Well-known Vale ornamentals grower, Derek Jarman recently sold Hayloft Plants Ltd at Pensham but remains busy with horticulture nationally and in the county.
He is also currently the British Ornamentals Association and Midland Regional Growers’ chair.
In our second farmer and grower column Field of View Derek, who is also the Worcestershire NFU vice chair, talks about the pressure to produce and the challenges faced in the Vale of Evesham.
By Derek Jarman
Ask my children or others where food comes from and the answer is going to be Asda on King George’s Way in Pershore or another supermarket.
Throughout my children’s lives, and mine too, food has been plentiful. The UK currently produces 60 per cent of its own food which means 40 per cent is imported.
The 60 per cent figure has remained relatively static for the last two decades, which is amazing when you consider the dramatic population growth and other competing land uses like housing, infrastructure, and energy.
This figure is even more incredible as governments are encouraging farmer,s including those in the Vale of Evesham and elsewhere, to take land out of production and plant crops to encourage wildlife, bees and butterflies.
The poorer, less productive land will go into environmental crops, as farmers want to produce food.
Bee on penstemon grown in the Vale. s
Weather has a large effect on UK production. This year has been hot and very dry. Crop yields are down and many livestock farmers have reported less grass growth, up to 70 per cent in some areas.
This means little conserved grass, hay and silage, in store to feed livestock this winter.
Water has been in short supply with the Environment Agency restricting use on crops, which impacts quality and yield. Anyone in Evesham or Pershore who has had hosepipe restrictions will no doubt understand this.
Government red tape, rules and regulations increase yearly. The recent National Living Wage and the increase in the Employer’s National Insurance contributions added 10 per cent to all our businesses’ wage bills in April 2025.
Producers of edible fruit and vegetable crops and ornamental plants who occupy 2 per cent of the UK land mass and employ 20 per cent of the agricultural workforce, were the big losers – we have many near Evesham.
The UK produces 50 per cent of the vegetables consumed, but only 16 cent of fruit. New packaging taxes are being dumped on us such that those who add packaging to a product pay for the recycling.
A good idea you might say, but this means there will be a knock-on effect for food, flowers and plants as most farmers and growers don’t make enough to be able to absorb it.
Next time you buy food, flowers and plants please quietly say a big thank you to our farmers and growers who work all hours under tremendous stress to keep us happy and healthy.
At some point soon, the Government must make food, plant and flower security a top priority as the alternative is frightening.
NFU NEWS
Last week, the NFU successfully secured a rollover of Countryside Stewardship Scheme (mid tier and wildlife offer) agreements for thousands of farmers following months of campaigning. The news was confirmed in a meeting between Defra Secretary Emma Reynolds and NFU President Tom Bradshaw.
It means that more than 5,000 farmers and growers will be able to access an agri-environment scheme, closing a gap that had previously been identified by the NFU when Defra closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive earlier this year, whilst it is being reformed.
