Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The meeting agenda was presented by the Chair with the floor opened for additions or corrections to start the meeting. The minutes were distributed and reviewed. Hall made a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes and to accept as received and the motion was seconded by Little. The motion was passed along with a few noted corrections to the minutes of participant name spelling and committee/project titles. The chair comments began with discussions regarding the annual report summary. He noted that a number of the committee participants had not submitted their progress reports (AD-421 and reference material) for this past year. Charlie commented on the administrative issues of the 421 reports, as faculty have deadlines for posting their respective reports. There were no administrative reports or updates presented. Patricia McAleer participated in the meeting on behalf of CSREES (Henry Bahn). She began discussions by outlining potential external funding opportunities for the upcoming year. She noted the multi-state and multi-disciplined activities of the group and how a number of our projects would be attractive to various competitive programs. She strongly encouraged more participation by our group in the CSREES competitive funded programs. She distributed overview information for a number of the programs which included the prosperity for small and medium sized farms, national integrated water quality program, and Risk Management Agency among others Additionally, McAleer commented on the LOGIC model in terms of reporting and noted that they are in the process of simplifying the reporting system. Almost everything will be reported in the CRS model. She discussed the budget briefly; the overall funding level will remain the same, although there has been a shift in the formula funding. Hall expressed concern on the changes in NASS resources and plans for conducting the specialty crops survey. Hinson commented on the extrapolation issues in that only 17 states are surveyed. Dennis commented on the usefulness of the information for education efforts and the potential loss of existing resources and educational material if the survey is not conducted. Hall and McNiel commented on the usefulness of the CSREES material that was distributed to meeting participants and thanked McAleer for the material and her insightful comments to the committee. The next agenda item was the committee reports which were as follows: Web-Page Update Hall discussed the website and the transition to a new URL from the existing www.s290.org. The URL subscription will end this month, but will remain active during the transition. By the summer meeting, the new URL for the committee will change to www.s1021.org. Container and Landscape Cost manuscript McNiel started the discussions by distributing copies of the draft landscape cost report to the sub-committee members to review. Hall, Haydu, Hodges, and Mathers make up the sub-committee. He noted that work was ongoing with the container report and that an initial draft should be available by late spring. The review sub-committee members for the container report are Stegelin, Hall, Haydu, and Hinson. It was noted that the field cost manuscript review committee would be set during the upcoming 2007 summer meeting. NRAES Hall began by detailing the aggregate sales of our two publications through the website. The groups publication, Entering a Garden Center Business, has surpassed 1000 orders and the other publication, Enhancing Profitability in a Greenhouse, sales are approximately 75 orders. A few questions were raised regarding potential of adding additional publications to the site. It was noted that the publication committee would handle arranging the landscape cost report to be sold on the site. Economic Impact Hodges noted that a lawn care and sod economic impact study was recently completed. The newest study was a companion piece to the recent national green industry economic impact study. The new study included golf courses into the green industry analysis. The study was completed and presented in summer of 2007 during the Southern Nurseryman Association (SNA) Research Conference and Trade Show held in Atlanta, GA. Hodges provided an overview of the report noting that an article discussing the sod companion piece was published in HortTechnology. Hodges, along with Haydu, commented on the potential to collaborate and develop a Southern Cooperative Series report from the analysis. The manuscript is available on-line at the committees website and on the University of Florida website. Hodges commented on sending an electronic copy of the manuscript to the committee to proceed with a series report. Hall commented on the series review and publishing process noting the internal review process. Hodges additionally noted the opportunities for regional and sector publications for both the green industry and the sod analysis. Dennis and Behe expressed interest in developing a Midwest green industry report and Brumfield for the northeast. Lastly, Haydu commented on a couple of state bulletin reports that were developed through their University and professional association based on the economic impact analysis. He encouraged other states to explore opportunities to promote the economic impact of the industry in their respective states. Consumer Purchases Dennis and Behe reported they have an article in press discussing garden center purchases. They have an additional publication in review that examines gardening participation for home owners verses home renters. Behe reported on a third analysis that examines internet search behavior that is ongoing. Other publications Palma discussed his dissertation research concerning a national study examining flower purchases. He noted that the analysis includes some demographic information along a regional analysis. He currently has an article in review for the national analysis. He noted the regional differences from the analysis. Haydu noted that the national sod production analysis will be published in the upcoming June issue of JEH. Little noted that Richard Harkess has a publication on selection/use of native plants primarily covering zones 7 and 8 looking at why native plants are selected and the motivations. The meeting then moved into discussions on the progress of current studies which included: Labor study There was no official report, but Hodges noted that we should contact Mathers and get an update for the committee. Rainey indicated that he would get a summary from Hannah Mathers for the minutes. Some brief notes from the graduate student, Alejandra Acuña, who assists with the project were reported. They report that the data analysis is taking some time since the analysis was made using stratas (states) and clusters (nurseries), but should be available by the end of June. There are plans to present the analysis at the annual ASHS meeting this year which will be held in Arizona. Several committee members noted the importance of the labor issue as well as the sensitivity and political nature of this issue. Palma commented on a pending proposal to address the legal issues of labor from both a grower and worker perspective looking at issues in Texas. Hodges commented on an ongoing analysis researching wages and benefits for the industry. Hall commented on the American Nurseryman and Lawn and Landscape trade journals recent analysis and publication of wage and benefits information for the U.S. Business Benchmark Analysis Hodges noted that they have updated the benchmark data for 2004 but dont have enough data to update the sector. They have redesigned the website, and Hodges provided a general on-line overview of the site. They presently only have FL data on the website. The data entry forms are updated to provide data from other states. http://Hortbusines.ifas.ufl.edu/hortnba is the website for users to sign in. The site has an automated system for users to log-in. The program has a rule for a minimum of 5 observations to maintain individual user confidentiality. Once the minimum has been reached, the program will generate an average. Haydu commented on discussions with Farm Credit to get access to financial data from growers. Farm Credit would seek permission from the grower to share the growers data. P.J. noted the possibility to have support from Farm Bureau to assist with credibility issues. The on-line system is open to anyone and has secure access. NASS Hall commented on the earlier comments regarding NASS future data collection efforts for specialty crops. Hall asked that Henry coordinate a meeting to discuss this issue with NASS officials between committee members and NASS. Invasive plants Barton commented on the emerging issue of evasive species and the need for additional analysis. She gave a presentation discussing the issues in four broad areas: 1) research on non-invasive cultivars of invasive species, 2) legislation/regulations enacted in some states, 3) voluntary programs, 4) methodology for determining invasiveness. Barton provided a general overview of the various research potential as well as potential industry impacts. There is a committee (Mathers, Barton, Behe, Hodges, Dennis, and Haydu) investigating these issues further. Stegelin commented on some ongoing work to address this issue in Georgia. Barton agreed to communicate with sub-committee to move ahead on this issue. Specialty Cut Flowers Budget Brumfield commented on her ongoing work for the cut-flower budget. She reported presenting a paper at ASHS in New Orleans this past year. She expressed interest in collaborating with others if interest exists. Stegelin commented on their approach to identifying which flowers in terms of querying their state associations to identify the specific flowers to investigate. Container Cost Budget Zones 8 & 9 Hinson commented on the project to update container production costs on zones 8 & 9. He handed out an early draft of the cost estimate and gave an overview of project activities to date including discussions of the Mississippi State Budget Generator (MSBG) program. Hinson noted that the current budget was for a 1 gal. azalea cost estimate and mentioned some of the possible flowers under consideration. He hoped that the budgets would be available by late spring and requested feedback from committee participants. Hall commented that the budget reflected the growing costs and that some of the unspecified expenses include other overhead costs (facilities, etc.). Hinson indicated that the sub-committee would need to meet to discuss the preliminary findings. The sub-committee on the container cost budget will meet following the meeting. Consumer Perceptions and Behavior Behe commented that there was no formal report, but that she should have a progress to report for the summer meeting. RFID No report given, but there was some limited discussions about the potential uses for this innovative technology in horticulture industry. Stegelin commented on some potential for the technology and its utilization on a per plant level. The sub-committee is Harkess, Behe, and Hall. Organic Dennis commented on some initial thoughts. She is currently looking at organic perceptions of consumers for fruits and vegetables. She is interested in collaborating on some research for nursery/greenhouse products. She will provide an update at the summer meeting. Barton commented on some broader issues of sustainability, low impact, design/landscaping issues. It was agreed that the issue would be discussed during the summer meeting. If there is interest, participants should contact Dennis. Other Barton commented on invasive species work that is ongoing. Barton and Behe are currently looking at collaborating to develop, a framework for each state to develop livable plants. The program would follow Bartons efforts in a program called, Plants for a Livable Delaware. Initial efforts would use 34 states to develop the framework prior to expanding the program. She provided an overview of her current program regarding livable plants in her state. The sub-committee on invasive plants will meet following the meeting. On another issue Dennis discussed an upcoming colloquium on barriers to increased horticulture trade volume for horticulture products. The meeting will be held as part of the ASHS in Scottsdale, AZ on July 16-19. If interested in the program, contact Dennis. Little commented on some additional efforts to research the cost of production analysis and marketing of sod in Mississippi. Hall noted that the Southern Nursery Association (SNA) call for titles recently went out, and they are due by April 1. The paper deadline is June 1. The research conference is scheduled for August 8-9 in Atlanta, GA. Details are available online at www.sna.org . Stegelin noted WERA-72 project which currently has call for papers. He noted that the committee had interest in S1021 sponsoring a session at the conference. The meeting is scheduled for June 17-19th, 2007 and is held in Las Vegas, NV. He will send out a follow-up email inviting participation to the conference which will focus on farm competitiveness and profitability. The summer meeting will be held in Portland, OR August 22-24, 2007 during the Far West Conference and Trade Show. McNiel commented on the possibility of this committee presenting during the educational program. Winter meeting for 2008 location was discussed. Hall listed previous locations, and it was noted that the group has not been to Texas for a few years. Participants voted and Austin was decided as the location for the winter meeting, looking at the third week of February as a tentative date. New officer elections will be held during the summer meeting in Georgia. The nominating committee is the five former committee chairs (Hall, Behe, Hinson, Barton, Stegelin). The committee reflects appreciation to Alan Hodges for efforts setting up the tour and the arrangements. Participants expressed gratitude for a terrific location and well organized tour and meeting. Meeting adjourned at 3:20 pm for sub-committee meetings. Submitted by Ron Rainey Secretary

A study using government secondary data in conjunction with primary data collected through a national survey was completed this year to assess the importance of the sod production industry to the United States economy. Results indicate that the 2,124 sod farms contributed over $1.72 billion in gross output or sales impacts to the U.S. economy, $1.31 billion in value added, employed 13,454 people, and paid $28.6 million in indirect business taxes. The top five producing states in terms of sales impacts include Florida ($344 million), Texas ($183 million), Alabama ($118 million), Georgia ($116 million) and Oklahoma ($84 million), accounting for nearly 50 percent of total sales impacts. According to the 2002 Census of Agriculture, a total of 2,124 sod production firms were in operation. These firms had 412,123 acres of sod in production in open fields and harvested 244,354 acres, 59 percent of production area. The sales of sod directly within the respective states (direct impacts) represented almost 90 percent of sales. Indirect impacts, which are the purchase of goods and services from other sectors used in the production process, accounted for $28.6 million (Mn). Induced impacts (effects of money spent from wages and salaries by industry employees) resulted in an additional $163 Mn. The combined output of direct, indirect and induced impacts was $1.72 billion (Bn) for all sod producers. The indirect and induced impacts above and beyond direct sales were just over 11 percent for sod production. Because of their strong economic and political ramifications, employment figures are perhaps the most visible aspects of a business entity or industry. Jobs and unemployment rates are watched closely as indicators of the economic health of a region. Wages spent on goods and services by employees ripple through and stimulate all sectors of the economy. Nationally the sod production industry generated 15,681 jobs and paid out $604 Mn in labor income. Indirect business taxes paid to local, state and federal governments totaled $28.6 Mn. While enterprise budgets are a building block of nursery growers risk information base, little cost of production (COP) information has been put into a management-useful format since 1992. To fill this void, COP budgets for individual container-grown woody ornamental plants (representing common groups of similarly managed plants, specifically azaleas, narrowleaf and broadleaf evergreens, deciduous shrubs, deciduous trees, nut trees) are in the process of being developed using an economic engineering approach, and changing demands of consumers may suggest additional groups. Researchers have updated production systems as well as machinery and equipment requirements, and these inputs have been placed in the Mississippi State Budget Generator to facilitate annual updates. In September 2004, an Internet survey was conducted among 1507 American homeowners and renters to compare their gardening participation and purchases. Because income level and homeownership were related, the sample was stratified to create four groups using the respondent's 2003 household income: Roadside rights-of-way are being managed with a focus on sustainable practices to reduce mowing and increase biodiversity. Talks to a wide variety of audiences (homeowner and professional) have been conducted to show how sustainable practices implemented on roadside rights-of-way can be adapted for use in commercial and residential settings. Specific strategies are discussed in a new publication entitled Enhancing Delaware Highways: A Roadside Vegetation Establishment and Management Manual that is currently in the review and editing process. A new grant from the US Forest Service has funded the publication of a third brochure in the Livable Plants series to address plant combinations for specific garden sites. This brochure is designed to help gardeners and homeowners use native and other livable landscape plants in their home landscapes. Another grant is pending that would allow the development of a fourth brochure in the series focusing on wildlife habitat.

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