Growers affected by rising energy prices

Small business owners have faced several challenges in recent years, ranging from tariffs and inflation to increasing labor costs. The price of energy to run those businesses has also been on the rise. Ben Birney is expanding the future of Dragonfly Greenhouse on a plot of land in Ledgeview near Green Bay.

“You can’t really cut corners with plants. There are pretty strict tolerances,” he said. “They need their temperature just right, their food, their water.”

The expansion of the four-year-old business comes as he and other business owners are facing higher energy costs. Heating and cooling are vital to “Dragonfly” and other greenhouses.

“If you look at the greenhouse, it’s 80 feet long for this one. When the plants come in, instead of heating the whole greenhouse, you can set up a little section so then you’re only heating that,” Birney said.

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