At Cultivate’23, Ken Fisher stresses the importance of relationships

During his opening speech at the State of the Industry presentation at Cultivate, AmericanHort president and CEO Ken Fisher stressed the importance of maintaining relationships in the green industry. Specifically, he said, it’s important for the industry members to maintain in-person relationships that span years, if not decades.

The speech, given on Monday, July 17, featured Fisher noting that there are industry members who have attended Cultivate (or a previous version of the event before the formation of AmericanHort) for 40-plus years. Those relationships, Fisher says, are a big part of what makes the green industries special. 

“It’s easier and easier, unfortunately, to let go of personal relationships,” Fisher said, noting that his concern stems from a generational shift and the ease of communicating digitally.

“It takes a long time to grow an old friend,” Fisher said. “Our industry won’t be as strong tomorrow as it is today, I have concerns, if we don’t continue to invest in our friends in this industry.” He noted that it will be a priority for AmericanHort to provide the in-person events that can help foster long-lasting bonds.

Fisher also made his case for growers to advocate on behalf of the industry. Fisher, along with AmericanHort senior vice president Craig Regelbrugge, spent time discussing ongoing labor concerns and the need for H-2A and H-2B reform. Fisher advocated for industry members to work with their congressional representatives and push past politics to make the case for what the industry needs. That could be by directly contacting elected officials and/or working with AmericanHort in their efforts to lobby elected officials on various topics. 

“We can’t hope that regulatory issues will skip us or get taken care of by someone else,” he said. “... We have to demonstrate, as an industry, our strengths to protect our weaknesses.”