Professor Michael Reid

University of California, who will be highlighting trends in the international flower industry together with providing information on post harvest care and handling.

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Mr Milton Alejo

Milton Alejo finished his university studies as Agronomist Engineer at the National University of Colombia in 1990. He then cultivated potatoes as an independent grower, worked for a export flower farm as area manager specialized in roses, worked in the commercial and technical departments of Elanco & BASF and a company called Abocol, specialized in fertilizers.

It was in the year 2000 that Milton joined Sakata as Flower Area Manager for Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to which Venezuela was added earlier this year. Besides being an experienced grower in the field of flowers, Milton also has wide experiences in crop management of potatoes, rice, corn, sorghum and a range of vegetables.

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Ms Veronica Richardson

Chief Executive of the Flowers & Plants Association and heads up a small team, which is dedicated to providing advertising,
promotion, advice and information on cut flowers and indoor pot plants.

Veronica will discuss the changes in buying patterns of the global consumer and the marketing campaign that increased flower purchasing in the UK.

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Mr Greg Lamont

Greg's career in horticulture spans almost 30 years. It includes 4 years as a Tutor in Horticulture at the University of Sydney, 9 years as a Research Horticulturist with NSW Dept Primary Industry and 16 years technical specialist for the Lynch Group. Greg's research covered areas of weed control, nutrition, propagation and post harvest for both the cut flower and potted nursery industries. He pioneered the breeding of Geraldton waxflower and Lechenaultia and several of his varieties were granted PBR and are still cultivated today. He also carried out work on growing a range of Australian native plants as flowering potted plants.

The Lynch Group has been in the Australian flower market as a grower and wholesaler for over 90 years, and during this time it has expanded from a small family farm to a National operation with facilities in all major states and over 400 staff. The Lynch Group is committed to ongoing research and development of quality assurance and post harvest techniques; as lead by Greg.

Over more than 16 years with the Lynch Group he has grown in excess of 30 different cut flower crops on a large scale, developing production protocols including nutrition, growth regulators, pest, disease and weed control and perfecting post harvest handling. He has worked with breeders to evaluate and select improved varieties. In recent years as National Technical & Quality Manager he has interacted with many growers throughout Australia and has developed quality standards for the Group. As a result, Greg has encountered a wide range of quality issues with ornamental crops.

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Ms Clare Hamilton-Bate

Clare Hamilton-Bate has a strong background in both the Australian and international horticultural industries. A post harvest horticulturalist, Clare has worked in all sectors of industry from primary production, through the wholesale and retail sectors and, in a range of industry support roles.

Clare maintains close contact with key players in all sectors of both the UK and Australian horticultural industries. This network, combined with her hands on experience at all stages of the fresh produce supply chain provides Clare with a strong background for her current role as National Program Manager for the Freshcare On-Farm Assurance Program.

Freshcare Ltd was established in July 2000, to provide Australian growers with a practical, cost effective mechanism through which to demonstrate food safety and quality compliance. Industry owned and run, Freshcare now has over 3,500 grower members nationally and in 2006 will introduce additional (optional) modules through which members can demonstrate good environmental and work place health and safety practices on-farm.

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Mr Gerry Parlevliet

Gerry is the manager of the floriculture project within the Department
of Agriculture, Western Australia which has the commercial focus to take WA native plants into the market. Projects include Waxflower breeding, selection of other species for commercialisation, developing an international potplant market, as well as research and development in somatic hybridization and propagation technology.

Gerry Parlevliet has been involved in wide arrange of agricultural and
land management roles in his 40 years with the department. He has
developed a Benchmarking/profitability project and was involved with a Waxflower nutrition project with Kevin Seaton. The Waxflower Manual has been recently produced and a Banksia Manual is on its way.

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Ms Sarah Benjamin

Growing up on a commercial cut-flower rose farm just out of Melbourne until the age of 10, Sarah never really liked roses. After all, they had taken her pony's paddock at the age of 5 when her parents decided to expand their rose crop.

Today, Sarah co-owns Simply Roses with her mother, Jan Slater. As a qualified scientist and retired ski-instructor, Sarah never imagined
that she would be growing roses professionally. After living overseas
for 3 years, she realised that Swan Hill was always going to be home.
Shortly after returning to Australia in March 2004, Sarah approached her mother, Jan Slater, to go into business together.

Simply Roses became the first Australian cut-flower rose farm to
specialise in growing roses for premium dried rose petals. Sarah and
Jan have seen Simply Roses grow rapidly since introducing dried rose
petals and their unique rose petal cannons via online marketing. They
have gained a reputation for innovative quality products and
personalised customer service.

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Mr John McDonald

John McDonald is the Queensland Nursery Industry Development Manager (NIDM) whose role is to provide technical support to the Queensland nursery Industry. John, with tertiary qualifications in Plant Protection, Horticulture, and Nursery Production, has been the Nursery Industry Development Officer/Manager in Queensland for over 9 years.

With his previous 7 years experience as a production nursery owner he has a solid depth of knowledge of the nursery industry and the issues confronting enterprises across the state. Coupled with John’s nursery industry involvement is his broad acre experience within the sugar industry through the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (BSES) giving John a well rounded technical background.

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Mr Marcel van Verde

From Florist in the Netherlands, who will be discussing new developments in Gerbera production.

- born in 1964
- studied at the Agricultural University in Wageningen; finished with a degree in Horticulture, in Management and in Marketing
- won a prestigious price, given by ABN AMRO Bank, with the study : The flower of tomorrow; commodity or specialty?
- since 1990 working for Florist, first as export manager, later on as Business Development Manager, also founder and director of the company KF Bioplants, in India

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Mr Villy Christiansen

Director of Global Flowers Denmark, who will be talking about lisianthus production and marketing.

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Mr Chris Prescott

Christopher Prescott has been involved in the cut rose industry for the past 22 years. He began his career in 1984 at Australian Roses and between 1985 and 1989 completed his tertiary qualifications at Melbourne University, Burnley campus.

In 1989 Christopher co-founded his own company Prescott Roses Pty Ltd which specializes in cut flower rose growing. In 1993 and 1994 he taught the “rose module” to the flower growing apprentices at Swinburne University, Wantirna campus.

In 1994 he also gained his accreditation as a consultant qualified person for Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) on roses and set up a centralised testing centre. In 2004 began as a client consultant for Grandiflora Nurseries Pty Ltd.

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Mr Paul Roberts-Thomson

Van Diemen Quality Bulbs is managed by Paul and Bronwen Roberts-Thomson and is owned jointly with Paul's father Eric.

The business aims to be a supplier to Australian and export markets of top quality bulb and bulb flower products. The dominant crop has been, and remains, tulips. Emphasis is heavily on quality production and fits well with the "Quality products from Tasmania" image.

Initially due to public demand, the farm is becoming a major tourist attraction in the tulip season which runs from the end of September to mid October. The beauty of the blooms, the broad bands of colour traversing the fields and the scenic location makes the farm a photographers delight in spring.

Visitors to the farm have the opportunity to wander among hectares of tulips amid the spectacular N.W. Tasmanian scenery.
The local community organised the inaugural Wynyard Tulip Festival in 1991 which attracted several thousand people to the area on 12-13th October. This event is now a major attraction on the Tasmanian tourist calendar. The farm tourism performs an important role as both an icon of the area and an example of rural tourism.

The farm is only 5 minutes drive from the Burnie/Wynyard airport, 1 hour from Devonport (airport, Spirit of Tasmania), 2 hours from Launceston and 4 hours from Hobart.

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Dr John Cole

Since December, Dr John Cole has been an Executive Director of the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and head of its non-regulatory arm, the Sustainable Industries Division.
Dr Cole is an Adjunct Professor in the Business School, University of Queensland, and Adjunct Professor in Sustainable Development in the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering, Queensland University of Technology. He is Deputy Chairman of the Keep Australia Beautiful Council in Queensland.

For twenty years he has served in a variety of senior public and industry positions in areas as diverse as technology commercialisation and community development. He was the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Environment Management Industry Association of Australia (now known as Environment Business Australia) between 1991 and 1998. Thereafter he undertook an organisational renovation of the Keep Australia Beautiful Council in Queensland before joining the EPA in 1998 as a founding Executive Director. During the late 1980s he was a senior policy adviser in the Office of the Rt Hon Ian Sinclair, Leader of the National Party, Canberra.

Dr Cole has been a Queensland representative on the Standing Committee of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council of Australia and New Zealand and the standing committee of the National Environment Protection Council. In 2003 he co-chaired the Queensland Government’s Ethanol Industry Development Committee. Currently, he co-chairs the Queensland Government’s Sustainable Housing inter-departmental committee and serves on other whole of government committees responsible for Sugar Industry Reform, Rural Adjustment, Queensland’s Greenhouse Response Strategy, Clean Coal Technology, SEQ Rural Futures and the Energy Policy.

He serves on the sustainability advisory Board of the CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development, the Global Sustainability Unit at RMIT, and the Faculty of Environmental Engineering at Griffith University. In 1999 he was a US Government International Visitor studying sustainable development in a cross section of US communities. During the 1990s he was a member of the Australian Government’s Advisory Council on Environmental Employment, the Australian Government’s Advisory Group on International Environment Issues, and the Queensland Environment Protection Council.

John has a Ph D in Australian demographic history. He is married with two children.

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Mr Graeme Smith

Graeme Smith Consulting is a company formed in 1998 to offer system and crop consultancy services to new and existing growers. Currently providing crop advisory services to 65 growers (inc tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums, lettuce, herbs, strawberries, gerbera & Roses) across Australia.

Company has developed full training package in commercial hydroponic crop production and delivers same to Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, Melbourne University, Christmas Island Pacific Training & North Melbourne Institute of TAFE.

Horticulture Australia Limited has recently requested me to facilitate a
5-year plan for the development and delivery of a skills training
package to all industry growers across Australia. The package is to include modules from basic to manager level (including "train the trainer" and pre-employment options).

Company facilitates greenhouse study tours of Europe & Canada,
encouraging growers to assess firsthand new and emerging technologies and how to integrate into their existing systems.

Graeme Smith Consulting has recently completed a 2 year review of the Australian protected cropping industry and presented a scoping paper to the Victorian DPI assessing the "Potential for New Biospheric Greenhouse Industry in Victoria"

Company is currently contracted to the Department of Economic
Development to assess the potential for controlled environment
agriculture in Tasmania with the advent of Natural Gas supply to the
state, with a view to developing future investment attraction options in glasshouse production for the states north-coast region.

Graeme Smith Consulting also offers expert advice and opinion on 'due diligence' studies into new and expanding industry projects through professional development of 'independent experts reports' to ensure projects can meet projected production targets and can proceed with confidence.

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Mr Steve Moffatt

[Profile not yet available]

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Mr Geoff Connellan

Geoff Connellan is Principal Lecturer, Burnley College, University of
Melbourne. He has extensive experience in research and teaching in
horticultural technology. His areas of expertise include greenhouses and urban water management. His greenhouse research has covered greenhouse design, solar greenhouses, greenhouse covering materials, energy conservation and nursery watering systems.

He has over 100 technical publications covering greenhouse technology and water management. Geoff has contributed to important Australian greenhouse publications including IPM for Ornamentals - Information Manual, NSW Agriculture and Greenhouses, edited by Keith Garzoli. He has been invited to present at numerous national and international horticultural conferences and has been keynote speaker at national and state nursery conferences on greenhouse and water topics.

Geoff has been a National Board member of the Irrigation Association of Australia and has been a member of several national technical committees including Standards Association of Australia Textiles for Horticulture and Agriculture and the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Committee, Large Scale Committee.

Optimisation of the greenhouse environment to produce quality flower and vegetable crops is of particular interest. In recent years Geoff has focussed on greenhouse cooling and the need for effective ventilation of greenhouses. He will be presenting at the International Horticultural Congress in Seoul, August 2006, on developments in greenhouse cooling.

Geoff has a Master of Engineering Science degree and is a Certified
auditor and trainer for irrigation auditing courses and the nursery
WaterWorks program.

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Mr Erik Koning

From Bercomex (Holland) who will be discussing automation and mechanisation in cut flower production...

Please, let me introduce myself, I am Erik Koning from Bercomex, Holland.

I am the oldest son of a diary farmer but have always been more interested in technique. I am the father of 2 wonderful kids an now almost 4 year old daughter and a 2 year old son. After having finished my studies of operational technologies for the oil and gas industry successfully, I have been drafted for the army for a year. After that year there was hardly any work in the industry, because of a recession in 1992.

I started working for Van den Berg in the production, a company I already knew from a traineeship that I had done during my electronics study at college. In 1995 My function changed to an internal sales representative, doing most of the internal sales administration and since January 2005 as one of the 2 export managers. As you might know, Van den Berg merged with two other companies Compas and Olimex, January 2004. Since then, the new company name is Bercomex.

For this new company, only 3 years, we do have decades experience from our heritage. Bercomex has been world market leader in developing and producing horticultural and agricultural mechanization and automation systems, with a focus on the flower growers, bouquet makers, flower importing and exporting companies. A branch specialized in bulb grading and handling, as well as union and potatoe grading with adjacent applications. With my agricultural background, I can enter in the production peaks of our customers and understand the problems they are facing.

Another branch of the company, specializes on the retail segment, with flower cooling and vending machines. Our company provides solutions to post harvest business activities in the production, trade as well as sale of horti- and agricultural products. Most important in finding a solution is to listen to our customers, let them tell us the problems that they are facing and come up with a solution for a specific situation and customer desire. That is our challenge.

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Dr Stephen Goodwin

Stephen Goodwin and Marilyn Steiner are IPM researchers with NSW DPI, based at the National Centre for Greenhouse Horticulture, Gosford. Individually they have in excess of 30 years experience in IPM specialising in biologically-based IPM for the greenhouse industry, 12 of these have been spent together working for NSW DPI. Their research includes the identification and development of new biocontrol agents and reduced-risk chemicals for use in IPM programs against key greenhouse pests.

They are also investigating the side effects of pesticides against commercially-produced biocontrol agents to provide greenhouse growers with information on pesticide compatibility. Both scientists provide training in and technical support on IPM to assist greenhouse growers nationally.

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Mr Gary Leeson

Gary Leeson is a B. Hort Science and comes from a farming background in Northern NSW. Gary's commercial experiences include sales and marketing with the New Zealand Kiwifruit Marketing Board, Sunkist Oranges, MIA Citrus Marketing board and Chemspray-Chemturf Pty Ltd based in Asia.

He has worked for Organic Crop Protectants for the past 13 years and has been instrumental in the development of ecologically sustainable products with a focus on IPM. Gary's passion is helping growers convert their farming operations to certified organic production for a more sustainable profitability.

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Ms Marilyn Steiner

Ms Marilyn Steiner is associated with Dr Stephen Goodwin.

[Refer to Stephen Goodwin above]

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Ms Ayumi Suzuki

1995 Graduated from Shizuoka University ,Shizuoka Japan ,  Bachelor of Agricultural Science. Study on Flowering control of Eustoma grandiflorum and Phalenopsis spp.

1997 Graduated from The Ohio State University ,Ohio USA .  Master of Crop Science & Horticulture / Study on Vernalization on Osteospermum ecklonis

1997-2000 Biological Scientist at University of Florida, Environmental Horticultural Science Department.  Research in post harvest on cut flowers from South America . Two publications during this period

2001- present:  Working at International Sales and Marketing Department of Takii & Co, LTD. Current position: Flower Technical Sales Chief of the International Sales and Marketing Dept. Almost 1/3 of the time I am out of office to Takii's subsidiaries in USA, Europe, China, Korea, and visiting customers in Australia, South East Asia. Our flower team now has 3 people in Takii Japan handling Marketing & Sales + Technical support and inventory control of Takii Flower Varieties, plus 20 Area Representatives (including Sales and Customer Service) handling both vegetables and flowers.

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Mr Dai Harada

Dai Harada graduated in Marketing at the West Virginia State University, U.S.A. He joined Miyoshi in 1986 and is now in charge of the Company's world wide exports, regularly visiting major horticultural areas in Europe, North & South America, Australasia and the Far East. Miyoshi has been one of the pioneers of commercial tissue culture production in Japan.

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Mr Len Tesoriero

[Profile not yet available]

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Professor Daryl Joyce

Professor and Director of the Centre for Native Floriculture in the School of Agronomy & Horticulture at The University of Queensland’s Gatton Campus. He has worked for over 20 years in applied horticulture research, teaching and extension for organisations that include the Western Australian Department of Agriculture, the CSIRO Division of Horticulture, and Cranfield University in the UK.

Daryl’s research has focused on post-harvest floriculture, and he has specialised in understanding the post-harvest biology of native Australian cut-flowers and foliage and on implementing post-harvest technologies and systems aimed at supplying the best possible quality product to consumers. Daryl is particularly interested in the water relations of cut-flowers and foliage, and on improved packaging and novel chemical treatments that suppress water loss during storage & transport and during vase life.

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Mr Alan McLean

Alan McLean began his growing experience in 1985 with a commercial Calla and Perennial growing operation. Alan then worked for Bloomers Growers and Exporters Limited for 16 years, progressing to the Calla Manager roll and ultimately the General Manager. This role included extensive travel domestically and internationally working with commercial growers and marketers.

Alan's specialty is Calla lilies and floriculture and he has provided consulting for grower's in NZ and around the world through his previous company Growing Success Limited since 2002.
Alan also runs a small trial operation to test new growing methods andcontinues to study the horticulture field he loves. Alan can provide sound technical resource in a wide variety of disciplines directly related to commercial horticulture and hydroponics.

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