Natural gas producers won't have cash flow problems as an excuse this Valentine's Day for not sending roses to loved ones, but they may have trouble coming up with the bouquet. The California Cut Flower Commission, based in Watsonville, California, on the shore of Monterey Bay where there isn't any natural-gas production, says its growers are having some trouble. "The sense of urgency for finding a solution to California's continuing energy crisis is very real among the state's 200-plus commercial cut-flower growers," the commission reports. "Some growers are already laying off workers; others are deciding to sacrifice their Valentine's Day holiday crops because they cannot afford to heat their greenhouses." Some growers may have to turn off their lights. Heating bills are $500,000 a month for some, compared with $100,000 normally, says Lee Murphy, commission president. "Growers simply cannot continue operating with those exorbitant costs. The profit margins in our industry are tight enough as it is, and with nearly a 600% increase in heating costs, growers may simply have to close their doors." Natural gas prices are killing the rose crop, literally: buds form on rose plants in December, producing the Valentine's harvest. "The impact of soaring natural gas prices is being felt by cut-flower growers up and down the California coast, from Eureka to San Diego," the commission reports. Alas, a gas bill is not a gas bill is not a gas bill.
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