For growers, shippers, breeders, brokers, and others in the supply chain for fresh cut flowers, it may seem like the dramatic changes now underfoot have been accelerating for years—especially since the economic crisis of 2008.

Nonetheless, we are just now at a turning point, says Joaquin de la Torre, a managing partner for Ball Seed Company and an industry veteran who provided an overview of the forces at play in the global market for cut flowers at the CalFlowers convention last summer. (Note: Both Ball Seed and CalFlowers, the California Association of Flower Growers and Shippers, were among the exhibitors who shared products and information at last summer’s International Floriculture Expo in Chicago.)

“We are coming out of one long economic cycle and entering a new one,” says de la Torre. As always, that means both challenges and opportunities.

Here are a few of the major developments, from de la Torre and others, with some tips on how they could affect you and your business.