Ready for transplanting! U.S. Greenhouse Grows 1-B Potted Seedlings Yearly

In the vast agricultural areas of Coachella Valley in Southern California and Gilroy and Salinas up North, vegetable farmers no longer germinate their seeds in beds, instead they just go to the greenhouse facilities of a company named Headstart to order as many seedlings of whatever vegetable variety they would like to plant.
I first learned about Headstart Nursery during my visits to the Coachella Valley farm of my friend, Filipino-American farmer-scientist Rocky French who brought me to the nursery in the valley where farmers just placed their orders of whatever variety they needed and scheduled the delivery date to their farms.
On the appointed date, Headstart Nursery would deliver to their farms (or they could pick up) germinated vegetables of uniform height and appearance, the same age and all placed in seedling pots ready for transplanting.
Upon the request of the farmers, Headstart Nursery could also stunt the growth of the seedlings so that the maturity period in the field would be shorter and harvest would be earlier.
Started by a young agriculture graduate Steve Costa in 1979, Headstart Nursery now produces over 1-billion transplants of vegetables, ornamentals and Poinsettias with 300-million of the vegetables organically propagated.
The Headstart Nursery website says “It All Started with Peppers.”
“In February 1979, Steve Costa, a recent graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, partnered with longtime family friends Don and Bill Christopher to found Headstart Nursery, Inc. Costa built six greenhouses in Gilroy to hold the new company’s first order of bell pepper transplants for Christopher Ranch,” the website said.
“In the mid-1980s, the small organic-farming movement was also starting to grow. Headstart Nursery experimented growing with organic principles, and in 1993 was among the first nurseries to be certified by the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers). Our organic program and dedicated organic facilities have continued to expand as the demand for organic transplants increased. Today, Headstart produces over 300 million certified organic transplants each year,” it said.
When I saw the operations of the Headstart Nursery, I sighed with envy at how the private sector in America was leading the way in agricultural technology advancement.
We should really have this in the Philippines.
Imagine if the vegetable farmers of the Cordillera, Mantalongon in Cebu, IMMTASULA in Bukidnon, Davao del Sur and South Cotabato would have access to this modern facility?
They would certainly be able to produce quality vegetables and even ornamentals.
But then again, kailangan baguhin muna natin ang ating marketing system sa bansa para mabawi ng mga magsasaka ang kanilang puhonan at kumita ng kaunti katapat ng kanilang hirap.
#FarmingIsAppliedScience!
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
#ReformAgriMarketingSystem!