2018 ASHS Annual Conference

The National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture (NICH) received one of 12 USDA grants in 2017 as part of the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). The $47,470 planning grant was used to further develop strategies, tactics, and priorities though an in-person planning meeting in June 2018. This major step will help to move NICH closer to its goal of increasing all aspects of horticulture and get 90% of U.S. households gardening by 2025. NICH committee members as well as industry and other stakeholders gathered in Atlanta, GA, to develop and prioritize research and extension goals as well as to develop a governance plan and business model that will serve as the road map for the NICH effort. The meeting also served as an opportunity for committees to meet face-to-face for the first time since 2015, when NICH was in the early planning stages.