Investing for the future
October 2011: As part of our ongoing commitment to producing organic food for UK families we are investing in the farm. We are applying for planning permission to extend our existing cold storage facilities and add a production area to enable us to offer better value to our customers. Download our Investing for the future information leaflet
Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust: Grey Partridge population increase at Pollybell
October 2011: Here at Pollybell Organic Farm, the onset of Autumn is also the time we complete our wildlife analysis for the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, most recently our counts for the Grey Partridge. The results make interesting reading: we’re happy to report that this year has seen an overall increase in our Partridge population on the farm. The long dry summer created favourable breeding conditions allowing our Grey Partridges to produce four young birds for every adult residing in this habitat. This is great news for another of our red-listed Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species.
Soil Association Farm Walk
June 2011: We were delighted to host a Soil Association Farm Walk on 30th June with over 30 farmers and growers visiting the Farm.
Visit the Soil Assocation website to read the full write-up, watch a video and see pictures from the walk.
Pollybell Organic Farm and the Soil Association
Pollybell Organic is pleased to announce that they will be working with the Soil Association as part of their Low Carbon farming Project as one of the case study farms.
The project will be looking at the current carbon foot printing tools available to farmers and assessing and comparing them to then provide a clear and understandable review of the tools. Following on from this will be a benchmarking exercise.
The aim of the project is that it will get farmers to use a particular tool (or selection of tools), collect the data and set up a benchmarking facility which farmers can then use to get an idea of how they compare and what improvements could be made.
Alongside all of this the Soil Association will be providing technical guidance documents and case studies online and running workshops and events to identify best practice and encourage farmers to adopt low carbon farming practices.
For more information see Soil Association website.
Pollybell Organic Farm awarded seventh conservation award by British Trust for Ornithology
March 2011: Pollybell Organic Farm has been named as winner of the Land Management category of the 2010 Business BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) Bird Challenge, the seventh award the farm has received from the charity.
The national bi-annual Bird Challenge is a unique partnership between businesses, the BTO and local communities which encourages biodiversity on business and industrial sites, and rewards businesses for their environmental initiatives. Pollybell was awarded first place in the Land Management category after 133 different species of birds were recorded on the farm.
This award follows six previous conservation awards from the BTO, including the Conservation Award, the Conservation & Community Award, and four times winner of their Bird Count Category, maintaining Pollybell’s reputation for environmental conservation.
James Brown, Finance Director at Pollybell Organic Farm, comments: “We are delighted to win this award. We believe it is a real testament to our commitment to conservation, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone here at Pollybell for their combined efforts in this area. We take a holistic approach to our organic farming – it’s about creating and promoting a healthy environment as well as growing great quality food.”
Pollybell Organic Farm is one of the UK's leading growers of organic vegetables producing a wide range of crops including broccoli, cauliflower, various types of cabbage, curly kale, celeriac, bunched carrots, beetroot, leeks and onions. As this award demonstrates large scale organic production and the environment go hand in hand together.
Kate Aldridge, BTO Challenge Organiser adds: “The number of birds using a site is a result of the number of well-maintained habitats present and is great indication of the site’s health and the effort being put into managing it. The BTO – EDF Energy Business Bird Challenge gives the British Trust for Ornithology an opportunity to celebrate all the hard work site managers, staff and volunteers have invested in these business wildlife havens. Everyone at Pollybell who was involved in the provision of such superb habitats and identifying the birds using them should be very proud of their achievements.”
Pollybell shortlisted for Silver Lapwing Awards
Pollybell Organics has been shortlisted as a finalist in the prestigious Silver Lapwing Awards organized by FWAG and sponsored by Waitrose & Coombe Farm. Andy Ormiston, Managing Director of FWAG said “The standard of entries to the FWAG Silver Lapwing Award continues to improve year on year. All of the finalists are running a commercial operation for the production of food but have demonstrated that it is possible to do this alongside caring for the environment”. The judging tour of the finalists’ farms will take place in mid-September.
For more information about the awards visit www.fwag.org.uk
The Pollybell Honey Bee Project
We are delighted to announce the launch of the Honey Bee Project at Pollybell, a new initiative introducing our own honey bees into the farm. Caring for our local environment and its wildlife is central to our approach to farming. We are taking areas of the farm out of production in order to grow plants and trees that are great sources of both pollen and nectar.
We have 7 hives coming to the farm this summer which will be set up and maintained by Tom, our new farm beekeeper.
In order to provide pollen and nectar for as much of the year as possible, we have planted the following:
- A small fruit orchard to produce early blossom
- 5 acres of borage (nicknamed the “bee’s bread” probably because of its nectar rich flowers)
- 5 acres of phacelia, the flowers of which produce large amounts of nectar and pollen and are one of the top plants for potential honey yield. They are much visited by honey bees and short-tongued bumble bees. The honey produced is amber or sometimes light green, with a delicate aroma. (Source: International Bee Research Association)
- 2 acres of a special pollen and nectar mix
- We also have 200 acres of field beans which flower in June and early July and are a great source of food for the bees
For more information about honey bees, visit British Bee Keepers Association
All things bright and beautiful – Pollybell Organic Farm scoops another award!
Pollybell Organic Farm has been named Winner for the North East at the Beautiful Farm Awards 2009/10. The award was presented to Pollybell’s finance director, James Brown by celebrity TV chef, James Martin, at an impressive ceremony at the House of Lords.
Pollybell Organic Farm caught the attention of the judges due to its striking commitment to yielding the finest organic fresh produce while using the most up-to-date organic farming techniques and ensuring the best possible environment is maintained.
The team achieves this through initiatives such as leaving winter stubbles until February to provide shelter and a food source to farmland birds; putting up nesting boxes for the owls and setting up 240 bird feeding stations. To ensure that the existing natural habitat is not overstretched 48 acres of woodland, 2,934 trees and 21,660 metres of hedgerows have also been recently planted - that’s enough hedgerow to enclose every Premiership and Championship football pitch in England and still have enough left over to encircle the top seven teams in league one! As a result, the farm is home to a staggering array of barn owls, lapwings, brown hares and English grey partridges.
The Brown family has been involved in farming in Lincolnshire for more than 120 years and on this 5,000 acre site, grows a wide variety of organic fresh vegetables. It is one of the largest suppliers of organic vegetables in the UK and supplies local farm shops, vegetable box schemes and packers across the country. The health and fertility of crops is achieved through rotation or rest of fields which reduces the need for artificial fertilisers and pesticides.
James Brown, finance director at Pollybell Organic Farm, says: “Being recognised at the Beautiful Farm Awards is a huge achievement and testament to our commitment to growing crops in a sustainable way while caring for the environment in which we live and work. We are passionate about raising the bar for organic farming in the UK and believe wholeheartedly that a beautiful farm and a profitable business can go hand-in-hand.”
The Beautiful Farm Awards was hosted by Lord Palmer (a member of the EU Sub-committee for Environment and Agriculture) and is sponsored by New Holland Agriculture and organised by Farm Business magazine. The awards were designed to celebrate farming that is in harmony with the environment.
For Pollybell Organic Farm, the Beautiful Farm Award follows “hot on the tail” of several other accolades including Highly Commended in the Progressive Farmer of the Year category at the Food and Farming Industry Awards 2009; Organic Grower of the Year 2008 at the Grower Awards and BTO Business Bird Challenge 2008 class winner.
Pollybell Highly Commended at 2009 Food & Farming Industry Awards
James Brown, 27, of Pollybell Organic Farm based in Wroot Road, Doncaster has been Highly Commended in the Progressive Farmer of the Year category at this year’s Food and Farming Industry Awards.
Mr Brown collected his commendation at an Awards Dinner hosted by James Paice MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Agriculture and Rural Affairs, at the House of Commons in London on December 11th.
Pollybell Farm is currently owned and run by the Brown family who have been farming in the Lincolnshire area for over 120 years. The Farm supplies a wide variety of organic vegetables to local farm shops, vegetable box schemes and packers throughout the UK.
James and his family are passionate about growing crops in a sustainable way, whilst caring for the environment in which they live and work.
“The farm is now into its 10th year of producing crops organically and despite today’s tough economic conditions, and the added challenges that organic farming brings, we are totally committed to continuing,” said James. “Being recognised in this way is very gratifying and a major morale boost, which definitely helps to spur the team on in that commitment.”
Along with his father, Nigel Brown, James has developed a successful and adaptable business strategy which focuses on the needs of his customers. But it doesn’t end there; he also has a strategy for expansion through further land conversion, and with increased sales expected from this year’s harvest, he plans a new cold store along with two new reservoirs.
The Progressive Farmer of the Year Award is sponsored by Agrovista who provide specialist agronomy and crop protection products to British agriculture. The commendation was presented to James by Agrovista’s, Marketing Director, Nick Rainsley.
The Food and Farming Industry Awards are run annually by Farm Business magazine.
“Surviving in the world of farming today is not an easy job, the successful farmer is acutely aware of how best to utilise his assets. People, their skills, buildings and every bit of land all have to be put to the best use possible,” said Alan Whibley, Publisher of Farm Business magazine.
“In the category of Progressive Farmer of the Year we were looking for a farmer who could remain profitable, whilst at the same time balance it with being a good custodian of the countryside; a champion of quality British farming in fact.”
Pollybell Carrots commended at Soil Association Awards 2009
The Soil Association Organic Food Awards 2009, sponsored by Highland Spring, were judged by an expert panel of over 60 chefs, restaurateurs, food writers and nutritionists, alongside names such as Donna Air and Livia Firth. A three day tasting marathon of over 600 entries was hosted at the Duke of Cambridge in London, the UK's only organically certified pub.
Pollybell carrots were awarded 'Commended' in the Fruit and Vegetables category.
The Soil Association Organic Food Awards, now in their 21st year, showcase the very best in quality organic food and drink and highlight the imaginative and successful way in which individuals, and their companies, are contributing to the resurgence in organic, local and seasonal food.
Judging in all categories was by blind tasting and all products were judged on taste, smell, texture and appearance.