AFE-Funded Researchers Go Face to Face with Thrips

Sound scientific research has guided many of the flower crop production and postharvest handling practices used by growers, wholesalers, supermarkets and retail outlets today. AFE realizes that research you support must have direct value to each of you and to your companies.Assuring that research is relevant to flower production begins with making sure that researchers are familiar and see first-hand the conditions upon which their results will be used. During the first week of October, three accomplished thrips researchers accompanied me to Medellin, Colombia to visit flower farms. These researchers included JC Chong of Clemson University and Margaret Skinner and Bruce Parker of the University of Vermont.In late 2016, we also took AFE-funded Botrytis researchers to flower farms. The following…

Message from the Chairman

   It is an exciting time to be in the floral industry, and I am looking forward to serving as the AFE Chairman of the Board for the next two years.It looks like supplies have stabilized for floriculture products both in domestic and international markets. Retailers – namely, florists, supermarkets and big boxes – are doing well. Data predicts a growth of 2-3% in the near future for the ornamental market.Through industry support, AFE continues its mission to fund even more floriculture research, internships, scholarships and programs that solve industry challenges and strengthen the industry.In partnership with the Society of American Florists, AFE is now reviewing and recommending projects for funding through the Floral and Nursery Research Initiative (FNRI). SAF’s major…

AFE Bulletin – September 2018

The September issue of the 2018 AFE Bulletin has been released and features a recap of our 42nd Annual Fundraising Dinner, our board meeting in Canada, a HUGE announcement and more! Get the latest AFE news and help support future programs advancing floriculture!To receive future editions of the Bulletin via email, please send your email address to aalexander@endowment.org.

Road Trip to Canada!

AFE held this year’s August board and committee meetings in Niagara Falls, Ontario in conjunction with tours to Orchard Park Growers, Westbrook Greenhouses, Schenck Farms and an afternoon with researchers at Vineland Research & Innovation Centre.Our first stop, Orchard Park Growers, in St. Catharines, Ontario was established in 1969 as a family-run fruit farm. The land was fully transitioned to floral greenhouses in 2000. Head Grower Matthew Terlouw, Propagation Grower Joelle Eisses and Operations Manager Karl Schouwenaar showed us their site.Next, we visited Westbrook Greenhouses, which has been in operation for over 50 years. Westbrook Greenhouses is a major distributor to local growers in both Canada and the United States. We were given a tour of their operations. There we…

AFE Fundraising Dinner 2018

The AFE 42nd Annual Fundraising Dinner, scheduled in conjunction with the SAF Annual Convention in Palm Springs, California was held on Thursday, September 13, 2018. The evening was full of celebration; we recognized two years’ worth of new named funds, donor giving-levels and AFE accomplishments (last year’s event was canceled due to Hurricane Irma.)The night concluded with a special gift given to our Past-Chairman, Dwight Larimer, as he hands over the position to the incoming Chairman, Jim Daly. We thank Dwight for all he has done for the Endowment and are thankful he will serve on the Board for two more years.  Other special thanks of the night go to: 50+ sponsors (see below) 20 organizations who have helped to…

AFE Grant Helps Improve Spanish Language Access

 A new education grant from the American Floral Endowment helps improve Spanish language access to University of Florida online grower coursesGreenhouse Training Online courses, including Disease Management, offered by University of Florida IFAS Extension (UF) have received a boost with an education grant from the American Floral Endowment (AFE). The four-week courses in English and Spanish are designed for growers or technical managers in the US and other countries and have been completed by over 1,000 growers.The education grant from AFE will help cover the cost of translating course materials into Spanish. This commitment to diversity training is critical. Even though approximately 80% of agricultural workers in the U.S. are of Hispanic origin and are Spanish‐speaking, there is a lack…

2nd Annual Flower Love Video Contest Launches October 1!

2nd Annual Flower Love Video Contest!$4,000 GRAND PRIZEThe 2nd Annual #FlowerLoveVideoContest kicked off October 1, 2018. Sponsored by Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF) and American Floral Endowment (AFE), the contest aims to inspire creative videos from anyone and everyone who loves flowers, and promotes the use and giving of fresh flowers.Submissions should be 30-60 second videos that may be skits, animation, surprise moments, musicals, testimonials, or other types of videos, as long as they feature and promote fresh flowers. The top 10 video finalists chosen by a selection committee will be eligible for the $4,000 grand prize and two honorable mentions of $500 each.The contest website went live Oct. 1 and the deadline for submissions will be Dec. 2. Finalists will be announced and public voting…

YPC Member Receives First Place at ASHS

Last month, during the 2018 American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) conference held in Washington, D.C., Sadikshya Sharma, received first place in the Graduate Student Poster competition at the master’s Level.Her poster illustrated the studies she has done on the “Effects of Narrow Bandwidth Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) on Petunia and Spathiphyllum.”“My research with LEDs helps in building a foundation for further combining different LEDs and optimizing light quality in commercial propagation and production industry. This would ultimately reduce the cost for the lights used in propagation and production of petunia and spathiphyllum,” says Sadikshya.She is a graduate student in the Department of Environmental Horticulture, at the University of Florida where her adviser is Dr. Thomas Colquhoun.We want to congratulate Sadikshya,…

AFE Awards More than $42,800 in 2018 Scholarships

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) has awarded 21 students with scholarships totaling $42,800. Eighty- seven applications were received for this 2018 scholarship cycle.“We had many outstanding students apply for scholarships this year, which is why some scholarships were awarded to two recipients,” said Dwight Larimer, AFE Chairman and Education Committee Chair.“I’m proud to see the high quality of students each year and I enjoy granting scholarships to these well-deserved students to help them continue their education and become passionate industry leaders.”AFE awards scholarships annually and applications are due by May 1 of each year.Scholarship descriptions are available at endowment.org/scholarships. American Florists’ Exchange Scholarship — $2,500Recipient: Helena Dondero – California Polytechnic State, San Luis ObispoA junior majoring in agricultural science with an…

#FlowerMarketingMonday

We’re up for the challenge…are you? Based on industry feedback, we’ve decided to release a new video on the first Monday of every month. You’ll be reminded during the rest of the month that this video is available to download and customize for your own business!Each flower-promoting video will be shared weekly on the AFE Facebook and Twitter pages. The campaign, complete with a catchy hashtag #FlowerMarketingMonday, showcases a video that is less than one minute. Retailers, wholesalers, growers, manufacturers and anyone else in the floral industry can share the videos on their own website and social media platforms. Furthermore, industry members can use these videos to help promote everyday buying and/or upcoming holidays.The goal is to make each video…

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