US: At CAD, industry members engage and see results
“The Committee values the importance of the floral and horticulture industry as floral and nursery crops are the third-largest domestic crop in value,” reads the report, which recommended increasing the funding of the Floriculture Nursery Research Initiative to $500,000. “The FNRI is focused on addressing and solving the industry’s challenges and needs.”
That message of support is a direct result of SAF members lobbying during CAD — and SAF’s 38th Annual Congressional Action Days, March 12-13, in Washington, D.C., will build on exactly that kind of momentum.
“This is really big news: We have it in writing that Congress values the industry,” said SAF Chief Operating Officer Drew Gruenburg last year of the House committee’s recommendation on FNRI funding. Gruenburg noted that during and after Congressional Action Days, floral industry members worked hard to educate lawmakers on the valuable role FNRI plays in industry research, and the importance of the floral industry to the overall U.S. economy.
“It shows the power of constituent involvement,” he said.
Read more at safnow.org (Heather Larson)