New minister visited Hugh Lowe Farms with NFU president Tom Bradshaw to tour berry trials and discuss seasonal workers and crop protection
The new Defra minister Angela Eagle has opted to meet with the fresh produce sector for her first official farm visit at leading berry grower Hugh Lowe Farms in Kent.
Visiting this week along with NFU president Tom Bradshaw, Eagle was shown trials of robotic harvesting and discussed issues affecting the fresh produce sector, including the Seasonal Workers Scheme.
Managing director of Hugh Lowe Farms, Marion Regan, wrote on LinkedIn that: “We discussed with the minister how to unlock much needed economic growth through certainty over the essential and well-managed seasonal workers scheme, help to adopt expensive but promising new technologies, swifter approvals for essential crop protection products, and how grower cooperation should not be held back by arguably ‘zombie” PO structures’”.
The minister also met Regan’s daughter and director of the farm, Amelia McLean, and toured several of the farm’s key crops, including raspberries and blackberries.
The visit will be seen as a welcome first step of engaging with the fresh produce industry for the new Defra team, following the recent cabinet reshuffle. Current concerns among the sector include the upcoming loss of PO funding, the added costs around the Employer Pays Principle (EPP) and fears around lack of momentum over seasonal worker visas.
