The water wars of the American West are old hat, but recent hikes in water rates are hurting flower growers in California. Another big flower-growing state, Florida, had water issues in 2011 when sinkholes developed after growers tapped wells to sprinkle crops to protect them from a killing freeze.

Summer can be dreadful for floral sales, but I do not dread the summer sales challenge. It actually always gets me thinking out of the box and keeps me on my toes. After looking through trendy garden magazines, hot nurseries and upscale florist shops, I have decided that this year we will push outdoor living.

The trade agreement between the United States and Colombia took a final step toward implementation April 15 at the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, when President Obama and President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia each announced the nations’ separate agreement over labor rights in Colombia at a joint news conference.

“We all have to pull together to rebuild the supply chain and listen to our consumers better. They have to tell us what products to sell, they can help us improve and also point us in the right direction on how to market them.” Jim McCann, head of 1-800-Flowers, used these words to cap a dialogue billed as a “fireside chat” with Augusto Solano, president of Asocolflores, the association of Colombian flower exporters.

The Fresh Produce & Floral Council’s Northern California Expo set a new record this year as it drew 1,100 attendees to the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA, on April 18. Last year’s attendance was about 1,050, according to Carissa Mace, FPFC president.

“The show keeps growing in popularity as we get information about it out to more and more retailers,” she told The Produce News. “We had many first-time attendees this year who just heard about the show for the first time.”

NORCAL, the California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers, is in the process of hiring a chief executive officer, a step that board members expect will streamline operations. Currently, three full-time professional staff cover business management and special events, publications and member relations, and transportation. The association briefly had an executive director about five years ago, but has had no one in that role since.