As the UK subsidiary of Spearhead International, Greens farms across 4,000 hectares of predominantly light land irrigated cropping in East Anglia, Sussex and Northumberland.
Vegetable production includes beetroot and onions. Seed potato production includes every stage from tissue culture to final stage multiplication, supported by close co-operation with breeders. Salad potatoes are produced across four counties for a wide range of packers. Processing potatoes for both crisping and chipping are supplied from own crop and from a large group of partner growers. Contract farming arrangements involving cereal and sugar beet cropping are an integral part of the business, built on long term relationships with farmers.
Key areas of focus for Greens are:
- risk mitigation for growers and customers (based on using established crop growth models and objective crop monitoring to both predict and constructively review crop yield and margin performance)
- irrigation scheduling
- disease prediction
- plant health improvements
- crop nutrition
- store management and active monitoring of stored crops
- environmental enhancements
- the development of aids to supply chain management
Key challenges are likely to include evolving the farming of high value crops on light land in low rainfall areas increasingly prone to extreme weather scenarios, in ways that effectively support the needs of both partner growers and packer / processor customers. Related challenges include the enhancement of soil organic matter, reducing fertiliser requirements and working with increasingly limited range of agrochemicals.