Marketing summit agrees to move forward
The 1st National Green Industry Summit ended last week with most participants agreeing that more dialogue is needed and with leaders promising to reconvene the group within 6 months. The 2-day summit at Bailey Nurseries in St. Paul, Minn., was the 1st attempt in more than a decade to forge a national marketing program all segments of the horticulture industry. The group agreed to hire a professional facilitator who can guide participants through the process of writing a mission statement and then lead the group toward selecting a program message that the various segments of the industry can get behind.
Hughes Nursery under water, but everyone's OK
Last week the Cedar River engulfed the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the hometown of Dwight and Tom Hughes of Dwight Hughes Nursery. Last week in Dwight’s typical cheery fashion, he answered the phone, “Happy Friday.” The good news: Dwight’s family, his employees and their families are safe. The phones are working, some of his equipment was spared and the sun came out Friday. However, they’ve lost quite a bit of plant material. There was some flash flooding in the nursery on Thursday, he said. Other businesses in Cedar Rapids, depending on their proximity to the river, have seen anywhere from 0 to 8 feet of water in their buildings. 7 of 8 major bridges were closed Friday and the Union-Pacific railway is closed, he said. It’s being called a 500-year flood. Thursday more than 4,000 homes were evacuated and officials estimated 1,300 city blocks were under water. Gov. Chet Culver declared 55 of Iowa’s 99 counties as state disaster areas.
ICE raids Sun Valley Floral Farms
Sun Valley Floral Farms in Arcata, Calif., laid off half of its work force last week after a directive from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The grower lost 283 employees — some had been there 17 years. In Nov., ICE asked the company to provide I-9 tax forms. The grower didn't hear from ICE again until last week, said owner Lane DeVries. ICE officials told DeVries the 283 employees had either incorrect Social Security Numbers or alien registration numbers. DeVries told Society of American Florists:"Our organization is remarkably strong, and we will make the best of a bad situation." Pat Reilly, public affairs spokesperson for ICE, told The Eureka Reporter the agency focuses on company compliance with immigration laws by conducting inspections. "What happened at Sun Valley is a direct consequence of congressional inaction," said Jeanne Ramsay, SAF's sr. dir. of gov't. relations. "SAF agrees with enforcing existing laws, but will continue to support reform that addresses the urgent and very real needs of business owners in the floral industry."
Georgia bans invasive cogongrass
Ga. Dept. of Ag. issued a statewide ban on the sale of cogongrass, a nonnative and aggressively invasive species. The action makes growing, cultivating or selling cogongrass (Imperata cylindrical) a violation in Georgia. The grass is sold under the names Japanese blood grass and Red Baron grass. Cultivars such as 'Red Baron' are thought to be sterile and produce no viable seed, but long-term behavior of the plant is unknown. Cogongrass forms a dense mat that makes it nearly impossible for other plants to coexist. "Think of kudzu as a grass," said Ga. Ag. Comm. Tommy Irvin.
Tornadoes damage 8,215 acres of forest
The Tenn. Dept. of Ag's Div. of Forestry conducted ground and aerial surveys over 13 of the most severely affected counties to locate and determine the extent of tornado damage to forestlands. The dept. found some 8,215 acres of forestland were damaged. Benton, Hardin, Hickman, Houston, Lewis, Macon, Madison, McNairy, Perry, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale and Williamson counties were included in the surveys. "In addition to the potential timber losses to landowners, future forest damage could occur as a result of secondary insect and disease problems, which could likewise result in an increase in fuel loading that will ultimately make fire suppression more difficult over the next few years," said state forester Steven Scott.
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