Priorities For A Thriving Industry
By: J James Owen, Jr., Virginia Tech; Anthony LeBude, North Carolina State University; Jill Calabro, HRI; Jennifer Boldt, USDA-ARS; Jennifer Gray, HRI; and James Altland, USDA-ARS. Horticulture is a key player in specialty crops and agriculture as a whole. In fact, our industry generates one third of both all specialty crop revenue (over $19 billion each year!) and its workforce. […]
The Magic Of Measuring Your Marketing Investment
By: Mary Beth Cowardin, Vice President Marketing & Member Engagement Today, there are countless ways to measure your marketing effectiveness and take the mystery out of knowing which marketing efforts work best. Whether you are using basic measures such as the number of visitors to your website, or more sophisticated research and measurement practices, it is critical […]
H-2B “Fly-In” to Push Cap Relief
As Congress continues to debate annual spending bills to fund the federal government, AmericanHort is pushing for H-2B visa cap relief. As with past years, “must do” appropriations bills offer the best opportunity to pass temporary H-2B cap relief which would toward a permanent solution to the H-2B labor crisis. To press for inclusion of […]
New Federal Guidelines for Hemp Production
USDA released a set of proposed regulations to guide states and growers on hemp production as part of the new U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. The new regulations took effect on October 31, and will be open for public comment through December. Congress legalized hemp production in the 2018 Farm Bill, yet confusion remained among […]
Eight New Cosponsors for Agricultural Trucking Relief Act
The Agricultural Trucking Relief Act, a top priority of the Impact Washington summit in September, has continued to garner steady support, with eight new Representatives signing on in support since the conference. The legislation would address confusion over the “agricultural commodity” definition currently in use for transportation policy, providing much-needed clarity for stakeholders, by specifically […]
U.S./Canada Greenhouse Cert Program Deadline
A heads-up to growers participating in the U.S./Canada Greenhouse Grown Plant Certification Program (GCP): December 1, 2019, is the deadline for applying to transition to the recently-revised GCP. The deadline for meeting new program requirements is one year later, December 1, 2020. To apply, contact your state plant regulatory official. Technical program details are available […]
EPA Proposes Area Exclusion Zone Requirements for Pesticide Applications
EPA has proposed new updates to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) to improve enforceability for state regulators and reduce regulatory burden for growers with regard to area exclusion zone (AEZ) requirements. EPA worked with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture to develop the new rules to ensure they are easier to implement. Specific […]
AmericanHort Represents Hort Industry at Plant Health Meeting
AmericanHort represented the U.S. nursery and floriculture industry at the recent North American Plant Protection Organization annual meeting. NAPPO works to harmonize approaches to plant and plant product imports into and within the North American region, to minimize the threat posed by quarantine and other regulated plant pests. AmericanHort participates in NAPPO to further our advocacy priority […]
AmericanHort Participates in Farm Workforce Modernization Act Introduction
On October 30, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced H.R.4916, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. A total of 44 lawmakers – 24 Democrats and 20 Republicans – joined as original cosponsors, which is rather remarkable in the face of the sharp partisan divides on virtually every issue in Washington these days. House Judiciary Immigration […]
Paying People Properly
These three words describe one of the most common problems that confront employers in managing today’s workplace. The failure to pay employees properly as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and similar state wage and hour laws is the basis for the most frequently filed legal actions against employers. The FLSA has been […]