Regional Events 2008

Thursday 17th July 2008 T Hammond & Sons, Redhill, Nottinghamshire
Places limited to 60 - Members £40, Guests £50

The Hammond family are fourth generation farmers and growers, farming on the urban fringe north of the city of Nottingham. The unit comprises circa 647Ha [1,600 acres] of owned, rented and contract farmed land, split into 3 separate farms. Cropping includes irrigated field scale vegetables and potatoes in rotation with cereals as break crops; a range of organic salads and vegetables has developed over the past 5 years. Hammond Produce Ltd was established in 1999 to give separation between the farming and vegetable packing/marketing activity and handle all of the non arable crops produced by the farm; over time it developed substantial links with other local growers which led to the formation of Sherwood Produce Ltd [SPL] in 2002.

SPL is a Producer Organisation comprising 8 Nottinghamshire sand land growers (of which T Hammond & Sons is one) collectively farming 6,475 Ha [16,000 acres] within a 30 mile radius of the New Farm site. SPL operates under the Fruit and Veg Regime that was originally established to encourage scale and collaboration in the fresh produce industry; HPL is responsible for washing, packing, marketing and distribution of SPL members’ vegetable crops which include carrots, parsnips, leeks, onions and smaller quantities of cabbage, spring greens, asparagus, rhubarb and beetroot.

As a key member of the group, the Hammond family are a major part of a rapidly developing, regional agri-business which employs, on group farms and the packing site, circa 300 people. This level of activity is not undertaken at the expense of the core ethos of the family which mixes commercialism with family values and modern agricultural production with very prevalent conservation activities on their farms. The commitment to ‘green’ is reflected in the LEAF marque accreditation of the farming business and the winning of various conservation awards that recognises the efforts made by the business.

In an attempt to stay ahead of the competition there are plans in place to move to a new site, building a 60,000 sq/ft packing facility which will service all of the SPL growers’ production. The new facility will aim to be carbon neutral through a combination of design and utilisation of energy supplied by Phoenix Fuel Ltd, another enterprise with which the family are involved, which is cold crushing oilseed rape to produce bio diesel, pure plant oil and meal solids primarily for internal use within the group businesses.

Outline Programme

9.30am Arrival / Tea & Coffee

• introduction to the Hammond business

10.00am Tour of packing facilities in groups

• challenges of working with a wide customer base
• developing the product range

11.30am Farm Tour

• cooperation & collaboration
• integrating intensive crop production & the environment
• water management
• site & plans for new packhouse development

13.30pm Lunch

• presentations on crop production and harvesting

14.30pm Visit to bio-fuel business - Phoenix Fuels Ltd

• developing a greener supply chain through complete integration
• a unique approach to vegetable oil

16-16.15pm Tea & Coffee / Close
 

BOOKING INFORMATION

All prices include VAT.
To book your place at one or more of these events, contact the Membership Team:

Direct line: 024 7685 8252
E-mail: membership@rase.org.uk
Post: Regional Events, Royal Agricultural Society of England, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LZ

Please note that places at each of these events are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. You will need to have your membership number to claim a reduced ticket price. Places can be booked online, by telephone, or you can send a cheque made payable to the Royal Agricultural Society of England.

Once you have booked your place, full details about the day and a location map will be sent to you 2 to 3 weeks before the event.

This programme is correct at time of print. The organisers reserve the right to change the programme and timings. Some of the tours involve a great deal of walking and have limited access for wheelchair users and therefore may not be suitable for everyone so please check at time of booking.

Refunds/cancellations – Refunds can only be made if cancellation is received by the RASE, in writing, 10 working days before the event. All cancellations will be subject to a £10 administration charge.

Data Protection – The personal data you supply to the RASE will be stored on computer for the purposes of processing your booking and passed to the RASE membership team, who may contact you with information they deem to be of interest to you. If you do not wish to be contacted in this way please state at the time of booking.