Company Overview
Van Belle Nursery Inc. is a family-owned wholesale nursery located in the picturesque Fraser Valley, BC. Since 1973, we have transformed from a small landscape supply farm into a 100-acre operation with advanced facilities dedicated to producing top-quality plants for growers and garden centers across North America.
Summary
We are seeking a Grower to join our team at Van Belle Nursery Inc.,Youngplants Division. This role is essential in leading the care, development, and quality of our crops while supporting a safe, organized, and collaborative growing environment. Your expertise will directly contribute to producing exceptional plants, maintaining accurate inventory, and ensuring smooth coordination across departments to meet production and shipping goals.
How I contribute:
I support the growing team to ensure plant conditions meet VBN quality standards in an efficient way for Shipping and Production while maintaining inventory accuracy.
My goals are to:
Plants
a. Collaborate with the Production, Trial plants, IPM, and Shipping teams to produce high-quality plants, on schedule in the quantities requested by the Sales team
b. Work with the Senior Grower to research and implement improvements to growing processes
c. Optimize environmental control through Argus/Hunter to provide conditions that are most favorable to maximize the crop yields
People
a. Train FT and PT workers in all growing tasks and keep track of their performance
b. Be an active backup for the Growing team.
c. Maintain and update SOPs related to the Growing Program that can be used by other team members
Finances
a. Maintain a daily accurate inventory of crops, equipment, and supplies and make purchase decisions
b. Help to establish and monitor the crop protection budget and forecast for all young plant crops
I am responsible for:
People
a. Ensure team members are well-trained and there are ups for my position and for your team members
b. Ensure equipment and machinery is operated in a good and safe condition
c. Actively contribute to a safe and healthy workplace by following WorkSafeBC regulations, participating in the Health and Safety Committee, and supporting initiatives that promote employee well-being and compliance with safety standards.
Plants
a. Create and maintain up-to-date procedures of growing techniques; with the supervision of the senior grower
b. Constantly monitor crops and with the Senior Grower make adjustments to achieve production goals
c. Notify Production, Shipping, and Sales when crop timing changes, there is elevate risks early (disease, weather delays, rooting failures)
d. Notify Production, Shipping when plants will not meet a ready date
e. Communicate promptly adjustments to forcing, spacing, or cultural practices that impact other departments
f. Responsible for all growing activities in propagation or finishing including
i. Water, Fertilization, Prune, and weed management
ii. Planning proactively to space, move, force, and winterize crops
iii. Ensuring all growing tasks are completed efficiently and on time for production or shipping needs
iv. Updating Standard Operating Procedures for each crop and reviewing and updating growing templates yearly
v. Ensuring that sanitation practices are in place
Finances
a. Establish and monitor the growing budget and forecast
b. Responsible for inventory accuracy of plants (numbers, locations, ready dates)and growing supplies as these directly affect the balance sheet
Assist the Senior Grower with other duties as assigned.
I'll know I'm winning when:
1. Plants shipped to customers are healthy and clean under CNCP regulations
2. I am proactive to address and communicate issues regarding crop health and inventory in a timely manner
3. I am proactively working with other departments to prioritize needs based on production and shipping
4. There are active backups for all tasks between team members5. I have the leadership skills to follow up on deliverables and team members
Requirements:
- 3+ Years of growing experience with ornamental nurseries
- Certificate, Diploma, Degree in any field of Agriculture / Horticulture.
- Spanish skills are an asset.
- Basic knowledge of climate control systems (argus and/or priva) and irrigation systems
- Strong leadership and organizational skills
- Experience leading teams of 5+
- Ability to multi-task effectively with excellent attention-to-detail
- Excellent problem solving and communication skills
- Be willing to join the first aid group or health and safety committee
- Be available to attend on Saturdays/Stats when is required
Tasks:
Daily
- Lead daily huddle with my growing crew
- Attend daily huddle with the Senior Grower
- Water management through different irrigation systems (duration and water pressure)
- Prioritize, assign, and supervise crop maintenance duties based on growing, production and shipping needs. Overall crop maintenance includes but is not restricted to: a review of plant health, sanitation, fertilization, pruning, grading needs, weeding, and follow-up on tasks with crew members
- Sanitation Management: Keep all areas clean, free of debris and weeds and algae, regular cleaning of irrigation system (sprinklers, flush lines)
- Train Growing team in their daily activities and Plantango/H2O
- Maintaining Inventory accuracy (numbers, locations, quality, and ready dates), making sure the team members are keeping the records in their daily activities on the system
- Executing and communicating moving and space planning
- Follow up on IPM strategies and report findings of pest/disease and/or spray damage to IPM coordinator
- Review and communicate with the production team to ensure cuttings are taken (if needed) before pruning/shipping
- Review GH environment to increase crop quality and yield (Fans, VPD, heat, shade)
- Ensure growing tools and equipment are in good working order and that damage is reported in a timely manner to the maintenance or facilities team
- Monitor and address issues regarding Argus with suppliers and the Senior Grower.
- Monitor and report greenhouse and nursery conditions that could adversely affect crew health and safety such as pesticide re-entry times, extreme temperatures and high winds
Weekly
- Crop Walk with Senior Grower
- Weekly space planning - crops that will be moved to different locations should be communicated one week in advance to the other growing departments or IPM to assist with planning sprays
- Monitor the weekly plans of the IPM crop protection strategy to plan labor activities accordingly
- Attend to the assigned meetings accordingly and contribute to executing tasks regarding forcing and fertilizing or pruning to produce cuttings, or preparing plants for shipping
- Attend and contribute to IPM meetings to identify issues and help to remove roadblocks regarding plant health
- Monitor and update your Fiscus lines
- Attend YP GGOB meetings
Yearly
- Grower seminars and training
- Support and attend to the growing side of the High Involvement Planning and budget processes
- Support and execute efforts to winterize crops, early forcing, frost parties, and cutting availability
- Review and/or maintain SOPs for the nutrient regiment, lighting, temperature, and humidity manipulation for all crops and different seasons
- Be an active backup for other growing team members when required.
Occasionally
- Propose, implement, execute and evaluate results of trials in the rooting, hardening and liners stages.
- Assist with receiving and inspecting incoming plants
- Support YP departments on research design and implementation strategies (ex. Lean processes, new product testing, new propagation methods, etc.)
- Contribute to GGOB mini-games
- Flex into other departments to support the overall success of the business during off-season production cycles
- Coach & Connects with your team quarterly
- Work with the Facilities Department to develop Preventative maintenance scheduling for facility equipment (e.g. Irrigation Systems)
Division Specific Tasks
Stock Plants
- Develop stock plant management program based on production needs
- Increase the cut yield percentage of cuttings from stock plants and harvest rounds
- Properly label all stock plants
- Review, monitor, and report quality issues regarding cutting with the assigned production team member.
- Review that sanitation procedures are followed properly
Propagation and Hardening Propagation
- Review climate control on Argus
- Review that sanitation procedures are followed properly
- Review, monitor, and report quality issues regarding cutting and sticking with the assigned production team member.
Gardening
- Review, monitor and report quality issues to the propagation grower
- Keep the crops up to date in inventory and cultural management
- Ensure the crops that are going to be moved to liners meet the assigned quality standards.
- Review that sanitation procedures are followed properly
Liners
- Responsible for organizing and supervising Frost Parties in spring and fall.
- Increase the cut yield percentage of cuttings from Liner plants and harvest rounds
- Review, monitor and report quality issues to the hardening grower
- Keep the crops up to date in inventory and cultural management
- Review the shipping needs with its coordinator and generate strategies to deliver good quality products
- Review that sanitation procedures are followed properly
