Pablo Costa, Van Belle Finished Plants

Photo courtesy of Pablo Costa

Pablo Costa is no stranger to farming. His father is the youngest of seven siblings, with one uncle growing produce and another raising cattle. A native of Chile, Costa and his father started an orchard for sweet cherry production.

As someone who feels connected to the land and is eager to learn, Costa uses that enthusiasm in his role at Van Belle Finished Plants. He oversees teams, managing everything from growing to shipping.

Katie McDaniel: How did you get started in horticulture?

Pablo Costa: With my family, you always relate to the land, to farming and to production. That’s why I decided to major in agronomics, and it’s a six-year career that’s mixed between plant science and engineering. My first job was working at some nurseries in the summer. Then I took over seed production for ornamental plants at a nursery in Chile.

After that, I worked for two years in fruit production. It was one of the biggest farms in Chile, but I wasn’t able to use my ornamental plant industry knowledge there. At that time, I was in contact with a grower from Van Belle. We would talk on the phone for several hours, and he said they might have a position for me in the future.

After a while, he contacted me and said they were developing a new facility for finished plants and offered me the position to be the grower of this new facility. I accepted and moved from Chile to Canada with my family. My daughter was just turning 1 year old, and by coincidence, my wife knew the area because she studied at a university there. She said, “Well, I definitely would move there with you because I love that area; it’s beautiful.” So, we decided to move, and I think it’s been eight years and counting.

KM: What is your favorite part of the job?

PC: I would say when I see the plants leaving the greenhouse with the good quality we were expecting. That’s a win. I feel good when we are shipping these plants that we’ve been planning and growing. It starts with product development and trials with the growers who are growing these plants and selecting the best varieties. Then execution in terms of picking the plants at the right time, packing them and a professional tag attached to them. We’re putting them on pallets or boxes and shipping them to stores; that to me is satisfaction.

KM: What does being a part of the Horticultural Research Institute Leadership Academy Class of 2025 mean to you?

PC: I feel really honored to be part of the team and to be selected from the institute. I’m aways looking for ways to continue to grow myself and professional development. I saw this as an opportunity to continue to improve my skills, specifically in leadership, and find different ways that could support common goals. It’s an opportunity to network and to share industry experiences and knowledge, so I can apply those to my actual situation and with the company and my team.

I’m grateful to work for Van Belle and for (President) Dave (Van Belle), who gave me the opportunity to continue to grow and develop my career within the company. That was one of the things I was looking for, and I have that opportunity here.

KM: What are some of your hobbies?

PC: I love the outdoors and spending time with my family, especially in the summer when we go to the lakes. I also enjoy playing and coaching rugby. I’ve coached the last four years, and my oldest son, who is 11 years old, has been playing since he was 4 years old.

Katie McDaniel is associate editor of Nursery Management magazine. Contact her at kmcdaniel@gie.net.