Category: News

England is facing water supply shortages by 2050 unless rapid action is taken to curb water use and wastage, the Environment Agency has warned.

Its new report says enough water to meet the needs of 20 million people is lost through leakage every day.

Population growth and the impact of climate change are expected to add to supply pressures.

The agency wants people to have a personal water target and has urged them to use water more wisely at home.

The study, the first major report on water resources in England, says that population growth and climate change are the biggest pressures on a system that is already struggling.

In 2016, some 9,500 billion litres of freshwater were taken from rivers, lakes, reservoirs and underground sources, with 55% of this used by public water companies, and 27% going to the electricity supply industry.

But in addition to the 3 billion litres a day that are wasted through leakage, there is a considerable price being paid in terms of the sustainability of these supplies.

According to the Environment Agency, extraction of groundwater – the water beneath the earth’s surface – is not at a sustainable level for 28% of groundwater bodies and up to 18% of surface waters.

A year earlier in 2016, unsustainable extraction meant that at least 6% and possibly up to 15% of river water bodies did not achieve “a good ecological status or potential”.

The majority of chalk streams also failed to meet that standard, with over extraction of water being responsible in a quarter of the streams that were tested.

“We need to change our attitudes to water use,” said Emma Howard Boyd, the Environment Agency chairwoman.

British farmers will be allowed to recruit 2,500 non-EU migrants a year under a new government pilot that will help alleviate an anticipated shortage of seasonal workers after Brexit.

The National Farmers Union has called for a special arrangement for short-term workers amid growing concerns over crops being left to rot on British farms because of a shortage of labour.

Under the new scheme, which will run for two years from next spring, non-EU nationals who travel to the UK to work on fruit and vegetable farms will be able to stay for six months before returning.

Industry bodies estimate the agriculture sector relies on a 75,000-strong temporary migrant workforce.

Unveiling the plans, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:

“British farmers are vital to the UK’s economy – and the Government will look to support them in any way we can.
This pilot will ensure farmers have access to the seasonal labour they need to remain productive and profitable during busy times of the year.
I am committed to having an immigration system that reduces migration to sustainable levels, supports all industry and ensures we welcome those who benefit Britain.”

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the government has listened to the “powerful arguments” from farmers about the need for seasonal labour to keep the horticulture industry productive and profitable. He said:

“From lettuce in East Anglia to strawberries in Scotland, we want to make sure that farmers can continue to grow, sell and export more great British food.
This two year pilot will ease the workforce pressures faced by farmers during busy times of the year. We will review the pilot’s results as we look at how best to support the longer-term needs of industry outside the EU.”

The news was welcomed by Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union, who described it as a “major victory”. She said:

It follows two years of evidence from the NFU, growers and MPs that a shortage of workers has been hampering food production, and is recognition from the Government that British horticulture is a successful, thriving sector which faces some unique challenges but is capable of producing more great, healthy British fruit and vegetables for people to eat.
Farmers and growers have seen worker availability tighten significantly in recent years, with the shortfall so far this year reaching 10 percent.
Growers will take great confidence in knowing that they will have access to workers for the 2019 harvest, during what have been extremely testing and uncertain times for the sector.

The first seasonal agricultural workers scheme was introduced in response to labour shortages after the Second World War.

Under the last such programme in the UK, fruit and vegetable growers were allowed to employ migrant workers from Bulgaria and Romania for up to six months at a time.

The route was closed at the end of 2013 when restrictions on nationals of the two eastern European countries working in Britain ended.

Two scheme operators will run the new pilot, overseeing the placement of workers and ensuring they reach their place of employment and leave the UK at the end of their visa.

The Home Office said it would be a tightly controlled regime, with return rates carefully monitored and provisions in place to close the route if it presents a threat to immigration controls.

Originally published by Harriet Agerholm The Independent / Press Association contributed to this report

A tax on non-recyclable plastic currently under consideration by the Treasury needn’t be bad for horticulture if the government uses the extra revenue to improve the plastic recovery facility infrastructure, Modiform EcoExpert retail and industry manager Shaun Herdsman has said.

The Government wants to tax non-recyclable plastic to encourage a switch to more environmentally-friendly materials, with costs passed on to consumers.

Measures under consideration include what the government calls “smart, intelligent incentives” and a levy on manufacturers and some disposable plastic products to be introduced in the Autumn Budget on 22 November.

The Treasury said it wanted to promote the greater use of recycled plastic in manufacturing, discourage plastics that are difficult to recycle (such as carbon black plastic) and reduce demand for single-use items, including coffee cups and takeaway boxes.

Herdsman, who was awarded the Business Innovation Award at this year’s Horticulture Week Business Awards for his work on developing plant pot alternatives, said:

“All of the plastic materials used in horticulture (PS, PP & PET) can be recycled, so why aren’t they? One reason is the MRF’s and PRF’s (Plastic Recovery Facility) infrastructure isn’t good enough to cope with the amount and variety of waste. There are IR sensors on the market now that can detect ‘carbon black’ plastic, but the cost of implementation across the country would be huge. Another reason is that there just isn’t the demand for the recycled plastic, so it isn’t cost effective. The taxation won’t be a bad thing if the government uses the extra revenue to tackle these issues.”

The tax will target ‘single use, bad or hard to recycle plastic’. While there is a question mark over whether the plant pot is single use or not, black plastic trays used to transport plants from growers to retailers and black plastic bedding packs are “certainly single use products, which could get effected by the impending tax,” said Herdsman.

“If the tax is imposed on plant pots, transport trays and bedding packs the prices of these items will rise across the industry. The rises will be passed down from manufacture to grower, grower to retailer and retailer to consumer.” He said it is unlikely retailers will take a price increase and that will put pressure on growers to absorb the difference.

He said plant pot material is already around 99.9% recycled waste from post-consumer and post-industrial supplies: “In horticulture we are doing a good job in using the plastic waste generated.

HTA president Adam Taylor says a potential tax should lead to a debate about its knock-on effects, for instance about plastic use in the food industry for hygiene reasons.

He added that the PR will push people into making changes but he says there needs to be a “big debate” on what alternative materials are the best.”

Taylor said: “We’ve had the sugar tax. This one is next in line.”

To read the original article, click here: https://goo.gl/3c5vAS

With the soft-fruit industry’s labour crisis deepening, the prospect of commercially available field robots appears to offer at least a partial solution, growers at a discussion at last week’s Fruit Focus heard.

Ed Herbert, co-founder of Hertfordshire-based Dogtooth Technologies, which is developing machines to pick strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, said: “The challenge is to bring any fruit to market efficiently and cost-effectively. At Dogtooth that’s in at the start, so the machines are mechanically very simple.”

Its version of automated strawberry picking will still be semi-controlled, “unlike a wholly uncontrolled self-driving car”, Herbert explained. Dogtooth aims to have machines “working in teams under a human supervisor, but able to navigate autonomously — we hope to make more productive use of the labour we have”, added director Duncan Robertson.

A robot can also determine the mass, grade and any defects of a berry as it picks, he said. “They can give you more high-quality fruit — and if you can pick berries overnight when they are cooler, they will last longer.”

Picking machines can also “build a growth profile of every strawberry on your farm”, Herbert explained, as well as helping with runner-cutting, de-leafing and spraying, “though from a health-and-safety point of view, it helps if no one is in the tunnel”, he added.

“We will be testing a fleet of 24 machines in the field next year, then we can scale up manufacturing in the next three years,” he said. “We will initially offer a picking service, but also move to sales.”

Herefordshire soft-fruit grower Anthony Snell said: “I have seen Dogtooth’s machine in Tasmania. I really like it, but I worry about the message that will come out of this. Technology won’t save us any money. Theresa May will love it. She’ll think, ‘they’re developing it so we don’t need to worry about SAWS’ [a seasonal agricultural worker scheme].”

Session chair Ali Capper added: “We will replace perhaps 15% of the labour requirement for tabletop production in four years’ time,” to which Herbert pointed out: “Not allowing in labour will have a knock-on to other sectors, including ours.”

Autonomous fleets

Other UK developers are also addressing the issue. The University Of Lincoln has just begun a two-year project, RASberry (Robotics & Automation Systems for berry production) with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Saga Robotics UK and Berry Gardens Growers, thanks to funding from Innovate UK. Rather than seek complete automation, this will develop autonomous fleets of robots for moving fruit boxes in polytunnels between human pickers and the collection point.

The UK university has been working for some time to develop smart applications mounted on the Thorvald mobile base unit designed by its Norwegian partner. Lincoln’s professor of agri-food technology Simon Pearson says: “These new and augmented technologies have the power to transform productivity within this critical sector of the UK economy.”

Berry Gardens Growers director of research Richard Harnden adds: “Robotic strawberry picking is still some years away, but this associated project will help human pickers by removing the burden of carrying full trays of fruit, making their task substantially easier as well as increasing the amount of time they have available for picking.”

On the continent, meanwhile, Belgian developer Octinion, also working with UK growers, has developed a picking arm mounted on a self-driving trolley that it says is competitive with human picking in price, speed and thoroughness. Rather than snipping the stalk above the berry, as the Dogtooth model does, this uses a pair of cushioned plastic claws to twist off the berry.

In the USA, which also faces a dearth of human pickers, two developers, Agrobot and Harvest Croo, are close to launching automated picking rigs designed for open-field strawberry crops. Relative behemoths compared to the European designs, these span several rows of soil-grown strawberries, though Agrobot’s has also been trialled on tunnel-grown table-top strawberries.

Taking the wider view

Sounding a note of caution, University of Kent industry engagement manager Simon Barnes pointed out during the Fruit Focus discussion that a report by international professional services firm PwC earlier this year showed the potential for automation in farming “is much lower than other sectors”. He said: “If I were a global robotics company, I might look at those sectors higher up the list.”

But he suggested tech developed for other sectors could also find a role in berry production, noting: “Different crops will suit different forms of automation.” Exoskeletons “can reduce the stress on workers, such as their heartbeat, allowing greater productivity”, while with augmented reality devices such smart glasses, “we can imagine pickers being guided in the tunnel to pick the right fruit”, he said.

Drones could be used for transport and even pruning as well as crop monitoring, he suggested. “[Global logistics firm] UPS says it can use drones to deliver at one-fifth of the cost, though they can’t currently take a heavy payload.”

While “co-bots” are already making inroads in manufacturing, “regulations say they can’t work as fast as humans”, he pointed out. “There is an injury risk of it smacking someone, though it could be programmed to speed up when no one is around.”

The costs element raises another issue, he added. “Now is the time to make the technology and economics stack up. How do you use them for 200-250 days a year, not just 50? You need something flexible — a ‘Swiss Army robot’.”

Dogtooth’s Ed Herbert added: “Orchard fruit is also a potentially huge market, but more challenging in terms of capital because, unlike strawberries, it’s a very concentrated season.”

He also told growers to take a broad view of the term. “‘Robots’ have been assembling cars for decades, but they have no intelligence.” By contrast, at Fruit Focus host NIAB EMR’s demonstration WET Centre, “decisions on managing the crop are made automatically based on sensory data”.

To read the original article, click here: https://goo.gl/JhiRXN

With the latest Kantar Worldpanel data shows a rise of 3.7% in volume, and 7.6% in value, in the soft fruit category over the last year, the UK’s largest grower group said only a lack of labour is stopping it expanding further.

Speaking at Fruit Focus on Wednesday (25 July), Berry Gardens chairman Alastair Brooks said: “Berries are still on an upward growth path that it’s been on throughout my 30 years in the industry. Better quality fruit is driving demand, and people aren’t as fickle as we used to think.”

This is also leading to a greater share of online sales, he added. “Shoppers are confident it will be as good as last week’s.”

The group’s chief executive Jacqui Green said: “Our growers have continued to invest in season extension, both front and back, for which they are putting in biomass boilers, so enabling import substitution. They have also invested in labour saving, through structures and varieties.”

Brooks added on this: “We used to expect pickers to pick 15-80kg per hour. Now it’s more like 50kg – partly because modern varieties have a higher percentage of class-one. So when the government says, ‘make yourselves more productive’, we have done and continue to do so. But if you make a 10% productivity gain, you tend to grow 10% more and hope you can still get the same labour.”

Describing this year’s growing conditions as “turbulent”, he said: “We still see the effect of the ‘Beast from the East’ on raspberries. Growers have coped with the challenges, and indeed the hot weather has helped with demand.”

But labour availability remains “the overriding concern”, he said. “We are 15-20% low, and we have tended to see an exodus in August – that’s the real concern. Unfortunately the government has its hands over its ears, though it has confirmed it will continue to match EU fruit and vegetable funding until 2020, which has given us some certainty.”

Asked about reports of fruit left unpicked on farms due to the labour shortage, Brooks said: “Growers are proud people and don’t want to flash that up. But we have members who have left sizeable amounts of fruit.

“The concerning thing is that source of EU labour is drying up – Romania has less than 10% unemployment. The Home Office and Defra recognise the need, but Number 10 doesn’t see the need just yet. If we are to have a visa scheme, it needs to be in place now, given that the season is starting earlier and earlier.”

He added: “We are a world-class, competitive industry – people come from all over the world to see how we do it – and we have a near-perfect climate for it. We could be even bigger, but labour is the sticking point.”

Monsanto is warning growers, gardeners, grounds staff and grounds maintenance and amenity contractors to take action now to prevent herbicide resistance in the UK, after two plant families and six species were declared resistant in France.

Fleabane (horseweed) species Conyza bonariensis, Conyza canadensis and Conyza sumatrensis as well as ryegrass species Lolium rigidum, Lolium perenne and Lolium perenne var. multiflorum are all now resistant to glyphosate.

Most of the incidences of resistance have so far been as a result of spraying in perennial crop areas, such as nuts, citrus fruit, olives, apples and grapes. European growers have relied on glyphosate as a cheap and reliable herbicide across millions of hectares of crops, increasing the likelihood that resistance would develop, says Monsanto technical development manager Barrie Hunt.

“In Europe we ask them: ‘Have you thought of using cultural techniques?’ They look at you like you’re from Mars.” he adds.

“Over here we tend to be a bit different. So far, behaviour has been better. Growers mix in non-chemical methods and leave grass strips between crops. In Israel there have been instances of resistance in roadside vegetation because of an over-reliance on a single product.”

Hunt points out that in the UK those responsible for railways are very conscious of this and, working with Monsanto, have instituted programmes to prevent the same happening here.

However, that does not mean resistance could not happen in the UK. In fact, it already has. In the 1960s, annual broadleaf weed groundsel developed a resistance to the two main herbicides in use at the time — simazine and atrazine. “Resistance in the amenity sector is not unknown,” says Hunt.

“We don’t want to do it again and we need to be ensuring we keep it out of water. We have lost a lot of freedom because of water. If you are appropriately trained and you use the right equipment then you should be spraying in an effective way.”

Preventing resistance

Mixing herbicides is one way to prevent resistance, although there are few alternatives to glyphosate left available. Residual herbicides flazasulfuron chikara and diflufenican can be mixed with glyphosate in areas where you do not want regrowth, Hunt advises. Mixing ratios will depend on the vegetation and the result desired.

Unlike glyphosate, which is absorbed by the plant and gets to work then and there, residual products remain in the top layers of the soil and are broken down by soil microbes. “They are a different mode of action and come from different families,” says Hunt. “You’ve always got to think, what are your options?

“By mixing the different modes of action it means you are hitting weeds in different ways. If all you ever do is hit it with group G (glyphosate), we’re putting a massive selection process in these weeds to find the ones that are resistant to group G.”

While using mixes costs more, it may enable you to spray less, Hunt suggests. A spraying schedule in a typical season might be: early in the growing season (e.g. April/May); an optional spray in late June/July; and a final spray in August/September. But using a chikara and glyphosate mix will reduce germination and probably allow one spray to be removed in the summer, says Hunt. “The cheapest thing to do is spray some Roundup and not think. We want people to think,” he insists.

Non-chemical methods such as hot water, foam and wire brushes as well as traditional weeding also have their place at times, he adds.

When chemicals are used it is absolutely essential that they are applied at the optimal time during the growing season and when the weather is suitable. Currently during a long period of dry weather there is no point in spraying, says Hunt, because vegetation is closed up rather than growing.

Vital monitoring

The next step is monitoring, in all instances, he adds. “Whatever method of weed control people use, whether they are working on grounds or on parks or private areas, it’s vitally important that they monitor what they do.”

Glyphosate is not a fast-acting substance. He recommends waiting two weeks after spraying broadleaf weeds such as dandelion, chickweed and thistle, and a month for grasses before going back to assess progress.

He suggests checking the treated areas in the same scientific way glyphosate should be applied. If you have treated a small area you can check all of it, whereas if the area is large it might pay to choose some representative sample areas of different types of terrain.

“By assessing you should be able to find out a couple of things — have you had any issues and what are they,” says Hunt.

If sprayed areas have not been killed off, first check that the chemical has been applied correctly and that equipment is appropriately calibrated. If that is not the issue, can the weather have had an impact? Hunt says glyphosate should have penetrated broadleaf plants such as docks and thistles within an hour, but annual weeds need four-to-six hours of dry weather to be effective.

Some light showers three or four hours in, may not impact the herbicide’s effectiveness but heavy rain will wash it away. It is not acceptable to spray in the rain and nobody should do so, although Hunt says it still happens.

If you are certain that everything has been done correctly and the glyphosate should have worked but has not, contact your supplier, says Hunt. They will then likely get in touch with Monsanto. Hunt is often called on to investigate possible glyphosate resistance. He says it is very important to identify any loss of control early.

He adds that an effective monitoring programme is also useful in general as part of good herbicide application practice.

To read the original artcile, click here: https://goo.gl/aVrj1o

Three presentations in Parliament from the horticulture industry this spring and summer have summed up how the Government could help – by giving incentives to grow, creating a new seasonal workers scheme and supporting biosecurity and apprenticeships.

The ornamentals round table representatives presented at the first session in April, looking at import substitution and bio-security. At the second session, held at Parliament on 15 May, five academics specialising in horticulture, medicine, green space, science, robotics and plant health, plus industry participant Charles Carr of Hillier, discussed the future of horticulture science and innovation. The final meeting, on 11 July, discussed education and training.

As ever, the horticulture industry is seeking practical Parliamentary support to deliver joined-up thinking across departments to recognise, promote and fund aspects of the sector.

The loss of lobbyists Raoul Curtis-Machin of the HTA and Amy Gray from the NFU came during the process, but successors Sally Cullimore, Alastair Yeomans (both HTA) and Rupert Weaver (NFU) are stepping in.

The ornamentals round table was behind the agenda, and parliamentarians including Iain Liddell-Grainger MP, Lord Kirkwood, Baroness Fookes and Lord Framlingham heard much of the evidence presented. The All-Party Parliamentary Gardening & Horticulture Group will receive a report ahead of its annual parliamentary reception on 29 October.

Biosecurity can be improved through import substitution, but only if the horticulture industry is given incentives to build sustainable glass, introduce more mechanisation and improve skills, parliamentarians heard during the first session in April.

The then HTA horticulture director Raoul Curtis-Machin, Oakover Nurseries director Brian Fraser, Bordon Hill Nurseries/Ball Horticulture general manager Geoff Caesar and Defra assistant chief plant health officer Richard McIntosh answered questions on incentivising nursery production.

Curtis-Machin said hardy nursery stock imports and home production are both at £300m a year so there is scope for import substitution post-Brexit, given the right incentives.

Caesar said Ball imports 25-30% of its plants into the UK and Fraser said Oakover imports up to 10%. Caesar said the imports are needed because the nursery does not have enough space and he would like to see incentives to help growers expand sustainable production space. The industry wants to grow more in the UK but needs investment and time to build infrastructure, he added.

The Plant Health Assurance Scheme being trialled by the HTA would ensure traceability and hygiene and improve risk management of issues such as Xylella. Frictionless trade would also ensue.

On labour, Curtis-Machin said UK production skills are high but “what’s lacking is investment from Government”. The Government has a replacement seasonal agriculture workers scheme ready to go but Brexit is holding it up and “we are starting to see some [labour supply] concerns”, he added.

He said zoning areas for horticulture to smooth planning applications, help mechanisation, encourage efficiencies of infrastructure, labour and transport, and give confidence to expand would be welcome.

Fraser said confidence is key and he would like financial incentives in the form of direct capital grants, tax relief and support for training.

Caesar said the industry needs matched grant aid to achieve import substitution, sustainable facilities including solar cell biomass, automation to reduce reliance on foreign labour and water recycling.

Science and innovation

In the second session, held in May, on the future of horticulture science and innovation, RHS science director Professor Alastair Griffiths said horticulture as a whole, with Government support, could increase its contribution from £13bn to £18bn a year in a decade, but there is no “roadmap”, partly because of a lack of data.

One piece of research revealed during the inquiry was a £50,000 round table industry sizing data project run by Oxford Economics. This will give a better evidence base to Government so the industry can request research and development funding to expand post-Brexit. Import substitution could be worth £300m a year.

RHS plant health head Gerard Clover advocated the development of an industry/Government nursery investment incentive biosecurity scheme to enable improved innovation, and UK infrastructure, training and skills to increase in-country production and economic growth while reducing biosecurity risks.

Clover also wants the formation of a cross-sector governance group like the Biosecurity Ministerial Advisory Committee in New Zealand to ensure that biosecurity regulation is consistent and risk-based for everyone, including internet importers. He would also like compensation and/or insurance schemes.

Developing soft robotic technologies and techniques for robots to learn skills from demonstrations could help horticulture, but funding falls in between the remits of the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council and the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council.

Carr said innovation in infrastructure, automation, integrated pest management and mechanising is vital to compete with continental imports. Applied research and development is required to replace southern hemisphere early-season young plant production, he added.

Educating and training

In the final session, issues of educating, training and securing a future workforce were presented to parliamentarians by industry figures including John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance managing director Matt O’Conner, Tivoli/National Contracting Forum’s Phil Jones, plus NFU, BALI, RHS, college and consultant representatives.

AHDB Horticulture board member and Binsted Nurseries director Martin Emmett said official careers guides give poor perceptions of horticulture. The National Careers Service guide “is fundamentally incorrect” when it lists agri-tech salaries at £25,000 and skilled horticulturalists at £19,000 alongside possible IT salaries of £40,000.

He said the ornamentals round table and AHDB are surveying skills requirements in the sector to help give evidence about what training is required. Oxford Economics and Pye Tait Consulting are also surveying landscaping skills shortages.

O’Conner suggested additions to trailblazer apprenticeships for skills such as machine operation, tractor driving, dry stone walling, mower driving, brush cutter operation, excavating and paving.

He also suggested that apprenticeship levy money should be given to help students with travel and accommodation. The levy only applies to 2% of sector employers and there is “growing concern” about small businesses’ apprenticeship funding, he added.

NFU horticulture adviser Lee Abbey demanded that the Government establish a seasonal worker scheme for recruiting non-seasonal workers.

To read the original article, click here: https://goo.gl/Hd3xhr

The All-Party Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture Group (APPGHG) inquiry into the future of the garden and horticulture industry will meet for a third and final time on 11 July at the Houses of Parliament.

Earlier in 2018, the APPGHG launched an inquiry into the big issues facing the garden and horticulture industry and what is needed from Government to secure the sector’s future post-Brexit. The Group is holding its third and final evidence session to question high-level industry experts on the issues of educating, training and securing a future workforce.

The garden and horticulture industry provides excellent opportunities for young people to gain highly technical skills and embark on successful careers. The sector offers a number of highly-skilled pathways, including garden design and landscape architecture, grounds and estate management, production horticulture, Arboriculture and soil science. However, the sector is often perceived to be a career route for low achievers and is working to challenge perceptions and attract a new generation of talent.

There is also a risk that Brexit will exacerbate the skills gap and the industry is already experiencing a marked drop in the availability of seasonal workers.

The session will explore how the garden and horticulture industry can better promote career pathways and what Government action is required to educate, train and secure the sector’s future workforce post-Brexit.

The report that collects the evidence from the session will launch on 29 October at the APPGHG annual reception.

Read the full original article here: https://goo.gl/AFg3XL

Future farm payments should be used to encourage arable farmers to diversify into horticulture in a bid to reduce trade deficits and encourage healthier eating, claims an expert in rural policy.

Michael Winter, professor of land economy and society at Exeter University said the UK faced a diet-related health crisis unless more was done to encourage people to make better food choices.

But he said responding to the country’s nutritional needs could help improve the country’s health and offer farmers new business opportunities, provided they were given support to adapt their operations.

Delivering the inaugural Nuffield Farming Lecture in London, Professor Winter said previous farm policies had become too focused on encouraging farmers to produce commodities.

“We need to deliver a strategy that’s about food and nutrition, as well as farming and environmental policy,” he told delegates.

“For farmers, this means more attention should be paid to the nutritional content of their products, on top of traditional concerns of safety, quality and provenance.”

To help farmers deliver on these nutritional goals, Prof Winter said it was vital they were properly supported through Brexit, and helped to respond to market opportunities.

He said horticulture could be a particular area for growth, given the multi-billion pound deficit the UK has in fruit and vegetable production and trade.

Looking at the food gap, horticultural production has to be at least trebled, which means farmers can move with a degree of confidence into that area. However they will need help. I’m not suggesting we go back to subsiding production, but we could have a new conversion scheme for horticulture to help arable farmers buy the new infrastructure they would need.

Defra has published a ‘tree health resilience strategy’ setting out its measures to try and stop diseases such as Xylella.

Proposals to consult industry on new quarantine arrangements for high-risk plants are among the measures set out in the Government’s new plan to protect UK trees.

Quarantine is used by some horticulture businesses as part of biosecurity measures against high-risk species. Defra wants to look into broadening this after consulting with industry.

The Tree Health Resilience Strategy, a publication stemming from the 25-Year Environment Plan, sets out a new proactive approach to tree health, with “landowners, charities, the public and government working together to take actions to build resilience against pests and diseases to protect UK trees”. Defra says UK trees are worth £175billion.

The cross-industry Plant Health Alliance to strengthen biosecurity and including nurseries, retailers, tree suppliers, landscapers, foresters, the RHS and Defra held its second meeting this week, at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Speaking at the show, Defra secretary of state Michael Gove said: “The UK has a global reputation for setting the high standards for biosecurity of plants and trees but there is no room for complacency. We must seize every opportunity offered by Brexit to strengthen our biosecurity.
“In 10 years’ time I want to be able to say our oaks are thriving, that pests are being kept at bay and that our woodlands and forests are flourishing.

“Trees benefit our economy, society and wellbeing significantly and this strategy sets out how we will preserve them for generations to come.”

The Strategy also includes:

Launching the ‘Don’t Risk It’ campaign this summer to raise awareness of the risks of bringing back plant materials from holiday destinations

Consulting with industry on contingency plans for key threats to our trees and plants to ensure a swift and effective response should new pests and diseases enter the UK Strengthening protection against Xylella – maintaining continuous scrutiny of the risk situation and taking measures to maintain the strongest possible controls

Building knowledge and awareness of threats to trees to ensure accurate and up to date information

Working in partnership with the sector to drive up biosecurity standards through assurance and safe sourcing

Exploring strengthening of public procurement strategies to specify safe sourcing, and

Reviewing passenger baggage allowance for regulated plant material to assess whether it should be discontinued.

Christine Reid, Head of Conservation for the Woodland Trust, said: “The Woodland Trust welcomes this strategy. It is an important step in coordinating the UK’s efforts to combat tree pests and diseases; we rely on our beloved trees, yet they are facing too many threats.

“We need an effective biosecurity strategy, we need to plant more UK-sourced trees, and we need to develop the forestry sector. With the necessary knowledge, skills and capacity, we can ensure a healthy, resilient tree population.

“This strategy outlines the key steps required, and has brought together the sector charged with making this happen.”

Sir Harry Studholme, Chair of the Forestry Commission said: “Publishing this strategy is a critical milestone in our ongoing work to safeguard England’s trees. It provides clear direction on how we can work collaboratively across sectors, to combat tree pests and diseases, to protect our beloved forests and woodlands for not only our current generation but for the future.”

To read the original article, click here: https://goo.gl/3TLhS7