San Diego nurseries adapting ‘to do more with less’ By JacquelineCovey
Rows of Blue Glow agave, lef t, fill the succulent greenhouse of Altman Plants in Escondido, part of San Diego County’s $1.3 billion nursery indus- try, the largest in the U.S. Below, Liz Kellogg, owner of Kellogg Orchard in San Diego, sells her nursery plants at the Rancho Bernardo Certified Farmers Market.
One county inCalifornia—SanDiego— is the leadingproducerof nurseryplants in theU.S. That’s a testament to the resiliency of its nursery operators and growers, be- cause theyhave facedplentyof challenges. SanDiegoCountynurseryandcut flow- erproductionisanearly$1.3-billionindus- trywithabout 500operators. According to the county’s 2020 crop report, released in August, the sector saw its profits jump by $25million over 2019, even as its farming acreage continued to shrink. San Diego County is known for its spe- cialty crops and its unique microclimate. Theconditions enablegrowers toproduce a wide variety of commodities in a longer growing season. Yet the urban region is facing a steady decline in agricultural production. San DiegoCountyhas lost nearly 80,000 acres, or 26%, of itsagricultural production in the past 10 years. The latest crop report shows a loss of 10,000 acres in a single year. Some nursery growers are trying to counter declining acreage with more ef- fectivemarket outreach. “Our growers are operating to domore with less.…They’reable topivot theirmar- kets andmeet themoment,” saidHannah Gbeh, executive director of the SanDiego County FarmBureau. One of those pivoting is Altman Plants.
said it’s becoming harder to stock plant- ers, pots, soil and other products that ar- en’t already waiting at the clogged Port of Long Beach. “Supply-chain issues are changing how things are done,” said KalimOwens, co-owner ofWeidners’ Gardens. Without a domestic or alternative player to circumvent these issues, gar- den centers are in a holding pattern— selling what comes available. The plant nursery represents 60% of the busi- ness’s revenue, with 40% from its gar- den-supply center. “It’s not like there is a domestic supplier you can turn to,” Owens said, adding that even if there were, the supplier would never be able to meet the demand. Meanwhile, agriculture in San Diego County faces the operational challenges of anurbanenvironment. SanDiego is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the countyhostsmore than30%of thenursery plant production in California. However,
The globally recognized seller in Vista is the largest producer of cacti and succu- lents and one of the biggest horticulture growers in the country. The wholesale nurserybegan inKenandDeenaAltman’s Los Angeles home in 1975 beforemoving to San Diego County. It now maintains 1,700 acres across five states. Matt Altman, AltmanPlants’ chief oper- ating officer, said recent years introduced
newobstacles on top of old. Altman said the nursery has “seen a lot ofnewchallenges, includingnavigatingthe COVIDpandemicandensuring thehealth andsafetyofouremployees”whilealsoad- justingto“theuncertainty intheeconomy.” These days, Altman is working to stay ahead of inflationary pressures and sup- ply-chain delays. He also recognized op- portunities, as customers endured the shut-in days of the pandemic by beautify- ing theirhomeenvironmentswithnursery products. As a result, the nursery began to shift its focus more toward home projects and garden kits. “The last twoyearshave seenabig trend in gardening and people buying plants to decoratetheirhomes, aspeoplehavespent more time at home andmillennials have come of age and are in their home-buying years,” Altman said. At Weidners’ Gardens—an Encinitas nursery that serves the local market and customers in Texas and Arizona—sup- plemental products on the retail side are becoming increasingly limited. Altman
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4 Ag Alert April 13, 2022
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