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Who Will Do The Work?
Washington Impact brings you up to date on the critical issues facing greenhouse and nursery growers, landscape firms and garden retailers (in language you don't have to live in Washington to understand!). Learn how Washington works and the true power you wield with decision makers. Get the latest compliance resources and learn what you can do to protect your business.

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IN EPISODE 1
Who Will Do The Work?
Plants don't get grown, shipped, sold or installed without manual labor. Yet that very foundation is under threat. Fully 50% of our industry's workforce is comprised of immigrant workers. Even those growers, garden retailers, landscape firms or distributors who don't employ immigrant labor rely on vendors and customers who can't survive without them. Unworkable guest worker programs are getting worse, enforcement is increasing and American workers are increasingly moving away from manual labor, especially when it comes to farming. What is Washington's Impact on the workers who grow, ship, install and maintain the plants you sell?
EPISODE GUIDE
Episode 1 NOW PLAYING
Who Will Do the Work?
Plants don't get grown, shipped, sold or installed without manual labor. Yet that very foundation is under threat. Fully 50% of our industry's workforce is comprised of immigrant workers. Even those growers, garden retailers, landscape firms or distributors who don't employ immigrant labor rely on vendors and customers who can't survive without them. Unworkable guest worker programs are getting worse, enforcement is increasing and American workers are increasingly moving away from manual labor, especially when it comes to farming. What is Washington's Impact on the workers who grow, ship, install and maintain the plants you sell?
SPECIAL EDITION: Mid-Term Election Results Analysis
The 2010 mid-term elections are over. The Republicans have re-gained control of the House and eroded the Democratic lead in the Senate. But what do these changes really mean? Will more get done? How will the "Tea Party" candidates influence the Republican caucus?

Most importantly, what do these changes mean for our industry and our biggest issues like the Estate Tax, reauthorizing President Bush's tax breaks, immigration reform and health care? Craig Regelbrugge, ANLA's Vice President of Government Relations offers his perspective from twenty years advocating for the nursery and landscape industry on Capitol Hill.
Banned: Fertilizer, Pest and Disease Controls, Watering
Imagine trying to grow plants or maintain a landscape without water, pest and disease controls, or fertilizer. Recent moves from regulators, testing the limits of their authority, suggest an increase risk of restrictions on these critical industry resources. Our neighbors in Canada face widespread bans on the use of chemical pesticides and disease controls, severely restricting both commercial application and consumer sales. Several states in the US have eliminated the use of phosphorus in fertilizers. The EPA is promoting the planting of landscapes that require less water. What are the risks and how will Washington Impact on your business' access to water, chemicals and fertilizers?
More Than Just Pretty: The Perceived Value of Plants and the Managed Landscape
Your local politicians see public parks as an expense, but public parking as a revenue generator. The EPA thinks your customers' landscapes contribute to overtaxed landfills, while their efficient washing machine contributes to a healthy environment. Tax credits support the purchase of a new refrigerator, but your customers receive no benefit for investing in the future energy savings that will be generated by planting a tree. What is Washington's Impact on your business when they don't understand that plants are more than just pretty?
Unintended Consequences: When Good Laws Go Wrong
Congress, in the 1980's significantly increased penalties for drunk driving. The result? An increase in the number of hit and run accidents (they later increased penalties for leaving the scene of an accident.) The Kudzu "plague" in the south? It was first introduced by the government for erosion control. Sometimes the best of intentions go horribly wrong. Worker safety protections make it impossible to actually do any work, environmental efforts promote parking lots over plantings. Sometimes your business needs protections from even the best intended laws. How are "good" laws in Washington Impacting your business?
Breaking News: E-Verify Debate Begins in Congress
Congress has begun debating a bill which threatens to eliminate a significant percentage of America’s 7 million undocumented workers – with no solution for replacing them. This issue will shape the future of the greenhouse, nursery, garden retail and landscape industry.
Lockdown: The Future of Interstate and International Movement of Plants
While it's true that all politics are local, your sources for plant material are not. The domestic trade in nursery and greenhouse plants relies on the easy transportation of plant material across state lines. When pest and disease problems arise, we need a consistent and efficient way to identify problems without unnecessarily burdening the transportation of healthy plants. Emerald Ash Borer, P. ramorum, and Ralstonia and Wooly Adelgid have all tested the limits of this system. Just as important is the ability to import unrooted cuttings and new genetics into the US from foreign countries (yes, we're talking about Q37!). How does Washington Impact your ability to ship and receive the plants your business depends on?
Raise Revenue. Cut Spending.
This summer's debt ceiling debate was just the start of a fight that will take center stage through the 2012 elections. There are only two ways to reduce the deficit. What spending is expendable and how can Congress raise billions without passing a single new tax? Discover how Washington's Impact on the deficit may cost you and your business more money and cut services our industry relies on.
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Bob Dolibois, ANLA Executive Vice President, looks at the statistics behind our government's long term stability and arrives at a surprising conclusion. READ ON: Is campaign spending stealing power from the voters? Read more here.
 
Craig Regelbrugge, ANLA Vice-President of Government Relations and Research examines the industry's reliance on manual labor and the increasing difficulties we face in filling those jobs. READ ON:For CRaig's outlook on immigration reform, click here.
 
In Your Backyard: Who's Growing, Shipping and Installing Plants?
Garden Center, Landscape, Grower and Distribution owners and managers bring home the real impact the current labor shortage, and Congress' failure to achieve meaningful immigration reform, is having on them and their customers. READ ON:What do you do when Homeland Security or DOL show up at your business? Learn more here.
NOW PLAYING
MEET THE CAST
Bob D.
Craig R.
Anna B.
Larry S.
Skip S.
Laurie D.
Platt H.
 
Bob Dolibois
Robert J. Dolibois, CAE, is executive vice president of the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA). Bob's association management career has spanned 36 years with organizations including Association Management Group (AMG)and the National Association of Life Underwriters (NALU). He is immediate Past Chairman of the Board of the Small Business Legislative Council and is a member of the Committee of 100 of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Dolibois received the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 1979. Following college, he served as a naval officer for five years. He and his wife, Susan, reside in Arlington, VA.
Craig Regelbrugge
Craig Regelbrugge serves as the American Nursery & Landscape Association's Vice President for Government Relations and Research. He serves in several leadership positions regarding the green industry and labor and immigration reform. He is national co-chair of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform (ACIR), working to secure an affordable and legal workforce for nursery and greenhouse growers. In 2008 he was elected vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Immigration Forum, and represents agriculture and the green industry on the management team of the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign.
Anna Ball
Anna Ball is President and CEO of the 105-year-old Ball Horticultural Company, which specializes in all aspects of horticulture, including breeding, biotechnology, production, and marketing of hybrid flower seeds and other floriculture crops. Privately held and now in its third generation of family management, Ball Horticultural Company is located in over 20 locations worldwide. Anna received her B.A. degree from the University of Colorado and her MBA from Northwestern University. She is a Trustee for The Morton Arboretum, Limestone College, Thomas Jefferson School, and Choose DuPage. She is also a Director of the Board of the Ball Foundation, a 30 year-old research institute whose mission is to help individuals and organizations recognize and develop human potential and to engage in education reform. Anna lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
Larry Smith
Larry is the General Manager at Lurvey Landscape Supply, a Landscape Distribution and Garden Retail business in the suburban Chicago market. Larry brigns 30+ years experience growing, selling and installing green goods including positions as a green goods buyer and sales manager. He received his BS in Ornamental Horticulture from Michigan State University in 1979. Larry is a past president of ANLA's Landscape Distribution Division and states, "After spending time working in all the different segments of our profession, I realize that Distribution is the all important link that ties the growers, garden centers, contractors and homeowners together and allows them all to work together to grow, install and enjoy the landscape around us. Done well, Distribution enhances the value of the products by allowing Growers and Contractors to concentrate on what they do best."
Skip Shorb
Skip Shorb is the past owner of his family's business, American Plant Food, in Bethesda, MD. Today, American Plant is owned and operated by three of Skip's four sons, Todd, Erik and Brett. He first joined the business in 1969 after graduating from Windham College in Vermont. In 1976 Skip separated the family's wholesale garden supply business from the retail garden center, forming N.W. Shorb and Sons, which he sold to Commerce Corp in 1983. He resigned as president of American Plant in 2007 and today serves as honorary Chairman. Skip served five years on the board of directors of Master Nursery Garden CEnters and is currently the treasurer of both ANLA and the Barbara Hauf Cancer Foundation, Inc.
Laurie Damgaard
Laurie Damgaard is currently President of Kaneville Tree Farms, Inc. Kaneville Tree Farms, located about 50 miles west of Chicago, is a wholesale grower of larger, specimen-quality shade trees, ornamentals and evergreens. The primary target market for the plant material is landscape contractors and landscape architects specializing in upscale residential and commercial projects. The company strives to provide a high level of quality and service through attention to details and good communication with customers and employees.

Laurie's family has been in the landscaping and nursery business for 75 years. Laurie "officially" began working at the nursery about 15 years ago. Prior to that time, Laurie worked at two consumer food product companies. Her formal education was at Iowa State University where she received a degree in dietetics and food science. Her education pertaining to nursery practices and the nursery industry was obtained by 1) spending a lot of time with her very knowledgeable father, Ron Damgaard, 2) observing practices and procedures at Kaneville Tree Farms and other nurseries and 3) attending as many industry networking events and classes as possible. Participation in industry organizations such as ANLA was also extremely helpful.
Platt Hill
Platt is the owner of Platt Hill Nursery, a two-location garden center operation the suburban Chicago market. A fourth-generation nurseryman, Platt purchased his family's business in 1980 and oversaw many changes including the addition of the second store. A past president of ANLA's Garden Retail Division, Platt is passionate about reducing the industry's environmental impact from plastic containers. In fact, he may be calling you right now to talk about standardization of nursery and greenhouse pots.
 
For More Information...
From its beginnings as a wholesale cut flower operation started by George J. Ball in 1905, Ball Horticultural Company has grown into a leader in all facets of floriculture, with distribution capabilities in all of the major world markets. Since its founding, Ball has introduced many innovative, award-winning varieties to the world of horticulture, including the Wave® Petunia series, and Super Elfin® Impatiens. The company has also expanded to include nursery product offerings, perennials, and dedicated support for retail and landscape businesses. Ball is also on a continuous, many-faceted journey to find the healthiest, most sustainable solutions for the horticulture industry, and is committed to helping its customers grow a better world. Ball’s global family of breeders, seed and vegetative producers, distribution companies, and research and development teams, have a strong presence in over 20 countries on six continents.
Phone: 630-231-3500
Additional Resources
Are political donations corrupting the political process and stripping all power from American voters? Bob Dolibois says, "Not so fast."
Our industry remains dependent on manual labor and the US market for manual laborers, particularly for seasonal jobs, is built**MORE**
ANLA provides an early analysis of the likely impact of the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposal for calculating wage rates**MORE**
How Do You Respond When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Shows Up at Your Farm, Ranch or Business?
ANLA Immigration Law Counsel, Monte Lake, provides practical guidance to get your business through a labor audit by DHS. ANLA**MORE**
What to Do If the Department of Labor (DOL) Knocks On Your Door?
ANLA Legal Counsel for Labor and Immigration Law, Monte Lake, provides practical advice for dealing with a DOL wage and**MORE**
PUBLISHING TEAM
Project and Editorial Design: Jonathan Bardzik, ANLA

Concept and Partnership Development: Kellee Magee, ANLA Visual and Video created by Fresh Brew Studios
Steve Kendall, Producer
Josh Miller, Producer

Graphic Design created by The Design Works