PRESIDENT’S TURF Be Bold!
Many of you are in the middle of fall planting, trying to figure out if the economy is going to “sputter” or keep chugging along, as you try to guess if you should plant more acres.
Jimmy Fox fh
When the economy is chugging along, it’s easy to lose sight of all the pressures that are impacting your business. Labor is hard to find. Not just affordable labor, but people willing to work outdoors. So, many of our customers’ projects have been running behind schedule. I have never seen so many deadlines missed, even in the height of the last building boom in 2006. It has made scheduling and inventory management tough on all trades, including sod farming and installation.
Listed below are other potential issues facing our industry which may affect your business over the next few years. You may need to plan to accommodate more potential delays or adjust your pricing to compensate for increasing production costs. I am not an economist, but I do listen to my customers. We all need to stop, look at our business climate, and make adjustments before the bottom line is impacted negatively.
Labor Costs: With unemployment still at record lows, and states such as Washington, California, New York, Arizona and 19 others raising the minimum wage beyond the federal level, keeping good employees at a fair wage is getting harder. Te cost of growing and delivering sod is going up!
Trucking: A growing economy creates the need for more supply chain movement…trucks. Te demand is out-pacing the number of truck drivers. Add Electronic Data Loggers to the equation, and trucking costs are skyrocketing. Shipping routes have slowed, causing further delays. We are living in a new era of trucking regulation, and it is affecting the sod business, whether it is a demand for higher pay, or increased costs from outside trucking companies.
Sand Shortage: Tere is a global shortage of sand impacting cement and concrete production and golf course bunker renovation and installation. Aggregate in general is suffering from a lack of trucking, so sand delivery runs behind, creating bottlenecks nationwide. All this delays landscaping and golf projects.
Lumber Shortage: Hurricane recovery and increased home and commercial building have produced lumber shortages and increased prices. Tis is causing delays in building, and a trickle-down effect on construction pricing.
Rising Interest Rates: Most economists agree that interest rates need to go up eventually to keep banks healthy and hold off inflation. But rising interest rates spark fear they will stall the economy and shut down housing starts. In some areas, housing starts have already slowed due to increased construction costs, rising interest rates, and limited supply that combine to increase selling prices.
You are in business to make money. Be bold and make proactive adjustments so your bottom line is impacted…positively!
May God continue to bless your family and your business.
2 TPI Turf News September/October 2018
2018 TPI Board of Trustees
Officers President Jimmy Fox Evergreen Turf, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-480-456-1199
jimmy@evergreenturf.com
Vice President Eric Heuver Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply – CANADA +1-403-235-8873
eric@eaglelakelandscape.com
Secretary-Treasurer Hank Kerfoot Modern Turf – U.S.A. +1-803-713-8873
hank@modernturf.com
Past President Linda Pittillo Bradley Turf Mountain Sod, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-828-685-3642
turfmountain@bellsouth.net
Executive Director Casey Reynolds, PhD Turfgrass Producers International – U.S.A. +1-847-649-5555
creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org
Trustees John Coombs, Sr. Coombs Sod Farms, LLC – U.S.A. +1-856-358-4763
jhc@coombsfarms.com
Steve Griffen Saratoga Sod Farm, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-518-664-5038
steve@saratogasod.com
Randy Jasperson Jasperson Sod Farm – U.S.A. +1-262-835-2826
rj@jaspersonsod.com
Jim Keeven SelecTurf, Inc – U.S.A. +1-573-634-3444
jim@selecturfsod.com
Mark Tribbett JB Instant Lawn, Inc. - U.S.A. +1-503-581-7823
mark@jbinstantlawn.net
Keith Wittig Central Turf Farms, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-979-657-1122
kwittig@centralturffarms.com
Tim Wollesen Sales Midwest, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-913-254-9560
tim@salesmidwest.com
Legal Counsel Monte B. Lake CJ Lake 525 Ninth Street, NW- Suite 800 Washington, DC – U.S.A. +1-202-789-8644
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
