^- 



^ 



F O R D M 



From Chuck Souther, 

 President, NH Fruit 

 Growers Association: 



"Many of you, I'm sure, are aware 

 of the history of the NH Horticul- 

 tural Society (NHHS). This organi- 

 zation was at one time THE grower 

 organization in New Hampshire, 

 holding annual meetings, publish- 

 ing the proceedings of these meet- 

 ings, and in general, serving as an 

 umbrella organization for us all. 

 But that was then; this is now; and 

 the last meeting minutes that can 

 be found date April 12, 1982! 

 None of this would alarm me much 

 if 1 hadn't witnessed the political 

 maneuvering that went on this year 

 during the debate over House Bill 

 119, the pesticide preemption bill. 

 We haven't heard the end of this 

 argument and those who seek to 

 eliminate pesticides from our tool 

 boxes will be back. It is in this 

 light that I am concerned about 

 the status of the NHHS. The 

 NHHS is responsible for nominat- 

 ing to the governor and council a 

 name to serve on the NH Pesticide 

 Control Board. This person is agri- 

 culture's representative on that 

 board. Jeff Huntington of Loudon 

 has been serving in this position 

 for many years now. I have talked 

 to leff and he assures me that he 

 is perfectly wiling to continue on. 

 So why worry? As I mentioned be- 

 fore, our foes in the debate over 

 pesticide use will stop at nothing 

 to get their results and my worry is 

 that if for some reason, Jeff were to 

 leave his position on the Pesticide 

 Control Board, we would be in a 

 somewhat embarrassing position of 

 not having a viable organization to 

 nominate a replacement. This lack 

 of an organization could be used 

 to take away "our" position. 



"Just like all of you, I have far 

 too much to do and do not relish 

 the thought of another meeting, 

 but I do feel that we should meet 

 and talk about the fate of the 

 NHHS and our responsibility for 

 the pesticide board nomination. 

 Therefore, I am taking the liberty 

 of setting up a meeting on Novem- 

 ber 15, 1993, at the Department 



of Agriculture Meeting Room. Even 

 if we decide to meet formally once 

 each year and duly record that 

 we have met, 1 will feel better — 

 and who knows: we may indeed 

 find that there are a few ways 

 that working together through 

 the NHHS might solve a common 

 problem." 



Chuck Souther 

 Apple Hill Farm 

 580 Mountain Road 

 Concord, NH 03301 

 telephone: (603)224-8862 



A Good Meeting... 



The twilight meeting at Olde En- 

 glish Greenhouses in Newmarket 

 on September 22 showed NHPGA 

 members a traditional, low-tech- 

 nology operation that has success- 

 fully balanced wholesale and retail 

 aspects with a full-service florist 



TIPS 



from the Griffin Guru 



■I JUST READ THAT 

 SOMEWHERE " 



In these days of too much 

 junk mall, I still subscribe to 

 two monthly magazines 

 which — to me — are well worth 

 the price. 



Referred to as 'trade maga- 

 zines,' they focus on subjects 

 relating to my business. 

 Products and procedures are 

 showcased and reader service 

 cards allow me to tap Into a 

 broad range of Information. 

 Articles, while sometimes on 

 the same subject, provide a 

 window to what's happening 

 within the industry far beyond 

 my front door. The price for 

 all this is not out of line: the 

 average cost Is $2.00 an Issue 

 per month — and even that Is 

 tax deductible. 



shop. 



As we toured the various houses 

 of geraniums, poinsettias and one 

 house filled with an exceptionally 

 fine crop of cyclamen, the discus- 

 sion of mutual problems and the 

 solutions found was open and full 

 of insights for everyone. 



We thank the Carpenters — Rob, 

 John, and Rose — for their hospital- 

 ity. This gathering at Olde English 

 is the last of the meetings of a 

 very successful year. 



...and a Full House 



Over 70 members of the green in- 

 dustry attended the NHPGA-spon- 

 sored five-hour five-credit Pesti- 

 cide Applicator Recertification 

 workshop at the Granite Street Bar 

 & Grill in Manchester on October 

 20. 



Speakers included Mary Anne 

 Hartman (Whitmire Research Labo- 

 ratories), Jim Zablocki (Grace Si- 

 erra), Cheryl Smith (UNH Coopera- 

 tive Extension), and Stan Swier 

 (UNH Entomology Department). 



Special thanks go to Bob 

 Demers, Jr., who organized the day, 

 Chris Robarge, in charge of adver- 

 tising and registration, and Henry 

 Huntington, the days moderator. 



The Board plans to organize 

 these day-long workshops every 

 other year (alternating with the 

 years of the New England Green- 

 house Conference) in mid-October. 

 These will be offered free of 

 charge to all NHPGA members. 



Manuals Still Available 



Some pesticide manuals from the 

 1992 New England Greenhouse 

 Conference are still available for 

 those of you who would like an ex- 

 tra copy or never got a first. 



Check with your state extension 

 office. If they don't have any, con- 

 tact Richard McAvoy at the Univer- 

 sity of Connecticut. You can send 

 $5.00 (this includes postage) to 

 him at 1376 Storrs Road, Storrs, CN 

 06269, or call him at (203) 486- 

 0627. ■¥ 



December 1993/ January 1994 



