AHDB Food & Farming

Ben Stroud’s family farm in Leicestershire incorporates a 190 dairy cow herd, 140 hectares of arable crops and 80 hectares of forage and grazing. The farm grows Lucerne as a cheaper source of protein for the dairy cows, which is also helping to control blackgrass. With plenty of muck and slurry produced by the cows and youngstock, making use of this on both forage land and crops is important for both soil biology and cutting input costs. 

 

AHDB’s Tom Hebbert met with Ben to discover more about the benefits of growing Lucerne, and to discover how arable farmers can also benefit by working alongside a local dairy farmer.

AHDB's ‘Livestock and the arable rotation’ guide looks to inspire farmers to work together for mutual benefit. It looks at the opportunities available, including the grazing of arable land, growing crops for silage or hay and arranging muck-for-straw deals. 

Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus was reported in the UK this year for the first time. And while no further outbreaks have currently been recorded in the UK, the virus has the potential to cause significant impact for tomato growers. 

In this episode Adrian Fox, the Senior Plant Virologist at Fera will be discussing how growers can prevent Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus along with an update from Phil Morley, Director of Agronomy at APS Produce Ltd and Nathalie Key, AHDBs Knowledge Exchange Manager. 

Find out more on Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus 

The pig industry is made up of a variety of systems, with herds ranging from a handful of sows to thousands. In this episode, we hear from Luchia Gregson, about the work we’re doing with small-scale pig keepers and why it’s so important. We also get an update on the pork market from Bethan Wilkins, one of our analysts.

Small-scale producer meetings

Information for small-scale pig keepers

New pig keepers guide

Contingency planning guide

Pig clubs and events

Stockperson training

Prices and stats

Love Pork marketing campaign

Luchia Gregson: [email protected] or 07990 442798

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The Consumer Insight conference has taken place in Warwick. About 150 delegates packed a conference venue  to hear from a range of speakers about changing diets, eating habits, the so called shopper journey and how retailers can adapt to attract shoppers of the future.

 

Delegates heard about the value of consumer data. Knowledge comes from data and that data is being collected and harvested, all the time.

 

John Bates speaks to AHDB analysts and they explain what we can learn from data  and why it is so highly prized.

 

Hear what Steve Evans AHDB’s Consumer Insight manager and senior analyst Susie Stannard have to say.

(Please bear with the noisy background!)

Find out more about AHDB consumer insight

This episode looks closely at the Consumer Marketing team at AHDB - with a specific focus on the crisping and chilled potatoes sectors.

Hear Analysts, Grace Randall and Zoe Avison give their insight into sales, consumption, trends and the development of the market as the delve into the consumer end of the market.

Sarah Pick, Knowledge Exchange Manager for AHDB, speaks to Nick Gibbon of Belmont Farm and Equine Vets about calf rearing and how to offset the risk of pneumonia. Nick facilitates a discussion group funded by AHDB, consisting of seven meadow quality calf rearers who have been collecting data over the past 18 months on the calf’s performance and health treatments they received. The data from the project has then been analysed and presented back to the group to look at risk factors for pneumonia and measures which can be taken to prevent it. 

You can also find out more information on our youngstock webpage:

https://ahdb.org.uk/youngstock-health 

With the vast majority of spring barley now safely in storage, this episode we're looking at opportunities and challenges for growing malting barley in the UK. How can you get the most out of your crop? Where might you be able to get a commercial advantage? What new varieties are coming up?

We hear from:

Find out more:

Always drink responsibly. https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/

Listen to Karl Pendlebury, AHDB’s Senior Manager for Quality Schemes who talks about our latest campaign for Beef and Lamb called ‘Off the block’

15 top British chefs have revealed how they utilise all cuts of meat in dishes, to provide increased depth of flavour, reduce waste and get maximum value for money.

The series will consist of 26 episodes across the year so tune in here from August 30.

You will hear from Yorkshire farmer’s daughter and Great British Menu chef, Stephanie Moon who shares her dish, ‘Lamb Feast,’ a simple barbecue dish designed to make cooking with lesser used lamb cuts such as breast, kidney and tongue more accessible. Catch the latest episode by visiting https://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/off-the-block

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Alistair McLaren talks to AHDB's Head of Livestock Market Specialists, Chris Gooderham about the potential impact of a no deal Brexit on dairy markets.

Access support around Brexit including analysis, impact calculator and resilience checklist: https://ahdb.org.uk/brexit

For the latest market news and analysis, sign up to receive our Dairy Market Weekly email: https://ahdb.org.uk/keeping-in-touch

Listen to Dawn Teverson (AHDB) and Bruce Napier (NIAB) explain how four new Strategic Centres for Field Vegetables will demonstrate the latest horticultural research in practice. Launched this year, they will showcase the latest ideas, science and technology to improve integrated pest management strategies.