Nursery Notes: Several educational events coming soon
Tennessee’s statewide nursery association, The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association, will celebrate its 100-year anniversary in Knoxville July 7 at 5:30 p.m. during a two-hour reception in the UT Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Attendance will be free for the first 300 pre-registered by July 1. Call (931) 473-3951.
An interesting program will attempt to explain the history of the nursery industry in Tennessee; from collecting to peddling fruit trees door to door; of a nursery with 150 salesmen on the road; moonshine’s contribution; of writing orders at the Chicago show without a booth; and more.
A full day of education, fun talks and motivational speakers will be July 6, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. A tour of the UT Gardens will be from 6-8 p.m. The 100th trade show will be July 7, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and July 8, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Knoxville Convention Center.
QuickBooks Pro 2005
UT Extension will sponsor three financial record keeping workshops for nurseries and small business. These workshops will cover topics such as basic bookkeeping practices, payroll preparation, inventory management, invoicing and accounts receivable, accounts payable, and marketing information management. These workshops will be held at the Grundy County Extension Office in Coalmont on July 26-28, at the TSU – Nursery Crop Research Station in McMinnville on August 2-4, and at the Franklin County Extension Office on August 9-11. The time will be 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The workshop will be hands-on in nature, with each company having the use of a computer during the workshop. This allows participants to enter transactions and to analyze these transactions for financial management and marketing purposes. Participants will receive a workbook detailing the procedures for company setup and entering the various transactions commonly used in a small business. The record keeping system used for the workshop will be QuickBooks Pro 2005.
Due to the attention given to individual companies, space will be limited and participants will be accepted on a first come basis. The cost of the workshop will be $150 per company (for one representative) and an additional $75 for a second company participant.
For further information or reservations contact the Franklin County Extension office at (931) 967-2741, the Warren County Extension office at (931) 473-8484, or the Grundy County Extension office at (931) 592-3971. Payments will be refunded if enrollment is low.
Risk Management Workshop
UT Extension will offer a “Risk Management and Financial Analysis Workshop for Nursery Growers Aug 30 in McMinnville and Aug 29 in Knoxville.
Types of risks, methods of evaluating risk and strategies for reducing risk’s harmful effects; financial management and financial strategies for improving business performance will be discussed by two Univ of Florida Specialists.
Dr. Laurence Crane, National Crop Insurance Services will discuss the current crop insurance programs for nursery and greenhouse crops, as well as new programs coming online.
Topics concerning computer use include an overview of the internet-based system for financial analysis; a hands-on exercise using the on-line system; data entry, data analysis, generating reports, interpreting results; and a follow-up use of the system for nurseries.
The day will begin at 8:30 and run until 4 p.m. A $20 registration fee will be collected at door and will cover lunch and refreshments. It is very important to reserve a place, since there are a limited number of computers for the afternoon session. Contact Charlie Hall at (865) 974-7271 or e-mail crh@utk.edu to learn more details or ask questions.