Super greenhouse offers unprecedented scale of control in Australia
The house has climate-controlled retractable roof panels and walls which shield vulnerable crops from volatile and destructive weather, or open them up to sun and rain.
"It gets away from all the heartache of, 'I have spent so much on this crop and now I've lost it all'. I'm a firm believer this will be the norm in five years' time."
The structures were originally for small high-value operations like nurseries, but recent advances made them cheaper, making it feasible for larger-scale growers to cover whole paddocks or orchards.
After seeing a Cravo house in Mexico, Mr Scavo spent $3 million covering a 4.3 hectare paddock of roma tomatoes and capsicums. Mr Millbank said the house was paying itself off with a big increase in yield and a 70 per cent reduction in water use and sprays.
"Yesterday we had a 97 per cent pack out which you'd never be able to achieve on this scale outdoors. We are shooting for 40,000 cases for the next crop which is close to double what we get in the field."
Mr Scavo said for the first time he could now guarantee supply, and plans to quadruple the area of land under cover.
source: abc.net.au
