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Events update

We are please to announce that the next event is the suppliers technical conference which will be held at Warwick University Scarman House Conference Centre starting at 6pm on 11th November and 9am on 12th November 2015.
There will be a drinks reception and themed dinner on the 11th and then a conference on 12th from 9am till 3pm

Dates for diary

Next Science day is 2pm 23rd February and from 9am 24th February 2016 at Scarman House Conference Centre Warwick

Pollinator Management

The University of Reading has produced factsheets on pollinator management, covering a variety of topics such as food and shelter.  They were  presented at the recent Waitrose Science Day and are now available on the portal along with a recent video entitled “How to Save the Bees”.

 

 
The University of Reading page: University of Reading

New FAO book: ” Coping with Climate Change”

The FAO have released a new book this week, ” Coping with Climate Change”.  It is available for free on the link below.

The key message is that genetic diversity is important to coping with climate change, and that more needs to be done to understand and utilise this diversity in food production.

It warns that “time is not on our side”, and that climate change is advancing faster than expected so crops will need to have the ability to adapt to the climate quicker than before.

You can access the book for free here

2015: FAO Year of Soil

The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has announced that 2015 is the International Year of Soils.

This campaign aims to promote the importance of soils for a healthy ecosystem, improved rural livelihoods, and food security.

The key messages are the various methods to protect our soils through sustainable soil and land management, and awareness of the ways in which we depend on soils.

More information can be found in the FAO’s info-graphic here

And on the FAO soils portal

Barfoots on the BBC

One of our key suppliers Barfoots of Botley has recently been featured on the popular BBC programme, The One Show.

 

Food critic Jay Rayner, visited Barfoots to understand all their work on sustainable agriculture, particularly around anaerobic digestion, waste control and energy production.

 

Barfoots built their anaerobic digestion plant in 2010 which generates 2.3 megawatts, 24 hours a day. This means the business is entirely self-sufficient in energy for its factories and remaining energy is exported to the national grid.

 

Click on the clip below to play