Rocket Farms acquires Pajaro Valley Greenhouses
Rocket Farms, headquartered in Salinas, Calif., acquired Pajaro Valley Greenhouses, a 25-acre complex of greenhouses, administrative offices and shipping facilities in Watsonville, Calif. Rocket Farms, which operates about 3.3 million sq. ft. of greenhouse and growing area, will use the new space to expand its potted poinsettia, orchid, calla lily and cut flower business. Rocket Farms is one of the country's largest poinsettia producers. It also produces organic herbs and operates a certified organic production facility in Salinas.
Arboretum to build sustainable greenhouse
The James M. Cox Jr. Foundation donated $1 million to the Cox Arboretum MetroPark in Dayton, Ohio, for the development of a sustainable greenhouse. The greenhouse, reports the Dayton Business Journal, is part of a $3.5 million project dedicated to sustainable horticulture. The facility will be designed for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification and will be part of the Barbara Cox Anthony Center for Sustainable Horticulture. Arboretum dir. Jay Woodhull told the paper that the organization is hoping to design a structure that doesn't consume much fuel, is completely off the grid and has a zero carbon footprint. No timeline has been developed yet for the greenhouse.
Price of oil hits $100 a barrel for 1st time
For those of you who were caught up in all of the New Year's revelry and college bowl games last week, you may have missed the news that crude oil futures for February delivery hit $100 a barrel for the 1st time on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The last time oil traded above $99 a barrel was Nov. 26. Concerns over unrest in Nigeria, the closing of some Mexican oil shipping ports due to rough weather and reports that OPEC may be unable to meet the global demand by 2024, were reported to all have an effect on the price rise. U.S. Energy Info Administration reports that the price of oil accounts for about 2/3 of gasoline's pump price. Geoff Sundstrom at AAA told USA Today that the price rise is a concern because gasoline prices typically don't begin to rise until spring when driving increases.
Hawaii looks to stop import of rust disease
Hawaii is restricting all shipments of plants and plant parts in the Myrtaceae family from California, Florida and South America, which have been identified as areas infested with the fungus Puccinia psidii Winter. Known as ohia rust, guava rust and eucalyptus rust, the disease is spreading in California and becoming an increasing problem, reports Jim Bethke, Univ. of Calif. farm adviser for San Diego County. In August, Hawaii Dept. of Ag imposed a quarantine restricting imports of hosts of this pathogen, which infects the state's ohia trees. Myrtaceae plant material commonly imported into Hawaii includes cut flowers and foliage such as myrtle (wax flowers, tea-tree, feather flowers, etc.) and eucalyptus. An official certificate of origin must accompany plants or plant parts from the infested areas.
Germany scheduled for international perennial conference
The aim of the 1st Int'l. Perennial Plant Conference, Feb. 15-17 in Grünberg, Germany, is to promote international contacts in the perennial plant industry and to provide an opportunity to exchange knowledge and expertise. Presentations will be made in English.
Discovering the world of sustainability
Two sustainable plant tag products, EcoTag and BioTag, satisfy the need for environmentally friendly packaging options, its developers say. Project: Green Industry blog
Worth a visit
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