AHDB Food & Farming

The latest edition of RB209, published this month, contains some of most significant changes to Phosphorus – or P – use in over 30 years.

Wayne Brough, AHDB's Knowledge Exchange Manager for Ornamentals, talks to Neil Bragg of Substrate Associates, Chloe Whiteside of ADAS and Steve Carter of Tristram Plants about the transition to responsibly sourced growing media. 

They chart the history of the move to peat-free growing media, the development of current projects, the ramifications alternative growing media has for manufacturers and growers and its future as we begin a new decade. 

If you’re considering moving to peat-reduced or peat-free growing media, check our our top tips for making the transition a success -https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/10-top-tips-for-going-peat-free.

To access a summary of the project, annual progress reports and the aims and objectives of the mission to transition to responsibly sourced growing media use within UK Horticulture - https://ahdb.org.uk/cp-138-transition-to-responsibly-sourced-growing-media-use-within-uk-horticulture.

A report highlighting how a massive step change in productivity growth is key to unlocking a successful future for UK agriculture was published yesterday by the Food & Drink Sector Council (FDSC).

In this episode we hear from Sir Peter Kendall, Chairman of both AHDB and  the FDSC’s Agricultural Productivity Working Group, about his views on farming in the future as well as some of the findings within the report.

 

You can read the full report here or read the shortened executive summary here.

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Update Description

In this episode, we speak to independent sheep consultant, Lesley Stubbings, and Leicestershire sheep farmer, Gareth Owen. The topic being discussed is best practice worm control leading up to lambing, which includes conversation on faecal egg counts, wormer resistance, testing for and treating liver fluke and the prevalence of sheep scab. 

https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/worm-control-in-sheep-for-better-returns

https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/parasite-control-guide-2020

In this episode Knowledge Exchange Manager Steve West talks to Chris Hudson from the University of Nottingham about how farmers can assess whether there is a problem with transition in their cows, and some of the areas that are important to focus on.

 

We're running Success in Transition meetings throughout February and March. To find a workshop near you please visit our website.

Learn more about the InCalf process of assessing your own herd situation in our guide.

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In this episode, we hear about some of the marketing activity we’re involved with to promote pork to consumers, butchers and chefs from Carrie McDermid (senior marketing manager) and Karl Pendlebury (quality schemes manager).

Below, you’ll find links to all the websites and resources mentioned in the podcast.

Website: https://www.lovepork.co.uk/

Assets for you to download: https://www.lovepork.co.uk/assets/

TV advert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1hQF6WUyxY

Pork is healthy animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixYUvyQlUyk&

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lovepork.UK

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/love_pork/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QSMBeefandLamb/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_offtheblock/

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/EBLEXTrade/videos

Pork Henry: https://ahdb.org.uk/pork-henry-whole

Everything you need to make the most of Quality Standard Mark meat. Here you will find useful calculator tools to help improve your profit margins, yield and cutting guides full of practical knowledge and of course our essential Meat Purchasing Guide, which features more than 700 quality meat cuts.

We are constantly informed by media on how to consume food, regardless of the negative mental and health impact it may cause us or our loved ones. In light of these challenges we face daily, the ‘Ordinary Food is Good Enough’ campaign is aiming to fight back these negative and unregulated fed diets which encourage an unbalanced diet. 

In this podcast, Christine Watts, Chief Communications & Market Development Officer shares the ideas behind the #OrdinaryFood campaign, along with AHDB’s Senior Nutrition Manager, Maureen Strong explains the importance of a balanced diet. 

Show your support by using #OrdinaryFood or visit our website https://ordinaryfood.co.uk/ 

You can also speak to our Marketing lead, Nicola Dodd who has worked hard in producing a campaign to share some of the challenges we face as an industry. 

In this episode we are focusing on the decisions you will have to make before you plant, to make sure you will be able to desiccate without diquat and store without CIPC. 

 

Sequence of discussions and speakers:

 

 

 

www.ahdb.org.uk/news/the-cost-of-desiccation-without-diquat

 

https://ahdb.org.uk/storage-hub 

For this month’s edition, Nicola Renison, Regional Manager for the North West, chats to Richard Carruthers, one of our Strategic Farmers in Cumbria about how having a positive mind set has helped with his farm business and his work-life balance. He farms just under 1,000 sheep and 60 sucklers.

You can find out more about Richard's farm business here: https://ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence/rawfoot

Austin Russell returned to his family dairy farm seven years ago and has since been working on improving mastitis control. Alistair McLaren spoke with him to understand the issues Austin was having, how using AHDB’s Mastitis Pattern Analysis Tool helped him put in place targeted control measures to reduce the rate of new mastitis infection cases on farm, and the benefits this has had to the bottom line.

 

You can find more information on the Mastitis Pattern Analysis Tool on our website.

We're running QuarterPRO Mastitis workshops throughout January and February. To find a workshop near you please visit our website.

Feedback survey: We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis.