The UK has some of the oldest temperature records in the world, as Met Office records go back to 1659. Apparently, 2024 was the second warmest year, with the hottest June and joint hottest September on record, with temperatures reaching over 33C. No one can be surprised that average rainfall was also up, by 11% across the UK, but by more than 20% in England and Northern Ireland. Growers rise to the challenges every season, but extremes just add to the strain on fresh produce businesses.
Consumers got behind the ‘Get Fair About Farming’ campaign, triggering a parliamentary debate. However, when will there be any action to address the results of surveys of top- and soft-fruit growers demonstrating the gulf between costs and returns? As Nick Marston of British Berry Growers says, “Talk is cheap. Retailers are simply not paying our growers any more money and that is unsustainable. We are calling on retailers to take real action, listen to growers about their cost increases, and reward them for producing fresh berries in order for them to stay in business”.
WineGB believes that the 2023 grape harvest was the largest ever, 50% bigger than Britain’s previous record year in 2018. They have termed it a ‘miracle harvest’ set to produce an estimated 20-22 million bottles. Despite the lacklustre cool summer, the conditions throughout the year proved perfect for wine production, boosted by the late heat in September. Certainly, there were lots of cheerful visitors and a confident vibe at the third Vineyard & Winery Show which is reported in this issue. Viticulture represents a welcome injection of investment from outside horticulture, delivering a great boost for exhibitors at the end of a difficult year. It’s just a little ironic when production of a non-healthy product like wine looks so much more attractive than producing healthy fresh fruit.
A round up of NIAB soft-fruit research ends with an update from Glen Slade of BigSis. It’s encouraging to hear that harnessing the sterile insect technique (SIT) for SWD control has led to the company being named one of 25 ‘Startups to Watch’. The BigSis approach combines artificial intelligence and robotics to raise, sort and sterilise millions of male insects in an automated production facility, so allowing them to offer growers a cost-effective SWD control service to cover over 600ha by 2025.
The January issue also includes
- Horticulture growth under threat
- British able industry on a knife edge
- Biological solution winner for SWD
- Vineyard Show report
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