Released: March 18, 2005

(NOTE: Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will celebrate Kansas Agriculture Day Monday, March 21, at the Statehouse.)

Unsung Leader of Kansas Agriculture Is Its Horticulture Industry

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas was an ocean of grass when the pioneers first arrived. To a degree, it still is – just with different turf species. And that turf is a major reason the horticulture industry is an unsung leader in the state’s agricultural economic base, according to Chuck Marr at Kansas State University.

“Right now, we don’t have the climate to be a powerhouse on the national or international scene – except, perhaps, with native plants and herbs. Even so, the industry has been growing rapidly for decades, serving both rural and urban Kansas residents. If there were a way to measure its total impact, it could very well be in the running for the state’s No. 1 agricultural industry,” said Marr, long-time program leader and vegetables crop specialist with K-State Research and Extension.

In 2000, the Agriculture Statistics division of the Kansas Department of Agriculture made its second attempt to measure the horticulture industry’s impact on the state economy. It surveyed only Kansas horticulturists and their businesses – not the chain stores, supermarkets or hardware stores that stock plants as a seasonal item.

Even so, the gross value of Kansas’ combined horticultural segments that year added up to $580 million. Wheat was in top place with a gross crop value of $939 million. Feed corn (for livestock) was the only other row crop to beat horticulture’s total, coming in with close to $853 million.

Horticulture also was providing at least 27,000 jobs while using just 363,751 acres, Marr said.

“At that time, the biggest money-making segment of the industry was grounds maintenance – basically an urban sector,” he said. “It works in and around businesses, hospitals, stadiums and government buildings. It also takes care of our parks, zoos, golf courses and highway shoulders.”

Marr suspects that status has not changed.

“You only have to look, though, to see we’ve had a real upsurge since 2000 in market garden-type production. ‘Locally grown’ is becoming a mainstay in all kinds of retail outlets,” he said.

At last official count, though, the business activity of Kansas horticulture put its economic value in this order: turf managers (No. 1); lawn-care firms; nurseries; florists; greenhouses; arborists; and growers who produce (in descending economic order) sod/turf, vegetables and melons, nuts, fruit, Christmas trees, grapes/wine, berries, and medicinal plants.

“The industry includes landscapers and floral designers and the utility line workers that trim trees. It has producers in the distribution chains for strawberries, cut flowers, herbs and firewood,” Marr said. “In a way, it also fuels the production of jellies, cider, cooking pecans, and walnut cabinets. And, it supports Americans’ long-time No. 1 hobby – gardening.”

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Kathleen Ward
kward@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News