NGMA goes to Washington Members of the National Greenhouse Manufacturers Association traveled to Washington, D.C., in October to find out more about how our government operates and what they could do as an organization to increase awareness of the horticulture industry among lawmakers and government agencies. This is the first time NGMA has held its meeting in Washington. Rich Reilly of Rough Brothers, president of NGMA, said association members intended to "discuss, develop and promote strategies, and take action that will move the greenhouse industry forward." He said members' aim was to "collectively voice our support for this industry, for domestic and export growth purposes." NGMA members include companies that design and manufacture various types of greenhouse structures, along with those that manufacture various component parts/systems, such as cooling and heating equipment, environmental controls and different types of glazing materials. Based on results of the NGMA 2004 commercial greenhouse structure survey, 14 manufacturers reported total gross revenues of nearly $146 million. Of that total, more than $114 million was for new construction. This new construction, which includes both traditional-style greenhouses as well as shade structures, covered more than 20 million square feet of production area. Of the total gross revenues reported by NGMA structure manufacturers, nearly $5 million was generated by export sales. During the meeting, Charles Conner, deputy secretary of agriculture, told NGMA members that an aggressive agricultural trade program is needed to expand foreign markets. The Market Access Program (MAP) uses funds from USDA's Commodity Credit Corp. to help U.S. producers, exporters, private companies and other trade organizations finance promotional activities for U.S. agricultural products. Beginning with implementation of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, MAP funding has risen from $100 million in 2002 to $200 million in 2006. A wide variety of U.S. food and fiber products including apples, asparagus, catfish, cherries, grapes, kiwifruit, prunes, raisins, strawberries, sunflower seeds, tomato products and watermelons, have received promotion funding. Commodity organizations that have submitted proposals and received MAP funding have included state, regional and national producers. Your input is needed Society of American Florists reports that the U.S. floriculture industry annually produces flowers and plants worth in excess of $19 billion retail. When combined with nursery, these horticulture segments account for more than 15 percent of all U.S. crop agriculture, making them the third largest part of U.S. crop agriculture. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and other USDA officials have been conducting a nationwide farm bill listening tour seeking comments from the public on farm bill policy. Johanns said these comments are helping to identify trends and provide feedback about satisfaction for current farm policy. This input will be instrumental in developing the 2007 Farm Bill. New legislation will need to be enacted before the current bill's expiration in 2007. Senior directors of SAF told meeting attendees that not enough members of our industry are taking advantage of the influence their lobbying efforts can have on elected officials. There are numerous ways to contact your representatives through personal visits, phone calls, e-mails, faxes or written letters. As few as 15 letters about an issue from a group of constituents is enough to get a representative's attention. Conner said some of the top priorities for the 2007 Farm Bill will be increased funding for research, expanding domestic and foreign markets and phytosanitary issues. These areas are not only important to agricultural crop producers, but they are also critical to the success of the floriculture and nursery industries. If the floriculture industry expects to have an impact on future legislation, then its members are going to have to be more willing to voice their opinions and concerns to the appropriate officials and their staffs. NGMA members plan to return to Washington in fall 2007. I expect on their return they will have a very focused agenda regarding the issues they want to discuss with their representatives -- especially since 2008 is a presidential election year. For more: National Greenhouse Manufacturers Association, 9137 E. Mineral Circle, Suite 250, Centennial, CO 80112; (800) 792-6462; www.ngma.com. Society of American Florists, 1601 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314; (800) 336-4743; www.safnow.org. Send this article to a friend Enter your e-mail address: Enter your friend's e-mail address: Click the image below to send: © 2004 Branch-Smith Publishing