Today we share a story from a different side of agriculture - flowers. If you have ever wondered how flowers are grown or what a flower farm is like, Sun Valley Group shares their story for you.
Here at the Sun Valley Group our goal is to “Create a World
of Color”, and how better to do that than with flowers? We are one of the largest growers of
cut flowers in the United States.
We have 3 farms in California as well as a small farm in Ontario,
Canada, just north of Buffalo, N.Y.
Our headquarters is in the seaside village of Arcata, California in
extreme northern California nestled between the legendary giant redwoods and
the roaring Pacific Ocean. It is
at this location we hybridized the famous Stargazer Lily which became the most
popular Oriental lily in the world.
The driving force behind Sun Valley is longtime President
and CEO, Lane DeVries. Lane
emigrated from Holland to America in 1983 and has been the hands on leader of
Sun Valley ever since. His passion
for growing tulips, lilies and irises has led Sun Valley to become an industry
leader. We now ship our flowers
every day of the year to all 50 states, and beyond.
Life on the flower farm is similar to most other farms, you
start early and it is hard work.
Crews are out picking in the huge greenhouses, hoop houses or fields at
the crack of dawn. The flowers are
then graded, bundled and shipped to clients; some as big as Safeway and Kroger
Supermarkets and others as small as your neighborhood florist. We have to be constantly planning
ahead. If we need a large crop of
lilies for Valentine’s Day, then we must consider this months in advance. Taking soil nutrients, weather
patterns, and sunlight ratios into account, we decide exactly what the flowers
need, and there is no room for error.
Managing the day to day ebb and flow of flowers is certainly a
challenge. Besides our three main
crops of tulips, lilies and irises, we grow a wide selection of other flowers
and bouquet items, such as hydrangeas, brassica (ornamental kale), freesia,
gerbera daisies, asters, cotinus and rosehips just to name a few. We pride ourselves on offering our
customers a large year round selection of flowers, greens and bouquets.
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| Picking lilies |
Flowers are a very perishable product, so we have had to
innovate the best ways to keep flowers fresh for the end users. Picking them at just the right time,
maintaining the Cold Chain (constant temperature control starting the moment
the flower is picked) and using the most efficient forms of transportation, all
ensure that the flower in a vase on your dining room table is the absolute
freshest. Seven days a week
at least two trucks leave our Farm, one drives 5 hours south to San Francisco
International Airport, where pallets of flowers are flown to points east. The second truck drives straight to
Oxnard CA, about 12 hours south, where the flowers are dispersed through other
flower trucking lines. The
logistics are jaw dropping and at the busy times, such as Mother’s Day, we have
trucks leaving constantly, crews working 24 hours a day and hundreds of
thousands of stems being shipped.
Sun Valley is also strongly committed to being
environmentally and socially responsible.
We have been certified by Veriflora,
which represents compliance in numerous areas, including environmental
sustainability, ecosystem management and protection, resource conservation,
energy efficiency and integrated waste management. This certification process was not an easy thing to
do; however, we now sell our flowers with full confidence that we aren’t
harming the earth in producing our spectacular blooms.
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| The flower grading line |
We really love flowers here on the farm, and especially
flowers grown in the United States.
In the last decade or two, we have seen a dramatic shift in the cut
flower industry. Not long ago, 80%
of all the cut flowers sold in the USA were grown in the USA, unfortunately,
today only 20% of the flowers you see for sale at the supermarket, at florists
or online are grown in the USA.
This huge swing has affected flower farming families and communities
across our nation. Today, South
American grown flowers are in all segments of the market, yet, they don’t have
the overall quality or environmental standards which American farmers
uphold. We are strong advocates to
educate consumers and flower professionals to insist on American grown flowers,
even if they aren’t from Sun Valley.
The best part of the flower business is the farm and the
people.
Standing out in a fiery field of
blooming crocosmia.
Watching with wonder as Lane
DeVries yanks an iris bulb from the ground, pulls out his pocket knife, slices
the bulb open and explains what is going on with the bulb.
Standing alone in a quiet, yet vast
sea of 4 foot tall Oriental lilies in the greenhouse.
Walking through a giant shade house
of blooming hydrangea.
Watching everyday as the tulips get
bigger and bigger, reaching for the sun.
Seeing the upbeat crews blasting
music as they box up hundreds of flowers to ship out to the world.
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| CEO Lane with Tulip |
We are lucky enough to see these vignettes every day. What we don’t see as often, but we know
deep down in our hearts, is that we share in the joy that someone receives when
they give flowers. When the
delivery man knocks on the door and there is a stunning
bouquet, just for you. Or the
amazing bouquet a bride carries to the altar or the peace a bunch of lilies can
bring a person as they sit in their office or home. It is truly intangible. This is why we do it.
Be sure to follow our blog: Flower Talk and like us on
Facebook to see more photos
and flowers.
Thanks to Bill Prescott and Sun Valley for sharing their story about a unique and different side of agriculture. Be sure to like their facebook page and check out their blog for more information. If you or someone you know is a farmer, ag business owner, or has a passion for plants or animals - we need your story - contact us today!