Potato Review

www.potatoreview.com POTATO REVIEW JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 7 NEWS ‘STILL NOCLARITY FORGROWERS’ THE Soil Association remains frustrated at the UK Government’s continued failure to provide clarity on future support for English growers to protect the environment. While recognising the government’s desire to ensure the scheme delivers for nature and climate, the sustainable food and farming organisation was disappointed to hear reports that the delayed review of nature-friendly farming reforms may come as late as February. Environmental and farming groups were expecting a significant update on the future of the Environmental Land Management Scheme on December 1st when Environment Secretary Thérèse Coey addressed the CLA conference in London. Soil Association Head of Farming Policy Gareth Morgan said: “We remain frustrated at the continued government failure to give farmers confidence that previous promises to reward sustainable food production will be upheld. Delays and rumours of watering down plans to reward farmers for protecting the environment must end now. This policy is crucial at a time when our food system is in crisis – fertiliser, feed and energy costs for farmers are skyrocketing, wildlife populations are in freefall, shoppers are being priced out of sustainable food, and climate change is escalating at an unprecedented rate.” www.grimme.co.uk *Allowance of £159.60 based on replacement of a full set of 266 stars in a GRIMME CS 170 Destoner You may think it’s a bit early to be thinking about Machine Check for both Spring equipment and harvesters before next season. However, book early and it could save you quite a bit of time and money. Don’t forget the sooner you book the more you can save. ROM YOUR LOCAL GRIMME PARTNER Machine Check starts from just £90. _42 PLUS if you book the recommended remedial work within 30 days of receiving the Technician’s Report you’ll receive exclusive discounts on parts and labour! 48 years’ worth of Christmas dinner roasties binned in UK each year EVERY year in the UK, enough potatoes are binned by households to make roasties for Christmas Day for the whole country, for 48 years, staggering statistics from climate action group WRAP reveal. Freezing potatoes and other vegetables in advance could make a big in-road into reducing this waste, says the organisation, which has urged consumers to re-think the way they use and dispose of food, with Christmas being one of the worst occasions of food waste. Fresh vegetables and salad are the most wasted food group in the UK, with 1.3 million tonnes of perfectly good fresh vegetables and salads wasted every year, costing £2.7 billion. Swapping highly-wasted fresh foods for frozen options (‘swaptions’) could help to reduce food waste, WRAP points out, advising consumers to blanch in boiling water for a few minutes and plunge into cold water before freezing.