Flowers Continued from Page 1
a long time before they ever come back to the size they were, but they’ve downsized and found a level that works for them at this point. That’swhat’s important. I don’t foresee us losing anybody else.” Pruitt has alsobeenbusywindingdown operations, as CCFCmembers have vot- ed to shutter the commission at the end of the year. Pruitt said such a vote is taken among the commission’s members every five years. Should the CCFC ever be revived, it wouldlookdifferent asaresultofAssembly Bill 1205 by Assemblywoman Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, signed into law in late September. The bill would reduce the number of board members from 13 to nine, with the number of slots reserved for cut-flower producers changing from 12 to eight. The secretary of the California Department of FoodandAgriculture isau- thorized tocall for avote tore-establishthe commission fromone year after it closes. In the commission’s final weeks, Pruitt said he has directed his energies toward helping pandemic-battered flower grow- ers access all the assistance they need. “We’ve done a lot of work for getting the floral industry accepted into the (Paycheck Protection Program), and es- pecially accepted into the (Coronavirus Food Assistance Program),” which at first did not include floral producers, he said. “They said, ‘Well, we’ll include you, but you need to give us information.’ We had to do a lot of work to get included in those programs as cut-flower growers.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture is taking applications for the second roundof CFAP, which are dueDec. 11. Formore in- formation and to apply, seewww.farmers. gov/cfap. Getting to this point has not been easy, Pruitt said. “It’sbeen, fromthe start of thispandem- ic, nomatter what’s going on, it’s been an uphill battle proving that we are worthy of being called part of agriculture, worthy of being essential andworthy of receiving governmental assistance to our growers,” he said. (Kevin Hecteman i s an ass i stant editor of Ag Alert. He may be contacted at khecteman@cfbf.com.) U.S. mango board adds two members from California Two Cal ifornians are among sev- en people appointed to serve on the Nat ional Mango Board beginning in January. RodChamberlainofMeccawasnamed as a domestic producer andThomasHall of Pico Rivera as an importer; each will serve three-year terms. Based in Florida, the National Mango Board conducts marketing and research programs. It includes both domestic and foreign producers plus importers, han- dlers and processors.
business is “moving like it should be,” but with some questionmarks. “Wedon’t knowif peoplearegoing tobe doing services at church, which is a large percentage of the poinsettia business,” he said, although he added he thinks that might bemade up elsewhere. “A lot more families aren’t traveling,” Christensen said. “They’re staying home, and they’re going to want to decorate, which is what we’re seeing across the board so far.” Poinsettias might be plentiful, but pre- cut Christmas trees could be another sto- ry. Christensen said cut trees at the Green Acres stores have been “moving quickly.” In fact, Rossi said, the nurserymight be out of trees byDec. 12. “The availability of trees is not there to support the growth,” she said, pointing to Westernwildfiresamong the factorsaffect- ing supply. The general upward gardening trend that began inspringheldall summer long, Rossi said, firstwithedibleplants, then“ev- erything else.” “I think initially, when people were at home, theywereinterestedinplantingtheir
A wide variety of poinsettia colors awaits shipment at Eisley Nursery in Auburn. Nursery sales have been strong all year, as people planted vegetable gardens and freshened their yards.
vegetablegardensandtheirvictorygardens, andthentheygot interestedingardeningon amorebroadscale,”Rossi said. Onthecut-flower side,DavePruitt, chief executive of the California Cut Flower Commission, said cut foliage used year- round in floral arrangementshas found its own holiday niche, as the basis for hand- madewreaths.
“That has become a large business for this time of year,” Pruitt said. “Most of the people that I talk with are basically sold out. They’re selling as much as they can produce and process.” Pruitt said flower growers are trying to recover froma difficult year. “We haven’t gotten over our challeng- es that existed before the pandemic,” he said, one of thembeing simply “operating a business inCalifornia.” For example, Prui t t said whole- sale markets in San Francisco and Los Angeles were limited by local shelter-in- place orders. “A lot of growers have had to pivot in terms of how they sell their product, too,” he said. “We started advertising, getting growers together, finding out what chang- es they’re going to make in distributing flowers, and getting that information out towholesalers and retailers.” More flower growersnowsell directly to retail, he noted, andmore flowers are go- ing tomass-market sellers. Some growers have gone out of business, he added, and others pared back production. “We have had some growers that have downsized,” Pruitt said. “It’ll probably be
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14 Ag Alert December 2, 2020
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