Sustainability can lead to accountability

When the committees involved with the development of the National Sustainable Agriculture Standard met in San Francisco in April, there were four committee members missing. These committee members were representatives of the floriculture industry. Doug Cole of D.S. Cole Growers, Will Healy of Ball Horticultural Co., Mark Yelanich of Metrolina Greenhouse and Jim Barrett, professor of environmental horticulture at the University of Florida, resigned from their committees in February.

In their resignation letter to Michael Arny, president at the Leonardo Academy, Cole, Healy and Yelanich cited several reasons for their decision to no longer participate in the development of a national sustainable standard. They indicated that based on the current makeup of the various committees and the development process, they felt it was not possible to generate a standard that was acceptable to agricultural businesses. They also indicated that some of the current participants had proposed and incorporated issues that detracted from the core issues of the standard.

This is not the first time that committee members have resigned from the agricultural standard committees. In October 2010, 10 voting members of the standard committee resigned their positions, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and United Fresh Produce Association. The departure of these committee members was endorsed by 46 other agricultural organizations nationwide.


Moving ahead
Even with the departure of major grower organizations from the sustainable standard development process, an increasing number of ornamental plant producers are recognizing the value of a sustainable certification program. More growers are signing up to become VeriFlora or MPS certified.

Cole, whose company was the first in North America to become MPS-ABC certified, said currently there is not much incentive for ornamental plant growers to become certified. He sees the benefits of certification in being able to compare his company’s use of energy, pesticides, fertilizers, etc. with other growers. The ongoing certification process enables him to improve efficiency and to save money. He also sees potential marketing opportunities as more retailers and consumers seek out products from sustainable suppliers. 

David Kuack
dkuack@gie.net