Last Friday there were suddenly nine copies of Dutch magazine for floriculture, Bloemisterij, on my desk, a small hiccup in postal service. More often we get two or three copies at the same time, but this was extreme. We had to look after our third grandchild that weekend, so ideal to go through all these copies page by page.
Because of so much information in a short time, the enormous diversity of company size, crops, ideas and visions between the different companies is striking. And you see trends. It is mainly the smaller nurseries that are loyal to the clock. And I am quite jealous when I read that a couple with 9,000 meters go on holiday three times a year and normally get on a bicycle twice a week. Yes, it can be that simple.
The other extreme is a large grower doing no clock business and is fully tied to the supermarkets. He is also happy but has completely different concerns than the little clock grower. At the supermarket, the battle for cents is sometimes tenths of cents. The clock grower is busy with his flowers, tries to do better and with something else than the neighbour. And this is exactly how the Netherlands and the auctions have grown.
I can’t help talking about the fact that not everyone succeeds at 9,000 meters. I once ended up in Kenya and soon realized that growing flowers here is much easier than in the Netherlands. Because of its simplicity, a few hectares more or less is not a struggle, and certainly not if you are driven by your staff.
All have a brother and sister looking for work
Kenya is and remains unique in terms of staff: hardworking and dedicated people, and there are always plenty of them. During our last audit of both KFC and MPS, our people had only one question: when do we start with Tima 6? Because they all have a brother or sister looking for work.
Whether a Tima 6 is coming is not up to me. First the market has to recover a little bit, but I have full confidence in August. With the enormous heat in Europe, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain good quality there. With us it is currently barely above 20 degrees Celsius. And production and quality remain good without having to do anything extra for it. Yes, I am super happy that I said goodbye to the church tower in Kudelstaart.
Simon van der Burg
Rose grower in Kenya
