NORCAL Sun ‘N Fun to expand grower tours, education sessions
“Hotel rooms are sold out, we’ve already got 225 registered with more than a month to go, the sign-ups for the grower tours are already near capacity, and we have more than 40 exhibitors lined up.” With those words by Monnaie Castillo on June 11, it sounds like the 2013 NORCAL Sun ‘N Fun Weekend is in full bloom.
Over 1,200 expected at FPFC South
About 250 exhibitors, using all available floor space, an expected crowd of 1,200 attendees, the 2013 Floral Achievement Award, a floral design contest and a keynote address by Joe Theismann, former star quarterback in the National Football League-these are on tap for the Southern California Expo in Anaheim, CA, July 16, the year’s biggest event for the Fresh Produce & Floral Council.
More glow-in-the-dark plants on the way
More glow-in-the-dark plants are on the way, and roses may be next. Among projects seeking funding on the Internet in June was a plant-engineering idea which uses synthetic biology to endow a small, leafy plant with green-blue light via genetic circuitry from fire-flies. Thale cress, or “mouse ear cress,” is a small flowering plant native to Europe, Asia and Africa.
The Glowing Plant project seeks to breed a variety of Thale cress which would emit weak, green-blue light. Funders would get seeds to plant the hardy weed wherever they wish.
Kenya trade show draws buyers from 27 countries, growers from across Africa
Buyers from 27 countries, including the United States, attended the International Flower Trade Expo in Nairobi, Kenya, June 5-7. The organizers of this second annual show in Kenya, HPP Exhibitions, stated in a news release that in addition to the largest and most important buyers from Russia and Ukraine, buyers were also present from such far-flung nations as Australia, Germany and Holland.
Grower lobbyist: Senate immigration bill is the train, so ‘get on it’
“For people who want immigration reform, the U.S. Senate bill is the train. Get on it,” urged Craig Regelbruge, vice president for government relations at the American Nursery & Landscape Association and cochairman of the Agriculture Committee for Immigration Reform.
The bill contains a guest worker provision important to the floral industry.
California's Fresno County has its first billion-dollar grape crop
For the first time ever, California's Fresno County grape production surpassed $1.1 billion — the first billion-dollar crop in the county's history. Overall, agricultural production in Fresno County totaled more than $6.58 billion, showing a 3.9 percent decrease from 2011's $6.89 billion, according to the Fresno County Department of Agriculture 2012 Agricultural Crop & Livestock Report.
O’Hare perishables center agreement up for Chicago City Council approval
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel presented an agreement with Chicago Perishable Center Inc. to the Chicago City Council on June 5 for the development of a perishables cargo center at O’Hare International Airport. The lease was too be reviewed by a council committee in a meeting June 24 and, if approved, go to the full council for ratification.
Floralife celebrates its 75th anniversary with picnic at Walterboro, SC, campus
WALTERBORO, SC — A crowd of about 80 staff and guests lounged on the lawn outside the Floralife headquarters in Walterboro, SC, on a sunny day late in May, gathered to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the world’s first commercial flower food for cut flowers.
IFE opens with over 300 exhibitors, 1,500 attendees in Miami Beach
MIAMI BEACH, FL — More than 300 exhibitors in some 700 booths with 66,000 square feet of exhibit space overall; about 700 buyers from close to 100 supermarket chains including major ones like A&P, Ahold, Albertsons, Hy-Vee, Kroger, Piggly Wiggly, Safeway, Wegmans and Whole Foods; 16 education sessions; 52 new products on display; and about 1,750 attendees. Those were the key numbers as the International Floriculture Expo opened here on June 18.
Floral fashion forecast, Memorial Day report, immigration moves ahead, IFE
Floral fashion is ever-changing, and we have a forecast for you in this issue with fashion trends linked to “floral take-aways” with tips on how to use them.
And a growing Memorial Day Flowers project hearkens back to the days when this holiday used to be the prime floral day of the year. The 2013 project used 240,000 donated roses at 208 cemeteries and commemorative events in 27 states. (See story, page 80).