At a time when so many people are questioning whether margins allow for reinvestment, it’s great to be able to report a story of growth and replanting.

FW Mansfield & Son is putting no less than 150,000 trees into the ground in Kent (p4), a move which represents a resounding thumbs up for the English top-fruit industry.

It follows the positive comments last week from Newmafruit’s md Melvyn Newman, who says that thanks in no small part to the support of English Apples & Pears, the supermarkets are steadily increasing their sourcing of domestic fruit.

Mansfield’s investment also reflects the fact that some of the newer apple varieties introduced over the last decade are finding real commercial success and gaining a following among consumers.

Mansfield and Newmafruit have also thrown their support firmly behind the English cherry sector, which they believe is a real growth area.

It all bodes well for the future of the UK fruit sector and is a reflection of the commitment of growers to bringing top quality home-grown produce to the consumer.

Let’s hope the supermarkets can be similarly inspired to support the cauliflower industry during this tough time. With producers switching out of the crop, it needs a retailer to stand up and affirm its support for UK cauliflowers, offering a price that makes it an attractive proposition to grow once again.

As this week’s news shows, where growers have confidence in the future of the crop, they are prepared to invest.