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Winter Quarter 2018 

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Contents
CCGGA
Calendar

 

APRIL


 
21st - CCGGA

17th Annual Open House & Scholarship Fundraiser Event

 

MAY

 

18th - Board/Steering 

Meeting

 

AUGUST

 

24th - Quarterly Meeting at Corey Nursery, Nipomo

 

DECEMBER

 

6th - Annual Meeting

at The Pavilion, Cypress Ridge

  
2018
CCGGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
 
PRESIDENT

Sandra Fischbein, 

CalCoastPalms, LLC.

 
VICE PRESIDENT

Butch Yamashita,

Corey Nursery

 
SECRETARY

Ulf Schnack, 

Ball Flora Plant

 
TREASURER

Julie Hoyt, Crop

Production Services


 

 
DIRECTORS AT LARGE:

Karen Robb,
Target Specialty Products

Dave Pruitt, iHort


 

Micah Lopez,

Pacific Sun Growers Greenhouses


 

Jane Riffle,

Ball Tagawa Growers


 

Ben Trogdon, Pacific Sun Growers

 

This Year's Open House Reusable Bag
Sponsors:

Thah


17th Open House Education Center at
Olympic Hall,
Nipomo High 
School 

Grower Plant Contributors

Greenheart Farms

Cal Seedling

Ball Tagawa

C & M Nursery

Pacific Sun Growers Greenhouses

 Booths

Nipomo Grande Orchids

Target Specialty Products Monarch
Butterfly Booth

Girl Scouts - Central Coast

Nipomo 4-H Coffee and Donut Booth

Volunteers

Arroyo Grande In Bloom

Master Gardeners

Ag Teachers

Nipomo 4-H

Local FFAs

Much More!
                   
YOUR AD HERE OR THERE!

Looking for some affordable, easy, and direct advertising?

Look no further!
      



New 
Bulletin  Board

Post job openings, events, equipment for sale or for trade.

Job Seekers:

Do you know someone who would benefit from becoming a member of CCGGA?

We're always looking to expand our membership, so please spread the word about our organization!
 
Message from the President

March Madness has a special meaning to those of us in the Horticulture Industry. In March our nurseries are full to bursting with products that will fill our farms, fields, gardens and homes.
It is the busiest time of year for the CCGGA board of directors as well as we prepare for our 17 th Annual Open House and Scholarship Fundraiser on Saturday April 21st!
This year promises to be as big as ever with 5 nurseries open to the public, including Native Sons back by popular demand! Crowd pleasers: Eufloria Flowers, Corey Nursery, CalCoastPalms and Ball FloraPlant will also open their doors to the public again.
We also will expand on our selection of plants for sale at the CCGGA Education Center at Nipomo High School. Vegetable, herb and flower seedlings generously donated by Ball Tagawa, Cal Seedling, Greenheart Farms and Pacific Sun Growers will be available there. Nipomo Grande Orchids will be selling his beautiful selections and there will be hanging baskets, succulents and milkweed for Monarchs available as well.
We are proud to have had thousands of visitors the last couple of years and we have funded our scholarships close to $20,000 per year helping 15-20 college students afford higher education!
We encourage all of our members to get involved in the event. We need raffle items and volunteers at the Nipomo High School. Contact Dan our Administrative Director to find out how you can help.

See you there!


     
Sandra

2018 Annual Meeting Recap  
2017 CCGGA Annual Meeting 
 
T wenty-seven members and guests attended th e Central Coast Greenhouse Growers Annual Meeting held at the Pavilion, Cypress Ridge Golf Course on December 7, 2017. Attendees enjoyed a wonderful lunch while listening to industry speakers discuss current events and issues pertaining to the horticulture industry. The agenda was as follows:

 
President Sandra Fischbein opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the meeting and provided a brief review on CCGGA's accomplishments in 2017.








Jimmy Wall of Donahue Idealease made a great presentation reviewing
the latest trucking regulations that growers and shippers will have to deal with in 2018. Jimmy also talked about what Donahue can do to meet the needs of growers in regards to trucking. It was great to see Micah, Pacific Sun Growers Greenhouses, being "put on the spot" as an example one of Donahue's clients.


    

Next Pieter de Groot of Poly West gave us an entertaining history of his company's origins and the way it evolved over the years to meet the needs of the greenhouse industry. 


 



Edwin Moscoso, Deputy Agricultural Commissioner, SLO County made a
presentation about his experiences with plant 
quarantines in our county over the years. 













The next speaker was Steve Yamaichi from the SLO County Integrated Waste Management Authority. Steve brought us up to date on the progress being made and also what is on the horizon for the agency. He will keep us informed as new green waste processing equipment comes on line.







John Lindsey, PG&E Meteorologist, is always a favorite speaker. John, as always, gave a very informative history of where we have come from and what can be expected in regards to our weather. 


Lynn Compton, 4th District Supervisor, County of San Luis Obispo, was our final speaker. Lynn talked about issues that are of interest to the local agricultural community. She indicated that she has spent an incredible amount of her time dealing with issues related to the development of the cannabis in the county. 



President Sandra made concluding remarks and thanked the speakers 
for their informative presentations. It was finnaly time for the official Raffle 
and nobody left empty handed...


17th Annual CCGGA Open House

We are approaching our annual Open House ; the date is set for Saturday, April 21st  and the event will go on "rain or shine".
This year we are happy to have Native Sons back on the tour and we are anticipating a great day for both promoting our association and an opportunity to fund scholarships through our plant sales.




















Looking back at the state of the central coast nursery industry in 2017   



The following is Dave Pruitt's summary (thank you for sharing) of our
local greenhouse industry in the past year, as requested fro the SLO Ag Commissioners Office: 

Hi Cara  I talked with the group that was at the meeting and the comments are general about the industry with one very consistent among the group.  Labor
  • Vegetable transplants were basically stable 2017 compared to 16 and the current market  Some growers having a little better season and other not.
  • The indoor foliage growers are experiencing  a strong market due to low supply, a small increase in popularity and lack of production from Florida due to damage for the hurricane that hit southern Florida.
  • Cut flowers generally have stabilized due to lower production as many growers have converted some of their operations over to other crops mainly cannabis. Other have switched over the past couple of years to hydroponic greens production like lettuce.  Cuts that do not import well or very niche varieties are still doing OK  There has been more promotion going into  California and/or American growing flowers. Look at the site I copied here    http://www.americangrownflowers.org/fieldtovase/  this is one of the promotional programs.
  • The biggest issue that everyone agreed on that also has the most effect on all segments of Horticulture is labor. 
a)       The availability of labor is poor
b)       The quality of labor is diminishing
c)        The cost of labor is going up faster than the value of the crops.
d)       Many growers feel they are paying more for less work and also figure you have to hire 3 to 4 new employees to find one that will stay.
On an up note I went to the opening ceremonies for the new Ag section of Nipomo High School  They got new class rooms and new shop and they have received monies to repair and upgrade the greenhouse.    We are still working on the future of horticulture, who knows what the kids of today will come up with tomorrow.
 
The Plant Sale and Greenhouse tours are being held on April 21  at Nipomo High School and 5 different greenhouses in Nipomo starting at 9 am
 
Hope this information helps with the report  Much of this is not a surprise I am sure.
Have a good week
Dave
 
Dave Pruitt
Business Development/Sales
& Technical Support
cell: 831-245-9719


 

  Nipomo High School's Greenhouse Renovation 



One of the CCGGA's "special projects" has been providing assistance to the Ag  Teachers at Nipomo High's Horticulture unit. The goal is to get the greenhouse upgraded to to a fully operational status. 

Several CCGGA Associate members have been working with Ag teacher Jessica Paulisch in furnishing bids on repairs and supplies. Crop Protection Services, AgraTech Greenhouses, Primaflora and Corey Nursery have all been involved to some extent. 



Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Nipomo High School



Representatives from the CCGGA attended the ribbon cutting ceremony
 at Nipomo High School on March 19th.  Butch, Dave and Dan joined the   staff and dignitaries in attendance to help dedicate this great new facility. 





One of several classroom and lab buildings and lots of concrete.


     Ag teacher Christine Ready and Dave Pruitt listening to a student
     presentation.








Where do you go for your local Ag news? 
 

San Luis Obispo Farm Bureau provides several sources for local information about issues, events and matters of importance to agriculturalists.

 
Ag Update E-Newsletter 
E-mailed to you eight times a year with news you need to know! Please help us sign up your friends and associates to receive it:  click here  and then e-mail the page to them. 

Farm Bureau Website
SLO Country Magazine
Mailed to Farm Bureau members or read it  online.    

SLO Farm Bureau

The  Central  Coast  Greenhouse Growers Association (CCGGA) was founded to provide a cohesive organization that acts as a good neighbor within the local and regional community, providing information and education to neighbors; other community groups or businesses; and county, state, or federal agencies.
 
The CCGGA acts on behalf of its members in resolving issues that may arise with neighboring communities, as we work to coexist and enjoy the numerous benefits the Central Coast provides for both living and growing high-quality plants.