The Scoop Online – January 2014

Meetings without Leaving the Office

Also Inside

Five Phantom OSHA Standards

Out & About Silver Spikegrass Foundation Report

Learn &Grow MNLA’s new season of events & education

Vol: 37 No: 1 Jan 2014 t h e o f f i c i a l p u b l i c at i o n o f t h e M i n n e s o ta N u r s e r y & L a n d s c a p e A s s o c i at i o n

Volume 37 No. 1 Jan 2014

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8 IN THIS ISSUE

14 Production History of SRW Systems Robert Race tells us where segmental retaining wall systems came from and how much they’ve improved since the beginning.  

23 Meetings without Leaving the Office Tara Loftus explores the online tools that make it all possible. 

34 Silver Spikegrass: Underused Landscape Grass Mary Meyer’s article and photos show why this plant is well suited for many garden and landscape settings.    

40 How to Build a Strong Relationship with Your Bank Communication and transparency are the keys to this important partnership for green industry companies. 

45 MNLA Foundation Report Thanks to all donors and participants in the research partners fund, and congratulations to all scholarship winners! 

52 Search Engine Optimization Basics for the Green Industry Part one of a series on how to bring visitors to your company’s website.   Landscape & Hardscape Install & Design  Garden Services & Landscape Management  Garden Centers  Growers: Nursery & Greenhouse  Irrigation & Water Management  Arborists & Tree Services  All

8

Events Learn & grow during MNLA’s new season of events and education.

10 From the President Thank You MNLA Members!

12 Out & About 27 New Minnesota Job Application Requirements Patrick McGuiness informs us about a “ban the box” initiative.

28 Biosurveillance MDA does beetle monitoring with the smoky winged beetle bandit.

30 Five OSHA Standards That Really Don’t Exist Even though these are all safe, recommended practices, they may not be regulations!

56 Marketing Space Available at State Fair MNLA members have a unique opportunity to promote their business this summer.

59 Day on the Hill Plan now to be a part of MNLA’s annual free opportunity to chat with your legislator on behalf of your industry.

62 MNLA News Networking News, Certification Exam Notice, and we welcome our newest members.

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Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association 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.TheLandLovers.org www.NorthernGreenExpo.org

MNLA Mission: The mission of the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association is to help members grow successful businesses.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

debbie lonnee, mnla-cp, president

Bailey Nurseries, Inc. 651-768-3375 • debbie.lonnee@baileynursery.com

heidi heiland, mnla-cp, vice-president Heidi’s Lifestyle Gardens 612-366-7766 • heidi@BloomOnMN.com

herman roerick, secretary-treasurer

Central Landscape Supply 320-252-1601 • hermanr@centrallandscape.com

bert swanson, mnla-cp, past president

A Top Notch Equipment ................................................................................... 55 Allstate Peterbilt Group .................................................................................... 37 Anchor Block Company .................................................................................... 21 Ancom Communication & Technical Center .................................................... 36 Arborjet ............................................................................................................ 57 Aspen Equipment ............................................................................................... 4 Astleford Equipment Co. .................................................................................. 63 Bridgewater Tree Farms ................................................................................... 41 Bullis Insurance Agency .................................................................................... 25 Carlin Horticultural Supplies/ProGreen Plus ..................................................... 25 Central Landscape Supply ................................................................................ 58 Ceres Environmental ........................................................................................ 39 COWSMO, INC. ............................................................................................... 55 Cushman Motor Co. Inc .................................................................................. 41 D. Hill Nursery Co. ............................................................................................ 55 Dailey Data ....................................................................................................... 37

Swanson’s Nursery Consulting, Inc. 218-732-3579 • btswanson2@gmail.com

Dayton Bag & Burlap ........................................................................................ 58

randy berg, mnla-cp

Edney Distributing Co., Inc. ............................................................................. 54

Berg’s Nursery, Landscape/Garden Center 507-433-2823 • rberg@smig.net

scott frampton

Landscape Renovations 651-769-0010 • sframpton@landscaperenovations.com

Evergreen Nursery Co., Inc. ............................................................................. 25 Frost Services.................................................................................................... 58 Gardenworld Inc. .............................................................................................. 25

tim malooly, cid, clia, cic

GM Fleet and Commercial ................................................................................. 3

mike mcnamara

Hedberg Landscape & Masonry Supplies ........................................................ 20

Water in Motion 763-559-7771 • timm@watermotion.com Hoffman & McNamara Nursery & Landscaping 651-437-9463 • mike.mcnamara@hoffmanandmcnamara.com

bill mielke

Waconia Tree Farms LLC 612-237-1728 • bill.mielke@waconiatreefarms.com

cassie larson, cae

Great Northern Equipment Distributing, Inc. ................................................... 43 Jeff Belzer Chevrolet .................................................................................. 32–33 Maguire Agency ............................................................................................... 58 Out Back Nursery ............................................................................................. 61 Plaisted Companies ............................................................................................ 7

MNLA Executive Director 651-633-4987 • cassie@mnla.biz

Quality Equipment ........................................................................................... 11

Staff Directory

RDO Equipment Co. ........................................................................................ 36

executive director:

Cassie Larson, CAE • cassie@mnla.biz

membership director & trade show manager: Mary Dunn, CEM • mary@mnla.biz

communications director: Jon Horsman • jon@mnla.biz education/cert manager: Susan Flynn • susan@mnla.biz government affairs director: Tim Power • tim@mnla.biz administrative assistant: Jessica Pratt • jessica@mnla.biz accountant: Norman Liston • norman@mnla.biz mnla foundation program director: Jodi Larson • jodi@mnla.biz

advertising sales: 952-934-2891 / 763-295-5420

Faith Jensen, Advertising Rep • faith@pierreproductions.com Betsy Pierre, Advertising Mgr • betsy@pierreproductions.com

legislative affairs consultant: Doug Carnival 6

ad list

Volume 37 No. 1 Jan 2014

➾ se ction title

mnla .biz

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Quality Insurance Service ................................................................................. 61 Specialty Turf & Ag ........................................................................................... 44 The Builders Group .......................................................................................... 43 Titan Machinery .................................................................................................. 2 Tri-State Bobcat, Inc. .................................................................................. 16, 60 Truck Utilities & Mfg. Co. .................................................................................. 21 Unilock Chicago, Inc ......................................................................................... 26 Versa-Lok Midwest ........................................................................................... 22 Walters Gardens Inc. ........................................................................................ 13 Ziegler CAT ......................................................................................... Back Cover All original works, articles or formats published in The Scoop are © Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association, 2014, and may not be used without written permission of MNLA. The Scoop is published 12 times per year by MNLA, 1813 Lexington Ave N., Roseville MN 55113.

Address corrections should be sent to the above address.

➾ c alendar

JAN14 ➾

Webinar Series of online courses developed by the Ecological Restoration Training Cooperative

MNLA Event

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JAN24 MNLA Certification Exam Hennepin Technical College, Brooklyn Park MNLA.biz 651-633-4987 Sit for the exam to become an MNLA Certified Professional.

www.cce.umn.edu/ Restoring-Minnesota 612-624-3242 The Ecological Restoration Training Cooperative has developed five online courses that each focus on specific aspects of restoration practices.

MNLA Event

mar5 ➾

Kelly Inn, St. Paul MNLA.biz This annual government affairs event is an opportunity to make personal connections with legislators that will provide greater political strength to MNLA as an organization and, thus, ultimately to your business.

Key:

Event Education

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MNLA Event

Green Industry Day on the Hill

➾

mar7 MNLA Certification Exam Dakota County Technical College MNLA.biz Sit for the exam to become an MNLA Certified Professional.

➾

2014 MNLA seminars generously supported by John Deere Landscapes

MNLA Event

FEB25

MNLA Event

FEB12 Webinar The 10 Plants that Changed Minnesota

MNLA Event

FEB18 ➾

TIES Conference Center, St. Paul MNLA.biz The Segmental Retaining Wall Installer Education Program is a seminar series designed to reinforce national standardized installation and site practices within the SRW installer community. Level I is structured for all employees involved in SRW installation.

MNLA Event

MAR25

mar 19–20

➾

National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) Training and Certification

MNLA Event

MNLA Event

TIES Conference Center, St. Paul MNLA.biz Prepare for the category A and E pesticide applicator certification exam by attending this 1½ day study program.

Day 2 includes testing, if desired.

Summer Turf Maintenance City Hall, City of St. Anthony MNLA.biz This training offers information about best practices for managing turfgrass (mowing, seeding, fertilizer and pesticide application).

Optional test offered to earn MPCA Level 1 Certification in Turfgrass Maintenance Best Practices.

1:00 pm Presented by Mary Meyer, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Join Mary Meyer for this webinar and learn about the 10 plants that changed Minnesota.

The initiative began with public submissions for nominations and ended with hundreds of people nominating over 100 plants!

PESTICIDE CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP & EXAM

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Irrigation (PLT Relicensure) Pending DOLI approval Roseville Skating Center, Roseville Learn electrical troubleshooting techniques, national electrical code violations, wire types/ sizing, and two-wire systems. The 8 hour class will contain: Two clock hours of specific National Electrical Code training; and 6 hours of technical training.

APR9–10 ➾

Pesticide Certification Workshop & Exam TIES Conference Center, St. Paul MNLA.biz Prepare for the category A and E pesticide applicator certification exam by attending this 1½ day study program.

Day 2 includes testing, if desired.

All information on these and other industry events are online at MNLA.biz. january 14

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➾ from the PRESIDEN T

Thank You MNLA Members!

Thank you to the membership of the mnla for having the faith to elect me to be your president these last two years!

Debbie Lonnee

Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

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this is my last column as your president and I will happily hand the reins over to your next president during the MNLA Annual Meeting.

What a journey it has been! I was elected to the Board of Directors in January of 2000. I believe I may have been one of the first board members that did not own my own business, having been employed by Bailey Nurseries since 1993. Denny McNamara was the newly elected president and Roger Landsburg was Past President. We were discussing the upcoming merger of the Commercial Flower Growers Association into the MNLA (I had been a part of those discussions even before I got on the board) and at that meeting I abstained from a vote to move the Convention from the Hyatt over to the Minneapolis Convention Center. My how times have changed since then!

In the last two years as your president, there has been a LOT of change to the MNLA. We spent a lot of time and effort going through a strategic planning process and began to implement those changes in the spring of 2012.

We made radical changes to the Association, starting with a reduction in our committee structure, from 22 committees to six. We added the networking groups, which for the most part have been a big success due to some very diligent volunteers. This change was in response to market research we conducted which told us members wanted more opportunities to network and learn from each other.

We stepped back from public outreach. Our budget just didn’t have the oomph to get the MNLA to be a known name with the public (wish we had the budget of ‘the incredible edible egg’ or ‘got milk’). The www.

GardenMinnesota.com website was phased out, and even our catalog series will ultimately be phased out.

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Now THAT was hard to take, since I had been chair of the Publications Committee for what seemed like a million years. We used to make a lot of dollars by selling our publications, which funded many activities within MNLA. But, consumers are not buying or using the printed word as much as in the past; rather, they are Googling up information on the web.

On top of all those changes, in October of 2012, Bob Fitch handed me his letter of resignation. When he handed me the envelope and told me what was in it, I about choked, and then thought, ‘Oh, he is just joking with me.’ Well, he wasn’t. Thus started a long and difficult process of searching for a new executive director. We ultimately chose Cassie Larson as our new executive and I am incredibly pleased with the job she has done thus far.

I can tell you this: MNLA is one of the strongest, most forward thinking and vital nursery trade associations in this entire United States! I do truly believe that. We have an incredible network of volunteers, great education, a strong government affairs program, a winter show in the Northern Green Expo that is the best in the Midwest, great staff members, and a strong board who is looking to the future.

Is it easy being the President of the MNLA? Heck, no!

But, it has been an incredible privilege serving the membership of the MNLA, and although I work for one of the giants, every time I sit in a board meeting I am also representing all you small businesses when I make decisions. You are the strength of this organization. I hope that I have served you well. Thank you to all the members of the MNLA for allowing me the privilege to serve you. can be reached at: debbie.lonnee@baileynursery.com.

debbie lonnee

âžž out & about

&

AN INITIATIVE OF THE MNLA MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE IS TO STAY IN TOUCH AND THANK MEMBERS WITH OCCASIONAL VISITS.

Tim Niebur, Mary Dunn, and Ed Niebur in front of Niebur Tractor & Equipment.

Gary Bauer, owner of Groundworks Unlimited, with MNLA Board Member Mike McNamara.

MNLA staff stopped in for a visit at Drummer Garden Center & Floral.

Pictured here from left to right are Sarah Malchow, Julie Drummer (Owner) and Johanna Olson.

Membership Director Mary Dunn met up with Kendall Klaus of Klaus Nurseries.

Scottie Zuzek, Owner, and Brian Dodge, Precision Landscaping and Construction Inc. discussed business with MNLA Board Member Mike McNamara.

Jon Horsman, MNLA Communications Director, met with Joy Struck at the Traverse Des Sioux Garden Center.

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Production History of

Segmental Retaining Wall (SRW) Systems Robert Race, P.E. | Reprinted with permission of the National Concrete Masonry Association

Figure 1: Modern batch plant.

Introduction

Concrete building materials are the most widely used construction material for buildings, mass structures and earth retaining structures world-wide. The use of concrete dates back to ancient times when the Egyptians made a composite of lime and gypsum binders to create a substance that closely resembled modern concrete1. A few thousand years later some of those ancient structures are still standing. Dry-cast or zero-slump concrete block products began in the United States in 1876, making one block unit at a time. In the mid 1980s, a hundred years after introduction of zero-slump concrete production, zero-slump concrete segmental retaining wall (SRW) units were created marketed nationally and internationally as an economical solution for earth retaining walls. At about the same time as SRW’s entered the market, synthetic geogrid soil reinforcing was introduced to the Civil Engineering market. By combining the technologies of SRW’s and geosynthetic soil reinforcement, structurally strong and economical retaining walls were developed. Today we have walls over 75 ft. tall performing well and SRW manufacturing worldwide.

It has been estimated that over 300,000,000 sf. annually of SRW retaining walls were sold into the world market in the mid 2000s.

Production of zero slump products has improved significantly since the first block was produced in 1876. Masonry units were produced with a compressive strength of only 1,000 psi and today, ASTM C90 calls for 1,900 psi. SRW products have a minimum compressive strength of 3,000 psi and some products have been produced to over 8,000 psi. Production of these economical and high strength units was the key to market success.

Historical Development

Image courtesy of Belgard

Development of zero-slump (Dry-Cast) Concrete

The trend to develop hollow core building products began in 1850 with a British inventor named Joseph Gibbs2. The Gibbs patent described a method of building solid concrete walls by means of timber forms or lattices on each side. Also included in the patent was the specification the block could be hollow cast, with the hollows to be filled with concrete after each course. The process developed by these early inventors was to add just enough water to form the concrete paste, form the products, compress out the air and allow the products to be stripped out of the mold within about 10 minutes. In years

following several systems were invented to manufacture hollow blocks.

It was found that these methods of manufacturing produced products with sufficient strength and durability for building construction.

In 1897 Harmon S. Palmer was credited with the development of the first commercial process for the manufacture of concrete blocks in the United States. These early machines were the hand-tamp machines, when a three-man crew could produce 200 blocks in the 10-hour day.

In the early 1900s dry-cast concrete products were gaining acceptance and popularity as they were structurally sound, economical to produce and relatively easy to install. By 1905, an estimated 1,500 companies in the U.S. were manufacturing concrete blocks as structural building materials.

In the period from 1905 to the 1970s production equipment was developed to be bigger, faster, and more economical products. This was a significant improvement in production capabilities.

Today’s production equipment uses the same concepts as early machines but with much more energy and directional compaction for denser units, faster and more accurate mixing and material movement, accurate dimensional control, and automated production control.

Production

The 1980s brought the introduction of zero-slump products to the landscape markets with SRW products and interlocking concrete pavers. This new market required significant increases in production demand, quality control requirements and durable and stronger products. The 1980s was also when computers and solid state controls entered the market. Instead of batching materials based on “look and feel” of the mix, microwave probes were installed in the feed bins to measure moisture, load cells were installed on feed lines to control batching materials, and probes were installed in the mixer to accurately control the water/cement ratio of the mix. All of these inputs fed to computers which controlled the quantities of each batch, making consistent quality throughout the production cycle.

Figure 1, above, represents a modern batch plant. We can see: • Four to five feed bins for sand and gravel • Each feed bin has load cells for accurate batching january 14

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• The plant shown here has two cement silos for storage of cement. Some have standard cement, white cement, or a higher quality cement for special applications.

• Some plants have two or more mixing drums where each drum may have a different colored mix to produce multi-colored concrete blends into the mixer.

• The mix is passed into the mixer. When properly mixed it is dumped onto a feed belt to the block machine (See molds on figure 2).

• The units are produced to a specific density and the required manufacturing dimension.

• Product comes out of the compaction equipment and is automatically stacked on drying racks.

• When the racks are full, an automated lift moves the drying rack from the machine into the moisture-curing rooms.

• When the products have cured, the automated lifts take the racks from the curing rooms to the splitting line or secondary processing line where it is processed and stacked on the pallet for yard storage.

Figure 2: SRW mold.

Image courtesy of Besser.

In many operations this process is fully automated requiring operators to observe machine performance, perform quality control checks, and move the product from the plant to the yard storage areas. Recall a three man crew in 1900 could produce 200 units per 10-hour day; today a three man crew can produce over 6,000 units in one 8-hour shift on one machine.

Chemistry

Product equipment development evolved with great strides to produce more product with higher quality, but that was not enough to get the products required by the market. The secret to good concrete is a low water ratio, high density, high cement content, and a properly graded mix to provide a dense, compacted structure. Low slump concrete requires a low water content to be self supporting from the time it comes out of the mold to the time it is cured.

Plasticizers and water reducing agents were developed to help produce quality products with the lower water contents and still hydrate the cement. Zero slump concrete has a more open void structure than wet-cast concrete and thus higher permeability. Moisture draining through the product may carry free salts to the surface causing a white dust, or efflorescence. Efflorescence control mixtures have been developed to reduce the efflorescence in masonry products.

Road salts used for deicing in northern climates introduced chlorides onto the concrete.

For concrete, magnesium chloride and calcium chloride produce severe crumbling, moderate fracturing and discoloration of the concrete. Better plasticizers helped produce a more dense concrete mix to reduce the permeability and infiltration of chlorides. As air entrainment mixtures were developed to provide air entrainment to zero slump concrete, a higher cement content and higher compaction density became possible, enabling these products to perform much better in this severe environment.

SRW Unit Sizes

SRW units are produced on standard concrete masonry production equipment. The standard masonry unit used for building construction is eight inches tall, eight inches wide, and 16 inches long (8 × 8 × 16 in.). As the basic product for early production needs, block manufacturing equipment was designed around this shape of unit. Several other size units are available but this 8 × 8 × 16 unit is the main building block. A three-at-a-time machine could produce three, 8 × 8 × 16 units during each cycle. A five- at-a-time machine could produce five units at a time.

Maximum height of units may be up to 12 in. on some machines and minimum height of three inches. Block curing systems were developed for 8 in. high products, so the taller units are possible but very limited in production due to the handling equipment. The length of the mold box for a three at a time machine is 24 in. (side to side in the machine) and the depth of the mold box is 18 in. (front to back in the machine). For the larger five

Figure 3: Common SRW unit shapes.

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➾ S R W SYSTEMS

and six-at-a-time machines the mold boxes are much larger to accommodate the product and designed for larger block machines.

The popular sizes of SRW units of uniform size are: • 8 H × 18 W × 11 to 12 D in.

• 8 H × 18 W × 20 to 24 D in.

• 6 H × 16 W × 11 to 12 D in.

• 4 H × 18 W × 10 to 12 D in.

• 3 H × 16 W × 10 to 12 D in.

Figure 4: Modular unit with recycled content.

Image courtesy of Allan Block.

Figure 5: Multi-sized units.

Image courtesy of Allan Block.

The typical depth (face to tail) of the units is 11 to 12 in. This depth provides a unit that is easy to construct with, provides good structural stability, and is economical. There are deeper units available (20 to 24 in.); however the cost to produce the larger units is more than the 12 in. units due to one unit per cycle and more concrete fill (see figure 3 for SRW examples). To be competitive, contractors switched to the smaller depth unit since both units have the same exposed face area, and with soil reinforcement both are structurally sound. The larger units are still produced and are still popular in some markets. Modular systems have been developed with attractive face panels and attachable tail sections for flexibility in design or in areas where there is not enough space for geogrid reinforcement.

(See figure 4.) All units can be manufactured using recycled content, making SRW units competitive in the green product market.

In the late 1990s, multi-piece SRW products came into the market with sizes ranging from three-inches wide to 24 in. wide with full-height (6 or 8 in. high) and half-height (3 or 4 in.) units. The combination of these architectural units created a more natural look with random-shaped face units. There are systems in the market with two, four, five, or six different sized units in the same wall panel (see figure 5). Single depth facings units were developed mostly for gravity and mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall construction and the multi-piece systems were developed for architectural landscaping applications.

Architectural Design

Markets for the SRW products began as residential and small commercial projects where the SRW’s were alternatives to timber walls, boulder walls or poured concrete walls. Face textures were either straight faced units (mold finished) or a fluted or textured face created in the mold. The standard colors were concrete gray or tan. Market demand grew quickly for SRW products and producers developed more facing options for the consumer.

Hard-Split

In the mid 80s manufacturers incorporated the splitting system to break a thin slice off the face of a cured SRW unit to produce a more rustic appearance. The split aggregates and sometimes multicolored aggregates gave the product an attractive appearance (see figure 6).

Abraded™ or Soft-Split™

Mold designers and producers developed different systems in the mold that would roughen the wet-concrete face as the unit was extracted from the mold. These systems yielded an attractive appearance and reduced production costs by eliminating the handling, splitting and re-grinding of the disposed block surface.

Stamped Face

Figure 6: Hard-split SRW facing.

Image courtesy of Versa-lok.

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The next step in the market was a stamped face unit produced in the mold, extruded and cured. These units are popular in the lawn and garden retail markets and some commercial product lines (see figures 4 and 7).

Tumbled Face

Manufacturing a ‘rock-like’ texture in a mold box leaves a sharp, 90-degree edge on the top and bottom of the units. Tumbling is a process where the units are placed in a round drum and rolled or tumbled. As the units collide with other units or impact the edge of the drum, the outside sharp edges are chipped off, rounding off the machine-made surfaces. Several abraded and smaller hard split units are tumbled to create a more natural stone appearance (see figure 8).

Concrete Colors

When SRW’s first entered the market they were the standard concrete grey, tan or brown color that were typical for concrete masonry products. As demand continued to develop, manufacturers developed capacity to produce colored units and many added systems to produce variegated colors combining two or three different colors to give the units a more natural colored appearance (see figure 9).

Specifications For SRW’s

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is the standards organization in the U.S. During the beginning of SRW production the standard dry cast block specifications were applied to the SRW units. These were ASTM C90, Standard Specification for

Figure 7: Stamped face.

Image courtesy of Anchor Wall.

Loadbearing Concrete Masonry Units3:

• Compressive strength: 1900 psi (minimum net average) • Absorption: 18–13 pcf • Tolerance: +/- 1/8 in. from the manufacturers published values.

As the industry developed, SRW products required higher compressive strengths to meet the requirements set by the engineering community for wet-cast concrete products. As this was evolving, industry decided a new ASTM standard was needed that addressed the manufacturing and production needs of SRW products as their use, application and requirements were different from the load bearing products used for building masonry structures. This new standard was:

Figure 8: Soft-split SRW facing, tumbled.

Image courtesy of Keystone.

ASTM C1372, Standard Specification for Segmental Retaining Wall Units4

• Compressive strength: 3,000 psi (minimum net average) • Absorption: 18-13 pcf depending on the density • Tolerance: +/- 1/8 in. from the manufacturers published values In the late 1980’s, SRW products were introduced into the highway transportation market. The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASTHO) Bridge Manual5 requirements for concrete products were: • Normal Weight and Structural Lightweight Concrete (AASHTO 5.4.2) • Compressive strength: 4,000 psi • Tolerance: +/- 1/16 in. from the manufacturer’s published values Quality Control / Quality Assurance

Product capacities were increased significantly to meet the market demands, chemicals and admixes were developed to enhance manufacturing and product performance, and specifications were developed for using SRW products in more critical applications. Introduction of the products into the highway markets required higher quality control standards and product checks to ensure quality products were used in manufacturing met the department of transportation specifications.

Most manufacturers of SRW products have a quality control program in place and published QA/QC procedures. Units are tested on a routine bases for strength, absorption, density and in northern climates, or durability.

Figure 9: Color options.

Image courtesy of Rockwood.

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➾ srw SYSTEMS

Rediscover, Remarkable.

This photo shows a Besser high speed block splitter and block turnover.

The block plant has reached the age of automation.

Summary

Rediscover what’s new at Hedberg.

Stop by a familiar booth & enjoy complimentary beer on Wednesday afternoon while discovering the latest products for 2014.

Northern Green Expo Booth 1207

Production and quality of masonry concrete has come a long way since the first zero slump units were produced in 1850. In the last 25 years there have been remarkable improvements in production with solid state electronics, increased market demand from the landscaping markets, and surprising improvements in the architectural finishes available. Concrete mix designs and manufacturing techniques have been improved to provide more durable units for severe environments and chemical additives were developed to help achieve better compaction, greater density, and even air entrainment.

Customer desires prompted manufacturers to produce units with a variety of color options, solid color or variegated color mixes.

Equipment manufacturers and designers were able to make multipiece SRW units to create very pleasing architectural designs for retaining walls.

A combination of a colorful SRW retaining wall, permeable paver walkways, and driveways with surrounding gardens utilizing concrete edgers is a perfect Low Impact Design (LID) solution. It uses environmentally-friendly components to create an affordable, sustainable solution to a project that not only improves the value of the property and solves structural issues, but helps save the environment.

As Dr. Richard Bathurst, a leader in Geotechnical Engineering, stated at an international meeting in Sydney, Australia in 1999, “SRW’s and geosynthetic reinforcements have revolutionized civil engineering for earth retaining structures”. We believe his statement was correct then and the revolutionizing has only continued to this day.

Sources 1. www.britannica.com 2. Bell, Joseph, From the Carriage Age…to the Space Age, NCMA 1969.

S U P P L Y

3. ASTM C90 - 11b Standard Specification for Load- bearing Concrete Masonry Units.

4. ASTM C1372 - 11 Standard Specification for Dry- Cast Segmental Retaining Wall Units 5.

5. AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications, Fifth E., 2010.

PLYMOUTH | FARMINGTON | STILLWATER www.hedbergrocks.com

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robert race p.e. was the 2013 MNLA Volunteer of the Year and can be reached at rrace@rea-llc.com.

VERSA-LOK

®

See us at the Northern Green Expo, Booths 747 and 846

Contractor Sales Yards

Your locally owned headquarters for landscaping supplies and materials!

• VERSA-LOK retaining walls • Willow Creek pavers and kits • Unilock pavers • Natural stone, flagstone, steppers, wall stone and more • Accessories, including lights, sealers, polymeric sand, edging and geogrid • Easy-in-and-out yards with know- ledgeable staff and convenient hours

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Meetings Without Leaving the Office: Online Tools That Make it Possible

“I get to work from home.”This statement, made by employees who work for firms large and small, is becoming increasingly commonplace. (And often elicits feelings of envy from those of us who continue to work “traditionally,” commuting to the office five days a week!) But how does working remotely impact meetings and collaboration?

Tara Loftus | Adapta Interactive

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➾ online meetings

A

s work environments evolve to be more flexible, the expectation of hosting productive online meetings is growing. This represents yet another example of web technology changing the way we’ve historically done business. Whether you work at a company with offices around the globe or simply want to collaborate on a document without having to be physically present, there are online products and services that make it possible — and easy.

Here are four of the most popular services used to conduct online meetings, two that come at a cost and two that are available for free.

Paid Options

These options are for scheduling online meetings in advance with all the accompanying “bells and whistles” including inviting attendees, sending reminders ahead of the meeting and allowing for collaboration during the meeting. Both WebEx and GoToMeeting offer free 30-day trials for you to test how their products may or may not work for you.

WebEx: WebEx is one of the oldest online meeting services available on the market. After signing up for a subscription, you simply install the WebEx plugin on your desktop and then you’ll immediately have the ability to host or join meetings.

A few clicks will get you working with your team, sharing screens, passing around the “presenter” role to others who have documents to show, or even chatting face-to-face, granted you must have a webcam. Through WebEx’s mobile app, you can even join a meeting on your smart phone or tablet.

Current pricing starts at $24/month and increases from there depending on the features that you require. For more information, you can visit www.webex.com. WebEx is most commonly used by large companies/corporations who have aggressive remote meeting needs.

Current pricing for GoToMeeting starts at $19/month for basic features. It is most commonly used by small- and midsized companies who don’t have as aggressive web conferencing needs as a large corporation.

Free Options

These options are for online communication between remote parties; they are not intended to be platforms for scheduling formal meetings.

Google+ Hangouts: Google is known as the “king of free” and their remote meeting/collaboration product, Google+ Hangouts, is no exception. With free voice calls and large, clear video, it has only improved since its release in May of 2013. In addition to the ability to see your friends clearly, host a meeting with several of them, share documents via Google Docs and collaborate, you get the benefit of being able to do it all on the web, for free.

To get started, the only things you need are a Google account, a webcam and a microphone.

Skype: Skype is an application that allows users to make telephone calls over the internet as well as transfer files, instant message and video conference. It works well for communicating with up to 10 people via voice, text or video. You can even do these things in tandem, for instance have a video call between four people while also allowing them to instant message during the call.

Similar to Google+ Hangouts, the only things you need to get started are an account (set it up at Skype.com), a webcam, and a microphone.

GoToMeeting: GoToMeeting is younger than WebEx, but now offers all of the same scheduling and collborative features, in addition to separate products for conducting webinars and trainings: GoToWebinar and GoToTraining respectively.

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tara loftus is an Account Manager at Adapta Interactive, a Twin Cities web development firm that specializes in custom web solutions. The Adapta office uses Skype for all internal communications and GoToMeeting for virtual meetings with clients.

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➾ legal issues

New Minnesota Job Application Requirements Does your business have a job application that people must fill out in order to be considered for employment with your business? If you do, when was the last time you reviewed it to make sure it was legally compliant?

Patrick McGuiness

Zlimen & McGuiness, PLLC

there are often changes to the law which affect what can be asked on job applications. Often, application templates from office stores, or downloaded off the internet are not legally compliant. One recent change to what can be asked on Minnesota job applications takes effect on January 1, 2014.

Under legislation dubbed ‘ban the box,’ Minnesota Statute 364.021, employers are now prohibited from requiring applicants to disclose their criminal history.

Additionally, employers are prohibited from asking about, or considering an applicant’s criminal history until after the employer has selected the applicant for an interview, or made a conditional job offer. The use of criminal background checks before an interview or job offer is also prohibited.

These amendments to the statute are designed to help those people with a criminal history of any kind from being discriminated against at the outset while job hunting. People with a criminal history are more likely to be screened out of a hiring process and position that they may otherwise be qualified for. These changes aim to cure that issue and help those with a criminal history rehabilitate themselves by becoming productive members of society, or by simply allowing them to overcome a one-time mistake.

Once the law takes effect, employers will first be given a written warning if they are caught in violation of the statute. Eventually, the Minnesota Commissioner of

Human Rights will be able to impose fines of up to $500 for additional violations. Thankfully for business owners, the law does not allow individual job applicants to sue an employer for violating the statute.

However, as with most laws, there are some exceptions to this law. Businesses and employers that are required to conduct background checks by law are exempt from the new requirements. Additionally, the law does not prohibit employers from making any job offers conditional on a background check. It also doesn’t prevent business owners from stating that the job will require passing a background check at some phase of the application process.

Take the time to review your job application to be sure it is compliant with the amended statute. It may also be a good time to check for other job application compliance issues too.

patrick mcguiness can be reached at: pmcguiness@zmattorneys.com.

This article provides general information on employment law and should not be relied upon as legal advice. A qualified attorney must analyze all relevant facts and apply the applicable law to any matter before legal advice can be given. If you would like more information regarding employment law or other legal matters, please contact Patrick McGuiness at Zlimen & McGuiness, PLLC at 651-206-3203 or pmcguiness@zmattorneys.com

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➾ B IOS URVEILLAN CE

MDA BEETLE MONITORING Biosurveillanc e with the Smoky W inged Beetle Bandit

Monika Chandler

Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection Division

Volunteers monitoring a large field. Image courtesy of Conn Ag Exp Station.

the smoky winged beetle bandit,

Cerceris fumipennis, can teach us which species of wood-boring beetles, including emerald ash borer (EAB), are in an area. This is a form of biosurveillance — using one organism, the beetle bandit wasp, to monitor for another organism — in this case EAB and related beetles. Monitoring beetle bandits in Connecticut yielded the first EAB find in the state.

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Additionally, beetle bandit biosurveillance will monitor for similar high risk wood-boring beetles that are not documented in Minnesota such as the European oak borer that threatens our oaks and was detected with biosurveillance in Ontario and picked up on a trap in Michigan. We have good reason to learn about the wood-boring beetle species diversity and relative abundance in high risk areas of Minnesota.

The smoky winged beetle bandit is a native, ground nesting wasp.

Females collect wood-boring beetles from wooded and forested areas then bring the beetles back to their nests to feed their young.

Beetles from these wasps can be collected with the following methods. Beetle bandit wasps drop beetles they think were attacked by parasitic flies. Consuming parasitized beetles would kill developing beetle bandit wasps. Therefore, the adult wasps abandon suspect beetles outside of their nests. These abandoned beetles can be easily collected. A more exciting way to collect beetles is to net the beetle bandit as it returns to its nest with a beetle. The wasps are docile and do not sting humans. They will immediately drop the beetle then the wasp can be released from the net. Note that other ground nesting wasp species can look similar and may sting people so species identification is very important!

The collected beetles will inform us about the area wood-boring species and their relative abundance.

University of Minnesota Extension will lead the joint effort with Minnesota Department of Agriculture to monitor beetle bandit colonies in Minnesota as part of a three year project recommended for funding by the Legislative Citizens Commission on Minnesota Resources.

Excellent citizen scientist volunteers proved in 2013 that they could find beetle bandit colonies in multiple areas of the state. This was good news since no beetle bandit samples had been collected for a half century. A preferred habit of the ground nesting beetle bandit is minimally maintained baseball fields. The wasps like the sandy soils for nest building and the relatively undisturbed setting. Citizen scientists can be directed to search ball fields in high risk areas and report their finds. See www. myminnesotawoods.umn.edu/cerceris/ for more information. These same citizen scientists will be trained to monitor beetle bandit colonies. Collected beetles will be identified by a taxonomist and data will be entered into a Forest Service database.

The collected beetles will inform us about the area wood-boring species and their relative abundance. This includes native beetles and new finds of natives are likely. EAB finds will inform EAB biological control. The federal EAB trapping program was drastically reduced (6,000 traps in 2012 to 800 traps in 2013 in Minnesota). Without sufficient numbers of traps, the likelihood of EAB early detection decreases. We need to know EAB distribution to strategically deploy biological control.

Biosurveillance promises to be an exciting new project that will yield valuable information about the woodboring beetles of Minnesota — both native and invasive species while engaging Minnesota’s citizen scientists.

Top: Smoky winged beetle bandit wasp with a flathead borer. Image courtesy of Michael Bohne, US Forest Service.

Middle: Smoky winged beetle bandit wasp emerging from its nest. Image courtesy of Minn Dept of Ag. Bottom: Multiple beetle species collected from a smoky winged beetle bandit wasp colony. Image courtesy of Minn Dept of Ag.

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➾ OS H A

Five OSHA Standards That Really Don’t Exist!

As a safety consultant and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Outreach trainer, I hear a lot of discussion about certain safety measures that some people mistakenly believe must be followed “because Federal OSHA standards require it.”

Curtis Chambers, CSP | OSHA Training Services

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(ladders). And the federal OSHA ladder standards do not require fall arrest systems to be used by workers on portable ladders; that is because the ladder standard is predicated on the employee using the ladder properly (not over-extending, not standing too high on the ladder.

#3

When I conduct mock-OSHA inspections, it is not uncommon for a safety director to sheepishly admit that they are “overdue” on their annual refresher training for Haz-Com. While it may be a great idea to conduct annual refresher training on this complex topic, it is not actually required in the federal OSHA Hazard Communication standard; it only requires initial training, and then additional training in certain instances (such as, but not limited to, when new chemicals have been introduced into the work area). Of course, the recently-revised OSHA Haz-Com standard does require employers to provide training for their workers on the GHS format for labels and safety data sheets, but that is also a one-time requirement in the federal standard.

W

hile their intentions are good, many times they would be embarrassed if someone challenged them to put their money where their mouth is and find the particular standard to which they referred in the OSHA regulations, because the standard does not exist. So I decided this month I would draw on my past experiences and share some of these phantom regulations I run across often by presenting my list of “Five OSHA Standards That Really Don’t Exist.”

#1

Seat Belts on Forklifts

#2

Fall Arrest Required on Portable Ladders

#4

Hard Hats on All Construction Sites:

#5

Bloodborne Pathogens Training for All Workers

How many times have you heard someone state that forklift operators must wear their seat belt (a.k.a. an operator restraint system) because “it’s required in the OSHA standards”? While forklift manufacturers’ manuals recommend this practice, you will not actually find a requirement for seat belt use in the federal OSHA standards for powered industrial trucks; in fact, there is no mention of operator restraints in that standard at all! This is due to the fact that the old ANSI/ASME standard that OSHA adopted as the basis for their forklift standards did not require the use (or installation) of a seat belt at that time. However, you should be aware that ASME standard has since been revised to require the use of an operator restraint device, and most manufacturers provide retrofit kits so seat belts can be installed on the older lifts. Therefore, OSHA often uses paragraph (5)(a)(1) (the General Duty Clause) of the OSH Act of 1970 (employers must protect employees from recognized hazards) to cite employers who do not require seat belt use (as explained in this OSHA letter of interpretation).

It is very common to hear people say that OSHA standards “require” employees on portable extension or step ladders to wear a fall-arrest harness with lanyard connected to an adequate point of attachment if they are working at a height over 6 feet. The rational here is that Subpart M of the federal OSHA construction standards requires employees be provided with some form of fall protection when exposed to potential falls of 6 feet or more. However, when you refer to the scope and application section of Subpart M, you will see that it actually excludes work regulated by Subpart X

Hazard Communication Annual Refresher Training

“Where’s your hard hat?” yelled the safety manager to the painter who was applying touch-up paint to a wall inside a new office building. “Don’t you know you can be kicked off my construction site for violating OSHA regulations?

Everyone is required to wear a hardhat!” Good thing the painter did not ask the safety manager to show the standard in the federal OSHA construction regulations that required everyone on the construction site to be wearing a hardhat, because the safety man would have been hard pressed to find that actual requirement. The OSHA standard for construction actually states that “employees working in areas where there is a possible danger of head injury from impact, or from falling or flying objects, or from electrical shock and burns, shall be protected by protective helmets.”

However, that is not a blanket requirement that ALL workers wear them ALL the time, just when they are exposed to the listed hazards. In this particular case, the worker was in the room totally alone, painting trim along the floor, and there was no actual need for a hard hat. Now, I understand that some construction sites mandate hard hats be worn by all people on site at all times because they don’t want to have to babysit who does and does not need to be wearing one; I’m just pointing out that this was not a situation that would have been a specific violation of an OSHA regulation as claimed (and believed) by the safety manager.

Many a time have I heard during an audit that employers have trained all of their workers in Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) “as required” by the OSHA BBP standard. When I continued on page 56

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âžž silver spikegrass

silver spikegrass:

AN UNDERUSED LANDSCA

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Mary Meyer | University of Minnesota

LANDSCAPE GRASS

One of the most attractive grasses is silver spikegrass, Spodiopogon sibiricus, also called frost grass or greybeard. This is an underused landscape grass that grows easily in Minnesota. ďƒş

With dense foliage, silver spikegrass makes a good hedge or screen.

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➾ silver spikegrass

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11/18/13 4:29 PM

ts botanical name reflects the appearance and origin of the plant: spodios = ashen, pogon = beard; sibiricus = of. Silver spikegrass is native to the grasslands of the montane regions of central China, Manchuria to northeastern Siberia as well as the grassy mountains of Japan and Korea. In its native habitat, greybeard is often found in forest glades, slopes on mountains, and among shrubs. Albert Steward in his 1958 Manual of Vascular Plants of the Lower Yangtze River Valley, translated the Chinese common name for this grass, ta ya mang, as ‘great oily –awn,” noting the awns or beards on the flowers. The ashen-colored flowers often sparkle in the sun.

The foliage is dense and wider than most grasses giving it a bamboo-like look. The medium green to yellow-green summer foliage is attractive and pest–free. Fall color can be yellow, orange, burgundy red, or brown and varies with the amount of moisture. Frost grass is at its peak in July through November, and if snows are not heavy, it can be of interest through the winter. Heavy snow often flattens the whole plant, as its wide foliage tends to collect snow.

Silver spikegrass grows best in cool weather, and tolerates full sun in Minnesota. However, in hotter climates, it prefers some shade.

Plant it where it will not be exposed to excessive heat. Avoid locations near sidewalks or walls that tend to hold heat.

If planted in these sites, provide additional moisture. One site requirement is adequate moisture; this is not a drought tolerant species, especially during establishment.

The wider foliage loses more moisture than other grasses, so plant silver spikegrass near downspouts or in soils with high moisture, such as clay and clay loams. The rounded shape is one of the densest grasses, with many stems and thick foliage.

Use silver spikegrass in the landscape as a screen or hedge. Because it grows to about 5' tall, with foliage about 4', it is versatile without being too large. Additional sites are the back of a garden or along a walkway or area where you want privacy.

Frost grass is underplanted! It could be used much more in garden and landscape settings. It is especially attractive with evergreens and adds an Asian look to the

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➾ silver spikegrass

Grown with other perennials, silver spikegrass is attractive from July through winter.

garden. It also works well in a perennial border, especially with other plants that prefer moist to wet conditions, such as rose mallow and monarda. Consider using silver spikegrass in your next garden design or planting. Sited properly, it will live and thrive for many years with only a spring clean up for maintenance.

Silver Spikegrass Plant Facts: Height: 3 to 5 feet Spread: 2 to 4 feet Bloom Time: Showy flowers from late July to November or

later if snow is not heavy Silver spikegrass grass has showy flowers above yellow-green foliage.

Bloom Color: grey-green to buff Bloom Description: sparkly panicles that catch the sun Exposure: Full sun to light shade Water: Medium to wet Maintenance: low, cut back and clean up tops in early spring Leaves: green with yellow, orange or red fall color Other: winter interest if snow is not heavy Tolerates: like most grasses will grow near black walnuts Best Landscape Uses: screen, hedge, back of border Companion plants: evergreens; monarda, astilbe, Siberian iris,

rose mallow

Mary Meyer

Silver spikegrass has yellow to orange or red fall color.

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can be reached at meyer023@umn.edu.

How to Build a Strong Relationship

with Your Bank One of the single most beneficial things you can do for your green industry business is to have a great relationship with your banker.

Erin Milam | HighGrove Partners

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M

any small business owners shy away from their bank. They tend to think of their banker as the enemy, as someone who will give you an umbrella as the sun shines and then take it away when it rains.

It is that unfortunate view that can be very limiting to a business.

Banks not only can infuse much-needed capital into your business, but they can also help navigate through tough times. They can help you network and refer new clients your way. Many times they have valuable information about things going on in your town that may impact you and your business directly.

So how do you go about turning a bad or non-existent relationship with your bank into a productive one with your banker?

Shop for a bank.

If you currently do not feel you have a good banking relationship, then you probably don’t. Start asking other business owners you trust about who handles their banking and ask them if they would recommend them.

It is a good idea to find a bank that does business with customers your size. Frequently, aiming for a mid-size bank is a good way to go for small businesses.

Midsize banks will tend to pay more attention to small clients but still will have the stability and capacity to serve you long term as you grow. Small banks are ones that have a single stand-alone branch, mid-size would have multiple branches limited to your area/region and large banks are national.

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Prepare for the interview.

After you have identified two to three potential institutions, you should plan to sit down with them to discuss your needs.

Come prepared. Bring your financials, both internal and audited if you have them.

Bring any marketing materials that will help tell the story of your company.

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➾ banking

Banks are businesses, too, and the more information you can provide them will give them an added comfort level. You may also want to bring a profile of each person you have in top management roles so they will know whom they are trusting with their money.

Be clear what your expectations are, but don’t go overboard. A new banking relationship is like any new relationship: You don’t want to come on too strong.

Evaluate and negotiate.

Consider which banker made you feel the most comfortable. You want this to be a long term relationship and you will be spending time with him or her often. Once you have identified your first choice, you may be able to negotiate the terms somewhat. Some banks are willing to do that, some aren’t. But the worst they can say is no, so you don’t have much to lose. Just remember to always be respectful and reasonable with any request.

Build trust from the beginning.

After you have made your final deal, make sure you follow through on providing any additional information that the bank has requested leading up to the loan closing. This is the beginning of a relationship and you want to establish yourself as a reliable client.

The most important thing that will keep this new relationship healthy and productive in the future is communication. Bankers can be nervous people. They have given you their money, and now they wonder what you are doing with it and if you will be able to pay them back.

Most banks are going to want to see monthly financials. I would highly recommend sending them even if they don’t ask for them.

The more information you can send them about your financial 42

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health the better. This includes not only financial statements, but also news releases, new sales, etc.

Banks report the results of their investments to their regulators just as business owners report their results to the bank. If you see a difficult situation coming down the pike, you should tell your banker as soon as possible. Don’t be scared that if you tell your banker some bad news, he will pull the rug out from under you. That is not true. More likely than not, especially if you have kept the lines of communication open, bankers will do everything in their power to help guide you through your problems. But if you wait until the last minute, or worse yet, after the fact, they may have their hands tied and have few options available to help you.

Dedicate the necessary time with two key people.

There are two people that the bank needs to have confidence in — the owner and the CFO/controller. The owner provides the long-term vision for the company and is the one that convinces her banker that the company is on a path of growth and prosperity. The CFO/ controller is the person that the banker needs to feel has the capability to provide timely financials and accurate cash flow projections as well as strong budgeting abilities. The more sophisticated the financial abilities are in a company, the more comfortable a bank will feel.

In the end, the success of your relationship all comes down to communication and transparency. Taking the steps to achieve a lasting, productive relationship with your banker may very well be the best thing you ever do for your business. is CFO of HighGrove Partners in Austell, GA, a green industry business which provides comprehensive Land Services, Landscape Maintenance, and Water Management programs to property managers and owners.

Erin Milam

MNLA FOUNDATION Improving the Environment by Investing in Research and Education

1813 LEXINGTON AVE. N | ROSEVILLE, MN 55113 | 651-633-4987 | FAX 651-633-4986 | MNLA@MNLA.BIZ | WWW.MNLAFOUNDATION.COM

Research for the Real World

You need knowledge to improve your business and operations – and in turn increase your profitability as part of our industry’s aim to improve the outdoor living environment. The MNLA Foundation promises to deliver to you the research-based information and insights you need for your environmental horticulture and landscape business. Our Research Information Director will compile, distill and disseminate easy-toread information on topics such as: • New plant materials and plant hardiness trials.

• Sustainable landscape design, tree care and lawn maintenance practices.

• Marketing and consumer preferences.

• Plant insect/disease/weed control.

• Water management.

• Nursery and greenhouse production.

Scholarships

Career Development

Our industry, your business, and even the environment are facing a crisis because so few young people are choosing green industry careers. The MNLA Foundation promises to deliver tools and promotion to enhance the image of nursery, greenhouse, landscape, irrigation, and tree care professions. The Foundation’s Career Development Program will: • Provide educational materials for students at various grade levels and help members establish relationships with schools.

• Inform teachers, guidance counselors, parents, and students about the legitimate career paths available in the green industry.

• Promote horticulture and landscape programs at area colleges.

The MNLA Foundation Academic Awards Scholarship Program makes it possible for outstanding college students who have made Horticulture or Landscaping their career choice to enter and/or complete their college degree programs. This very important Foundation activity also greatly enhances our industry’s relationships with these students and their colleges.

MNLA FOUNDATION Improving the Environment by Investing in Research and Education 1813 LExINGTON AVE. N | ROSEVILLE, MN 55113 | 651-633-4987 | FAx 651-633-4986 | MNLA@MNLA.BIZ

Thank You

to each of you that have supported the MNLA Foundation over this last fiscal year, September 1, 2012 to August 31, 2013. Your generous contributions enable us to continue to provide research information, scholarships and careers outreach that support the green industry in this region both now and into the future. Thank you for showing your dedication through your time and donations.

Individual and Company Donors Bachman’s Inc. ......................................................................................Dale Bachman Bailey Nurseries ..................................................................................Terri McEnaney Bartlett Tree Experts ................................................................................Erik Paulsen Countryside Gardens ............................................Barb & Laverne Dunsmore Crop Production Services ..........................................................Jerry Langmade Cushman Motor Co. Inc. ..................................................................Tim Commers DH Paver & Stone Restoration, Inc. .............................................Rob Johnson Engwall Florist, Greenhouse, and Garden Center....................Rod Saline Faribault Growers...............................................................................Mike Donahue Gold Finch Farms ................................................................................ Harold Wilkins Happy Land Tree Farms ........................................................................... Ken Olson Hardwood Creek Nursery Inc. .............................................. Dave Kleinhuizen Heidi’s Lifestyle Gardens ...................................................................Heidi Heiland Hoffman and McNamara ...........................................................Mike McNamara K & S Tree................................................................................................ Donna Robling Lakes Area Services Landscaping ......................................................... Wes Pare Living Space Landscapes......................................................Scott Solomonson McGrann Shea ................................................................................ Douglas Carnival Northern MN Nursery ....................................................................... Michael Laine Pierre Productions and Promotions ...............................................Betsy Pierre Prairie Edge Nursery........................................................................Craig Chilstrom Signature Patio & Landscape...................................................................Don Felix Solie for You Landscape Design LLC .................................................Beth Solie St. Croix Tree Service ...........................................................................Dennis Ullom Swanson’s Nursery Consulting, Inc. .......................................... Bert Swanson Tulivane Inc. .................................................................................Suzette Nordstrom U of M West Central Research & Outreach Center .............Steve Poppe University of Wisconsin - River Falls............................................... Terry Ferriss University of Wisconsin - River Falls.............................................David Zlesak Wilson’s Nursery Inc. ..........................................................Jim & Jennifer Wilson Yardscapes, Inc. ................................................................................Dave Kopfmann Kirby Bennett Tim Oberg

Scholarship Sponsors Bachman’s, Inc. Bailey Nurseries, Inc. Countryside Gardens, Inc. Gertens Heidi’s Lifestyle Gardens Hoffman & McNamara Nursery and Landscape Lakeside Lawn & Landscape, Inc. Law’s Nursery, Inc. Malmborg’s, Inc. Mickman Brothers, Inc. Natural Creations Otten Bros. Nursery and Landscaping, Inc Robin D. Linder Memorial Scholarship Rochester Arborist Workshop St. Croix Tree Service Tangletown Gardens LLC Wilson’s Nursery, Inc.

A great number of companies have shown their support by contributing ¼ of 1% of their purchases at participating industry suppliers in the Research and Education Partners Fund program. This investment into the industry’s future is greatly appreciated.

Contributors A Growing Family Business; A To Z Landscaping; A & J Landscape; Above All Landscapes LLC; Abrahamson Nursery; Al Gomez; Alliant Engineering Inc.; Aloha Landscaping; Arborgate Horticultural; Arteka; Aspen Landscape; Attractive Landscape LLC; B & B Landscape; Bachman’s Nursery Wholesale; Baker Sales; Barck Residential Lawn & Landscape; Bartlett Tree Experts; Bear Path Golf Course; Belt Line Properties Inc.; Berg’s Nursery; Branch Landscape Nursery; Breck School; Bridgewater Construction Inc.; Brother’s Tree & Landscape; Burdick Properties; Bush Barber; By The Woods LLC; C & L Outdoor Services; Cadwell Lawn and Landscaping; Cattail Corner Inc; Cedar Ridge Landscaping; Central Landscape Supply; Cerneco Landscape; Check-It-Off; Cherry Greenhouse; Clark Smith Contruction Inc.; Clearwater Tree Farm LLC; Clem Home & Lawn; Complete Landscape; Cooper’s Landscaping; Cornerstone Industries Inc.; Countryside Gardens Inc.; Creative Concepts Contractors; Creative Landscape; Creekside Inc.; Cut Above Wood Company; Daisy Designs; Dakota Landscape and Design; Dan Devereaux; Ditch Creek Landscape; Earthstone Environments Inc.; Earthworks; Eden Trace Corporation; Elizabeth Herrington Designs; Elmore Nursery; Enchanted Forests Inc; Energyscapes Inc.; Envirodesign, Inc.; Environmental Design Inc.; Environmental Landforms; Essig’s Tree & Landscape Inc.; Eufloria; Field Outdoor Spaces Inc.; Fox Landscaping; Funfar Landscaping; G & M Tree Moving; Garden & Landscape; Garden Impressions; Garden Life; Gardeneer; Gethsemane Gardens; Good Shepherd Gardens; Gordan’s Landscape; Gray Gardens Inc; Green Barn Garden Center; Green Lake Nursery Inc.; Greenside Inc; Greenway Lawn & Landscape; Ground Effects; Groundscape; Growing Wild; Guaranteed Green; Hammarlund Nursery; Hay Creek/Pestop; Hedberg Aggregates; Heliotrope Gardens; Hexum Peterson Services LLC; Hoffman and McNamara Co.; Ingram Excavating; Inside Out Landscape LLC; Irrigation By Design; JB Lawn and Landscape; Jeff Reisinger Lawn; Jeff Schafer Landscaping; JJ’s Outdoor Service; Johnson Creek Inc; Justin Malecha Landscape Design; K & S Lawn Maintenance; Karen Woestehoff Garden Design; Karl’s Landscape, Inc.; Katrina’s Gardens; Kerber Homes, Inc.; Kerker Inc.; KHM & Associates Inc.; Kleinman Companies; Klingelhutz Construction; Knecht’s Nurseries & Landscape; Kokesh Landscape LLC; Kottke Lawn and Landscape; L & R Suburban Landscaping Inc.; Lake Country Inc.; Lamettry, Richard; Lan De Con; Landcrafters Inc.; Landsburg Landscape Nursery; Landscape 2000 Inc.; Landscape Renovations Inc.; Landscape Techniques; Landscapes Inc.; Landshapes Inc.; Lano Equipment Inc.; Lawn and Landscape Gardens; Leaf and Limb Landscaping; Lecy Construction Inc.; Leuthner Well Inc.; Lifestyle Creations; Linder’s Greenhouse Inc.; Living Sculpture; Lowes Creek Farm; Lynn’s Garden Party; Main Street Builders; Majestic Lawn & Landscape LLC; Marin’s Gardens; McCulough Landscaping; McGraw Landscaping; McGuire Landscaping Inc; Michael McNamara; Mickman Brothers Nursery; Midland Nursery; Midwest Turf Specialists; Mike Pass Contracting; Miller Maintenance Inc.; Minnehaha Falls Nursery & Garden; Minnesota Green Landscaping Inc.; Minnesota Grounds Maintenance; Minnesota Valley Garden Center; Mom’s Landscaping; Morningside Tree & Landscape; Mother Nature’s Exterior Design; MR Designs; NAR Landscape Services; Natural Landscape Minnesota Inc.; Natural Surroundings; Nature’s View Landscaping; Nature’s Way Lawn Service; New Sight Landscape & Design; No Mow / No Snow; Northeast Tree Inc.; NTC Homes Inc.; OAS Tim; Ostvig Tree Inc.; Otten Bros Nursery & Landscaping Inc.; Out Back Nursery Inc.; Outdoor Dimensions LLC; Pal Al Hardware; Paragon Lawnsculpting; Parkway Lawn Service, Inc.; Patty’s Plant Designs; Perkin’s Landscape Contractors; Petal Pusher Nursery; Picture Perfect Homes Inc.; Pinnacle Lawn & Landscape; Pioneer Trail Landscape; Prairie Landscaping & Tree Service; Precision Yard Services Co.; Premium Quality Trees; Property Upkeep Services; Quali Tree Landscape; Quality Seasons; R L Reynolds Cont.; R S Inc.; Redwood Falls Nursery Inc.; River Creek Nursery; Rosch Enterprises Inc; Roses Garden Gate; Saatzer Management Group; Sam’s Lawn Care Inc.; Samson Trucking and Landscaping Inc.; Sargent’s Landscape Nursery Inc.; Savanna Designs Inc; Scape Creations LLC; Schafer Landscaping; Schrader Enterprises Lawn & Landscape; Schultz Farming; Scott Ryan; Shaw Design Assoc. Inc.; Sheryl’s Gardening Inc.; Shields Landscaping; Shoreline Builders; Smith Massman; Spectrum Sales; Spirit of Nature; St Croix Tree Service; Sterling Lawn and Snow; Sticks & Stones Design; Stone Arch Landscapes; Stone Creations Landscaping; Stonepocket, Inc.; Stonescapes; Sunbelt Sales; Superior Design Landscapes Inc.; Sutherland’s Nursery & Tree Service Inc.; Swedberg Nursery; T.J. Designs; Tamarack Landscaping; Tangletown Gardens LLC; TCO LLC; Tending Your Garden; Terraform Const. Services Inc.; Terrapin Landscape; The Ivy Garden; The Potted Fig; The Tree House; Timber Ridge Homes Inc.; Timeless Gardens; Tim’s Lawn & Landscaping; TLC Landscape; Todd, Les; Todd’s; Tom Mahler; Total-Green. Inc.; University of Minnesota Duluth - Facilities Management; University Of Minnesota - Facilities Management; Vineland Landscape; VIProperty; Waconia Tree Farms LLC; Wall Gardens; Weis Landscape and Design; West Lake Landscape Inc.; Westside Outdoor Maintenance; Wild Orchid Native Gardens; Winco Landscape & Design; Winona Nursery Inc.; Winter Greenhouse; Wittman Landscaping; Wood-Lund Environments; Yardscapes Inc.

We’ve made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this list. If your information is incorrect, please contact Jodi Larson with the MNLA Foundation at 651-633-4987 or Jodi@MNLA.biz.

MNLA FOUNDATION Improving the Environment by Investing in Research and Education

1813 LEXINGTON AVE. N | ROSEVILLE, MN 55113 | 651-633-4987 | FAX 651-633-4986 | MNLA@MNLA.BIZ | WWW.MNLAFOUNDATION.COM

PARTNERS FUND

You are encouraged to participate in the Research & Education Partners Fund at one of the participating suppliers recognized below. Your voluntary donation of Âź of 1% (0.25%) on purchases of plants and other nursery, greenhouse and landscape products at these suppliers is used by the MNLA Foundation to grow a brighter future for the industry.

On an invoice totaling $1,000 at one of these suppliers, your contribution will be only $2.50.

Your individual contribution is small, but collectively these small contributions will add up to make a real difference!

Research for the Real World

Career Development & Promotion

Scholarships

➾ MNLA FOUN DATION

SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS 2 0 1 3 – 1 4 s c holarship re cipients

The MNLA Foundation partnered with 17 member companies to present 24 academic scholarships for the 2013–14 school year. Here is a look at this year’s recipients. For their full bio’s, visit www.MNLAFoundation.com and click on the 2013–14 Scholarship Recipients link.

Dustin Maurer

Richard Green

Sponsored By Lakeside Lawn & Landscape, Inc.

Sponsored By St. Croix Tree Service

School: Central Lakes College Major: Landscape Tech, Greenhouse Diploma Expected Graduation: May 2015

School: Hennepin Technical College Major: Urban Forestry Expected Graduation: December 2014

Future plans: After I feel like I’ve gained enough experience on landscaping installation and gained enough skills to successfully manage a crew, I’m going to try my hand at running my own landscaping business. My area of expertise will be in retaining wall and planting installations. I’ve also been thinking about potentially running a small engine/ atv/ snowmobile repair shop.

Future plans: To go full time at the Scout Camp or with the tree service I’m currently working part time for. I would also like to become a certified arborist and continue learn more about forestry and all its wonders.

Rosetta Peters

Brooke Simonson

Sponsored By Robin D. Linder Memorial

Sponsored By Wilson’s Nursery, Inc.

Scholarship

School: Century College Major: Landscape Design/Horticulture Expected Graduation: 2016

School: Hennepin Technical College Major: Urban Forestry & Horticulture/ Landscape Expected Graduation: January 2015

Future plans: To own my own landscape and lawn care business, and to regain the knowledge of growing food, plants, and flowers and share that knowledge with the next generation. Not only will I have a career in horticulture, but I will implement it in my day to day life.

Future plans: I hope to continue on with my education after I receive my double A.A.S. from Hennepin Technical College out in the field. I am passionate for protecting our natural waterways, lakes, rivers and ponds. I would love to know I did something to ensure their futures for generations to come.

Susan Van Baerle

Jacob Geiser

Sponsored By Hoffman & McNamara Nursery

Sponsored By Otten Bros. Nursery and

and Landscape

Landscaping, Inc

School: Dakota County Technical College Major: Landscape Horticulture Expected Graduation: May 2014

School: Hennepin Technical College Major: Landscape Design & Construction A.A.S. Degree Expected Graduation: December 2014

Future plans: I plan to continue learning about the green industry, sustainable practices and the role various plants can play in supporting wildlife. I enjoy both the art and science of the green industry and hope I will have the opportunity to design and install landscapes that are well designed for people, wildlife and the environment.

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Future plans: After graduation I am hoping to get a job as a landscape designer. It would be a dream job being able to design beautiful works of art using someone’s yard as my canvas to showcase how amazing a yard can be.

Austin Hunter

Erika Van Krevelen

Sponsored By Mickman Brothers, Inc.

Sponsored By Gertens

School: Hennepin Technical College Major: Landscape Design & Construction A.A.S. Expected Graduation: Fall 2014

School: Hennepin Technical College Major: Landscape/Horticulture Expected Graduation: May 2014

Future plans: After graduation, I plan to seek employment as a landscape designer with a business with a solid reputation. Further on down the road, I plan to become an entrepreneur and start my own business. I like the idea of hiring other people who share my interest and helping them have a solid opportunity for their own lives and families.

Future plans: After graduation, I would love to find myself in a career involving the creation, preservation, or restoration of green spaces to help make our cities more livable, or working for a company creating and installing native landscapes. Whatever I end up doing, my main hope is that through my work I am able to help others discover the same appreciation for plants that I have.

Trent Ylitalo

Amber May

Sponsored By Natural Creations

Sponsored By Countryside Gardens, Inc.

School: Hennepin Technical College Major: Landscape Design and Construction Expected Graduation: Spring 2014

School: Hennipin Technical College Major: Landscape/ Horticulture Expected Graduation: 2015

Future plans: After graduation I plan of working for Lee’s Landscaping where I worked last season installing landscapes, with the hopes of one day finding a landscape design job.

Future plans: After I am done with college I plan on working on an organic farm and hope to one day have my own CSA organic farm.

Richard Crandall

Brandon Miller

Sponsored By Malmborg’s, Inc.

Sponsored By Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

School: Hennepin Technical College Major: Greenhouse Technician Expected Graduation: December 2014

School: Iowa State University Major: Horticulture and Agronomy Expected Graduation: May 2015

Future plans: I hope to continue growing and caring for plants. I look forward to finishing my education at Hennepin Technical College and moving into a full-time position in the Greenhouse industry. My long-term goal is to become a head grower and to possibly own a greenhouse range myself.

Future plans: After graduation, I plan to work on a Master of Science degree to expand my knowledge of trees and shrubs. I have experience in both production and the retail sectors. It has long been my dream to open a nursery of my own, with a focus on selling trees and shrubs and specializing in providing new, unique and rare varieties for the Midwest.

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➾ MNLA FOUN DATION

SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS 2 0 1 3 – 1 4 s c holarship re cipients

Taylor Kunkel

Catlin Kersting

Sponsored By Rochester Arborist Workshop

Sponsored By Hoffman & McNamara Nursery

School: Rochester Community and Technical College Major: Horticulture Technology A.A.S. Expected Graduation: Spring of 2014

and Landscape

Future plans: After graduation, I plan to continue to work in the tree care industry, take my certified arborist exam and get more certifications throughout my career. I plan to continue on learning as much as I can in the tree care industry, because it will only benefit me and my career in the industry.

mnla .biz

Future plans: My future plans include working for a small family owned business and maybe even one day possibly owning my own greenhouse. The interactions and the relationships that you create when working a small community and a small greenhouse are very important.

I am a passionate person who loves what I love; totally and completely and I believe that part of the reason so many people are dissatisfied with their jobs is because they are working to live, not performing a labor of love.

Nicole Gabrielson

Erin Pfarr

Sponsored By Rochester Arborist Workshop

Sponsored By Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

School: Rochester Community & Tech College Major: Horticulture Technology AAS Expected Graduation: May 15, 2014

School: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Major: Horticulture with an emphasis in Plant Breeding and Genetics Expected Graduation: Spring 2015

Future plans: I currently work at Sargent’s Landscape Nursery back in the greenhouses.

It has been an amazing experience and I really enjoy the work I am doing. However I still have the dream of being a floral designer and I plan on pursuing that when I find the opportunity. I also have the dream of owning a floral shop someday.

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School: University of Minnesota – Crookston Major: Horticulture Production/ Minor Agronomy Expected Graduation: Spring 2014

Future plans: After graduating with my B.S. in Horticulture I plan to attend graduate school for Plant Breeding and Genetics. I would like to work as an ornamental plant breeder.

Rebecca Gross

Lila Westreich

Sponsored By Tangletown Gardens LLC

Sponsored By Wilson’s Nursery, Inc.

School: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Major: Horticulture Expected Graduation: May 2014

School: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Major: Plant Science Expected Graduation: Fall 2015

Future plans: I want to work in a public garden like the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. I love talking with garden visitors and I hope to do garden maintenance and assist with outreach programs. I am also interested in teaching gardening classes and workshops.

Future plans: I hope to volunteer some of my time with a non-profit organization or a local organic farm, while focusing on research projects. From there, I plan to pursue a graduate school degree in forestry or plant science. I hope to someday be published in a well-known scientific journal, and contribute to the scientific community.

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Laura Hayes

Amy Kiehne

Sponsored By Robin D. Linder Memorial

Sponsored By Law’s Nursery, Inc.

Scholarship

School: University of Wisconsin – River Falls Major: Horticulture Expected Graduation: 2015

School: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities Major: Horticulture and Nutrition Expected Graduation: June 2016 Future plans: My immediate career consists of working continuing to work at Gertens Greenhouse and research at the University of Minnesota to further my knowledge about the nursery industry. In my college career I would like to intern either in sustainable agriculture or hydroponics. I will use these experiences to decide my final career. As of now I am either thinking of owning my own nursery or having a greenhouse with hydroponic greens that I sell to local businesses.

Future plans: My career goals for the Green Industry are to enhance the living landscapes of homeowner’s yards by planning and designing a workable, beautiful and sustainable scenery. While contributing to the Green Industry through my future career as a landscape designer, I would inform and increase the knowledge of the clients I come across. It is my goal to make people comfortable about horticulture and plant life, and help them gain confidence in the future for furthering their landscape.

Mitchell Haase

Mallory Westlund

Sponsored By Bailey Nurseries, Inc.

Sponsored By Bachman’s, Inc.

School: University of Wisconsin – River Falls Major: Horticulture Expected Graduation: Fall 2015

School: University of Wisconsin – River Falls Major: Horticulture-Landscape Design Expected Graduation: January 2014

Future plans: My future career goal is to be an owner of a retail/wholesale greenhouse, incorporating untapped product lines that complement the horticultural products. I want to make it a community center for those interested in horticulture, where they can really collaborate and learn from each others’ knowledge.

Future plans: After I graduate I would like to apply the green industry practices I have spent the last three years learning in a Landscape Design business. Creating a landscape that takes minimized fertilizing, watering, and general upkeep is one way to ensure this for both the customer’s and the environment’s benefit. I also hope to find many opportunities to construct Green Roofs at my job sites. No roof is too small or humble to house a variety of plant life. Let the fun begin!

Angela Arthaud

Travis Eid

Sponsored By Heidi’s Lifestyle Gardens

Sponsored By Robin D. Linder Memorial

School: University of Wisconsin – River Falls Major: Horticulture- Landscape Design Expected Graduation: December 2014

Scholarship

Future plans: Upon graduating, I plan to use the knowledge I have acquired from the classroom as well as real-life experiences to gain employment at a landscape design firm.

I would like to find a company that shares my interest in improving the lifestyles of others while making a positive impact on the environment. I will also strive to become a valued member of the horticulture community.

School: University of Wisconsin – River Falls Major: Horticulture Expected Graduation: May 2014 Future plans: My exact future plans are still up in the air. I would either like to become a landscape designer, or pursue a career in the sales portion of the nursery industry.

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SEO Series, Part 1 of 3

Search Engine Optimization Basics for the Green Industry SEO seems like such a dirty word, yet it has this tantalizing, almost magical, aura about it. “Search Engine Optimization� does not require a degree in rocket science. It requires a basic understanding of how search engines work and a healthy dose of common sense.

Chris Heiler | Landscape Leadership

A

s you’ll see as you read on, search engine optimization is not easy, especially for local small businesses. Ongoing effort is required to rank consistently in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

There is no one-time fix. Sure, your website needs to be designed up front with SEO in mind, but you also have to create meaningful content on a regular basis as well as participate in social media.

The search engines like Google and Bing reward web pages with the right combination of ranking factors, or “signals.” SEO is about ensuring the content on your website generates the right type of signals. We’re going to cover the most important signals, both on-page and off-page, that impact how your local small business website ranks.

How To Do SEO On-Page

As you can probably guess, “on-page” refers to how you optimize the pages on your website to rank higher in the SERPs. There are three primary on-page ranking factors, or signals: Your website content, the site’s HTML and the architecture of your site.

Architecture

You have to make it easy for search engines to crawl your site and index all of your pages.

Your site’s navigation plays a key role here. Make sure your navigation is consistent from page to page and that your web pages are organized in a logical way.

Speed, as in page load time, is also a strong signal to search engines.

The faster your website loads the better. If you have a lot of images on your site these could be inadvertently slowing down your load times.

How To Do SEO Off-Page

Off-page ranking signals may be more important than the on-page ranking factors. And what happens off-site is much more difficult for you to control. This is where reputation and trust come into play. This is why inbound links and social media is so critical in determining how your website’s pages rank.

Links

Content

Each page on your website has an opportunity to rank in the SERPs for specific keyword phrases. This is why creating content on a regular basis, typically by blogging, is so critical to ranking high and frequently in the SERPs. The search engines love fresh content. A local small business who updates their website with original content on a regular basis is considered more relevant and credible.

While search engines love fresh, original content, they also look for signals such as quality of content and relevancy of content. This means creating well-written content of substantial quality that is relevant and timely to website visitors.

Using common keyword phrases that people are actually searching for online is also a strong signal to the search engines. According to the Search Engine Ranking Factors Report, keyword usage contributes to 26 percent of a rankings impact. Clearly, if your local small business is not using keywords properly on your website you are going to fall short in the rankings.

HTML

The meta descriptions, title tags and keywords on your website need to accurately represent what your website and local small business is all about. Again, this is all about showing the search engines that you are credible and that you know what you’re doing. Your site’s meta data needs to be relevant and support each specific page on your site.

Inbound links to your website impact search rankings more than any other factor — 42 percent of impact according to the Search Engine Ranking Factors Report.

According to HubSpot’s State of Inbound Marketing Report, companies who blog regularly have 97% more inbound links than companies that do not blog. The data clearly illustrates the importance of content and how important it is in attracting valuable inbound links.

Bottom line: If your local small business is not creating original content on a regular basis then no one is linking to your website.

When it comes to inbound links, the total number of links is not the only factor. The quality of the inbound links are an even stronger signal to the search engines. You need inbound links from relevant, credible, highly authoritative sites if you want to rank high in the SERPs. Social

Currently, social media contributes to seven percent of the rankings impact according to the Search Engine Ranking Factors Report. The impact of social signals on the SERPs is only going to increase in the coming months and years.

It’s all about reputation and relevance. Are people talking about your local small business online? Are they sharing your content?

Are they interacting with your content by liking it, retweeting it, pinning it, or giving it a +1 on Google+? january 14

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➾ S E O optimization

These are all strong social signals that point to how relevant your green industry business is online. If you are nowhere to be found and no one is talking about you, the search engines see your local small business as less relevant and less reputable.

Trust

There are a couple of factors at play as it relates to trust: History and authority.

Websites that have a long history are seen as more trustworthy to the search engines.

It’s similar to how your customers may view your business: Experience can be a strong signal of trust and authority.

Search engines also consider how long your domain name is registered for. Always maintain your domain’s expiration date a minimum of two years into the future.

Also, do the links you’re sharing on your website make you a trusted authority? If you’re linking to irrelevant websites from your site this can be a strong signal to the search engines that tarnishes your authority and ultimately damages your rankings.

Personal

How your green industry website appears in the rankings is somewhat determined by the individual conducting the actual search. If the individual is in your local community they are more likely to find your local small business.

Again, social signals play a role in this as well which personalizes the search experience even more based on your social graph.

Google and Bing both have introduced these social signals into their search criteria.

The SEO world and the search engines have evolved considerably over the past 10 years — most dramatically over the past three years with social media signals now playing a key factor in how websites rank.

The search engines will continue to get better and better at serving up relevant results for users. It’s up to you to take the proper steps so your local small business remains relevant in the eyes of the search engines.

Rebates range from $2,000 − $7,000 on your choice of Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler vehicles. Available to all MNLA members! Contact Mary at the MNLA office for more information at 651-633-4987.

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Chrysler third square ad.indd 1

10/20/2013 4:24:50 PM

by Chris Heiler, president and founder of Landscape Leadership, and originally appeared on the Landscape Leadership “Inbound Marketing for the Green Industry” blog. Call (800) 681-9169 or visit LandscapeLeadership.com for more information.

This article was written

O ST P M O C O M A Premium S W C O Manure—Based Compost • Nutrient Based • Uniform • Cow Manure Based • Meets NOP Organic Standards • Bulk or Bags • 20 Years Experience

Use As a:

• Mulch • Soil Amendment • Organic Matter Source S 1843 Co.Rd.U Cochrane, WI 54622 608-626-2571 www.cowsmocompost.com email jrosenow@mwt.net

➾ OS H A

OSHA (continued from page 31) inquire what they mean, they state that “all” their employees at the work site have “occupational exposure” to blood because a co-worker might get cut or get a nose bleed, so therefore they provided everyone with the “mandatory” training. Now I would never discourage anyone from providing awareness-level training to all workers about the potential for contracting a bloodborne pathogen if exposed to another person’s blood, but, A) it is not required by the federal OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens standard, and, B) they are also misunderstanding the definition of “occupational exposure” as defined in the standard (it means someone who would normally be expected to be exposed to blood or other body fluids as a part of their normal job duties; e.g.: a surgeon, a designated first-aid provider, a janitor who cleans up after an accident . . .). Furthermore, there is much more required to protect workers who really do have occupational exposure than just training; OSHA standard also require those workers who truly have occupational exposure to BBP’s to be included in all phases of the BBP program, which includes offering the Hepatitis B vaccination series.

Let me close by clarifying that some of the state OSHA programs have regulations that actually DO require a couple of these things listed above. Also, the purpose of this blog post is NOT to discourage employers from choosing to go above and beyond what is required in the OSHA regulations. So feel free to require all of your employees to climb seven feet above the ground on portable ladders while wearing hard hats and fall arrest gear as you show them a hazard communication training and bloodborne pathogens training DVD’s every year; I just don’t want you to do it because you believe it is required in the federal OSHA standards.

Reprinted with permission from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Training blog, which is dedicated to enhancing knowledge of OSHA-related matters, especially in the areas of OSHA training and new/revised OSHA regulations.

marketing space available at state fair! for M N L A M embers

What if you could promote your business to 1,731,162 people this summer? Well, you can!

Beginning in 2014, you can utilize the MNLA Garden at the State Fair to promote your company to the many potential customers passing by this beautiful landscape. How? Pay to sign your company up for a shift to staff the garden during the 12 days of the Fair (your choice of day and time — as available).

You’ll be able to wear your company clothing, pass out business cards and brochures, plus engage with garden visitors as a representative of your company. Each company will also need to donate four hours of labor per three-hour time slot. Your involvement will cost you money and time, but the return on your investment will be a smart addition to your company’s marketing mix, will help support MNLA, and will aid in promotion

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of the careers available in the green industry. Free State Fair tickets and one free parking pass will be provided to each company purchasing a time period.

BONUS OPPORTUNITY for those companies that sign up for a time slot: You’ll have the opportunity to provide a 20-minute presentation on the State Fair’s “Dirt Stage.” Availability of speaking times will be dependent on the Fair’s scheduling, but every effort will be made to schedule it during the time your company is staffing the garden.

on this MNLA member opportunity at the MNLA Garden at the State Fair.

Visit MNLA.biz for more information

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11/6/06

9:18 PM

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George Miller 952-469-6820 gmiller@jeffbelzer.com

Ron Kelly 952-469-6821 rkelly@jeffbelzer.com

John Zadurski 952-469-9817 jzadurski@jeffbelzer.com

Frost

Services

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1-800-621-7910 Email: info@frostserv.com www.frostserv.com

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TAKE PART IN THE

GREEN INDUSTRY DAY ON THE HILL Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Kelly Inn / State Capitol, St. Paul

All Minnesota green industry professionals are invited to attend this event. In order for MNLA to coordinate appointments with your legislators, please register no later than February 21.

“I’ve never done this before. What can I expect?”

• A friendly face-to-face conversation with someone who can make a real impact in your business • To partner with other experienced green industry professionals • To be equipped with the information you need to talk intelligently about the issues

DAY ON THE HILL SUCCESS STORIES

• Helped fix subcontractor indemnification loophole in construction contracts.

• Protected nursery interests in invasive species discussion.

• Protected Green Acres status for nurseries, greenhouses.

• Gained EAB rapid response money plus tree removal and replacement money.

• Reduced update intervals for pesticide applicator training manuals.

• Held back anti-business immigration enforcement measures.

To register, go to the MNLA.biz event calendar and download the form on the Day on the Hill event page. Please reserve your spot by February 21st for the March 5th event.

Questions? Call Tim Power at 651-633-4987, or e-mail tim@mnla.biz.

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The 2014 Northern Green Expo: incredible educational value!

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Northern Green Expo 2014 Generously Supported By:

www.NorthernGreenExpo.org

A Deeper Shade of Green Local Genetic Origins

ExpoSponsorThanks-ScoopHalfPage.indd 1

TM

Native Minnesota Woody & Herbaceous (651) 438-2771 • Fax (651) 438-3816

www.outbacknursery.com

Call us first for all your native planting needs

12/16/2013 1:11:15 PM

➾ mnla news

networking news Garden Center Networking

• Discussed how each GC displays nursery stock and perennials.

date:

• Everyone had a different concept; most merchandised by sun/shade. Some GC merchandised nursery product by matured height. One GC suggested that customers are asked how they would prefer to see the product merchandised.

11/13 – at 9am at Bachman’s – Lyndale Topic:

Nursery Display/Layout

• Signage was also part of the discussion; one GC has colored backers for sun/part sun/ shade.

Commercial Flower Grower Networking

• Well attended with over 40 people participating.

• Participants viewed experimental poinsettia varieties.

date:

11/19 – Open House and meeting at Bachman’s in Lakeville in conjunction with Dummen and Ecke Poinsettia.

• Presentation provided by Dummen Technical Services.

• Attendees toured Bachman’s facilities.

• Lunch was provided by Dummen and SHS/Griffin.

MNLA Certification exam dates

mnla welcomes members new

MNLA Certification: The certification status benefits individuals by instilling pride and confidence, bringing greater value to the nursery and landscape industry, demonstrating commitment to the nursery and landscape industry, and enhancing employability within the industry.

Bronk’s Gardens; Winona, MN; Thomas Bronk, 507-452-8952

Improve your professionalism and become an MNLA Certified Professional.

Digital Planet; Mendota Heights, MN; Shawn Schmidt, 651-233-5800

Exam Opportunities for 2014: January 24, 2014 at Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Center March 7, 2014 at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount For details on the MNLA Certification Program, visit www.MNLA.biz.

The Landscape Store; Hastings, MN; Tony Cordes, 651-437-8644 Wipf Siding; Cottage Grove, MN; Dennis Wipf, 651-621-9415

Redpath Gardens; Wayzata, MN; Molly Jaffray, 952-476-0035 US Sitework LLC; Monticello, MN; Michael Dubois, 763-295-2220 Tom’s Outdoor; Delano, MN; Chrystine Ylitalo, 763-972-6014 Dulcet Fountains & Aeration; Minneapolis, MN; Kent Williamson, 763-559-8084 Scott Family Farms LLC; Sargeant, MN; John Scott, 507-438-1100 Wenzel Omni-Services LLC; North St. Paul, MN; Patrick Wenzel, 651-269-8184

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