Research Accomplishment Reports 2007

Marketing, Managing, and Producing Environmental Plants in a Technical and Economically Efficient Manner

R.E. McNiel
Department of Horticulture

 

Project Description

Budgets related to landscape firms, field nurseries and container nurseries which would operate in YSDA hardiness zones 5 & 6 were updated for 2007 values.  Input values were obtained from firms in the Ohio river valley when possible.  Data on production costs are useful for firm owners to assess their own costs or to develop a cost allocation system with their firm.

Updated values for field nursery production were determined for five crops.  Land, building, liner, and labor costs had the most influence on production costs since the last update.  Comparisons were made for firms operating 50 and 200 acres of production.   Total costs per salable plant for 18-24” taxus  was $29.97, for a small firm(s) and $16.67 for a large firm(l); for 18-24” juniperus was $21.31 for (s) and $12.23 for (s); for 3-4’ viburnum was $20.34 for (s) and $12.23 for (l); for 2” acer rubrum was $95.12 for (s) and $73.35 for (l); and for 1½” malus was $67.47 for (s) and $52.82 for (l). 

Updated values for container nursery production were also determined for five crops. Land and labor costs had the most influence on production costs since the last update. Comparisons were made for firms operating 17 and 33 acres of production.  Total costs per salable no. 2 container plant for juniperus was $7.06 for a small firm(s) and $6.12 for a large firm(l); for cotoneaster was $7.61 for (s) and $7.22 for (l); for taxus was $9.62 for (s) and $9.14 for (l);  for viburnum was $10.04 for (s) and $9.69 for (l); for rhododendron was $12.60 for (s) and $11.96 for (l).  

Impact

Management salary and underused equipment does not allow the small firm to be competitive within the industry.  Diversification into landscaping or other activity may assist in spreading management and equipment costs over more activities and thus bring the plant production costs down.   Container production requires less equipment input than a field nursery, therefore underused equipment is minimized.  Management costs are spread over more plants with a large firm over a small firm.  While production costs were greater for the small firm, they are not so great that they would not allow the firm to be competitive in a local market.

Publications

McNiel, R. E., B. Vaneva, J. Snyder, and S. Bale. 2007. Hydrangea production in containers as a system to generate floral cut stems. UK Nursery and Landscape Research Report PR-554, page 6.

McNiel, R. E., B. Vaneva, J. Snyder, and S. Bale. 2007. Hydrangea production in tunnels as a system to generate floral cut stems.  UK Nursery and Landscape Research Report PR-554, page 7.

Snyder, J., B. Vaneva, McNiel, R. E., and S. Bale. 2007. Development of a quantitative color analysis system for hydrangea.  UK Nursery and Landscape Research Report PR-554, page 7-8.

Leeson, T., R. E. McNiel, J. Snyder, S. Bale, and W. Dunwell. 2007. Post-harvest vaselife evaluation on two cultivars of Hydrangea paniculata. UK Nursery and Landscape Research Report PR-554, page 36-37.

Leeson, T., R. E. McNiel, J. Snyder, S. Bale, and T. Jones. 2007. Post-harvest vaselife evaluation on Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’. UK Nursery and Landscape Research Report PR-554, page 37-38.