M&S will be first UK retailer to sell lower-carbon parsnips this November
M&S plans to have lower carbon parsnips available in select stores this November, the first of the major retailers to both farm and sell a reduced-carbon vegetable. The retailer recently concluded successful autonomous field trials in Yorkshire in partnership with supplier Huntapac, hoping to both reduce farm emissions and create more highly skilled jobs. The […]
How Much Value Does Seasonal Worker Scheme Bring? Study Shows Two Sides
A recent study completed by Migration Advisory Committee and research firm Revealing Reality shows mixed results from the Seasonal Worker Visa Scheme (SWS) employed by the government to help provide labour assistance on farms. While overall sentiment is positive – it’s hard to deny the helping hand that thousands of visa workers give to the […]
Where does bold, mouth-watering flavour come from? It starts with seeds and breeders
For this column, we are going to go off menu a bit because ironically, flavor does not start on the menu. Or in the kitchen. Or at the distributor. Or even in the field. Flavour starts with the development of a seed. Development, growing, testing, tasting. Re-developing, growing, testing, re-tasting. But I am getting ahead […]
Aldi reaches historic 20-year deal with British apple grower AC Goatham
AC Goatham & Son, one of the most renowned fruit farms in the UK, has reached a new £750 million deal with Aldi to supply it with fresh apples and pears. Based in Kent, AC Goatham has been working with Aldi since 2016, but was not its sole provider of British apples until last year. […]
What could be more impactful or fun than National Carrot Day? It’s happening in October.
The British Carrot Growers Association will host National Carrot Day on 3 October in Yorkshire and online to bring awareness and “safeguard the future” of this incredibly heathy and versatile root vegetable. “It’s time to make a bit of noise about the nation’s favourite vegetable, the carrot,” says Rodger Hobson, Chair of the BCGA and […]
WAPA: Southern Hemisphere forecast looks positive for apples but a bit less so for pears
The World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) recently released its Southern Hemisphere apple and pear crop forecast for the upcoming season at Fruit Logistica in Berlin – with good news for one commodity and not-so-good news for the other. According to WAPA’s data revealed at its General meeting and consolidated from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, […]
Nectarines from South Africa looking good despite tough conditions for stone fruit overall
South African growers are increasing plantings of nectarines on the back of rising demand and better financial returns at grower level, although the industry is still under financial pressure. Young nectarine orchards that were planted in the last few years are now coming into production, with new higher-yielding varieties further boosting volumes and the use […]
Have we finally reached a ‘crisis’ moment in the divide between British growers and retailers?
Earlier this week, the chairman of British Berry Growers Nick Marston said that “confidence in their retailer partners had been dented,” notably impaired by an outdated Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP). “It is not fit for purpose in today’s inflationary marketplace,” said Marston, whose group represents 95% of those who grow in the commercial […]
