Dec 19, 2018

Did You Miss It? By Tim Hodson

Last Thursday, AmericanHort’s Craig Regelbrugge and Texas A&M’s Charlie Hall presented a webinar on “Outlook 2019: What’s on the Economic and Legislative Horizon in the Coming Year*.” If you missed it, the webinar is now available for download on www.gpnmag.com.

A lot has happened in Washington and on Wall Street since last month’s mid-term elections. During the 90-minute webinar, Craig and Charlie walked us through some of the changes that have already taken place as well as provided their keen insight on where things may be headed in the new year.

Some of the things Craig discussed during his presentation include what our industry might see in 2019 as a new Congress is sworn in and how the recently passed Farm Bill might impact growers in the U.S.

Charlie examined how and why the economy continues on its roller coaster ride. He took a deeper dive into some of the leading economic indicators you need to keep an eye on and how they could impact your business.

If you missed Charlie and Craig’s presentation, you can now download it for free on the GPN website. Just go to www.gpnmag.com/edwebinar.

On this page, you will also find all of our archived webinars that are available for free. In 2018, in addition to Charlie and Craig’s presentation, we have presented webinars on greenhouse sensors, pest management, lighting options for controlled environment agriculture and plant growth regulators.

So if you are looking for insight into 2019 or for free education for you and your staff during the coming weeks, this is your destination.

Happy holidays from everyone at GPN’s Big Grower.

— Tim

*Thank you to Fine Americas and Nufarm for making the webinar possible.

Walmart, VA Group Work to Help Underserved Veterans

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Walmart are collaborating to offer VA-led telehealth services to reach underserved veterans. The pilot program will kick off in targeted Walmart locations that consider the number of Veterans and the health resources offered. The collaboration includes donated space and operational support by Walmart for VA-led telehealth services. According to VA secretary Robert Wilkie, the agreement “will help accelerate our shared journey to fully integrated, seamless access to healthcare no matter where a Veteran resides.”

Lowe’s Looks to Improve Digital Capabilities

Lowe’s plans to hire as many as 2,000 software engineers to help overhaul the company’s digital capabilities. CEO Marvin Ellison made the announcement during the company’s analyst and investor conference last week. The move comes after the home improvement retailer’s website suffered a major crash on Black Friday frustrating shoppers and impacting sales. Ellison said the company has “substantially completed a detailed reassessment of our business and are diligently implementing process and technology improvements that are rooted in the fundamentals of retail and designed to position Lowe’s to win in today’s complex retail environment.”

Home Depot to Add New Facilities in Dallas Area

The Home Depot is planning to add a new distribution center and an industrial facility in Dallas, Texas. The company is looking to build a new 152-acre distribution hub in west Dallas and is seeking more than $5 million in property tax abatements from the city over the next 10 years. Home Depot is also seeking tax incentives to open a new industrial facility for HD Supply Facilities Maintenance in the southwestern portion of Dallas. The incentives have been approved by the city’s economic development committee and are awaiting approval from the full city council.