ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS 



Business Short Course 



A two-day course entitled, "A 

 Business Short Course: Strategies 

 for Today's Business Climate," 

 to be held at the Marriot in 

 Worcester, Massachusetts, on 

 November 17-18, will give manag- 

 ers and staff of landscape and 

 nursery businesses "the important 

 techniques and strategies needed 

 to survive, and perhaps even 

 thrive, in today's business climate." 

 Topics include the difference be- 

 tween cash flow and profit or loss, 

 managing accounts receivable, in- 

 ventory management, investment 

 analysis, pricing and bidding, and 

 labor management. Case studies 

 will be discussed. 



Co-sponsored by the Massachu- 

 setts Nurseryman's Association and 

 the Massachusetts Cooperative Ex- 

 tension Service, the course costs 

 $45.00 per day. (This includes 

 lunch and coffee.) Registration 

 deadline is November 13. For 

 more, contact John Bragg at (508) 

 534-1775 or Kathleen Carroll at 

 (413) 545-0895. 



Buxton Begonia Update 



New greenhouse — new direction! 

 Buxton Branch, American Begonia 

 Society, has maintained the 

 Barlcley Collection of begonias 

 for many years at Northeastern 's 

 greenhouse in Woburn, MA. Last 

 Easter, the collection was moved 

 into a rented facility in Sudbury. 



The greenhouse is a 35x110 

 glass house erected in the forties. 

 Buxton found it complete with old 

 carnation-growing benches still 

 filled with soil. They've used 

 these as natural capillary mats, 

 keeping them soaked, thereby in- 

 creasing the humidity and reducing 

 watering needs. Two hot air fur- 

 naces have been added; a plastic 

 curtain may be put up to establish 

 two temperature zones this winter. 

 The greenhouse is maintained by a 

 volunteer staff. 



Buxton currently maintains a 

 collection of over 500 begonia spe- 



cies and hybrids at Sudbury. This 

 collection boasts hybrids from the 

 mid-1800s, some of which may not 

 survive elsewhere. 



The Barkley Collection is the 

 only large non-commercial collec- 

 tion in New England, but it may 

 soon lose some of its non-commer- 

 cial status. In order to keep the 

 greenhouse going, Buxton Branch 

 has decided to embark on a 

 program of growing some of the 

 varieties for wholesale markets. 



For further information, write 

 Frank Green, 20 Cross Street, 

 Fitchburg, MA 01420. 



Minor Use Pesticide Bill 



from AAN Update, July 20, J 992, 

 arid information from the Minor Crop 

 Farmer Alliance 



Senators Daniel Inouye (D-Hl) 

 and Richard Lugar (R-IN) intro- 

 duced S.2980, the 'Minor Crop 

 Assistance Act,' to stem the ex- 

 pected loss of pesticides needed on 

 so-called minor crops — which in- 

 clude nearly all fruit, vegetable, 

 and nursery crops. The bill has 

 two purposes. First, 

 it provides incentives to chemical 

 manufacturers to reregister safe 

 minor-use pesticides. 



Second, the bill would add 

 flexibility to the EPA's regulatory 

 system by providing for "the en- 

 hancement and effective coordina- 

 tion of current progrart^s in USDA 

 and EPA." It directs the EPA to 

 grant conditional registrations of 

 pesticides that would not create an 

 adverse effect on the environment 

 and provides for a new minor use 

 program to be established within 

 the USDA. 



S.2980 is a companion to the 

 House bill (H.R.4764) which has 

 been successfully folded into the 

 main FIFRA reauthorization bill 

 and is now awaiting full House 

 Agricultural Committee action. 



Hurricane Relief 



"Reports from our fellow nursery- 

 men in Florida indicate that Dade 



County's nursery industry had been 

 virtually wiped out. Most of the 

 nursery owners aren't currently 

 concerned with their nurseries. 

 Many of their homes, and those 

 of their employees, were either 

 destroyed or severely damaged. 

 There is no power, water, fuel, 

 or telecommunications. Authorities 

 have indicated it could be months 

 before services are restored." 



The Florida Nurserymen and 

 Growers' Association (FNGA) 

 and the Florida Foliage Associa- 

 tion have already started trucking 

 supplies to the nursery growers in 

 the Dade County area. 



NENA has sent a contribution 

 to the FNGA and are asking its 

 members to do the same. The NH 

 Plant Growers' Association has 

 also made a contribution in the 

 name of all its members. If people 

 wish to send their own personal 

 contributions, the address is: 

 FNGA 



Hurricane Relief Fund, 5401 

 Kirkman Road, Suite 650, Or- 

 lando, FL 32819. 



Fafard Dies at Age 92 



Conrad Fafard, founder and retired 

 President and CEO of Conrad 

 Fafard &. Company of Agawam, 

 MA, died Sunday, September 6, at 

 the HoUywocxl Medical Center in 

 Hollywood, Florida. Known as "the 

 father of the peat moss industry in 

 Canada," he was born in Sainte- 

 Germaine, Quebec in 1900. In the 

 1930*s, he began importing peat 

 moss from Germany; when World 

 War II cut off his supplies, he be- 

 gan producing his own product at 

 Sainte-Bonadventure, Quebec. The 

 Canadian peat moss industry grew 

 from there. 



Fafard retired in 1970 and lived 

 in Fort Lauderdale, FLA, and East 

 Longmeadow, MA. He's survived 

 by his wife of 62 years, children, 

 and grandchildren. 



.Memorial contributions may be 

 made to St. Joseph's Educational 

 Fund, 82 Howard Street, Spring- 

 field, MA 01105. »•■ 



October/November 1992 11 



