26 January 2023 - Flipbook - Page 31
FARM WEEK
NEWS
Goplasticpallets.com has used the power of
visual storytelling to take its ‘Leave the wood’
campaign to the next level by launching an
intriguing new video.
The poignant video tells the story of how the
humble wooden pallet has been superseded
by the reusable plastic pallet, as we move
forward into the 21st century.
Set in a woodland scene, a pallet operative
is seen laboriously hammering nails to fix
a stack of broken wooden pallets. When a
nail bends out of shape, he throws down his
hammer in frustration, takes a coffee break
and picks up an issue of ‘The Daily Pallet’.
The front page story ‘Leave the wood. Go
plastic’ sets the theme for the next scene, where
the operative is seen leaving the woods and
passing through a futuristic cloud of smoke
to find himself in a warehouse surrounded
by impressive stacks of plastic pallets, with
a voiceover announcing “Welcome to the
future.”
But, what is the future for the pallet industry?
Jim Hardisty, Managing Director of
Goplasticpallets.com, explains: “We wanted
to create more than just your bog standard
corporate video that shows the size and
S
largest pig marketing
operation in the UK.
Charlie added:
“We’re a large family
business. My father
and uncle started off
with 250 acres and
today we farm in the
region of 7,000 acres.
The business has
been successful over
the years, through
hard work and a bit of
luck. The key to that
success is, however,
teamwork and the
strength of our team
31
‘Leave the wood’ video heralds new era for pallet industry
Farmers can’t afford
to stand still, says
David Black winner
UCCESSION
planning,
highlyskilled
staff, new
technology and
improved genetics
will help keep the
British pig industry in
good shape says the
winner of this year’s
David Black Award.
The award is
presented to
someone who has
made a valuable
and sustained
contribution to the
British pig industry
and this year goes
to Charles ‘Charlie’
Allen, of Oxfordshirebased DC & RJ Allen &
Partners.
Charlie, pictured,
received his award
at an industry
breakfast, attended by
politicians, members
of the House of Lords
and industry leaders.
It was presented
by Neil Parish MP,
Chairman of the EFRA
Select Committee.
Charlie said: “I’ve
been in the industry
all my life, growing
up looking after pigs
and I’ve been at it
ever since. I’m just an
ordinary pig farmer,
it’s as simple as that,
so to receive the
award was a surprise
and I never thought
for a minute I would
get it.”
Charlie started
farming in 1971 with
his father, uncle,
brother and cousin,
with responsibility
for 300 sows and
has never looked
back. Today, the
business has more
than 5,000 sows at
units in Oxfordshire
and Dorset which
Charlie still runs with
his brother but now
also his son and two
nephews.
He was a founder
member of the NPA
Producer Group
and is chairman
of Thames Valley
Cambac which has
grown to be the
NOVEMBER 09 2017
here has stood us in
good stead over the
years.
“Generally we’ve
always been
very proactive
farmers, working
with processors,
understanding
customers and
supplying what they
want. I’ve always
realised you can’t
stand still though.
We’ve upgraded
buildings and utilised
the latest technology
to ensure we’re in
a position where
we’re operating as
up to date as we can
be. There have also
been tremendous
advances in pig
genetics and pig
health.
“The industry has
totally changed. The
biggest change was
brought about by the
sow stall ban where
we lost virtually half
of our industry. We
need to make sure we
don’t lose the other
half as we go through
Brexit and look to
open new markets.
“While the industry
is becoming more
specialised we
should ensure we
put ourselves in the
strongest position
possible to compete
in the global market.
Going forwards, the
important point is
that whatever we do,
we need to do it well.”
scale of our warehouse and product range.
We wanted to produce an emotive video that
demonstrates how far the pallet industry has
progressed in the last decade alone.
“I’ve been working in the pallet industry
for more than 35 years and in that time I’ve
seen a phenomenal progression, not just in the
design and development of different sizes and
styles of plastic pallets to suit an ever growing
range of applications, but also in customers
perceptions about their benefits and uses.
“Once the new neighbour, plastic pallets
are now a first choice for many logistics and
supply chain professionals and the mainstay
of the pallet world.
“So the future in terms of pallets: it’s reusable
and much more versatile; it’s light, nestable
and exportable. The future is hygienic,
multi-coloured. It’s durable and unlimited.
Ultimately, the future is plastic!”
View the video on Goplasticpallets.com’s new
website here: https://www.goplasticpallets.
com/news/leave-the-wood-video-heralds-newera-for-pallet-industry/
Dark Green 37: It could
come to a field near you
T
HE emergence of a new strain of potato
late blight (Phytophthora infestans) with
resistance to fluazinam, one of the most
commonly used blight fungicides, is raining
concern among agronomists.
After five cases of 37_A2 (Dark
Green 37) were confirmed in the
UK last year it has spread,
mainly to neighbouring
counties around the midlands,
but also as far as Kent.
“From only a handful of
cases in 2016 we have
seen close to 20 confirmed
cases this year,” says Darryl
Shailes, Hutchinsons potato
agronomist.
“In what was a relatively lowpressure year this is an alarming
rate of expansion with incidents so far
in Kent, Shropshire, North Yorkshire, Cheshire
and, most recently, Derbyshire.
“We don’t know near where it will go next, but
we do know that it is at least as competitive as
the dominant strains Blue 13 and Pink 6,” he
adds.
Although little is known about this strain it has
proved to be highly aggressive. At the Eurofins
fungicide demonstration site near Derby, Dark
Green 37 was detected in Maris Piper and
Melody crops despite not being released.
Pink 6 was also detected in a crop of
Melody, but Blue 13 was absent from
all samples.
“It appears that our 13_A2 (Blue 13)
has been outcompeted as it was not
present in any of the samples,” said
Eurofins in a note to manufacturers.
For many years fluazinam has been
a mainstay of most programmes and
against Blue 13 it has been amongst
the most effective actives. It’s
possible, however, that such frequent
use has increased the selection pressure on
fluazinam. This raises questions about how best
to manage blight at the start and end of the
programme, the main fluazinam usage period,
says Darryl Shailes.
“From
only a
handful of
cases in 2016 we
have seen close
to 20 confirmed
cases this
year.”
