Landscape Saskatchewan News Spring 2018
IN THIS ISSUE
Spring Symposium Wrap-Up SAWP Updates
2018 Federal Budget Highlights 2017’s Landscape Awards
Advice for 2018’s Awards Submissions
Finding Opportunities for Profitable Spring Cleanup Services
2 I Landscape Saskatchewan News Spring 2018
LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
who came out!
What a great Spring Symposium again this year for Landscape Saskatchewan! The Symposium offered valuable advice on current issues, like carbon pricing in the industry and the Emerald Ash Borer situation. It is always fulfilling to spend time with other professionals in our industry just before things get really busy for the season. Thank you to all our speakers and to all the members
I'd also like to welcome our newest member to the Landscape Saskatchewan board of Directors: Nathaniel Knutson of See More Green Landscaping in Saskatoon. I look forward to working with you.
We are also moving ahead with plans for the community garden being built in Swift Current, which will serve as a memorial for the four Broncos players that lost their lives in a bus accident in 1986. Exact build and planting dates have yet to be determined, but keep an eye on your email for details about how we can all give a little back.
I want to wish all of our members and the industry a safe and prosperous season, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
Board of Directors:
Leslie Cornell Cornell Design & Landscaping Ltd. President Robin Adair Arbour Crest Tree Service Ltd. Director Lane Bullied Gardens By Design Inc. Director
Philip Rispens Rispens Landscaping Ltd. Director
Nathaniel Knutson See More Green Landscaping Director Aaron Krahn Lakeshore Tree Farms Ltd. CNLA Representative
If you are interested in joining Landscape Saskatchewan’s Board, please email Joel Beatson at joel.beatson@landscape-alberta.com.
Administrative Support: Joel Beatson, CAE, CLM Executive Director
Leslie Cornell President, Landscape Saskatchewan
Marnie Main Member Services Director
Carmen Johnson Communications Coordinator Cheryl Teo Bookkeeper
Contact Us:
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
May 15-16, 2018 Grey to Green Conference Toronto, ON www.greytogreenconference.org
May 30-31, 2018 Skills Canada Nation Competition Edmonton, AB www.skillscompetencescanada.com
June 16-24, 2018 Garden Days Nation-wide event www.gardendays.ca
Landscape Saskatchewan c/o Landscape Alberta 18051 107 Ave NW Edmonton, AB T5S 1K3 Tel: 780-489-1991 Toll Free: 1-800-378-3198 Fax: 780-444-2152 admin@landscape-alberta.com www.snla.ca
On the Cover: 2017 Landscape Award of Merit Winner, Bills Landscapes, Krieger Residence
Follow us on Twitter @landscapesk
Landscape Saskatchewan News Spring 2018 I 3
LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN
INDUSTRY NEWS
Spring Symposium Wrap-Up Members gathered in Saskatoon on March 14, 2018 for our annual Spring Symposium. The morning kicked off with Jeff Thompson discussing carbon neutral landscapes and how to use this environmental focus as a way to position your company’s product and service offerings. After lunch, Dr. Tyler Wist gave an update on local pests, which was followed by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Strategy session. Thank you to our Symposium sponsors at HortProtect and FBC!
Bill Dyck and Nathan Fehr of Bills Landscapes
SAWP Updates If you have workers who need to apply for their worker visas at the Mexican Ministry of Labour, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council advises that the workers go to the Ministry offices in Mexico City and apply in person. This may incur some costs if the worker has to travel from their home, but it seems to expedite the process. We have also had some growers report that their workers who were waiting for their visas went EAB Strategy Session Summary into the Ministry office and were able to get them if With EAB’s recent discovery in Winnipeg, the strategy they indicated they were willing to wait. session brought key stakeholders together to discuss options for dealing with EAB in Saskatchewan. The For growers having issues with work permits: quick government decision to add EAB as a regulated pest will surely be helpful in the coming course of IRCC EMAIL FOR URGENT WORK PERMITS: action. A request will be made by the industry to The Canadian Consulate in Mexico City processes the suggest precautions for EAB, including the restriction worker visas. If you need to have your work permits of moving firewood, shipping materials, and nursery expidited, email: stock in to or through the province. Other key points mxicoimmigration@international.gc.ca. included finding an assessed value to the Ash population in both urban and rural settings, conducting In your email, include: increased monitoring, and expanding education and A. Company Name communication efforts to protect the infrastructure. B. LMIA Numbers C. The timeline workers are expected Landscape Awards Presentation D. Your named worker information include their names, Our annual Landscape Awards Presentation was held in birthdates, and file numbers conjunction with the Spring Symposium. This year, we had two award winning entries: both from Bills Mexican Ministry of Labour Contact Landscapes of Saskatoon, SK. Congratulations to the This is where the worker applications go and where team and their outstanding work! workers pick up their work visas. View photos of these projects on page 6.
4 I Landscape Saskatchewan News Spring 2018
Point of contact at Mexico Secretaría del Trabajo y Previsión Social (STPS):
LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN Karla Quintero (Karla speaks fluent English) Phone number: 011-52-(55) 3000-2700 Ext. 34148 E-mail: Karla.quintero@stps.gob.mx
New Contact at Mexican Consulate in Calgary Jesus Cano Tel: 403-264-1259 ext 26 Email: jcano@sre.gob.mx
amount of their active business income will be eligible for the small business tax rate, which will be 9 per cent in 2019. (The upper limit for business income that can be taxed at the small business rate is $500,000.) The reduction will occur on a straight-line basis, with eligible income decreasing by $5 for every $1 of passive income above the $50,000 threshold. Companies exceeding $150,000 in passive income will no longer be eligible for the rate.
2018 Federal Budget Highlights The Government is developing a federal carbon Benefits for Members Across the pollution pricing system that would apply to provinces that do not have a pricing system in place (such as Country Saskatchewan) that meets the federal standard by the end of 2018. The direct revenue from the carbon price General Motors Canada: Huge savings on select NEW on pollution under the federal system will be returned GMC/Chevrolet vehicles; savings of up to $14,000 to the province of origin. available! Our fleet program is non-stackable and cannot be used in conjunction with any retail According to Global News, Saskatchewan is losing $62 incentives. million for not signing on to the climate change agreement beforehand. Saskatchewan Premier David Cat The Rental Store®: Save 10% off list/book rate for Moe said he will not be pressured into putting a price equipment rented through the Cat Rental Store. on carbon. Deluxe: Members save 15% on printed products. The government is also proposing $1.2-billion over five Receive discounted rates with Deluxe Payweb payroll years to create a new five-week “use-it-or-lose-it” system. incentive for new fathers to take parental leave. The Employment Insurance Parental Sharing Benefit would St. John Ambulance: Members receive an 8% discount increase EI parental leave to a maximum of 40 weeks on First Aid courses and 10% off of First Aid in cases where the second parent agrees to take at least Supplies. five weeks off. The benefit covers 55 per cent of the second parent’s income for as much as 12 months. To take advantage of these or any of the other member savings programs, visit www.cnla-acpp.ca/benefits. The budget proposes investing $80 million in 2018-19 and $150 million in 2019-20 to support seasonal workers whose EI benefits can vary. Additionally, Employment and Social Development Canada will reallocate $10 million from existing departmental resources to provide immediate income support and training to affected workers. Budget 2018 also proposes legislative amendments, as required, to assist workers in seasonal industries. The budget unveiled new details on the taxation of passive investment income inside private corporations. When companies earn between $50,000 and $150,000 in a given year from passive investments, a reduced
Landscape Saskatchewan News Winter 2018 I 5
LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN
2017 Landscape Awards
The Landscape Awards showcase the best this industry has to offer while also reflecting the association’s commitment to creating and preserving the beauty of the urban landscape. The program is also designed to reward independent landscape contracting professionals who execute top quality landscape projects. The Landscape Awards program has four main objectives: 1. Encourage landscape contractors to be the best in their field 2. Provide a marketing opportunity to those companies that receive an award 3. Encourage a company’s employees to aspire to excellence 4. Provide an opportunity to compete in the National Awards of Landscape Excellence Members can enter projects into nine different categories covering construction, maintenance and
Award of Merit Winner - Residential Landscape Construction, Bills Landscape Krieger Residence
design. Each entry is evaluated using outlined criteria; the submissions are not judged against each other. A Merit Award goes to an entry that earns 70-84 points, and an Excellence Award goes to an entry earning 85 or more points. Entries that achieve Excellence are eligible for the National Awards of Landscape Excellence: a Canada-wide program developed by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. We would also like to thank this year’s volunteer judges for their contributions and for generously offering their time and expertise to the awards process.
Thank you to our judges: Adele Goodwin - Earthworm Landscape Design Co. Ltd. Andrew Heighton - JVR Landscape (2006) Inc. Christian Houle - Terra Landscaping Ltd. Mark Janzen - ULS Maintenance & Landscaping Inc. Karl Jesske - Modern Earth Landscaping Wade McArthur - OnGrowing Works Ltd. John van Roessel - JVR Landscape (2006) Inc.
Award of Merit Winner - Commercial Landscape Construction, Bills Landscape Villa Royal Landscape Saskatchewan News Spring 2018 I 6
LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN
Advice for 2018’s Awards Submissions Do you have a project you feel deserves recognition? Be sure to take tons of photos (before, during, and after) to show the transformation. Entry forms and guides for the 2018 Landscape Awards Program will be available soon, so start taking pictures! Helpful Hints for Awards Submissions Site preparation advice: Plant material should be properly selected and welladapted to the site. Make sure plant material is well-pruned and free of insects or disease. Remove all tags and flagging. Sweep up mulch that has spilled onto hard surfaces. Remove all weeds from shrub beds.
Your ad could be here! Call Carmen at 1-800-378-3198 to book your ad space today!
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Photo advice: The judges can only rely on the photographs and the written description submitted. Remember, first impressions count for both judges and future clients. Candid photos of people using the landscape can show use and demonstrate scale. Photos that show compatibility of materials and show textural qualities are helpful. Elevated/overhead shots taken from a normal vantage point (deck, upstairs window, etc.) can be helpful. Include before, during, and after photos to help the judges see your whole project process. Do not show your company name and/or logo in any photos.
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Landscape Saskatchewan News Spring 2018 I 7
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LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN
Finding Opportunities for Profitable Spring (and Fall) Cleanup Services PHOTOS: STEPHEN CARR PROPERTY SERVICES, O’NEIL ENTERPRISES Article by Patrick White | Reprinted with the Permission of Turf Magazine March, 2018
For Stephen Carr Property Services, the spring cleanup work involves a lot of raking and blowing, dethatching the lawn and removing burlap that was protecting small trees and shrubs. “There’s a lot of picking things up and tidying things up,” says Carr.
Carr began offering a spring cleanup service in the very early days of his company’s operation after discovering that it was usually necessary to do some cleanup work to a yard before the first mowing of the season. So, Carr decided the add-on service might as well be something the company can charge for in addition to the lawn mowing package.
“We charge a set price for mowing, and then we quote them a separate price for spring [and fall] cleanups,” he explains.
O’Neil Enterprises, a full-service lawn and landscape firm in Clifton Park, New York, also offers spring cleanups as a standalone service. “Spring cleanups are something we’ve always done—we try to be a one-stop shop for everything,” says owner Mike O’Neil. “Some companies include spring cleanup as part of a package,
but I never do. For us, every service is separate—lawn care is one thing, fertilization is another, etc. We don’t package anything.” This approach helps him to avoid having to offer discounts, and he’s found it more profitable.
“I need to go to the property and walk around to see what’s involved before I can give someone an accurate price.” “The crew usually focuses on spring cleanups during all of April and the first week of May. “Then, the rest of May through June we’re doing a combination of cleanups and new landscape [installation] work,” says O’Neil.
Even in June the cleanups are a priority because it needs to be done to get the mowing crews out on properties and get the landscaping crew ready to switch gears to focus solely on more profitable landscape/hardscape jobs. O’Neil says that nearly every
Landscape Saskatchewan News Winter 2018 I 9
LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN customer for which the company provides weekly lawn care does sign on for spring cleanup.
Pricing Plans When he first started offering spring cleanups, Carr used somewhat standardized pricing for the service, but he says he’s found that in order to make sure the work is profitable, each property needs to be carefully evaluated before quoting clients a price.
BEFORE CLEANUP
“It depends on things like how many leaves there are, whether there are acorns everywhere, how much winter debris there is on the lawn. So, our cleanups vary in price,” he states. “If I get a call and they say, ‘Hi, Stephen, I have a house on XYZ Avenue and I need a price for a spring cleanup,’ I can’t sit at my desk and throw some numbers at them or work on averages. I need to go to the property and walk around to see what’s involved before I can give someone an accurate price.”
O’Neil agrees that an on-site inspection is necessary before pricing a spring cleanup job. “To be honest, the client who calls and is looking for a price over the phone, that’s not who we’re looking for,” he explains.
than a service like fertilization, and they’re even more profitable than lawn mowing, he says. “And mulch is the most profitable part of cleanup work,” he adds. Because mulch is included in O’Neil Enterprises’ spring cleanups, one important part of his work when quoting is to measure beds to determine how much mulch is needed. The company buys mulch in bulk and charges customers $100 per yard installed. It also is able to purchase plants from a nursery at a 20% discount, so if
AFTER CLEANUP
a customer wants any new plants installed as part of the spring cleanup, there’s a profit for those.
Sales Success O’Neil says fall is the best time to sell spring cleanup services. “Whenever we do a fall cleanup—say a new client calls us and says they want leaves picked up—we always present them with their options for spring cleanup and a rough scale of price because there will be market changes in things like mulch,” he explains.
O’Neil notes that he’s the only company who is talking to them about spring cleanups at that time of the year. “In the spring, there are 10 companies talking to them about it,” he says. “If I can sell it to them and say they’ll be the priority in the spring, it shows that they’re important to us.”
O’Neil says that while spring cleanups aren’t as profitable as concrete work or installing a new landscape or hardscape, they do represent a profitable Since he’s already there in person because of other part of his overall business. They’re more profitable work, O’Neil has found that meeting in person makes a
Landscape Saskatchewan News Winter 2018 I 10
LANDSCAPE SASKATCHEWAN
“Any service you do, if you provide a good service, you’re going to have an opportunity to do more business with that customer.” huge difference when it comes to closing sales. Selling spring cleanup in the fall also gives O’Neil a better idea of what staffing levels he’ll need come spring.
Carr estimates that only about 10 percent of his spring cleanup work is done for clients who he doesn’t already provide lawn care services for.
“We usually only do that if they are neighbors of clients or we provide snowplowing services for them or we have some other connection to them,” he notes. “Otherwise, we need to take care of our regular customers first and then we can take care of additional people if we have the time.” Carr says that doing a good job on a spring cleanup can be a way to make a good first impression and get your foot in the door with a new customer, who might later request some other lawn or landscape service. “Any service you do, if you provide a good service, you’re going to have an opportunity to do more business with that customer,” he says.
Cleanup Challenges Carr points out that spring cleanup work is very labourintensive. Aside from running a dethatcher [his company uses a Walker mower with a JRCO dethatcher on the front], most of the work has to be done by hand and there aren’t many shortcuts.
Rakes are a go-to tool for spring cleanups, and even the other equipment that’s used that is powered—blowers and power brooms—is still handheld. So there’s not
much about the work that can be automated, and this needs to be factored into the price, as well. “There are a lot of man-hours involved in both spring and fall cleanups,” he states. “Good things take time, and you need to make sure you take the time to do a good job.”
Labour is a challenge for many companies in this industry. “I think pretty much everyone will say that, at least in this area,” says Carr. Because spring cleanup work is often the first work done to kick off the lawn and landscape season, it’s especially important to line up employees well in advance to be able to work early in the season. “And you need to have time to train new employees,” Carr adds. That’s especially important because spring cleanups all have to happen in a relatively short window of time.
And there are environmental challenges to spring cleanup work, Carr notes. “We have late snowstorms, so that can be an issue, and then that snow melts, so there’s a lot of moisture in the ground—everything is wet. So, you have to let things firm up a little bit before you go out there, especially with equipment.”
Stephen Carr Property Services doesn’t include mulch as part of its spring cleanup services, so it also needs time to begin putting down mulch for customers in May. Spring, after all, only lasts so long.
Landscape Saskatchewan News Winter 2018 I 11
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