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Berwick, NS Canada – April 14, 2015
The Valspring Group’s Gardener’s Friends (TGF) designs and manufactures a line of ergonomically engineered gardening tools for gardeners with hand mobility limitations. Grimm, who is also a nurseryman, shares what fellow greenhouse business owners are experiencing across the eastern part of the country. This past winter’s harsh, record-breaking low temperatures and storms caused damage across the eastern part of the country for many people and businesses of all types. “Siberian Express,” has become the new term used by national weather broadcasters describing a system of record-setting bouts of city air coming from Russia that travel over the Arctic Circle pushing into Canada and the US. This system broke records in hundreds of cities across the Eastern United States.
Some damages associated with these systems included power outages and road hazards but most significant were the impact on greenhouse and nursery businesses. According to 22NEWS, greenhouses suffered economically with increased heating costs. One Massachusetts Greenhouse Company paid a substantially increased cost to heat their greenhouse for just the months of January and February alone. In Buffalo, NY, one Eden Valley farm operation lost millions of dollars in damage to plants and facilities.
According to the Greenhouse Grower’s “State of the Industry” report, growers were optimistic about the upcoming season despite recognized challenges; however, weather circumstances were not taken into effect and this year’s harsh weather took these businesses quite by surprise.
CBC News reported that heavy snow and ice have crushed nearly two hectares of greenhouses at Avon Valley Floral, a Nova Scotia supplier for florists and garden centres and nearly 70 percent of it’s plant production capacity was lost. Some owners suffered uninsurable losses and severe greenhouse structural damage.
What normally would be a time for spring planning for the greenhouse industry in the east is now a time to figure out how to repair the damage and recoup losses suffered including contracting other growers to meet their supply demands.
For Further info on TFG visit here.
Release ID: 79530