Where Did That Bouquet Come From?
Exploring the Cut Flower Industry

Author: Sarah Pounders

Overview

In the United States, cut flowers are popular gifts, and they play an important role in key cultural rituals. Most of the cut flowers available in this country are imported. This lesson will introduce students to the cut flower industry, the concept of imports and exports, and some of the issues and challenges inherent in the cut flower business.

Objectives: Students will explore data compiled by the USDA to learn about the cut flower industry and sharpen data analysis skills. They will also consider some of the social and economic impacts of the business.

Standards (Microsoft Word document)

Materials:
USDA Floriculture and Nursery Crops Outlook for 2006 (print just pages 13 - 17)
Exploring the Cut Flower Industry Worksheet

Background

People have used cut flowers to decorate and celebrate for thousands of years. In some countries, fresh cut flowers are an everyday household staple, but in the United States we usually purchase them as gifts and for special occasions.

Though many people grow flowers for bouquets in their home gardens, the trade in cut flowers is a major international agricultural industry. Think of all the places you see flowers for sale: florists (about 22,750 shops in the United States), grocery stores (nearly 23,000 sell flowers), and some garden centers (approximately 16,500). Unlike many agricultural crops where we produce much of what is consumed in our own country, about 70% of the fresh flowers sold in the United States are imported from other countries. Visit the Society of American Florists and the USDA for statistics of where cut flowers originate.

Domestic cut flower sources: 73% are from California 5% from Washington 4% from Florida 4% from Hawaii 3% from Oregon 2% from New Jersey

Imported cut flower sources: 59% are from Colombia 19% from Ecuador 10% from the European Union 3% from Canada 3% from Costa Rica 2% from Mexico

Why do so many of our cut flowers come from other countries, especially South America? The climate and soil conditions there are excellent for cut flower growth, and they also have cheaper labor costs. This means that South American farmers can produce high quality cut flowers at a lower cost than many growers in the United States, who must pay higher wages and need greenhouses to protect flowers from the elements. Cold storage and fast shipping are both crucial to the existence and success of the international flower market because it allows flowers to arrive in retail stores while still fresh.

Laying the Groundwork

Ask students:

Exploration and Making Connections

Provide students with copies of the USDA Floriculture and Nursery Crops Outlook for 2006 (see Materials, above) and ask them to answer the questions on the Exploring the Cut Flower Industry worksheet. Use the following questions to spark discussion about the answers they come up with.

1. Have overall cut flower sales in the United States increased or decreased since 1997? Why do you think they have changed? (Decreased demand, lower prices for retail flowers)

2. Why do you think the Western United States has the highest value of sales of cut flowers? (Growing conditions in the region better suited for cut flower production; most of the flowers are sold close to where they are grown; prices are cheaper due to greater supply and lower transportation costs.)

3. Why do you think the Midwest has the smallest value of sales of cut flowers? (The inverse of answer 2).

4. Why do you think most of our flowers are imported from other countries? (Other countries have more favorable climate; unemployment is high so there are plenty of willing, low-paid workers, allowing them to produce flowers at a lower cost.)

5. What are the benefits of this system? (Imported flowers are cheaper; takes advantage of the good growing conditions in the region; provides jobs in countries where there aren’t many opportunities.)

6. What are some of the problems of this system? (Transportation costs - both financial and environmental; drives down prices for domestic flower producers; worker treatment; negligible pesticide regulation means that workers and the environment may suffer from pesticide exposure and contamination.)

7. Based on this discussion, list the challenges faced by domestic flower growers, retailers, and customers.

Branching Out

1. Set up teams to debate the pros and cons of the current cut flower industry.

2. Have students research fair trade cut flowers. Here are some links to get you started.

VeriFlora
Fair Flowers, Fair Plants
Guardian Unlimited article
Food Politics (a general overview of fair trade market issues)

3. Learn about careers in the floral industry. Download the Floral Industry Careers Brochure from the Society of American Florists.

4. Invite a florist to come to your class and talk about the joys and challenges of their profession.

5. Read about the cut flower industry from a more personal view? Check out Dirt: A Blog by Amy Stewart.

Locate flower producing/exporting nations on a world map an calculate how far they travel to their end markets.

 

 

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