JENNY and Dan Patience have grown an empty Pearcedale horse paddock into an award-winning business.
The JD Propagation husband and wife team have cultivated their success thanks to Dan’s obsession with plants, which stems back to his teenage years.
They’ve now taken home this year’s Casey Cardinia Business Award for Agriculture and Food.
“The most important people in this whole thing are the people standing behind us,” Dan said when accepting the award.
“Without these business awards we wouldn’t strive every day to be a little bit better than what we were.
“Everybody gets a little bit of growth.”
Dan turned to his mum: “I wouldn’t be anywhere without her because I wouldn’t be born – thanks mum.”
They saw a big niche market opening for young plants and launched their plug nursery in 2010.
“We, basically, supply young plants to everyone from wholesale nurseries to farmers to growers – everywhere,” Dan said.
“The plants we sell would be anywhere from four weeks to 10 weeks old.”
JD Propagation has experienced at least 40 per cent growth each year and is set for the same over the next 12 months.
It has 24 staff and will this year produce about 5 million plants across 1200 varieties.
“We love what we do and, at the end of the day, Dan’s probably one of the best growers in the industry,” Jenny said.
“We always send out top-quality plants so word has sort of got around.
“We’re all about building relationships and working with our customers and I think that’s put us ahead of the pack.”
The business can keep growing.
“That whole front block – which is 12 greenhouses – was full in four years,” Jenny said.
“Our next step is to build up the back. We have about five acres up there.
“This year we can still have 40 per cent growth but then if we want to keep with 40 per cent growth we have to move up the back.”
Dan and Jenny’s hard work earned them a commendation at the Casey Business Awards four years ago, a win in the Agriculture and Primary Industries category the following year and the same title at the merged Casey Cardinia Business Awards last year.
