Jon Reelhorn of Belmont Nursery has been named chairman of the board for 2022-2023.
AmericanHort has announced the election of four new members to the board of directors, along with the election of a new slate of board officers. The official welcome and installation will take place at Cultivate’22 being held July 16-19, in Columbus, Ohio. “We are excited to welcome these leaders who come from various segments of the green industry and encompass diverse experiences, skills, and backgrounds,” said Ken Fisher, president & CEO of AmericanHort. “We also appreciate the dedication and commitment of our officers and the leadership they provide our organization and industry, particularly during the challenges of the past few years.”
The new slate of officers will include Jon Reelhorn of Belmont Nursery as the new chairman of the board, and Rob Lando of Agrinomix as the new vice chairman of the board. Cole Mangum of Bell Nursery will become the immediate past chairman and J. Harvey Cotton will continue to serve as board treasurer in a non-voting position.
Jon Reelhorn is owner and president of Belmont Nursery located in Fresno, California. Belmont Nursery is a third-generation business that loves being part of its local community and includes nursery growing, greenhouse growing and a retail garden center. Jon is a graduate of Fresno State University with a degree in Plant Science, a graduate of the California Ag Leadership Program and a graduate of the Executive Academy for Growth and Leadership. Jon is very active in his industry having served as a board member with the California Farm Bureau and California Nursery and Landscape Association (now Plant California Association). He held several committee roles with the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) and has been chairman of the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI).
Rob Lando co-founded and grew Ohio based AgriNomix into North America’s largest supplier of automation to nurseries and greenhouses. At the start of this year, AgriNomix and Zwart Systems joined forces to become part of the newly formed AdeptAg where he continues to be involved with business development and R&D projects. Rob recently formed Western Roots LLC to allow him to continue to use his industry experience to work with growers on strategic planning and management issues. Rob is an active board member for Neighborhood Alliance, a Northeast Ohio non-profit which provides essential services to Lorain County residents in all stages of life. Rob was first elected to the AmericanHort board of directors in 2018, prior to which he served as a member on the AmericanHort Finance Committee.
The AmericanHort membership has elected the following new board directors:
Kurt Becker is executive vice president of Dramm Corporation, located in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, which has been a leader in watering tools and accessories for more than 75 years. As EVP of Commercial Products Sales & Marketing, Kurt has decades of experience collaborating with growers on pest management, irrigation systems, humidity management and air movement. In addition to managing the commercial business for Dramm, Kurt leads marketing for the group and has been instrumental in Dramm’s support of Cultivate and AmericanHort. Kurt’s industry activities have included serving as a director for Bedding Plants Incorporated, Ohio Florist Association and America in Bloom.
Matt Edmundson, president of Arbor Valley Nursery in Brighton, Colorado, is a second-generation nurseryman and third generation business owner of Arbor Valley Nursery. Arbor Valley Nursery is a hybrid supplier growing balled and burlapped shade and ornamental trees as well as container grown woody shrubs, western natives, perennials and ornamental grasses. Their facility offers the latest technology in irrigation and water quality management as well as scale for producing, holding and shipping products to markets including landscape projects and retail garden centers. Matt is a graduate of the University of Colorado-Boulder and has served in various leadership roles with the Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association, the Colorado Nursery Research and Education Foundation and the GreenCo legislative committee.
Kent Fullmer is President at Fullmer’s Landscaping in Dayton, Ohio, a residential landscape design and build company. Kent’s father started the business in 1962. Kent assumed ownership of the company in 2005 and continues to lead the second-generation company with passion and integrity. Kent brings high energy to the art of landscaping and his goal to provide positive personal experiences to Fullmer’s Landscaping’s clients. Kent has considerable experience working across the industry as he has served on the board of directors of the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association, is currently serving on the AmericanHort Landscape Contractor Committee and is a certified arborist as well as a member of the International Society of Arboriculture.
Ann Tosovsky is president of Home Nursery, a field and container production nursery headquartered in Albers, Illinois. The business includes production facilities in Illinois and Tennessee and distribution centers in Illinois and Missouri. Ann is a third-generation owner and leader of the business that celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021. Not thinking this was the life for her, Ann attended Eastern Illinois University and pursued a degree in business. Ann worked her way around the company and learned the processes and procedures of the business gaining experience in sales, marketing and administrative tasks. She transitioned to the role of president in 2012. Ann has considerable experience working across the industry and the community having served on a variety of industry boards and organizations including the Illinois Green Industry Association Board of Directors, Madison County Extension Education Foundation Board, Hortica Advisory Council and Hortica Insurance Board, The Gardens at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Advisory Board, and the Rotary Club of Edwardsville Board of Directors.
These new directors will join current directors Mike Gooder of Plantpeddler Iowa; Steve Mostardi of Mostardi Nursery, Pennsylvania, Lyndsi Oestmann of Loma Vista Nursery, Kansas, Ed Overdevest of Overdevest Nurseries, New Jersey, and Jonathan Saperstein of Everde Growers, Texas.
AmericanHort and its members also want to thank outgoing board members, Tom Hughes of Hughes Nursery & Landscaping, Iowa, who served six years on the board including immediate past chairman, and Gerry Docksteader of Advanced Horticultural Solutions, Maryland, Joe Hobson of Midwest Trading Horticultural Supplies, Illinois, and Amy Morris of N.G. Heimos Greenhouses, Illinois, who served three-year terms as board directors.
The project will cost $44 million and is expected to create 80 jobs in Toombs County, Georgia.
According to a press release from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, East Jordan Plastics is investing $44 million into a new facility to Lyons, Georgia. The project is expected to create 80 jobs.
“We’ve been laser-focused on producing good jobs in rural Georgia, and East Jordan Plastics will be met with eager, hardworking Georgians in Toombs County to serve their rapidly growing customer base," Kemp said, per the release.
Headquartered in Michigan, East Jordan "produces a full line of thermoformed and injection molded horticultural containers that make it easy to fill, plant, ship, and display products around the greenhouse, nursery and garden center." Most of East Jordan’s containers are "made from a high percentage of recycled plastic and are recyclable through the use of a “closed loop” recycling process." East Jordan, per the release, recycles over 20 million pounds of horticultural containers a year.
“East Jordan Plastics is thrilled to be joining the Lyons community, and we look forward to making this project a huge success for all stakeholders,” East Jordan Plastics President Scott Diller said, per the release. “We are grateful to the State of Georgia and Toombs County for their business-friendly and forward-looking leadership providing the opportunity to grow EJP in this strategically significant and beautiful part of the country. We look forward to adding talented, hardworking Toombs County residents to the East Jordan Plastics team in the future.”
During its first year, the facility will be used for logistics and distribution, and the company plans to develop the facility to include recycling and manufacturing operations over the next five years.
East Jordan will open their 255,500-square-foot facility along US Highway 1 in Lyons. Initially, the company hire for positions in warehouse distribution and eventually add employees for plastic recycling and manufacturing.
Stuart Burns has been named territory sales representative in the Midwest.
Bailey has announced Stuart Burns as the newest territory sales representative joining the Bailey sales team. In this position, Burns will partner with customers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area in Minnesota as the current Bailey sales representative, Brenda Wickenhauser, transitions into retirement.
Burns joined Bailey two years ago as an inside sales representative, supporting customers in Michigan and Ohio and providing consumer support on the Bailey brand websites. “Stuart has proven that he is willing to learn, share his knowledge and provide our customers with the products and tools to help them be successful,” said Dan Bailey, Bailey sales manager. “I am very excited to have Stuart share his passion about plants and exceptional service to our customers.”
Holding a degree in horticulture from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, Burns’ education and previous experience with landscape design and community landscape projects, combined with his sales experience at Bailey, will provide valuable background as he begins this new role. “This is a really exciting time to be part of the nursery industry, where new genetics are the talk of the town and innovative thinking is leading the way,” Burns said. “I am very humbled to take on my new position and I cannot wait to continue to grow with our customers.”
Burns begins his role immediately and may be reached at stuart.burns@baileynurseries.com and 651-260-0294.
This year's event is scheduled for October 2022.
On May 16, GLASE (Greenhouse Lighting & Systems Engineering) sent out the following eblast seeking input on an upcoming short worse:
The 2021 short course from GLASE was broken up into six modules. Each session was two hours long over a six-week period. To take the survey for the 2022 edition, click here.
Specialty crop producers impacted by natural disasters in 2020 and 2021 are eligible.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2020 and 2021 will soon begin receiving emergency relief payments totaling approximately $6 billion through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) to offset crop yield and value losses.
This includes growers who lost plants due to winter storms, wildfires and some qualifying droughts. (Editor's note: Read on to find out how to determine if you're eligible).
“For over two years, farmers and ranchers across the country have been hard hit by an ongoing pandemic coupled with more frequent and catastrophic natural disasters,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “As the agriculture industry deals with new challenges and stressors, we at USDA look for opportunities to inject financial support back into the rural economy through direct payments to producers who bear the brunt of circumstances beyond their control. These emergency relief payments will help offset the significant crop losses due to major weather events in 2020 and 2021 and help ensure farming operations are viable this crop year, into the next growing season and beyond.”
On September 30, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43), which includes $10 billion in assistance to agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms, and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021. FSA recently made payments to ranchers impacted by drought and wildfire through the first phase of the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP). ERP is another relief component of the Act.
For impacted producers, existing Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data is the basis for calculating initial payments. USDA estimates that phase one ERP benefits will reach more than 220,000 producers who received indemnities for losses covered by federal crop insurance and more than 4,000 producers who obtained NAP coverage for 2020 and 2021 crop losses.
ERP covers losses to crops, trees, bushes, and vines due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021. Eligible crops include all crops for which crop insurance or NAP coverage was available, except for crops intended for grazing. Qualifying natural disaster events include wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions.
For drought, ERP assistance is available if any area within the county in which the loss occurred was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a:
Lists of 2020 (PDF, 1.8 MB) and 2021 (PDF, 431 KB) drought counties eligible for ERP is available on the emergency relief website.
To streamline and simplify the delivery of ERP phase one benefits, FSA will send pre-filled application forms to producers where crop insurance and NAP data are already on file. This form includes eligibility requirements, outlines the application process and provides ERP payment calculations. Producers will receive a separate application form for each program year in which an eligible loss occurred. Receipt of a pre-filled application is not confirmation that a producer is eligible to receive an ERP phase one payment.
Additionally, producers must have the following forms on file with FSA within 60 days of the ERP phase one deadline, which will later be announced by FSA’s Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs:
Most producers, especially those who have previously participated in FSA programs, will likely have these required forms on file. However, those who are uncertain or want to confirm the status of their forms can contact their local FSA county office.
ERP Payment Calculations – Phase One
For crops covered by crop insurance, the ERP phase one payment calculation for a crop and unit will depend on the type and level of coverage obtained by the producer. Each calculation will use an ERP factor based on the producer’s level of crop insurance or NAP coverage.
Full ERP payment calculation factor tables are available on the emergency relief website and in the program fact sheet (PDF, 813 KB).
Applying ERP factors ensures that payments to producers do not exceed available funding and that cumulative payments do not exceed 90% of losses for all producers as required by the Act.
Also, there will be certain payment calculation considerations for area plans under crop insurance policies.
The ERP payment percentage for historically underserved producers, including beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged, and veteran farmers and ranchers will be increased by 15% of the calculated payment for crops having insurance coverage or NAP.
To qualify for the higher payment percentage, eligible producers must have a CCC-860, Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification, form on file with FSA for the 2021 program year.
Because the amount of loss due to a qualifying disaster event in calendar years 202 and 2021 cannot be separated from the amount of loss caused by other eligible causes of loss as defined by the applicable crop insurance or NAP policy, the ERP phase one payment will be calculated based on the producer’s loss due to all eligible causes of loss.
All producers who receive ERP phase one payments, including those receiving a payment based on crop, tree, bush, or vine insurance policies, are statutorily required to purchase crop insurance, or NAP coverage where crop insurance is not available, for the next two available crop years, as determined by the Secretary. Participants must obtain crop insurance or NAP, as may be applicable:
Coverage requirements will be determined from the date a producer receives an ERP payment and may vary depending on the timing and availability of crop insurance or NAP for a producer’s particular crops. The final crop year to purchase crop insurance or NAP coverage to meet the second year of coverage for this requirement is the 2026 crop year.
Emergency Relief – Phase Two (Crop and Livestock Producers)
Today’s announcement is only phase one of relief for commodity and specialty crop producers. Making the initial payments using existing safety net and risk management data will both speed implementation and further encourage participation in these permanent programs, such as Federal crop insurance, as Congress intended.
The second phase of both ERP and ELRP programs will fill gaps and cover producers who did not participate in or receive payments through the existing programs that are being leveraged for phase one implementation. When phase one payment processing is complete, the remaining funds will be used to cover gaps identified under phase two.
Through proactive communication and outreach, USDA will keep producers and stakeholders informed as program details are made available. More information on ERP can be found in the Notice of Funding Availability (PDF, 290 KB).
The Milk Loss Program and On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program are also funded through the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act and will be announced in a future rule in the Federal Register.
For more information, visit USDA's Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool.