Looking for clarity

Alan Down, HTAPresident

Atlast, the sun is out, and the incessant rain herein South West England has stopped. Hopefully,this will havethe tills ringing,plant trollies rolling,and drygoods moving through at apace! And for growers of field-grownstock, achancetocatch up with planting futurecrops in the open.

Although it has been averywet March for some, following arecord dryFebruary, Iknowthat the threat of hose pipe bans still looms. Undoubtedly,weall need to use watermorewisely in the future, and the HTAhas been engaging with the national drought group and regional waterresource plans on this issue.

We arestill reeling from the shock Defraannouncement that brought the end of peat use for most crops forward by four years. Thereare many unanswered questions about crop exemptions and containers and no clarity on howthe UK’s ban will affect the importation of plants growninpeat. The end of 2026 will be really challenging for the industry. Bringing the dateforward reduces the time to find and trial sustainable alternatives. Iknowgrowers areindifferent places along the routetoadapt to peat-free. Some havealready made great progress, whereas others arenow facing decisions on alternatives sincemany crops planted nowwill not reach their marketable stage until the main cutoffdate. Rest assured the team at the HTAisworking hard to avoid acliffedge and for clarity on these vital issues.

On acheerier note, I’mpleased to say our engagement with the House of LordsHorticultural Select Committee is going well and that the HTAChairman James Barnes gaveoral evidencelast month at an inquiry. Amongst the many pressing issues we face, he emphasised the importanceofhorticulture to health and wellbeing,asamply demonstrated during the Covid lockdowns. He also stressed that our industryunderpins at least 50% of the Government’senvironmental plans. The Committee is spending the whole year looking intoour industry, and we arehopeful of many constructiveoutcomes.

At the end of March, I, with our CEOFranBarnes and Director of Public Affairs Jennifer Pheasey, visited The Farplants Group in West Sussex. This provided us with the opportunity to discussmany issues that the industryfaces. In particular,we discussed the peat ban and extended producer responsibilities. Visit such as these areinvaluable, allowing us to see great crops as well as the impressivehandling of orders and dispatch.

Other visits areplanned in the futureto member businesses of all sizes.

I’ve also continued to drop in on HTAmembers when in their area and my most recent visit was to the excellent Riverside Garden Centreonthe edge of Bristol. This centrecaters very much for city gardeners and wasgeographically aclose rival to my old business. It was hardtofault any partofthis great garden centre, which together with its team is certainly ready for spring!

Find out more

TheHorticultural Trades Association is the UK industry’sleading membership organisation and welcomes all sectorsofenvironmental horticulture. To learn moreorjoinpleasevisit:www.hta.org.uk or email: services@hta.org.uk