02/07/22 - Farming Today This Week: the shape of the soft fruit sector

Charlotte Smith visits a fruit farm in Kent to investigate the challenges and the joys of growing fruit. Clock House Farm produced strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples and plums. They've face recruitment issues this year because of the war in Ukraine, since many of their seasonal workers normally come from there. Meanwhile the cost of labour as well as the price of other inputs like diesel and fertiliser have risen...meaning they are currently operating below the cost of production. But investment is still being made in innovation like the use of robotics. Presented by Charlotte Smith Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons