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THECOMMERCIALGREENHOUSEGROWER • JANUARY 2017
Valefresco, and ornamental
plant producersHillier’s,
Neame LeaNursery and the
NeweyGroup, which owns
RoundstoneNurseries, are
among the protected crops
businesses to have put their
names to a letter to thePrime
Minister, TheresaMay, calling
for continued access to
seasonal andpermanent
labour fromboth inside and
outside the EUpost-Brexit.
Co-ordinatedby theUK’s
four farming unions, the letter,
signedby 75 agricultural and
horticultural organisations
including several
supermarkets, also seeks
assurances that EUworkers
alreadyworkingpermanently
in theUK are allowed to
remain. ‘This access to labour
is essential as it underpins the
UK food chain’s timely
delivery of high quality
affordable food to
consumers,’ it says.
The letter alsomakes clear
that tariff-free access to the
European singlemarket is ‘a
vital priority’ for farmers and
growers.
‘Uniquely, while being the
UK’s largestmanufacturing
sector, bigger than the
automotive and aerospace
sectors combined, our
economic reach spreads to
every parliamentary
constituency,’ the letter says,
‘As such’ a positive outcome
from theBrexit negotiation
shouldbenefit every corner of
theUK.’
Meanwhile, HomeSecretary
Amber Rudd has
acknowledged growers’ need
for seasonal workers, in a
House of Commons debate
on ‘unskilledmigration’ in
December.
Askedby independentMP
Michelle Thomson,
representingEdinburghWest,
to commit toprotecting
access for seasonal workers
from theEU, MsRudd said:
“We are aware how
necessary it will be to ensure
that we have some sort of
seasonal scheme in place,
andwe are looking very
carefully at it.”
theUK to improve plant
biosecurity. It gives access to
awide range of information
about plant health fromboth
government and non-
government sources,
including charities and
academic organisations
concernedwith protecting
plant health, like theRoyal
Horticultural Society.
Chief plant health officer
NicolaSpence
said: “Protecting our country
fromplant and tree diseases
is important for our economy,
environment and health. The
Plant HealthPortal meanswe
can share expertise and
Growers pressMay for
unbroken access to labour
ADASUK, the largest independent provider of agricultural and
environmental consultancy services, has been sold toRSK
Groupplc, an engineering and environmental consultancy,
which secured themovewith £10million of funding from
investors at theBusinessGrowth Fund.
The acquisition sees theADASbusiness, including about 300
employees located atmore than 15 sites across theUK, and
operating assets transfer to a new company, RSKADAS.
The company will be led by RSK commercial director Ian
Strudwick, whowill serve asmanaging director. “ADAS has an
impressive heritage and track record, and employs many
talentedanddedicatedpeople,” hesaid. “My focusover thenext
12months will be to ensure that ADAS staff have the support
theyneed tocontinueprovidinganexcellent service toall ADAS
andRSK’s clients.”
ADAS executive director AndrewWalker said the acquisition
was ‘very positive news’. “It brings together two organisations
that will, between them, offer an unrivalledbreadth of expertise
in the natural andbuilt environment,” he said.
ADAS started life as the government’s agricultural advisory
and research service andwas privatised in 1997. Since then it
has becomemore involved in environmental consulting and
ownedby various venture capital companies. It still plays a
major role in horticultural research and consultancy however,
andparticularly inAHDB-fundedprojects.
ADASUK Ltdwas the largest subsidiary of theADASGroup.
Its headoffice, atWoodthorne,Wolverhampton, was sold for
housing in 2013which, according to its latest published
accounts, for the year endingMarch 2014, ‘fundamentally
changed the group’s financial position’. Its composting facility,
Envar Composting, was disposedof earlier in 2016. The
company’s profit for 2014was £320,000 from net revenue of
£19million.
TheBusinessGrowth Fundwas established in 2011 to assist
the expansion plans of Britain’s small andmedium-sized
businesses. An independent company, it’s backedby five of
theUK’smain banking groups.
Growerswill have the
opportunity to access
improveddata on plant pest
anddiseases after the launch
of a newwebsite byDefra-
planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk.
ThePlant HealthPortal will
make it easier for
professionals to share and
use vital information on plant
pests anddiseases, unlocking
the power of data tobetter
assess threats anddetermine
actions to tackle them.
The portal was first proposed
in 2014’s Plant Biosecurity
Strategy for Great Britain,
which provided an overview
of activity takingplace across
Plant healthwebsite
ADAS bought by environmental
consultancy
Thanks
We’d like to thank all those of
youwho completed and
returned the recent Reader
SurveyQuestionnairewe sent
out. This is very useful in
helping us to understand the
profile andpreferences of those
who are reading themagazine.
It enables us to continue to
provide relevant editorial
content for our reader. The
winner of the cash prize draw
wasMr RichardMoss of
Quadring, Lincs.
Congratulations toMrMoss
and thanks once again to all
thosewho returned
questionnaires.
information easily and ensure
coordinated and effective
responses to threats from all
thosewhoworkwith plants.
“The portal is an important
tool in upholdinggood
biosecurity - andpart of the
£37millionwe are investing in
tree health research from
2012 to 2019 tobuild the
resilience of our trees and
plants.Whilewe can’t
eliminate all risks, we have
stringent plans todeal with
threats that are detected, and
thePortal will helpmake sure
we are up-to-date, well-
informed and effective.”
