A group of agricultural universities has today (18 May) produced a research strategy which sets out new steps the institutions are taking to join up their research and strengthen the difference they make on the ground.  read more

MPs have expressed deep concern about how isolation, poor public transport and a relative lack of digital connectivity have contributed to poor mental health outcomes for all categories of people across rural communities in England, but especially among farm workers and vets.   read more

The Spanish federation of wooden lightweight packaging (Fedemco) presented its new sustainability seal at this week’s Global Tomato Congress in Rotterdam. The label is designed to facilitate compliance with new EU rules on packaging waste. read more

Bayer has celebrated the opening of a new quarantine facility dedicated to testing resistance to Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). read more

The future of British agriculture and domestic food security looks bright, the Defra minister for food, farming and fisheries told growers last week (11 May). read more

A word of advice: if you are ever invited to a midday meeting at UK foodservice supplier Fresh Direct, don’t eat lunch first. Or even breakfast. Hospitality – this journalist discovered on a recent visit to its Bicester HQ – is more than a customer base to the go-to produce wholesaler for
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An intensely powerful portrait, The Candy Man, by UK photographer Jon Enoch, has won the overall prize of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2023, the world’s leading celebration of the art of food photography and film. read more

As an MP proudly from a farming constituency - that I didn’t grow up in but came to love and know much more about - I know that farming is more than just a job, it’s a vocation, it’s a way of life. read more

World leading berry brand Driscoll’s celebrated its ten-year anniversary in the China market with a special banquet in Kunming Yunnan on 6th May. More than 300 guests including Yunnan government bodies, growers, clients and Driscoll’s executives attended the lavish event read more

Peak industry body Melons Australia will target opening access to emerging markets in South-East Asia as part of its strategy to grow its export share from 8 to 20 per cent over the next five years. read more

We can be more optimistic now about the challenge of feeding the world than would have seemed possible 30-40 years ago. read more

British organic food and farming body, the Soil Association, has urged participants in today’s (16 May) ‘food summit’ to be “bold in their thinking” and called on Defra to reinstate its commitment to a horticulture strategy in order to save the sector and bolster national food security. read more

Syngenta Vegetable Seeds has launched a ‘ToBRFV Resistant’ seal to indicate Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) resistant varieties. read more

A team of researchers from the University of Córdoba in Spain have made a major breakthrough in understanding what gives strawberries their characteristic red colour when ripe. read more

One of the biggest breakthroughs in tomato breeding this decade has been the ability to develop varieties that are resistant to ToBRFV,a highly destructive virus that was first discovered in Israel in 2014. Because it spread easily through mechanical transmission and has an incubation period of
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UK growers will benefit from a commitment to protect their interests in future trade deals, support to boost domestic fruit and veg production and new investment in technologies, says Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing a package of industry support ahead of the food summit hosted at
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Tomato suppliers across Europe face major challenges to their long-term sustainability from continued cost inflation, climate change, and new EU policies designed to protect the environment. read more

Linda Flegg, chair of NZ Avocado Growers’ Association has announced the resignation of New Zealand Avocado chief executive Jen Scoular after 12 years in the role. read more

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has announced the appointment of Jolyon Burnett as the next chair of the Horticulture Council. read more

US officials visited Chile last week to advance various matters related to the bilateral trade of fresh fruit. The topics discussed included US blueberry exports to Chile, the approval implementation process of the Systems Approach for Chilean table grapes, the application of irradiation
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