LooseLeaf December 2016/January 2017

December 2016 / January 2017 Volume 34 • Number 6 • $12.50

Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association

SETTING A

strong foundation 7

ProGreen EXPO 2017 cnga recommended sessions

9

America Votes.

What next?

The Importance 11 of understanding insurance striving for efficiency 14 in Workflow with Automation

SERVING THE HORTICULTURAL INDUSTRY SINCE 1893

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Our Mission To create opportunities for horticultural and associated industry professionals to collaboratively grow their businesses through fellowship, education, advocacy and certification.

In This Issue 4

Cover Photo Courtesy of Wadsworth Control Systems

Message from the Board: Shopping for Insurance

5

Member Profiles: Wadsworth Control Systems White River Trees

7

ProGreen EXPO 2017 CNGA Session Highlights

9

America Votes.

What Next?

17 CSU Research Update: Some Promising Under-Utilized Trees

11 The Importance of Understanding Insurance

19 Calendar, New Members & Classified Ads

14 Striving for Efficiency: Growers are looking to workflow improvement

20 Advertisers List & Safety Corner: Safe Driving for Employees

Board Of Directors Jesse Eastman, CCNP President Fort Collins Nursery 970.482.1984 j.eastman@fortcollinsnursery.com Dan Wise, CCNP President-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer Fort Collins Wholesale Nursery 970.484.1289 dan@ftcollinswholesalenursery.com Levi Heidrich, Officer-At-Large Heidrich’s Colorado Tree Farm Nursery, LLC 719.598.8733 levi@coloradotreefarmnursery.com

Directors

Ex-Officio Members

Bill Kluth Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises, LLC 303.659.1260 x205 bkluth@tagawas.com

Kirby Thompson, CCNP Britton Nursery, Inc. 719.495.3676 info@brittonflowers.com

Stan Brown, CCNP Alameda Wholesale Nursery, Inc. 303.761.6131 stan@alamedawholesale.com

Kerri Dantino Little Valley Wholesale Nursery 303.659.6708 kerri@lvwn.com

Sarada Krishnan, Ph.D. Denver Botanic Gardens 720.865.3601 krishnas@botanicgardens.org

Beth Gulley Gulley Greenhouses 970.223.4769 beth@gulleygreenhouses.com

Publisher

Editorial

Contributing Writers

Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association 959 S. Kipling Pkwy., Ste. 200 Lakewood, Colo. 80226 303.758.6672 Fax: 303.758.6805 info@coloradonga.org coloradonga.org

Allison Gault, MBA, CAE Executive Director Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association 303.758.6672 agault@coloradonga.org

Mindy Carrothers Dr. Jim Klett Craig Regelbrugge

Printer

Staff

Jim Klett, Ph.D. CSU Dept. of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture 970.491.7179 jim.klett@colostate.edu Allison Gault, MBA, CAE Executive Director Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association 303.758.6672 agault@coloradonga.org

Jesse Eastman, CCNP Tracy Ilene Miller

Tanya Ishikawa Ben Northcutt

The LooseLeaf feature writer and editor is Tanya Ishikawa of Buffalo Trails Multimedia Communications at 303.819.7784 and office@tanyaishikawa.com.

The LooseLeaf is published six times a year with issues scheduled for February/March, April/May, June/July, August/September, October/November, and December/January.

Visit coloradonga.org for classified advertisements, plant publications, upcoming events, a member directory, and much more!

Colorado Community Media 9137 Ridgeline Blvd., Ste. 210 Highlands Ranch, Colo. 80129 coloradocommunitymedia.com

Display Advertising Ben Northcutt, CNGA 303.758.6672 info@coloradonga.org

coloradonga.org

Allison Gault, MBA, CAE

Ben Northcutt

Chris Tolbertson

Executive Director

Membership Manager

Administrative Coordinator

agault@ coloradonga.org

bnorthcutt@ coloradonga.org

ctolbertson@ coloradonga.org

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Message froM the board

shopping for insurance: exciting? no. critical? yes.

With this LooseLeaf issue featuring ProGreen, labor shortages, a host of critical legislative issues, and insurance, probably the least exciting topic is the last. I question the sanity/social life of anyone who can honestly say they’ve read every single word of their insurance policy. But it is so critical to the long-term wellbeing of your business that, boring or not, it deserves special attention.

By Jesse Eastman, CCNP CNGA Board President

“There’s no cheap way to insure your business, so make sure your money is doing what you think it’s doing. If it’s not, why are you paying it?”

Like (hopefully) all of you, I’ve had a business liability insurance policy in place for years. In my case, it was a policy that my father enrolled the business in, and I inherited it when I bought him out. He’s a pretty sharp guy, so I never looked too closely at the details of the policy, and it served me well enough when I had to replace my hail-damaged greenhouse roof. Some of you also inherited policies from previous owners. Some of you selected your policies yourselves, but haven’t reviewed them in years. A select few of you are very well-versed on your policy. If this is you, my hat goes off to you. Good job. Take a break for the rest of this article while the rest of us wrestle with risk protection.

Recently, I decided it was time to review my coverage, and chose to do so with Richards, Seeley, & Schaefer, a company that I thought would be competitive as well as having the resources and knowledge to address the unique needs of a nursery and garden center. Because of their long history of working with CNGA, I had confidence that, at the very least, we would be speaking the same language when it came to building types and uses, seasonal ebb and flow of employees, etc. I also asked my existing insurance provider to do a complete audit of our coverage. What I learned through this process shocked me.

I was disturbed to find out that my greenhouse was highly over-insured. It was listed as a frameconstruction building, which costs significantly more to cover than a steel-framed, plastic-covered

greenhouse. I discovered that my existing carrier had a very fuzzy idea of what buildings were on our property – some were listed as being radically different sizes than they actually are.

These are the types of errors that could result in an insurance company refusing to pay on a claim, which is basically the worst-case-scenario after a catastrophe. Moreover, I discovered that my agent had no idea how to correct these issues, and didn’t seem motivated to learn. It was time for a change.

In the long run, I didn’t save much money by making the change, and it was a time-consuming and mind-numbingly complex process (I have to read a policy about three times to even begin to understand it). But in spite of that, I feel the value of my new policy is dramatically higher than my old one. I’m working with a company that demonstrated very clearly an understanding of my business – they didn’t just lump me in with farms and agricultural businesses. The way my new coverage is structured, I feel confident that if I do need to make a claim, it will be covered. The fact that my new carrier has been a decades-long supporter of the green industry in Colorado is a nice bonus.

If this comes off as a little infomercialesque, please forgive me. There are other great companies who can serve you well. The message I really want to drive home is the importance of knowing exactly what you’re paying all those premiums for, and if, when push comes to shove, you will actually have the protection you think you have. There’s no cheap way to insure your business, so make sure your money is doing what you think it’s doing. If it’s not, why are you paying it? Can you afford to risk fire, flood, lawsuit, hail, employee theft, tornado, etc., and not have the security of knowing there is money available to not only help rebuild, but to supplement lost income? I can’t.

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LooseLeaf December 2016 / January 2017

customized technology & support for greenhouse systems

MeMber profile

Interview with Gary Dean, President

What is the history of your company?

We started in 1952 as Wadsworth Electric, a business that my grandfather, George Dean Sr., started. From appliances and wiring homes, even traffic lights, we began to respond to a few of the nearby greenhouses who asked if we could help with staging their ventilation fans. Before long, we had developed good relationships with the Spano and Tagawa greenhouse operations, which at the time were doing very well growing carnations.

By the mid-1960s, we had found our niche in the greenhouse industry, focusing on control systems. In 1965, we built the first control that managed multiple pieces of equipment. Once the local carnation growers learned of this technology, they all wanted it.

With the rapid rise of the Denver carnation industry, our greenhouse control units quickly became the mainstay of Wadsworth Electric.

Over the next few years, we continued to expand our controls to include vent machines, watering systems and blackout and energy curtains. We established Wadsworth Control Systems in 1968, the name simply reflecting our location on Wadsworth Avenue.

What is your product focus?

Our products take care of three main greenhouse functions: climate control, curtain systems and ventilation automation. Our controls cover a wide range of greenhouse components, from opening and closing roof vents to irrigation schedules to lighting cycles.

Our flagship product is called Seed, which we just released this year. It is the next generation of Wadsworth controllers and it features a touch screen user interface which makes it very user friendly. But our company does more than just sell control systems. We provide custom engineering to adapt our controllers to individual business needs, we provide excellent tech support, we do site visits and we provide training.

it keeps us motivated to identify more ways in which we can help our customers’ labor force be as efficient as possible. For example, if our control systems can reduce certain manual functions, employees are freed up to do other things, perhaps even reducing the amount of labor needed to maintain a greenhouse operation.

How does CNGA help your business?

Since we’re mostly a business to business type of company, anything that CNGA does to help our customers build and grow their business helps us. We feel the opportunities that CNGA provides for social get togethers and professional education are very important. CNGA helps keep our industry together, informed and professional. The association also gives us access to students and younger professionals who are essential for our future workforce.

Wadsworth Control Systems 5541 Marshall Street Arvada, Colo. 80002 tel 303.424.4461 fax 303.424.6012 gary.dean@ wadsworthcontrols.com www.wadsworth controls.com

How do you embrace sustainability?

We were actually involved with sustainability before it became a common movement. Back in the ’70s, we experienced an energy crisis that forced greenhouse operators to find ways to conserve heat and keep costs down. With our curtain control systems, we help save energy while improving plant growth and making working conditions more tolerable for the employees.

That’s a great win-win benefit for everyone.

How has the labor shortage affected you?

It hasn’t impacted us to the degree it has many of our customers who depend on a more seasonal workforce. However, indirectly coloradonga.org

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MeMber profile

Quality trees harvested with healthy roots Interview with Gary Moyer, Owner

White River Trees P.O .Box 512 Meeker, Colo. 81641 tel 970.878.5658 gary@whiterivertrees.com www.whiterivertrees.com

Please visit White River Trees at ProGreen EXPO, Feb. 7 – 10 Booth #1126.

How did White River Trees get started?

While I was involved in the forest products business back in the ’80s, I decided to grow trees as a sideline business. Being in the fourth generation raised in the White River valley near Meeker in western Colorado, I was always interested in forestry, and growing trees seemed like a logical business to try in 1989.

As things progressed, I added 24 acres of growing operations in 1991, and another 44 acres in 1994. In 2008, I acquired 78 acres in another location, which is now part of the operation as well.

How did you decide what trees to grow?

Nature pretty much dictates what we grow here, which are mostly native trees that can handle our high-elevation, dry, desert climate.

Even though I wasn’t thrilled about aspens in the early days, we’ve come to specialize in aspens, along with Colorado blue spruce and narrowleaf cottonwood.

What kind of growing techniques do you use?

Three things help us grow quality trees – drip irrigation, woven polypropylene weed barrier and root control bags. Grow bags enable us to deliver a product that is less stressed from having its roots cut when trees are harvested. Instead, approximately 80 percent of the roots are all contained within the grow bag so the tree experiences minimal shock when it comes out of the ground. When the tree is replanted, the bag is removed and the roots are healthy and ready to grow.

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What are your primary markets?

We sell throughout the central Rockies, from New Mexico to Wyoming, and sometimes even into British Columbia, Canada. Most of our business in Colorado goes to the mountain recreation towns and to some of the Front Range cities like Colorado Springs. One surprising market that we’ve recently tapped is eastern Nebraska. Even though we’re located in a very rural, remote area, we’re actually within a hundred miles or so of many of our mountain town customers. That helps us stay competitive since our freight costs are lower than our out-of-state competitors.

What’s the biggest challenge to your business?

Labor. While I take great pride in the equipment innovations I’ve designed that make our operations extremely efficient, we still need a labor force to get our trees planted, harvested, loaded and shipped. The pool of workers that we need just isn’t available. In fact, even though we want to expand our business, we simply can’t do it because of the labor shortage. It’s a real serious problem. I wish we had a good guest worker program that we could count on. The current ones just aren’t working.

What CNGA benefit do you like best?

Attending ProGreen with the exhibitor registration discount is our single most important marketing effort each year, and it’s proven very effective for us. It helps us establish personal relationships with our customers and that’s really what makes our business enjoyable – people helping people. Face-to-face contact is still one of the best ways to do business.

LooseLeaf December 2016 / January 2017

2017 CNGA Session Highlights The top education recommendations at the premier Rocky Mountain regional green industry conference.

Wednesday

february 8

February 7-10, 2017 Colorado Convention Center Denver, Colo.

| 11 a.m. – 12 noon

Acres Online Live: Latest Trends, Strategies and Business Opportunities in Horticulture Presented by

chris beytes, ball publishing, chicago, ill.

Few people know the horticulture industry as deeply as Chris Beytes. As an editor for Ball Publishing, he authors numerous industry newsletters and articles, and travels extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad. Chris always has his hand on the pulse of the industry. Join him for a lively, entertaining and informative look at the trends that are shaping the business of today’s growers and retailers.

thursday

february 9

| 9 – 10 a.m.

Why These Are My Favorite Native Woody Plants Presented by

scott skogerboe, fort collins Wholesale nursery, fort collins, colo.

Native plants are more popular than ever and they continue to find more utility in landscaped environments. Scott will describe some of his favorites and how they are best used in today’s landscape projects. They may become your favorites, too!

thursday

february 9

| 11 a.m. – 12 noon

Bridging the Gap Between Landscape Architects and Nurseries – Design, Appropriate Selections and Availability Presented by

Matt edmundson, arbor valley nursery, brighton, colo. | Mark Kramer, JbK landscape llc, aurora, colo.

Josh orth, norris design, denver, colo.

By bringing together a landscape architect, a landscape contractor and a nursery grower, this session will take a 360degree view of how plant material is designed, selected, supplied and substituted for landscape construction projects.

Communication is the critical factor when plant material has to be adjusted, and this panel will examine the issues that often arise and offer suggestions for minimizing installation problems that can lead to unhappy customers.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

coloradonga.org

7

2017 CNGA Session Highlights CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

thursday

february 9

| 11 a.m. – 12 noon

Reducing Pesticide Risk for Pollinators While Improving Habitat Presented by

dr. Whitney cranshaw, colorado state university, fort collins, colo.

The use of pesticides, especially neonicotinoids, and their impacts on pollinators is one of today’s most controversial horticulture topics. Dr. Cranshaw is a professor and extension specialist of entomology at Colorado State University. He will explain the characteristics, history and use, and interactions of neonicotinoid pesticides with pollinators. He will also examine ways to improve habitat that favors pollinators in urban landscapes and how to minimize adverse impacts of pesticides.

thursday

february 9

| 1 – 2 p.m.

What’s Up with Perennials?

The Top 20 Most Versatile Varieties for Colorado Landscapes Presented by

Kirby thompson, britton nursery, colorado springs, colo. | dan Johnson, denver botanic gardens, denver, colo.

Wendy booth, ivy street design, denver, colo.

From landscape architects to retail garden centers, people are always interested in plants that are proven performers in Colorado’s challenging climate. These three horticulture experts will share their favorite perennials and explain why they are their go-to favorites.

thursday

february 9

| 3 – 4 p.m.

How to Use Videos to Market Your Products and Increase Customer Engagement and Sales Presented by

beth zwinak, tagawa gardens, centennial, colo. | Jeanine standard, proven Winners, bloomington, ill.

Instructional videos are one of today’s most popular social media tools that engage customers and drive sales. In this session you’ll explore the growing popularity of videos, key production tips and proven social media strategies that will help your videos get viewed by the right audience.

thursday

february 9

| 3 – 4 p.m.

How to Make Your Greenhouse Operations More Efficient: Strategies and Techniques to Improve Production Presented by

brian austin, dutch heritage gardens, larkspur, colo.

This session will examine the production of a greenhouse crop from start to finish while pointing out efficiency areas many greenhouses may be able to improve upon. You’ll learn useful strategies for better efficiencies in labor, equipment, growing, and shipping. Both small and large operations can benefit from applying the concepts described in this session.

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LooseLeaf December 2016 / January 2017

votes

What’s next?

By Craig Regelbrugge, Senior Vice President, AmericanHort

On November 8, voters headed to the polls to chart the near-future course of the nation. For many, it’s been an election cycle of great frustration – two unpopular candidates, each with character flaws. Many Democrats – especially the young and the idealistic – were left with their “Bern” cooled. Many Republicans viewed Donald Trump as a fraud, anything but conservative. Some defended a vote for Trump on the grounds that the next U.S. president will likely appoint two or more Supreme Court justices. Others held their noses and voted for Clinton, hoping that she will govern toward the middle.

Craig Regelbrugge works with Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who has been the leading Senate figure on agricultural labor reform for the past 10 years.

Timing is everything, and my challenge is that by the time you read this, the dust will have settled. But it is still weeks out as I write. So bear with me as we dissect the politics, and more importantly, look ahead to some of the policy issues that may be on next year’s agenda.

risK vs. uncertainty A guy I deeply respect (my boss!) has described the “choice” between the primary party candidates as a choice between risk and uncertainty. Some would complain that it’s really not much of a choice at all, but go along for a moment. For Hillary Clinton, the risk is that she might continue down the often employer-hostile path of President Obama, with more regulatory challenges and burdens heaped on business, and a tendency toward favoring other constituencies such as organized labor.

With Donald Trump, it’s all about uncertainty. He has no record of public service, and his positions on the campaign trail have been vague to erratic. Immigration policy is an area of particular concern. While virtually everyone I talk to in the industry would like to see a more rational immigration system that includes effective enforcement, our industry desperately needs a solution to include a rational approach for much of our current workforce, and better visa programs for the future.

Trump, meanwhile, has surrounded himself with anti-immigrant policy advisors, and might double down on an enforcementfirst approach that has populist appeal but would deeply harm our industry.

coloradonga.org

There’s a more optimistic view of each candidate, as well.

During her long and rather public career, Clinton has often demonstrated a willingness to find common ground and to be politically pragmatic. Might she choose to govern that way? If yes, there is quite a bit of room for common ground. In Trump’s case, the optimist would hope that he surrounds himself with a team of experienced advisors, and listens to them. gridlocK not liKely to diMinish anytiMe soon Folks in the horticulture industry often say things like this: “I’d like a good government, that functions. I don’t want too much of it, but we do have major systemic challenges and opportunities that must be tackled. The longer we wait, the harder it gets to fix big, complex problems.”

Unfortunately, the polarization we’ve seen in recent years, and especially in the presidential contest, isn’t going to go away when a winner is declared. We’re likely to continue to have a balance of power in Congress that means neither side can get its way, leaving us with either compromise or gridlock. Sadly, gridlock is the more likely.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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What’s next?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

As our political system has evolved, in the House of Representatives there are just a handful of “swing” districts that are actually competitive in any given election year. Safe political districts have given way to more ideologically “pure” incumbents, with fewer incentives to take the risk of working with “the other side” in search of practical compromise.

In the Senate, whether we end up with a switch in party control or not, the margin by which the majority party holds power will be thin – potentially even 50-50, or 51-49. It takes 60 votes to move to consider legislation or end debate and get to a final vote. Again, compromise or gridlock. Nothing will happen without bipartisan support.

The parties themselves have lost a great deal of the power they used to have to enable political agreements where everyone had to sacrifice something to get something. These tools included control of the funding spigot, candidate and leadership post selection processes. This shift was just illustrated vividly in the 2016 campaign, where on the Republican side, the last two men standing had spurned their party establishment and verbally attacked its leaders! The more measured, qualified candidates fell away one by one.

I’m optimistic about the long term, but we’ve got to get there from here and how to right the ship is too complex a topic to cover now. the year ahead for horticulture It may come as no surprise that with the gridlock in Congress, our energies are significantly focused elsewhere. The game plan has been and will continue to be part offense, like influencing research funding and positive regulatory changes. And it will be part defense, pushing back against hostile initiatives especially at the Department of Labor and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Congress remains important though. Two big-ticket items that could be taken on in the coming year are immigration reform and tax reform. On immigration, our hope is that the election narrative gives an opening for a broad-based, sensible approach that includes fixing what’s not working with respect to border and interior enforcement, solutions that

10

stabilize our workforce, and the chance to overhaul or even replace the visa programs that our industry needs but struggles with.

Odds of getting something across the finish line will be better if the House moves first, whether that means a single bill or a series of targeted bills taken up in a coordinated fashion.

There is huge pressure to tackle tax reform, to lower top corporate rates, simplify things, and close loopholes that drive companies to set up shop elsewhere. The devil is always in the details, as the tradeoff is usually lowering rates in exchange for closing loopholes. Such a “grand bargain” could help large corporations at the expense of small business.

Very close to home for us, it is critical to protect and preserve growers’ ability to use the cash accounting.

Beyond those two huge issues, we’ll be working on a series of smaller but still important measures, like the following: ✔ Until broader immigration reform can be tackled, we need to preserve the current H-2A and H-2B programs. An early battle will be fought in December concerning whether Congress will extend the H-2B program’s “returning worker exemption.”

If Congress fails to do this, we will see serious landscape industry labor shortages in the spring, with the impacts rippling through the whole industry. ✔ The Labor Department’s changes to overtime rules are a big challenge for many horticulture businesses. We’re very involved in legislative efforts to stop, or slow, the rule. There are also pending court challenges. ✔ Full repeal of the Affordable Care Act isn’t very likely, but there is room for a lot of incremental improvement. ✔ Pest and disease challenges are a constant threat to the horticultural marketplace. This continues to be a huge priority for AmericanHort.

Our political system is competitive by its very nature. Virtually every decision made by government results in someone or some interest winning and another losing. The surest way to end up losing is if you’ve opted out. So please, stay engaged and support your national and state associations as we work on your behalf.

LooseLeaf December 2016 / January 2017

celebrating a legacy: help honor craig Craig Regelbrugge has dedicated his 25-year career to being the bridge between industry and Capitol Hill. Many people consider themselves fortunate to have assisted in Craig’s work, while many more have been the beneficiaries of his knowledge and insights.

In honor of Craig’s extraordinary contributions to the horticultural industry, a group of AmericanHort and Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) friends created a special HRI endowment fund in his name: “The Craig Regelbrugge - Advocates for Horticulture Fund.”

This fund will provide needed financial support for continuing horticultural research as well as serving as a public acknowledgement of gratitude for Craig’s service to the industry.

Support Craig’s legacy now with a tax-deductible gift. Simply note “Craig Regelbrugge” in the Contributions field at hriresearch.org/donate.

about the contributor: Craig Regelbrugge serves as the senior vice president for industry advocacy and research for the American Horticultural Industry Association (americanhort.org). He serves as national co-chair of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform and vice chairman of the board of directors of the National Immigration Forum, and represents agriculture and the green industry on the management team of the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign.

insurance

the importance of understanding

Variables in Coverage Options Can Impact Bottom Line Michael Moschetti of ISU Insurance Services of Colorado, Inc. and Ernie Schaefer of Richards, Seeley & Schaefer, Inc. have assisted owners of garden centers, greenhouses and nurseries with finding insurance policies to cover their business operations for decades. Both insurance experts agree the best way to get the most beneficial insurance coverage is for company owners to have a clear understanding of their risks, communicate openly with insurance agents, and carefully review a few key details in their policies. Moschetti and Schaefer kindly shared several tips about getting the most financial benefit from insurance policies.

What are the main differences between business insurance policies for the green industry and other types of companies?

Michael Moschetti: Of course, nurseries and greenhouses often have different coverings on the buildings than other business types. Though the coverings may be fragile and easier to damage, replacing 30,000 square feet of greenhouse covering is far less expensive than 30,000 square feet of regular roofing.

Companies in the green industry also have a living product that is often displayed or produced outdoors without covering.

Another part that makes them different is the way business income is calculated. If an operation gets severely damaged, they may not only lose the crop that was going to be sold that year, but they may lose crops that were planned for sale in future cycles. The business cycle has to be looked at differently.

Due to these and other factors, a company’s business risk takes a lot of explanation. It takes a different insurance product to really take care of these variable circumstances.

Ernie Schaefer: Workers’ compensation rates are generally higher in the green industry because it is generally more hazardous manual labor than an office environment or typical retailer. Nursery operations have the higher workers’ compensation rates due to the lifting and moving around of large trees. Plus, the loss of income calculation is different than other industries due to the seasonality of the work in greenhouses and nurseries, which complicates workers’ compensation plans.

In addition to the uniqueness of having outdoor crops and displays that are susceptible to weather damage, greenhouses and other plant production buildings are also more susceptible to temperature changes than other buildings. Power failures in greenhouses during extremely low temperatures and windstorms that peel roofs off hoop houses are unique risks.

There are so many different types of coverings from tempered glass to polyethylene and fiberglass, each with their own risks, benefits and warranties. Many insurance companies don’t want to take the time to gather information to calculate the risks on these various coverings, so they just stay away from writing those policies.

How different are the insurance policies for each segment of the green industry?

Garden centers and greenhouses are similar because most garden centers that I’ve been around have some greenhouse operation attached or part of the garden center itself is a greenhouse. Wholesale greenhouse operations that are really large and have no retail component are rated differently since the crops have to provide longer term income. The garden centers or combination retail/ wholesale greenhouses are more focussed on short-term production and can replenish their supply from wholesalers.

I found a business personal property insurance product that is effective for both garden centers and all sizes of greenhouse operations. It’s the best option that I have seen in my 31 years of business for covering the sales value of hard goods, supplies and all plants from putting the seed in the soil to purchase by and delivery to the customer. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only agent in Colorado selling it.

I don’t insure any nurseries. For the most part, they are covered by federal crop insurance, which I don’t handle. I have been referring those customers to an agent in Sterling for the last 20 years.

Businesses in the green industry are similar to each other and similar to companies in other industries in that they all have to evaluate exposure to risk and insure loss. They all need property insurance, liability for someone having an accident on the property, commercial auto insurance, equipment insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. Plus, in 2016, most of them should have cyber liability insurance. If they have any automated system or technology then they are open to cyber hijacking like anyone else.

There’s a big difference in workers’ compensation needs between garden centers, greenhouses and nurseries due to the different labor required at each. The National Council on Compensation Insurance describes the scope of every classification, and what the different levels of risk are in the types of labor such as related to the different sizes of trees and plants that are grown. For garden centers and retail/wholesale operations, the up-front sales staff is rated the same as a retail florist at a clerical level that costs the least to insure, 18 cents per $100 of payroll. Meanwhile, the employees in the greenhouse and nursery parts of the operation are rated higher, $4 per $100 of payroll for greenhouses. If a garden center or other operation also offers landscaping services of any type, including tree planting, those employees are classified differently, too.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

coloradonga.org

11

How to Avoid Unpleasant Surprises with Insurance Claims

1 2

Get a good agent that understands your needs and can explain the ins and outs of policies.

Don’t just buy on price – understand the financial results at the point of a claim.

3

Understand whether your deductibles are flat, specific dollar amounts or percentages and how that would affect your financial responsibility in a claim. While a 2 percent or 5 percent deductible sounds small, that can add up to $50,000 or more depending on building value. A flat $5,000 or $10,000 deductible may be the cheaper option.

4

Know the policy’s limitations.

Some policies limit coverage for the type of roof or covering material to a certain number of years so you have to know how old the coverings are on your buildings. With this type of limitation, the covering/ roofing is depreciated by 50 percent in the eighth year and by additional percentages for each year after that.

5

Shop for policies with less limitations. Another type of limitation on some policies won’t pay for snowstorm damage to a greenhouse if it has not been heated at least three days prior to the storm.

6

Understand that the insured amounts for buildings and equipment are the depreciated replacement costs, not the new costs, and how that may impact you.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

What is having the biggest impact on the availability and cost of insurance coverage in the green industry in Colorado?

Due to hail storms in Colorado, many carriers that did write this type of business insurance coverage simply will not anymore. We’ve gone through this in the past, when insurance companies stopped covering hail damage in the state. Unfortunately, this is one of the longest cycles I’ve seen with continued hail damage. It started in 2009 on the Front Range of Colorado. From border to border almost, some part of the state has been pummeled almost every year. In the past, we would have one to three bad years and then go back to no hail, but we’ve had multiple major hail events every year since 2009. The carriers get weary and say, ‘No, we won’t do this anymore.’ Some companies in the standard markets can’t adjust for that risk.

Hail has absolutely changed what’s going on. The hail patterns over 20 years have increased in frequency and magnitude. Twenty years ago, hail would affect microclimates in different areas like Longmont or Colorado Springs but not the rest of the areas in the same year. For the last 10 to 12 years, we’ve gotten hit over and over again. In July 2016, a hailstorm in Colorado Springs resulted in $352 million in damage. Usually hail falls May through July and stops, but for some reason that’s not true anymore. When looking at the most costly hail storms in the last 10 years, the Denver area had $250 million in damage on September 29, 2014.

The other insurance change we’re beginning to see, but is not unique to the green industry, is the liability portion of car policies deteriorate. Insurance companies across the board in Colorado have rate increases coming, primarily because of the

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Licensed Propagator

Licensed Grower

LooseLeaf December 2016 / January 2017

7

Know whether the property limits (buildings and inventory/contents) are within the coinsurance range to avoid a claim penalty. Since coinsurance calculations can be difficult to understand, be sure to go through the financial implications with your agent.

8

Check the major catastrophe coverage in the property section to make sure it has the loss of income amounts, in addition to inventory and equipment replacement. The loss of income amount should cover the expenses for the full period that your operation will be down, so be sure the number of months are correctly noted.

continued sustained influx of people to the Denver metro area every year plus the continued litigation – those two issues have taken a toll.

What is your advice for CNGA members to pick the right insurance policies for their businesses?

Use an agent who is trustworthy and knowledgeable in the industry. I recommend dealing with only one agent who can go to all markets. That one agent can go out to multiple carriers and play one company against the others to get the best terms, with respect to coverage and price. When you go to multiple agents, each insurance carrier will only issue a quote to one agent, so one agent may get the best insurance coverage but at a high price and the other may get the best price but with inferior coverage. Whereas, using one agent who can market your account to multiple carriers gives you the opportunity to get the best coverage at a better price.

Know the replacement cost of your buildings. Have a good idea about how long it will take to get back in business after a major claim.

9

Look at the workers’ compensation classifications for employees to make sure they are accurate for your different types of employees based on the type of labor they do.

sure the reported payroll 10 Make amounts are adequate, not understated or overstated.

Every workers’ compensation policy is audited at the end of the policy period.

11

Be sure that cyber liability is included. If it’s not documented, it’s not covered.

12

Be sure to purchase an umbrella policy. Depending on the size of the business, coverage of $1 million is recommended and $5 million is even appropriate for some companies.

My best advice to small business owners is to pay attention to insurance. Once a year, make sure you are appropriately covered and that your agent takes their responsibility to provide you with insurance seriously. If you have an insurance professional that knows what they’re doing, they will force you to sit down with them, and spell out all the important points.

Don’t throw your hands up because you get 89 pages of a complicated policy. Flip past the first couple pages and look at the deck sheet. It takes a couple of minutes. You don’t have to read it all, but when you want to know the details about specific parts on the deck sheet, you can go to that section in the policy to read more.

Getting insurance coverage is not rocket science. It’s fundamental. You just have to be able to do it, and the time to do it is not after a loss. Invariably when we have disaster, we want to know if we have enough insurance, but by then it’s too late.

Get options on different parts of the policy. For example, if we can only find high deductibles, we can get a secondary policy to buy down the deductible. You will pay an additional premium for the secondary policy but the overall cost to the business owner during a claim will be less.

From these options you can make an informed decision on what policy is the best fit for your business. Please look at coverage limits, exclusions, limitations, deductibles and premiums.

The devil is in the details.

Provide agents and underwriters with detailed information. The more information you provide, the better offer you will receive from the carrier. For instance, it is useful to know that 20 percent of a roof is brand new with a warranty, 60 percent is of different material with no warranty, and the other 20 percent is 10 years old. All those details will help determine the most suitable coverage and price.

Maintain your property in good shape. Insurance carriers are more likely to write policies for businesses that take pride in maintaining their properties well, take care of them and do loss control.

Avoid polices that over cover. Not only is it unethical to calculate coverage that overcompensates you for loss, but estimating accurately instead of high helps to lower premiums and decrease time and effort for processing claims.

The biggest thing I can tell CNGA members is: we do know that it’s going to hail, and we do know the winds are going to blow. My experience has been that it’s the unanticipated claim that bites you in the butt.

Those are often cyber attacks or employment claims, so plan for them and that anticipation can pay off. coloradonga.org

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Your Growing Resource

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Firmly Planted

13

Striving for Efficiency Growers are looking to workflow improvement and automation so they can protect their margins and stay in business

By Tracy Ilene Miller

When growers are faced with a worker shortage and higher employment costs, efficiency is the logical response.

That means finding ways to grow more material with the workforce that is available and affordable.

“A big thing for labor strategies is being more efficient on tasks,” said Carlton Davidson, production manager at Carlton Plants. “Being more efficient includes mechanization. We have an apparatus that pneumatically drives in metal tree stakes, for example. In addition to mechanization, you want to make sure you are running wellmaintained machinery and good infrastructure. The bottom line is we are looking at the ways we run our operation and constantly evaluating ways to make our practices more efficient.”

Most nursery owners and managers have a wish list of mechanization projects that will make their operations better.

The challenge is to know which process should be upgraded, how it should be done and when to carry through with it.

Different growers are likely to have different answers, depending on what they grow, what methods they use to do it, what resources they have available and what their market is. laboring over labor When Jim Gilbert and Lorraine Gardner of Northwoods Nursery went to Korea in 2014, they couldn’t help but notice the intensive growing of trees with small crews, but with a big difference.

14

“They were getting bigger trees with much less labor in a shorter amount of time,” Gilbert said.

How? With plastic-covered raised beds that heat up the soil faster, have better drainage and more overall growth in a season than trees grown in flat ground.

“We were impressed by the quality of the plants they were growing,” Gilbert said.

Also intriguing was the idea of reduced labor to grow the plants — if the process could be mechanized. In Korea, they weren’t using machines to put down the plastic.

When Gilbert and Gardner returned to Oregon, they did what many nursery owners do — they found a company with a machine close to what they wanted, and they had it customized.

Kennco Manufacturing in Ruskin, Florida, offers a small-scale, reasonably priced ($6,683 including freight) machine that could be customized. Other clients use the system for strawberries and other vegetables, but no one, as far as Gilbert knows, is using it to grow trees.

The machine built for Northwoods makes a 20-inch bed, puts down drip tape underneath the plastic, covers the bed with 1-mil. plastic and then covers its edges with soil. The only other cost was an adjustable dibble wheel for $250 from Two Bad Cats LLC in Clarendon, Vermont, for making two uniform planting rows.

Northwoods received the machine in October 2014. Essentially, the return on investment occurred the very first year.

Gilbert and Gardner were able to double the number of trees planted per acre, and the growing was 1.7 times more efficient.

What Northwoods accomplished

through automation is emblematic of efforts at other nurseries, and the process generated a checklist for assessing whether automation is worth the investment. higher yields & better Quality High on the checklist of factors for determining the value of automation is whether it will in some way result in higher production, better quality plants and/or greater market share.

Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas has from its beginnings been a proactive user of automation. In recent years, a pot-in-pot operation was installed specifically to expand plant offerings.

“It put us in a whole new market that we weren’t servicing,” General Manager Tom Fessler said.

In addition, several years ago Woodburn moved to more on-ground, flood floor operations. This required increased use of forklifts and tractors, but resulted in greater uniformity of the plants and more versatility of the crops being grown. labor reorganization Another significant criterion for automation is how it influences use of your workforce.

“Automation has never been about eliminating people,” Fessler said. “That’s not our philosophy. We try to expand our process and give them a better job.”

When Woodburn installed a buffer belt to automate gathering of pots and putting them in rows, after some minimal training, it made staff’s job easier and the process smoother, and allowed two people to move from the potting line to other posts.

LooseLeaf December 2016 / January 2017

about the contributor: Tracy Ilene Miller is a freelance writer who has been writing about gardening and the nursery industry for 15 years, including a column in The (Eugene, Oregon) RegisterGuard and features for the Oregon Association of Nurseries Digger magazine.

It is that kind of efficiency that leads nurseries to consider pruning for its lower-priced options (relative to other parts of nursery work) for automation because of its concentrated need for labor. When mechanized, pruning allows a smaller workforce to achieve greater results.

Fessler constructed pruning equipment in-house nearly 15 years ago for under $10,000. At the time, he researched European manufacturers and found their products too slow. It took experimentation to get to the right design, but the trial and error paid off.

“We started with one, ran it for a year, and added one or two more per year,” Fessler said. “It was probably a two-year process from prototype to the final design.”

Once they settled on a design and built eight pruners, there was the payoff: The pruning teams were reduced immediately from six to three people per machine.

With eight crews, “that’s 24 people we can use elsewhere,” Fessler said.

Quantification Fessler said he knew the pruning machines would pay off, and estimated the return on investment (ROI) was one to two years. He admits he didn’t have hard numbers, but that didn’t matter. He needed to automate pruning, and the expense was contained enough to warrant the risk.

“ROI is always a tough one,” Fessler said. “I can figure what labor it saves. But to me, it is a gut feel. I pencil it out, and sometimes you make a decision not on dollars and cents, but improving the job that people are doing.”

Lorne Blackman, owner of Walla Walla Nursery in Walla Walla, Washington, had

the same instinct when the nursery went to purchase a flat trimmer. The effort involved was worth an investment — even without hard data.

“We spent a lot of labor hand-pruning 3.5-inch ground covers, herbs and grasses,” Blackman said. “We did not have good data, but I knew we could save. So, looking forward, I made the call on that one.”

A one-year ROI is an ideal payback on an investment in automation, but less than five years is comfortable, and even longer timeframes may pencil out.

“If you have a real good situation, if your labor and other savings outweigh your finance fees and your maintenance costs, you can finance the project over five to 10 years,” Blackman said.

To get to that decision, it’s important to track labor usage against outputs to determine total costs, Blackman said.

“We have been doing that pretty regularly for five years,” Blackman said, “and that gives you the tools for making decisions and determining mechanization priorities.”

When he considered whether to invest in a flat filler for propagation, the data suggested payback would take 10 years, so he scratched that item off his list.

Other improvements with a shorter ROI were bigger priorities, he said.

At Woodburn, Fessler is considering mechanizing spacing, but he is taking a more measured approach than he did with pruning, carefully collecting extensive data to assess the costs. Why? Because the required capital could reach as high as $200,000, Fessler said.

Nonetheless, it’s a priority and the next step now that potting — the lowerhanging fruit of automation — is dialed in.

This article was reprinted with permission from, Digger, which offers free subscriptions to green industry professionals. To subscribe, log on to diggermagazine.com and click ‘subscribe’.

learn more about improving the efficiency of your nursery and greenhouse operations by attending two sessions at progreen expo: “How to Make Your Greenhouse Operations More Efficient: Strategies and Techniques to Improve Production,” Presented

by Brian Austin of Dutch Heritage Gardens “Improving Efficiencies in Nursery Practices – Getting Plants Started, Soil Media & Yard Logistics,” Presented by Ron Arpin of Little Valley Wholesale Nursery and Courtenay Koontz of Trees of Corrales see dates and times in the progreen expo article on pages 7 and 8.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

coloradonga.org

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Striving for Efficiency CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Maximizing value from existing resources When deciding whether to automate a process, it is important to consider whether existing equipment can be used for greater value. For instance, Fessler is reviewing several setups that use existing buffer lines with possible add-ons, such as more conveyors and a spacing robot.

He also needs to make sure there’s space on the floor for more equipment, before committing to a huge investment.

Bringing in experts to help with data collection and brainstorming designs, and researching existing setups at other operations, will help to determine whether the expense is justified and make the decisions more meaningful.

At Northwoods, the ability to use existing machinery as a complement to new equipment influenced their purchase. By having Kennco customize the plastic mulching machine to make beds to a specific width and plant spacing, the nursery was able to use its existing tree-digging machine, thereby eliminating the need for an additional equipment purchase.

Eliminating steps Outlining the complete process and figuring out whether mechanization will actually save labor are necessary to ensure savings. At Northwoods, putting down plastic has all but eliminated weeding after the intense, beginning-ofthe-season bed preparation.

Eliminating weeding has also reduced the use of herbicide and fuel, as the nursery no longer runs tractors for summer weeding.

At Walla Walla Nursery, one of the main goals of a 2012 overhaul was to increase outputs by buying a potting machine and moving the tray filler, thereby allowing material to be run on two separate lines. One ran full time, the other when shipping people were available. Simultaneously, a soil-mixing machine was installed, leading to significant cost savings on freight. The nursery now recycles compost from its own dump pile, Blackman said, further increasing ROI. Uncharted benefits In the process of automating, other benefits may not necessarily be calculable up front, but still prove valuable in the long run.

Brentano’s Tree Farm in St. Paul, Oregon, took on container planting a few years ago. They started the old-fashioned way, with a pile of soil and a scoop shovel; however, as the quantities expanded, they automated the process.

“It was the only way we were going to get the job done,” Co-owner Pete Brentano said.

Brentano worked with designers at Wurdinger Manufacturing to push the envelope on ergonomics. The goal to lift as little as possible was important for two reasons: safety and employee durability.

“We used to have a weeding crew running all summer,” Gilbert said, “but once it’s done, it’s done for the season.”

Now Gilbert can redirect labor elsewhere and potentially save additional resources.

“We don’t want our employees worn out,” he said. “They are doing repetitive processes. If you’re taking a 50-pound container and moving it from the end of the conveyor to the trailer and twisting every time, it can give you back strain.”

Saving resources Does mechanization save resources?

Thanks to the new plastic mulch at Northwoods, trees grew better with fewer inputs. Fertilizer and water had to be held back into the second growing season, because the first season with the new system yielded plants that in some cases were too big.

Instead, the system includes a drawbridge for trees to slide, no lifting and twisting needed, just pulling and pushing. A foot-operated saw cuts the roots, and a custom-built crane with a soft end (instead of an employee) grabs the tree and holds it suspended while the employee removes the container and moves it to the conveyor.

Land is also being conserved. More condensed growing means less fertilizer is necessary on acreage grown in cover crops, thus improving the land’s fertility for future planting dates.

The result is a better, more efficient process, yielding a better product, Brentano said. There’s also the benefit of happier employees, which is not completely measurable.

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“The biggest thing is this made their lives easier, and that leads to more productivity and employee retention,” Brentano said. “Those are the parts that you can’t put an economic value on, but you know that this is a lot better. We have a lot of employees who have been here a long time, and we need to make the process easier.”

The intangible payoff of happier employees was nonetheless complemented by the tangible. The automated potting machine, in place for 80 percent of the time last year, allowed the nursery to produce 15 percent more trees with the same payroll while paying workers a higher rate. “We gave a 10-percent pay increase,” Brentano said.

Brentano said he expects to recoup the costs of automation in seven years.

“We’re not always the most analytical to put all the costs on paper, but sometimes you have the sense this is what you need to do” — and then you plan well enough, budget and make it happen, he said.

Facing failure — happily Every nursery has examples of failed attempts at process improvement, which is why Blackman said it can take years of stops and starts to culminate in a full system of mechanization. He recommended starting out with standard equipment, rather than customized systems, on first go-rounds.

When Walla Walla put in a new shipping process five years ago, it struggled for a month before it realized that the process was increasing labor by 30 percent.

That failure led them to better organize the old system. By then, though, the nursery had spent $10,000 on conveyers and rollers, but because it was standard equipment, the financial impact was minimal.

“We’ve since used them on the potting line, the new trimming line and in propagation,” Blackman said. “Although we had a few sitting around for a few years, we found uses for them.”

By using standard conveyors, rollers, forklifts and the like, there’s less chance of losing your investment if one application of mechanization doesn’t go well.

LooseLeaf December 2016 / January 2017

Woody plant research

csu research update

Some Promising Under-Utilized Trees Colorado State University has been evaluating woody plants for their adaptability to the Rocky Mountain Region for more than 36 years. The following are some more unusual trees that should be considered as potential replacement for the Fraxinus (Ash) genus. Not all are readily available and not all are hardy throughout Colorado but all have some great merits and have done well in our woody plant research trials. Most of the landscape plants will do well between 4,000 and 6,000 feet elevation and have multiple seasons of interest or ornamental features.

Aesculus hippocastanum ‘Baumannii’ – Baumann Horsechesnut Baumann Horsechesnut has a dense rounded growth habit maturing to about 40 feet tall and 30 feet wide. The large compound leaves turn yellow in the fall and seem to have less leaf scorch than other horsechesnuts in our trials. The large double white flowers are very showy but sparser and develop little or no fruit. It appears adaptable to most Front Range soils and climate but will require some additional moisture. Hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 5.

Aesculus flava (octandra) – Yellow Buckeye Yellow Buckeye appears to be a good larger buckeye for the Front Range and more adapted to our local alkaline soils. It has a upright-oval growth habit and can get larger than the Ohio Buckeye. The palmatecompound green leaves turn pumpkin orange in the fall and it has white to yellow flowers in April to May. Availability may be limited but some nurseries are growing more of it. Hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 4.

Aesculus x ’Homestead’ – Homestead Buckeye Homestead Buckeye is a hybrid of yellow Buckeye and Ohio Buckeye which was introduced by South Dakota State University.

It grows to about 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide with an upright to rounded growth habit. The palmate-compound leaves turn red-orange in the fall and has yellow panicle flowers in April to May but produces only sparse fruit. It prefers a well-drained but moist soil but does tolerate our alkaline soils.

It has performed exceptionally well in our trials. Hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 4.

By James E. Klett, Ph.D. Professor & Landscape Horticultural Specialist Colorado State University

Heptacodium miconiodes – Seven-Son Flower Seven-Son Flower can be considered a small tree or larger shrub if grown multi-stem that matures to about 20 feet. The bark becomes quite exfoliating on large stems with prominent veining in the leaves but little fall color. The fragrant white flowers bloom in August to September in clusters of seven. The sepals turn a red in September to October which are quite showy. Plants have done well in our alkaline clay soil. Hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 5.

Maackia amurensis – Amur Maackia Amur Maackia is a smaller tree or larger multi-stem shrub that matures to approximately 25 feet tall. It is easily transplanted, adaptable, and grows well in alkaline soils. The new leaves are silverygreen but it has little or no fall color. The flowers are white and fragrant in June into July. The olive brown bark may peel with maturity. Hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 4.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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Woody plant research CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Quercus muehlenbergii – Chinkapin Oak Chinkapin Oak has performed well in our multi-site woody plant trials in Colorado. It is faster growing than many oaks and matures to about 45 feet. It appears more adaptable to our alkaline soils with little or no chlorosis observed to date. The leaves are oblong and lobed and turn red-rust in the fall. Hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 5.

Pyrus calleryana ‘Jaczam’ – Jack® Callery Pear Jack Callery Pear has a compact upright oval growth habit maturing to about 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide which makes it a good choice for under power lines and in smaller yards. It has white flowers prior to leaf emergence in April with only sparse fruit development which is about one/half inch in diameter. It gets red-orange-yellow fall color and holds it’s leaves late into fall. It has dense branching and more fire blight resistant.

Hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 4 to 5.

C O L O R

Pyrus ussuriensis ‘MorDak’ – Prairie Gem® Ussurain Pear This selection from North Dakota State University grows to about 20 feet in height and width. It is another good choice for under power lines and smaller spaces. It has white flowers prior to or with leafing in April and develops sparse fruit. The dark green leaves turn a golden yellow in the fall. It is very adaptable to our alkaline clay soil and very cold hardy. Hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 3.

I T

G R E E N™

Theses eight plants are examples of underutilized landscape plants in Colorado and should be considered more for landscapes especially along the Front Range.

They may be harder to find but are being grown by some Colorado growers and many of the West Coast wholesale growers.

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Shade, Ornamental, and Fruit Trees B&B and Containers Located in Southwest Idaho 208.482.6600 www.claytontreefarm.com LooseLeaf December 2016 / January 2017

cnga calendar To get more information about CNGA programs and events, go to coloradonga.org and click on the Events tab to view the calendar, or contact the office by phone: 303.758.6672, fax: 303.758.6805, or email: info@coloradonga.org. colorado certified nursery professional exams Jan. 10, 2017 – CNGA, 959 S. Kipling Parkway, Lakewood, Colo.

Feb. 7, 2017 – ProGreen EXPO, Colo. Convention Center, Denver, Colo. progreen expo Feb. 7 – 10, 2017 , Colo. Convention Center, Denver, Colo. industry celebration Feb. 9, 2017 – ProGreen EXPO, Colo. Convention Center, Denver, Colo.

neW members central bag & burlap 5601 N. Logan St., Denver, Colo. 80216 Kim Linzmeyer | 303.297.9955 Marketing garden 8332 S. Louden Crossing Ct., Fort Collins, Colo. 80528 Ken Klopp | 970.646.5183 Mchutchison horticulture distributors P.O. Box 4934, Dillon, Colo. 80435 Matt Johnson | 970.409.2829 Kylie Krauss 913 North Hidden Valley Cir., Durango, Colo. 81301 970.799.7017

Cold-hardy specimen trees.

Shade, flowering and evergreen.

Baxter

WHOLESALE NURSERY

888-777-8199 Emmett, Idaho | baxternursery.com

classified ads CNGA offers free posts of online classified ads to members, including items for sale or lease and job openings. For more details about the classified listings below and to see other current postings, visit coloradonga.org, click on the Resources tab and click on Classifieds.

Fine Garden Company for Sale Providing design, install and maintenance of high end residential landscapes in the metro Denver area for 15-plus years. Loyal staff could be part of the transition. Two trucks, trailer, tools. Contact: Lily at lnierenberg@bknmurray.com.

Freelance Garden Writer Marketing Garden, 8332 S. Louden Crossing Ct., Fort Collins, Colo.

Inventory, Receiving & Quality Control Coordinator Harmony Gardens, 4315 E. Harmony Rd., Fort Collins, Colo.

Outside Sales PlantRight LLC, 30050 W. 135th St., Olathe, Kan. 66061 Horticulturists/Gardeners, Landscape Architect/Estimator, & Tree Farm Position Steve Koon Landscape & Design, Inc., 2301 W. Oxford Ave., Englewood, Colo. 80110 Assistant Nursery Manager, Nursery Sales, Landscape/ Maintenance Technicians, Design Assistants, Supervisors, & Managers in Summit, Eagle & Grand Counties Neils Lunceford, Inc., P.O. Box 2130, Silverthorne, Colo. 80498 Assistant Grower and Sales Positions Trees of Corrales, P.O. Box 1326, Corrales, N.M. 87048 coloradonga.org

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Colorado Nursery & Greenhouse Association 959 S. Kipling Pky, #200 Lakewood, CO 80226

safety corner

safe driving tips for your Employees Millions of workers drive or ride in a motor vehicle as part of their jobs. And, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the U.S. The type of company or job doesn’t matter; the risk is there.

Protect your organization’s most valuable asset — your employees — by promoting safe driving practices. The following 10 safe driving practices can significantly reduce the risks faced by workers when they drive on the job.

From Pinnacol Assurance

1.

Inspect the vehicle. Check the lights, gauges, brakes, horn, tires, windshield wipers, fluids, belts and mirrors.

2. Secure cargo such as tools and other equipment.

3. Buckle up. A seatbelt reduces risk of death by 45 percent in cars and by 60 percent in light trucks.

4. Drive defensively.

5. Avoid distractions. Put down the cell phone and do not text.

6. Don’t wear headphones or earbuds while driving.

7. Avoid impairment.

8. Avoid aggressive driving.

9. Maintain a safe distance between moving vehicles and slow down during inclement weather.

10. Take security measures. Carry vehicle information at all times, secure the vehicle and avoid parking lots with poor lighting or sight lines. pinnacol resources Visit Pinnacol’s Safety Services page on defensive driving at http://tinyurl.com/ PinnacolSafeDriving. Resources for policyholders include a sample driving and traffic violation policy, defensive driving quizzes, a vehicle safety checklist, a seatbelt safety poster, a short defensive driving video and additional tools and tips to enhance the motor vehicle safety of your employees. Also, call Pinnacol’s Safety On Call hotline at 303.361.4700 or 888.501.4752. Our Safety Services team stands ready to answer questions and help keep your workers safe behind the wheel.

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