[PCA] Cost of Producing Natives (fwd)

[Olivia Kwong]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2007 13:28:31 -0600
From:  <botresearchusa at academicplanet.com>
Subject: Re: Re: [PCA] Cost of Producing Natives

The members of the PCA list have made some valid points on both sides, however the cost factor is based on the production of plants by traditional methods eg. cuttings which must be rooted. I would encourage those of you who are looking to cut the per unit cost of either natives or exotics, to look into the utilization of biotechnology firms that can mass produce thousands of plants in a relatively short period at a fraction of the cost of those by traditional methods.
Regards,
J.N.Covanes
Director of Research
Botresearch USA




----- Original Message -----
From: Olivia Kwong
Sent: 1/5/2007 5:30:11 AM
To: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject: Re: [PCA] Cost of Producing Natives

> ---------- 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
>
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