January 1986 LAWN INSTITUTE Harvests Volume 32 Number 4 THE HARVEST MIX SPECIAL ISSUE LAWN AND SPORTS TURF - INDUSTRY CHARACTERISTICS AND STATISTICS Among the most frequent requests for information received at The Lawn Institute are those concerned with marketing and distribution of turf and lawngrass construction, maintenance and renovation products and services. We are in regular contact with various businesses, with graduate students working on advanced degrees, with marketing and public relations firms and with turf managers and the general public who feel they are a part of an effort to improve quality of life through landscape enhancement. This issue of Harvests presents selected data and commentary from nine trade journals and from state and national turfgrass surveys during the past five years. LAWN AND SPORTS TURF INDUSTRY CHARACTERISTICS and STATISTICS A review of the literature from the early 1980s has developed a new appreciation of the size and complexity of an industry that services the needs of people interested in lawns and sports turf. Data on various aspects of turfgrass related facilities and on the agribusiness impact of lawns and turf are presented under the following headings: - Agriculture - Land-Use and Development; - Turfgrass Industry - Size and Scope; - State Surveys of the Turfgrass Industry; - Sod Industry; - Golf Turf; - Landscape and Grounds Management Surveys; - National Trade Journal Reader Surveys; - National Garden Surveys; - Do-It-Yourself Lawn Care; - Marketing of Lawn and Garden Products; - Lawn Care Industry. Material presented in these eleven categories is referenced so that additional information may be obtained from articles cited or by contacting those responsible for initiation of specific surveys. The following trade journals and gardening magazines are providing essential services in helping us to better describe and appreciate relationships between products and the development and maintenance of high quality lawns and sports turf: - Garden Supply Retailer; The Miller Publishing Company, P 0 Box 67, 2501 Wayzata Boulevard, Minneapolis MN 55440. Phone: 612/374-5200. Kay Meichisedech Olson, Editor. - Grounds Maintenance; Intertec Publishing Corp, 9221 Quivira Road, P O Box 12901, Shawnee Mission KS 66212. Phone 913/888-4664. Kathy Copley, Editor. - Landscape and Irrigation; Gold Trade Publications Inc, P O Box 156, Encino CA 91426-0156. Phone: 818/343-5961. Bruce Shank, Managing Editor. - Lawn and Garden Marketing; Intertec Publishing Corp, P O Box 12901, Overland Park KS 66212. Phone: 913/888-4664. Wendall Burns, Editor. - Lawn Care Industry; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publications, 7500 Old Oak Boulevard, Cleveland OH 44130. Phone: 216/243-8100. Steve Neumann, Editor. Lawn Servicing; Inter tec Publishing Corp, 9221 Quivira Road, P O Box 12901, Overland Park KS 66212-0930. Phone: 913/888-4664. Kathy Copley, Editor. VT - National Gardening; The National Gardening Association, 180 Flynn Ave, Burlington 05401. Phone: 802/ Ruth Page, Editor-In- 863-1308. Chief . Outdoor Power Equipment; Quinn Publications Inc, 1904 Wenneca, Fort Worth TX 76102. Phone: 817/870-0341. Bill Quinn, Publisher. - Weeds, Trees and Turf; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publications, 7500 Old Oak Boulevard, Cleveland OH 44130. Phone: 216/243-8100. Jerry Roche, Managing Editor. AGRICULTURE - LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT From: Landscape and Turf November - December 1982 FIFTY - FIVE PERCENT OF AMERICAN LAND IS USED FOR AGRICULTURE. - US land area totals about 2,264,000,000 acres; There are 10 acres for each person in the United States; - All our urban and rural housing, shopping,manufacturing and transportion needs occupy less than 5 percent of our land; - Agricultural land amounts to 1,238,000,000 acres or 55 percent of the total; - Non-agricultural land takes up the remaining 1,026,000,000 acres; - Cropland occupies 471,000,000 acres; - Grassland, pasture and range occupy 587,000,000 acres; - Forestland occupies 703,000,000 acres; - Rural transportation, parks and recreation, military and service type uses occupy 158,000,000 acres; - Urban and unclassified land, such as desert, tundra and swamps occupy 345,000,000 acres; - Privately owned land by individuals, businesses and Indian tribes amounts to 1,370,000,000 acres [60 %]; - Federal government owned land amounts to 742,000,000 acres [33 %]; State and local government owned land amounts to 155,000,000 acres [7 %]. From: Better Crops Spring 1985 U S FARMER PRODUCES FOR 78 OTHER CONSUMERS. - In 1983, there were 3.5 million people working on farms; - On July 1,1983, the total U S population was estimated at 234.5 million people; - Thus, farm workers accounted for only 1.5 Z of the population. - In 1983, for every farm worker, there were 5 or 6 nonfarm workers involved in getting farm products to consumers; - Each farm worker in 1983 supplied food and fiber for 57.6 persons in the United States and 21.5 persons abroad. From: Landscape and Turf January - February 1982 THE HOUSING REVOLUTION - For more than 70 percent of Americans the dream of a free-standing, one family house has all but ended; - Today, less than 10 % of all Americans can meet traditional income formulas for a median priced home; - Average home size will drop by at least 25 %; - The majority of new housing will be at densities of at least 10 units to the acre. From: Lawn and Garden Marketing January 1985 RELANDSCAPING: NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR RETAILERS, LANDSCAPERS - Successful relandscapers are doing most of their residential work for older homeowners [35 and over] who are more likely to have more disposable income and homes worth investing some of that extra money in for relandscaping. They tend to be people in the upper-middle class income range who are staying where they are and have decided to upgrade. From: Southern Florist and Nurseryman January 1982 TEN POWERFUL REASONS THE SUNBELT IS "WHERE IT'S AT" FOR HORTICULTURE IN AMERICA - Solar energy in the sunbelt is a major asset; - Winter sunlight intensity is an asset; - Population growth has speeded up in the sunbelt; - Disposable income has risen rapidly in the sunbelt; - Direct contacts with sunbelt growers assure delivery on schedule; - Land values in the sunbelt are more reasonable than elsewhere; - A new breed of horticulturist is taking up the challenge of making a profit in shopping centers; - Sunbelt flowers last; Sound use of "chain of life" programs does indeed offer the sunbelt this additional marketing benefit; - The absence of the deadly "not invented here" disease in the new sunbelt horticultural industry may be the greatest advantage of all in favor of the sunbelt. TURFGRASS INDUSTRY SIZE-SCOPE From: Powergram Earth and Related News MTD Products Inc Bulletins # 61 and 65. EARTH AND RELATED NEWS. - In the United States, lawns occupy an area estimated at between 25,000,000 and 30,000,000 acres; - The 1980 census counted 80,378,283 homes in the United States - up 26.7 percent from 1970. This represents twice the population growth. From:Turfgrass Water Conservation 1985 THE SIZE, SCOPE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE TURFGRASS INDUSTRY. - Urbanization - During the past 100 years the U S population has shifted from an agricultural society to an industrial society - from farm residences to urban, suburban and small town residences; - Existence time for people [eating, sleeping and caring for one's health] has stayed about the same; subsistence time [making a living] has decreased; leisure or discretionary time has increased; - Discretionary income has increased over the years; - Desire for amenities has increased over the years. These involve residential environments, occupational environments, service environments, recreational environments and commuting environ­ ments; - Population increase. The amount of turfgrass acreage apparently coincides with population size. As the U S population continues to increase, so too will the amount of turfgrass acreage; - Turf in a hypothetical city: * Population - 170,000; * Turf facility maintenance involves employment of 166 people; * Other sectors of economic activities turf facilities involve employment of 110 people; supporting * There are 3 bowling greens utilizing 1 acre; * There are 3 cemeteries located on 90 acres; * There are 195 churches on 17 acres of land; * There are 50 city parks covering 628 acres; * There are 6 golf courses utilizing 599 acres; * There are 2 colleges with 156 acres of grounds; * There are 56 schools with 400 acres of grounds; * There are 350 factories located on 47 acres; * There are 45,200 single family residences located on 3,495 acres; * There are 19,600 multiple family residences located on 987 acres; * There are 65,465 total facilities on 6,419 acres; * Average lawn size is 750 square feet in front and 1000 square feet in back; * The homeowner spends on the average $200.00 per year on fertilizer, pesticides, seed and water. This amounts to $9,040,000 a year spent by people living in single family residences ; * Lawns associated with multiple family dwellings cost about $20.00 per unit to maintain each year. This amounts to $392,000 for maintenance, including water; * City parks, cemeteries, schools, churches, colleges and factories are located on 1,338 acres and spend more on water than any other item. Labor, supplies, equipment and water cost $1,100 per acre for a total of $1,471,800; * Golf courses and bowling greens cost $2,200 per acre to maintain each year. For 600 acres, this amounts to $1,320,000; * $12,223,800 in direct expenditures on turf alone significantly affects the economy of this city. This example may be conservative for some parts of the United States. - Turf as a national industry: * In 1965, turfgrass was considered a $4,300,000,000 per year industry; * In 1982, turfgrass was considered a $25,000,000,000 per year industry; * California, Florida, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania all have billion dollar turf industries. Illinois and Texas are very near this level; * Two-thirds of all turf expenditures * Turf management go to maintain home lawns; is labor intensive. It is estimated that 380,000 people make their living directly from the care and maintenance of turf in the United States. For more information: Turfgrass Water Conservation Publication Number: 12405 ISBN 0-931876-69-9 Price $10.00 Contact: ANR Publications University of California 6701 San Pablo Ave Oakland CA 94608-1239 State Surveys of the Turfgrass Industry Sector - Turfgrass Equipment Inventories in New Jersey by Sectors, 1983 Replacement Total Value dollars 1,129,781,300 20,000,000 114,038,868 21,339,350 22,932,200 30,208,650 16,888,200 4,027,150 2,720,650 10,524,000 18,066,600 40,000,000 1,430,526,968 Total Annual Depreciation dollars 112,978,130 1,500,000 6,392,526 1,387,353 1,528,973 1,875,912 1,107,507 382,727 191,293 786,570 1,396,350 4,000,000 133,527,341 Home lawns Multifamily Golf courses Cemeteries Parklands Schools Churches Institutions Airports Highways Sod farms Comm/Industrial State total From: An Economic Survey of New Jersey Turfgrass. June 1985 - Total Turfgrass Acreage in New Jersey by Sector, 1983 Acres/ Unit Sector Home lawns Multifamily Golf courses Cemeteries Parklands Schools Churches Institutions Airports Highways Sod farms Commercial-industrial State total a = harvested and unharvested sod. 0.30 0.05 113.29 15.00 14.62 10.14 1.55 101.69 50,71 — 203,70 - - Total Acreage 660,000 9,850 25,717 16,500 45,203 23,200 7,770 8,135 3,854 19,650 5,500a 40,000 865,379 - Annual Turfgrass Maintenance Costs in New Jersey by Sector,1983 Sector Per acre Cost dollars 327 2,071 1,922 1,199 547 903 1,424 977 486 245 1,750 516 Total Cost dollars 215,898,530 20,397,400 49,416,808 19,775,613 24,710,892 20,943,296 11,066,239 7,943,966 1,874,065 4,805,192 70,000,000 446.832.001 Home lawns [1] Mutifamily Golf courses Cemeteries Parklands Schools Churches [1] Institutions Airports Highways Comm/Industrial State total [1] Excludes unpaid labor Turfgrass Employment in New Jersey by Sectors, 1983. Sector Paid Full-time Worker Equivalents Unpaid Labor in FTW Equivalents 38,675 Home lawns [1] 3,075 Multifamily [1] 640 Golf courses 1,920 Cemeteries 1,320 Parklands 825 Schools 1,100 Churches [1] 280 Institutions 530 Airports 135 Highways 130 Sod farms 175 Comm/Industrial [1] 4,000 State total 14,130 [1] Includes lawn—service company employees. empty table cell empty table cell empty table cell empty table cell empty table cell empty table cell empty table cell empty table cell empty table cell empty table cell 39,145 470 - New Jersey Home Lawns: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983 Cost item Per acre cost Lawn services Other paid labor Purchased materials Equipment depreciation Value of family labor [1] Total without family labor Total with family labor [1] at the minimum wage of $3.35. dollars 66.39 31.64 57.91 171.18 392.61 327.12 719.73 - New Jersey Golf Courses: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983 Item Per acre cost Fertilizer Lime Herbicides Fungicides & Insecticides Multipurpose products Seed Sod Top dressing Repairs Fuel Labor Depreciation Total dollars 69.83 15.87 28.61 131.69 9.07 24.37 6.64 43.58 148.96 71.95 1,122.42 248.57 1,921.56 - New Jersey State Parks and Historical Sites: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983 Item Per Acre Cost Fertilizer Lime Pesticides Seed Sod Repairs Fuel Labor Depreciation Total dollars 4.22 1.20 3.68 2.36 .21 52.50 18.83 211.65 35.38 330.03 - New Jersey Cemeteries: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983 - New Jersey Public Schools: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983 Item Per acre cost Item Per Acre Cost Fertilizer Lime Pesticides Multipurpose products Seed Sod Repairs Fuel Labor Depreciation Total dollars 5.26 1.76 11.45 3.00 9.78 3.99 40.57 38.84 999.79 84.08 1,198.52 - New Jersey County and Municipal Parks: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983 Item Per Acre Cost Fertilizer Lime Chemicals Multipurpose products Seed Sod Repairs Fuel Labor Depreciation Total dollars 28.72 8.00 21.99 5.14 10.60 .51 60.51 50.17 339.72 33.74 559.10 Fertilizer Lime Top soil Herbicides Fungicides & insecticides Multipurpose products Seed Fuel Repairs Labor Depreciation Total dollars 74.00 10.00 13.61 16.06 17.15 6.11 16.81 37.52 50.74 579.87 80.86 902.73 - New Jersey Houses of Worship: Annual Maintenance Costs,1983. Item Fertilizer Lime Pesticides Multipurpose products Seed Sod Repairs Fuel Paid labor Unpaid labor Depreciation Lawn services Total without unpaid labor Total with unpaid labor Per acre cost dollars 149.08 7.42 6.42 3.13 30.65 55.41 147.77 100.70 240.25 464.00 142.54 540.86 1,424.23 1.888.23 - New Jersey Institutions*: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983. Item Per acre cost Fertilizer Lime Pesticides Multipurpose products Seed Sod Repairs Fuel Labor Depreciation Total * County colleges, university campuses, dollars 19.43 3.89 16.19 1.54 10.40 0.73 33.77 29.68 813.84 47.05 976.52 state colleges, private colleges, correctional, health, preparatory schools. — New Jersey Airports: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983 Item Per acre cost Fertilizer Lime Pesticides Multipurpose products Seed Repairs Fuel Labor Depreciation Total dollars 8.10 4.35 1.72 .37 1.89 16.26 19.41 384.53 49.63 486.26 - New Jersey Highways: Annual Maintenance Costs, 1983 Item Per acre cost Fertilizer Lime Herbicides Fungicides & insecticides Multipurpose Seed Repairs Fuel Labor Depreciation Total dollars 4.39 3.55 14.01 2.17 11.21 2.51 12.76 47.09 106.82 40.03 244.54 - New Jersey Sod Farms: Annual Production Costs, 1983 Item Fertilizer Lime Herbicides Fungicides & insecticides Seed Repairs Fuel Labor Depreciation Total [1] acre cost of Per sod sold dollars 192.05 24.63 67.27 73.95 110.91 396.45 344.04 1,011.48 734.92 2,955.70 [1] Water and pumping costs were not assessed. For more information on An Economic Survey of New Jersey Turfgrass, Contact : Professor Henry W Indyk Extension Specialist Turfgrass Management Rutgers University Soils & Crops Department P O Box 231 New Brunswick NJ 08903 From:Weeds Trees and Turf August 1985 TURFGRASS TOPS BILLION DOLLAR MARK IN VIRGINIA - Home lawns in Virginia amount to almost 500,000 acres; - There are 1,100,000 home lawns, a 27 percent gain since 1972; - There are 826,000 total acres of turfgrass in the state; - Turfgrass ranks as the third largest crop acreage in Virginia; - The dollar amount of the turfgrass industry doubled in the last decade; There are 246 golf courses in Virginia; - The cost of golf course turf, establishing new areas and purchasing equipment exceeds $32,000,000 annually. This is more than triple the total in 1972. Paid labor costs are believed to be responsible for much of that increase. From: The Rhode Island Nurserymen's Newsletter Summer 1985 VALUE OF TURF TO THE ECONOMY OF RHODE ISLAND - Assumptions made: * Expenditures for turf maintenance are directly related to population; * Increases in cost of turf maintenance follow the Consumer Price Index; * The mix of expenditures in several categories is similar in Rhode Island to that in other states; * A fourth multiplier is used to recognize the different climatic regions from which data were taken. - Approximate expenditures for turf maintenance in Rhode Island in 1982 - based upon Rhode Island population of 930,000. Survey Year St Popul. Mill. PA WV FL OK 1966 11.5 1967 1.8 1976 9.7 1978 3.0 Average value Turf Exp. Mill. 164.8 31.8 538.9 69.5 CPI Mult Seas Mult Appr ’82 RI Turf Exp, Mill. 2.9 2.8 2.2 1.9 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.8 38.6 46.0 56.8 32.8 43.5 - Estimated annual expenditures for turf maintenance by category in Rhode Island in 1982. *1970 Estimate $ Expenditures **1982 Estimate $ Expenditures Category Airports Athletics Cemeteries Golf Courses Home lawns Indust lawns Parks Public Prop Roadsides Schools Total * 1970 estimate by C R Skogley ** Calculated using 2.7 CPI inflator 40,000 60,000 500,000 2,800,000 12,000,000 200,000 125,000 25,000 150,000 80,000 15,980,000 108,000 162,000 1,350,000 7,560,000 32,400,000 540,000 337,500 67,500 405,000 216,000 43,146,000 1970-1982. - Rhode Island has experienced rapid growth in commercial sod production since 1970. A harvest of 1,000 acres of sod per year would add about $4,800,000 to the $43,146,000 for a total of $47,946,000. - 1980 data from the Rhode Island Department of Economic Development lists the value of crops and livestock sold at $32,400,000 and the value of fish landings at $46,100,000. An economic impact of turf at $47,946,000 places this commodity first. For more information on the Turfgrass Industry in Rhode Island, contact: Professor D Thomas Duff Department of Plant Science University of Rhode Island Kingston RI 02881. SOD INDUSTRY From: Florida Turf Digest December 1985 SOD PRODUCTION SUMMARY - Florida sod production in 1974 totaled 44,150 acres: * 30,633 cultivated * 13,517 pasture. - Palm Beach County reported over 17,000 acres of sod in production in 1982. This was primarily on muck soil around Lake Okeechobee and had a market value in excess of $25,000,000. - Labor for sod production - five full time and two part-time employees for a 250 acre farm; - Capital costs for St Augustinegrass sod production is approximately $1250 per acre exclusive of land investment; - Production costs for St Augustinegrass sod production is about $550 per acre; - Net profit for St Augustinegrass sod production per acre [return to risk] including interest and principal payments was on approximately $275 per acre, assuming 100 % financing of capital outlay. expenditures capital From: Weeds Trees and Turf July 1983 SOD INDUSTRY FIGHTS BACK WITH CUSTOMER EDUCATION AND HIGH QUALITY TURFGRASS - Average seed expenditures for sod dropped from $6,318 in 1'980 to $5,577 in 1981 to $4,394 in 1982. About 50 percent of sod growers thought seed purchases would increase in 1983; - About 50 percent of sod growers thought prices would stay about the same; - About 50 percent of sod growers were interested in trying more expensive improved seed varieties; - On the average, sod managers work with 276.5 acres of sod; - Sod production is the primary business of over 80 percent of the sod growers; - In 1981 and 1982 about half of the sod growers reduced their acreage; - Importance of Buyers in the Sod Market: empty table cell Landscape Contractors Homeowners Cemeteries Golf Courses Garden Centers Schools/Parks Impor. 46 30 6 5 13 15 Moder. Impor. 5 16 17 28 20 19 Not Impor. 1 7 20 20 14 11 - Average Number of Employees: Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 Full-Time Part-time 7.28 7.54 8.0 6.08 8.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 - Expenditures fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides amounted to $2,160 on the average in 1982; fungicides, for — Average of insecticide expenditures •alone amounted to $2,240. From: Grounds Maintenance July 1983 SOD SALES FORECASTING - SORT OF - For 200,000 housing starts [single family dwellings] there are about $27,000,000 worth of sod sold in the north; - For 300,000 housing starts [single family dwellings] there are about $45,000,000 worth of sod sold in the north; - For 400,000 housing starts [single family dwellings] there are about $65,000,000 worth of sod sold in the north; - In the south, for 200,000 housing starts [single family dwellings] there are only about $7,000,000 worth of sod sold. Golf Turf From: Florida Turf Digest February 1985 VALUE OF GOLF TURF TO FLORIDA - Florida leads the nation in the number of new golf courses constructed; - Since 1980 from 25 to 30 new courses have opened annually; - Since 1980 from 10 to 15 new courses have opened each year in California; In January 1983 there were 751 golf courses in Florida - - 18 hole regulation courses - 488; 9 hole regulation courses - 91; - 18 hole executive courses - 82; - 9 hole executive courses - 29; - 18 hole par 3 courses - 10; 9 hold par 3 courses - 41. - A survey of 18 hole regulation executive courses in 1983 - and * Regulation: - 145 acres per course; - $306,000 annual maintenance - 10 employees per course; - 45,000 rounds of golf annually. cost ; * Executive: - 54 acres per course; - $156,000 annual maintenance cost ; - 5 employees per course; - 45,000 rounds of golf annually. - Estimated totals for all golf courses in Florida based on 1983 data: - Total acreage = 83,667; - Total maintenance cost annually = - Total number of employees = 5934; - Total rounds of golf annually = $176,927,000; 33,795,000. - The 751 courses in Florida are included in 642 different facilities with operations budgets of approximately $156,000,000. Thus, the total cost each year of maintaining and operating golf facilities in Florida is $332,927,000. There are some 10,000 total employees; - Golf course land on the average is assessed at $3,000 per acre. This yields a total of $251,001,000 for tax purposes; - Seventy four out of 751 golf courses are publicly ownned and not subject to property taxes; - The median expenditure for golfers in the southeastern United States is $1280 annually; In 1983 there were 10,400,000 residents in Florida. Seventeen and three tenths percent play golf. This accounts for 1,800,000 golfers who spend some $2,300,000,000 a year; - In 1982 there were 39,300,000 tourists in Florida. Eleven and three tenths percent played golf while there. Six and two tenths to 8.7 percent came to Florida just to play golf. All tourists combined spent $21,500,000,000. It is estimated that $1,300,000,000 was spent on golfing vacations; - Florida has two developmental fronts - the golf front and the water front; In the southeastern United States over 60 Z of the golfers are either retired, students or homemakers. The less than .40 % that are employed have a median income of $33,000. For more information Contact: Florida Turf-Grass Association 302 South Graham Ave Orlando FL 32803 305/898-6721 From: Weeds Trees and Turf January 1985 THE GOLF BATTLEGROUND - A 1983 Statistical Profile of Golf in the United States reported by the National Golf Foundation included the following: * Estimated 14,000,000 golfers in the US; * Golfers spend $43,000,000 in greens fees; * Golfers spend $16,000,000 in rental of golfing equipment and carts; * Overall 18-hole courses have average crews of 9 people; * Overall 9-hole courses have average crews of 3.5 people; * Overall southern courses average 10 crew members; * Overall transition zone courses average 7.5 crew members; * Overall northern courses average 8 crew members. - Budgets by Type of Course [average of 183 responses] BUDGETS BY TYPE OF COURSE ETC Type of Course Maint­ enance Budget Herbi­ cide Budget Insec­ ticide Budget Fungi­ cide Budget: 9-hole 18-hole Daily fee Private Public Resort All course $54,209 $221,245 $131,038 $234,905 $194,089 $341,429 $208,798 $ 1,198 $5,568 $2,586 $5,909 $5,678 $7,101 $5,160 $ 1,323 $4,164 $2,073 $4,645 $3,337 $7,286 $3,957 $3,648 $8,413 $5,399 $10,059 $4,859 $7,271 $7,855 From: National Golf Foundation Survey Fall 1984 - US golf courses spend $1,700,000,000 a year to maintain their facilities; - $137,000,000 is spent each year for new maintenance equipment; - $103,000,000 is spent on projects to - $1,500,000,000 yearly improve existing facilities; represents maintenance operating costs; Personnel costs represent the largest single expense category for maintaining the nation's golf courses - 60 to 70 %; The nation's golf courses currently have a maintenance equipment inventory valued at over $1,800,000,000. For more information On The Golf Course Maintenance Report - a copy can be obtained at a cost of $40.00. Contact : National Golf Foundation 220 Castlewood Drive North Palm Beach Florida 33408 305/844-2500 Renova­ tion Budget $ Ferti­ lizer Budget Winter Over­ seed $ 117 4,368 $4,298 $11,039 $1,711 $8,560 $4,943 $11,700 $2,363 $10,050 $26,286 $11,833 $4,201 $11,178 $ 547 $2,083 $748 $2,435 $1,323 $1,833 $1,829 From: Landscape and Irrigation February 1984 GOLF COURSE SURVEY - Golf course superintendents in Arizona, northern and southern California, Colorado, Oregon, Texas and Washington were surveyed. - For 18 hole golf courses [averages]: to $800,000 range; $200,000 per year; tenance budgets; maintenance budgets; $428,617; - 158 acres; - 120 acres irrigated and mowed; - Public courses averaged 161 acres; - Private courses averaged 155 acres; - Maintenance budgets averaged $336,990 ; - Many budgets reached within the $700,000 - Some courses are maintained for less than - Private clubs averaged $365,780 for main­ - Public courses averaged $308,200 for - Budgets in southern California averaged - Budgets in Arizona averaged $415,000; - Colorado clubs spent about $397,000; - Northern California clubs averaged $343,636; - Texas - $259,000; Washington - $162,500; Oregon - $128,000 These were lowest in the budget category. - Annual capital expense budgets: - Average golf course spent about $50,971; - Private clubs - $52,809; - Public courses - $49,133; - Southern California averaged $57,733; - Texas - $51,538; - Colorado - $50,000; - Arizona - $42,500; - Northern California - $35,000; - Washington - $21,600. - Annual irrigation expenses: - Average [non-well] course spent $42,604 for water while 20 % of the courses had wells and paid no water bills; - Public facilities paid $47,125 for water with 33 % using wells; - Private courses paid $38,083 for water with 20 % using wells; - Southern California had an average water bill of $49,888. Several costs were as high as $100,000 and the highest was $125,000; - Texas averaged $14,500 for water but 55 Z of the courses had their own wells. - Oregon averaged $3,000 for water with Washington averaging $1,000; - Northern California paid $38,666 on the average; - Colorado averaged $38,400. - Electricity costs; - Average course spent $19,583; - Private courses spent $22,809; - Public courses spent $16,357; - Arizona averaged $67,666; - Texas averaged $28,000; - Southern California averaged - Northern California averaged - Colorado averaged $13,400; - Washington averaged $7,000; - Oregon averaged $5,000. $18,538; $10,222; - Irrigation system repair and maintenance costs: - Average course spent $8,590; - Private courses spent $8,900; - Public courses spent $8,281. - Equipment maintenance costs: [extreme cost $73,000]; - Average course spent $20,153; - Private courses spent $23,307; - Public courses spent $17,000. Fertilizer and chemical costs: - Average course spent $25,746; - Private courses spent $27,461; - Public courses spent $24,032 [extreme cost $80,000]; - Type of irrigation system: 61 % electric; 23 % hydraulic; 7 % combination electric and hydraulic; 9 % manual - Southern California used 73 % - Texas used 57 % hydraulic; - Northern California used 95% hydraulic; electric. - Labor: - Average course employed 13 workers at a cost of $170,487. This made the mean salary $13,588. - Private courses paid 14 employees $14,046 for a total of $185,033. - Public courses paid 12 employees $13,131 for a total of $155,937. Landscape and Grounds Management Surveys From: Grounds Maintenance October 1985 1985 GROUNDS MAINTENANCE SURVEY - Median Salaries of 283 Parks Respondents Region Northeast Southeast Plains Mountains Southwest West coast Responses 93 54 33 14 27 51 Median Salary $25,300 $25,700 $26,650 $31,250 $27,900 $29,850 - Golf Courses * 1984 11 157 6 14 1985 10 160 6 14 $25,500 84% yes $25,550 83Z yes empty table cell Employees supervised Number of acres Years in current job Years in the industry Salary Received salary incr in last year ? If received incr in last year,what % ? Eligible for raises on spec schedule? If yes, what schedule? A=annual,S=semiannual Do you receive a cost of living raise ? If yes, annually? Days of pd sick leave per year pd holidays per year pd vacation days after 5 years #-20% of respondents have unlimited sick 92%A 1%S 28% yes 76% yes 11# 8 16 9% 68% 94%A 6%S NA NA 10 7 NA leave; 23% have no pd sick leave. 8% 63% - Government Grounds/Parks * empty table cell 1984 9 237 6 13 1985 12 398 8 14 $27,600 87% yes 7% 70% yes Employees supervised Number of acres Years in current job Years in the industry Salary Received salary incr in last year ? If received incr in last year,what % ? Eligible for raises on spec schedule? If yes, what schedule? A=annual,S=semiannual Do you receive a cost of living raise ? If yes, annually? Days of pd sick leave per year pd holidays per year pd vacation days after 5 years #-4% of respondents have unlimited sick $27,800 87% yes 7% 68% yes 86%A 6%S 57% yes 78% yes 13# 12 17 80%A 20%S NA NA 15 11 NA leave; 3% have no pd sick leave. - Office and Industrial Complexes * empty table cell 1984 7 67 5 10 1985 7 49 5 10 Employees supervised Number of acres Years in current job Years in the industry Salary$26,700 Received salary incr 90% yes in last year ? If received incr in 7% last year,what % ? Eligible for raises 87% yes on spec schedule? 96% A If yes, what schedule? 4%S A=annual,S=semiannual Do you receive a cost NA of living raise ? NA If yes, annually? Days of pd sick leave 15 per year 9 pd holidays per year pd vacation days after NA 5 years #-26% of respondents have unlimited sick $24,000 90% yes 7% 84% yes 90%A 4%S 27% yes 41% yes 12# 10 16 leave; 11% have no pd sick leave. - * Unless otherwise indicated, numbers represent the median rounded to the nearest whole number. Median means the middle number: one half the responses were above and one half were below. - Educational Institutions * - Cemeteries * empty table cell 1984 9 128 7 13 1985 11 161 7 13 Employees supervised Number of acres Years in current job Years in the industry Salary Received salary incr in last: year ? If received incr in last yepr,what % ? Eligible for raises on spec schedule? If yes, what schedule? A=annual,S=semiannual. Do you receive a cost of living raise ? If yes, annually? Days of pd sick leave per year pd holidays per year pd vacation days after 5 years #-7% of respondents have unlimited sick $24,050 93% yes 7% 71% yes 94%A 2%S 40% yes 63% yes 13# 12 18 $22,450 86% yes 7% 74% yes 95%A 5%S NA NA 15 10 NA leave; 2% have no pd sick leave. 1985 9 95 8 14 empty table cell Employees supervised Number of acres Years in current job Years in the industry Salary Received salary incr in last year ? If received incr in last year,what % ? Eligible for raises on spec schedule? If yes, what schedule? A=annual,S=semiannual Do you receive a cost of living raise ? If yes, annually? Days of pd sick leave per year pd holidays per year pd vacation days after 5 years #-9% of respondents have unlimited sick 1984 8 90 9 14 $23,400 522,900 93% yes 7% 63% yes 94%A 6%S NA NA 13 8 NA 85% yes 8% 82% yes 86%A 14%S 21% yes 57% yes 11# 7 14 leave; 15% have no pd sick leave. - Hospitals * - Landscape Contractors and Lawn Services * 1985 5 54 6 13 1984 9 128 7 13 empty table cell Employees supervised Number of acres Years in current job Years in the industry Salary Received salary incr in last year ? If received incr in last year,what % ? Eligible for raises on spec schedule? If yes, what schedule? A=annual,S=semiannual Do you receive a cost of living raise ? If yes, annually? Days of pd sick leave per year pd holidays per year pd vacation days after 5 years #-2% of respondents have unlimited sick $22,450 $22,650 86% yes 78% yes 7% 74% yes 80% yes 95%A 5%S NA NA 15 10 NA 83%A 3%S 64% yes 88% yes 13# 8 19 leaVe; 2% have no pd sick leave. 6% empty table cell 1984 5 91 6 9 1985 7 98 6 10 Employees supervised Number of customers Years in current job Years in the industry Salary Received salary incr in last year ? If received incr in last year,what % ? Eligible for raises on spec schedule? If yes, what schedule? A=annual,S=semiannual Do you receive a cost of living raise ? If yes, annually? Days of pd sick leave per year pd holidays per vear pd vacation days after 5 years #-16% of respondents have unlimited sick $22,700 $23,150 62% yes 12% 34% yes 91%A 9%S NA NA 71% yes 12% 40% yes 8 3% A 8%S 13% yes 69% yes 7# 8 14 40 or more leave; 43% have no pd sick leave. 8 NA * Unless otherwise indicated, numbers represent the median rounded to the nearest whole number. Median means the middle number: one half the responses were above and one half were below. - Utilities and Transportation * empty table cell 1985 9 585 15 19 1984 10 526 10 13 Employees supervised Number of acres Years in current job Years in the industry Salary Received salary incr in last year ? If received incr in last year,what % ? Eligible for raises on spec schedule? If yes, what schedule? A=annual,S=semiannual Do you receive a cost of living raise ? If yes, annually? Days of pd sick leave per year pd holidays per year pd vacation days after 5 years #-23% of respondents have unlimited sick $30,000 $31.650 85% yes 6% 65% yes 91%A 8%S NA NA 17 12 NA 92% yes 7% 62% yes 88%A 13%S 31% yes 63% yes 14# 12 15 leave; 100% have pd sick leave. - * Unless otherwise indicated, numbers represent the median rounded to the nearest whole number. Median means the middle number: one half the responses were above and one half were below. From: Weeds Trees and Turf April 1985 THE GOVERNMENT DILEMMA: AGRONOMICS VS BUDGETS - A survey of government landscape managers revealed the following: * The average manager has 11 years experience in the industry; * These managers supervise an average landscape crew of 11 [high of 50, low of 1]; * These managers on the average are responsible for 889 acres [high of 10,000, low of 3]. An average of 34 acres is devoted to athletic fields; * Importance of duties performed: empty table cell Roadside maintenance Athletic fields Buildings[outdoor maintenance] Buildings[indoor maintenance] Park maintenance School Maintenance very imp 23% 64% 40% 54% 48% 34% . 08% (65.29% not imp 44% 22% 30% 23% 29% imp 43% 14% 30% 23% 23% empty table cell not imp 10% 6% 45% 84% 59% 88% 70% * Budgets in 1985 ranged from a high Turf management Tree management Street maintenance Snow removal Golf Course[s] Military Installation Airport Cemetery very imp 51% 51% 21% 39% .13% 60.87% .8% 0 3% 19% imp 39% 43% 34% 8% 41% 9% 11% of $8,000,000 to a low of $1,500; * About 25 percent of budgets go to roadside vegetation management; * Funds come from city budgets, user fees, state agencies, special taxes, cemetery lot sales, internments and gasoline taxes; * Projections for total expenditures for 1985 were: Dry applied turf fertilizer $34,200,000 Liquid applied turf fertilizer $5,340,000 Pre-emergence herbicides $7,210,000 Post-emergence herbicides $9,840,000 Turf insecticides $3,710,000 Wetting agents $616,000 Fungicides $3,970,000 Growth regulators $1,500,000 From: Weeds Trees and Turf December 1984 YEARNING FOR RECOGNITION - A major difficulty in servicing the athletic field market has been that there is no such thing as a typical athletic field manager; - The average budget for chemicals and equipment for athletic fields is $16,000; - On the average,track surfaces and pits are worth $117,400 and fencing around fields is worth $52,000. Equipment is worth $163,000 and stadium building and stands are valued at $1,570,000; - Salaries range from $12,000 to $40,000 annually: * $12,000 to $19,000 range - 14 % * $20,000 to $25,000 range - 48% * $25,000 to $30,000 range - 26 %. From: Associated Landscape Contractors of America October 1984 LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT SURVEY RESULTS - Regions cited are as follows: 4. IL, WT, TN, MI 1. CA, OR, WA, AK, HI 2. UT, CO, MT, ID, MN, WY, ND, SD, NV, IA, NE, KS, MO 3. TX, OK, AZ, NM 5. OH, PA, VA, WV, MD, DE, KY 6. NY, NJ, CT, MA, VT, NH, ME, RI 7. NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, TN, AR - Wage Survey: - The following job descriptions are intended to depict only a general format of the responsiblities of the individual. Your company may not have the same title and, further, may not have such a position in your organization. Production Manager Oversees and directs all field operations. Responsible for cost control, quality control, preparing bids, submitting related budget data and liason between client and company. Develops foremen and supervisors. Enforces company policies. 3 Region 5 4 2 1 6 7 Low $26,000 $17,680 $24,000 $18,720 $18,720 $22,000 $15,600 Aver $31,024 $22,686 $31,700 $26,752 $23,744 $32,000 $24,463 $38,000 $32,000 $48,000 $40,000 $26,000 $45,000 $37,000 High Production Supervisor - Schedules work, equipment, etc, for all crews. Hire/fire work force. Prepares fertilizer/chemical application and procedures. Review time sheets and approves. Performs field training for crew members. Region 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $20,000 $15,000 $17,000 $18,000 $13,520 $17,680 $11,400 Low Aver $23,889 $16,977 $19,780 $19,991 $19,304 $19,850 $17,806 $32,000 $20,000 $24,000 $30,000 $23,000 $23,000 $25,000 High Route/Site Foreman Directs all activities and personnel at the job site. Solve on-site problems. Responsible for proper equipment and tool maintenance, budgeted hours, safety and site quality. Region 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $12,480 $10,400 $11,440 $12,500 $10,400 $14,560 $10,400 Low Aver $15,817 $13,291 $15,657 $15,740 $14,780 $16,997 $13,435 $18,000 $17,680 $22,500 $20,000 $18,000 $19,500 $18,000 High Equipment Operator Operates riding landscape equipment ;and performs minor routine service and repair of equipment. Performs horticultural tasks assigned, depending on season. Region Crew Member 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $9,500 Low $12,480 Aver $13,885 $11,232 $20,980 $13,120 $12,123 $12,300 $11,754 $15,600 $12,480 $45,000 $20,000 $18,000 $13,500 $16,640 High $9,360 $10,400 $10,000 $9,360 $11,440 - Works with route/site foreman in performing various duties such as mowing, edging, raking, weeding, fertilization, watering, etc. Region Low Aver High Shop Foreman 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 $8,320 $10,967 $12,000 $11,440 $11,440 $15,000 $12,000 $7,282 $9,360 $9,490 $10,917 $9,360 $9,331 $6,500 $11,440 $9,605 $10,691 $8,000 $9,450 $9,776 $11,440 - Oversees and directs shop operation with minimum of one mechanic subordinate. Competitively procures mowing and small engine parts and supplies. Maintains inventories. Region Low Aver High Mechanic 1 3 4 5 6 7 2 N/A N/A $17,000 $14,000 $17,680 $13,500 $10,400 $16,640 $25,343 $18,720 $22,000 $19,423 $24,920 $13,770 $14,263 $25,000 $28,000 $30,000 $14,040 $22,000 $32,000 - Schedules and carries out routine maintenance and repair of mowing equipment and/or trucks etc. Makes field service calls. Region 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Low Aver High $9,360 $14,400 $10,500 $11,500 $10,400 $11,440 $12,480 $16,057 $13,867 $15,625 $15,688 $16,532 $15,910 $14,128 $18,750 $18,720 $18,000 $24,000 $26,000 $21,000 $18,720 For more information: Concerning Landscape Management Survey Results Contact: Associated Landscape Contractors of America 405 N Washington Street Falls Church VA 22046 703/241-4004 From Weeds Trees and Turf December 1985 CHEMICALS REPLACING PEOPLE - Grounds maintenance chores in parks are being handled by fewer workers now than in the past; - In Wisconsin, 763 county employees are doing today what 872 did in 1981. This is a 12.5 percent cut in four years; Since 1980, chemical Purchases [mostly pesticides] have increased 61 percent, from $87,000 to $143,000 in 1985; - 1986 chemical budget is listed at $155,000. From:Weeds Trees and Turf October 1984 THE RELANDSCAPING OF AMERICA - In the 1950s and 1960s, millions of Americans began moving to suburbia, creating the greatest landscaping project of all time; - Because large-scale suburban landscaping was something new, many homeowners did their own. They planted shrubs too close together and selected poor varieties of trees and grass. Today, you find the original shrubbery overgrown, the trees too large or misplaced and shade or thatch taking their toll on lawns; - Survey of do-it-yourselfers: lawn and garden * Half live in homes that are 25 years old or older; * 75% have homes older than 8 years; * Most do-it-yourselfers are more than 35 years old; * 21 % of the original owners moved up to bigger houses on larger lots in the 1960s and early 1970s; * 17% of the original owners moved up to bigger houses on larger lots in the 1980s; * Home buyers concentrate more on the inside for the first 5 years; * Lawn and gardening projects become more important the longer people stay put; * US population is getting older; * Homeowners are keeping their homes longer; * Landscape mistakes made earlier must be corrected. From: Weeds Trees and Turf December 1985 WEST GERMANS PLAN 2,000 NEW ATHLETIC FIELDS - The German Athletics Association has called for construction of 2,000 new athletic fields, each offering about 33,600 square yards of usable space; - About 5.4 square yards of recreation space per citizen is needed; - Today in West Germany, there are 290,400,000 square yards of athletic surface. National Trade Journal Reader Surveys From: National Survey of Weeds Trees and Turf Readers. September 1984 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS A representative sample of 500 landscape-ground care professionals from Weeds Trees and Turf domestic circulation were surveyed in August and September 1984. - According to circulation qualification information : * 24 % of the businesses are golf courses ; * 22 % are landscape contractors; * 26 % are schools-parks-government facilities ; * 41 % are executives in their firms; * 47 % are landscape-grounds managers; * 86 % maintain an average of 244 acres of turf for a total of almost 9,000,000 acres; * 31 % maintain rights of way - totaling 10,400,000 miles. - Readers of Weeds Trees and Turf purchase over $3,000,000,000 yearly in chemicals, seed, equipment and other supplies as follows : Chemicals Fertilizers Herbicides Equipment Tractors Mowers Seed Sod $1,000,000,000 200,000,000 470,000,000 1,000,000,000 170,000,000 155,000,000 70,000,000 180,000,000 $ 3,173,000,000 Current Yearly Expenditures for the Items Listed Below: Category Percent Reporting fertilizer turf fert % Turf seed 73.4 Sod 40.4 Dry-applied turf 74.9 Liquid-applied 23.4 Tree fertilizer 36.7 Soil amendments 29.9 Wetting agents 28.2 Bird/animal 8.8 repellents Pre-emerg herb 61.6 60.5 Post-emerg herb 18.1 Aquatic herb Fungicides 50.3 Growth regul 18.6 Insectic for turf 53.7 Insect for trees 44.4 or ornamentals 13.3 Rodenticides Percent Reporting Category Golf cars-gas # owned current expend Golf cars-electric # owned current expend Utility vehicles # owned current expend All-terrain cycles # owned current expend % 14.0 7.0 12.6 7.0 32.5 23.0 5.6 3.4 Mean $ 2,270 6,330 5,270 2,860 543 2,360 639 1,990 6,330 11,600 1,100 2,710 680 1,290 781 418 Projection $ 70,500,000 180,000,000 167,000,000 28,400,000 8,440,000 29,900,000 7,640,000 7,390,000 165,000,000 297,000,000 8,460,000 57,700,000 5,370,000 29,300,000 14,700,000 2,350,000 Mean Projection 32.1 $4,930 190,000 $14,600,000 36.0 $10,100 192,000 $30,100,000 3.4 $3,090 46,700 $30,100,000 1.6 $586 3,800 $833,000 Category Percent Reporting Mean Projection Tractors-less than 10 hp # owned current expend Tractors-10-20hp # owned current expend Tractors-21-30hp # owned current expend Tractors-31-50h # owned current expend Tractors-over 50hp # owned current expend Tractor attachments # owned current expend Replacement engines for tractors current expend Replacement parts for tractors current expend % 17.4 9.0 40.1 25.8 32.8 19.3 36.1 19.9 24.1 12.6 51.8 34.2 8.6 $1,550 63,100 $5,890,000 2.0 $2,950 33,800 $32,200,000 4.0 $3,650 55,800 $29,900,000 2.6 $4,660 40,400 $39,200,000 7.0 $6,260 71,400 $33,400,000 5.6 $2,040 122,000 $29,500,000 7.8 $1,090 $3,620,000 32.5 $1,460 $20,100,000 Category Percent Reporting Mean Projection Pick-up trucks # owned current expend Dump trucks # owned current expend Tank trucks # owned current expend % 76.2 49.3 56.3 30.8 12.3 5.3 4.1 $7,060 132,000 $147,000,000 2.3 $6,990 1.4 $1,790 53,600 $91,200,000 7,350 $4,040,000 Trailers 59.7 # owned current expend 29.7 2.9 $992 73,500 $12,500,000 Category Percent Reporting Mean Projection Irrigation pumps # owned current expend Sprinklers # owned current expend Electronic irrig controls # owned current expend Drainage pipe/ tile/tubing # owned current expend % 34.7 18.8 42.6 29.1 2.5 $1,060 36,500 $8,390,000 231 $3,910 4,170,000 $48,200,000 23.2 17.4 12.9 $2,140 127,000 $15,700,000 6.4 14.3 1,540 $1,890 4,200,000 $11,400,000 Percent Reporting % Mean Projection Category Walk-behind mowers-rotary # owned current expend Walk-behind mowers-reel # owned current expend Riding mowers- rotary # owned current expend Riding mowers- reel # owned current expend Tractor drawn gangs # owned current expend Replacement engines for mowers current expend Replacement parts for mowers current expend 76.5 51.3 7.2 $1,530 233,000 $33,200,000 24.6 14.0 3.0 $934 31,200 $5,540,000 59.7 38.4 2.8 $4,080 69,900 $66,300,000 30.3 19.0 3.5 $3,590 45,200 $28,900,000 33.3 17.4 2.3 $2,940 31,800 $21,600,000 19.6 $940 $7,810,000 34.7 $1,600 $23,500,000 Category Percent Reporting Mean Projection Sod cutters/ harvesters # owned current expend Seeders # owned current expend Spreaders # owned current expend Soil aerifiers/ corers # owned current expend % 29.7 13.4 40.6 16.2 63.9 29.1 1.2 $463 2.2 $621 2.6 $372 14,800 $2,630,000 38,200 $4,270,000 68,900 $4,590,000 42.6 22.7 2.1 $762 38,100 $7,320,000 Category Percent Reporting Mean Projection Sprayers # owned current expend Trenchers/pipe pullers # owned current expend Aerial bucket lifts # owned current expend Back hoes # owned current expend Chippers/shred # owned current expend Front end load # owned current expend Lake aerators # owned current expend Back-pack leaf/ trash blowers # owned current expend Walk-behind leaf/ trash blowers # owned current expend % 74.8 41.5 12.5 $843 397,000 $14,800,000 14.0 6.7 1.3 $1,030 7,470 $2,920,000 17.900 12.9 7.8 $31,200 $104,000,000 3.3 31.9 16.2 1.6 $5,170 21,400 $35,600,000 19.0 2.9 9.0 $8,550 23,000 $32,500,000 53.2 1.7 24.6 $2,310 38,900 $24,200,000 5.9 2.5 2.8 $382 6,880 $408,000 30.0 17.9 2.3 $340 29,400 $2,580,000 27.7 16.0 2.3 $434 26,900 $2,930,000 Category Percent Reporting Mean Projection Line trimmers # owned current expend Brush cutters # owned current expend Tree care equip # owned current expend Generators # owned current expend Chain saws # owned current expend Portable engines # owned current expend Portable pumps # owned current expend Snow removal equip # owned current expend % 49.9 32.5 26.9 10.9 10.9 9.0 35.6 17.9 73.7 42.9 10.1 3.1 36.7 15.7 3.5 $467 2.5 $407 3.0 $841 2.1 $445 5.0 $581 2.8 $130 2.0 $253 74,100 $6,430,000 28,600 $1,880,000 13,600 $3,190,000 31,200 $3,380,000 157,000 $10,500,000 11,900 $170,000 30,500 $1,680,000 39.8 22.1 4.0 $4,910 66,700 $46,000,000 For more information: Thirty page report is available from: Richard A Gore H B J Publications 455 East Paces Ferry Road NE, Suite 324 Atlanta GA 30305 404/233-1817 From: Western Landscaping News Survey 1983-Outlook 1984 INDUSTRY PROFILE - A survey of Western Landscaping News - 17,000 professional subscribers’ yielded high returns. - Composition of the market: contractors ; contractors ; - 24 % landscape, installation - 24 % landscape maintenance - 20 % landscape architects; - 6 % exterior design & building contractors; - 5 % interior landscapers; - 1 % irrigation contractors; - 20 % others 100 % total - Commercial projects accounted for 41 % of the market in 1983 with residential projects 40 % and public works projects 19 %. - Size of Average Landscape Project: empty table cell Size in Acres Size in Dollars Landscape Architects/ Designers Landscape Installa­ tion Contractors Landscape Maintenance Contractors/Mgrs Interior Landscapers Design/Build Contr [exterior] Irrig Designers/ Contractors Others 12.4 2.0 12.1 under 1 9.8 8.5 32.4 $140,060 $16,770 $41,300 $2,230 $26,870 $102,000 $93,080 - New Installations vs Renovations empty table cell New Installations Renovations Landscape Archi­ tects /Designers Landscape Instal­ lation Contr Landscape Main­ tenance Contr/Mgr Interior Landsc Design/Build Contr [exterior] Irrigation Design/ Contractors Others 72.2 % 66.9 % 36.4 % 74.3 % 74.4 % 55.0 % 47.0 % 27.7 % 33.0 % 63.5 % 25.6 % 25.4 % 45.0 % 52.6 % - Revenue by Business Area empty table cell Gross $ Volume Net Profit [before taxes] % Net Profit Landscape Arch/ Designers Interior Lands Landsc Install Contractors Design/Build Contr [exter] Lands Maint Contr/Mgrs $620,000 $602,900 $594,900 $561,300 $256,300 $70,400 $151,000 $61,520 $59,290 $37,500 11 % 25 % 10 % 11 % 15 % - Gross Dollar Volume Under $10,000 $10,000 - $19,999 $20,000 - $29,999 $30,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $79,999 $80,000 - $99,999 $100,000 - $249,999 $250,000 - $499,999 $500,000 & above [percent of landscapers responding] 0.7 % 6.3 % 2.7 % 4.9 % 12.1 % 7.2 % 27.2 % 17.7 % 21.2 % - Amount Spent on Selected Supplies & Equipment empty table cell Dollars 4690 Shrubs 4160 Trees 2495 PVC Pipe & fit 2243 Sod 2026 Trucks 2200 Sprinkler heads Irrigation controllers 1920 Fertilizer 1883 1842 Ground covers 1816 Irrig valves Paving materials 1684 1648 Soil amendments 1645 Mulch/bark 987 Lights 965 Heavy equip 956 Herbicide 955 Drip irrig comp 846 Lawn mowers 682 Decor plant cont 635 Insecticide 407 Decor Fountains 369 Spas/hot tubs 283 Power trimmers 200 Growth regulat 36 Skylights - The 10 Major Problems Facing Landscape Professionals turnover 1. Lack of qualified personnel/quick 2. Cut throat bidding 3. Tight money 4. Slow receivables/cash flow 5. Building slump 6. Unqualified competition 7. Increasing overhead 8. Shortage of work 9. Poor public perception, of quality/ 10. Budget cutbacks cost ratio “ Top 10 Opportunities Landscaping for 1984 in 1. Renovations, remodels, upgrades 2. Computerization 3. Automated systems 4. Interior landscape and small area design 5. Maintenance 6. Increased public awareness of profession 7. Drought-resistant and low-maintenance designs 8. Consulting 9. Consumer sales/do-it-yourself market 10. Foreign market National Garden Surveys From: National Gardening Association November 1985 GARDENING GROWS WITH AMERICA - From 1964 to 1985 the number of households involved in one or more kinds of lawn and garden activity went up from 71,000,000 to 74,000,000. This is more than ever before in the United States. - The most popular gardening activities are: Lawn Care 56,000,000 Houseplants 37,000,000 36,000,000 Flowers 33,000,000 Vegetables Shrubs 26,000,000 Trees 18,000,000 [an increase from 54,000,000] [a decrease from 39,000,000] [a decrease from 40,000,000] [a decrease from 34,000,000] [a decrease from 31,000,000] [a decrease from 22,000,000] - Geographic distribution of all lawns and gardens: Midwest South East West Rural Small town Suburbs City Gardeners ages: 27 % 28 % 24 % 20 % 29 % 9 % 37 % 24 % - 24 % are 18 to 29 years old; - 39 % are 30 to 49 years old; - 36 % are 50 or older. Gardeners incomes: Under $10,000 $10,000 to $20,000 $20,000 to $40,000 over $40,000 20 % 28 % 36 % 16 % - According to the U S Bureau of the Census by the year 1990 the number of U S households will increase to 97,000,000. By 1995 these should reach 104,000,000. From: Gardens for All’s 1984-1985 National Garden Survey RESULTS OF GARDENS FOR ALL 1984-1985 NATIONAL GARDENING SURVEY Trendline for Lawn and Garden Activities of U S Households Activity 1981 % 65 Lawn care 47 Flower gard Indoor house­ 51 43 Shrub care Insect control NA NA Pruning NA Tree care Landscaping NA Fruit trees 19 Raising trans­ NA Growing berries 11 Ornam Gard’g 5 plants plants 1982 % 63 50 48 42 39 34 30 26 22 18 13 7 1983 % 63 47 43 35 32 29 25 23 20 15 12 5 1984 % 63 47 46 36 38 32 26 25 18 17 11 4 - Retail Sales of Lawn and Garden Products in 1984 totaled $15.2 billion Activity 1984 Retail Sales $ billions Ornamentals Lawn care Landscaping, Tree/Shrub care, Flower gardening Vegetable gardening Indoor houseplants Insect controls Fruit trees/berries Total 4.4 4.5 2.1 1.7 .9 1.0 .6 15.2 - How Long People Have Been Gardening Length of Time One year Two years Three years Four years Five years Six years Seven years Eight years Nine years Ten or more years % 8 5 6 5 5 6 3 4 2 53 From: National Gardening Association October 1984 GREEN THUMBS IN 83 % OF AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS ,- Gardening ranked as the number one outdoor leisure activity of U S households in 1984 - more popular than golf, jogging, biking, tennis and swimming. - Most popular gardening activities involved: Lawns Flowers Houseplants Vegetables Shrubs Trees 54,000,000 40,000,000 39,000,000 34,000,000 31,000,000 22,000,000 63 % 47 % 46 % 40 % 36 % 26 % - Gardeners* ages: 21 % are 18 to 29 years old; 36 % are 30 to 49 years old; 43 % are 50 or older. From: Lawn and Garden Marketing January 1984 GARDENS FOR ALL/GALLUP NATIONAL GARDENING SURVEY Lawn and Garden Activity * Activity Lawn care Indoor house­ plants Flower gar­ dening Shrub care Fruits & berries 1980 52 40 37 31 21 1981 65 51 47 43 35 * Percent of gardeners involved - The Top 10 Gardening Problems in 1984 1. Insects: 35 % 2. Weeds: 23 % 3. Not Enough Water 16 % 4. Too Much Water 10 % 5. Animals 8 % 6. Growth of Plants 6 % 7. Weather: 6 % 8. Soil Conditions: 5 % 9- Lack of Attention 4 % 10. Blight: 1 % - The Top 10 Sources of Gardening Information in 1984 Source ardeners Using % of G 1. Seed Packets 2. Information on package 3. From Friends 4. Newspapers 5. Relatives 6. Seed Catalog 7. Garden Books 8. Garden Magazines 9. Garden Store Pamphlet 10. General Interest Mag 73 56 43 41 36 30 29 29 22 21 For more information: Complete results of this sturdy are published in a 300 page report which sells for $250.00 per copy. Contact: Nancy Flinn, Public Relations Gardens for All 180 Flynn Ave Burlington VT 05401 802/863-1308 From: Gardens For All’s 1983-1984 National Gardening Survey RESULTS OF GARDENS FOR ALL 1983 - 1984 NATIONAL GARDENING SURVEY An Overview of Lawn and Garden Consumers * Men spend more money on the average than women. * Principal consumers are 30-49 years of age [37 % of sales] and 50 years of age and older [38 % of sales]. * College educated households spend the most per household on lawn and garden activities, but make up about the same percentage of total sales. [48 %] as high school educated households [46 %]. * Total annual expenditures on lawn and garden activities are highest among more affluent households. * Households in the West spend more per household than any other region. Percentage of total sales by region: East [26 %], Midwest [23 %], South [28 %], and West [23 %]. * Purchases by married households make up a majority of lawn and garden sales. * Suburban households spend the most on lawn and garden activities. Percentage of total sales: Suburbs [34 %], Rural areas [28 %], Cities [24 %], and Small Towns [13 %]. * Lawn and garden retail sales in 1983 totaled an estimated $12 billion. - Lawn Care: * The lawn and garden activity with the highest participation. 63 % of all U S households involved in 1983. million households participated. fifty-three * Greatest following in the Mid-West. Among middle-aged and older people. * Principal markets: Suburbs and Rural areas. Mid-Atlantic, Rest of South, Pacific and East Central states. * College educated and upper income households spend the most. - In 1983, 52 % of the nation’s gardeners spent over two million dollars just on insect controls. The National Gardening Survey revealed that insects are the number two problem gardeners encounter. • Gardening Ranks as Nation’s # 1 Outdoor Leisure Activity in 1983 % of all Households Leisure Activity Watching television 81 Listening to music 64 Lawn Care 63 Reading Books 54 Flower Gardening 47 Pleasure trips in car 44 Going to movies 43 Vegetable Gardening 42 Watching pro-sports on TV 39 Home baking 38 Vacation trips in US 34 Sewing/needlepoint 32 General exercise/physical fitness 31 Fishing 31 Workshop/home repair 29 Bicycling 22 Camping 20 Photography 20 Bowling 20 Jogging 19 Hunting 16 Tennis 12 Golf 12 Note: Totals add to more than 100 % due to multiple responses - Lawn and Garden Trendline 1981-1983 Year 1981 1982 1983 % of all U S households 84 86 82 Number of households millions 68 71 70 — 1983 Lawn and Garden Around the Country Region East Midwest South West % of all U S households 80 91 77 84 Number of households millions 18.2 21 18.2 12.6 For more information: Complete results of this study are published in a 300 page report which sells for $250.00 per copy. Contact: Nancy Flinn, Public Relations Gardens for All 180 Flynn Ave Burlington VT 05401 802/863-1308 DO-IT-YOURSELF LAWNCARE From: Lawn and Garden Marketing October 1983 DO-IT-YOURSELFERS LOYAL TO LAWN CARE TASKS In 1983, sixty-three percent of U S households reported some activities involving lawn care. This is down from sixty-five percent in 1981. Nationwide approximately $4,240,000,000 was spent for do-it-yourself lawn care products. - Approximately 53,000,000 households have, lawns in 1983 compared with 37,000,000 in 1978. Average expenditures per U S household reporting do-it-yourself home horticulture activities in 1983: Activity Lawn care Flower gardening Shrub care Average $80.00 38.00 43.00 From: Lawn and Garden Marketing January 1983 AMIDST THE NUTS ‘N BOLTS - LAWN AND GARDEN - A front-line observer of the ongoing revolution in retailing tells how and why hardware stores and home centers have taken an expanded role in marketing lawn and garden products. - Seventy—one percent of do—it—yourselfers planned to maintain their own lawns, while 82 percent would consider maintaining their own lawns. - Of these do-it-yourself customers, 44.2 percent bought seed and fertilizer, 22.3 percent bought garden hose, 19.9 percent bought tools and equipment, and 4.5 percent bought and installed their own sprinkler system. - The do-it-yourself market advances 14 percent annually between 1980 and 1990. - The home improvement market had retail sales in 1982 of $76,310,000,000. - The home improvement market is expected to have retail sales in 1990 of $187,300,000,000. - Households are expected to grow from 83,320,000 in 1982 to 96,723,000 in 1990. - Do-it-yourselfers bought 58 percent of their products in home centers and hardware stores in 1980. Marketing of Lawn and Garden Products From: Weeds Trees and Turf September 1985 DISTRIBUTORS: OPTIMISTIC BUT WARY - Green industry suppliers are becoming more aggressive in a business economy that promises good rewards, but also keener competition and tighter margins; - Almost 83 percent of those responding to a survey anticipated , increased sales in the coming year with 12 percent feeling business will remain about the same. Five percent thought sales would drop. From: Lawn and Garden Marketing January 1985 GEOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF AMERICA’S GARDENERS - In 1984 there were 85,400,000 U S households: Midwest South East West 22,000,000 25,200,000 21,600,000 16,600,000 85,400,000 - Of these 85,400,000 nouseholds, the following percentages are involved in lawn and gardening activities: Midwest South East West 88 % 82 % 78 % 84 % From: Lawn and Garden Marketing November—December 1985 1985 MARKET UPDATE: LAWN AND GARDEN TRENDLINE AND OUTLOOK - The 1985 National Gardening Survey conducted by the Gallup Organization for the National Gardening Assoication found in total 84 percent of all U S households or an estimated 74,000,000 households participated in at least one form of indoor or outdoor lawn and garden activity during the past year. - The annual growth in the number of U S households during 1980 to 1985 has been more important to increasing the consumer base for lawn and garden sales than a change in the percentage of houeholds participating; - In 1980 there were 80,000,000 households; in 1985 there were an estimated 87,900,000 households; - As the "baby boom" generation ages, it will become an even bigger consumer of lawn and garden products; - About one out of three lawn and garden households or an estimated 23,000,000 households is in the Landscape Gardener category. These houeholds spend on the average more than $300 annually and account for about 50 percent of the total retail consumer spending on lawn and garden activities; - There are an estimated 37,000,000 U S households in the Typical Home Gardener category. This amounts to about one out of every two lawn consumers. A Typical Home Gardener spends about $200 annually and accounts for about 40 percent of the total retail consumer spending on lawn and garden activities; - There are an estimated 11,000,000 households in the "Just-Cut-The-Grass" category or about 15 percent of all lawn and garden participants. These households spend on the average of about $85 on lawn and garden activities each year. They account for an estimated 10 percent of total consumer retail spending on lawn and garden activities; - Lawn and garden product purchases- made in 1985 was estimated at $15,000,000,000. - Purchases were made at: Garden center or retail nursery 49 % Mass merchandiser-discount store 32 % Hardware store 29 % Super market - drug store 19 % Seed and feed store 17 % Home center 15 % 9 % Mail order - Items purchased: Fertilizer- All types of seed Nursery stock Pesticides Indoor houseplants & supp Pots and containers •Garden tools Soil amendments Watering equipment Power equipment Lawn and garden books 63 % 58 % 42 % 43 % 32 % 27% 25 % 24 % 14 % 9 % 39 % - Trendline: U S Household Participation in Lawn and Garden Activities 198 1 % mill CONSUMER 198 ACTIVITY 1 % mill Lawn care 65 52 Flower 47 38 gard Shrub 43 35 care Tree care na na 198 198 2 % mill 2 % mill 63 52 50 41 42 35 30 25 198 198 3 % mill 3 % mill 63 53 47 40 35 30 25 21 198 198 4 % mill 4 % mill 63 54 47 40 36 31 26 22 1985 198 % mill 5 % mill 64 56 41 36 30 26 20 18 1960 52.6 1985 86.8 From: Lawn and Garden Marketing November-December 1985 NOW HOUSING BUOYS OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT SALES - The economists who help outdoor power equipment manufacturers plan production levels of lawnmowers each year keep a sharp eye on interest rates and on new housing starts. - The 13 percent increase in new housing starts in 1984 compared to 1983 helped the lawn and garden industry at mid-1985 project an increase in unit shipments of 8 or 9 percent. - If one is to count 1950 as the beginning of building suburbs, suppliers and retailers made some fast gains during the first three decades. From: Outdoor Power Equipment November 1985 WOW ! TOTAL SALES FOR LAWN/GARDEN INDUSTRY TO TOTAL $22,100,000,000 BY 1990 - 1984 sales were estimated to have been $11,900,000,000; 1990 sales are projected at $22,100,000,000 - more than double that in 1984. Sales of tools and equipment is expected to increase 8 % annually. - Sales of lawn and garden supplies is expected to increase 7 % annually. - Professional lawn care services are expected to increase 19 % annually. - An increase of 9,000,000 Americans is projected in the next five years for the 25-64 age group - the crime population involved in lawn and garden care. - 83 percent of all U S households participate in gardening. - Increasing family income directly results in increases in spending on lawn and garden care. - Twenty-five Years of Industry Growth empty table cell 1970 63.4 1980 80.8 US households [millions] Households in major L&G activities: Lawn care % households Flower gard % households Veg gard % households House plants % households 28.9 55 % 18.4 35 % 18.4 35 % 10.5 20 % 36.1 57 % 48.5 60 % 56 65 % 37 36.4 25.4 40 % 45% 41% 24.7 39 % 17.8 28 % 34.7 43 % 40.4 50 % 33 38 % 37 43.6 % For more information On The Packaged Facts Study of the Lawn and Garden Care market, a 235 page report is available at a cost of $995.00 Contact: Packaged Facts 274 Madison Ave New York NY 10016 From: Garden Supply Retailer September 1985 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT FORECAST - Gross National Product is forecast to rise by 2.5 % in 1986; - Housing starts are expected to be down 11 % in 1986, but continue to be well above 1980-1983 levels; - The Consumer Price Index projects inflation to be contained under 4% for the fourth consecutive year in 1986; - The Producer Price Index is expected to rise slightly from 2.2% in 1985 to 3.6% in 1986; - The Prime Interest Rate forecast at 11.6% next year is also expected to remain controlled and less volatile than in the past; - The nationnal unemployment rate will remain virtually unchanged in 1986; - A slight weakening of the dollar against European currencies is expected; - Advertising and capital expenditures for 1986 are forecast to increase among outdoor power equipment firms - advertising increases of 4-5 percent compare to capiital expenditure increases of 12-13 percent; - In 1986 4 percent fewer riding mowers and 2 percent fewer walk-behind mowers are expected to be sold. - The following trends are projected: Equipment Rear engine riding Front engine lawn Walk behind rotary mowers tractors mowers Projected 1985 Forecast 1986 359,000 537,000 5,125,000 349,000 520,000 4,990,000 From: Lawn and Garden Marketing August 1985 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT SHIPMENTS TO PASS FIVE YEAR RECORD - Shipments of walk-behind mowers for the first time in five years are projected to surpass the 5,000,000 unit market. - Capping a five-year tend, rear engine riding mower shipments have topped 359,000 this year. - Walk-behind rotary mower have projected shipments of: 1985 - 5,125,000 1986 - 4,990,000 From: Garden Supply Retailer October 1984 EQUIPMENT FORECAST LOOKS GOOD FOR '85 - Outdoor Power Equipment Institute manufacturers' shipments are forecast to increase in most product categories during the next year: * Walk-behind rotary power lawn mowers - 5,015,000. - This projection is based on a: * Gross National Product increase of 3.5% in 1985; * Disposable personal income is expected to increase by 3.6 % in 1985; * Consumer Price Index should increase by 5.6 % in 1985; * The Producer Price Index should increase by 5.4 % in 1985; * The Prime Interest Rate forecast of 12.5 % is still below rates of the early 1980s; * Housing starts are forecast at 1,590,000; * There should be a modest reduction in unemployment rate in 1985; * The dollar is expected to weaken some in 1985. - After strong years on 1985 and 1986, the industry is expected to dip in 1987 and then recover dramatically in 1989. From: Lawn and Garden Marketing January 1983, November-December 1983 and January 1985 POWER EQUIPMENT REPORTS — Key Lawn and Garden Shipments — 1982 Model Year [Estimated] Product Walk-behind power mower Lawn tractors/ riding mowers Front engine Rear engine Product Unit shipments Unit shipments 1982 1981 Change % 4,600,000 4,600,000 .... 620,000 370,000 250,000 654,000 393,000 261,000 FOB Shipm Value FOB Shipm Value 1982 1981 million dollars dollars million +5.5 +6.2 +4.4 Change Z Walk-behind power mower Lawn tractors/ riding mowers Front engine Rear engine 674 549 359 190 606 453 291 162 + 11.2 +21.2 +23.4 + 17.3 — Key Lawn and Garden Shipments — 1983 Model Year [Estimated] Product Walk-behind power mower Lawn tractors/ riding mowers Front engine Rear engine Product Walk behind power mowers Lawn tractors/ riding mowers Front engine Rear engine Unit Shipments 1983 Unit Shipments 1982 Change % 4,400,000 4,600,000 -4.3 691,000 415,000 276,000 FOB Shipment Value 1983 million dollars 695 654,000 393,000 261,000 FOB Shipment Value 1982 million dollars 674 600 395 205 549 359 190 +5.7 +5.6 +5.7 Change % +3.1 +9.3 + 10.0 + 7.9 - Key Lawn and Garden Categories - 1984 Model Year [Estimated] Unit Shipments 1984 Unit Shipments Change 1983 % + 12.5 +23.9 +21 0 +28.3 Change % +6.8 +26.7 + 22.0 +35.6 Product Walk-behind power mowers Lawn tractors/ riding mowers Front engine Rear engine 4,950,000 4,400,000 856,000 502,000 354,000 691,000 415.000 276,000 Product Walk-behind power mowers Lawn tractors/ riding mowers Front engine Rear engine FOB Shipm Value 1984 million dollars 742 FOB Shipm Value 1983 million dollars 695 760 484 278 600 395 205 From: Lawn and Garden Marketing February 1983, August 1983, October 1983, February 1984, February 1985, August 1985, November-December 1985 PRODUCT MOVEMENT REPORTS - Autumn 1982 empty table cell Total Grass seed Up Lawn fert. Up % 31.4 Same Grass seed 39.5 Down Grass seed 14.0 37.7 Same Lawn fert. 41.5 Down Lawn fert. 18.9 North east % 26.9 50.0 3.9 33.3 40.0 26.7 North Central South % % 42.1 40.7 21.0 33.4 15.8 22.2 38.5 47.1 29.4 53.8 7.7 23.5 West % 7.1 57.2 14.2 25.0 50.0 12.5 - Spring 1983 Total % North East % North Central % South % West % Grass seed Lawn fert 30.4 up 35.9 Same Grass seed 30.4 Down Grass seed Up 35.4 Lawn fert 34.3 Same Down Lawn fert 24.8 41.7 20.8 29.2 29.0 34.2 34.2 Walk-behind mowers 30.3 Up 36.3 Walk-behind mowers Same 20.4 Down Walk-behind mowers Riding mowers/ lawn tractors Up Riding mowers/ lawn tractors Same Riding mowers/ lawn tractors Down 22.9 31.6 16.5 43.6 30.8 15.4 28.2 30.7 10.3 26.9 30.8 38.5 35.7 29.9 25.4 29.5 33.3 24.5 22.6 29.3 17.7 32.3 51.6 16.1 38.0 40.0 18.0 22.4 48.3 15.5 27.6 32.8 17.2 - Summer 1983 Walk-behind mowers Up Walk-behind mowers Total % 31.1 Same 36.6 Walk-behind mowers Down 20.5 North East % 26.5 42.9 16.3 North Central % 19.9 37.6 26.7 South % 45.0 31.7 16.6 Riding Mow/ LTs Herbicides Up Insecticid Up - Autumn 1983 Grass seed Up Lawn fert Up - Autumn 1984 Grass seed Up Lawn fert Up Up 33.8 LTs Same Riding Mow/ 29.8 LTs Down Riding Mow/ 26.5 33.0 Same Herbicides 43.5 Herbicides Down 13.9 40.4 Same Insecticid 37.3 Insecticid Down 17.0 Total % 38.2 40.6 Same Grass seed Grass seed Down 13.5 27.5 37.2 Same Lawn fert 34.4 Lawn fert Down Total % 48.6 Same Grass seed 31.9 Down Grass seed 8.7 35.1 Lawn fert Same 46.0 Lawn fert Down 17.6 20.6 44.2 26.4 26.4 47.3 21.0 26.3 31.5 36.9 North East % 38.5 51.8 7.8 37.5 34.3 28.2 North East % 54.6 31.8 4.6 30.8 61.5 7.7 33.3 24.6 33.3 12.8 55.0 22.5 41.9 41.9 16.2 North Central % 46.1 34.2 14.5 20.0 40.0 37.5 North Central % 62.2 27.0 2.7 21.1 47.4 26.4 55.6 22.1 16.7 54.6 24.3 6.0 51.6 27.3 9.0 South % 31.2 37.5 18.8 29.6 33.4 37.0 South % 41.2 27.5 11.8 42.3 42.3 15.4 9.1 36.4 54.5 38.5 34.6 23.1 31.3 31.3 21.8 9.4 37.4 18.8 West % 43.2 34.0 16.0 20.9 33.3 25.0 36.4 63.6 .... 27.3 63.6 9.1 29.0 41.9 13.0 23.6 41.1 35.3 West % 39.3 46.4 14.3 43.7 37.5 18.8 Total % North East % Nort h Central % South % West % - Spring 1985 Grass seed Up Lawn fert Up 41.5 Grass seed Same 39.6 Down Grass seed 8.5 47.2 30.2 Same Lawn fert Down Lawn fert 16.0 Walk-behind mowers Up Riding mow/ LTs 36.7 Walk-behind mowers Same 39.9 Walk-behind mowers 6.1 Down Up 27.5 Riding mow/ LTs Same 17.3 LTs Down Riding mow/ 7.2 56.0 28.0 12.0 52.0 36.0 4.0 32.0 52.0 .... 24.0 32.0 .... 44.5 38.8 8.4 47.2 36.1 13.9 40.0 42.8 2.9 37.1 14.3 2.9 36.0 44.0 4.0 36.0 24.0 32.0 40.9 27.3 13.6 27.3 9.1 13.6 25.0 50.0 10.0 55.0 20.0 15.0 31.3 31.3 12.4 12.6 12.4 18.8 - Summer 1985 Herbicides Up Insecticid Up Walk-behind mowers Up Walk-behind mowers Total % 20.1 25.8 Same Herbicides Herbicides Down 5.8 27.0 Same Insecticid 24.6 Down Insecticid 4.7 31.9 Same 24.7 Walk-behind mowers Down 14.9 North East % 22.5 26.2 4.0 33.3 21.8 2.3 37.2 21.7 10.1 North Central % 18.3 23.5 8.0 24.9 21.6 6.6 28.1 26.3 22.1 South % 18.2 27.0 5.7 25.2 27.7 5.0 33.3 25.2 9.4 West % 24.7 28.5 3.9 26.0 31.1 2.6 29.9 24.6 14.3 Riding mow/ LT Up 26.1 LT Same Riding mow/ 15.2 Riding mow/ LT Down 12.3 37.2 10.9 9.3 19.7 18.3 16.9 27.6 15.7 7.6 22.1 13.0 14.3 West % Fron: Garden Supply Retailer December 1984 WHAT'S SELLING IN WATERING PRODUCTS Retail stores report only about 5 percent of their total revenue comes from sales of watering products; - Products available in stores: Sprinklers Garden hose Watering cans Hose reels on hangers Hose nozzles Hose repair Underground systems 95 % of stores 94 % of stores 91 % of stores 63 % of stores 59 % of stores 43 % of stores 28 % of stores From: Lawn and Garden Marketing November - December 1985 WHOLESALERS REPORT CHEMICAL SALES UP - Distributors of wholesale lawn and garden chemcials are reporting substantial gains in 1985 over 1984 sales to retailers and are projecting even better gains in 1986; - Though 1985 saw an 18.8 percent change in median dollar sales to retailers, according to distributors 1986 should produce a positive 31.8 percent change over 1985- a 56.6 percent change over the two-year period. From:Lawn and Garden Marketing February 1985 CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS - The market for pesticides, fertilizers and soil conditioners is $1,500,000,000 in manufacturer's dollars; - The 1984 Gallup survey of consumers placed the market for insect control proudcts purchased at retail at $1,000,000,000. The question in the survey by Gallup included fertilizer, herbicides and related products in the general category of lawn Therefore, the expenditures for individual products are not identifiable. care. easily From: Lawn and Garden Marketing January 1985 CHEMICALS, FERTILIZERS: $1,500,000,000 MARKET - Preliminary estimates indicate that consumers will have spent $1,500,000,000 for lawn, garden and house-plant chemicals in 1984, an increase of about 6 % annually since 1980. Item Percent of Total Sales Fertilizers Insecticides Herbicides Soil Conditioners Rodenticides Fungicides empty table cell 40 35 25 100 - More than 250 companies sell these products to consumers. - Market leaders include: O M Scott [ITT] S C Johnson Ortho [Standard Oil of California] American Home Products Estech [Esmark] - Sales Forecast for Consumer Pesticides and Fertilizers *: Product Fertilizers Insecticides Soil conditioners Herbicides Potting soils Rodenticides Fungicides empty table cell 1984 590 530 150 100 85 35 10 1989 800 800 215 135 110 46 14 $1,500 $2,120 % Increase per year 6.2 8.6 7.7 6.2 7.1 8.8 7.0 7.1 * Millions of current manufacturers dollars [assuming annual inflation rate of 5 %] - Estimated Sales by Retail Class: Lawn and Garden Centers Discount Department Stores Supermarkets and Grocery Stores Hardware Stores Farm Supply Stores Other 28 % 21 % 10 % 10 % 11 % 20 % From: Lawn and Garden Marketing November - December 1985 FERTILIZER USAGE ESTIMATED FOR 1984 - Non-farm fertilizers are only about 3 percent of the total fertilizer distributed; - In 1984 2,100,000 tons of non-farm specialty packaged fertilizers were distributed. - Tonnage of Non-Farm Use Fertilizer [for year ending June 30,1984] Total fertilizer distributed Percent of total 2.35 2.17 10.05 0.51 5.05 4.56 1.40 8.58 0.15 1.11 1.14 5.93 1.45 2.98 3.59 13.18 1.40 0.62 1.28 0.75 0.38 0.83 41.31 29.49 12.00 0.80 1.00 1.50 1.92 1.90 13.51 53.95 3.50 1.03 0.71 4.63 5.07 ..... 9.70 2.17 0.99 Non-farm specialty packaged 21,132 200 29,295 4,520 208,347 24,755 1,238 170,264 2,785 46,396 30,000 78,882 4,497 21,564 3,297 6,350 20,766 11,266 11,134 11,742 1,768 12,218 12,322 68,023 72,599 13,893 5,511 27,838 15,249 9,217 69,417 12,767 24,563 4,300 5,123 110,830 37,862 5,015 32,925 1,364 899,254 9,212 291,496 882,693 4,126,504 543,262 88,168 1,984,556 1,913,198 4,193,039 2,625,308 1,330,877 998,895 723,517 91,951 48,171 1,485,588 1,805,405 869,543 1,568,742 464,735 1,474,682 29,829 230,646 604,992 1,742,674 551,078 1,855,900 796,235 484,703 513,636 23,663 701,822 418,840 721,081 2,394,591 746,962 869,317 51,721 1,519,359 137,659 State Alabama Alaska * Arizona * Arkansas California Colorado Delaware Florida Georgia Illnois Indiana Kansas * Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska * Nevada New Jersey New York * North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota ** Tennessee Texas * Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ** * Data from reports of year ending June 30,1983 ** Data from reports of year ending June 30,1982 CT,HI,ID,IA,MD,NH,NM,UT,VT did not make reports of fertilizer distribution for fiscal 1982,1983 or 1984. Source: Association of American Plant Control Officials. ..... From: Lawn and Garden Marketing October 1984 ONE SUPPLIER’S VIEW OF THE FERTILIZER BUSINESS - The Andersons* fertilizer division is in its 21st year; - It is now the fifth largest lawn and garden fertilizer manufacturer out of the 200 companies supplying the green industry; - Over 500 finished products - fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and many combination products are produced; - Package sizes range from 5 pounds to 60 pounds; - Lawn fertilizers are distributed to 35 states About two-thirds of the products are sold to retailers. From: Lawn and Garden Marketing October 1984 LAWN FERTILIZER UPDATE The lawn care operators who apply liquid fertilizers make more people aware of the beauty of green lawns and some so-it-yourselfers are encouraged to apply their own fertilizer after seeing the results of the liquid applications on their neighbors lawns; - Larger lawns of one acre or more are more likely to be fertilized with granular fertilizer; - There is an increasing number of private label granular fertilizers; - Fertilizer sales were up in 1984 with a median increase of 15 percent. In the survey, 42.1 % of the respondents indicated sales were up; 37.7 % said sales were about the same; 9.6 % reported a sales decrease with a range of from 8 to 30 percent and a median decrease of 10 %; are from $1,800,000,000 $1,500,000,000 annually with contract applicators with annual sales increasing 20 to 25 % a year. Total sales within 5 years are expected to be at $4,000,000,000. - Households spending to From: Grounds Maintenance September 1985 MARKETERS PREDICT KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS SEED SHORTAGE - In eastern Washington and northern Idaho the crop appears to be 45 to 50 percent of normal. Some varieties are 65 to 70 percent of normal; others are 35 to 40 percent of normal; - Carryover of Kentucky bluegrass from 1984 is minimal to non-existent. From: Weeds , Trees and Turf June 1985 GARDEN CENTERS JOIN DISCOUNTERS - Discount stores have captured the largest share of the $1,400,000 consumer pesticide and fertilizer market. This amounts to 31 percent for discount stores compared to 23 percent for garden centers and 21 percent for supermarkets and grocery stores. From: Lawn and Garden Marketing March 1983 NEW WAY PROPOSED TO MAP U S MARKETING REGIONS - Fifteen marketing regions have been defined on the basis of homogeneity of characteristics; - Each region's components have similar growth potential, ethnic composition, income quality and shopping center saturation; From: Lawn and Garden Marketing March 1983 NURSERY MARKETING COUNCIL:: EXCITING THE PUBLIC ABOUT PLANTS - A six-year old program of the American Association of Nurserymen, using radio as sale medium to reach the public is based on consumer research; - All home owners in the United States and Canada can be placed in three distinct groups of consumers. These groups are based on shared clusters of attitudes and behavior related to their yards and yard care activities; - While each group is different, ranging from maximum to light involvement, virtually all were purchasers [93 percent] of living plants and related products and services; All showed some degree of willingness to consume more when reminded of the basic motivators of enhanced beauty and increased property value. - The average annual expenditures ranged from $285 for the most involved group members to $70 for the least involved group; - Roughly 80 percent of all homeowners have an on-going plan for the landscaping of their home; - Nearly 70 percent of purchasers agree that they often buy on the "spur of the moment"; - Fifty-five percent of the highest involvement group and 97 percent of the lowest involvement group felt that they did not spend a lot for plants and related products. For more information on the Nursery Marketing Council’s research study Contact Paul Dawson Director of Marketing Nursery Marketing Council 230 Southern Bldg 15th and H Sts NW Washington DC 20005 From: Lawn and Garden Marketing April-May 1983 RETAILERS: ARE YOU TUNED IN ? THEY'RE SPEAKING TO YOUR BEST CUSTOMERS - These 18 garden communicators represent just the tip of the iceberg in their field: * Once a week for its 13 week run, one segment of Dick Raymond's "The Joy of Gardening Show ” may be viewed by 29,926,300 households on 52 channels coast to coast. * The weekly mail for Jim Bennett's "The Weekend Gardener" TV show has run as high as 5,000 letters. The program is carried by 200 cable network stations and 25 commercial stations and reaches 41,000,000 households in 49 states; * "Victory Garden" hosted by Bob Thomson is presented each week by 200 to 230 PBS-TV stations. It is beamed to 75 to 80 % of the country or about 66,000,000 households; * Herb Gundell is garden writer for the Denver Post. He has used his column, the radio and TV. The "Weekend Gardener" is viewed by approximately 25,000 each Saturday. "The Green Thumb" radio program and "County Fair Garden Show" reach as many as 30,000 listeners; * Also in Denver is Ed Greene host of "Greene's Thumb" TV program; * Jack Eden is host of "Garden of Eden" radio show in Washington DC. His weekly call-in show "Over the Garden Fence" averages 1,000 calls per show; * Randall Pure "The Plant Doctor" on Montreal radio has published "Keeping Them Alive" as an aid in helping gardeners; * In the Miami Valley [Ohio] area it's Harry Butler on radio and TV. He serves as local plant, farm and garden expert; * George Wedel talks "Over the Garden Fence" to his listeners in the Kalamazoo Michigan area; * Virginia Beatty is on CBS radio, Chicago. She is a three media person; * Perennially the highest rated radio show in Kansas City is the lawn and garden "Tobin Show". Toby Tobin captures 35.9 percent of the radio audience in its time period. This amounts to 68,700 listeners each quarter hour; * Deborah Brown is Extension Horticulturist, University of Minnesota. She has a special interest in Horticultural Therapy; * Ed Hume is a household name to gardeners in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, part of Wyoming, southern Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta and part of Saskatchewan; * Since 1975, San Francisco area residents have been calling in their gardening questions to Bert Bertolero "The Dirt Gardener". He reaches 38,800 listeners each week; * Rosalie Doolittle of Albuquerque, New Mexico deals with the special gardening problems associated with soil alkalinity; hot, drying winds and needs irrigation characteristic of the southwest; for deals [New * Howard Morgan with Albuquerque's Mexico] gardening and landscaping problems; * Bob Flagg of Houston Texas has a listener radio audience of 600,000. He handles five to six hundred questions a week by mail. His articles in the Houston Post and gardening almanac reach 50,000 people; * "Marvin's Garden" is hosted by Lynn Marvin of Tampa, Florida. The TV show focuses on peoples concern about chemicals, economic trends and food costs. LAWN CARE INDUSTRY From: Weeds Trees and Turf November 1985 THE MONEY MACHINE - Chemical lawn care revenues increased 40.2 percent from 1983 to 1984; Chemical lawn care and landscape management companies predicted that their expenditures on chemicals, equipment and seed would be $415,500,000 in 1985. This would amount to an increase of 22.45 percent over 1984 expenditures; - Granular fertilizer use is up 13.5 percent; - Liquid fertilizer use is up 8.6 percent; - Pre-emergent herbicides are up 4.6 percent; - Insecticides are up 23.2 percent; - Seeding is up 53.9 percent; - Post-emergent herbicides are down 4.6 percent; - Fungicides are up 3.1 percent; - Soil amendments up 74.7 percent; - Greatest interest in lawn care was found in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin; - Predicted expenditures [1985] for chemical lawn care and landscape maintenance companies. % Sample Purchas- ing Average Per Purcha­ ser dollars % Change since 1984 Projec­ tion to LCI Readers’p Million dollars Chemicals Supplies Granular fert Pre-emerg herb Liquid fert Insecticides Grass seed Post-emerg herb Fungicides Soil Amend Plant Grow Reg Equipment Tractors Irrigat equip Spray tanks Riding lawn mow Walk behind mow Sprayers, pumps Spreaders Tree care equip Aeration equip String trimmers 1985 Projected totals $415.48 million + 22.45 % 92.41 43.46 43.05 29.51 25.02 22.65 11.10 9.52 0.93 Projec­ tion 25.46 to LCI 23.41 Readers’p 18.31 Million 16.56 dollars 13.80 13.70 8.06 8.00 6.93 3.60 84.7 73.9 32.9 75.0 72.1 73.7 58.2 33.2 16.6 % Sample 19.7 Purchas- 19.2 ing 33.4 19.7 46.3 52.1 47.4 25.5 22.1 41.3 9,755.70 5,259.18 11,701.40 3,518.92 3,102.86 2,748.33 1,704.73 2,563.57 501.03 Average Per 11,551.33 Purcha­ 10,902.63 ser 4,901.04 dollars 7,518.00 2,665.86 2,350.63 1,520.19 2,888.06 2,805.37 778.47 + 13.5 + 4.6 + 8.6 + 23.2 + 53.9 - 4.6 + 3.1 + 74.7 N/A % Change - 15.5 since +194.8 1984 +219.5 + 30.3 - 17.1 + 27.8 N/A +278.7 - 1.7 + 11.8 From: Weeds Trees and Turf September 1985 WEED CONTROL IS CITED NUMBER ONE - Unsatisfactory weed control is the number one reason given for customer loss among lawn service firms with 5,000 or more accounts; - Reason for lawn service customer loss: Customer relocation Weed control Competition Insect control No loss Other 40.6 % 24.8 % 16.8 % 3.0 % 1.0 % 13.8 % 100.0 % From: Landscape and Irrigation August 1985 SALE OF PESTICIDES PEGGED AT 1.9 BILLION DOLLARS IN 1984 - Professional use of pesticides increased in 1984 according to manufacturers sales up to $1.9 billion from $1.2 billion in 1981. - Some 125 companies offer about 350 different formulations for professional use. Pesticides account for 60 % of dollar sales in 1984. From: Weeds Trees and Turf June 1985 CHEMICAL LAWN CARE EXCEEDS MECHANICAL FOR FIRST TIME - Gross revenues for chemical lawn care exceeded those for mowing/maintenance for the first time. - 1984 chemical lawn care gross revenue was $1,500,000 compared with. $1,300,000 for mowing maintenance. - Chemical lawn care grew at a 40 percent rate while mowing/maintenance grew at only 11 percent. - The overall lawn care industry grew 26.6 percent in 1984. From:Weeds Trees and Turf November 1984 A BULL MARKET IN THE LAWN CARE INDUSTRY - The lawn care industry continues to set records in gross sales and growth; Analysts don’t predict a slackening until the late 80s and a leveling off early in the 21st century; - In 1983 the lawn care industry gross sales of leading companies amounted to $2,220,000,000. This represented a 20.2 percent increase in comparison with 1982; Market growth should continue in the 20 to 25 percent range for the remainder of the decade; - 90.8 percent of accounts are residential; - About 6,400,000 home lawns were serviced in 1983; Overall more than 7,000,000 accounts were serviced; - 7 out of 10 lawn care operators are involved in: - disease control 73.6 % 71.9 % - aeration - renovation 69.4 % - 15 percent claim their entire business is chemical lawn care; - 7 percent claim to be exclusively landscape management; - Business expenses [of gross receipts]: 29.93 percent for labor; 15.70 percent for fertilizers and 7.94 percent for fuel; 4.02 percent for advertising. pesticides; - Pretax profit was averaged at 20.53 percent; - Pretax profit for predominantly chemical lawn care was 22.19 percent; - Pretax profit for predominantly landscape management was 19.58 percent; - Pretax profits for 1983 amounted to $456,300,000; - $665,300,000 was pumped into the labor market; - $176,500,000 was spent for fuel; $89,400,000 was spent for advertising; - Most companies involved in tree and lawn care fell into a bracket of less than $25,000 gross sales per year; - 6 percent of the 45,000,000 owner-occupied single family homes with lawns in the United States contract for professional lawn care; - 13 percent of the homes with incomes more than $20,000 contract for professional lawn care; - 34 percent of the lawns contracted are under 5,000 square feet; - 54 percent are under 7,500 square feet. From: Lawn Servicing Spring 1984 WHAT DOES YOUR COMPETITION CHARGE ? - The median price for an application to a residential lawn of 7,500 square feet is $36.55; - Charges may range from a low of $10.00 to a high of $112.50; - Prices in the northeast tend to be slightly higher than prices in the northwest; - The median number of applications to residential customers is 4.7 compared to 4.4 to a commercial site. From: Lawn Care Industry June 1980 THE TOP FIFTY LAWN CARE MARKETS - The New York Standard Metropolitan Statistial Area as 36.8 prcent owner occupied housing units [which is low] but the largest number of single family homes in the United States; - The New York Standard Metropolitan Statistial Area had more than 1,400,000 owner occupied homes in 1970; - The New York Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area population in 1979 was almost 12,000,000 people; - The New York Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area per household income in 1978 was $21,461; - Other Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the top ten totals of numbers of single family homes include: Los Angeles - Long Beach CA Chicago IL Philadelphia PA-NJ Detroit MI San Francisco — Oakland CA Boston-Lowell-Brockton- Lawrence-Haverhill MA Pittsburg PA St Louis MO-IL Dallas-Ft Worth TX 1,180,000 1,160,000 993,156 913,267 560,749 532,254 514,503 475,592 455,884 - Top Ten - Population: 11,963,600 New York NY Los Angeles - Long Beach CA 7,197,600 Chicago IL 6,989,900 Philadelphia PA 4,741,100 4,359,300 Detriot MI Boston-Lowell-Brockton Lawrence-Haverhill MA 3,841,800 San Francisco - Oakland CA 3,164,400 Washington DC-MD-VA 2,998,100 2,676,300 Dallas-Ft Worth TX Houston TX 2,626,600 - Top Ten per Household Income Honolulu HI Washington DC-MD-VA New Brunswick-Perth Amboy- Sayreville NJ Anaheim-Santa Ana- Garden Grove CA Bridgeport- Stamford- Norwalk-Danbury CT San Jose CA Sacramento CA Long Branch - Asbury Park NJ Oxnard-Simi Valley-Ventura CA Houston TX $ 29,985 28,872 26,971 26,609 26,392 25,821 25,801 25,332 24,975 24,573 - Cities expected to move up in single-family home rankings include: - St Louis MO - Dallas-Ft Worth TX - Washington DC-MD-VA - Houston TX - Minneapolis - St Paul MN - Baltimore MD - Anaheim - Santa Ana - Garden Grove CA - Milwaukee WI - Atlanta GA - Denver CO - San Diego CA - Phoenix AZ - San Jose CA - Louisville KY - Columbus OH - New Orleans LA - Hartford CT - Sacramento CA - San Antonio TX - Albany NY - Oklahoma City OK - Salt Lake City UT - Memphis TN THE LAWN INSTITUTE County Line Road P. O. Box 108 Pleasant Hill. Tennessee 38578-0108 Bulk Rate U. S. Postage Pleasant Hill TN Permit No. 3 PAID ADDRESSEE.... HELP US KEEP YOUR ADDRESS CORRECT......... If address is wrong in any respect, please correct directly, and return to us. THANK YOU T MASCARO TURFGRASS PROD 2210 NE 124 ST N MIAMI FL 33181 Lawn Institute Harvests is published four times a year by The Better Lawn and Turf Institute. The headquarters office address is P 0 Box 108, Pleasant Hill, Tennessee 38578-0108. Phone: 615/277-3722. Inquiries concerning all aspects of this publication may be addressed to the headquarters office. The Better Lawn and Turf Institute is incorporated as a nonprofit business league formed exclusively for educational and research purposes concerned with agronomic, horticultural and landscape concepts. Lawn Institute Harvests is dedicated to improved communications among turfgrass seed and allied turf industries and other firms, businesses, organizations and individuals with lawngrass research and educational interest and concerns. Editor: Eliot C Roberts, PhD Associate Editor: Beverly C Roberts, MA Printer: Crossville Chronicle (Tennessee)