Tuesday, March 24th
Travel Day! I travelled by train from Gent, Belgium to Ashford International in Ashford, Kent County, England (transferred trains in Brussels and London). I rented a car and went to visit that evening and the next morning with fellow 2015 Nuffield Scholar, Andy Howard. The historical architecture and the beauty of the country side were amazing. I had a great visit with Andy and his family. I was really impressed with Andy’s farming approach using no-till and inter-cropping methods.
United Kingdom – Fresh Sector
Wednesday, March 25th
I travelled by car to Waldersey Farms in Norfolk and met up with Cedric Porter of World Potato News and the rest of the Farm's Board of Directors (they were having a board meeting). They were gracious to allow me to discuss the PEI Potato Board and my Nuffield project. Their farm is owned by a municipality’s pension fund. We went on a tour of their farm with Manager Robert Loxton and Farm Manager Adrian Kew. I was very impressed with their farm operation, the beautiful land they farm and their management approach. It is a very significant operation with thousands of acres that included cereals, soybeans and potatoes. The potatoes were destined for processing, fresh market and fresh cut fry market. I was very impressed.
That evening I visited with 2015 Nuffield Scholar, Paul Fishpool. Paul work’s for British Sugar. We went to look at some soybean fields in the dark equipped with flashlight and warm jackets! I really appreciated Paul’s hospitality and also learning a bit about how the sugar beet business works. There are many similarities to the relationship between potato processor and producers.
Thursday, March 26th
I was hosted by Phillip Britton of Farmcare in the morning. He took me on a retailer tour. We visited Tesco, ALDI, M&S, ASDA and Waitrose stores. Clearly there were different approaches at these banners. Regardless of whether they were premium or low price banners packaging was excellent and it was easy to segregate various types / uses of potatoes. I was really surprised with the high percentage (virtually all of the packages) of the banner’s private label product. Price point for most 2.5 kg bags were around 2 pounds (2.50 at high end store). Maris Piper is the most prevalent variety (UK’s Russet Burbank). Phillip believed overcoming declining consumption will be a key to future success of the fresh business.
In the afternoon I first visited with Henry Brown and Simon Faulkner of Produce World. Farming is at the heart of what they do. Their own farm, Burgess Farms has approximately 1500 acres of brassicas, potatoes and onions. They also have several joint ventures in and ex country as well as they do business with a number of long standing grower groups and suppliers (also in and ex country). Henry and Simon provided a great overview of their business and their overall objective to be the number one supplier of vegetables. They are very committed to sustainability, business excellence and supply chain resilience. They also believed that overcoming the decline in fresh consumption is a major key to future success. Henry and Simon provide a tour of their packing facility. I was very impressed with the operation as I was their overall approach to the business.
Later in the afternoon I visited with Mike Scott at Manor Fresh. They are a premium supplier of fresh potatoes. Mike gave a brief overview of the company and what they do. Much of their business is exclusively with a higher end retailer. Among other things, they have focused on proprietary varieities, producer contracts, state of the art production equipment and very nice packaging. They work very closely with their customers. Mike is concerned about the decline in consumption but is very optimistic that will be addressed and he is positive about the future of the business.
Travel Day! I travelled by train from Gent, Belgium to Ashford International in Ashford, Kent County, England (transferred trains in Brussels and London). I rented a car and went to visit that evening and the next morning with fellow 2015 Nuffield Scholar, Andy Howard. The historical architecture and the beauty of the country side were amazing. I had a great visit with Andy and his family. I was really impressed with Andy’s farming approach using no-till and inter-cropping methods.
United Kingdom – Fresh Sector
Wednesday, March 25th
I travelled by car to Waldersey Farms in Norfolk and met up with Cedric Porter of World Potato News and the rest of the Farm's Board of Directors (they were having a board meeting). They were gracious to allow me to discuss the PEI Potato Board and my Nuffield project. Their farm is owned by a municipality’s pension fund. We went on a tour of their farm with Manager Robert Loxton and Farm Manager Adrian Kew. I was very impressed with their farm operation, the beautiful land they farm and their management approach. It is a very significant operation with thousands of acres that included cereals, soybeans and potatoes. The potatoes were destined for processing, fresh market and fresh cut fry market. I was very impressed.
That evening I visited with 2015 Nuffield Scholar, Paul Fishpool. Paul work’s for British Sugar. We went to look at some soybean fields in the dark equipped with flashlight and warm jackets! I really appreciated Paul’s hospitality and also learning a bit about how the sugar beet business works. There are many similarities to the relationship between potato processor and producers.
Thursday, March 26th
I was hosted by Phillip Britton of Farmcare in the morning. He took me on a retailer tour. We visited Tesco, ALDI, M&S, ASDA and Waitrose stores. Clearly there were different approaches at these banners. Regardless of whether they were premium or low price banners packaging was excellent and it was easy to segregate various types / uses of potatoes. I was really surprised with the high percentage (virtually all of the packages) of the banner’s private label product. Price point for most 2.5 kg bags were around 2 pounds (2.50 at high end store). Maris Piper is the most prevalent variety (UK’s Russet Burbank). Phillip believed overcoming declining consumption will be a key to future success of the fresh business.
In the afternoon I first visited with Henry Brown and Simon Faulkner of Produce World. Farming is at the heart of what they do. Their own farm, Burgess Farms has approximately 1500 acres of brassicas, potatoes and onions. They also have several joint ventures in and ex country as well as they do business with a number of long standing grower groups and suppliers (also in and ex country). Henry and Simon provided a great overview of their business and their overall objective to be the number one supplier of vegetables. They are very committed to sustainability, business excellence and supply chain resilience. They also believed that overcoming the decline in fresh consumption is a major key to future success. Henry and Simon provide a tour of their packing facility. I was very impressed with the operation as I was their overall approach to the business.
Later in the afternoon I visited with Mike Scott at Manor Fresh. They are a premium supplier of fresh potatoes. Mike gave a brief overview of the company and what they do. Much of their business is exclusively with a higher end retailer. Among other things, they have focused on proprietary varieities, producer contracts, state of the art production equipment and very nice packaging. They work very closely with their customers. Mike is concerned about the decline in consumption but is very optimistic that will be addressed and he is positive about the future of the business.