alternatives and substitutions where you can.

It’s just another in a growing list of new and changing realities in today’s (growing) business climate. Which is why we’ll do everything in our power in 2022 to continue bringing you the business and production-focused content you need to steward your operation to a more prosperous future.

Happy Holidays, and we’ll see you in the New Year!