CNGA LooseLeaf June/July 2019

10 colorad o nga.org LooseLeaf June/July 2019 them. We understand that our customers need to succeed. They’ve helped us grow to where we are as a company, so their belief in our introductions is even more valued. Our hope is that by marketing and getting the information to our customers, the word about our improved plants gets out to designers, landscapers and retailers so they have confidence in new trees and see better options. There are hundreds of varieties of different species and options of new and better varieties for our finished container, bare root and B&B products that are popular with growers, wholesalers and garden centers. Other Variables in Production Planning Labor availability is a significant variable for the green industry. Because of concern about or lack of labor, we can’t swing too much in either direction, increasing or decreasing production. On one side, we may not have enough workers to handle the increase in production, and on the other, we don’t want to let go of valuable workers even if we can’t fill their schedules. One of the most important things we do to balance our production is really understanding our costs. We do annual studies of costs by variety and size. Where margins are thin, we will be conservative with production. For those items where margins are greater, we might be a little more aggressive in our scheduling. Understanding our costs has really helped us better balance production whether the market is slowing down or speeding up. In addition, we’ve got a production staff with a depth of knowledge that allows us to make changes in our cultural practices throughout the year. They can stage prune to try to hold crops back, or do things to speed up production. Those people behind the scenes do play an important role in meeting demand. RB As far as what the economy does... I think everyone would love to have that crystal ball. It’s extremely difficult to estimate how to meet demand for living, breathing products that are going to be sold five to six years from now. The biggest thing we can do is keep market demand high with education, variety and quality. We’re fortunate to have the track record of almost 75 years of new trees to the market with improved quality. Our hope is to be here for customers whether the demand is low or high, by maintaining what people expect from J. Frank Schmidt. We truly appreciate our customers; that’s really what drives our company, and we have confidence that we’ve built relationships to last through good and bad times. We are there for them, and they for us. “One of the most important things we do to balance our production is really understanding our costs. ... Where margins are thin, we will be conservative with production. For those items where margins are greater, we might be a little more aggressive in our scheduling.” – Marc McCormack Photos courtesy of Bailey Nurseries » continued from previous page