Farmer’s Weekly – 23 August 2019

on the market floor

Changeis a constant.Thisis

trueofourpersonallives

andofvirtuallyevery

humanendeavour:business,

politics,thesciences,

agriculture...younameit.

I’vealwayswelcomedchange

inthefreshproducebusiness.

It notonlyoffersexciting

newopportunities,buttakes

ourindustryforward.

Ofcourse,notevery

developmentcanbeappliedby

everyfarmer,butpayingattention

tonewconceptsandmethodsand

applyingthemwhereappropriate

canenhanceboththeproduction

andmarketingoffreshproduce.

thedigitalage

I comefromtheBCera.No,

I’mnotthatold;I’mreferringto

‘BeforeComputers’.Although

I mightnotbea technological

wizard,I understandenough

toappreciatethemanybenefits

thatfarmerscangainfrom

thecorrectuseofdigitaland

othertypesoftechnology.

I readinFarmer’sWeekly, as

wellasinonlinepublications

Ireceive from around the world,

of the many new developments

available to the fresh produce

sector. These include drones that

can work wonders for farmers

and grading machines that ‘read’

the internal quality of fruit.

There are also new methods

of improving shelf life. One

new US innovation is a special

chart that provides the catering

trade with information on

avocado sizes, yields and

preparation. By referring to

the chart, a food service

facility can choose the correct

size avocado for its specific

A world of improvement

michael

cordes

purposes, thereby eliminating

waste, improving efficiencies

and reducing costs.

old objectives,

new approaches

I recall as a fruit and vegetable

farmer in the 1970s experimenting

with methods for extending

shelf-life, such as improving

packaging and offering more

attractively presented produce.

This remains the objective

today, but thanks to new

technology, the methods have

improved beyond recognition.

The fresh produce sector will

continue to embrace change

and I wonder what the years

ahead will bring. I also wonder

if anybody remembered

to tell Mother Nature!

• Michael Cordes is an agricultural
  journalist, consultant, trainer
  and former farmer. Email him
  at [email protected].
  Subject line: Market floor. ▪fW

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