Cultivate spotlight: Matt Mika’s industry update

By Emma Peterson. 

From workforce legislation and trade policy to agricultural funding and advocacy efforts, Matt Mika’s address highlighted the issues shaping the future of the green industry. 

There are many reasons to attend industry trade shows and conferences, but one of the biggest is the opportunity these events present attendees with for gaining access to the latest industry news and breakthroughs. For example, Matt Mika's address at the 2026 Cultivate show gave attendees a special glance at the state of the industry and what's to come.  

Meet Matt 

Matt is currently the vice president of advocacy and government affairs at AmericanHort. Prior to taking this role, Matt spent 12 years as the director of government relations for Tyson Foods, Inc. in Washington, D.C. He has also worked for three members of the Michigan Delegation. All this time spent behind-the-scenes in D.C. makes him the ideal person to give Cultivate attendees insight into the state of the industry as related to politics and regulations. 

2026 address 

In his 2026 address, Matt started by highlighting the importance of bipartisan collaboration and relationship building in modern American politics. From there he dove into topics specifically relevant to the outdoor industry, such as:  

• 2026 Farm Bill: A bill going through the house that extends agriculture, conservation and rural programs through 2031 with a focus on disaster recovery, research, risk tools and financing. 
• Tariffs: Top of everyone’s mind, supply chains and trade still looks uncertain due to tariffs. AmericanHort’s team has held over 65 D.C. meetings and filled 8 formal USTR comments highlighting the impact of this on the outdoor industry. 
• H.R. 9535: This house bill, also known as the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act, looks to reform the H-2A program so that year-round growers can be a part of the program.  
• Washington Fly-In: Matt also recapped the Washington D.C. Fly-In, which saw AmericanHort gather over 100 advocates from 25 different states to conduct “over 220 Capitol Hill meetings on labor, the Farm Bill, supply chain and research.” 

Conclusion 

In an industry where time is limited, trade shows like Cultivate provide a focused environment for learning about the issues, opportunities and innovations impacting outdoor professionals. How? These shows pack a few days with addresses and presentations from experts like Matt who give busy professionals the inside scoop on the news and innovations that they don’t have time to keep up with during their demanding day-to-day operations. 

Overall, in a fast-paced, demanding industry like outdoor contracting, professionals shouldn’t spend their day-t-day time sifting through the noise for relevant information when attending a couple day show like Cultivate can keep them in-the-know.