Cultivate'22: State of the industry address

Added on 20 July 2022

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At Cultivate'22, Ken Fisher, Craig Regelbrugge and Dr. Charlie Hall assessed 2022 and provided projections for what 2023 may bring.

The Short North Ballroom was packed to capacity for the AmericanHort State of the Industry Address, with attendees standing along the walls to hear the Monday morning keynote speech. Craig Fisher, president and CEO of AmericanHort led off the morning's presentation with an overview of the association's vision, mission and strategic goals. From there, he examined consumer spending - a key indicator of economic health. In fact, it represents 70% of our economic output, he said.

Between the stimulus payments and more Americans continuing to get paid to work from home, we have "more money chasing the same amount of goods," Fisher said. The question is, how long will Americans continue burning through their $2.7 trillion in personal savings.

According to research from The Garden Center Group, total sales were down 5.5 percent year-to-date for 2022. The average sale at the group's IGC members was up 8.3 percent, but the total number of transactions was down 12.4 percent.

Legislative update

AmericanHort's Executive Vice President of Advocacy, Research and Industry Relations, Craig Regelbrugge, began his part of the address by reviewing the association's legislative priorities. Securiting and development of the workforce, plant health, solutions through research, and protecting profitability for its members.

Green industry employers that rely on H-2A should be aware that new wage rules may be coming, Regelbrugge said. Regarding H-2B, AmericanHort staff is lobbying for changes like the Returning Worker Exemption Act. There was some good news for the year, like the fact that the Biden administration released the largest amount of supplemental H-2B visas ever.