Masson Farms History
Masson Farms began almost 100 years ago in 1919 when James Masson bought a 15,000 sq. ft greenhouse in Kansas City, Kansas to start the original company. His small operation specialized in begonias, cyclamen, chrysanthemums, and primulas.
His son Alexander R. Masson expanded the company by developing one of the first wholesale plant greenhouses west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rockies, leading the company towards it’s success today.
He passed on his production to his two sons, James Masson and R. Alexander Masson. In 1968, the company grew to 3 acres and in 1972 expanded to Linwood, Kansas acquiring another 3 acres of greenhouses. Here, the “Sunflower Sue” brand was introduced. R. Alexander Masson continues to cultivate their company focusing on quality, variety, customer service, and more recently: renewable energy.
Utilizing Geothermal Energy
In 1985, Masson Farm’s began its New Mexico expansion with the purchase of a small greenhouse in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Two years later, a new facility was built twenty miles away in Radium Springs in order to utilize geothermal resources.The EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy recognize geothermal systems as the most environmentally friendly way to heat and cool.“The biggest advantages that we see going forward with geothermal,” says owner Alex R. Masson, “is that we, being in the green business, are even “more green” in the fact that we’re not using fossil fuel. We’re running an operation that is clean in relationship to the environment, to the workplace, and in the product that we produce. It brings clean enjoyment and it is everything to me.” Geothermal energy is produced from the Earth’s heat found in the rock and fluids beneath the crust. The lower density of the hot water allows it to rise to the surface through springs, fumaroles, and geysers. The heat is extracted from the water to directly heat the greenhouses and returned back into the ground.
The energy provided results in the same beautiful product without the emission of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or other greenhouse gasses that contribute to air pollution. Unlike solar and wind energies, geothermal energy is always available.
The geothermal energy saves on fossil fuels, as well as costs, which is sourced back into growing the best products possible. Masson Farms of New Mexico was one of the earliest greenhouses to adopt geothermal energy and is the second largest geothermal heated greenhouse in the United States.