Start your 2023 ASCFG Conference experience with the Trade Show and Welcome Reception!

After picking up your registration materials, this is the time to visit the Trade Show and meet cut flower industry vendors and suppliers. You can also participate in the Regional Rendezvous, which are specific locations in the hotel dedicated to connecting cut flower growers and farmers with other professionals in their ASCFG Regions. Lastly, don’t miss the floral design demonstration by the renowned Julio Freitas of The Flower Hat in Bozeman, Montana. His floral arch demonstration will cover the design process, sourcing materials, and much more.

Light refreshments and a cash bar will be available.

Trade Show Supplier Participants

American Takii
A-ROO Company
Ball Seed ColorLink
Chicago Flower Market
Chrysal Americas
Colorblends
Eason Horticultural Resources
Farmer Bailey
GeoSeed
InFlora Cut Flowers
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Kube Pak
Leo Berbee Bulb Co.
Netherland Bulb Co.
Onings
Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants
Sakata Seed America
St. Louis Composting
Tend
The Tulip Workshop
SARE – Univ. of Missouri
Walters Gardens
Zabo Plant

Photographer: Ingrid Svare

Don’t miss this floral design demonstration by the renowned Julio Freitas of The Flower Hat!

The Flower Hat is a floral design studio and flower farm nestled in the beautiful mountains of Gallatin Valley in Bozeman, Montana. The Studio is headed by internationally published designer Julio Freitas, whose design style embraces the seasons to create a loose, natural aesthetic that has graced hundreds of events. He started his growing operations on 1,800 sq ft and quickly leased ¼ acre plot for a few years, where he was able to grow and harvest thousands of flowers by using high intensity techniques before moving on to purchase his own farm.

Sponsored by

Val is the founder of Three Toads Farm in Winchester, Kentucky. She is renowned for her excellent bulb forcing and tabletop garden design skills, particularly with showy amaryllis and hardy spring bulbs. Val hosts on-the-farm workshops each year, and is a frequent and popular speaker on programs for both home gardeners and commercial growers. Currently in her second year as ASCFG President, Val Schirmer has previously served as Southeast Regional Director.

In this session, Dr. Melinda Knuth, an Assistant Professor in Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University, will provide an overview of the current status of the cut flower industry within North America (and beyond) before forecasting future trends and considerations for cut flower farmers. Dr. Knuth has evaluated trade flows of horticulture products in the United States, assessed the supply chain in the cut flower industry, investigated profit margins in substituting species in floral arrangements, and estimated consumer acceptance of retail messaging. Her talk will give attendees a nuanced understanding of the cut flower market and inspire new ideas for sales and operating opportunities.

Dr. Knuth’s research priorities are on consumer and market research experience by focusing on the interface between people and plants, helping the horticulture industry understand consumer preferences, perceptions, and motivations. Historically, Dr. Knuth has evaluated trade flows of horticulture products in the United States, assessed the supply chain in the cut flower industry, investigated profit margins in substituting species in floral arrangements, and estimated consumer acceptance of retail messaging.

She currently is an Assistant Professor in Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. Dr. Knuth teaches Greenhouse Management, Floriculture Production, Floral Design, and Horticulture Marketing. Dr. Knuth received her PhD from Texas A&M University in Horticultural Science with a certificate in Applied Statistics. From there, she was a postdoctoral research associate at University of Florida in the Food & Resource Economics Department. She currently serves as the Young Professional Council Advisor for American Floral Endowment’s Executive Board. Her article “What the Research Says About Millennials and Houseplants” was the #10 most read article in Greenhouse Product News in 2022. Dr. Knuth received GPN Magazine’s 40 under 40 award in 2021 and a 2017 AmericanHort Scholar.

Adam and Jennifer O’Neal are the husband-and-wife farming duo of PepperHarrow Farm. Whether it’s through hosting workshops or volunteering with local organizations, Adam and Jenn are dedicated to nurturing a community of gardeners who share their vision for a healthier, more sustainable world. They believe in the power of flowers to bring beauty, wellness and connection to people’s lives. Their farm is more than just a business – it’s a place of inspiration and connection to the natural world. This philosophy drives their desire to connect with people through strategic outreach and to provide innovative products and services at PepperHarrow. This presentation will provide an overview of the value-added products and services Adam and Jennifer have implemented, and will inspire attendees to consider new initiatives for their own cut flower operations.

Check out Adam and Jennifer’s feature article in the summer issue of Midwest Living!

Adam O’Neal and Jenn O’Neal are a husband-and-wife flower farming duo with a deep passion for gardening and a love for nature. Adam grew up in south Louisiana, spending countless hours exploring and playing in the swamps of a local nature preserve. These early experiences fostered a strong connection to the environment and a fascination with the natural world. As he grew older, Adam’s interest in gardening flourished, and he eventually became a Master Gardener, honing his skills and knowledge in various restored historic gardens throughout middle Tennessee.

Jenn hails from Iowa and inherited her grandmother and mother’s love of flowers at a young age. Growing up exploring her grandparents’ farm, she spent long summer days helping her grandmother sow, tend, and harvest arrays of beautiful garden blooms. Her grandmother was an accomplished floral designer, and Jenn eagerly soaked up all the knowledge she could while working alongside her. Eventually, Jenn pursued her own career in floral design, bringing her unique eye for beauty and creativity to weddings and events throughout central Iowa.

Whether it’s through hosting workshops or volunteering with local organizations, Adam and Jenn are dedicated to nurturing a community of gardeners who share their vision for a healthier, more sustainable world. They believe in the power of flowers to bring beauty, wellness and connection to people’s lives. Their farm is more than just a business – it’s a place of inspiration and connection to the natural world.

Adam and Jennifer’s first book, Small Farms, Big Dreams was published in February 2022 by BLOOM Imprint. PepperHarrow Farm has been featured in Country Gardens, Garden Gate, Better Homes & Gardens (print and online), Cottage Journal, and Midwest Living, among other national and regional publications. They have spoken at a number of flower farming and regional gardening conferences, and host their own popular workshops and events at PepperHarrow Farm. You can find their videos at PepperHarrow Farm on YouTube. Instagram: pepperharrow_, or TikTok: @pepperharrow  www.pepperharrowfarm.com

Check out Adam and Jennifer’s feature article in the summer issue of Midwest Living!

The ASCFG National Cut Flower Trials are recognized as the only national cut flower evaluations in the United States. Growers in all zones test new annual, perennial, bulb, and woody cut flower varieties for hardiness, yield, stem length, and marketability. Breeders and suppliers rely on these Trials as an integral part of their cultivar development and evaluation process. Data are compiled by Dr. John Dole at North Carolina State University, where postharvest testing is also done. In this session, Dr. Dole will provide an overview of the results associated with the latest round of cut flower evaluations, as well as other fun and interesting cuts that show potential. Learn which new cultivars you need to try!
Sponsored by SunflowerSelections.com and GeoSeed

John Dole is Interim Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University. He received his BS from Michigan State University and his PhD from the University of Minnesota, with both degrees in Horticulture. He conducts research on cut flowers, unrooted cuttings, and a number of floriculture crops. John teaches a graduate level Physiology of Flowering course and has authored or co- authored eight books, including Woody Cut Stems, and Postharvest Handling of Cut Flowers and Greens. John is Executive Advisor for the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers (ASCFG) and co-manages the ASCFG Cut Flower Trials.

A hearty lunch is included in your Conference registration for both Tuesday and Wednesday, and you won’t need to leave the Hotel! Save a chair for an old friend, or sit with growers you’re just getting to know.

Megz Reynolds is the Executive Director of The Do More Agriculture Foundation in Saskatchewan, Canada, and has first hand experience in agriculture as a former grain farmer. Personally familiar with the unique challenges the industry faces, Megz has been part of creating change at a provincial, federal and global level, always with a focus on the mental health of producers and the industry as a whole. In her presentation, Megz will provide an overview of self-care and resilience strategies for farmers as well as resources for further support.

Megz has first hand experience in agriculture as a former grain farmer and is personally familiar with the unique challenges the industry faces. Through grassroots advocacy and policy work Megz has been part of creating change at a provincial, federal and global level, always with a focus on the mental health of producers and the industry as a whole. As the Executive Director of The Do More Agriculture Foundation Megz is using her background and lived experience to continue the conversation, raise awareness for mental health in agriculture, create community, build and strengthen partnerships and do more for those in agriculture, their families and rural communities.

With a doctorate in economic geography and a decades-long career as an organic vegetable and flower farmer, Dr. Schumilas is an early innovator of the community supported agriculture model in Canada. In recent years, she has combined her applied knowledge and scholarly expertise to assist small-scale cut flower farms in collaborating in online marketplaces and collectives. Her presentation will cover proven strategies for developing successful cut flower collectives.

Dr. Theresa Schumilas
Garden Party Flower Farm
@gardenpartyflower farm

Theresa has farmed using regenerative and organic techniques for 40 years. Her farm, Garden Party, was one of Canada’s first vegetable CSA farms and she has been an active participant in Canada’s organic and ecological farming communities. After an injury in 2012, Theresa stopped farming and completed her doctorate in economic geography at the University of Waterloo. She documented how the CSA model was being adapted by farmers in China. Following this, she completed post-doctoral research into emerging digital disruptions affecting local food and farming systems. She launched Open Food Network Canada, a national not-for-profit organization that works with farmers to develop open source (non proprietary) on-line solutions and marketplaces.

As fortune would have it, in 2014 Theresa’s hip injury repaired itself and she returned to full time farming – but this time as a specialty cut flower grower. Garden Party Flower Farm sells wholesale flowers to designers and bulk buckets for DIY weddings. As she moves into retirement, Theresa has started to focus on helping small-scale cut flower farms collaborate in online marketplaces and collectives.

Dee Hall is a floriculturist and CFO (Chief Flower Officer) of Mermaid City Flowers in Norfolk, Virginia. An avid, life-long gardener, Dee prioritizes community building in her work and educating the public about the importance of locally grown flowers. In this session, she will discuss the rationale for using native species in cut flower farming and provide attendees with strategies for consumer education efforts and for using native species in floral design.

Join fellow conference attendees for a special celebratory banquet to mark the 35th anniversary of the ASCFG! Dinner and non-alcoholic beverages are included, and a cash bar will be available. And in the spirit of celebration, feel free to wear your formal overalls and best boots when saving a chair for an old friend or to sit with growers you’re just getting to know.

In her trademark down-to-earth and engaging presentation style, Ellen will focus on the topic of labor resilience in this session. Labor management is a key skill for successful cut flower farmers, and even more necessary in difficult situations like injuries, resignations, or supporting struggling employees. Ellen will discuss important labor practices and procedures such as cross-training employees, developing systems, and drafting standard operating procedures, among other concepts. Attendees will leave with a wealth of ideas and strategies to implement on their own farms.

Ellen is a farm consultant and workshop leader. She leverages her 35 years of biological vegetable farming experience to help growers around the country to achieve more satisfaction and better profitability from their farm businesses. Her client work touches on all aspects of production, soil fertility, quality of life, as well as farm finances and bookkeeping. Ellen was one of three owners of Potomac Vegetable Farms in Northern Virginia where she grew Ecoganic produce for 7 farmers markets, a 550 member CSA and two roadside stands. Ellen is a co-author of the book Start Your Farm. She lives in suburban Maryland with her husband, where she gardens like crazy.

To celebrate and mark the 35th anniversary of the formation of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, Joe Schmitt, Janet Foss, and John LaSalle will participate in a panel discussion about how the specialty cut flower industry has changed in the last three decades. This presentation will illuminate how the past has shaped the present – and the future.

Sponsored by:

Joe Schmitt

Joe Schmitt is a 3rd generation grower whose grandparents left the Rhine Valley in 1906 to work in the first carnation greenhouse range in the U.S. They later had greenhouses of their own in Bayport, Long Island, at the time the heart of the largest flower growing region in the country, serving the New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington wholesale markets and beyond.

Joe’s parents, early converts to organic farming methods in the Fifties, relocated to Delaware where the family had five acres of field production, serving the same East Coast markets with annual cuts, focusing heavily on Celosia. Joe ended up in Wisconsin, gravitated to the CSA scene there, and spent 20 years growing several acres of flowers from 80,000 home grown plugs, and marketed through CSA shares, too many unavoidable weddings, and primarily by bucket runs to fifty or so retail shops. Retired since 2017, he now does any damn thing he wants, focused largely on growing veggies and flowers. And no weddings.

Janet Foss

Janet and Jim Foss started their farm in 1981 in northwest Washington state. At that time, they sold at the farmers market, did custom picking for local customers, and had a florist who bought most of their products. In 2008, they transitioned to a beautiful home near Onalaska, WA, on the Newaukum River. Janet and Jim purchased the land in 2001 and started shaping it into the current farm. Giant White Calla are still the specialty, but they also grow roses, garden flowers, and clematis. The Fosses grow over 200 varieties of flowers, and have flowers available most of the year.

John LaSalle

John LaSalle started with the business 1979. At LaSalle Florists, they have been growing and selling fresh cut flowers and plants for over 75 years. Their mission is to have the best flowers available to customers at a reasonable price. Presently, they grow freesia, lilies, and snapdragons in our greenhouses plus dahlias, ornithogoluim and a wide variety of summer cut flowers in our fields. Bedding plants in the spring and summer fill the greenhouses. During the Christmas and Easter seasons they furnish a variety of plants. John chooses crops based on environmental conditions and what may not be available in wholesale markets. Over the years LaSalle Florists has grown carnations, chrysanthemums, gladiolas, freesia, tulips, daffodils, and a host of minor crops.

In 2023, the effective use of social media is quite simply a necessity for any business. It’s a profoundly important method for brand awareness, customer outreach, community building, sales, and more. But how best to use these tools? Which ones are the best? In this session, Julio Freitas, founder of the renowned The Flower Hat flower farm and floral design studio, will discuss the social media strategies he uses within his own business. Attendees will leave with an appreciation for the importance of social media as a communication tool and with new ideas to consider applying to their own social media accounts and products.
Sponsored by:

Photographer: Ingrid Svare

The Flower Hat is a floral design studio and flower farm nestled in the beautiful mountains of Gallatin Valley in Bozeman, Montana. The Studio is headed by internationally published designer Julio Freitas, whose design style embraces the seasons to create a loose, natural aesthetic that has graced hundreds of events. He started his growing operations on 1,800 sq ft and quickly leased ¼ acre plot for a few years, where he was able to grow and harvest thousands of flowers by using high intensity techniques before moving on to purchase his own farm.

A hearty lunch is included in your Conference registration for both Tuesday and Wednesday, and you won’t need to leave the Hotel! Save a chair for an old friend, or sit with growers you’re just getting to know.

Dr. Melinda Knuth, an Assistant Professor in Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University, has evaluated trade flows of horticulture products in the United States, assessed the supply chain in the cut flower industry, investigated profit margins in substituting species in floral arrangements, and estimated consumer acceptance of retail messaging. In this session, her presentation will focus on how signage and retail messaging influences floral purchases by consumers. Attendees will leave with an appreciation for how font, color, signage positioning, and many other elements influence sales and operating opportunities.

Dr. Knuth’s research priorities are on consumer and market research experience by focusing on the interface between people and plants, helping the horticulture industry understand consumer preferences, perceptions, and motivations. Historically, Dr. Knuth has evaluated trade flows of horticulture products in the United States, assessed the supply chain in the cut flower industry, investigated profit margins in substituting species in floral arrangements, and estimated consumer acceptance of retail messaging.

She currently is an Assistant Professor in Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. Dr. Knuth teaches Greenhouse Management, Floriculture Production, Floral Design, and Horticulture Marketing. Dr. Knuth received her PhD from Texas A&M University in Horticultural Science with a certificate in Applied Statistics. From there, she was a postdoctoral research associate at University of Florida in the Food & Resource Economics Department. She currently serves as the Young Professional Council Advisor for American Floral Endowment’s Executive Board. Her article What the Research Says About Millennials and Houseplants was the #10 most read article in Greenhouse Product News in 2022. Dr. Knuth received GPN Magazine’s 40 under 40 award in 2021 and a 2017 AmericanHort Scholar.

The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers is pleased to partner with the American Floral Endowment to present this session. Dr. Jim Faust focuses on overcoming the challenges in the postharvest longevity of cut flowers. Through the support of the American Floral Endowment, he is studying techniques to improve the control of botrytis on flower petal tissue with biorational products and to reduce rapid leaf necrosis following cut flower storage and shipping. This session will share his findings from his research and share important insights for pest management.

Sponsored by

Dr. Jim Faust is a professor at Clemson University where he teaches greenhouse production and hydroponics courses and does research on floriculture crops. His research focuses on overcoming the challenges in the postharvest longevity of cut flowers. Through the support of the American Floral Endowment, he is studying techniques to improve the control of botrytis on flower petal tissue with biorational products and to reduce rapid leaf necrosis following cut flower storage and shipping.

Drew Groezinger is the host of the podcast ‘Between Me and Drew,’ an educational podcast that is focused and centered around floriculture and the specialty industries that surround his daily life. Passionate about cut flower farming and education, Drew will focus on the specifics of growing dahlias during this session. These popular flowers have a perennial place in consumer hearts and this talk will provide an overview of the best practices for growing different cultivars, harvest and post-harvest handling, and other considerations.
Sponsored by:

Drew Groezinger  of Clara Joyce Flowers is a floral designer and flower farmer who is passionate about education, advancing the beginning cut flower farmer and building a farm that is to sustain and employ people for years to come. He is the voice and host of the podcast ‘Between Me and Drew’, an educational podcast that is focused and centered around floriculture and the specialty industries that surround his daily life.

His farm, Clara Joyce Flowers, serves wholesale florists, wedding and event designers, their own wedding and event floral design clients and gardeners and growers across the country through cut flowers, dahlia tubers and rooted cutting sales. Clara Joyce Flowers operates from their home farm in Stockton, Illinois.