The passion for growing trees runs deep in the Speer family, dating back to the 1930s when the founder of Speer & Sons Nursery, Daniel Speer, used to watch his father bud trees. Now, his grandson and namesake, Dan Speer is vice president of the nursery and running the company his grandfather started is a dream come true.
NM: How did you get started in the horticulture industry?
Dan Speer: My family started this business back in 1948. It was my grandfather who started it, and my dad worked with him after that. Basically, it’s just been a part of my life ever since I was a little kid. When I was young, it was the first job I ever had, and it was always fun for me to be out there with my dad and my grandpa. It was just something I really enjoyed. After high school, I went to college, but I only went there for a year and came back to start working on the farm. I’ve been there ever since.
NM: What do you grow at the nursery?
DS: We grow shade, fruit and flowering trees that are all bare root. We just started a new program with some potted trees as well, so we’ll do some five gallons, seven gallons, 10 gallons and 15 gallons, but the majority of what we do is bare root.
NM: What do you do as vice president?
DS: Basically, I just run the whole operation, so I work day-to-day with the guys in the field and figure out what needs to be done. I handle shipping. My wife works with me, and she does all the accounting, paperwork and stuff like that.
NM: What’s your favorite part of the job?
DS: For my job personally, just being able to watch the trees grow every year. It’s always enjoyable to plant something and see how it progresses through the seasons and be able to see your finished product and know all the work that went into it. My favorite part of the industry is the nice people that are willing to work with each other and help each other in any way they can. It’s been such a friendly environment, so it’s nice.
NM: Why did you decide to come back to the industry when you were at college?
DS: Because I love it, and ever since I was a kid, I knew I would want to work with the nursery. I came back and started doing that. Through the years it’s grown into something I really appreciate and love to do. I couldn’t imagine not being able to do it. It’s just so enjoyable.
NM: When you’re not working, what do you do for fun?
DS: I have a three-year-old and one-year-old, so outside of work they keep us busy on the day-to-day with all the fun activities in school.
For more: www.speernursery.com
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