THECOMMERCIALGREENHOUSEGROWER
•
JANUARY 2017
20
•
S
ALADS
there has been a decrease of
approximately 61% in the
number of hectares in theUK
devoted to cucumber
production and a 13% loss of
area alone since 2009. UK
growers have been unable to
address inefficient production
methods due to the
pressures of the prevailing
economic climate and strong
downward pressure on retail
prices for cucumbers. Thanet
Earth is confident that ‘there
is still a strong demand for
the product, but it has to be
grown in themost efficient of
settings for production to be
economically viable.”
By linking grower, packer
andmarketeer in one entity at
Thanet Earth it says it has
created a ‘compelling
customer position’ that works
for all partners in the ‘very
short chain from greenhouse
to store’.
The structure itself is 6.35ha
and leadingDutch
manufacturer, VanDer
Hoeven, has been at the
centre of the project and has
been responsible for
designing and constructing
the new structure and
overseeing the technology
used inside.
According toRob James,
Technical Director at Thanet
Earth, it was important that
this project captured the
company’s ambition to drive
forward combining
sustainable principleswith
high volume techniques and
production. “We are confident
we can start to reverse the
decline in cucumber
production in theUK by using
this new glasshouse in the
future but for now the focus is
on producing the best quality
tomatoeswe can,” he tells
TheCommercial Greenhouse
Grower.
The new facilitywill also help
create 50 new full time and
seasonal jobs at the site. The
company also runs its Thanet
EarthDiscovery Fellowship,
an opportunity for two
students towork for eight
months in the business
supported by training and
development and learning at
Kent basedHadlowCollege.
These two students are
taskedwithmanaging the
‘Discovery’ greenhouses at
HadlowCollege on behalf of
the company-working to
assess trial varieties of
tomatoes and peppers. The
company says that to
conduct early variety trials on
a big enough scale in its
commercial greenhouses on
sitewould significantly
compromises day-to-day
work activities.
“It is great that we have the
opportunity to pass on our
knowledge and advice to
future generations of
horticultural managers in this
way,” saysMr James. “The
students haveworked as
hard as possible to learn as
much as possible about the
industry, about themselves as
futuremanagers and how to
be successful at what they do
andwe are happy to support
this scheme for a fifth year
and look forward to
welcomingmore students in
the future,” he adds. Thanet
Earth has alwaysmade the
employment of local people a
priority. “We have tried, where
possible, to take on local
people.We have had to
‘grow our own’ to get the
best people and to keep
those people. But what we
have also realised over the
years as the technologywe
use in the business getsmore
advanced, is that we also
need peoplewith different
skill sets.We need scientists,
technical people, sales
people, marketeers-awhole
different range of skills set to
make our businesswork as
effectively as possible.”
Thanet Earth’s new
glasshousewill make use of
rainwater capture and
biological pest control to
maintain the site’s top tier
environmental credentials. All
water collected-whether
rainwater or re-circulated
water from the glasshouse
will be filtered and sterilised
before use. It will also
increase the electricity
generating capacity of the
site overall to 24MW –
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The company also runs itsThanet EarthDiscovery
Fellowship, an opportunity for two students towork for
eightmonths in the business supported by training and
development.
