Fun 'N Sun Weekend� 2013

July 17-20

Fess Parker's Doubletree Resort

Santa Barbara, CA

•  Click here for program

ABCs of Plant Pathology (English and Spanish) 

July 24, 2013

8:00am - 11:30am English

12:00pm - 3:30pm Spanish

Map and driving directions 

Moderator: Michelle Le Strange, Farm Advisor, UCCE Tulare and Kings Counties

English Presenter: Dr. Deborah Mathews, Assistant Specialist in Cooperative Extension, Plant Pathology & Assistant Plant Pathologist - Ornamental Crops, UC Riverside

Presentador (Sesi�n Espa�ol): Dra. Mar�a de la Fuente, Asesora Agr�cola, UC Extensi�n Cooperativa Condado de Monterey

Continuing Education Units: DPR and CCA units requested

This half-day workshop focuses on aspects of plant pathology that are relevant to greenhouse and nursery production of ornamental plants. Attendees will learn about the Disease Triangle consisting of host, pathogen and environment. The interaction of these three components is the foundation of plant pathology. The various types of pathogens that affect ornamental crops including fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses will be presented. Other topics will include emerging plant diseases such as Boxwood Blight and Impatiens Downy Mildew, sampling diseased plants for testing, diagnosing plant diseases, and rapid assays for identifying pathogens. Methods for preventing or managing diseases including sanitation and integrated pest management will be introduced. A hands-on session at the end of the workshop will enable attendees to see live examples of local plant diseases.

Este taller de medio d�a se centra en los aspectos de la patolog�a de las plantas que son relevantes para invernaderos y viveros de producci�n de plantas ornamentales. Los asistentes aprender�n sobre el Tri�ngulo de la enfermedad consistente en hospedero, pat�geno y el medio ambiente. La interacci�n de estos tres componentes es el fundamento de las enfermedades de plantas. Se presentar�n los diversos tipos de pat�genos que afectan a los cultivos ornamentales incluyendo hongos, bacterias, nem�todos y virus. Otros temas incluyen las enfermedades emergentes de plantas tales como tiz�n Boj y cenicilla del Impatiens, el muestreo de plantas enfermas, el diagn�stico de enfermedades de las plantas, y ensayos r�pidos para la identificaci�n de ciertos agentes pat�genos. Se explicar�n m�todos para prevenir o controlar enfermedades como el saneamiento y manejo integrada de plagas. Una sesi�n pr�ctica al final del taller permitir� a los asistentes ver ejemplos reales de enfermedades de las plantas locales.

Registration $35 per person

(credit cards only)

(checks or credit cards)

(cheque o tarjeta de cr�dito)

• Click here for English Flyer

• Click here for Spanish Flyer

CALIFORNIA CERTIFIED FLORIST (CCF)

EXAM PREPARATION CLASSES SCHEDULED

The California State Floral Association (CSFA) &  

The California Certified Florist (CCF) Program

Present:

CCF Prep Classes

Sunday, September 22nd

Two Locations:

A To Wholesale Floral Supply Inc.  

1511 E. McFadden Avenue,

Santa Ana, CA  92705

Northern California - Location To Be Announced

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!

For More Information call the CSFA office at 916-448-5266 or go to the CCF website at:  www.californiacertifiedflorist.org 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) challenged House Speaker John Boehner (R, OH) to bring the Senate's immigration bill and Farm Bill to the House floor, but Boehner had none of it as the House narrowly approved its Farm Bill, and the Speaker told reporters this week, "The Senate immigration bill is dead on arrival - again."

Boehner has made it clear over the last several weeks his party will not accept the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform package or its approach to immigration law rewrite, and will pass several shorter bills to rewrite federal immigration law.  Further, he said he won't bring a bill to the floor not supported by the majority of the House GOP.  While the Senate came to an 11th-hour compromise over the path to citizenship for illegal aliens by beefing up its border security actions, the House GOP has rejected the Senate's citizenship approach.   

This week, Rep. Raul Labrador (R, ID) floated the idea of "legal status" for undocumented workers, a step short of citizenship. Democrats rejected the idea saying all 11 million undocumented workers in the U.S. must be placed on a path to citizenship.   

House Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Goodlatte (R, VA) has moved five bills through his committee.  One of Goodlatte's efforts rewrites ag guest worker law, but in a manner different from that negotiated between ag growers and the United Farm Workers, underlying the Senate's approach.  The other bills deal with border security, interior enforcement, employment verification (E-Verify), and high-tech worker visas.  This week it was announced the committee will take up a bill designed to deal with so-called "dreamers," the American-born children or children brought to the U.S. by their undocumented parents. The approach would call for steps necessary to reach citizenship.

Here are ten traits that any great employer should recognize and reward instantly.

As a longtime employer of dozens, I was always grateful to have good employees. It takes a lot to recruit and maintain top talent. Every once in a while special employees come along that just really seem to get it. They drive the entire company forward in ways that were unimaginable. Advancement and reward is never an issue for these rock stars because they understand the power of cause and effect, and only a worthy company can retain them and afford them.

Here are 10 things amazing employees seem to do effortlessly. Here's how to help your great employees be even more amazing.

They understand they're part of something bigger and more worthwhile than just their job. They look to learn other areas of the business and be fluent in finance and management so they'll positively impact multiple areas of the company.

What you can do: Invest in material and seminars on business basics like accounting, marketing, and management so all employees have easy access to learn and grow.

They treat the company as if it were theirs. They look to make prudent decisions about expenses and opportunities with the long-term future of the company in mind. They easily assess risk vs. reward, selflessly when making decisions.

What you can do: Be transparent in your business. The more you share your financials and philosophy, the easier it is for employees to make the right decisions.

You don't have to be in sales or marketing to help a company grow. Strong networkers from all divisions see company growth as a collective effort and constantly keep their eyes open for ways to more than pay for themselves.

It was supposed to take just an hour, but wound up taking the whole day due to political maneuvering to kill the measure, but in the end House GOP leadership passed an agriculture- program-only Farm Bill yesterday by a narrow 216-208 vote.  No Democrat voted for the bill, as the minority invoked procedural after procedural vote to delay the measure and allow them to speak against it.  Sixteen Republicans voted against the bill, a far cry from the 62 who voted "nay" on the conventional Farm Bill three weeks ago.   

The strategy of splitting the House Agriculture Committee-approved Farm Bill into a farm program-only bill and one reauthorizing federal food stamp, nutrition and feeding programs was a highly controversial and risky political gamble for House leaders. The move pitted traditional ag interests opposed to the move - committee ranking member Rep. Collin Peterson (D, MN) actively spoke against the bill on the floor - against those who saw it as the only way to get a Farm Bill to conference with the Senate.  The move also guts the estimated savings in the bill, with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reporting this week the bill as passed by the House represents about $13 billion in savings over 10 years, compared to nearly $40 billion in the committee-approved bill.   

Pledging to work with anyone, any time, House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R, OK), called passage a "huge step forward" in getting the bill to conference with the Senate.  Peterson said after the vote, "The House majority's decision to ignore the will of more than 500 organizations with a stake in the farm bill, setting the stage for draconian cuts to nutrition programs and eliminating future farm bills altogether would be laughable if it weren't true."

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D, MI), displeased with the House action, released a statement, saying, "The bill passed by the House today is not a real Farm Bill, and is an insult to rural America, which is why it's strongly opposed by more than 500 farm, food and conservation groups."  She said it's obvious the Senate Farm Bill will be the base bill for conference committee action.   

The bill approved yesterday took the ag committee-passed Farm Bill, generally as amended on the House floor three weeks ago, removed Title IV, the nutrition section, and added a section repealing 1949's so-called "permanent law." It's these farm laws passed in the 1930s and 1940s - setting archaic supports for just a few commodities and requiring reauthorizing a Farm Bill every five years - which make up the fall back should a new Farm Bill not be enacted.  The 2013 bill replaces 1949, and requires "permanent" law be updated every five years.  No other amendments were permitted.

Ag Opposed the Split --Farm and crop production groups generally supported keeping the two sections of the bill in one legislative package. A letter supporting this approach from over 530 state, regional and national groups went to House leadership last week.  However, nearly all groups were careful not to actively oppose the ag-only bill, but several expressed concern about repealing 1949 permanent law and replacing it with the 2013 farm program language - particularly if they disagree with commodity program rewrites - without committee discussion or floor debate. By making the 2013 version "permanent" law, commodity programs continue if Congress never writes another Farm Bill.  However, this provision is likely not going to survive in conference, insiders said, and critics contend it will make writing future farm bills tougher.

Lucas grudgingly agreed to the floor strategy earlier this week, but his public statements make it clear his goal was to try anything that got his committee's bill into conference with the Senate's approved bill, where critics argue the nutrition title could be reattached to the conference report.   

House Democrats fighting to save the food stamp program denounced the strategy, taking to the floor throughout the day and accusing Republicans of taking food away from children. They fear a stand-alone nutrition bill may never appear or that deeper spending cuts would be demanded on the House floor.  Outside groups who strongly opposed the Farm Bill defeated last month, declared their opposition to an ag-only bill claiming it does not cut USDA spending enough, particularly in the crop insurance title.  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also said he wants to see the Farm Bill contain both ag and nutrition programs, even though President Obama threatened a veto of the bill approved by the full committee and the revised package.