story of Limoneira & Renewable Energy

Meet Limoneira

Limoneira has been a valued Chipotle partner and supplier since 2010. They supply us with fresh lemons that we use to create our salsas, meranades, guac, and beans. Limoneira has found success with their sustainable farming practices and believes sustainability will help them address current and future challenges.

Learn About Their Renewable Energy Projects

In 2008, Limoneira completed two state-of-the art solar projects. They started that journey in 2004 when senior management wanted to set a goal of taking their operations ‘off grid’ by 2020. Although they missed the mark, they are currently 50% renewable and plan to be 100% renewable in the next 5 to 7 years. Limoneira also has a goal to reduce 86,150 tons of CO2 over the next 25 years with the help of renewable energy and packaging reduction. They are also working with a Sustainability Consultant and focusing on the future of their environmental program.

The Importance of Sheep Grazing

Because sheep are naturally suited for the job of solar grazing, Limoneira uses sheep in their solar orchards and allows them to graze for 7 hours a day. The sheep enjoy the shade of the solar panels on hot days and are able to graze where humans would struggle to reach. Grazing the orchards helps to achieve an environmentally friendly field while also being a good practice of animal husbandry. Animal husbandry is the science of breeding and caring for farm animals including animal care, health and hygiene, and maintaining farm infrastructure. Limoneira chose English pygmy sheep because they can’t jump on the solar panels and they're small enough to fit under most of them.

The Future of Farming at Limoneira

Limoneira believes that technology will be the main driver of farming in the future. They also believe farmers will be able to deliver an exact amount of nutrients and water at the correct physiological time, allowing the plant to express its genetic potential. Limoneira hopes farmers will also be able to maximize the space from low to high density plantings, impacting the utilization of resources and reducing inefficiencies in the farming inputs.