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CapitalPress.com
Friday, February 11, 2022
New Rural Development leader in Idaho sees opportunities
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
Idaho’s rapid urbanization
offers the opportunity for USDA
Rural Development to have a big
impact, new State Director Rudy
Soto says.
“I see incredible growth in our
metro areas spilling over into our
rural areas,” he said. “And it’s high
time we focus more on folks outside
the big cities.”
Increased funding also bodes
well, said Soto, whom President Joe
Biden appointed in mid-January.
The appointment “is an incredi-
ble honor that I’m extremely grate-
ful for because we are in the midst
of a once-in-a-lifetime opportu-
nity,” Soto said. “Because of bipar-
tisan efforts, there is an abundance
of federal financial resources going
to rural communities.”
Planned new investment targets
broadband internet,
economic devel-
opment, commu-
nity infrastructure,
affordable housing
and other needs.
“If
we
Rudy Soto strengthen our rural
communities, we
are all going to be better off,” Soto
said.
Population growth helped push
home prices out of reach for many,
and “we need to provide hous-
ing options so that we can meet
our workforce demands,” he said.
Rural Development’s single- and
multi-family housing programs can
help.
“One of the administration’s pri-
orities is to focus on equity,” Soto
said. He plans to evaluate 10 Idaho
communities, yet to be identified,
with the highest rates of persistent
poverty.
On tribal lands, Rural Develop-
ment wants to increase first-time
homeownership and broadband
access, he said.
“We have considerable pock-
ets throughout the state where reli-
able broadband infrastructure is
not accessible,” Soto said. “We’ve
got to build that out and make sure
everybody can get connected.”
Applications will be accepted
through Feb. 22 for Rural Develop-
ment’s broadband-focused ReCon-
nect loan and grant program, and
through March 31 for its Rural
Energy for America program.
Rural Development, which
employs about 30 in Idaho, recently
announced major new funding for
job training, business expansion
and technical assistance.
Soto said agriculture production,
“the backbone of Idaho’s econ-
omy,” is positioned to have an even
greater impact on rural economies.
Advancements in farm and
ranch technology bode well, as does
recently announced Rural Devel-
opment funding that targets cli-
mate-friendly ag projects and sus-
tainability, he said.
“Idaho could be very well posi-
tioned to tap into the millions of
dollars available for new opportuni-
ties and markets for ag and forestry
industries,” Soto said.
Rural Development can help
maximize agriculture’s local eco-
nomic impacts by financing proj-
ects ranging from workforce hous-
ing and technology infrastructure to
rebuilding a small-town fire station,
he said.
Idaho outdoor recreation “is
booming with opportunity,” Soto
said. Rural Development, as the
Great American Outdoors Act is
carried out, “is going to create some
new rural tourism and economic
development opportunities.”
Wildfires are a concern, he
said. “I think we are going to be
increasing opportunity for Rural
Development to help with miti-
gation measures in local commu-
nities that are on the front lines.”
Soto, 36, lives in Nampa. He
is a Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
member and the son of a farm-
worker. He graduated from Port-
land State University.
He previously worked for
the conservation-focused West-
ern Leaders Network and the
National Indian Gaming Associ-
ation. He is a former U.S. House
of Representatives legislative
assistant and an Army National
Guard veteran. He was the 2020
Democratic nominee in the west-
ernmost of Idaho’s two congressio-
nal districts.
“I look forward to getting out
there and visiting every county in
the state,” Soto said.
Despite thorny supply chains, demand for flowers booms before Valentine’s Day
By SIERRA DAWN McCLAIN
Capital Press
U.S. flower growers
and wholesalers are racing
to keep up with consumer
demand in the lead-up to
Valentine’s Day.
According to Elizabeth
Daly, spokeswoman for the
Society of American Flo-
rists, the association recently
polled 761 floral indus-
try members, mostly retail-
ers, about sales projections.
About half of the respon-
dents said they expect Val-
entine’s Day sales in 2022 to
top those of 2021.
If retailers are predicting
correctly, it would mean a
continued growth trend, as
27% of Americans bought
fresh flowers or plants as
Valentine’s gifts in 2021, up
from 25% in 2020.
Like other farmers,
flower growers are fac-
ing significant challenges,
including supply chain dis-
ruptions and higher input
costs. But because demand
for flowers is high, optimism
is widespread.
Steve Dionne, execu-
tive director of the Califor-
Sierra Dawn McClain/Capital Press
Tyler Meskers of Oregon Flowers Inc. in one of his greenhouses. Meskers said that
despite shipping delays and rising costs, now is a “joyful time” to be in the flower
industry because consumer demand is so strong.
nia Association of Flower
Growers and Shippers, or
CalFlowers, said the spike
in demand started in 2020
and hasn’t receded. The pan-
demic, he said, changed the
American consumer’s rela-
tionship with flowers. Peo-
ple don’t just give flowers
to others now; they also treat
themselves.
“There
is
signifi-
cant increased consumer
demand,” said Dionne.
The industry, however,
has faced difficulties.
Dionne said that bulb
growers especially have
struggled with global sup-
ply chain problems because
most bulbs are imported.
Tyler Meskers, vice
president of Oregon Flow-
ers Inc., a cut flower busi-
ness specializing in bulbs in
Aurora, Ore., said shipping
delays have made it hard to
plant on time.
“The containers are just
so delayed,” said Meskers.
“That’s really interfering
with our planting schedule.”
Meskers ordered bulb
stock from Holland last year.
The stock was harvested in
November, the shipping
container was ready by
the first week of Decem-
ber and the bulbs were sup-
posed to arrive in early Jan-
uary. But Feb. 7, Meskers
said the container still had
not arrived, extending even
past the 2-to-3 week “buffer
time” the company had built
in for delays.
Domestic trucking dis-
ruptions have been a prob-
lem too, said Meskers.
Costs have also increased.
Meskers this year is spend-
ing 10% to 15% more on
bulbs, and freight contain-
ers which used to cost him
$6,000 to $7,000 each now
cost $15,000.
Other growers say they’re
worried about the rising
costs of fertilizer, packaging
and other supplies.
Because of intense con-
sumer demand, the flower
industry has fortunately
been able to pass on its costs.
Domestic flower prices have
risen 10% to 15% during the
pandemic, said Dionne of
CalFlowers, but “profit mar-
gins (for growers) are stay-
ing roughly the same.”
Demand for imported
flowers is also on the rise.
The majority of roses
that Americans give one
another for Valentine’s Day
are grown in South America.
Each year, they are shipped
in cargo jets to the U.S.,
where agricultural experts
X-ray the flowers for contra-
band and examine them for
pests or diseases.
Abel Serrano, U.S. Cus-
toms and Border Patrol
assistant director of agricul-
ture at the Miami Airport, a
flower importation hub, said
he has noticed an uptick in
consumer demand.
In 2021, his site pro-
cessed 850 million stems in
the four-week period lead-
ing up to Valentine’s Day, up
from 720 million stems pre-
COVID. This February, he
said, the volume appears 5%
to 10% higher than last year.
Despite foreign compe-
tition, Dionne of CalFlow-
ers said he sees room for
domestic industry growth.
“There’s
consolida-
tion at the top of the indus-
try, but at the same time, we
see this robust and healthy
new wave of entry into
domestic floral production,”
he said.
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