NFF Set to Meet in Philly in 2017
The National Floriculture Forum (NFF) has announced its 2017 annual meeting will take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 17-19, 2017, during the Philadelphia International Flower Show.
The annual meeting is for growers, academics and graduate students, governmental agencies, garden centers and companies allied to the greenhouse industry.
The NFF event gives participants an opportunity to debate the future of floriculture against the dramatic changes in the global business environment.
The objectives of the meeting are: to address issues of importance to the floriculture industry; form collaborative relationships; and improve communication within the American floriculture industry to share and disseminate information.
Participants of the 2017 meeting will attend the Flower Show and tour Longwood Gardens, and gather to discuss increasing the younger generation’s involvement in production and academic floriculture and horticulture.
If you are interested in participating in the 2017 National Floriculture Forum, please visit endowment/nff.
The NFF also announced that it has partnered with the American Floral Endowment to permanently host all NFF information on the Endowment’s website about the group and its annual meetings.
Links to current and past events, registration information, schedules, photos and a detailed history of the NFF are all featured on AFE’s website at endowment.org/nff.
On-Demand, Any Time
If you missed GPN’s webinar on Insect Control Strategies earlier this month, you can still view it on-demand.
During the free webinar, Raymond Cloyd from Kansas State University addresses innovative techniques that growers can use to identify and manage thrips in their greenhouses.
Just click here to view the presentation at your convenience. The webinar is sponsored by BASF.
Target to Create Indoor Vertical Farms in Stores
Target is getting into the growing business. The retailer recently announced plans to build vertical farms in select stores so that fresh fruit and vegetables can be grown and sold in the same location. In the coming weeks, Target’s Food + Future CoLab team will be installing hydroponic growing systems to produce leafy greens that can be sold in the stores next spring. The CoLab team also is experimenting with other crops that could be grown in the stores in the future.
Orchard Supply Heads East
Orchard Supply Hardware will open its first East Coast store next week in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The new store will have 30,000 square feet of space and a 7,000 square-foot nursery. The company plans to open three more stores in Florida by the end of this year. Each store will have approximately 45 employees. Currently, the Orchard Supply Hardware has 77 stores in California and three in Oregon.
Wal-Mart to Reduce Number of Store Openings Next Year
Earlier this month, Wal-Mart said it would significantly cut back its plans to open new stores in the U.S. in the next fiscal year. This year, the company will open 60 supercenters and 70 Neighborhood Market stores. Next year, those numbers will be reduced to 35 and 20, respectively. Wal-Mart reportedly wants to focus its efforts on growing its online division and improve the in-store sales numbers of its 4,600 existing stores.