Home Project Statement Project Participants Annual Reports Meeting Minutes Resources		ANNUAL REPORT OF COOPERATIVE REGIONAL PROJECTS Supported by Allotments of the Regional Research Fund,  Hatch Act, as Amended August 11, 1955  January 1 to December 31, 2000  PROJECT S290(formerly S-103): Technical and Economical Efficiencies of Producing, Marketing, and Managing Environmental Plants    WORK PLANNED FOR NEXT YEAR A grant was obtained to study consumer perceptions of landscape value and submitted to the Horticultural Research Institute (MI, DE, GA, TX, TN, NC). Funding was obtained in November, 1997 and work is progressing. Surveys have been received and data compiled relative to the third national marketing survey regarding sales in 1998. Comparison of results from the three surveys conducted by members and associates of the of S-290 committee will be compared over the 15 years and could present adjustment trends in the location and type of buyers purchasing landscape plants from U.S. nurserymen. This market structure information could help industry participants when making intermediate and long-run production or marketing decisions. The S-290 committee continues to use innovative communication routes to communicate with clientele. Its World Wide Web Page (http://www.hcs.ohio-state.edu/s290) has been a highly effective tool to publish results. Both short reports to assist garden center mangers and owners and information from the previous national surveys on trade flows and marketing practices within the United States nursery industry are currently available over the WWW. Current publications are in the publishing stage.  They will be available on the S-290 and the CSREES website in PDF format.   Statement of Accomplishments As federal government collection and analysis of primary data decreases, other institutions must provide this valuable service. This cooperative committee of horticultural and agricultural economic researchers from twenty-two states has continued to provide a five year snapshot of the trade flows and marketing practices of the United States nursery industry. Furthermore, the mix of horticultural and agricultural economic researchers is increasingly being recognized as a powerful combination to address the needs of the landscape plant industry.