Conard-Pyle makes $10,000 pledge

Conard-Pyle has pledged $10,000 to ANLA to match new member dues.

“Our industry’s top issues can only be addressed by working together. We want to support both ANLA’s work on pest and disease issues and recognize firms willing to make a commitment to their customers, suppliers and peers in horticulture,” said Steve Hutton, president and CEO of Star Roses and Plants/Conard-Pyle.

Some of those pest and disease concerns include rose rosette disease, impatiens downy mildew and boxwood blight.

“Globalization has expanded our access to all the world has to offer but it also means there are more pathways for pests and diseases to gain access to our shores,” said Joe Bischoff, ANLA’s director of government relations. “ANLA is targeting some recent challenges impacting major crops including boxwood, impatiens, fruit trees and most recently, roses. Researching solutions requires national coordination of efforts and funding. Protecting commerce—our industry’s ability to ship and sell the crops already in production—requires advocacy with our contacts in the USDA, on Capitol Hill and in departments of agriculture across the U.S.”

Michael V. Geary, CAE, ANLA’s executive vice-president and CEO of OFA - The Association of Horticulture Professionals, said, “As an association executive, I know that it takes this kind of industry commitment, supporting a talented and dedicated advocacy team, to safeguard an industry and secure a strong future. Conard-Pyle has again demonstrated a visionary willingness to step forward and lead. We thank them for their continued leadership in this area.”