Nick Huizinga, general manager of Hearty Fresh Inc., said weather conditions will affect commodity production during the 2013 season. “We did not get into our fields until the third week of May, which is abnormally late,” he told The Produce News. “Weather has been very unpredictable. So it’s hard to say what quality, sizing, yields, etc. will look like compared to years past. We had a very wet, cold spring, and a lot can change from now until harvest.”

The California Agricultural Statistics Review 2012-13 provided a snapshot for pear production during 2011.

• California ranked second nationally for its pear production during 2011. The state’s producers accounted for 26 percent of national volume for a total value of $98.7 million.

• The category “other pears” reached record production in 2011.

• Bartlett pear production increased 15 percent for a total value $60.7 million in 2011.

• Tonnage for utilized production in 2011 was set at 252,000 tons for all pears.

The pending expiration July 31 of the Andean Trade Promotion & Drug Eradication Act and the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences program, referred to as GSP, will increase the price of flowers imported from Ecuador into the United States by 6.8 percent by slapping an import tariff on them.

The Ecuadorian Trade Office in Chicago launched a campaign, “Keep Trade Going,” on May 15 to highlight the country’s importance as a U.S. trading partner as well as the quality of Ecuador’s products.

Why discuss fashion in a floral venue? After all, our industry sells flowers, not fashion, right? Yes, but fashion is influenced by pop culture. And our consumer base is looped in more than ever to what it hot in pop culture-and will spend money on it.

Although we may still be selling traditional flowers, we can ensure arrangements and merchandising resonate with our consumer base by incorporating some fashion and pop culture. Below are fashion trends, followed by “floral take-away” tips.

The Memorial Day Flowers Program, a private, nonprofit foundation, organized the donation and distribution of 240,000 roses at Arlington National Cemetery and 207 other Memorial Day events across the country in 27 states.

A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture summary found that the total wholesale value of floriculture crops sold by operations with $100,000 or more in sales in the 15 key states for floriculture was $3.99 billion for 2012, up one percent from the 2011 total.