News

Farm Bill discussion continues

On Oct. 12, House leadership appointed conferees for the upcoming formal discussions that will attempt to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill.

Informal staff discussions have been going on, but the major differences between the two bills, especially on the nutrition programs, mean that discussions are likely to be lengthy.

ANLA’s Joe Bischoff says the most significant among the challenges are the $36 billion difference in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as “food stamps,” and the disjointed allocation timelines for the agriculture provisions and the nutrition programs. The House version cuts approximately $40 billion from SNAP, which is ten-times the cuts proposed in the Senate version.

The American Farm Bureau has walked away from a carefully crafted compromise linking two major programs (conservation compliance and crop insurance) — a decision which will likely further impact negotiations between the House and Senate, although the action does not significantly impact the specialty crops provision of the bill, which is important to growers.

The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) commended the House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders on their work creating bills that build on the strategic funding and policy direction the Alliance has pursued since the 2008 Farm Bill. SCFBA agreed that both of the Farm Bills that were passed over the summer will enhance the competitive position of specialty crop growers across the country.
 

NGB provides info for 2014 Year of the Cucumber, Echinacea and Petunia

National Garden Bureau, the non-profit organization promoting gardening on behalf of the horticulture industry, has announced the three crops that will be featured in its 2014 “Year of the” program.

NGB selects one annual, one perennial and one edible that are easy to grow, genetically diverse with a lot of new varieties to choose from. For 2014, it is the cucumber, echinacea and petunia.

NGB has provided fact sheets, photos and more information about the 2014 featured crops on its web site to help the industry promote the program and these plants.

For more: www.ngb.org.
 

Plant giveaway aims to boost hort enrollment

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) and Altman Plants supplied plants to the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University for a Floral Plant Give-Away Project (FPGAP) intending to recruit new horticulture students.

During the fall semester of 2012, lecturers Lee Ivy and Lis Meyer, assistant professor Julieta Sherk and professor and department head John Dole, began the FPGAP to increase student interest in plants and raise awareness of horticulture as a viable career option. They distributed 715 plants of multiple varieties to undecided undergraduate students and support members of the school’s First Year College Program, as well as to students enrolled in introductory horticulture classes. Find out how the experiment fared in the link below.

For more: bit.ly/NMplantgiveaway

Survey says ...

In October, American Society of Horticultural Science president Mary Meyer shared the results of a survey regarding horticulture careers. The survey garnered a 30 percent response rate from ASHS membership, which included 104 responses from graduate students, 81 from undergraduates, and 95 from the industry.

Most respondents thought lack of awareness was the prime reason students are not signing up to be horticulture majors. However, two ideas to attract students to the major came from the survey’s respondents: Offer high school scholarships, and develop corporate-academic partnerships.

For more: bit.ly/NMcareersurvey

Research explores bioplastic for pots

A research program to create a more sustainable container is underway at Iowa State The program is being used to study sustainable bioplastic containers. The bioplastic program has eliminated a variety of materials that are not suitable for the sustainability of the bioplastics containers already.

The containers currently in the study provide fertilizer while the plants are growing. As the plant grows in the pot, it loses coloring on the outside due to the plant taking up the fertilizer and nutrients. The container also then begins to degrade.

Researchers hope when a consumer buys the plant that the bioplastic pot is broken and placed in the hole with the plant to degrade.

For more: bit.ly/bioplasticcrops
 

Armitage adds garden centers to app

Allan Armitage is launching a new addition to his popular mobile app, “Armitage’s Greatest Perennials and Annuals” that aims to market the best independent garden centers.

The app is available on most smartphones and tablets. Just go to your device’s app store and search for “Armitage.” The price of the app is $4.99.