Friday, May 14, 2021
CapitalPress.com 7
American fl ower growers scramble to meet historically high demand
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
Western U.S. fl ower grow-
ers say demand this spring
has reached “exponentially
higher” levels.
Growers across Califor-
nia and Oregon said they
were overwhelmed with
orders. With COVID restric-
tions loosening, many antici-
pate big sales for events this
summer.
“There’s defi nitely an
uptick in demand for fresh
fl owers this year,” said Steve
Dionne, executive director of
the California Association of
Flower Growers and Ship-
pers, or CalFlowers.
Industry leaders say the
American consumer’s rela-
tionship with fl owers has
also changed. The past year,
more shoppers have bought
fl owers for “ordinary days”
rather than just for special
occasions — a trend that’s
continuing.
Drought
may hurt
honey bees;
experts say
cover crops
could help
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
Beekeepers and research-
ers say drought across the
West this year will likely hurt
honey bee colonies.
Bees are expected to
struggle most in California
followed by Oregon, where
meteorologists predict a hot,
dry summer.
“I’m really worried about
it,” said John Jacob, bee-
keeper and owner of Old Sol
Apiaries in Southern Ore-
gon. “Seems like it’s going
to be extremely dry.”
Honey bee colonies can
typically handle extreme heat
as long as they have access to
uncontaminated water, polli-
nation experts say. The more
serious problem is a poten-
tial lack of pollen sources
— especially during late
summer.
Lack of food sources can
lead to colony collapse.
“Colonies are proba-
bly going to do really well
this spring,” said Andony
Melathopoulos, pollinator
health specialist at Oregon
State University Extension.
“There’s enough moisture in
the ground and a lot of things
are still blooming. Where
the rubber will hit the road
— and it always does, it’s
getting worse and worse —
is when blackberries stop
blooming around the end of
June. Then the 80,000 honey
bee colonies in (Oregon)
don’t have a lot to go to.”
According to the Califor-
nia Farm Bureau, beekeepers
statewide are worried about
diminishing food sources.
Experts say it’s import-
ant for bees to have access to
late-blooming plants through
August when the landscape
is dry and brown.
Jacob, the beekeeper, said
he’s prepared to do what-
ever it takes to feed his bees
through the drought, includ-
ing feeding syrup. But this
is expensive, and when bee-
keepers across the sector do
so, it can drive up hive rental
costs for farmers.
Whenever possible, Jacob
prefers feeding his bees by
working with farmers who
plant cover crops that fl ower
during the summer.
Tucker Pyne, owner of the
Lucky Elk Farm in Rogue
River, Ore., is one farmer
Jacob works with. Pyne runs
a small organic farm produc-
ing hemp, vegetables, fruit
and meat.
Pyne uses cover cropping
systems — a rare practice in
the hemp sector, according to
experts. He said his primary
goal is to enrich his soil, and
supporting pollinators is just
a secondary benefi t.
“The main reason why I
use cover crops is to build
organic matter in the soil,”
Pyne said. “I’ve found cover
crops are the most cost-eff ec-
tive way to do that.”
But
fl ower
farmers
continue to wrestle with
COVID-related challenges,
including labor shortages,
transportation
disruptions
and over-consolidation of the
industry that will likely result
in a fl ower shortage this year.
This spring stands in bold
contrast to spring of 2020,
which Dionne described as
“a time of terror through the
industry.”
During 2020’s toughest
months, the domestic fl ower
industry underwent major
consolidation. Many fl orists,
wholesalers and growers
went out of business. Some
farmers switched fl ower
acreage to other crops.
The industry made a
U-turn during the summer
as Americans bought more
fl owers to adorn their homes
and give to friends.
Flower demand in 2021,
growers say, is “exponentially
higher.”
In the lead-up to Moth-
Courtesy of California Cut Flower Commission
An employee at Joseph and Sons Inc. carries fl owers.
er’s Day, marketers and fl o-
rists say they’re seeing record
sales.
Julie Ortiz, a second-gen-
eration fl ower farmer and
sales manager at California
company Joseph and Sons
Inc., said she’s “fortunate
and blessed” customers have
recently shown “nonstop
interest” in cut fl owers.
Dionne, of CalFlowers,
said it’s still a bit premature to
predict wedding sales because
many couples are still watch-
ing state restrictions and scop-
ing out venues. But growers,
he said, are already being
“fl ooded” with wedding
inquiries.
Stacey Denton, owner of
Flora, a small organic fl ower
farm in Williams, Ore., said
she’s seeing
a wedding
comeback.
“In my
experience,
I feel like
it’s totally
rebounded to
Julie Ortiz 2019 levels,”
she said.
Last
year,
COVID
prompted Denton to create an
online fl oral store, which she
plans to continue developing
along with the wedding side
of her business.
Dionne, of CalFlowers,
said many people who post-
poned funerals are also order-
ing fl owers.
Experts say a few other
factors are also impacting the
supply-and-demand curves.
The fi rst is consolidation.
Fewer domestic growers has
led to tighter supply.
U.S. growers are also see-
ing less foreign competi-
tion. The U.S. imports about
80% of its cut fl ower sup-
plies annually, but because
of jammed ports, limited
air cargo capacity, vaccine
doses taking up cooler space
and civil unrest in Colom-
bia, imports have shrunk this
year.
Import diffi culties have
also tightened supplies of cer-
tain fl ower varieties. Bulbs
from Holland are backlogged,
and many farmers are hav-
ing trouble importing specifi c
seeds.
Finally, labor shortages
in both the agricultural and
trucking sectors have recently
made it diffi cult to harvest
and ship fl owers on time.
Despite these challenges,
Dionne, the industry expert,
said he thinks the American
fresh cut fl ower industry is
having its day in the sun.
“We’ve
never
seen
demand like this,” he said.
“It’s been a good run.”
Western governors address concerns with conservation initiative
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Western governors are request-
ing close consultation in the National
Climate Task Force’s work to con-
serve at least 30% of U.S. lands and
waters by 2030.
The Biden administration on
Thursday released a report outlin-
ing its vision to conserve and restore
land, water and wildlife with recom-
mendations for locally led, volun-
tary conservation goals.
That same day, the Western Gov-
ernors’ Association sent a letter
to National Climate Adviser Gina
McCarthy requesting the National
Climate Task Force’s close consulta-
tion with governors and raising sev-
eral concerns.
Formally referred to as the 30 by
30 Plan, the goals are now part of the
“America the Beautiful Initiative,”
although specifi cs have not yet been
established.
“Western Governors submit that
eff ective forest and rangeland man-
agement is only possible through
collaboration between federal, state,
local and tribal land management
agencies,” the letter said.
The governors suggested the
administration consider multi-ju-
risdictional coordination through
The Nature Conservancy in Idaho
The Cenarrusa Ranch in the Pioneer Mountain Foothills near Carey,
Idaho. Western governors have raised concerns about a White House
initiative aimed at conserving vast areas of the nation.
USDA’s Shared Stewardship Strat-
egy. Another eff ective mechanism
for coordination and cooperation is
the Western Governors Task Force
on Collaborative Conservation,
which provides a venue for state and
federal offi cials to engage, they said.
They also pointed out the goals
must have the support of constituents
to ensure private landowner partici-
pation and community engagement
in land-planning processes.
In addition, defi ning “conserved”
will be a critical factor for the
National Climate Task Force to con-
sider, the letter said.
“Western Governors contend that
many federal, state, local, tribal and
private lands in our states already
enjoy robust conservation protec-
tions,” the letter said.
“Adopting an overly stringent
defi nition of ‘conserved’ that does
not accommodate necessary man-
agement activities would have det-
rimental eff ects on ecosystem health
and function. Such vital activities
include wildfi re mitigation, post-fi re
restoration, habitat improvement
and invasive species management,”
the letter said.
In addition, conservation and
multiple use are not mutually exclu-
sive, the governors said.
“The multiple uses of recreation,
agriculture, renewable and tradi-
tional energy development, timber
management and others contrib-
ute to the environmental, cultural
and economic attributes of vibrant,
healthy communities,” the letter
said.
It is also critical to ensure a con-
servation strategy does not dispro-
portionately aff ect specifi c states or
regions, the governors said.
“A strategy that relies heavily on
federal lands would disproportion-
ately aff ect western states, given the
high percentage of western lands
under federal ownership,” the let-
ter said.
There is a variety of ways the
strategy could address this concern,
such as considering that each state
individually meets goal or consid-
ering a regional approach to the
conservation goal, the governors
said.
“The 30 by 30 proposal has sig-
nifi cant implications for state sov-
ereignty and the lives of our con-
stituents. Western states have a
rich base of experience to inform
considerations of policies to imple-
ment the 30 by 30 proposal and the
environmental safeguards needed
to ensure the vitality of our citizens
and landscapes,” the letter said.
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