News

At the start of our busy growing season, we are offering members a quick glance at news they can use. This will be a monthly publication with breaking news items of interest to members. We’d love to showcase our members—feel free to send photos, stories, and profiles of your business—short glimpses of our green industry […]

The purpose of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) is to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Specialty crops are defined as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).” Additional specialty crop categories and details here. For details and how to apply, click here – Deadline to apply is April 8, 2022, 5:00 pm. Three […]

What are the Best Curbside Pickup Strategies for Your Business to Implement in 2021? What Successes Have Other Retailers Had? Get answers to these questions and more in Class 2 of the E-Commerce Mastery Series: Curbside Pickup Powerup Wednesday, January 27, 2–3:30 PM, EST In this collaborative workshop, you’ll hear from independent garden center owners […]

To all MFGA members and Floriculture Growers in Massachusetts Here is another new USDA assistance program to help our floriculture and nursery growers. It is entitled “Coronavirus Food assistance Program 2 for Floriculture and Nursery Crop Products.” Don’t Let the title with the word “Food” confuse you. This aid Program pays out assistance funds to […]

Dr. Lynn Adler at the University of Massachusetts is proposing new research to assess whether pollen from certain flowers can reduce bee disease. This builds on her lab’s discovery that sunflower pollen dramatically reduces a common disease of bumble bees, both in the lab and on farms. This new research would expand these results by […]

On September 25, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) announced finding two dead specimens of the invasive spotted lanternfly (SLF) in the towns of Milford and Norwood, Massachusetts. MDAR notes they were brought in on materials that originated in Pennsylvania counties currently under a spotted lanternfly quarantine. MDAR was also recently notified that […]

Click here to download this letter with a sheet included for organizing your information needed to generate your application. If you grow Nursery Crops defined as “decorative or nondecorative plants grown in a container or controlled environment for commercial sale” (CFAP 1 Handbook, 208A) and/or Floriculture defined as “cut flowers and cut greenery from annual […]

USDA announced on August 11 that nursery crops and cut flowers are eligible for CFAP. Specifically: Nursery crops means decorative or non-decorative plants grown in a container or controlled environment for commercial sale. Cut flowers includes cut flowers and cut greenery from annual and perennial flowering plants grown in a container or controlled environment for […]

Please note, new samples for analysis will not be accepted until the backlog of orders is significantly reduced. Orders will be processed in the order they were received.

April 5, 2020 From: MFGA Executive Board Jeff Doherty, President Ed Bemis, Vice President Bart King, Past President Bob Luczai, Secretary-Treasurer Jason Wentworth, MFGA Legislative Advocate Dear MFGA Members, Greenhouse/Garden Center Industry, Since before Governor Baker’s “essential services” designation was released this past Tuesday, we have asserted that our industry IS essential. We are an […]

Ideas about how to approach retailing during COVID-19

To all MFGA members, Greenhouse/Garden Center Industry, We thank Governor Baker and his Administration for clearly designating that the services our garden centers, greenhouses and nurseries provide are “essential” and of benefit to our communities in the midst of the current crisis. On the retail end, any retail operation is required to sell either food […]

To all MFGA members, Greenhouse/Garden Center Industry Please read our latest information on guidelines for helping our efforts to designate garden centers “essential.” You may also click here to download this information in a doc file. MFGA Guidance and Call to Action – COVID-19 AND OUR BUSINESS From: MFGA Executive Board Jeff Doherty, President Ed […]

Here  are some simple fact sheets regarding COVID19 on the symptoms of the Virus and Prevention in both English and Spanish. These are all from the CDC website. COVID19 Symptoms: English pdf | Spanish pdf COVID19 Prevention: English pdf | Spanish pdf It is important to be well informed with factual information for you and […]

Learn about businesses and organizations defined as providing “COVID-19 Essential Services” under Governor Baker’s March 23, 2020 Emergency Order Governor Charlie Baker issued an emergency order requiring all businesses and organizations that do not provide “COVID-19 Essential Services” to close their physical workplaces and facilities to workers, customers and the public as of Tuesday, March […]

WINCHESTER — In an effort to spotlight horticultural businesses that have diversified their operations, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Commissioner John Lebeaux was today joined by officials from the Massachusetts Flower Growers’ Association for a tour of flower nursery/greenhouse operations around the Commonwealth. Covering over 30,301 acres of land, Massachusetts’ 867 greenhouses and nurseries […]

On June 3, 2015 the National Pollinator Garden Network (NPGN), an unprecedented collaboration of national, regional, conservation, and gardening groups, launched the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge. This is a strategic effort to promote and protect the needs of pollinators in North America. In the fall of 2014, AmericanHort and seven other organizations were convened to […]

EEA Secretary Matthew Beaton Celebrates with Tree Planting at Elementary School CHARLEMONT– May 15, 2015 Governor Baker has proclaimed today, May 15, 2015, “Plant Something Day” to support the Commonwealth’s many flower and nursery growers. In celebration, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Matthew Beaton and Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) Commissioner John Lebeaux joined […]

We are in the process of printing and mailing out the 2015 member directory! If you prefer to have a quick look at the up-to-date directory of wholesale and specialty crops, we invite you to download the pdf.