- Have a plan. If you don't have a plan, don't get into social media. It will be a waste of your time. The caveat? The rest of the world is moving to social media. "I'm sure that's what you're thinking - another damn thing I need to do," Prevost says. "However, social media is where a lot of the population is going and you have to go where your audience is."
- Get the right person for the job. Task a Gen Y employee with the responsibility of maintaining your social media. Or go to your local high school and ask for their biggest computer geek.
- Use social media to drive people to your website. Include all your contact information on your Facebook page and link from Twitter to your site. But make sure there's something on your website to look at when visitors get there.
- Social media is communicating, not selling. Social media is about talking to people and giving them important information. You can communicate from Facebook, you can't sell.
- Americans have a short attention span. The short 140-character bursts of the Twitter microblog "plays exactly to who we are and what we do."
- Choose one primary message. Decide whether you're branding your own name or your company name across all platforms.
- Overhaul your headshots. Have several poses to choose from.
- Review your domain name. If you don't like it, change it. Is it simple, is it memorable, easy to spell and say? If not, ask for input from your team.
- Get friends. Import your address book into Facebook. Ask your customers if they're on Facebook and if they want to be your friend/fan. If you have heavy hitters in town, see if they're on Twitter and follow them.
- Promote it. Add the link to all your social media in your email signature.
Showing posts with label sessions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sessions. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Getting Into Web 2.0
Social media was on the program for Short Course 2009, and it was great, especially for me, to see so many attendees interested in or using social media. The presenter of Audacity of Change: Social Media was Roy Prevost and here's some of his advice:
Monday, July 13, 2009
Working The H-2A System
Labor issues are generally not anyone's favorite topic, but Willoway Nurseries' Tom Demaline and Emily Jalkanen and ANLA's Craig Regelbrugge offered attendees some great insight on the pros and cons of using H-2A as a resource.
"Do the pros outweigh the cons?" asks Demaline. "We've been using H-2A at Willoway for 12 years and it has contributed greatly to the quality of plant material produced and the company's growth.
Among the many advantages he identified were:
1. Seasonality - "A guest worker program is ideal for our line of work," Demaline says. "Domestic workers don't want to be laid off at the end of the season. H-2A workers do, so they can go home to their families."
2. Culture - Domestic workers typically don't have an ag background when they come to the job. The H-2A workers do, he says.
3. Desire - A higher percentage of domestic workers have little desire to do the hard work required in this job, he says.
Jalkanen, who handles the H-2A details for Willoway, told growers not to try to tackle the program by themselves, at least in the beginning. "First time users need an agent or attorney," she emphasized. "One small mistake can hold up workers for weeks."
ANLA's Regelbrugge said the changes in Washington have reforms to the H-2A program in flux right now, although the groundwork has been laid for improvements. That said, the bottom line is that AgJOBS and H-2B reform aren't likely to go anywhere without some type of comprehensive reform in our national labor policy first. And it's such a contentious subject, every person in the industry needs to not just call and write Washington, but also visit and tell your story in person. "When we visit congressmen or senators, they show us stacks of letters from people who disagree with us. That will take more than an email every six months," he says.
"Do the pros outweigh the cons?" asks Demaline. "We've been using H-2A at Willoway for 12 years and it has contributed greatly to the quality of plant material produced and the company's growth.
Among the many advantages he identified were:
1. Seasonality - "A guest worker program is ideal for our line of work," Demaline says. "Domestic workers don't want to be laid off at the end of the season. H-2A workers do, so they can go home to their families."
2. Culture - Domestic workers typically don't have an ag background when they come to the job. The H-2A workers do, he says.
3. Desire - A higher percentage of domestic workers have little desire to do the hard work required in this job, he says.
Jalkanen, who handles the H-2A details for Willoway, told growers not to try to tackle the program by themselves, at least in the beginning. "First time users need an agent or attorney," she emphasized. "One small mistake can hold up workers for weeks."
ANLA's Regelbrugge said the changes in Washington have reforms to the H-2A program in flux right now, although the groundwork has been laid for improvements. That said, the bottom line is that AgJOBS and H-2B reform aren't likely to go anywhere without some type of comprehensive reform in our national labor policy first. And it's such a contentious subject, every person in the industry needs to not just call and write Washington, but also visit and tell your story in person. "When we visit congressmen or senators, they show us stacks of letters from people who disagree with us. That will take more than an email every six months," he says.
I'm With The Band
So last night, Jen Polanz and I (Pete) sat in on maybe one of the best sessions/gatherings of Short Course - the Retailer Idea Exchange. We walked out of there with 10 or 12 awesome ideas for retailers.
Don't worry, we'll eventually share them all with you. Here's one that I thought was pretty cool:
Now I hope I get this right. This one was offered up by a gentleman who works for Germantown Greenhouses in Wisconsin. How about working with a local or near local high school and their band or sports team.
Working with the band, the crew at Germantown made these brochures that were given to the entire band. The kids are told to give the brochures to anyone they want, and then tell those people to take the brochure into Germantown's store and hand in the brochure when they make a purchase.
Germantown writes the total of the purchase on part of the brochure and keeps it for their records. At the end of a given period, Germantown totals up all the purchase totals they've collected on the brochures. They then give 10 percent back to the band.
So going into it, the band will only get a donation from Germantown if the band members pass out these brochures to people they know. Viral marketing?
An additional bonus...the shoppers feel like they're killing two birds with one stone. They're supporting a local group, and they're making necessary purchases for their gardening needs.
You can take this a step further and try hitting a high school that's in an area your customer base is a little weak. This is a great way to reach out to a few new customers.
Don't worry, we'll eventually share them all with you. Here's one that I thought was pretty cool:
Now I hope I get this right. This one was offered up by a gentleman who works for Germantown Greenhouses in Wisconsin. How about working with a local or near local high school and their band or sports team.
Working with the band, the crew at Germantown made these brochures that were given to the entire band. The kids are told to give the brochures to anyone they want, and then tell those people to take the brochure into Germantown's store and hand in the brochure when they make a purchase.
Germantown writes the total of the purchase on part of the brochure and keeps it for their records. At the end of a given period, Germantown totals up all the purchase totals they've collected on the brochures. They then give 10 percent back to the band.
So going into it, the band will only get a donation from Germantown if the band members pass out these brochures to people they know. Viral marketing?
An additional bonus...the shoppers feel like they're killing two birds with one stone. They're supporting a local group, and they're making necessary purchases for their gardening needs.
You can take this a step further and try hitting a high school that's in an area your customer base is a little weak. This is a great way to reach out to a few new customers.
More Outrageous Marketing Ideas
If you ever get a chance to hear Ron Rosenberg of Quality Talk speak on marketing, I really recommend it. It seems a lot of retailers got ideas from his three-session-long talk at Short Course that they'll implement as soon as they get home.
Here are Rosenberg's top 10 marketing strategies to think about:
1. Focus on benefits instead of features.
Look at marketing materials and ask yourself So what? The most important real estate in your printed materials is the headline.
2. Look for examples outside your own industry.
Don't look at what your competitors are doing and do the same thing. Make your marketing materials about your customers, not about you.
Tip: Get a blue highlighter and a yellow marker. Take your brochures and literature. Anything that's about you, your history or products, highlight in blue. What's about your customer, highlight in yellow. Do you have more blue or yellow?
3. Walk to the edge of the abyss.
"The biggest mistake people make in their marketing is it's boring," Rosenberg says. "Peer deep into men's souls. See what keeps them up at night." Find out what motivates people. What will really get people to sit up and take notice?
We sell retreat, the getting away, getting hands dirty, physical rehabilitation. We sell the nice backyard where you can have a barbeque.
"Marketing is not an expense," Rosenberg says. "Done right, it's an investment with an obscenely high rate of return."
4. The Schnauzer Effect
Once you know someone matches your niche, why would you send just one letter? Keep sending.
Rosenberg has received repeated direct mail advertisements for schnauzer themed gift items. How do these companies know he owns a schnauzer? They bought list of owners of schnauzers from vets and license bureaus. How can you make this model work for you?
Tip: Your brochure should not include feature puke, bulleted list of your capabilities. It should explain how your customers benefit from your capabilities. "Our shrubs help you enjoy your outdoor patio.
5. Make decisions based on facts and data.
Calculate the value of a lifetime customer of your retail store. Here's Rosenberg's example of himself as an airline customer.
Average plane ticket: 500
Trips per month: 2 = 1,000
Months per year: 10 = $10,000
Number of years: 20 = $200,000 = lifetime customer value
How much does it cost to keep customers over their lifetime, compared to how much they'll spend?
6. Stand out from the pack.
Check out LumpyMail.com, which provides send-along items you can mail for promotion. Send your on a letter on a silver platter or send a message in a bottle. It will get attention.
7. The $50 Card
Find out how to guarantee that your market will respond to your communications. Have a specific purpose, a killer headline and a clear statement of value.
To get his college-aged kids to call home, Rosenberg filled out a greeting card, and wrote, "In case there's anything you need, here's a $50 gift card." And he didn't include a card. It made them call home for sure.
8. Great marketing examples are everywhere
Become a student of marketing. Watch QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Pick up the National Enquirer. The average price for a full page ad in the Enquirer is $86,400. If an ad is in the National Enquirer over and over, something about that ad is working.
9. Timing Is Everything
Birthday offers can work, but do them right. Don't be cheap. They don't all get redeemed and customers will spend way more than the offer.
10. Take Action
Why people don't take action?
Here are Rosenberg's top 10 marketing strategies to think about:
1. Focus on benefits instead of features.
Look at marketing materials and ask yourself So what? The most important real estate in your printed materials is the headline.
2. Look for examples outside your own industry.
Don't look at what your competitors are doing and do the same thing. Make your marketing materials about your customers, not about you.
Tip: Get a blue highlighter and a yellow marker. Take your brochures and literature. Anything that's about you, your history or products, highlight in blue. What's about your customer, highlight in yellow. Do you have more blue or yellow?
3. Walk to the edge of the abyss.
"The biggest mistake people make in their marketing is it's boring," Rosenberg says. "Peer deep into men's souls. See what keeps them up at night." Find out what motivates people. What will really get people to sit up and take notice?
We sell retreat, the getting away, getting hands dirty, physical rehabilitation. We sell the nice backyard where you can have a barbeque.
"Marketing is not an expense," Rosenberg says. "Done right, it's an investment with an obscenely high rate of return."
4. The Schnauzer Effect
Once you know someone matches your niche, why would you send just one letter? Keep sending.
Rosenberg has received repeated direct mail advertisements for schnauzer themed gift items. How do these companies know he owns a schnauzer? They bought list of owners of schnauzers from vets and license bureaus. How can you make this model work for you?
Tip: Your brochure should not include feature puke, bulleted list of your capabilities. It should explain how your customers benefit from your capabilities. "Our shrubs help you enjoy your outdoor patio.
5. Make decisions based on facts and data.
Calculate the value of a lifetime customer of your retail store. Here's Rosenberg's example of himself as an airline customer.
Average plane ticket: 500
Trips per month: 2 = 1,000
Months per year: 10 = $10,000
Number of years: 20 = $200,000 = lifetime customer value
How much does it cost to keep customers over their lifetime, compared to how much they'll spend?
6. Stand out from the pack.
Check out LumpyMail.com, which provides send-along items you can mail for promotion. Send your on a letter on a silver platter or send a message in a bottle. It will get attention.
7. The $50 Card
Find out how to guarantee that your market will respond to your communications. Have a specific purpose, a killer headline and a clear statement of value.
To get his college-aged kids to call home, Rosenberg filled out a greeting card, and wrote, "In case there's anything you need, here's a $50 gift card." And he didn't include a card. It made them call home for sure.
8. Great marketing examples are everywhere
Become a student of marketing. Watch QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Pick up the National Enquirer. The average price for a full page ad in the Enquirer is $86,400. If an ad is in the National Enquirer over and over, something about that ad is working.
9. Timing Is Everything
Birthday offers can work, but do them right. Don't be cheap. They don't all get redeemed and customers will spend way more than the offer.
10. Take Action
Why people don't take action?
- Costs too much to implement.
- My business is different.
- I don't have time.
- I don't know where to start or what to do.
Grower Town Hall: Differentiate Or Die
Members of the media aren't allowed to quote anyone who attends the Grower Town Hall directly, but there were lots of interesting ideas flying around at Short Course on Sunday night. Here's some of the highlights on the session, which discussed the next steps of our industry's life cycle.
The panel featured ag economist Charlie Hall, Goldsmith's Faith Savage, Brian Minter of Minter Country Garden, consultant Laurie Scullin, Sid Raisch of Horticultural Advantage and Lisa Takao-McCall of Takao Nursery.
The panel featured ag economist Charlie Hall, Goldsmith's Faith Savage, Brian Minter of Minter Country Garden, consultant Laurie Scullin, Sid Raisch of Horticultural Advantage and Lisa Takao-McCall of Takao Nursery.
- "We're mature, in more ways than one. In such cases, unless an industry redefines itself, it finds itself in its last stages."
- ANLA is focusing on improving the perceived value of plants in two ways: Developing landscaping as a financial asset, something to invest in; and the ecosystems services value of plants, which is that trees that purify the air and plants that purify the water.
- We need to make sure plants are relevent for the customer. They want to know what's in it for them. Tell customer that dollar for dollar, the investment they make in landscaping has a bigger ROI than any other investment they can make. Other types of home renovation investments are declining right now, actually. The opportunity is to work together to get the consumer to understand the benefit of gardening. How do we get that message out?
- The common thinking is that if we lower the price on plants, we'll continue to sell as many units. Actually, the opposite is true. If we raise prices, we'll sell just as many plants, if not more. The number one way to increase the image of plants is to stop advertising based on discount.
- How do we get the younger generation interested in plants? Young people trust celebrities more than any vendor. Young people have connected with cooking through the Food Network celebrities like Rachel Ray. This year, young people having their first connection to the political sphere have followed Michelle Obama's lead and started vegetable gardens.
- How do we leverage new Internet and social networking technology? Jump in and get started. We are losing transactions because some people aren't getting our message in newspapers and on television. We need to communicate with people the way they want to hear our message.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Let Your Customers Tell Your Story
Marketing and customer service consultant Ron Rosenberg closed a jam-packed, Sunday afternoon-long series of sessions on marketing with a presentation on writing creating great marketing materials.
One of his best suggestions was to make better use of testimonials. Most of us already know that word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising, but not many people make the best use of it, he said.
Rosenberg had several suggestions to help growers and retailers do testimonials right:
1. People are naturally suspicious of blind testimonials. Make sure you include the name of the person providing the praise for your business or product, along with their job title, location, and if possible, their website.
2. Tell a story. Make sure the testimonial explains how your business helped them make money, live a better life, etc.
3. A great way to get testimonials is to ask for them. Ask you customers to complete a customer service survey, and be sure to ask questions like "Why did you choose to work with us?" or "What was the best part of your experience?" The answers they provide can be instant - and glowing - testimonials.
One of his best suggestions was to make better use of testimonials. Most of us already know that word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising, but not many people make the best use of it, he said.
Rosenberg had several suggestions to help growers and retailers do testimonials right:
1. People are naturally suspicious of blind testimonials. Make sure you include the name of the person providing the praise for your business or product, along with their job title, location, and if possible, their website.
2. Tell a story. Make sure the testimonial explains how your business helped them make money, live a better life, etc.
3. A great way to get testimonials is to ask for them. Ask you customers to complete a customer service survey, and be sure to ask questions like "Why did you choose to work with us?" or "What was the best part of your experience?" The answers they provide can be instant - and glowing - testimonials.
Transitioning The Business
The greatest piece of advice panelists offered Sunday when it came to succession planning? Communication.
Know what each generation needs to succeed after the plan is in place, and communicate the plan effectively to everyone involved.
On an individual basis, panelist Delores Steinhauser shared her story of buying her father’s garden center in South Carolina, Wingard’s Nursery & Garden Center. They had an attorney draw up a contract to insure everyone involved knew the plan. They valued the business based on the inventory and set up a payment plan for rent of the property.
Her advice to other retailers? “Think through the details of how you want the transition to look,” she said. She also said to consider buying the business rather than one generation gifting it to the next.
Carinne Peters of JR Peters Inc. said her family enlisted the help of a consultant provided by a local university program supported by grant funding at Lehigh University. They were able to lay out the process of the transition for free.
Know what each generation needs to succeed after the plan is in place, and communicate the plan effectively to everyone involved.
On an individual basis, panelist Delores Steinhauser shared her story of buying her father’s garden center in South Carolina, Wingard’s Nursery & Garden Center. They had an attorney draw up a contract to insure everyone involved knew the plan. They valued the business based on the inventory and set up a payment plan for rent of the property.
Her advice to other retailers? “Think through the details of how you want the transition to look,” she said. She also said to consider buying the business rather than one generation gifting it to the next.
Carinne Peters of JR Peters Inc. said her family enlisted the help of a consultant provided by a local university program supported by grant funding at Lehigh University. They were able to lay out the process of the transition for free.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
That's A Lot Of People
Did you know that over 175 million people use Facebook? Facebook has 600,000 new users signing up each month. If Facebook was a country, it would rank sixth in population.
That's a lot of people. Are you a part of this online community? Today during day one of Short Course, Pamela Gilchrist, president of Strategy-Link/PR-Link, went over the important basics of social networking via new social media. She also offered up some interesting facts:
That's a lot of people. Are you a part of this online community? Today during day one of Short Course, Pamela Gilchrist, president of Strategy-Link/PR-Link, went over the important basics of social networking via new social media. She also offered up some interesting facts:
Americans Online
- For those betweens the ages of 18-24, 75 percent are active in social networks
- Those 25-34, 57 percent are active
- And those 35-44, 30 percent are active
- For boomers, this is the fastest growing group taking part in social networking.
Believe it or not, some of these users are also your customers. Currently, if you didn't know this already, Facebook and Twitter are the two most popular forms of social media...and they're both free. Just think if 5 percent of your customer base used Facebook and or Twitter. That's no small number. Instead of or in addition to buying ad space in a newspaper or buying time on the radio, you can market to that 5 percent directly...for free!
Sure, I'm a fan of Facebook and maybe a little skeptical of Twitter, but I can't deny the fact that both social networking tools are excellent ways to get your name out there, and great ways to drive traffic back to your company's website without having to reach into your pockets.
And there was one more cool thing I learned today from Pamela - organic search. By using outlets like Facebook or Twitter, your visibility is increased online. This means is bringing you up more often in searches and you don't have to pay for it.Keynotes From OFA: Do We Share A Common Future With Ag?
Fred Kirschenmann, organic farmer and distinguished fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, asked the crowd at Short Course to think big about the changes our industries will have to make to deal with the future – including energy and sustainable production. What kinds of systems are possible? Although the last 100 years have been steady from a climate perspective, Kirschenmann says we can't rely on such stability in the future. Biodiversity will be necessary to adapt to these changes, exactly the opposite of the disappearance of species that we're seeing. “Now, we think about what we need and how we can force nature to do it,” Kirschenmann says. “Maybe we need to ask how to maintain ecosystems and how we can survive on them?”
Kirschenmann shared the story of a Japanese industrial rice farmer who one day realized that everything he earned had to be reinvested into his business. He wanted to see profit, so he came up with new system. Farmers in the past had ducks in their rice paddies, so he added some and then watched what they did. They ate insects off the rice. He no longer needed to invest in insecticides.
Could he also put fish back in the rice paddies? Yes, he found, he could. With the ducks and fish, algae on the surface of the paddy water no longer needed herbicide, because fish and ducks feed on it. The farmer is now no longer a monoculture grower, producing 5 crops.
What will these changes mean for the future of floriculture? It's time to start thinking about it.
See more on Kirschenmann at his website.
Tracking Inventory Through POS
Do you have a mountain of inventory in your retail shop? The money tied up in that inventory isn't in bank feeding cash flow. Do you know the carrying cost of inventory as a percentage of your costs? Steve Bailey asked that question of Wilson's Garden Center's Ned Wilson, Rice's Nursery & Landscaping's Steve Maddox and Altum's Garden Center's Karen Thacker. Here are some tips from them on how they use POS for better inventory management.
- Hire a data entry person to enter purchase orders. “Too many fingers in that pie cause problems,” Wilson says.
- Rice's has added the margin on each product to its purchase order. “We need to know before it's received what the margin is going to be,” Maddox says. “As keepers of inventory, we need to find the average cost.” Maddox says Rice's used to just look at margins in the winter, but now can look on the fly during the season.
- Thacker says if you can get inventory reports on a weekly basis, only make purchases of two to three weeks of inventory. "It gives enough overage if you sell more than in weeks past. If you're trending more on a certain fertilizer, you need to use gut and order for that. Don't just go by the numbers.”
- Dead and slow-moving inventory reports are important, although it can be scary to see exactly how much inventory isn't moving.
“We usually buy based on emotions and then rationalize what we buy,” Wilson says. When you see what you're not selling, you eventually have to swallow your pride and get rid of it.”
- Altum's tracks its top 100 customers based on sales. POS helps the store track who hasn't shopped lately, so a staffer can call and welcome the customer back to the store.
- Rice's has 7,000 to 8,000 active loyalty program customers. Maddox says the number of customers buying more is increasing and the number of customers buying less is decreasing.
A Small Grower Talks Contract Growing
The contract growing session I attended this afternoon was well designed, with two big growers (Tom Smith, Four Star Greenhouses and George Lucas, Lucas Greenhouses) paired with two smaller growers (Joseph Boarini, Boarini Horticulture Services LLC and John Whalen, Whalen's Greenhouses) to discuss the matter of building relationships.
Whalen, a 31-year-old grower whose operation is located in Toughkenamon, Pa., had some of the most interesting insights. His sentiment about big box retailers, to me, was the most interesting of the session: "The realization is you're not supplying Home Depot. You're supplying the grower. Home Depot is not paying you. Another grower is."
Whalen had a hard time adjusting to the notion his plants were ultimately being shipped to a home improvement chain like Home Depot. He admits he had to get over the fact he was supporting big box stores, though, because contracting growing for growers who serve home improvement chains and other large retailers is a big opportunity. Plus, he says small grower opportunities are fading.
Like all grower-customer relationships, contract growing has its pros and cons.
"The big growers we supply pay well and pay quickly," he says. "Drivers get a check when they leave. The big growers also leave the growing to us.
But, on the down side ...
"Big growers want to get rid of their material first," Whalen says. "You might have great [material], but the grower you're working with may already have what you have. Then there's no need."
Whalen says three growers in his area not contract growing went out of business over the last couple years. One of those growers was in business for 40 years.
Whalen, a 31-year-old grower whose operation is located in Toughkenamon, Pa., had some of the most interesting insights. His sentiment about big box retailers, to me, was the most interesting of the session: "The realization is you're not supplying Home Depot. You're supplying the grower. Home Depot is not paying you. Another grower is."
Whalen had a hard time adjusting to the notion his plants were ultimately being shipped to a home improvement chain like Home Depot. He admits he had to get over the fact he was supporting big box stores, though, because contracting growing for growers who serve home improvement chains and other large retailers is a big opportunity. Plus, he says small grower opportunities are fading.
Like all grower-customer relationships, contract growing has its pros and cons.
"The big growers we supply pay well and pay quickly," he says. "Drivers get a check when they leave. The big growers also leave the growing to us.
But, on the down side ...
"Big growers want to get rid of their material first," Whalen says. "You might have great [material], but the grower you're working with may already have what you have. Then there's no need."
Whalen says three growers in his area not contract growing went out of business over the last couple years. One of those growers was in business for 40 years.
Four Star's Tom Smith On Contract Growing
Tom Smith, president of Four Star Greenhouses in Carleton, Mich., was one of four growers on a panel Saturday discussing how others can make contract growing relationships work for them.Four Star, of course, is one of three Proven Winners propagators in the United States. As Proven Winners grew over the years, the greenhouse operation didn't have the labor to keep up with demand for Proven Winners. That's when Smith turned to other growers.
"We'd probably need more than 200 people if we didn't have off-sites," says Smith, who first hired contract growers 12 years ago. "Capital expenses and labor expenses are the two reasons we use contract growers."
Contract growing can be beneficial for many reasons, including when natural disasters strike. Smith explained how a tornado once struck one of Four Star's growing ranges, shattering glass into thousands of Proven Winners trays. The tornado could have doomed Four Star, but having contract growing relationships in place allowed the operation to acquire the necessary product and ship 98 percent of it on time in the days after the disaster.
In Four Star contract growing relationships, the growers it contracts buy trays, use the soil and crop protection products of their choice, as well as thier own labor force for sticking, pinching and other tasks.
Four Star, on the other hand, is in charge of the following:
• Testing at labs
• Unrooted cuttings: "We're paying for them for a service to root the product for us," Smith says. • Labels
• Action plans: "Even though the other grower is a specialist, we'll use them in our peak weeks. We use our sites the rest of the time so we are always familiar with the crops we're growing."
Problem Plants Part II
In the "Problem Vegetative Crops" session, Rick Schoellhorn, of Proven Winners, acknowledged that varieties sometimes have a few challenges. But, he said, he's seen a couple of other issues that growers often cause for themselves when trying out new crops.
1. Ordering too early: short days that don't provide enough light and cooler temperatures both make it difficult to start plants earlier in the season.
2. Overwatering: Applying an initial watering, then a fungicide drench, then another watering all in the first few days can keep the soil far too moist for most plants.
"Apply your fungicide and fertilizer in your initial watering," he suggests.
1. Ordering too early: short days that don't provide enough light and cooler temperatures both make it difficult to start plants earlier in the season.
2. Overwatering: Applying an initial watering, then a fungicide drench, then another watering all in the first few days can keep the soil far too moist for most plants.
"Apply your fungicide and fertilizer in your initial watering," he suggests.
Sustainability Talk
The word "sustainability" can be a daunting one. Growers tend to approach sustainability as a major overhaul to greenhouse operations, but maybe sustainability simply requires an overhaul in mindset. Paul Thomas of the University of Georgia, for one, says many growers are already embracing sustainability – they just might not know it, and now is the time to document their actions.
Thomas suggests growers write one-page whitepapers that outline sustainable practices with facts, figures and photographs. If you're a wholesale grower, fax that whitepaper to customers as the last sheet in your availability report. If you're a grower-retailer, include a copy in your customer's bag.
"Maybe you publicize the fact you attended this sustainability session at OFA Short Course," Thomas says. "Maybe you share the fact you took a sustainability course."
Just as important, Thomas says, is making employees and management accountable. Growers should make it their jobs to have employees live up to their sustainability standards. And employees who help the boss implement new sustainable ideas should be rewarded.
"Reward employees if they come up with a good idea that helps you enhance your sustainability story," Thomas says. "Give them a day off."
Thomas suggests growers write one-page whitepapers that outline sustainable practices with facts, figures and photographs. If you're a wholesale grower, fax that whitepaper to customers as the last sheet in your availability report. If you're a grower-retailer, include a copy in your customer's bag.
"Maybe you publicize the fact you attended this sustainability session at OFA Short Course," Thomas says. "Maybe you share the fact you took a sustainability course."
Just as important, Thomas says, is making employees and management accountable. Growers should make it their jobs to have employees live up to their sustainability standards. And employees who help the boss implement new sustainable ideas should be rewarded.
"Reward employees if they come up with a good idea that helps you enhance your sustainability story," Thomas says. "Give them a day off."
What's Your Problem?
An interesting - and popular - idea for a session: have representatives from some of the different plant breeders come to share tips and answer questions about growing some of their varieties. Proven Winners' Rick Schoellhorn pointed out that the title of the presentation was "Problem" Vegetative Crops and How To Grow Them," but that the breeders didn't really see these crops as "problems." "They just need a little different help here or there," he said.
One good follow up question from the audience - especially coming on the heels of the morning session on cold growing - dealt with rooting issues.
Selecta's Stefan Reiner emphasized that if you're going to cool grow a crop, you first have to make sure you have a good root system developed. And roots need a little heat to develop.
Ball Hort's Jim Kennedy agreed. "If you don't have roots, you'll have a really, really compact plant."
One good follow up question from the audience - especially coming on the heels of the morning session on cold growing - dealt with rooting issues.
Selecta's Stefan Reiner emphasized that if you're going to cool grow a crop, you first have to make sure you have a good root system developed. And roots need a little heat to develop.
Ball Hort's Jim Kennedy agreed. "If you don't have roots, you'll have a really, really compact plant."
The Pros & Cons Of Energy Grants
I sat in on an early-morning session today titled "The Dollars and Cents of Sustainable Production." Purdue's Roberto Lopez (pictured at left) and Cornell's Neil Mattson (right) led the session, which eventually led to an interesting audience discussion about the pros and cons of government energy grants.By now, you might be familiar with the Rural Energy For America Program (REAP), one of the biggest federal grant programs in the United States. "Money is available from the Farm Bill passed a couple years ago," Mattson says. "The federal government put aside $150 million for improvements in energy."
You may have read about Pleasant View Gardens, the Loudon, N.H. grower that earned a $500,000 grant earlier this year to install a biomass boiler. Other growers who've taken the steps to earn grants recently are Neal Mast & Son Greenhouses ($50,000 for energy curtains), Wenke Greenhouses (for an energy-efficient boiler) and Green Circle Growers ($227,500 for a greenhouse retractable energy curtain).
Any grant money received is obviously a plus, but a few growers in the audience shared their personal stories about the excessive time, energy and money invested in the grant application process. Plus, growers must make investments in energy systems before grant money will be given.
"How do you determine how much you'll be saving with your new system or program?" asks Lloyd Traven of Peace Tree Farm. "You have to put an economic report together to show what kind of return you expect from your sustainable improvement. That takes time."
Peace Tree Farm's general manager spent about 90 hours crunching numbers and preparing the operation's application, Traven says. And the result was a $5,000 grant. So, Traven says, growers must consider more than filling out applications before the government will send you a check for $5,000, $10,000 or another helpful amount.
If you're considering applying for a grant from REAP, Lopez and Mattson suggest beginning preparations now. The deadline for loans or loan and grant combinations for 2009 is July 31, and it's unlikely a grower could make a sound argument for a grant with less that a few weeks to act.
For more information on REAP, click here.
Cold Growing For Fuel Savings
Cold growing is a topic we've been seeing more often recently, especially in poinsettias. Clemson's Jim Faust explained the concept this morning and left the group with three important take home messages to keep in mind if you're considering trying the method:
1. Even "cold beneficial" crops (crops that like cooler temps) flower faster at warmer temperatures while producing higher flower counts at cool temperatures.
2. "Cold tolerant" crops offer opportunities to reduce temps since these crops aren't delayed too badly by cooler temperatures.
3. "Cold sensitive" species are usually not good candidates for reducing growing temperatures. Poinsettias, however, can work with the proper cultivar selection and cultural practices.
The bottom line? With the right crop and the right conditions, you can save enough money on fuel costs to outweigh the expense of an extended growing season.
1. Even "cold beneficial" crops (crops that like cooler temps) flower faster at warmer temperatures while producing higher flower counts at cool temperatures.
2. "Cold tolerant" crops offer opportunities to reduce temps since these crops aren't delayed too badly by cooler temperatures.
3. "Cold sensitive" species are usually not good candidates for reducing growing temperatures. Poinsettias, however, can work with the proper cultivar selection and cultural practices.
The bottom line? With the right crop and the right conditions, you can save enough money on fuel costs to outweigh the expense of an extended growing season.
Purchasing For Profits
Retailer Andy Buyting of Green Village Home & Garden gave a great presentation on smart buying for the garden center. "Purchasing," he says, "is where the first profits are made."
One tip from Andy: Never, ever, ever pay sticker price for anything. Ask for a better price, better terms, whatever. But the key is to ask.
"Don't look at it as a negative thing where you're trying to take advantage of your suppliers," he says. "You're working together as partners to move more product, for them and for you."
It's a win-win situation for both parties and as you build a relationship that helps you both, you'll become a client of choice.
One tip from Andy: Never, ever, ever pay sticker price for anything. Ask for a better price, better terms, whatever. But the key is to ask.
"Don't look at it as a negative thing where you're trying to take advantage of your suppliers," he says. "You're working together as partners to move more product, for them and for you."
It's a win-win situation for both parties and as you build a relationship that helps you both, you'll become a client of choice.
Off To A Good Start
Only four hours in and Short Course is already off to a positive start. Attendance is pretty good for the morning educational sessions. Just ran into OFA's Laura Kunkle, who said registration was up for the show this year. That's great news considering all we've been through with the economy this year. Hopefully the really loud thunderstorm that's rolling through Columbus right now won't keep anybody away.
Jennifer Polanz is on the Retail Bus Tour visiting area garden centers, and the rest of our editors are sitting in sessions all day today. We'll be checking in here and on Twitter throughout the day to let you know what we're hearing.
Oh, and the Greenhouse Grower/Today's Garden Center team finished third in the Dramm 5K Relay this morning. Photos will be showing up here at some point I'm sure. Not that we're excited or anything....
Jennifer Polanz is on the Retail Bus Tour visiting area garden centers, and the rest of our editors are sitting in sessions all day today. We'll be checking in here and on Twitter throughout the day to let you know what we're hearing.
Oh, and the Greenhouse Grower/Today's Garden Center team finished third in the Dramm 5K Relay this morning. Photos will be showing up here at some point I'm sure. Not that we're excited or anything....
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