Front Cover
        Front Cover
    Abstract
        Page i
    Acknowledgement
        Page ii
    Table of Contents
        Page iii
        Page iv
    Main
        Page 1
        Page 2
        Page 3
        Page 4
    Tables
        Page 5
        Page 6
        Page 7
        Page 8
        Page 9
        Page 10
        Page 11
        Page 12
        Page 13
        Page 14
        Page 15
        Page 16
        Page 17

iwi~





















ABSTRACT


This report presents average sales, costs and returns information for
10 wholesale container nurseries in Florida for the 1977 tax year. The
value of plant sales averaged $343,645 and production costs averaged $350,341.
After adjusting for inventory value changes and miscellaneous income, return
to capital was $57,294 or 11.48 percent.

Key words: Container nurseries, value of own plants sold, cash costs,
non-cash costs, net nursery income and return to capital.
















ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


This report is made possible by the 10 cooperating container nursery-
men who made their production and accounting records available. Addition-
ally, Jim Cummings, Louis Daigle, Klaus Geyer, Larry Halsey, DeArmand Hull,
Marlow Iverson, Dan Schrader and Victor Yingst, county extension agents,
provided invaluable assistance during the data collection process. Carolyn
Almeter tabulated the data for this report and Mary Griffith typed this report.
As always, any errors in the data or interpretation of the information remain
the responsibility of the author.
















TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ABSTRACT. . . . . . i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. . . . .... ii

LIST OF TABLES. . . . . .... iii

INTRODUCTION. . . . . .. .1

PROCEDURE . . . .. .. 1

DEFINITIONS . . . . 2

RESULTS AND DATA PRESENTATION . . . 3

LIST OF TABLES

Table

1 Size of business, four large and six smaller volume
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida,
1977. . . . . . 5

2 Rates of production, four large and six smaller
volume wholesale ornamental container nurseries
in Florida, 1977. . . . 6

3 Labor efficiency, four large and six smaller volume
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida,
1977 . . . . . 7

4 Efficiency in use of capital, four large and six
smaller volume wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, 1977. . . 8

5 Average dollar costs per nursery for various
categories of expense, four large and six smaller
volume wholesale ornamental container nurseries in
Florida, 1977 . . . .. 9








LIST OF TABLES--Continued


Table Page

6 Percent of total costs for various categories of
expense, four large and six smaller volume wholesale
ornamental container nurseries in-Florida, 1977. 10

7 Average costs per square foot of production area,
four large and six smaller volume wholesale ornamental
container nurseries in Florida, 1977 . ... .11

8 Average costs per dollar of sales with plant
inventory increase added to sales, four large and six
smaller volume wholesale ornamental container nur-
series in Florida, 1977. . . . .. 12

9 Average costs per dollar of sales without plant
inventory increase added to sales, four large and six
smaller volume wholesale ornamental container nurser-
ies in Florida, 1977 . . .... .13

10 Income summary, four large and six smaller volume
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida,
1977 . . . .... ... .. 14

11 Factors associated with level of profit, three high
and eight lower profit wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, 1977 . . .... .15

12 Range of figures on profits and five factors asso-
ciated with profits,.wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, 1977 . . .... .16

13 Comparison of business analysis factors for four
years for the same six wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, which furnished data for 1974,
1975, 1976 and 1977. . . . .... 17














BUSINESS ANALYSIS OF CONTAINER NURSERIES IN FLORIDA, 1977


Dan L. Gunter


INTRODUCTION


This business analysis report presents information on sales, costs,
returns and production efficiency aspects of container nurseries in
Florida for 1977. For this report, a container nursery is defined as a
nursery producing primarily woody landscape plants in containers.
The purpose of the business analysis report is: (1) to furnish nur-
serymen various physical and economic measures that may be used in eval-
uating the efficiency of individual container nurseries; (2) to supply.
cooperating nurserymen data so that they may make more informed management
decisions; (3) to provide individuals considering entering the wholesale
container plant production business an estimate of the input requirements
and revenue; and (4) to provide the Florida extension personnel data which
may be used in educational programs with nurserymen.


PROCEDURE


Information presented in this report is based on data collected from
the accounting and production reocrds of 10 nurserymen. Nurserymen
supplying the information are located in north, central and south Florida.
They provided the data voluntarily and do not represent a statistically
selected sample. However, the container nurserymen participating in the
business analysis program are thought to represent some of the more effi-
cient nurseries in the state.



DAN L. GUNTER is an extension production economist.








The data collected pertained to the individual nurseryman's 1977 tax
year which, in some cases, does not conform to the 1977 calendar year. In
those nurseries which do not pay the operator a salary, an estimate of the
value of the operator's time is collected and used in the analysis.
To provide an equitable basis for comparisons, any interest paid
by the individual nurseryman is excluded from the costs shown in this re-
port. However, an interest cost of 8 percent is charged on the owned cap-
ital investment.
The owned capital investment reflects the depreciated book value of
buildings, improvements, and machinery and equipment. The growing plants
are usually valued at a price lower than the wholesale price since not
all plants are of saleable size. Each nurseryman participating in the
analysis may value plants differently. However, a common price used to
value each plant is 50 to 60 percent of the wholesale price. The land is
valued at the original purchase price.
The data from individual nurseries are averaged and presented in
tabular form. The tables depict average values for all 10 nurseries, four
"large" and six "smaller" nurseries. For this report, smaller nurseries are
those that have plant sales of less than $475,000 while large nurseries
are defined as those with a value of plant sales greater than $475,000.

DEFINITIONS


Most of the terms used in the tables are self-explanatory. Definitions
of the terms used in this report, which may be less familiar, are as follows:
Value of own plants sold.--This value represents the total plant sales
minus the cost of plants purchased for immediate resale. (Plants purchased
for growing-on are not deducted.)
Full-time equivalent employee.--This value represent 2,080 annual
manhours or 40 hours for 52 weeks. A convenient way to calculate the
number of full-time equivalent employees is to divide the total annual pay-
roll hours by 2,080 and then add any unpaid family or management.
Percent turnover of capital.--A ratio derived by dividing the
value of own plants sold by the total capital employed in the enterprise.
Total gain.--This value represents total nursery income from plant
sales, value of plant inventory changes, supply inventory increases and








miscellaneous cash income.
Net nursery income.--Total gain less cash costs (except operator's
salary), depreciation costs and value of supply inventory decreases.
Return to capital.--Net nursery income less operator's salary.
Percent return to capital.--Return to capital divided by total owned
capital.


RESULTS AND DATA PRESENTATION


The data in Tables 1 through 9 relate to the size of the business,
rate of production, labor efficiency, capital efficiency, production
space efficiency and other efficiency factors. Analyses relating to
container nursery profitability are presented in Tables 10, 11, and 12.
Table 13 presents information on the efficiency and profitability of
six wholesale container nurseries that have participated in the nursery
business analysis program since 1974. Where information in the tables is
rounded to the nearest whole number, arithmetic errors due to rounding
may be noted.
During 1977, the 10 nurseries that participated in the nursery
business analysis program had average plant sales (value of own plants
sold) of $343,645 (Table 1). The nurseries had an average of 14.4 acres
in production. The production area is net growing space. Roads, aisles
and non-productive areas have been excluded. The nurseries had an average
of just over 18 full-time employees. Office employees, the manager (owner)
and any unpaid family members are included as employees.
The average capital investment for 10 nurseries was $499,005. However,
the managed capital averaged $503,085. Managed capital reflects the owned
capital investment plus an estimated market value of buildings, equipment
or land rented.
Total production costs averaged $350,341 (Table 5). This value includes
the cash expenses incurred during the year, the depreciation costs and an
interest cost of 8 percent of the value of the investment. Note also that
an operator's salary averaging $23,194 is included as a cash cost. Labor is
the single largest expense for the container nurseries, accounting for al-
most 38 percent of the total costs (Table 6). Little variation in labor
costs is detected between the large and smaller nursery operations. Cash








costs accounted for about 85 percent of the costs of production.
Another useful basis for efficiency comparisons is the costs per
square foot. The large nurseries costs per square foot were 54 cents while
the smaller nurseries expended 61 cents (Table 7).
Return to capital was $57,294 for the 10 nurseries which was slightly
over 11 percent of the capital investment; There is only a slight
difference in percent return to capital between the large and smaller
nurseries (Table 10). Other differences between the large and smaller
nurseries can be seen by examination of the various efficiency factors
presented in the tables.
Information in Table 13 is of particular significance as it pertains to
six nurseries participating in the business analysis program since 1974.
Net nursery income averaged $84,817 in 1977, up from $46,838 a year earlier.
The return to capital averaged almost 15 percent, up from 7.37 percent in
1976. However, the value of plant sales increased by about 28 percent from
$231,370 in 1976 to $296,251 in 1977.
Employing the definitions provided above, nursery managers can utilize
this report by completing the column--"Your nursery." By doing so, managers
may be able to locate areas in their own operation where production effi-
ciency can be improved.








Table 1.--Size of business, four large and six smaller volume
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1977


wholesale


Average Average Average
Item Unit all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery


One best measure
Value of own plants
sold

Other useful indi-
cators
Value of own plants
sold adjusted for
plant inventory
change
Average sq. ft. of
own plants in pro-
duction
Average acre equiv-
alent of own plants
in production
Average number of
full-time equiv.
employees

Capital owned:
Growing plants
Land
Machinery & equip.
Bldgs., fences,
wells, etc.
Supplies
Total owned cap.

Capital managed:
Growing plants
Land
Machinery & equip.
Bldgs., fences,
wells, etc.
Supplies
Total managed cap.


$ 343,645 640,895 145,478





$ 364,164 667,760 161,767


Sq.ft.


Acre

No.


626,938 1,188,936


14.39

18.33


374,926
37,719
46,180

22,660
17,520


27.29


33.41


658,292
79,884
85,288

43,911
34,179


252,272


5.79


8.28


186,015
9,610
20,109

8,493
6.413


499,005 901,554 230,639

374,926 658,292 186,015
40,419 86,634 9,610
46,180 85,288 20,109 ,

24,040 43,911 10,793
17,520 34,179 6,413
503,085 908,304 232,939


aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.


~








Table 2.--Rates of production, four large and six smaller volume whole-
sale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1977


Average Average Average
Item Unit all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery


One best measure
Sq. ft. equivalent
of own plants sold
per acre in prod. Sq.ft. 23,877. 23,481 25,120

Other useful indi-
cators
Value of own plants
sold per acre in
production $ 25,302 24,465 27,933
Value of own plants
sold adjusted for
plant inventory
change per acre
in production $ 26,050 24,118 32,119


aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.







Table 3.--Labor efficiency, four large and six smaller volume
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1977,


wholesale


Average Averagea Average
Item Unit all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

One best measure
Value of own
plants sold per
employee $ 18,748 19,183 17,570

Other useful in-
dicators
Value of own
plants sold
adjusted for
plant inven-
tory change
per employee $ 19,867 19,987 19,537
Average sq. ft.
in production
per employee Sq. ft. 34,203 35,586 30,468


aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.







Table 4.--Efficiency in use of capital, four large and six smaller volume
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1977.

Average Average Average
Item Unit all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

One best measure
Percent turnover of
owned capital annu-
ally % 68.87 71.09 63.08

Other useful indica-
tors
Percent turnover of
managed capital
annually % 68.31 70.56 62.45

Capital owned:
Per employee $ 27,223 26,985 27,855
Per acre $ 34,671 33,031 39,825

Capital managed:
Per employee $ 27,446 27,187 28,133
Per acre $ 34,955 33,278 40,222

Capital managed per
employee in:
Plants $ 20,454 19,703 22,466
Land $ 2,205 2,593 1,161
Machinery & equipment $ 2,519 2,553 2,429

Percent of capital
managed in:
Plants $ 26,050 24,118 32,119
Land $ 2,808 3,174 1,659
Machinery & equipment $ 3,209 3,125 3,472

Percent of capital
managed in:
Plants % 74.53 72.47 79.86
Land % 8.03 9.54 4.13
Machinery & equipment % 9.18 9.39 8.63
Bldgs., wells, fences,
etc. % 4.78 4.83 4.63
Supplies % 3.48 3.76 2.75

Total % 100.00 100.00 100.00

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.








Table 5.--Average dollar costs per nursery for various categories of expense,
four large and six smaller volume wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, 1977

Average Average Average
Item all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

- - Dollars - - - -


Cash costs
Operator's salary
Others wages & salaries
Plants & seeds to grow on
Cans & other growing con-
tainers
Peat, soil, shavings, etc.

Fertilizer & lime
Pesticides & other chem.
Other production supplies
Repairs & maintenance
Equipment operating costs

Travel & entertainment
Insurance
Telephone
Electricity
Taxes, licenses & bonds

Advertising
Rent; land and/or buildings
Other cash expenses
Total cash costs

Non-cash costs
Depreciation machinery &
equipment
Depreciation buildings
Inventory decrease on supp.
Interest on capital @ 8%
Total non-cash costs


Total all costs


23,194
131,949
14,763

29,054
14,473

8,149
5,346
11,915
11,296
9,520


3,745
7,734
2,211
4,037
4,230


1,446
1,191
12,579


45,821
237,769
22,419

51,047
28,375

13,597
9,514
23,334
20,689
18,953

8,748
15,054
3,825
8,061
7,155

2,867
2,750
25,606


8,109
61,403
9,658

14,392
5,204

4,517
2,568
4,302
5,035
3,231

409
2,854
1,136
1,354
2,280

498
152
3,895


'96,830 545,582 130,995



9,583 19,303 3,103
4,008 6,484 2,357
0 0 0
39,920 72,124 18,451
53,510 97,910 23,910


350,341


643,493 154,906


aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.


~


--~----




---c~--


2







Table 6.--Percent of total costs for various categories of expense, four
large and six smaller volume wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, 1977

Average Averagea Average
Item all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery


- - Percent


- ..4-------


Cash costs
Operator's salary
Other wages & salaries
Plants & seeds to grow on
Cans & other growing con-
tainers
Peat, soil, shavings, etc.

Fertilizer & lime
Pesticides & other chem.
Other production supplies
Repairs & maintenance
Equipment operating costs

Travel & entertainment
Insurance
Telephone
Electricity
Taxes, licenses, & bonds

Advertising
Rent; land and/or buildings
Other cash expenses
Total cash costs

Non-cash costs
Depreciation machinery &
equipment
Depreciation buildings
Inventory decrease on supp.
Interest on capital @ 8%
Total non-cash costs

Total all costs


6.62
37.66
4.21

8.29
4.13

2.33
1.53
3.40
3.22
2.72

1.07
2.21
.63
1.15
1.21

.41
.34
3.59


7.12
36.95
3.48

7.93
4.41

2.11
1.48
3.63
3.22
2.95

1.36
2.34
.59
1.25
1.11

.45
.43
3.98


5.23
39.64
6.23

9.29
3.36

2.92
1.66
2.78
3.25
2.09

.26
1.84
.73
.87
1.47

.32
.10
2.51


84.73 84.78 84.56



2.74 3.00 2.00
1.14 1.01 1.52
0 0 0
11.39 11.21 11.91
15.27 15.22 15.44


100.00


100.00


100.00


aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.


~








Table 7.--Average costs per square foot of production area, four large and
six smaller volume wholesale ornamental container nurseries in
Florida, 1977


Average Average Average
Item all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

-- Cents - - - -


Cash costs
Operator's salary
Other wages & salaries
Plants & seeds to grow on
Cans & other growing containers
Peat, soil, shavings, etc.

Fertilizer & lime
Pesticides & other chem.
Other production supplies
Repairs & maintenance
Equipment operating costs

Travel & entertainment
Insurance
Telephone
Electricity
Taxes, licenses, & bonds

Advertising
Rent; land and/or buildings
Other cash expenses
Total cash costs

Non-cash costs
Depreciation machinery &
equipment
Depreciation buildings
Inventory decrease on supp.
Interest on capital @ 8%
Total non-cash costs


Total all costs


3.70
21.05
2.35
4.63
2.31

1.30
.85
1.90
1.80
1.52

.60
1.23
.35
.64
.67

.23
.19
2.01


3.85
20.00
1.89
4.29
2.39

1.14
.80
1.96
1.74
1.59

.74
1.27
.32
.68
.60

.24
.23
2.15


3.21
24.34
3.83
5.70
2.06

1.79
1.02
1.71
2.00
1.28

.16
1.13
.45
.54
.90

.20
.06
1.54


47.35 45.89 51.93



1.53 1.62 1.23
.64 .55 .93
0 0 0
6.37 6.07 7.31
8.54 8.24 9.48


55.88


54.12


61.10


aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.








Table 8.--Average costs per dollar of sales with plant inventory increase
added to sales, four large and six smaller volume wholesale
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1977


Average Averagea Average
Item all 10 4:large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

- - Cents - - -


Cash costs
Operator's salary
Other wages & salaries
Plants & seeds to grow on
Cans & other growing con-
tainers
Peat, soil, shavings, etc.

Fertilizer & lime
Pesticides & other chem.
Other production supplies
Repairs & maintenance
Equipment operating costs

Travel & equipment
Insurance
Telephone
Electricity
Taxes, licenses, & bonds

Advertising
Rent; land and/or buildings
Other cash expenses
Total cash costs

Non-cash costs
Depreciation machinery &
equipment
Depreciation buildings
Inventory decrease on supp.
Interest on capital @ 8%
Total non-cash costs

Total all costs


6.37
36.23
4.05

7.98
3.97

2.24
1.47
3.27
3.10
2.61

1.03
2.12
.61
1.11
1.16

.40
.33
3.45


6.86
35.61
3.36

7.64
4.25

2.04
1.42
3.49
3.10
2.84

1.31
2.25
.57
1.21
1.07

.43
.41
3.83


5.01
37.96
5.97

8.90
3.22

2.79
1.59
2.66
3.11
2.00

.25
1.76
.70
.84
1.41

.31
.09
2.41


81.51 81.70 80.98



2.63 2.89 1.92
1.10 .97 1.42
0 0 0
10.96 10.80 11.41
14.69 14.66 14.78


96.20


96.37


95.76


aNurseries with annual sales of


own plants exceeding


$475,000.





13


Table 9.--Average costs per dollar of sales without plant inventory increase
added to sales, four large and six smaller volume wholesale
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1977


Average Averagea Average
Item all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

- - Cents - - -


Cash costs
Operator's salary
Other wages & salaries
Plants & seeds to grow on
Cans & other growing containers
Peat, soil, shavings, etc.

Fertilizer & lime
Pesticides & other chem.
Other production supplies
Repairs & maintenance
Equipment operating costs

Travel & entertainment
Insurance
Telephone
Electricity
Taxes, licenses, & bonds

Advertising
Rent; land and/or buildings
Other cash expenses
Total cash costs

Non-cash costs
Depreciation machinery &
equipment
Depreciation buildings
Inventory decrease on supp.
Interest on capital @ 8%
Total non-cash costs


Total all costs


6.75
38.40
4.30
8.45
4.21

2.37
1.56
3.47
3.29
2.77

1.09
2.25
.64
1.17
1.23

.42
.35
3.66


7.15
37.10
3.50
7.96
4.43

2.12
1.48
3.64
3.23
2.96

1.37
2.35
.60
1.26
1.12

.45
.43
4.00


5.57
42.21
6.64
9.89
3.58

3.10
1.76
2.96
3.46
2.22

.28
1.96
.78
.93
1.57

.34
.10
2.68


86.38 85.13 90.04



2.79 3.01 2.13
1.17 1.01 1.62
0 0 0
11.62 11.25 12.68
15.57 15.28 16.44


101.95


100.41


100.48


aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.


-- ---


----





--~-~--







Table 10.--Income summary, four large and
ornamental container nurseries


six smaller
in Florida,


volume wholesale
1977


Average Averagea Average
Item Unit all 10 4 large 6 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery


Value of production
& other gain
Value of own plants
sold $
Inventory change
own plants $
Inventory increase
for supplies $
Miscellaneous cash
income $
Total gain $

Cash costs less
operator's salary $
Non-cash costs less
interest cost @ 8% $
Total gross costs
less operator's
salary & interest
costs $

Net nursery income $


Operator's salary
Return to capital
Percent return to
capital


343,645

20,520


1,959


640,895

26,865

4,772


145,478

16,289

83


1,592 2,151 1,218
367,714 .674,682 163,069


273,637 499,762 122,886

13,590 25,786 5,459


287,227

80,488

23,194
57,294


11.48


525,548

149,135

45,821
103,314

11.46


128,346

34,723

8,109
26,615

11.54


aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $475,000.


-~-- -i---








Table 11.--Factors associated with level of profit, three high and eight lower
profit wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1977


3 high 7 lower
Factor Unit profit profit Your
nurseries nurseries nursery

Profit
Net nursery income $ 185,556 35,471

Size of business
Value of own plants sold $ 689,318 195,499

Level of cost
Cost per $ of sales and
plant inventory value
increase 103 107

Labor efficiency
Value of own plants sold
per employee $ 19,639 19,663

Sales & inventory gain
Gain in sales & plant in-
ventory value from
previous year (item 2
in Table 1 compared with
same item the previous
year) $ 116,109 30,119
Capital use efficiency
Percent of capital turnover % 77.00 60.93








Table 12.--Range of
profits,


figures on profits and five factors associated wito
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1977


Average figures for the 3
best and the 3 poorest nur-
series on each factor
Factor Unit
Average for Average for Your
3 best 3 poorest nursery


Profit
Net nursery income $ 185,556 15,873

Size of business
Value of own plants
sold $ 689,318 74,033

Level of cost
Cost per $ of sales and
plant inventory value
increase 100 112

Labor efficiency
Value of own plants
sold per employee $ 22,908 15,966

Sales & inventory gain
Gain in sales and
plant inventory value
from previous year $ 177,829 -13,093

Capital use efficiency
Percent of capital
turnover % 88.07 42.61








Table 13.--Comparison of business analysis factors for four years for the
same six wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida,
which furnished data for 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977


Average for the same six nurseries in
Factor Unit
1974 1975 1976 1977


Profit
Net nursery income
Percent return to
capital

Size of business
Value of own plants sold

Level of cost
Cost per $ sales and
plant inventory value
increase

Labor efficiency
Value of own plants
sold

Sales & inventory gain
Gain in sales & plant
inventory value from
previous year

Capital use efficiency
Percent of capital
turnover


$ 46,921

% 10.18

$ 200,944


110.


$ 14,551



$ 51,278


% 63.64 44.89


46,838

7.37


231,370


84,817

14.97


296,251


53,697

8.67


180,869



137.


12,196



18,141


112.


14,898



11,636


17,729



67,144


56.66 73.99