Horticultural Resource Management

Learn to Manage a Horticultural Enterprise

• Gain an understanding of management theories and apply what you learn to managing human resources, physical resources and finances.
• Discover how to make business plans and why they are so important.

          

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Horticultural Business Structures
2. Management Theories and Procedures
3. Horticulture & The Law
4. Supervision
5. Financial Management
6. Staff Management
7. Improving Plant Varieties
8. Productivity and Risk
9. Managing Physical Resources
10. Developing an Horticultural Business Plan

Aims

• Compare the organisational structures of different horticultural enterprises.
  • Determine the value of a business plan to a horticultural business.
  • Determine the significance of consumer law to horticultural business.
  • Determine the duties of different supervisors, in a specific horticultural enterprise.
  • Describe how a budget is applied to managing a specific horticultural enterprise.
  • Determine the criteria for selecting staff to work in an horticultural enterprise.
  • Explain the system for controlling the collection of royalties on a plant which is covered by plant variety rights.
  • Monitor and recommend improvements to a specified work task in a horticultural enterprise.

Scope of the Horticulture Industry

Horticulture industries encompass anything that involves growing plants.  The industry is normally split into “Amenity” and “Production” Horticulture. The common thread is that there is always some “intentional” purpose for growing plants.

Production Horticulture involves growing plants in order to create a product such as food (e.g. fruit, nuts and vegetables), cut flowers, fibre, scented oils, building materials, fuel, pharmaceuticals or nursery plants.

Amenity Horticulture involves growing plants for other reasons, such as beautification, environmental management or to create environments suited to a particular use such as sport or recreational activities.

There are always job opportunities to be found in horticulture; however the nature and type of employment does change from place to place and over time.

For example

• When a society has more leisure time, there will be a greater demand for parks and sporting facilities; and that can increase jobs in turf and parks industries.
• Demand for horticultural food crops can increase or decrease when a government changes import/export policies.
• Large development projects can create increased demand in horticulture. When the population of an area accelerates, there will be an increased demand for landscaping services, just as much as for building services.
• There are always opportunities for niche markets to be developed in horticulture by creative horticultural entrepreneurs.  People like something different, to grow in their garden, or to eat. If you can find or develop a plant product that is not commonly available, and market it properly, you may have a thriving business.

Keep Your Options Wide
Horticulturists who sustain a long term career, will commonly move from sector to sector throughout their working life. When landscaping offers opportunity, they may become a landscaper; but at other points in time they may work in parks management, nursery production and cut flower growing, as opportunities fade and new opportunities emerge.
To ensure a sustainable long term career in horticulture, it is wise to pursue broad based training. If you study a broad horticulture diploma early in your career, you will have greater sustainability than if you choose narrow and specialised studies when you start out.