Category Archives: HortNews

Panasonic unveils tomato picking robot

Last month at Tokyo’s International Robot Exhibition, electronics giant Panasonic showcased an agricultural robot which the company claim can perform complex repetitive tasks, such as harvesting tomatoes.

The new harvesting robot, which the company stresses is still very much under development, was one of a number of robotic devices Panasonic showcased at the event. The machine runs on a rail and identifies the ripe fruit before picking them gently using a ‘special end effector’ which cuts can catches the fruit to prevent damage.

‘With newly developed sensors and image processing technology, Panasonic is developing harvest robots that can accurately assess colour, shape, and location,” the company said in a statement. ‘This robot can even pick fruits such as tomatoes that were thought difficult to harvest with machinery without leaving a single scratch. And by connecting to the network, it can automatically move around the ridges and transport the tomatoes to baskets or even change baskets, so it can autonomously undertake every step of the harvesting process.’

The machine has a claimed work rate of 10 fruits per minute, but unlike human pickers, it can operate without breaks for up to 24 hours a day.

Photo Caption: Panasonic has been working on its tomato picking robot for several years.

Photo Credit: YouTube

The post Panasonic unveils tomato picking robot appeared first on Hort News.

Farmers warned of fake maps on Apps

The NFU has warned farmers and growers to check online apps for ‘fake footpaths’ after a network of unofficial paths was discovered covering farmland near Peterborough.

Zoe Mee of Lyveden Farm in Northamptonshire was shocked when a farm worker showed her a map on a social media app that depicted new routes for walkers alongside the farm’s existing rights of way. After contacting mapping app producers, she believes walkers may have added their own routes for people to use, without distinguishing them from the legally-established footpaths.

“I can’t believe that people can just add routes across your land like this,” she said. “We have people who shoot pigeons and rabbits on the farm to protect crops and they are given maps of all the official footpaths and bridleways to ensure they keep clear of the public. If online maps are directing people away from the official routes it is putting them at risk.”

NFU Access Adviser Martin Rogers said the NFU was talking to a number of organisations that produce maps on mobile apps, to raise awareness of the importance of accurately portraying the right of way network.

“Checking online apps, and getting in contact with their owners, are important steps when you believe there are errors on their system,” he said. “If you do discover that routes have erroneously been added to mobile apps, it is important to make it clear that you do not intend to dedicate these routes as legal rights of way.”

Photo Credit: NFU

The post Farmers warned of fake maps on Apps appeared first on Hort News.

Sainsbury’s wants new product ideas from produce suppliers

Sainsbury’s has asked its suppliers to bring forward ideas for new products and innovations as it tries to differentiate itself in the marketplace.

Speaking at the retailer’s annual Farming Conference, Produce technologist Lily Peck said her remit is to “look for something different.”

She added, “Any great ideas you have, talk to your technical manager about it and help us differentiate our range.” She cited the launch of bunched radishes (supplied by G’s grower Scott Watson) and sweet-stemmed cauliflower as particular successes.

However, the retailer also confirmed that a major overhaul of suppliers is continuing as the company aims to have ‘fewer and longer-term relationships,’ shifting towards direct grower sourcing.

Sainsbury’s director of brand Judith Batchelar said, “While our competitors will have been buying their own packaging facilities and performing that part in the value chain themselves, the way we’ve looked at it is much more direct relationships with growers.”

Product Manager Sarah Blandford described a three-year project with potato supplier Greenvale to improve production efficiencies: “We had four times as many potato growers as we needed for our 52-week supply requirements. We had some fantastic growers and we had some good growers.” She added that Sainsbury’s looks for suppliers who are proactively monitoring things like yield potential.

Photo Caption: Sainsbury’s Product Manager Sarah Blandford

Photo Credit: Richard Crowhurst

The post Sainsbury’s wants new product ideas from produce suppliers appeared first on Hort News

Californian lettuce growers embracing robotic harvesting

One of America’s largest salad producers, California-based Taylor Farms, is increasingly using robotics to tackle the twin challenges of labour availability and increasing costs.

The company, which employs a total of 10,000 people, is using robotic harvesting rigs on some crops of Romaine and baby leaf lettuce and it says that the use of robotics is growing in the entire Californian lettuce industry. Around 95 per cent of the company’s Romaine volume is currently harvested with automated harvesters, and trials are being conducted on a number of other crops.

“Harvesting, one of the more difficult in-field jobs to perform, was a natural area of focus for us,” explains Ted Taylor, Head of New Ventures & Business Development. “Over the last eight years we have designed and built advanced machinery to optimize harvest efficiency and drive improved ergonomics for employees. This has truly been a win-win. We have been able to offer better jobs to our field employees, all while driving bottom line performance. We will continue to aggressively pursue automated harvesting functions for all our core products.”

Photo Credit: Taylor Farms

The post Californian lettuce growers embracing robotic harvesting appeared first on Hort News.

NFU responds to EU labour claims

The National Farmers’ Union has written to The Times to dispute the impression given by campaign group Migration Watch UK in an article that there is no labour crisis on UK farms.

Under the front page headline: ‘Record number of EU workers in Britain despite Brexit vote’ on 16 November, the newspaper referred to an Office for National Statistics (ONS) report showing that the number of EU citizens working in the UK is now at a record high of 2.37 million, despite last year’s referendum result.

Alp Mehmet, vice-chairman of Migration Watch UK, said the figures “show that predictions of a ‘Brexodus’ are nonsense,” adding that they threw into doubt claims that food is being left to rot in the fields due to lack of EU migrant labour.

In her letter, NFU Deputy President Minette Batters wrote: ‘The ONS data on EU citizens that your article refers to on the front page… doesn’t account for seasonal workers that come to the UK for less than 12 months – these make up the majority of the workforce. This is where fruit, veg and flowers growers in particular are already experiencing real difficulty. Our latest survey of recruiters in this area shows a worker shortage of 29% in September, raising the average shortfall for the year to 11%.

‘The British farming sector needs commitments from Government that, where needed, there will be sufficient numbers of permanent and seasonal workers from outside the UK in the run up to the UK leaving the EU and beyond.’

Photo Caption: Alp Mehmet, vice-chairman of Migration Watch UK

Photo Credit: YouTube

The post NFU responds to EU labour claims appeared first on Hort News on 22 November 2017.

Rural Payments Agency confirms BPS 2017

The Government has claimed that British farmers will see a boost in basic payments this year after Farming Minister George Eustice increased entitlement values and greening rates.

Coupled with the favourable BPS exchange rate (of €1 to £0.8947) which was confirmed in September, basic payments will be worth 25% more on average this year, compared to 2015.

Mr Eustice commented, “Exchange rate changes since the decision to leave the EU have led to a recovery in many farming sectors and BPS payments this year will be 25% higher than in 2015.”

The RPA has published this year’s BPS rates and says the money will be in farmer’s bank accounts from 1 December. Under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), farmers need to hold an entitlement for every hectare of eligible land they are claiming on. The size of farmers’ payments will depend on how many entitlements they use, supported by eligible land and the value of those entitlements. The greening part of payments will be calculated by taking the number of entitlements that they have used with eligible land to claim payment and multiplying it by the greening value. Entitlement values of non-Severely Disadvantaged Areas for 2017 are €180.46 with a greening rate of €77.69.

Photo Caption: Farming Minister George Eustice.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

 

The post Rural Payments Agency confirms BPS 2017 appeared first on Hort News on 22 November 2017.

Environment Secretary plans environmental watchdog

Defra secretary Michael Gove has said he wants to set up a new watchdog for environmental protection after Brexit.

The announcement, which was made on television and elaborated in an opinion piece on Monday by Mr Gove, has surprised many, particularly as his appointment was criticised by environmental campaigners who worried he would scrap many environmental protections.

Saying that the Common Agricultural Policy had ‘damaged our countryside’ he warned that transferring all existing European law, including environmental protections, into UK law ‘was not enough.’

“Without further action, there will be a governance gap. The environment won’t be protected as it should be from the unscrupulous, unprincipled or careless,” he said. “So we will consult on using the new freedoms we have to establish a new, world-leading body to give the environment a voice and hold the powerful to account. It will be independent of government, able to speak its mind freely.

“And it will be placed on a statutory footing, ensuring it has clear authority. Its ambition will be to champion and uphold environmental standards, always rooted in rigorous scientific evidence.”

He added that the consultation would be published in early 2018.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia – Michael Gove – UK Parliament official portraits 2017

The post Environment Secretary plans environmental watchdog appeared first on Hort News

One step closer to crops with twice the yield

Scientists from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) who have identified natural genetic variation for photosynthesis in plants say that unravelling the differences in DNA at a genetic level could help to breed crops which capture more CO2 and produce higher yields.

A team of scientists led by Mark Aarts and Jeremy Harbison used the model plant thale cress to spot various genes involved in the adaptation to changes in the amount of light to which plants are exposed.

The discovery shows that it is possible to improve photosynthesis based on natural genetic variation, something which some scientists have doubted until now. In the long term, breeding on improved photosynthesis could make crops produce more yield with the same amount of soil, water and nutrients.

While photosynthesis is an essential process it demands a high level of control: if a plant is suddenly exposed to too much light, it has to adapt to the new situation. Adaptation generally takes several days, but this new study shows that some plants can adapt quicker than others, and are thus able to adapt their photosynthesis system to their environment sooner.

“We measured the photosynthesis of all plants in the experiment at various times of day and via an identical method, and only applied a single stress factor: a one-off increase in the amount of light. This allowed us to precisely determine the genetic contribution to how plants adapted to the new stressful situation,” explained Mark Aarts.

Photo Caption: The work shows that plant genetics determine how they control photosynthesis.

Photo Credit: Wageningen University & Research

The post One step closer to crops with twice the yield appeared first on Hort News.

Nearly half of all fresh potatoes thrown away

UK waste advisory body WRAP has launched a new campaign, Save Our Spuds, to increase awareness of the level of waste associated with the vegetable. According to the organisation 5.8 million tubers are thrown away each and every day in British homes.

The waste accounts to around 730,000 tonnes a year, almost half (46 per cent) of the 1.7 million tonnes purchased every year, costing £230 million. Through its Love Food Hate Waste website, WRAP is sharing storage tips and recipes with the public which it hopes will reduce this figure.

Two years ago Swiss researchers also revealed that just over half of all fresh potatoes are were wasted in their country. Christian Willersinn, lead author of the Swiss work, blamed consumers’ high quality standards, as well as production loses.

Sainsbury’s have introduced opaque packaging on some of its potato lines to reduce greening in store. Jane Skelton, Sainsbury’s head of packaging, commented, “Last year we introduced new opaque packaging which is breathable, but prevents any light from reaching the potatoes, the most common culprit for greening.”

food

Photo Caption: WRAP has launched a new campaign to reduce potato waste.

Photo Credit: WRAP / Love Food, Hate Waste

The post Nearly half of all fresh potatoes thrown away appeared first on Hort News.

CLA says Brexit “is great opportunity” for farming

The CLA has called for a dedicated strategy which targets investment in supporting farmers to be more resilient, productive and profitable once the UK leaves the European Union.

The calls are made in a new paper from the organisation, which says efficiencies can be achieved in the industry through the adoption of new technologies and practices, including farmers and growers working more efficiently with each other and the supply chain.

CLA Deputy President Tim Breitmeyer commented, “Brexit is a major opportunity for agriculture. There are many important decisions to get right with regard to trade and transition, but there is significant cause for optimism.

“Success can be delivered through new policy that targets a range of measures and a clear investment strategy focused on improving the profitability and productivity of the farming industry should be part of this drive.  The Government and the industry must come together to develop this and our report provides a clear overview of where the priorities lie.

“Delivering profitable farming is one of three strands that make up the CLA’s vision for a post-Brexit Food, Farming and Environmental Policy. At its core is our strong belief that a profitable, resilient farming sector is the foundation of a thriving rural economy and the means to deliver for nature and the environment.”

Photo Credit: Pixart Bay

The post CLA says Brexit “is great opportunity” for farming appeared first on Hort News.