Major UK nursery Cornerways is to become a full member of the Coforta co-operative after several years of close collaboration with The Greenery UK.
The co-operative is planning an expansion of its acreage from 1 January 2012, with the acreage allocated to the vegetable fruits segment - tomatoes and cucumbers - to be expanded by 67 hectares, of which 49 are located in the Netherlands and 18 in the UK.
Coöperatie Coforta is the grower co-operative which owns The Greenery and brings together around 1,000 mostly Dutch grower companies. Cornerways will become only the second British member of Coforta after Billingham-based John Baarda became a member last year. With 18 hectares of tomato cultivation, Cornerways is one of the largest tomato nurseries in Britain, and its produce will be marketed through Greenery UK to British retailers.
The expansion brings the total acreage allocated to The Greenery tomatoes to over 350 hectares in the Netherlands. Including members from other countries, the total tomato acreage will be over 400 hectares. This growth is in line with the targets set out together with growers in the company’s Product Business Plan.
Cornerways Nursery is regarded as one of Britain’s most sustainable and energy-efficient nurseries. The greenhouse at Wissington, Norfolk, uses no fuel for heating, with all the heat needed to maintain a year-round growing temperature of around 20oC provided by using recycled water from the sugar making process provided by the combined heat and power (CHP) system in the adjacent British Sugar processing plant.
The CHP system generates over 70 MW of electricity, which powers the factory and around 100,000 nearby homes. It also produces steam and high temperature water for use in sugar processing.
The Greenery recently gave Cornerways Nursery the ‘Nature Counts’ sustainability label. The label is used to transparently communicate with clients and consumers about sustainable products. In order to be eligible for the label, products must have demonstrated success in the marketplace and be at the forefront of sustainable production.
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