The Scoop - October 2021

MEMBER PROFILE

EAB SPREADS

OUT & ABOUT

SNOW & ICE PREPARATION

ALSO INSIDE:

PLUS:

MNLA FOUNDATION UPDATES

october 2021 n v44 n10

TOP 10 PERFORMING ANNUAL FLOWERS

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MINNESOTA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION

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WHOLESALE NURSERY & HARDSCAPES

october 2021 n v44 n10

31 44

8 Events 42

10 Investing in Your Employees Executive Director Larson discusses the essential role employee training plays in growing a successful business.

12 Member Profile Shay Lunseth tells the story of how Organic Lawns

by LUNSETH got its start and has evolved over the

54

31

2021 Top 10 Performing Annual Flowers

After evaluations throughout the season, these are the plants that scored highest this year at the WCROC Horticulture Display Garden.    

Snow & Ice Section

Presented In Cooperation With SIMA

past decade.

17 New Options for Northern Green Registration Introducing the “Snow Insurance” Northern Green Rate Lock and back by popular demand: Group Discounts.

18 Northern Green Schedule At-a-Glance

39

Estimating “Swag”ger

Michael Merrill explains some of the most important and misunderstood categories of a solid bidding and estimating system.    

42

Mapping Out Safety

A visual tool like a site map aids fast communication and helps define the scope of work more easily, too. 

Take a look at what’s in store for January’s can’tmiss show! (Some session titles and other details subject to change.)

25 EAB Confirmed in Freeborn County 28 of Minnesota’s 87 counties are now under an EAB quarantine.

36 Out & About A busy summer season brought MNLA members together at the MNLA office, area gardens, a ball

47

Delicate Balancing Act

When managing risk as a snow and ice contractor, a well-conceived contract can help you find your equilibrium. 

54

MNLA Foundation Updates

park, and a trade show.

44 Landscape Awards Entry Portal Open As of October 1st, MNLA is accepting submissions of exemplary landscape projects.

45 Governor Tim Walz and Senator Andrew Mathews Advocates of the Year

The MNLA Foundation had a busy summer as fruitful partnerships created

These individuals helped position MNLA members

opportunities for connecting on green industry careers .

for success during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

 Landscape & Hardscape Install & Design  Garden Services & Landscape Mgmt  Garden Centers  Growers: Nursery & Greenhouse  Irrigation & Water Mgmt  Arborists & Tree Services  All

Cover photo: iStock.com/saje. Table of Contents Images: Top: University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center. Middle: iStock.com/Rawf8. Bottom: Paulette Sorenson.

october 21 MNLA.BIZ

5

DIRECTORY

october 2021 n v44 n10

MINNESOTA NURSERY & LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION Successful Businesses Grow Here!

1813 Lexington Ave. N., Roseville, MN 55113 651-633-4987 • Fax: 651-633-4986 Outside the metro area, toll free: 888-886-MNLA, Fax: 888-266-4986 www.MNLA.biz • www.NorthernGreen.org Mission: The mission of the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association is to help members grow successful businesses.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Tim Malooly, CID, CLIA, CIC, President Water in Motion 763-559-7771 • timm@watermotion.com Randy Berg, Vice-President Berg’s Nursery, Landscape/Garden Center 507-433-2823 • randy@bergsnursery.com Matt Mallas, Secretary-Treasurer Hedberg Supply 763-512-2849 • mmallas@hedbergaggregates.com Faith Appelquist, MNLA-CP Tree Quality LLC 612-618-5244 • faith@treequality.com Terri McEnaney Bailey Nurseries (651) 459-9744 • terri.mcenaney@baileynursery.com Patrick McGuiness Zlimen & McGuiness PLLC (651) 331-6500 • pmcguiness@zmattorneys.com John O’Reilly Otten Bros. Garden Center and Landscaping 952-473-5425 • j.oreilly@ottenbros.com Jeff Pilla, MNLA-CP Professional Turf, Inc. (Proturf) 952-469-8680 • jeff@professionalturf.com Nick Sargent, MNLA-CP Sargent’s Landscape Nursery, Inc. 507-289-0022 • njsargent@sargentsgardens.com Cassie Larson, CAE MNLA Executive Director 651-633-4987 • cassie@mnla.biz STAFF DIRECTORY Executive Director: Cassie Larson, CAE • cassie@mnla.biz Membership Director & Trade Show Manager: Mary Dunn, CEM • mary@mnla.biz Associate Director: Jon Horsman, CAE • jon@mnla.biz Dir. of Government Affairs: Forrest Cyr • forrest@mnla.biz Regulatory Affairs Manager: Jim Calkins • jim@mnla.biz Accountant: Pam Helgeson • accounting@mnla.biz Foundation Program Manager: Paulette Sorenson • paulette@mnla.biz Administrative Assistant: Louise Nemmers • louise@mnla.biz Advertising Sales: 763-295-5420 Betsy Pierre, Advertising Mgr • betsy@pierreproductions.com Legislative Affairs Consultant: Doug Carnival 6

MNLA.BIZ october 21

Ancom Communications Inc and Midwest Radio Rentals .......... 30 Arborjet .................................................................................................. 53 Aspen Equipment ................................................................................. 38 Bachman's Wholesale Nursery & Hardscapes ................................ 3 Bullis Insurance Agency ....................................................................... 9 Central Landscape Supply ................................................................. 34 Contree Sprayer & Equipment Co, LLC ............................................ 44 Cushman Motor Company ................................................................. 26 Edney Distributing Co., Inc. ................................................................ 11 Frontier Ag & Turf ................................................................................ 34 Frost Inc ................................................................................................. 30 Fury Motors ........................................................................................... 15 Gertens Wholesale & Professional Turf Supply .............................. 2 Green Turf Sod Farms ........................................................................... 4 Hedberg Supply/SiteOne Landscape Supply ............................... 51 Jeff Belzer Chevrolet ...................................................................... 28–29 Klaus Nurseries .................................................................................... 30 Lano Equipment, Inc. .......................................................................... 51 Minnesota Propane Association ...................................................... 43 Monroe Truck Equipment .................................................................. 46 Northern Salt, Inc. ............................................................................... 38 Out Back Nursery ................................................................................. 34 Peat, Inc. ................................................................................................ 44 Plaisted Companies ............................................................................... 7 Rock Hard Landscape Supply ............................................................. 9 SMSC Organics Recycling Facility ..................................................... 49 Sunbelt Business Advisors .................................................................. 9 The Resultants ...................................................................................... 26 The Tessman Company ....................................................................... 49 Toft's Outdoor Supply .......................................................................... 11 Tri-State Bobcat, Inc. .......................................................................... 41 Versa-Lok Midwest .............................................................................. 24 Ziegler CAT ............................................................................. Back Cover

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WE WE ARE ARE SOIL EXPERTS SOIL EXPERTS

UPCOMING

OCT

22 +29 NOV

05 +12

CERTIFICATION EXAM

There’s still time to sit for the exam to become an MNLA Certified Professional in 2021.

MNLA Office, Roseville, MN ➽MNLA.biz

CERTIFICATION EXAM

There’s still time to sit for the exam to become an MNLA Certified Professional in 2021.

MNLA Office, Roseville, MN ➽MNLA.biz

MNLA LANDSCAPE AWARDS SUBMISSION DEADLINE

NOV

17

The MNLA Landscape Awards is a program for installed landscapes. Entries due by 5:00 p.m.

MNLA.biz/landscapeawards

PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION

NOV

19



Upon MDA approval, this workshop meets MDA’s Commercial Pesticide Applicator Recertification requirements for Categories A (Core), E (Turf & Ornamentals), and optional Category L (Mosquito, Black Fly, Tick Control) Roseville Skating Center, Roseville, MN ➽MNLA.biz

MENTOR PROGRAM APPLICATION DEADLINE

NOV

22



Both mentors and mentees are invited to submit an application by November 22 to participate in the 2022 Mentorship Program.

MNLA.biz

NORTHERN GREEN 2022

JAN

11 –13

Save the dates for the premier event for green industry professionals in the northern region. Exhibit booths are available.

Minneapolis Convention Center ➽NorthernGreen.org.

JAN

20



GREEN INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE APPLICATION DEADLINE

Become a stronger more confident leader when you participate in the leadership development program designed with a green industry focus.

MNLA.biz

The Scoop, October 2021, Issue 10 is issued monthly, 12 times per year. All original works, articles or formats published in The Scoop are © Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association, 2021, and may not be used without written permission of MNLA, 1813 Lexington Ave N., Roseville, MN 55113. Subscription price is $99 for one year, which is included with member dues. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Scoop, MNLA, 1813

2021 MNLA seminars generously supported by:

Lexington Ave N., Roseville, MN 55113.

Editorial Contributions. You are invited to share your expertise and perspective. Article ideas and manuscripts

WHOLESALE NURSERY & HARDSCAPES

Your Trusted Partner

should, whenever possible, reflect real and specific experiences. When submitting an article, please contact the publisher at jon@mnla.biz or 651-633-4987. MNLA



reserves the right to edit all Scoop content.

➽Information on industry events: MNLA.biz/events. Free member-only videos: MNLA.biz/OnlineEducation.

8

MNLA.BIZ october 21

Business

 Skills Training

 Networking



Leadership Development

General

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FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Investing in Your Employees Cassie Larson

MNLA Executive Director

Whether your business is focused on snow removal, landscaping, growing, retailing, and/or water, they all have one thing in common: employee training is essential. It is essential to ensuring not only top-notch performance, but also helps guarantee your clients are receiving the service they expect. In addition, investing in your employees is an important component

iStock.com/cnythzl

to building and retaining a high-performing team.

One of the first steps in establishing a good training program

is to make sure you have documented service standards.

Have you outlined your job processes and procedures?

This is necessary to ensure that all employees are performing to your company’s standard. On this note, MNLA is currently working on development of a landscape apprenticeship program, which will hopefully provide some job processes you may wish to reference. Watch for more details on this program in the coming months.

Once you’ve established standards and processes, there are many ways to make sure employees receive training that will help to meet those standards. You can produce and provide training within your own company, search 10

MNLA.BIZ october 21

out online training resources, and/or look to partners like MNLA or local colleges that may have programs to assist.

While job training should be a high priority, another major component of employee development should be coaching and mentoring. When you think about the challenges your company has overcome during the past year, which employees stand out as critical resources in building your business for the future? Who stepped up to the plate or showed future promise? Are you working to create not only a job but a career path for these employees within your company?

Soft skills are just as important as job-related tasks when it comes to having well-rounded employees, so

make sure that things like communication, conflict management, leadership, decisionmaking, facilitation, and business acumen are part of your training program. MNLA heard from member businesses that this is an area where internal training was often lacking, so we developed two programs to assist members with employee training in these areas: 1. Green Industry Leadership Institute: This MNLA learning experience cultivates leadership skills in your key staff by incorporating highly interactive exercises, discussions, lecture-style learning, and project-based activities and sessions.

Using these multiple learning methods creates a rich adult-learning environment and increases takeaways for each person. The sessions focus on personal development through key power skill topics. This program aims for students to take ownership of their company’s mission and bottom line, walk away with greater confidence in decision making, identify and facilitate solutions within their company, and develop a network of peer advisors.

2. MNLA Mentorship Program: The goal of this program is to establish a partnership between two people based on commitment to the mentoring process, common goals and expectations, focus, mutual trust, and respect. Further goals are to: • Enhance personal and professional development.

• Increase and transfer industry knowledge in a changing workforce.

• Help emerging and established companies to develop and grow their businesses.

• Build deeper connections and trusted resources among industry professionals.

• Enhance the value experience for MNLA members.

The key message, whether we’re talking about training, teaching, evaluating, coaching, or mentoring, is how extremely important it is to invest in your employees. It will ultimately pay dividends by increasing employee satisfaction and retention.

Have a specific employee training need or resource that you think would benefit the industry? Be sure to reach out to any member of the MNLA Board of Directors or staff. We’d be happy to discuss the possibilities. ➽ MNLA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CASSIE LARSON can be reached at 651-633-4987 or cassie@mnla.biz.

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11

MEMBER PROFILE

Member Profile:

ORGANIC LAWNS BY

LUNSETH

Katie Mills Giorgio

The team at Organic Lawns by LUNSETH. COMPANY SNAPSHOT Company Name: Organic Lawns by LUNSETH Company Location: Bloomington Company owners: Shay and Eric Lunseth Year Company was founded: 2007 Number of employees in peak season: 45 Business location(s) and areas served: Twin Cities Metro Area, as far south as Rochester Type of business: Landscape Designer, Landscape Lighting, Landscape Management (including Lawn Care), Snow Plowing

SHAY LUNSETH SAYS THAT BEING A MOM AND AN ANIMAL LOVER has helped her prioritize making healthy decision for their family, and that included in the great outdoors, right out their own front door. Now through the company that she runs with her husband Eric, Organic Lawns by LUNSETH, they are helping other homeowners make healthier and more environmentally conscious choices about how they care for their lawns.

What started as a traditional lawn care company transitioned to offering an alternative approach for homeowners to care for their lawns and the larger environment through organic approaches to turf and weed management. And it all began with experimenting in their own yard.

While they may offer a niche product in the green industry, Lunseth said they have learned a lot over the past decade of being in business and have enjoyed growing their network through MNLA connections. We caught up with Lunseth to learn more about their efforts.

12

MNLA.BIZ october 21

One example of a Lunseth lawn.

Q. How did your company get started?

A. “My husband had been doing commercial lawn mowing and maintenance and started it out of our house. Then in 2010 we had our second child, and I basically thought that he could start using some help with the business. Back in 2008 we had started doing organic lawn care on our own home when our first child was born. And my husband had some ideas of how this could work and the direction he wanted to go. But when we started to work together and in selling it to others, I realized I didn’t know what I was talking about. I didn’t just want to take his word for why we would use one product over another, or use an internet search, or just listen to manufacturers. So, I decided to go back to school and get my Master of Professional Studies in Horticulture at the University of Minnesota, through their program specific to organic turf maintenance. I could gear every single one of my classes to exactly what I wanted to learn, which was how we could offer an alternative to chemically-based lawn care. Fertilization is one thing, but what are the options for weed control? I learned the basics of turf management, identifying weeds and why they are there in the first place, and how to manage a low-maintenance lawn. And once I knew those things, it was easier to sell as I could talk intelligently about it and understand how the mechanics work. It really fueled some ideas of what we were thinking and that we were on the right track. We started working with neighbors and friends and proved that it does work.”

Lunseth's Certified Smart Salters use calibrated equipment to apply the right amount of product at the right time.

Q. So what role do you play in the business now?

A. “Over time I feel like my job has really turned into educating people on why they should care and what the alternatives are to chemical-based lawn care. I get people thinking about why we should rethink how we think about a lawn, what the purpose is. And then giving an option for people who have really either done nothing on their lawn for years because they don’t want to use chemicals, or people who want to make the switch, which is a lot of times pet owners and families that have children and are really using the yard. You start to question why we need to put all that stuff on our lawn.”

Q. What is Organic Lawns by LUNSETH? A. “We are an alternative to chemically-based lawn care. It’s not really comparing apples to apples, but people often think about the company that comes out once a month to spray and treat their lawn to micromanage weeds. We do things a bit differently. To start, when someone asks for a bid, we actually start them on our standard program. At a minimum we would want you to work with us for three years before you can judge the success of what organic lawn care can do. If the customer decides this approach is right for them, we start by helping them improve their soil and getting their lawn’s nutritional needs where they should be. Most people are concerned about weed control, so we talk about all the specific weeds and the three products that we use for weed control, one of which is

corn gluten, which in about three years will get to about 85% suppression of new weeds.

There are certain things that we are upfront that we cannot control organically. We are also changing mindsets about the fact that five to ten percent of some weeds within the lawn is all part of the healthy diversity of the turf. A lot of those plants are actually good for our pollinators. So, someone that has a zero tolerance for weeds is not going to be a good fit in working with us.”

Q. How do you approach marketing?

A. “We’ve done a lot of different marketing in the past month, and we are now doing better tracking of our marketing efforts and realizing that hands-down the best way we market is through referrals—through friends telling friends and neighbors seeing neighbors work the program. Some people get shy about it and don’t want to have a sign in their yard because they think it looks ‘awful,’ but we want people to know it’s okay not to have the perfect lawn. We do a lot of our marketing efforts in the springtime, so that’s about the only time we will do billboards or radio ads.

But this year we are really focusing on our SEO online and we are working on building more educational videos for people to really be able to go on our website and educate themselves on why you would choose this approach to lawn care over another. Why you would want to go organic, how it works, how we manage specific situations or particular weeds. And we have come to realize that some people are just going to get it and october 21 MNLA.BIZ

13

MEMBER PROFILE

appreciate organic practices. We don’t want to hard sell this to anybody because we know it’s not for everybody.”

Q. How do you prioritize customer service?

A. “Our three core values are communication, professionalism, and quality. All I do all day long is customer service. And I really like educating people with something more than a quick response. I love when people have like 20 questions before they sign up. I like to be able to give long-winded answers and get back to them in a timely manner. We just get a lot of questions, even from people who aren’t our customers, and I am always happy to share my research. We don’t want to hide or sugar-coat anything. We think it’s important to set expectations correctly. We work tirelessly on being different in terms of telling people when we’re going to come to their property, accommodating their needs. We work really long hours in the springtime thanks to the response time we need to have on the weeds.

We also don’t lock people into contracts. Any of our customers can come and go as they please or they can customize things with us. The longer we work with you the more customized things become, actually.”

Q. How do you approach human resources?

A. “We couldn’t do anything without good employees. We feel very lucky, especially this year, feeling like we have a very, very strong team. We believe that people should have a good work-life balance. There are times 14

MNLA.BIZ october 21

during the year that we work really hard, and so we try to provide other times of the year that we can goof around a bit more. We try to have barbecues at least once a month. It’s one of those little perks that can make all the hard work more worthwhile. It’s important for everyone here to be happy and healthy.

If someone is unhappy about a position, we work on finding some place where they could be. Or if they have strengths and we feel like they could be better used in a different position, we try to get everyone where they are best suited. We’re very lucky to have a strong management team. And they take pride in this company. We want it to feel like family.

We’ve gone out to dinner before, and people have thought we were at a family reunion. We want people to want to work with us because we are fun and care about what we do and who we work with.”

Q. What are your thoughts on innovation and continuing education?

A. “A few years ago one of our employees had an idea to create our own brine maker for salt brines for snow removal. We approached the manufacturer, and we were able to get something built that would work in our space for what we needed. So, we took that employee’s idea and now we have a brine maker that we have used for the last two years. We like being innovative and environmentally friendly in everything we do. And education is key.

Any of our staff is welcome to sign up for things that better educate them in the work

they do or be more efficient. We welcome new ideas. And we know we can’t do these things unless we’re out there networking and participating in events that are going to help us keep being inventive in our approach and improve every year.”

Q. What are the ways that MNLA has helped your company?

A. “I think one of the strongest parts of being MNLA members is just being able to take part in various events where you can network with your peers and others in the industry. I serve on the Communication + Technology Committee. We have some new employees that have come to us and are already connected to various committees through MNLA. Right now, we have an employee going through the Green Industry Leadership Institute program, and we plan to send someone there every year to continue to help people grow. This year’s attendee has already shared ways for us to do business differently and he is really enjoying that new aspect of his position, going to those classes, and sharing what he is learning with us. That creates a path forward in this industry and this is a great way to see different areas and pathways. MNLA offers an easy choice for people to get that kind of education.”

➽ Interested in being profiled in the Scoop? Email jon@mnla.biz to be considered for inclusion.

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JANUARY 11-13, 2022

TOGETHER AGAIN TO CONNECT + GROW

Minneapolis Convention Center info@NorthernGreen.org

NorthernGreen.org Jan. 11-13, 2022

651-633-4987

Northern Green is built on the power of in-person, and being face-to-face with other green industry professionals. It’s time to do business, to learn, and to party.

IT’S TIME TO RECONNECT.

G E N E R O U S LY S U P P O R T E D B Y:

WHOLESALE NURSERY & HARDSCAPES

Your Trusted Partner

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Choice of 1 Tuesday Master Class

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Wednesday Educational Sessions in Seminar Rooms

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Thursday Educational Sessions in Seminar Rooms

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Thursday's Trade Show Casino Party

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Access to all exhibits on the Trade Show floor

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Access to Hardscape Live! and Grow the Garden Center

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Access to mini-sessions in the Innovation & Inspiration Theater

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(JAN. 11-13, 2022)

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 UPGRADES & EXTRAS

PRE-REGISTRATION PRICE

ON-SITE PRICE

$70

$80**

GREEN INDUSTRY AWARDS GALA TICKET (Tuesday) PREMIUM WEDNESDAY UPGRADE: INTERACTIVE TRACK - Heartsaver® CPR AED Training - Requires Wednesday Registration Above

Member: $89

Non-Member: $109

Member: $99

Non-Member: $119

PREMIUM THURSDAY UPGRADE: CEO & MGMT TRACK - There’s No “I” in Team Requires Thurs. Registration Above - Includes exclusive access to CEO & MGMT Lounge!

Member: $89

Non-Member: $109

Member: $99

Non-Member: $119

NORTHERN GREEN

RATE LOCK

Attention Snow & Ice Management Companies:

NE W in

Worried about snow on the day of the show? Try our new "Snow Insurance" Rate Lock.

2022!

This non-refundable $20-per-person ticket qualifies the ticket holder for pre-registration rates onsite. Plus, your $20 advance payment will be applied to the onsite registration fee.

Offer only available during pre-registration dates. If ticket holder cannot attend show, $20 payment is non-refundable.

1 Register on or before Dec. 20 to receive badges in the mail. The deadline for pre-registration is Jan. 4 and all who pre-register between Dec. 21 and Jan. 4 have the option of printing a name badge at the Self Check-In Kiosk onsite.

2 Available to the first 1,800 attendees on Wednesday. *Group Discount: A 10% discount is available to an individual company registering 10 or more people for a 1-Day educational pass or greater. Not valid for student or trade show only passes. Valid only for pre-registration completed online with all registrants entered in one registration. Not valid with other discounts/promotions. **A limited number of Green Industry Awards Gala tickets are available onsite.

JANUARY 11-13, 2022

IT’S TIME TO RECONNECT.

G E N E R O U S LY S U P P O R T E D B Y:

WHOLESALE NURSERY & HARDSCAPES

Your Trusted Partner

WEDNESDAY AT-A-GLANCE Some session titles and other details subject to change.

7:30 AM University of Minnesota Turf Research Update 8:20 AM Eric Watkins

1:15 PM 1:45 PM

Grow the GC: Plant Demos/Merchandising Contest GC Area

1:45 PM 2:15 PM

Allianz Field—The Beginning Years, Pt. 2 Ryan Moy | Theater Overview of Federal and State Legislative Priorities Forrest Cyr, Tim Malooly | Lakeshore

2:00 PM 3:00 PM

Long-Term Performance of Urban Trees Eric North Drip Line Installation John Raffiani Naturalistic Planting and Ecology Tony Spencer – Streaming MDA Industrial Hemp Program and Industry Outlook Tony Cortile, Margaret Wiatrowski, Katherine Mutschler Communicating with Customers about Pesticides and Fertilizer | Dave Gardner GCSAA BMP’s Workshop, Pt. 2 Emily Fuger

2:00 PM 3:00 PM

Hardscape Live! – How to Significantly Increase Paver and Slabs Efficiency | Frank Bourque | Sandbox

2:00 PM 4:00 PM

INTERACTIVE TRACK PT. 2: Heartsaver® CPR AED Training Training provided by CPR professionals

2:20 PM 2:50 PM

The Meme Generation: Understanding Millenials from a Millenial Perspective Ryan McEnaney | Theater Health and Wellness: Recognizing Mental Health Issues in the Work Environment | Lakeshore Plants for Dry Shade | Mike Heger | Backyard

3:00 PM 3:30 PM

Contractor Horror Stories – How a Simple Project Can Cost You Thousands | Roger Axel | Theater The Top 10 Green Industry Legal Issues You Need to Know About!

Zlimen & McGuiness | Lakeshore Irrigation 101 Hunter Rep | Backyard

3:10 PM 4:10 PM

Tropicals Irvin Etienne Estimating Landscape Projects, Pt. 2 Kevin Kehoe Small Trees for Urban Landscapes Jason Rathe Jumping Worms Lee Freilich, Jim Calkins Virtual Consultations—What You Should Know Panel The Economics of Crabgrass and Nutsedge Control – Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck | Dave Gardner

4:20 PM 4:50 PM

Edible Ornamental Perennials Neil Anderson | Theater Tree Pruning 101 Lakeshore How Do Residents Compare Artificial vs. Natural Turfgrass?

Mike Barnes | Backyard

8:30 AM OPENING KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Recharge and Stress Less: 9:45 AM Beating Burnout Before It Brutally Beats You!

Dr. Jermaine Davis | Main Aud

10:00 AM 5:00 PM Trade Show Open 10:00 AM Estimating Landscape Projects, Pt. 1 11:00 AM Kevin Kehoe

Alternative Water Sources for Landscape Irrigation John Raffiani Keeping New Gardeners Gardening Julie Weisenhorn Wildscaping: Explorations in Naturalistic Planting Design Tony Spencer – Streaming GCSAA BMPs Workshop, Pt. 1 Emily Fuger Disease Resistant Elms Ben Held

10:00 AM INTERACTIVE TRACK PT. 1: Heartsaver® CPR AED Training 12:00 PM Training provided by CPR professionals 10:05 AM Outdoor Lighting and Its Effects on Plants & Insects, Pt. 1 10:35 AM Theater

Walkthrough of the New Minnesota Turfgrass Decision-Making Dashboard | Maggie Reiter | Lakeshore MNLA Certification Exam Study Tips Certification Task Team | GC Area

10:40 AM Outdoor Lighting and Its Effects on Plants & Insects, Pt. 2 11:10 AM Theater

MNLA 101 Patrick McGuiness | Lakeshore Research for the Real World—The Year in Review Jim Calkins | Backyard

11:00 AM MN Patrol Commercial Vehicle Inspection Demo 12:00 PM Sandbox 11:15 AM Grow the GC: Plant Demos/Merchandising Contest 12:15 PM GC Area 11:20 AM Bee Lawn Installation and Management 11:50 AM James Wolfin | Theater

Professional Gardening Industry Chat Backyard

12:00 PM Hardscape Live! – Hardscape Tools & Technologies 1:00 PM Frank Bourque | Sandbox 12:15 PM Understanding the Biology and Management of Japanese 1:00 PM Beetle in Minnesota | Dominique Ebbenga | Theater

Landscape Design Industry Chat | Lakeshore Golf Topic TBD Backyard

1:00 PM 1:30 PM

Allianz Field—The Beginning Years, Pt. 1 Ryan Moy | Theater Arborist/Tree Care Industry Chat Lakeshore Dogwoods for Minnesota Gardens Debbie Lonnee | Backyard

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Your Trusted Partner

THURSDAY AT-A-GLANCE Some session titles and other details subject to change.

7:00 AM Irrigation Strategies for Creeping Bentgrass and POA Annua 8:00 AM Using ET Soil Moisture Sensors & Rooting Depth | Kevin Frank 10:00 AM 5:00 PM Trade Show Open

11:20 AM Container Combinations Using Tropicals 11:50 AM Irvin Etienne | Theater

Using Sensors and Data for Turf Gary Deters | Lakeshore How to Prevent Work Injuries Chris Flegel | Backyard

8:00 AM Native Trees for Minnesota Landscapes 8:50 AM Alan Branhagen

Irrigation Panel

Labor, Seasonal Staffing, Things You Learned in 2020 and 2021 Garden Center Panel Nicollet Mall Re-Do—Project History and Design Laura Kamin-Lyndgaard SLAN vs. MLSN Soil Testing Recommendations Kevin Frank Training and Standards for Seasonal Staff Joel Mueller

12:00 PM Hardscape Live! – Features and System Automation for Outdoor 1:00 PM Sound, Light, and Fire Features | Frank Bourque | Sandbox 12:15 PM Landscape Awards Presentation 1 12:45 PM Theater

Landscape Management Industry Chat Lakeshore Invasive Species/Noxious Weeds Update Jim Calkins | Backyard Grow the GC: Plant Demos/Merchandising Contest GC Area

8:00 AM PREMIUM TRACK PT. 1: There’s No “I” in Team: Using Culture, 10:00 AM HR Strategy, and People Practices to Strengthen Your Business

Kristen Ireland and Erin Mies, People Spark Consulting

9:05 AM Natural Stone 10:05 AM Scott Frampton

Winter Gardens: Interest and Beauty for the Longest Season Alan Branhagen U of M Irrigation Smart Controller Research Shane Evans E-Commerce—Platforms and How to Manage Them Sam Kirkland Let There Be Light—Managing Tree and Turf Conflicts John Ball Dead Greens Coming Out of Winter – What Now? Kevin Frank

1:00 PM 1:30 PM

Landscape Awards Presentation 2 Theater Landscape Contractor/Hardscape Contractor Industry Chat Backyard

1:30 PM 3:30 PM

PREMIUM TRACK PT. 2: There’s No “I” in Team: Using Culture, HR Strategy, and People Practices to Strengthen Your Business Kristen Ireland and Erin Mies, People Spark Consulting

1:45 PM 2:15 PM

Landscape Awards Presentation 3 Theater Lawn Irrigation Design and Technology Jim Ruzicka | Lakeshore Plant Walkabout Backyard

2:15 PM 2:45 PM

Grow the GC: Plant Demos/Merchandising Contest GC Area

2:30 PM 3:00 PM

Tree Topic TBD Theater New Forms of Payment for Retail Garden Centers—Venmo, Apple Pay, etc.

Sam Kirkland | Backyard

2:30 PM 3:30 PM

Permeable Paver Maintenance

9:10 AM First Aid Demonstrations 9:40 AM CPR Professionals | Health

An Update on Palmer Amaranth, a Prohibited Eradicate Noxious Weed in Minnesota Shane Blair, Denise Thiede, MDA | Theater Park and Sports Turf Chat Ben Boeding, Roger Weinbrenner | Lakeshore Beneficial Insects in the Greenhouse Vera Krischik | Backyard

9:45 AM Raingardens: Performance and Difficult Sites Assessment 10:15 AM Matt Kumka | Theater

Grower Industry Chat Lakeshore Lawns to Legumes—Reflections and Future Projects James Wolfin | Backyard Garden Center Industry Chat GC Area

10:00 AM Hardscape Live! – The New Technologies and Techniques to 11:00 AM Increase Your Retaining Wall & Raised Patio Installation

Frank Bourque | Sandbox

10:40 AM First Aid Demonstrations 11:10 AM CPR Professionals | Health

Overall Fleet Management Chad Braun | Theater Conifer Topic Alan Craig | Lakeshore Grow the GC: Plant Demos/Merchandising Contest GC Area

11:15 AM MN Patrol Commercial Vehicle Inspection Demo 12:15 PM Sandbox

Vermillion Creek Watershed Joint Powers Travis Thiel, Matt Kruse, Kelly Perrine What Is in Your First Aid Kit? John Ball Modern Peonies— Landscape Qualities that Endear Them Nate Bremer, Harvey Buchite, Keith Swenson Selection, Establishment, and Maintenance of Native Grasses Paul Bockenstedt Light Effects on Turfgrass Dominic Petrella

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Your Trusted Partner

MASTER 1

CLASSES

PLT RELICENSURE

Pending Minnesota Dept. of Labor & Industry approval, this class satisfies eight hours of continuing education requirements for the Power Limited Training Licensure, including 2 hours of code and 6 hours of technical training oriented specifically toward the landscape industry.

2

PESTICIDE RECERTIFICATION WORKSHOP

Pending approval by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), this workshop meets Commercial Pesticide Applicator Requirements for Category A (Core) and Category E (Turf and Ornamentals).

Licensed applicators with Categories A and E who last attended a recertification workshop in 2020, and newly-licensed pesticide applicators in 2021, must attend an MDA-approved workshop by December 31, 2022. By attending the Pesticide Recertification track and scanning in and out onsite with staff of the Department of Agriculture, applicators will obtain recertification credit.

3

LANDSCAPE DESIGN CHALLENGE

Design Leaders: Jason Rathe, Field Outdoor Spaces; Alyson Landmark, Southview Design, and Michael Keenan, Urban Ecosystems Inc. Coordinator: Julie Weisenhorn, University of Minnesota Time for some design fun! The Landscape Design Challenge brings MNLA designers together to flex their creative muscles!

Design leaders will offer up a series of diverse design challenges, and teams will be putting marker to paper to develop and present their solutions. Leaders will share the real-life solution that was implemented. This is an opportunity to stretch your design skills, learn how challenging problems can be solved, and have some fun with fellow designers!

IT’S TIME TO RECONNECT

JANUARY 11-13, 2022

Generously supported by:

TM

4

Attend a full-day Master Class at Northern Green, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022.

CREATING A CULTURE OF SERVICE AND ENGAGEMENT

Facilitator: John Kennedy, John Kennedy Consulting Join international speaker, strategist, and author John Kennedy as he explores the right ingredients needed to build a workplace culture that supports the needs of the customer and the wants of its employees.

John’s morning session will address the four stages of building a strong service culture and the systems needed to drive that culture each and every day. From vision, values and volition to rewards, recognition and respect, John will set the right balance of both to drive alignment and engagement into 2022 and beyond.

The afternoon will take a deeper dive into creating standards of excellence for an exceptional customer experience. Topics will include the four reasons customers buy, the top expectations of your green industry clients, how to deal with difficult customers, and the six steps to delivering a consistent customer experience.

5

NCMA SEGMENTAL RETAINING WALLS INSTALLER COURSE – LEVEL I/BASIC

Presented by: Frank Bourque, Landscape and Hardscape Business Consultant The one-day classroom Segmental Retaining Wall (SRW) Installer Course teaches installers fundamental SRW installation guidelines, material and system component properties, soils and compaction, the effect of water, and site practices.

The SRW basic installer course is intended for contractors new to the business and for new employees of established installer companies who want to become NCMA certified. Those who successfully complete the classroom training and pass a written examination become certified as a Certified SRW Installer (CSRWI).

This credential is highly valued by consumers, and the program includes a wealth of valuable course information and reference material which attendees take back to work for implementation as money-saving and profit-making ideas.

6

DOING MORE WITH LESS

Turf and grounds managers are constantly faced with the challenge of providing a high-quality product with the least amount of resource and labor inputs. As the price of fertilizer, plant health products, labor, and irrigation (to name a few) continue to increase, a focus must be placed on “Doing More with Less.” In this Master Class, attendees will learn about some of the most important maintenance practices for tree and turf care. Attendees will leave with a list of strategies that they can implement to improve their bottom line, while improving plant health and playability.

UPGRADE YOUR EXPERIENCE JANUARY 11-13, 2022

CEO & MGMT. TRACK

*Requires Thursday Registration, plus paid upgrade. Includes access to the CEO & MGMT. Lounge.

THURSDAY, JAN. 13

INTERACTIVE TRACK

*Requires Wednesday Registration, plus paid upgrade.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 12

HEARTSAVER® CPR AED TRAINING Training provided by CPR Professionals CPR training is important. It can save your life, a loved-one’s life, a co-worker’s life, or even a stranger’s life. CPR training helps people learn the skills and develop the confidence to provide CPR when encountering a cardiac arrest victim.

And while AEDs can be used by the public regardless of whether the responder has been trained, even minimal training improves performance, timeliness, and efficacy. This interactive, hands-on training is intended for anyone with little or no medical training who needs a course completion card for job, regulatory (e.g., OSHA), or other requirements. This training can also be taken by anyone who wants to be prepared for an emergency in any setting. Everyone completing the training will receive a two-year certification.

THERE’S NO “I” IN TEAM:

USING CULTURE, HR STRATEGY, AND PEOPLE PRACTICES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR BUSINESS Kristen Ireland and Erin Mies, People Spark Consulting Businesses typically approach HR in one of two ways. Many look at human resources responsibilities as compliance officers, a necessary evil, a have-to-do…. These businesses are looking for the safe routes, the ones that keep them out of legal trouble. They are not truly leveraging the power of their employees: their team. They are playing NOT to lose.

Other businesses know that their success depends on their team. They know that whether customers return depends on the interactions with their employees.

They work with their employees to drive business success, they are an employer of choice and they are able to retain their high-performing employees, even in a tight labor market. These are the businesses that are taking aim for their target. They are playing to WIN. GENEROUSLY Playing to WIN doesn’t have to be hard or take a lot of resources.

It’s not about trendy perks or game rooms. It’s having employees who know what is expected of them, managers that provide direction, clarity, and coaching, and having goals and rewards aligned to drive business results – and they do exactly that.

SUPPORTED BY:

In our interactive, 2-part session, we will share a variety of simple and practical tools business owners and managers can put to work in organizations of any size, and discuss the important role they play in making things stick. In doing this, leaders develop the culture and reputation that not only attracts great talent, but that keeps it, too.

• Session 1 - Culture, Compliance Basics, and Recruiting & interviewing • Session 2 - Hiring/Onboarding, Managing Performance, Engaging & Retaining Your Employees By the end of the workshop, attendees will better understand and know how to: 1. More clearly set your business direction, clarify your team’s goals, and get your team going in the same direction.

2. Reduce your organization’s risk for preventable lawsuits and other third-party actions using practical tools and guidance.

3. Minimize avoidable HR issues like bad hiring decisions.

4. Confidently address performance concerns with employees.

5. Improve employee communications to increase high-performing employee retention.

When it comes to human resources, are you playing to WIN or are you playing NOT to lose?

Kristen Ireland

Erin Mies

TRADE SHOW FEATURES NE W in 2022!

TRADE SHOW

CASINO SUPPORTED BY:

Lakeshore Campfire

WHOLESALE NURSERY & HARDSCAPES

Your Trusted Partner

 THROUGHOUT THE TRADE SHOW! SUPPORTED BY:

Innovation & Inspiration Theater

BACK IN ACTION JANUARY 11-13, 2022

NE W in 2022!

GROW THE

GARDEN CENTER

CONNECTING + GROWING AGAIN NE W in 2022!

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LIVE!

Backyard Campfire ????????????????????????????????????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?????????????????????????????????????

TRIVIA

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 THROUGHOUT THE TRADE SHOW! CONNECT WITH INDUSTRY VENDORS IN PERSON...

Visit hundreds of exhibitors in the 198,000 square-foot exhibit hall onsite at Northern Green 2022. For the latest listings, check www.NorthernGreen.org.

...AND VISIT THEM ONLINE.

Connect with exhibitors all year long by visiting the Trade Show Floor online at www.NorthernGreen.org.

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• VERSA-LOK retaining wall systems • Willow Creek pavers and kits • Unilock pavers • Rosetta hardscapes • Porcelain landscape tiles • Decorative rock, mulch, natural stone, steps, wallstone, flagstone and more • Accessories, including lights, sealers, polymeric sand, edging and geogrid • Easy in/out yards with knowledgeable staff and convenient hours

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FREEBORN COUNTY Emerald Ash Borer Confirmed in

28 of Minnesota’s 87 Counties Now Quarantined for EAB

James Calkins

iStock.com/ziggy1

MNLA Regulatory Affairs Manager

EAB

When the water gets choppy, are you able to adjust course or will you get caught in the storm?

ON JULY 21, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) confirmed that emerald ash borer (EAB; Agrilus planipennis) has been found in Freeborn County, which is located on the Iowa border straight south of the Twin Cities.

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2306 N Washington Ave • Minneapolis, MN (612) 333-3487 • 1-800-759-5343 www.cushmanmotorco.com 26

MNLA.BIZ october 21

Fall Cleanup

As a result, EAB, which is capable of attacking both weakened and healthy ash trees, has now been documented in 28 of Minnesota’s 87 counties since this beautiful but unwelcome wood-boring beetle from Asia was first documented in the state just over twelve years ago in 2009. The Freeborn County infestation was detected by a contractor who was performing tree maintenance for a local electric cooperative along utility lines near the city of Alden, and reported the find via the MDA’s Arrest the Pest reporting system. MDA staff subsequently collected live EAB larvae for federal identification by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Earlier this spring, EAB was also documented for the first time in Cottonwood County in southwestern Minnesota and Blue Earth County in southcentral Minnesota making the Freeborn County find the third new infestation to be confirmed in Minnesota so far this year.

Although the confirmation of EAB in Freeborn County is not good news, it is important to remember that the majority of Minnesota, including quarantined counties, are not yet infested by EAB and efforts to prevent the spread of EAB in Minnesota and neighboring states remain valid and worthwhile. The MDA news release announcing the Freeborn County find is available at Emerald Ash Borer Found in Freeborn County | Minnesota Department of Agriculture (state.mn.us). As a result of this most recent find, the MDA has

Peter Dziuk; www.minnesotawildflowers. info, Fraxinus nigra (Black Ash): Minnesota Wildflowers.

iStock.com/Pito Fotos

declared an emergency, county-wide quarantine for Freeborn County. This is part of the ongoing campaign to help slow the spread of this devastating insect that threatens the estimated one billion (more precisely, 937 million) native black, green, and white ash trees (Fraxinus nigra, pennsylvanica, and americana, respectively) growing in Minnesota’s woodlands and designed landscapes (approximately one of every five trees or 20 percent of all of the trees growing in the state).

(Figure 1) In addition, the MDA has proposed adding Freeborn County to the formal MDA EAB quarantine following a public comment period. The objective of the existing emergency quarantine and the proposed formal quarantine is to restrict the movement of firewood and ash-tree-related materials that may harbor EAB out of the quarantined counties.

A map (Figure 2) showing the EAB infested and quarantined areas in Minnesota is available at Emerald Ash Borer Status (arcgis.com) and landscape professionals and homeowners are encouraged to report suspected EAB infestations in areas that are not within the quarantined areas of the state to the MDA using the Arrest the Pest reporting system at 1-888-545-6684 or arrest.the.pest@state. mn.us. Questions and comments may be submitted to Kimberly Thielen Cremers at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture; 625 Robert Street North, St. Paul, MN 55155; Kimberly.TCremers@state.mn.us, 651-2016329 (phone), 651-201-6108 (Fax).

Figure 1. The naked flowers of black ash (Fraxinus nigra; Oleaceae — Olive family), a primarily dioecious species (individual trees male or female), emerge before the leaves and lack both petals (apetalous; no corolla) and sepals (asepalous; no calyx); small and inconspicuous, but still uniquely beautiful, the male flowers are produced in compact clusters with each flower composed of a pair of stamens with purple to reddish-purple anthers. Native to the northeastern United States, including

Minnesota, and southeastern Canada, black ash is by far the most dominant species of ash in Minnesota, comprising about two-thirds of the nearly one billion ash trees in the state. Uncommonly planted in designed landscapes, black ash is most commonly found in wooded swamps in the northern half of the state where the species is a critical component of these important wetland ecosystems where both the tree and the ecosystem are threatened by the invasive emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis).

➽ IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS regarding this MNLA Regulatory Update or the status of EAB in Minnesota, neighboring states, or North America, contact Jim Calkins, MNLA Regulatory Affairs Manager, at jim@mnla.biz or 952-935-0682.

Figure 2. Emerald Ash Borer Status map on MDA’s Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine webpage. october 21 MNLA.BIZ

27

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Business Choice is designed for business owners who rely on their vehicles Business is designed for business owners who on their vehicles for their Choice day-to-day operations.

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Visit gmbusinesschoice.com or your Chevrolet or GMC dealer for details.

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To qualify, vehicles must be used in day-to-day operations of your business and not solely for transportation purposes. Must provide proof of business. ©2012 General Motors Visit gmbusinesschoice.com or your Chevrolet or GMC dealer for details. Take delivery by 9/30/12. ©2012 General Motors ©2012 General Motors

Business Choice is designed for business owners who rely on their vehicles for their day-to-day operations.

It’s available with eligible Chevrolet vehicles and offers great incentives such as valuable upfit equipment.

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302 302 302

www.jeffbelzerchevy.com Version # 4 Version # 4 Version # 4

Document Name GMC1-12-FCO-03178-302_v4.indd Document Name GMC1-12-FCO-03178-302_v4.inddLinked Graphics Art Director Control Document Name GMC1-12-FCO-03178-302_v4.indd 12KTFLCHEV032.tif Linked GraphicsRGB

Retail Planning Flyer Control Art Jarret Petsch •Mechjpetsch@jeffbelzer.com Scale 100 8.75”952-469-7063 x 11.25” Bleed Chevy CopyDirector Writer TBD

RGB

12KTFLCHEV032.tif RGB HD CC with Dump_psd.psd Linked GraphicsRGB Control Art Director 11CHSL00054.jpg RGB Mech TBD Copy Print Scale Scale 100 12KTFLCHEV032.tif RGB None BusinessCentral_KO.ai ProjWriter Mgr csenn HD CC with Dump_psd.psd RGB 11CHSL00054.jpg RGB Scale Please 100 GM_business_choice.ai TBD Copy Writer Jeff Belzer Lakeville,Mech MN. call the Commercial Department at 952-469-4444.

Print Scale None BusinessCentral_KO.ai csenn Proj Stock None HD CC with Dump_psd.psd RGB Acct Mgr Svc kdenmark cube_0758.jpg RGB GM_business_choice.ai Print Scale Trim None 8.5” x 11” BusinessCentral_KO.ai csenn Proj Mgr Family_shot cube_exprss_slvrdo_a6.tif RGB All Rebates & incentives to dealer, must qualify for same, prices subject to change.

Stock None Live None 8.25” x 10.75” kdenmark Acct Mgr Svc afinnan cube_0758.jpg RGB Folded Size Prod GM_business_choice.ai RoundStep_3in_Chevy_Silverado.jpg RGB Family_shot cube_exprss_slvrdo_a6.tif RGB Stock Live None 8.25” x 10.75” kdenmark Acct Svc cube_0758.jpg RGB Tonneau_Chevy.jpg RGB Folded Size None afinnan Mgr TBD 1 RoundStep_3in_Chevy_Silverado.jpg RGB Finishing Buyer To qualify, vehicles must be None used in day-to-day operations of your business and notArtProd solely for transportation purposes.

Must provide Family_shot cube_exprss_slvrdo_a6.tif RGB Family_Option_a3.tif RGB Tonneau_Chevy.jpg RGB None Folded Size None afinnan ProdBuyer Mgr TBD RoundStep_3in_Chevy_Silverado.jpg RGB 4320G_cs.tif CMYK Finishing Art Family_Option_a3.tif RGB Colors Spec’d 4C TBD Copy Edit Visit gmbusinesschoice.com or your Chevrolet or GMC dealer for details.

Tonneau_Chevy.jpg RGB 4320Gss.tif CMYK 4320G_cs.tif CMYK Finishing None TBD Art Buyer Colors Spec’d Family_Option_a3.tif RGB 4C TBD 1PROCS.tif CMYK Copy Edit nminieri/pm Mac with Business Central Special Instr.

4320Gss.tif CMYK 4320G_cs.tif CMYK 1PROSS.tif CMYK Colors Spec’d 1PROCS.tif CMYK 4C Business Central TBD CopyMac Edit nminieri/pm Special Instr. with 4320Gss.tif CMYK BasePkg_ss.tif CMYK Publications None 1PROSS.tif CMYK 1PROCS.tif CMYK 12KTFLCHEV021.tif RGB Mac nminieri/pm with Business Central Special Instr. None BasePkg_ss.tif CMYK Publications

CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT

Job Description 8.75” Chevy Retail Planning Flyer 11.25” Bleed Trim 8.5” x x11” 8.75” x 11.25” Chevrolet, 50Bleed & Cedar, Box 965, Trim Live 8.5” 8.25”x x11” 10.75”

Publications None

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TOP 2021

PERFORMING ANNUAL FLOWERS Steve Poppe, Horticulture Scientist Esther Jordan, Communications Specialist Nate Dalman, Horticulture Researcher III

iStock.com/billnoll

University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center

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TOP TEN

ach year, hundreds of annual flowers are on public display as part of the annual flower variety trial at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) Horticulture Display Garden in Morris, MN. In 2021, we trialed over 500 varieties ranging from ageratum to lantana to petunias to salvia, representing plant breeding companies from around the world. Even though the annual flowers are under evaluation, each cultivar is carefully designed into a beautifully landscaped garden bed, which allows visitors to take note of their favorite varieties under regional conditions. Cultivars are grown from seed or are vegetatively propagated in our greenhouse, and later transplanted into the Horticulture Display Garden.

NEWS & NOTES

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MNLA.BIZ october 21

Annual Meeting Notice Official Notice: Annual Meeting on January 13, 2022 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Notice is hereby given that the annual membership meeting of the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association will be held at 7:00am on Thursday,

January 13, 2022 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. During the annual meeting, the results of the Board of Directors election will be announced. An electronic ballot will be sent the first week in December to the primary contact provided to MNLA by each business member.

3=average, 4=above average, 5=excellent).

Plants are rated on performance, color, vigor, uniformity of habit and flowering, flowering numbers relative to others, insect and disease resistance, and uniqueness. The data is taken by the same individual every time to reduce variability in scoring. Evaluations began three weeks following planting. Only the highest rating cultivars earn the distinction of a Top Ten Performing Annual recommendations for Minnesota. For a complete list of all trial results, please refer to https:// wcroc.cfans.umn.edu/research/horticulture/ flower-research-results.

2021 Top Ten Performing Annuals Angelonia Angelissa™ Rose Also known as a “Summer Snapdragon”, Angelissa™ Rose featured large flower spikes and strong sturdy stems, making it a worry-free performer all season long. Grew to a height of 12 to 16 inches in partial sun to full sun. Besides the outstanding rose flower color, the foliage remained bright green throughout the entire summer.

In Memoriam: Ray Price

Raymond “Ray” Price, 82, a longtime Rochester resident passed away on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident outside of Price, Utah.

Ray was born on February 15, 1939, to Chris and Martha Price

in Thorp, Wisconsin.

The eldest of four children, he is preceded in death by his parents and younger sister, Eileen DeVries.

He is survived by his younger siblings, Rosalie and Gerald (Jerry) Price. Ray graduated from Thorp High School in 1957, after which time he

served in the Army.

Ray mirrored his father’s entrepreneurial talents and received a B.A. in Business from the College of St. Thomas in 1962. While in college, Ray’s family moved to Rochester where he met Sandra “Sandy” Price (Eiffler).

By the end of the summer of 1959, Ray

Above: iStock.com/Tetiana Garkusha

Planting of the 2021 annual flower trial began in late May. A few days after planting, we experienced unseasonably overnight low temperatures resulting in severe cold injury on the less cold tolerant plants. Then, within a week, we had abnormally daytime high temperatures nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This swing in extreme weather significantly set the growth of the plants back for several weeks following planting. Throughout this growing season, we have experienced extreme drought conditions — little to no precipitation and high temperatures, which has stressed the plants even though they were irrigated.

Despite these challenges, most of the annual flowers bounced back and offered an impressive display of color during their peak season, which is typically from mid-July to early-September.

As part of the annual flower trial, plants are evaluated up to five times during the growing season in order to assess each variety’s performance. We use a 1 to 5 scale for providing a horticultural rating (1=poor, 2=below average,

Begonia x benariensis BIG® White Green Leaf is a hybrid seed-grown wax begonia. It offers large showy flowers atop glossy foliage that covered the plant throughout the summer. Performed well in a large container in either sun or shade. j Begonia BK Collection Vermillion Red flowered relentlessly all summer long with numerous, eye-catching rich and deep dark-red double blooms with clean dark-green foliage. Performed exceptionally well in a semi-shaded pergola and required no plant maintenance. Best grown in a hanging basket.

i Calibrachoa Bloomtastic Yellow Out of the nearly 15 calibrachoa we trialed in 2021, this was a fan favorite! The plant was covered with attractive extra-large yellow flowers throughout the growing season. This semi-trailing Calibrachoa proved to have excellent garden performance and grew evenly and uniformly in a large hanging basket.

Celosia Kelos™ Fire Orange has an upright growing habit with good plant vigor. It had an abundance of striking orange plumed flowers, making it a stand-out in our retaining wall garden bed. For us, it grew best in full sun in a very warm planting bed with well-drained soil. Kelos™ Fire Orange will grow to a height of 12 to 18 inches.

knew he had found the love of his life. While in college, he and Sandy said “I do” on August 26, 1961. They shared nearly 55 years of marriage, memories, and love until her passing in 2016. They had three children: Kimberly, Bradley, and Gregory, and were blessed with three

adoring grandchildren: Kyle, Jacy Nash, and Quinn. Ray worked for his father’s company, Rochester Silo, throughout his college years. Ray and his brother, Jerry, became co-owners after their father’s passing in 1971. In the 1980s, Ray and Jerry successfully transformed the

company’s direction to produce the popular Rockwood retaining wall system. Ray was a businessman at heart and used his infectious personality, business intuition, and intellect to create investments and partnerships in various businesses throughout the greater Midwest. Some of

these collaborations provided him the opportunity to travel around the world and, more importantly, to build lifelong friendships. Ray never let age stop him from trying something new.

He began riding threewheel motorcycles (trikes) in his mid-70s and it soon became

one of his greatest passions. Ray was a proud member of the Iron Butt Association (IBA), which he gained by riding over 1,000 miles in 24 hours. He did this numerous times. In 2021, Ray set a lofty goal to touch all 48 contiguous states on a single ride. He set off in mid-July sending

daily updates and photos to his family.

Unfortunately, this was Ray’s last ride.

He perished doing what he loved. His glowing spirit, generosity, positivity, and love for life will never be forgotten.

october 21 MNLA.BIZ

33

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TOP TEN

Coleus Colorblaze® Torchlight™ was an outstanding coleus in a large container in 2021. This vigorous coleus doesn’t fade; its fuchsia, maroon, and green colored foliage stayed true throughout the growing season. Colorblaze® Torchlight™ is easy to grow, very uniform in growth, and performs equally well in sun or shade. j Petunia Itsy™ Magenta had exceptional color coverage and excellent vigor in 2021. Each of these unique petunia plants had hundreds of tiny, vibrant magenta-colored flowers that made a big statement with garden visitors! Grew to a height of 4 to 6 inches and each plant had a width of 18 to 24 inches.

i Petunia Surfinia® Purple Heart was a fast-growing petunia which produced a prolific number of eye-catching blooms all season long. Each flower featured a pattern of five unique purple hearts. Offers a vigorous mounding spreading habit with a plant width of about 18 inches but does not spread out of control. j Salvia farinacea Sallyfun™ Sky Blue offers abundant, showy sky-blue flower spikes that rise above the aromatic foliage all season long. Bees and butterflies were attracted to this annual flower. Grow in full sun. With a height of 20 to 24 inches, Sallyfun™ Sky Blue is excellent for use as a garden background. This eye catcher makes for a wonderful cut flower and is deer resistant.

Sunflower Suncredible® Saturn™ The National Garden Bureau designated 2021 as the Year of the Sunflower. Suncredible® Saturn™ is a new everblooming bush variety and a perfect plant for the back of the bed, as an annual screen or along a fence. The blooms are about 4 inches across and don’t need to be deadheaded. Makes for a great cut flower. The most outstanding feature of this sunflower is how long it bloomed late into the growing season in our trial garden.

In addition to the annual flower variety trial, the Horticulture Display Garden has also served as an All-America Selections (AAS) Display Garden since 1990.

The AAS award recognizes a flower or vegetable variety proven to have superior performance throughout the North American continent. An AAS Display Garden provides the public an opportunity to view the new AAS winners in an attractive well-maintained setting. Additionally, the Horticulture Display Garden is the only AAS Trial Ground site in Minnesota, where AAS entries are planted next to comparisons and evaluated by an AAS Trial Judge.

All flowers in the Horticulture Display Garden are labeled, allowing visitors to take note of top performing cultivars under regional conditions. The Horticulture Display Garden is open daily from dawn until dusk; admission is free. The Garden is located at 46352 State Hwy 329, Morris, MN. For directions, visit wcroc.cfans. umn.edu. ➽ STEVE POPPE is a Senior Horticultural Scientist, ESTHER JORDAN is a Communications Specialist, and NATE DALMAN is a Horticulture Researcher III at the University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center. You can reach Steve at poppesr@umn.edu, Esther at ejordan@umn.edu, and Nate at dalm0015@morris.umn.edu. october 21 MNLA.BIZ

35

OUT & ABOUT

MNLA hosted several outdoor education seminars/tours this summer.

Jim Calkins, MNLA Regulatory Affairs Manager, discussing the impact Jumping Worms could have on the green industry.

A tour of the home landscape of Arla Carmichiel and Steve Kelley was a highlight for the attendees.

JUMPING WORMS + PLANT COMBINATIONS

& Worms, Plants, Tours + Appreciation

Thanks to Mike and Jean Heger for sharing their beautiful gardens with us.

MNLA hosted several outdoor education seminars/tours this summer.

Our first stop was Heidi Heiland’s home landscape. Thank you for your hospitality, Heidi!

LANDSCAPE DESIGN TOUR Dr. Mary Meyer discussing the Ornamental Grass Collection at the Arboretum.

36

MNLA.BIZ october 21

MEMBERSHIP APPRECIATION

A Member Appreciation event was hosted at the MNLA office on August 18, 2021.

Thanks to everyone who showed up for hot dogs, chips, and ice cream! We appreciate you!

MNLA members gathered to watch the Saints take on the Iowa Cubs August 18.

There was a dinner buffet served and the group had seats in first five rows! Special shout out to HLS Outdoor Services and Techniseal who sponsored this fun networking event.

SAINTS GAME

& Saints Game + Tessman Show

Matt Gunderman from Cherokee.

Thanks to the following members in addition to many others who stopped by the MNLA booth at Tessman Buying Show and Horticulture Academy on Tuesday, August 17, 2021.

TESSMAN SHOW

Tom and Mary Holm.

Terry Reiten from The Tessman Company. We appreciate your support of the green industry and MNLA!

The team from Joel’s Greenhouse – Terri, Laurie, Jason and Joel.

october 21 MNLA.BIZ

37

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SNOW & ICE SECTION

SWAG GER Estimating

“

”

Crucial components require facts not guesswork

Michael Merrill

CONTRACTOR UNO: “I just picked up another account.”

CONTRACTOR DEUX: “ How do you sell so much work?

You always seem to be closing a deal.”

CONTRACTOR UNO: “ I just tell them I’ll charge 10% less than they are paying now.”

CONTRACTOR DEUX: “Aren’t you afraid you might not charge enough and lose money?”

iStock.com/apartura

CONTRACTOR UNO: “It’s OK. I’ll make it up in volume.”

As impractical as the above exchange may seem, this is the very thought process to which many vendors subscribe. When you add items such as suicide bidding and buying work to the equation … “Houston, we have a pricing problem.”

There aren’t enough pages in this publication to cover all the tips and nuances of bidding and estimating, but I have chosen some of the most important and misunderstood categories to help you build a solid foundation.

All of these components should be present in your estimating system in some form.

Building an estimating system is a work in progress. You will not be able to complete the implementation in one sitting or one week.

Just start somewhere and keep at it. The final result will be an impressive internal estimating system. Don’t stop focusing on your process

— this financial data is dynamic and has a yearly, or sooner, shelf life.

Level Of Service & Scope Of Work A job can’t be priced accurately without a clear expectation of level of service (LOS) and written scope of work (SOW) provided by or developed with the client; yet companies attempt this feat every day. We have all heard a prospect say: “Just give me a number.” This is not an acceptable request. Without a formal SOW, it is likely that expectations won’t align once the season gets rolling. This would be like a restaurant making your meal before you order, and then when they bring it to the table spending the entire meal thinking: “This isn’t what I wanted.”

Key components to scan for after receiving an RFP are trigger depth, return depth, side-

SNOW & ICE SECTION

walk service (private and municipal scope), specific deicing chemical and/or equipment requirements, and hours of operation. All of these drive price through frequency of service, capacity requirements or cost of material type.

experiment with and measure the production rates of different equipment on different sites (e.g., a wide-open lot vs. a lot with islands, bollards and obstacles) for the most balanced and accurate information.

Measuring “You can’t manage what you can’t measure.” If you don’t know how many units you are plowing, shoveling, spreading, or removing, then you can’t accurately price the category. Be certain you have accurate measurements for all lots, roads, and sidewalks. I can already hear the refrain … “I can drive on any lot and tell you what it is going to cost me.”

While the SWAG (Scientific Wild A** Guess) method may work relatively well for some experienced folks, if your bid is off by what may appear to be a small variance (e.g., +/- 10%), it can have an extremely negative impact on your business. A 10% high bid might cause you to lose a bid to a company that uses exact measurements and prices more surgically (I witnessed a seven-digit contract be awarded over a difference of a few hundred dollars); or, even worse, you could win the work with a bid that is 10% low, which could result in a financial loss on the contract.

As your company grows, the latter becomes increasingly more dangerous. A bid that is 10% low could range from a $100 theoretical loss on a $1,000 contract to $100,000 on a $1 million contract.

If you follow Contractor Uno’s strategy, you can see the danger in the SWAG method. Think of how much work it is to secure a $1 million contract and how difficult it is to service that account all winter long, only to lose $100,000.

Many companies do not recover from this “growth strategy.” By the time they identify that there is problem, it’s too late to remedy.

Non-Operational Overhead (OH) OH is what it would cost you to open your doors every business day of the year but not perform any billable work. It is the cost of running your company — not snow and ice operations. Categories include office payroll, rent, coffee service, office supplies, email accounts, technology, training, insurance, utilities, sales, professional fees, certain shop expenses, etc. This is where I see owners generally giving away their margin and personal compensation because these expenses and salaries are being paid from company profit, eroding margins.

Typically, a large percentage of an owner’s or manager’s work week is taken up by non-operational, non-billable work. Calculate the percentage of a key person’s work week that is spent on tasks that are not directly income-producing. Multiply that percentage by their compensation to determine the payroll dollars that need to be recovered through OH. The non-operational portion of a company is paid after all overhead expenses are converted to a percentage and added to each sales dollar. (If the total job operational costs are $100 and your company OH percentage is 10%, then you would need to bill $110 to protect your profit and cover your OH expenses.)

Production Rates What is it, where can I find it and why does it matter? It is this simple: How many widgets (a placeholder name for an abstract unit of production) can you produce with a specific piece of equipment or body part in a certain amount of time? You want to use numbers extrapolated from your company’s data. If you haven’t begun collecting that data, many manufacturers and trade groups will share numbers. SIMA members have access to production rate best practices at my.sima.org.

Ask peers and colleagues if they will share basic production data from their company.

Collect and record production data for all of your basic production units and then 40

MNLA.BIZ october 21

Equipment Build Do you know what a piece of equipment costs to operate for an hour? If you don’t, then you can’t tweak a bid or be certain you are charging enough to cover costs — let alone be profitable. Determining these comprehensive equipment costs allows you to add the appropriate profit for the job. Build a company rate sheet and you’ve taken your first steps toward standardized bidding. Set up a template for calculating each piece of equipment: 1. Start with Purchase price 2. Subtract Salvage value (value of widget after useful life), maintenance costs, upfitting, insurance, lighting, branding, OH, etc.

3. Divide Subtotal by Service life (useful life) years 4. Total = widget cost per year 5. Estimate yearly usage and divide out for an hourly cost.

6. Add average wage rate hour and fuel con-

sumption for each widget into the rate.

Site Engineering Site engineering is strategic battle planning for winter services. How will the site be zoned? What plowing patterns will drivers utilize? What assets will you use and in what configuration will they be deployed? Build quotes with different assets and then determine which option offers the most efficiency and best value to the client (e.g., two dedicated trucks or one 2-yard loader; two backhoes or one loader; two shovelers or one snowblower; a snow melter or hauling).

You will use your production rate and equipment build data to calculate value and answer these site engineering questions.

Some sites are simply routed with a truck and shoveler, but you can engineer others with different plans of attack depending on service levels required. That might be the differentiator that separates you from the pack or allows you to hit the client’s budget and win the bid.

Pricing Structure Billing terms are a component of estimating since the pricing structure drives risk and cost. Prominent pricing structures include per-push, per-event and seasonal (often with variabilities such as caps, floors and progressions). An example of the inherent risk in certain pricing structures is that your company’s overhead (OH) percentage is determined by the yearly sales goal. If your portfolio mix is too heavily weighted toward per-push and you have a light snow season, your sales will be less than projected. You will not be able to cover your fixed OH costs using the percentage you calculated at the beginning of the season and will instead have to rely on a thin “light snow year” profit margin to cover OH and pay the bills.

Set aside time each year to validate your pricing models because there is nothing worse than a pricing structure made from a pricing assumption. ➽ Michael Merrill is a member of North Country Snow and Ice Management in Glens Falls, NY, and WinterPlanning.com. Contact him at mmerrill@ northcountrysnowplowing.com or mmerrill@ WinterPlanning.com. ➽ Content was originally featured in Snow Business magazine, the official publication of the Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA). Read more at go.sima.org/magazine. Not a SIMA member? Learn more about the benefits of becoming one at go.sima.org/join.

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SNOW & ICE SECTION

SAFETY Mapping out

Start with a visual tool to communicate operations Mike Rorie

IN THE SNOW BUSINESS, safety is an enormous concern to real estate owners, property managers, insurance companies, and snow management professionals.

How to create a site map This visual tool crosses many barriers of communication (including language), and by displaying the entire site on a map we can quickly communicate any aspect of the job (including safety).

One of the commonalities that our industry’s top snow contractors routinely share with me is how they use site maps to improve safety within their operations. There are plenty of free and inexpensive programs they’re

iStock.com/Rawf8

42

Most likely the No. 1 worry we share as providers — aside from delivering great service during an event — is potential involvement in a slip and fall case. The liability associated with them is very sticky and something we all want to avoid.

To reduce liability, it’s important to make safety management a topic of conversation at your company. Instilling good fundamentals regarding safe delivery techniques within your management team and workforce during snow events can go a long way for all parties.

There are several ways you can do this, but one tool that stands out is the site map.

MNLA.BIZ october 21

using to create site maps.

When creating the map, be sure to use bold colors to illustrate areas of risk. Ensure obstacles are instantly visible at a quick glance alerting the crews to take extra care.

Smart providers have also learned to include information that can greatly interrupt or impact service delivery on their site maps, such as gate codes to the property, the nearest gas station, salt depot location, where to leave the keys to the loader, and the phone number of their area manager. The property’s hours of operation and service schedule can also be especially helpful to include on the map to ensure the tenants and visitors of the commercial properties you are servicing have safe and easy access to the property.

How to use a site map One of the other great insights contractors have shared is that these maps are accessible in print and electronically, which is vital for anyone who is involved in a property’s care and operations — especially during an event.

Map out your properties before the season begins. Distribute a copy of the map to everyone

iStock.com/jeremyiswild

involved with the job: property managers, crew members, managers, subcontractors, etc. For a quality check, have everyone who will service the property initial the map indicating they understand the scope of work, the service schedule, and any areas where crews need to take extra care.

Just before the season begins, meet with your staff and any subcontractors who are going to participate in the services. Discuss the variables needed to react at a moment’s notice. In addition to the site map, manpower, equipment, materials and fuel are all critical aspects that will assist you in in delivering safe and timely service.

Furthermore, your ability to communicate quickly and accurately about a property in the middle of the event becomes exponentially greater if you can send a site map with instructions to someone via email or text rather than giving verbal instruction over the phone.

Update and retain your site maps As the season progresses, check in with your team to ensure that the site maps you created preseason are still an accurate depiction of what your team is doing at your properties during an event. Be sure to highlight any additional safety risks that may have come up since the start of the season. And if changes have been made, redistribute the new map to everyone involved.

A huge ROI Site maps are a huge ROI (return on investment) you can provide for your customers, managers and workforce for smooth, safe, and timely service delivery. Communication is often taken for granted and not always included clearly in pre-event meetings.

Using a color-coded and labeled site map identifying all aspects of performing the job makes the scope of work much clearer to everyone involved and leaves no room for interpretation.

It also helps drive home any safety concerns and issues on the property and will dramatically reduce the communication required to deliver the agreed-upon services, and any issues that may arise from it. ➽ Mike Rorie has been a participant in the snow and ice industry for nearly four decades. He owns GroundSystems, and is CEO of GIS Dynamics, parent company to Go iLawn and Go iPave. Contact him at Sales@gisdynamics.com. ➽ Content was originally featured in Snow Business magazine, the official publication of the Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA). Read more at go.sima.org/magazine. Not a SIMA member? Learn more about the benefits of becoming one at go.sima.org/join.

october 21 MNLA.BIZ

43

Why Enter Your Project?

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20 22 Even if you don’t win, building your photo library for an entry gives you more content for your marketing. Plus, the feedback you’ll receive from the judges can provide opportunities to improve professionally. Your team will have a chance to discuss the comments on your project, and compare your work to others by utilizing the project binders at the Landscape Awards Display at Northern Green. The value of this program goes beyond winning an award, but should you win you’ll be able to: • Boost your marketing. We’ll provide you with artwork to use in your promotional pieces.

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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

MNLA Announces 2021 Advocates of the Year Forrest Cyr

MNLA Director of Government Affairs

Governor Tim Walz and Senator Andrew Mathews were named the 2021 MNLA Advocates of the Year for their support of Green Industry businesses in Minnesota.

Based on the unanimous vote of MNLA’s Government Affairs Committee and input of association government affairs staff, MNLA is honored to present the 2021 Advocate of the Year Awards to Governor Tim Walz and Senator Andrew Mathews. Both these individuals demonstrated exemplary leadership over the past year and have helped position MNLA members for success during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. MNLA presents this award on a yearly basis to legislators, regulators, and other public officials who have demonstrated a firm commitment to the Green Industry and small businesses in their districts, and these two recipients have done just that.

2021 Advocate of the Year: Minnesota Governor Tim Walz MNLA presents the Advocate of the Year award to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, his willingness and ability to engage, communicate, and listen to MNLA concerns, and for his executive orders allowing Green Industry businesses to operate safely and responsibly as essential businesses during the shutdown. Through his exemplary cabinet and with MNLA staff, Tim Walz ensured that many Green Industry businesses, including retail garden centers,

landscaping and lawn care companies, and nursery growers, were exempt from the shutdown order and were allowed to operate safely and responsibly in accordance with safe operation guidelines. Following this exemption, many MNLA member businesses have reported record sales, profits, and hiring.

2021 Advocate of the Year: Sen. Andrew Mathews During the 2021 Legislative Session, Sen. Mathews worked tirelessly on the Duty to Defend legislation, a priority bill for MNLA. Sen. Mathews was the chief author of the bill, and, as the chair of the Civil Law committee, was instrumental in passing the bill through the committee process in the Senate. While the bill did not ultimately pass after being stopped in the MN House of Representatives, the work done by Sen. Mathews on this issue raised the issue’s profile at the Capitol and laid the groundwork for passage in the future. MNLA looks forward to continuing to work with Sen. Mathews on this important legislation that will establish fairness and equity between subcontractors and general contractors, resulting in safer job sites and thriving small businesses.

➽ TO LEARN MORE ABOUT how you can get involved in advocacy to help your business and the Green Industry in Minnesota, contact Forrest Cyr at forrest@mnla.biz, or visit www.mnla.biz.

october 21 MNLA.BIZ

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SNOW & ICE SECTION

DELICATE BALANCING ACT ↘IN FOCUS

RISK MANAGEMENT:

IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THE CONTRACT.

iStock.com/Angelina Bambina

Brought to you by:

What you promise to deliver, how you structure your portfolio of work, and what type of liability you’re willing to accept all contribute to the risk you’re willing to shoulder as a snow and ice management contractor.

SNOW & ICE SECTION

In the snow and ice management industry, the favored types of contracts vary by market, client type, and location. But ensuring that the expectations, terms and conditions are clearly defined and priced accordingly — regardless of the contract type — is essential to good business practice.

Readiness costs money It is critically important that we as an industry align with the true value and service we provide, which goes beyond the actual act of snow and ice removal. Accounting for those costs in the price of your contract will position you as a professional that your client can count on.

With most traditional contract models, there is almost always a perceived winner and loser. Therefore, contractors and clients are positioned at opposite ends of the success spectrum, establishing a combative relationship before the snow even falls.

Instead, strive for a mutually beneficial agreement whenever possible. This is achieved by adopting contract models that incentivize efficiency and result in predictable and repeatable revenue for you and expenses for your clients, allowing them to more accurately budget — regardless of the snowfall totals.

 Diversification offers protection Many important factors contribute to the long-term success of a snow company’s business, the desired objective being profitability, and a minimum result being financial viability. Don’t confuse the two. Viability is the ability for an entity to survive, especially during certain periods of stress; profitability speaks to the ability for an entity to actually make a profit.

Periods of stress can challenge a snow startup, especially in an industry where that stress can be present one year and not the next. Diversifying your contracts and the method by which those accounts pay for service may help minimize risk of financial swings, while increasing viability and longterm success.

With a mix of contract models based on your business’s tolerance for revenue and profit fluctuation, balance can be created that can help normalize potential swings of light and heavy snow seasons alike.

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MNLA.BIZ october 21

Risks & Rewards Of Traditional Contract Models CONTRACT

 Per occurrence

 Per event

 Time & Materials

 Seasonal

RISKS

REWARDS

High risk of revenue problems in low-snow years; clients may exhaust budgets in high-snow years, causing them to rethink this type of contract

Strong revenue potential in high-snow seasons; easy to allocate costs given the detail-oriented billing required

High risk of revenue problems in low-snow years; clients may exhaust budgets in high-snow years, causing them to rethink this type of contract

Strong revenue potential in high-snow seasons with many short events.

Revenue balanced with frequency of events due to aggregated billing of the whole event

High risk of revenue problems for contractors in low-snow years; clients may question pricing and imply gouging

Strong revenue potential in longduration storms; easy to allocate costs given the detail-oriented billing required

Costs to deliver service may exceed the total of the seasonal payments in a heavy snow year; clients may feel cheated in a low-snow year

Consistent and equal payments throughout season cover costs and aid cash flow; often used in multiyear agreements; profitable in lighter snow years

As you can see, these contracts on their own can pit contractors and clients against each other, depending on the season — with no mutually beneficial outcome. Instead, consider building a portfolio that balances contracts that incentivize performance and preparedness.

PERFORMANCE-BASED CONTRACTS

PREPAREDNESS CONTRACTS

Incentivize for meeting or exceeding a level of service expectation and efficiency

Incentivize for meeting a minimum state of readiness sets fees or rates

Fixed seasonal contract (i.e., lump sum seasonal): •N ormally priced within a range of average to slightly above average winters.

•R equires a multiyear/season agreement of at least 3 years and preferably 5 years to pay off for the contractor and client.

Fee-based contract: • A preseason fee or an equal monthly installment is paid to the contractor for the fixed overhead expenses it costs for being prepared, no matter how much or little it snows.

• In exchange, a lesser hourly or per occurrence rate is negotiated.

Seasonal variance contract (adds floor/ceiling caps): •A base cost is established within the seasonal average range with a floor to provide clients with a negotiated credit for extreme light winter seasons and to provide contractors with additional cost recovery for extreme heavy seasons.

•W ithin this contract model a cap can be set for the floor and ceiling.

Retainer-based contract: • A minimum cost for preparedness is established between the contractor and client.

This is the minimum retainer to be paid preseason and is deducted from the cost of service throughout the season.

• Once the retainer amount has been reached, lower negotiated hourly or occurrencebased rates protect clients from high-season cost fluctuations more effectively than T&M or quantity-based contracts. This model also protects contractors from losing money during extreme low seasons.

Topmost icon: iStock.com/fonikum

Types Of Contracts

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SNOW & ICE SECTION

Obtaining proper insurance for snow plow operations can be difficult (and expensive) since many insurance companies are skittish about insuring companies in a volatile, highrisk industry. Here’s what you need to know about the types of insurance that will ensure you’re properly covered

→→→

KEY SNOW ENDORSEMENTS

Hold harmless and indemnification provisions have become the means by which liability is transferred from the property owner to the snow contractor. Obtaining key endorsements (additions to the insurance policy) properly transfers liability and finances the risk of snow and ice services: Additional insured. Allows a person or organization to be insured under an insurance policy (i.e., contractor additionally insures the client), in addition to whomever originally purchased the policy. The most common endorsements in the snow industry are CG2010 (coverage for ongoing operations) and CG2037 (coverage for completed operations). Most snow contracts require both endorsements.

Snowplow completed operations. An unendorsed general liability policy specifically excludes bodily injury or property damage arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use or entrustment to others of any aircraft, auto or watercraft. The CG2292 Snow Plow Completed Operations endorsement provides coverage for an auto used for snow plowing.

Primary/Noncontributory wording. Protects the financial resources (and insurance limits) of the property owner or general contractor from the contractor’s individual or joint negligence that causes injury or damage to a third party. Primary = your insurance policy will pay first in the event of a claim. Noncontributory = your policy will pay the full amount of the claim until limits are exhausted without your client contributing to the loss with their own insurance. Some carriers may be unwilling to provide this endorsement on general liability, business auto or both.

Waiver of subrogation. An endorsement to a property liability policy whereby a snow contractor’s insurer waives their right to subrogate against the property owner (or general contractor) and will not seek to recover funds even if the other party was at fault.

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MNLA.BIZ october 21

Best Practice: Select an insurance agency/agent that understands the industry or is willing to learn. They should understand your client base; portfolio balance and contract types; payroll and sales volume; service verification methods; and your training, health and safety policies.

Commercial General Liability (CGL): This critical insurance (usually required by your customers) will reimburse you or your customers for damage to their property or for injury to people on their premises after you have performed your work; damage to premises that you rent, etc.

Commercial Auto: This insurance coverage protects you against loss from damage to your vehicles and damage caused to others while using the vehicle for driving and as equipment to perform your work. Coverage may include liability (loss to others), personal injury protection for drivers and passengers, collision (damage to your vehicles), and comprehensive (damage to your vehicles that doesn’t occur from collision).

Property: This insurance and various endorsements (e.g., equipment breakdown, crime, etc.) is for buildings and personal business property that do not leave the premises. A business interruption clause or endorsement on your property policy protects the insured for losses of business income as a result of direct physical loss, damage or destruction to the insured property.

Inland Marine: This insurance is for computers, communications equipment and property that leave the premises. It should include items that, in the aggregate, would be expensive to replace but may not be worth insuring individually.

Workers’ Compensation: This covers costs incurred due to employee workplace injury, including an employee’s lost income. This is required by US law in all states.

The limits of coverage are described by statute, and premiums are determined by past employee injury expenses and current payroll.

Umbrella: This insurance adds additional liability protection for general liability, auto liability and some miscellaneous types of liability. It is usually purchased in “layers” of $1 million. An umbrella policy is typically required for larger contracts and some aggregators.

As your business grows, you’ll want to consider additional policies or endorsements (e.g., cyber crime, employer’s practices, environmental, etc.) that will protect you and your company in the event of such a loss. Remember, too, if you are a small company that operates out of your home, a home-based business policy or rider will be necessary since your homeowner’s insurance will not provide adequate coverage.

Standard Vs. Excess Lines A standard carrier is an insurance company that has received a license for the authority to write specific lines of insurance. They are bound by rate and form regulations and are strictly regulated. Standard carriers often can be more competitive; offer broader coverage forms; have internal claims and loss control divisions; and have a higher likelihood of combining core and non-core business segments under one insurance program.

Excess & Surplus lines allow policyholders, agents, brokers and insurance companies to design specific coverage and negotiate pricing based on the risks to be secured. Some lines are unlicensed and non-admitted; these will typically fall outside of the state insurance department’s authority, leaving no leverage to assist if a loss occurs and coverage is declined.

Higher-risk businesses (e.g., poor claims history, weak contracts and higher-risk exposures) may find E&S lines are the only option. ➽Disclaimer:

This article is designed to provide an insurance overview and is not all-encompassing.

Work with your insurance agent to determine proper coverage, limits and endorsements for your business. Canadian readers should contact an agent to determine requirements in their province.

All icons: iStock.com/fonikum

Risks & Rewards Of Traditional Contract Models

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GREEN INDUSTRY

AWARDS GALA TUESDAY, JAN. 11, 5:30 P.M. TICKETS: $70 ($80 ONSITE)

Join colleagues and special guests for a celebration of Minnesota’s green industry on Tuesday, January 11, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy an evening with your fellow professionals, delectable food, outstanding projects, and fun as we celebrate service, research, leadership, creativity, innovation, and dedication. Kick off your year in style at the Green Industry Awards Gala! $70.00 per ticket. One drink, all food stations, dessert & coffee included Special thanks to our sponsors: with ticket purchase.

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SNOW & ICE SECTION

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DOCUMENT & VERIFY Data is key in defending your company against claims

VOCABULARY LESSON: SOW vs LOS

Often confused but not interchangeable, every contract should include a detailed scope of work (SOW) that will accomplish the client’s desired level of service (LOS).

Scope of Work (SOW): Defines the service

criteria (e.g., snow clearing, ice management, etc.) and specific areas to be serviced on a site or set of sites. The SOW can include any issues that may impact the execution of service (e.g., poor site drainage, slopes/hills etc.).

Level of Service (LOS): A description of the

expected outcome(s) on a site or set of sites from the completed performance of snow and ice management services. LOS typically defines expectations for surface conditions at specific times (completion times) or timeframes, or alternate/additional expectations for events that exceed a defined timeframe and/or a defined amount of accumulation(s)

KEY RESOURCES • SIMA members have access to multiple contract templates and advanced clauses. my.sima.org • Download SIMA’s Glossary of Terms, which includes key definitions of important contract terms and conditions.

• Visit www.sima.org/startup for all Snow Startup resources.

➽ Content was originally featured in Snow Business magazine, the official publication of the Snow & Ice Management Association (SIMA). Read more at go.sima.org/magazine. Not a SIMA member? Learn more about the benefits of becoming one at go.sima.org/join.

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MNLA.BIZ october 21

Liability is the ugly monster that can cause insurance rates to skyrocket or make it unaffordable (if the insurance company is even willing to offer a policy). The defense of slip and falls or other lawsuits is a costly and time-consuming task. The best defense is by going on offense and implementing a process of recordkeeping and service verification. The proof will be in the details: Contracts. It all starts here. Do not perform any services without a written contract signed by you and your client that clearly outlines the level of service and scope of work to be performed. Question unrealistic or unacceptable expectations that will put you at risk.

Subcontractor agreements. If you use subcontractors, require them to sign a contract outlining their duties and require them to provide proof of insurance coverage.

Service documentation. If you can’t prove you did something, you didn’t do it. Capture every move you make on a site, including but not limited to start/stop times; services provided with what equipment and by whom; type, amount and timing of deicing/anti-icing materials applied; site hazards; and any areas that were not able to be serviced due to circumstances such as vehicles blocking part of the parking lot.

Weather conditions. Record weather conditions before, during, and after the event.

Ideally, track any time there are slippery conditions that could lead to a liability issue.

Document timing but also what the snow was like and extenuating circumstances that may have impacted your ability to service. Document if it was snowing at the time of service.

“Storm in progress” is a strong defense in many states, but it must be documented.

Invoicing. The invoice you submit to your customer should include details outlining your services noted above.

All customer communications. Compliments, complaints, service requests, changes in service levels, closings, hours of operations, etc.

Particularly important are to get any changes in service levels or service requests not outlined in the executed contract in writing.

Additional Resources: SIMA members have access to insurance-specific resources and companies with experience in the industry.

Learn more at sima.org/insurance.

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FOUNDATION

2021 FFA

landscape design and construction competition

To say it’s been an exciting year for the MNLA Foundation is truly an understatement. You would think that students having to learn online for the past year would slow down learning opportunities for our efforts to promote careers in horticulture.

Yet during this time, we have made an impression on students and career opportunities.

I’d like to share one of the events that really showcased skills learned in horticulture. Seven schools and more than 80 FFA students competed in the Annual FFA Landscape Design and Construction Competition at the Minnesota State Fair Miracle of Birth Center, which was intentionally selected for public exposure and is located at the Como Avenue fair entrance which thousands of fairgoers walk by each day.

The competition originally was started by Paul M. Day (FFA Superintendent) in the early 1990’s and located inside the Ag-Horticulture building. In 2006, the Miracle of Birth Center and FFA Chapter House was built, and the competition was moved outside of that building. The change was a game changer that inspired students, parents, gardeners, and career seekers.

This year’s competition theme was Native Minnesota

PARTNERING

with minnesota green

The MNLA Foundation is excited to join forces to

recognized as a supporter on our website, social

similar organizations that help expand our reach.

media outlets, and in our SCOOP magazine.

One of our partnerships is with the Minnesota Horticulture Society’s Minnesota Green Program.

We love this partnership because we are both the next generation of workers.

to donate (soil, compost, and plants) to local

in a Box (GIAB) — to 80+ organizations including o k.c oc iSt

za

Are you a garden center, greenhouse, landscape nursery, or generous individual who would like

more than 500 gardening kits — called Garden

/U l

The Minnesota Green Program depends solely on donations.

intimately intertwined with the green industry and The Minnesota Green Program distributes

m

Companies who donate will be proudly

improve the green industry by partnering with

community gardeners?

Donations are accepted year round.

Thank you for helping make Minnesota greener!

nonprofit and community organizations, childcare

To learn how to sponsor or donate to the Minnesota

centers, and schools throughout Minnesota every

Green Program, please contact us at 651-643-3601,

year. These kits include plants, soil, fertilizer,

or email at info@northerngardener.org anytime.

raised beds, and growing resources. GIAB gives

Thank you for your support!

thousands of children, adults, and families the OTA GREEN THE MINNES EPENDS PROGRAM D NATIONS. O D N O SOLELY  ED ARE ACCEPT DONATIONS D. YEAR ROUN

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MNLA.BIZ october 21

opportunity to learn how to garden and grow fresh

➽ Sincerely,

food. The MNLA Horticulture Curriculum serves as

PAULETTE SORENSON, Paulette@mnla.biz

an educational resource for this program.

MNLA Foundation Programs Manager

MNLA members who have plant material or

COURTNEY TCHIDA, ctchida@northerngardener.org

growing resources can help build this program

Community Outreach Manager

by donating overstocked plant inventory. Your

Minnesota Horticulture Society

surplus will be put to good use in our community.

“We hold ourselves to a high standard of work, so I focused my scoring that all gardens adhered to the scorecard and presented a clean landscape design. This was a great way to help students reach a higher level of execution that would prepare them to be leaders in the landscape and horticulture industries.” — Karen Filloon, Director of Marketing & Business Development, Southview Design

Scorecard for judging: Principles of design: 30%;

Gardens. The theme was intended for students

beginning in June and ready by the opening day

to learn more about plants that are native to

of the State Fair. This event challenged students

Elements of design: 15%; Correct and clear label:

Minnesota are often easier to grow than non-

to follow and execute a real-world design plan. It

20%; Landscape construction: 15%; Specimen

native varieties. They are already adapted to our soil and climate and need minimal care to grow and thrive.

Exhibits were

was also geared towards helping them gain valuable field experience. The plans had a variety of different landscape elements. Teams were judged with the criteria of the design

quality: 10%; Accessories/lighting: 10%.

I’d also like to thank my partner, Bob Marzolf.

Bob is long-time MNLA member, retired Agriculture teacher and FFA leader and plays a vital part in the continuation of events such as the FFA

allowed to be placed

being installed accurately to

Landscape Design and Construction Competition

beginning of June

the design plan and

that exposes students to experiences and

for the final judging

correctly. Safety, time, and

opportunities. Bob has spent countless hours

on August 26.

working as a team also were

organizing the competition and talking to

Construction must

important considerations.

Agriculture teachers across the state to participate.

have been completed by students with minimal assistance from

Our judge, garden-design expert at Southview Design Karen Filloon, holds a degree in Landscape Design/Horticulture and is a

advisors.

Entrees were provided an

Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional.

“There is a huge impact from having events such as the Landscape and Construction Competition that creates awareness about Agriculture programs in schools, especially at highly visible locations. FFA also alive and well, and certainly

irrigated 14'×14' plot in which they were to align

Karen has had several careers including as

more than cows and plows.” — Bob Marzolf, MNLA

competition elements and feature a landscape

meteorologist for Twin Cities’ KSTP and WCCO

Foundation Outreach Manager, Retired Agriculture

plant installation for the event. Teams from each

radio and television, and has been judging the

Teacher, Mentor and Advisor

school competed to install a landscape design

Landscape Competition for five years.

HUMBOLDT HIGH school garden grant project

MNLA visited Humboldt High School’s Learning Garden this summer, a unique project which showcases the hard work and efforts of agriculture interns on their summer project of developing and promoting school gardens. The garden will be used for STEM research and to test and display prototypes of materials, plants, and mulch, and will promote school gardens to all district schools while it grows a garden-to-cafeteria program.

Cargill generously helped provide funds to Humboldt’s agriculture program.

october 21 MNLA.BIZ

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