HORTICULTURE WINTER 2020 by nfuhorticulture

Winter 2020

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 Writers: Spence Gunn Claire Shaddick 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

WELCOME

s I write, the continuing lack of news from the government on a further seasonal workers scheme is frustrating, to say the least. For months we have been calling for clarity and decision-making and yet here we are in November with no scheme in place and very little time to implement one before next year. As with the rest of the country, growers are also facing continuing challenges due to coronavirus, so a decision now on the future of a seasonal workers scheme is vital to relieve some of the stress and worry about 2021. The NFU is pressing government for an urgent decision and you can read more on page 14. But it’s not just issues over labour that coronavirus is compounding. Some sectors are truly struggling and are finding very little help from the government. I am talking about hop growers, an area that you will know is close to my heart, and the real danger of growers abandoning the crop as surplus supplies due to pub and brewery closures means real uncertainty for contracts beyond 2021. The NFU is working across the industry to make the case and you can read more on page 18. This time, at least, the efforts of the NFU and others to highlight the plight of ornamental growers, and the contribution the sector can make in such difficult times means that garden centres have been able to keep trading. Let’s not forget Brexit, of course – how could we? There are multiple implications for trade and one worry for growers is how it will affect border controls, so on page 9 we take a closer look at the Border Control Model and how it will impact growers importing, and exporting, fresh plants and produce. It’s been a challenging year, and who knows what 2021 will bring; we can only hope it’s better and brighter than 2020. Ali Capper Horticulture and Potatoes Board Chairman

Winter 2020

For horticultu

re and potato

Print: Stephen & George Photography: John Cottle, Istock

members of

the NFU

COVER STORY Ben Kantsler is our featured grower this month. He is the viticulturist for Nyetimber vineyards. Turn to page 34 to take a look behind the scenes at harvest and find out how the business has coped with labour issues and the coronavirus. 930162.indd

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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

A round-up of what the NFU is doing for you, including the extension of the Trade and Agriculture Commission

BREXIT – READY OR NOT

Border Operations Model – what this will mean for growers

LABOUR CRISIS

Fears grow over wait for a seasonal workers scheme

LAST ORDERS

TIME TO DECIDE

MAKING PLANS

Call for support for hop growers

18 33

Crucial vote on AHDB levy Horticulture looks at a big shake-up in the planning system

A QUESTION OF CONFIDENCE

Managing rising incidence of virus in potatoes

POTATO FORUM

How virus is dominating the sector

MEET THE GROWER Ben Kantsler, viticulturist at Nyetimber vineyard in West Sussex

GUEST COLUMN

British Growers Association CEO Jack Ward

WHY I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT…

Graham Nichols reveals his essential items Winter 2020

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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

Levy decision

The NFU is keeping its members informed after the AHDB confirmed that there will be a formal ballot on the future of the statutory levy in horticulture. More than 5% of the sector’s levy payers completed verified forms to trigger the vote, which will be a simple ‘yes or no’ question on the continued existence of AHDB Horticulture and the work it delivers on behalf of growers. Every levy payer will be invited to take part and the AHDB envisages that the process will begin in January.

Act now on seasonal labour - NFU

Fruit, veg and flower businesses need urgent clarity on how they will be able to recruit seasonal workers next year, the NFU has told government. Its renewed call for action came after industry-wide surveying showed that, despite the successes of Pick for Britain, UK residents made up only 11% of the workforce this year and stayed for shorter periods than overseas staff. The NFU probe was completed by growers recruiting 30,000 people - equating to just under 50% of the workforce. The NFU is urging government to commit to a full seasonal workers’ scheme before the turn of the year.

Fighting for pints

Fresh evidence-gathering is under way as the NFU and the British Hop Association bid for a Defra rethink on support measures. The department rejected calls for grants to take a substantial over-supply of hops caused by the lockdown off the market earlier in the year, leading to fears for future contracts. Industry figures suggest only 40% of crop volume has been contracted for 2021, which could mean growers leave the sector. The required investment and growing time mean those that do are unlikely to return, the NFU and BHA say. Defra had committed to a review of the situation this winter.

Border must be ready

Efforts to implement crucial infrastructure and awareness campaigns must be redoubled to limit disruption in Kent when the Brexit transition period ends in January, the NFU is telling government. It comes after the Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed that only day-old chicks and seafood will get priority travel to reach the short-straights ports. The NFU had made strong representations for all fresh agri-food products to be given special status. It fears new requirements at the ports will cause significant congestion and that there is the prospect of “high-value, perishable British produce languishing in lorries sat in queues miles long”. The government’s own ‘worst case reasonable scenario’ is for queues of up to two days.

Seed inspection calls

The NFU has written to the APHA to set out the principles it believes should be applied to the potato seed inspection regime for 2021, whether or not Covid-19 measures are in place. It follows an increase in virus levels this year and changes to arrangements during the first lockdown that were made with little notice or consultation. The NFU is calling for a consistent and clear approach and a guaranteed two inspections on all Pre-basic and Basic grades, with contingency plans to ensure second inspections occur, whatever the circumstances at the time.

Safety spotlight

With maintenance and cleaning tasks on the agenda at many businesses, the NFU and the Farm Safety Partnership are turning the spotlight onto safer working at height. A wealth of advice can be found at NFUonline.com/safety READ MORE... Brexit and the border from p9; seasonal labour p14; hops p18; AHDB levy p22; potato inspections p30

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News updates

MCDONALD'S LOOKS TO SAFEGUARD FRIES SUPPLY

LOCKDOWN 2.0

GARDEN CENTRES STAY OPEN

fter intensive lobbying from the NFU, the government confirmed that garden centres would be able to remain open during the month-long national lockdown. NFU Horticulture adviser Allie Hesketh said: “This is welcome news for ornamental growers and sets an important precedent for any further restrictions, especially if they continue into the spring. “We will monitor the situation very closely should restrictions tighten even further and will continue to highlight the important role garden centres and other ornamental retailers can play during this difficult time.” Ornamental growers lost, on average, nearly 60% of sales during the first coronavirus lockdown, according to surveying by the NFU, HTA and AHDB. Losses due to stock disposal were even higher for cut flowers (86%) and bedding plants (67%) and a third of ornamentals businesses surveyed in August said they were unsure if they would survive. The government has also extended the furlough scheme until March and bolstered arrangements under the SelfEmployment Income Support Scheme, with the third grant covering November to January calculated at 80% of average trading profits, up to a maximum of £7,500. Details of support available to businesses are available at NFUonline.com/coronavirus-updates

NEW FACE IN NFU HORT TEAM Allie Hesketh is the newest addition to the NFU horticulture team, joining as an adviser for the next year whilst Emily Roads takes on a new challenge with our EU Exit and International Trade team. Allie has spent the past two years as an assistant environment adviser at NFU North East. Before that she worked for a potato company in York, having previously completed the well-regarded MDS graduate training scheme, which included spells with fresh produce companies across the UK.

McDonald’s will work with its potato supplier McCain to provide £1 million of grants to help UK growers improve soil quality and manage water. The Sustainable MacFries Fund aims to increase the resilience of the restaurant chain’s potato supply and will support new infiltration tines, smart irrigation technology and research to help understand the benefits of using cover crops to retain soil quality, before and after cropping. The latest funding comes after McCain announced £25m of investment in the sector to boost resilience following two seasons of extreme weather and then Covid-19 disruption. The NFU continues to engage with McDonald’s and welcomed the new scheme.

LANDMARK MOMENT The government has said it will extend the Trade and Agriculture Commission and put it on a full statutory footing, in what the NFU described as a “landmark moment” for the nation’s food, its farmers and its countryside. It means that – by law – any future free trade deals struck by the UK will be accompanied by an expert independent report on the implications for British health, environmental and animal welfare standards, tabled before MPs decide whether to ratify the agreements. It comes after more than a million people signed an NFU petition calling for action to prevent British farming from being undermined by food imports that would be illegal to produce here. They were joined by a wide alliance of supporters as the NFU ramped up the campaign, and NFU President Minette Batters had secured a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson just days before the announcement of a Commission with statutory powers. The measures will become law through provisions in the Agriculture Act and the Trade Bill. Mrs Batters called the groundswell of support behind the NFU campaign an “unprecedented coalition”. It included, among others, farming organisations, animal welfare experts, environmental NGOs, politicians, chefs and celebrities like Jamie Oliver and Joe Wicks, and the Mail on Sunday.

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Trade

HERE WE GO,

READY OR NOT Despite government campaigns to prepare businesses

for the new border arrangements that start in January, many unanswered questions remain for growers, whether importing or exporting

Words by: Spence Gunn ust weeks to go before fundamental changes to the way trade is conducted across Britain’s border with the EU kick in, on 1 January, growers and other businesses in the supply chains for plants and fresh produce are still coming to terms with the new order. Procedures that have evolved over the 47 years the UK has been an EU member state have had to be unpicked and reinvented. And although it’s four years since the UK voted to leave, much of how the new border arrangements will work, published in the Border Operating Model, has emerged only in the past few months. The government’s picture of the ‘reasonable worst case scenario’, which it’s been planning for in the event of no trade deal, is not pretty, though. Between 40 and 70% of trucks travelling to the EU might not be ready for new border controls, leading to queues of as many as 7,000 port-bound trucks in Kent and delays of up to two days for exports to the EU. Throughout the autumn, experts in road haulage and customs procedures have been warning of chaos not just at border crossings but also on key routes

through Kent if the government fails to put in enough resources in place. These involve the IT systems and border inspectors necessary to process customs and plant health declarations for smooth transit across the Dover Straits routes that account for more than 80% of UK-EU trade. Outbound HGVs will need not only the right paperwork to enter the EU but also an access permit to travel through Kent. Growers in the county looking to freight produce elsewhere in the UK – or those elsewhere looking to send plants or produce to Kent customers – have been advised to make sure their drivers have to hand paperwork with details of their journey ‘so any possible delays can be minimised’ if their lorries are stopped for checks. Such is the volume of UK trade with Europe that it will only take a few who have misunderstood the new requirements to bring export routes to a standstill. For most growers, who rely on importing young plants or produce, the worry is the same could happen on the other side of the Channel, to consignments heading this way. Winter 2020

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Trade This is what’s particularly concerning to the ornamentals sector, and growers who buy in young plants for crops such as tomatoes. “The overriding concern for many in the horticulture industry is around the sheer logistical challenge of moving plants across the EU border and onto nurseries at the speed our supply chains have been operating at and to avoid any delays, which would risk them deteriorating,” says Martin Emmett, who represents ornamentals growers on the NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board. “Some of the potential for delay comes from the new phytosanitary arrangements. But now more administration overall is involved with bringing plants from Europe, and the more administration there is, the more chance for something to be amiss and cause a delay at the border. That’s going to be a worry right from the start in January.” Growers of protected crops such as cucumbers and tomatoes are all too aware how fruit yield and quality through the duration of the crop’s life can be impacted by the health of the young plants they buy in – and much of their planting material is sourced from specialist Dutch or Belgian propagators. Cucumber growers are likely to be among the first to test the new border system. “We’re looking at around 3.5 million young plants imported every year,” says Cucumber Growers Association secretary Joe Shepherdson. “Growers are usually looking to place orders by

the end of November for deliveries to be able to do so. Defra has applied to from the first week in January through the European Commission for third to early February. country equivalence for certification of “We already know what happens to seed and other propagating material, plant quality if, for example, a but as it stands, from truck breaks down en-route 1 January, young tomato – when that happened plants can’t be exported last year to one grower from the UK to the it was an extra two to EU, or Northern three days in transit Ireland. time,” he says. Dr Morley says OF AGRI-FOOD “When plants more growers were PRODUCTS USED arrive stressed, already looking to KENT CROSSINGS they’re harder to source plants within IN 2019 establish and more the UK because of susceptible to pest or worries about tomato disease.” brown rugose fruit virus, a Most of the imported young quarantine disease that has spread plant shipments for the 2021 tomato rapidly around the world and which has crop should be on nurseries by the end affected some UK tomato nurseries this of December, so the first tomato year. But there’s little scope, at least in growers affected by the new procedures the short term, for a significant increase will be those with later plantings, or in UK propagation that would enable those ordering for June/July for lit growers to minimise their exposure to winter production. border delays, as there is currently British Tomato Growers Association limited specialist propagation capacity technical officer Phil Morley says plants in the UK, he says. are in transit for up to 24 hours as it is. The phasing in of the UK’s new plant “We don’t know how much longer health requirements during the first they’d be able to survive without six months of 2021 (see panel on p12) detriment,” he says. “We do know that should go some way to managing the having to use stressed plants may risk of delays to imports of plants and incur significant extra on-costs produce, by enabling inspections to be because of the effects on quality or undertaken at the ‘place of destination’ yield of crop for the rest of the life of – a nursery for example – rather than the plants.” at the border. Businesses have to For tomatoes, there’s an added register for that and provide the space complication that the species is a and facilities for inspectors to make member of the Solanaceae plant physical checks on plants. family, to which additional plant health This is a temporary measure for the rules apply. “My understanding is that first six months of 2021, however, as we will be able to import tomato from the end of June, inspections will plants, subject to legislation still before take place at border control posts Parliament being passed by the end of before consignments are delivered. December,” he says. “I feel that’s a step backwards,” says But a question mark remains over Mr Emmett. “It introduces a pinchwhether the few UK propagators point where consignments are likely to who export tomato plants to be delayed. the EU will continue “I think there should be systems to prioritise perishables including plants, and especially young plants which are most at risk from even the shortest delays, through border controls.” The new regime of phytosanitary controls on all plants entering the country brings Britain closer in line to the plant health regimes operating in

£10 BILLION

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Trade

most countries of the world. But Mr Emmett says growers are frustrated that they’re being asked to pay for inspections for consignments which already carry a phytosanitary certificate. “Effectively, they’re being inspected twice,” he says. “I think UK plant health authorities need to find a way to have more confidence in EU phytosanitary certification.” There’s also a question mark over the frequency of identity and physical checks which will be determined according to the risk posed by the plant or produce, and sampling for laboratory testing or diagnosis may even be required. The Border Operating Model introduces significant additional administration for both importers and exporters, not just in terms of phytosanitary certification, but also pre-notification procedures and customs declarations, which will be new to growers who have only traded within the EU in the past. Exporters to the UK with a subsidiary here will relieve the individual grower or retailer of this paperwork because they will handle the logistics up to the nursery or garden-centre gate. “That’s likely to include much of the propagation and plug material for ornamentals growers,

for example,” says Mr Emmett. Nurseries who buy direct from an EU supplier, on the other hand, will either have to undertake the administration themselves or appoint an agent to take care of it. Growers of fresh produce who bring in imports out-of-season from the EU to maintain supply to UK customers, and some who have significant export sales of their own, will be impacted,

“IF WE’VE PLANTED TOO MUCH AND CAN’T EXPORT IT, WE WILL TAKE A BIG FINANCIAL HIT” Andrew Burgess Produce World

too. From 1 April, controls extend to all plants and produce, save for a small list of exemptions – primarily tropical fruits. Andrew Burgess, of Produce World, says the extra administrative burden may come as a shock to some. “A few will remember what it was like before we were in the EU and it took a lot more time and effort,” he says. “It takes longer to organise, there are more pieces to the jigsaw; you can’t just order a truck load anymore. “Our growers in Italy, for example,

will use a freight forwarder to deal with all the extra paperwork there. It means costs of up to 100 euros per load at both ends. Some growers will find it more convenient and cost-effective to use an agent here, too – there used to be a lot of specialists in UK and we are seeing new ones stepping in.” Moreover, trade talks with the EU and the whole question of tariffs, with the implications for growers’ bottom line if they can’t be passed on, have been taken to the wire; while uncertainty still hangs over whether the EU will accept the UK’s organic standards necessary for companies such as Mr Burgess’s, who have demand in Europe for their organic crops and are already 95% committed to 2021 production. “You just can’t plan,” he says. “If we’ve planted too much and can’t export it, we will take a big financial hit. If we’ve not planted enough and have to import to make up, will we be able to pass on the extra cost?” For now, he’s planning to take advantage of the quiet period between Christmas and New Year to bring in consignments of carrots from Italy and potatoes from Israel. “A big concern is delays caused by other people’s waggons turning up at borders without the correct papers, so we’re looking to avoid the risk,” he says. Winter 2020

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Trade

PLANT HEALTH RULES 2021: What happens when?

IF YOU’RE

IMPORTING From 1 January, Britain will no longer recognise EU plant passports and new import requirements will apply, but initially only to ‘high-priority’ plants. These include all ‘plants for planting’ (including all ornamentals, and propagation material such as plugs and young fruit and vegetable plants), and seed and ware potatoes. Consignments will need to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, issued by the country of origin, and pre-notified by the importer. They are likely to be subject to documentary, identity and physical checks, which, until 30 June, can take place at the ‘place of destination’. If you want your consignments to be inspected at your nursery you need to register as a ‘place of destination’. Importers will also need to register with the relevant plant-import IT system. These are being ‘phased in’; growers using the existing PEACH system should continue to do so until advised by Defra to register for IPAFFS (Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System). From 1 April, the new import requirements will be extended to all other ‘regulated plants and plant products’, which includes root and tuber vegetables, leafy vegetables, some fruits and some cut flowers. Inspection fees will come into force. From 1 July, all goods including plants and plant products will have to pass through an official border control post, which may not be actually at the border. All phytosanitary and other checks will take place here and no longer at a ‘place of destination’ such as a nursery. The number of identity and physical checks is likely to increase.

IF YOU’RE

EXPORTING All UK-grown plants and plant products will be classified as ‘regulated’ by the EU and will require a phytosanitary certificate from 1 January. You will need to check for any other specific requirements with the plant health authority in the destination EU member state. Applications for a certificate will need to be made via the relevant exporting IT system, allowing time for necessary inspections or tests. Initially, this will be eDomero, before a transition to the export health certificate online (EHCO) service early in 2021. Your EU customer will need to pre-notify their plant health authority and the consignment will be subject to documentary, identity and physical checks either on arrival at the border or at another control point in the country of destination. Some plants and plant products, including high-risk species, seed and ware potatoes, young tomato plants, and certified seed and plant reproductive material are prohibited from entry to the EU from third countries. The UK has applied to be a listed equivalent third country, but this will not be in place by 1 January, meaning that such products will be prohibited for export to the EU, including Northern Ireland.

Importers will now be required to make a customs declaration prior to bringing in a consignment.

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Labour

The workforce that needs picking now Fears of a labour crisis for next year’s crops are mounting, with the continuing lack of news on a future seasonal workers scheme

Words by: Spence Gunn

ost growers should have had their seasonal labour recruitment for 2021 well under way by the end of October. But with still no word from government on the future of the scheme for seasonal migrant workers piloted during the past two years, the NFU has been using the results of its latest labour survey to press for an urgent decision. “We’ve repeatedly put the case for why growers need access to seasonal workers from overseas, with plenty of evidence to back it up; that argument has been made,” says NFU chief horticulture adviser Lee Abbey. “The evidence from the pilot shows that it works, not only in terms of securing the quality – and potentially

the numbers – of people the industry needs but that it can be well managed, with little risk that they won’t return home afterwards. “The industry had been expecting to hear this autumn about plans to roll out the scheme. The fact that we’re still waiting is more than frustrating: it’s having a real impact on growers’ ability to plan their cropping programmes if they don’t know whether or not they will be able to secure the labour needed to plant and harvest.” The survey of NFU members this autumn drew responses from 244 growers across all sectors, between them employing just under 30,500 seasonal workers – around half of UK horticulture’s total seasonal workforce. Despite the disruption to travel caused by Covid-19 restrictions early in the season, almost 90% of seasonal workers this year still came from

outside the UK. However, experienced returnees, whose high productivity growers have traditionally relied on, accounted for less than half the total. The survey also underlined why growers feel that although it’s increasingly important to recruit UK residents, they’re unlikely to comprise a significant element of the workforce. Growers reported that job applications were up by around 50% on an average year, with two out of three made by UK residents. But just 8% of UK-based applicants were offered jobs and, of those, a third failed to show up – compared with 13% ‘no shows’ among migrant workers. Productivity was also an issue. First-time migrant workers achieved 86% of the grower’s target on average; first-time UK residents were significantly behind, at 67%. “It’s important workers stay in a job

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Labour

WHAT A SEASONAL WORKERS SCHEME SHOULD DO The NFU has been campaigning for a full seasonal workers scheme based on the two-year pilot which: Provides sufficient visas to meet the sector’s needs Is open to anyone from anywhere in the world Enables more labour providers to be registered as scheme operators Allows large-scale growers to register as scheme operators, as they were under the previous SAWS scheme long enough to justify the recruitment and training costs,” points out Nicholas Marston, chairman of the soft fruit growers’ association British Summer Fruits. Its members regard six weeks as the minimum. “We found 76% of the non-UK workforce stayed longer than that, while only 28% of UK residents did,” he says. In September, Defra secretary of state George Eustice told MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that growers could be expected to take on more UK-residents for seasonal work in 2021. “We need to consider what the right mix is between those with settled EU status, a possible continuation of a seasonal workers scheme of sorts and – crucially in a year where we could see significant increases in unemployment – making sure the industry is doing all it can to provide work for people who, sadly,

Pumpkin pickers at Sandfield Farm, in Worcestershire might lose their jobs over the next few working with a UK resident workforce, months,” he said. as we are ever likely to be in. It won’t NFU vice-president Tom Bradshaw be any easier to recruit UK-based says it asks a lot of UK residents to people next year.” make a significant contribution UK workers were more likely to be to horticulture’s seasonal hired for shift work in labour needs. packhouses than for “In reality, it means picking, he added. people needing to work He points out levels in very rural areas, of infrastructure away from their investment and OF SEASONAL homes and families, lead-in times for soft WORKERS THIS YEAR where they will only fruit production STILL CAME FROM have guaranteed jobs meant growers were OUTSIDE THE UK for between three and already committed to six months. crops for next year. “But if “Understandably, those we are short of labour we will who did take up seasonal see reductions in cropping in the horticulture work this year continued future,” he adds. to look for work closer to home. Some vegetable growers are Many left part-way through reconsidering plans for next year, their contract, leaving though. Derek Wilkinson, NFU growers to re-recruit, which Horticulture and Potatoes Board affected overall productivity vice-chairman and managing director levels and increased of Sandfields Farm, a member of the production costs.” G’s group, says that without a decision Mr Marston agrees: soon on a seasonal workers scheme the “What we saw company would start planning to shift last May was some cropping overseas. Up to half the the best group’s spring onion production would position, in move to Senegal, for example. terms of Some growers have resorted to doing what they can to use the EU Settlement Scheme, which allows seasonal migrant workers who have already worked in the UK to come and go, or to settle here. However, not all who are eligible have applied. “Most of our seasonal workers are from Bulgaria and Romania and they

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Labour

STATUS CHECK

Seasonal workers could qualify for the EU Settlement Scheme, and many growers have been helping those who want to apply. The scheme enables EU nationals who have lived in the UK for at least six months out of 12 over the past five years to apply for ‘settled status’, entitling them either to stay and work here indefinitely or come and go as they please. Those not currently eligible can apply for ‘pre-settled status’, which entitles them to remain, or come and go, for five more years while they achieve the criteria for full settled status. To qualify, they just have to show they’ve lived here at some point in the six months before application and they arrived here before 1 January, 2021. Pay-slips or utility bills are accepted as evidence and they don’t have to be in the UK when they apply. The final deadline for all applications is 30 June 2021.

travel on ID cards not biometric passports,” points out Mr Marston. “It’s less straightforward for them to apply. They have to send their documents in and they’ve been understandably nervous about how long it might take to get them back so they can return home. We think only about 45% of the workforce currently has pre-settled and 17% has settled status.” Doug Amesz, director of labour provider AG Recruitment, says it all adds up to 2021 being even more challenging than this year. “We’ll still be dealing with the impacts of Covid-19, and on top of that, until we hear what the government plans for a seasonal workers scheme, the only option for recruiting next year is from those in the EU with settlement scheme status,” he says. “People are telling our offices in Bulgaria and Romania they are very unsure of their plans. They’re balancing the possibility of lockdown measures there or here, and the potentially easier options of working elsewhere in the EU or in other sectors.

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Hops

LAST ORDERS

Even before the latest national lockdown, the fall in sales of cask ales was set to cut demand for traditional British hops by 30%. The NFU has been working with the brewing industry to secure more support for our specialist hop growers

Words by: Spence Gunn

ntil earlier this year, everything in the traditional British hop garden had been looking fairly rosy. After a long period of decline in the 1980s and 90s – thanks to the trend for Continental-style lagers and the impact of verticillium wilt which caused many to quit the crop – the country’s 59 specialist hop growers had been seeing a steady increase in productivity and a revival in market interest due to the resurgence of cask ales and the rise of small independent craft brewers. Then along came Covid-19. Lockdown in March closed pubs and beer sales plummeted – down 40% in that month alone. Sales remained slow even after lockdown restrictions were lifted and the whole hospitality sector has struggled with the mixture of

BEER SALES

40%

pubs that would reduced trade PLUMMETED BY normally have had, resulting from the say, four ales at a three-tier system time on their bar of localised pumps had just one measures and then or two. We estimate the enforced IN MARCH 2020 pub sales for this year closures of the will be down 50% or second lockdown. more and although there “There has been has been a rise of 30-40% in significant investment by hop sales of bottled or canned ales, that is growers in the past five or six years,” starting from a very low volume and says NFU Horticulture and Potatoes won’t go near making up the shortfall.” Board chairman Ali Capper, who is Breweries rapidly cut production in also a director of the British Hop response to the drop in beer sales, so Association (BHA) and has around hops harvested this autumn are likely 40ha of hops alongside her family’s to be in surplus over expected demand orchard enterprise at Stocks Farm, in during the course of 2021. Worcestershire. The concern now, with the second “Most UK hop production goes into national lockdown announced at the ale-style beers. Pre-Covid, pubs beginning of November, is that accounted for just under 70% of that businesses in the hospitality sector’s market. The rest was ‘off-sales,’ a large supply chain will suffer further, with part of which was all the festivals that no measures in place to support them, were cancelled. says Mrs Capper. “When the first lockdown ended,

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Hops “Growers are affected because sales for the products they supply have been halted. They need grants, not loans, to survive these disruptions,” she adds. Hops are perennial and the investment required – £40,000 to £50,000 per ha to establish a hop yard and more than £1 million for picking machinery and a drying kiln – means it’s not a crop you can either get into, or drop out of, readily, she points out. “The British Hop Association could see the looming problem back in April and advised members to cut out the 20% of the crop that’s normally ‘free-buy’ or not on contract. “Everyone found their own way to do that, either by the way the crop was managed or by dropping a proportion of their area. “At Stocks Farm, we decided to grub our lowest-performing variety and replant with an arable crop while we see how things pan out. “The larger brewers and merchants agreed to honour contracts for this year’s crops, but because they will then be going into next year with a surplus, no contracts are being offered for the 2021 crop – and growers normally work on a rolling three-to-five-year contract basis.” Working with the NFU and the brewing and pub industry, the association has been asking Defra for aid in the form of grants to growers to cover the cost of taking some of this year’s and next’s harvest off the market – essentially a form of intervention – to avoid going into next year’s season

with a significant surplus. “The response was ‘no, we should be using CBILS or other loans’,” says Mrs Capper. “But as those are only available on the basis of pre-Covid business plans, it’s just not appropriate and deeply unhelpful. “Most of the hops imported to the UK now come from the US where the government has already given massive aid to growers.” She says growers understand there may need to be some restructuring in the sector if the impacts of Covid continue for any length of time. “The big worry is what happens if and when the market returns to more or less normal and our brewers start looking to source more UK hops again. “Without support now, it’s likely a quarter of growers will drop out and another quarter will permanently reduce production. “The rest will have to restructure by taking out some crop while still finding the funds to invest in the new varieties buyers will be looking for.” That makes the British industry’s highly respected breeding programme more important than ever – but if the number of growers shrinks, the funding for it will also fall. “We are working with the brewing and pub sector to gather more evidence on the need for support,” says Mrs Capper. “We’ll also be putting forward a proposal for government support for the breeding programme, on which the future of this very iconic British crop depends.” 2

GROWING HOPS THE FACTS The UK’s 59 hop growers have about 960ha of production mainly in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Suffolk, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. According to Defra statistics, output in 2019 was 1,600 tonnes, worth £14m, of which BHA estimates around 20% was exported. Exports account for up to 40% of production in some years. Around 80% of British hop growers’ sales are on contract either direct to brewers or through merchants, who play an important role in levelling out fluctuations in supply year to year – yields and world supply can vary by as much as 25% through the impact of, for instance, hail and wind damage. Merchants will usually buy and store hops either dried and baled or in dried pelleted form, the latter being increasingly preferred because of its lower transport and storage costs. Hops are harvested in September and October. The bines are cut down and taken to a stationary machine which strips off the hops. They then have to be dried as soon as possible, which is why most growers have kilns on farm. The crop currently falls outside the AHDB levy. Instead, BHA collects a voluntary levy (which, it says, all growers agree to pay), most of which is used to fund what is the oldest hop-breeding programme in the world and on securing extension of use approvals for crop protection. Winter 2020

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AHDB

G Growers paying the AHDB Horticulture levy are soon to get a vote on its continuation

rowers who pay AHDBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s horticulture levy can expect to receive a ballot paper on its future existence in the new year. The official ballot is being called after AHDB received formal requests from more than 5% of levy payers in the sector, the threshold at which it is required to do so. The requests were collected and delivered to AHDB by three levypaying growers in Lincolnshire who have been campaigning against the compulsory levy. The timing of the ballot was still to be confirmed as Horticulture closed for press. AHDB will appoint an independent company to administer

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AHDB RODGER HOBSON Managing director, Hobson Farming, carrot specialist “Without a doubt I’m voting ‘no’. My horticulture levy cheque was £20,000 last year: even at 0.45% of turnover, that’s a lot from a family business making huge sacrifices in a sector where margins are 1-2%. And it’s money being collected for work that’s not needed for this crop – I know because I’ve sat on R&D committees that liaise with AHDB. “Vegetable growing is now a mature sector and carrot production is dominated by half a dozen large growers – though I’m not one of them – who can afford their own R&D on whatever they feel appropriate. We have a crop association, which means we tend to cooperate and have the expertise – it tends to be us advising AHDB anyway when it comes to things like EAMUs. “There is no easy way to make the reforms needed, so it’s better to leave it to growers to organise what they need. The pea sector is a great example; it has never been under AHDB and shows what can be done with the voluntary levy they pay for PGRO. “If I was only paying £4,000 or £5,000 a year, I wouldn't mind. I grow arable crops, too and what we pay there are not life-changing sums and not an issue.” the ballot, but has said it could take place in January. Once the ballot is launched, all levy payers within the sector will be invited to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to whether or not they support the continuation of a statutory levy for horticulture. This is the only question that can be asked under the existing regulations, so there will be no other options. The regulations also specify that only those who have paid the levy within the 12 months prior to the ballot

LUKE HIBBERD Commercial director, Abbey View Produce, glasshouse salads “I’m broadly in favour, but we do need reforms, including better accountability on how our money is spent and a more directly obvious payback on our levy as an investment. I do, however, think there has already been some improvement in knowledge exchange in the past 12 to 18 months. “I appreciate the R&D it does in support of the industry, but in my view it often comes through too slowly for a fast-moving specialist sector like glasshouse salads, where growers have often come up with solutions to an issue before levy projects are finished. “There are strong views on this in horticulture, but personally I feel there should be some levy spend on generic marketing, even if it is just supporting existing campaigns such as Veg Power.”

closing date are entitled to vote. AHDB has clarified that those who have agreed a deferred payment plan due to Covid-19 impacts, and so may not have made any payment within the qualifying period, will be offered the option of contributing a nominal £50 towards their levy, to ensure their entitlement to vote. Any whose business has withheld its levy payment within the past 12 months without agreement, will not be eligible. After the ballot has closed, the results will be analysed and verified before being passed to ministers and published on AHDB’s website. The outcome of the ballot is not binding on the government. Ministers will take account of the result in deciding the future of AHDB Horticulture. If growers vote to end the statutory levy, and ministers decide to abolish it, AHDB Horticulture will no longer collect it and all the research and development and other services it provides will cease, including coordination of applications for extension of use approvals for plant protection products. It’s thought some sectors may choose to fund areas of the work they have a particular interest in on a voluntary basis. If the result Winter 2020

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AHDB MARION REGAN Managing director, Hugh Lowe Farms, soft fruit “I’m waiting to see the detail of the reforms AHDB is proposing, and welcome the fact we’re now having this discussion. “I know just how much the soft fruit sector has benefited from the work undertaken through our sector panel, most notably its support for independent breeding programmes, the work on crop-specific pests and diseases, and the professional way AHDB deals with CRD [the body that handles crop protection approval issues]. “My concern now is whether [the panel] will be able to continue to make sure our levy is channelled into R&D that makes a difference on farm. Over the past few years, I’ve become worried about the erosion of identity of the sectors within horticulture, with [AHDB’s] increasingly centralised focus. “I am also concerned about burgeoning central costs often spent on market research, communication and development initiatives, which we do not need in our sector, as other bodies and individual companies do that.” supports the levy’s retention, AHDB will continue to deliver the work set out in its strategic plan. The NFU is among a range of industry organisations calling for significant reforms to AHDB. It should be ‘less bureaucratic and more dynamic, responsive and determined to understand and work in partnership with its levy payers,’ it told Defra’s ‘Request for views’ exercise two years ago. It said that while AHDB still had a role in addressing market failures in areas such as skills development and knowledge exchange, and in improving farmers’ and growers’ productivity, levy payers had clearly called for ‘far greater value for their investment’. For horticulture, the NFU emphasised the critical importance of ‘sufficient and effective grower representation’ and the need to ‘more effectively draw on the specialist expertise of levy payers to ensure that R&D is correctly prioritised and focused’. It said review of the levy collection systems was also needed, in particular the elements of a business that should count towards the turnover figure on which the levy is calculated. One of the greatest criticisms, it said, was the perceived lack of

communication on research findings. AHDB, for its part, is proposing a series of reforms, including some specifically in horticulture and potatoes, which it says respond to the results of the request for views and the ‘current strength of feeling in these sectors’. As well as consulting on a new strategy, expected to be published shortly, it pledges to ‘work with growers to design a modern levy system’ and to ‘communicate regularly on how your levy has been spent and the benefits’. AHDB Horticulture chairman Hayley Campbell-Gibbons shared more detail about some of the reforms

THE ORGANISATION IS LOOKING AT WHETHER EACH OF THE SECTORS IN HORTICULTURE NEED TO PAY IN THE SAME WAY AND WHETHER MORE FLEXIBILITY COULD BE INTRODUCED TO MATCH LEVY COLLECTION TO THE SECTOR'S NEED Hayley Campbell-Gibbons AHDB Horticulture chairman

being discussed for horticulture at an industry online event at the end of September. She said the way the levy is calculated needed to take account of today’s crop mix and growing technologies, and the increasing number of businesses with integrated operations such as packing, on which the current turnover-based levy is charged but which are not supported by AHDB programmes. Alternative options being considered include payments based on area or on value rather than turnover. She also said the organisation is looking at whether each of the sectors in horticulture need to pay in the same way and whether more flexibility could be introduced to match levy collection to a sector’s need. More tailored approaches to communicating results of levy-funded work and improvements to how AHDB is governed are also on the table, she said. 2

BRIAN FRASER Director, Oakover Nurseries, nursery stock “I’d vote in favour. The work the levy supports, in my view, wouldn’t be done in any other way for the nursery stock sector. “Of course, any organisation like AHDB has room for improvement. It has to look at its costs. But it’s all about value for money. We feel what we get back for the amount of levy that we pay is worthwhile. We would not be able to do the same ourselves for the levy we pay, on our own. The work on weed control over the years has been particularly valuable. “I can appreciate why some large field vegetable businesses, for instance, may feel they’re not getting value for money but I feel it would be a loss to the nursery stock sector if it went, especially as this sector is mostly smaller businesses.”

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Development

Horticulture looks at a big shake-up of the planning system

he government has launched bold proposals for the planning system in England that will have impacts far beyond the urban sprawl and out into our foodproducing heartlands. Outside of the towns and cities, about 40% of land in England is under some form of protection, be that the green belt, conservation areas, flood zones, wildlife sites, parks or AONBs. The new planning regime, due by mid-2024, could extend that figure to include more of the countryside, with strict restrictions stymying productivity and the much-vaunted ‘green recovery’. Conversely, it could be a developers’ charter as the government looks to build 300,000 homes each year. Or – although perhaps less likely as things stand – it could herald a new era of fast-tracked, carbon-cutting on-farm development. The uncertainty is because the powerful proposals come at a time when the countryside is being eyed-up by those that set wider policy to help meet a variety of aims. And while there is potential for a range of outcomes in rural areas, how the proposals are implemented will be key. What is clear from the Planning for the Future White Paper is that this is one of the biggest shake-ups in decades. As NFU Senior Adviser for Planning Suzanne Clear puts it:

“Anyone with an interest in the countryside should also be interested in these reforms. “The White Paper heralds some of the boldest changes for more than 70 years. Government thinks planning in England needs a radical overhaul, and has highlighted ‘an inefficient, opaque process and poor outcomes’.” Many, for instance growers in the glasshouse sector, would agree, but how does farming fit the plans?

IN THE ZONE?

The headline change will see an end to planning applications as we know them in some areas. Those will be replaced by faster, more ‘automated’ processes and rules – and much will depend on how these are set up and how much weight is given to sustainable food production. Concerningly, the answer in the White Paper is ‘not enough’, at least not yet. “Farming and the rural economy have not been given any specific consideration so far,” adds Ms Clear. Local authorities will draw up new digital maps which will identify ‘growth’, ‘renewal’ and ‘protected’ areas. These German-style zoning maps will be produced in just 30 months, last for 10 years with a review after five, and will be published online. Land designated ‘growth’ or ‘renewal’ will see a presumption in favour of development and a far more streamlined application process set by central government. It’s not quite the ‘wave-through’ of the headlines around the White Paper but, as Ms Clear says: “The maps will

40% of members re sponding to NFU surveying said they planned to diversify. But only 18% of surv eyed members’ planning applications were determined in eight weeks, with more than half taking more than three months. Many members we re concerned that local authoriti es ‘did not understand farming ’.

establish the principle of development. Any subsequent planning process should be a simple, shorter document to add the detail, and will be determined in a fixed timeframe, without detailed consultation. “The only place we will see planning applications is in protected areas.” How land-use is determined at the get-go will be important then, especially where stunning landscapes are also the shop floor for farmers, and the NFU is pushing government to build in clear provisions for food production. “We believe there must be space for new farmyards, buildings and diversifications, and for new homes for rural workers, even in protected environments,” says Ms Clear. “We’ve made it clear that this is about delivering for climate and the

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Development

KEY ASKS The NFU surveyed members to help shape its response to a consultation on the proposals It told government: •

E “THERE MUST BE SPAC S, FOR NEW FARMYARDD AN S FARM BUILDING DIVERSIFICATIONS, AND FOR NEW HOMES, FOR RURAL WORKERS EVEN IN PROTECTED ENVIRONMENTS” environment alongside food production. Arguably, farmers and growers might want to be in ‘growth’, ‘renewal’ and ‘protected’ land-use, especially as we transition to the new post-Brexit farming policy. Could, for example, an individual farm holding be identified as a growth zone within a larger surrounding protected zone? At the moment, there’s not enough detail to say. “If the government wants to make good on rhetoric around ‘levelling up’ the countryside economy, the new planning regime will be an important tool and the NFU is following its development very closely.”

WHAT ELSE IS CHANGING?

The White Paper talks about planning for ‘beautiful and sustainable places’. It says the system will identify where climate change adaptions are needed and seek to improve energy efficiency through changes to the regulations. Agricultural and horticultural concerns could find their

environmental work a planning asset here, and the NFU is pressing for joined-up thinking. However, some farm activities do cause emissions and factoring offsetting into the rules will also be important. The proposals will also encourage communities to get involved in designing planning codes that would set out the local vision of building ‘beauty’. Meet the vision and there’s the promise of a ‘fast-track system for beautiful buildings’, but how that might apply to more function-first, farm blueprints is unclear.

THE END OF THE CIL

Elsewhere, it’s ‘goodbye’ to the community infrastructure levy (CIL), based on the floor space of a development, and ‘hello’ to a new flat-rate national infrastructure tariff. “The CIL didn’t work for agriculture,” says Ms Clear. “We have had growers paying CIL in one area, and the council-owned nursery not having to pay anything. “The system must get fairer and not stop the glasshouse development we need to grow more fruit, vegetables and ornamentals.” She added: “The White Paper is an important first step, but it leaves major questions unanswered. “We have yet to see whether the proposed reforms will deliver a more beautiful and sustainable countryside, with more eco-friendly homes and thriving farms and rural communities.” 2

•

Farmers need a flexible and enabling planning system that will support the transition to a new agricultural policy, support rural communities and provide access to resilient, sustainable food supply chains. On-farm developments, rural homes and countryside businesses must not find themselves on the wrong side of a two-tier planning system because they are in protected areas. Agriculture and horticulture must be accounted for in zoning decisions and national management policies. As a crucial sector, food producers should have enhanced permitted development rights. Design and environmental standards need direct farming and growing input, and any design or environmental proposals using the planning system must tie in with the sectors’ work towards a net-zero industry and the forthcoming Environmental Land Management Scheme. The new infrastructure tariff may not be an effective way to raise money in areas where development is limited, and extra funding will be needed for rural broadband, affordable housing, and to help farm projects that bring about service improvements.

Read the NFU’s full response to the proposals at NFUonline.com/planning Winter 2020

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Potatoes

A question of confidence

Inspections of English and Welsh seed crops were disrupted this year just when the industry was beginning to question the effectiveness of current certification schemes in managing increasing incidence of virus

Words by: Spence Gunn otato viruses are on the rise after years when the industry appeared to have them under control. The 2019 ware crop was particularly badly affected: in an NFU survey earlier this year growers reported an impact on yield and quality averaging £50,000, with losses for some running into six-figure sums and crops written off. Many growers also said they were unable to fully meet their contracts. It’s not just a UK issue, either. Potato crops across the EU registered high virus levels in 2019. Climate change may be partly to blame. Aphids are the main vectors of virus and warmer winters see higher populations surviving from season to season. They are harder to control, too, thanks to the loss of several key insecticides.

But infected seed can also be a source and the effectiveness of current inspection regimes, intended to identify infection in seed stocks, is being called into question, given that they depend solely on inspections of foliage during the seed crop’s growing season. “The NFU believes the prevalence of virus in 2019 has exposed a weakness in the reliance on visual inspection because the key virus symptoms are not usually visible until the following field generation,” says NFU horticulture and potatoes adviser Rupert Weaver. “This has undermined confidence in certification, so we have been working with other organisations in the potato sector to find ways to restore faith.” Confidence took another knock this year, at least as far as the certification scheme for England and Wales is concerned, because of the way the Animal and Plant Health Agency

(APHA), which is responsible for it, responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Certification is a separate scheme in Scotland and it ran as normal,” says Mr Weaver. “But APHA took a different approach and made several short-term changes to its inspection regime, with little notice and little consultation.” The most critical change was a cut in the number of field inspections for seed crops below Pre-basic and Basic S field generation grades, with APHA saying it didn’t have enough inspectors available and was not prepared to move them around the country as it does in normal years. Some seed growers consequently took a significant financial hit because nothing could be graded higher than Basic E, and some crops were downgraded simply because no inspection was made, despite growers having invested to produce to a higher grade. “Another mid-season rule change led

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Potatoes

“THE NFU BELIEVES THE PREVALENCE OF VIRUS IN 2019 HAS EXPOSED A WEAKNESS IN THE RELIANCE ON VISUAL INSPECTION BECAUSE THE KEY VIRUS SYMPTOMS ARE NOT USUALLY VISIBLE UNTIL THE FOLLOWING FIELD GENERATION” Rupert Weaver NFU horticulture and potatoes adviser

some seed growers to burn-down early,” says Mr Weaver. “It was quickly reversed, but it left those growers who had unnecessarily burned down early Seed is among your top costs so it makes sense to find out as much as with a lower than planned yield.” possible about what you’re buying. NFU horticulture and potatoes Since 2015, the scheme has operated adviser Rupert Weaver outlines the questions to ask. with charges based on ‘total cost recovery’. WHERE IS MY SEED FROM? “Growers have to feel they are Asking about traceability is not unreasonable. You should at getting the service they paid least be able to find out the country or region where it was NFU MEMBERS for,” Mr Weaver says. “This grown and ideally the name of the grower. If you’re looking REPORTED AN IMPACT ON year they were not, as the at a significant quantity of seed, speak to or, better still, YIELD AND QUALITY fees have not been reduced visit them. AVERAGING to reflect the lower number of inspections.” CAN I SEE THE INSPECTION REPORT? The NFU has written to Seed is classified – on the basis of growing-season field APHA outlining the inspection – with a letter (S, SE or E for Basic seed and A or B principles it believes the scheme for Certified seed), as well as a number indicating the field should abide by for 2021, whether or generation. Together these indicate what symptoms of virus or not Covid-19 and associated control blackleg the inspector saw and the proportion of admixture (presence of measures are still with us: tubers of other varieties). Sometimes a supplier may voluntarily downgrade seed after inspection. The inspector’s report should be made available and • It must operate consistently, and may give more detail on what was actually seen. APHA must commit as soon as possible to a position it can stick WHAT ABOUT POST-HARVEST VIRUS TESTING? to, avoiding short-notice midPost-harvest (actually post-burn-down) virus testing is not required for selling season changes seed potatoes but you can ask, and may have to pay for it to be done. You can • There must be two inspections on ask to see the results if the seed has been tested. all Pre-basic and Basic grades • There must be a contingency plan HOW SUSCEPTIBLE IS THE VARIETY TO VIRUS OR BLACKLEG? so the second inspection happens AHDB has published risk classifications for some varieties. If you’re unfamiliar whatever the other prevailing with a variety, or it’s not on the AHDB list, it’s a useful conversation to have circumstances, including bringing with your supplier or the seed grower. in inspectors from elsewhere if necessary. WHEN WERE POTATOES PREVIOUSLY GROWN IN THE SEED FIELD? As with ware, the longer the rotation the more chance the field has to recover “We recognise more needs to be done from any soilborne issues or issues that may have lived on in groundkeepers. to address the underlying increase in virus levels so various parts of the WHAT IS THE SIZE SPLIT? sector will need to work on that Sounds an obvious question, but it is easy to overlook. You may be able to outside of the certification scheme,” request a split that works better for you. says Mr Weaver. “More could also be done to clarify WHAT IS THE SEED COUNT/PLANTABLE AREA? how ware growers should use Information is only available after grading, but this makes a big difference to certification inspection results. Some what you will need. believe that certification guarantees minimal prevalence of virus in the EMERGENCE DATE OF THE PARENT STOCK? seed they buy, but this has never been This will give you an idea of the chronological age of the seed. the case.” 2

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Potatoes

POTATO FORUM Getting to grips with seed quality and looking after your safety

Alex Godfrey Potato Forum chairman If you’d asked me back at the start of the year what was going to be the dominant issue for potato production for 2020, I would have answered ‘virus’. Although things didn’t pan out the way any of us expected – and while I make no claim to be a prophet – I still believe the impact of potato virus on our crops remains an issue that demands urgent attention across the industry. Covid-19 has not, and will not, dislodge potato viruses from near the top of our agenda, but its impact has delayed progress on some of the actions agreed at the National Virus Forum in January. Most prominently, that includes work by the bodies that carry out tuber indexing (testing tubers for the presence of virus) on proficiency testing and creation of a forum to investigate test result discrepancies. This work is important to give us confidence that we understand what a set of test results means, wherever they were carried out and by whatever method. In turn, that might allow tuber indexing to play a more formal part in the Seed Potato Certification Scheme at some point in the future. While that’s all still under way, many suppliers of seed have begun to undertake tuber indexing on their stocks. Others are planning to. I see this as an encouraging and positive move by the seed industry, which in itself should help to build confidence. While we have concerns about the amount of virus that has made it through the certification scheme in the past couple of years, we mustn’t lose sight of its successes in controlling other problems, such as blackleg. The Animal and Plant Health Agency has launched two consultations on the scheme’s operation and the NFU and others have made strong representations to the agency that in 2021 it must return to two inspections for all basic as well as pre-basic grades, and have plans in place to allow this to happen, even if Covid restrictions or issues caused by life outside of the EU bloc intervene. Meanwhile, I’d encourage all growers to continue working with their seed suppliers to understand the source of their seed and its provenance. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – and check out the NFU’s guide for buyers on the kind of information you should be pressing them for (see p30). Let’s make good quality seed the base for a better 2021.

Tim Papworth Potato Forum vice-chairman I was writing columns like this 10 years ago and it was at that time, almost to the day, I nearly lost my life falling 14 feet from a ladder while working in a potato store – so I hope you’ll understand why health and safety is something that’s been much on my mind recently. I’ve been particularly concerned because of the pressures facing growers during this year’s storecleaning season. I’ve been thinking how everyone has been coping with the need to remove what, in some cases, will have been years of accumulated CIPC deposits in some highly-inaccessible parts of their stores, necessary to avoid the risk of this year’s crop carrying more than the temporary MRL for the now out-of-authorisation sprout suppressant. With the availability of specialist cleaning contractors squeezed by Covid-19, many more growers will have been doing it themselves. It scares me that people may have been up long ladders or balancing in fork-lift buckets; brushing and scraping without adequate eye protection; or reaching inside fan assemblies without remembering to isolate the electricity supply first. I’ve not heard of any serious accidents, thankfully, and I understand AHDB is looking to update its potato store health and safety guidance, which will make interesting reading. Store cleaning isn’t the only challenge posed by the loss of CIPC, and I’m confident that the decision we made a few years ago in our own business, to move out of storing our crop, was the right one for us. We’ve also made a reduction over the past few years in the proportion grown for processing and crisps. The crisps market was already struggling this year thanks to the pandemic, so the news that the emergency authorisation hoped for the alternative sprout suppressant DMN has not been granted in time for this season’s crop will be particularly unwelcome. In the absence of CIPC, DMN is currently the only product that could be used in stores that doesn’t affect fry quality. The UK potato industry needs it and what I find so hard to understand is that it has had full approval in several other EU countries for a while. Once again, UK growers are competing in an international market that’s clearly nowhere near a level playing field.

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Meet the grower

A business with sparkle Bringing in the grape harvest is a busy and challenging time for viticulturist Ben Kantsler

FACT FILE The grower: Nyetimber Location: Main site in West Chiltington, West Sussex Crop: Grapes Representing the business: Viticulturist Ben Kantsler Nyetimber is a family-owned vineyard business. It was bought in 2006 by Eric Heerema and he’s been the driving force behind what was once a small hobby farm but is now a pioneering brand in the English sparkling wine industry. The business runs 11 vineyards spread across the greensand and chalk soils of Sussex, Hampshire and Kent, and Ben Kantsler, who is originally from Australia, has worked as Nyetimber’s viticulturist for five years. The vineyard produces a range of award-winning sparkling wines, from its flagship Classic Cuvee to a Blanc de Blanc and a Prestige Cuvee. Ben’s role means he has an overview of the business and is the link between the vines, the pressing centre and the winemakers. “I take a helicopter view of all of the operations and I’m the main intermediary between the winery, the production side and the growing side. I do miss being more hands on and all my callouses have pretty much disappeared,” he laughs. “But I am still outdoors and still involved with the seasons. Nothing beats it on a sunny day standing among the vines staring out on the beautiful South Downs.” nyetimber.com

Words by: Lorna Maybery Photos by: John Cottle What is your business? Nyetimber has 11 vineyards located from Winchester through to Canterbury. We have 256ha in production this year and about 330ha planted. It takes about three years before the planted vineyards are productive and about five years before they have a commercial yield on them. This year we are aiming to get 1.2m bottles or thereabouts.

warm as 2018. We have the quality, but it just didn’t get the right weather at the right time to get the quantity.

What grape varieties do you grow? We do the three traditional varieties, Chardonnay, a white grape, Pinot Noir a red grape and Pinot Meunier, also a red grape. We specifically use certain clones of these varieties to make sure we have the best product we can and we also marry rootstocks to those three varieties, depending on where we are and what soil type we have.

How do you manage the vines? It’s an annual crop. During the winter we prune all the vines back and lay down the new wood for next year. We have to be very careful that it’s productive wood and that we are putting the best base and framework down for the start of the new year. There’s about 4,000 vines per hectare and we have more than 300ha, so it’s a skill you do learn over time. In real terms, a good pruner does allow us to get a good crop. We spend a lot of time in December and January training the workers, making sure they know what’s good and what’s bad wood and then we end up pruning from January to April. We prune quite late because we want to avoid the spring frosts, which are one of the critical issues for us in the UK climate.

What sort of year is 2020 looking like in terms of yield and quality? In terms of heat accumulation, this year has been great. We have almost been as

What happens after pruning? During the winter we have Sussex sheep grazing the fields, in between the vines, and they help to control the grass and the

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Meet the grower

weeds in the mid-row. We have to get them out before bud bursts happens or they can eat the developing buds. They’re a good way of allowing us to have two uses of the farm during the off season. Coming into spring, we are conscious of frost so we do both cultural and active control. By cultural I mean late pruning and we really wait to right at the end of the season, March and April, we wrap the wood down just to slow down bud burst. Then there are times where we need active control at some of the lower slopes of the farm, so we use heaters and wind fans or candles. How big a problem for the vines is the weather? This year we got bits of frost in Hampshire and even in Kent, it’s just something nature throws at us and we are conscious we have to mitigate.

Above: Ben Kantsler Right: Once grapes are picked, the full crates make their way to the pressing centre We try to make sure the vineyards have everything in place to get the cold air away as quickly as possible. Every site has a weather station that’s tied to alarms and we have a running rota of people working nights and days to make sure when something happens, we are ready for it. What are the main diseases you have to cope with? The main one in the early autumn is Botrytis cinerea, which is a fungus that

dehydrates the berry and spreads to the other berries, slowly eating away at the bunch. Not only do we lose crops from it, but it also adds to the protein in our juice and if there’s too much protein, we don’t get the bubbles that we want; the bubbles are actually bigger so the wine Winter 2020

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Meet the grower Left/below: Nyetimber relies on 300 pickers to harvest the crop within 13 days same token, we have to do everything we can to ensure the quality is at the highest standards and that means picking by hand.

goes flatter more quickly. Different seasons come with different disease pressures. So in spring time we’ve got downy mildew, which likes that mid-temperature wet weather, then into summer we get powdery mildew, which prefers a drier period and warmer days. How many pickers have you had this year? We have had 300 this year and we got the crop in within 13 days. The Romanian pickers are fantastic. A good outcome for a picker is 40kg per hour. How difficult has it been to get enough pickers this year? Have you had any UK pickers? Yes we have a small group of 20 UK pickers this year and they were a contingency in case we had problems

with our agency. This year we had professional pickers from Italy to help make up the numbers. We wouldn’t normally do this, as we like the Romanian pickers we normally get and they are usually from the same village each year. It’s very congenial at harvest where we will have three generations of pickers coming through and you don’t need train them as they already know what to expect. Would Nyetimber consider mechanical picking as an option? We did a small amount mechanically this year, but, qualitatively, it’s not good for our product. We want to press the grapes as gently as possible, but machine harvesting takes all the gentleness away. I would say 30% of our costs per year is the harvest, but at the

Once picked, what happens to the grapes? The grapes get picked into crates and those crates make their way to the pressing centre and, as the name suggests, they go into a large press. We have special Champagne presses called Coquards and they are the gentlest presses on the market. Once the grapes have been pressed, clarified, fermented and blended, the wine is bottled and stored for anywhere between three and five years before it’s then available commercially. Where is most of your wine sold? Mainly in the UK, but we are working harder and harder to get English wine outside the UK and around the world. Consumer awareness has grown 10-fold since I first came here and what is also pleasing is that the industry itself has become a lot more consistent in terms of its qualitative output. What impact has Covid-19 had on your season? It’s been challenging. From March onwards, a lot of our pruners left. We spent three months training them, so we

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Meet the grower

Above: Grapes are picked by hand to ensure quality is at the highest standards had to retrain new pickers and it was a race against the clock to get the training in and the vineyards pruned before the season began. Since then it’s been all about managing the workplace and workers, so everyone is doing the right things to ensure the workplace is safe. From a cost perspective, cost has gone up for the simple things from PPE to retraining and getting new workers in. From a sales perspective, things took a real hit; sparkling wine is a celebratory drink when lots of people get together and not too many of those events were happening. A lot of our sales also go through restaurants and hotels and they have been impacted. The online platform is going well and we have put a lot of time and effort into making sure the online offering is good for the consumer. What type of environmental measures do you have on farm? We have 32ha set aside for re-wilding this year, which is really exciting and we are looking forward to seeing the results of that. We also make sure our windbreaks and hedgerows don’t get cut back as much as they could, as they are good habitats for local flora and fauna. We do have rows where some are mowed and some aren’t and the mowed

ones are easy for our workers to get up and down and the other rows with the tall grass and indigenous herbs and flowers can be great for the biodiversity. What does Brexit mean to the business? Its challenging and free access of labour is what I’m most concerned about. I think we will be able to keep a lot of our annual workers who are here from January to December, but for harvest, where you really want to get the same people back for a short period of time, I’m not as confident that the government appreciates the need for these workers.

What does the future hold for Nyetimber? We want to get to two million bottles, that’s a good size in terms of market share. We also want to make the best wine possible and because of that it’s quite capital hungry, so between the investment in the vineyards, the pressing centre, in storing bottles for three to five years, it does mean the time for payback gets further away. Our owner is incredibly supportive and is thinking about this business for his children, rather than himself. We just have to make sure all these foundations we are putting in place now are the right ones for 30, 40 even 50 years’ time. 2 Winter 2020

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Guest Column

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together to overcome many of the challenges that lie ahead in 2021

he UK sits at a pivotal time in its history. This will be remembered as the year the UK ended its membership of the European Union and forged new trading relationships across the world. It’s the year that Covid-19 exposed the frailties of a food supply chain where risks and rewards are unevenly balanced. It’s the year when food security became more important than ever, yet self-sufficiency in fruit and veg continued to fall. And it is the year in which Part 1 of the National Food Strategy was published, showing that only 25% of the population is eating enough fruit and vegetables. All of this sits against a backdrop of the UK’s target of bringing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, while the farming industry’s ambitions are to achieve this by 2040. The UK horticulture industry is ambitious and with the right political framework it can help to address many of these challenges. That’s why the Fruit and Veg Alliance - a cross-industry stakeholder group, including the British Growers, NFU, grower businesses, the Food Foundation, Soil Association and many more - has set out a strategy for growth, to secure farming policies that

and many products are being sold at support a thriving, sustainable and the same retail value now as they were productive horticulture industry. 10 or 20 years ago. This has only been The strategy was presented to the possible through innovation on farm farming minister Victoria Prentis in and across the supply chain, but a October with a view to getting Defra’s decline in profitability is support for the five pillars of the resulting in a reducing strategy: increasing ONLY ability to reinvest. The productivity to be lack of profitability also competitive in a global creates a barrier for new marketplace; access to entrants and smaller labour, skills and new OF THE POPULATION ARE EATING producers, and inhibits entrants; net zero ENOUGH FRUIT AND the sector’s ability to farming and VEGETABLES attract skilled and environmentallyambitious people into sustainable businesses; the industry. routes to market and supply Confidence has also been hit by the chain fairness; and improving health ongoing uncertainty over seasonal and through increasing consumption of permanent labour, as freedom of fruit and veg. movement comes to an end with I was encouraged by her response, limited recognition of agricultural and and the recognition of what this sector horticultural shortage occupations. has to offer, environmentally and And UK produce risks being undercut economically. Though with Brexit by lower standard foods, as the preparedness and Covid impacts still government looks to negotiate new very much at the top of the political trade deals across the world. agenda, it’s critical the UK government The Fruit & Veg Alliance is already continues to recognise the value of the busy developing the workstreams under sector, of its production and the five pillars for growth and aims to environmental standards, and make significant progress through 2021 develops supportive policies to and beyond. We know, with absolute increase food security. confidence that the industry will step There are many barriers that we up to the challenge – now we need must also overcome. The fresh produce government to do the same. 2 category is incredibly price sensitive

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Three things...

Graham Nichols grows 90ha of certified seed potatoes on contract in Gloucestershire, among other crops. He is a member of the NFU Potato Forum

The shower

What a marvellous bit of kit and vital when I get home from planting or harvesting, or any other day for that matter. Just to be able to get into a refreshing shower to swill all the dust off and come out rejuvenated. Sadly, the days of my wife jumping in to help have long gone! It makes my list.

My insulated lunch box

All our seed potatoes are grown away from home, so I need to take my food and drink for the day. We rotate around a lot of arable farms within a 15-mile radius, which gives us the ability to use virgin potato land. That’s vital for healthy seed potatoes… and a good insulated lunchbox is vital for a healthy seed potato farmer! The problem with them is that what with all the rattling about in a tractor cab all day, they only seem to last one season.

My iPhone

This really is an amazing asset, with all my contacts, emails, photos for all the seed crops, a calculator to work out seed rates, the what3words app to record where we are, an up-to-date weather forecast… and even a torch to get me home at night. I can remember when the first mobile phone came out; the size and weight of a house brick – you would not have been able to keep that in your top pocket!

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HORTICULTURE WINTER 2020

Articles inside

GUEST COLUMN

WHY I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

LAST ORDERS

A QUESTION OF CONFIDENCE

MAKING PLANS

TIME TO DECIDE

LABOUR CRISIS

POTATO FORUM

NEWS AND POLICY

BREXIT – READY OR NOT