TECH ON DEMAND brought to you by GrowerTalks

Audio Files: Reducing the Risk—Optimize Your Insurance Policy

REDUCING THE RISK

FROM A 2025 INSIDE GROWER MAGAZINE WEB-EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE

WRITTEN BY TRACI DOOLEY

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: An increase in the frequency of severe weather events, reduced market capacity, higher labor, material, and equipment costs, and unusually high jury awards are all causing insurance premiums to rise across industries. For horticultural businesses, as the cost and frequency of your risk increases, your insurance must account for them to help keep your livelihood protected.

Understanding these changes will help you make informed strategic decisions, including how best to mitigate your total risk to help offset several of these costs in the coming year.

Here are five key trends that will affect your agribusiness risks and coverage in 2025, along with practical steps you can take to reduce risks and manage your policy expenses.

 

Read the web-exclusive article at Inside-Grower.com: https://www.inside-grower.com/Article/?articleid=27227

Finished Zinnia Production: Managing Stretch, Disease and More!

Whether you’re finishing Zinnia Elegans, Marylandica or Angustifolia crops, Dr. Will Healy has the “rules of the road” to avoid or manage stretch (… if you turn your back on the crop, it’s going to stretch!) and mitigate disease risk. Zinnias are a true classic when it comes to home gardens and breeding has brought this crop a long way, with new varieties, colors and flower forms still wowing customers generation after generation. But sending high quality out the door to landscape customers and garden centers requires close attention throughout production.

 

WATCH THE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/vYpzo65kFCU

 

RESOURCES:

 

(VIDEO) At Risk Crops—Zinnia: https://youtu.be/XzX2dXs9584?si=fJnwFhfr9nNIrkwb

 

GrowerTalks’ Grower Guides: https://www.growertalks.com/GrowerGuides/

Cool-Season Nuances! Optimize Finished Dianthus Production

There’s a lot of “Sweet William” going on in this video … Tech On Demand host Bill “Sweet William” Calkins is joined once again by Dr. Will “Sweet William” Healy to discuss tips and tricks for finishing amazing dianthus crops at a time of year that can be challenging. From receiving plugs in cold weather and starting dianthus under long days to soil considerations and phosphorous deficiency risks, Will has plenty of advice to share so you and your team can be successful.

 

WATCH THE VIDEO: https://youtu.be/7RcXvyFTdMo 

 

Finishing Impatiens Walleriana—Watch Your Moisture & Temps!

Impatiens walleriana might be the most-recognized garden plant—certainly the favorite for shade gardens and landscapes. Ball’s recently retired technical guru Dr. Will Healy joins us once again to share tips and tricks for finishing key seed annuals. When you’re producing impatiens, there are plenty of best practices to follow to avoid issues like stretch, tip abortion and guttation. Will has tons of experience to share to help keep you and your production team on track with impatiens!

 

WATCH THE VIDEO! https://youtu.be/iLWlxDOKJyw

 

RESOURCES:

 

VIDEO: Impatiens 2.0: https://youtu.be/ZYlEcrqWO5Q?si=eoa5u01KZfJrCmk7

 

VIDEO: At-Risk Crops—Impatiens: https://youtu.be/3o7CyRb-jUE?si=_s_dj8vRCiUkqff_

 

GrowerTalks’ Grower Guides: https://www.growertalks.com/GrowerGuides/

 

Audio Files: Embracing Technology & Sustainability for Growth

EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY FOR GROWTH

FROM THE FEBRUARY 2025 ISSUE OF GREEN PROFIT MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY AVIVA LeSHAW

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Shoppers today want more than a good deal on plants. They’re looking for an experience—something seamless and personal. Research from the Square Future of Retail Report: 2024 Edition shows that a full 100% of retail businesses prefer automation for tasks like tracking inventory or ordering out-of-stock products, highlighting the growing demand for efficient, technology-driven solutions. For garden retailers, meeting these demands is essential.

 

Read the digital edition of Green Profit Magazine—February 2025: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gp_25_02/index.aspx

Be the Local King or Queen of Tomato Production!

Every garden center—big and small—offers tomato plants for home gardens. Your key differentiators are varieties, container sizes and quality. Be the top wholesale supplier in your market by following Dr. Will Healy’s tomato production advice! In this Ball Tech On Demand crop-specific episode, he takes you through all the key factors necessary to finish high-quality tomato plants and send them to retail ready to sell. Tips for avoiding stretch and building root mass are covered in detail, as well as plenty more strategies Will has helped growers put into practice over many decades.

 

WATCH THE VIDEO! https://youtu.be/Zc4-LGfMTA0

 

RESOURCES:

 

VIDEO: At-Risk Crops—Tomato: https://youtu.be/aCBmuleuVXU?si=JV1wA7tF4ua6NRLb

 

GrowerTalks’ Grower Guides: https://www.growertalks.com/GrowerGuides/

 

Audio Files: Onboarding—The Root of Long-Term Engagement

THE ROOT OF LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT

FROM THE JANUARY 2025 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY HARRISON DOWNING

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Just as early root health is the foundation of explosive plant growth in its influence on a plant’s ability to develop properly and produce high yields, so is the importance of a thorough onboarding program for new hires in a company. 

 

Read the digital edition of GrowerTalks Magazine—January 2025: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gt_25_01/index.aspx

Joan Mazat & Dave Dowling: All Things Cut Flowers and the ASCFG Dowling Scholarship

Ball Seed Cut Flower Business Manager Joan Mazat takes over the golden TOD microphone to join Ball Cut Flower Guru Dave Dowling for a wonderful discussion about cut flowers. Dave shares stories from his beginnings growing flowers, owning a cut flower farm in Maryland for more than 20 years and subsequent career in the world of cut flower supply and product management. He also shares about his long-term involvement with the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) and how proud he is of the ASCFG Dave Dowling Scholarship that supports the future of the domestic cut flower industry by awarding scholarships to undergraduate or graduate students pursuing a career in horticulture—focusing on cut flower research and production.

 

Learn more about ASCFG’s Dave Dowling Scholarship: https://www.ascfg.org/outreach/dowling-scholarship/

 

Find new varieties, best-sellers and many cut flower resources form Ball Seed: https://www.ballseed.com/cutflowers/

Audio Files: Common Sense for Unknown Payroll Pressures

COMMON SENSE FOR UNKNOWN PAYROLL PRESSURES

FROM THE JANUARY 2025 ISSUE OF GREEN PROFIT MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY BILL McCURRY

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: With the country headed in a potentially different economic direction, old truths prevail. All payroll factors are local to your area’s economy, your business realities, and your employees’ financial situations. Let’s look at ways to lessen employee stress, without pay raises that incur employer payroll taxes and employee income taxes.

 

Read the digital edition of GREEN PROFIT Magazine—January 2025: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gp_25_01/index.aspx

Audio Files: Right Plant, Right Time, Right Source

RIGHT PLANT, RIGHT TIME, RIGHT SOURCE

FROM THE JANUARY 2025 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY BILL CALKINS

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: … the team-based approach Ball Seed and its perennials partners employ to help customers solve challenges and optimize assortments. In this case, the grower worked with their sales rep, who in turn worked with supplier technical experts and R&D managers to find the best solution.

This type of success extends across the entire Ball Seed perennial supply partner network and shines a spotlight on the importance of feedback loops and close communication.

 

Read the digital edition of GROWERTALKS Magazine—January 2025: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gt_25_01/index.aspx