WRP, CRP, EQIP, WHIP. What do these all mean? Maybe a business opportunity if you can successfully grow hardwood tree seedlings of species such as the oaks, green ash, persimmon, and sweetgum. These federal cost-sharing programs have different objectives, but they all can involve planting hardwood seedlings on former crop land. The Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), and Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (CRP), Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP) are conservation programs administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Contractors will need an estimated 30 million seedlings a year in the Lower Mississippi Valley states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee. That’s enough seedlings to plant 100,000 acres at the density (302 seedlings per acre) required by the NRCS. Vendors who plant several thousand acres a year have been able to contract to buy seedlings this year for 18.5 cents to 25 cents each, although top quality seedlings may sell for as much as 50 cents or more per seedling.

Starting up a nursery is more difficult than planting a backyard garden, and anyone who makes a profit the first year will be incredibly lucky. Remember the very first garden you ever planted? You made a lot of mistakes that you corrected the next year, only to make different mistakes then. But, 30 million seedlings at 25 cents each is a $7.5 million a year business! If the NRCS planted at densities recommended by forestry professionals, the number of seedlings required would almost double. So much for the demand, what about the supply side? If NRCS specifies and enforces recommendations of forestry professionals, the agency will require vendors to plant seedlings at least 18 inches tall, with several lateral roots, that measure 3/8 of an inch in diameter at the top of the root collar. A good quality hardwood seedling typically is larger than what passes for an acceptable pine seedling. The most common type of planting stock is a seedling grown one season in a nursery bed that is lifted from the bed in the late fall to early winter and bundled up in paper with roots bare of soil. These are called 1-0 bareroot seedlings. A startup hardwood nursery will require at least a year of preparation before seeds are sown, and probably longer unless the entrepreneur already owns suitable land. Ideally, soils should be well-drained, sand to silt-loan texture with at least 2% organic matter. Many established nurseries are irrigated. Weed control is essential, often done by hand because many chemicals effective on common weeds will also kill the hardwood seedlings. Fertilization will probably be required with most species to push them to the target size in a year. A big challenge for the beginning nurseryman will be obtaining an adequate supply of seed. Most nurserymen have a network of individuals who collect seed from trees in yards and parks and sell to them by the pound. Startup capital costs could run into tens of thousands of dollars for facilities and equipment (one estimate is half a million dollars to keep seasonal labor needs to a minimum). A successful nursery of any size will need cold storage facilities to hold seedlings dormant until vendors can pick them up. The biggest challenge, in my view, is the lack of technical expertise readily available to the entrepreneur. In spite of these challenges, new nurseries have started up in the Delta in response to the projected demand. Established as well as startup nurseries have had a difficult year due to the weather and other problems, however, and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to fill their contracts. So, the opportunity is still out there to grow hardwood seedlings. But it’s not a business for the faint at heart. But then, neither is growing cotton. DBJ

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Site last updated January 10, 1999.