Ag. secretary steps down
Secretary of Ag. Mike Johanns resigned from the Bush Cabinet. It is believed that he intends to run for the Senate seat vacated by Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., who is retiring. The White House named Deputy Secretary Chuck Connor as acting secretary.

Tennessee growers air drought, insurance worries
Two members of the House Ag. Committee met with Middle Tennessee growers last week to determine their needs after a late-spring freeze and summer drought hit the area that calls itself the Nursery Capital of the World. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D.Tenn., and chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., talked about the drought and other concerns at 2 meetings. "You're going to have, from what I can tell, a bunch of people who will not be in business if we don't get them some help," Peterson told WTVF in Nashville. Davis said that with little federal help available, the state's insurance industry should step up. He said it appears that insurance adjusters are not fairly analyzing the nursery industry's losses.

Bailey puts guarantee behind roses
Bailey Nurseries is introducing a 2-year guarantee on the Easy Elegance Rose Collection beginning next spring. "We did a consumer focus group of generation X and Y, and roses are off their radar," Bailey brand manager Jonathan Pedersen said. "They call them Grandma's plant and say they don't have the time to spray and care for roses. As an industry, we need to change that," Pedersen said. The Bailey guarantee is above and beyond whatever guarantee the local retailer puts on an Easy Elegance rose. The 3 newest members of the collection — All the Rage, My Girl and Super Hero — were displayed for the first time at Fashion In Bloom.

Forecast is sunny for next Knock Out rose
Are you ready for the next punch in the Knock Out series of landscape roses? Conard-Pyle unveiled Sunny Knock Out at Fashion In Bloom. Sunny Knock Out opens to a medium yellow, and over time it becomes more pastel and eventually gets a pink tinge to some petals. Conard-Pyle's Steve Hutton was quick to point out that this is not Yellow Knock Out that many in the industry have been anticipating. That's still in the works at Bill Radler's breeding grounds. "As you know, yellow is the most difficult color to get disease resistance in a rose," Hutton said. "This one has the disease resistance and garden performance we want, but not the true yellow color. That's coming, though."

Herndon, Va., shuts down day laborer site
The town of Herndon, Va., shuttered its day laborer center last month. The center created a flurry of controversy because it was funded by tax dollars. Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, filed suit against Herndon in Sept. 2005 for publicly funding the site. But the center opened as planned Dec. 2005. Also in 2005, the town council enacted an anti-solicitation ordinance. But in Aug. 2007, Circuit Court Judge Leslie Alden found the ordinance to be unconstitutional. The town decided to close the center after Alden's ruling. "The viewpoint of the majority of this council is that a regulated site was necessary only as a means of enforcing the town's anti-solicitation ordinance," said Herndon Mayor Stephen DeBenedittis.

Worth a visit
See a visual recap of ANLA's Landscape Distribution Tour in the Detroit region. Only on GreenBeam.com.

Syngenta remains committed to investing in every aspect of our ornamental business to bring value to growers for producing beautifully strong plants.

Hortica is the horticultural industry advocate that is a trusted partner for your business insurance, employee benefits and personal insurance. Contact Hortica to discuss your needs.

The ANLA 2008 Management Clinic is coming! February 8-11, 2008 in Louisville, Ken.