2020, The Year of Plant Health
The United Nations has announced its decision to designate 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health. The United States, along with 90 other countries, co-sponsored this resolution to raise awareness of plant health issues and strengthen global efforts in the face of increased trade and climate change. In response to this designation, U.S. Secretary of […]
Minimum Wage Bill Introducded In House
House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the “Raise the Wage Act” (H.R.582) on January 16. The bill would increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2024, index future minimum wage increases to median wage growth, and phase out the subminimum wages for tipped workers, youth workers, and workers […]
Overtime Rule Sent to Office of Management and Budget
The Department of Labor (DOL) sent a new proposed rule to address overtime pay to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. This review is a required step in the rulemaking process before the proposed rule can be formally released for public comment. While we are not sure how long the rule will […]
H-2B Letters to Leadership Push for Cap Relief
A bipartisan group of over 30 Senators and over 90 House Members led by Reps. Pingree (D-ME) and Harris (R-MD) and Senators Tillis (R-NC) and King (I-ME) planned to send a letter to Congressional leaders on January 22 urging them to include meaningful and permanent cap relief in any agreement to end the partial government […]
AmericanHort Releases 2019 Legislative & Policy Agenda
AmericanHort’s advocacy team released our 2019 Legislative & Policy agenda during an advocacy town hall at the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) in Baltimore. Legislative and regulatory priorities center around workforce and transportation issues, research funding and implementation, environmental regulation, and horticultural trade and marketplace issues. The advocacy team plans to focus on these issues […]
House Democrats Look to Block Move of USDA Agencies
A contingent of House Democrats is strategizing to block the move of two USDA agencies. The Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) are both slated to be relocated outside of the Washington area to a yet-to-be-determined site, by the end of 2019. Citing cost-cutting measures and the desire to […]
New Career Resource from Seed Your Future
Seed Your Future has just launched its new career exploration resource. The new website is not simply a list of the more than 90 careers in horticulture, it asks visitors to consider their interests and then lists careers in horticulture to match them. Each career page includes information on the education requirements, links to where to study, […]
What Happenes When A Plant Patent Expires? Growers May Still Need To Be Careful To Avoid IP Infringement
By Stephany G. Small, Ph.D. and Travis W. Bliss, Ph.D., J.D. A U.S. plant patent grants the patent holder the right to exclude others from asexually reproducing, using, offering for sale, or selling the patented plant or any of its parts in the United States or importing them into the Uniteds States. Twenty years after filing […]
Legal Challenge Tops H-2A News
With growers in many states facing mandated H-2A wage increases of up to nearly 23 percent, a legal challenge was expected to be filed on January 8. The National Council of Agricultural Employers, in which AmericanHort is an active leader, has been preparing to file suit in U.S. Federal District Court against the U.S. Department of Labor […]
Congress Approves New Plant Intellectual Property Protection Option
One thing the last Congress did manage to finish in December was a new farm bill. And among the beneficial provisions of the new farm bill is a new plant breeders’ rights protection option. AmericanHort successfully supported the provision, which expands the USDA-administered Plant Variety Protection Act (PVPA) to enable protection of asexually-reproduced plants. (The PVPA, first […]