Vendor Spotlight: Schuyler Greens
Lettuces, greens, and herbs get a high tech boost at Schuyler Greens — pronounced ‘Sky-ler’.
Their climate controlled greenhouse located near Charlottesville, Virginia is USDA GAP Certified for food safety and all produce is free from harmful chemicals and pesticides. We recently caught up with farm manager John McMahon to learn more about Schuyler’s origins, ethos, and products!
Tell me about the origins of Schuyler Greens. What made you decide to take up farming?
My family owned a farm in Western Pennsylvania before we moved to Charlottesville in the mid-nineties. When I was in first grade, my dad picked me up early from school to help him plow a cornfield. I think it was one of the happiest days of my life and I was hooked on farming from that point on. Fast forward and after going to UVA and working in the corporate world in DC and NYC, I realized that a desk job wasn’t a good fit for me. I eventually returned to Virginia and started Schuyler Greens to pursue my original love of farming.
What makes your farm unique?
One unique element of our operation is that we grow year round, so we can provide customers with consistent product throughout the year. On the production front, we are now one of the most technologically advanced greenhouse operations in Virginia. We are leveraging machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computer vision to make our greens as happy, healthy, and as nutrient dense as possible. For example, by investing in technology, we have been able to reduce our energy consumption by roughly 50% while improving the quality of our products.
How does Cavalier help you reach your audience?
Cavalier has been a great distribution partner. They have been very supportive and flexible, which is huge. Growing food on a commercial scale is very complex and there are so many different production variables to manage, and by working with Cavalier, it enables us to focus on growing and less on logistics and distribution. Cavalier is also very committed to supporting local, Virginia-based farms, so they are always helping introduce us to new customers and markets.
What products are available via Cavalier?
Salad Mix (year round), Arugula, Baby Kale, Oyster Mushrooms, and Herbs (limited supply)
What’s in store for the future of Schuyler Greens?
Near term: We are upgrading our growing systems and will have larger volumes of baby greens available in late August or early September. Longer-term: To grow Schuyler Greens and take market share away from California and Mexico-based growers (even though we are a small farm). Our farm is in Virginia, all of my employees live in the area, and when Cavalier buys from us and other local farms, it has a huge impact on the local food ecosystem.