Since immigrating from Mexico in 2008, Roberto Ramirez has become an influential indoor-farming leader in Minnesota and the U.S. After developing a love for agriculture on his grandfather’s farm, he honed his skills at Mexico’s first high-tech greenhouse, then moved to the U.S. to lead greenhouse operations in states like Nevada and California. In the past year at Owatonna-based Bushel Boy Farms, Ramirez led the installation of GE hybrid lighting with LED lamps, resulting in a double-digit increase in crop production and 20% energy savings. In partnership with 3M, he’s innovating with light-management films to better direct sunlight onto crops, saving energy. In 2022, Ramirez launched cucumbers, a crop he grew in Mexico, at Bushel Boy, which makes the company the first in Minnesota to produce cucumbers year-round.