From the early 1920s to the mid-1950s, South-Central Colorado was such a crucial source of produce that Buena Vista enjoyed a two-decade run as the “Head Lettuce Capital of the World.”

That “green gold rush” ended when innovations in refrigeration and shipping technology gave California an unbeatable edge.

But southern Colorado could once again see a lettuce comeback, just a little further to the east, with technological advances and high fuel costs tipping the advantage back in the state’s favor.

An unnamed hydroponic grower, applying as Project Deep Root, received state approval on Thursday morning for $2.75 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits tied to 413 new jobs in Pueblo County.

The company plans to spend $320 million on a 40-acre greenhouse complex that will grow lettuce without soil and pesticides.

Michelle Hadwiger, director of global business development at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, pitched the project to the Colorado Economic Development Commission as “Colorado’s largest controlled environment agricultural project.”

Project Deep Root is considering alternative locations in Idaho, Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Those sites suggest the applicant is likely Little Leaf Farms, which is based in Devens, Mass.

Besides a 60-acre complex in Devens, the company has a 30-acre greenhouse in McAdoo, Pa., and an 80-acre complex under construction in Manchester, Tenn.

Little Leaf Farms raised $300 million in 2022 from investors to build a national footprint and disrupt California growers who ship their products thousands of miles.

With average diesel prices now above $6.28 a gallon in the U.S., transportation costs have become critical for all agricultural producers.

A spokesman for Project Deep Root told the commission that the Pueblo facility would target markets within a two-day drive, which aligns with Little Leaf Farms’ goal of reaching store shelves within 24 hours after harvest.

Safety and sustainability are also part of the company’s pitch.

Repeated outbreaks, most recently from the parasite Cyclospora, have put open-field farms under scrutiny. Little Leaf Farms uses rainwater collected on its roofs and sanitized with UV treatments to eliminate pathogens.

It also claims it can produce lettuce using 90% less water than conventional open farm methods, a selling point in a drought-stricken state like Colorado.

Colorado’s colder climate, however, leaves greenhouses at a disadvantage. Little Leaf Farms uses a newer insulated glass that allows for efficient year-round operations in colder climates.

Apart from cloudy days, its greenhouses rely on natural light, which should help shield it from higher electricity prices that have squeezed fully indoor vertical farms like 80 Acres Farm, which shut down its Aurora operations last month.

Ladybugs provide the minimal pest control needed, avoiding harmful chemicals. From planted seed to finished head, no human hand touches the production during its automated run, according to the company’s website.

Project Deep Root said it would pay its workers an average annual wage of $56,910, which matches the average wage in Pueblo County. That was on the low end of the five companies approved for incentives Thursday, resulting in a relatively smaller award.

Average wages offered by photonics and quantum computing firms looking at Boulder County were two to three times higher. But the sheer number of jobs should have a meaningful impact on Pueblo’s manufacturing economy.

The San Luis Valley and northern New Mexico, with their sandy soils, cool night temperatures, and rail access, became a core growing area for Crisphead lettuce a century ago.

The harvested lettuce heads were packed in heavy wooden crates with ice, which crews hauled from mountain lakes during the winter.

Those crates, frozen together into large icy masses after shipping on railcars, would result in Crisphead becoming rebranded as Iceberg.

The Colorado fields primarily filled the summer gap, when temperatures were too hot in Arizona and California.

Improvements in commercial vacuum cooling allowed California growers to chill their lettuce in under 30 minutes without the use of ice, eliminating a key advantage Colorado had.

As the green gold faded away, farmers in the San Luis Valley reverted to growing potatoes again.

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