Invest too much and you may not be able to sleep at night; invest too little and you may not be able to reach your production goals. Balancing the technological solution against the income generated by the greenhouse makes or breaks a greenhouse operation. Though many technological solutions are available, the solutions might not always be appropriate.
In greenhouse economics, the factors of what-, how- and where to grow come together. This with the aim to return on investment quickly and to create a successful business for the long term. Tapping into market demands by crop selection, doing it on a scale which anticipates on growth and also keeping production costs as low as possible.
The largest operational costs of a greenhouse are energy, human resources and of course natural resources. Operational requirements are defined well in advance of each given greenhouse project. With this approach, an investigation of local costs and market prices gives us a good insight in the potential of the greenhouse. This way, we take advantage of the local situation, creating a competitive advantage.
Feasibility Studies and Business Plans
Feasibility studies are a good starting point for every greenhouse project. Because the investment possibilities and operational requirements have already been sorted out in great detail, only local costs market prices are yet to be acquired in order to sketch a good financial overview of the greenhouse project. This overview is of great value to assess the greenhouse investment and to increase its financial feasibility. Strengths and weaknesses can be derived from the data which allows the project to be fine-tuned in order to create a good business opportunity.
The feasibility study of the greenhouse makes for a perfect foundation to either write or have a bankable business plan written. The business plan forms a complete financial and operational plan for the greenhouse project for internal use, but also to acquire capital.