Allie Kuppenbender says her cut-flower business could blossom further with the support of a new bill classifying floriculture as an agricultural product.
With sleeves rolled up and boots thick with mud, Allie Kuppenbender tends to the seeds of what she hopes will be her most successful harvest yet.
But unlike many of the farms dotting the Zumbro River Valley, Kuppenbender isn’t nurturing corn or soybeans. She’s using the fertile soil to cultivate rows upon rows of colorful flowers for her budding business, Bleed Heart Floral.
To Kuppenbender, the work feels a lot like farming. And the challenges she faces — from fighting pests and coping with drought to finding reliable seasonal help — would feel familiar to most other farmers here in the southeastern part of the state.
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