News

Monrovia craftsman named Horticulturist of the Year
Gilbert Resendez, a long-time craftsman at Monrovia, was honored by the Southern California Horticulture Society as Horticulturist of the Year for 2011. An awards banquet was held in his honor at the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif.

Resendez began his career with Monrovia Growers working in the nursery as a pruning craftsman in 1962. He then moved into sales and quickly rose through the ranks to become vice president of sales and marketing, where he helped build Monrovia's sales force into what many consider the best trained and most knowledgeable in the industry. After being promoted to executive vice president of the company, Resendez spent 10 years in that position before serving as Monrovia's president from 2004 to 2007.

Throughout his career Resendez has helped introduce superior new plants to the industry, several being his own discoveries, with the goal of providing gardeners exceptional plants that will flourish in their gardens. Under Resendez's leadership, Monrovia sharpened its focus on working with independent retailers, including supporting Monrovia's unique branding program consisting of packaging, detailed labeling and other information resources that help gardeners get the best results with their plants.
 

USDA floriculture report cancelation may be repealed
Earlier this year, USDA's National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) announced it would discontinue or reduce a wide range of agricultural survey programs because of budget cuts. NASS said it would make available similar data either less frequently or within the every five-year Census of Agriculture.

However, Congress directed NASS to reconsider its earlier decision to cut the reports, according to the Society of American Florists. After passing the USDA's budget, Congress reached out to NASS and said, "The conferees direct NASS to reconsider its decision ... and to reinstate as many reports as possible ... [and to] prioritize the reports that do not have similar information captured by other NASS surveys and reports or would be otherwise infrequently published. The conferees remind the agency that reducing or eliminating any survey or report is further subject to the reprogramming requirements in this Act."
 

USDA expands People's Garden initiative
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan visited a community garden in Baltimore on Nov. 10 to announce 10 grants to support 155 People's Gardens in neighborhoods from Maryland to Hawaii, continuing the USDA's efforts to combat malnutrition while supporting local and regional food systems. The grants announced totaled $725,000, and will fund projects in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan and Ohio. The USDA received more than 360 proposals requesting more than $4 million.

These sustainable community gardens will give residents direct access to fresh fruits and vegetables in underserved neighborhoods. A lack of access to fresh and nutritious food fuels obesity and domestic food insecurity—a condition where households experience limited or uncertain access to adequate food. The program seeks to address health issues closely related to malnutrition, including food insecurity, obesity, diabetes and heart disease, through onsite education programs.