El6-Grower & Marketer, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 1,2003 Hort Expert: Get To The ‘Root’ Of A Plant’s Ills (Continued from Page El 4) Bates noted that while water is becoming a more val uable commodity, he said, managers have to deal with drought. “Drought should be expected,” he said. For Christmas tree growers, the past year has been “devas tating” for planting ever greens. Everybody was out early in the spring, with May the perfect month to start, but then the drought struck. In one area after a May planting, 80 percent of the Douglas Fir was dead by Au gust, and “this is a drought tolerant plant,” Bates said. 2003 Mid-Atlantic Winter Brambles Conference Feb. 7-8 LEESBURG, Va. The North American Bramble Growers Association - Mid- Atlantic region and Virginia Cooperative Extension will sponsor a Bramble meeting Feb. 7-8 here at the Holiday Inn at Carracdoc Hall. This event will offer high quality information to existing producers as well as individu als interested in a thorough in troduction to the various is sues affecting the production of blackberries and raspber ries. Brambles are a crop that can match agricultural pro duction interests from the smallest farm sizes to larger operations. The conference has a focus on subjects most currently DYNA Dynamic Technologlet Mt<*^ywesri*le ■ : -t - : r-KmwM DYNA-TECH IND. 24 Hour Emergency Service Phone 717-274-8899 602 E. Evergreen Rd., • MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS . . " . Web Site;www.dynagen.com Lebanon, PA 17042 • RENTALS E-mail: sales@dynagen.com “It was a very significant drought,” Bates said. “If noth ing else, we can plan on it happening.” For nurseries, there is sim 64 Anybody feel like you are doing it and doing it and doing it and you’re tired? 9 5 ply “no reason not to use irri gation,” he said. At the workshop, Don Mar tin, director of learning re sources at the Kutztown Uni critical to the production of bramble fruit (blackberry and raspberry) and factors affec ting the viability of individual farms and the growing indus try. Key topics include season extension, irrigation in heat and drought, nutrition, in depth cultivar discussion, spe cifics of insect pests, direct marketing, wholesale market ing, and grower profiles. Speakers include Dr. Rich ard Funt of Ohio State Uni versity, Dr. Harry Swartz of the University of Maryland, Bryan Butler of Maryland Co operative Extension, Dr. Doug Pfeiffer, and Dr. Tony Bratsch of Virginia Tech, Dr, Bill Cline and Dr. Zvezdana Pesic- TECH 7 GENERATOR SYSTEMS versity Small Business Development Center (SBDC), spoke about creating a busi ness model for landscaping enterprises. , Don Martin Director, Learning Resources Kutztown University SBDC “You’re in business for get the landscaping,” Martin said. He pointed out how impor tant it is to focus on the busi- VanEsbroek of North Caroli na State University, Dr. John Halbrendt of Pennsylvania State University, Mike Droney of the Virginia Department of Agriculture, and discussions with individual growers. Information including con ference schedule and registra tion can be obtained at http:// www.ento.vt.edu/ Fruitfiles/ Hotßramble.html and http://www.nabga.com; or by contacting Jason Murray at jamurray@v t.edu and (703) 737-8978,' or Richard Fagan at rfagan@mind spring.com and (301) 724-4085. 1-800-779-8809 isif) RACTI ENERATOP 12-100 KW V. -f ' J ness and creating a plan, rath er than simply, by rote, going about the small tasks. “Anybody feel like you are doing it and doing it and doing it and you’re tired?” he said. He challenged landscape business owners to transform their business and find out how to shorten the workdays and “get your life back.” Martin, who ran a land scaping company for a num ber of years, in addition to several sole proprietorships, worked for General Motors in the ’Bos. What he noted, in running the new Kutztown SBDC, was that 80 percent of all small businesses fail in five years. After 10 years, only a small percentage survive. “Eighty-four percent of those working with us in five years are still in business,” he said. The key: establishing a busi ness or marketing plan to help the business grow. “You have to plan growth,” said Martin. “It won’t happen without it.” An unexamined business is not worth conducting, accord ing to the audience who par ticipated in the roundtable type discussion. Martin pointed to the fol lowing books helpful for small business owners: • “The E-Myth Revisited,” by Michael E. Gerber, pub lished by Harperßusiness, 1995, ISBN 0-88730-728-0. In cluded is a quote from Aldous Huxley: “They intoxicate themselves with work so they won’t see how they really are.” • “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson, M.D., published by G.P. Put nam’s Sons, 1998, ISBN 0-399-14446-3. • “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” by Stephen R. Covey, Fireside/ Simon and Schuster, 1989, 1990, ISBN 0-671-70863-5. Martin outlined the Busi ness Plan For Success site that can be used as a planning tool. Check out the Kutztown SBDC Website at http:// sbdc.kutztown.edu. There are 750 members of the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association, according to Gregg Robertson, PLNA president. PLNA is lo cated at 1707 South Cameron St., Harrisburg, PA 17104-3148, (800) 898-3411 or (717)238-1673.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers