Growers urged to participate in crucial nursery survey
MEDIA RELEASE
14 October 2022
Nursery growers across the country are being urged to participate in a nationwide census, which opens this week, which aims to accurately assess the value and volume of greenlife production across Australia.
In addition to growers, the industry will also be surveying retail nurseries and landscapers to validate production data and gain further insights into how the supply chain operates.
Funded by Hort Innovation using industry levies and funds from the Australian Government, this project is being led by Greenlife Industry Australia in conjunction with ACIL Allen Consulting and Down To Earth Research. Survey data will be gathered through a series of quantitative interviews with greenlife businesses with the aim to produce a reliable and robust snapshot of the size, value, production, employment, and sentiment of Australia’s thriving nursery industry.
Crucially, the data collected in the surveys will be provided back to industry participants in the form of the nursery industry business benchmarking tool. The tool is an easy to use and functional program which uses industry data to provide businesses with information to inform short-term decision making and long-term strategy based on trends amongst peers.
Joanna Cave, Chief Executive, Greenlife Industry Australia, encourages all growers to participate in the survey in order to build the most accurate and reliable picture of the industry.
“This is the fifth year that we are carrying out this survey and with each year, the data becomes more clear and we become more capable of drawing trend-based conclusions”, she said.
“We would love to see an increase in respondents this year to better reflect the diversity of our growing industry.
“With each completed survey, we are able to complete another piece of the puzzle when it comes to determining the true value of our industry.
“The more input we get, the better we can understand trends and make strategic investment decisions accordingly.
“Additionally, the more accurate the data is, the more valuable the benchmarking tool will be, meaning our growers will get greater value from the tool and be able to make more informed decisions about the future of their business”.
Last year, the industry generated $2.8 billion in sales, growing at over 8% on the previous year.on the previous year. Growers also reported making decisions on investment in education and technology, based on insights that other growers were prioritising investments in their businesses.
The survey component of the research will be managed by Down To Earth Research. From now through to early December, a random sample of greenlife businesses will be contacted to arrange interviews.
Each year, results of the survey are formulated into a fact sheet, which tells the story of the Greenlife industry. Check out last year’s results here:
More information on the survey can be found on the Greenlife Industry Australia website.
The strategic levy-funded project Nursery Industry Statistics 2020-21 to 2024-25 (NY21000) project is funded by Hort Innovation using nursery research and development levy and funds from the Australian Government.
MEDIA CONTACT
Gabrielle Stannus, Greenlife Industry Australia
M: 0400 431 277
E: Gabrielle.Stannus@greenlifeindustry.com.au
