ABSTRACT

This report presents average sales, costs and returns information for
11 wholesale container nurseries in Florida for the 1976 tax year. The
value of plant sales averaged $320,427 and production costs averaged $317,315.
After adjusting for inventory value changes and miscellaneous income, return
to capital was $46,636 or 11.20 percent.

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

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report is made possible by the 11 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 and Victor Yingst, county extension agents, provided invaluable
assistance during the data collection process. Carolyn Almeter tabulated
the data for this report, Darlene Hutson and Millie Pfeifler typed this
report. As always, any errors in the data or interpretation of the informa-
tion remain the responsibility of the author.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT. . . . . .. .......... i.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . ... ........ ii

LIST OF TABLES. . . . . ... ....... ii

INTRODUCTION . . . . . ... 1

PROCEDURE . . . . ... . ... .

DEFINITIONS . . . .... . .. 2

RESULTS AND DATA PRESENTATION . . ... .. .. 3

LIST OF TABLES

Table

1 Size of business, three large and eight smaller volume
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida,
1976 . . . . . . 5

2 Rates of production, three large and eight smaller volume
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976. 6

3 Labor efficiency, three large and eight smaller volume
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976. 7

4 Efficiency in use of capital, three large and eight
smaller volume wholesale ornamental container nurseries
in Florida, 1976 . . . . ... .. 8

5 Efficiency in use of space, three large and eight smaller
volume wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida
1976 . . . . . . 9

6 Comparison of certain cost and return measures, three
large and eight smaller volume wholesale ornamental con-
tainer nurseries in Florida, 1976. . . ... 10

7 Average dollar costs per nursery for various categories of
expense, three large and eight smaller volume wholesale
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976. .... 11

LIST OF TABLES--Continued

Table Page

8 Percent of total costs for various categories of expense,
three large and eight smaller volume wholesale ornamental
container nurseries in Florida, 1976 . .... .12

9 Average costs per square foot of production area, three
large and eight smaller volume wholesale ornamental con-
tainer nurseries in Florida, 1976. . . .... .13

10 Average costs per square foot of plant sales equivalent,
three large and eight smaller volume wholesale ornamental
container nurseries in Florida, 1976 . . .. 14

11 Average costs per dollar of sales with plant inventory in-
crease added to sales, three large and eight smaller volume
wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976 15

12 Average costs per dollar of sales without plant inventory
increase added to sales, three large and eight smaller
volume wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida,
1976 . . . . . . 16

13 Income summary, three large and eight smaller volume whole-
sale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976 17

14 Factors associated with level of profit, three high and
eight lower profit wholesale ornamental container nurseries
in Florida, 1976 . . . . . 18

15 Range of figures on profits and eight factors associated
with profits, wholesale ornamental container nurseries in
Florida, 1976 . . . . .. 19

16 Comparative business analysis for the same six Florida
wholesale ornamental container nurseries which furnished
data for 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 20

BUSINESS ANALYSIS OF CONTAINER NURSERIES IN FLORIDA, 1976

Dan L. Gunter

INTRODUCTION

This business analysis report presents information on sales, costs,
returns and production efficiency aspects of container nurseries in
Florida for 1976. 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 records of 11 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 pertain to the individual nurseryman's 1976 tax
year which, in some cases, does not conform to the 1976 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 report.
However, an interest cost of 8 percent is charged on the owned capital
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 11 nurseries,
three "large" and eight "smaller" nurseries. For this report, smaller
nurseries are those that have plant sales of less than $500,000 while
large nurseries are defined as those with a value of plant sales greater
than $500,000.

DEFINITIONS

Most of the terms used in the tables are self-explanatory. Defini-
tions of the terms used in this report, which may be less familiar, are
as follows:
Value of own plants sold.--This represents the total plant sales
minus the cost of plants purchased for immediate resale. Plants pur-
chased for growing-on are not deducted.
Square foot equivalent of own plants sold.--Each plant sold is taking
up a specific amount of land space expressed in square feet. The square
feet required for a plant depends upon container size and spacing. For
example, gallon containers may be placed on 12 inch centers requiring
one square foot.

Full-time equivalent employee.--This 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 payroll
hours by 2,080 and then add any unpaid family or management.
Percent turnover of capital annually.--A ratio derived by dividing
the value of own plants sold by the total capital employed in the enter-
prise.
Percent of production area turnover annually.--The square foot equiv-
alent of own plants sold divided by the total production area of the
nursery.
Total gain.--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 cotts (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 12 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 13, 14 and 15. Table 16
presents information on the efficiency and profitability of six whole-
sale container nurseries that have participated in the nursery business
analysis program since 1970. Where information in the tables is rounded
to the nearest whole number, arithmetic errors due to rounding may be noted.
During 1976, the 11 nurseries that participated in the nursery busi-
ness analysis program had average plant sales (value of own plants
sold) of $320,427 (Table 1). The nurseries had an average of 10.9 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 17 full-time employees.

The average capital investment for 11 nurseries was $416,550. However,
the managed capital averaged $493,375. Managed capital reflects the own
capital investment plus the rent value of buildings, equipment or land rented.
Production costs averaged $317,315 (Table 7). Labor is the single
largest expense for the container nurseries, accounting for 32 percent of the
total cost (Table 8). The cost per square foot in production was about 77
cents for the large nurseries and 58 cents for the eight smaller nurseries
(Table 9).
Return to capital was $46,636 for the 11 nurseries which was slightly
over 11 percent of the capital investment. The smaller nurseries averaged
6.81 percent return to capital while the large nurseries earned 16.81 percent
(Table 13). Other differences between the large and smaller nurseries can be
seen by examination of the various efficiency parameters presented in the
tables.
Information in Table 16 is of particular significance as it pertains to
six nurseries participating in the business analysis program since 1970. Net
nursery income averaged $44,561 in 1976, down from $77,036 a year earlier.
The return to capital averaged 9.59 percent, down from 22.01 percent in 1975.
However, the value of plant sales increased by about 16 percent from $172,315
in 1975 to $199,467 in 1976.
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 l.--Size of business, three large and eight smaller volume
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976

wholesale

Average Average Average
Item Unit all 11 3 large 8 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
Sq. ft. equivalent
of own plants sold
Sq. ft.equivalent
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.

$ 320,427

670,327

$ 326,592 670,327

Sq.ft.

Sq.ft.

173,740 331,124

177,083 331,124

Sq.ft. 475,070

Acre

10.91

17.38

306,733
14,326
33,090

51,285
11,115

811,563

18.63

32.29

505,191
9,665
75,372

60,732
19,062

189,214

197,692

114,721

119,861

348,886

8.01

11.79

232,311
16,074
17,235

47,743
8,135

416,550 670,022 321,497

306,733 505,191 232,311
61,326 173,665 19,199
33,090 75,372 17,235

81,110 167,399 48,752
11,115 19,062 8,135
493,375 940,689 325,632

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

Table 2.--Rates of production, three large and eight smaller volume whole-
sale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976

Average Average Average
Item Unit all 11 3 large 8 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

One best measure
Sq. ft. equivalent
of own plants sold
per acre in prod. Sq.ft. 15;931 17,773 14,323
Other useful indi-
cators
Value of own plants
sold per acre in
production $ 29,380 35,979 23,624
Value of own plants
sold adjusted for
plant inventory
change per acre
in production $ 29,946 35,979 24,683

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

Table 3.--Labor efficiency, three large and eight smaller volume
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976

wholesale

Average Average Average
Item Unit all 11 3 large 8 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

One best measure
Value of own plants
sold per employee

Other useful indi-
cators
'Value of own plants
sold adjusted for
plant inventory
change per employee
Sq. ft. equivalent
of own plants sold
per employee
Sq. ft. equivalent
of own plants sold
adjusted for plant
inventory change
per employee
Average sq. ft. in
production per
employee

$ 18,437

$ 18,791

Sq.ft.

9,997

Sq.ft. 10,189

Sq.ft. 27,334

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

20,760

20,760

10,255

10,255

25,134

16,049

16,768

9,730

10,166

29,592

Table 4.--Efficiency in use of
wholesale ornamental

capital, three large and eight smaller volume
container nurseries in Florida, 1976

Average Average Average
Item Unit all 11 3 large 8 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

One best measure
Percent turnover of
owned capital annu-
ally

Other useful indica-
tors

Percent turnover of
managed capital
annually

Capital owned:
Per employee
Per acre

Capital managed:
Per employee
Per acre

Capital managed per
acre in:
Plants
Land
Machinery & equipment

Percent of capital
managed in:
Plants
Land
Machinery & equipment
Bldgs., wells, fences,
etc.
Supplies

Total

76.92

64.95

23,967
38,194

28,387
45,238

17,649
3,529
1,904

62.17
12.43
6.71

16.44
2.25

$ 100.00

100.05

71.26

20,750
35,963

29,133
50,491

15,645
5,378
2,334

53'. 70
18.46
8.01

17.80
2.03

100.00

:58.85

58.11

27,269
40,140

27,619
40,657

19,704
1,628
1,462

71,34
5.90
5.29

14.97
2.50

100.00

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

--

Table 5.--Efficiency in use of
wholesale ornai ental

space, three large and.
gentainer Ruveri es i.n

eight smaller volume
Florida, 1976

Average. Average- Average
Item Unit all 11 3 large 8 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery
------.-- ---- "i""1 ""i"*"- 1,....., .-------* ~ -
One best measure
Percent of production
area (or plant) turn-
.over annually 36.57 40.80 32.88

Other useful indicators
Sq. ft. equivalent of
own plants sold per
acre in production Sq.ft. 15,931 17,773 14,323
Sq. ft. equivalent of
own plants sold ad-
justed for plant inr
ventory change Sq.ft. 16,237 17,773 14,965
Average value of
plant inventory per
acre in production $ 28,125 27,116 29,005

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

Table 6.--Comparison of certain cost and
eight smaller volume wholesale
Florida, 1976

return measures, three large and
ornamental container nurseries in

Average Average Average
Item all 11 3 largea 8 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery
,- - -.- Cents - - -

Return
Value of own plants sold
per sq. ft. of plant
sales equivalent 184,43 202.44 164.93

Costs
Total cost per sq. ft. of
plant sales equivalent 182,64 187.87 176.97

Net returns per sq. ft. of
plant sales equivalent
Value of own plants sold
and costs per sq. ft. of
plant equivalent 1.79 14.57 -12.04

Price goal
Prices per sq. ft. of plant
sales equivalent which
would have been required
toyield a 15% return on
investment (not including
plant inventory increase
as part of return) 199.42 202.04 196.59

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

Table 7.--Average dollar costs per nursery for various categories of expense,
three large and eight smaller volume wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, 1976

Average Average Average
Item all 11 3 largea 8 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

- - Dollars -
Cash costs
Operator's salary 23,821 43,538 16,427
Others wages & salaries 100,889 179,986 71,228
Plants & seeds to grow on 29,652 75,730 12,373
Cans & other growing con-
tainers 28,161 58,980 16,603
Peat, soil, shavings, etc, 10,589 19,018 7,566

Fertilizer & lime 4,546 6,359 3,866
Pesticides & other chem. 3,374 6,532 2,190
Other production supplies 10,433 21,740 6,194
Repairs & maintenance 10,831 20,094 7,358
Equipment operating costs 6,404 14,603 3,330

Travel & entertainment 2,845 6,763 1,376
Insurance 7,431 15,237 4,504
Telephone 1,842 3,457 1,237
Electricity 3,152 7,284 1,603
Taxes, licenses & bonds 4,821 9,607 3,026

Advertising 1,242 2,125 910
Rent; land and/or buildings 9,519 32,852 906
Other cash expenses 8,802 15,4PPv 6,295
Total cash costs 268,555 539,391 166,992

Non-cash costs
Depreciation machinery &
equipment 9,956 22,666 5,190
Depreciation buildings 5,479 6,427 5,124
Inventory decrease on supp. 0 0 0
Interest on capital @ 8% 33,324 53,602 25,720
Total non-cash costs 48,T60 82,695 36,034

Total all costs 317,315 622,086 203,026

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

~-----------

Table 8.--Percent of total costs for various categories of expense, three
large and eight smaller volume wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, 1976

Average Average Average
Item all 11 3 largea 8 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery

- - Percent - - -

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

7.51
31.79
9.34

8.87
3.37

1.43
1.06
3.29
3.41
2.02

.90
2.34
.58
.99
1.52

.39
3.03
2.77

7.00
28.93
12:17

9.48
3.06

1.02
1.05
3.49
3.23
2.35

1.09
2.45
.56
1.17
1.54

.34
5.28
2.49

8.09
35.08
6.09

8.18
3.73

1.90
1.08
3.05
3.62
1.64

.68
2.22
.61
.79
1.49

.45
.45
3.10

'84.63 86.71 82.25

3.14 3.64 2.56
1.73 1.03 2.52
0 0 0
10.50 8.62 12.67
15.37 13.29 17.75

100.00

100.00

100.00

aNurseries with annual sales of

own plants exceeding $500,000.

Table 9.--Average costs per square foot of production area, three large and
eight smaller volume wholesale ornamental container nurseries in
Florida, 1976

Average Average Average
Item all 11 3 large 8 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

5.01
21.24
6.24
5.93
2.25

.96
.71
2.20
2.28
1.35

.60
1.56
.39
.66
1.01

.26
2.02
1.85

5.36
22.18
9.33
7.27
2.34

.78
.80
2.68
2.48
1 .80

.83
1.88
.43
.90
1.18

.26
4.05
1.91

4.71
20.42
3.55
4.76
2.17

1.11
.63
1.78
2.11
.95

3.39
1.29
.35
.46
.87

.26
.26
1.80

56.53 66.46 47.86 -

2.10 2.79 1.49
1.15 .79 1.47
0 0 0
7.01 6.60 7.37
10.26 10.19 10.33

66.79

76.65

58.19

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants eKceeding $500,000.

I---
--

--

---

--

Table 10.--Average costs per square foot of plant sales equivalenta, three
large and eight smaller volume wholesale ornamental container
nurseries in Florida, 1976

Average Average Average
Item all. 11 3 large 8 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 & entertainment
Insurance
Telephone
Electricity
Taxes, licenses, & bonds

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

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

Total all costs

13.45
56.97
16.74

15.90
6.04

2.57
1.91
5.89
6.12
3.62

1.61
4.20
1.04
1.78
2.72

.70
5.43
4.97

13.15
54.36
22.87

17.81
5.74

1.92
1.97
6.57
6.07
4.41

2.04
4.60
1.04
2.20
2.90

.64
9.92
4.68

13.71
59.43
10.32

13.85
6.31

3.23
1.83
5.17
6.14
2.78

1.15
3.76
1.03
1.34
2.52

.76
.76
5.25

151.66 162.90 139.32

5.62 6.85 4.33
3.09 1.94 4.27
0 0 0 _
18.82 16.19 21.46
27.53 24.97 30.06

179.19

187.87

169.38

aIn this case, the square
item 4 in Table 1.

foot equivalent of plant sales is shown as

bNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

"'-

Table 11.--Average costs per dollar of sales with plant inventory increase
added to sales, three large and eight smaller volume wholesale
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976

Average Average Average
Item all 11 3 large 8 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

7.29
30.89
9.08

8.62
3.27

1.39
1.03
3.19
3.32
1.96

.87
2.28
.56
.97
1.48

.38
2.95
2.70

6.50
26.85
11.30

8.80
2.84

.95
.97
3.24
3.00
2.18

1.01
2.27
.52
1.09
1.43

.32
4.90
2.31

8.31
36.03
6.26

8.40
3.83

1.96
1.11
3.13'
3.72
1.68

.70
2.28
.63
.81
1.53

.46
.46
3.18

82.23 80.47 84.47

3.05 3.38 2.63
1.68 .96 2.59
0 0 0
10.20 8.00 13.01
14.93 12.34 18.23

97.16

92.80

102.70

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

Table 12.--Average costs per dollar of sales without plant inventory increase
added to sales, three large and eight smaller volume wholesale
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976

Average Average Average
Item all 11 3 large 8 smaller Your
nurseries nurseries nurseries nursery
S- - 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 & equip-
ment
Depreciation buildings
Inventory decrease on supp.
Interest on capital @ 8%
Total non-cash costs

Total all costs

7.43
31.49
9.25
8.79
3.34

1.42
1.05
3.26
3.38
2.00

.89
2.32
.57
.98
1.50

.39
3.00
2.75

6.50
26.85
11.30
8.80
2.84

.95
.97
3.24
3.00
2.18

1.01
S2.27
.52
1.09
1.43

.32
4.90
2.31

8.68
37.64
6.54
8.77
4.00

2.04
1.16
3.27
3.89
1.76

.73
2.38
.65
.85
1.60

.48
.48
3.33

83.81 80.47 88.26

3.11 3.38 2.74
1.71 .96 2.71
0 0 0
10.40 8.00 13.59
15.22 12.34 19.04

99.03

92.80

107.30

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

Table 13.--Income summary, three large and eight smaller volume
ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976

wholesale

Average Average Average
Item Unit all 11 3 largea 8 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
cost

Net nursery income
Operator's salary
Return to capital
Percent return to
capital

320,427

6,165

3,537

670,327

9,956

189,214

8,477

1,130

498 850 366
330,627 681,132 199,188

244,734 495,853 150,565

15,435 29,093 10,314

260,169

70,457
23,821
46,636

11.20

524,946

156,185
43,538
112,647

16.81

160,879

38,309
16,427
21,882

6.81

aNurseries with annual sales of own plants exceeding $500,000.

Table 14.--Factors associated with level of profit, three large and eight lower
profit wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976

3 high 8 lower
Factor Unit profit profit Your
nurseries nurseries nursery
Profit
Net nursery income $ 169,929 33,155

Size of business
Value of own plants sold $ 611,588 211,242

Level of cost
Cost per $ of sales and
plant inventory value
increase 88 107

Labor efficiency
Value of own plants sold
per employee $ 20,231 16,805

Sales price level
Difference between sales
value and costs per sq.
ft. of plant sales
equivalent 30.85 -14.59

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) $ 53,184 -16,735

Production rate
Sq. ft. equivalent own
plants sold per acre in
production Sq.ft. 15,506 16,180

Capital use efficiency
Percent of capital turnover % 115.23 56.52

Space use efficiency
Percent plant turnover % 35.60 37.14

Table 15.--Range of figures on profits and eight factors associated with
profits, wholesale ornamental container nurseries in Florida, 1976

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 $ 169,929 11,596

Size of business
Value of own plants
sold $ 670,327 70,314

Level of cost
Cost per $ of sales and
plant inventory value
increase 8] 126

Labor efficiency
Value of own plants
sold per employee $ 23,553 12,276

Sales price level
Difference between sales
value and costs per sq.
ft. of plant sales
equivalent 52.64 -78.02

Sales & inventory gain
Gain in sales and
plant inventory value
from previous year $ 77,984 -81,658

Production rate
Sq. ft. equivalent own
plants sold per acre
in production Sq.ft. 35,398 9,180

Capital use efficiency
Percent of capital
turnover % 179.40 36.50

Space use efficiency
Percent plant turnover % 88.92 21.07

Table 16.-- Comparative business analysis for the sane six Florida wholesale ornamental container
nurseries, which furnished data for 1970, 1971, 1972. 1971, 1974, 1975 and 1976

Average for the same six nurseries in
Factor Unit
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 .

Profit
Net nursery income $ 18,390 10,032 36,045 50,793 46,023 77,036 44,561
Percent return to
capital % 8.82 -1.10 20.61 22.82 17.39 22.01 9.59

Size of business
Value of own plants
sold $ 69,301 68,540 106,564 149,267 174,978 172.315 199.467

Level of cost
Cost per sales &
plant inventory
value increase t 100 116 86 87 91 86 99
Labor efficiency
Value of own plants
sold per employee $ 9,519 8,238 10,907 13,682 15,922 14,591 15,919

Sales price level
Difference between
sales & costs per
sq. ft. of plant
sales equivalent t -13.09 -35.85 .69 3.65 6.88 -29.99 -13.98

Sales & inventory
gain
Gain in sales & plant
inventory value from
previous year $ 7,261 619 42,403 36.384 18,266 54,679 -19,250
Production rate
Sq. ft. eqiv. own
plants sold per acre
in production Sq.ft. 20.235 15,955 22,479 21,95S 16,289 13,150 13,624
Capital use efficiency
Percent of capital
turnover % 65.31 56.66 78.50 88.44 90.39 63.88 62.92

Space use efficiency
Percent plant turn-
over 46.46 36.63 51.61 50.40 37.39 30.19 31.28

	Front Cover
	Abstract
	Acknowledgement
	Table of Contents
	Main
	Tables