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| SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS The authors would like to caution the readers that the findings presented in this present bulletin were based on a sample of 87 nursery and greenhouse operations in the northern Gulf of Mexico states. The land area devoted to plant production was significantly affected by the type of growing operation. The typical average sampled nursery and greenhouse operation occupied approximately 21.5 acres per operation with 63 percent or 13 acres under production. Nursery operations had more land area averaging 35.9 acres per operation for container production, in-ground field production, or pot-in-pot production. Greenhouse operations devoted lesser land (averaging 3.8 acres) to operate total greenhouse space (averaging 27,227 sq. ft.) for plant production and overwintering. The typical nursery and greenhouse had been in operation for the past 23 years. Most of these were organized either as sole proprietorships (54%) or corporations (30%). The majority of the participating nurseries and greenhouses (57%) reported annual gross sales less than $250,000. These operations required both full-time and part-time workers, depending on the season, averaging about 1.1 FTE per acre. Labor hiring decisions are crucial in ensuring the survival of these operations given the tightening in the supply of available labor and willingness of people to work in the nursery and greenhouse industry in the northern Gulf of Mexico states. When growers made production decisions, one of the most crucial elements in the process was the choice of which plant sizes to grow. These decisions had serious implications on the labor, materials and supplies that would be required to operate efficient production lines. The five most commonly produced liner products included 2-, 3-, 4-, 6-, and 8-inch pots and liners in 18- and 36-cell trays. The top five products in pots most frequently selected by the growers included plants in 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-, and 15-gal pots. The participating nursery and greenhouse growers in the northern Gulf of Mexico states mostly preferred plants in 10-inch baskets to other basket sizes. |
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Posadas, Benedict C., Patricia R. Knight, Christine H. Coker, Randal Y. Coker, and Scott A. Langlois. 2008. Operational Characteristics of Nurseries and Greenhouses in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Proceedings of the 53rd Annual Southern Nursery Association Research Conference, 53:290-292. Posadas, Benedict C., Patricia R. Knight, Christine H. Coker, Randal Y. Coker, and Scott A. Langlois. 2009. Operational Characteristics of Nurseries and Greenhouses in the Northern Gulf of Mexico States. Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Bulletin 1184, Mississippi State, Mississippi. |
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