1. Level II Agricultural Business Operations

2.  Selection  Scheduling  Management Tasks  Harvesting – post harvest  Marketing  Performance Targets

3.  Choosing your crop  1. Interest  2. Expertise  3. Labour  4. Equipment / structures

4. Why select? Climate – soil, protected, temperature, light levels. High Input – pest & disease, weed control, fertiliser, heat. Marketability – demand, market, price, production cost, cash flow, harvesting costs. Variety – F1, style, colour.

5. Useful sites: www.ballcolegrave.co.uk www.moleseeds.co.uk www.young-plants.co.uk www.florensis.com www.gasagroup.com

6.  Why?  Climate (light levels, cooler temperatures)  The market (spring, summer, season extension)  Spacing requirements  Number of crops per house

7. Day to day operations Ordering the plant – seed, plugs (at least 3 months in advance) Planting / potting – labour, time, space, holding Spacing – labour, density (number per m2) Culture notes

8. Nutrient management/Fertiliser /Feeding Moisture content – use of different composts with different AFP pH levels – Why? E.C levels – use of base fertilisers, slow release fertilisers and liquid fertilisers NPK rates at vegetative growth and flowering requirement

9. Growth Regulation Why? Meet specifications Reduce vegetative growth Flower/bract initiation How? Pinching Chemical Light Nutrient

10. Pest & Disease What could effect the crop (harvest intervals) Examples of common pest & diseases

11. Pest & Disease

12. Weed Control In bedding and pot plant production should have no weeds due to Clean compost Clean pots Clean facilities Cut flowers – weed control difficult Chemical soil sterilisation Steam soil sterilisation Mechanical / hand weeding

13. Harvesting  Timescale  At what stage  Specifications  Labour required  Presentation  Orders, labelling & dispatch

14. Post harvest Cooling the crop (removing field heat) Harvest time Cooling facilities Storage Facilities Price Moisture content Duration

15. Storage Dry storage Examples in cut flowers, Lilies, Peony & Hydrangea Storage success depends on; 1. Hygiene 2. Pest & disease free 3. Chemical post harvest treatments

16.  Market identification  Product specification  Quality/Price  Minimum price

17. Why measure crop performance?  See what's happening  Compare crop types/enterprises  Improve  Assess profitability

18. Bedding, pot plant & cut flowers  Number of plants per m2 Input  cost per m2 ◦ Labour ◦ Materials ◦ Overheads Output How much achieved per plant /stem per m2

19. Target spacing Cut Flower crops  Scented stock – 64 plants per m2  Antirrhinum – 64 plants per m2  Dianthus – 56 plants per m2  Alstromeria – 9 plants per m2  Delphinium – 24 plants per m2  (some plants may produce at least 3 stems per plant)

20. Target spacing  Pot plants / nursery stock  9cm pots – 18 per tray x 4 trays =72  10.5cm pots – 15 per tray x 4 trays =60  13cm pots – 40/50  1 litre pots – 40/50  2 litre pots – 20/25

21. CropCommodityPot sizePlanting density/ m2 FinancialOut put Percentage marketable Gross margin per pot/stem Pot plantPoinsettia13cm1095%£0.50 Cut Flower Lily16 per crate 6499%£0.14 Nursery Stock shrub2 litre2095%£1.00

22. Percentage wastage Why included? Examples: Protected pot plants – 10% Field Vegetables – 25% Nursery Stock – 10%