The first harvest of a brand new type of berry designed to cope with climate change is this week being harvested in Canterbury.

New House Farm in Chartham is one of 35 across the UK able to harvest the new blackcurrant crop which will be used to make Ribena.

Farmer John Hinchliff explains more

The new variety called 'Ben Lawers' has been bred to cope through warmer winters and has taken more than 20 years to develop.

Farmer John Hinchliff from New House Farm says the new berries means this year's harvest has been a huge success.

He said: "It has behaved exactly as we all thought it would so we are very pleased. We’re about 25% of the way through the harvest and we’ve got three to four very long weeks ahead of us. All we need now is for the sun to shine, but not too much.

He added: "This year we have a great crop so the blackcurrant juice is great from a Ribena point of view, and it's also good from my point of view because if we have another mild winter, I know that the crops will still be good."

Usually, blackcurrant bushes need a ‘winter chill’ in order to bear fruit in the summer. As British winters have been getting warmer, it has become more difficult for farmers like Mr Hinchliff to grow the fruit.

The new climate resilient berry was designed to overcome this hurdle by thriving in the slightly warmer conditions.

Researchers from the James Hutton Institute are responsible for the groundbreaking work which started in 1956.

Mr Hinchliff says thanks to them, this year he is able to harvest more than 150 acres.

He added: "Many years ago when we always had cold winters it wasn't a problem. Now we are gradually going to phase out the crops that prefer the cold and adopt more of the new berries.

"They will probably be in the ground for somewhere between 10 and 15 years by which time either the bushes will get old, or there will be another challenge that us farmers have to face. They are constantly breeding the varieties so that in another three or four years time, the next 'superduper' one will not only put up with global warming, but also the next challenge and we never know what that will be."

More than 10,000 tonnes of blackcurrants are harvested in the UK each year, 90% of which are used by Ribena.

Mr Hinchliff said: "I think very proud is a good word because very often farmers grow potatoes or wheat, and they’re never really quite sure where all their products are going to end up, it could be in another country.

"When I go into a petrol station and I'm standing behind somebody who just bought a bottle of Ribena, I do feel like tapping them on the shoulder and saying there's only 35 of us in the country that grow this so that bottle could be one of mine.

It's great as a farmer to actually see your products go all the way through to the consumer and we know exactly where the products ends up, squashed into a little bottle."

Harriet Prosser, Agronomist at Lucozade Ribena Suntory, added: “This year’s harvest sees farmers reaping the rewards as 20 years of research comes to fruition.

"Thanks to continued hard work and research, this breed of blackcurrant is now ready for juicing on a large scale to produce that classic Ribena taste.

"Harvest is always the most exciting time of the year but this time around it promises to be doubly rewarding. This year’s weather has demonstrated why we need to be on the front-foot in adapting to a changing climate.”

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