Monthly Archives: August 2016

Morrisons cuts prices as investors leave

Morrisons has said it will cut the average price of its fresh produce by 17 per cent as part of wider price cutting moves which the retailer hopes will shore up its market position.

1,045 products, including meat and toiletries, have been reduced in price in the third round of price cuts by the retailer this year. Morrisons called them its ‘biggest ever price crunch.’ Fresh produce prices will be cut by 17 per cent on average and up to 56 per cent on some fruit and vegetable products.

Andy Atkinson, Morrisons’ customer and marketing director, said, “We are constantly listening to our customers and know they are concerned about whether food prices will go up following the Brexit vote, especially on imports. We are British farming’s biggest supermarket customer, which means we can better control our prices, and this latest round of crunches demonstrates our commitment to offering the best possible value to our customers this summer.”

However, newspapers reported that investors sold shares in the retailer after the announcement, with the share price falling 2 per cent to 182.05 pence on Monday afternoon.

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Univeg announce joint venture with Bardsley Farms

Leading top fruit grower Bardsley Farms and UNIVEG UK, part of Belgium-based Greenyard Foods, have formed a new joint venture.

Farming 420 acres of orchards, Bardsley Farms has a number of long term relationships in the industry, including supplying Tesco for over 25 years. The new, formal tie-up with UNIVEG UK follows strategic collaboration over the last two years.

“It is clear that Bardsley Farms and UNIVEG’s aspirations for the market are aligned to the point where putting together a Joint Venture was the next logical step”, said Alan Forrester, UNIVEG UK’s Joint Managing Director.

Nigel Bardsley, chairman of the new Joint Venture, commented, “With the changing nature of the UK top fruit market it makes total sense to pull together the two businesses, where not only is the thinking aligned, but the strengths of the two businesses will deliver a model which is unseen in the market place to date.”

Ben Bardsley, Managing Director of the Joint Venture added, “UNIVEG has already demonstrated their willingness to share with all of the growers the opportunity to be involved in the innovation and varietal development that sits both in their UK trial orchards but also in the breeder relationship we and the wider UNIVEG grower base have access to across the globe.

“The first stage of the £6 million, 5-year investment program in Bardsley Farms is nearing completion, and will be up and running for the upcoming 2016 UK top fruit season. We have invested in world leading grading and packing technology that not only delivers vitally important efficiencies, but allows us to target customer products that best fits the fruit, and by managing quality.”

Photo Caption: Ben & Nigel Bardsley.

Photo Credit: Bardsley Farms

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Vitacress invests

Vitacress says it will spend £4 million on expanding intake operations at its St Mary Bourne salads factory in Hampshire.

Work on the new facility will begin this autumn and finish in 2017, with the company proposing to close its current operations at nearby Amesbury.

Vitacress CEO Toby Brinsmead said, “Two years ago we started an investment programme to support our ambition to be leaders in our core markets of fresh herbs and salads. In 2016 we completed a £6 million investment in Chichester, West Sussex, creating the UK’s leading fresh herbs facility. This new investment in our St Mary Bourne factory is the next step to ensure that we remain competitive and continue to provide the best produce available in the rapidly evolving salads market.”

The company has entered into consultation with its employees to accommodate the closure of its Amesbury factory and adapt to changes in working patterns and shift structures required at the St Mary Bourne site.

Photo Caption: Toby Brinsmead

Photo Credit: Vitacress

The post Vitacress invests appeared first on Hort News on 28 July 2016.

House of Lords warns of risk to farm support from Brexit

During a debate on the potential impacts of leaving the European Union on farm support in the UK, the House of Lords may leave farmers and growers lacking the support of their European competitors.

The debate was called by Conservative Baroness Anne McIntosh, a former shadow minister for environment, food and rural affairs and former chair of the EFRA Committee. She called on the government to reassure farmers in agri-environment schemes which are due to end prior to the conclusion of formal Brexit negotiations. She also raised the issue of the requirement for large numbers of season workers in areas such as horticulture.

Conservative Lord DeMauley, a former Defra minister and farmer, said, “It is surely unlikely that her majesty’s treasury, once it’s given back the ability to decide how UK taxpayers’ money is spent, will maintain the basic farm payment at anything like its current level.”

Lib Dem Lord Thomas of Gresford pointed out that comments made by Defra minster George Eustice at the Royal Welsh Show, when he said he could not guarantee that future agricultural support programmes would be as generous as support under the CAP, were contrary to assurances he had given during the Brexit campaign when Mr Eustice promised farmers would receive at least as much support funding as they currently do.

Photo Caption: Defra minister George Eustice MP was criticised for back tracking on his promise to maintain support for UK farmers.

Photo Credit: George Eustice

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Government issues update at E. coli investigation continues

On Thursday 21 July the UK Government issued an update on the ongoing investigation into an outbreak of E. coli O157 which has left two people dead and has been linked to prepared salads.

Public Health England (PHE) confirmed that, as of Thursday, 160 cases of this strain of E. coli had been identified with 153 cases in England, 6 in Wales and 1 in Scotland. Dr Isabel Oliver, director of PHE’s field epidemiology service, said, “We are pleased to see a very significant reduction in the number of cases with 9 reported over the past week. This could indicate that we are over the worst of this outbreak, with those affected reporting the last onset of symptoms on 5 July.”

PHE investigations have shown that several of the affected individuals ate mixed salad leaves including rocket leaves prior to becoming unwell. “The source of the outbreak remains unconfirmed and under investigation; we are not ruling out other food items,” stressed Dr Oliver. “It’s important to be aware that no individual wholesaler, supplier, retailer, or restaurant has been confirmed as the source and currently the Food Standard Agency’s investigations focus on the distribution of mixed salad leaves to wholesale and not supermarkets.”

She added, “All food sample results to date have been negative for E.coli O157, but it’s important to be aware that where food has been contaminated with E.coli O157, it is not always possible to identify the bacteria on food testing. A small number of wholesalers continue to be advised to cease adding some non-UK salad leaves to their mixed salad products pending further investigations.”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The post Government issues update at E. coli investigation continues appeared first on Hort News on 27 July 2016.

Could robots be the answer to UK labour issues?

A recent report suggests that robots could help UK growers deal with potential labour shortages in the future, but in practice their widespread use may still be some way off.

Published by the Resolution Foundation, a new report suggests that some sectors of the fresh produce industry might consider the use of robots and greater automation, while others will require a carefully considered immigration policy to prevent damaging staff shortages.

Adam Corlett, Economic Analyst at the Resolution Foundation said: “People have long warned about the rise of the job stealing robots, but they haven’t had much effect to date in a country that has record employment and a terrible record on productivity. “For sectors like agriculture, further automation could provide part of the answer to coping with the changed labour market, although it will require a major shift in investment to become a reality.”

The report came as US company Harvest CROO revealed more details of its automated strawberry picker which is in development. “Our biggest differentiator has always been that growers will not have to change the way they currently grow strawberries,” said Gary Wishnatzki, co-founder of Harvest CROO and owner of Wish Farms based in Plant City, FL. “Now, with the patent of the Pitzer Wheel, what I believe to be the heart of the invention, we have another strong distinguishing factor.”

The post Could robots be the answer to UK labour issues? appeared first on Hort News on 15 July 2016.

AHDB calls for studentship proposals

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is inviting applications for a slice of £1 million in funding for postgraduate studentships.

A call for proposals for up to 15 PhDs has been issued to UK universities, colleges and research institutes as part of work to develop a new tranche of agricultural and horticultural scientific expertise. The funding supplied by AHDB equates to £70,500 per studentship, which can be split over three or four years, and this is the first time that studentships in every AHDB sector have received the same level of funding.

Applicants must detail how the proposed research will help meet the priorities of one or more of the six levy sectors – Beef & Lamb, Cereals & Oilseeds, Dairy, Horticulture, Pork and Potatoes. They must also demonstrate how projects will deliver useful and relevant research outcomes.

AHDB’s Kim Matthews, who chairs the studentship programme, said, “Once again we are seeking the best and brightest of the UK’s scientific talent to bring innovative research ideas to the table. We want to see practical, applied scientific solutions to the challenges facing industry, whether affecting one particular sector or with applications across the piece.”

Photo Credit: AHDB

The post AHDB calls for studentship proposals appeared first on Hort News on 15 July 2016.

Growers urged to help stop spread of foot rot in peas

Historically in the UK, foot rot in pea crops has been caused by Fusarium spp. and Didymella pinodella but now another fungus is meaning it is even more important to control the spread of this destructive disease.

Dr Lea Wiesel, plant pathologist with the Processors and Growers Research Organisation (PGRO), says, “Now another very destructive pathogen, Aphanomyces euteiches, has been adding to the foot-rot complex. This is a soil-borne oomycete that produces long-lasting resting spores that can survive in soils for more than 10 years, and even low numbers of resting spores can have devastating effects on yields. Once a field is infected, it can’t be used for pea cropping for at least a decade.”

To help growers, PGRO has developed a new laboratory test to assess risk levels for the disease in soils, so that growers can make informed decisions about cropping. A 2kg soil sample taken in a W pattern across the field should be collected, and the cost of each test is £149. Dr Wiesel advises that samples are sent 12-18 months before planned planting in order for cropping plans to be revised if necessary.

Photo Caption: Dr Lea Wiesel

Photo Credit: PRGO

The post Growers urged to help stop spread of foot rot in peas appeared first on Hort News on 17 July 2016.

BASF latest company to be linked to Monsanto

Business and agricultural publications report that Monsanto may be investigating the purchase of BASF’s agricultural business after rejecting Bayer’s $62 billion takeover bid earlier this year.

At the same time, both Bayer and Monsanto have confirmed that the former has submitted a revised, and higher, bid for its American rival. In a press release issued on 14 July Bayer said it had increased its takeover bid to $125 per share (the previous bid was $122 per share) in an offer submitted to Monsanto on 9th July.

Bayer CEO Werner Baumann said, “We are convinced that this transaction is the best opportunity available to provide Monsanto shareholders with highly attractive, immediate and certain value. Bayer is fully committed to pursuing this transaction.”

However, in the financial markets, a Monsanto acquisition of part of BASF was seen as easier to pull off. “Looking at the agricultural chemicals and seeds landscape, Monsanto-BASF is the most logical combination,” said Christian Faitz, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux.

Other consolidation in the sector includes the announced merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont and ChemChina’s ongoing acquisition of Syngenta.

Photo Caption: BASF’s US headquarters

Photo Credit: BASF

The post BASF latest company to be linked to Monsanto appeared first on Hort News on 15 July 2016.

Student develops salad harvester

A student at Cambridge University has won an industry award for developing a new concept for salad harvesting.

Armand de Durfort, a graduate from Ecole Polytechnique who has just completed his MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture and Management at the University of Cambridge, developed his SoftHarvest system in cooperation with G’s Growers.

“The first challenge was to teach the harvester to recognise the lettuce and distinguish it from other green plants. The second was for it to pick the lettuce and cut it near to the ground without damaging it,” he explained.

“Our approach is to develop the vision recognition and control software and integrate this with a two-armed robot. By using existing hardware and adding considerable value with the application-specific software we aim to mitigate the risk of investment and provide a three-year return on investment.”

Presenting the Student award as part of Agri-Tech East’s GROW competition, Dr Belinda Clarke, said, “There is significant and growing demand for automation in agriculture as we move towards greater precision in all areas of the industry. Armand De Durfort produced a well researched business plan based on his direct experience of working with a commercial grower. It shows an appreciation of the narrow profit margins in this competitive market and the technology is inspirational.”

Photo Caption: Left-Right: David Langton (Agrii), Armand de Durfort (Softharvest), Phil Wigge (Pinpoint Phenomics), Belinda Clarke (Agri-Tech East)

Photo Credit: Agritech-East

 

The post Student develops salad harvester appeared first on Hort News on 13 July 2016.