Our takeaways from the Onion and Carrot conference

First of all, thank you to everyone who came and saw us at the Onion and Carrot Conference! Was great to see some new faces, and some familiar ones too! For those who couldn’t make it, we have compiled a brief recap of the days key talking points. 

The morning kicked off at around 9:30am with the opening remarks from the Chairman of the British Onion Producers Association, Time Elcombe. Introducing the main sponsors of the event, Bayer CropScience & Vegetables. 

The first big talking point, that very much became one of the themes of the conference, was sustainability and viability in the UK vegetable sector. NFU Vice President, David Exwood, talked in detail of the importance for ensuring the sector can reach a better outcome for the future of crop farming. The biggest issue for farmers, is reducing costs, to maintain some form of profit. The disparity between the “thought leaders” future ideology, and the reality for the short term of farming seemed to be misaligned. 

An interesting point was made during Joe Mann’s talk on young people in the fresh produce sector. Joe Mann, from the Queens College Taunton, talked on the importance of encouraging the next generation of farmers and growers. There is a concern that with current trends, there will be a lack of properly trained farm employees to fill demand. This is an issue we saw coming, and have been working with Hartpury College and University to increase familiarity with farm management software. Bringing more qualified youngsters up to speed with digital farming and data.  

Onion and Carrot conference Talks

One of the most poignant talks, came from Ged Futter, the Director of Retail Mind. The prices that were agreed at the start of the year have dramatically changed with the cost of energy. Where farm profits are razor thin, or non-existent. The talk “UK Retailers: Why do they make it so hard?” had some good points, but didn’t cut to the main issue. The cost to grow plants has gone up, so farmers need to find a way to grow more crops using less. One solution we have been working with is the KYMINASI PLANTS Crop Booster, which doesn’t require a direct power source.