US: SAF member talks regulations with decision-makers
That was a major takeaway for Jamie Kitz, key account manager with Sakata Ornamentals in Salinas, California, who represented her company and the floral industry at two key meetings last month in Washington, D.C.
Kitz, a member of the Society of American Florists’ Growers Council, represented SAF at an annual meeting with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). There, alongside SAF staff and representatives of AmericanHort, the group discussed high-priority industry issues, including offshore certification programs, Q-37 modernization, Farm Bill Section 10007 research funding, and the potential impact on the industry of any changes to NAFTA.
“The meeting provided a unique opportunity to share directly with the APHIS staff concerns and policy issues that directly affect our business, progress and our industry,” Kitz explained. “It is both encouraging and a good perspective to hear and understand directly from the APHIS staff, their commitment to our industry and the progress they have made the past year on specific issues. It is important to keep the dialogue going.”
Read more at safnow.org (Mary Westbrook)