How do consumers value produce and local vs. long-distance?

First British-grown strawberries of the season hit shelves at Aldi stores

A new researcher at the New York Produce Show, Rebecca Wasserman-Olin, shared new research findings about how customers value various appearance characteristics and how a consumer value perception is affected when a strawberry is marketed as ‘local,’ among other key findings. While this work uses strawberries as an example, it provides important lessons for everyone in the fresh produce […]

UK’s Jones Food Company begins construction on huge new vertical farm

Engineering a circular UK food economy

Ocado-backed Jones Food Company has broken ground on a massive new vertical farm in Gloucestershire it says will be the biggest in the world. At 148,000 square feet, the multimillion-pound site in Lydney will be the second for Jones, whose current farm in Lincolnshire is one of largest in the UK – the size of […]

Camellia-Bardsley partnership to propel agri-tech innovation

Earlier this month, Bardsley England , the UK’s second-largest apple supplier, was acquired by global agriculture group Camellia Plc – a grower-supplier of tea, nuts, avocados, blueberries, maize and timber in Africa, India, Bangladesh and Brazil. The tie-up is designed to allow both businesses to spearhead development and technology projects to transform how they grow food […]

How BerryWorld and its growers are thriving while keeping an eye on the environment

Like most UK produce companies, BerryWorld for decades not only has focussed on delivering high-quality fruit to consumers but also ensured its operations and growers do in a sustainable manner. Its grower base are all Global Gap certified, as well as meeting Nurture, Sedex, BRC and Leaf standards for food safety and labour. While working […]

Six future leaders chosen for LSA horticulture program

It wasn’t easy to pare down the list of remarkable candidates for positions in the LSA Charitable Fellowship Scheme that aims to “develop the future leaders of the commercial horticulture industry”, but several strong winners emerged to those who decide the placements. The steering group picked six up-and-coming standouts to take part in a two-year […]

With Brexit a factor, growers target larger crop of Picota cherries for UK

UK growers foresee favourable season ahead for cherries from UK, abroad

European Picota cherry growers in Spain’s Jerte Valley west of Madrid are predicting a bountiful harvest in mid-June after a three-week blossom in April that saw pristine weather conditions. More than a million cherry trees are grown on the slopes of the mountain, and this year’s volumes headed to the UK are expected to be […]