Category Archives: HortNews

Prepared veg continues to grow

The demand for prepared and ready to cook vegetable products shows no sign of slowing down as Northern Ireland’s Mash Direct wins a distribution contract with Asda.

The deal will see five lines, including sweet potato mash, leek and potato mash, roast potatoes, turnips and carrot and swede sold in Asda stores across Northern Ireland. Mash Direct’s head of marketing Clare Foster, commented, “Mash Direct is delighted to build upon its existing relationship with Asda. By working closely with the retailer over the past 10 years we have gained an understanding of what the Asda shopper is looking for, and are able to respond with new and innovative products.

“The popularity of our locally-sourced range has seen Mash Direct grow into a £16m turnover company – with continuing expansion plans, including the recent completion of a new 25,000 square foot on-site factory.”

Photo Caption: Mash Direct already supplies a range of products to Asda

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Taittinger to plant vines in Kent

Grande Marque Champaign house Taittinger has planted its first grape vines in Kent, with joint venture partner Hatch Mansfield.

The company is creating a 40 acre vineyard, to be named Domaine Evremond, at Chilham on land acquired from Gaskains. The vines of will be planted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier will be planted over the next three years and the first sparkling wine could be produced by 2023.

Company president Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger said, “Our family has always had a great affection for the UK and for Kent – my father Jean Taittinger twinned Canterbury with Reims when he was mayor of the latter in the 1950s. We have been very impressed by the quality of English sparkling wine being produced, and we believe the combination of chalk soils, climate and topography of our site in Kent are ideal for producing quality sparkling wine. These attributes are perfect for grape growing, and are very similar to the terroir in Champagne, for us it was a natural step to do this.”

Photo Caption: Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger (left) and Patrick McGrath of Hatch Mansfield planting the first vines

Photo Credit: Hatch Mansfield

The post Taittinger to plant vines in Kent appeared first on Hort News n Thursday 11 May 2017.

Minette Batters joins Love British Food campaign

NFU Deputy President Minette Batters has become the latest ambassador for the Love British Food campaign.

Ms Batters runs a successful Wiltshire based farming operation which specialises in selling premium store cattle. She is no stranger to driving campaign initiatives having co-founded Ladies in Beef and Great British Beef Week. Her new role supporting Love British Food has been welcomed by campaign founder Alexia Robinson, who said, “We are delighted that Minette Batters has agreed to be an ambassador for us. She is a strong and vociferous campaigner for British agriculture and it’s a great honour to be working alongside her. Minette is hugely knowledgeable and an inspiration to so many in agriculture and in the wider food and drink industry.”

The ongoing Love British Food campaign culminates in British Food Fortnight which this year runs from 23 Sept – 8 Oct 2017 and is the biggest annual national celebration of food and drink produced in the country. The Co-op is once again the official retail partner and the campaign is supported by a committee of high profile organisations such as the WI, Federation of Young Farmers, Campaign to Protect Rural England and a host of catering organisations.

Minette Batters will be joining a growing list of key Love British Food supporters including legendary chef Raymond Blanc and his son Olivier Blanc; well-being writer and organic farmer, Liz Earle; and farmer and former chairman of the National Fed of Young Farmers Clubs, Milly Fyfe.

Photo Credit: Love British Food

The post Minette Batters joins Love British Food campaign appeared first on Hort News on 11 May 2017.

Dry weather causing concerns

The NFU, UK Irrigation Association and others have warned that farming must receive its fair share of water if the country experiences a drought this summer.

According to reports, after one of the driest winters in 20 years, more than four-fifths of the country’s rivers have fallen to abnormally low levels and there are growing concerns about the potential impact of dry weather on farmers and growers.

NFU Vice President Guy Smith said, “The situation is patchy with farmers, particularly in the South and East, reporting as low as 10% of their expected March and April rainfall. While decent rains in May and June will put many crops back on track, some crops like spring barley have clearly already lost their full potential. Some farmers and growers are looking at the ‘changeable’ forecast for the end of this week hoping it brings much needed rain.

“We are growing increasingly concerned about the fruit and vegetable sector, but reservoirs are full and abstracted water sources are still available, albeit at lower than normal levels. Water transfer operations for irrigation in the Stour Marsh and Romney catchment area in Kent started six weeks earlier than usual, so we are expecting early demand for water from soft fruit growers.”

Melvyn Kay, Executive Secretary of the UKIA commented that some of the press coverage appeared alarmist, but added, “UKIA will be meeting with the Environment Agency, other members of the Water for Food Group next week to be briefed on the situation.”

The post Dry weather causing concerns appeared first on Hort News on Thurs 11 May.

MPs attack ‘perfect veg’ in food waste report

A group of MPs has urged supermarkets to relax visual specifications for fresh produce as part of efforts to reduce food waste.

The Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee of the House of Commons also called on the Government to establish a national food waste reduction target to drive efforts to reduce the food waste costing the average person in the UK £200 per year and suggested supermarkets should publicly report data on the amount of food they throw away.

Other issues the committee raised included the need to raise public awareness of food waste, which is estimated to cost the average family between £470 and £700 a year, and a need to continue funding for WRAP.

The report also recommended that, ‘The incoming Government should continue the current review with WRAP and the Food Standards Agency on food date labelling, with a view to issuing guidance to industry by the end of the year. The review should specifically look at whether there is a need for ‘best before’ dates at all.’

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

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Politicians raise concerns about agricultural labour

Two reports have highlighted the need to maintain access to agricultural labour after Brexit.

The House of Commons’ Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report, Feeding the nation: labour constraints, was launched following claims that labour shortages could see food rotting in the fields. Neil Parish MP, Chair of the Environment Food, and Rural Affairs Committee, said, “Without sufficient labour, both from the UK and overseas, agricultural and horticultural businesses cannot function. For a long time the industry has relied on foreign workers to perform temporary and permanent roles to make good shortages in the availability of UK labour; UK agriculture could not function without foreign labour. The period since 23 June 2016 has seen increased difficulties for businesses recruiting foreign labour and has presented severe challenges for the industry.

“Government statistics do not properly measure the problem and should be reviewed so that the sector is confident that post-Brexit immigration policies are based on an accurate assessment of agriculture’s demand for, and supply of, foreign labour.”

Jack Ward, British Growers Association Chief Executive, welcomed the report: “It is refreshing to see an independent report that more accurately reflects the needs of fresh produce and other industries, and acknowledges the continuing need for overseas labour, whether on a permanent or seasonal basis.”

Just days later a key report on agriculture and Brexit from the House of Lords’ EU Committee called on the government to address “Immediate challenge,” of labour availability as the UK’s withdrawal from the EU approaches. The report added that the government is sending “mixed messages” to the agriculture industry.

Photo Caption: Neil Parrish MP

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

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Over 200 proposals for EU agri-food promotion received

EU agri-food promotion programmes have received more than 200 proposals following a call for interest in January.

The programmes fall into two categories: simple programmes from one or more organisations from the same country or multi programmes which are backed by at least two organisations from at least two countries or one or more European-wide organisation.

For 2017, some 189 proposals were received for simple programmes, with 35 proposals for multi programmes. These will now be analysed and successful applicants are expected to be notified in October. The selected campaigns will receive European Commission financing for 70-85% of the total budget and have to use the ‘Enjoy! It’s From Europe,’ branding in their campaigns, which normally last for 3 years.

Some €133m from the EU budget is allocated for these promotional programmes in 2017, with €63 million aimed at simple programmes in non-EU countries and regions, including China, the Middle East, North America, South-East Asia and Japan. The programmes will focus primarily on fruit and vegetables, meat and dairy products, as well as quality on the EU’s quality schemes and on raising awareness of sustainable agriculture and the role of agriculture in climate action.

Photo Credit: Flickr

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BPOA outlines 10-year vision

Following a full review between last December and February, the British Protected Ornamentals Association (BPOA) has unveiled its plans for the next ten years.

Greg Hill, chairman of the BPOA, said, “With many changes occurring in the industry and the needs of our members changing, we thought it was a good time for a long look at the operation of our association and we are delighted with John’s study and the opportunity that it has given us to update our operations and make them fit for the future of the industry.”

The BPOA Management Committee has since analysed the findings of the review and it presents John Hall’s report to the membership. It is working to address the questions raised in the report and consider the recommendations for action by developing an Action Plan for implementation beginning immediately in 2017. The Action Plan will be presented to BPOA members at an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday 17th October.

The BPOA Review, which was produced by consultant John Hall, can be read here.

Photo Credit: BPOA / NFU

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Fruit Logistica publishes Future Trends report

Fruit Logistica, the key European trade show for the fresh produce industry has published the first parts of a new four-part report on the future of the global fruit industry.

The report, which has been compiled by the Swiss think-tank, the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, was first unveiled in Berlin on the eve of this year’s Fruit Logistica. The report highlights several important developments that the fresh produce industry will need to be aware of between now and 2025.

According to Wilfried Wollbold, Fruit Logistica global brand manager, “This trend analysis is our way of thanking all fresh produce industry customers and partners. They have supported Fruit Logistica over the last 25 years and helped make it the leading fresh produce industry business platform.”

Fruit Trade 2025: Part 1 – Key Trends and Drivers and Part 2 — Production Trends can be downloaded from the Fruit Logistica website. Parts Three and Four will be published in May and June respectively.

Photo Credit: Fruit Logistica

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European potato production predicted to increase this year

AHDB Potatoes reports that, ‘The first potato area estimate from the North-Western European Potato Growers (NEPG) region suggests a possible increase of 3.6% compared with last season.’

According to the report, the increase would have been even larger, but was curtailed due to the restricted availability of certified seed resulting from lower crop yields last year. Most of the increase in planting has been driven by continued demand from the European processing industry.

‘It is important to note is that the GB proportion of the 2017 area estimate is based on an historical average. The NEPG area estimate is therefore likely to change as more information becomes available,’ added AHDB Potatoes. In order to foresee potential production possibilities for the NEPG region, AHDB has calculated different scenarios based on the 572,000 ha estimate. These range from 25.19 million tonnes based on historic low yields of 44 t/ha, to 29.83 million tonnes based on historic highs.

AHDB analysis suggests that if the current area estimate is realised, production is likely to increase across the NEPG area, even if the yields achieved are similar to the lows of 2012, which was an usually low yielding year. Conditions will determine final planting figures, although many countries are reported to have had ‘ideal’ conditions and made good starts.

Photo Caption: Graph showing historic and predicted planting areas

Photo Credit: AHDB & NEPG

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