Despite significant challenges, the Society of American Florists recently helped secure an additional $500,000 in funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in the 2021 budget. The funds will be used to continue the Floriculture Crops Summary — a vital benchmark for floral industry growers. SAF’s ongoing advocacy work on Capitol Hill also ensured continued funding of the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative (FNRI), which plays a critical role in generating scientific research on high-priority issues that affect all floral industry segments.
“We were facing significant headwinds going into the Fiscal Year 2021 process with few new dollars being available for USDA programs and the president’s budget calling for more than a $25 million cut from current Agriculture Research Service (USDA) initiatives and a more than 60 percent reduction of FNRI,” said Joe Bischoff, Ph.D., SAF’s senior lobbyist. “Fortunately, we were able to overcome these hurdles. Working with our congressional champions we secured an additional $500,000 in funding for NASS to continue the Floral Crops Report and get specific language in the Appropriations bill report prohibiting the Administration from making cuts to FNRI.”
SAF has a long history of advancing the industry’s research interests in Washington.
The Floriculture Crops Summary provides reliable benchmarks to identify market trends and project sales opportunities, along with trends in domestic production. In addition, the report is used in determining government agricultural policy as well as providing data for academic studies. It is the only source of annual data on annual bedding and garden plants, potted herbaceous perennials, potted flowering plants for indoor and patio use, foliage plants for indoor or patio use, cut flowers, cut cultivated greens, and propagative floriculture materials. In recent years, SAF’s continued work to draw attention to the report has helped ensure its publication and broadened its scope.
Established by SAF and the then American Nursery and Landscape Association in the late 1990s, FNRI funds have been used to create solutions for industry challenges in areas such as post-harvest technology, water quality and pest and disease management — including challenges posed by Ralstonia solanacearum, a bacterium that attacks geranium plants, along with pests such as whitefly and pythium. FNRI research has also led to new technology in future pest management practices, including biological controls that could reduce the use of pesticides.
SAF and its members, working closely with other industry groups including the American Floral Endowment, have worked hard to keep industry research funding high on lawmakers’ radars, both through year-round outreach on Capitol Hill and during the association’s annual Congressional Action Days. It’s an effort SAF will continue to prioritize with the new administration, said Bischoff.
“2021 brings a new Congress and a new administration.,” he said. “While many of the relationships we have on the Hill and at USDA remain, we’ve got a lot of work to do to develop relationships with some of the new players and educate them on our issues. We’re confident in the story we have to tell and believe that expanded support from USDA is on the horizon.”
Katie Butler is the senior vice president of the Society of American Florists.
