Kent farm says UK plum industry has 'bumper' season this summer
Mr Miller said: "There is a real momentum growing within the plum industry again."The UK's plum production area fell from 2,400 hectares (5,930 acres) in 1985 to 800 hectares (1,976 acres) in 2017 as growers turned to fruits with higher profitability."As cheaper imports flooded the market and plum production became less profitable, interest in growing the fruit dwindled," Mr Miller added."But we have now invested in new root stocks as well as modern farming systems such as automatic minimal irrigation and soil moisture analysis."
WB Chambers said the new varieties as well as this year's perfect growing conditions means it has doubled its production from 150 tonnes in 2024 to 300 tonnes this summer.Tesco fruit category buying manager Simon Reeves said: "We are hearing similar reports from all our growers and main plum supplier that this has been the best harvest for about three years."The quality of British-grown plums arriving at our stores across the UK right now is easily the best we've seen for several years – plump, juicy and sweet."The grower added new varieties of plum have a better shelf life that will help cut down on wastage.Reported by PA Media
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'We need to do manufacturing ourselves' Daniel Bangham is an endangered to national charity Heritage Crafts - which promotes and supports traditional UK crafts - there are "serious concerns" about the "ongoing viability" of his trade of 45 instrument making, which Mr Bangham does at his own workshop in Linton, Cambridgeshire, is among more than 90 crafts it classes as are just enough skilled craftspeople to keep the work going, and to educate others - for now - but more is needed to be done to safeguard its is clearly a demand for his work: top musicians still need bespoke instruments that are not mass-produced."Professional players depend on craftsmen to get the last five to 10% out of their instruments," said Mr Bangham."Without the instrument maker, you can't have musicians at the top of their game because a top musician will need constant contact with a maker and repairer to get the very best of their instruments." Manufacturing of woodwind instruments - as with many other things - has moved to East Asia, he says, but the reliance on imports needed to change. 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It can also be expensive and takes time, which does not correlate with competitive tendering Warren has seen all these problems, as well as commonly-used materials not being up to the task."Modern rendering is now resin, it's not sand, cement and lime anymore, it's prebagged and it doesn't lend itself to pargeting," he explained."Flat rendering is cheaper and some [building] designs are very boxy; it looks wrong on a modern house."Nevertheless, he is hopeful for the future. 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"When you think people would quarry flints and knap them at Grimes Graves [a prehistoric flint mine in Lynford, Norfolk]."I still might train someone; I've had apprentices in the past, they've stuck to the course, some have now done it for 28 years." Published annually by Heritage Crafts, the Red List categorises five skills as extinct, 70 as critically endangered and more than 90 as endangered."The Red List underscores the urgent need for greater investment and support to safeguard these skills for the next generation," said Daniel Carpenter, executive director of Heritage Crafts."Reversing this decline would represent not just the continuation of skilled trades, but also a significant boost to the UK's cultural heritage and countless opportunities for future innovation." Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk.
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