Mistaken identity

We, the editorial team of Nursery Management, spend a lot of time and effort bringing you, our loyal readers, the most interesting articles about plant production we can dig up. That’s our mission and for the most part we stick to it.

But every so often, we stray from the beaten path. This month is one of those times. Our February cover story will not tell you how to do a better job growing a boxwood or what to do about fungus gnats. But it will help you understand a nationwide problem that impacts a crucial aspect of your business.

From Jan. 10-12, I attended MANTS in Baltimore, and in between chatting with old friends and making new acquaintances, I had a plan in the back of my mind. I wanted to seek out any trucking or logistics companies I could find on the show floor. We’re always writing about new plants and new ways to produce them, but it’s been a while since we checked in with the folks who move those plants across the country. I wanted to find out what was happening in their world, which runs adjacent to our world.

Well, it turns out that the transportation brokers serving the nursery industry are very much dealing with their own set of problems. But the big one is the hijacking of freight loads by nefarious scammers misrepresenting themselves as legitimate businesses. It’s called double-brokering and it’s cost a lot of companies a lot of money over the last few years.

The three brokers I met at MANTS explained the problem, how they deal with it when they encounter it, and how growers can help stop it. Read the article starting on pg. 16 to find out more.

There will be more of this story online, including a list of red flags that could help you avoid the scam. Watch for that at www.nurserymag.com.

Oh, and just because the cover story is all about shipping that doesn’t mean we abandoned our roots. Check out Dr. Dirr’s piece on pg. 20, our MANTS recap on pg. 30 or either of our Green Guide and Flora Exotica departments if you need your plant fix.

Have you fallen victim to the dreaded double-brokering? Or maybe you have a system in place to leave those scammers high and dry? Tell me all about it at mmcclellan@gie.net.