[PCA] Cost of Producing Natives

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Hopkins, Jerry" <Jerry.Hopkins at dnr.state.oh.us>
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 12:20:37 -0500
Subject: Cost of Producing Natives

The industrialization of the horticulture industry will always produce a 
lower unit cost for exotic plant material due to economies of scale. Tens 
of thousands of a particular species or hybrid selection can be produced 
in a few locations where mechanization and a concentration of specialized 
labor can keep that unit cost low enough to allow shipping the plants 
across the country.

Production of native plant material must be, by definition, a local and 
smaller scale operation. The inherent inefficiencies in small batch 
production and the smaller scale market (again, by definition) will not 
generate great enough returns to justify the capital expenditures 
necessary to achieve those lower unit costs.

I suggest that this comparison between initial cost of exotics versus 
natives is not the correct one. Restoration using exotics is not 
restoration. If the real cost of the loss of diversity could be added to 
the cost of the inexpensive exotics, natives would compare much more 
favorably.

Best regards to everyone working with this and Go Native!

Jerry C. Hopkins
Nursery Operations Supervisor
Marietta State Nursery
740-373-6574 at Marietta
jerry.hopkins at dnr.state.oh.us