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Audio Files: Heating in Your Winter Greenhouse

HEATING IN YOUR WINTER GREENHOUSE

FROM THE OCTOBER 2022 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY PATRICK MAHONEY

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Fortunately, there are a number of ways for growers to improve their greenhouse and limit expenses during winter. To get the most out of their structure, operations will want to look at the key factors that impact heating efficiency, starting with the greenhouse’s ability to retain heat and the effectiveness of its heating system.

Audio Files: Payroll 2023 Style

PAYROLL 2023 STYLE

FROM THE MARCH 2023 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY MARK BATTERSBY

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Payroll, typically the biggest expense of a business, has come a long way since its creation in 1913. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution gives Congress the “power to lay and collect taxes on incomes.” The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 established the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and youth employment standards, further complicating payrolls.

 

Obviously, understanding the basic rules for withholding payroll taxes—and paying over withheld amounts—on the wages of all employees in the commercial growing or retail business is a good start. Guidance and advice from a competent, qualified advisor is virtually a necessity.

Audio Files: Should You Hire a Consultant for Your Greenhouse?

SHOULD YOU HIRE A CONSULTANT FOR YOUR GREENHOUSE?

FROM THE JUNE 2022 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY ALBERT GRIMM

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Most of us are simply not aware of any mistakes we make or else we would avoid them. If we’re unaware of our flaws and deficiencies we cannot improve upon them, and therefore, honest critique is the most valuable professional gift that anybody can present us with. If you’re ready to accept critique, you’re ready for a consultant.

Specialized Growing Media: Jiffy Flexistart

This audio is from a recent Trending Now video. You can find the video version at https://youtu.be/DYmksCn2HfI 

 

Tech On Demand podcast host and GrowerTalks Senior Editor Bill Calkins talks to John Bonin, the substrate mix product manager and senior account manager for Jiffy Group, about the iconic company’s new Flexistart specialized growing media.

John takes you through a bit of Jiffy’s mission and the importance of high-quality substrates before explaining why Flexistart is a reliable product for professional young plant producers looking to drive performance, speed and precision, while reducing waste and labor costs.

 

More Resources:

• Plant propagation systems | Blends quality substrates | Jiffy Group
• Jiffy substrates and mix for professional use | Jiffy Group‘
• Meeting the Challenge of High-Quality, Cost-Efficient Substrates (jiffygroup.com)
• Jiffy Flexistart - Hear what clients are saying! - YouTube
• Jiffy Group International The Netherlands
• Jiffy Group –Sustainability

Audio Files: How Much Are You Losing to Waste?

HOW MUCH ARE YOU LOSING TO WASTE?

FROM THE JANUARY 2023 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY STAN VANDER WAAL

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Let’s talk realistically about waste, and for this discussion, break waste into two parts: First, production—which, to me, is from the buying of the product to delivery at the store. I would suggest producers can be as low as 2% and as high as 10% in this area. Second is shrink, or what we refer to as sell-through at retail.

Audio Files: When Using Your Land Doesn’t Go As Planned

WHEN USING YOUR LAND DOESN’T GO AS PLANNED

FROM THE OCTOBER 2022 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY MATT STURZEN

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Unless they’re actively involved in local government or kept up to date on land use issues, many individuals and businesses are unaware of their rights or restrictions as it relates to real property. This is especially true for those in the agricultural and nursery industries, since operations can go years without undergoing significant land use changes. However, land use issues can quickly arise and become complicated as time passes by. This is because land use plans are ever-changing, especially as urban and suburban development increases.

Audio Files: Visa Program Primer

VISA PROGRAM PRIMER

FROM THE DECEMBER 2022 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY SHAWN PACKER

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Many employers turn to the temporary foreign guestworker visa programs like the H-2A and H-2B visa—so much so that we’re seeing record numbers of applications. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) certified 317,619 H-2A temporary agricultural visas and 181,451 H-2B temporary non-agricultural visas. That’s up from a DOL certified 200,049 H-2A visas and 133,985 H-2B visas in 2017.

  

Here are five things you should consider before embarking on this journey of hiring workers under these programs.

 

Audio Files: The Splitting of Impatiens

THE SPLITTING OF IMPATIENS

FROM THE JANUARY 2023 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY LOWELL HALVORSON

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

EXCERPT: When analyzing impatiens sales these days, we can see that the category has split into two distinct segments, each with its own sweet spot and market focus. Wholesale price lists show this breakout regularly. They often follow “Impatiens” with “Impatiens, Hybrid” or perhaps “Impatiens, SunPatiens.” This division reflects the new normal and, looking under the hood, we can also see each segment is shifting under different breeder and buyer pressures.

Audio Files: Trends in Biocontrols

TRENDS IN BIOCONTROLS

 

FROM THE FEBRUARY 2023 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

 

WRITTEN BY JULIE MARTENS FORNEY

 

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: With biocontrols, it’s not an either/or approach when it comes to using chemicals, but a both/and. A combination of biology and chemistry delivers great success. For instance, “you can use biologicals up front to keep pest issues in check all through a crop if the weather is just right,” Dr. Michael Brownbridge explained. “That lets you save chemistry until the last few weeks of production so you can clean things up prior to shipping.”

 

The flip side is true, too. “If you have high pest and disease pressures, you can use chemistry first like a battering ram to knock down the problems and follow up with biologicals to mop up and provide protection to the plant,” he continued.

 

When it comes to diseases, he pointed out “there’s an increasing body of scientific evidence that if you use a combination of biology and chemistry you get better disease control.”

Audio Files: Tech in the Greenhouse

TECH IN THE GREENHOUSE

FROM THE APRIL 2023 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY JENNIFER ZURKO

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Most of the new tech we’re seeing boils down to one reason: lack of resources. There aren’t enough servers to bring your food or enough cashiers at the grocery store, so those industries have had to figure out how to alleviate the problem while still providing those services to their customers.

In the growing biz, it’s no different. We’re experiencing a lack of resources, too—and have been for years—so it’s expected that some of the technology that we’re seeing in other industries to address labor shortages have made their way into the greenhouse.

But if you step back, you realize that the focus hasn’t just been on the lack of hands—growers are also looking for new ways to continuously improve on quality in a shorter and shorter amount of time.