News Articles
July 2005
Moving Forward on Fire Safety by Ellis Schmidt, Schmidt's Tree Farm, Landenberg , PA appears in the July 2005 edition of American Christmas Tree Journal . The ‘About the Author' section notes, “Schmidt serves as chair of the NCTA Holiday Safety Committee and works closely with fire officials via the National Fire Protection Association, the International Code Council, and at meetings of the code authorities.”
Taxes: Should I Incorporate My Tree Farm? ( American Christmas Tree Journal , July '05). Author Shelly Sorem discusses “the widely held myth that you can get away with loading a bunch of personal expenses into a corporation, thereby reducing your taxes. It is true in some limited situations that you can reduce your taxes by incorporating your business, but it has to make good business and economic sense in order to work. Generally speaking, most tree farms should not incorporate. . . . There are some tax advantages to incorporating, most of which do not benefit the average Christmas Tree grower. . . . Therefore, be sure to discuss these matters with both your tax advisor and your attorney prior to making any changes. Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
Changing Christmas Traditions Revealed in New Survey ( Country Folks Grower , July '05). A press release from the National Christmas Tree Association reports, “New research . . . has shown a major erosion of key aspects of Christmas celebrations among U.S. adults since a similar survey conducted in 1996.” The survey reflected a decline in “activities revolving around Christian values and Christian celebrations” while “activities associated with commercial elements have remained about the same in the last 10 years.” The survey showed that “decorating a Christmas tree was about the same at 74 percent.” Read the complete press release at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/newsletters/clientnews/Christmas_Traditions_Release.pdf
Marketing Your Christmas Trees in the “Christmas Section” of Country Folks Grower (July '05) says, “The method of marketing your Christmas trees depend on the proximity of your plantation to population centers, accessibility of the plantation, and the effort you want to devote to selling. . . . Choose and cut growers often diversity their sales by offering an assortment of other Christmas products at the plantation. . . . Use your imagination to make your operation a unique and successful business. Sell Christmas, not just a tree!” This article is available as part of a larger publication by John Seifert, on the Purdue University website at http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/FNR/FNR-118.html .
Got kids? Got chores? How to keep your kids safe is “The People Side” feature in Hoard's Dairyman (July '05). “Each year, 32,800 children are seriously hurt doing farm work in the United States , and around 100 children are killed, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. . . . The North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks, known as NAGCAT (were) developed in consultation with farm families, cooperative extension specialists, and child development and health experts. The guidelines help parents assess whether children aged 7 to 16 are developmentally ready to safely perform common farm tasks.” The “ Job Hazard Analysis Frameworks and Developmental Checklists” for many farm jobs are available at http://nagcat.org/nagcat/pages/default.aspx?page=AgriJobs
Time to Bury the Axe is an editorial in Christmas Tree Outlook (Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association, Summer '05). “While we are pulling our forces ever closer together, we still occasionally hear conflicting feelings of wholesale versus Choose & Cut. The fact is that while we are both growing and selling the same product, we are not competing with each other. It is not a case of ‘a tree sold by a Choose & Cut is a sale lost to wholesale' or vice versa. . . . It would seem that the two types of customers are of a different mind set. . . . As an industry, we can't allow ourselves to become either divided or complacent. . . . We are more successful when we all pull together.”
Operating Cash Flow: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Valuable Business ( American Christmas Tree Journa l, July '05). Author Jim Devine notes, “The number of times that I have heard a business owner say they acquired additional assets due to their ability to write them off would require a Hewlett Packard calculator to quantify. . . . As a small business owner, the funding strategies that are available don't include some of the creative financing alternatives that are available to large businesses with open access to public capital markets. On the credit side, most small businesses have access to only the capital they can effectively borrow from their local bank or what they can squeeze from their suppliers. Equity in the form of retained profits represents their primary equity funding resource.. . . We often find that business owners who are struggling with cash flow issues are also the ones who have accumulated the biggest pool of assets. . . . The very decision to acquire an asset is an intentional decision to be less liquid. . . . Remember, at the end of the day, cash is king!
Protect Your Hearing recommends Golf Course News (July '05) in an article that appears in English and Spanish. “Loud noises increase heart rate and energy use. This can contribute to fatigue, discomfort and mental unease. However, the primary effect of noise is loss of hearing. Abusing the ears with loud noises shifts the hearing threshold upward, so that a person can only hear louder sounds. . . . Once damage to hearing has occurred, it is impossible to repair. Everyone should take steps to protect their hearing in the workplace. . . . Acoustical ear muffs provide the most effective protection against noise. They don't contribute to infection and discomfort as do ear plugs, which fit tightly and carry dirt to the ear canal. Ear muffs block more noise than plugs because they also cover the sound conducting bones around the ears.”
Scouting Fraser Fir , a publication of North Carolina State University Agricultural Extension Service, has been reprinted in Ontario Christmas Tree News (Summer '05) and The Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association Quarterly Journal (April '05). The article defines scouting and discusses scouting tools, schedules, treatment thresholds and how to set up scouting blocks. The complete publication is available at http://ipm.ncsu.edu/scouting_fraser_fir/scouting.html .
Building Your Business (Ontario Christmas Tree News , Issue 3, 2005). The Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario says, “As the baby boomers age and move past the time of life when they purchase and display Real Christmas trees, we must, as an industry look for ways to influence new consumers to incorporate real trees into their holiday celebrations.” Suggestions for encouraging young families to become real tree enthusiasts include developing working relationships with local realtors and builders who work with ‘starter' homes and new subdivisions, and targeting your advertising to new subdivisions. The CTFO website includes a section on Real Tree Facts at http://www.christmastrees.on.ca/consumers/real-tree-facts/9.html
It's Time to Plan your 2005 Marketing! reminds Ontario Christmas Tree News (Issue 3, 2005). “This IS the best time to start making plans and implementing changes. Otherwise, you're left scrambling with too much to do in too little time and another year goes by without that new sign, flyer or banner you've been meaning to get to.”
Deer Wars: The battle over Pennsylvania 's
whitetails is getting ugly appears in Field & Stream's August
2005 edition. The theme of the edition is “Deer Hunting 101.” The article
details the history of the deer management controversy in Pennsylvania
. Read the complete article at http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/
columnists/article/0,13199,1084177-2,00.html# .
Archived articles
2006: Current | Jan - Mar
2005: Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | July | Aug | Sep | Oct
2004: December | November | October | September | August | July | June