Progress report for ONC22-108
Project Information
Demand for cut flowers has created an outlet for small-scale, limited-resource farmers to provide field-grown flowers for florists, weddings, and other buyers. Conversations with farmers revealed that challenges existed in marketing and promoting their products to buyers who had limited agriculture knowledge of flower seasonality or familiarity only with international cut flower trade.
This project will gather data from farmers on field-grown and high tunnel flower production in Ohio including flower species grown, length of growing season, and bloom availability based on regional differences in Ohio. The deliverable of the grant will be a printed brochure and a searchable database that will be available to growers to use for planning purposes and to educate florists and other buyers on the seasonality of cut flowers.
Sustainable agricultural systems are supported by elements of economic viability, environmental soundness, and social responsibility. Field and tunnel-grown local flowers use less water and have a smaller carbon footprint than most commercially available blooms, which are grown in energy-intensive greenhouses in other countries and rely on refrigerated shipping. The resources generated by this project will help promote more sustainable options to buyers, keep money in local communities, and improve outcomes for flower farmers throughout the region.
The objectives of this project are:
- Generate a digital and printed calendar of seasonal cut flower availability that growers across Ohio can use to provide customers with a resource on seasonal cut flower availability throughout the year.
- Create planting schedules from collected data that growers can use for planning purposes.
- Develop a network of local cut flower producers and generate a list of future extension and research opportunities.
- Develop a carbon footprint comparison between Ohio farms and the existing international model of flower distribution to provide accurate sustainability metrics for marketing and research purposes.
Cooperators
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
- (Researcher)
- (Educator and Researcher)
Research
Central State University Extension partnered with five cut flower growers located in each region of Ohio (NW, SW, S, NE, SE) to collect plant harvest and carbon sequestering data and information in order to build a digital tool and searchable database to educate buyers on the seasonality of cut flowers.
The five partnering cut flower farms collected Plant data in 2022 for the following categories: Crop common name / Genus, Variety, Color, [(A) Annual, 9B) Biennial, or (P) Perennial], Seed Start Date, Potting Up-date, Field Planting Date, [Direct Sown (DS), Transplant (TP), or Other], Crate grown (Yes/No), Type of Growing Media if crate grown, Planting in Protected Culture (yes/No), What kind of Protected culture.
The five partnering cut flower farms collected Harvest data in 2022 for the following categories: Crop, Color, Harvest Date, Harvest Stage, Availability at Harvest (Low increasing, Full Harvest, Low decreasing), Planted in Protected Culture (Yes/No), What kind of Protected Culture, Notes.
The five partnering cut flower farms collected Weekly Observations information for the following categories: Date, Weekly Weather Observations, [Soil Amendments or Fertilizers Applied? What, How, & Which Crops], [Pest control measures, which methods, pests, and crops], and [Disease Control Measures Taken? Which method, disease, and crops?]
In addition, soil samples were collected and analyzed for carbon matter from each of the five partnering farms. This information will be compared with existing data together with additional information that will be collected from our historical collaborating farm partners.
All members of the Central State University Extension team partners completed the university-required IRB training and filed for an IRB question approval and IRB exemption. This process has slowed down the collection data from our historical data collaborating farms. Historical data collection will commence shortly.
The Central State University Extension has been reviewing proposals for the development of the digital tool and database. Once we have selected a proposal that meets the needs of the grant partners we will commission the development of the web-based digital tool and database.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Grower Communication – Central State University Extension participated in a Grower/ Researcher grant program panel at the 2023 OEFFA conference where we shared information with growers on our SARE project. Forty individuals participated in the training event and learned more about the project we are engaged in with information on the proposal, the type of information we are collecting and why, and how the digital tool will be deployed once the project is complete.
At the 2024 OEFFA Conference, 12 farms expressed interest in learning more about the Floral MarketMaker application under development and potential interest in contributing secondary historical data to improve the application results.
In April 2024, a presentation about the MarketMaker application was shared with the Farmer Veteran Coalition Ohio Chapter.
In May 2024, at the CIFT Ag Forum, Central State University Extension will share information to growers and buyers about the Floral MarketMaker application under development and ways that growers and buyers can proactively develop a farm profile in the existing MarketMaker system to improve their market visibility and access to buyers.
Project Outcomes
Central State University Extension has contracted with Food MarketMaker https://foodmarketmaker.com/ to develop a digital application for cut-flower growers using the plant/harvest data collected by the five cut-flower grower partners. The floralmarketmaker.com name is currently reserved for this application which is still under development. This application is similar to the What's in Season application but focuses on cut flowers instead of produce. Buyers, using this application, will be able to project future cut flower availability based on grower seed starting data, weather data, and estimated harvest projections. The more cut-flower growers use the tool, the better it will get at predicting cut-flower availability for a region.
Central State University Extension has identified secondary cut flower growers interested in contributing historical data to improve the application tool. We are still collecting data from these individuals.
Once the data analysis is complete, it will be shared with MarketMaker who can update the digital application and prepare it for grower/buyer testing.
Central State University Extension, because of the SARE Partnership Grant, purchased a MarketMaker hub licensing agreement for the State of Ohio. This gives other Ohio farming-affiliated organizations access to plug into MarketMaker at a reduced rate and benefits all growers who use the MarketMaker application, not just cut-flower growers. In response, the newly formed Farmer Veteran Coalition Ohio Chapter, purchased a plug-in for the regional chapter to help Veteran Farmers register their farms in the MarketMaker database system.
Central State has begun to share information about the upcoming Floral MarketMaker Application at events like the 2024 OEFFA Conference and the CIFT May 2024 Ag Forum.
When the digital application is complete a formal roll-out will be shared with cut-flower growers including hands-on workshops to train them to create a farm profile in Floral MarketMaker and upload information into the system.
This project has generated a lot of data on cut flower production, as well as, the carbon footprint associated with Ohio Cut Flower Production Systems. While the focus of this SARE grant was to develop a digital tool to help Buyers and Cut Flower Growers communicate cut flower availability, there may be ways to analyze the data to improve cut flower production systems.