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Now Accepting: Educational Grant Applications

The American Floral Endowment is now accepting applications for Educational Grants for 2020. Applications are available online and must be submitted by the deadline ofJune 1, 2020. Educational grants help fund programs that are wide-reaching educational endeavors that solve industry needs and challenges and focus on attracting young people to the industry. Last year, the Endowment funded over $47,000 in educational grants. Examples of programs funded through AFE educational grants: The National Floriculture Forum, which unites professors, extension specialists, graduate students, scientists and other industry leaders for a multi-day collaborative meeting that addresses important floriculture issues. National Industry Convention or Event Programs, collaborating and sponsoring national and state association educational programs. Seed Your Future, a national movement created to attract more talented young people…

My SNA and MANTS Experiences

By YPC Member, Mary LewisOn occasion, graduate students are released from their offices and classrooms and allowed to attend events with people from our industry. For me, the first event of the year is the SNA/MANTS conference and trade show.SNA, or the Southern Nursery Association, is an intimate event that takes place two days before MANTS (Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show) starts. SNA’s purpose is to provide a space and time to provide training, presentation of research, predict economic forecasts for the new year, highlight the new and unusual plant material, and build community amongst nurserymen and related industry leaders.After those two days, things begin to get hectic. Fun little fact, MANTS celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and crowds reflected…

Research Proposals Being Accepted for 2020-2021 Funding Cycle

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) is calling for research proposal applications for the 2020-2021 funding cycle.Secure funding for your floriculture research project by applying before the June 1, 2020 deadline.The primary research funding priorities are relevant to all segments of the floral industry and include:Postharvest TechnologyProduction TechnologyAdvanced Breeding Technology, including CRISPRLong-Term Storage and Shipping Conditions for Cut Flowers, Bedding and Potted PlantsAutomation and Technology Leading to Labor SavingsBotrytis Control and ManagementThrips Control and ManagementAFE’s new research proposal application process established last year allows for a single application form to be used to help streamline the researcher’s request for funding.Research projects can last from one to three years and any reasonable but justifiable budget will be considered.For the current 2019-2020 cycle, the Endowment is funding more…

AFE Announces Garcia Family Scholarship Fund

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) is pleased to announce a new scholarship fund created thanks to generous contributions from The Garcia Family.  The Garcia Family Scholarship comes just in time for the 2020 scholarship application season. The Garcia Family Scholarship Fund is intended for students attending a two-year college, or Junior or Seniors attending a four-year institution with a career focus on the marketing or distribution of floral products, including retail, wholesale, manufacturing and/or floral business ownership/operations. “It is our family’s desire, by giving back to our industry, to attract and educate for the future,” says Pete Garcia, Chairman and CEO of The Pete Garcia Company and Garcia Group, Inc. The new scholarship joins more than 25 other scholarships AFE…

Ball Internship Scholarship: Why It’s Important

By Christopher J. Currey and Kimberly A. WilliamsThey say Christmas comes but once a year, but undergraduate students interested in floriculture crop production have two opportunities each year to apply for a paid internship with a leading greenhouse operation and gain valuable hands-on experience in our industry. Applications for the American Floral Endowment’s Vic and Margaret Ball Internship Scholarship Program are due March 1 and October 1 each year. This program follows through on Vic and Margaret Ball’s vision to support opportunities for floriculture production students to learn directly from growers. The Balls wanted to give students access to opportunities they may not otherwise have, providing first-rate experiences in nationally renowned production facilities that may not be possible without financial…

AFE Strengthens Bonds with Floral Funding Government Agencies

AFE Shares the Size, Complexity, and Importance of the Miami Import Cut Flower Businesses with USDA-ARSBy Dr. Terril Nell, AFE Research CoordinatorFloral and Nursery Research InitiativeUSDA-ARS coordinates funding for the Floral and Nursery Research Initiative (FNRI), a federally funded program dedicated to floriculture, nursery and landscape research. Recently, AFE took the lead on the FNRI initiative providing recommendations and identifying priorities. To further strengthen the importance of this funding, we headed down to Miami to show USDA-ARS National Program Leader, Tim Reinhardt what we’re all about!AFE spent the day showing Dr.Reinhardt the size, complexity, and importance of fresh cut flowers to the entire floral industry. AFE, in coordination with SAF, works with Dr. Reinhardt by identifying the research needs and…

Thank you, Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® and Our Donors!

Thank you, Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® for teaming up with AFE for a third year-end matching gift challenge.Due to their generosity, year-end donations made to the Endowment by December 31, 2019, were matched dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000.Industry members jumped at the chance to support floriculture and as a result, the goal was exceeded! Thanks to the support from the industry and Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE®.Thank you again to Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® and our generous donors for your contributions and for supporting AFE’s programs that promote and advance the industry!Didn’t get a chance to donate? Support AFE’s industry efforts by making a tax-deductible contribution today. 

Student Scholarship Fundraising Campaign to Honor Dr. Terry Ferriss

Fundraising EffortA fundraising effort is underway to raise $50,000 to establish a new scholarship fund to honor Dr. Terry Ferriss. Dr. Ferriss retired in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF), after 36 years of teaching. She was the first tenured female faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UWRF. She was also the first woman to serve as the Plant and Earth Sciences Department chair, and the first woman to serve as an associate dean for the college.Terry Ferriss, Professor of Horticulture, in the Greenhouse.Kathy M Helgeson/UWRF CommunicationsTerry and her husband Ron, currently reside in Southeastern Minnesota. During their retirement, they have been enjoying more opportunities in their free time. They spend time gardening,…

Efficient Lighting Strategies for Perennials

By Dr. Marc van Iersel and Claudia Elkins, University of GeorgiaPerennials are often grown in winter to get them ready for Spring sales. And that means that supplemental lighting is often required to produce high-quality plants in a timely manner. The electricity costs associated with supplemental lighting can be high. So, it’s important that supplemental light is provided in the most efficient way possible. For a long time, lighting recommendations have been based on the daily light integral (DLI.) DLI is the total amount of light received by a crop over a day. DLI is calculated from photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). By integrating these instantaneous measurements of the intensity of photosynthetic light, the DLI can be calculated. But basing…

Service Is Tradition for Big-Picture Pioneers

Jack and Carolynn Van Namen Jack and Carolynn Van Namen. Third in a series honoring members of AFE’s Legacy Circle. Created to recognize persons who have made provision for a planned gift to AFE, the Legacy Circle celebrates their significant contributions, enriching our past and securing our future. For more information, contact Debi Chedester at (703) 838-5211 or visit endowment.org/legacy-circle/. Growing up in a floral industry that was traditionally segmented, with growers, wholesalers and retailers each performing a different function (often not knowing much about what the others did), Jack Van Namen nonetheless saw the potential for doing business a different way.Over the course of several decades, he worked alongside his father and company founder, Jacob Van Namen, to lead…

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