Industry News
The Advanced Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program Launches By Amy Fulcher, Extension Specialist and Associate Professor, UT Department of Plant Sciences, and Patty McDaniels, Senior Media Coordinator, UTIA Marketing and Communications
The
Advanced Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program is now available from University of Tennessee Extension. The Advanced Tennessee Master Nursery Producer (Advanced TMNP) program builds upon the foundation of topics presented in the original TMNP Program. Both programs teach Tennessee nursery producers best practices to enhance their profitability and long-term environmental, economic and community sustainability.
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Like the original TMNP program, the Advanced TMNP program is available exclusively online to reach nursery producers and potential producers in a way that fits their schedules. Approximately 98 percent of growers completing the original TMNP Program emphasized the convenience of the online format during exit interviews. Many indicate that due to other employment or commitments on and off the nursery, they could not have participated in a traditional live class requiring travel to the class location and a
rigid starting and ending time. Graduates mention rainy days and “after dark� are favorite times to log in to the program and complete a module or two. The Advanced TMNP Program topics fall into one of three categories: Marketing and Economics, Production, and Pest Management and are generally more specific topics than the TMNP Program. Some of the topics in the Advanced TMNP Program are social media; lean flow; patents and trademarks; succession planning; advanced irrigation; pot-in-pot production;