Nursery / Tree Farm Appraisals
In the deepest end of the largest pool of plant knowledge is the appraisal of a tree farm or nursery. Nowhere in arboriculture or horticulture is the demand of all components culminate into value like the nursery appraisal assignment.
To establish a value the requisite knowledge of soils, fertilizers, containers and their sizes, step-up protocol, plant inventory rotation, pesticides, application rates and techniques, pruning, Grades and Standards, diseases, insects, nematodes, plant population ratios, and, plant population sizes. The list is endless. As are the pitfalls.
There is a saying in the Green Industry: plant appraisals are an art and a science. Science is the knowledge of plants. The art is the case law upon which opinions of value shall be placed. Many opinions of value have not prevailed in court when discovered the opinion of value was based upon ipse dixit; not case law. It’s more important to know case law when apprising a nursery than the plant being appraised.
Many of our nation’s brightest arborists have appraised a nursery in their careers. Many more have as a professional goal to appraise a nursery or a tree farm. I have had the good fortune of having appraised over 100 tree farms and nurseries in eminent domain, and civil matters for the largest law firms in America. I’ve owned and operated a tree farm growing trees for developers two years before needed for their custom-built homes. I learned on-the-job how trees are grown and prepared for sale. There were those nights that found me lighting smudge pots by the headlights of my truck so that the following year’s crop would not freeze.
I am a respected team player along with certified public accountants, engineers, land planners, and designers to bring to the table a valuation which stands upon science and facts. I have been named as an expert witness in over 1000 litigated matters. My opinion has never been struck. My representation is 50/50; plaintiff vs. defendant, more or less at the end of any given year.
