June is Pollinator Month, and the third week in June is celebrated as Pollinator Week. The mission of Pollinator week, according to the Pollinator Partnership, is to “promote the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles.”

Landscape companies can use Pollinator Week to promote that they use sustainable, pollinator-friendly practices in their services. Pollinator health is a growing concern among consumers, and homeowners are often looking for ways to support them in their landscapes.

The origins of Antirrhinum sempervirens ‘P020S’ (DREW’S FOLLY™ Hardy Snapdragon) are the Wild Spanish snapdragons (Antirrhinum sempervirens) that grow in the mountain regions of Spain and France But DREW’S FOLLY Hardy Snapdragon is different from its wild relatives in two distinct manners. First, it has demonstrated hardiness in USDA zone 5 in the Plant Select three-year perennial trial at Chatfield Farms in Denver, compared to zone 6 for its ancestors. Second, its flower color is a unique soft seashell pink, not the white of Wild Spanish snapdragons.

In May, Lawn & Landscape announced its Top 100 companies. Four Colorado-headquartered companies made the list:

• Metco Landscape (#27)
• Designscapes Colorado (#74)
• Environmental Designs, Inc. (#82)
• Designs By Sundown (#88)

Irrigation & Green Industry published the results of its 2021 equipment maintenance survey. The magazine asked landscape professionals about their habits when it comes to buying and maintaining equipment for their work.

Interesting findings include:

• Trusted experts are key to purchasing decisions. An overwhelming majority of respondents (88%) stated that they visit an authorized dealer or distributor when making purchases.
• Proper maintenance is a priority. Another strong majority (71%) do daily or weekly maintenance checks on their equipment.
• Battery-powered equipment is not a priority. Just 5% of respondents use battery-powered mowers, though 39% said they use some handheld battery-powered tools like leaf blowers.

This week, Ford announced that the all-electric F-150 Lightning is available for pre-order and will be delivered in 2022. We asked, would you consider EVs for your truck fleet? 

ALCC would like to invite you to a couple of important H-2B events in June!

Colorado Representative Virtual Meetings, Tuesday, June 22, 7AM - 3PM (potentially 12PM)
In lieu of meeting with our Colorado representatives in person during the traditional July “fly-ins” that NALP has arranged in the past, ALCC will be coordinating Zoom calls on their behalf instead. While I would encourage you to still register with NALP for Legislative Days 2021 Virtual, please let me know if you are planning to attend. The day is scheduled from 7AM to 3PM, but my goal is to schedule the meetings tightly and hope to shorten the day to 7AM to 12PM if possible.

Good afternoon,

The final supplemental rule was posted to the Federal Register by the Department of Homeland Security today! Also here is the attestation form for irreparable harm (remember DOL will be auditing much more robustly this year).

At ALCC’s recent webinar on cybersecurity, expert Carlin Dornbusch reviewed some of the online security threats facing small businesses. Several high-profile data breaches and hacks have underscored the need for all of us to take cybersecurity very seriously.

Last week, the US Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a joint rule. This temporary final rule authorizes the release of 22,000 supplemental H-2B visas for the current fiscal year (2021). It was posted to the Federal Register on May 25.

An IBM study, in partnership with the National Retail Federation, asked nearly 19,000 people in 28 countries around the world about sustainability and its role in their habits as consumers. Nearly eight in 10 consumers indicated that sustainability is important to them. 57% said that they were willing to change their purchasing habits to reduce environmental impact. Of those who said they’d change their habits for a negative environmental impact, 70% said they would pay a premium for more sustainable options.