Plans for the New Year?
How far along is your planning for the 2017 season?
If you are still looking for specific crops to grow next year, have you considered any of the crops in the National Garden Bureau’s “Year of the” program?
Each year, the National Garden Bureau (NGB) selects an annual, perennial, bulb and vegetable/edible crop for its “Year of the” program.
The board of directors of the NGB selects crops specifically for the North American market that are easy to grow and genetically diverse with a lot of new varieties to choose from.
The NGB encourages growers, garden centers, breeders, brokers and seed companies to highlight these flowers and plants when planning their production and marketing for the 2017 season.
The program generates a lot of publicity for these products. By November, NGB will have photos of numerous varieties of all four crops (provided by NGB members) posted on the NGB website as well as PDFs of fact sheets, flyers, handouts and signage that growers can use to help market and sell their plants.
The information will be available for download at no charge. These tools are designed to help promote the crops to consumers and encourage gardening with these specific crop classes.
Here are the crop selections that NGB has made for 2017:
- Annuals — Year of the Pansy
- Perennials —Year of the Rose
- Bulb —Year of the Daffodil
- Vegetables/edibles — Year of the Brassica
Are any of these items in your production plans for 2017? If you are still making your selections for the coming year, why not consider these four categories?
You can learn more about NGB’s “Year of the” program by visiting www.ngb.org.
Scholarship Deadline Nears
The deadline to apply for the GPN/Nexus Intern of the Year scholarship is less than two weeks away.
If your company has an internship program and you had a special college student who interned for you this year, then we would like to know more about that student.
He or she could be eligible for a check for $3,000, a trip to Cultivate’17 and be the subject of an article in the January issue of GPN.
To learn more about the scholarship program and how to apply just click here.
Costco Looks to Canada for Growth
Costco plans to open seven new stores in Canada in fiscal 2017. In the past, the company has averaged one to three new store openings per year in Canada. The warehouse club currently has 91 stores north of the border. Richard Galanti, Costco’s executive vice president and chief financial officer said the company has had “very strong sales over the last few years … and it keeps getting stronger.”
Home Depot Receives EPA Award
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Home Depot with a 2016 SmartWay Excellence Award. The company has consistently led the industry with contributions to cleaner, healthier air and reducing carbon emissions by hauling all freight with environmentally and energy efficient carriers. Last year, the Home Depot shipped 4,000 fewer trucks, helping to avoid 4.132 metric tons of CO2 emissions. This is fourth consecutive year the company has received a SmartWay award.
Lowe’s Hire Business Development VP
Lowe’s has announced that James K. Han recently joined the company as senior vice president of business development. He will report to Richard D. Maltsbarger, the company’s chief development officer. Han will be responsible for accelerating the company’s business development strategy focused on identifying and implementing growth opportunities through new and emerging businesses, innovation and corporate ventures.
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