February 2007

Other News:

INLA Congratulates Two “Certified Plant Diagnosticians”
The Idaho Nursery & Landscape Associations’ certification program’s recognize individuals as a trained professional with skills, knowledge and expertise in the horticulture industry. During the 2007 Idaho Horticulture Expo, six people showed their commitment to professional excellence by taking the exams. The Certified Plant Diagnostician (CPD) exam is a written examination consisting of questions all relating to diagnosing plant problems including (but not limited to) proper identification of the insect, disease, or herbicide that may have caused the damage. During the 2007 Idaho Horticulture Expo, held in Boise, the following individuals were certified as CPD’s:

INLA Presents Three Scholastic Awards
The Idaho Nursery & Landscape Association presented scholastic awards to three students at the annual Idaho Horticulture Expo held in Boise, January 2006. These outstanding students were chosen for their scholastic record, student need and their ability and sincerity in pursuing employment in the nursery industry in Idaho. Each student received a check for $750.00. Award winners are:

WF&FSA Offers Floral Wholesalers Tools to Help with Software Selection
WF&FSA offers tools to guide floral wholesale distributors in selecting the correct software. The tools consist of a list of software requirements specific to wholesale florists and the newly released 2007 Distribution Software Guide. The WF&FSA Technology Committee created a document called “Enterprise Software Requirements for Wholesale Distribution in the Floral Industry”. These requirements are an excellent first step in determining software requirements for the typical wholesale florist. It serves as a guide to some of the unique software needs of the wholesale floral distributor. It covers system requirements, inventory management, purchase order/accounts payable, sales order/accounts receivable, and reporting.

The 2007 Distribution Software Guide is the only software selection guide specifically developed for wholesale distribution. It is designed to assist wholesale distributors in evaluating, comparing and analyzing software packages to determine which products fit their operation best. The guide describes the step-by-step process that needs to be undertaken in selecting the right software. Too often companies make the mistake of skipping steps that are needed to build the foundation for their decision. Selecting software is a complex process that should involve a team of employees that devote their time and energy to this task over a four to six month period. Considerations include functionality and process fit, vendor strength and capabilities, technology and price. The guide compares 29 software vendors that specialize in distribution software and also features a matrix comparing the features of each vendor. This side-by-side comparison of vendors provides a quick reference. There are brief introductions of what each vendor provides and their product features.

The guide helps answer key questions. Does the size of a company, measured by the number of users and locations, fit into the “sweet spot” of the vendor’s customer base? Buying a software package designed for larger companies might mean that you will be buying too much complexity. Buying a software package that is designed for smaller companies could mean that the functionality needed to handle the complexities of a business might be missing. The guide includes the entry price point for each of the software companies. It also reports on the number of customers that are currently using the software plus some history about the company and the number of employees each software company has.

For a copy of the 2007 Distribution Software Guide, contact Ken Hess at khess@wffsa.org. For a copy of the Enterprise Software Requirements for Wholesale Distribution in the Floral Industry, visit the “Members’ Only” section of the WF&FSA website at www.wffsa.org.

Congress Reintroduces ‘AgJOBS’
SAF - Last week, a bipartisan group of members of Congress reintroduced SAF-supported legislation intended to fix the country’s faltering immigration system. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Larry Craig (R-Idaho), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and Reps. Howard Berman (D-28-Calif.), Mike Thompson (D-1-Calif.), Jim Costa (D-20-Calif.) and Chris Cannon (R-3-Utah) held a news conference Jan. 10, to announce the reintroduction of the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Securities Act of 2007 (AgJOBS). AgJOBS began its development nearly 10 years ago and continues to enjoy broad political support among Republicans and Democrats as well as broad constituent support among growers, producers, farm workers and immigrants’ rights advocates.

According to SAF’s Government Relations Department, the bill will: reduce illegal immigration; provide earned adjustment of status or a way to legalize the current undocumented but trained workforce in agriculture; and reform the broken H-2A guest worker program which is unreliable, expensive and litigious. “Agriculture is facing a worsening labor situation,” says Jeanne Ramsay, SAF’s senior director of government relations. “Specialty crops, such as flowers, as well as fruit, vegetables and nursery crops account for half of the value of American crop production. If Congress fails to address the labor shortage, some growers are facing painful decisions to either reduce their planting, not plant at all or, in the extreme, shift production offshore.”

It is estimated that 70 percent of the industry’s labor force is made up of immigrants working without the proper authorization. Feinstein said at the press conference, “The reality is that Americans have come to rely on an undocumented migrant workforce to harvest our crops ... We must bring those workers out of the shadows and create a legal and enforceable means to provide labor for agriculture.” California is the single largest agricultural state in the nation with over $34 billion in annual revenue and about 76,500 farms, according to Feinstein. Last year, the Senate included AgJOBS in its entirety in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill of 2006. It passed, but the bill stalled due to opposition in the House.

California Growers Tough Out Bad Weather
California growers, in the final stretch of production before Valentine’s Day, seem to have escaped much of the crop damage suffered by the state’s citrus growers during a recent cold front. Still, for most growers it is too soon to gauge the extent of the damage. “Most growers I have talked to say it will be weeks or even months before they know the full effect,” says Ann Quinn of the California State Floral Association. The multi-day stretch of below-freezing temperatures and windstorms wreaked havoc on the state’s agriculture industry. California’s secretary of food and agriculture A.G. Kawamura told the New York Times the weather was expected to cause statewide damage “even more widespread than a three-day freeze in December, 1998, which cost the state’s growers about $700 million.”

The newspaper also reported that some farmers in the Central Valley region lost entire fields of oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits. Producers of avocado, strawberries and lettuce also faced crop damage. Ed Van Wingerden of Ever-Bloom in Carpinteria, Calif, says that while his greenhouse flowers were not harmed, his avocado crop was damaged. “The Dec. 27 windstorm blew off 70 percent of my crop,” he says. “There was small fruit [on the trees] and the wind blew it right off.” Janet Kister of Sunlet Nursery in Fallbrook, Calif., who has indoor and outdoor product, says she sustained enough damage to her jasmine topiaries (grown outdoors) that “they will not make it for Valentine’s Day -- we had to cancel orders [for the product].” While greenhouse growers such as Van Wingerden emerged from the cold front with their flowers intact, the bad weather has caused growers other problems. “The heating bills are astronomical,” says Shelby Ebel of Koch California in Nipomo, Calif. Jim Rietkirk of Kallisto Greenhouses in Fontana, Calif., agrees, saying the higher heating bills and the decreased sales at California garden centers, caused by the bad weather, “is not a pleasant combination.” At the same time, for some, the weather also seems to have created an increase in demand for flowers. Van Wingerden reports, “We are getting calls, offering ridiculous [high] prices, just to be able to buy flowers.”

Rising Rents Inspire Creativity
In a market that’s quickly changing, Florists must change or bid farewell. Upon expiration of their current lease, local flower shop R. David Adams was shocked at their new lease proposal, which called for an almost doubling of their rent. Current owner Robert “Bud” Gulbranson recalls, “I was dumbfounded. For a small business this was not an option.” Just over the last year the Seattle area has lost a number of good flower shops, for much the same reason. Long respected for offering the best service and finest flowers, florists have been cornerstones of our communities for many years.

But over the last 5 years the market has been changing. With the growth of online order gathers and the increasing floral presence in the supermarkets, florists have had a tough time. Add the increasing rents in Seattle and it boils down to innovate or die. For R. David Adams Flowers, that means innovate. After considering their options, they are converting to a floral studio. This means they will no longer have a walk-in retail operation. Instead, they will be working out of a closed space on East Cherry, taking orders by phone and through their websites, and delivering the finished product.

This model has been prevalent for a number of years in high rent areas like New York and San Francisco. Their decision has met with very emotional feedback. “I’ve had people crying. Not even ones I thought were that attached to the shop. It’s touching people on levels I never realized.” Bud. “There has also been anger and confusion as to why leasing companies don’t realize that it’s the amenities like flowers that make their buildings special.” But the overall reaction has been positive. “People have been so supportive. They’re sad to see us go, but excited that we’re still able to do their flowers for them. As for the shop: After 15 years of operating a retail location, it’s going to be nice to concentrate on what I love…making flower arrangements.”

R David Adams Flowers will begin working out of their new studio location February 5th and are busy preparing for Valentines’ Day. Reach them online at www.RdavidAdams.com.

Eco-Flower Market to Grow Over 600 Percent by 2012
Thursday February 1, 11:30 am ET SAN FRANCISCO, Feb.1/ PRNewswire/ - By Valentine’s Day 2012, the U.S. market for environmentally-friendly roses and flowers will exceed $100 million, predicts OrganicBouquet.com, the leading retailer of organic and certified sustainable flowers. “We expect to ship 200,000 blooms next week for Valentine’s Day, and more than 20 million stems of earth-friendly roses and flowers in 2007,” according to Gerald Prolman, founder and CEO of OrganicBouquet.com. “We are racing to keep up with demand.” Valentine’s Day ranks as the top flower-selling holiday for florists, capturing 34% of annual sales, according to AboutFlowers.com, created by the Society of American Florists. Prolman, whose entrepreneurial efforts recently landed him on the cover of Fortune Small Business magazine for introducing the more than five-foot high World’s Tallest Roses, believes that the $20 billion U.S. floral market is ripe for change.

Organic Bouquet, founded in 2001, offers flowers grown under certified sustainable farming practices, including Organic and Veriflora(TM) -- a new certification for the fresh cut flower trade that verifies the environmental practices as well as the social and ecological aspects of growing flowers. OrganicBouquet.com is selling one dozen Veriflora certified Deluxe Red Roses for $64.95, plus tax and shipping. A second dozen can be added for $20 more. “Americans are spending $230 billion each year on environmentally considerate purchases,” said Prolman. “Conscious consumerism isn’t a passing fad, but a serious consideration at all levels of the economy.”

Organic flowers are the fastest growing sector of the non-food organic market, growing 50% in 2005 to $16 million in sales. Overall, the U.S. organic market is estimated to be worth $14.6 billion in annual sales, growing at approximately 17% per year. About Organic Bouquet: Established in 2001, Organic Bouquet (http://www.organicbouquet.com/) has pioneered the organic flower market. The company is at the forefront of a profound and rapid transformation of the $20 billion floral market, driving an industry shift towards socially and environmentally responsible farm management practices.

Israel to Export 125 Million Flowers to Europe
Nurit Felter, Published: 01.31.07 11:54 - Some 125 million flowers and ornaments, weighing more than 5,000 tons, will be flown to Europe ahead of Valentine’s Day, the Flower Growers Association reported. According to the association’s secretary-general, Avraham Daniel, the most wanted flower colors are pink and red. Valentine’s Day is considered one of the high seasons for flower exports from Israel , following Easter and Christmas. The price of one Israeli flower is expected to reach 90 agorot (about 21 cents). The proceeds of the Israeli flower market abroad on Valentine’s Day total approximately NIS 115 million (USD 27 million). A rise of 20 percent has been noted in the sale of flowers in Israel, reaching NIS 15 million (USD 3.5 million), an average of 70 agorot (16 cents) per flower. The proceeds of the Israeli flower market in Israel on Valentine’s Day total approximately NIS 10.5 million (USD 2.5 million).

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