Mention Iceland to someone working in the UK food industry and normally they will think of a retail store where Mums go.

But in the last seven days that has all changed. Suddenly, Iceland has become synonymous with ‘erupting volcano’ and that means ash clouds and no flights.

Not only is this inconvenient to travellers (although personally I can see the attraction of being stuck on holiday in warmer climes) but it has the potential to become pretty tiresome for food retailers and consumers too.

Why so, you may think.

Well it just so happens that many of our favourite food and grocery items arrive on our shores by air. Fresh flowers and vegetables are flown in, particularly from Africa. Exotic fruit comes in from the Caribbean and from other far away destinations.

Yet for now at least the mangoes are as firmly grounded as the holidaymakers. And, whilst plucky Brits are travelling for days across continents in taxis to get back to our ash-laden shores, flowers, fruit and vegetables are slowly rotting in their countries of origin, costing their producers large amounts of money and leaving garage forecourts across the land short of cheap carnations.

What’s more the Freight Transport Association is suggesting that it might take up to two weeks to get air freight moving again once the ash cloud clears, so it is looking unlikely that Kenyan-grown green beans will be on the dinner menu for many British families for the next few weeks.

But though it is improbable that many of us will find these short-term shortages anything more than mildly inconvenient it does highlight an important point. Go back three or four weeks and no one would have anticipated the UK’s airspace being shut down for an hour, let alone a week. If something else happened that shut down our transport links, would we have enough food? The answer is probably yes, but it does demonstrate how we mustn’t take food supplies for granted.

Anyone for a Ghanaian pineapple chunk?

Figures released this week by the Soil Association show that sales of organic products in the UK fell by 12.9% in 2009 to £1.84 billion.

The Organic Market Report showed that shoppers spent less on organic food during the recession. The three biggest categories of organic food – dairy, fruit and vegetables, and fresh meat – saw supermarket sales fall by 6.5%, 14.8% and 22.7% respectively. In contrast, organic milk bucked the trend, with dairy sales growing by 1% resulting in 2009 being the best year for organic milk sales on record.

Against this market backdrop, organically managed land area in the UK increased to 743,516 ha in January 2009 – up 9% on the previous year – and now represents 4.3% of UK farmland. Luckily for organic producers, the Soil Association remain confident that organic demand will recover, anticipating growth of up to 5 per cent in organic sales this year.

A CV is like a marketing brochure for you and your career and as such it is important that it portrays you in the best possible way. Whether you are looking for your first job or are experienced it is always important to have an up to date CV prepared.

CVs should present relevant information in a logical and easy to read format. Whilst there are no hard and fast rules, typically a CV should include personal information such as name and contact details, as well as a summary of your education and qualifications and your employment history. Many employers also like to see a summary of your career goals, details of any training you have undertaken and the details of referees.

Most importantly, your CV should never contain false information and it is also important that your spelling and grammar is accurate. It is also advantageous to tailor your CV to each job that you apply for, as certain skills/ experience may be more or less relevant.

Finally, get someone else to check your CV before you send it off to a prospective employer or publish it on Land-Force.com. And good luck in your job search!

Defra has recognised the value of trees in controlling climate change in it’s recently published Climate Change Plan 2010.

The report, which sets out how Defra will continue to deal with the challenges and opportunities of climate change, gives a UK target of 23,000 ha of new tree planting per year over the next forty years.

In particular, the document highlights the benefit of urban green spaces in managing surface water, filtering pollution and cooling city air, suggesting that areas of woodland could reduce urban temperatures by up to 2°C. So it seems that in the future trees really will be seen as cool!

Nottingham based Access Training provides training and apprenticeships in Animal Care and Horticulture as part of its wider business and was recently looking to recruit for a vacancy. Having never used Land-Force.com before Human Resources Officer, Chris Rodgers, didn’t really know what to expect but Land-Force.com delivered…

Chris comments: “The assistance I received in placing the advert online with Land-Force.com was second to none and compared to the price of advertising though other sources, the fee was very reasonable. Ultimately though, when advertising a vacancy, the most important factor is how the position was filled and ours was indeed filled via Land-Force. Needless to say, I have already placed a new advert on the site for another position that we are currently recruiting for.”

A new telephone helpline has been launched to provide fresh produce industry workers with access to advice. The Pay & Work Rights helpline will allow individuals including migrant workers to get advice about wage rates, the working time directive and gangmaster licensing. It can be reached on 0800 917 2368.