Category Archives: HortNews

Number of potato growers continues to reduce

The latest issue of AHDB Potatoes’ Market Intelligence Reportshows that the number of professional potato growers in the UK is continuing to fall.

The report shows that after two years of increasing area, the large harvest in excess of 6 million tonnes and resulting low prices in 2017/18 led to a fall in planted area to 117,300 ha.

‘The fall in planted area has been paired with a long-term rationalisation in the number of registered growers,’ says AHDB. ‘This season, the number of registered growers fell to 1,751 – a reduction of 715 growers since 2000. Meanwhile, the average area per grower has been steadily rising during this period.

‘Consolidation within the industry has led to a minority of growers planting an increasing proportion of the GB potato crop. In 2018, 17% of registered growers planted 100 ha or more of potatoes. This compares with just 5 per cent of growers in 2003. Meanwhile, the number of smaller scale growers has declined, with only 830 registered growers planting between 3 and 29 ha in 2018, compared with 2,249 in 2003.’

According to AHDB, economies of scale are the main factor behind fewer smaller growers and continued consolidation at the larger end of the industry.

Photo Credit: AHDB potatoes

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Leek shortage to worsen say growers

Leek growers have warned that difficult growing conditions last autumn have lead to lower yields and that shortages of the crop are likely to become more widespread as the traditional winter period for consumption continues.

“Yields are certainly down, and sizes are smaller than average, but retailers have increased prices so demand has been less, which is a sensible thing to do,” says Tim Casey, chairman of the British Leek Growers Association. “The UK can have a 12 month supply of leeks, harvesting starts in June/July and we can still be harvesting in May. I don’t think we will see a situation where there are no leeks to be found anywhere, but there may be the odd day when some shelves are empty.”

He added that as well as rising prices, supermarkets are stocking smaller leeks, with up to 6 in a 500g pack which would typically only contain 2-3 leeks. Despite the poor outlook and large crop losses in some areas, even crops which growers who thought their crops would be un-harvestable have been able to salvage something, although due to the reduced size picking and packing costs have increased.

Poor weather elsewhere in Europe last year means than other countries which would normally be able to export to the UK market, such as the Netherlands, Belgium and even Spain, are also short of crop.

“The situation is not tenable, margins are just so thin that there is nothing left to compensate in a bad year like this,” added Tim. “There is not much more the supermarkets can do on specification, they will have to look at prices.”

Photo Credit: pxhere

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Study says plants don’t like to be touched

Australian scientists say that plants don’t like to be touched: a discovery that could help to optimise future plant growth and productivity in agriculture and horticulture.

The research, which was led by Professor Jim Whelan, Research Director of the La Trobe Institute for Agriculture and Food at AgriBio in Melbourne, found that even the slightest touch can activate a genetic defence response which, if repeated, can slow down plant growth.

“The lightest touch from a human, animal, insect, or even plants touching each other in the wind, triggers a huge gene response in the plant,” according to Professor Whelan. “Within 30 minutes of being touched, 10 per cent of the plant’s genome is altered. This involves a huge expenditure of energy which is taken away from plant growth. If the touching is repeated, then plant growth is reduced by up to 30 per cent.”

The work, which was conducted on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, is thought to apply to most plant species. The next step will be to test this touch response in crop species and examine the potential consequences of breeding plants which are less touch sensitive.

“As we don’t understand why plants display such a strong defence response to touch, if we are to breed less touch-sensitive varieties, we need to first understand what some of the consequences might be,” added Professor Whelan. “For example, could touch-resistant plants be more susceptible to disease because a crucial defence mechanism has been removed?”

Photo caption: Professor Jim Whelan

Photo Credit: La Trobe University

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Dry weather costs industry £800 million

The latest forecast for Total Farm Income (TFI) for the United Kingdom for 2018, produced by Defra, shows a fall of £861 million (or 15 per cent) compared to the actual figure for 2017, while the industry’s contribution to the national economy falls 6 per cent.

Despite a slight increase in gross output, the release says that the output of key crops fell as a result of the hot, dry summer and that the resulting increase in prices failed to offset the overall fall in production. At the same time costs of inputs including fuel, feed and fertiliser all rose over the same period.

As the figures are a forecast, detailed information by sector, such as vegetables, horticultural crops and potatoes, is not yet available. The final figures released for TFI in 2017 showed a real terms increase of 45 per cent.

Photo Credit: Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs

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Carrot trade better than expected

Carrot grower and supplier Freshgro has said that carrot crop volume and quality are currently better than had been anticipated earlier in the season.

“We may be looking at a slightly shorter season and may have to import earlier than normal, but we are still out looking at the fields to see how the growth is coming along,” Alan Hunt from Freshgro said. “We are hoping that we will have carrots until mid-May but it might be only till the end of April.

“It is a lot better than we thought it would be. We thought we’d be short of 40 mm plus sizes, but that has not been the case. There were less carrots, so the sizes are better.” However, he stressed that he was only able to speak for Nottinghamshire-based Freshgro, which was able to irrigate its crops. He also said that the hot weather over the summer had subdued demand, meaning that it was possible to supply the crop for longer than first anticipated.

Freshgro is known as a grower of Chantenay carrots and Alan said the situation is the same for both Chantenay and maincrop types.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Results down for Manor Fresh

M&S potato and fresh produce supplier Manor Fresh, which is based near Holbeach in Lincolnshire, has reported a turnover of £57 million for the year ending 28 April 2018, almost £3 million less than the previous year. The lower figures were put down to increased potato volumes subduing the market.

However, profits only declined from £1.6 to £1.5 million over the same period. The company estimated the potato harvest in 2017 at 6.04 million tonnes, compared with 5.2 million in 2016 and 5.4 million in 2015.

‘Although an increasingly significant proportion of the UK fresh potato and processed potato supply volumes are now forward contracted by buyers on a fixed value and volume basis, the higher gross tonnage produced from the 2017 UK crop harvest did put downward pressure on non-contracted product prices in some sectors of the UK potato market,’ the Manor Fresh board said in a statement. ‘Despite higher overall total gross potato yields produced during the 2017 UK potato harvest, the inherent quality and availability of certain top tier UK produced potato varieties, particularly Maris Piper, remained a significant sourcing challenge for higher quality retail outlets.’

Photo Credit: Manor Fresh

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Hillier recruits trainees

Hillier Nurseries has taken on four new trainee growers as part of its ongoing investment in its production team.

The trainees, who have been selected based on their horticultural skills and passion to learn, are now working across the entire Hillier nursery business. As well as practical skills, their training includes internally delivered modules such as Plant Physiology & Nomenclature, Pest & Disease Recognition, and Control, Crop Irrigation and Nutrition.

Inspiring future generations is a key aim for the company and its Nurseries trainee grower programme allows passing on of age-old growing techniques and experience as a foundation to develop the latest technologies and innovations.

Charles Carr, Head of Wholesale Nurseries at Hillier, said, “We strongly believe in investing in people, which is why our team is constantly evolving. Our four new recruits have made a great start and we look forward to helping their horticultural careers grow.”

Sarah Mills, Head of Wholesale at Hillier, commented, “Hillier is proud of our new trainee growers who all bring with them enthusiasm, horticultural knowledge and the ambition to do a great job. They will work, learn and develop alongside our already strong and focused nursery team.”

Photo caption: The new Hillier Nurseries trainees

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Waitrose to trial small farm robots

The John Lewis Partnership has announced a three-year trial with the start-up agri-tech business Small Robot Company, which will see the use of ‘autonomous farmbots’ Waitrose & Partners’ Leckford Estate in Hampshire.

During the trial, the Small Robot Company’s three small robots; Tom, Dick and Harry, will l test their state-of-the-art learning and farming technology on a one-hectare field of wheat. Initially a prototype Tom robot, which is fitted with cameras and weighs just ten kilograms, will gather topographical data, eventually creating a plant-by-plant view of the field. The Small Robot Company can then further develop its machine learning systems, while building also new prototype robots.

The data gathered by the Tom robot will be used to develop an AI system called Wilma, which will eventually guide the three robots, allowing them to farm autonomously. As well as increasing precision, efficiency and productivity, the small robots are expected to deliver considerable environmental benefits, such as reduction in compaction and soil damage.

Andrew Hoad, Partner & Head of the Leckford Estate, commented, “The Waitrose & Partners farm has a long history in producing a wide variety of high quality crops. We work hard to farm in harmony with the environment and our vision for sustainable farming is aligned to what the Small Robot Company is trying to achieve.”

Sam Watson Jones, co-founder of Small Robot Company and a fourth generation Shropshire farmer, added, “Together, we will be working to re-imagine food production. We’re on the cusp of a fourth agricultural revolution, taking farming into the digital age, with British ideas and British technology at the helm.”

Photo caption: Artist’s impression of the Tom robot in action

Photo Credit: Small Robot Company

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Sainsbury’s and Asda call for more time from regulator

Sainsbury’s and Asda have lodged an application with the Competition Appeal Tribunal for a Judicial Review of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Phase Two investigation into their proposed merger.

The application seeks to review the timetable for the CMA’s investigation after the regulator refused the two supermarkets longer to respond to evidence about their proposed £7.3 billion merger.

In a statement J Sainsbury plc said, ‘The current timetable does not give the Parties or the CMA sufficient time to provide and consider all the evidence given the unprecedented scale and complexity of the case. Both Parties have engaged constructively with the CMA to date and have made repeated requests for additional time. Specifically, we have asked the CMA for an additional 11 working days over the Christmas period to respond to a large amount of material recently provided to us.’

Sainsbury’s shares fell by up to 5.5 per cent on the news according to Reuters.

In response to the original request for an additional 11 days to respond over the Christmas period, the CMA granting an extension would put its ability to complete the investigation by the required deadline “at very serious risk”. It added, “As with all of our merger reviews, we construct our timetable to ensure that everyone has the chance to have their say, including customers, the companies involved and suppliers.”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

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Digital weed zapper to launch next year

Case New Holland group has signed a deal with German weed technology company Zasso to bring a new XPower digital weeding technology to market.

The new system enables non-selective burn-down applications such as field preparation, potato haulm desiccation, and special treatments for wine grapes and trees. It has been awarded with a Bronze Medal ahead of the SIMA 2019 machinery show in Paris next year.

XPower will be marketed as part of a suite of new Case IH precision farming technologies under the brand name AGXTEND. According to the manufacturers, digital herbicide technology is at least as efficient as chemical herbicides in terms of controlling weeds, and is more efficient, economic, practical and crop-safe than mechanical weeding, in addition to which it does not disturb the soil nor encourage further weed growth.

The system is said to be as effective on larger weeds as smaller ones, and more practical, safer and cheaper than existing scorching or burning systems used for total weed control.

“The partnership with Zasso and its XPower solution is the next logical step after the Europe-wide RTK network and the GNSS Guidance and Machine Control options. Zasso and CNHi have both developed their environmental protection focus over the past year and this partnership is just the beginning for more,” said Maximilian Birle, Head of Product Management at CNHi.

Zasso’s CEO Dirk Vandenhirtz added, “It is a much welcomed and natural step for Zasso to partner with an equipment manufacturer. CNHi provides us with an unparalleled depth of distribution across Europe, to expand our solution. We are particularly excited to have been selected as one of the innovative technologies available through CNHi.”

Photo Credit: Zasso

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