13 minute read
SARAH CALCUTT
RETAILER BRIEFING
Friday 14 May saw the delivery of the 2021 retailer briefi ng by British Apples and Pears. The panel consisted of James Simpson, Ben Bardsley and Tony Harding on the grower side, Professor Louise Manning of the Royal Agricultural University sharing sustainability insights and yours truly in the hot seat sharing insights into the planned PR campaign and the work of British Apples and Pears.
It was a good thing we had the voice of Farming Today, Charlotte Smith, in the chair to keep us in order.
I was pleased with the way it went. Our job was to discuss the critical issues facing British top fruit growers and the strides they are taking in becoming a world leading sustainable industry, delivering a world class product.
Historically, a briefi ng was held as part of the season launch campaign in October; a few years ago we realised that this just wasn’t delivering as it was too late to infl uence retailer PR and promotional plans.
As a result we now have two events – a May briefi ng where growers and retail representatives get together and share what the campaign has delivered, what it has planned for the year in hand and some insight into the work going on in orchards and in packhouses and the season launch event starting on 4 October this year and with a week of activities planned to promote the crop and drive sales.
SARAH CALCUTT
Executive Chair, National Fruit Show
This October event is now very much focused towards the consumer press and media, putting the message about great British apples and pears in front of as many consumers as possible, helping them make the sensible decision that there is nothing better than homegrown, healthy, fruit.
The May event is important. Both members and retailers have the opportunity to let us know what they need and how we can best help them. I shared data on market share vs British top fruit sales. There is a segment of the high street that signifi cantly over-indexes with sales of homegrown fruit and equally there are areas where we would dearly love to increase our work, helping sell more British fruit as opposed to fruit that has travelled much further.
The campaign is going to make a substantial investment this season in helping consumers fi nd packs of British top fruit. This will include all ranges, especially those that have a choice of varieties.
We are commissioning a series of ‘dark adverts’ that are visible only to the intended target group, with their delivery informed by previous search choices and accounts already followed. That way we can show a Tesco, Sainsburys, Co-op, or Lidl customer where to fi nd British fruit both in store and online, what the packaging looks like and how to see who the grower is, helping bring consumers right to the shelf and make the right choices.
Our sustainability report will be at the heart of messaging this season, demonstrating to consumers, retailers and decision makers how homegrown is the better choice for health and for the environment.
We have two ambassadors, one of which is Raymond Blanc, back for a second year, championing the great taste and fl avour of British apples and pears. We have case studies detailing all elements of production, from IPM to robotics, from one of the smallest growers in the association to one of the largest.
British apples and pears are going to be on as many TV sets as possible; from consumer to cooking shows, they will all feature homegrown fruit if we get our way. We have some great photography booked in too, gaining interest through showing the beauty of a British orchard.
Our social media strategy has input from both the ambassadors (including an Instagram take over live from an orchard), some great video, infographics, infl uencer content – essentially all driving hard to ensure that we maintain the current 55:1 return on the grower’s investment in the work of British Apples and Pears.
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WELCOMED Better people Kent grower AC Goatham & Son has welcomed the Government’s announcement of a new UK-India trade deal that will see restrictions Best placed
lifted and enable fruit producers in the UK to export British apples and
pears to India. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the trade and investment deal with India was worth £1bn, would create about 6,000 jobs and would “pave the way” for a SEASONAL LABOUR future Free Trade Agreement which the two governments are expected to start negotiating this autumn. Trade Secretary Liz Truss confirmed that the deal would boost access to India for producers of British fruit, amongst other things, leading Ross Goatham, managing director at AC Goatham & Son, to describe it as “an exciting opportunity for our business”. He explained: “As we grow and supply the best quality British apples and PLACEMENT ag recruitment.eu|01227 806 789 pears direct to supermarket customers, controlling every step in the process from the trees in the ground to delivery in our own vehicles, it is very easy for us to explore new overseas markets and the potential that new trade deals present. “Our significant programme of investment in our business over the past ten-plus years, from developing new varieties through to cold storage and packing technology, means we have an increasing volume of our own fruit and the capacity for handling and storage, plus that of our 20 partner growers. “Export is something that we have already successfully trialled to the Middle East and we look forward to opening discussions with interested parties in India.”
The non-tariff barriers on fruit export to India will also help boost UK jobs and growth in the top fruit sector, and with a population larger than both the EU and US combined, the Indian market of 1.4 billion people presents a significant opportunity for the South East’s growers.
The UK is no stranger to innovation in the agriculture industry, having led the agricultural revolution of the 18th century. The UK has been at the forefront of farming practices and equipment development, including the introduction of crop rotations and horse-drawn seed presses to other parts of the world. We are also leaders when it comes to agricultural output; over 70% of land in the UK is used for agriculture, an industry valued at £26 billion, representing over 7% of Europe’s total agriculture market.
Agri-Tech refers to the development and application of technology and technological innovation to improve the efficiency and output of agriculture. It boosts the efficiency of production, increases crop yield and drives profits in the sector. Technology and data can create opportunities and help solve problems with production, traceability, and the preservation of scarce natural resources. Despite its traditional image, agriculture is adopting new mechanical and robotic innovations, cloud utilisation, big data, and web-based solutions, to mention just a few, to increase productivity while protecting our environment.
HMRC’s R&D Tax Credit Scheme enables innovative SME’s to access tax relief and cash credits to further invest in their research, or indeed help fund working capital. To qualify for R&D Tax Relief a project must seek to make an appreciable improvement in its field in order to resolve a ‘scientific or technological uncertainty’. The tax relief can be worth up to 33% of the amounts invested in R&D.
Azets is a one of the UK’s leading advisors to the agricultural sector and we see growing opportunities for our farming and agriculturalbased clients to take advantage of the tax relief as new technologies evolve. Tim Croft, Head of R&D for Azets said: “Farming and the agricultural sector is at the heart of what the R&D Tax Relief legislation was designed for. Investment and innovation in AgriTech is so important in a world that is increasingly reliant on technology and smart solutions, and those who don’t adapt may find themselves left behind. I would urge any businesses in the sector developing new concepts and processes, or seeking to improve upon existing technologies, to come and speak to us”.
Some areas in which our R&D teams have seen innovation being undertaken include: • Drone technology, satellite photography and sensors • Phase tracking • Automated irrigation • Intelligent software analysis for pest and disease prediction and soil management • Biotech • Livestock maintenance technology • Manufacturing and tooling innovation • Food processing tools
AGRI-TECH – THE RECIPE
FOR GROWTH
• Packaging and distribution • Vertical and Smart Farming • Back office software
SOME EXAMPLES: MONITORING TECHNIQUES
Continual analysis and monitoring of conditions on the farmland, using real-time data, enables farmers to make swift and proactive decisions. Sensor technology is evolving to enable variables such as water, light, humidity, moisture and soil acidity to be kept under constant review. Animal farming continues to make better use of microchips to monitor behaviours of livestock.
Data analytical techniques are utilised by specialist software, combining empirical data with live information to enable farmers to make optimal decisions, drive efficiencies and reduce wastage and crop disease.
ROBOTICS AND AI
Agribots are already used by farmers to take over many manual tasks, reducing physical effort, enabling crucial savings in labour costs and precision timing of tasks which would otherwise rely on human intervention. This may include the nourishment and harvesting of crops, or indeed self-driving tractors and machinery. Machinery can be programmed and “trained” using Artificial Intelligence to repeat tasks and learn from failures. Ever improving drone technology can be deployed for many purposes, such as early identification of crop disease, enabling farmers to take swift remedial action to save the farm significant financial loss. Use of GPS technology is increasingly utilised to ensure maximum efficiencies in the routing of machinery and resulting in reduced fuel wastage and crop damage.
SMART FARMING
Land is an increasingly scarce resource, and a big area of Agri-Tech is Vertical Farming, the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers. It frequently incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimise plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics.
Common choices of structures to house vertical farming systems include buildings, shipping containers, tunnels, and abandoned mine shafts. The process works particularly well in urban environments, using only a fraction of the water required in a field, utilising LED lights and enabling easy transportation of food and other consumables.
UNDERSTANDING THE OPPORTUNITIES
The agriculture sector has been at the forefront of the development of new technologies, processes and machinery. However it has become clear that the industry is not obtaining maximum benefit from Research and Development Tax Credits.
The latest set of HMRC statistics, published in September 2020, show that the agriculture sector is only responsible for 1% of R&D claims, with 620 annual claims being made, representing £30m of tax relief in total – an average of £48,300 tax value per claim. Across all sectors there were 59,000 claims at an average of £89,700 tax value.
This is in the context of a sector which contributes £10.4 billion to the UK’s economy (in Gross Value Added) and employs over 475,000 people.
We believe that R&D tax relief is significantly underpromoted within the agricultural community, in particular Agri-Tech, and there are significant untapped opportunities.
CLAIRE PARRY
Partner, Accounts and Business Advisory Services
T: 01227 454 861 E: hello@azets.co.uk
www.azets.co.uk
beyond to ensure students are exposed to the latest cutting edge technologies, including robotics in the dairy and a brand new state of the art high welfare and RSPCA assured pig unit. Coupled with this, the college’s new farm shop and café open in Brighton this summer, providing the perfect opportunity to demonstrate and educate STUDENTS ACHIEVE students in every aspect of the supply chain relating to British produce. So whether your area of expertise is livestock, arable, machinery or agri-business, we’d like to hear from you. PROGRESSIONFind out more & apply: plumpton.ac.uk/our-college/vacancies
Alan Johnson, Curriculum Manager, reports from Plumpton College in the third of a new series in which South East Farmer hears from students.
Plumpton College’s agricultural staff are proud of their student’s progression and achievements, which is a direct result of the educational experiences they give their students.
“We are able to illustrate student success routinely – in prospectuses, at student award ceremonies, at staff meetings, in mission statements – and it is not uncommon for students, staff, and alumni to be able to recount the outstanding progress students make during their time at the college that leads onto amazing job opportunities,” explained Alan Johnson, curriculum manager. “They provide a sort of compass that orients us toward the core values of our college.
“I am particularly mindful of the progression our students achieve as we are nearing the end of the academic year and the opportunities they have for the future due to their success in college.”
Here are the student diaries for the last month:
ISAAC ADAMS
Over the past month I have been working on my work experience placement, taking advantage of the opportunity while on my Easter break from college. As a part of my level 3 course, I have to complete work experience hours. I have been very lucky to find a placement on a suckler beef farm that focuses on rearing high quality finished and store cattle. This has allowed me to have a very wide and varied experience as I work towards completing my first year at college. The time has flown by and I have learnt so much.
Work experience is invaluable and helps to ensure that students are able to put the all-important theory into practice. I am very much looking forward to my middle year, when I will be based in industry developing my practical skills further, which is very important as I am not from a farming family.
While working at my placement I have gained a wide range of stockmanship skills and become more confident when operating machinery. For me, being able to have one day a week in industry has really helped me and has enabled me to use, and apply, what I have learnt in class on a working farm.
FAYE PIERCE
March and April have been a busy couple of months for me. It began with assisting with lambing here at Plumpton College, which was a whole new experience for me as I had never lambed indoors before.
College lambing routines gave me the tools to prepare myself for my work placement on Romney Marsh, at a farm lambing 800 ewes indoors, and I was able to apply the knowledge I gained at college directly into the workplace. On completion of my time at that placement I finally went to help on our family farm, lambing the last of our 1,250 Romney ewes outdoors.
I had very little knowledge of lambing before but I have learnt so much over the past month, particularly at college where the theory blends so well with the practical aspects. For example, the signs to look out for when a ewe is lambing include restlessness and pawing the ground, and quite often they will separate themselves from the flock.
The average time it takes for a ewe to lamb is 30 minutes, and in the vast majority of cases they lamb unassisted. However, nutrition and management, from tupping to late pregnancy, have a very important part to play.
