•
BRASSICA CONFERENCE
•
THE
VEGETABLE
FARMER •
MARCH 2017
yield loss in the plant.”
He compared aphid pest
pressure in both 2015 (severe)
and 2016 (when caterpillar
pests weremore noticeable) but
said that evidence showed there
was a risk from virus infection
in both seasons. “Viruses are
also becoming an issue in
lettuces, but they aremostly
non-persistent so it’s really
about controlling the number
of aphids in the field,” he
added.
“Phytodrip is very accurate
with little variation in how
much is delivered to each cell,
even though less active is
applied thanwith other
applicationmethods (such as
the dummy pill previously
used). While there is less
product in the plant from using
Phytodrip, there are still
sufficient levels and enough
persistency to provide control,”
he added. “As the plant grows
it has a similar level of product
based on its size irrespective of
the cycle time involved.
Prevention is always better than
cure.”
In the afternoon Brexit was
again the key topic, this time
discussed by IanWright of the
Food & Drink Federation. As a
representative of the UK’s
largest manufacturing sector,
which, with a turnover of more
than £1 billion, is larger than
the aerospace and automotive
industries combined, he is used
to balancing the sometimes
different agendas of numerous
members and trade
associations. “The threemain
areas of concern for us are
labour, the regulatory
framework and trade deals,” he
explained. “The chances are
that we won’t see any single
trade deal completed in the
next three years or so. We also
employ 120,000workers from
Europe. 60 per cent of the
hospitality workers in London
come from Europe, with a
similar proportionworking in
care homes. About a third of
lorry drivers are European. I
think the Government has
finally accepted that they can’t
stack the system.”
When it comes to regulations,
Mr Wright warned of the
potential for NGOs and special
interest groups to undermine
competitiveness. “We have
three food standard agencies
for the UK and there is going to
be a lot of work tomaintain the
best aspects of what we have
and not add to the regulatory
burden,” he warned. “The
adoption of WTO tariffs would
wipe out many sectors of
industry, and on a practical
level, how do you get products
through customs without
holding them up?”
Looking ahead he believes
that the obesity strategy will
eventually encompass other
issues such as fat and salt
alongside sugar and that there
will be increased initiatives by
the industry to promote ethical
trading and healthy, quality
products. “We need to be
positioned as part of the
solution rather than part of the
problem,” he warned. “We
need a root and branch
rehabilitation of the [food]
industry. If we do not act
together we will undoubtedly
hang separately.”
One potential area to
highlight the industry’s ethics is
in how it treats its staff, and
how it supports and improves
their health in particular. Maria
Burke of Let’s Get Healthy is
passionate about the benefits
that exercise can have on
workers and, in turn, on
company efficiency and
performance. She works with
around 100 companies in
Europe, including G’s
Fresh, DHL, Sky, and
VirginMedia in the UK.
With an agingworkforce
the need to improve
output is greater than
ever, but she warned,
“You can’t go out and
tell people what to do.
Our challenge is to try to
get in people’s heads.”
For some, workplace-
based health initiatives
may seem unworkable or
over the top, but Maria
also pointed out they
present a bigger
opportunity to growers
than just their immediate
business performance.
“We are total
advocates of your
products,” she
exclaimed. “We eat lots of fruit
and veg. Your product helps to
reduce cholesterol and unlike
sugar your product doesn’t
depress dopamine. The
Department of Health hasn’t
been looking at your industry
but we need to share best
practice.”
18
Simon Jackson of Syngenta.
IanWright of the Food &Drink
Federation.
Themorning sessionwas chaired by Jack
Ward of British Growers.
