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Defra Pledges £650k To Give Civil Servants A Muddy-Boots Education — Amid Backlash Over ‘Whitehall Disconnect’
The UK Government has signed a £650,000, four-year contract to give civil servants a first-hand grounding in farming — a move designed to tackle growing concern that agricultural policy is too often shaped by officials with limited practical experience of rural life. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has appointed the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Allerton Project to deliver the Baseline Agricultural Training programme — blending classroom l
People Power Takes Centre Stage at the Fresh Awards 2026
If there’s one thing every business in the fresh produce and floriculture world knows, it’s this: people make it happen. From the warehouse teams keeping supply flowing, to brilliant managers inspiring innovation and wellbeing champions shaping workplace culture — your people are your biggest asset. And now, there’s a stage as grand as their impact to celebrate them. Entries for the 2026 FPC Fresh Awards are officially open, and this year’s People and Workplace Achievements c
‘Sleepwalking Into Crisis’: Tesco Boss Warns On Rising Joblessness
The UK is “sleepwalking into a quiet epidemic” of joblessness with millions of people out of work and on benefits, the boss of the nation’s biggest supermarket chain has warned. Ashwin Prasad, who runs the UK arm of Tesco, said he believed far fewer people were in work than should be and that taxpayers were spending “an ever increasing proportion of our national income on out-of-work benefits”. The rate of unemployment sat at a four-year high of 5.1%, according to official da
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Sarah-Jayne Gratton
Sarah-Jayne Gratton
England On Flood Alert As Waterlogged Fields Pile Pressure On Growers
Weeks of relentless rainfall have left farmland across England waterlogged and rivers swollen, with more than 100 flood warnings active and over 180 flood alerts signalling ongoing risk to rural communities and farm businesses. The Environment Agency’s flood warnings — which mean flooding is expected — sit alongside a wide swathe of alerts where flooding is possible as clay soils struggle to absorb any more moisture. Saturated fields are delaying essential fieldwork, heighten
New Covent Garden Market Crowned Britain’s Best Wholesale Market 2026
New Covent Garden Market (NCGM) has been officially named Britain’s Best Wholesale Market 2026 at the Great British Market Awards, held earlier this week in Birmingham. Image: NABMA The UK’s biggest horticultural wholesale hub – serving fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants to independent retailers, hospitality and foodservice customers right across London and the South East – clinched the top accolade at the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) ceremony
Veg Power Brings Back Eat Them To Defeat Them With Bold New ‘Veg Hunters’ Campaign
Veg Power have announced that its highly popular and effective dietary health campaign ‘Eat Them to Defeat Them’ is returning to schools next month. Running for eight consecutive years, the campaign - sponsored by Sainsbury’s - will return with a fresh and exciting new creative theme ‘Veg Hunters’ that encourages children to hunt out, find and eat vegetables. Other key developments for 2026, include two brand new components that have been sponsored by Tilda - The ‘Eat Them to
Post-Brexit Crop Exports To EU Slide As Industry Pushes To Protect Gene-Editing Gains
British agricultural exports of crops to the EU have continued to shrink in the five years since Brexit, according to analysis of HM Revenue & Customs data by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) — and as trade talks with Brussels unfold, farmers and industry leaders are urging the government not to sacrifice hard-won advances in plant innovation, particularly gene-editing, in pursuit of a deal. Overall farm exports to the EU fell by 37.4 per cent between 2019, the last full ye
Britain’s Love Affair With Potatoes Cools As ‘Fat Jabs’ Change Eating Habits
British potato growers are sounding the alarm as demand for one of the nation’s staple crops dips, with many producers pointing the finger at evolving consumer behaviour driven by weight-loss injections and health-conscious eating. According to industry reports, orders from supermarkets, food manufacturers and fish and chip shops have fallen by up to 10 per cent compared with the same time last year — a significant reversal after the surge in home cooking seen during the pan
UK Declares Victory Over Colorado Beetle After Two-Year Biosecurity Battle
The UK has officially eradicated the Colorado Beetle following two years of intensive surveillance and biosecurity activity. The pest was detected in Kent in July 2023, with one further finding later that year. Since then, no additional beetles have been identified, allowing Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to confirm eradication status. The Colorado potato beetle can rapidly strip foliage from potato crops and also affects tomatoes, aubergines and peppers,
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