Agronomy might be one of the less glamorous areas of the fast-moving fresh produce industry on paper, but it is undoubtedly one of the most important. A vital cog in the production machine, without good technical advice growers would struggle to meet the exacting demands of the modern market.
One particular agronomy team believes it has the answer to a wide range of industry needs. Produce Solutions is a division of Greenvale owner Produce Investments (PI) and was established three years ago. Greenvale has had an agronomy team for many years, providing consultancy work both for the company’s potato growers and those in the wider industry. But now, with its own staff and budget, Produce Solutions hopes to be able to put even more focus on the challenges facing potato growers and offer up practical solutions that will increase and protect yields of high-quality crops across the country.
According to business unit manager James Lee, the company has a key point of difference from other agronomy consultants. “We are embedded within the potato supply chain, we have a good understanding of the production of potatoes from the field right through to our customer’s shelves or our processing customer’s plants. All of our customers have individual needs and we have the depth of experience to be able to adapt solutions to meet their challenges. That makes us fairly unique,” he says.
There are currently four agronomists in the team in East Anglia, and a further three in the West Midlands as well as a trials agronomist. The business undertakes a wide range of technical and agronomic services, from soil sampling and seed selection to nutrient management, irrigation advice, on-farm quality control and more.
It all underlines what Lee says is the crucial role agronomy plays beyond merely crop protection. “Lots of people in crop protection see themselves as agronomists, whereas I see crop protection as just one part of it,” he explains. “A big part of agronomy is actually getting the optimum yield in the first place.”
Lee admits that some people might see the company’s relationship with Greenvale as a positive and others may not, but with around a third of Produce Solutions’ agronomy clients “not fully embedded in Greenvale’s supply chain,” it suggests its work is resonating beyond its core audience.
Expanding its range of activities, Produce Solutions has begun carrying out external trials for the likes of Bayer, Belchim and BASF, with its knowledge of the potato sector giving it an edge over the competition. “A lot of trials companies are focused on combinable crops, and potatoes are a bit outside their comfort zone,” says Lee.
The potato industry is facing a number of challenges at present, not least from potato cyst nematode (PCN) and new strains of blight such as E37, as well as the question of how to ensure potatoes get from store to the market in the best condition possible.
In the case of the latter, a key product that the business works with is Restrain, a technology that uses natural ethylene gas for controlling sprouting on potatoes and onions in storage. Currently over 700,000 tonnes of potatoes and 200,000 tonnes of onions are stored using the Restrain system, which was originally developed in partnership with Greenvale and has been growing in scale since its launch back in 2003.
Restrain, which uses a generator in stores to disperse residue-free ethylene and prevent potatoes from sprouting, is now sold in 36 countries. It is even gaining a foothold beyond its core products, with tomato suppliers starting to trial it to ripen crops at the end of the season. Produce Solutions also sells PCN biocontrol DeCyst and is hoping to secure a further biofumigant to sell alongside. That could include the team coming up with its own blend, and the company is working with a researcher who is producing his own mustard mixes.
With growers’ margins tight and customers wanting longer shelf life for quality produce, it’s clear agronomy has a key role to play in helping them stay ahead.
A diverse offer
Norfolk grower and Greenvale supplier Jeff van Poortvliet has been expanding his horizons with the addition of apple production in East Anglia. Farming on Stratton Streles Estates, van Poortvliet has in the last three years begun growing cider apples for Aspall’s on 20 acres of land.
It adds to van Poortvliet’s wide portfolio of crops. The family-owned business produces, on its 4,500 acres of own-managed or contract-farmed land, mixed crops, potatoes, sugar and vining peas, dwarf beans, apples, wheat, and winter and spring barley. It also supplies rye and maize for the local anaerobic digestion plant, and has even invested in production in Hungary, where it is has a seed business and grows commercial crops.
Of the 10,000 tonnes of potatoes, 70 per cent is packed and 30 per cent sold predominantly to Birds Eye, as well as a small amount to McCain. Produce Solutions provides a full agronomic support package for van Poortvliet, liaising closely with his end customers.
Van Poortvliet says the Norfolk land is some of the most advantageous in the country and ideal for farming, particularly as it doesn’t suffer from such afflictions as blackgrass. Nevertheless it has been a challenging year for potato production. Van Poortvliet reports that the rainfall has caused the potato crop planting to fall two to three weeks behind, describing it as the first time in his life that he’s been planting through to the end of May.
