Lite-a-Loon LED balloons introduced to U.S. market
They softly light up the environment and have the appearance of colorful, glowing orbs. Lite-a-Loon LED balloons, 11-inch latex balloons with a battery-powered LED light inside, were recently introduced to the U.S. market by burton + BURTON in Bogart, GA.
“The initial launch of the Lite-a-Loon has been great,” Steve Rose, media and communications manager for burton + BURTON, told The Produce News. “Everyone who sees them instantly starts thinking of ways to use them. We’ve heard of people using them in school dances, parties, concerts and other low-light venues.”
California flower grower helps feed the hungry with Outreach Farm Project
Floral farmers usually concentrate solely on growing flowers, but Kendall Farms in Fallbrook, CA, is an exception to that norm. The Southern California wholesaler, well-nown for its sunflowers, has 500 acres of land for flower growing, but Kendall Farms also dedicates a few acres each year to growing produce that is used to help those in the community.
Troy Conner, general manager of Kendall Farms, told The Produce News that the idea to grow produce came to him in 2009.
Just in time for Halloween — glow-in-the-dark roses and mums
You can now surprise your party guests, event attendees or even trick-or-treaters with glow-in-the-dark fresh flowers. After years of research, a Dutch flower company, Vip Roses, has created the first cut flowers that give off light in the darkness and their vase life has not been adversely affected, according to a news release.
‘People’s Tree’ will travel nearly 2,000 miles from Minnesota to U.S. Capitol
For the past 50 years, a fresh Christmas tree has been displayed on the west front lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, during the holiday season. The U.S. Forest Service, in partnership with Choose Outdoors and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, will bring a whopping 80-foot-plus white spruce from the Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota to Washington, DC, for the 2014 season, it was announced in a news release.
2014 marks the 10th anniversary of Trees for Troops Christmas program
Trees for Troops hopes to deliver 18,000 free, fresh Christmas trees this year with a majority of those going to military families stationed at military installations across the United States. The deliveries will take place at 60-plus bases and units around the world, covering every branch of the armed services, according to a news release.
Schoneveld Breeding wins International Grower of Year
Based in Twello, the Netherlands, Schoneveld Breeding, a specialist in flowering pot plants with 35 percent of the world market for Cyclamen, won the International Grower of the Year award during a gala dinner at the 66th annual conference of the Association of Horticultural Producers in Qingdao, China, Sept. 17. AIPH president, Vic Krahn and the China Flower Association secretary general, Liu Hong, presented the Golden Rose Trophy to Schoneveld Breeding.
Sun Valley Floral Farms wins 2014 Marketer of the Year Award at SAF convention
In the 21-year history of the Floral Management Marketer of the Year Award, no farmer has ever won it. That all changed on Aug. 15 at the 130th annual Society of American Florists convention in Marco Island, FL, when Sun Valley Floral Farms in Arcata, CA, was presented with the coveted title for its tireless efforts on building awareness and demand for Women’s Day.
“This is not about Sun Valley,” Lane DeVries, chief executive officer of the company said in his acceptance speech. “This is about the American flower industry.”
ASCFG 2014 National Conference education sessions filling up fast
The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers 2014 National Conference Oct. 19-22 in Newark, DE, Growers’ School, banquet and tour have all sold out, but there are still spaces available in the educational sessions on Oct. 20-21 and also in the post-conference tours on Oct. 23 at North Creek Nurseries in Landenberg, PA, Lilies and Lavender farm and design studio in Doylestown, PA, and Barefoot Gardens in Doylestown, PA.
The conference educational sessions schedule is as follows.
Monday, Oct. 20
7:50 a.m. Welcome, Frank Arnosky, ASCFG President.
Two Dutch trade shows slated for Nov. 5-7
The fifth edition of the International Floriculture & Horticulture Trade Fair will be held Nov. 5-7 at Expo Haarlemmermeer in Vijfhuizen, Holland, and exhibit space is fully booked plus there is a waitlist, according to an HPP Exhibitions news release, the expo’s organizers. The IFTF is an industrywide event serving all segments of the floriculture and horticulture trades.
Fair Trade Certified flowers improve lives
October is Fair Trade Month, a national, annual campaign to bring awareness about why every purchase matters. The Fair Trade Certified label represents products that are both socially and environmentally sustainable.
Jenna Larson, public relations manager at Fair Trade USA in Oakland, CA, told The Produce News that consumers are looking to make a difference with their purchases and over 55 percent of the U.S. population today is aware of the Fair Trade Certified label.