The Michigan State University Extension floriculture team is activated to declare an educational programme for specialty cutting flower growers at the 2023 Michigan Greenhouse Growers Expo , which will take place at the Devos Place Conference Center in Grand Rapids , Michigan , Dec. 5 – 7 . The education docket features a healthy balance of production and business management topics , admit Anemone and Ranunculus production , recruiting and retain local project , smoke management , and a priming on agricultural cooperatives . This program has been designed to aid raiser of all experience levels and is pose by a combination of commercial flower growers , university researchers , and manufacture specialists .

Program highlightsThe follow sessions will all take place on Wednesday , Dec. 6 .

Producing High - Quality Anemone and Ranunculus in MichiganLindsay Daschner , Forget Me Not farm

Lindsay Daschner and Tater ( bottom center ) from Forget Me Not farm .

Anemone and Ranunculus are attempt after by florists and consumer alike , but producing high - quality stem can be a challenging prospect due to their specific environmental requisite . Join us as Lindsay Daschner from Forget Me Not Farms walk us through her Anemone and Ranunculus production cognitive process and shares some tips for growing consistently gorgeous stems .

Speaker bio : Lindsay Daschner is the owner and manipulator of Forget Me Not Farms , a supplier of fresh - cut , sustainably grown blossom in Ottawa Lake , Michigan . After graduating from Michigan State University in 2016 , she immediately live on to work set forth her blossom farm and began build her first nursery in January 2017 . From that point forth , bury Me Not Farms has love uniform increase and now has a combined half - acre of protected grow space and 2 demesne of outdoor output fields to provide Michigan and Ohio florists with seasonally relevant impertinent cutting flower nine months out of the year .

Recruiting and Retaining Workers from Select Sources of the Local Labor MarketIt ’s no secret that ascertain and retaining mellow - caliber employees is challenge . In this session , Lindsay Daschner from Forget Me Not Flowers and Nikki Deming from Kalamazoo Specialty Plants divvy up their experiences in working successfully with youthful generation ( high school and college students ) and the Amish residential area . Attraction and retention efforts , as well as caller acculturation , will also be discussed .

Weed Management Recommendations for Specialty Cut Flower ProductionManaging weeds in specialty cut heyday production can be challenging due to scurvy damage doorway , labeling restriction , and high-pitched DoL costs . In this seance , our speakers will hash out major non - chemical smoke control techniques , possible herbicide programs , and how to check some specific problematical weed metal money . A inadequate presentment will be keep an eye on by a facilitated Q&A session .

The Ins and Outs of Cooperatives and CollectivesHave you wonder what it would be like to form ( or join ) a cut back flower co-op ? Join us as we explore the fundamentals of agricultural cooperatives and talk over the welfare and drawback of bring together forces with your fellow growers . Bill Knudson from Michigan State University will start us out by providing an overview of agrarian cooperative . We ’ll then hear from members of three Michigan flower cooperative / collectives as they take tour tell their stories and sharing what they have learn . Note : Due to the complex nature of the subject matter , this session may run longer than common .

Speaker bio : Bill Knudson is an agricultural economist at the Michigan State University Product Center . His principal areas of work are in area crops , livestock products , and cooperatives of all types . Prior to conjoin the Product Center in 2003 , he was a policy advisor for the Michigan Senate Majority Policy Office , where he extend USDA , higher education , and appropriations .

reference : canr.msu.edu