BUCKEYE the MAGAZINE
DIAGNOSTIC WALKABOUTS
These interactive, hands-on, in-the-moment events are unique alternatives to traditional classroom sessions or passive webinars. Attendees are invited to ask questions and take pictures along the way to customize their educational experience.
July 7 Cincinnati, OH
Smale Riverfront Park
July 10 Oberlin, OH
Kendal at Oberlin
August 4 Cincinnati, OH
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
August 13 Akron, OH
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens
September 8 Union, KY
Boone County Arboretum
September 25 North Olmsted, OH
Sunset Memorial Park
THE BUCKEYE is the official publication of the Ohio Green Industry Association and is published four times a year.
EDITORIAL / ADVERTISING
ISSN 1536-7940
Subscriptions: $75/year sara@ogia.org
OFFICERS
Abby Thompson President Acorn Farms
David Hupman Immediate Past President
Natorp’s
Matt Turner President-Elect
Turner Landscaping
DIRECTORS
Dean Karbler
1st Impressions Landscape & Garden Center
Peter Lowe
The Dawes Arboretum
Ron Schultz
Willoway Nurseries, Inc.
Robert Siebenthaler
Siebenthaler Company
Joe Vasel
Davis Tree Farm & Nursery
Lori Zatroch
Cuyahoga Community College
Gina Zirkle
Syngenta
STAFF
Tracy Schiefferle Executive Director
Sara Cantees Communications
Natalie Mitchell Finance
THE FINE PRINT
The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, directors or staff and do not constitute an endorsement of the products or featured services. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as members of the OGIA does not constitute an endorsement of the products or featured services.
Summer
ABBY THOMPSON 2025 OGIA President Acorn Farms abbyt@acornfarms.com
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
July Reflections & Seasonal Insights
July is my favorite month of the year, both personally and professionally. Spring is all about getting things done, and for me, it takes until around the 4th of July to recover from the “chaos” of spring. July is the best month to step back and appreciate all the hard work that went into creating a successful spring. It’s also a good time to reflect and prepare for a successful fall season. I enjoy the warm weather, longer days, sunshine, and spending time with friends and family on weekends. It’s an ideal time to get out into the landscape, assess what’s thriving, and determine what might need refreshing.
Maintenance during the summer months is crucial for keeping landscape plants looking their best year-round. By July, annual hanging baskets and planters typically need trimming and extra fertilizer to sustain them through the remainder of summer. It’s also an excellent opportunity to inspect your other landscape plants and trees to ensure they’re in optimal condition. I personally enjoy hand pruning evergreen shrubs in summer, once the new growth has hardened off. Summer is also the perfect time to check for pests or diseases in your landscape. Remember, everything has to eat! I prefer organic methods for pest and disease control in my yard whenever practical, though I understand that’s not always feasible. The internet is a valuable resource for ensuring proper plant care, but visiting your local garden center can be even more beneficial. Garden centers offer the latest information on plant issues and effective treatments.
Summer maintenance is also vital for your company and personal well-being. Whether you operate a garden center, are a grower, or work in landscaping, summer is an ideal
time to reflect on spring successes and identify areas for improvement in preparation for fall. As a manager, I find it essential to collaborate with my team, checking in regularly to address what’s working well and what isn’t. We discuss ways to improve and acknowledge our successes. July and August are also perfect months for taking a summer vacation to recharge ahead of the fall season.
Additionally, summer offers some fantastic trade shows that provide opportunities to connect with colleagues in the green industry. Cultivate, held in downtown Columbus, is one of my favorite events. It attracts incredible annual and perennial growers and propagators from around the world. The educational sessions are informative and beneficial for industry professionals. Each year, I see more woody growers attending, which helps round out the event for all aspects of the green industry. The convention center becomes a vibrant, colorful place— definitely a must-visit if you haven’t attended before. It’s an excellent way to engage with and support the green industry, meet new people, and learn new things.
Have a great summer!
THURSDAY, AUGUST 14TH, 2025
9AM-3PM • RAIN OR SHINE
TRACY SCHIEFFERLE OGIA Executive Director tracy@ogia.org
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
OGIA Welcomes Steve Saunier as Professional Development & Certification Manager
We are excited to announce that Steve Saunier has joined the Ohio Green Industry Association (OGIA) as our new Professional Development & Certification Manager, beginning July 7, 2025.
Steve brings more than eight years of experience in education, workforce development, and program strategy—most recently serving as Manager of Solutions Design & Delivery at Jobs for the Future (JFF), a national nonprofit that drives innovation in education and workforce systems. At JFF, Steve led multistakeholder projects that focused on career pathways, work-based learning, and labor market alignment, and designed scalable professional development for diverse education and workforce audiences.
With a background that includes both national impact and Ohio-based roots, Steve has worked across institutions—from his roles at The Ohio State University in both student advising and recruitment, to his hands-on facilitation of virtual and in-person trainings for learners, educators, and practitioners. His expertise in designing curriculum, engaging stakeholders, and applying labor market insights is a perfect fit for OGIA’s vision of delivering meaningful, modern, and accessible professional development.
In his new role, Steve will lead OGIA’s certification program and professional
development strategy. This includes:
• Overseeing a full-scale revision of our certification program
• Modernizing training materials with bilingual, interactive, and videobased resources
• Implementing a new Learning Management System (LMS) to deliver both in-person and virtual learning
• Designing educational programming that aligns with industry standards and the evolving needs of our members
Steve’s collaborative approach, strategic mindset, and passion for continuous learning will be instrumental as we expand our reach and deliver on our commitment to serve members across the green industry—from students and professionals to educators and employers.
Please join us in welcoming Steve to the OGIA team! He’ll be connecting with many of you in the coming weeks, and we look forward to the positive impact his leadership will bring to our professional development and certification initiatives.
Hi, I’m Steve Saunier, the new Professional Development & Certification Manager at OGIA. I’m a native Ohioan from Knox County and have lived and worked across much of the state. My career has focused on workforce and regional economic development, education, and community engagement, with experience spanning roles at Jobs for the Future, The Ohio State University, and other mission-driven organizations. I’m looking forward to supporting OGIA members through impactful training, certification, and professional development opportunities. Outside of work, I love spending time outdoors—working on DIY projects, mowing/landscaping, and visiting Ohio's many state and metro parks with my family.
DISCOVER YOUR IDEAL EMPLOYEE
YOUR NEXT STEPS START HERE
Are you seeking your next topnotch addition to your team? Look no further! Our cutting-edge job board specializes in connecting employers with talented individuals in the green industry.
TONY SEEGERS
1803 Consulting, LLC
tony@1803consulting.com
Tony is the governmental affairs liaison for OhioPLANT, of which OGIA is a member. OhioPLANT is a coalition of pesticide, landscape, agriculture, nursery and turf professionals. For more information, visit OhioPLANT.com
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE
Ohio’s Budget: Water, Taxes, Pesticides
At the time I am writing this, Ohio’s biennial operating budget is nearing the finish line after the Senate passed its version of House Bill 96, the state’s two-year spending plan covering July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027. While the legislation covers everything from education to infrastructure, two major policy shifts have drawn particular attention: the reshaping of Governor Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio waterquality initiative and the Senate’s push for a flat income tax.
H2Ohio Funding Slashed, Rebalanced
Originally launched by Governor DeWine in 2019, H2Ohio is a multi-agency program aimed at improving Ohio’s water quality through investments in agriculture, wetlands restoration, and infrastructure. In the governor’s introduced budget, H2Ohio was slated to receive $270.3 million over the biennium—roughly continuing the program’s current levels of support.
However, the House-passed version of HB 96, approved in April, reduced H2Ohio funding to $150 million, cutting more than $120 million from the proposal for all three agencies—the Ohio Department of Agriculture (“ODA”), Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (“OEPA”), and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (“ODNR”).
The Senate version redistributed the funding with a clearer emphasis:
ODA: $56.1 million per fiscal year ($112.2 million total)
ODNR: $26.2 million per fiscal year ($52.4 million total)
OEPA: $7.5 million per fiscal year ($15 million total)
This structure prioritized agricultural best practices and soil health initiatives while reducing support for OEPAmanaged water and wastewater infrastructure grants.
Nursery Inspection Fee
The nursery inspection fee had not been increased in several years. To continue to fund ODA’s division of plant health, ODA proposed an increase to the base annual inspection fee for a nurseryperson who produces, sells, or distributes woody nursery stock in Ohio or ships such stock outside Ohio from $100 to $200.
The budget also increases the additional per-acre inspection fee for growing woody nursery stock as follows: (1) in intensive production areas, from $11 per acre, or fraction of an acre, to $15 per acre, or fraction of an acre; (2) in nonintensive production areas, from $7 per acre, or fraction of an acre, to $10 per acre, or fraction of an acre.
Pesticide
Ohio has delegation authority to implement and enforce the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) through the ODA in Chapter 921 of the Revised Code. To keep its delegated status, Ohio’s laws and rules must comply with federal law and regulations. In 2017, the U.S. EPA adopted amendments to the federal code of regulation for FIFRA’s pesticide certification that required changes in states’ laws to keep delegation. States had until March 4, 2020 to come
into compliance, however, due to the pandemic that deadline was extended to 2023. ODA’s FIFRA compliance package was accepted by the US EPA in 2023.
The change in federal law allows for the direct supervision of restricted use pesticide application of noncertified employees (and in the case of private applicators, over employes and/or immediate family members) by commercial and private applicators if the personnel receive what essentially is workers’ protection training. Additionally, federal law specifically now defines what it means to “use” a restricted use pesticide.
Amendments for Ohio’s law to be incompliance with the FIFRA rule changes was part of the House “As Introduced” version of the budget. However, the budget language did not allow for those who are licensed commercial applicators or private applicators of restricted use pesticide to directly supervise their subordinates in the application of those pesticides. Admittedly, the federal training requirement is onerous, but our members wanted the option and do not want Ohio’s law to be more restrictive than the federal rule, which would have been the case with the original language’s elimination of the ability to directly supervise the application of a restricted use pesticide.
OhioPLANT, of which OGIA is a member, drafted an amendment to fix the pesticide language and provide for direct supervision if
the employees were trained in accordance with a program established by the ODA director. The Senate had stripped out all changes to the pesticide program in their version of the budget and they did not accept our amendment. As of the time I am writing this article, we are lobbying the conference committee to adopt the amendment.
If the OhioPLANT amendment is not included in the final version of the budget that goes to the governor, we will work with ODA on a stand alone bill for the fall.
Senate’s Flat Tax Proposal
In a bold move to reshape Ohio’s tax structure, the Senate inserted a provision to establish a flat 2.75% state income tax. The Senate’s plan phases down the state income tax to a flat rate of 2.75% over two years. For tax year 2025, it reduces the top bracket rate (income over $100,000) from 3.5% to 3.125%, while retaining the 2.75% rate for income between $26,050 and $100,000. For tax year 2026, it further reduces the top bracket rate so that a flat 2.75% rate applies to all income over $26,050.
The budget also reduces the tax due on all taxpayers’ first $26,050 of income by $18.69 for taxpayers with an income of $26,051 to $100,000 in 2025. In 2026, the Senate’s budget reduces the amount due by $10 for taxpayers with an income of $26,051 to $100,000 and by $28.69 for taxpayers with an income of more than $100,000, which effectively creates a single
tax bracket of $332 plus 2.75% of income above $26,050.
The flat tax would replace the state’s current graduated income tax brackets, which range from 2.75% to 3.75%.
Supporters of the flat tax, primarily Senate Republicans, argue the move would simplify the tax code, make Ohio more attractive to job creators, and ensure every taxpayer is treated equally. Critics, however, warn that the proposal could significantly reduce revenues—especially during economic downturns—and disproportionately benefit higherincome earners. Some Democrats and public sector advocates have also expressed concern that major tax cuts, combined with reduced funding for environmental programs like H2Ohio, could strain public services in the long term.
As is typical for budgets, the House insisted on its amendments, sending the bill to conference committee. Because the House did not include a flat tax in its version of HB 96, there likely will be long discussions about it in conference committee.
The budget must be finalized and signed into law by June 30 to avoid disruption in state operations.
BY ANDY SPRENGER WorkSpring, Training Specialist
WorkSpring is an OGIA service provider offering FREE HR assistance and more. Check it out and learn more about this benefit of your OGIA membership at ogia.org/ serviceproviders.
HR FEATURE
Maintaining the Machine
Maintenance, irrigation, and summer care needs can drain your bank account, your time, and your energy. When all your outdoor responsibilities and needs become gigantic and one big mess, how do you assess, prioritize, and act on the tasks that need to get done, not just on the tasks you want to get done. This is what we are exploring in this article.
Assess. Another way to think about assessing, is to simply create a “to-do” list; however, keep the list alive. How many times have you worked on a project only to have more problems come up? As those items arise, adjust your list to reflect the changes that have occurred. The following is a graphic that may help with creating a “to-do” list that focuses on prioritization.
Prioritize. As an example, farmers are typically hard workers who understand that when tasks need to get done, they get done; however, even farmers have things they would prefer to do over other tasks. For example, you are farmer and love farming, being outdoors, tending the fields, livestock, etc. You would love to delegate “the paperwork” that is involved to someone else. Of course, if you can hire professionals to assist like WorkSpring for HR or Training, an Accountant for finances, or a Business Manager to support your operation, then do so. But this is not always a reality and sometimes you’ll need to do the very tasks you despise.
You may be thinking, well, I need to get this done. I can’t just avoid it. So, what do I do? It is simple, but it is not easy. It is twofold, your actions and your mindset. Just start doing the item you don’t want to do, but this is where people tend to bite off more than they can chew. Action step 1: Take your list from above and do each item one at a time. Don’t overwhelm yourself with all the tasks that need to be done. This is where a “priority tasks”
list can help see the entire picture in chunks. Action step 2: change your mindset from, this is going to take forever, too, this will get done over time. It is what it is, for now. Again, step 1: take one step forward and step 2: change your thinking.
Act. Acting on the tasks that need to get done takes energy. Have you ever spent your time and energy on a task, only to find out you’ve wasted both on a task that isn’t your #1 priority? After realizing this, were you ready to move on to the next task on your list? If you did move on, you probably would have been physically and emotionally drained trying
to work through your next task. If you didn’t, it’s probably because you didn’t have the energy to do so. Spending the right amount of energy on the right tasks can be difficult. It would be nice to have some energy left over for personal time with family, friends, and other activities.
How do I conserve my energy? The answer is pacing. After writing down your tasks, consider how much time and energy is required to get them done. It’s important to know the timeframe or deadline of the item that needs to be completed. When overwhelmed people tend to lose track of time. They say things like, “This will never end.” The “to-do” list can be overwhelming.
When you start to feel that way, it’s your emotional brain grabbing the wheel and your logical brain is wrestling for control. Take back control by doing various actions, such as taking a 5–20-minute break, purposeful deep breathing, do something you find fun, play candy crush, or ask for help. Do something to take your mind off the list, even for a short period of time. Remember, A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. Don’t distract yourself to the point where you avoid the task or become forgetful of what needs to get done.
There are times when you need to put extra time and effort into getting things done. However, live too long in that stressful space and it will change you personally and professionally into someone you won’t recognize and be comfortable with. Consider that you are a priority as well; that should be near the top of your list. Take time and energy to maintain yourself, because if you can’t do the job then who will?
OGIA EVENT CALENDAR
Subject to change. Visit ogia.org/events for more information.
July 7
July 10
July 31
August 4
August 13
August 14
August 27
September 8
September 17
September 19
September 25
October 16
Smale Riverfront Park Diagnostic Walkabout Cincinnati, OH
Kendal at Oberlin Diagnostic Walkabout Oberlin, OH
Franklin Park Conservatory Diagnostic Walkabout Columbus, OH
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden Diagnostic Walkabout Cincinnati, OH
Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens Diagnostic Walkabout Akron, OH
Landscape Roadshow by Proven Winners Orient, OH
Tree Risk Assessment Qualification Course by Ohio Chapter ISA Westerville, OH
Boone County Arboretum Diagnostic Walkabout Union, KY
Prescription Pruning Qualification Course by Ohio Chapter ISA Upper Arlington, OH
Ohio Chapter ISA Field Day Dayton, OH
Sunset Memorial Park Diagnostic Walkabout North Olmsted, OH
Ohio High School Landscape Olympics Wooster, OH
LANDSCAPE PLANTS FOR
OHIO
Landscape Plants for Ohio: A Professional’s Guide. An 80 page printed publication including, evergreens, ferns, grasses, perennials, shrubs, and trees.
These make fantastic gifts or valuable items for resale to clients, providing a wealth of knowledge on plant identification, optimal growing conditions, planting tips, and more!
To order yours, visit ogia.org/LandscapePlantsOhio
ARE YOU TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ALL THAT YOUR MEMBERSHIP HAS TO OFFER?
OGIA members are entitled to services designed to reduce company expenses while addressing the specific needs of green industry businesses. These providers were chosen by OGIA, and many offer discounts to OGIA members.
Visit ogia.org/serviceproviders for more details.
