Sourcing with integrity
Angus Davison, MBE, of Haygrove has been a well-known pioneer of commercial scale organic soft fruit production. The crops are grown near Kington, Herefordshire, in the Welsh borders, far away from the conventional production areas in the UK. Angus finds growing organic fruit both a challenge and a pleasure, because success results from working with nature, rather than against it. Pesticides are not used, so special care must be taken of the soil and of naturally occurring predatory insects.
Organic fruit farming is a continual learning process with lots of risks. Growing the crops under temporary polythene tunnels has reduced the risk from poor weather and crop loss through disease. The use of tunnels has allowed Haygrove to grow soft fruit in a sustainable way in the UK, rather than to import it from drier countries. Yields of organic fruit are lower, making production costs higher than for conventional crops as the berries are prone to attack from many pests and diseases. For example, slugs find the strawberries as equally enticing as consumers and, if not controlled by natural predators, would eat more of the crop. Although insects cause the greatest angst, weed control costs the most, as the better the crop grows the bigger the weeds grow!
Haygrove have been suppliers to Sainsbury's SO Organic since commencing to grow soft fruit organically and are pleased to have enjoyed considerable support from Sainsbury’s during their early years, when so much was at risk and a great deal had to be learnt to grow economic crops of these very perishable, but delicious, summer fruits.
