Being part of the UK's largest farming operation, you might think Mike Shapland has it easier than an independent farmer. As operations manager at the 1,500ha Coidham Estate, Cambridgeshire, part of the Co-operative Farms network, he overseas the production of potatoes, pumpkins and onions for distribution throughout the company's Co-op food stores. In a trading system such as the Co-operative it could be perceived that growers in the chain need concern themselves less with finding buyers and getting a fair price, but Shapland says he faces the same pressures as another grower operating in the industry—and in many cases more so.
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