Ag standards group to issue draft for public comment
The 58-member committee developing voluntary American standards for sustainable agricultural products, including cut flowers and potted plants, will issue a draft version of the standards for public comment sometime this fall, according to Michael Arny, president of Leonardo Academy of Madison, WI. The academy is a nonprofit shepherding the project through the development process prescribed by the American National Standards Institute.
Special floral days in Europe crowd calendar
Austria has All Souls’ Day (Allerseelen), Belgians give flowers to sick people on the Day of the Ill People (Ziekendag), the Czech Republic celebrates Nameday Adam and Eve (Naamdag Adam en Eva), the Danes honor Crown Princess Mary (Verjaardag Kroomprinses Mary), the Finns dance the night away on Walpurgis Night (a spring festival with bonfires), the French have Mardi Gras (a la New Orleans), and the Germans have Thank You Day (Danke Shoen Tag).
When trends collide: Ghosts of Christmas containers past, present, future
If the voices in your head have you feeling conflicted about your 2013 Christmas container choices, don’t allow these ghosts to thwart your plans for spreading good will through your holiday displays. Follow your heart. There is a good chance your thoughts are right on trend.
This promises to be a season where many trends collide. Like never before, looks of the past, the present and the future will seem to clash, but they will all evoke the appropriate feeling for the occasion. The key is to focus on the mood needed, and then build your choices around it.
OFA slates retail forums
Though the first forum in January 2013 saw the business future of garden centers through a glass darkly, a follow-up session next month will dwell on paths to a brighter commercial destiny for them. The forum will be held Nov. 5-6 in Raleigh, NC, under the sponsorship of OFA and the American Nursery & Landscape Association.
Retail consultants John Stanley and Sid Raisch, who led the 2013 forum, will present new material in lectures and lead discussions at the follow-up session, which is designed to help garden center retailers develop new business plans and strategies.
FFVA convention sets record numbers for attendance and sponsorships
AMELIA ISLAND, FL — The 70th annual Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association convention, held Sept. 22-25 at the Ritz-Carlton, here, set new records in terms of attendance and sponsorships, which were both at least 20 percent more than 2012 numbers.
Well over 300 growers, shippers and industry affiliates heard and participated in three days of debate about the issues and opportunities facing and awaiting the Florida produce industry.
They also had some fun.
Helium shortage cut supermarket floral sales, but worst is over
The recent helium shortage cut into sales at supermarket floral departments, but the worst is over. Peak floral holidays are always the driving force behind significant push of helium sales and across the country, helium balloons account for up to 5 percent of total floral sales.
Proflora attendance revised to 7,000; President Santos to speak at opening
Proflora, Colombia’s biennial flower trade show, was expected to attract nearly 7,000 visitors to Bogota, Colombia’s capital, Oct. 2-4, according to Sept. 23 revised estimates by officials at Asocolflores, the flower exporters group that sponsors the show. About 1,200 of those attending were expected to be international travelers from 45 countries.
Floral Council spearheads exhibitor increases at PMA’s Fresh Summit
The reconstituted Floral Council will make its presence known at the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit with a record number of floral exhibitors, most on display in a new floral pavilion, the hub for floral at PMA. The council also boosted PMA floral membership over the past year and will welcome a new chairman at the show, Oct. 18-20 in New Orleans.
WF&FSA could break attendance record with theme of ‘rediscovery’
Registration a month in advance was on track to break the record set last year at the Floral Distribution Conference in Miami, Patricia A. (Trish) Lilly, executive vice president of the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association, told The Produce News.
Display space for 96 table top exhibits sold out a month ago, she added. The show runs Oct. 23-25 at the Doral Trump Resort in Miami. (See schedule, page 113.)
Standards slog on, helium shortage rises, protests trim trade show attendance
Fall has fallen, and like a wedding this issue brings news of “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.”
The something old is the seven-year effort to develop a national sustainable agriculture standard. The project at the Leonardo Institute has suffered committee resignations, funding shortages and copyright disputes. But like a hardy flower, the effort survives. This fall draft standards will be issued for public comment.