The NextGen fruit group recently visited California for its bi-annual international conference (representing the third event to be hosted outside of Europe) and witnessed a scale of fruit and vegetable production unrivalled in the UK.
The 53 delegates visited California, a state which produces over a third of the United States’ vegetables and nearly three-quarters of the country’s fruit and nuts, to learn how the group’s Californian grower counterparts are dealing with the challenges associated with a strong reliance on migrant labour, climate change and extreme weather conditions.
During the seven-day conference, NextGen fruit members were hosted by 14 different businesses on a road trip that covered 900 miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Crops and production visits varied from Driscoll’s 500-hectare organic strawberry production to a small-scale peach and plum grower; from inner city vertically farmed lettuce to rolling hills and the regenerative vineyards of a family winery; and from large scale prepared salad production to indoor grown cannabis. The UK growers also had an opportunity to find out about the Californian approach to automation and a chance to view the state’s transition to adopting advanced automation, robotics and AI solutions.
Commenting on the event, outgoing chairman, Oli Pascall, managing director Clock House Farm said, “The aim of this trip was to gain valuable insight into the excellent farming protocols intrinsic to California’s successful crop production track record, and to see what practices can be replicated to benefit and enhance fruit farming in the UK. We are grateful for the generosity displayed to us by our American hosts as well as the support of NextGen’s UK partners and supporters, without whom this international trip would not have been possible.”
The return from the States also heralded a handover to a new committee, chaired by Alana Deacon, Head of Operations at Hall Hunter who said, “I’m really excited to take on the mantle of leadership from the current committee, whose sterling work and superb organisation over the last two years has resulted in the delivery of a range of very successful events.”
