Save the Date: 2013 Service Day
We had an incredible turnout for Service Day in the past and want to make sure we keep up the great turnout and work. Please save the September 11 for 2013’s Service Day. More information is forthcoming but mark your calendars now!
INLA Service Day
We had a terrific turnout for the event this year at the INLA Service Day. The projects we worked on were around the state capitol grounds. Take a look at a video and the pictures from the event.
INLA Auction 2012
Take a look at the photos from this year’s INLA Auction. It was a great success and we hope to see you next year.
Storage and Display of Nursery Stock
The improper storage and display of nursery stock at retail locations throughout the State of Iowa has become more apparent over the past couple years primarily due to the expansion of “parking lot” garden centers not being able to provide adequate facilities. As a result, nursery stock is being improperly displayed on the hard surfaces of parking lots as required by Departmental regulations.
In Iowa, nursery stock is defined as hardy, cultivated or wild woody plants, such as trees, evergreens, shrubs and vines, and small fruits such as strawberries and raspberries.
The storage and display of nursery stock on hard surfaces (concrete or asphalt) poses stress and the potential loss of viability of plant material. Such negative impacts frequently go unnoticed until after the plant material makes its way to the consumer’s landscapes and thereafter.
Nursery Stock Dealers displaying nursery stock for sale or distribution are required to abide by the Storage and Display Standards established by Iowa Administrative Code and subsequent Administration Rules. See partial listing details below.
Administrative Rules from Code of Iowa 177A:
These regulations apply to all Iowa Nursery Stock Dealers and Growers, and will be enforced by the Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship (IDALS) anytime nursery stock is present.
Containerized nursery stock can be buffered with a minimum of two inches of mulch measured from the bottom of the container or protected from hard surfaces with the use of pallets or structures which raise nursery stock up and off the hard surfaces. Such efforts eliminate the plants direct exposure to hard surfaces and thus meet the storage and display conditions.
Please plan accordingly for the proper storage and display of your nursery stock. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (515)725-1470.
Iowa Laboratory Facility ι 2230 S. Ankeny Boulevard ι Ankeny, Iowa 50023
515-725-1470 ι [email protected]
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is an equal opportunity employer and provider.
21—46.11(177A) Storage and display. All nursery stock offered for sale or distribution shall be stored and displayed as follows:
46.11(1) Balled and burlapped stock shall be kept moist at all times and shall be kept in sawdust, shingle tow, peat, sphagnum moss or other moisture-holding material not toxic to plants, of sufficient depth to cover the top of the ball of earth.
46.11(5) Nursery stock offered for sale or movement at locations with hard surfaced areas, such as concrete or asphalt parking lots, must not be in constant, direct contact with the hard surfaced area; but must be so displayed that the roots of the stock are protected from excessive heat, drying, or other adverse conditions associated with contact from hard surfaced areas.
15 Iowa Organization Receive Grant Funds to Help Promote Specialty Crops
USDA funds will help groups promoting fruits, vegetables, nuts, and flowers Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will be awarding $238,548 grants to Iowa organizations to help enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops grown in Iowa. The Department received $276,310 through the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service to support the program. “Specialty crops are a very important part of Iowa agriculture as they allow farmers to diversify and give customers access to locally grown products,” Northey said. “These federal funds will support food safety, research and marketing efforts that will encourage Iowans to choose fruits, vegetables, nuts and flowers that are produced right here in our state.” Iowa agricultural non-profit organizations, cooperatives, specialty crop industry associations or organizations, and producer groups were eligible to apply for funding to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops.
The Department also invited public comment from specialty crop stakeholders to help identify priorities for the program and established a Review Committee to help review, evaluate, and make recommendations on which grant proposals submitted to the Department should receive funding. The maximum grant award is $20,000 and administrative and indirect costs are not allowed. Grant funds shall be used for projects that benefit and enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops industry as a whole, and will not be awarded for projects that directly benefit a particular product or provide a profit to a single organization, institution, or individual.
“Specialty Crops” that are eligible under this program are fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. The funds not passed through to Iowa organizations will be used by the Department to administer the grant. The full list of 15 grant recipients follows here:
- Geode RC&D – $20,000 for a Local Foods Coordinator to expand local food marketing opportunities in the Great River Region
- Iowa Christmas Tree Growers Association – $3,000 to provide educational speakers for their summer meetings
- Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – $20,000 to expand markets for specialty crop producers through the Farm to School program
- Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Assoc./Iowa State University – $10,000 for research to increase the cropping potential and profitability for growing scab resistant apple cultivars
- Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association – $17,100 to expand educational programming and professional development for Iowa’s Green Industry
- Iowa Lakes RC&D – $19,570 for specialty crop market development through promotion and education
- Iowa Valley RC&D – $20,000 to develop a selfsupporting, direct–to-consumer food cooperative for east central Iowa
- Iowa State Horticulture Society Expo – $16,000 to promote and encourage horticulture in Iowa through an Expo and website
- Iowa State University Extension – $19,543 to create budgets for vegetable crop production in high tunnels
- Iowa State University Dining Services – $14,620 to increase purchases of Iowa specialty crops at Iowa State University
- Mississippi Valley Growers Association –$20,000 for promotions to expand the purchase of specialty crops at local farmers markets
- NE Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative – $15,700 to provide technical assistance for Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification
- Pathfinders RCD – $10,000 for high tunnel production, business development, and marketing workshop for fruit and vegetable producers in SE Iowa
- Practical Farmers of Iowa – $20,000 for Community Supported Agriculture mini-school, workshop, and webinar
- Southern Iowa RC&D – $13,015 for research to identify a unique aronia berry marker Iowa Nursery & Landscape Association
INLA would like to thank Ann Marie VanDerZanden, Associate Professor of Horticulture at Iowa State University, for her work on the grant application. INLA would not have received the $17,100 grant without Ann Marie’s hard work on the application. Ten thousand dollars of the grant will be used towards drawing in speakers for the Shade Tree Short Course & INLA Trade Show. The remaining grant funding will be used to create webinars for INLA members. Please look for more information as programs are established.
Recent Comments