screenshot of Rectory Farmhouse website

At Rectory Farmhouse, we are enormously proud that our new and expanded website is now live online. Within a short period of time we have not only built a strong customer base, but have also created a beautiful new website, complete with plenty of information about us and how we can be of service to you.

We’d like to direct your attention to our blog, where we already have one post and are working on a series of new posts as well. You may wish to sign up to our blog via RSS to ensure that you keep up to date with our posts.

High volume, slow transport commodities such as wheat and soy beans will continue to be produced at low cost in extensive agricultural systems such as in Kazakhstan and Brazil. More perishable produce however will need to be produced closer to the final consumer. Local production will replace exotic produce such as beans from Kenya, tomatoes from Morocco and melons from Ecuador.

To be able to grow enough local produce varieties need to be improved:

• Plant yields have to be increased without the need for more mineral fertilizer.
• Pest and disease resistance must be improved as older, less environmentally sensitive pesticides are phased out and urban consumers demand pest-free, pesticide-free products.
• Stress resistance must be improved as climate change and the shortage of good land force plants to survive drought, flooding and higher average temperatures.

Although some yield increase is possible from improved cultivation techniques, growers and consumers will have to embrace the full range of available technologies to enjoy plentiful, healthy, nutritious and safe food well into the future. Knowledge of genetics will enhance seed breeding as well as permit targeted genetic modification. Both technologies should be supported with science-based objective regulatory systems.