Social Media Use in Nurseries?

I have often advocated the use of social media for increasing sales of plant material to customers and the general public at large.  I just read an article mentioning that this year there will be more folks belonging to the Millennial generation (those born from 1981 to 1997) than the Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964).  So it might be time to start delving into how the Millennials get information to make purchases and how those purchases might be plants.

Another thing you might like to participate in is a research study on social media use in the green industry. Kansas State University is working on a question of how social media is being used by nurseries and garden centers for marketing.  Here’s an opportunity for you to get some answers about online marketing efforts by participating in a research project.  Questions in the survey will focus on marketing practices, their effectiveness, and their economic impact. Results of the survey (available to participants who submit their email address) will benefit nurseries and garden centers across the country by learning how to reach customers more effectively.  We invite you to participate in the survey.  In addition to helping our industry, there are personal incentives (two chances to win a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate)! Click on the link below to get started (works on mobile devices as well). 

https://kstate.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_a5V6agkkvuTjz3T&source=NNES 

 

Or copy and paste the URL above into your internet browser.

Best Marketing Strategies for Green Industry Firms

Here is a recently published article from an economist at UF looking at different means of marketing and the average returns per dollar spent on different promotional campaigns.  It provides a  look at the size of the business and the effectiveness of the marketing efforts.  It is interesting to note that research indicates Internet marketing is the most cost effective for small firms, followed by print media and mass media.  To take a more in depth look at the fact sheet "Advertising and Promotions in the U.S. Green Industry" you can click on this link.   http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe948

New Businesses Marketing on the Internet

Can internet marketing help you increase your business revenues?  This was a question that some Extension researchers asked and then proceeded to find out the answer.  Yes you can!  The researchers surveyed Mississippi small businesses and found a significant result.  The results from their survey showed that by using the internet you can in fact, increase your business.  The longer businesses used the internet, the older the businesses were, the more employees they had, and the higher the revenue generated.  This might be a compelling reason, especially for start-up nurseries to join the digital age and start selling more plants.  For more information here is a link to the Journal of Extension article by Gallardo and Jacobs.  http://www.joe.org/joe/2014august/rb6.php

Here are a few publications if you are a small grower and looking for a start on the internet
that might help you out.  "Increasing Sales on Small Farms Using Web Based Classifieds,"  http://hillsborough.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/pdf/agriculture/A-Z_pubs/WebBasedClassifieds.pdf
and this one, "How Small Farms can Use Blogs to Increase Businesses."  http://hillsborough.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/pdf/agriculture/A-Z_pubs/BusinessBlogs.pdf

Environmental Horticulture Outlook 2014

For those of you wishing you had a crystal ball to look into the future of the environmental horticulture production industry for 2014 here is as close as it gets.  UF/IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department (FRED) Dr. Hayk Katchatrayn and Dr. Alan Hodges give their perspective for the Florida Nursery and Landscape Industry for 2014.  Overall in their opinion it looks like there will be a similar year as last year. Factors that will affect the increase of sales will be the housing and construction market, homes sales, consumer sentiment, and general employment.  Increases in these areas will generally lead to support in sales of environmental horticulture products.  As an industry we need to be exacting in knowing our costs and diligent in finding new market outlets for our products to increase sales and profit growth.  Remember we are in a mature to declining industry where competition abounds forcing a downward movement in prices.  A bright spot however on the horizon looks to be the landscaping market.  This segment of the industry still seems to have some growth left in it.  Here is Dr. Katchatrayn’s 22 minute report that you can download and view yourself just follow this link.  http://tiny.cc/greenreport2014

Hillsborough/Polk County Nurseries Virtual Tour

Visit some of our local (Hillsborough and Polk County) plant producers anytime from wherever you can view the web. Here is just a sampling of some of the folks who add value to and beautify our community with the products that they grow.  You can view the interactive map and click on the links to the tour stop locations that we have.  http://tiny.cc/nursvirtour

We begin at the Extension office (tour stop A) for an overview of the tour.  Our next stops will be at Sunshine Growers, Tampa Wholesale Nursery, 3 Pines Tree Farm, Wood's Tree Farm, and Council Farms who were gracious enough to be hosts on this virtual nursery tour.  Click on the map link and the videos and enjoy your tour!



 

USF Looking for Growers for Fresh Market

USF is looking for individuals who do not necessarily have to be farmers. Maybe even a backyard gardener or someone who specializes in something, just anyone who might be interested in selling at their market. They would prefer organic but will take conventional to grow the market as long as it is not wholesale or resale produce. They are also trying to educate the USF community on what is in season and the health benefits of what they are selling. They also will sell plants, flowers, herbs and some packaged items. Right now the university has strict rules on anything homemade related to food but they can sell jams, jellies, (one lady sells salsa) as long as it is not in containers or plastic baggies (with the exception of dried herbs). They can sell baked goods but they must be things like artisan breads. They are not wanting to sell anything that is processed, so no cookies, cakes, etc. There is a small application that they can discuss with the farmer. The market date will be Thursday January 30th from 11-3pm with set up starting at 10am. Tabling fee is $10.00 and parking is $5.00. They will consider discussing consignment for someone who has an interest but cannot table themselves. As always Farmers don't have to commit to any specific market They call everyone each month and see what they want to do. So farmers can come in and out as they please, there is no obligation. They also try and visit the farm/property of the person that is selling to see how they operate and what they do. If you would like more information pleas contact Colleen Mulkahey cmulcahe@mail.usf.edu | 813-952-7769 | fb.com/farmusf

Need More Plant Buyers?

How about shipping to Canada?  Before you think that your products won't be wanted in Canada think again. 

I've seen tropical plants being used as annuals, giant palms being rented for outdoor venues, and liners being bought to use as bonsai in northern markets from plants grown here.  I would highly encourage you to check out this opportunity and consider the possibilities.

Attention All Horticulture Companies!


Canada Horticulture Inbound Mission: September 18-24, 2013

SUSTA will bring importers from Canada to the United States and host one-on-one meetings for horticulture companies interested in exporting to this important market. SUSTA-region suppliers can choose to meet with buyers in either Orlando, FL; Nashville, TN or Annapolis, MD for a participation fee of only $20. Registration deadline is July 31, 2013. Visit SUSTA to register or for more information contact Marisol Alvares (marisol.alvares@freshfromflorida), Jon Frady (jon.frady@tn.gov) or Mark Powell (mark.powell@maryland.gov) .

USF Seeking Farmers For Market

Having a backup plan for marketing your plants is always a good thing.  You never know where a valuable customer might be found.  Here is a communication I received from Colleen Mucahey from USF about their need to find some farmers who are willing to sell produce at their farmers market on campus.  They are seeking ornamental plant growers as well.

It is all student volunteers at the moment and it is the last Tuesday of every month from 11-3pm. There are typically about 5-6 farmers because they are just starting out, we've had about 5 markets. This is the mission statement of the group:  FARM is a student-led group of students, staff, and community members, working to reconnect people with the food they eat. FARM seeks to promote eating lifestyles that are more ecologically sound, local/community-based, nutritionally-balanced; and to educate the USF and Tampa community about food production, natural food certifications, and the positive environmental, economic, and health impact of such diets.

Right now we are in need of farmers. We are looking for individuals who do not necessarily have to be farmers. Maybe even a backyard gardener or someone who specializes in something just anyone who might be interested in selling at our market. We would prefer organic but will take conventional to grow the market as long as it is not wholesale or resale produce. We are also trying to educate the USF community on what’s in season and the health benefits of what we are selling. We also will sell plants, flowers, herbs and some packaged items. Right now the university has strict rules on anything homemade related to food but we can sell jams, jellies, one lady sells salsa as long as it is not in containers or plastic baggies (with the exception of dried herbs). We can sell baked goods but they must be things like artisan breads but we don't want to sell anything that is processed so no cookies, cakes, etc. There is a small application I can provide and we discuss these things with the farmer.

Right now it is $15.00 to table and the farmer would have to bring their own tables, chairs, tents. This would cover the tabling fee and parking pass. Right now if a farmer tables with us they pay the $15.00 dollars and the rest they keep. If a farmer is not tabling the fee is $10 and we will sell it for them and give them the money. The tabling fee is our only profit. Consignments work like this. We pick up the product, it is counted and put on a spreadsheet. The farmer names the price and we discuss a few things. Do you want to take back anything we don't sell? If not then we tell them that we will sell their items at the market and then for the rest of that week through word of mouth. On Friday it will be half price. Whatever is left on Friday close of business will be donated to the students and the money will be given to the farmer along with the signed spreadsheet detailing what was sold and for what price. Additionally if there is a need we have gone on a Sunday to pick the crop for the market since most of the farmers that we use are one or two man operations.
Farmers don't have to commit to any specific market we call everyone each month and see what they want to do. So they can come in and out as they please, there is no obligation. We also try and visit the farm/property of the person that is selling to us so both of us can see how they operate and what they do. We try to do this before they come to their first market.

 My contact information is listed below.
Colleen Mulcahey
HR Specialist
University of South Florida
College of Arts & Sciences-DO
4202 East Fowler Avenue, CPR 107
Tampa, Florida 33620
Tel +1 813 974 9102
Fax +1 813 974-3457
cmulcahe@usf.edu

UF/IFAS Extension Helping You--Virtual Marketing

I will be filming short video spots for nursery producers (at your location) to group together into a virtual tour of ornamental plant producers in Hillsborough and Polk Counties.  If you would like to be added to the list of "tour stops" please contact me by email or phone (813-744-5519 ex 54147) at the Extension office.  This is a great way to advertise your business with a media form and to an audience that you may not have reached in the past.  YouTube streams 4 billion videos to users per day according to Wikipedia!  Your farm visit video may be one of them.

Weather or Not You Sell Your Plants

Weather has a big impact on many item sales in the economy. In fact the US GDP is also impacted by factors such as temperature, precipitation, and sunlight.  But do they impact floriculture sales?   In a study published in HortScience  (Vol 47 (1): 71-73), authors Bridget Behe, Kristin Getter, and Chengyan Yue looked at horticultural sales from 42 retail garden centers in the US Midwest over 3 years and how they are influenced by different factors such as weather, month, and day of the week on spring herbaceous plant sales.  Some of their findings were that precipitation had no effect on sales. Increasing units of sunshine lowered sales by 1%. Lower minimum air temperature reduced sales, and higher maximum air temperature increased sales. The highest amount of sales occurred on Saturday. They also found that day of the week and month had a greater impact on sales than did any weather parameter.  I would speculate that some of these parameters may hold true in the Florida market, but I'm not sure that they all hold true.  I’ll let you read the abstract of the article for yourself and let me know what you think.  http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/47/1/71.abstract

New Farmers Market Project

This came in from Mary Beth Henry in Polk Co. and she asked if I would share with my growers.

Four Corners Green Market

Have you ever visited Pike’s Place Market in Seattle? (http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/ )
Ever considered the economic impact a robust market such as this has on the surrounding community?

UF/IFAS Polk County Extension has been contacted to participate in and gather growers for discussion on a proposed green market in Polk County. The developer would like to pick the brain of those most likely to participate as vendors in the market. His vision is big and hopes for public funds to help make the vision a reality. The discussion is designed to draw feedback from producers as to the likelihood for producer participation as an indication of the feasibility and ultimate success of the project. The proposed market would be located in Polk but bordering Osceola, Orange and Lake Counties at the intersection of Highway 27 and 54 (Four Corners). The proposed scale is designed to draw vendors from all over Central Florida. See the location and scale of the project below and attached (attached also available at http://polk.ifas.ufl.edu/AG_Safety/files/pdf/publications/PolkFourCornersMarket.pdf.)

I’m contacting you to ask your participation in the meeting and request that you pass the invitation on to as many as possible that may be interested.

The meeting will be held January 18th at 10 am at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex 2701 Lake Myrtle Park Rd, Auburndale, FL 33823. We expect the meeting to last about 2 hours. See directions here http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?e=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=217964219781809525293.000453181969471143ab2

Contact for more information:
Quen Wilson, AICP, CPM
Concurrency and Entitlements Director
Polk County Office of Planning and Development
(863) 534-6792
quenwilson@polk-county.net

This is a big idea that could change the scope of direct to consumer marketing in Central Florida. We appreciate your time and hope you will be able to attend!

If you are not able to attend but are willing to provide comments on the project, please comment on the Polk Small Farms blog posting here.
http://polksmallfarms.blogspot.com/2012/01/proposed-green-market-in-polk-county.html
Thanks again for your time!

Ornamental Plant Benefits

Marketing plants in this economy may seem overwhelming and the name of the game seems to be "Strive To Survive."  A simple marketing concept you can do for free is to constantly keep potential customers aware of the multitude of benefits derived from the products we grow. Every time a scientist mentions the fact that a particular fruit or vegetable has a health benefit, there is an increase in demand for the product. I feel that we need to do a better job of letting the public know how much benefit there is to creating beauty in the landscape with our products.

Here is a great summation of those benefits in a paper that was published in the Journal of Environmental Horticulture.  The title of the paper is "Economic, Environmental, and Health/Well-Being Benefits Associated with Green Industry Products and Services: A Review" by Dr. Charles Hall and Melanie Dickson.  Click on this link for the study http://tiny.cc/plantsaregreat   I feel that every grower needs to memorize this list of benefits and tell people about it, write articles about it, or adapt it as a handout or fact sheet for your office counter to give to customers as they go through.  You might even want to mail it to your retail cusotmers so that their customers can read it. 
When commercial/residential occupancy rates are down and home sales are slow, it is a great time to spruce up the exterior of the building and in the meanwhile make a return on your investment. Especially when there are deals to be found in the nursery industry.  Remember to sell the sizzle and not the steak!

Trees are Beneficial

Here is a nice article about the benefits of trees from Nursery Management and Production.  I've created a link to the article in the magazine.  You can flip through the rest of the magazine from the link.  If you are a grower and don't get the magazine it is worth your while and it is free to subscribe.  The article is basically a summary of different benefits shade trees convey to urban areas. It is also a good article to use when trying to let your buyers be aware of how valuable your product really is and how important trees are to society.  Correctly planted and maintain trees have benefits of reducing storm water runoff, increasing property values, creating natural resource jobs, reducing energy consumption, increasing community health and welfare, decreasing stress, and creating natural habitat for wildlife. Remember the marketing saying, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.”  If you would like to read further here is the link to the NM Pro article: http://tiny.cc/nmprotrees

Increase Your Sales Using the Internet

Would you like to learn how to increase ornamental sales from other growers who are web-savvy or would you like to be in on a meeting to generate ideas on how to increase sales using the web? Extension will be having a half-day workshop on Using the Internet to Increase Sales on Feb. 16 from 8:00-12:30 in Apopka, FL.

Here's the agenda: Building a Better Business to Business Website with Erin Freel Nest, The Market Place Web Design & Video Production from Weirsdale, FL and Using Social Media to Market Your Product with Tracy Irani, PhD, Agriculture Education and Communications Dept., Gainesville, FL.

We will also include using the program Market Maker which allows growers to market directly with buyers via the new Florida wide website.

There will also be a growers panel (Travis Council, Alan Bunch, and Rick Brown from our area) who are currently using the web to drive their plant sales.

I will be personally driving a van of up to six participants to the workshop in Apopka. You are welcome to drive yourself but it might be nice to fellowship with your fellow growers in the area on the way there and back. If you would like to ride with us you will need to be at the Hillsborough County extension office at 6:00 AM. You also need to click on the following link to register as I can only take six people.

http://internetsales021611.eventbrite.com/

There will only be seats available for 30 participants at the program so register early. Here is the flyer link for further information.

http://hillsborough.extension.ufl.edu/Ag/AgOrnProd/A-ZPublications/internet%20sales.pdf

Call the number on the flyer to register without riding in the van.

Plant Availability????

Are plants going to be in short demand? This blog post was sent to my attention from Hugh Gramling. Here is a perspective viewpoint from an anonymous broker with a guest post on Dr. Charlie Hall's blog. The perspective is that from what the broker sees around the industry is that plants might be in short supply. From his interactions with growers and the like, this broker seems to find plant availability might be wanting in the near future. This might be good as wholesale prices will rise to meet the limited supply thereby reversing the downward trend on pricing we currently see. You might have other opinions or comments from what you see at your nursery which you are welcome to leave a comment on this page for others to think about. Click on Dr. Hall's blog to read more...

http://ellisonchair.tamu.edu/2010/12/01/guest-post-viewpoint-on-avalailability-and-quality/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MakingCents+%28Making+Cents+of+Green+Industry+Economics%29

Trees Can Heal Us

For those of us who work in the green industry we already know how rewarding it can be to see our products creating lasting landscape impacts. One of the perennial issues we face is getting the public to recognize the benefits of environmental horticulture. As producers we also appreciate the beauty that our plants can bring to an environment. Here is an article from ScienceDaily. Although it mentions forests in the article, I have no doubts that the same experiences can be felt in beautifully landscaped places. I hope that this article might reassure you of the beneficial impact of plants on people. I also hope that this article will bolster your spirits in the summer slowdown while you produce your plants for everyone to enjoy. Here is the article from ScienceDaily below.

"The Healing Effects of Forests
ScienceDaily (July 26, 2010) — "Many people," says Dr. Eeva Karjalainen, of the Finnish Forest Research Institute, Metla, "feel relaxed and good when they are out in nature. But not many of us know that there is also scientific evidence about the healing effects of nature." Forests -- and other natural, green settings -- can reduce stress, improve moods, reduce anger and aggressiveness and increase overall happiness. Forest visits may also strengthen our immune system by increasing the activity and number of natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells.
Many studies show that after stressful or concentration-demanding situations, people recover faster and better in natural environments than in urban settings. Blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the level of "stress hormones" all decrease faster in natural settings. Depression, anger and aggressiveness are reduced in green environments and ADHD symptoms in children reduce when they play in green settings.
In addition to mental and emotional well-being, more than half of the most commonly prescribed drugs include compounds derived from nature -- for example Taxol, used against ovarian and breast cancer, is derived from yew trees, while Xylitol, which can inhibit caries, is produced from hardwood bark.
Dr. Karjalainen will coordinate a session on the health benefits of forests at the 2010 IUFRO World Forestry Congress in Seoul. "Preserving green areas and trees in cities is very important to help people recover from stress, maintain health and cure diseases. There is also monetary value in improving people's working ability and reducing health care costs." she says."

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100723161221.htm

Tampa Spring Expo

Just wanted to remind you of the upcoming Tampa Spring Expo. This will take place at the State Fair Grounds in Tampa on February 19 and 20. This is a good time to try and drum up some sales, catch up on all the latest happenings with your fellow industry members, and share some camaraderie with your friends.

For having fun, before the Expo there will be the event Birds and Birdies which are independent golf and shooting events.

For educaton there will be the Tree and Landscape Short Course on the 19th. With good information on irrigation, landscaping, and core topics. Here is the brochure if you would like more information:http://prohort.ifas.ufl.edu/events/CalendarPubs/TLSC_Brochure.PDF This course will take place at the Trinkle Center.

The event will also culminate with the plant auction on the 20th before the trade show ends. Any participants can donate their booth to the TBWG and we will auction it off. It is a great chance to purchase plants at deep discounts. This is a great opportunity for landscapers and retailers! The money raised will be donated to the Hillsborough County Environmental Horticulture Extension Program as well as research in Env. Hort. at UF.

Here is a link with all the information:http://tbwg.org/TSE.html

Competition is tough

Here is another short video on the nature of the digital changing world and competition in the labor market for the future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

Sobering information.

Greenhouse and Nurserey Financial Program for Hard Economic Times

We all know that these economic times are the worst that many in the industry today have ever seen. And you can throw out all the old models as to what has worked in the past. The rules of the game have changed and we need to adapt in order to survive.

I have helped put together a free half day program with Lelan Parker (an extension agent in Orange County) to help bring you Financial Program for Hard Economic Times that will be on Oct. 14, 2009 at 8:00

As speakers we will have Mark Moritz from FDACS speaking about getting your money back from non-payers with the Ag Bond. Dave Palmer and myself will be speaking about using the internet for marketing. Dr. Alan Hodges will be speaking about cost anaylsis for nursery production, and Dr. Allen Wysocki will discuss marketing for your production. Both Drs. Hodges and Wysocki would be great to pick brains with in terms of economics in general or plant production or marketing specifically. Dave Palmer is also a web guru who is extremely knowledgeable about websites and optimization of your site for search engines.

It may be a good opportunity to just get some inspiration or new ideas to try to help your marketing efforts.

Here are the links for more information and the flyer: http://hillsborough.extension.ufl.edu/Ag/AgOrnProd/CalendarPubs/EconomicTimes_GreenhNursy_OCT2009.pdf


And here is the link for online registration: http://091014growers.eventbrite.com/

Matchmaker Meeting with Sen.Rhonda Storms

We had an interesting matchmaker style meeting with Sen. Rhonda Storms and the Tampa Bay Wholesale Growers. I was able to help bring together the growers within Sen. Storms district and she was able to get the various municipalities, governments, and Florida Department of Transportation districts and contractors for jobs that will be using Federal stimulus money on highway beautification projects around the state. It was her hope that we could get stimulus money into the hands of gowers and landscapers within her district. It was a great idea and many growers left with some novel thoughts on how to market to contractors and landscapers that will be trying to get some of these projects. There was a good turnout with about 120 people tossing around options and ideas and learning what projects are going to be showing up in the bidding process. Here are some pictures of the meeting.