WFA is seeking your membership and support.
Since May 2007, WFA has been busy laying the foundations for the future of the wildflower industry.
Like all foundations most of it is out of sight and/or will be finally be covered over by the building that it is designed to support.
Nevertheless, WFA Members and prospective members need to be assured that the foundations that we are building are secure and will support the industry that will achieve our Vision.
More work needs to be done and we already have many willing helpers but what we need most is commitment and support of most of the industry's businesses. We need the financial support by way of membership fees and any other income we can generate as well as very importantly the numbers of members so we, as a National body, can say that we represent the industry.
The level of representation is extremely important as is sends the message that the "cohesive" part of our vision is being achieved and that we are building the capacity to attend to the many issues that is preventing our industry from achieving its full potential.
Following are some of the activities and projects that are in progress;
Market Development (This title encompasses all the projects and activities that will create awareness of the Australian grown wildflower product lines, build demand and value, sets our product apart from other country's offering and all this in the Australian market as well as in selected international markets)
Project WFA07003 IFEX2007 - WFA have secured funding from the Australian Wildflower industry members (58%), Horticulture Australian Ltd (42%) with assistance from Austrade to attend the IFEX2007 event in Japan. The total Project value is approx. $45,000. The participants will be looking for information that will allow them to more effectively interact with purchasers of Australian grown Wildflowers. Ten participants and two observers will attend this event in October. The NSW State Government has also made a financial contribution to the costs of Trade Booth. Participants from all over Australia were offered the opportunity to learn more about the Japanese market.
IFEX2007 add-on - The Flower Association of Queensland (FAQI) and the Australian Centre for Lifestyle Horticulture (ACLH), the Queensland DPI&F with the assistance of Austrade are funding an "add-on" project immediately before the commencement of IFEX that aims to assess how growers can more effectively present their product at a selected auction house. We aim to develop a relationship and learn how growers and other members of the supply chain can contribute in a constructive way that enhances the value of the product lines we deliver. Our longer term aim is to learn from this one location and apply the concepts learnt to other Auction houses and involve a broader range of Australian businesses to develop the awareness and demand for Australian grown flowers and foliage.
Further projects being discussed, will focus in the area of Market Development where WFA aims to ensure that increasing demand and value of the better quality products will keep step with the increased investment made by growers to improve product quality and value. Some of these include increasing awareness of new florists by working with the TAFE floristry training streams to ensure that a mix of all types of floral produce that may represent the Australian style is included in the curriculum and that all newly trained florist embrace Australian grown wildflowers as part of their palette of products that they enthusiastically work with. WFA needs to develop a capacity to demonstrate to florists the value of using Australian grown wildflowers in their selection for their customers. This may mean on-farm demonstration by enthusiastic floral designers to show the environment in which the flowers are grown, to introduce the face behind the product being made available and for growers to learn more about the requirements of the florist industry. Wholesalers may also be in a position to host these events as part of their strategy to link growers, wholesalers and florists.
Product Enhancement and Development - (This area of work would cover projects and activities that deliver vibrancy, quality, consistency of Australian grown Wildflower products and includes improving existing varieties, production techniques, on-farm processes as well as develop new product and systems that would deliver an improvement in the commercial outcomes)
Project WFA07009 - Farm Productivity and Quality Enhancement - WFA have prepared a submission for a project to the total value of $400,000 (50% to be matched by growers both cash and in-kind) to help growers produce and deliver improved quality product. It has been shown on some farms that improved soil conditions have lead to healthier plants and healthy plants have delivered more/better quality stems and/or blooms. Better product would be more efficient and more cost effective to harvest and process and deliver an improved quality product to the consumer. Initially, up to 60Ha of improved land throughout Australia for growing floriculture products will have a positive impact on the quality and quantity of the products produced and of course growers who see positive results from this project implementation on their farm will invest further into soil testing, leaf analysis and taking corrective action to ensure the plant health is optimized. The project has included funding to reimburse participants and project champions for their participation in and implementation of the project.
Quality Standards - Bettina Gollnow DPI NSW has requested information from industry for a project to help growers adopt a set of standards for the quality, length and other attributes of the cut flower products that are produced. This will be a significant building block for our industry and will address the markets perception of the many standards currently in use and the lack of consistency of items traded.
Further projects being discussed and considered, will focus in the area of Farming systems that will help to streamline the production processes.
Industry Development - (Projects and activities that support the industry to develop sustainable improvements)
Project WFA07005 Industry Capacity Building - This project is fully-funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and is the result of representations made by AFEC and other industry members and commenced in 2005. The first deliverable was the Australian wildflowers Industry: Taking Stock and Setting Direction document that focused on identifying a way forward for the industry. The concept of Capacity Building aims to allow an industry to assess its positive and negative attributes and determine the capacity to grow and achieve an outcome worthy of further investment by Government as well as by industry businesses itself. In April 2006 the Wildflower Industry Options Paper was prepared and delivered to DAFF after further meetings with industry members. The industry applied for funding under the Action Partnerships process but was unsuccessful in this case. The Department provided $100,000 as a one-off grant for the opportunity to develop "suitable capacity within the industry". This grant was used to fund the two of the first Board meetings of WildFlowers combined with Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) training workshop and Team management Systems (TMS) workshop. Each of these opportunities afforded the participants (who were invited from the whole industry Australia wide and all expenses were reimbursed) to gain information that can be applied both in their capacity as Directors of WFA and in their own businesses. Some of the $100,000 was allocated to the cost of operating a secretariat for some months.
RIRDC - At a meeting of WFA representatives with the Managing Director and the General Manager - New Industries at Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), WFA outlined the challenges ahead and the positive moves being made for the Wildflower industry. The MD took the comments in a positive way and we believe that WFA is now positioned as an organisation that can make a positive difference to this industry. WFA was invited to prepare a five year budget for projects that would assist our industry to achieve it's objectives. Bettina Gollnow of DPI NSW prepared a 5 year R&D plan for our industry and the strategies and projects identified based on industry consultation will form a basis for the budget and for the future direction of WFA.
WFA Website - WFA have created a website that delivers current information to all industry participants. As demand for services for WFA increase and funds are available the website will be upgraded to provide "member only" services, flower and season locator and enhances web services for value added paying members. As broadband services become faster to most growers the next generation of business managing tools will be offered to help reduce the amount of time spent on administration.
AFI Magazine - By special arrangement with FAQI, each WFA member will receive a yearly subscription to the Australian Flower Industry(AFI) magazine. This publication aims to deliver current and relevant information to growers, florists and supply chain members. The format now includes a grower cover and a florist cover and therefore is an opportunity for growers to promote and educate florists about the floral product that are available from their farm during the season. The AFI Magazine also offers opportunities for contributed articles to be included and readers are invited to provide their story or news item.
Supply Chain Enhancements - (projects that will improve the logistics, information flow, grower to customer linkage, cash flow improvements)
No specific projects are identified in this area. Some issues will be addressed in connection with the IFEX2007, IFEX2008, and follow on projects.
Future projects ideas addressing the Supply chain issues are aiming at positioning the supply chain as a competitive advantage for Australian grown wildflower products - our proximity to the growing Asian market, the potential for delivering certain products by sea and opportunities to bring growers closer to buyers so that information exchange can flourish.
The involvement of the industry's leaders in the management and improvement of the supply chain is eagerly sought to allow WFA to drive improved profitability, efficiency and ensure sustainable solutions are implemented to allow the increased value of Australian grown floriculture product lines to be realised.
The project and activities outlined above represent the current state of development of WildFlowers Australia Ltd strategies to help each industry member to build a profitable business. WFA is focussing on projects that help to develop the market for their products, help to improve the quality of the crops they are producing and to develop the capacity to generate more projects that will do more of the same and potentially move each participating business into a more profitable situation.
The Board of WFA now seeks the contribution of all prospective members by going to the Register for Membership index item on the WFA website and and completing the Membership application. This is an automated system designed to reduce the administration time and cost of processing membership applications. WFA's accounting system is automatically updated and the funds are transferred directly into WFA Bank Account. members can download and print their Tax Invoice.
I look forward to your enthusiastic promotion to other industry businesses, of the value that WFA have to offer and should you wish to discuss any of the above items further please email the Execuitive Officer
management@wildflowersaustralia.com.au or call the WFA Management Committee member you know best.