Staring out at the vast, arid expanse of Far West Texas, evokes images of tumbleweeds, not tomatoes. Greenhouse grower Village Farms believes that, despite first impressions, it is possible to grow food in the desert – you just have the right tools and the right team.

Case in point, the CEA grower has been growing fresh produce in the Chihuahuan Desert for almost three decades, supported by innovative technology and a dedicated, passionate team. The area of Texas that Village Farms grows in lies just north of the U.S. and Mexico border and is also known as the Big Bend or Far West Texas region. Here, Village Farms is rolling out 112 million pounds of fresh produce a year, all from its greenhouses located just outside the towns of Marfa and Fort Davis, Texas, according to a news release.

Village Farms’ enclosed glass greenhouses tower with plants that are thriving inside its four walls, while just outside the glass walls is the inhospitable desert climate of Big Bend. The CEA grower’s cultivation methods inside their soilless greenhouses boasts higher yields, use less land and significantly fewer precious natural resources—such as water— compared to open field farming. This is because they grow hydroponically and can recirculate their irrigation water repeatedly, according to the release. 

Both Marfa and Fort Davis, Texas, are at an average elevation of approximately 4,700 feet above sea level, with temperatures that can range from a high of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit to a low of 0 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the time of year. Growing commercially in this region characterized by extremes is uncommon, but once you get to know some of the farmers who brave this climate and manage Village Farms’ CEA greenhouses, it’s clear that growing under glass in the Chihuahuan Desert is nothing short of extraordinary.

Meet Marfa facilities manager Abby Lange

Managing all this beauty and precision with years of CEA expertise under her belt is farmer Abby Lange. Lange leads cultivation at Village Farms as the Marfa greenhouse facility manager. 

Lange joined Village Farms over 8 years ago as an intern while pursuing a bachelor's of science degree in plant science with a minor in sustainable agriculture and greenhouse management emphasis at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said the release. She worked her way up through the company and, today, Lange manages 20 acres of greenhouse grown tomatoes-on-the-vine destined for local markets and customers such as Texas-based H-E-B.

“As an intern I saw a broad range of jobs and work within the company, from packing to biological control to human resources, but instead of merely studying these areas of expertise and helping with basic tasks, I now coordinate them all,” Lange said in the release. “It falls to me to ensure that communication is smooth among the greenhouse, packhouse, maintenance, our integrated pest management team, human resources, sales and our safety and compliance teams and that the work of all these teams is optimized considering the current climate, the market, our staff and the crop.”

These efforts contribute to Lange’s end goal, which is to streamline the company’s processes and expand the growing season, producing tomatoes more weeks out of the year, said the release.

Not content with just one objective, Lange’s sees automation and data utilization as other emerging growth opportunities for Village Farms in Texas.

“Everyone is short on staff these days, so we can use automation to position our staff more effectively while making their jobs less physically intensive,” she said in the release. “We have decades of climate, yield, and sales data at our disposal, and we are using it more and more, but I think we can implement more advanced analytical models to leverage all that data.”

Analyzing data, along with cultivating tomatoes and managing staff makes for a varied and interesting day-to-day in Lange’s role as facility manager and one of her favorite aspects of her job, she said.

“I absolutely love telling our employees when they’re doing a great job or thanking them for what they do. Seeing the crop well cared-for, or a case of beautiful tomatoes beautifully packaged, gives me an energy like nothing else, so I make a point of reflecting that energy back to the people who make it possible to grow tomatoes in the desert day after day,” Lange said in the release. 

The leadership position not come without challenges, however, especially considering the climate in the region.

“I’ve heard visiting growers say that the crops and yields we achieve shouldn’t technically be possible here, so it’s something to be proud of,” she said.

The extreme weather in Far West Texas poses unique problems for growers like Lange.

“Sometimes it’s wind, sometimes it’s hail, sometimes it’s pathogens or pests, but in any agricultural effort, there are many factors inherently outside of our control,” Lange said in the release.  

That said, Lange still believes that growing in the extreme climate of Texas has its benefits.

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“I’ve learned more about the costs of indoor or vertical farming, enough to know that it’s the free, carbon-neutral sunlight in our farming operation that is the true blessing,” she said in the release. 

And thankfully in Far West Texas there is an abundance of clear skies and sunshine for Lange and the team at Village Farms to grow fresh tomatoes for consumers across the U.S. to enjoy.