WHAT WAS SAID AT THE NFU NORTH EAST HORTICULTURAL CONFERENCE THIS WEEK ?

Yesterday, I was asked to speak at this event - mainly about the work we have done a few months ago on behalf of the NFU on the impact of cost inflation in the horticultural supply chain. 

This event was held at Stockbridge Technology Centre and was attended by around 40 growers and packers from across the NE region.

I was in good company - the other speakers for the session included:

•  NFU National Chair, Martin Emmett
• NFU Chief Horticulture Adviser, Lee Abbey
• North East Horticulture & Potatoes Chair & Managing Director of MH Poskitt Ltd, Guy Poskitt
• NFU Potato Forum & Next Generation member, Alastair Heath
• NFU Energy Business Development Manager, Kris Mohindra

 I found listening to the other speakers really interesting. To me, some of the key take home messages were:

• we are seeing a period of extreme industry/market volatility, not experienced for some 40 years or so. Producers are operating in a very challenging environment
• the Promar report, I am pleased to say, was referred to on a number of occasions and is seen as an important piece of work
• the Net Zero ambition of the NFU by 2040 is very ambitious, and quite rightly so. The NFU also needs to ensure that the horticultural sector is fully involved in ELMS work going forward
• the current seasonal workers scheme was not fully agreed until December of last year, but there is some sense of “better late than never” and it has now been agreed for 3 years. Problems in processing visa applications though, especially for Ukrainians, means though there is still an unwelcome bottle neck and for the additional 10,000 places agreed, it is vital that there are no further delays
• there are on going discussions with the DWP on the employment of local labour, but there are still issues with both the typical  location of work and the motivation for it, not least, with such low levels of unemployment
• there is a need to upskill the horticultural work force going forwards and the NFU would like to see funding previously available for POs accessible to individual businesses and extended to potatoes and ONS
• if the sort of cost increases being seen, are not passed on to customers, then some growers will cut production in the future, maybe reduce the number of SKUs being provided and/or in extreme circumstances, will stop production altogether
• there is a need for growers to understand more about their own costs of production. In some cases, they need to get better training on how to deal with supermarket customers and be able to explain to them why cost increases are justified – but no one is interested in hearing from “moaning farmers”. The NFU can help with this training
• UK government policy appears to be giving off mixed messages: on one hand, encouraging local production, but in another way, opening up the UK market to increased competition, from the EU, US, Canada, India and Oceania suppliers
• price for retailers is still key, but so is the actual availability of produce, but the concept of provenance is probably more important to some types of consumers than others. In the next 12  - 18 months, the subject of food security will come very much to the fore
• many growers have been geared up to supplying the leading retailers, but should also think about other opportunities, in areas such as foodservice, the wholesale sector and in some cases, direct selling to consumers
• volatility in the price of electricity is often being driven by demand for this from China, as it looks to reduce its dependence on coal. Growers can make more use of the flexible contracts now available for utilities, as opposed to just settling for fixed price agreements. The NFU Energy team has lots of expertise to offer here on both conventional energy supply and the development of alternatives. These can reduce costs and emissions alike
• contracts between suppliers and customers are important – but only if they are “good” ones
• input prices, especially for fertilisers, might well stay high for the next 2 – 3 years, unless a resolution to the situation in the Ukraine is found soon

 All in all - a very good session, to my mind. Good speakers, with interesting messages to share, a good farmer turn out  and held at an interesting location. And sausage rolls at lunch to die for ! What more could you want ?  Well done to Charlotte Middlebrook and her team, for organising such a good event.

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John is a Divisional Director with Promar International, the value chain consulting arm of Genus plc. He has worked on horticultural  and other agri food projects all round the UK, as well as in 60 other countries, including Kenya, Chile, Peru, NZ, SA, the US, Turkey, Ireland, France, Spain,  Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. He is also Chair of the annual City Food & Drink Lecture & a Visiting Fellow at the University of Reading.