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Business development breaking free from the commodity trap.

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For farmers summer always has been the focus of the year. Harvest a time when all the effort for the whole year is revealed as a quantifiable result in crop yield, back in the grain store. But that is only half the job. Success or failure in the grain store is a combination of human effort over environmental condition. The crop then has to be converted into cash, to balance the books and to provide profit to improve facilities, replace machinery, repairs and renewals, reduce loans or borrowings and then provide for new enterprise to make the business grow.

UK Farming is a part of a global market. So for all the effort that goes into producing our crop, market competition is actually the issue that will make the difference on our bottom line this year. A strong sterling pound makes export uncompetitive. This might change over the coming year, but cashflow demands that sales happen to meet bills that have to be paid.  We might be part of Europe, but we still compete with european farmers for global markets, so with german and french grain quality up and the euro being weak again the UK grain price is going to need to weaken to export.

This market issue is the same influence that is forcing down the price of milk for UK dairy farmers. The milk industry has been controlled by milk quotas, created after the Milk Marketing Board was abolished in the 1980s to reduce the amount of milk coming onto the market and stabilise prices. Quotas were only a european control, but in the 1980s, half of the current European Union was behind the Iron Curtain. In April this year the quyotas were removed. the brakes came off and anyone with a capacity to milk more cows started to produce more milk. How the yoyo of market controls revolves! Milk is a commodity and a fresh product until it can go through an added value process. In its raw form it has a short life and consumers only drink a limited quantity, the rest has to go into butter, cheese, yoghurt, cream, iced cream and then on into processed multiple ingredient product. So the milk price is governed like my wheat by market conditions.

As an ex dairy farmer and a commodity grain producer it was this business model that I wanted our family business to break away from. Commodity production creates low profit and therefore reduces potential for business growth.

My first experience of a successful added value farm having sort my fortune abroad in 1979 in the Middle East – selling fresh UK dairy produce to the ex pat population in Dubai. A Dubai that was very different to that of today. The product brand was Longley farm. A Yorkshire farm business with jersey cows that had developed a huge range of premium yoghurt, cream etc. Spectacular product, flown in fresh every week in non-refridgerated containers. A premium niche perishable product but one that had broken that family dairy farm away from its commodity cycle and produced a business with growth potential in product sales, margin and profit.

It was this scenario that has led me into sea buckthorn. It is still a crop, although a niche crop. It has specific qualities that class it as a superfruit but it channels into a wide range of markets. It has been developed in Europe for 50 years, although the fruit has never penetrated the volume market. It is difficult to harvest and as a small EU industry it has not generated the investment needed to drive it forward to gain market share. On a more global scale, where employment costs and availability are not issues, then the crop is developing at a pace.

Interest in the market is growing, and for a small farmer such as myself a niche crop with added value potential with significant barriers to entry I find attractive. Experience reveals problems that are there to solve. Timing is an issue as the market will switch off if it takes too long to wait for a product that is considered unreliable.

If harvesting is a problem then it should be solved by investment. This statement is true, but the problem has been solved in germany with a mechanical system to both cut and process, but the issue is this is only available at a very high cost. Prototype machinery is expensive. it proves the system. The secondary stage is more important which is creating affordability through market demand. The crop needs to develop a volume market before a machinery manufacturer can start to sell enough harvesters to bring prices down to affordable levels for smaller farmers.

I have just mentioned the phrase – ” the crop needs to develop a volume market” – do I really mean that? What of the lessons of the milk industry? There is comfort in being a small producer within a small niche premium market with little or no competition. But even this is not true. The market has to be created; the product has to be produced within regulations and to a consistent quality and quantity. There always will be niche and volume markets for commodities within the same market, but if there is no market or only a weak one then either it needs high levels of risk investment  or just methodical and steady process that looks to a long term development for success.

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2015 Siberian harvest in one day.

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2015 will go down as my one day harvest and as with all trials – another learning curve.

In their native Siberia, most of the varieties that I have are harvested from August 20th to mid September. The climate I have here at Devereux farm has such a mild winter that we have occasional frosts. Frosts that occur maybe over a period of two to four days but the cold does not stay in the ground nor penetrate deep into the soil. Air temperatures fall across the autumn down to freezing, so the sea buckthorn plant drop their leaves in October as one would expect. But then starting with the variety Klaudia – 7 to 10 days into January, leaf buds start to crack open. The plants do not develop into full leaf until late March, but they do come out of dormancy.

The consequence is an earlier ripening period. The varieties that I have are ripening in the following order. Starting July 11; Etna followed by Klaudia and Inya. Elizaveta with Chuiskaya a week later, Sudarushka into the third week of July with Altaiskaya ripening but with a few yellow berries still at the end of the month. My Jessel and Rosinka are still too young to be bearing berries yet.

The Latvian varieties, Goldrain, sunny, mary and tatjana I am expecting to develop over the next 10 days. They have yielded well for their first year. I expect these will be coming at the same time at the sirola and finnish varieties.

The next topic I have to cover is the reason why my Siberian bushes have only taken a day to harvest. Shrews living in the inter-row margins have come out at night and systematically taken the berries as they ripen. Some berries completely disappear, some are eaten half through; some are left as empty skins hanging on the branches.

I have maintained these inter-row margins in order to keep an area for insects that might be useful as predators for other insects. The plan had been this year to place compost along all the rows between the plants to suppress the weeds.

This did not happen because the compost thrower that is being designed for me is not ready. It will be for this winter. As it is coming with its own tractor I have relied on-ride on mowers this season rather than buy a machine that would have become surplus. As a solution it is just not adequate to keep on top of the whole site.

The nature of this issue is one of finding funding for a novel idea in an era of recession. Bank borrowing was the order of the day pre 2008. Grant funding focuses on priority and outcomes that will benefit the widest spectrum of beneficiaries. Funding from own business profit looks to a mix of priorities and trims development opportunity on absolute need not on desirable need.

I know that we will grow a successful crop of Siberian sea buckthorn berries, alongside german commercial varieties. The crop will be grown without the use of pesticides and it will be grown to optimise quality. This might not deliver the most profitable outcome now, but farming is about a yearly cycle that one tries to improve year on year throughout a working life. The fact that I do not have a crop this year of the size I wanted is a huge disappointment, but there will still be Latvian and german berries to harvest. The disappointment is however tempered by lessons learnt..

All was not lost however – there were Siberian variety berries to taste this year and they are special. Special enough to know that mastering the growing of these plants to give a viable crop is worth perfecting. It will just take another year.

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Harvest time – small, but small can be beautiful.

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This week is the week for starting harvesting. I had thought that the first berries I would pick would be Sirola, the early german variety, but these are at least two weeks off being ripe. Surprisingly Sudarushka; Inya; Chuiskaya; are all going to be ready for pickling over the next week. Klaudia will be the end of next week. Altaiskaya is the last of the bunch.

I still have a suspicion that berries are disappearing to a silent pest. I am certain that birds are not an issue this year. Rockets, kites, scare crows and foil tape has formed a continuing campaign to warn off winged pests. But I am looking to the ground for this issue. Mice or voles are in the grass stripes in the middle of the inter-row passages. Etna berries have been targeted; Klaudia too. The issue is that these areas also contain the beneficial insects that I look to bio-control pests in the spring and early summer. So do I cut these areas out? Altaiskaya have reasonable yields of berries and I will look to these areas to be completely mown so rodents have to cross bare ground to reach the fruit. I have a roving barn owl, and small rodents are nervous when there are magpies and similar omnivous birds in the area. I need to solve this problem for next year as I will see that as the first commercial crop whereas this one will only produce some tasters of what is to come.

I have not mentioned the Latvian plants much. Of the four varieties they are all well covered in berries – much more successful than the Siberian varieties. But they do have thorns. They will not be ready for picking for another three weeks I suspect. It looks like Goldrain will comes first, with Sunny close behind. Mary and Tatjana coming maybe a week after that. With the thorns in mind these bushes will be harvested through a cut and freeze process, which will be the same as the german varieties.

The second field with the german varieties is covered in berries. In fact every bush is loaded down with fruit. But certainly these look at least a month off yet, with the exception of Sirola which I mentioned right at the beginning.

It might be of little interest to some readers but the really exciting thing this year is that the few remaining Finnish plants have also burst into action. These plants arrived in the UK in 2009 as tiny seedlings: three female varieties, two male. The males, Rupdolph and Tarmo have done better than the females. All are dwarf varieties by comparison with the german counterparts. Of the females Raisa and Terhi probably could be said have been more successful, but most of these failed to survive. So it is gratifying to see some produce and it seems fitting to find a Scandinavian in London to enjoy them.

So having planned for harvest to start mid July and go through to mid September I now expect it to be all over by the end of August. It sounds early, but until this process has run through for five years it will be difficult to gauge.

in the background with this I am still looking for grant support for development research. Analysis is the way forward that I have chosen. I have two forms of sea buckthorn plant here. The german plants which seem to survive with little or no management; and the Siberian which require managing with kid gloves. Commercially the former is clearly the way to go, but for want of market diversity finding a way to grow the Siberian exotics with no thorns, larger berries and new taste still remains a goal. To achieve this will need monitoring what I do, and fine tuning it on the basis of results – both good and bad. That will be a funding drain and a high risk venture. Funding assistance will speed up the process and allow that all important holy grail of seeking to develop consistent quality with consistent yield.

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Trust me – I’m a farmer

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With harvest coming and most of the family around last week was an opportunity for a holiday. Five days in Dubrovnik – a stunning city; friendly people; the weather and food to go with it – and a chance to have quality time with each other. Also a battery re-charge for the coming harvest. But while we were away I missed a BBC programme – Trust me, I’m a doctor, that has caused a stir in the health supplement world.

The programme raised the issue of health supplements derived from botanicals. Specifically taking milk thistle; gingko and evening primrose as examples and analysing them to see whether what was on the label was in the product. The subject of quality has been a concern of mine in these blogs. It also featured as my presentation at the Sea buckthorn Euroworks conference in Finland last year. The BBC report took 70 products. 30 were gingko, 8 of which contained little or no gingko in them. The milk thistle also had issues – 36% analysing with little or no detectable milk thistle. Only the evening primrose came out as a 100% consistent product.

What can we take from this. The problem starts when we start to compare the potential attributed to a product derived from a naturally occurring plant and a product that is derived from a pharmaceutical manufacturing process. Possibly until the early 20th century, rural populations and some urban still relied on medicinal relief for ailments from plants. The knowledge base for this would have come from centuries of experimentation and acceptance that certain plants when prepared in specific ways can alleviate health problems. As with all natural products they are derived from a living source. Once the source dies, change will start which will alter the bioactive compounds within the plant body. For this reason, harvesting, storage, transport and processing needs to be to a standard to lock the quality of the natural product through into the end product.

Comparing natural and pharmaceutical product is comparing chalk and cheese. Natural products comprise a package of many bioactives working in synergy together. When taken as a supplement for whatever reason, there is a multitude of reactions between the consumers body functions and the complexities of combinations of all these botanical bioactives working together. Hence we sometimes attribute botanically derived supplements to providing multiple functions.

Pharmaceutical products tend to have single active ingredients specifically targeting specific ailments. The ability to scientifically measure the ability of a single ingredient to perform a function is relatively easy, along with any side effects that might occur.

The multi-bioactive compound structure of a botanically derived supplement involves so many potential chemical pathways to a function that it is not possible to scientifically evaluate its specific capacity to achieve a single function. Hence we have an impasse with EFSA over health claims.

The BBC programme has identified the problem that supplements can have variable quality. As a farmer growing sea buckthorn ( as well as wheat/barley/rape/beans/etc) I have to accept that every year I have a changing weather impacting upon my soil and my crop. The soil is as, if not more complex that the plants that grow from it. These environmental variables will alter the quality of my end crop – whatever it is. It can be influenced by better agronomy. By the use of controlled applications of analysed fertilisers; by the reduction of the impact of pests; but the sun and rain are huge uncontrollable variables.

Harvesting, transport, storage and processing then become human designed processes governed by time and efficiency. These are subject to variables but they are a subject to choice. The fact that some products of all types appear on the market in adulterated or fraudulent form does not and should not reflect on the quality of the whole market place. Crime is crime and looking to achieve profit from adulteration or fraud needs rigourous enforcement.

The fact though that there is a huge market across the world for botanical supplements indicates that there are many thousands of products delivering satisfaction to consumers. Consumers who are deriving the benefit they seek and find.

The fact that EFSA ( European Food Safety Agency ) have problems with botanicals is now being addressed through initiatives like the BELFRIT list which is being legalised in France, Italy and Belgium. Regulation is a consumer benefit and important, but it is also often inflexible and a real challenge to small business without the resources to analyse all product batches to complex standards. Sea buckthorn has been a traditional medicine across Asia and Europe for many centuries. It is a Traditional medicine on those grounds but to put it through a regulatory process will take time and resource. The BBC mention that some products are expensive. It is not always the case, but if companies are to deliver quality to a regulatory standard then they are probably going to become more expensive.

This topic is going to roll and roll.

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Europe and sea buckthorn – looking for a sustainable future

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It is Monday July 6th, a day which will go down in European history as the day when EU leaders woke up to a management crisis that calls the stability of the last 50 years into question. In the UK we face a new government whose budget looks for more cuts to welfare, but there will be other targets. Against this looming air of depression, for the UK at least we have seen the banking crisis of 2008 revert to some normality. But this is not the same as the pre 2008 era. Parliamentary expenses; bank greed; the shrinking of the tesco empire; enquiries into the behaviour of public figures, all of these have marked a changing nation. A nation within a changing world where the gun rules over democracy. A changing world were weakness will be exploited for personal and political gain. Although this last issue has been a constant for probably 2000 years and more.

As an SME developing a new business not of the above are helpful, but as none of them are in my control they cannot change  the aims and objectives of British Sea Buckthorn. It will make a need for ensuring that cashflow is positive and hardens a resolve to borrow money. One thing that seems certain is that certainty is never 100%.

In this climate July is the month potentially for the start of harvest. The most forward variety at Devereux farm is Etna. A siberian variety that was planted here in 2012/13. This has grown well and not been impacted by disease nor pest. As young plants these first signs of berries boad well for the future. Altaiskaya, the Siberian variety that has been troubled throughout the season by pest, has as plentiful a crop as any variety – which personally i am very pleased about because this is a good all round multi-purpose use berry. Chuiskaya, another Siberian has the strongest plant form being sturdy in size and shape. It was the last to show any berry this year and has just a tiny few, but these plants are still only in their fourth year, so I expect greater things next year.

All the latvian varieties – planted the same time as Etna, have berries on. They also have a significant amount of leaf with few thorns. These plants will have to be branch cut for harvesting but this will not be until late August  I suspect.

German varieties are packed with fruit. Potentially Sirola will come first, but these berries are still very green. So within all this each variety is starting to spread the harvest period although late August thorugh to mid september will be a busy time.

It will be a busy time, but still a small – if not tiny harvest. So plans to install large scale freezing capacity for branch cutting have been put on hold. Branch cutting will be the way to harvest this crop at devereux farm, but the technology needs to be good and efficient. Delivering quality is the aim and preserving nutritional potential in the crop must be an objective. This might not matter to a chef, but it matters to the grower because it will help to maintain taste and goodness for the discerning consumer. One reason for not rushing into installing equipment is the need to look at energy efficiency. As with the political world, the climate is changing. New development needs to have an eye to the future. Sea buckthorn is a perennial crop. The plants in the ground at Devereux farm now may still be being harvested in 2030 and beyond. Sea buckthorn is a crop that can be grown with few inputs. Experience here is showing that following a conservation farming approach, without the use of chemical pesticides is possible. There will be tials to come with new pests emerging as climate change progresses, but each should be met with an intervention that considers the impact on the environment for the future. Building soil health will be a priority as this is the key to helping maintain a healthy plant. Not using chemicals; looking to protect and enhance soil ecology is a mindset that is holistic when considering the whole crop management. Therefore it follows that when it comes to processing – it too should have a minimal impact upon the environment. The issue is of course that one is constrained by technology. Sometimes if the answer cannot be provided by technology then we must look to being more innovative and always continue to seek for better solutions, even if those solutions cannot be perfect.

The solutions to Europe will not be perfect, but let’s hope that our political masters are able to meet the crisis with foresight and vision for a better future.

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Not one, but two new bugs on the sea buckthorn

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There are people that find bugs and insects fascinating. This time of year is a time when we need to be focusing on flying pests that might attack the sea buckthorn at Devereux farm. Spotted winged fruit fly (SWD) and sea buckthorn fly are the two in particular that are creating concern across Europe.

So this week when Sam, ( youngest member of the Eagle family ((16)) found not just one but two mystery bugs I was concerned. Our sea buckthorn is sourced from Siberia so knowledge as to what insects are good and which will be pests is an issue. One of the principle reasons for sticking to a concept of growing sea buckthorn with organic principles is to protect beneficial insects when trying to control pests. Beneficial insects are part of a wider diversity that needs environmental balance.Destroy any part of it and we create a situation when intervention to control pests becomes more and more intensive. The concept of light management requires a reactive approach to control issues when they appear as opposed. The alternative proactive approach would require imposing control measures on an insurance basis incurring cost and environmental impact that might not be necessary. As year’s go by, identifying which pests are an issue and when they appear will provide annual program of management that will react to the first appearance of a recognised problem. This is something that is already an action that looks to control the vapourer moth caterpillers.

So what were Sam’s bugs. He poured over google identification sites and came up with the fact that not just one but both were of foreign origin. Both thankfully for Devereux are not a pest for the sea buckthorn but they might have implications for our native species.

The first is a larva from the Asian multi-coloured ladybird bettle ( Harmonia axyridis). A handsome black insect with six legs and orange spots on its back. The second a grey, six legged insect again with orange, but also black spots on its back. This he identified as the 7 spotted ladybird ( Coccinella Septempunctata). Both of these are insect eaters and therefore I see as beneficial for our crop for the future. The fact that there are a lot of them may have implications for other competing insects living within the same environment. For there to be a significant population they must be feeding on a good food source.

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2015 – a truly significant year of development

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The highlight of the past three weeks has been the success over the issue of keeping rooks off the sea buckthorn plants. Daily, new scarers go onto the site or else old ones are moved around. A large kite has made a difference, but I am only flying it when birds start to return. When it is used in combination with a firework rocket that is designed for bird scaring I can now expect 36 hours of keeping the rooks off the site.

I often reflect upon the issue of what this project is all about. The original objective was to provide the farm with a new high value crop to enhance the farm’s income. But farming is a business and as with many smaller farms diversification is not always centred on crop production. Developing a new crop required on-going investment and is high risk and so far sales of imported sea buckthorn has helped to fund the sea buckthorn project at Devereux farm. Sales of anything however requires concentration and time to develop and increase those sales. How many times do I say that time is a finite resource. This time of year however the sea buckthorn field is demanding and this clash of demand for time is an issue.

The issue this year with the farm has a particular focus as it will deliver the first, even though only a small crop. The question always has been how do you efficiently harvest it. Hand picking german berries last year indicates a picking yield of 2-3kg an hour. Importantly it is as much a matter of ensuring that picking does not damage the berries as the yield. Broken berries creates juice over other fruit to which broken leaf, dust and dirt sticks to the berries. This source of contamination doubles the time needed to clean the crop.

Hence the acceptance that cutting branches, freezing them so that the berries will fall off them easily improves picking yield per hour and minimises damage and contamination. The process is said to require -30 degC for effective fall of the berries.

Delivering -30 deg C is not as easy as it seems. Refridgerated lorry containers can be bought or hired, but standard containers can only really guarantee -20 to -23 deg c. Multiple domestic freezers for a small crop could be a solution, but again these are not designed to give -30 deg. More importantly I have to keep the berries frozen so the operation of knocking the berries off the branches needs to be done within a cold environment. The new generation of cold store lorry containers can deliver -30 degC but they are available at double the cost – around £14/15,000. This for an operation that will be all finished in eight weeks. For this year the crop may only deliver 300kg or so.

300kg seems very low but the Siberian plants are still only young ( planted 2012). It will take another three years for them to reach their peak yield of up to 15kg and possibly more. This year is the year to define a harvesting process for the future that is effective and affordable.

The option that has developed is to install a new cold store that is designed to be  modular so that it can be expanded as the crop develops. This will require a 3 phase electric supply.

Sea buckthorn is being developed as a sustainable crop so using a harvesting system that is focused on high use of electricity is in conflict with its sustainable credentials. Finding a renewal generation system to reduce primary use of power will be an objective over the next twelve months.

I return to the concept of the need to develop the income capacity of the business. The business that is developing from Devereux farm will focus upon berries destined for food and drink use. Pump priming that business through market development using high quality food grade sea buckthorn imported from selected suppliers in Europe is the next priority. This offering will come with an opportunity to take our first berries into the marketplace. With ten Siberian varieties and three german to offer, taste trials will be important. Taste is king in this market. From the farm perspective the future will be established through the selection of the right varieties. That selection will be based on best for our soils and environment; for yield; for harvestability; but importantly best for the market.

So by the end of 2015 harvesting and understanding the needs of the market will be two more issues solved. Significant progress for the farm – 2016 will then look to really focusing on the market and its development.

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Battles overseas and closer to home

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Time I keep reminding myself is my most valuable asset, but often I waste it.

Spring and early summer we know in our gardens is a time for battling with weeds. Trying to remain organic does not help this issue. I set myself a task this month to weed 100 plants a day. The task started well because there had been 8mm of rain at the weekend. With our clay soils and hot weather, after four days the soil baked and my 100 plants a day dropped to 60, as I set myself the job for first in the morning before breakfast. This morning we had another 3mm of rain and again it has become easy to pull thistles. But in the process of this I also contemplate that although I am pulling up 150mm or more of root with each one – there must be a huge network of roots beneath the surface waiting to produce the next wave of weed invasion. So what do I take from this? I have to admit that the sea buckthorn will not look pristine and weed free. It hurts my pride, but probably not too much yield. It is certainly better where I have applied the compost mulch. In real terms this comes back to time management and accepting that one must prioritise what is most productive and not waste time on trying for perfection.

Talking of invasion, today is Waterloo day. Two hundred years ago Napoleon Bonaparte’s army that had been a thorn in the side of Europe and Russia for fifteen years was finally defeated. In the UK it is seen as a British victory, but without allies the result might well have been different. Certainly the intervention of the Prussian army made all the difference. It proved that partnerships are valuable, but it is a sad reflection on the human race that we are still causing immeasureable suffering by inflicting war upon the world. 59 million refugees currently on the move in the world. It is no wonder that the UK is a popular destination when we have been privileged to have been free from invasion; civil disruption; economic chaos and able to carry on our lives without fear.

Back to sea buckthorn – I have another invasion to deal with – rooks. The traditional way would be shooting. There are sophisticated methods using loud audio systems that send bird distress calls across the site. There are less sophisticated methods. The enemy – if that is how I can describe them are intelligent. But I have to stop myself there. They clearly have intelligence and understand how to measure the risk of coming to steal my berries. This intelligence should not be measured in human terms. I used to consider that they would work out that any counter measure that I used that did not physically hurt them would not deter them. But a daily change of method does seem to be working.

Basic scarecrows of a single stake in the ground with an old yellow waterproof jacket on it seems to have some effect.

A more sophisticated version is an unturned bucket. A cross of wood is then bolted across its base fitted with old CDs at the end of each arm. The upturned bucket is then dropped onto a bolt fitted into the end of a stake that has been driven into the ground. The CDs at the end of each arm catch the wind and the bucket rotates. Add to that two 3 m strips of hologram silver tape and the whole thing can be seen from a way off. These “scarecrows” I move around each day. Alongside, 3m of flexible drain rods pushed into a base made from old electric cable drums with the silver tape attached providing some added flags of fluttering tape.  Additionally I have a hawk kite held aloft by 6m of carbon fibre ex-fishing rod pole. When all else fails – I will start to use rockets to fire over the top of the rooks when they are crowding up on a neighbouring field, waiting to hop over the fence. All this of course takes time. But having lost all the berries last year to these pests, I am leaving little to chance.

Next issue is going to be sea buckthorn fly and the spotted winged fruit fly. The end of June is the period to monitor the appearance of these pests. I will leave this problem to my next blog.