The world has changed completely in recent months. And especially the way in which people communicate with each other. It has been almost completely digitised, and that has a major impact on daily life. Online (social) media are more than ever the place to start a conversation. For example, to catch up on the latest corona measures, celebrate your family’s birthday or just have a coffee chat.

Horticulture is also increasingly finding its way into the digital world. The ecosystem of growers, advisors, distributors and researchers supports each other through tools such as Zoom, WhatsApp and WeChat. Major fairs such as GreenTech are switching from offline to online events and every self-respecting company organises webinars to keep the target group informed of the latest developments. We also see a steady increase on our platform when it comes to discussing and analysing crop data.

We can imagine that in this growing mass of information it is difficult to keep track of which matters are relevant to your company and horticulture itself. Fortunately, there are a lot of interesting people active who filter this information for you and share it with you in a pleasant way. The only question is, who are these people that help you stay updated in this fast-changing world. That’s why we’ve shortlisted ten influencers we believe should appear in your daily feed:

Rob Baan

The undisputed nestor of horticulture. He was one of the first to ring the alarm when corona threatened the horticultural sector. Koppert Cress himself had almost died in the crisis, but remained afloat with art and flying work. Baan has argued for years that society should live healthier, based on healthy and high-quality fruit and vegetables. The entrepreneur is regularly invited to television programs such as Dream School, is a well-known speaker and is very active on channels such as Twitter and LinkedIn

Ben Bardsley

Ben Bardsley is Rob Baan’s British counterpart. As the owner of one of the largest top fruit growers in Great Britain Bardsey – England, Ben regularly comes to the fore to encourage the (English) population to consume fruit and vegetables. Bardsley distinguishes himself with his characteristic vlogs that he records while walking or driving through the orchards.

Jasper den Besten

Jasper den Besten has been a lecturer at the HAS University of Applied Sciences in Den Bosch for many years and is a well-known face within the sector. Despite the fact that Den Besten himself is not very active on LinkedIn and Twitter, he shares strong insights through a regular column in the magazine and on the Onder Glas website. Earlier this year, for example, he warned against a lag in growth markets such as the Chinese, and the implementation of robot technology.

Chris Higgins

As the owner of Hort Americas, the American branch of HortiCoop, Chris is the guiding light for growers and growers who use greenhouses or polytunnels. Higgins keeps a close eye on all innovations and makes direct connections with concrete projects where possible. He has experience with LED lighting, knows everything about different substrate types and is paving the way for AI-controlled cultivation.

Cindy van Rijswick en Arne Bac

Van Rijswick and Bac work at Rabobank as respectively Expert Fresh Produce and Sector Specialists. Both are very active on LinkedIn and regularly share their findings in the field of vegetable, fruit and flower cultivation. Recently they were a guest in one of the 30MHz webinars entitled “Sustainable rendering in horticulture”.

Hannie Moors-Swinkels

There is a strong partner behind every horticultural entrepreneur, and that is especially true in the case of pepper nursery Moors. Rob is more than supplemented in the daily management by Hannie Moors-Swinkels. On her accounts she claims to give “color to paprika” by updating the corporate accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn with interesting content.

Rene Beerkens

From his position as Horticultural greenhouse consultant at climate computer builder Hoogendoorn, Rene Beerkens has a central role in the Plant Empowerment movement that has established a firm foothold in recent years. Beerkens was also one of the driving forces in the team that won the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge, team AuTomatoes. Beerkens is very active on LinkedIn and is regularly featured in the press.

Ant Surrage

Fargro is an agricultural supplier in Great Britain. Ant Surrage is one of its most famous collaborators. He’s a technical development specialist who specializes in Integrated Pest Management or pest and pest control. This relatively young face in horticulture has an infectiously enthusiastic way of explaining to growers and growers the benefit of data at crop level in optimizing your IPM strategy, as you can also see in this webinar.

Wessel van Paassen

The uncrowned Prince of Horticulture Wessel van Paassen knew what he wanted from a young age: his own company. As the son of a chrysanthemum grower, he knows all about the ins and outs of a greenhouse company. He has a strong opinion about the future of the horticultural sector, which he believes should be data-driven and integrated as much as possible with production-enhancing technology. An opinion that he has been able to express in many interviews in newspapers and on television. In this interview, Wessel explains what his company Green Simplicity contributes to that vision.

Angel Angelov

Eighteen years ago, Angelov emigrated to Great Britain to grow into a knowledge base for strawberry growers worldwide. He is a Glasshouse Manager at Beeswax Dyson Farming and is currently working on building the most sustainable strawberry greenhouse ever. In addition to being a champion for renewable energy, Angel regularly fills his LinkedIn timeline with beautiful photos of nature and of course greenhouses.