The annual encounter of the National Floriculture Forum ( NFF ) was hold in this past weekend as a joint confluence with the Board of Trustees of the American Floral Endowment ( AFE ) in Charlotte , NC , with a major focusing on how those of us in Floriculture can better empathize and meet the research and education needs of the industry as well as how we can better prepare our students to fill those needs in the hereafter .
by Joyce Latimer
What is the National Floriculture Forum , you say ?
From their Facebook page :
The National Floriculture Forum ( NFF ) is an one-year educational group meeting for glasshouse grower , industry leaders , university faculty , postgraduate pupil and government scientists from academic institutions , governmental agencies and the greenhouse industry .
This group of floriculturists have been meeting since 1999 .
The NFF brings together various floricultural communities with the objectives to 1 ) reference issue of importance to the floriculture industry , 2)form collaborative relationships and 3 ) ameliorate communication within the American floriculture industry to portion out and disperse information .
https://www.facebook.com/NationalFloricultureForum/
With over 30 NFF attendees , including about a dozen graduate student , and most of the 18 members of the AFE Board of Trustees , we started our coming together with a go of Metrolina Greenhouses in Huntersville led by AFE Board Member and Metrolina co - owner , Art van Wingerden , and Dr. Mark Yelanich , Metrolina ’s Director of Research . With over 180 acre under methamphetamine and 40 acres in out-of-door production , and constant concern about finding a sufficient turn of seasonal workers , Metrolina excels in the efficient implementation of automation . check-out procedure a super ready video spell of the comprehensiveness and scope as well as the mechanization and advanced applied science used at Metrolina Greenhouses on their house webpage , https://www.metrolinagreenhouses.com/. We envelop up the term of enlistment with some frank conversation on how we as University staff and students can identify and support the industriousness needs .
Image by Mark Bridgen , Cornell University
We began our formal coming together with a joint session of NFF with the AFE Board members to take heed Dr. Jim Faust describe some of the inquiry he has conducted with AFE funding . Jim try that qualifying for AFE funding starts with faculty fellow member make the endeavour to visit greenhouse and floriculture procedure to study first hand the issues they face . Forming those number into researchable ( and fundable ) topics and completing that enquiry is where University faculty excel , but the key is to communicate those results back to the industry . AFE is a critical mate to both the diligence and staff in fund the research on these theme and assisting in communicating those results back to the industry . It ’s an efficient and effective three - room partnership address industriousness demand .
As the NFF meeting continued on Saturday and Sunday , the overall musical theme was connecting with industry and teach our student to do the same . With great direction from Marvin Miller and Todd Cavins of Ball and some hilarious communication advice from Holly Scoggins of AmericanHort , the grad scholar were totally freaked giving their research presentations ! As always we had discussion on how to make the precept broadcast more manufacture focalise and prepare scholarly person for industry jobs – even to concenter on the “ soft science ” of dealing with people , being that “ squad ” thespian full of rage , oddity and flexibility . And , I have to agree with Todd Cavins that “ balance is bulls**t ; study on harmony ! ”
root : eGRO Blog
