Despite the ups and downs, the last few years delivered a lot of positives for the ornamental horticulture industry. But labor issues have remained a constant challenge from long before the pandemic until now. If you’re in the horticulture industry, we don’t have to tell you how hard it’s been for hort businesses to tap into new talent or hang on to the quality employees you already have.

Nearly every horticultural State of the Industry report or tradeshow keynote speech puts labor issues near the top of the list for grower concerns. This fall’s industry research followed suit. In one recent nursery trade survey, two-thirds of growers cited labor as a leading challenge for their business. In another survey, greenhouse growers grouped labor costs with rising costs for inputs and shipping as top hurdles they face.

As we finish out 2022 and look to next year, understanding trends in rising labor costs and ongoing labor shortages may be key. Taking a fresh look at these issues can help you determine where your growing operation may need to be.

Rising labor costs
For decades, many horticulture businesses believed hort jobs simply paid less than other industries. That was accepted as okay. Ask a long-term industry employee what it was like to negotiate a starting wage or get a raise, and you’ll hear similar stories. While it’s true that job applicants today look beyond wages to company culture and other factors, employees still have to pay their bills.

Headlines tell us that the “Great Reshuffle” and flood of pandemic-related job resignations has slowed. But a solid living wage is essential to keeping a talented, in-demand workforce intact. From the look of things this year, industry response to that idea is mixed.

In his Cultivate’22 keynote, Dr. Charlie Hall quoted compensation data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Viewed as a whole, U.S. businesses increased 2022 wages across the board. At one end, one-fifth of U.S. businesses raised wages by up to 5%. At the other end, another fifth raised them 11% or more. The nearly 60% of businesses in between increased wages 6-10% for 2022.

That’s your competition.

Even so, green industry data varied. One study suggested widespread wage increases. But participants in an annual greenhouse survey had a different response: 70% of those growers decreased hourly rates in 2022 compared to 2021. More than half lowered annual salaries, too. Only one-third of growers held their hourly rates and salaries steady. And only 4% increased pay for their salaried teams.

Wherever you fall on the spectrum, consider your applicants and your team. Rising costs are tough. What would you do in their shoes?

Ongoing labor shortages
While the reasons behind labor shortages differ through the years, the problem remains. Across 2022 hort industry surveys, respondents repeatedly note that a lack of qualified labor limits their business’s growth. Not surprisingly, staff hiring and training remain near the top of the list for areas targeted for improvement.

From our vantage point, strategic recruitment—and equally strategic employee retention—are essential for the industry’s future. As we’ve noted before, savvy hort businesses are extending their reach with social media, creating internships, optimizing trade shows, and leveraging job fairs. Some companies even offer internal bonuses for recruiting leads that result in top hires.

With aging leadership and staff in many nursery and greenhouse businesses, competition for the Millennials and Generation Z employees who constitute the next generation of horticultural leaders is inevitable. Yet, in a perplexing trend, 30% of nursery industry respondents in one fall 2022 survey said they’re not making any effort to reach younger generations.

Rather than looking for labor, many growers combat the shortage with automation instead. The number of nursery growers looking to improve automation mirrors those focused on hiring and training. Many growers are unlocking their lean potential to minimize wasted inputs—including labor—and improve operational efficiencies. Getting the most from your controlled-release fertilizers and water-soluble fertilizers are important components to a lean labor approach.

With lessons from the past to guide us, we can expect that labor issues won’t fade away anytime soon. For hort and agriculture businesses, how you approach wages, recruitment, retention, and efficiency issues will play a significant role in where your business sits in years to come.

At ICL, we’re here to help you grow. From expert fertilizer and growing advice from your local territory manager to industry-leading professional fertilizers like Osmocote and Peters, we can help you and your business grow more effectively and efficiently. That translates to profitability for you. So, shoot us an email or give us a call. We are your partners in growth.