SAVE 15% on printed products and discounted rates with Deluxe Payweb payroll system. Order online at deluxe.ca, or call 1-800-461-7572 and input your CNLA member code (available at CNLA.ca).
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SAVE 10% MRSP plus a 2.5% CNLA partnership discount. Print and marketing in EVERY store in Canada!
20 % OFF most products or services in the Solution Shop –Either in-store, or online at WWW.STAPLESCOPYANDPRINT.CA With 300 locations there is always a store close by. 10% OFF on select regular priced merchandise. Contact CNLA to receive
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This platform helps manage all of the dates, statuses and documents for every locate, and prints the completed job-site paperwork with just one-click. Contact Je Morris, 289.396.7568, je @webility.ca
DISCOUNT when you sign up with Know More Hazard for their Field Level Hazard Assessment App through the CNLA. Trevor Hall 403.888.2137 info@knowmorehazard.com
for all members on social media management packages. To get started, visit www.reactivedesigns.ca/cnla-social-media-
credit card application (available at CNLA.ca) and then contact SuperPass at 1-888-999-2609 or superpasscanada@suncor.com
DISCOUNT 3.1cents/litre on Retail Fuel, and 1cent/litre OFF Cardlock Fuel. Special pricing available on bulk fuel, email CNLA@parkland.ca for details. 5% OFF MSRP . Please see dealer for details.
COMING SOON!Stay tuned for new programs!
SAVE 15% on printed products and discounted rates with Deluxe Payweb payroll system. Order online at deluxe.ca, or call 1-800-461-7572 and input your CNLA member code (available at CNLA.ca).
memberservices@cnla-acpp.ca
1.888.446.3499
SAVE 10% MRSP plus a 2.5% CNLA partnership discount. Print and marketing in EVERY store in Canada! 20 % OFF most products or services in the Solution Shop –Either in-store, or online at WWW.STAPLESCOPYANDPRINT.CA With 300 locations there is always a store close by.
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MANAGING EDITOR Joel Beatson
CONTENT & EDITING Kyla Hardon
LAYOUT KWL Design
Landscape Alberta Green for Life is a professional publication for the landscape trade in Alberta.
Editorial and Advertising
Landscape Alberta
18051 107 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB T5S 1K3
P: 780-489-1991 F: 780-444-2152 admin@landscape-alberta.com
Landscape Alberta does not assume responsibility for and does not endorse the contents of any advertisements herein. All representations or warranties made are those of the advertiser and not the publication. Views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Landscape Alberta or its members. Material may not be reprinted from this magazine without the consent of Landscape Alberta.
ISSN No: 1929-7114 (print)
ISSN N0: 1929-7122 (online)
Landscape Alberta Board of Directors
Brian Gibson, Green Drop Lawns Ltd., Chair
Ken Ruddock, ULS Maintenance & Landscaping Inc.
Cody Brown, Tree to Tree Nurseries Ltd.
Jeff Oudyk, CSLA, AALA, JLG, Land Tec Landscape Contractors Ltd., Vice Chair
John van Roessel, CLM, CLT, JVR Landscape (2006) Inc., Treasurer
Matthew Chausse, Seasonal Impact
Laura Watson, Finning Canada
Adam Jansen, The Jansen Group
Landscape Alberta Staff
Joel Beatson, CAE, CLM, CEO joel.beatson@landscape-alberta.com
Marnie Main, Member Services Director member.services@landscape-alberta.com
Kyla Hardon, Communications Coordinator kyla.hardon@landscape-alberta.com
Lisa Warner, Events & Relationship Coordinator lisa.warner@landscape-alberta.com
Cheryl Teo, Bookkeeper accounting@landscape-alberta.com
On the Cover
2022 Lansdscape Award of Excellence Winner and National Award of Landscape Excellence Finalist, Planta Landscape Inc., Britannia Ridge
@landscapealberta
With the election now complete, we can look forward to a resumption of our regularly scheduled programming (the election hold on government business will soon be lifted). In the coming weeks we will see Premier Smith announce her new cabinet and provide mandate letters to the new Ministers.
Landscape Alberta will review these mandate letters along with research on the Ministers to provide issue briefings on a caseby-case basis. Ongoing work continues with the Ministries of Agriculture, Skilled Trades and Professions, Municipal Affairs, Jobs and Economy, Forestry, Parks and Tourism, and Environment and Protected Areas and industry priorities can be positioned to align with overall government direction/point of view. This assumes there isn’t some cabinet restructuring (new ministries, removing old ones, or combining some).
The fall session is currently set to begin in October so no new legislation will be seen before then. Once we have new faces in their new roles, we can connect dots to members and begin the work of influencing policy or legislative change in our favour.
FOR
1-800-378-3198
Showcase your expertise and creativity... The early bird entry deadline for this year’s Landscape Awards is October 21, 2022.
**New for 2023**
All active members get their first entry free! If you have never entered before we hope this helps you take your first step into the awards program. Or if you have entered in a while, what a great time to get involved again.
Download the Landscape Awards Entry Package with all the information you will need for this year’s awards below. If you have any questions or need extra time to put together your entry, please let us know! There are categories for all residential and commercial projects, including maintenance, construction, and design. We also have a landscape feature category for those stunning show pieces (e.g. fireplace)
Now is the time to identify the projects that you would like to submit for awards. Ensure you take pictures before, during and after. You can always go back to previous projects from the last two seasons as they often look better after some maturation (construction). Avoid the rush at the end of season by ensuring you get client permissions and pictures throughout the season.
The Program uses wage data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey to help in the administration of the Program and review of the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). The LMIA is in place to protect the Canadian labour market from potential negative impacts of hiring temporary foreign workers, including any downward pressures on Canadian wages. The LMIA also protects the health and safety of temporary foreign workers while in Canada and ensures that appropriate wages are paid for the work undertaken.
The provincial and territorial median wage data is updated annually and used to determine whether a position falls into the Low-Wage or High-Wage Streams. This means, employers are eligible for the Low-wage Stream of the Program if they offer a wage that is below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage for the position requested on the LMIA and, are eligible for the High-wage Stream if they offer a wage that is at or above the provincial or territorial median hourly wage for the position requested on the LMIA. Each stream has specific requirements designed to recognize the labour market impacts of hiring TFWs in certain occupations and industries. The requirements include recruitment efforts, working conditions, and employment duration. (editor note: the AB median wage remains steady at $28.85/hr)
The updated median wages for 2023 are now available, and is in effect as of May 31, 2023. For LMIAs received on or after this date, employers will be required to submit the application forms and meet the program requirements of the new stream, using the updated median wages. It is important to note that the online application form will be updated automatically, as of May 31, 2023, assisting employers in their application process.
Note that a 90-calendar-day transition period has been put into place (until August 29, 2023), on an exceptional basis, to account
for unforeseen delays in the publishing of the wage data this year. During this transition period, Service Canada will work with employers whose application will have changed streams because of the new wages (from Low Wage Stream to High Wage or vice versa) to complete the appropriate application form. Recruitment efforts that meet the Program requirements of the original application package will be accepted as meeting the requirements of the new program stream during this time. More information about the application process is available on the Employment and Social Development Canada website.
While the risk is low across Alberta and Saskatchewan it is still important to monitor your boxwood stock for signs of box tree moth (BTM) in the pupae and larvae stages. Recent shipments out of ON have led to positive finds in the retail garden centre and urban landscapes in provinces to the east. The two most common varieties in the Prairies (Green Mountain & Calgary) are generally propagated in BC, which so far is BTM free. Please see the CFIA infographic and other resources via the Landscape Ontario page on identifying the pest and continue to monitor shipments for any signs, especially if you have received boxwoods imported from Ontario or other easterly locations.
Marsh is pleased to advise the HortProtect Business Insurance Program now provides adjusted rates in Alberta. While each member’s insurance offering is underwritten on its own merits (i.e. loss history), members may be eligible for an average 15% reduction from the insurance company’s base rates. This is the result of ongoing collaboration between Marsh, the CNLA and Landscape Alberta to best serve the needs of the local market.
Most insurance providers see all businesses as the same, whereas risk managers look for the differences. Marsh, are risk managers, and look to provide you with savings on your insurance package by leveraging our deep industry knowledge along with the group buying power of being part of the HortProtect family of insurance products.
What do you have to lose? Even if you received a quote in the last year or two, Marsh might now have a better solution. Reach out to Melanie McInulty (Marsh Alberta) today to initiate a no obligation quote for your business. T +1 403 476 3434 M +1 403 461 1225 melanie.mcinulty@marsh.com. Even if your current insurance coverage is not yet up for renewal .....speak with Marsh today to evaluate your current program and see where we might be able to offer assistance.
With the unprecedented demands for labour currently facing the landscape sector, many members are looking at all avenues to meet their needs. As such, we are aware that more third-party labour agencies (temp agencies) are focusing efforts on our sector as one with high need. We have compiled some best practices below to ensure Landscape Alberta / Saskatchewan members know their obligations and help limit their liability when using such services.
Nursery/Landscape employers are legally responsible for all workers in their organization, including agency workers. If agency workers do not have proper documents showing they are legally able to work in Canada, then the employer would be liable.
SINs that begin with a “9” are issued to temporary workers who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents. The use of these SINs is temporary and are valid only until the expiry date indicated on the immigration document authorizing them to work in Canada. If a worker presents a SIN starting with a 9, it is imperative that you request a copy of the work permit. (Government of Canada, 2020).
1. Identify a lead person coordinating agency workers for the business through a reputable agency. The lead person must contact the reputable agency and explain the procedure for all agency workers.
2. Schedule orientation for agency workers when they arrive at the business. No workers will begin work until orientation is completed, work permit and photo id are photocopied.
3. Verify agency workers’ work permit, photo identification, and SIN card.
4. Photocopy work permit and other documents for the business Human Resources file. Photocopy the work permit, SIN card, and photo id and then return to the worker.
5. Complete company orientation and safety training.
6. It is important that no Agency worker begins work with the company until the company has validated their work permit status. This is protection for the company and the employer if questioned by provincial, federal, police authorities now or in the future.
Much of this advice applies to direct hire individuals as well but is often skipped when hiring via an agency. We suggest that this still occurs to protect both the employees and you as the employer (via agency).
For a more in-depth look at your requirements as an employer please watch the webinar provided by CNLA and Zaifman Law.
the season progresses and we can approach the City with findings on the behalf of industry.
We have tallied the judges’ scores after their extensive review of numerous entries from across Canada. Scan to check out the 2023 National Awards of Landscape Excellence finalists. We’ll feature each of our finalists throughout the summer leading up to the day when the winners are revealed on August 9 at the Fairmont Winnipeg. This year’s finalists for awards of excellence are:
Residential Landscape Maintenance
After a pithy career with the City of Edmonton, Beverly (Bev) Minsky has decided to retire from leading Old Man Creek Municipal Tree Nursery.
Everyone knew Bev and her ability to communicate and build relationships in the landscaping industry. She will leave a long lasting positive impact on Old Man Creek Nursery. We wish her all the best as she moves to her next adventure.
The City of Edmonton has released updated Landscaping Inspector Guidelines for 2023 and a new contact list for the year.
Its About Thyme Inc from Stratford, ON, for Urban Oasis Rockscape Bracebridge, ON, for Skeleton Lake Cottage Snider Turf & Landscape Care from Waterloo, ON, for Paradise Lake Retreat
Commercial Landscape Maintenance
Para Space Landscaping Inc. from Burnaby, BC, for Maquinna
Bos Landscaping from Smithville, ON, for Janco Steel Strathmore Landscape Management from LaSalle, QC, for Consilium Place
Commercial Landscape Construction
Trim Landscaping from Bedford, NS, for Peggy’s Cove Oakridge Group from Hannon, ON, for Gardens of Pillar and Post
Terra Vista Landscape Architecture, Construction & Supplies from Picton, ON, for Wander The Resort
Residential Landscape Construction
Fossil Landscape Construction from Vancouver, BC, for Modern Luxury
Cedar Springs Landscape Group from Oakville, ON, for Wonderful in White
The Landmark Group from Thornbury, ON, for Tranquil Hideaway
Landscape Design
Planta Landscape from Calgary, AB, for Britannia Residence
Blue Bear Landscape Construction from North Vancouver, BC, for Cypress Mountain
Welwyn Wong Landscape Design from Manotick, ON, for Hillside Retreat
Also, of note is this includes updated testing standards for topsoil. Please ensure that you are accounting for the testing costs and timelines in your project planning for 2023 and beyond. As this is the first full construction season to use the new soil standard, we are anticipating growing pains, please let us know any feedback as
Each year the National Awards of Landscape Excellence recognizes Canadian companies that have actively participated in significantly raising the level of professionalism in the landscape industry. Each provincial horticultural trades association nominates members from the Provincial Awards of Landscape Excellence competition to the National Awards.
This publication discusses wildfire smoke as a workplace hazard. Includes information on potential health effects, risks and controls.
The European Landscape Contractors Association (ELCA) Excursion 2023 is coming to Canada. Canadians are welcome to get in on the fun! This is a great opportunity to both see your own country, but also see it through the eyes of people from across the globe. Learn about strengths and best practices from peers from around the world.
Connect with Anne for more details. akadwell@canadanursery.com Or register at the link: Scan QR code to register.
The Esso & Mobil Business Fleet Card Program has partnered with Mr. Lube to bring more value to the Business Fleet Card Program.
Enjoy a 10% discount at participating Mr. Lubes on every oil change just by showing your Esso and Mobil Business Fleet Card*.
The deadline for certified members due to renew their certification in December 2022, without the additional $25 late-fee is June 30th, 2023. Submit CEUs for educational activities, including for participating in online industry-related trade shows, conferences, seminars, workshops, training webinars, etc., and for service to the industry. Certifications lapse if not renewed within one year of the recertification date.
The Canadian Landscape Standard Steering Committee is proud to release a revised edition (March 2023) of the Canadian Landscape Standard. As a member of the CSLA, a digital subscription to the CLS is included in your membership dues!
https://www.csla-aapc.ca/standard
HortProtect Insurance: Designed to meet the specialized needs of professionals and operators within the Canadian Horticulture Industry. Start a quote at www.hortprotect.com
Travelodge: Save 16% to 20% off stays at Travelodge Canada.
Greenius: Members receive FREE 2-month license of Greenius Training Software, Unlimited users for 2 months and Unlimited training courses + FREE custom implementation.
ECHO / Shindaiwa: Members receive a 15% manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP, plus applicable taxes) discount off ECHO or Shindaiwa gas powered units and accessories purchase*. Members also receive a 10% discount off the purchase of any ECHO 58V battery-powered products. Also, members will be offered a 20% discount if you arrange a product demo with an ECHO representative and purchase a minimum of five ECHO and/ or Shindaiwa gas-powered units in a single purchase. *$250 minimum purchase required, does not include parts and labour.
Parkland: Per litre discount on retail fuel, cardlock and bulk fuel. Wacker Neuson: 5% off MSRP on select Wacker Neuson products. Administration fees apply.
Are you a member of the Landscape Alberta? Are you taking advantage of your Member Benefits? We offer discounted pricing on vehicles & equipment, industry training, financial services & much more! To access the Member Benefits portal, scan here. If you don’t have a log-in please reach out to memberservices@cnla-acpp.ca to request one.
Everyone knows how difficult it has become to hire and keep good employees and this has only gotten worse post-pandemic. Many small business owners are wondering whether it’s possible to have an employee benefits plan that fits the needs of both employers (who need to carefully watch their bottom line) and employees (who need effective coverage). HortProtect Insurance is designed to meet the specialized needs of professionals and operators within the Canadian horticulture industry.
Let’s look at how to create a plan that makes you, your employees and your accountant, happy:
1. Research creates new knowledge
Start by finding out what your employees need: just ask them! Then your broker can help you look into what your options are from benefit providers, discuss your expectations
and your budget. HortProtect offers support to help you understand how employee benefits work, and what’s available to you and your employees.
2. Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity
Define your goals and discuss them with your broker. They are experts in their field, can identify important ways to adjust and refine your coverage, and will help you find the right solution for your company and your employees.
3. The secret to getting ahead is getting started
Start slowly to avoid being overwhelmed by options. Starter plans should be straight-forward and easy to set up.
As a businessperson you know the importance of insurance – to cover yourself against unforeseen financial burdens due to forces out of your control. Group Life & Health Insurance
is designed to insure you and your family against loss due to accident or illness, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and in a number of different areas. Through the HortProtect program you have access to the following benefits:
• Collage HR
• Life Insurance
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment
• Extended Health Care
• Dental
• Vision
• Short Term Disability
• Long Term Disability
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• Foreign Worker Insurance
• Add seasonal coverage option?
While there is no one-size-fits-all benefits plan, the good news is that you can work with your broker on creating the “perfect” employee benefits plan to suit the unique needs of your employees and your business.
Start a quote at www.hortprotect.com or contact our Alberta rep, Todd Williamson at 403-232-4592.
“Start slowly to avoid being overwhelmed by options. Starter plans should be straight-forward and easy to set up.”
BY JACKI HART
If you find yourself asking this question at the end of every year, you’re in good company. Many small business entrepreneurs (under $10M in revenue) work very hard on the operations and sales of the business, keeping all of the balls in the air to ensure customers receive great service and pay their bills on time. Often, working ‘in’ the business trumps working ‘on’ the business. Herein lies the problem.
We all gravitate to do what we prefer. And most entrepreneurs lean away from ‘the numbers’ and the nitty gritty details of actions and decisions that build a healthy balance sheet (and bank account). While operational excellence is important, unfortunately, neither the balance sheet nor overhead recovery factors can perform at their best when left on autopilot.
What the heck is ‘overhead recovery’ (OHR)? It’s the act of making sure that the company’s ‘fixed costs’ are fully recovered in the prices charged to customers for products and services. Notice I said that it’s the ‘act’ of recovering costs. It doesn’t happen automatically, and unless you intentionally add the right % to your costs of good sold (COGS), PLUS a margin for profit (see my last column) into the price you charge your customers, you will always fall short of the money you’d hoped to make.
Here’s why it matters: For most entrepreneurs, both the business and the value that’s built into it over the years, is the retirement ‘pension’ plan and security. Whether planning to develop a business for sale, or for making additional acquisitions, taking on partners, or franchising – eventually, the track record of profit and assets acquired determine the value of the business in the future. And
the ‘retirement plan’ cash flow. So, to get there from here, overhead recovery (OHR) and Return on Investment (ROI) are important - so let’s take a look at the basics:
We commonly refer to numbers on the Profit and Loss statement as either ‘above the line’ or ‘below the line’. The ‘line’ is Gross Profit. Gross Profit is calculated from the numbers ‘above’ it on the P&L: Sales minus the Cost Of Goods Sold (materials, equipment, field/billable labour, subcontractors) = Gross Profit.
Depending on how your accountant has set up your chart of accounts, you may have to do a bit of fiddling around with numbers to be able to compare your COGS, Gross Profit and OH Expenses on the P & L (income statement) with the industry standards method. Accountants typically put field labour into ‘expenses’, ‘below the (gross profit) line’. If you want to benchmark along side your peers, then you’ll need to move it up ‘above the line’.
Everything in ‘overhead expenses’ should be ‘fixed’ – and not proportionate to sales. Here are a few examples of overhead expenses:
rent, utilities, communications (phones, internet, software etc), small tool purchases / shop expenses, business insurance, professional services, bank charges, management and admin salaries / vehicles (not billable in the field), etc. Note that truck lease expenses aren’t in this list. If you have 1 or 2 trucks leased, it’s ok to include them and their related costs here in ‘overhead’ for a SORS (Single Overhead Recovery) method ‘below the line’. If either your trucks or equipment are financed, their loans will appear only on the balance sheet. If you have a larger fleet, all field trucks, equipment and their related costs should be reported ‘above the line’ in Cost Of Goods Sold.
So, let’s use an example on calculating OHR: If sales are $700,000 (100% of revenue), COGS are $455,000 (65% of revenue) and Overhead Expenses (including owner’s salary or income) are $175,000 (25% of revenue), then profit would be $70,000 (10% of revenue).
So to price a contract that includes recovering overhead, in this example, here’s the calculation:
Let’s say that the Cost of Goods Sold for a soft landscape installation = $2500, and you want to make 15% profit after recovering all of your ‘overhead’. Using the JPL formula I explained in my last column, here’s answer:
100% minus 25% = 75% $2500 divided by 75% = $3300. So, $3300 is your BREAK EVEN Cost. Then add your desired profit of 15%:
100% minus 15% = 85% $3300 divided by 85% = $3882 is your price to your customer.
If you use the incorrect, but commonly deployed ‘markup’ method, your price to your customer would be $2500 x 1.25 (to incorrectly ‘add’ 25% Overhead recovery) = $3125 Break Even price x 1.15 (incorrectly ‘adding’ 15% profit) , your price would be $3593.75. Which would have left $288.60 in the customer’s
pocket instead of yours. So, on $2500 worth of labour, materials etc, if you don’t properly recover overhead and profit margin, you have fallen short of your profit projections for the end of the year by almost $300 bucks.
Many of you reading this might be glazing over, and you might not have actually read the numbers, thought about them and tried it on your own calculator to see if I had a typo. And you might not yet have tested this out on your own P&L against your own quotes. I’ll encourage you to suck it up and try it.
If you are falling short of your goals, then please re read this, and my last column which you can find read by scanning the QR code. Use your budget for the year, and at the very least, if you don’t have one, then use your Quickbooks Profit and Loss Statement to get your total Overhead Expenses as a % of the total sales from last year, and make necessary adjustments to forecast your best guess on how things will turn out this year for Overhead Expenses as a % of sales this year.
Recover your company overhead in every charge-out hourly rate, and every material or subcontractor cost you incur on a job. You work hard. You’ve earned it. You just might be lousy at math is all….
Thank you for reading! Until next time.
www.consultingbyhart.com
BY ARNOLD HEUVER
The issue that is on the mind of many owners and managers of nurseries at a recent nursery producers meeting was the growing trend of holding tree inventory for mid-tolate season planting projects. They are all aware landscaping happens over the whole season and trying to lock down start dates is a difficult task to complete before the spring digging season begins. Because of this, plant material must be readily available throughout the growing season to ensure trees are ready as the projects require. In the spring and late fall (some trees are best spring dug only), majority of caliper trees (B&B) can be readily available within a short time frame. However, outsourcing caliper trees midseason is not as simple since the product needs to have already been harvested and proper maintenance program conducted to ensure the contractor receives a healthy, thriving tree for their landscape. In times of high demand for caliper trees, the product may not even be available come summer time.
To ensure contractors, have access to the product they require for the season, preparation is made in the late winter and early spring to ensure all trees for their projects will be ready when the site is accessible. As previously stated, trying to compile a strong, realistic timeline for all projects can be a very tedious and impossible task since the landscape contractor is always the last one on site
for a project. This makes the contractor heavily dependent on the general contractor and all the other subcontractors to do their part to keep the project on schedule. This timeline challenge is not only a problem for the contractors, but also creates a dilemma for nurseries. They are holding these trees without a firm shipping date. Very often there are requests for this same plant material by other landscape contractors; however, it was not pre-ordered but they would take the product the same day if available. My favorite tree is always one that is sold which means the tree is out of my care and money is in the bank. However, it is important for nurseries and contractors to work together to ensure landscape projects are completed.
In general, nurseries will keep and maintain pre-ordered trees for the landscape contractors. However, there is a cost to maintaining this dug stock.
• Regular watering
• Fertilizing to keep the trees vigorous
• Moving the trees into the holding area
• Insect and Disease control
• Risk a hailstorm which makes the trees unsalable
• Having to re-dig trees that have re-rooted during the hold cycle
• Evergreen trees that are dug are not as vigorous in late summer and newly dug trees look better in September
• Risk not being able to sell all dug product, increasing waste
Depending on the length of time plant material is held, the cost will be anywhere from $25.00 to $50.00 per tree. It’s important to discuss with your primary caliper tree suppliers to see how they are setting up their costs for maintaining dug trees during the season and if they are open to holding product for their contractors. On one of our nursery visits, we were in Ohio and they found it unbelievable that we would hold trees.
They were shipping between 15,000 and 20,000 trees per season and all the shipping was completed by the middle of June all over the United States.
Nurseries may do whatever works for them. Trees are owned by the nursery until someone comes to the farm, picks up the product and pays for it. Cashflow is a key component for any business to stay alive and every business requires a certain amount of cash coming into their operation every month. If nurseries are being forced to sit on large amounts of trees with no realistic timeframe for when they are going to be utilized, they might be forced to sell the product. On the other hand, landscape contractors need to secure product for their project sites so they are able to complete these projects as they come available.
Over the past decade, nurseries have been forced to absorb a lot of additional costs for operating a business due to a large over supply of field grown trees in Western Canada. These additional costs include but are not limited to:
• Maintaining dug product for contractors
• Large number of trees being cancelled at the end of season
o Some were cancelled because they were bought cheaper from another supplier
o Some were cancelled due to project delays
• Loss of sales due to holding product
• Increase in input costs (liners, fertilizer, chemicals, equipment, etc.)
• Pandemic related cost increases, that everyone is experiencing
Many of these extra costs are absorbed by local nurseries by robbing from the future. Meaning less trees being planted until the oversupply of trees works its way through the supply chain. The over supply is almost grown out and now nurseries are forced to ensure all costs are being accounted for since they don’t have a large inventory that they can rob from anymore. It’s more important than ever to ensure all costs are accounted for in the sale of their product so the operation can continue to operate.
We are all in the business to make a dollar and it does not matter whether you are a landscape contractor or nursery selling the trees. Costs are going up for everyone and we all need to have the proper cash flow coming into our operations to ensure the bills and people can be paid. Trees in holding areas for nurseries end up costing money not generating it, so it’s important that this inventory gets turned into cash in a timely fashion.
At this time, there appears to be a shortage of trees at nurseries due to less liners being planted in previous seasons and larger demand in the US for B&B trees. Nurseries are struggling with how to best approach cost increases without causing tension in the relationships they have built with contractors. Inflation is real and causing headaches for all operations. The best thing to do to combat inflation is to ensure product is sold and holding contractors accountable by implementing non-refundable
deposits to secure the product and to adopt some sort of maintenance fees whether its weekly, monthly or seasonal. Looking south to the Denver, Colorado area, there’s a large amount of re-wholesale nurseries whose job it is to bring in
Calgary Office : 403-263-4200
Peter Krebs (Sales Manager) : 587-434-6638
Rob Veno (Northern AB) : 780-910-8402
David Schramm (Central AB) : 403-934-1276
Tom Wright (Saskatchewan) : 306-921-7615 Serving
The Professional Gardener®’s vast array of sizes ensure the perfect fit for all your needs.
We heavily stock all popular sizes ranging from 18” baskets right up to 70” baskets as well as appropriate liners. We not only carry the very popular forms but also the type A -25° cone baskets.
Along with the best quality of baskets available, we offer a full line of burlap, poly-cord strapping, & flagging tape.
1. Custom growing – Sit down with your suppliers and set up a program where every season a certain number of trees are available for you. The contractor will probably be responsible for ensuring all costs of the product is paid for every year and will take all risks associated with this. Once the trees are of marketable sizes, they become the owner of the contractor. This will help to ensure contractors receive the best priced trees and will have access to product however, they will assume the risk as the product is being grown in the fields and market risk as what is required this year isn’t always wanted the next season.
quality product and have it ready for their contractors. Many of these operations may allow for customers to tag their product for up to 30 days, however, they also state that they will do everything they can but cannot guarantee these tags won’t be removed on the sold items. After a max of 30 days, the items return to inventory.
If trying to find product during the summer months starts to become more and more difficult for contractors, there are some other options available:
2. Holding yards – anyone can build a holding yard as long as you have the land, water access, equipment to maintain the dug product, keep trees standing straight, weed/pest/disease control and the ability to keep it healthy and viable throughout all weather conditions. Trees can then be purchased and received in the spring to ensure no one else can access this product.
The above options for contractors will help to reduce your tree costs and will also ensure you have product for future jobs, however, it also increases your risks as now you are holding product at your own cost rather than the cost of the grower. All business is based upon turning risk into capital. The more perceived risk you take on, the higher chances
As tree shortages begin to be felt across the industry, the best thing a contractor can do is ensure they are communicating well between the growers/suppliers and the end users. Long time, reliable customers will very likely be treated differently than new and unknown clients. This is nothing new or unreasonable until you get to know each other. Have you had a conversation with your nursery supplier(s) about how they will be handling holding charges on product in this upcoming season? Good business relationships are very important and go a long way in working together for a successful result for everybody concerned.
231124 Range Road 280, Rocky View, Alberta T1X 0H6 Ph. 403-862-2398
