NMNLA President's Message — April 2026 "Best Laid Plans"

There’s a moment every spring that every one of us knows. Maybe it’s the first morning you walk outside and the air smells different — alive again. Maybe it’s the day the ground finally gives way under your boots, or the first phone call from a customer who’s been staring at their yard all winter and is ready to go. Whatever that moment is for you, it means one thing: it’s GO time, baby!

And for those of us in this industry, spring isn’t just a season — it’s what makes us feel alive!

All That Planning Is About to Mean Something

For months, we’ve been doing the quiet work. Growers have been planning production schedules, sourcing material, and monitoring inventory. Landscape contractors have been refining designs, locking in crews, and building out project calendars. Irrigation companies have been servicing equipment and lining up startups. Turf and pest management teams have been reviewing programs and preparing for the first applications. Every one of us, in our own way, has spent the winter building the runway.

Now it’s time to fly.

There is something genuinely energizing about this moment — when all those well-laid plans shift from paper to reality. The spreadsheets become schedules. The designs become installations. The seed trays become product on benches. The energy of the spring season is why we do what we do.

A Word About Shiny Objects

But here’s something worth saying out loud, especially right now when the energy is high and the phones are starting to ring: stay the course!

Spring has a way of presenting opportunity at every turn. A flood or erosion emergency (cough cough). A new product line that seems like a sure thing. A customer with a big budget asking you to pivot. A partnership that looks too good to pass up. These moments are tempting — and sometimes they’re genuinely worth pursuing. Occasionally, a shiny new opportunity really does pay off.

More often, though, it costs you.

It costs you focus. It costs you production capacity you’d already committed elsewhere. It costs you the trust of customers who were counting on the plan you sold them. And it costs you the momentum you worked all winter to build.

The businesses in our industry that execute consistently, season after season, are almost always the ones who made a plan and had the discipline to protect it. That doesn’t mean being rigid — it means being intentional. When something new comes across your desk, ask yourself: does this fit the plan, or does it replace it? There’s a big difference.

But When the Unexpected Hits — And It Will

There’s an important distinction, though, between chasing distraction and responding to reality. Because no matter how solid your plan is, this industry will test it.

A late snowstorm rolls in and shuts down your install crews for a week. A flood damages a grower’s inventory right before peak demand. A key employee quits without notice during your busiest stretch. A supplier comes up short on material you already sold to a customer. These aren’t shiny objects — these are the moments that define a season.

The best operators in our industry don’t just plan for what they expect. They build in the mental flexibility — and where possible, the operational margin — to pivot when the unexpected arrives. That means keeping communication open with your customers before problems become crises. It means cross-training staff so one departure doesn’t cripple a crew. It means having honest conversations with suppliers early in the season about contingencies. It means knowing, in the back of your mind, which parts of your plan have some give — and which ones don’t.

And it means being fiscally conservative from the start. You may not be able to predict a late snowstorm or a labor shortage, but you can build budgetary buffer to hedge against them. That starts with honest, conservative sales projections — don’t sell a season you can’t deliver if something goes sideways. It carries through to production expectations — padding your timelines, not over-committing your crews, and resisting the urge to run lean just because things looked good in March. The businesses that weather the unexpected best aren’t always the biggest or the best-resourced. They’re the ones that didn’t spend every dollar and promise every hour before the season even started.

Staying the course and being adaptable aren’t opposites. The discipline to ignore a shiny distraction and the resilience to respond to a genuine curveball are actually the same skill: clear-eyed judgment about what deserves your attention. The businesses that develop that judgment are the ones that move from good seasons to great ones.

Here’s to a Strong Season

To every grower, contractor, irrigator, turf professional, and green industry partner in our chapter — this is your season. You’ve put the time in to prepare as best you can. Now go execute.

Let’s look out for each other out there. If you get an opportunity to help a local competitor who’s in a pinch, do it! Refer work that isn’t in your wheelhouse to a fellow member. You never know when you

or your team will need a favor in return, and these collaborative efforts come back in spades.

And when the season gets hectic — because it will — remember that this chapter is here as a resource and a community.

Wishing everyone a safe, productive, and profitable spring!

Donn Vidosh, President

C-248-613-6601

Northern Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association