June 2004

Creating an Employee Handbook is featured in Greenhouse Product News (June '04) Formalizing "policies and procedures and setting the tone for interaction between employees and management . . . is, unfortunately, becoming increasingly necessary for even the smallest company, as litigation continues to rise in the United States. The author recommends, "Having an employee handbook . . .will act as a preventive for both litigation and time-consuming employee disputes. Every organization involving people has to have terms of employment and rules to govern employee as well as employer conduct if it is going to survive." Recommended sections include: introduction; conditions of employment; job particulars; employee evaluation. . . . "Before constructing your employee handbook, consult with your attorney and/or a human resources expert." Read the complete article here.

Take the Myth Out of Your Company's Pricing, a Winter Seminar 2004 presentation of the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, is highlighted in The Landscape Contractor (ILCA, June '04). "To develop an accurate pricing process for a company, (the presenter) recommends five important items in the financial toolbox: a good understanding of financial management; an accounting system built around the methods used to estimate the costs of what you are selling; a budget for the coming year; an estimating system; and a logical method to recover your overhead as a function of what you are selling."

Recycling Perlite: A simple process makes old growing media reusable again is featured in Greenhouse Insider (June '04). "In Louisiana and Mississippi, growers use pine bark or perlite as a soilless medium for growing greenhouse tomatoes. . . . Perlite is a processed volcanic mineral that is widely used as a propagating and growing medium for many crops. . . . Perlite is lightweight, easy to handle, disease-free when bought new, and will never decompose. It has to be replaced ever one or two years to minimize the risk of crop failure because of salt and disease build up. The expense to dispose of and replace the old perlite with a new material shipped from distant locations can be significant." Louisiana State University has "developed a procedure to clean, sterilize, and recycle old perlite for endless reuse. . . . Cost analysis indicated that the expense to screen and sterilize old perlite was less than 50% of the expense to dispose of the old material and buy new." To read a similar article by the same author at the Louisiana State University website, click on http://www.lsuagcenter.com/Communications/LouisianaAgriculture/
agmag/45_3_articles/recycle.asp

What is a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) and Why is it Important? is the "Question of the Month" in PennAg Journal (June '04). "A JHA is a proactive approach to prevent accidents. . . . A Job Hazard Analysis is defined by the National Safety Council as a procedure used to review job methods and uncover hazards that (1) may have been overlooked in the layout of the facility or building and in the design of machinery, equipment, tools, workstations and processes; (2) may have been developed after production started; or (3) resulted from changes in work procedures or personnel. . . . The JHA process and safety procedure can serve as an excellent training tool. Depending on the job, a procedure will encompass many safety training opportunities, including machine guarding, the use of material safety data sheets, personal protective equipment, etc. Employee involvement will gain support for the process and increase awareness." The OSHA brochure on Job Hazard Analysis is available at http://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3071.pdf.

Sorticulture provides outdoor-art outlet (Seattle Times, June 16, 2004). Using a mixture of sand, portland cement and perlite, Washington state artists create lightweight concrete sculpture. Their work was on display recently at Sorticulture, "a festival of art and horticulture" that puts "hundreds of artisans and gardeners together" in Everett, Washington. One of the artists, Connie Eden, "is also an expert on hypertufa, a mix of perlite, peat moss and cement that is used to make lightweight plant pots." She has "customized the formula with white silica sand and white Portland cement. Out of that came everything from paisley-shape steppingstones to biscuit-shape cakes she called bonbons." Eden says, "You don't even have to be a good gardener . . . . You have that place in your garden where nothing will grow? Put a piece of sculpture there. Put some art there." Read the complete article at the Seattle Times website.

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