Market Trends: Nov. 2000

Although the environment remains an issue on Americans’ minds this election year, it is not going to make or break their votes, according to a recent Gallup Poll.

The Sept. 25 poll ranks the environment at the ninth position on the list of 14 issues driving the campaign (see chart below). Eighty-nine percent of Americans thought education was the most important voting issue with the economy following closely behind at 86 percent.

While the percentage of Americans who think the environment is an extremely or very important presidential voting influence is more than half – 71 percent – eight other issues surpassed environmental concerns. Twenty-nine percent said the environment will be only somewhat important or not important at all in their choices.

The environment also has very little top-of-the-mind significance at this point in time. Over the past eight years when Americans were asked to identify "the most important problem facing this country today," very few – between 1 and 4 percent – stated the environment as one of them.

However, there is somewhat greater recognition that the environment will be a key concern in the future. In a Gallup poll conducted earlier this year, 14 percent of adults said that in 25 years the environment will be the most crucial issue the country faces – the most mentions of any one concern in response to this question. Mentioned most frequently after the environment was ethics, morals and family decline.

The environment’s low- to mid-range importance in the presidential race this year is similar to the relatively low rating Americans give green issues compared to other national problems. The most serious problems, the public noted, include drug use at an 83 percent seriousness rating, crime and violence at an 82 percent rating, poor health care at a 67 percent rating and hunger and homelessness at a 66 percent rating. Only 55 percent of Americans believe that environmental problems are a hot-button issue, placing it fifth on the list of seven problems tested.

The reason the environment may not rank as high as other issues on this list is because a 1999 Gallup poll reported that 69 percent of Americans are satisfied with current environmental protection efforts. This number has risen since a similar January 1993 poll that showed roughly half of all adults (52 percent) stated they were very or somewhat satisfied with environmental protection.

Along the same lines, Americans also are now more likely to sense progress in correcting or dealing with environmental problems. In 1990, only 14 percent of Americans felt that a great deal of progress had been made in handling the green issues facing the United States since the 1970s.

This year, nearly double the amount of respondents – 26 percent of adults – feel that progress has been achieved. On the other hand, the number of people who notice little progress has dropped significantly over the past 10 years. In 1990, 21 percent of adults said hardly any progress was made. In the 2000 survey, the proportion has dropped to only 9 percent. – Nicole Wisniewski

FORT WORTH, Texas – Boasting a six-month blooming season from October through May, pansies are now the top-selling bedding plant, especially for southern landscapes, according to Calloway’s Nursery.

Planted during cool fall weather, pansies expand autumn’s traditional color palate of harvest gold, rust and pumpkin to a rainbow of blues, roses, yellows and whites, pointed out Calloway President John Peters.

"Pansies will continue to bloom when winter temperatures drop – even down to 20 degrees," Peters said. "With that kind of blooming season, they are a great value."

New varieties, such as Contessa, Panola Panache and Colossus, along with other fall color favorites like snapdragons, mums, asters, ornamental peppers, kale and cyclamen, offer a variety of options for landscape contractors to sell to clients in a seasonal color package.

HOUSTON, Texas – A new study conducted by the Houston-based International Facility Management Association (IFMA) revealed that outsourcing is a major part of many companies’ strategic plans, despite the trend to consolidate the number of vendors used.

The survey, which was directed to 4,000 North American members of IFMA last spring (and yielded a 15 percent response), reported that 70 percent of respondents said outsourcing was in their companies’ future plans. Each respondent estimated using an average of 20 vendors. Sixty percent of companies report using the same number of vendors in 1999 as they did two years ago. Approximately 32 percent rely on more vendors while only 8 percent use fewer vendors than in previous years.

Out of the 10 service-oriented businesses most commonly outsourced, landscape maintenance ranked No. 5 on the list.

All survey respondents outsource services requiring specialty skills that are unavailable or not cost-effective to handle in-house. Furthermore, these companies outsource services so they can focus on their core competencies.

HOUSTON, Texas – The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) is trying to overturn a proposed ban on the morning use of gasoline-powered lawn equipment in Texas.

The ban, proposed by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), would prohibit machine operation between the hours of 6 a.m. and noon from April 1 through Oct. 31 in eight counties in the Houston/Galveston area, beginning in 2005. TNRCC’s objective is to help achieve compliance with federal ozone and urban smog standards.

Due to the ban’s potential impact on landscape contractors and their businesses, OPEI executives recently met with TNRCC representatives to propose alternatives. These options include:

• Working with TNRCC to refine the Texas emissions model for outdoor power equipment, which may have overestimated total emissions.
• Working with TNRCC to adopt regulations for all new portable non-spill gas cans and spouts, which will provide Texas with emission reductions similar to those achieved through the proposed ban.

While their proposals are pending, OPEI representatives reported they were optimistic about the meeting and think such efforts will achieve mutually beneficial results.

The U.S. Composting Council’s Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) program recently completed a survey of 32 composters to track compost market trends. Landscape contractors were cited as composters’ most popular market segment.

The participants of the survey specified their top three compost market segments based on volume, as well as the top three compost applications. The most popular market identified was landscape contractors, which was identified in 94 percent of the responses. Homeowners were identified 55 percent of the time, topsoil manufacturers 32 percent of the time, retailers 23 percent of the time and nurseries 19 percent of the time.

The survey identified soil amendments for use in turf and garden applications as the top compost application. This use was one of the top three end uses in 97 percent of the responses. The use of compost as a mulch (39 percent), growing media component (32 percent), top dressing (26 percent) and in garden bed establishment (23 percent) were the next most popular applications. Only 10 percent of the respondents identified erosion control as a common application.

All but one of the composters involved in the survey have been composting for less than 15 years. Six of the composting facilities have been in operation for less than two years. The composting facilities began their active marketing programs an average of 4.3 years in relation to when their facilities opened. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents stated that they were customizing their compost product to increase sales.

The participating facilities compost a variety of feedstocks, including yard trimmings, biosolids, industrial by-products, manure and plant debris.
– Ron Alexander

MINNEAPOLIS – Turfco Direct has become the first manufacturer in the landscape industry to offer machine parts direct to landscape contractors through its Web site: www.turfcodirect.com.

If contractors need to order parts for machines in their equipment fleets, Turfco Direct Vice President Scott Kinkead said he hopes this additional ordering avenue makes their lives easier. "By the time contractors are finished working for the day, the dealers and manufacturers are closed," Kinkead explained. "This gives them an opportunity to order at their convenience."

Manuals and technical product information along with photos of each part can be found online during the ordering process so contractors are assured the correct item, Kinkead pointed out. Also, if contractors place their orders before 2 p.m., Turfco Direct guarantees 10 a.m. next day delivery, Kinkead said.

As far as the potential for other manufacturers to set up a similar type of direct-to-customer service through the Internet, Kinkead said this depends on the product type. "I don’t know if manufacturers that make out-front rotary mowers with parts that typically wear more often and that generate more profit for dealers can do something like this," Kinkead said. "For someone like us who make renovation equipment, it just makes sense.

"I’m not saying this avenue is a better option for contractors who want to purchase parts either," Kinkead continued. "Our goal isn’t to replace the dealers or the service they provide. This just offers contractors another avenue for purchasing equipment."