Here is the latest news from Loma Vista Nursery. We are extremely proud of our team and our plants, and these media stories help showcase our hard work.

Check out our recent media coverage below.

Posted by Chris Manning

AmericanHort is seeking nominations for its Board of Directors.

Per an e-blast sent on Monday, Jan. 23, nominations for the Board of Directors are due Feb. 17. In the call for nominations, board members “are the people behind the plants who share both time and talent to help the industry grow, evolve, innovate, and prepare for the best future possible.” They are “responsible for governing the direction and activities of AmericanHort, whose mission it is to serve and strengthen industry businesses. Members of the board serve three-year terms and meet several times throughout the year.”

By Lyndsi Oestmann

I believe my dad may have begun preparing me for business leadership when I was 12. He coached my youth softball team and trained me as a catcher.

In addition to catching pitches, the catcher is responsible for calling pitches, running the softball field and being an inspirational leader. The catcher engages in every play, makes real-time decisions and knows the other team’s capabilities in order to call pitches that lead to a winning game. While playing in that high-level position, I gained a lot of skills that I’m not certain I would have otherwise.

But of course, neither my dad nor I really knew then what we know now.

(Read more here.)

Four columns about management strategies.

Through her experience within the horticulture industry, as president of Kansas-based Loma Vista Nursery and a member of the AmericanHort board of directors, Lyndsi Oestmann’s column, ‘leadership Playbook’ informs our readers how to manage efficiently and effectively.

By Julie Hullett

Every grower knows that there is a crunch in the labor market. Many experienced growers are leaving the workforce, and it is challenging to recruit young people to the horticulture industry. Seed Your Future is working to expose young people to horticulture and promote its endless career opportunities. Seed Your Future recently launched its first Green Career Week, an opportunity to engage with young people and teach them about their future in horticulture.

Green Career Week took place from Oct. 3-7. Jazmin Albarran, Executive Director of Seed Your Future, says members of the horticulture industry want to connect with local schools and students, but may not know how to engage with them. The goal of Green Career Week is to connect industry professionals to the local community.

Alexandria, VA (October 18, 2022) – More than 140 businesses registered to take part in Seed Your Future’s inaugural Green Career Week, held October 3-7, 2022. The event gave professionals in the floriculture and horticulture industries an opportunity to speak to students about careers in their field and plant seeds for a budding new workforce. Participants talked with students at their schools or invited them to visit their business, and promoted careers on social media throughout the week.

Professionals who took part in the event emphasized the power and importance of coming together to build tomorrow’s workforce. They were able to make lasting connections in their communities for mentorships, internships, and eventually jobs.

Lyndsi Oestmann – Can you hear the collective sigh of relief? We’re entering that time of year when a break from the intensity of the nursery growing season seems right there, within reach.

But like in that great game of football – the fourth quarter is not the time to ease up on the gas. It’s time to do our homework.

If you attended the state-of-the-industry address during AmericanHort’s Cultivate’22, you heard important clues as to why buckling down on fiscal planning in the last quarter of the year is a sound strategy.

The Garden Center Group reported that 2022 year-to-date total retail sales were down 5.5%. While the average sale at its IGC members was up slightly more than 8%, the total number of transactions was down a little more than 12%.

Our industry, like so many others, is facing unique challenges and exciting opportunities — especially in the areas of employee hiring and retention.

It’s a smart idea to secure your employee bench no matter what condition the economic climate is in or our industry’s workforce.

This concept came to me years ago while reading Jim Collins’ book “Good to Great.” If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend doing so if you’re in a leadership position or aspire to be. Collins’ premise for hiring — and retaining — great employees is that the right person has to be on the right bus and in the right seat.

“Securing the bench” (my analogy, since I come from a sports family) is a mindset of resiliency. It’s a switch in thinking from “I need to fill that position” to “how can I expand the culture of my business to attract and retain the right partners to help my company meet its goals and reach its full potential?”

Farmers say Missouri and the Midwest are facing an agriculture labor shortage, which could increase food prices for the region.

Because of this labor shortage, some agriculture industry leaders are encouraging Kansas and Missouri’s U.S. senators to vote in favor of passing legislation to make it easier to hire out-of-country workers year-round, since finding domestic workers is becoming increasingly more difficult.

Last year, the U.S. House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would allow changes to the H-2A temporary worker program. It would make a few changes to the temporary work visa, including allowing for non-seasonal and non-temporary work opportunities. Supporters of the bill said this would help stabilize agricultural work.

(Speakers include Lyndsi Oestmann, Loma Vista Nursery, Member of AmericanHort)

(The Center Square) – The agriculture sector in Kansas is facing “a devastating labor shortage,” according to industry groups.

Speaking Thursday at an event hosted by American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC) Action, Enrique Sanchez, intermountain state director for the coalition, said the labor shortage needs to be addressed to help fight inflation.

“This must be urgently addressed to keep grocery store shelves stocked, and lower food prices for Kansans, Missourians, and Americans everywhere,” said Sanchez. “A study by Texas A&M University shows that AG labor reform is an important part of a strategy to combat inflation and rising grocery prices.”

(Speakers include Lyndsi Oestmann, Loma Vista Nursery, Member of AmericanHort)

*This article also ran in the Clay Center Dispatch, Hiawatha Daily World, Derby Informer, The  Center Square, Parsons Sun, Hastings Tribune, TN Town News and KPVI-TV.

Agricultural leaders in Missouri and Kansas are pressing their senators to greenlight legislation that could help them with the current labor shortage.

According to farmers, the Midwest and Missouri are struggling with a labor shortage of workers in the agricultural sector, leading some top members of the industry to push senators to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

The bill would change the H-2A temporary worker program, and would reportedly make it easier to hire people from out of the country to work in U.S. farming throughout the year, per KBIA. It would also expand the program to allow it to be used for agricultural labor that is not only “temporary or seasonal.” The House of Representatives passed the measure last year and the Senate is still discussing its contents.

Lyndsi Oestmann – The phrase “teamwork makes the dream work” applies as much to relationships with outsourced service partners as it does to the unity of management and staff. We wear many hats as nursery owners and managers. While we are experts at a lot of things, we are not experts at all things.

Widening your service support network according to your nursery’s values can help you meet, and oftentimes exceed, your business goals. That empowers management and staff to focus on growing and selling plants.

AmericanHort announced the election of four new members to the board of directors, along with the election of a new slate of board officers.

“We are excited to welcome these leaders who come from various segments of the green industry and encompass diverse experiences, skills and backgrounds,” said Ken Fisher, president & CEO of AmericanHort. “We also appreciate the dedication and commitment of our officers and the leadership they provide our organization and industry, particularly during the challenges of the past few years.”

By Becky Garber-Godi – With workforce being the #1 challenge within the landscape industry, some recruiters feel the immediacy of tapping into the half of our population that is poorly represented in landscape jobs at all levels. What would happen if women rose from only 10% of those employed in landscape jobs to 30 or even 50%? How much more work could get done?

AmericanHort has announced the election of four new members to its board of directors, along with the election of a new slate of board officers. The official welcome and installation will take place at Cultivate’22 in Columbus, OH.

“We are excited to welcome these leaders who come from various segments of the green industry and encompass diverse experiences, skills, and backgrounds,” says Ken Fisher, President and CEO of AmericanHort. “We also appreciate the dedication and commitment of our officers and the leadership they provide our organization and industry, particularly during the challenges of the past few years.”

*This also was published in Lawn & Landscape Magazine, Nursery Management, Greenhouse Management, Greenhouse Product News and Lawn & Garden Retailer.

Lyndsi Oestmann – Everyone knows there are rules from OSHA and WPS that growers must abide by. But simply abiding by the rules is not enough. Nor does it give anyone on the team reason to engage.

Going the extra mile by prioritizing safety as part of a daily coaching and reinforcement program — along with training and education — is a “win” that everyone can get behind. Why? Because a culture of safe behavior is a victory for the company’s brand, workforce and bottom line. In fact, it is a profit center.

Ellison Chair for International Floriculture Charlie Hall is proud to announce the graduation of the ninth cohort of the elite Executive Academy for Growth & Leadership (EAGL) program for nursery & greenhouse growers.

Eight industry leaders – including Lyndsi Oestmann, president, Loma Vista Nursery – received their Certificate in Applied Horticultural Business Management from Texas A&M University on Feb. 3, 2022.

Loma Vista Nursery is one of four growers recently enlisted to benchmark the Resource Innovation Institute’s water and energy benchmarking metrics.

The Resource Innovation Institute (RII) welcomes its latest round of producer-partners planning to benchmark their energy- and water-efficiency performance metrics as part of a USDA-funded project aimed at encouraging innovation and resource efficiency in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry.

The Resource Innovation Institute (RII) welcomes its latest round of producer-partners planning to benchmark their energy- and water-efficiency performance metrics as part of a USDA-funded project aimed at encouraging innovation and resource efficiency in the CEA industry. The three-year project is meant to coordinate research in the sector and establish industry performance standards and best practices.

WASHINGTON — The Resource Innovation Institute (RII) welcomes its latest round of producer-partners planning to benchmark their energy- and water-efficiency performance metrics as part of a USDA-funded project aimed at encouraging innovation and resource efficiency in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry.

Spearheaded by RII and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the three-year project is meant to coordinate research in the sector and establish industry performance standards and best practices.

This press release was originally distributed by SBWire.

Edison, NJ — (SBWIRE) — 03/01/2022 — The latest study released on the Global Indoor Foliage Plants Market by AMA Research evaluates market size, trend, and forecast to 2027. The Indoor Foliage Plants market study covers significant research data and proofs to be a handy resource document for managers, analysts, industry experts and other key people to have ready-to-access and self-analyzed study to help understand market trends, growth drivers, opportunities and upcoming challenges and about the competitors.

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/indoor-foliage-plants-market-is-set-to-fly-high-in-years-to-come#ixzz7PgmEGC9D

*This article also came across the SBWire – http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/indoor-foliage-plants-market-is-set-to-fly-high-in-years-to-come-1354071.htm

Here we are, in 2022. We start the New Year where we left the past one. Our industry, like so many others, is facing unique challenges and exciting opportunities – especially in the areas of employee hiring and retention.

We’re well aware of “The Great Resignation” that began during the height of the pandemic and proceeded through all of 2021. So, I won’t rehash the well-documented statistics, reasons and projections for where we are as a national workforce and how it all impacts our industry. For that background, take a look at Charlie Hall’s research on the AmericanHort website and state-of-the-industry coverage in issues of this magazine.

The AmericanHort Board of Directors is pleased to announce the application period for the 2022 board of director nominations is now open. Applications will be accepted until February 18, 2022 from AmericanHort members interested in being nominated for the AmericanHort board of directors’ election. The application for nomination is available at www.AmericanHort.org/BoardApply and elections will take place over four weeks beginning in March.

Lyndsi Oestmann – Here we are, in 2022. We start the New Year where we left the past one. Our industry, like so many others, is facing unique challenges and exciting opportunities – especially in the areas of employee hiring and retention.

We’re well aware of “The Great Resignation” that began during the height of the pandemic and proceeded through all of 2021. So, I won’t rehash the well-documented statistics, reasons and projections for where we are as a national workforce and how it all impacts our industry. For that background, take a look at Charlie Hall’s research on the AmericanHort website and state-of-the-industry coverage in issues of this magazine.

For Loma Vista Nursery, “right plant, right place” is more than an education hook to help consumers understand what and where to plant. Offering a mix of natives, cultivars and nativars is a successful business model that informs this wholesale grower’s production and marketing strategy.

“These individuals are leaders from across the horticulture industry and encompass various experiences, skills, and backgrounds. We are excited to welcome this group of new directors,” said Ken Fisher, president & CEO of AmericanHort. “We appreciate the dedication and commitment of our officers and the leadership they provide our organization and industry.”

An opportunity lies before us. Have you heard the term green lining in relation to the global pandemic? More people are interest in plants — plants for aesthetics, plants as a hobby, plants for health, plants for nourishment, plants for the environment.

At Loma Vista Nursery, when we are faced with new challenges—like working through the middle of a pandemic while balancing the strongest demand we have seen in years—we do not panic or make reactionary decisions that often prove to be very costly. By maximizing our space and using it efficiently, re-evaluating in a timely manner, building strong foundations within our team, and controlling the inputs we can, we have pushed the envelope and exceeded expectations.

– Thomas Minter, finalist in the 2021 GrowerTalks/The HC Companies Young Grower Award.

As we get deeper in to colder weather, it’s time to start thinking about caring for your plants during the winter months! Caitlin Hupp with Loma Vista Nursery joined Midday Madison to share her top tips for winterizing plants.

As we spend more time inside, you may want to add a few plants to your decor! Caitlin Hupp, plant expert with Loma Vista Nursery, joined Midday Madison  to share her top tips on keeping indoor plants.

If you feel like your landscaping has been looking a little dull lately, you might want to try these tips! Caitlin Hupp  joined WKOW to share a few ways to simply upgrade your landscaping.

Whether it’s on a dusty softball field, in a corporate boardroom or on a gravel-lined nursery plot, Lyndsi Oestmann remains consistently devoted to the task at hand. Her purposeful and sincere work ethic was forged when she was a child, watching her dad play professional baseball. It was reinforced as she played competitive softball, persisted into her college studies and eventually became etched in her career. Lyndsi owns and operates Loma Vista Nursery in Ottawa, Kansas, a business that was founded by her father, Mark Clear in 1991.

“We’re focused on being the best grower we can be,” Lyndsi said. Loma Vista was a pioneer in the adoption of what is called SANC: Systems Approach to Nursery Certification, developed in partnership with regulatory agencies and the industry. In simplest terms, SANC takes a holistic approach to the processes and protocols necessary to assure plant health. “We are super proud of that,” Lyndsi said. “Our SANC handbook has become one of the national models.”

Today, Loma Vista Nursery is one of the nation’s leading wholesale suppliers of plants, trees and shrubs for independent garden centers, landscape contractors, and wholesale distributors in the Midwest. The operation consists of 300 acres of containerized production at Ottawa plus a 600-acre tree farm in the Willow Springs area of Douglas County. Willow Springs is a rural township with a population of 1,409 people. Now, that’s rural.

By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University.

From pitches to plants. From hardballs to hibiscus. From the strike zone to the root zone. Those phrases are a way of describing the transition made by a Major League Baseball player who, with his daughter, has developed one of the leading plant nurseries in the nation.

Loma Vista Nursery in Ottowa, Kansas, is now applying lessons learned from the 2008 economic downturn, says president Lyndsi Oestmann. The nursery “invested thoughtfully in safety and security for our team and in the financial health of the company,” she says.

For Lyndsi Oestmann and her 150-member team at Ottawa, Kansas-based Loma Vista Nrsery, the view from here is pretty good.  Oestmann is the second-generation owner of the company founded by her dad, Mark Clear, in 1991.  Today – as the company prepares for its 30th anniversary – Oestmann has the reins of the company and is grateful to the industry that is her dad’s passion, and hers as well.

Employers looking to add to their staff while reinforcing their existing workforce might take a page from the Loma Vista Nursery handbook. Five years ago, the Ottawa, KS-based grower (and finalist for Greenhouse Grower’s Operation of the Year award in 2019) developed an out-of-the-box curriculum that continues to train new professionals for the horticulture industry, where jobs tend to be off-kilter with demand for qualified, creative talent. What’s most remarkable to Lyndsi Oestmann, Vice President of Loma Vista, is the internship program became as much about fortifying Loma Vista Nursery’s leadership and staff as adding to its talent pool…

Spring may feel like forever away, but in the plant world it’s right around the corner! Caitlin Hupp, plant expert at Loma Vista Nursery, joined us to share why right now is the best time to start thinking ahead about which blooms you’d like to see when the weather turns warm again…

A local business has received an award from their industry. Loma Vista nursery has received the excellence of sustainability award was presented to Loma Vista during the annual cultivate 10 conferences in Columbus Ohio. Loma Vista marketing consultant. Zane DeZeeuw says, “The systems approach to nursery certification was not happy with the governments’ regulations weren’t doing enough to protect the industry against pathogens and other issues, so we created our own program and Loma Vista stood out”…

The finalists for this year’s Greenhouse Grower Operation of the Year award share several traits, including an innovative approach to production, a commitment to sustainability, and a drive to build long-term success for both their respective companies, and for the plant industry as a whole. Here’s your chance to get to know this year’s finalists, each of which have already won individual honors. The winner will be announced at Cultivate’19 during Greenhouse Grower’s Medal of Excellence awards…

After a lengthy and rigorous dissection of its practices, Loma Vista Nursery entered a program that will drastically reduce pest-related risks and enrich the company. Late last year, the nursery received SANC certification. SANC — Systems Approach to Nursery Certification — is administered by the National Plant Board, a non-profit organization that includes plant pest regulatory agencies representing each of the states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Guam…

OTTAWA, Kansas – Loma Vista Nursery has received Systems Approach to Nursery Certification (SANC), administered by the National Plant Board, a non-profit organization of the plant pest regulatory agencies of each of the states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Guam. SANC is a voluntary, audit-based program for production nurseries and grower greenhouses and is designed to reduce pest risks associated with the movement of nursery stock…

Education is one of the best ways to encourage and help foster your customers’ success. Loma Vista Nursery in Ottawa, Kan., has fine-tuned its education programs throughout the years and established itself as trusted experts in the green industry. Loma Vista maintains a wholesale operation as well as a landscape distribution center. Much of the company’s educational programs are hosted through its distribution center, but it’s certainly a model that could be successful for any wholesale grower willing to invest the time…

An old limestone rock quarry on the southern edge of Ottawa, Kansas has found new life as a water source for Loma Vista Nursery’s 50 acres of trees and plants. At the same time, what may have once been considered an eyesore has been turned into an environmentally positive site visually and functionally. Mark Clear, Loma Vista’s owner, went into the nursery industry in 1991 and began the Ottawa operation in 2005…