ABSTRACT

Purpose: Greenhouse crop production is increasing as consumer demand increases, specifically in areas where the natural climate is more hostile to the desired production. However, no formal scientific assessment of the sustainability of existing facilities currently exists, and there is sufficient consumer demand for assessing this from seed to shelf. The primary objective of this study was to assess the sustainability of current systems in North America. This was accomplished through the development of various sustainability, or S-score, equations. This paper specifically focuses on greenhouse safety practices observed at facilities as well as follow-up telephone surveys.

Methods: There were 22 greenhouse facilities in the private sector that volunteered to provide data for these equations. Each facility was assigned a region: Florida (n = 3), Northeast (n = 7), Midwest (n = 5), and Southwest (n = 6). Key parameters were organized according to five general categories based on safety aspects and techniques and applied techniques. Each category was assigned a weight. Each weight was then incorporated into the master sustainability equation as coefficients. The final value was an “S-score” for each facility. Descriptive statistics were analyzed to determine parameter dominance and statistical significance. The facilities ranged in size from a small, seasonal greenhouse to large facilities ranking in the top 100 in terms of size. Additionally, facilities with either or both vegetable and ornamental production participated in this study.

Results/Findings: Overall, greenhouse facilities were found to have a range of S-scores from 4.1 to 8.4. Larger greenhouses tended to have safer working environments and higher S-scores due to liability and production concerns. Additionally, these facilities were more likely to have professional safety personnel and more financial resources to invest in safety-specific training.

Practical Application: Greenhouse managers and owner-operators will be able to better assess their own properties for safety problems as well as track and monitor various criteria for a more sustainable operation.

摘要

目的：随着消费者需求的增加，温室作物的产量正在增加，特别是在自然气候更不利于所需产量的地区。但是，目前尚无关于现有设施可持续性的正式科学评估，并且消费者有足够的需求从种子到货架进行评估。这项研究的主要目的是评估北美当前系统的可持续性。这是通过开发各种可持续性或S分数方程式来实现的。本文特别关注在设施上观察到的温室安全措施以及后续的电话调查。

方法：私营部门中有22个温室设施自愿提供这些方程式的数据。每个工厂都分配了一个区域：佛罗里达（n = 3），东北（n = 7），中西部（n = 5）和西南（n = 6）。根据安全方面，技术和应用技术，根据五个一般类别组织了关键参数。每个类别都分配了权重。然后将每个权重作为系数合并到主要可持续性方程中。最终值是每个设施的“ S分数”。分析描述性统计以确定参数优势和统计显着性。设施的大小不一，从小型季节性温室到大型设施，在规模上均排名前100位。另外，

结果/发现：总体来说，温室设施的S值范围是4.1到8.4。由于责任和生产方面的考虑，较大的温室往往具有较安全的工作环境和较高的S分数。此外，这些设施更有可能拥有专业的安全人员和更多的财务资源来投资于特定于安全的培训。

实际应用：温室管理者和所有者经营者将能够更好地评估自身财产的安全问题，并跟踪和监视各种标准以实现更可持续的运营。