Sales of Greenhouse and Nursery Items Blossom Into Tempting Market : Agriculture: USDA offers farmers an alternative to corn, cotton and soybeans. U.S. sales of greenery in five years climbed 41% from $5.18 billion to $7.29 billion.
Demand for green and flowery things is growing so fast that Agriculture Department experts say it can offer some farmers alternative ways to earn money.
Wheat prices rise and fall rapidly, reflecting global markets and export demand. So do the fortunes of corn, cotton and soybean producers. And the market cycles for cattle and hogs have been notorious at times.
But consider this: In the five years from 1984 to 1989, producer sales of greenhouse and nursery items--from greens and shrubs to cut flowers and potted plants--rose 41%, from $5.18 billion to more than $7.29 billion.
The value of wheat marketings dropped to $7.18 billion in 1989 from $8.58 billion in 1984, a 16% decline.
This doesn’t mean that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is saying wheat farmers should park their combines, plant posies all over the Great Plains and make Christmas wreaths for the tourists.
It does suggest, however, that there is a lucrative, growing business in raising alternative crops associated with the greenhouse, nursery and floriculture trade.
Doyle Johnson of the department’s Economic Research Service says these related enterprises have turned into one of the fastest growing sectors in U.S. agriculture, fueled by increasing population, higher disposable incomes and changing lifestyles.
“Individuals are buying more flowers, plants, trees and shrubs to beautify their surroundings, and so are businesses and governments working to enhance parks, highways, office buildings, hotels and restaurants,” he said.
Nursery products constitute the largest category, accounting for roughly $4 billion in growers’ cash receipts in 1989, according to a recent report in Farmline magazine.
Landscaping products such as ornamental and shade trees, evergreens, shrubs, hedges, ground covers, fruit and nut trees and berry plants are some of the major items. Others are plants for windbreaks and other conservation purposes, and seedlings for reforestation.
In the category of cut flowers, roses, carnations, chrysanthemums and gladioli are leaders. Cut greens such as leatherleaf and other decorative ferns are companion items.
Forty-two states now produce commercial quantities of cut flowers and greens, estimated in 1989 at $527 million and $111 million, respectively. Both were up sharply from previous years.
Cut-flower production is becoming increasingly concentrated in the southern and western Sun Belt, where climate advantages enable producers to grow plants outdoors while having access to major metropolitan areas.
Johnson said there is fierce competition from cut flowers and greens from Colombia and several other Latin American countries, where lower labor and energy costs help keep prices low.
The United States does not limit the quantities or dollar amounts of cut-flower imports. Johnson said, however, that an 8% tariff is levied and that specific anti-dumping duties are used at times to restrict imports.
Also, since illegal drugs have been found in some flower shipments, drug inspections are now performed both in the country of origin and at ports of entry, which hampers shipments of highly perishable cut flowers.
Despite the competition from imports, U.S. domestic growers in 1989 sold 61% of the cut flowers and 87% of the cut cultivated greens.
Potted flowering plants are another fast-growing endeavor, with 46 states now in commercial production, the report said. Species include African violets, chrysanthemums, lilies, poinsettias, azaleas, geraniums and many others.
“With consumption tripling over the past decade, this category has emerged as one of the fastest-growing areas in the floriculture sector,” Johnson said.
Growers’ cash receipts were estimated at $661 million in 1982, up 34% from $492 million in 1986. Imports of potted flowers also have increased, totaling about $19.9 million in 1989, a 76% increase from 1986.
Another major category is bedding and garden plants, including vegetable plants sold in flats, pots and hanging baskets, and an array of flowering and leafy plants. Growers’ cash receipts totaled $964 million in 1989, up 15% from a year earlier.
Most states have commercial production of bedding and garden plants. Widespread cultivation is possible because nearly all of these crops are grown in greenhouses.
Johnson said foreign countries “have not mounted strong competition for the bedding and garden plant market, and are unlikely to do so in the near future.” Moreover, it is a category that is accessible to new U.S. producers.
