Halamuda: Access To Capital Key To Growth

Jerry Halamuda, president of Top 100 Grower Color Spot Nurseries, responds to Editor Delilah Onofrey August column “From Dream To Nightmare, in which she writes that even the most well-respected, visionary companies are vulnerable if they don’t have firm financial footing. Check out Delilah’s column if you haven’t already, and read Jerry’s response below:

Delilah: Your editor’s column comments in “From Dream to Nightmare” are very important for our industry to understand–and, I am afraid, most do not. You can have a well-run company making money and fall victim to what is happening in the banking business. Changes in macro-economic issues are critical today as we see appraisal standards reductions, line of credit advance rates declining and overall constriction of lending practices. The ability to gain access to capital for everyday business or growth is the key to remaining in business.

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–Jerry Halamuda, Color Spot Nurseries

Another reader, Katie Mason of Cornell University, has a different take on the column:

After reading your column, “From Dream to Nightmare” in the August Greenhouse Grower, I was disappointed. I do agree with you that it’s a shame what Carolina Nurseries is going through and that is a hard position for everyone involved. However, I think this hardship extends to the bank as well and do not agree with your comments about banks receiving bailout money and still not lending money.

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Do you know if the bank Carolina Nurseries works with even received money from the federal government? Further, banks that received this money are ones that most likely made bad loan decisions, most likely because they were not focused on repayment. In order to prevent this banking meltdown in the future, it is imperative for banks to focus on making loans that can be repaid, which you construe as having cold feet, when in actuality it is sound lending decisions. None of us know all the details involved, yet I don’t think all the blame should be placed on the bank.

Katie Mason, Cornell University

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Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

Lowering input costs while producing superior products is the key to survival and growth in both good times and bad. Yet everyday we visit growers who fail to understand benefits of a healthy soil food web and the roll that microorganisms play in reducing usage of fertilizers, chemicals and irrigation while producing superior plants in less growing time.

Avatar for Anonymous Anonymous says:

Lowering input costs while producing superior products is the key to survival and growth in both good times and bad. Yet everyday we visit growers who fail to understand benefits of a healthy soil food web and the roll that microorganisms play in reducing usage of fertilizers, chemicals and irrigation while producing superior plants in less growing time.