Meeting of the minds

In October 2014, Nursery Management hosted the Nursery Grower Business Coalition, which brought together 25 green-industry representatives to discuss vital issues facing nursery production, marketing and sales.

This event allowed attendees to break into small groups and examine the issues on a more personal level. These nursery professionals shared their own experiences, asked advice of others and heard different perspectives regarding the issues.

The topics covered during two days of talks were:

• Labor – Immigration reform; finding and retaining employees; how the lack of labor affects production, sales and profits; attracting the next generation to work at the nursery.
• Production – Percentage of production increases or decreases; profitable crops; crops with the most volume; expansion plans; shortages in the market; production innovations; plant prices.
• Water – Water conservation practices; drought and its effect on the industry; government restrictions regarding water use and water quality.
• Automation/technology – Types of automation used; amount of investment for automation; the use of computer technology at the nursery; automation needs not yet being met in the industry.
• Marketing – The pros and cons of a national marketing campaign; learning more about the end consumer; keeping up with lifestyle trends; effective marketing tools; use of social media; marketing the economic and health benefits of plants; marketing to the different generations; use of branded plants.
• Market/supply chain – Selling to big-box stores; selling to IGCs; customer demographic changes; sales increases and decreases.
• Market consolidation – Amount of industry shrinkage; effect of consolidation both positive and negative.
• Government regulations – The lack of immigration reform; proposed changes to the Clean Water Act; pollinator safety issues; Affordable Care Act; plant patent laws; being a united front across the supply chain to make the industry’s voice heard in local, state and national government.
• Shipping/transportation – Pros and cons of operating your own fleet; pros and cons of using a third-party carrier; managing shipping costs; driver shortages; challenges of shipping into other countries.
• Energy – Joining power cooperatives; using alternative energy; energy conservation tactics; energy audits.
   

One of the exceptional aspects of this gathering was the diverse group of professionals, including small, medium and large growers; young plant and finished growers; field production and container production; outdoor production and greenhouse production; as well as first-, second- and third-generation growers. Each one had something to share and offer.

Before we adjourned, we came together and identified action points for continued discussion – ones that would most benefit the industry. And advancing the industry is the sole reason we facilitated this event.

The group's action points are:

• Marketing and the use of a unified campaign
• Trucking/transportation
• Truly understanding the costs of operating a nursery
• Pricing margins
• Differentiation in the market
• Labor
• Government regulations
• Attracting the next generation to work in the industry
   

This entire issue is devoted to some of the discussions among the group, as well as some of the innovative and valuable ideas that growers shared with one another. We look forward to continuing the conversations this year.