Potato growers have been urged to embrace integrated pest and farm management, as the industry prepares for revision of the controversial EU directive 91/414.
More than 50 growers attending Branston’s third annual Technical Meeting in Lincoln were told planning use of products on crops is key.
David Payne, senior registration manager for Syngenta Crop Protection UK, said: “We initially thought that if a pesticide triggered one criteria, it would be banned. However, the revision [of] 91/414 sees pesticides banned if they trigger two out of three criteria. At one point it looked like we would lose about 85 per cent of the 267 agricultural pesticides on the EU approved list, but this will not be the case.
“I believe that changes under the new regulation will actually be beneficial to the UK agricultural industry. It will encourage new zonal authorisation and mutual recognition, parallel trade rules to be clarified, clearer timelines, and additional data protection for minor users.
“The Sustainable Use Directive is also a good thing for growers, as it mandates good practice at user level, and helps to reduce risk. It encourages improvements in terms of training, inspection, storage and use, which can only be beneficial in the long term.”
Dr Andy Barker, research and development manager at Branston, echoed Payne’s sentiments but also urged growers to become more pro-active in terms of adopting a forward-thinking approach to pest and disease control in light of the new regulations.
“All of us should start implementing and exploring alternative pest and disease control given the introduction of the new EU regulation," he said.
As well as the EU legislation and advice on integrated pest management, attendees also heard best practice guidance on crop storage, nutrition and the impact of climate change.
In a separate move, Branston has been given permission to build an energy from waste plant at its Mere Road site on the outskirts of Branston village.
The combined heat and power (CHP) plant will provide around 35 per cent of the electricity needed by the factory, using product unfit for Branston’s standards of consumption
The company expects its carbon footprint to drop by as much as 20 per cent, reducing the amount of freight activity at the site, while residents have been assured noise pollution will be kept to a minimum. Waste potatoes set to be used to power the site are currently used in local animal feed.
Branston is currently the only UK food producer to have obtained the Carbon Trust Standard for work in reducing its carbon footprint.
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