In This Issue
Wyevale Garden Centres sell six more centres
Smart acquires Briers
Hillview Group put 6 sites up for sale
Glee at Spring Fair is open and doing business
Glee at Spring Fair 2019 Opening Times
Garden centres have been a vital link in Forest Garden's 2018 success
APAC exclusively invite you to their showroom
New sales records set for Janaury
Adapting to Climate Change – We CAN and We WILL
All LOFA members who offer cushions meet fire safety regs
Downtown re-development to include new garden centre
Late Easter and need for Brexit distraction could help push gardening spend
Welcome back Busy Lizzie!
RHS steps up climate change horticulture project
Spring Fair urges retailers to step towards sustainable future
HTA targets biosecurity and plant health with new self-help tool
Christmas at two Klondyke centres raises £4k for charity
Sipcam expands child- and pet-safe choices and add RHS garden care range
Haskins partners with junior school to donate houseplants
Horticultural company’s greenery enhances retreat
Get your own copy of GTN Xtra
GCA announces Chairman Elect for 2020/21
Glee expands marketing team with new appointment
Best start for Garden Products since 2015
Red Baron leads the way as Veg-2-Gro sales are up
Record growing media sales for January
Primula sales dominate in good January
HTA moves nursery show into National Plant Show hall
Draper Tools celebrates 100 years in business
Perennial to extend reach during 180th anniversary
Corokia wins IPM Show Your Colours award
HTA Market Update highlights continued growth in houseplant sales and strong Christmas
The best of last week's
Wyevale Wimborne Freehold to be auctioned
Centre that defied Christmas ban is in liquidation
Smart Garden is GCA's favourite supplier for second year
Bestsellers Top 50 charts every week
Buy your subscription to GTN Bestsellers
Send us your news and great ideas

Contact us with your news. 

Email neil.pope@tgcmc.co.uk, or trevor.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or call the GTN News team on 01733 775700






HTA targets biosecurity and plant health with new self-help tool

The new Plant Healthy website launched last week by the HTA provides a self-assessment tool for horticulture businesses and organisations to improve the biosecurity of sourcing systems and advance plant health management practices.

 

The free tool, unveiled at the association’s sell-out ‘Healthy Plants, Healthy Business’ conference, in association with APHA, is available here.

 

Based on the recently published Plant Health Management Standard (PHMS) initiative developed by Grown in Britain, the HTA and others, it sets out steps businesses should meet in order to protect the horticultural supply chain and the wider environment from damaging pests and diseases. Although initially developed for the UK market, the standard can be adapted for use internationally.

 

The tool is a self-assessment questionnaire that enables a business’s current plant health practises to be measured against the PHMS to check they are fulfilling statutory obligations, understand pest and disease threats and are setting out a plant health policy. It is intended to help businesses prepare for independent audits that will be available once the Plant Health Assurance Scheme is launched later this year.

The HTA is working with the Plant Health Biosecurity Steering Committee to set up governance structures and appoint certification bodies. Once successfully audited, businesses will receive an assurance certificate enabling them to demonstrate that robust plant health management practises are integral to their operations.

 

HTA horticulture manager Alistair Yeomans said: “Threats from exotic pests and diseases present a great threat to our industry and the wider countryside. As such it is essential that organisations work in a coordinated way to reduce the risk of environmental damage from these harmful organisms.”

 

Grown in Britain CEO Dougal Driver said improvement of biosecurity measures across the ornamental horticulture and forestry sectors was critical to protecting the UK’s forest industries and natural environment. “We believe that the plant health management standard is a fundamental part of increasing biosecurity for all,” he added.

 

If you didn’t get to ‘Healthy Plants, Healthy Business’, video footage from the event is available for a small charge. Click here to learn more. 

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Del.icio.us Digg | Comment (0)
Comment
Name:*

Email Address:*

Comment:*