COPA Plants and Flowers Summer meeting

NFU Horticulture Adviser, Amy Gray, represents the NFU and UK horticulture at the COPA COGECA Working Party on Plants and Flowers Summer Meeting in Austria.

At the end of June, NFU Horticulture Adviser, Amy Gray, attended the Working Party for Plants and Flowers' summer meeting, this year held in Austria to discuss current policy issues affecting growers around Europe and to participate in a set of knowledge exchange nursery visits to see how things are done in Austria.

Day 1

On the day of arrival, the group of representatives in attendance (from the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark and UK) started with a presentation of the Austrian ornamentals sector.

There are 624 producers of flowers and bedding plants in Austria with 375.18 ha area of production. This industry employs 1,190 family workers and 3,094 employees.

There are also 200 tree nurseries (including perennial plants) comprising 965.33 ha of production. This part of the industry employs 334 family workers and  1,298 employees.

Day 2

On day 2,the group were taken on a tour of a variety of different nurseries.

The first stop was Stauden Hameter, a perennial plant nursery growing 1,500 varieties of plants with around 25 members of staff to produce around 2 million plants per year.

They took the group for a tour of their facilities, looking at their labelling system for the 1,500 varieties they produce.

They also showcased some of their time-saving tricks to keep their potting production line moving efficiently.

They also discussed further time-saving innovations such as this mechanised watering boom which traversed the length of the nursery, thereby removing much of the hand-watering requirement.

We then moved on to our next nursery: Praskac Pflanzenland, a tree nursery with a large garden centre. We were taken on a tour of the large site to see the wide range of trees that they produce.

We saw seasonal workers out in the nursery and, like the UK, it was explained to us that the majority of these workers are from overseas.

The nursery had invested in mechanisation in the form of mobile platforms to assist the workers when pruning and as a result have removed the need for ladders altogether.

We were also taken for a tour of the garden centre facilities which demonstrated a keen understanding of what the consumer is after, providing clear and consistent labelling.

We were then driven for lunch and a tour of Die Garten Tulln, a permanent garden exhibition near Vienna which operates on a purely organic basis.

Our final tour of the day was to Gartnerei Hick, a smaller producer of balcony plants, cut flowers and speciality chillies.

The day was topped off with a fantastic dinner and opportunity to get to know the group representatives better.

Day 3

The last day was the business end of this venture, with a packed agenda that included:

• Promotion of ornamental plants and flwoeers
• Sustainable plant production initiatives
• Brexit
• GM Petunias
• The future of CAP
• Invasive alien species
• Plant breeders' rights
• Plant health
• Minor uses and speciality crops
• Fertiliser directive
• Market situation for flowers and ornamentals in Members States

So why are trips like this important? Yes, the meeting on the last day allowed us to discuss the key issues affecting our sectors in detail and to detemine areas of agreement that can be used to lobby the EU effectively. And yes, the nursery visits provided useful insight into how things are done in Austria, and whether there are any learning points to bring back to the UK.

But arguably, the trip provided something more. The relationships that are built on visits such as this provide the NFU and its members with important and active contacts across the EU to help us lobby more effectively and shape the policy framework under which we currently operate.

As testament to these relationships, it was encouraging to hear that, irrespective of the NFU's position in COPA post-Brexit, which is currently under discussion and will depend on the UK's deal with the EU, the Working Group agreed and stated that the NFU has had an open invitation to these meetings. It is only through making and nurturing these relationships that this is possible. And this is why attendance of meetings such as these is invaluable.