As 2023 draws to an end, they won’t be many growers who are sad to see the back of an extremely challenging year for all sectors has been.
In the new year, field vegetable growers will be hoping for improved weather, as this season has been dominated by wet weather, which challenged both crop establishment in the spring and continues to cause issues with harvesting through the winter. The legacy of sodden fields and damaged soils is likely to run well into next year, although weather low availability will result in higher prices remains to be seen.
Fruit growers are not alone in struggling with high input costs and low prices, and the latter recently came to a head in recent comments by retailer representative the BRC and British Berry Growers. Retail support for British top fruit has also been mixed, although Lidl has consistently out-performed its rivals in selling this year’s crop of super-juice fruit.
Although energy costs have fallen back this year, many greenhouse growers have continued to struggle with input costs, particularly those with older facilities. However, there has also been signs that for projects able to tap into alternative energy sources, the future is bright with new glass announced by developers and phase two of Dyson’s strawberry greenhouse in Lincolnshire coming online just in time for Christmas.
One issue which continues to affect all sectors is labour, and John Shropshire’s review, published in the summer, made many sensible suggestions. However, comments and policy suggestions from the new Home Secretary suggest that the government will continue to favour rhetoric over factual analysis and will look to further restrict legal migration in an attempt to compensate for its inability to stop small boats crossing the channel. In some areas robotics are starting to become a reality, but there is still a long way to go.
2023 has also seen horticulture receive more political attention, with the publication of a number of reports, perhaps the most important of which is the one from the House of Lord’s Horticulture Committee. However, despite the increased attention, there has been little sign that those in power are listening to many of the recommendations.
Despite the many challenges, growers have shown their resilience and everyone at the HortNews team would like to wish all our readers a very happy and prosperous new year.