Home Annual Reports Overview Cooperators Accomplishments Usefulness Work Plan Publications	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, 2002  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 the impact of state marketing programs on ornamental plant sales. The grant was obtained from the Horticultural Research Institute (MS, GA, TX, TN, NC). Funding was obtained in November, 2001 and work is progressing. Investigations of service quality relative to horticultural businesses are planned through survey research. Surveys are being developed for the fourth national marketing survey regarding sales in 2003. Comparison of results from the three surveys conducted by members and associates of the of S-290 committee will be compared over the 20 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.