In the United States and Canada, there has been an increase in the demand for local specialty cut flowers and a corresponding increase in production. To assess the needs of the industry, we electronically surveyed 1098 cut flower producers and handlers in the United States and Canada regarding their current cut flower production and postharvest problems, and customer issues. We received a total of 210 responses, resulting in a 19% response rate. The results showed that the main production problem was insect management; crop timing was the second most important problem and disease management was the third. Crop timing encompasses a range of related issues such as determining the correct harvest stage, harvest windows that are too short, flowering all at once, or lack of control when the crop is ready to harvest. The main postharvest problems were temperature management, hydration, and flower food management. Timing and stem length were the two most mentioned species-specific production issues, with each one listed by 10% or more of the respondents for eight of the total 31 species. Regarding on-farm postharvest handling, hydration and vase life were the two most mentioned issues; they were reported for five and three species, respectively. For postharvest during storage and transport, damage and hydration were the most common issues; these were listed for three species each. The most commonly mentioned customer complaints were vase life and shattering, which were reported for six and two species, respectively. These results will allow researchers and businesses to focus on the major cut flower production and postharvest issues and on crops that are most in need of improvement in North America.

Short food supply chains, such as those of fruit and vegetable farmers delivering fresh product directly to restaurants, promise potentially higher returns to primary producers by avoiding the expense of intermediary distributors. Direct farm-to-chef supply chains also present a lower barrier to entry for small and beginning farmers, who are often scaled-out of the restaurant market by the volume requirements of food service distributors. High transactions costs for direct exchange, however, impede growth in this type of market channel. This From the Field paper describes an ongoing initiative by a regional food service distributor to play an active and collaborative role in the farm to food service supply chain, acting as a value chain partner to identify produce items desired by chefs, supply this market intelligence to growers and to garner commitments from farmers to grow and chefs to buy these products in upcoming seasons. By the eighth month of the effort, the distributor had assigned one of its produce buyers to act as a local specialist, working directly with chefs and local growers; and had initiated a series of mini local food shows to provide chefs and growers opportunities for face-to-face communication. The ultimate objective—to garner product-specific commitments from chefs and from growers—remains a work in progress.