NFU HORTICULTURE AUTUMN 2021 by nfuhorticulture

Autumn 2021

For horticulture and potato members of the NFU

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Welcome

CONTACTS EDITORIAL Editor: Lorna Maybery t: 02476 858971 e: lorna.maybery@nfu.org.uk News editor: Tom Sales t: 02476 858676 e: tom.sales@nfu.org.uk Designer: John Cottle Writer: Spence Gunn NFU HORTICULTURE ADVISERS Lee Abbey Chief horticulture and potatoes adviser e: lee.abbey@nfu.org.uk Rupert Weaver Horticulture adviser e: rupert.weaver@nfu.org.uk Allie Hesketh Horticulture adviser e: allie.hesketh@nfu.org.uk ADVERTISING Jasbinder Saikhon jasbinder.saikhon@nfu.org.uk t: 02476 858952 PRODUCTION Heather Crompton COMMERCIAL Repro: NFU and AT Graphics Print: Stephen & George Photography: Blundstone, Gary Naylor, iStock, John Cottle, Lee Thomas, Adam Fradgley

Let us know what you think about the magazine or about the issues covered by emailing: lorna.maybery@nfu.org.uk

WELCOME

“With the end of Freedom of Movement and the ongoing effects of the pandemic, our ability to access seasonal and permanent workers is harder than ever”

K horticulture should be full of optimism and the National Food Strategy provides another timely reminder as to why this sector, in particular, delivers so much for consumers and for the government. It is plain to see that a UK food system that enables growth in the production of fresh produce, plants and flowers is one that is better for consumer health, the environment and for the UK economy. But, yet again, disjointed policy-making across government departments threatens to derail this. With the end of Freedom of Movement and the ongoing effects of the pandemic, our ability to access seasonal and permanent workers is harder than ever, and shortages are being reported across the entire industry, whether that is in production, processing, transport or retail. It underlines the shortcomings of an immigration system that is based on principles, not practicalities. Environmental policies too, continue to remain awkwardly rigid and do not yet recognise the diversity and complexity of the horticulture sector. And the evolving policy on imports for plants is adding such cost and potential delays that it will be difficult to remain competitive. If that were not enough, added to this is the uncertainty over the future of R&D provision in the sector as we await Defra’s response to the AHDB ballots earlier in the year; a delay which risks dividing the sector even further at a time when we can least afford it. It is saddening that the optimism is being tested in this way. It is time for the government to pay closer attention, and ensure it does not waste the opportunities that this sector can truly deliver. Ali Capper Chairman, NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board

Autumn 2021

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KEEPING IT COUNTRY

Contents

More than 2,000 people have downloaded the NFU’s dedicated mobile app – and with a wealth of fast-changing coronavirus and Brexit news being added daily, there’s never been a more important time to join them. The App lets members customise content by farming sector and access downloaded content without an internet connection. It gives the option of being notified when important news and information is added – and it’s free for NFU members. Visit your usual app provider.

NEWS AND POLICY UPDATES

A round-up of what the NFU is doing for you – including on smoother EU trade

SEARCHING FOR THE JOB SEEKERS

How will growers fill the vacancies in the labour market?

AN APPETITE FOR CHANGE

The National Food Strategy report

CO-OPERATIVE GAIN

NFU helps to avoid looming gap in PO funding

PAYMENT FOR PLAYING OUR PART Looking for fair rewards in the new ELMs

IMPRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Wrangle over spreading rules continues

KNOW YOUR RIGHT TO WORK CHECKS

We look at new requirements for employees

RED TRACTOR CHANGES

FUTURE ON HOLD

MARKETS AT RISK

FROM THE FORUM

MEET THE GROWER

GUEST COLUMN

I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT...

We look at ‘version 5’ of the fresh produce assurance scheme Lack of decisions after AHDB ballots leaves growers in limbo EU block on seed potatoes NFU Potato Forum chairman Alex Godfrey and new member Alastair Heath We chat to new NFU Potato Forum member Edward Backhouse Featuring the FDF’s Mark Harrison

Sports radio fan Ben Kantsler picks his items

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Working for you

What’s been happening... A snapshot of the NFU’s work for members and developments in the sector

PO funding

The grower groups who sell more than 50% of Britain’s fruit and veg will not face a ‘funding gap’, after Defra confirmed transitional arrangements for producer organisations (POs). The first of the PO work programmes under the EU Fresh Produce Scheme had been due to end later this year – and with the development of a post-Brexit UK replacement disrupted by Covid-19, the NFU had pushed hard for an extension to their support. Defra has now confirmed arrangements to ensure a “smooth transition” to a new UK horticulture productivity package – including a guarantee to match current levels of support. POs that complete programmes after access to previous funding is shut off will be able to implement new, shorter plans to bridge to the new arrangements. More on p28

Seed pots latest

Government must urgently restore two-way trade and ensure that British growers are not disadvantaged by the latest developments in a political wrangle over EU seed potato imports, the NFU has said. Read more from p30

Whole-chain labour report imminent

An NFU-convened coalition that includes the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and a number of other supply chain organisations is working with analysts Grant Thornton to produce a comprehensive assessment of the food chain labour market. A report in August will provide evidence of current shortages in key areas, assess the causes, and suggest solutions to secure the workers and skills required by busineses from farm to fork. Read more from p9 and get the FDF view on on p43

Smoother EU trade

The NFU is seeking clarity on several issues relating to EU plant and plant product imports, both to address current problems reported by members and ahead of the next tranche of changes in January. The introduction of inspection fees for imported high-priority plant and plant products has been raised at the highest levels in Defra and the NFU has called for an urgent review and interim support. Border Control Post (BCP) fees and processes due next year have also been on the agenda, as has ensuring a smooth transition between computer systems. Read more at NFUonline.com/hort/

Tree strategy

The NFU has called for ‘right tree, right place’ to be the mantra as the government rolls out ambitious plans to help fight climate change. With ministers targeting a trebling of tree planting rates by 2024, a new NFU strategy says species must be selected to match locations. It adds that there should be a focus on returning existing woodland back to active management, better incentives for new trees outside of woodlands, and that new planting schemes should encourage the use of British-grown saplings. Read more at NFUonline. com/reports/

Rule one work

The NFU will continue to work with government, the Environment Agency (EA) and stakeholders across the industry after sustained pressure bought a temporary change of approach on the enforcement of ‘rule one’ of the Farming Rules for Water. An EA regulatory position statement means some in-field spreading of manure and fertiliser will be possible this autumn, but significant concerns remain over how practical the requirements are. Get the story on p21

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News updates

TOP FRUIT COSTS SPIKE A fruit grower group has catalogued a succession of cost increases in the past few months that it says will further threaten the profitability of some British orchards. In its season update, British Apples and Pears (BAPL) said growers had seen cardboard prices rise by 25 to 30%, haulage by 10 to 12%, and packaging by at least 10%. The increases come on top of challenging weather and other Covid-19 and Brexit-related expenses – including labour inflation – which a recent BAPLcommissioned report said had added 6.5p to the production costs of a six-pack of apples. BAPL executive chair, Ali Capper, also the NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board chair, said 2021 had “undoubtably tested the industry”. As harvest begins, the group is urging shoppers to choose British fruit and is working with renowned chef Raymond Blanc, and former pop star-turned farmer, JB Gill, to highlight the sector’s quality produce and sustainability. A report from the Royal Agricultural University will further underscore British top fruit’s environmental credentials. BAPL is predicting high-quality crops after favourable winter condition, despite challenges later in the season. Production is expected to be up in many varieties, although the spring weather hit Cox and Bramley growers particularly hard.

TIDE MUST BE TURNED 70%

The NFU marked Farm Safety Week with a simple message – it is time to turn the tide. INCREASE IN DEATHS ON It asked members to implement crucial BRITISH FARMS changes and then to share what they had done with friends, family and colleagues across the industry – adopting the same ‘learning mentality’ that they would to other business challenges. A series of social media posts focused on key dangers throughout the week, as the NFU urged members to ‘call out’ poor practice from colleagues. This year’s Farm Safety Week came against the stark backdrop of a 70% increase in deaths on British farms. Health and Safety Executive figures showed 34 workers lost their lives in agricultural incidents.

FEEL THE LOVE

Public support for farming and growing has remained at a record high. The NFU 2021 Farmer Favourability Survey found that 75% of people had a positive view of the industry – the jointhighest figure since pollsters started carrying out the annual probe in 2012. That matched last year’s findings, as the sector kept the nation fed through the first lockdown The strength of public feeling on food standards was also clear, with 85% of 2,000 adults questioned by independent analysts OnePoll calling for safeguards from imports produced in ways which would be illegal here.

FILIP FOR GLYPHOSATE

NEW £35M GARDEN SCIENCE CENTRE The Royal Horticultural Society has unveiled its biggest-ever investment in science with the opening of a £35 million centre of excellence at Wisley, Surrey. Around 70 scientists and students will be based at RHS Hilltop, with research set to focus on helping gardeners adapt to the challenges posed by climate change, pest and disease threats, and growing an understanding of the role gardens and plants play in the nation’s health and wellbeing. The centre will also house 25,000 entomology specimens, a library of 28,000 books and 90,000 dried plants – part of a drive to catalogue all of the 400,000 plants thought to be growing in UK gardens.

Four EU nations tasked with evaluating glyphosate ahead of its licence renewal process have concluded that the herbicide does not pose risks for human health when used as directed. France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Sweden submitted an 11,000-page dossier to the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency. NFU Senior Regulatory Affairs Adviser Dr Chris Hartfield called the review a “significant evidence-based step forward in the ongoing renewal process”. The active is currently authorised for use in the EU until 15 December 2022. In the UK, the Chemical Regulation Division has said all plant protection products due to expire between now and 31 December 2023 will be granted a three-year extension, as a post-Brexit pesticides regulation regime is developed. That gives an expiry date of 15 December 2025.

Autumn 2021

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Labour

Searching for the job seekers With seasonal and permanent roles becoming ever harder to fill, Horticulture looks at how we got here, what the impacts are… and what needs to happen next

Words by: Spence Gunn he figures tell an all-toofamiliar story. The NFU survey of labour providers to farms and nurseries suggests around 16% of seasonal jobs starting in June – the last month figures are available for – went unfilled. And given that the same survey posted an 11% shortfall overall for the first half of the year, the picture appears to have become worse, not better, as the year has gone on. Of those recruited through the agencies taking part in the survey, only one in four was an EU resident with settled or pre-settled status, half of whom were classified as returnees. Almost all of the remainder were non-EU citizens on the seasonal workers pilot scheme. There are simply not enough – and

“IT’S A PERFECT STORM THAT’S ONLY MADE WORSE WHAT WE’VE BEEN SEEING FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS” Lee Abbey NFU chief horticulture and potatoes adviser

while not everyone uses labour agencies, the picture is similar wherever you look. The cluster of horticultural businesses in West Sussex, for example, had a labour shortfall across both permanent and seasonal roles of around 12% by mid-July, according to the NFU-affiliated West Sussex Growers Association (WSGA). “That’s data from our 18 largest businesses, but it represents all sectors,” says secretary John Hall. “The average across three weeks

around the end of June to mid-July was a shortfall of 700 full-time equivalents, from seasonal manual workers to semi-skilled and skilled roles, on crop work and in packhouses. “I’d estimate that translates to being short of more than 1,000 full-time equivalents across all our businesses. It’s about double the rate for last year, and it has gone on for much longer; it has been like this since early spring.”

HOW DID WE GET HERE… AND WHAT NOW?

The NFU is leading an initiative that, at the time of writing, is about to provide independent evidence on the labour shortage this year that is affecting the whole food supply chain (see panel, p10). It’s likely to boil down to the combination of the UK’s new immigration system, which ended free Autumn 2021

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Labour

NO LONGER JUST US... Recruitment, particularly for seasonal work, has been an issue for growers for a long time. But when the UK’s decision to end free movement of people from the EU coincided with Covid self-isolating rules this year, businesses across farming, growing and food supply chains found themselves unable to meet demand. The haulage industry alone says it’s short of around 100,000 HGV drivers at a time when demand is up 120% on pre-pandemic levels. The shortage is believed to be down to qualified EU personnel returning home and a backlog in HGV training and testing caused by last year’s lockdowns. In response, NFU Vicepresident Tom Bradshaw led an emergency roundtable with businesses across the food and ornamentals supply chain, to share intelligence and coordinate a response. “More than 40 businesses and trade bodies were present, from farmers and growers to haulage, retail and food processing and manufacturing,” says NFU chief horticulture and potatoes adviser Lee Abbey. “It’s the first time we’ve led anything like this across such a range of industries, but that’s a reflection of the situation.” The meeting commissioned an independent review of the challenges, which will be used to campaign for urgent measures to ensure businesses can access the people they need in both the short and longer term. It’s due to be published at the end of August.

‘SOME HAVE LEFT A THIRD OF THE CROP IN THE FIELD’ Norfolk flower grower Mark Eves joined the NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board this year. He says he was luckier than most in terms of labour supply, as his daffodil crop was ready to pick when some European workers were still in the area. But he says some growers in the South West have left “between a quarter and a third of their crop in the field”. He adds: “We were also, just, okay with our forced tulips, but by May many EU workers had gone back home and few have returned. Since then it has been increasingly difficult for our summer flowers, bulb lifting and packing. “We’ve had to increase pay well above inflation, but even so have already decided to cut back on some lines for the future – asters for example, even though we know there is increased demand – because we’re not confident about getting the labour to pick them.” He adds: “So far, I’ve not seen domestic recruitment schemes helping with either seasonal or permanent recruitment. Anyone any good has already got a job. “Our pickers earn good money but at the end of the day we’re talking about being out in a muddy field in February competing with being in a clean dry warehouse or factory. It will always be hard physical work. “Through the lockdowns, everyone was saying how important flowers and plants were to people’s wellbeing. “We need the seasonal workers scheme to become permanent and there’s really no reason for ornamentals not to be part of it.” movement of EU citizens in January, Covid-related travel restrictions, and the self-isolation rules that prevented employees from working during much of the spring and summer. Even though the seasonal workers pilot scheme was expanded this year to 30,000 permits and two additional labour agency operators, many growers believe its announcement, just a couple of days before Christmas, came too late in the recruitment calendar. And even at 30,000 visas, it covers only about half the industry’s total seasonal labour demand.

PERFECT STORM

“It’s a perfect storm that’s only made worse what we’ve been seeing for the past few years,” said NFU chief horticulture and potatoes adviser, Lee Abbey. “Even with a full roll-out of an

expanded seasonal workers scheme, which we need a decision on urgently for next year, it may not be enough on its own to meet the horticulture sector’s seasonal recruitment needs and it won’t be able to feed people through into more skilled permanent roles, in the way seasonal workers moving freely within the EU once did. “Growers may increasingly need to look to at least some expansion of domestic recruitment to back it up, particularly if international travel continues to be difficult.”

THE HOME FRONT?

On that front, last year’s Pick for Britain helped some growers, but its overall contribution was regarded as patchy. It has been replaced this year by a longer-term initiative for both edible and ornamental businesses, which has seen the NFU helping the

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Labour

“IT’S GREAT TO HAVE THE DWP ENGAGING MORE WITH THE INDUSTRY, AND WE’RE WORKING WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND US” Melanie Tellwright HR consultant

Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), though its Jobcentre Plus network, to engage more closely with growers, learn more about the seasonal and permanent jobs on offer, and to find suitable candidates through some of its existing programmes. A mechanism by which growers can advertise both seasonal and permanent vacancies is in place and the DWP will ‘matchmake’ the grower with the appropriate job centre team.

‘ALL ABOUT NEXT YEAR’

HR consultant Melanie Tellwright grew up on a West Sussex nursery and now works with growers in the area –

and she has been liaising with the local Jobcentre network on their behalf. “It’s great to have the DWP engaging more with the industry, and we’re working with them to make sure they understand us,” she says. “But the scheme was only introduced a few months ago, so it was really too late for this year: it’s all about next year and beyond.” Despite the low unemployment in the area and high living costs, she

believes that opportunities exist to take on more local people and says that a flexible approach will be key. “It’s something the growers I work with are already exploring, including collaborating to offer job continuity across different crops – which we do have in West Sussex – and adapting shift patterns,” she says. “We need to be more creative in fitting people to roles. Retirees looking for part-time work shouldn’t be

NEW GROUND, BUT WE’RE LEARNING “This is new ground for us,” says Keith Johnson, employer adviser at Jobcentre Plus in Maidstone, Kent. “Up to now the horticulture industry has had its own ways to source enough labour; growers haven’t needed to work with us.” With unemployment in his patch increasing, and likely to accelerate as furlough is phased out, Mr Johnson is looking ahead – with horticulture in mind. “I know growers need to start recruiting in autumn for the following year, so what we are doing now is really about gearing up and having things in place for that,” he says. His role is to work with employers, learn about the industries in the area and to identify potential candidates among his jobseekers. He’s already in close touch with the regional NFU office and he spoke about the new initiative at this year’s Fruit Focus trade show. “It was the first chance I’ve had to talk to a lot of growers,” he says. “What was striking was the real sense of community and I think that will be a big help when it comes to the kind of flexibility we may need.” He said that the Eastern European seasonal workers’ culture, which growers have become used to, was to work really hard for what they know will be a limited period, but it’s a different picture for home-grown workers. “For local recruitment we’re looking at people who need longer-term work and maybe to develop a career.”

Different shift patterns may help to appeal to locals who have not previously considered or been able to take up horticultural work. Fitting more closely with the school day will attract parents with school-age children for example, he suggests. He adds: “There may also be ways different growers could cooperate on a series of shorterterm contracts so employees move from crop to crop.”

SCHEMES TO GROW WORKERS?

Mr Johnson says he and his colleagues are trying to dispel misconceptions about horticultural jobs. Among the existing schemes he says could help horticulture is ‘Swap’ (the sector-based work academy programme), which includes elements of pre-employment training and work experience, funded by the Skills Agency. “You have to offer an interview at the end to anyone who is interested in pursuing the job, though there’s no obligation to employ,” he says. “But we know from other industries that it filters out those unlikely to be suitable and it could work for both seasonal or permanent roles.” Meanwhile, Kickstart offers work experience for those under 24 and could be particularly suitable where several growers want to cooperate to fill vacancies. Mr Johnson says Kickstart often leads to apprenticeships and could be especially attractive to career-changers.

Autumn 2021

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Labour

“WHAT’S PROVING A FAR GREATER ISSUE FOR US IS THE LONGER-TERM JOBS, PARTICULARLY IN THE PACKHOUSE, WHICH OPERATES ALL YEAR” Ross Goatham NFU Horticulture Board member

ignored: there is work they can do, especially on ornamentals nurseries. “We do a lot of online recruitment through local Facebook groups and jobs-board sites. Word-of-mouth can also be effective – and more growers could offer incentives for employees who introduce new recruits.”

WILL IT WORK?

‘WE’VE HAD 70% FEWER RETURNEES’ New NFU Horticulture Board member Ross Goatham is the third generation at Kent-based family tree-fruit business, AC Goatham. “We normally rely on returnee seasonal workers from Europe for the 150 to 200 people we need for fruit thinning in June,” he says. “This year we had 70% fewer returnees. “We think one of the reasons is a lot of those who are entitled to pre or fully-settled status haven’t realised they needed to apply for it, rather than it being granted automatically. And many who would have been entitled have not been here because of the pandemic. “This may well become apparent to growers when the apple and pear harvest starts and the EU returnees who would normally come for that suddenly realise they can’t. I think it could lead to horror stories for some. “We need around 750 for our harvest, but have a long-standing relationship with ProForce, which is also one of the seasonal pilot operators, who help us to source pickers. “What’s proving a far greater issue for us is the longer-term jobs, particularly in the packhouse, which operates all year. “The less-skilled have been coming through the seasonal pilot scheme, but getting anyone for anything more skilled – such as quality control or forklift operators – has become virtually impossible since freedom of movement ended.” The company is establishing a ‘returnee’ system so its seasonal worker scheme employees can come back for further six-month work periods after returning home having gained some knowledge of the job during their first stint, rather than new groups having to be retrained. He adds: “We’ve advertised locally for harvest workers for the past 10 years without much reward. But we do have to look at all the options and we’d certainly explore what the DWP scheme is offering.”

Martin Emmett, NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board member and strategy director for Tristram Plants, says he understands why the track record for domestic recruitment means many growers remain sceptical. “But we do need a step-change and, from the meetings we’ve had, through the West Sussex Growers Association, with our local Jobcentres I sense we are exploring more effectively ways to improve outcomes, including on the suitability of candidates,” he adds. Every option has to be investigated, he says. In addition to wider use of apprenticeships, he points to the positive experiences some growers in the area have had recruiting from the armed forces and even those leaving prison following rehabilitation. Being able to attract and retain more domestic workers has the potential to help, but there’s no evidence it can bring in the tens of thousands of people growers need to pick and pack all of the UK’s horticultural produce. That’s why the NFU continues to press for a decision early this autumn to make the seasonal workers pilot scheme permanent from next year, and to extend its scope to ornamentals and to increase both the number of permits and operators. 2 Get the latest developments at NFUonline.com/hort Autumn 2021

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National Food Strategy “Fresh produce is the sector of primary food production where growth most squarely aligns with the national interest,” Mr Dimbleby says. “As Defra already promotes the case for government investment to improve productivity, it makes sense to prioritise the sectors where growth, through efficiencies and in volume, directly benefits national health.” The report says it will take a 30% increase in fruit and veg consumption within the next decade to enable the national diet to reach the longstanding ‘five-a-day’ target and to meet the government’s health, climate and nature conservation commitments. It also proposes how some agricultural land should be managed in future. Some would be completely repurposed or adapted for environmental projects, with some managed more for nature conservation while accepting lower yields as a consequence. Innovative production Recommendations in the long-anticipated National Food methods to generate high yields, but with a lower carbon footprint, are Strategy report echo many of the policy changes the NFU also proposed. “Farms [and nurseries] are has been calling for to support growers businesses, not It will take a philanthropic hobbies,” Words by: Spence Gunn concrete proposals says Mr Dimbleby, “they based on sound need to make a profit. in fruit and veg science and evidence, They cannot be once-in-a-lifetime consumption for the and modelling of expected to develop and opportunity to reshape national diet to reach potential impact and adopt more sustainable the nation’s food the longstanding practices – including system and diet –that’s costs,” he says. ‘five-a-day’ target He believes the some that will deliberately how restaurateur pandemic has created an lower their yields – if it Henry Dimbleby describes his appetite for change, which he destroys their balance sheet. recommendations for a National Food says demands action not just from “We are asking farmers to change Strategy, which were published this business but from government. The the way they work for the public good. summer following a governmentfood industry itself recognises the We must ensure they are properly commissioned review in 2019. need for change, but a shift in recompensed. His report was written with the help government policy is required, too, “And we must protect them from of a steering group that included NFU unfair competition, which will be President Minette Batters and John to guarantee a level playing field and impossible if we don’t get our trade Shropshire, chief executive of vegetable generate confidence, he says. deals right.” growers G’s. It sets out how the UK food system GOOD NEWS FOR HORT could be made more resilient in the While it was a slightly different story WHAT’S NEEDED TO REALISE face of future global ‘shocks’, such as THE AMBITION? for red meat producers, much of what pandemics and climate change, and the Mr Dimbleby is asking for reflects the NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board nation’s diet improved, while reducing NFU’s campaigning in the past few chair Ali Capper says there’s much in our food’s environmental footprint. years to strengthen support for the report that is ‘music to her ears’, “It’s not just a wish list but a set of growers of fresh produce. such as Mr Dimbleby’s recognition that

A 14

30% INCREASE

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National Food Strategy horticulture delivers such value to the national interest. “There’s some really good things here for our sector, not just in driving consumption but in supporting domestic production,” she says. “If it does nothing else I hope it leads to more joined-up thinking between government departments, particularly Defra and the Department of Health. “But it also highlights what we’re already doing on sustainability, the high standards we already work to and the innovative approaches we take, for example in water capture and renewable energy.”

“FRESH PRODUCE IS THE SECTOR WHERE GROWTH MOST SQUARELY ALIGNS WITH THE NATIONAL INTEREST” Henry Dimbleby Report author

She agrees that some significant shifts in policy approach are needed if growers are to be able to deliver the benefits the strategy pushes for. “What we really need is policy certainty across a whole range of issues,” she says. “Right now decisions on key issues like seasonal workers and R&D funding are being left till the eleventh hour. “Inflation in costs such as fertilisers, packaging, machinery and building materials, not to mention labour, is through the roof and largely driven by government policies, while at the same time we are being pressured to reduce prices. “That creates an unnecessarily uncertain business environment – and unprecedented levels of anxiety – in which growers are less likely to make the kind of investments needed if we are to expand production and improve sustainability.” The government has promised to respond to the food strategy proposals within six months. Meanwhile, the NFU is planning to help members use the report to press for changes in government policy, and representatives will be raising it in discussions with Defra. 2

THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The report calls for a £1 billion investment to support innovation that ‘creates a better food system’, sourced from the £22bn the government plans to spend on R&D through its new, wider Innovation Strategy, launched in July. It says this should be backed by a ‘challenge fund’, worth £500 million over five years, specifically for projects that lead to practical improvements, including those that boost productivity. Mr Dimbleby notes that there has been a ‘funding drought in the areas where innovation actually happens, including on farms and for start-ups’. Money here could include support for new crop production methods.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

Public sector food procurement – e.g. catering in hospitals, prisons and schools – is worth £2.4bn a year, but price is currently the key factor in tendering, meaning it’s inevitably dominated by a handful of large food-service suppliers. This could be changed if policies encouraged the procurement of seasonal food from local suppliers, with more fruit and vegetables, and if food-buying standards favoured aspects of quality, not just cost.

REDISTRIBUTION AND EDUCATION

A number of the report’s recommendations are aimed at nudging the nation towards a healthier diet with an emphasis on increasing fresh fruit and veg consumption, and making fresh produce more accessible to lower-income groups. If a ‘sugar and salt tax’ replaced the soft drinks industry levy from 2024, it could raise between £2.9 and £3.4bn, the report says, with the money used to fund schemes aimed at getting more fresh fruit and veg to low-income families and into schools.

PRODUCE ON PRESCRIPTION

The ‘green social prescribing programme’ already allows GPs to prescribe therapeutic activities such as walking clubs and community gardening to patients. The report recommends extending the idea by trialling a ‘community eatwell’ programme, giving GPs the option of prescribing fresh fruit and veg and food education to patients affected by poor diet or food insecurity.

TRADE

The report also wants trade policy to support the standards UK farmers and growers are being asked to meet, and for productivity in fruit and veg growing to be made a Defra priority, including through a less bureaucratic, more inclusive and better-funded successor to the EU Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme, which supported Producer Organisations.

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Producer organisations

Cooperative gain NFU pressure has helped to avoid a looming gap in PO funding

Words by: Spence Gunn rowers belonging to 33 co-operative groups have received some welcome clarity on the continuity of their grant funding. Until Brexit, producer organisations – or POs – had been receiving matchfunding grants under the EU Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme to support a range of productivity-related investments and marketing activities. As part of the post-Brexit transition to the UK’s own agricultural policies and support mechanisms, the government had promised to fund POs to enable them to complete their current programmes.

FUNDING GAP?

For some, however, that would have meant money running out between now and 2023, when a UK replacement scheme is due to be introduced. “We know Defra is looking at options for a new scheme and we’ve been talking with them about ways to make it more accessible to a wider range of growers,” says NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board chair Ali Capper, whose tree fruit enterprise is itself a member of a PO. “But as the current scheme closes to new entrants next year, and with no decisions yet on its replacement, we’ve been increasingly concerned there would be a funding gap.” 16

The NFU had ramped up lobbying on the issue, while the value of POs, which account for more than half of all British-grown fruit and veg, was underlined in the National Food Strategy report published in July (see p14). It called for ‘a less bureaucratic, more inclusive and better-funded successor to the EU scheme’. Defra says it is increasing its engagement with the horticulture sector to establish what support is needed to help meet government ambitions for productivity and sustainability. It sees POs as part of that and, at Fruit Focus in July, it announced plans ‘to ensure a smooth transition to future support’.

It said POs with operational programmes ending before the existing scheme closes will be able to implement ‘new, shorter operational programmes’ to bridge the gap. There will be some changes to what can be funded, but the overall amount that a PO can claim will remain at current levels: 50% of eligible expenditure or 4.1% of marginal product value, whichever is the lower. “The devil will be in the detail and we’re still waiting to see some of that,” says Mrs Capper. “But we now know if your current programme ends this year you will be able to put in for a new one covering a three-year period.” 2

WELCOME CONTINUITY Wye Fruit is among the POs with scheme agreements ending this year. It has been a cooperative for tree and soft fruit growers since the early 1960s and has 12 members. “We naturally fitted the PO scheme when that began,” says Wye Fruit’s accountant and PO scheme administrator, Chris Fletcher. “Our board was very concerned that we’d have been left high and dry if our current five-year support agreement ended without prospect of a replacement, so the Defra announcement is really welcome. “We are committed to being a coop, so we would have stayed together anyway. But without match-funding for a new plan we’d have seen our investment budget halved for things like packhouse improvements, automation, storage and work on new varieties and growing systems. “It would have meant, for us and all the other POs, putting a brake on the rate of productivity improvements just at the time when we are all being asked to step it up.”

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ELMs and horticulture

Payment for playing our part The NFU is pressing hard to make sure all growers can be fairly rewarded through the new Environmental Land Management scheme

Words by: Spence Gunn

t’s fair to say moving away from the area-based payments of the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy to rewarding growers with ‘public money for public goods’ has largely been welcomed by the horticulture industry. After all, many are already managing land and crops in ways that deliver ‘services’ ranging from wildlife and habitat conservation to flood alleviation and emissions reduction, alongside their main task of feeding the nation. But what we have learnt so far suggests there’s more work to be done to make the new support mechanisms benefit everyone in our sector. Defra has started to phase out BPS payments and begun the transition to a future system of support which includes the Environmental Land Management Scheme or ELMs, which will be fully rolled-out by 2024. It wants at least 70% of farms to be enrolled into one of its

agri-environment schemes by 2028, more than double the current number.

SCOPE FOR GROWERS?

More detail has emerged this summer on the element of ELMs that will be of most relevance to individual farmers’ and growers’ businesses – the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). While the options for claiming payments under the SFI are initially limited for horticultural businesses,

the NFU believes there is scope to make it accessible to a wider range of crops and growing systems. “ELMs, and the SFI that forms part of it is a great ambition. We think it will be an important, but not the only, support opportunity for growers in the future, sitting alongside, for example, a future scheme to support productivity improvements,” says NFU horticulture and potatoes adviser Allie Hesketh. There have been extensive discussions between the NFU and Defra about how the SFI will work for horticulture and potatoes and some adaptations have already been made to help more growers access the initial phases. “That work is still under way, and the NFU continues to engage with Defra to help make this scheme accessible for all,” adds Ms Hesketh. NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board chair Ali Capper says important changes are needed both to scheme design and payments if ELMs is to stack up for growers.

STANDARDS FOR SFI 22 The SFI 22 pilot includes an ‘arable and horticultural soils’ standard. It aims to improve soil structure and organic matter content and achieve ‘public good’ benefits such as reductions in diffuse pollution, soil erosion and greenhouse gas emissions, flood amelioration and enhanced carbon capture. Three levels return payments of £26, £41 and £60 per ha and involve soil management planning, the establishment of green cover over winter, organic matter measures and low or minimum tillage on increasing percentages of the land. However, peat soils with more then 20% organic matter to 40cm or deeper are specifically excluded.

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ELMs and horticulture Defra sees this as a way of introducing the industry to some of the scheme’s core elements before it is gradually expanded through to 2024. For instance, the SFI will, in the future, include an ‘arable and horticultural land standard’. Defra wants This will offer payments for actions such as providing resources for birds and of farms to be enrolled pollinators (nest sites or into one of its flower-rich field margins, agri-environment for example), through to schemes by 2028 maintenance of ponds or scrubland and precision application of fertilisers and crop protection products at the standard’s advanced level. The elements of the scheme so far “This initial SFI 22 offer will only be have an arable focus, with some access relevant to a limited number of for vegetable production, but more growers,” points out Ms Hesketh. clarity is needed on how things would “One of the main restrictions is its work for specific crops and for those exclusion of peat-based soils with a with short-term land tenure high organic matter content, which agreements. And while Defra has rules out large areas of vegetable increased the levels of some payments, production. Those unable to claim many growers believe they don’t yet Basic Payments, such as ornamentals reflect crop values in the sector. growers and some glasshouse “We’re talking about high-value producers, will also be unable to access crops on relatively small areas with the offer as currently outlined. little scope for taking land out of “However, Defra says further production and diverting it to standards will be included as the offer environmental schemes,” says Ms develops and the NFU will continue to Capper. “The current payments would highlight opportunities to capture a not cover the costs of doing that.” wider range of horticultural growers. “As more and more details become THE PILOT AND SFI 22 available we’re continuing to keep Plans for a limited ‘pilot’ of the SFI were Defra aware of any barriers to uptake, announced earlier this year, and those including whether the payment farmers and growers who expressed an amounts really compensate where interest were invited to submit a production of high-value full application for agreements horticultural produce is affected. starting in October. “The SFI has scope to include Any growers claiming BPS a horticulture-specific standard this year have also been and we’re already working to invited to apply for an influence the development ‘introductory SFI offer’, of this.” known as SFI 22, under Mrs Capper says a which payments can be horticulture-specific made for managing soils to framework must include the scheme’s standards incentives tailored to the (see p18). full range of crops and ‘Opportunities must cropping systems, be tailored to crops rewarding growers for and include real operating to the best incentives,’ says the environmental NFU’s Ali Capper practices within them.

70%

WHAT ELSE IS IN ELMS? The Sustainable Farming Incentive will account for 30% of the funding available through ELMs and is the part of the scheme aimed at individual agricultural and horticultural businesses. ELMs includes two further schemes, however, designed to fund projects that would require larger-scale interventions and cooperation between businesses and other organisations. The Local Nature Recovery Scheme is being designed for actions that ‘support local nature recovery and meet local environmental priorities’. Full details are still to be announced but an initial pilot is expected by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the Landscape Recovery Scheme will support restoration and enhancement of natural ecosystems through long-term changes in land use, for example through creation of new woodland or wetland restoration. Applications open this autumn for sites of 500-5,000ha, for projects starting in 2022. Defra hopes to have 10 of these largescale projects running by 2024.

“In an orchard you can choose the cheapest grass sward option for the alleyways or opt for a wildflower mix; you can keep piles of wood on headlands, you can have native bees and bug boxes,” she says. “But it all takes more time, effort and cost which can’t be passed on to customers and that’s why an adequate level of reward – a real incentive – is needed if our sector is to play its part in achieving the country’s policy aims for public goods. Any scheme based on income foregone will not work well for horticultural crops.” 2 Autumn 2021

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Nutrients

Impractical applications

Wrangle over spreading rule to continue after EA announces only a very limited relaxation

much-anticipated announcement from the Environment Agency (EA) might have removed a significant threat to autumn field applications of manure and slurry and given growers clarity on the future approach to the Farming Rules for Water – and in particular, ‘rule one’. But while August’s regulatory position statement (RPS) means some spreading will be possible this autumn,

WHAT ARE THE FARMING RULES FOR WATER? Introduced in 2018, the Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations, commonly referred to as the Farming Rules for Water (FRW), apply across the whole of England. There are eight high-level rules: five around the use of organic manures and manufactured fertilisers and three around soil management. The ‘rule one’ section of the regulations requires farmers to plan each application of organic manure or manufactured fertiliser so that it does not ‘exceed the needs of the soil and crop on that land’ or ‘give rise to a significant risk of agricultural diffuse pollution’. Defra said the FRW would standardise good farm practices that many are already performing in new approach to regulation. It promised a win-win for farmers and the environment that would help businesses save money. However, the NFU says a stringent and short-sighted interpretation of the FRW by the Environment Agency has put these ambitions in doubt.

significant concerns remain over how practical the requirements are. The statement came against a hardening line on the enforcement of rule one since 2019 and an indication from the EA that most manure and fertiliser applications this autumn would be likely to breach the rule. The NFU, acting on reports from members, made representations at the highest levels of Defra and the EA to raise concerns. But it says the RPS will have bought only very limited relief.

SPREADING POSSIBLE, BUT...

The RPA suggested a slightly more relaxed approach from the EA until the end of February 2022 – but only if a string of caveats are met. While slurry or manure spreading will be allowed this autumn providing there is no pollution risk, and can exceed the needs of the soil or crop in certain situations, applications on bare land will be prohibited and farmers will still need to show that nutrients do not exceed the requirements of a crop for the duration of its growing cycle. Elsewhere, there are conditions around application rates and the type of land where spreading will be permitted and regular checks will be required before, during and afterwards. Farmers must also tell the EA that they wish to use the RPS – and must be able to show it is their only option. The EA says it will monitor compliance through “proportionate, risk-based inspection and monitoring”. NFU Deputy President Stuart

Roberts called the approach idealistic and impractical in many farming situations. He added: “We’ve made multiple approaches urging Defra and the EA to set achievable objectives to make best use of organic manures, slurries and biowastes. But this seems to have been ignored and I am still to hear from Defra ministers despite having written twice in recent months. “To find ourselves in this situation so close to autumn shows a complete lack of appreciation of the bigger picture; these materials improve soil health and replace man-made fertilisers, while use at this time of year reduces ammonia emissions compared to applications in the spring. “This legislation must be applied in a way that recognises the wider benefits of using organic manures sustainably.” The NFU has escalated the issue to the highest levels and will continue discussions with the EA, government and stakeholders to find a longer-term solution. It says that, as well as a more nuanced interpretation of the regulations from the EA, that might involve a multi-year transition period that allows farmers to take advantage of an improved nutrient management offer from Defra. Affected? Members are advised to read the full detail at NFUonline.com/FRWupdate/ – where you will find regular updates and a template MP lobbying letter to make your voice heard

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Labour law

THE EXCEPTIONS

Know your right to work checks NFU policy adviser Rachel Chambers looks at new requirements for employers

usinesses have always had to check that their new recruits have the right to work. But for EU, European Economic Area (the EEA; Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Swiss nationals, the end of the Brexit grace period on 30 June 2021 means the way that these checks are done has changed. This is because such workers, unless they are Irish (see panel, right), no longer have the automatic right to come and work here, now that the UK has a new immigration system. Given the potential for a fine of up to £20,000, as well a variety of other sanctions, including criminal liability, it is important to make sure that you understand what you need to do.

HOW DO I CARRY OUT NEW RIGHT TO WORK CHECKS?

Previously, the most common check for EU, EEA and Swiss nationals would have been to check the individual’s passport or ID card. But this is no longer enough. Instead, from 1 July 2021, the majority of such workers, for example those who have successfully applied to the EU Settlement Scheme to stay on in the UK or who have obtained a visa under the new immigration system, will need to prove their right to work using a gov. uk online work service. That’s at gov.uk/prove-right-to-work. These web pages will generate a ‘share code’, which will allow the employer to go online and check the individual’s right to work with the Home Office centrally, at gov.uk/view-right-to-work. If the portal confirms that the person can work, it will also tell the employer whether this is indefinite or temporary and, where relevant, when a follow-up check will be needed. Evidence of checks and follow-ups need to be retained by the business. 2 Stay across employment issues at NFUonline.com/farm-business 22

Different processes apply to: • Some of those with outstanding applications to the EU Settlement Scheme. This includes outstanding applications to equivalent Crown Dependency schemes, e.g. Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man. Please note that some, but not all, of those who have outstanding applications may still be able to provide a share code, allowing use of the gov.uk online service. • EEA citizens with indefinite leave to enter/remain. • Frontier workers – those who reside elsewhere but work in the UK; more at gov.uk/frontierworker-permit. • Service providers of Switzerland. These will be employees of a Swiss-based company. The UK business benefiting from the Swiss company’s services would not be the employer, so would not need to carry out a right to work check, but you might be asked to provide evidence of the contract. • Irish citizens can prove their right to work using their Irish passport; passport card; or an Irish birth/ adoption certificate, together with an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance number and name, issued by a government agency or previous employer. Alternatively, they could go down the frontier worker permit route. To check these specific categories, visit gov.uk/government/ publications/right-to-work-checksemployers-guide. Members can also contact NFU CallFirst on 0845 845 8458, or use the Home Office helpline on 0300 790 6268. Checks for workers within these exceptions will be via the Employer Checking Service, at gov.uk/ employee-immigrationemployment-status and can take five days.

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Assurance

Red Tractor changes

Horticulture looks at ‘version five’ of the fresh produce assurance scheme

ed Tractor has released its final ‘version five’ changes to the Fresh Produce Scheme, due to take effect at inspections from 1 November. The overhaul follows an industrywide consultation on all of the assurance organisation’s sector schemes earlier in the year, which attracted more than 3,000 individual pieces of feedback for its technical committees and boards to consider. The NFU submitted a thorough, detailed response to the review – running to 90 pages in the horticulture sector and drawing on feedback from members at 75 meetings across the

“THROUGHOUT THE REVIEW PERIOD WE HAVE CONTINUOUSLY FED IN A WIDE RANGE OF GROWER VIEWS AND CONCERNS” Ali Capper NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board chair

country. It continued to represent farmers and growers through the committee process that followed. NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board chair Ali Capper said: “We have continuously fed in a wide range of

standards, we will continue to work with Red Tractor to ensure that these will work for all involved. “It is important that the requirements remain relevant to modern farming businesses and it will also be essential that they are audited consistently once implemented.”

HEALTH AND SAFETY

grower views and concerns, and NFU representatives have worked hard alongside Red Tractor and other stakeholders to have these views heard during the committees. “During this process we have ensured that clarity and flexibility have been added into standards, to make sure they reflect day-to-day practicalities, and we have also had duplicated standards removed or condensed to reduce the audit burden. “Although there have had to be compromises made on some of the

THE TOP LINE REVISED: Strengthened and upgraded approach to field/production site risk assessments to better manage risks from historic and adjacent activities. NEW: Protected cropping section introduced, with content relevant to established protected growing environments (e.g. greenhouse) and new crop production systems (e.g. vertical farms). REVISED: Strengthened and more consistent expectations for pesticide residue testing. NEW: Record-keeping systems for the use of biological controls.

In an across-the-board change, a new clause has been attached to each sector’s standards requiring all farms with workers to have a written health and safety policy. At a press conference, Red Tractor Head of Operations Philippa Wiltshire said that this would not mean Red Tractor inspectors would be conducting health and safety audits, but that they were being trained to recognise any obvious shortcomings when visiting farms and would expect members to show them their policies.

BOLT-ONS?

Red Tractor CEO Jim Moseley also unveiled plans for optional ‘bolt-on’ modules, with further detail expected next year. These will cover additional retailer requirements on worker welfare and sustainability, for example to help meet supermarkets’ net zero strategies. Bolt-ons will be assessed at the same time as a main inspection and could prove a useful tool as new farm support schemes are developed, Mr Moseley said. He added: “If we can develop a module, for example, that meets as many of the demands of the Sustainable Farming Incentive [SFI] as we can, then it might be possible for Red Tractor farmers to get earned recognition, so they won’t have to be separately assessed for the SFI.” Get more reaction to version 5 at NFUonline.com /redtractornew

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Assurance

WHAT WILL GROWERS HAVE TO SHOW? ENVIRONMENT

Lists of stored plant protection products (PPPs) must now be updated at least monthly and those who apply granular nematicides will need to meet updated standards to reflect changes in stewardship requirements, including a roll-out of free-to-access e-learning for staff carrying out applications. Anyone making recommendations on PPP use must now be on the BASIS register and records must be kept when growers introduce biological controls. Extra flexibility has been added that could allow grazing by sheep prior to growing some field crops, and the management of crop waste, formerly in the crop protocols, has now been incorporated into the core standards.

RISKS

Risk assessments must be reviewed at least annually and, for all crops that may be consumed raw, that review process must be recorded. Red Tractor says that some of the most significant risks for growers are associated with historical, or adjacent, land use and has promised greater clarity on what should be included in this risk assessment, including preventative actions and frequent reviews.

TIDY FARMS

A new standard requires farms to maintain a tidy appearance for the public. External areas should be kept clear, while scrap machinery, metal, disused tyres and rubbish must be well managed.

HARVESTING

There is a strengthened review of return-to-work questionnaires for workers returning after ill-health absence, to manage contamination risks, and a new focus on tools and knives will see start-up checks extended to cover more

equipment that could affect food safety. There are new standards to improve post-harvest washing.

STAFF

The agreement between labour provider and farm is now defined as a service level agreement. It will cover additional requirements, based on best practice guidance, to ensure a clear allocation of responsibilities between provider and farm. Farms must have a trained first aider.

PESTS

If pest control is managed in-house, the responsible person must have received certified training. The Red Tractor recommendation that precautionary measures are taken to discourage pests and vermin in crops and cropping areas has been upgraded to a full standard. Red Tractor is setting a baseline of annual testing of pesticide residues for each crop, regardless of whether testing is by growers or their customers. Maximum nitrate levels to protect consumers that apply for certain crops are now part of the core standards and a new testing requirement will verify that growers are working within legal limits.

THE FUTURE The NFU says the assurance organisation should embed eight key principles into future standards to ensure they deliver value back to the farm gate and bolster ‘Brand Britain’.

RED TRACTOR MUST: • •

•

STORAGE

Expectations for the management of PPPs used as storage treatments have been updated and extended.

•

PROTECTED CROPPING

With investment in high-tech glasshouses and new production systems, Red Tractor has introduced standards to address emerging risks and to incorporate good practices. Workers must be trained against the staff hygiene policy, and cleaning programmes are needed where there is a contamination risk, with record keeping for the highest-risk crops.

•

Continue to retain trust and support growth in domestic markets for British food. Provide a platform for growth in the export market and ensure high-value British exports have robust assurance supporting traceability claims. Retain a leading position on cost-effective assurance and protect members from inspection and regulatory duplication. Additional costs should be supported with a clear business case. Challenge marketplace duplicity and buyer sourcing policies which undermine domestic standards. Seek to add value through segmentation and market differentiation where there is a need to deliver different value propositions to different markets, without inflating or eroding the core standards. Provide marketing choice for buyers. Scheme options, or bolt-ons, could provide access to new markets and more cost-effective, practicable alternatives for brands and members alike. Provide a viable but discretionary alternative to new or increasing regulatory burden and deliver solutions in those areas susceptible to regulatory burdens. Explore opportunities for inspections driven by outcomes and data, and where possible reduce the burden of inspection and add value back to farmers.

Autumn 2021

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AHDB wind-down

Words by: Spence Gunn

Twenty-three projects or programmes in horticulture will end by March next year, including crop ix months after the protection programmes and horticulture and EAMU authorisations, and work potato sectors on disease detection and collectively voted forecasting, insect pest to withdraw control, soil health and from the AHDB automation. In potatoes, compulsory levy, growers 19 programmes will run are still waiting for a to the completion of their government decision on contracts in March, the legislative change Some growers favour an independent approach covering storage, crop needed to fulfil protection and soil ministers’ repeated to R&D, others a more collaborative one. But management. promises that the outcomes of the ballots lack of a ministerial decision following the ‘will be respected’. A ‘BETTER’ LEVY? AHDB ballots is keeping everyone in limbo Those who campaigned Proposals for a new, to hold the ballot have independent ‘growerpointed out it was a vote for managed research agency’ or against the continuation of were put to Defra at the end of a statutory levy, rather than a July by the Growers Better Levy poll on the work of AHDB. Group (GBLG). The group is drawn But some growers and crop from more than 30 businesses across associations take the view that a form the horticulture and potato sectors and of collective grower funding is still is backed by some crop sector needed, even if only for work in areas associations – although it describes such as applying for crop protection itself as a group of concerned growers extensions of authorisation for minor rather than an elected body. use (EAMUs), which few farms and Their proposal is for a ‘small’ nurseries have the resources to do statutory levy to fund critical work, alone. And they are concerned that the together with a voluntary investment lack of clarity from government will for sector or crop-specific Mrs Capper adds: “Nothing can move soon scupper the chances of forward till we have a ministerial programmes, for which the group is establishing any form of voluntary decision. I can’t believe that didn’t seeking government tax reliefs and grower-led programmes to continue happen before parliament broke up for match-funding arrangements. Run by work in areas they believe are of value. the summer. By the time it returns we’ll growers, the body itself may only need have barely six months before most of a minimal structure, it says. the AHDB-funded horticulture and “The R&D would be directed by an RANGE OF VIEWS potatoes R&D work is stopped. elected, independent board of “There continues to be a wide range of “If nothing is in place by then, we representative growers who would views, and there will always be a risk researchers moving on and so decide on research priorities and proportion of growers who want to much accumulated knowledge and projects, in consultation with the wider manage things alone,” says NFU expertise disappearing with them. industry, including businesses and Horticulture and Potatoes Board chair After that it could be impossible to pick grower associations,” says GBLG chair Ali Capper. up again with any continuity.” Phil Pearson, director of glasshouse “However, a lot believe collaboration How much levy growers will be salads grower APS Group. is important and see the need for some charged this year is also contingent on Defra, however, may be reluctant to sort of collective funding mechanism the ministerial decision. draw up legislation to create a separate for the fundamental, must-do things AHDB said the rate for horticulture levy-collecting body. like EAMUs, emergency authorisations was likely to be ‘considerably lower’ due It’s developing a new industry and and horizon-scanning to identify to the sector’s high level of financial farmer-driven Farming Innovation emerging pest and disease threats.” reserves, but the potato rate is expected Programme that it says will stimulate Many say they support the idea to be similar to last year. innovation and boost sustainable of some form of voluntary, sectorIn the summer, the levy board productivity in agriculture and based funding where they could vote published plans to wind up its work horticulture. That package will be open both on the level of funds needed in horticulture and potatoes. to applications in 2022. 2 and the work to be done.

Future on hold

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GOVERNMENT MUST GET ITS ACT TOGETHER Leading recruitment expert whose untiring work helped growers harvest this year’s crop against the odds has warned that plans for 2022 must be put in place much earlier. The clock is already ticking for businesses that will need seasonal workers to help them harvest next year’s crops, a leading recruitment agency has warned. Doug Amesz, whose eﬀorts to ensure growers could get this year’s crops picked included setting up a whole new supply chain, has said the Home Oﬃce simply has to make a better job of organising the seasonal workers scheme for next year. “We just can’t risk being left in the same situation again,” said Doug, who founded and runs AG Recruitment with wife Estera.

The results, though, repaid the long days and hard work. “The Ukrainian workforce we are now bringing over is keen, skilled and as good as any we have recruited in recent years,” he said. “I am delighted with the standard of the teams; it’s just a pity that the late announcements and continual delays pushed things so close to the wire.” Although demand has been high for overseas workers to help with this year’s fruit and veg harvest, AG Recruitment has some headroom left within the 7,500 visas available to the recruitment specialists in 2021.

“This year was an incredibly close-run thing and in truth we only got away with it because the cold spring delayed the growing season and gave us a few weeks in which to catch up. Without that we would undoubtedly have seen produce left to rot in the ﬁelds.”

While the allocation is an annual figure, there is some flexibility at the end of the year, which means horticultural businesses that know they will need help in the first quarter of next year should get in touch with AG Recruitment now. “We can use the last of this year’s visas to recruit workers in December, as long as they travel to the UK early in 2022,” he explained.

While the cold weather helped, Doug’s own response played an even more important part in saving the harvest for the UK’s growers. After switching his focus to Ukraine, he had to set up four new offices and then recruit 15 new people to staff those offices. “In effect I had to set up what was essentially a new business – in a hurry,” he recalled.

While he has pulled out all the stops to meet the demands of the industry so far this year, Doug has warned that the Government really needs to move more quickly ahead of 2022. “Not only do we need conﬁrmation that the scheme will continue, but we need to know how many people we are going to be able to recruit,” he said.

AG Recruitment was one of two new agencies invited by DEFRA and the Home Oﬃce to recruit the 30,000 overseas workers allowed into the country this year. The authorities didn’t make it easy, though; even though he knew his company had been given the job, Doug wasn’t allowed to begin recruiting workers, or even tell anyone, while the Home Oﬃce spent several weeks carrying out ‘due diligence’ checks.

“We can’t wait until December for a decision again this year, as that just doesn’t allow enough time to get everything in place, ﬁnd the right people, organise visas and transport and get them on to the farms here in the UK. Ideally we need decisions to be made in September.”

“It was very late in the day when we were ﬁnally given the go-ahead, by which time it really felt like there was a gun at our heads,” he said. “We had to move incredibly quickly to ﬁnd, recruit and sort out visas and transport for the picking teams UK growers so desperately needed.” With workers from Bulgaria and Romania less keen to travel to the UK and pre-settled and settled status workers increasingly disinterested in picking vegetables and fruits on British farms, Doug spent several months in Ukraine lining up a reliable source of workers.

Doug is now looking to set up another operation in Russia to broaden AG’s recruitment options and believes the Home Oﬃce needs to increase the number of seasonal workers allowed into the country next year to 60,000. He highlighted the fact that the domestic workforce once touted as a replacement for seasonal workers has shown no signs of wanting to pick up the slack. Doug is also looking more broadly at ways of ensuring growers and recruiters work together to deliver the best service to the industry. He is determined to campaign against the idea that growers should cover the costs of visas and transport, something he describes as “completely unworkable”.

Potatoes

AT HOME AND ABROAD The EU block on trade in seed potatoes doesn’t just affect seed growers. Many ware growers here have relied on imported seed, including for some specialist varieties which are not reliably available in the UK

Words by: Spence Gunn rowers across the country may face increased competition from imported ware potatoes next season. Because they’ll no longer be able to obtain EU-grown seed, they can’t supply the full range of varieties normally demanded by their customers, who may choose to look abroad instead. The UK-EU trade deal achieved at the end of 2020 doesn’t recognise

mutual equivalence under plant health and marketing rules for seed potatoes, though it does for ware (see Horticulture, summer). British seed growers have been unable to export to the EU since January but Defra set up a six-month derogation enabling ware growers here to obtain EU seed for this year’s crop. The derogation wasn’t renewed when it lapsed at the end of June, leaving supply in doubt for some varieties that are not viable to produce as seed in the UK. “It’s now clear that any plan to bring about a change in the EU’s position by

ending the derogation – so cutting off a key market for EU seed suppliers – hasn’t worked,” says NFU Potato Forum chairman Alex Godfrey. “The forum is now very concerned about the damage that could be done to English and Welsh ware growers if they can’t obtain EU seed. “Some specialist sectors such as salads and fresh chipping crops are especially vulnerable as many of the varieties involved can’t be produced reliably or economically as seed here. But there are many others, too, so we really need a rapid resolution to this, and a return to reciprocal trade and mutual recognition of standards.”

MARKET RISKS

He adds: “The risk is that market players who demand these specialist varieties will look to source imported ware potatoes instead, if they can’t get them from English and Welsh growers, to fill the gaps that will open up in their own supply chains.” The NFU has been working all year with its Scottish and Northern Ireland counterparts, and with Defra and the devolved agriculture ministries, to find a way to restore trade in both directions. “It’s in the interests of English and Welsh ware growers to have a strong Scottish seed industry, just as it’s in Scottish seed growers’ interests to have a strong English and Welsh ware sector – and we mustn’t forget there are

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Potatoes

‘A QUARTER OF MY GROWERS USE EU SEED”

“IT’S NOW CLEAR THAT ANY PLAN TO TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE IN THE EU’S POSITION BY ENDING THE DEROGATION HASN’T WORKED” Alex Godfrey NFU Potato Forum chairman

English and Welsh seed growers caught up in this too,” says Mr Godfrey. “It’s also vital we avoid any risk of unobtainable seed coming in ‘by the back door’. Anything that doesn’t go through the usual inspection channels risks importing diseases like brown rot and ring rot and that could prove highly damaging for everyone.”

A ROUTE FORWARDS?

One glimmer of light is that while the blanket derogation for EU seed tuber imports has ended, Defra has left open the option for individual member states to seek UK recognition. That could enable seed growers in some key potato seed-producing countries, such as the Netherlands, Germany or France, to supply British growers. “The NFU has been talking with farming unions and grower associations across the EU,” says NFU horticulture and potatoes adviser Rupert Weaver. “A virtual meeting in July called for a rolling two-year derogation on the part of both the EU and UK that would

Agronomist and NFU Potato Forum member Andy Alexander said the growers he works with have become increasingly worried following the end of the derogation. “I was already getting calls from packers and other ‘end users’ before the end of June and since then from many growers finding out they may not be able to get all the seed they need for next year and wondering what to do. “A lot of people seem surprised at how significant the use of European seed is, but I’d say up to a quarter of my grower-base use at least some, and of course it’s more significant for those growing for specialist markets like salads, chips and crisps. “And don’t forget in most cases it’s the buyer who is determining choice of variety; sourcing from Europe has been all about being able to grow the varieties the customer has specified. “For example, I have chip-shop growers who use a lot of Agria from the Netherlands and crisp growers who need Lady Claire from France. It’s unlikely seed of these would be available in sufficient quantity here. “And while some of the varieties currently imported could be grown here it would take two to three years for supplies to become available.” recognise the standards that existed before Brexit are being maintained, while taking account of the EU’s position that a full agreement is impossible without the UK consenting to full dynamic alignment across EU trade rules. “There also seems to be an appetite from some to ask their own authorities to seek UK recognition. We’re still trying to find out how that might happen in practice, but it looks as if at least a couple of the key potato seed exporting states are actively considering it now, though of course we understand what a big political decision it could be for them.” The NFU believes an EU member state seeking UK recognition would need to prove to Defra that its own seed production and health standards met UK requirements, and would not be obliged to accept imports of UK seed tubers in return. But they may have to make the actual application via the European Commission. “It’s still not clear what the EC’s role would be, if any such application was made, but we know Defra has outlined the procedure to them,” adds Mr Weaver. Defra says that the UK has

repeatedly made the case for the EU to recognise our regulations as equivalent and to authorise imports of seed potatoes, including through an application under Article 44 of the EU Plant Health Regulation. It adds: “Unfortunately, this application was rejected. We are acutely aware of the issues that the continued prohibition of export of seed potatoes is causing the industry and the UK will continue to work actively with the EU to find solutions.” With growers already starting to make plans for next year’s plantings, political decisions are unlikely to come soon enough. “Defra has acknowledged that affected sectors may need support, and the NFU is seeking to understand the implications,” says Mr Weaver. “It’s not just about UK seed growers losing valuable export markets in Europe. Some ware growers will need help too if, through no fault of their own, they are unable to plant the crops their customers need and find their home markets being lost to imports.” 2 Get the latest NFU work on this issue at NFUonline.com/hort Autumn 2021

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Potatoes

POTATO FORUM AHDB wait ‘just not good enough’ and introducing Alastair Heath

Alex Godfrey Potato Forum chairman The dust has settled just a little more, but we are still no closer to knowing what comes next, now AHDB Potatoes is firmly in wind-down mode. It will have an impact on how our sector operates, so I make no apology for returning to the subject. The length of time it’s taking Defra to come to a decision is simply not good enough. As growers, and in conjunction with our supply chains, we can make plans to pick up areas of work that we need, but we can’t do that until we know what we will be missing: there is too much speculation, second guessing and risk of duplication. The Potato Forum has considered which areas may still require a collaborative approach. One is crisis management: having an authoritative and independent voice in the event of a challenge to our industry. It requires a grasp of hard evidence to refute sensational claims, and judgment on when it’s best to respond and when it’s best to let a media story die out. Done well, it is barely noticed, but if it fails we will all suffer from it. Linked to this is the co-ordination of a response to emerging threats to our crop, primarily pests or diseases novel to the UK. When action is needed in these situations, it’s needed fast, and in a way that may need cross-industry support. The third is around applications for emergency approval of active ingredients for crop protection – but only where the manufacturer or supplier can’t reasonably be expected to obtain it themselves. This might apply, for example, where a number of generic products contain the same active; or where the potential market simply can’t justify the cost of navigating our overly-complex approvals system. One way to deliver these functions might be the creation of one or more crop associations for the potato industry, to put growers and their supply chains – not Defra – in control. Defra has said it will respect the ballot result, which is only right and proper. But we know the ballot is not binding on them, so it’s unlikely their decision will be black and white. We urgently need to know: what will we be doing collaboratively and what will we be doing independently? Will ministers cut the strings entirely, or will they still hold us by a somewhat frayed thread? The time to let us know is now.

Alastair Heath Potato Forum member since May It was the NFU’s Next Generation Forum – which I’ve been a member of for three years – that led me to put my name forward for the Potato Forum. For those who haven’t come across ‘Next Gen’ it does a lot of work on skills, training and making sure the views of the younger generation of farmers and growers feed into policy developments. Now, I hope I’m able to bring a different perspective to the Potato Forum, where I’ll be its West Midlands voice as Robert Lockhart is stepping down. My brother James and I took over the family farm near Newport, Shropshire, in 2010, when I was just 21 and two years into my course at Harper Adams. Much of the farm was being managed by a contractor so taking over meant, among other things, that we needed to raise significant investment as we had little in the way of machinery – just one tractor, for example. We farm 410ha in total of which we own 56. We grow 160ha of potatoes, all for processing, and we planted four varieties in 2021. We also farm wheat, oilseed rape, spring oats and, for the first time this year, soya. We have 114,000 broiler chickens, too. The large proportion of rented land means we have a mix of soils. We irrigate about 60% of the potato crop; we would do more but it’s impossible to get land into licence, even though Shropshire sits on a huge aquifer. One of the first decisions was to expand our potato business and a self-propelled harvester has made a massive difference; it means we’re being offered more potato ground because the machinery makes less mess. There seems to be a widespread misconception among arable farmers that potatoes are the enemy of soil structure. This is one issue where I’d really like to help the Potato Forum set the record straight. The reality is that none of us can get away with damaging our soils. Yes, there are areas here where potato land does need the plough, but everywhere else you can build them well into a reduced-till rotation. Another is tuber quality, particularly internals. I don’t think AHDB paid that nearly enough attention. We need to be seeing 99% of the crop going through processing. Waste costs huge amounts of money, so we must work across the supply chain to raise quality and cut waste.

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Meet the grower

The business of potatoes Horticulture talks to new Potato Forum member Edward Backhouse Words by: Lorna Maybery Photos by: John Cottle What do you do? We grow potatoes along with wheat, oilseed rape and vining peas, which we do with our neighbours for Birds Eye. Over the years, we have grown various break crops and will often try different things such as linseed and canary seed. We also run a composting business that complements the farming business.

“Our staff

Which potato rarely work varieties do you Sundays; everyone grow? Potatoes are the main crop for the farming business needs time with We grow Sagitta, family and a Eurostar and Mozart. don’t need to put on if we can dribble it out all year, it works good balance” Mozart is a packer which nematicides, but we like better for staff and for everything else will go to supermarkets and to test for it and if it does and keeps the cash flowing. Our staff the other two are destined for need it, we will apply it. rarely work Sundays; everyone needs chip shops. These are all maincrop, We aim to be ploughed in time with family and a good balance. we don’t do earlies. We have looked at September for next year, then in the earlies, but some years they make spring we start to cultivate and plant Do you grade and bag all your money, some they don’t, and we have straight into the bed. We put liquid potatoes on site? enough on with the maincrop. Also, it fertiliser on at the time of planting and We grade here. We lift into bulk and gives us about three months downuse a spud agronomist for advice on have a grading line in the shed and we time to do service and repairs on the fertiliser. store in boxes. We have an automated grading machines, which we couldn’t We bought at Scotts topper last year, bagger, weigher, stitcher, and stacker do if we were harvesting earlies. so we are in control of when we top and we produce 25kg bags that we sell our own potatoes. This is done in through small merchants who act as What is the planting plan for the September/ October, so this season’s middlemen and they sell mainly to chip 2022 season? will be topped shortly, then lifted, and shops, with a small amount going into Next year’s seasons started a couple of then bagging starts. Basically, we do a supermarkets. months ago with discussion of our day or two of bagging per week all year cropping, what land we are renting in through to June and nearly every week Does this involve a lot of and what we need from our own land, we will be selling something. I prefer manpower? and we started ordering seed about six that to the option of selling regularly No, we have four full-time staff. One is weeks ago. We will take land soil over nine months. We get the highs full-time on the composting side, and samples before we plough the fields. and lows in pricing, but it also ensures three on the farm who switch between We sample everything and get PCN cashflow throughout the year and compost and farm. And then I do (potato cyst nematode) tests on stops periods of high intensity whatever is needed, although I do seem everything to see what, if any, followed by little to do. to be spending more and more time in treatment is needed. As a rule, we We have good long-term storage, but the office on paperwork! 34

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Meet the grower

FACT FILE The grower: C S Backhouse Location: Goole, near Doncaster Crops: Potatoes, wheat, oilseed rape and vining peas Representing the business: Business partner Edward Backhouse The beginnings The farm is run by brothers Edward and David Backhouse, with David taking on the composting side, which is run as a limited company, and Edward running the farm. Edward explains: “Mum and dad started in 1979 renting 100 acres. We moved here in 1994-5. We have 90 acres here and 180 at the second farm where David is based, which is just three fields over. The move gave us two yards, three houses and more land. We have bought a couple of hundred more acres over the years, and we also rent a number of acres. “My dad Clifford Stephen - but known as Stephen - passed away six years ago, aged 62. My mum, Sally, is still a business partner and is involved to an extent and always did invoicing and booking-keeping but we now have someone in the office doing it one day a week, and mum oversees it. “My brother David and I are partners and run the business together. We have a compost business where we take green waste and soils – David does more on that and I do more on the farming side, but David will take the combine out and I do waste deployment, so there is some sharing of roles. “We are always looking at what opportunities there are to improve the business. We have planning for a 150-caravan storage site in the yard, so this will be our next venture. There seems to be a gap in the market and we have the space. We want to do it right, with hardstanding, security fencing, CCTV, and all done online, so it is as secure and as easy to use as possible.”

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Meet the grower Left: There are four biomass boilers on the farm, which are powered by straw collected from the fields Below: Compost from the green waste business is spread on the fields to improve soil structure How has Covid impacted your business? Covid caused problems last year with fish and chip shops shutting and demand being down. We did find markets for everything, but not at the costs we would have liked in the end. It has returned a bit this year. Supermarket and table potatoes dropped off, but the fish and chips shop market has picked up more quickly, as they were able to open as takeaways. Staffing wise, it didn’t affect us too much, other than the concern of keeping everyone safe. I think along the way nearly all of us has had to isolate at some point. My dread was that we would all have to isolate at the same time, but fortunately that hasn’t happened.

How are you dealing with the withdrawal of sprout suppressant CIPC? We had a new store put up two years ago and didn’t want to put CIPC in that shed as we didn’t want to contaminate it for one year, so we effectively had a trial of one year on mint oil and it has worked well. The machine I use for applying CIPC won’t work for mint oil, so we are debating whether to buy one. I have found that mint oil has done a good job, it’s tidied up the sprouts, but we have had to spray maleic hydrazide in the field as we wouldn’t have got the sprout control with mint oil alone. 36

Do you have any forms of green energy on the farm? We have four biomass boilers and 150kw of solar panels. They make good business sense. We use straw from our fields for the biomass boilers and we replace the straw with compost from the green waste business, which means we are increasing our “We have four organic matter; we can afford to take the straw biomass boilers because we are putting on and 150kw of the compost. Mint oil is also solar panels. The boilers pay their more expensive; They make good way, earn money and give CIPC was £1 a tonne business sense” us nice security. We use and this is £5 a tonne. I the heat ourselves. We think we have been too looked at combined heat and reliant on it, and it was too power from the biomass, but it cheap and easy. Mint oil is didn’t stack up. It only costs us when more of a natural product and it does the electric is on at night, during the make the sheds smell different – which day the solar is paying for the fans to takes a bit of getting used to – but at run in the sheds and any heat comes least it’s a nice smell. from the biomass and so we don’t get It’s the challenge that agriculture big costs in drying. must face, we constantly have more We will do what we need to make chemicals banned than renewed and it money and this reduces our costs, but gets harder as people want high the positive by-product is that it’s specifications on produce that gets eco-friendly. harder to achieve.

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Meet the grower How do you make money from your boilers? The heat we use goes to a flow meter which measures temperature and it calculates how much heat we are using and producing and I then submit a return every quarter and receive a payment from Ofgem. With the solar, we get the feed-in tariff. Solar is different. With biomass we must use the heat, but the solar we have no control over and there is less work involved. What we don’t use goes back to the grid. How does the composting side of the business work? We take green waste from council amenity sites, we don’t take animal by-products, just green waste. In simple terms, we shred it to make it smaller, put it in winnows, check the temperature, and turn it many times. Then we trommel it to remove plastics and anything oversized, cart it to the field and spread it on the land. It did used to reduce our nitrogen usage, but now it helps with our potassium and phosphorus levels and improves soil structure. It means we can justify taking straw off for the biomass boilers because we are putting organic matter back on. We do also take soil and rubble from a few local sites. The rubble goes into improving and expanding the yards and maintaining our roads and tracks. The tractors and trailers we use to cart the compost are what we use for

The potato crop is looking good this season and will mostly be sent to chips shops for frying

carting grain and potatoes, so it enables us to afford better machinery and get more use out of them. The businesses complement each other. Are you part of any environmental stewardship schemes? We are in mid-tier stewardship and we do have some bird food mixes. We do dyke management and only cut one side of the dyke each year and we have 4-6m buffer strips around the fields, which not only look nice but are also good for wildlife. We try not to drive on them, and their presence means we can do dyke maintenance more easily. We had a RSPB survey about 10 years ago and that revealed a lot of red-listed species on the farm. We put that down to the organic matter we put down, so

the soil is healthier, there’s more worms, more food for birds and we do see that our soils are healthy. Will you be participating in the new ELMs? We are an intensive arable farm, and if we can do anything to complement our farm we will, but growing crops is what makes us money and we are generally on good quality land. We don’t have big areas that would really suit the scheme. We will get involved, but just don’t know to what extent yet, so I will watch the farms taking part in the ELMs pilot with interest. You have just become a member of the NFU’s Potato Forum. What was the reason for this? It’s good to have a bit of involvement in something that’s outside of the farm and is a way of giving a bit of something back into the industry. It’s also something that’s not too timeconsuming that takes me away from the core business of potatoes and the farm. It’s interesting to meet and talk to different people and listen to their thoughts and ideas. It’s an important time to join as I think the forum has got a bigger job to do now the horticulture and potatoes elements of AHDB are winding down. There was a meeting the other week with discussions on the import/ export ban on seed potatoes and then where the forum should stand on the AHDB. It’s good to be involved in important issues and it will be interesting to see what happens. 2 Autumn 2021

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RIVERSCREEN – the suction ﬁlter for drip and sprinkler irrigation 1G/F4A%EA/2 : =3/>4A%EA/2 : 1/53/F4A%EA/2 C./,G*H ' 31+0,/!/*AG@/ ,'*H/ 12 31?,A/A '*4 -?'&GE3'=1*A8 D2C>4F62C Health & Safety ;F/CE 1F6 ;3/2CE/I (+6 1/53/F4A%EA/2 9CE(E2 <(+(G2,2+E &2!F4%2C 9+BF/3+,2+E ;1*%D !/AGD'D/ D1 31*D'3D ?A G2 I1? >1?&4 &G)/ D1 D'G&1, ' 31?,A/ 1, 0,1H,'++/6 D!3+28 '$J"# *'H #-2+0AF/F2C.@IB2/+E/(F+F+GC2/BF42C743, @@@7@IB2/+EC?%E67437A)

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Available from LampoUK, RIVERSCREEN is a rotating water driven, low maintenance, self cleaning screen that floats on your reservoir, canal or river, removing and filtering sand, weed and other impurities from irrigation water before it gets to the pump. Available with 4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 inch diameter suction pipe allowing flow capacity from 30 to 600 m3/hr. An inbuilt foot valve makes it the complete suction side solution. The standard RIVERSCREEN floats on pontoons supported by an aluminium frame. Water is drawn through the screen on a rotating drum that has seven times the area of the suction line. Using the pumps water pressure, one line of water jets rotates the screen whilst the second line cleans the screen. Standard on all RIVERSCREEN filters is the 2000micron stainless steel mesh. Other sizes available are 1000micron and for those practicing drip irrigation the 125micron stainless steel mesh is recommended. RIVERSCREEN is also fish and eel friendly due to low intake velocity flow and fitted with the 2mm or 2000micron mesh to meet abstraction license requirements, therefore abstractors can be confident they are protecting the environment.

TRACTORS FOR HIRE RIVERSCREEN™

Self Cleaning Floating Suction Filters

Standard Riverscreen features

New Holland T7.210

DAVISON HIRE CONTACT ADRIAN SHUFFLEBOTHAM OR MARC DUDLEY

•

Fish & Eel friendly 2mm stainless steel mesh on drum screen

•

Low Intake Velocity

•

Designed to operate in as little as 100mm (4”) of water

•

Alloy & stainless steel construction

•

Simple, reliable, maintenance free design

•

Screen cleaning nozzles

•

Foot valves

•

Power driven drum from water jet nozzles OR optional electric motor drive

•

Range of models available for ﬂows from 6 to 250 lts/sec (22 to 900 m3/hr)

Also available

The Gravity Flow Riverscreen with vertical mount transfer pump.

YEW TREE FARM, A5, CRACKLEY BANK, SHIFNAL, TF11 8QT EMAIL: SALES!DAVISON"FORKLIFT.CO.UK TEL: 01952 915060 THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW WHAT THE INDUSTRY NEEDS

Contact: 07934 720239 info@LampoUK.com

To advertise in the next issue of

NFU Horticulture magazine please contact

Jas Saikhon

02476 858952

DRıVEWAY ıNTRUDER ALARM Backdoorshoes® Essential for Everyone! WAS HE A WELCOME VISITOR

A wired Beam Type Infra-red device. An alarm to give security and knowledge. An automatic door buzzer for your gateway. External silent and noisy options. Not to be confused with passive infra-red systems We are still able to repair Kitguns and Gasgun conversion kits.

Lightweight, waterproof, durable garden clogs Many different prints nts to brighten up your day, available in sizes UK 3-14. Some of our popular choices- Daisies (as featured)Meadow-Chillis-Poppy-DogsGrass-Brogues to name a few!

We also have a range e of Flip Flops and Supersole Flip Flops for all occasions

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Please visit our website for the full range www.backdoorshoes.co.uk 01202 232357

! HARVEST

! STOR AGE ! MARKE TING

Join the South of England’s largest crop storage cooperative. 6B=&=> ' :B4==& 1>#/ 4 (<55>=-@@=>C 3<@@=&C@@ $!CB=&A %$@> C!C% >=;C C @>$B4A AC "B$%C@@=&A 4&# (4B8C>=&A @CB;=%C@, 9CB;=&A 74("@?=BC/ 2=5>@?=BC/ .$B@C>/ 0CB8@?=BC/ Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and 2C@> 9<@@C) $!CB=&A+ ! long and short-term grain storage arrangements available for farmers & contractors ! ;>(5/1> =4%"5%: 0<<0%:>'>%79, /#78 #% harvest costs and grain sales. Separation #= $098;#) 0%" '0<2>75%: ">'0%"9+

MICHELDEVER T: 01962 774420

! 6*$5>%7 0%" <>150/1> 80<3>97 $#11>$75#%9+ ! .7 $#97, "<&5%: $1>0%5%: 0%" $##15%: services. ! -1>%"5%: #!!#<74%575>9 '0(5'595%: 78> =0<'><9 <>74<%9+ If you would like to be part of this successful farmer owned business,, then please contact '$<B &C4BC@> @>$BC C/ 4&# >?C @>4! *=55 3C ($BC than pleased to discuss your storage and d marketing needs. The South of England’ss largest crop storage cooperative.

SHREWTON

T: 01980 620140

MEMBURY

T: 01488 72217

www.trinitygrain.com

The

agritech event for the fresh produce, ﬂower and plant industries

4 November 2021 – Lincolnshire Showground Attend FPC Future and see how new technologies can help your business become more efﬁcient, increase productivity and overcome labour challenges. - An exhibition of leading technology suppliers - 8 Free to attend conference sessions on: • Robotics and Automation Pre-Farm Gate and Post Farm Gate • Data Driven Technologies • Plastics and Packaging • Supply Chain Waste • Carbon Supply Chains • The Future of Protected Crops • Sustainability

- Tours of the state of the art facilities at Riseholme Campus, University of Lincoln

www.fpcfuture.co.uk Lanyard Sponsor Gold Sponsor

GLASSHOUSES AND POLYTUNNELS

HORTICULTURAL AGENTS

MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT

Terrington Machinery Ltd Glasshouses, sourced, supplied and erected. All aspects of glasshouse work including rerooﬁng, refurbishment and relocation. Maintenance, cleaning, gutter and door replacement. Give us a call. Tel: 01724 734374 Fax: 01482 648032 Email: ken@newcenturyglass.co.uk Web: www.newcenturyglasshouses.com

SEED TRAYS AND POTS

Manufacturer & supplier of seed trays & inserts, cell packs, Danish trolley range. Square & round pots, Carry, Shuttle & Plug trays. From Recycled Plastics.

www.plantcell.co.uk Tel: 01268 733088 Email: hsp@plantcell.co.uk

Specialist

Horticultural

Agents

Based in the West Midlands

Thinking of selling a horticultural property? Contact Tony Rowland MRICS 01386 765700 trowland@sheldonbosleyknight.co.uk www.sheldonbosleyknight.co.uk

Please mention Horticulture magazine when responding to advertisements

are suppliers of Bedformers and Bed Lifters for horticultural and vegetables. Inter-row Hoes, Rotovators and Brush Hoes. Planters for nursery stock and vegetables. All sizes of Rotovators and Power Harrows. Tined Weeders and Cultivation equipment. Maize and Vegetable Seeders. Please call for any type of machinery not listed. PLEASE QUOTE NFU HORTICULTURE WHEN ENQUIRING

Tel: 01553-828083 Mobiles: 07889-112163 (Brian) or 07966-417720 (David)

To advertise in the next issue of NFU Horticulture please call Jas on 02476 858952

JPG

GROUNDWORKS

• New buildings • Road and track reclamation • All aspects of concreting • Ditching and drainage • Tree cutting with tree shears and saw blade • Operated dozer hire Covering Sussex, Surrey and Hants

Tel: 01730 816788 www.jpggroundworks.co.uk • james@jpgbuild.co.uk

Guest Column

Mark Harrison, economic research and employment policy manager at The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), on how labour and skills shortages are grinding gears across the food supply chain

abour and skills shortages are hitting the whole food and drink supply chain and manufacturing is no exception. FDF members are reporting shortages of HGV drivers, engineers, production operatives, and agency workers that have escalated over the summer.

NOT JUST COVID

70%

OF FOOD CHAIN A number of factors have caused these shortages. BUSINESSES WERE EU workers have returned SHORT OF DRIVERS out on time has led to to their country of origin, some FDF members IN JULY often due to the pandemic, pausing production or Brexit, or both. Changes to the reducing output. UK immigration system have made it far more difficult and expensive to CHRISTMAS CONCERNS recruit labour from the EU. And the And things are expected to get worse ‘pingdemic’ and increasing numbers of before they get better. More than 80% staff self-isolating has added significant were concerned about the impact of additional short-term pressure. Covid-19 restrictions easing, Further factors are causing hospitality opening up over the particularly acute shortages in the summer, and meeting Christmas haulage sector, with the Road Haulage demand. More than half, 59%, were Association estimating the UK is more ‘very concerned’ or ‘highly concerned’ than 100,000 drivers short of what it about Christmas. needs. An ageing workforce meant While food chain businesses were many drivers retired or found clear on the challenges, they were also alternative employment during the clear on the solutions. More than 90% pandemic, while licence tests for new thought that increasing driver testing HGV drivers were suspended for capacity, driver testing speed, and months. The introduction of IR35 funding driver training were important off-payroll tax regulations has also led solutions. However, a similar proportion to some drivers leaving the profession. also thought international recruitment In July, the FDF surveyed 128 would be important, for example a businesses from across the food chain temporary visa for HGV drivers on the driver and other labour modelled on the seasonal workers pilot. shortages. Some 70% stated they were As well as a risk to availability and short of drivers, leading to hundreds of consumer choice, none of the 128 tonnes of food being wasted each businesses ruled out increasing prices month, while 87% said their current if driver wages continue to rise at their logistical issues were worse than those current rate, with 40% stating price faced during the first Covid-19 rises were definite. lockdown. The challenge of bringing In our recent report Eating into ingredients in and transporting goods Household Budgets, the FDF warned of

the risks of consumer food price inflation during the next three years, due to a host of costs, ranging from global commodity prices to new government regulation, coinciding with the challenges brought about by the pandemic and Brexit. NFU members will be well aware that the current labour shortages extend far beyond HGV drivers.

WORKING TOGETHER

Nearly two-thirds of respondents to our survey reported a shortage of temporary agency workers, more than half a shortage of processing operatives, and a quarter a shortage of engineers and technicians. The FDF, NFU, and a number of other food chain organisations are working with Grant Thornton to produce a comprehensive assessment of the food chain labour market and how we can ensure that the workers and skills the sector needs for the future can be secured. Beyond the solutions to the immediate crisis in haulage, food businesses and the government need to come together to ensure that both domestic skills provision in the UK and our immigration systems are fit for purpose, to ensure our food chain and the wider economy can thrive and grow into the future. 2 Autumn 2021

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MOREwoods is funded by

The Woodland Trust, Kempton Way, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6LL. The Woodland Trust is a registered charity, numbers 294344 and SC038885. A non-proﬁt-making company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 1982873. The Woodland Trust logo is a registered trademark. 00058 6/21

I can’t live without...

Ben Kantsler is a co-opted member of the NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board and head viticulturist at pioneering English sparkling wine brand Nyetimber, which has its main site in West Sussex. The business runs 11 vineyards spread across the greensand and chalk soils of Sussex, Hampshire and Kent

Blundstone boots

With all the crop walking needed looking after multiple sites, some nice comfortable safety boots are priceless. My main requirements are that they slip on easily enough, I can use them for both walking and working and they can handle the morning dew with minimal maintenance!

Sports/talk radio

Whether you’re in the tractor or in the car, nothing is better than listening to some cricket! You know its summer when the cricket is on and it helps to make the long days a whole lot more fun. Failing that, some talk back radio like BBC Radio 4 is great to educate yourself about the latest issues facing the world and to gain different perspectives.

Coffee

I do love having a cuppa, but, for me, nothing beats a hot cup of Joe (coffee). It is so engrained in my daily routine I would be lost without it. I always make sure I have flask ready to go in the morning, but I also admit I do make the odd detour to get my morning fix.

Autumn 2021

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19/08/2021 12:14:45

Need a cost-effective Health & Safety solution?

Managing health and safety is an essential part of any business strategy, regardless of industry. Our specialist team of health and safety experts are here to help you put a system in place which meets legal requirements and safeguards you, your employees, and your business.

Services include:  Risk assessments  Prioritised action plans  Fully bespoke policies & procedures  Staff training  24-hour telephone support line To find out more contact us on 01981 590514 www.cxcs.co.uk | info@cxcs.co.uk

Exclusive Distributor for Spapperi in the UK

Spapperi Twin Drive Transplanter • Min 30cm–max 110cm between rows • Min 20cm between plants • 6 performing cups to plant through plastic or into bare soil • Rotating tray holder for 6 trays • Manual row markers • Available for immediate delivery throughout the UK

Spapperi Mono Drive Transplanter • Min 45cm–max 170cm between rows • Min 12cm–60cm between plants • 12 cup rotating distributor • Rotating tray holder for 6 trays • Manual row markers • Available for immediate delivery throughout the UK

Spapperi Mulch Film Layer • Max ﬁlm width 120cm • Irrigation hose layer • Available for immediate delivery throughout the UK

Spapperi Inter Plant Weeder • • • • •

Reduces reliance on chemicals to control weeds Increases productivity and maximises crop yield Reduces labour costs Available as 1, 2, 3 and 4 row machines Weeder available for demos throughout the UK

BEFORE

AFTER

“The machine is a real game changer for growing pumpkins” - Jono Smales - Salisbury

07803 765440 | james@jfhudson.co.uk | www.jfhudson.co.uk

NFU HORTICULTURE AUTUMN 2021

Articles inside

I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

MEET THE GROWER

GUEST COLUMN

FROM THE FORUM

MARKETS AT RISK

FUTURE ON HOLD

RED TRACTOR CHANGES

IMPRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

PAYMENT FOR PLAYING OUR PART

CO-OPERATIVE GAIN

AN APPETITE FOR CHANGE

KNOW YOUR RIGHT TO WORK CHECKS

SEARCHING FOR THE JOB SEEKERS