You've left out pressures from government subsidized foreign trade.
Companies in other countries can bring fully grown flowering sized plants to
US markets for pennies on the dollar. It used to be that these companies
would import flasks to the USA, and a second level of industry here would
raise these plants to flowering size and market them. Takes a lot of time,
supplies and man hours to pot and repot these seedlings to flowering size.
Now foriegn companies don't have to waste the time and trouble to own
businesses in the USA (putting US workers/suppliers out of work) they can
bring in already potted orchids for sale. The US has to deal with any
imported pests (which the foriegn countries say doesn't happen, but which I
believe remains to be seen. When did you ever see a pest free port?) US
companies can't compete because 1) they aren't subsidized, they actually
have to turn a profit and 2) they have to pay a living wage in the US.

At one point in time an rgo Florida vendor mentioned a company in Florida
was selling Phalaenopsis orchids with 2 spikesfor $6. Two spikes. 6 bucks.
Boy that's cheap! And they still make a profit on that $6.

So what's a vendor to do? Go out of business? Get real small? How small
can you get? Especially considering all your points listed below?

So what's a hobbyist to do if they want something other than a boxstore
orchid? Create their own hybrids, trade 'em with their friends? Drive for
miles to get to the few shows in their areas that sell something other than
boxstore orchids? (SBOE, Redlands, Chicago)

So where's a vendor or a hobbyists going to get their supplies to repot all
their orchids every other year? Shipping and handling on bark is costly!
Join a club and share the costs of a pallet of bark?

You mentioned water quality. There was a vendor down in the San Diego area
who went out of business because California enacted legislation that every
business had to control the purity of the runoff from their property. They
didn't want a bunch of phosphates etc clogging up the streams, rivers, bays
etc. So water from your fields have to be at a standard before it can be
released into streams. He couldn't do that, he was a small operation and to
comply was onerous, so decided to close down. I believe he only sells pots
now. I believe these laws were enacted to keep stores with their huge
parking lots from dumping oil soaked runoff into storm drains, but there you
are, an unforseen consequence.

Do you rememebr several years ago the Chinese shot down one of our spyplanes
and held the crew 'hostage' until they stripped any advanced electronics out
of the plane. Then they let the crew go. I remember a picture of one of
the airmen who stepped off the plane back in the USA wearing a T-shirt
captioned 'I was held hostage by a WalMart supplier'.

But I digress.

All we can agree upon is that its a mess.

K Barrett


"Nancy G." wrote in message
oups.com...
K Barrett wrote:
Just saying let's all be friends doesn't raise the awareness of the
issues
for the newbies, now does it?

It's a bummer. I read the thread "Is there money in orchids" and made
no comment. As I see it, here are some of the issues.

1. Utility costs have quadrupled in the last 2 years.
2. Taxes have doubled.
3. Water quality. Most areas the water is treated before application
to the orchids, some areas it is tested and treated again before being
allowed to be removed
4. Chemicals. Insecticides, fungicides, fertilizer, hormones, and
supplements
5. Lighting. Natural, supplemented, or artificially supplied. There
is the cost of the fixture, replacement bulbs, expense of operation,
type, spectrum, and meters to test all of the above.
6. Hardgoods. Pots, mounts, medium, clips, stakes, blades, hangers,
etc the list is endless and it all adds to the cost or price.
7 Space and equipment. I've allowed about 1 square foot for a mature
catlleya, I can go vertical, but have to protect against overspray and
drips.
8. Time. Inspection, watering, transplanting/dividing. That's just
time spent with the orchids. If I hire locally there is training.
9. Environment. I like miltonias, but have left them alone, have
mostly intermediate to warm growing, low altitude orchids.
10. Breeding. Eventually want to make my own cross, but then there is
time and uncertainty. However we all recognize the Krull-Smith,
Hauserman, Orchidview, Mendenhall/Oconee, Carmela, and Baldan to name a
few. Those are some of the "big guns", it doesn't mean there aren't
others trying it on their scale that haven't been recognized yet.
There is a bit of "Walter Mitty" in all of us.
11. Promotion, exhibition, control. I saw an online ad for a
"recently awarded" orchid for sale, $30,000. They weren't selling
divisions, they were selling rights to mass produce, before a leaf,
root, or stem got hijacked.
12. Marketability. Obscure species are interesting. Most sales
however aren't for orchids that you need to have magnification to see
or smell like road kill.

I know, I've left out a bunch of stuff. But it is a start. What are
some of the other issues?

Nancy

I know that some things have been left out of this lift.