Technological innovation, artificial intelligence and robotics are transforming the UK’s agricultural industry and shaping the sustainable future of food produce. Lincoln Agri-Robotics at the University of Lincoln, UK, is the world’s largest academic research centre on agri-robotics. It is a centre of international and impactful research and facilities, it is now showcasing the technology which will shape the future of sustainable food production. In conjunction with the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC), Lincoln Agri-Robotics is hosting an FPC Future conference session on Robotics and Automation in horticulture. The event is free to attend and will take place on 4 November 2021 at the Lincolnshire Showground. The packed schedule includes eight conference sessions covering pre and post farm robotics and automation, data driven technologies, plastics and packaging, supply chain waste, carbon supply chains, vertical farming and sustainability. Attendees will see how the world’s largest known robotic farm, ‘Robot Highways’ project, is shaping the future of UK and international farming and food production. The research aims to ensure industry sustainability by addressing labour shortages, the need for global food production and reduce the environmental impact of the farming sector. ‘Robot Highways’ is set to deliver a vision for the future of soft fruit farming, where robots will assist farmers by carrying out essential, energy intensive physical farm processes such as picking and packing fruit and treating crops to reduce critical pests and diseases, powered by renewable energy. Tours of the University of Lincoln’s Riseholme Campus will provide a fantastic opportunity for visitors to see these technological developments – including the robotic harvesting of strawberries, a state-of-the-art refrigeration unit and various other facilities supporting projects in artificial intelligence, robotics and engineering. An FPC Careers event will be running alongside FPC Futures. Young people are being invited to sample this exciting modern sector as attendees can find out about the ample career opportunities within the agricultural industry. This co-located event will connect today’s up-and-coming talent with the food and flower industry’s best businesses and employers. People aged 18-30 from national universities and colleges studying across all educational disciplines are invited to attend. Professor Simon Pearson, Director of the Lincoln Institute for Agri-food Technology, said: “The University of Lincoln is at the forefront of the UK’s agri-tech and agri-food developments, with our research and teaching supporting innovation and developing workforce skills alongside partners across our food and farming sectors. “Never has it been more important for universities and partners across the sector to work together to deliver the skills, technologies and knowledge base that our agri-food industries require to adapt to a rapidly changing and uncertain landscape. “Therefore, we are delighted to be partnering with Fresh Produce Consortium for this inaugural agri-tech innovation exhibition and are looking forward to showing visitors the breadth of research being undertaken and specialist facilities here at our Riseholme Campus.”

Breaking through the traditional images of farmers and farming, comes a modern day, family-run salad-growing business based in Hinckley, Leicestershire. With the use of new technology, practices that protect the natural environment and a passion for healthy, high-quality food, the young team at Lockwood Salads are changing perceptions leaf by leaf. With an agricultural degree, followed by hands-on and management experience at farms in England and Canada as well as an exciting year in southern Italy growing spinach, Adam Lockwood (32) knew he wanted more. Realising there weren’t many people growing baby leaf salad, he began Lockwood Salads in 2019 with 50 acres of land. The business grows baby spinach, red lettuce, bull’s blood, red chard, land cress and wild rocket. As the business began to grow, Adam looked for support from the Business Gateway Growth Hub which is the one stop shop for Leicestershire businesses. Before COVID, the business operated in two ways – growing and packing its own branded salad bags for wholesale markets used by food service and catering businesses, and selling crops that went straight from the field in trucks to larger suppliers who washed, packed and distributed them to supermarkets. This was during their core season which runs from April to October. The rest of the year the team would import salad from Europe, pack and send it out giving the business an all-year supply. As hospitality businesses closed due to the national lockdown, this effectively ended the supply to this sector but when the supermarkets began to demand more with everyone staying at home, Lockwood Salads switched its focus to this side of the business. Its volume for supermarkets has risen massively from 15,000 to around 35,000 kilos a week but Brexit has also had a huge impact resulting in price wars with larger suppliers, so Lockwood Salads has not returned to importing salad on the same scale for the time being. The business has four employees, including Adam’s partner Alice, which increases to 15 people during peak season. Growth has been rapid and the business now has 300 acres to manage. Adam regularly calls on Business Gateway adviser, Aruna Bhagwan, for advice. He explained: “In the first year you are setting everything up – finding a farm, getting customers, growing a crop.  It wasn’t easy but I knew what I had to do. I was using a loan and my own money. The second year was much more difficult with a lot more outgoings like seeds and rent, and with no reserves, cash flow was an issue. This was made harder being a seasonal business where we are spending from February but have no income until June. I turned to Aruna to help me consider a growth plan. “She gave me advice on the different avenues of support and we were signposted to Hinckley and Bosworth Council’s Recovery Grant. Aruna helped me through the application process and we were successful in securing £15,000 towards a new robotic weeding machine, which is going to greatly improve efficiency.” He added: “I have to say Aruna has been absolutely fantastic. From the beginning, I’ve tried to surround myself with people that can listen and advise. I count Aruna as one of those people. I can pick up the phone anytime and have a chat, it definitely helps to get an external viewpoint.” Aruna commented: “This is such a positive team who are changing the way things are done. From using vegetable oil as fuel to reduce carbon emissions, to monitoring rainfall data to inform their decision-making. I’m so proud of what they’ve achieved. They are on an exciting upward trajectory, and it’s been a pleasure supporting them.”  

Leicester based, Industrial Wiper Company, collects unwanted second-hand clothing and fabric and creates cleaning wipers that are used across a variety of industries from food to janitorial services. Despite a turbulent year facing many market disruptions, as well as the personal and tragic loss of Managing Director, Mark Walters to cancer, this rag and bone business has not just survived but is starting to thrive once again. Mark’s father, Mike Walters established the business in the 1960s.  Back then a horse and cart were used to collect the waste fabric from Leicester companies.  These days t-shirts, sheets and towelling are collected from charities, hotels and factories right across the country and imported from Europe and Asia.  As in the past, the fabrics are then sorted, cut up, bagged and sold – mainly business-to-business – using distributors who sell the wipers on to the auto trade, powder coaters, sign makers, food producers and ventilation cleaners to name a few. When Mark became ill early last year, he called on the Business Gateway Growth Hub and his cousin David Burns for help. David had previously worked as Northern European Marketing Manager for Castrol and ran a capability consulting business. At the time, the business was facing several challenges.  David had come in but with little knowledge of the market or business. There was a shortage in supply of key fabrics, and they were losing significant sums of money a year, due to a combination of factors including inefficient internal systems and procedures, spiralling costs and an unsustainable pricing structure. In addition, their long-term bookkeeper left the company plus Covid-19 and Brexit struck which meant short term closure, a drop in demand for their products and further difficulties accessing the suppliers and the fabric needed to create the wipers.  The number of challenges facing the business, from both internal and external influences was unprecedented.  But by working in partnership with their Business Adviser at the Business Gateway, David was able to tackle every one of them. David said: “This was a time of real disruption and concern. But all the way through I found adviser Joanna Moore and the Business Gateway was the one place I could turn to – to ask questions, get support and find out how things were done locally. I was literally on my own with the team and she was the only person I could talk to, express concern and get help.” As well as providing David with an outlet to discuss problems and identify possible solutions, Joanna was able to offer practical help with several key challenges.  For example, she signposted David to the Leicester Employment Hub to help him quickly recruit a number of key positions within the organisation and access support from the private sector to develop their internal financial systems and processes.  David was also put in touch with one of the Business Gateway’s export consultants, Andrea Collins who understood the intricacies of Brexit and helped them locate a supplier partner to bring materials into the country. David continued: “We’ve also had help with grants. When the metal detected products we supply to the food industry started to come in short supply from Europe, we wanted to set up our own detecting facilities within our factory. Joanna helped us source and apply for an NBV grant of £1,500 towards some machinery giving us in-house capability.” They have also updated the website using a Small Business Recovery grant and Mark’s wife Kay, who is now working at the company, has taken advantage of the Business Gateway finance workshops to build her skills in this area. “It’s been a real partnership. Each time we’ve reviewed our capability we’ve come to the Growth Hub and said, ‘this has disrupted our market, we now need to do this, can you help us?’ And each time Joanna has provided solutions we could try. That’s what I like about it. It’s enabling and assisting to deliver on the opportunities from the disruption in the market,” added David. Joanna Moore commented: “I’ve really enjoyed working with David and Industrial Wiper Company. As an adviser, it’s lovely when you can work with a client, over a longer period.  It gives you the opportunity to really get to know the business and people involved and so it is extra rewarding when you help them to overcome whatever challenges they are experiencing at that time.” The great news is, with the help and support of Joanna and a lot of hard work and dedication from David and his team the business has managed to turn things around and is on target to move from a large loss to a net profit of £15,000 this year. The future is looking even brighter for the business.  Growth plans include working with a new partner, which processes 50,000 tonnes of clothing from their bins and shops, to secure and grow fabric supply.  New non-woven products have been added to the wiper range and a consultancy service has been launched to ensure customers can optimise performance and the cost of their wiping, cleaning, and polishing requirements.  Plus, all Industrial Wipers products and services can now be viewed and ordered via their recently rebranded and redeveloped website – www.industrialwiper.co.uk Finally, David added: “The Growth Hub has been a lifeline. The emotional impact of the support we’ve had is probably an area people don’t fully understand or value. In a small business with everything that goes on to have someone to turn to, bounce ideas off, talk about the market and get feedback: to have another rational voice there, that’s of amazing value.”

A local home builder is supporting those working within the education sector, who play such an important role in their communities by launching a new incentive designed to boost their efforts to buy a new home. David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West, which has it’s Gateford Manor development in Gateford, is offering a deposit contribution of up to £15,000 off the price of a new home for anyone who works at a nursery, school, college or university. The Education Workers scheme, which is being piloted in Yorkshire, allows buyers to receive a deposit contribution of £750 for every £25,000 spent, up to a maximum contribution of £15,000. The discount is designed to help everyone working in the education sector get onto the property ladder or secure a brand new home, as a thank-you for their hard work over the past 18 months. The introduction of the scheme gives something back to the professionals across the region working in the education sector who have faced a challenging 18 months, during which they have had to adapt quickly to school and class closures and the challenges associated with remote teaching. To mark the launch of the pilot scheme, the home builder is also offering £200 school fund contributions for every sale of employees of that school purchasing a home with David Wilson Homes in Worksop and Nottinghamshire. Sam Wood, Sales Director at David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West said: “The teachers, tutors, lecturers and support staff who work in Worksop and Nottinghamshire have done a tremendous job in challenging circumstances over the last 18 months, so we wanted to thank them in the form of some extra support for those who might be looking to buy a new home. We have a range of properties available for first time buyers and growing families alike, and our sales advisors are on hand to arrange appointments and viewings around busy schedules for anyone eager to find out more.”

Leaders from the nine councils in Nottinghamshire have set out their ambitious joint vision for devolved powers to improve investment in the economy, the environment and health. In a paper to the joint City of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Economic Prosperity Committee, councils have outlined how they would work in partnership to help boost economic investment, improve the environment, and tackle health and educational inequalities across the city and county. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are aiming to be one of the government’s pathfinder sites for devolution deals, the details of which will be outlined in the much anticipated ‘levelling-up’ white paper expected this autumn. If a deal was to be agreed, powers would be handed equally to Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council to work in partnership with district councils to take responsibility from the government over major decisions and services that affect people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. If successful, a devolution deal could result in extra powers and money from government to deliver a county and city-wide approach to improve investment in education and skills, transport and the environment, the economy and infrastructure, land and housing, health and social care, youth services and support to vulnerable young people and potentially much more. Extra powers could also be gained to deliver community safety, tourism, and heritage, as well as better control over regulatory powers. Any devolution deal would not affect the status of the local councils who would continue to provide local services to their residents. Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Councillor Ben Bradley, MP, said: “Councils in Nottinghamshire serve 1.1 million people. So many decisions that impact on their lives are decided in Westminster. This is our opportunity to bring those decisions closer to home, so they reflect the needs and ambitions of local businesses and communities here in the city and county, rather than 130 miles away. “The right devolution deal would enable us to deliver economic and social prosperity across our city and county. We would use any powers to grow the private sector by attracting investment in jobs and make sure the skills needed match the sectors that invest in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. The long-term result would be to create jobs, raise living standards and to restore local pride. Devolution is also an opportunity to improve public services. “Levelling up is not just about concrete infrastructure projects such as roads and rail. It needs to go hand in hand with improvements in the conditions for good quality health and education to improve the life chances of people in areas previously underfunded. This could transform the lives of people across Nottinghamshire.” The government has invited council leaders from areas across the country to show how they can work jointly on the new ‘levelling-up’ agenda, its initiative to make sure every area of the country has the powers and resources needed to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve economic growth and prosperity. Councillor David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “It’s important that councils across Nottinghamshire work together to make the most of the possible opportunities that a devolution deal would represent to bring more investment, jobs and prosperity to the region and address the significant underfunding we have seen over many years. “Local leaders want what’s best for local people and we share common ground on a number of key issues. It’s still really early days but the themes and priorities are emerging with a focus on transport and infrastructure, skills and employment, and climate change. “The challenges we face are immense and partnership and collaboration is critical to improving both the long-term future of communities, and the day to day lives and prospects of local people.”