Wyoming 310-Lettuce Tell You About Greybull Valley Produce

By: Katelyn Parker

The Bighorn Basin is home to several restaurants that embrace a sustainable and responsible business plan by choosing to source several of their ingredients locally. Wyoming 310 is one of these restaurants. The owners, Morgan and Melanie, put this into practice by sourcing as much as they can locally. In a previous issue we introduced you to the local ranches that provide Wyoming 310 with their beef. In this issue we take our readers to Greybull to explore the source of their fresh lettuce.

Greybull Valley Produce

On the outskirts of Greybull sits a nearly 13,000 square foot greenhouse which is the growing facility for Greybull Valley Produce. Greenhouses to this scale is not a site typically seen against the Wyoming landscape. Wyoming may be “beef country”, however, beef is not the only food source Wyoming can produce and one family in Greybull is demonstrating this successfully. The greenhouse is owned and operated by the Koehn family and their operation has been successful and provides year around fresh produce to clients such as Wyoming 310.

Greeted upon our arrival by the owner, Dwight Koehn, we made our introductions and he invited us inside. Stepping in from the brisk autumn afternoon, we were suddenly engulfed in warm, humid air and the smell of new growth. It was a welcome reprieve from the dry October air on the outside. Appreciating the climate, we then stood in disbelief, looking across the massive greenhouse and the sea of green that stood before us. The hues of green are so much richer and vibrant compared to their outdoor grown counterparts and the vastness of the crop was an impressive sight.

Harvesting Light

Greybull Valley Produce has been in production since September of 2017, experiencing incremental growth since they started. Getting to the point of having to turn away business due to lack of space, the Koehn’s decided it was time to grow (pun intended). This October marked the first harvest in their new facility which is approximately 3 times larger than their original facility. This was not the original path Dwight Koehn thought he would take career wise, but fell into it serendipitously and has decided this is the course he is meant to be on. He describes what he does as “harvesting light”. Having previous experience in growing other outside crops, Dwight didn’t hesitate trading in his cattle for the greenhouse and hasn’t looked back since.

The Growing Process

The lettuce is grown hydroponically, meaning soil is not used in the majority of the growing process. Rather than soil, the lettuce sits on floating Styrofoam panels with holes that accommodate the root system, allowing access to the fertilized, oxygenated water below. The greenhouse shelters three different “ponds”, each reaching nearly 2,500 square feet. Before the lettuce is transferred to the pond, the seeds are germinated under grow lights until they develop an established root system that can reach the water and nutrients beneath the Styrofoam floats.

The main types of lettuce grown by Greybull Valley Produce include Butter Bibb, Green Leaf and Red Leaf. Beyond the three most popular, Greybull Valley Produce will grow other varieties of lettuce and herbs upon request. The method in which they choose what to grow and how much is determined by their clients and the orders they place. This on demand inventory type decreases the amount of wasted produce and ensures that there is no wasted energy. When it comes time to harvest. The front floats are harvested, and the back floats are then moved forward, awaiting their turn to reach their final destination.

Source Local- Be Delicious

The next time you treat yourself to a fine meal at Wyoming 310 you may discover that you have a larger appreciation for the lettuce on your burger or in your salad. Locally sourced and responsibly grown ingredients enhance the character and quality of menu items and we have to commend Morgan and Melanie for embracing this knowledge and practicing this in their restaurant. Add Greybull Valley Produce to your kitchen when you shop at Lynn’s (Greybull), Down Home Discount (Cody), Blairs (Powell) and Mountain High Health Foods (Cody). Thank you Dwight for taking the time to show us around and thank you Wyoming 310 for giving us the opportunity to explore and learn more about Greybull Valley Produce and a huge thank you for sponsoring Live WYld!