HORTICULTURE NEWS
January, 2017
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Happy New Year!     
      January is looked at as a time of new beginnings and opportunities!  Some of us are starting new chapters of our lives and others of us are looking to develop new opportunities and adventures.
  This year, rather than filling your New Year's resolutions with "to do's" ( exercise more, eat healthy) try focusing on "to be's" ( be kinder, be more patient). And may all your adventures and opportunities be blessed! 


As we start the new year, there are a few unfinished items that need taken care of. 
  • If you haven't sent in your membership dues yet, please do so as soon as possible. 
  • For those of you who are interested in recycling your greenhouse plastic, please contact me with the approximate poundage of plastic you have.  If you need more information on the program, please give me a call.
  • There are only a couple tradeshow booths still available.  If you are interested, please contact me as soon as possible.

 Please look over this list and make every effort to address those that pertain to you.  

 

Also, don't forget to register for the upcoming Tradeshow!! By registering online ahead of time, you will not have to wait in line the day of the show.  

 
In This Issue

Join NTNGA Today



A Letter From Our NTNGA President 
            Showing Pride in one's work is a basic principle in any business.  Years dedicated to producing and maintaining live products, that can't tell you their needs, is a variable that most wouldn't attempt.   This is the nursery business. Many try, many fail.
            Being a small business, Sunshine Farms has been up and down in the past few years like many of you.  With changing labor laws and tighter labor pools, many more nurseries will find it even more difficult to make it without the resource of an Association like NTNGA to help. Through our monthly letters members are made aware of changing laws, new chemicals, and new products that can enhance their ability to improve products and services. With ever-curious clientele, a website presence is a must for any business.  The NTNGA has a web site designed to help your customers find your products and services.  Membership has many rewards.
            In February each year the NTNGA sponsors an industry specific Trade Show.  Members come together and display their products and services for prospective clients. As the major event of the Association, this gathering not only affords NTNGA Members the opportunity to engage with  potential clients and exchange ideas, but also affords time to build camaraderie in a close-knit but rarely still industry group. During trade show week, we raise money for our scholarship program, the Mary Moser Scholarship.  This auction and fundraiser money is used to provide scholarship opportunities for those interested in the nursery and agriculture business in general.
            The objectives of this organization are simple:  support, educate, and further the relationship between nursery stock growers, landscape architects, landscape contractors and retail garden centers and operators and to promote the general welfare of the nursery industry in the Northeast Texas area. So come and join us! Perhaps, with new management in government, we will get to see a more realistic future for our country.
 
Here's to a prosperous 2017!
 
Sincerely Yours,
 
Nathan Hullum
Sunshine Farms
President, NTNGA 2017

Did you know there are multiple ways to advertise in the newsletter? 
 
Call 903-272-0145 for pricing

 News and Articles from the Green Industry                 

How Bailey Nurseries Has Found Solutions To The Labor Shortage  by Janine Wright  
          Mon Dine isn't your typical Bailey Nurseries employee. His name means "hurricane" for starters, because he was born during a tumultuous year of a political uprising in his country. The military there killed his father and shot his brother, who has spent the last year recovering in the hospital. Mon Dine hasn't seen his wife in two years. She's stuck in Myanmar (formerly Burma) in Southeast Asia, unable to come to the U.S. During Bailey Nurseries' busy season, Mon Dine works in the Human Resources department. It's one of two jobs he works to support his family, and in his spare time, he is learning English or studying for a test. He plans to return to his homeland one day, to help his people.
          To Joe Bailey, Human Resources Director at Bailey Nurseries, Mon Dine is a hero. read more 

Benary's Jennifer Calhoun: How We Can Make Plants Essential To Millennials' Lives by Jen Calhoun
          I see one main issue facing our industry in getting more people to buy plants - we assume that the way we used to sell plants is the way millennials will want to buy them. Nothing could be further from the truth. We sell plants in small packs that you plant in a hole in your garden, with a generic label that says "blooms all season." Millennials don't have gardens, so they want a plant they can put on their fourth floor apartment balcony, or better yet on a shelf in their living room near a window.  We give them too little information to help them be successful under those circumstances. read more  
 
What a Trump Win Means for Horticulture by Matt McClennan 
          The Nov. 8 election surprised many, with Donald Trump coming from behind to defeat favored Hillary Clinton for the presidency. In addition, Republicans kept their hold on both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Republicans now have a unified hold on the U.S. executive and legislative branches of federal government.
          A Trump presidency and the many Republican down-ballot victories have the potential to shake up the green industry.
          Craig Regelbrugge, senior vice president of advocacy and research with AmericanHort, anticipates the election's outcome will have significant impact - most positive, but with some trouble spots. read more  
 
Accident-Injury-Claim-Compensation.  Knowing the Process by Conner Howard
          Many owners and managers of horticultural businesses treat their workers' compensation policies like other types of insurance: it's often out of sight and out of mind. 
          However, also like most coverage plans, workers' compensation is an important consideration for any company and demands more attention than it may receive. Specific laws and regulations vary by state, but many state governments require coverage for wage replacement or other accommodations in the event of an employee injury that leaves them unable to work at their full ability.. read more 
 
 Events around the area                
                                                       
Thursday and Friday, February 2-3, 2017
 NTNGA 23rd Annual Trade Show, 

Mesquite, TX


Wednesday, February 22, 2017
10:00am-2:00pm 
 
 Texas A&M Horticulture Career Fair,  
HFSB Atrium, on Texas A&M University Campus 
Contact Tammy Neel at [email protected] for registration information. 
 
If you know of any events in  your area, or if you are hosting an event, please let me know and we can post it here.

 Classified Ads
For Sale:  Successful, well-established Garden Center with Real Estate for Sale.  Popular Lake Location 45 minutes southeast of Dallas, TX.   Prequalified for SBA Loan.   For details contact Dwayne at 972-458-8989 ext. 204 or [email protected]


If you would like to place a classified ad, or job posting, please call me for information.  903-272-0145
I am excited to begin another year with you  Together let's make 2017 a year of "growth" and opportunity for the NTNGA. 

As always, if you have any questions or need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call.


Charlotte
 
Charlotte Yorkson 
Executive Director 
Northeast Texas Nursery Growers Association
903-272-0145