The Farm Advisory Service Team Ltd (FAST) will be moving to Brogdale Farm, the home of the National Fruit Collection, in January 2008.

FAST was founded in 1981 and provides consulting services to fruit growers across the country. Its headquarters will now move to Brogdale, taking with it 15 staff and laboratory space to designated, purpose-built facilities. This will make FAST one of the largest companies based in the recently revamped Brogdale Farm.

FAST will also create trial areas at the farm, to demonstrate new varieties, growing systems and other innovations.

Tim Biddlecombe, managing director of FAST, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be moving to Brogdale Farm, home of the National Fruit Collection. Our business is built around providing advice and support to independent growers across the country, and it makes sense not only to bring our business to the home of the world’s largest collection of fruit trees, but to a facility that will provide us with a trials area.”

Site owner Tony Hillier of Hillreed Land, welcomes FAST as a tenant. “It will be our largest employer on the farm site and will continue to reinforce our emphasis on fruit,” he said.

FAST works with independent growers, with a total of 5,300 hectares of land across the UK. As well as in Faversham, Kent, it has consultants in Suffolk and Herefordshire, and offers analysis of soils and advice on required fertilisers, analysis of plants and advice on storage and marketing.

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