Executive Director message

Dear UAC Members and Supporters,

Blue skies, sunshine, warm days, cool

nights. Spring is here. And boy, are we ready for it!

Residential upsurge

2020 forced many industries to adapt and modify operating practices, and it certainly included all sectors of the green industry. With stay-at-home, work-from-home, school-at-home orders, many homeowners decided to update/ upgrade their yards, leading to a surge in residential landscaping services.

The mid-year 2020 national survey by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) reflected some of these realities with close to 60% of residential landscape professionals reporting an increase in business.

In Georgia and most of the southeast, we were fortunate that our state(s) did not shut down or reopened much faster than other parts of the country. Most UAC business owners report that 2020 was a banner year for their company, well exceeding expectations.

The split between residential and city or commercial budgets was the highlight of the NALP mid-year survey. It indicated that remote workers were willing to re-allocate some of their funds into long-pending landscaping projects which contributed to the unexpected increase in business.

Commercial to follow suit

Commercial work is likely to pick up due to the backlog of pending projects fueling the demand, and municipal projects could also see an upswing. In Georgia, particularly, urban and suburban growth is fueling the need for these projects.

And then there's labor...

What has not changed is that the ongoing labor shortage stood out as the greatest concern in the urban ag industry.

Both the NALP report (84% of respondents said that they are still trying to hire) and Lawn and Landscape’s State of the Industry report (43% of participants) cite the labor shortage as what keeps them up at night and inhibits growth.

Impact on growers

The nursery and greenhouse sector also reported a 20-30% reduced man force, which will have current and future implications.

With a shortage of workers in 2020, there could be a shortage of nursery stock of units that grow in one year in 2021. Looking forward five years, a shortage of large caliper trees may occur. This means the average cost of supplies may go up in 2021 unless demand drops due to larger economic trends.

Industry issues

UAC continues to prioritize and advocate for workforce development issues and legislation, and we hope that our leaders in Washington recognize that now is the time to unite and pass comprehensive immigration reform, reexamine and update/simplify guest worker visa programs so that they work. We continue to work with NALP, American Hort, Georgia FFA and Georgia educational institutions to promote green industry careers.

We look forward to networking and socializing with you in person – soon. Be on the lookout for UAC events early this summer, the annual Sporting Clays tournament in October and Sod Producer & Landscape Field Day in November!

Mary Kay Woodworth Executive Director