The 2008-2009 economic data for the nursery industry have been compiled and released by Hoy Carman, professor emeritus, Agricultural and Resource Economics at University of California-Davis. The report reveals the combined onslaught of drought, recession, the housing slump and regulatory measures hit the industry hard. Some key highlights include:
Total sales impact: wholesale sales $3.75 billion, retail sales $11.74 billion.
Nursery enjoyed an uninterrupted 7.4% average annual growth rate (AGR) over 15 years from 1992-2007, but fell 19.4% in 2008-2009 due to the combined impacts of recession, drought, and the homebuilding collapse.
California nursery and floriculture generate 192,065 jobs: 3,549 producers employ 74,940 for a total payroll of $1.78 billion, while 11,142 retail outlets employ 76,225 for a total payroll of $2.29 billion. Indirect effects add 40,900 jobs worth $1.5 billion, for a total of 192,065 jobs worth $5.6 billion.
California leads the nation with 21.9% of total nursery production and 8.7% of lawn and garden retail sales.
Combined, nursery and floriculture are California’s #2 agricultural commodity, producing 9.1% of the state’s total agricultural output.
Read a summary of the report here.
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