Bachman’s was already tracking increased interest in green roofs in late 2006 when it agreed to become the sole grower and Upper Midwest distributor of a modular green roofing system from Michigan-based LiveRoof.

“We were already seeing more requests for sedums from roofing and landscape contractors,” says Doug Danielsen, head of Bachman’s green roof division. Those sales were a tip-off because ground-hugging varieties of sedum are the majority of plants used in live roofing systems.

Since 2007, Bachman’s has grown modules for 40 residential and commercial LiveRoofs (a combined 80,000 square feet) on acres it owns in Farmington. Contractors buy the modules wholesale at about $13.50
a square foot and have installed them on buildings from Fargo to Rapid City to Green Bay.

As Danielsen foresaw, the pace of the roofing business is picking up. Already by early spring this year, Bachman’s had bids out for another 60,000 square feet.