Southern England Farms was celebrating last night (Thursday) after taking home the title of Grower of the Year.
The Cornwall-based business also took the title of Vegetable Grower of the Year at the awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London.
Alasdair MacLennan, technical director, said: “We’re absolutely delighted with this win, which reflects the hard work we put into the business.”
Other winners on the night included Newmafruit, which took the title of Top-fruit Grower of the Year, Fresh Link was recognised for Business Initiative of the Year and Donaldsons Flowers was awarded Cut Flower Grower of the Year. Soft-fruit Grower of the Year went to Canterbury based BR Brooks & Son.
Young Grower of the Year went to Andrew Johnson of Home Harvest Salads, based near Hull Yorkshire. His company developed the popular new concept of living salads. He said: “We’re delighted about winning the award. We worked very hard to develop this innovative product.”
He said they saw an opening in the market following the backlash against salads, and were able to offer consumers something fresher that ticked all their boxes.
Teeside producer John Baarda took the title of Salad Grower of the Year. The company has recently put considerable investment into its 24 acres of high technology glass production at Billingham, creating the world's biggest ever single-lit project in the world.
Leading Cambridgeshire producer Clem Tompsett, of Tompsett Burgess Growers, best known for his work with carrots, was also honoured for his years of service with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
