Looking to next year

Kristy J. O'Hara

When things aren’t right and have been wrong for so long, hope is what you need most. You need something to give you that glimmer of optimism that things will change and get better, that what you’re doing isn’t for nothing. The industry has had a rough few years between the economic downturn and weather and increased expenses and having fewer qualified workers. But as we’ve reported in other features throughout the year, 2012 has provided that long-overdue glimmer of hope, and our annual State of the Industry report reiterates what everyone has been saying all year — 2013 is going to be better.

It gets us excited here at Greenhouse Management, and we hope it excites you as well. We’re dedicated to helping you build a better business, and as such, we’ve dedicated our entire issue this month to the State of the Industry.

In this issue, you’ll find this year’s survey results. You’ll also see some compared to last year’s results. Many questions won’t have comparison numbers because we expanded our survey this year and added several new categories that we felt were key areas of determining the overall state of the industry. While you won’t have comparison numbers for them this year, in the years to come, you’ll be able to track that data and see how those areas are trending as well.

In addition to the survey results, we’ve also talked to growers and experts about some of the big trend areas and written features about these topics. Need to know how to approach hiring? We’ve got you covered. Not sure what your profit margin is? We’ll show you how to figure it out. Finding yourself needing to get more work done with fewer human resources? We’ll give you some tips on how to do just that.

We hope this issue will not just provide more hope for the future of the industry but also practical business insights to help you improve your operations from a management perspective. As always, feel free to drop us a line and let us know how we’re doing and what we can do better.

kohara@gie.net
Twitter: @GMmagEditor