Hi,
Another week closer to Christmas and the credit card is taking a pounding. Unfortunately for Caroline, it isn't on flash presents, but on a series of breakdowns that always seem to build up as the festive break gets close and guests threaten to visit. After several months of a deteriorating TV signal we lost all channels last week and had to call in an expert to sort us out. A very helpful chap has got us going again, with a new areal amplifier/splitter, which after 30 years had given up. Luckily we had just invested in a TV stick so could log into BBC iplayer and catch up on a few missed programmes, while the aerial was out of action. That went well for 24hrs until the wireless router in the house died, so a new one is now on the way. Then the electric fly killer in the loft burnt out and will have to be replaced. That's my three, so should be a good run in from now.
Talking of shopping, I have just sorted out a new 3.5t van purchase, which should be ready for the end of February, just in time for the new season to really get going. We were so busy last year we ended up hiring a van for most of the spring and summer, which was not only quite expensive but inefficient too. The hire vans are not set up to carry trolleys and payloads are not great, we end up with a load capacity 35% below our bespoke van, which is fine for emergencies but not good for the long term. I have researched electric options, in the hope that we could take another bold step, but it's not quite there yet. Fiat have one due next year that has promise, but we will need to wait until they are in operation to see what the practical implications on payload and range will be. The body maker we use, already has industry leading payloads, thanks to its super lightweight design and materials. This time we have been able to order a fractionally wider body than before, which fits the trolleys much better and allows us to use a shorter body length. The loading ramp also doubles up as one of the rear doors which adds practicality and saves more weight. We have lashed out a little extra on alloy wheels and an even lighter alloy back-frame, which gives even more payload. Both should pay back handsomely over time. The more we deliver on each trip, the lower the impact on both the environment and the wallet.
Plant passport changes have arrived ready or not!.
The official start date was the 14th of December and although we have, in theory, a 12 month grace period to get it all set up correctly, we are trying to get it right from the word GO. Like many producers we have had to take a bit of a punt on how we interpret the new rules, after a period of a lack of clarity or clear practical direction from the advisory bodies. The next stage will be seeing what the Plant Health Inspectors make of our efforts, although I don't suppose they will have time to make many visits, until the dust settles after the implementation date and the likely ministerial and EU developments coming over the next few weeks. I am hoping you will not actually notice too much of a change, we have tried to keep our implementation as seamless as we can.
Here are the main changes we have made that you will see, to comply with the new regulations;
- All individual plant labels from now on will have extra PP info on them (A- the genus and species of the plant, B-our producer plant passport number, C- a batch number, D- country of origin, an image of the EU flag).
- All delivery notes have been redesigned to included the same info.
- All invoices have been redesigned to included the same info.
In theory, at the moment, we need not put the PP details on each individual plant, if we are supplying retailers. We could just attached a label on each trolley listing all the plants. However complications may occur if the plant is then sold on to another professional, who is buying and planting for someone else (eg a landscaper), where the plant passport info really should be passed on. This is only practical if the PP info is passed on with each plant. Quite how the landscaper then keeps the info on record for the required three years I'm not sure, but I suspect that issue will get ironed out at a later stage.
All new colour labels will have the PP info printed on them, and all old label stock will be over-stuck with small sticky labels
with PP info on each. The wooden herb labels, which we print ourselves, are all having new printing plates made for them and the info will appear towards the bottom of the label.
The changes to the delivery note and invoice are so that you can easily comply with the regulations and keep the PP records for the required three years. You have to keep invoices as a tax record for a longer time than three years already, so you can just use these as your PP record, without involving any extra filing etc. Alternatively you can use the delivery notes as your record, or use a combination of the two.
If I don't catch you next week, have a great Christmas and New Year. May you be cool, cosy and relaxed over the whole period and well into the coming year.
Best wishes from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
Monday 16 December 2019
Monday 9 December 2019
Hairy Passports
Hi,
I hope you are all having a good run up to Christmas. Our tree was decorated yesterday so I'm ready.
Plant passport changes are here.
Considering how quiet it should be for us at this time of year, I still find myself here late into the evening and weekends too. The whole updating of the plant passporting system has really thrown a bit of a spanner in the works. The official start date is the 14th of December and although we have, in theory, a 12 month grace period to get it all set up correctly, we would really like to get it right from the word GO. Like many producers we have had to take a bit of a punt on how we interpret the new rules, after a period of a lack of clarity or clear practical direction from the advisory bodies. Last week saw a flurry of new guidance, but I'm not sure if it's all a bit late for most.
I am hoping you will not actually notice too much of a change, we have tried to keep the implementation as seamless as we can. Here are the main changes we have made that you will see, to comply with the new regulations;
- All individual plant labels from now on will have extra PP info on them (A- the genus and species of the plant, B-our producer plant passport number, C- a batch number, D- country of origin, an image of the EU flag).
- All delivery notes have been redesigned to included the same info.
- All invoices have been redesigned to included the same info.
In theory, at the moment, we need not put the PP details on each individual plant, if we are supplying retailers. We could just attached a label on each trolley listing all the plants. However complications may occur if the plant is then sold on to another professional, who is buying and planting for someone else (eg a landscaper), where the plant passport info really should be passed on. This is only practical if the PP info is passed on with each plant. Quite how the landscaper then keeps the info on record for the required three years I'm not sure, but I suspect that issue will get ironed out at a later stage.
All new colour labels will have the PP info printed on them, and all old label stock will be over-stuck with small sticky labels with PP info on it (160,000 to stick). The PP info appears in the rather convenient blank space, behind the top of the skewer on the reverse side of the label. The wooden herb labels, which we print ourselves, are all having new printing plates made for them and the info will appear towards the bottom of the label and is obscured from general sight at or just below the compost level. Because we now treat the labels with a bit of water protection the details remain visible for many weeks. If the authorities are worried about this positioning, we may have to print the info on a separate label and insert that in the pot too but we are hoping to avoid this, to save on resources.
The changes to the delivery note and invoice are so that you can easily comply with the regulations and keep the PP records for the required three years. You have to keep invoices as a tax record for a longer time than three years already, so you can just use these as your PP record, without involving any extra filing etc. Alternatively you can use the delivery notes as your record, or use a combination of the two.
I won't bore you with the programming fun I have had changing spreadsheet fields and data, report formats, screen designs and alike, but I hope we are just about there on all the paperwork. The colour label over-sticker printing and application is well underway (up to E!) and about half the new herb printing plates are made. I suspect my £10,000 estimate on implementation costs will be conservative, but luckily our programmer, sticker printer and plate maker is super cheap and likes a challenge!
Wooden box collections
We are just about done now with the collections of our wooden boxes. We are not out much at the moment but if anyone still has any trays ready to go, just drop me a line and we will pop in when next close by. Thanks for all your help, on the whole we have kept up a great return rate, which helps the whole system continue to work sustainably.
Availability highlights
Cyclamen coum varieties are doing their thing, in bud and flower. These hardy stars will flower from now until mid Spring. Nicely subtle bloomers with a constant feed of new flower rather than one huge flush.
Winter interest in vartieties of evergreens bowls along, with a wider range than usual of Bergenia's which will start flowering in very early spring, along with the lovely Euphorbia's.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
I hope you are all having a good run up to Christmas. Our tree was decorated yesterday so I'm ready.
Plant passport changes are here.
Considering how quiet it should be for us at this time of year, I still find myself here late into the evening and weekends too. The whole updating of the plant passporting system has really thrown a bit of a spanner in the works. The official start date is the 14th of December and although we have, in theory, a 12 month grace period to get it all set up correctly, we would really like to get it right from the word GO. Like many producers we have had to take a bit of a punt on how we interpret the new rules, after a period of a lack of clarity or clear practical direction from the advisory bodies. Last week saw a flurry of new guidance, but I'm not sure if it's all a bit late for most.
I am hoping you will not actually notice too much of a change, we have tried to keep the implementation as seamless as we can. Here are the main changes we have made that you will see, to comply with the new regulations;
- All individual plant labels from now on will have extra PP info on them (A- the genus and species of the plant, B-our producer plant passport number, C- a batch number, D- country of origin, an image of the EU flag).
- All delivery notes have been redesigned to included the same info.
- All invoices have been redesigned to included the same info.
In theory, at the moment, we need not put the PP details on each individual plant, if we are supplying retailers. We could just attached a label on each trolley listing all the plants. However complications may occur if the plant is then sold on to another professional, who is buying and planting for someone else (eg a landscaper), where the plant passport info really should be passed on. This is only practical if the PP info is passed on with each plant. Quite how the landscaper then keeps the info on record for the required three years I'm not sure, but I suspect that issue will get ironed out at a later stage.
All new colour labels will have the PP info printed on them, and all old label stock will be over-stuck with small sticky labels with PP info on it (160,000 to stick). The PP info appears in the rather convenient blank space, behind the top of the skewer on the reverse side of the label. The wooden herb labels, which we print ourselves, are all having new printing plates made for them and the info will appear towards the bottom of the label and is obscured from general sight at or just below the compost level. Because we now treat the labels with a bit of water protection the details remain visible for many weeks. If the authorities are worried about this positioning, we may have to print the info on a separate label and insert that in the pot too but we are hoping to avoid this, to save on resources.
The changes to the delivery note and invoice are so that you can easily comply with the regulations and keep the PP records for the required three years. You have to keep invoices as a tax record for a longer time than three years already, so you can just use these as your PP record, without involving any extra filing etc. Alternatively you can use the delivery notes as your record, or use a combination of the two.
I won't bore you with the programming fun I have had changing spreadsheet fields and data, report formats, screen designs and alike, but I hope we are just about there on all the paperwork. The colour label over-sticker printing and application is well underway (up to E!) and about half the new herb printing plates are made. I suspect my £10,000 estimate on implementation costs will be conservative, but luckily our programmer, sticker printer and plate maker is super cheap and likes a challenge!
Wooden box collections
We are just about done now with the collections of our wooden boxes. We are not out much at the moment but if anyone still has any trays ready to go, just drop me a line and we will pop in when next close by. Thanks for all your help, on the whole we have kept up a great return rate, which helps the whole system continue to work sustainably.
Availability highlights
Cyclamen coum varieties are doing their thing, in bud and flower. These hardy stars will flower from now until mid Spring. Nicely subtle bloomers with a constant feed of new flower rather than one huge flush.
Winter interest in vartieties of evergreens bowls along, with a wider range than usual of Bergenia's which will start flowering in very early spring, along with the lovely Euphorbia's.
Have a great week from all at Kirton Farm Nurseries.
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