Environment Secretary Liz Truss recently visited Cornish brassica grower Riviera Produce, which grows over 5,000 acres of cauliflower, cabbages, broccoli and courgettes, where she was shown how GPS technology on a £100,000 tractor is helping growers.
Ms Truss commented, “It’s a really go-ahead operation and also really innovative. They are innovative first of all in the technology they use, with the satellite and GPS technology enabling them to look at the fields with different maps and see where to put the fertiliser.”
She added: “Riviera is a farm with a real awareness of what customers want to buy, but also using top-quality technology to do it in a really efficient way.”
David Simmons, managing director of Riviera Produce and representative of national brassica PR campaign Love Your Greens said, “With its precision technology, GPS has improved the quality of cauliflowers, broccoli and cabbages we grow, ensuring our customers get maximum satisfaction from our produce. It has transformed our farming business by improving precision of applications in the fields, which has led to reduced use of fertiliser and plant protection products with a more accurate application and faster planting times.”