The School Fruit and Veg Scheme received a well deserved shot in the arm this week with the unveiling of a new study suggesting a notable increase in consumption for kids taking part in the initiative.

With a further, detailed analysis due to be published later this year, a balanced judgement will be able to be made over its success.

With this week’s study taking in consumption over a period of years rather than months, the results are encouraging and good news for growers of fresh produce, who want and need the government to continue to support a schools scheme.

Meanwhile, ‘carbon footprinting’ has become the phrase of the day, not just in horticulture, but in the UK in general. Nowadays, you can barely walk out of your front door to go to work without somebody questioning whether you couldn’t have made that journey more efficiently.

Amid all the hysteria is a serious message, and a competitive advantage for any firms who can wade through the plethora of carbon calculators and the like to make sense of it all.

This week Commercial Grower puts the spotlight on carbon footprinting and tries to bring some sense to the subject. Our feature starts on page 14.