2021 MVGA News
2021 MVGA Annual Meeting
MVGA held its Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 18. announcing a full schedule of grower meetings and events in 2022. Even with the challenges of COVID, Thirty (33) growers including OSU and USDA-ARS representatives were in attendance to be treated to Michael's Gourmet Catering’s delicious dinner and deserts.
Specialty Crop Grant Update
Many thanks to Black Diamond, Bostdorff, Klotz, and Wardell's Greenhouse and Garden Centers for participating in our May/June research project which is now completed! The purpose of the project was to gather data on different characteristics of generational purchases:
Age group (generation classification) of each purchase
Male/Female
Sales Sign/Environmental Sign/No Sign
# of Purchases
No Purchase (Item or tag picked up, examined, then set down)
Store Location
Date/Week #
Time in seconds needed to make a purchase, or not
Over 10,000 video clips were viewed to gather generational data on purchasing habits for research purposes. Below are a few interesting observations so far. Many are intuitively known by the greenhouse operator.
If the customer picks up the plant or its care label to evaluate, it generally results in a sale.
If both a male and female shop together, it is almost always the female that is making the selection and buying the plant…and the male is pushing it in the cart :)
Floral displays that have some empty spaces or that were more sparse seemed to imply to the buyer that those items remaining had greater value because they were popular purchases.
Occasionally customers looked to the back of the display to hunt for a nicer plant thinking no buyer discovered it yet. In reality, the grower often times put their best products in the front of the display.
Kids make a difference. If they are confined to a wagon or cart, it generally takes slightly longer for a purchase/no-purchase decision. If children were not confined and free to walk around, a purchasing decision was shortened by maybe 50% when compared to no children.
As the season progressed into June, shoppers became more choosey because they were looking for specific replacements that may have either died or needed more of the same plants to expand their garden.
Would you like to hear the Podcast between Executive Director Joe Perlaky and MSU Consultant Bridget Behe that discusses some of the findings above? Click on the links below!
Podcast, August 10th. Pt.1 (10:10) - Joe Perlaky MVGA Executive Director and Bridget Behe, MSU Consultant discuss initial findings of May-June 2021 research results.
Podcast, August 10th. Pt.2 (14:16) - Joe Perlaky MVGA Executive Director and Bridget Behe, MSU Consultant discuss initial findings of May-June 2021 research results.
A complete analysis of results are forthcoming.
This research is part of a 2-year comprehensive Specialty Crop grant entitled "Plant Something! Reaching Your Generational Customers" so far, there are approximately 1,000 purchases recorded. This information will offer exciting shopping insight, which will be shared later in the year for retail operators to review.
Grower Succession—Generational Transition Planning: Passing the Torch
Do you have a succession plan for your grower operation? Have you talked with your family about your legacy? The process of succession—transition is complicated and different for every farm/grower family. All family stakeholders should be involved in the discussion.
On March 25, MVGA, in collaboration with Central State University and the Ohio Floriculture Organization, held a workshop via ZOOM to discuss how to best transition your operation when the time comes. Free available resources and tools were made available.
Specialty Crop Grant
MVGA was awarded a $50K Specialty Crop Grant to research and promote its Floriculture Marketing Program. The 2- year grant officially started on October 01, 2020. The title of the award is “Plant Something! Reaching Your Generational Customers.”
This is the unique grant opportunity that features retail floriculture, the only one awarded in Ohio and only a few in the country! We need retail participation with a minimum of 10 retail growers.
The Marketing committee plays a significant role in discussing and implementing our USDA- Specialty Crop Grant this year.
Social Media Update
The Marketing Committee selected Brooke Sherrieb to replace Leah Bench, who stepped down at the end of January to pursue her nursing career.
Brooke is the graphic Designer/Sign Shop Operator at Waldo and Associates and has plenty of social media experience. We are lucky to have her. If you have any questions for her, she can be reached at 419.601.7523 or Brooke.Sherrieb.MVGA@ gmail.com
2020 MVGA News
After COVID-19
Members of the MVGA organization and their garden centers continue to follow guidelines set forth by both the states of Ohio, Michigan and Nationally.
Starting in May, greenhouse and garden center operations gradually opened their doors to public access with certain restrictions in place. It is still a good idea to call ahead for specific details per location to gain insight on best practice shopping procedures or pickup services.
As it turns out, most members reported a stellar sales year after a rocky start in the spring due to COVID-19. In many cases, both flowers and produce items sold out. Who would have thought? The question is, “What will next year bring?”
MVGA Membership increased slightly from 58 members in 2019 to 59 members in 2020.
MVGA was awarded a Specialty Crop Grant entitled “Plant Something! Reaching Your Generational Customers” It was approved for $50,000 over a two-year period. The purpose of the grant is to test unique generational purchasing habits of floriculture customers in ten retail greenhouse/garden centers in Ohio. The intent is to implement the study recommendations to increase specialty crop sales through a broader customer base.
Before COVID-19, There Was The Walleye's!
2020 Extension Reloaded
Nearly 30 members of MVGA and friends attended this year’s Extension Reloaded event sponsored by OSU. Many thanks to Creque’s Greenhouse & Nursery for hosting the event on February 20. An excellent tour was provided along with some with great snacks!. See Agenda for more details!
2020 Winter Workshop
25 members of MVGA attended the Retail Roundtable event held this year at Creque’s Greenhouse & Nursery on January 16. Great discussion and Q & A sessions. See Agenda for more details!
2019 MVGA News
The 52: At the Toledo Farmers' Market, it's time to get fresh: Regardless of the weather or what's in season, the Toledo Farmers’ Market springs to life on Saturday mornings year-round.
Did you know you can view all MVGA Board and Committee meeting minutes here?
Seasons are changing and so our our garden centers. About one/third of our member retail locations are still open. Check them out on the map below.
See a map of our growers here.
2019 Spring Retail Roundtable
19 members of MVGA attended the Retail Roundtable event held this year at Bench's Greenhouse & Nursery on March 26, 2019. Great discussion and Q & A sessions. See Agenda for more details!
For the Second Year in a Row, MVGA Members Cheer On The Walleye's!
Retail Roundtable - Brodbeck’s Greenhouse
The first meeting of the new year was our Winter Workshop held on 01-10-19 at Brodbeck’s Greenhouse. The agenda can be viewed here:
Lunch was provided by Shorty’s featuring pulled pork. Twenty-six growers and suppliers were in attendance throughout the day. Many thanks to our sponsors for assisting in paying for the event!
2018 MVGA News
MVGA held its Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at The Lodge at Strawberry Acres. There were about 45 in attendance. See event PowerPoint for more details! A list of activities and accomplishments can be found here.
MAUMEE VALLEY GROWERS RECEIVES GRANT AWARD
June 15, 2018
Toledo, OH — The Maumee Valley Growers Association (MVGA) received a state of Ohio grant to study the feasibility of providing fresh produce generated by local small farmers to urban area corner stores businesses located in Toledo, Ohio.
The $15,000 feasibility study will determine if there is enough interest between farmers and corner store operators to create a 6-month seasonal supply chain that is sustainable.
“The food industry has many variables that affect the success of this proposal long-term. The farmer must provide enough produce volume and variety to satisfy program costs while at the same time match the needs of corner store customers says Joe Perlaky, MVGA Executive Director.
The study will evaluate the entire supply chain from the farmer to food aggregator, the distributor to the corner store operator and of course with the product provided at a competitive cost to the consumer.
“This has been tried before, and we are concerned about the challenges says Perlaky, however, we have some ideas on how to take advantage of smaller packaging strategies that would make for easier, unique purchase decisions specific for corner store buyers.”
The study was awarded by the Finance Fund Capital Corporation, (Healthy Food of Ohio Program) and will conclude within 30 days with recommendations to follow.
FARMERS' MARKET - FLOWER DAYS, ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS!
Retail Roundtable Discusses New Social Media Programs
Begining this spring, MVGA will work closely with retail members to feature garden centers and their products on Facebook and Pinterest. There were also discussions on Worker Protection Standards.
MVGA Members Cheer On The Walleye's Saturday Night!
The MVGA Winter Conference Focuses on Worker Protection Standards & Advertising Strategies
2017 MVGA News
Poinsettia Trials at Bostdorff's Greenhouse
New Board Members for 2018 - 2020
Jill Bench - Bench's Greenhouse & Nursery
Kim Bunge - Waldo's and Associates
Scott Dabrunz - Schmittuz Greenhouse
Kelsey Gahler - North Branch Nursery
Tom Wardell - Wardell's Greenhouse
MVGA Annual Meeting - Great Information, Great Networking
Flower Days at the Farmers Market...and What A Weekend!
Winter Workshop
Nearly 30 growers attended MVGA's Greenhouse Winter Conference held on Thursday, January 12th at both the USDA-ARS greenhouses at TBG and at the Natural Science Technology Center. The program included tours of each facility, demonstrations and educational sessions.
2016 MVGA News
Meeting with Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur
Several members of the Maumee Valley Growers met with Congresswoman Kaptur and U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary David Danielson for a luncheon roundtable on Tuesday, March 8th to discuss the impact of energy costs in the greenhouse industry.
Congresswoman Kaptur was particularly interested in learning more about the energy/water/food production nexus.
In attendance were MVGA members Charles Krause, Joe Perlaky, Wade Smith, and Beth Scheckelhoff including NatureFresh Founder/CEO Peter Quiring. Also in attendance were Mark Frye (Palmer Energy), Tony Logan (State Director - Rural Development), Diane Miller (UT, Government Affairs), Jane Ruvolo (Rep. Kaptur’s Office), Mike Beazley (Oregon City Director) and other government officials. The luncheon took place at the Oregon Inn, in Oregon.
MVGA Winter Retail Roundtable meets at Creque's Greenhouse...
Executive Director Attends Food Hub Conference in Burlington, VT.
During the five day conference, Joe Perlaky experianced a nice blend of classroom and onsite visits at a variety of food hub operations in Vermont. Sponsored by the University of Vermont, 26 students from around the country received certification instruction and first hand practical experience as they toured five locations throughout the state. Small to large hubs, meat processing, CSA models and on-site/mobile Farmers' Market were all a part of the week-long events.
"This was the first week of a 4-month certification course. The balance of instruction will be conducted online and concludes in May. Meeting all the wonderful people and food hub experts has great resource value both as a fast-track learning process to determine which models might make the most sense for our region but also to call upon and share those ideas with other operators is invaluable" Perlaky said.
Funding was provided as part of a USDA-LFPP Implementation grant awarded to MVGA for 2016-17.
2016 Winter Conference
Nearly 64 were in attendance at Schmidlin's Greenhouse on January 7 to see their hydroponic operation fueled by solar power. Others were interested in the latest word on Toledo's Food Hub progress while some farmers signed up for pesticide certification training. The USDA-ARS also provided valuable information on their latest project research. Many thanks to the Education/Events Committee for organizing the event. Click on picture below for differnt photos.
2015 MVGA News
Click a link to view an item:
Annual Meeting Pictures
Flower Days at the Farmers' Market - 2015
Ronald McDonald 2015 "Roundup" Program
MVGA partners with the Ronald McDonald House Charities
For the second year in a row, MVGA helps celebrate the building of the new Ronald McDonald House. Fourteen MVGA retailers participated in the program in May collecting around $1,500.
Customers were asked if they liked to "Roundup" their change to the next dollar and contribute to this valuable program.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Ohio is a children's charity that focuses on helping families accessing medical care for their children, as well as helping to enrich the lives of healthy children. Families can stay as long as their children are receiving specialized medical care. And, they can return as often as necessary for follow-up care.
Built in 1906 as a farmhouse on Monroe Street near the entrance of Toledo Hospital, the structure operated as a funeral home from 1940 until Ronald McDonald House opened its doors. The building has undergone several expansions to reach its present 8,000 square feet.
The new building will be completed later this fall. The planned 38,000-square-foot house will double the amount of space for families from 14 to 28 rooms. For more information on the new facility click here. They have raised $7.5M to date!
Many thanks to those greenhouse and garden centers that participated in the program.
Recycling Pickup Date Set
The Maumee Valley Growers Association arranged for a pickup date for recycling of your plastic pots and containers.
Please bring your containers to either:
Bostdorff’s Greenhouse in BG (Dick at 409-0648) or Creque’s Greenhouse (Jeff at 392-8454) in Sylvania before July 28th. Superior Plastics will be picking up the items from both locations on the 28th.
The items don’t have to be sorted but should be nested either in a gondola, or plastic wrapped on a pallet so they can be handled properly.
This may be our only pickup this year so if you would like to get the items off your grounds, this would be the time to do it!
Also, since this recycling opportunity does NOT include poly or film, many growers have found that cutting it up in manageable pieces and placing it out at the road it usually gets picked up that same day by a scrapper or concrete contractor.
Annie's Project
Annie's Project is a program empowering women farmers to be better business partners through networks and by managing and organizing critical information. The classes will be held at the Anderson's Activities building located at 1833 Holland-Sylvania Rd. in Maumee. Each session begins with a light dinner followed by presentations and discussion.
2014 MVGA News
MVGA Annual Meeting
MVGA recently held its annual meeting at Strawberry Acres Lodge in Holland, Ohio. The minutes from the meeting can be viewed here.
MVGA Awarded First USDA Grant
We are excited to announce that MVGA recently was awarded their first USDA government grant!
It is the first of three grants listed below that were all food related for NW Ohio. Stay tuned for more information regarding the progress of the grant. We will soon be reaching out to those MVGA members who are also involved in food production (in addition to floriculture).
$25,000 to Maumee Valley Growers (MVGA) to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate the viability of operating a food hub adjacent to the Farmer's Market in Toledo's central city.
$62,747 to WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc., Fremont, OH to increase marketing and support of Northwest Ohio Food Partnership Center, Toledo Farmers' Market.
$44,066 to ProMedica Toledo Hospital, Toledo, OH, to increase direct marketing and access to agricultural commodities from local producers to low-income seniors and food desert populations.
Read more about the grants here.
Rep. Kaptur Meets with MVGA Executives
Representative Marcy Kaptur met with President Tom Wardell and Executive Director Joe Perlaky to discuss current MVGA activities, accomplishments and local industry trends.
Virtual Field Trip: Fitkin's Greenhouse/Monroe County
Schools Collaboration
This past Spring, MVGA in collaboration with Monroe County's ISD arranged for a series of instructional videos for their science teachers and students. Owner Mike Schenk of Fitkin's Greenhouse shared his expertise as host on camera.
Click here and see how we take the students on a virtual field trip through Fitkin's Greenhouse in Ottawa Lake, Michigan. Mike explains what a greenhouse is, as well as the characteristics and needs of the plants he carries. The following modules are designed to correspond to Michigan Grade Level Content Expectations standards. The segments are geared mainly for elementary level students.
The teachers and their students will preview these short segments before October 1st. On that date, Tom Smith, Owner of Four Star Greenhouse will be in the studio fielding live questions from the students about our greenhouse industry.
This was a major undertaking for those involved and they are to be commended for all their efforts!
MVGA's 2014 Annual Picnic
Everyone had a great time at our MVGA potluck picnic last week at the Secor MetroPark on August 28th. Great stories of Jeff and Eileen's trip to Alaska and the cooking of Gene Klotz was second to none!
Self-Guided Tour Features Hoen's, Bostdorff's & North Branch Nursery
