Value means something different to everyone, but common to all is achieving value to secure the long-term sustainability of their business. Boomaroo Nurseries understands the importance of providing this value to customers to meet their varying needs, as Director Nick Jacometti explains.

As the starting block for vegetable crops in the paddock, the quality, consistency and health of the seedlings planted are crucial to getting the crop off to a good start.

Boomaroo Nurseries understands the value in providing reliability to growers through the experience of its team and investment in its automated facilities to produce strong and healthy plants to ensure ease of planting in the paddock and offering the very best chance of high yields at harvest.

“The seedling phase is one of the most input sensitive of the plants’ development. Boomaroo’s ability to produce plants in a highly controlled growing environment helps to manage risk at this important stage and frees up land on-farm for growers,” Boomaroo Director Nick Jacometti says.

The business of farming by its very nature can be unpredictable. Whether it be from the impacts of normal weather patterns, more extreme weather events such as the recent floods – or non-weather-related issues such as labour shortages – growers need to know that solutions can be put into place quickly and with a degree of flexibility.

Boomaroo’s team of territory managers and dispatch coordinators are focused on working with growers to ensure that when these events occur, they can respond in a manner that suits the grower as well as looks after the plants.

“We’ve built our business and reputation on demonstrating flexibility and working through challenges affecting our customers,” Nick explains.

“Whether that’s working with growers to hold, re-allocate or reschedule seedling programs where necessary, find extra plants to take advantage of opportunities or anything in between, it makes it easier for our customers to respond to the immediate challenges at hand.”

Close communication helps tailor to grower needs.

Close collaboration

Boomaroo’s ongoing relationships with seed companies and involvement in nursery and field trials ensures that it can offer growers the most recent advances in crop genetics to best meet their agronomic, harvest or consumer needs.

The benefits of these developments are wide-ranging. Improved varieties offer benefits such as better mildew resistance, reduced pinking (lettuce), slower bolting properties or tolerance to cold or tip burn.

Other developments include smaller varieties to reduce household waste or more flexible growing timeslots. These initiatives respond not only to the challenges in the field, but the changing trends and expectations of consumers and supermarkets.

“Furthermore, our treatment programs assist in building resilience, disease resistance and improved nutrient uptake, thus improving plant performance and yield in challenging agronomic conditions,” Nick says.

One of the biggest changes Boomaroo has seen in the industry in the last decade is the increased focus on sustainability.

“This has been driven both by changing consumer expectations as well as industry responding to the more volatile environmental conditions we have been experiencing,” Nick adds.

A green approach

Environmental sustainability underpins all decisions made at Boomaroo – within its nursery operations as well as supporting improved practices in the paddock.

Internally there has been a strong focus on water, input and energy reductions, and the adoption of softer chemicals and biological treatment programs. Boomaroo has recently invested heavily in its water recycling, treatment and storage facilities, guaranteeing the availability of high-quality water to meet over 70 per cent of the facilities’ peak water requirements.

The benefits of the new reverse-osmosis, microfiltration systems in reducing water consumption is further enhanced by highly efficient irrigation and treatment delivery systems throughout the operation’s two facilities. Boomaroo operates nurseries in Lara, Victoria and Southbrook, Queensland.

Beyond the nursery gates, there has been a similar focus on supporting more holistic and sustainable farming practices.

Boomaroo’s beneficial host plant offering is an example of this, presenting growers with a range of flowering varieties, such as Alyssum, Marigold and flowering herbs to plant alongside their crops to support beneficial predatory insects on farm, which is a more sustainable approach to pest control.

“Our Certified Organic offering is another example of Boomaroo responding to consumers’ increasing focus on sustainability, health and wellbeing, and to minimise environmental impacts and our footprint,” Nick says.

Find out more

Please visit the Boomaroo website or contact your local Boomaroo Territory Manager.

Cover image: Strong healthy seedlings are the best start.