Horticulturist - Commercial

Salary
Graduate in garden centre/nurseries sector: £11,000 to £15,000
Graduate in produce: £13,000 to £18,000
Trained horticulturalist: £25,000 to £55,000

Main Employers

Large nurseries, farms, pick-your-own enterprises and organic farms
Production nurseries
Growers, suppliers and retailers
Farming and horticultural co-operatives
Food companies
Commercial companies
Government departments
Consultancies

Job Profile
Commercial horticulture involves growing, distributing and selling food crops and ornamental plants, and retail horticulture marketing, which includes farm shops, pick-you-own or garden centres. Commercial growers may specialise in field crops, protected growing, soft and top fruit, cut flowers, trees and shrubs, or mushrooms. Clients include plant and tree nurseries.

Roles and Responsibilities
Jobs will vary according to each employer; however you could expect to be involved in:

Supervising and assisting in all stages of cultivation, crop production, harvesting and maintenance
Managing pest control programmes
Marketing and selling produce, depending on crop, season and market demand
Managing produce supply chain systems
Managing supporting infrastructure for processing, storage and transport of produce
Analysing yields and costs

Qualifications
Relevant further education subjects include: Agriculture; Crop and Plant Science; Environmental Science; Food Technology; Horticulture; Soil Science

Horticulture is open to all, whether you have higher education qualifications or not. Many of those now in senior professional posts entered the field straight from school, gaining qualifications through part-time study. However, the situation has changed recently with more new entrants having a horticultural qualification and managers now need qualifications and practical experience.

Career Development
Graduates do hands-on cultivation, maintenance tasks and routine commercial tasks. With experience, they supervise teams in production, marketing, retail operations, sales, propagation, stock development, crop protection. Produce is sold to the food processing industry, major retailers, wholesalers and the garden trade, all of whom demand increasingly high standards of quality and traceability of crops

Promotion will depend on your ability to develop your own skills, both practical and managerial. A portfolio containing details of successful projects will be an invaluable aid to promotion. Progress from junior to senior management positions is possible for those with experience and advanced qualifications. Specialisation into areas such as marketing or research and development may also lead to promotion.
Many set up their own businesses offering garden design services or interior landscaping, or start small nurseries or garden centres. Others move into training or lecturing, journalism, landscape or urban design, horticultural therapy or quality inspection for supermarkets as a food technologist. Work abroad is possible.

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