Barfoots of Botley Limited

English Growers' ability to obtain the large seasonal (75,000 strong)(5) workforce to harvest field vegetables has been severely impacted by Covid-19, Brexit and declining migrant worker availability across Europe(10). Domestic labour ('Pick for Britain') cannot replace the need(11). As price-takers with low margins, growers cannot profitably offer higher...

**Growers' ability to obtain the large seasonal (75,000 strong)(5) workforce to harvest field vegetables has been severely impacted by Covid-19, Brexit and declining migrant worker availability across Europe(10).** **Domestic labour ('Pick for Britain') cannot replace the need(11). As price takers with low margins, growers cannot profitably offer higher w...

Growers' ability to obtain large **seasonal workforces** to harvest field vegetables has been severely impacted by Covid-19, Brexit and declining migrant **worker availability** across Europe(4). English agriculture needs an alternative to the annual 75,000 migrant harvest labourers(5). Domestic labour does not provide a solution: very few 'Pick for Brita...

Cultivating high-value vegetables for both national consumption and export have been shown to generate substantive positive socio-economic impacts whilst also contributing to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The transformation of agriculture towards export-orientated production can also enhance the livelihoods of smallholder farming communi...

Anaerobic digestion (AD) of biowaste is becoming an increasingly popular means of recycling unwanted materials to generate both energy (in the form of biogas/electricity) & reusable materials (fertilisers). In the UK, the number of AD plants has increased dramatically since 2013, from 106 to 246 plants. However a major problem faced by entire sector is de...

Providing sufficient food to feed an increasing global population is challenging given limited resources. Soil is a key component of food production providing nutrition and organic matter. However, modern methods of crop production have resulted in degraded soil leading to reduced yields. This contributes to the so-called yield gap, the difference between...

"Anaerobic digestion (AD) of biowaste is an increasingly popular means of recycling organic materials to generate energy (biogas) & fertilisers. However, handling of the liquid digestate by-product of AD has been identified as a problem due to strict regulations; digestate has high biochemical & chemical oxygen demand, which can cause eutrophication. As 8...

Cold plasma is an exciting new technology with a proven potential for rapid microbial decontamination of surfaces. A plasma state is generated by applying a high voltage to a gas, transforming it into a cocktail of reactive plasma species which may have high oxidation potential and therefore considerable food decontamination potential. Prepared produce de...

MACK Multiples Ltd. and Onnic International Ltd. have joined forces to develop an ozone generating, point delivery system that will work effectively, in container shepments of fresh produce, to reduce ethylene promoted and microbial spoilage waste. The interval between loading and discharge can range from 20 to 50 days, with the shipments subject to level...