F
Bardsley
f
arms
F
T
he
frui
TG
rower
•D
e
C
e
MB
er
2017
T
heBardsley family has been at the heart of fruit production
inKent formore than 100 years andon 27
o
ctober the
latest stage in the development of their business into a
major player in the
u
K’s top-fruit sector was formally recognised,
as
h
elenGrantMP opened a new extension to the storage and
packing complex at Bardsley
f
arms,
r
iver
f
arm, Staplehurst,
Kent.
w
hilst Nigel Bardsley and hiswifeAnnette have been central to
the expansion of the business over the last 30 years, earning a
reputation for growing andmarketing fruit of the highest quality, a
fifth generation of the family is taking the business to another level.
BenBardsley has the same determination to succeed as his
parents, and since leaving the army as an officer and joining the
family business in 2013, Ben has driven the farming andpacking
enterprisewithmilitary precision and to new heights.
AsManagingDirector, Ben has day-to-day responsibility for a
business that is now in the top eight growers of apples andpears
in the
u
K. Bardsley
f
arms grows fruit on 464 acres at 12 sites
within sixmiles of
r
iver
f
arm. BenBardsley is aiming tobe in the
top five
u
K apple andpear growers by 2026.
At the heart of the business’ ethos is a determination to grow
the very best varieties using the latest varietal clones inmodern
orchards, 80per cent of which are fully irrigated; investing heavily
in new orchards and triallingpromising new varieties.
w
elcoming
h
elenGrantMP to the newboardroom at
r
iver
f
arm in the company of invited guests, Ben presented an
overview of Bardsley
f
arms’ business profile, highlighting exciting
areas of newproduct development that include a 4ha area of eight
newplum varieties grown on aSouthAfrican planting system.
2400 trees of the green apple variety ‘
e
merald’ were planted in
May 2017 using two tree types: knip trees and twin-leader trees.
i
n
f
ebruary 2018Benwill plant 5000 trees of a red-fleshed apple
variety ‘Kissabel’. Ben’s father Nigel, Chairman of Bardsley
f
arms,
pioneered apricot planting in the
u
K and the business is now the
largest apricot grower in the country, taking advantage of the
steadilywarmingKent climate. Last summer Nigel andBen hosted
a visit from theBBC’sCountryfile programme.
A joint venture established in 2016, withGreenyard
f
resh, was
the catalyst for the expansion of Bardsley
f
arms’ packing and
storage complex, enabling an increase in throughput from 3,000
10
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www .
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The latest development at Bardsley
f
arms
openedby
h
elenGrantMP
reports JohnGuest
