AmericanHort Op-Ed Details Merits of Trucking Bill
AmericanHort successfully placed an op-ed in the Washington, D.C.- based publication, RealClearPolicy, on March 22 detailing the current situation faced by the horticulture industry concerning the vague agricultural exemption associated with the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate. Entitled “Congress Must Clarify Trucking Regulations for Agricultural Products”, we lay out the problems with the current definition, why horticulture […]
Agency Acknowledges Trucking Changes Coming for Agricultural Commodities
Confirming recent intelligence received by the advocacy team in Washington, D.C., the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) finally acknowledged at a trucking trade show last week that there will be an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) focused on clarifying and defining what an agricultural product actually is. Highlighted in Freightwaves, a trucking industry magazine, […]
Agricultural Workers Coming Back into Congressional Focus
Though immigration and visa policy issues have become incredibly polarizing in recent years, areas of broad agreement persist. One of those is agricultural workers. On April 3, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship will hold a hearing titled “Securing the Future of American Agriculture.” The hearing precedes expected introduction of legislation that seeks […]
Glyphosate Suffers a Second Loss in California
A second U.S. jury has ruled that glyphosate caused cancer. A second phase of the trial will begin soon with the same jury to determine liability and damages. Bayer will likely appeal the ruling. The jury in the first trial, also in California in August, 2018, awarded $78 million to a man who claimed glyphosate was responsible […]
Updates to Resources for Pest Management
Maps that forecast the life cycle stages of twelve insect pests critical to landscape management and nursery production have recently been improved. The pests include apple maggot, Asian longhorned beetle, bagworm, bronze birch borer, Eastern tent caterpillar, emerald ash borer, gypsy moth, hemlock woolly adelgid, lilac borer, magnolia scale, pine needle scale, and winter moth. The database is […]
H-2B Advocacy Efforts Continue
On February 15, President Trump signed into law a funding bill that gives DHS the authority, in consultation with the Department of Labor (DOL), to approve up to an additional 69,320 H-2B seasonal worker visas (69,320 being the number of H-2B “returning worker” visas or H-2Rs issued in FY 2007). This is the same language that was […]
Possible New Invasive Plant Regulations in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania may soon regulate as many as 120 plants over concerns of invasiveness. Many of these plants are common in environmental horticulture, while others have little if any commercial significance. The Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association (PLNA) asked its members via a survey to rate the 120 plants on their value to the industry. A […]
Proposed Overtime Rule Announced
On March 7, the Department of Labor released its revised overtime rule. The proposed rule is a significant improvement over a 2016 overtime rule promulgated by President Obama’s administration. Under current law, employees with a salary below $455 per week ($23,660 annually) must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week. Workers […]
Possible New Invasive Plant Regulations In Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania may soon regulate as many as 120 plants over concerns of invasiveness. Many of these plants are common in environmental horticulture, while others have little if any commercial significance. The Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association (PLNA) asked its members via a survey to rate the 120 plants on their value to the industry. A […]
New Rose Rosette Disease Resource
The research collaboration focusing on rose rosette disease (RRD) announced a new resource to aid in the early detection of the disease. The two-page educational piece, titled ‘Early Detection of Rose Rosette Disease,’ contains pictures and descriptions to help any rose enthusiast, from production to a home owner, identify the disease in the early stages. […]