1 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:11,680 Ping Yu: Hello everyone, welcome to the Blooms and Beyond podcast, a podcast that uncovers plant health, 2 00:00:11,780 --> 00:00:14,900 Ping Yu: history, culture, and management through the lens of science. 3 00:00:15,260 --> 00:00:16,360 Ping Yu: I'm your host, Ping. 4 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:17,660 Ping Yu: How's everyone doing today? 5 00:00:18,220 --> 00:00:20,320 Ping Yu: I am doing great because one, it's Friday, 6 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:26,500 Ping Yu: and two, I have my dear friend Laura Barth from American Floral Endowment here with me 7 00:00:27,020 --> 00:00:31,080 Ping Yu: to share her insight on the floriculture industry within the US and beyond. 8 00:00:31,860 --> 00:00:37,660 Ping Yu: And she's probably going to also give us some introduction to the organization itself 9 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:41,540 Ping Yu: and some fun projects that they are doing within the industry. 10 00:00:42,020 --> 00:00:45,920 Ping Yu: So without further ado, here is my conversation with Laura Barth. 11 00:00:45,980 --> 00:00:47,000 Ping Yu: I hope you enjoy it. 12 00:00:49,860 --> 00:00:51,480 Ping Yu: Hi Laura, welcome to the podcast. 13 00:00:52,020 --> 00:00:55,100 Ping Yu: But first of all, let's start with the self-introduction. 14 00:00:55,500 --> 00:00:58,739 Ping Yu: Can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do? 15 00:00:59,440 --> 00:00:59,559 Laura Barth: Sure. 16 00:00:59,860 --> 00:01:03,720 Laura Barth: I'm Laura Barth and I'm the research coordinator for the American Floral Endowment, where I 17 00:01:03,780 --> 00:01:06,780 Laura Barth: help facilitate all of AFE's research programs and outreach. 18 00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:11,760 Laura Barth: Happy to be here with you today, and AFE is pleased to be able to support five episodes 19 00:01:12,050 --> 00:01:15,200 Laura Barth: in the first season of this podcast through one of our educational grants. 20 00:01:16,380 --> 00:01:19,920 Ping Yu: Thank you, Laura, and thank you, AFE, for supporting the show. 21 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:25,860 Ping Yu: The AFE education grant is the initiation of the show, and I cannot wait to see how our 22 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:30,980 Ping Yu: collaboration with the show can grow and how we can bring more impact to our industry through 23 00:01:31,090 --> 00:01:31,580 Ping Yu: this show. 24 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,400 Ping Yu: So, Laura... 25 00:01:35,220 --> 00:01:42,760 Ping Yu: I know you for a couple years already and you used to wear a lot of hats, but all of 26 00:01:42,940 --> 00:01:45,200 Ping Yu: them have something to do with horticulture. 27 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:48,620 Ping Yu: So did you grow up with horticulture? 28 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,400 Ping Yu: What first sparked you into the industry in general? 29 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:57,080 Ping Yu: Can you give us a little bit about your horticulture journey in that regard? 30 00:01:57,720 --> 00:01:58,020 Laura Barth: Sure. 31 00:01:58,220 --> 00:02:01,080 Laura Barth: So I have always loved plants and nature. 32 00:02:01,860 --> 00:02:05,700 Laura Barth: I didn't garden a lot as a kid, but I was always going out hiking with my mom 33 00:02:06,380 --> 00:02:11,140 Laura Barth: or doing other outdoor activities. So, I think a lot of people who know me or in 34 00:02:11,140 --> 00:02:13,819 Laura Barth: the industry might already know this, but my first degree is in music 35 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:14,380 Laura Barth: performance. 36 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,200 Laura Barth: I graduated, I was kind of looking for some jobs in that, but at the same time 37 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,580 Laura Barth: I moved to North Carolina. Coming from Wisconsin, 38 00:02:22,180 --> 00:02:24,900 Laura Barth: going to North Carolina was kind of a big change. 39 00:02:25,130 --> 00:02:29,660 Laura Barth: There were so many more plants and flowers and everything was just beautiful and blooming. 40 00:02:30,350 --> 00:02:33,620 Laura Barth: And all I wanted to do was be outside and all I wanted to do was garden. 41 00:02:33,820 --> 00:02:38,380 Laura Barth: As I was kind of thinking about whether I wanted to go to grad school for music, 42 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:46,240 Laura Barth: I realized, you know, I'm trying to write this essay about why I want to do this, and I'm like, "You know what? I really just kind of want to be outside." 43 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:58,800 Laura Barth: Hmm, maybe that's my answer. So I started looking around, the types of jobs you get working with plants, and this sounds kind of funny now, but I realized that you could actually go to school for horticulture. I didn't really know 44 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:04,120 Laura Barth: that horticulture was a thing and I was in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at the time and 45 00:03:04,590 --> 00:03:08,520 Laura Barth: lo and behold there was a great horticulture program at North Carolina State University. 46 00:03:09,340 --> 00:03:15,140 Laura Barth: So I decided to go back to school and I got another degree and a graduate degree in horticulture science. 47 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:17,860 Laura Barth: So that's kind of how I ended up here in a nutshell. 48 00:03:18,920 --> 00:03:25,220 Ping Yu: Wow, see I have heard a lot of stories with people from different backgrounds and with 49 00:03:25,239 --> 00:03:31,300 Ping Yu: the art and music, it definitely, because I know you do a lot of work sideways with the 50 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:33,819 Ping Yu: photography and then art related. 51 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,780 Ping Yu: So I didn't know that you actually have a degree with music, that's really cool. 52 00:03:40,500 --> 00:03:48,280 Ping Yu: So, this is going to be a little bit interesting, but with your background from music and art 53 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:56,860 Ping Yu: and horticulture, do you find anything related or do you kind of entangle those two backgrounds 54 00:03:57,300 --> 00:04:02,880 Ping Yu: sometime at your work or some other project or just a thought in your daily basis? 55 00:04:03,579 --> 00:04:21,500 Laura Barth: That is such a good question. And yes, maybe not music directly always, but I absolutely think there is a connection between art and horticulture. And especially in floriculture, when you're seeing floral designers and some of the landscaping, I think there really is a connection. 56 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:27,760 Laura Barth: Creativity to a lot of our industry that ties back into some of my background and it's also 57 00:04:27,980 --> 00:04:33,580 Laura Barth: what made horticulture exciting for me. And also in my own work too, when we're putting out 58 00:04:34,010 --> 00:04:38,640 Laura Barth: outreach materials or communications, there's a creative aspect in that too. So I think 59 00:04:39,340 --> 00:04:45,080 Laura Barth: not only in the floral displays themselves, but also just creating resources for people, 60 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:47,700 Laura Barth: I think there can be an artistic side to that too. 61 00:04:48,300 --> 00:04:54,320 Ping Yu: Yeah, I kind of like the link between the art and horticulture, especially in floriculture 62 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,860 Ping Yu: because that's a different, that's art in and of itself. 63 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:05,700 Ping Yu: And for the art part, there's a lot of famous paintings that are ornamental plant-based, 64 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:14,500 Ping Yu: like the sunflowers, the iris, the water lily, and the pear blossom, and all that are basically 65 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:15,560 Ping Yu: ornamental plants. 66 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:24,060 Ping Yu: I would say it's part of the green industry because when we talk about the green industry, we meant ornamental plants in general. 67 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:28,280 Ping Yu: And we have ornamental trees, ornamental shrubs, ornamental grasses. 68 00:05:28,900 --> 00:05:31,479 Ping Yu: And then we also have the floriculture, 69 00:05:31,979 --> 00:05:36,300 Ping Yu: which would be another big component to the whole picture. 70 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:39,759 Ping Yu: So can you tell us what is AFE 71 00:05:40,139 --> 00:05:43,720 Ping Yu: and what are the things that you guys doing with AFE? 72 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:49,260 Laura Barth: So AFE stands for the American Floral Endowment 73 00:05:49,330 --> 00:05:52,820 Laura Barth: and we're a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds research, 74 00:05:53,460 --> 00:05:54,740 Laura Barth: internships, scholarships, 75 00:05:55,050 --> 00:05:57,380 Laura Barth: and educational programs for the industry. 76 00:05:57,960 --> 00:05:59,500 Laura Barth: One of the exciting things 77 00:05:59,780 --> 00:06:06,880 Laura Barth: about AFE, especially since I was a scholarship recipient for AFE, is now that I'm on board as a 78 00:06:07,220 --> 00:06:13,140 Laura Barth: staff member, I just see how wide our reach is and how many people in the industry have been 79 00:06:13,420 --> 00:06:18,340 Laura Barth: touched by one of our programs. Beyond scholarship recipients and internship recipients and research 80 00:06:18,460 --> 00:06:20,700 Laura Barth: grant recipients, also people who... 81 00:06:21,100 --> 00:06:25,040 Laura Barth: review our scholarships, people who review our research. So we do a lot to 82 00:06:25,080 --> 00:06:30,020 Laura Barth: help the industry and the best thing about AFE is that it is an endowment so 83 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,440 Laura Barth: the money isn't going anywhere. We're supported by the industry through 84 00:06:33,700 --> 00:06:38,440 Laura Barth: industry funds and everything we put out goes directly back to the industry for 85 00:06:38,540 --> 00:06:43,240 Laura Barth: free. So it's a really great way for the industry to kind of invest in itself. 86 00:06:44,479 --> 00:06:59,720 Ping Yu: Yeah, and if you guys, well, I guess you already heard the episode from the pilot one, this whole episode was based on the AFE educational grant, and that's my initiation of actually starting this project. 87 00:07:00,130 --> 00:07:01,720 Ping Yu: So, thank you, AFE. 88 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:12,800 Ping Yu: And I was one of the AFE scholarship recipients myself back when I was in grad school, so I agree with you, AFE does have... 89 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,860 Ping Yu: a big impact to the next generation. 90 00:07:16,500 --> 00:07:19,440 Ping Yu: So can you tell us a little bit about 91 00:07:20,020 --> 00:07:21,539 Ping Yu: the floriculture industry? 92 00:07:21,659 --> 00:07:25,699 Ping Yu: What is the status of the floriculture industry in the US? 93 00:07:26,479 --> 00:07:28,180 Laura Barth: You know, I think we have a strong industry. 94 00:07:28,419 --> 00:07:31,819 Laura Barth: The floriculture industry encompasses cut flower production, 95 00:07:32,159 --> 00:07:34,580 Laura Barth: whether it's field, greenhouse, hoop house. 96 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,240 Laura Barth: It also encompasses greenhouse production. 97 00:07:37,890 --> 00:07:44,820 Laura Barth: And within greenhouse production, you know, you could be producing young plants, finished plants, really all stages of growth. 98 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,920 Laura Barth: And there's also perennials, bulbs, foliage, and succulents. 99 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:52,180 Laura Barth: And I think our industry is strong. 100 00:07:52,500 --> 00:07:57,200 Laura Barth: One neat thing that we're seeing was a lot of interest in smaller plants, 101 00:07:57,460 --> 00:08:03,720 Laura Barth: locally grown cut flowers. We're seeing more people interested in starting producing specialty 102 00:08:03,750 --> 00:08:09,980 Laura Barth: cut flowers or even adding it as a cut-your-own flowers aspect to their garden center or to their 103 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:11,260 Laura Barth: whatever business they might have. 104 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:28,380 Ping Yu: Yeah, I have the same observation here in Georgia because for the past couple years, I have been asked by many growers, they were asking, hey, I'd like to start my own little farm and I want to grow cut flowers. 105 00:08:29,180 --> 00:08:36,339 Ping Yu: And there are more and more of those little tiny farms where they put the u-pick farm for cut flowers. 106 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:38,060 Ping Yu: So I think it's really neat. 107 00:08:38,659 --> 00:08:42,440 Ping Yu: Georgia used to be a big player in floriculture production, 108 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:47,320 Ping Yu: but back in the days, I think in 2008, 2009, 109 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:55,180 Ping Yu: the economy was not good and then they kind of wiped out maybe 90% of our floral producers 110 00:08:55,540 --> 00:08:58,060 Ping Yu: but they are gradually picking it up again 111 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:05,920 Ping Yu: and another thing that I want to mention that what are the things that can be categorizing the floriculture 112 00:09:06,430 --> 00:09:14,500 Ping Yu: and I think there was one of the neat places we all went to for one of the board meetings that we had maybe two years ago 113 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:22,420 Ping Yu: I think it's called Floral Mart in Peachtree Corners in Georgia, Atlanta, owned by the Garcia family. 114 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,740 Ping Yu: They produce all those wedding materials. 115 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:30,760 Ping Yu: Those are artificial floral materials, but they are gorgeous. 116 00:09:31,300 --> 00:09:31,440 Ping Yu: Yeah. 117 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,300 Ping Yu: I think that would also categorize into the industry, right? 118 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:39,040 Laura Barth: Yeah, thank you for bringing that up. 119 00:09:39,130 --> 00:09:40,360 Laura Barth: Yeah, that's an important piece too. 120 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:44,520 Laura Barth: And that was actually a learning experience for me at that particular AFE board meeting 121 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:46,560 Laura Barth: because yeah, hard goods is what that's called. 122 00:09:46,750 --> 00:09:51,240 Laura Barth: You know, the faux flowers, some of which I want to note are extremely high quality. 123 00:09:51,550 --> 00:09:51,660 Laura Barth: Yeah. 124 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:57,160 Laura Barth: By how realistic some of them looked and felt, and then also the ribbons and the wire. 125 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,680 Laura Barth: And yeah, that was really eye-opening and really a neat experience and is absolutely 126 00:10:02,060 --> 00:10:03,560 Laura Barth: a very important part of our industry. 127 00:10:04,160 --> 00:10:09,459 Ping Yu: Yeah, because a lot of times when people are talking about floriculture, they normally 128 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:16,639 Ping Yu: only think about cut flowers, the flower bouquet that they can see in a flower shop or in a 129 00:10:16,980 --> 00:10:17,500 Ping Yu: garden center. 130 00:10:17,959 --> 00:10:23,139 Ping Yu: AFE has a lot of projects in terms of supporting research, floriculture, 131 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,860 Ping Yu: and generating the outreach materials for the industry. 132 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:34,420 Ping Yu: With your position with AFE, have you seen any of the challenges for the industry? 133 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,380 Ping Yu: What are the challenges that our industry is facing right now? 134 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:55,240 Laura Barth: So I think labor is always the challenge. That's not something necessarily that AFE can fund directly, but I do think there are potential labor solutions through our internships. And if we're talking research programs, automation and AI can help with labor issues as well. 135 00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,000 Laura Barth: Thrips and botrytis, as well as other pest and disease pressures. 136 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:06,019 Laura Barth: We've been seeing a lot of mite issues lately, you know, spider mites, Lewis mites. 137 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:13,540 Laura Barth: One challenge for the industry overall right now is increased cost and inflation, which can 138 00:11:13,980 --> 00:11:18,800 Laura Barth: impact getting people into gardening, which means fewer people are buying plants, which 139 00:11:18,860 --> 00:11:20,580 Laura Barth: affects everybody's bottom line. 140 00:11:21,199 --> 00:11:30,120 Laura Barth: Another one that's maybe not as obviously related to production, but just right now there's some uncertainty with federal funding for floriculture research. 141 00:11:30,389 --> 00:11:44,819 Laura Barth: We may not see the effects of that right away, but maybe five, ten years down the line, we'll see some negative impacts of the floriculture research programs that haven't been funded due to some of the federal funding cuts to see the impact of some of that lost research. 142 00:11:45,759 --> 00:11:45,940 Laura Barth: Yeah. 143 00:11:46,740 --> 00:11:53,480 Ping Yu: And so I have talked to some of our next generations, my undergraduate students, I 144 00:11:53,700 --> 00:11:59,019 Ping Yu: tend to know that many of our next generations are very interested in 145 00:12:00,300 --> 00:12:05,459 Ping Yu: starting their own business or open their own little nursery specifically for 146 00:12:05,700 --> 00:12:09,260 Ping Yu: houseplants, for little container plants, but they wanted to 147 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:11,980 Ping Yu: have an online shop. 148 00:12:12,540 --> 00:12:15,579 Ping Yu: So have you heard anything of those? 149 00:12:15,899 --> 00:12:20,079 Ping Yu: How has the rise of the e-commerce and social media 150 00:12:20,660 --> 00:12:22,519 Ping Yu: changed the floral business? 151 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:25,380 Ping Yu: Because I know, at least from the houseplant perspective, 152 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:28,660 Ping Yu: a lot of those are coming from the social media 153 00:12:29,220 --> 00:12:30,640 Ping Yu: push or motivation? 154 00:12:31,220 --> 00:12:32,960 Laura Barth: Yeah, that's a really good question. 155 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:39,320 Laura Barth: And I think we are definitely seeing that with a lot of brick and mortar florists who are losing business due to 156 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:45,600 Laura Barth: e-commerce. I was in Miami and I kind of saw where the flowers were imported and it was 157 00:12:46,260 --> 00:12:53,700 Laura Barth: really interesting because you could go in there and like in the warehouse you saw these arrangements being put together for e-commerce and 158 00:12:54,040 --> 00:13:14,480 Laura Barth: and it was a larger part of that importing hub than it had been before. And so, you know, I think that is definitely something that's impacting some of our retail florists. And a lot of people do prefer to order online or maybe not have the human interaction part of it. So yeah, that's definitely something we're seeing too. 159 00:13:15,300 --> 00:13:21,340 Ping Yu: Yeah, I think the online shop would be one of the trends moving forward. 160 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,340 Ping Yu: Another part is the sustainability. 161 00:13:24,830 --> 00:13:28,100 Ping Yu: I know that a lot of people are talking about sustainability. 162 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:31,020 Ping Yu: It has become a major topic. 163 00:13:31,620 --> 00:13:34,440 Ping Yu: How is our industry addressing it? 164 00:13:34,650 --> 00:13:38,760 Ping Yu: And I know AFE has a Sustainabloom project 165 00:13:39,500 --> 00:13:43,140 Ping Yu: to address those sustainability issues within the industry. 166 00:13:43,260 --> 00:13:45,280 Ping Yu: Can you explain a little bit more? 167 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,460 Laura Barth: Yeah, sustainability is something that a lot of producers 168 00:13:48,940 --> 00:13:51,820 Laura Barth: as well as a lot of retail shops as well as consumers, 169 00:13:52,660 --> 00:13:55,140 Laura Barth: it's something that they're becoming more and more interested in 170 00:13:55,340 --> 00:13:56,360 Laura Barth: as well as concerned about. 171 00:13:56,470 --> 00:14:00,700 Laura Barth: I think especially young consumers are really doing research into... 172 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,340 Laura Barth: how the products are being made or grown or things like that. 173 00:14:04,580 --> 00:14:08,820 Laura Barth: So in 2022, AFE launched Sustainabloom, like you said, 174 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:13,400 Laura Barth: and it is a resource hub where people from all segments 175 00:14:13,460 --> 00:14:16,960 Laura Barth: of the industry can go and just find resources 176 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:18,780 Laura Barth: that can help them become more sustainable 177 00:14:19,180 --> 00:14:21,020 Laura Barth: no matter where they are in their journey. 178 00:14:21,780 --> 00:14:23,360 Laura Barth: We don't have some of the same regulations 179 00:14:23,620 --> 00:14:24,420 Laura Barth: that they do in Europe, 180 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:26,760 Laura Barth: but it is something that's becoming important to consumers. 181 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,600 Laura Barth: It'll help people kind of stay ahead of that as well. 182 00:14:30,399 --> 00:14:44,519 Laura Barth: So I think it's very important to our industry and I think we'll just be seeing more of it in the years to come, more efforts to become more sustainable and also I think become more transparent about what these companies or what these businesses are doing to enhance their sustainability efforts. 183 00:14:45,740 --> 00:14:49,340 Ping Yu: Yeah, I think it's just different terminology sometimes. 184 00:14:50,060 --> 00:14:53,120 Ping Yu: For sustainability, people are like, "Oh, what is sustainability?" 185 00:14:53,140 --> 00:15:00,500 Ping Yu: In our industry, we're talking about incorporating more, for instance, biodegradable containers into the production cycle, 186 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:06,160 Ping Yu: or just reduce the leachate for chemicals, insecticides, fungicides. 187 00:15:06,899 --> 00:15:12,040 Ping Yu: And also implementing more IPM practices to your production 188 00:15:12,149 --> 00:15:14,639 Ping Yu: so that you don't have to spray and spray. 189 00:15:14,889 --> 00:15:17,240 Ping Yu: All those little strategies or practices 190 00:15:17,699 --> 00:15:21,860 Ping Yu: are considered as sustainability to our industry. 191 00:15:22,139 --> 00:15:25,579 Ping Yu: Our industry is working hard to provide sustainable, 192 00:15:26,220 --> 00:15:30,639 Ping Yu: also with high-quality products to the general public. 193 00:15:31,339 --> 00:15:34,399 Ping Yu: And I know that people are willing to pay 194 00:15:34,860 --> 00:15:39,300 Ping Yu: extra just so that they know that they are making a big difference to the 195 00:15:39,580 --> 00:15:44,940 Ping Yu: society as a whole to encourage our producers to adapt sustainable practices 196 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:49,080 Ping Yu: into their production so it is always a team effort. 197 00:15:51,620 --> 00:15:57,260 Ping Yu: Yep. So you have been working in the industry for a while. What is your 198 00:15:57,900 --> 00:16:01,400 Laura Barth: favorite plant? Oh, that is such a good question 199 00:16:01,420 --> 00:16:10,720 Laura Barth: and it changes all the time. I'm gonna say, at least for today, my answer is ranunculus. 200 00:16:11,420 --> 00:16:17,780 Laura Barth: Okay. I just love it. I was in Colombia recently for ProFlora, and they had some beautiful 201 00:16:18,540 --> 00:16:23,400 Laura Barth: new ranunculus varieties in their Outstanding Varieties competition, and I just love them. 202 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:26,300 Laura Barth: They look like a craft project. They look like somebody like 203 00:16:26,420 --> 00:16:33,680 Laura Barth: sat down on a table and took rows of tissue paper and just kind of stuck it all together and just some of the colors I saw were really exciting. 204 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:39,360 Laura Barth: So that's my answer for today, but it's hard. I think I have a lot of favorites like you probably do too. 205 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:50,399 Ping Yu: Yeah, I mean, ranunculus, the plant itself has a very unique texture for the flower, for the petals. So I agree with you, but 206 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:56,460 Ping Yu: how do you decide if this one, ranunculus, is your favorite plant for today? Do you change it every day? 207 00:16:57,090 --> 00:17:02,980 Laura Barth: You know, if I think about it, a lot of it is just mood. There's just so many pretty options and creative breeding. 208 00:17:03,010 --> 00:17:10,300 Laura Barth: I think it goes back to the artistry because, you know, sometimes maybe my mood is totally different and it's summer and it's warm out and... 209 00:17:10,740 --> 00:17:15,020 Laura Barth: You know, just sunflowers are making me really happy. Maybe that's my favorite flower that day. 210 00:17:15,510 --> 00:17:21,460 Laura Barth: For me right now, my favorite is probably dependent on either something that's beautiful in like an arboretum 211 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:26,060 Laura Barth: or something pretty I see in a bouquet or something like that. 212 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:33,460 Ping Yu: Yeah, I like the reason behind it because I think that's one of the pieces of information that I want to get out there. 213 00:17:33,860 --> 00:17:41,880 Ping Yu: For the plant, I call it plant power, and it can really influence your mood. If you don't feel well 214 00:17:42,020 --> 00:17:49,940 Ping Yu: or if you feel upset, go out for a walk and then see all those plants outside. And if you have a 215 00:17:50,220 --> 00:17:55,580 Ping Yu: garden, or even grocery store, go to the garden center and just looking at them, they just, look at 216 00:17:55,590 --> 00:17:56,840 Ping Yu: them, they can make you feel 217 00:17:57,140 --> 00:18:00,179 Ping Yu: happy again. And that's the plant power we're talking about. 218 00:18:00,559 --> 00:18:06,140 Laura Barth: Yes. Oh, I love it so much. Just even if I don't buy anything, if I'm, you know, just at a flower 219 00:18:06,419 --> 00:18:10,559 Laura Barth: stand and I see some pretty dahlias like earlier in the fall, just instantly, you know, you just 220 00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:12,200 Laura Barth: feel, feel more at peace. 221 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:19,820 Ping Yu: And feel. Yeah, yeah, and recently our, where I live, we opened a Trader Joe's, you know, which 222 00:18:21,140 --> 00:18:27,440 Ping Yu: at Trader Joe's the garden center where they have all those different flowers into different like 223 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:34,640 Ping Yu: those little tiny buckets, they just lined up and then that's my favorite section at Trader Joe's. 224 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:36,580 Ping Yu: Yeah, I love it. 225 00:18:37,919 --> 00:18:41,160 Ping Yu: Yeah, so every time I go there, I was like, "Oh, yeah." 226 00:18:41,169 --> 00:18:43,980 Ping Yu: And the price is not that expensive. 227 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:53,559 Ping Yu: So I normally would go grab one piece and then take them back home and then put them into the little vase that I have at home and then just enjoy for the rest of the week. 228 00:18:53,940 --> 00:19:00,480 Ping Yu: I think it's more the flower or flowers is not just a plant and I think it's also a lifestyle. 229 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:07,220 Ping Yu: I remember the other day when I grabbed a little bouquet from Trader Joe's back home. 230 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:11,460 Ping Yu: I don't know for some reason, it just reminds me of a movie. 231 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:15,080 Ping Yu: that I saw. Oh gosh, what's it called? 232 00:19:15,740 --> 00:19:20,260 Ping Yu: It's called The Lady of the Camellias. I think it's from a famous book by 233 00:19:20,799 --> 00:19:25,539 Ping Yu: Alexandre Dumas. If you ever watched any of those European movies, 234 00:19:25,940 --> 00:19:30,360 Ping Yu: especially those in the old days, you probably would notice that they have 235 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:36,260 Ping Yu: a local fresh market where you can buy all sorts of flower bouquets in those little buckets. 236 00:19:37,060 --> 00:19:42,580 Ping Yu: A more recent one, I think you may get a feel of the lifestyle that I am referring to, 237 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,800 Ping Yu: is a TV show called "Emily in Paris". 238 00:19:46,540 --> 00:19:54,740 Ping Yu: I mean, you just go to the fish market or the flower shop and grab one flower bouquet and then wander around the city, 239 00:19:55,480 --> 00:20:00,020 Ping Yu: and then put the flowers into the vase when you get home and enjoy them for a week. 240 00:20:00,350 --> 00:20:04,340 Ping Yu: I think it's just a lifestyle, you know, I mean I just love them. 241 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:13,420 Ping Yu: So there's definitely a lot of changes and challenges that we're facing right now, but 242 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:20,200 Ping Yu: how do you see the flower industry evolving in the next five to maybe ten years? 243 00:20:20,860 --> 00:20:22,799 Laura Barth: I think we touched on one already. 244 00:20:22,830 --> 00:20:27,260 Laura Barth: We're going to see an increase in sustainability efforts, 245 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:29,919 Laura Barth: whatever that looks like for an individual organization. 246 00:20:30,380 --> 00:20:32,519 Laura Barth: Another exciting thing we're going to see a lot more of 247 00:20:32,779 --> 00:20:36,740 Laura Barth: is the use of AI in all kinds of aspects of production. 248 00:20:36,909 --> 00:20:41,340 Laura Barth: I'm seeing drones integrated with AI or machine learning technologies 249 00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,039 Laura Barth: to detect diseases, detect nutrient status. 250 00:20:45,470 --> 00:20:49,399 Laura Barth: Sometimes they're used to dispense biological 251 00:20:49,700 --> 00:20:56,860 Laura Barth: controls into a field. And then also using AI for other aspects of production, like so whether 252 00:20:56,860 --> 00:21:05,380 Laura Barth: it's automation or creating SOPs or tools, just a lot of AI, but also integration of AI into some 253 00:21:05,380 --> 00:21:11,240 Laura Barth: of these other existing or developing technologies. And so I think that's, you know, even in the past 254 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:11,820 Laura Barth: year or two, 255 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,520 Laura Barth: I've seen a lot of developments with that and we're seeing more research proposal applications 256 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:20,540 Laura Barth: that deal with AI or machine learning or the integration of both of those aspects. 257 00:21:21,900 --> 00:21:25,420 Laura Barth: So yeah, I think that's going to be a big one, that and sustainability. 258 00:21:27,060 --> 00:21:32,740 Ping Yu: Yeah, I don't know what's going to happen down the road, but from the little small business 259 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:36,200 Ping Yu: side, I think when the next generation... 260 00:21:36,220 --> 00:21:40,279 Ping Yu: get into the market and they become the owner of their own operation. 261 00:21:40,549 --> 00:21:48,240 Ping Yu: I think we're probably going to see a little bit more of those online stores that'll be in business. 262 00:21:49,059 --> 00:21:51,220 Laura Barth: Yeah, I agree. E-commerce is going to be big. 263 00:21:51,740 --> 00:21:57,460 Laura Barth: We actually had a recent GrowPro and Melinda Knuth was one of the speakers and she was talking about how younger consumers, 264 00:21:58,140 --> 00:22:02,140 Laura Barth: you know, will be purchasing things online more and how companies can prepare for that. 265 00:22:02,500 --> 00:22:03,120 Laura Barth: So, yeah, I agree. 266 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:06,300 Laura Barth: And I think the types of crops in that type of situation might be different, too. 267 00:22:06,330 --> 00:22:11,800 Laura Barth: It might not be somebody going to the garden center to get some bedding annuals to put in their yard. 268 00:22:11,890 --> 00:22:15,940 Laura Barth: It might be things more like niche or more like cute little succulents in pots or houseplants. 269 00:22:17,260 --> 00:22:19,320 Laura Barth: So it'll be interesting to see what that looks like. 270 00:22:20,340 --> 00:22:32,840 Ping Yu: Yeah, well, if a young grower comes and asks you to give one piece of advice to help them set themselves up for long-term success, what would you say? 271 00:22:34,140 --> 00:22:35,559 Laura Barth: That is a really good question. 272 00:22:35,789 --> 00:22:39,780 Laura Barth: And I think there's, you know, a bunch of different directions that could go. 273 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:57,060 Laura Barth: I would say if they're a young grower and they're producing crops, I would say that there's a lot of good educational resources out there, whether it's, you know, of course, I'm going to say AFE because we have fantastic free resources, but also going to conferences. 274 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:03,640 Laura Barth: Talking with other growers, going on tours, seeing what they're doing, reaching out to your local 275 00:23:03,870 --> 00:23:10,500 Laura Barth: extension office, you know, to see what resources they might have for various issues you're facing, 276 00:23:12,380 --> 00:23:17,740 Laura Barth: making those connections with those people so you, you know, they can reach out to you or 277 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,940 Laura Barth: one of our researchers at AFE if they need help with something. 278 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:26,100 Laura Barth: I think, yeah, there's just a lot out there and you don't have to spend a ton of money to 279 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:33,160 Laura Barth: reinvent the wheel. And also I would say to our industry, it's surprisingly friendly and 280 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:40,460 Laura Barth: surprisingly open with how much knowledge we're willing to share. I feel like we don't see that in... 281 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:43,600 Laura Barth: Growers could go and ask their competitor, I feel like in some cases, 282 00:23:44,580 --> 00:23:46,700 Laura Barth: production questions, they would be willing to help. 283 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,840 Laura Barth: So don't be afraid to reach out to other people to make connections and get resources. 284 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:56,020 Ping Yu: Yeah, I totally agree with you. 285 00:23:56,260 --> 00:24:02,040 Ping Yu: With our industry in general, people are willing to share a lot of things. 286 00:24:02,700 --> 00:24:06,960 Ping Yu: Even if you go ask your potential competitors about, hey, 287 00:24:07,260 --> 00:24:11,539 Ping Yu: I have an issue here, where did you get your soil from? Who is your vendor? 288 00:24:11,740 --> 00:24:16,820 Ping Yu: They're willing to tell you. I think that's the vibe that you don't get from other industries for sure. 289 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,080 Laura Barth: I was kind of surprised the very first tour I ever went on and I was like wow they just 290 00:24:21,860 --> 00:24:25,419 Laura Barth: gave a lot of information away. That's surprising but really cool. 291 00:24:25,620 --> 00:24:29,360 Ping Yu: I think that's the reason that our whole industry thrives. 292 00:24:29,980 --> 00:24:33,419 Laura Barth: I agree. Yeah. I mean because if we're all eating, it's better for everybody. 293 00:24:34,279 --> 00:24:44,100 Ping Yu: So, with that in mind, if people want to find more information, where do you suggest they go out and find more information and resources? 294 00:24:44,860 --> 00:24:50,960 Laura Barth: So, you can start, if you're looking to get resources from AFE, we have research reports from our funded researchers. 295 00:24:51,110 --> 00:24:55,500 Laura Barth: We have the GrowPro webinar series, which has a lot of information. 296 00:24:56,029 --> 00:24:59,299 Laura Barth: You were a speaker on one of our GrowPros, so... 297 00:24:59,780 --> 00:25:06,940 Laura Barth: You can basically go to endowment.org and then there will be a little drop box on the 298 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,740 Laura Barth: main page and it'll let you pick what your segment is and you can just click on that to 299 00:25:10,740 --> 00:25:11,520 Laura Barth: get all your resources. 300 00:25:11,900 --> 00:25:14,440 Laura Barth: Also, I always have to shout out Cooperative Extension. 301 00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:21,280 Laura Barth: So many great resources through Cooperative Extension and those Extension agents can put you in contact with people. 302 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:27,860 Laura Barth: AFE is always happy to support Extension faculty through our various resources as well. 303 00:25:27,970 --> 00:25:32,400 Laura Barth: So those are probably for floriculture, I would probably start there and then you can branch out. 304 00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:40,100 Laura Barth: If you're listening to this and you have any questions, I'm always available through email or phone and I'm sure you are too, Ping, so. 305 00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:42,320 Laura Barth: Yeah, we're here to help. 306 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:42,540 Laura Barth: Yeah. 307 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:48,180 Ping Yu: Well, thank you, Laura, for taking your time and talking with us today. 308 00:25:48,550 --> 00:25:51,540 Ping Yu: I really appreciate the insights that you shared with us. 309 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:58,920 Ping Yu: AFE does provide all the resources to the researchers, to the general public, and to our 310 00:25:59,140 --> 00:26:03,040 Ping Yu: industry and has a lot of wonderful resources that are free. 311 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:04,600 Ping Yu: So take advantage of that. 312 00:26:06,180 --> 00:26:06,680 Ping Yu: Thank you, Laura. 313 00:26:35,020 --> 00:26:41,380 Ping Yu: Give a review for the podcast. And as always, go check out the show notes to learn more about this 314 00:26:41,540 --> 00:26:49,080 Ping Yu: topic and other topics we featured on the show at bandbpod.com. Thank you for listening. Till the 315 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:51,560 Ping Yu: next time, stay healthy and go plants!