An organic vegetable company has been named Vegetable Grower of the Year, thanks to its unique growing conditions in the Moray Firth region of Scotland.
Nessgro, based at Dalcross near Inverness, was honoured with the accolade last week at the Grower of the Year awards, held at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel.
The company, which can reduce the need for imports thanks to the Moray Firth region’s ability to extend the UK crop season, has introduced new lines such as organic baby Chantenay carrots with the help of Marks & Spencer.
“Growing crops in the Moray coast area gives us a real point of difference. The impact of the Gulf Stream combined with the light, manageable soils extends our season and yields organic vegetables of the highest quality,” said managing director Steven Jack. “Once harvested, vegetables are hydro-cooled, a system of drenching the produce in near-freezing water, and then packed in high-tech, modified atmosphere packaging designed to deliver the freshest possible produce to the consumer.”
Established in 2004 by Jack and chairman Colin Clark, Nessgro currently supplies organic carrots, parsnips and other specialised crops to major UK retailers through Lincolnshire-based distributor Manor Fresh, which is the largest supplier of vegetables to M&S.
“This award recognises the hard work of Steven and his team and shows that growers can move up the supply chain by adding value rather than simply producing a commodity,” said Clark. “Our strong relationship with Manor Fresh has streamlined the supply of produce to customers, cutting out cost and ensuring freshness.”
