The Importance of Flower Crops in the Seed Industry
The seed industry is an important part of the agricultural economy in the United States. Many popular garden flowers are bought and sold each spring, but what many people do not realize is that the plants they enjoy in the spring are almost entirely dependent on the previous year's crop, from which seed is harvested. Does this Spark an idea?
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Economic Significance
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According to the University of California Agricultural Issues Center, flower seeds make up 24 percent of annual seed production and sales. These seeds generated billions of dollars in sales, and are an important staple in the global agricultural economy.
Production
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There are more than 1,500 varieties of flower seed regularly packaged and sold to American consumers in the spring. The value of these seeds, annually, totals about 2.5 million dollars.
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Cost of Production
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The cost of producing an acre of flower seed is significantly higher than the cost of producing an acre of beans or other cash crops because the land used for flowers must be micromanaged. This means that it is essential that flower production per acreage be at a maximum in order to ensure that a profit can be turned.
Flower Care
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Field laborers are essential to flower seed production. It is extremely important that flowers receive individualized attention to their needs for maximum seed production to occur, and this can only be accomplished if they receive consistent care from someone who sees the plants on a daily basis.
Annual Crop Production
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When conditions are not ideal, flower production is not at its peak. The number of seeds produced is then limited, or the seeds produced may not be viable. This is extremely detrimental to the seed grower, because it both limits his profit for the year and damages his own seed stock, which is needed for planting the next year's crop.
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References
- University of California Agricultural Issues Center: The California Seed Industry: A Measure of Economic Activity and Contribution to California Agriculture
- United States Department of Agriculture: Background: The Science of Seed
- Science for Farming - Library 4 Farming: The Commercial Production of Seeds of Flowers
- Photo Credit bird seed image by Alison Bowden from Fotolia.com
