Programme - Final Tuesday 17 January 8.30am 9.40am 9.45am 10.15am 10.45am 1 11.00am 3 11.35am Registration and welcome refreshments Conference welcome and introduction from Raoul Curtis-Machin, Director of Horticulture, Horticultural Trades Association The UK Economy Post Brexit The vote to leave the EU has created a range of disruptions and questions over the future outlook for the UK economy. Joshua McBain, Head of Innovation, Foresight Factory, will be examining the short and longer term implications of Brexit for the UK economy signposting the key projections impacting the garden retail industry. This will include a view on the future of the labour market, wages, prices and the cost of imported trade from abroad as well as a view on the global factors that are likely to shape the direction of the UK economy in 2017 and beyond. The View from the EU Presentation synopsis: 2017 will be a year of great uncertainty for UK growers as the post Brexit trading relationships begin to be shaped. Here in the UK, we are all talking urgently about our own challenges, but what do our EU trading partners feel about it all? Don t forget the UK imports most of its ornamental plants, so there will be huge implications for nurseries on the continent. The Netherlands is our biggest supplier, and Jan de Vries, Director of Boot and Dart nurseries in Boskoop, and board member of Anthos, the Royal Trade Association for nursery stock and flower bulbs, will share European industry concerns for the future. Question and answers Mid-morning refreshments to be served in The Lounge Page 1 of 6
11.40am 3 12.15pm 2 12.40pm 12.50pm 60 mins UK Plant Health: challenges and opportunities Protecting our trees and plants is enormously important for all of us - they supply our food and feed for animals, the air we breathe, support our economy and provide us with enjoyment and recreation. The Plant Biosecurity Strategy for Great Britain, published in April 2014, sets out Governments' approach to protecting plants and trees from biosecurity threats, building on work already undertaken by the Plant Health Services across Great Britain which comprises of Defra (supported by Fera and APHA), together with the Forestry Commission and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. One of the biggest challenges is to scan the horizon and predict what the new threats are. In particular new pest pathways, supply chains and high risk trades. We need to know the identity, biology, epidemiology, distribution, transmission, hosts, pathways, climate adaptation, economic, social and environmental impacts - it's a massive scientific effort involving specialist natural scientists, economists, statisticians, modellers and social scientists. In this session, Nicola Spence, Chief Plant Health Officer and Deputy Director Plant and Bee Health, Varieties and Seeds, Animal and Plant Health, DEFRA will present progress on pre-border activities to reduce the risk of pests and diseases arriving here from overseas, including our work with countries beyond the EU to drive up standards; activities at the border to reduce the risk of pests and diseases entering the EU and the UK and action inland to step up surveillance and improve preparedness. This includes developing a publicly-available risk register, novel approaches to detection and diagnosis of pests and pathogens and contingency planning. I will also discuss our overall approach to plant health in the UK and the challenges and opportunities for the future. Rising to the challenge developing a Plant Health Management System With the ever-increasing threat from pests and diseases, how can we improve our management on the ground? We need to improve our knowledge, skills, practice and management systems to show that industry is doing the best it can. The team at Boningale Nurseries has developed a prototype plant health management system which is being developed and trialled next year for wider industry use. The system is designed to improve standards on the nursery and to work in partnership with the plant health inspectorate. Nerys Arch, Boningale s Propagation and Environmental Manager, will explain the prototype system and HTA Horticulture Director, Raoul Curtis-Machin will show how this could benefit the nursery sector. Question and answers Buffet lunch to be served in The Lounge Page 2 of 6
1.50pm 1.55pm 2.15pm 2.35pm 2.55pm 1 3.10pm 3.40pm What s in the pipeline With the much publicised reforms to the water abstraction system that are likely to affect most growers, John Adlam, Dove Associates will outline the proposed government strategy, details of how time limited licence renewals could be treated, the future of licences of right and how drip irrigation will be brought into the system. It will include ways in which you could build in resilience into your water supply to cover the unexpected. John s talk will also outline the outlook for UK pesticides, post Brexit. A Man for all Seasons - securing sufficient labour for the horticulture industry. In this presentation, Amy Gray, Horticultural Adviser Ornamentals, Fruit and Glasshouse Crops at the NFU, will explore the latest situation on seasonal labour: the sector s needs; the impact on industry if these needs are not met; the NFU s asks of Government; the effect of wider market forces, such as the National Living Wage; and the challenges we face in achieving our goals. Growing in Britain Increasing home production David Brown considers some of the reasons behind the volumes of Quercus being imported from other EU Member States. He will look at some of the current barriers, and potential opportunities, to substitute those imports with Quercus grown in the United Kingdom. Update on the new Responsible Sourcing of Growing Media Scheme Catherine Dawson, Technical Director of Melcourt Industries Ltd, will describe the aims and intentions of the new Responsible Sourcing of Growing Media Scheme and will illustrate to growers how it will work and the impacts it may have on their businesses. Afternoon refreshments to be served in The Lounge Panel session 3.45pm 40 mins 4.25pm 4.30pm As the day s programme has demonstrated these are challenging times from Brexit and the living wage to biosecurity and plant health. This panel session, chaired by HTA Director of Horticulture Raoul Curtis-Machin, draws on these areas of concern (and others) and invites panellists and delegates to have their say. Closing remarks and where we go from here Raoul Curtis-Machin, Director of Horticulture, Horticultural Trades Association Conference close Page 3 of 6
4.30pm 5.15pm 5.15pm 7.00pm 7.00pm 7.45pm 7.50pm 7.55pm Networking refreshments to be served in The Lounge Leisure time Drinks reception to be held in The Lounge Conference dinner Dinner welcome from Raoul Curtis-Machin, Director of Horticulture, Horticultural Trades Association Thrive - Charity presentation, including charity raffle with the following prizes to be won: 1 x bottle of champagne 1 x White Company gift set 1 x John Lewis voucher 1 prize of 4 tickets to see The Vamps on Saturday 18 February at the Birmingham O2 Academy 1 prize of 4 tickets to the X Factor Live tour on Friday 24 February at the Birmingham Genting Arena with meet and greet! Raffle tickets are 5 per strip and will be drawn at the end of dinner Terms and conditions for the ticket raffle prizes: The winner(s) need to be able to get to Birmingham Seated tickets not guaranteed (could be standing). Age restriction is 8+ (under 14s must be accompanied by an adult) We can t guarantee there would be space in the venue s disabled area for any wheelchair users so would need to know if wheelchair access was required to check Winners names need to be sent to Thrive no later than Monday 6th February Winners names will be on a guest list at the venue (letters will be supplied) 8.05pm 9.30pm Dinner service to commence Comfort break Page 4 of 6
Adam Wigglesworth, HTA President, will say a few words and introduce our after-dinner speaker 9.45pm 10.30pm After dinner speaker - A Passion for Plants Multiple award winning garden designer Adam Frost takes a light hearted look at his passion for plants of all shapes and sizes. He will divulge what makes a gold medal quality plant and planting design for a garden and provide an insight into his personal plant favourites and the challenges involved in finding the right plants. Dinner close Wednesday 18 January 8.30am 9.40am 9.45am 2 Registration and welcome refreshments Conference welcome and introduction from Raoul Curtis-Machin, Director of Horticulture, Horticultural Trades Association Session welcome from Anna Cook, Assurance Services Manager, Horticultural Trades Association What sort of plants do we need for the sustainable C21st city? The convergence of new ideas about how to live as sustainably as possible with a changing climate is creating a very different urban agenda to that which existed in the C20th and indeed in previous centuries. The good news is that planted vegetation is likely to play a key role in delivering on these agenda. We now have good evidence that attractive vegetation where you live makes you better, urban terrestrial biodiversity is proportional to the area, volume and complexity of planting, and that vegetation can effectively mitigate climatic extremes and the consequences of these. So plants are good and horticulture can play a significant role in all of this, but the big question is what sort of plants do we need to grow and use in order to effectively respond to national policy agenda? How different might these plants be from those that we currently grow? In this presentation, James Hitchmough, Head of Department and Professor of Horticultural Ecology, Department of Landscape, University of Sheffield, will look to identify key challenges from plant use and supply perspectives and how are we going to develop a more strategic view of the changes that are coming. It will also reflect on what our response should be to international treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and national Biosecurity measures that are putting a brake on the ingress of the new genetic material that we need to respond to our changing world. Page 5 of 6
10.10am 10.30am 11.00am 11.05am 2 11.30am 11.35am 2 12.00pm 12.05pm 2 12.55pm 1.00pm 1.00pm Technological Advancement What future for horticulture? During his Nuffield Scholarship travels, Bruce Harnett, Managing Director, Kernock Park Plants Ltd, was fortunate to see so many organisations around the world, inside and outside of horticulture with varying levels of technological adoption. Bruce will share some of his experiences demonstrating some current technological advances and potential future progress for horticulture. Mid-morning refreshments to be served in The Lounge Session welcome from Anna Cook, Assurance Schemes Manager, Horticultural Trades Association Workshop one - Pipe dreams to spade work How the biggest collaboration of this generation, the Ornamental Horticulture Roundtable Action Plan, is progressing improvements in the industry. Raoul Curtis-Machin will explain what's been done so far in the five-year plan and what still needs to be done. The ambitious industry plan needs growers and industry to steer it, so be prepared to fill up a flip chart. Speaker change-over Workshop two - Future-proofing/Horizon scanning Dave Denny, Marketing and Insights Manager, HTA, will be looking at the theme of disruptive change. There will be a short look at the information available to HTA members. The session will also explore how businesses can apply the information in order to best be able to anticipate and respond to disruptions when they happen. Speaker change-over Workshop three - Growing in Britain This workshop, with David Brown, is an opportunity to explore in greater detail the barriers faced by British growers to meet demand for Quercus, which has resulted in huge volumes being imported from EU member states. It will be an interactive session enabling delegates to ask questions and find out practical ways to rectify the challenges they face and so make growing Quercus in the UK viable again. Closing remarks and where we go from here Raoul Curtis-Machin, Director of Horticulture, Horticultural Trades Association Conference close Buffet lunch to be served in The Lounge Page 6 of 6