Sjoerd Smits during the anniversary celebration. Photos: Martijn Melis
Consultancy
It already has been ten years since the five mentioned advisors decided to use their vision and knowledge about sustainable cultivation for their own consultancy. In 2007 HortiNova became a fact. Since then, the horticultural landscape has changed considerably. The number of nurseries has decreased significantly and the scale has increased. The market has also changed, Sjoerd says. "Consumer awareness has increased slightly, and the demands that are placed on quality, clearly more. Supermarkets are putting more pressure on the market: the MRL requirements are higher. At the same time the number of authorized pesticides is reducing."
Helga van Leur talked about the changing weather conditions and the impact on the agricultural sector
Healthy crops
If you ask HortiNova, these developments will continue. "The market wants durable products, produced with fewer resources. To meet these demands, you will need healthy crops." And thus we have returned to the base of HortiNova. The company advises how to increase the resilience of the plant. Hereby, among others, is looked into the soil life and use is made of the plant sap measurements. By optimizing the use of nutrients, according to their studies, less fertilizer can be used. Moreover the crop is also becoming more vital, so fewer pesticides are needed. "More sustainable in two ways."
The attention for healthy plants is catching on, evidenced by the growth experienced by the company. Last Friday HortiNova celebrated its tenth anniversary with over 400 guests. By now the company consists of nine advisors. "Half of them are active in greenhouse advice, the other half in open ground," Smits says. "Consultancy in strawberry cultivation has always been slightly bigger with us. In recent years we have seen soft fruit growing widely, both inside and outside the greenhouse." Does that mean that all is well with the scope of work of HortiNova? Sjoerd will not go that far. "But ultimately everyone should go for a healthy crop. That's for sure."
The team of HortiNova consisting of Rien van de Bighelaar, Chris van Laarhoven, Johan van de Logt, Toon Melis, Sjoerd Smits, Frank Schellekens, Stephan Timmermans, Bart Vromans, Martin van de Water
For more information:
HortiNova Groep
Postbus 41
5070 AA Udenhout
Tel: +31(0)6-12210727 (Sjoerd)
Zie website voor telefoonnummers van andere adviseurs
www.hortinova.nl