How much have you wasted on fungicides?

You’re wasting money on fungicides without a sanitation program. Across all crops, in greenhouses, and in ornamental production, disease is becoming resistant to various treatments. “We encounter this time and time again as we visit nurseries and greenhouses,” says Dr. Nicole Ward, plant pathologist at University of Kentucky. “Fungicides are becoming more expensive and very specific; as they become more specific, there is a higher risk for disease resistance.”

Growers and Landscapers are paying a lot of money and not getting any disease control because their business is overlooking a very basic, and very essential practice: sanitation.

In her experience as a plant pathologist and former landscape business owner, she’s observed that, “Greenhouses are dirty. There is debris on floor. Greenhouses are not cleaned between crops. Fungi and bacteria live in cracks on sidewalks, on debris on the floor, and in containers that are being reused. Bacterial diseases are spread with contaminated pruners.”

No matter how effective a fungicide is, it’s not going to cover everything. The more spores there are, the more chance that fungicides won’t address the problem. The more spores there are, the more there’s a risk of inoculum overload.

“If you don’t have sanitation program, let’s not even talk about fungicides- that’s common sense approach,” Dr. Ward offered. “The seminar won’t get into pathogen lifecycles, but it will offer basic, essential practices to get the most out of your disease control program. Cleaning the greenhouses between crops because some spores overwinter and pop back up in a year, reminding employees to sterilize that pruner and roll up that hose, limiting customer access and even sales people to areas that are vulnerable… the nature of the problem will dictate what steps you should take.”

Increase your businesses ROI with EXPO Education. Register now to attend Dr. Ward’s seminar at EXPO- Thursday, August 15^th at 9am, and be sure to take advantage of the Q&A to get ideas for your business.

Contact your local county extension agent and read Dr. Ward’s white papers on green house sanitation and landscape sanitation.

#TNLAEXPO2013

Pace yourself with EXPO's mobile app

What do Hotchkiss Insurance Agency, Ran Pro Farms, and Landmark Nurseries have in common? All three want you to pace yourself at EXPO so you don't miss out on anything. They've sponsored EXPO's mobile app so you can: Map out exhibitors and locate product listings. Get up to date EXPO alerts. Check EXPO Education schedules. GPS your route to the Tradeshow. Watch speaker videos. Capture your experience with the Postcard feature and share on your social media sites. Download it today.

Creekside's EXPO Highlights

Christan Fuqua is an owner of Creekside Nursery. You’ve probably seen her logo on the handy, high quality canvas bags that are given away at EXPO-- but where might you find her? Her favorite part of EXPO is meeting people face to face.

"Often times so much business is done over the phone, email, or even via text; it's great to have the chance to talk in person."

So what's on Ms. Fuqua's must-do list?

"I personally enjoy the PAC lounge. For a reasonable contribution you get a comfy place to sit down for a few minutes and a beverage…and who doesn't enjoy that during the show? It's a great place to have a conversation, hear what legislative issues are affecting our industry and sometimes, entertainment as an added bonus.

"Most of our staff enjoys the education opportunities, the networking, and product demonstrations, as do I. It is especially important we support our TNLA-PAC so it will remain strong and be a larger, collective voice for our businesses and our industry on a wide variety of issues. 

"Business owners and managers have so many tasks to juggle, it is difficult to stay on top of all that is happening politically. Jim Reeves does a great job of keeping all who are interested 'in the know' with regards to the current and upcoming political climate.  That sort of information really helps business leaders anticipate and adjust as needed. That's one of the best value-added benefits all members of TNLA receive. Here's an easy way to jump in, stop by the PAC lounge."

Register today and look for Christan in the PAC Lounge or at the Creekside Booths, #1019 and #1023.

Scrap the bullet points

In today’s world, it’s harder than ever to get people to notice you. But there’s one tried and true method that works every time. Dave Lieber will share it at EXPO so you can use it right away to get that contract, that loyal following who will help you, fund you, support you and care about you.

As a humorist and storyteller, Dave has used stories to help change our world. He worked as The Watchdog investigative columnist for the Fort Worth Star- Telegram and is one of Texas’ most popular speakers. He won the Katie Award from the Dallas Press Club as the Best Columnist in the U.S. Southwest.

He is co-founder of one of North Texas’ largest children’s charities, Summer Santa, which serves thousands of children each year through a volunteer service that as no office or paid staff. His work for Summer Santa earned him the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award which goes to the U.S. newspaper columnist whose work produces positive effects on the lives of readers.

He is the author of two popular books, The Dog of My Nightmares: Stories by Texas Columnist Dave Lieber and Dave Lieber’s Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong. His author Web site is www.YankeeCowboy.com and his book site is www.WatchdogNation.com.

Register today for EXPO.

GO TEXAN has marketing grants available; do you qualify?

Your business could qualify for marketing reimbursement grants from TDA's GO TEXAN program if it produces or sells specialty crops. The sole purpose of the Specialty Crop Program is to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, horticulture, nursery crops (including floriculture). See lists of eligible and ineligible crops from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) website.

There's no denying Lone Star pride! GO TEXAN, with its signature mark in the shape of Texas, celebrates, promotes and supports the business savvy and plainspoken grit Texas agriculture is known for throughout the world. Whether it's grown, sewn or served up on a plate, more than 25 million Texans shop, travel and dine out in support of Texas business and agriculture, looking for the GO TEXAN mark to light the way. Show your Texas pride: enroll your business in GO TEXAN. Visit www.gotexan.org for more information.

Visit with the folks of the Go TEXAN program at Nursery/Landscape EXPO, Booth #L, to talk about how the program may help promote your business or help finance part of your marketing.

Register now for Nusery/Landscape EXPO.

Why do people fail?

What are the four phases of accountability and the five critical but often overlooked ways to be proactively accountable? In his keynote at EXPO, Sam Silverstein teaches us how to eliminate excuses and take personal accountability for choices, actions, and results.

He’s interviewed 53 corporate and government executives from around the world and they all agree that accountability matters. At Nursery/Landscape EXPO, you’ll have the benefit of learning from the man who got it from the experts.

Register today.

Certified Pros win again!

It's so fun to spot our TNLA Certified professionals in action-  click here to check out this blog post from our member company, North Haven Gardens. 

North Haven Gardens, congratulations on adding two new TCNPs to the club: Alex Grubbs and Cynthia Koogler, we hope to see you at the TNLA Certified Professional reception August 15th at Nursery/Landscape EXPO. This special invitation-only reception is for all active TCLP, TCNP, TMCNP and CLT credential holders.

Don't forget to register for Nursery/Landscape EXPO today; it's your race to win!

Rev up your relationships

Price and payment options were ranked No. 1 one by both growers and retailers when it came to the most important aspect of their relationship.  The No. 2 item was open communication. These facts are from a recent survey conducted by GreenhouseManagement and Garden Center.

Nursery/Landscape EXPO is the perfect opportunity to create and maintain your business relationships while learning what’s new and having a little fun.

Register now.