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21/01/2008
Last updated:
Strawberry
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Strawberry Enterprise / Growing and
Picking
As members of The Berryworld Producer Organisation, We currently grow 79 acres (31.98 ha)
of strawberries on raised plastic beds all
covered under Spanish poly-tunnel covering. The
use of tunnels ensures better quality fruit,
less disease, rain damage and gives guaranteed
continuity of supply . Also significant
reduction in the use of pesticides to ensure 1st
class fruit from May thru' to October.
The areas and harvesting including
tonnage per acre:
|
Area |
Area |
Tonnage
per acre |
Start
picking |
Duration
of picking |
Crop /
variety |
|
8.09
ha |
20 acres |
10 tonnes |
15th May |
6 weeks |
Elsanta early covered |
|
6.88
ha |
17 acres |
8 tonnes |
10th June |
5 weeks |
Main crop Elsanta, |
|
6.88 ha |
17 acres |
6 tonnes |
5th July |
4/5 weeks |
Elsanta 60
day |
|
10.12 ha |
25 acres |
12 tonnes |
early July |
to the end
Oct early Nov |
Everest Autumn fruiters |
To build on our Strawberry enterprise
and to be able to serve the Supermarkets
continuously is of prime importance. We started
growing Everbearers, firstly Evita
which we grew 1/3rd of an acre and then with
trials of Everest and Everglade.
The Everest was by far the highest
yielding variety of Class I fruit, so we
continue to grow this variety today, research is
continuous for finding another variety to
match/replace Everest.
All our fruit is covered including the
Autumn production to give rain protection and
prolonged harvesting.
Inventions
The on going husbandry areas of the soft
fruit production, has been aided by a poly
tunnel "leg-borer" ( to insert the tunnel
legs into the ground during tunnel erection) and
the mobile fruit cage's to transport empty trays
down and full trays back from the field picking
areas, both pieces of machinery created by
Phillip during the winter months.
Picking, Packing and Delivering
Picking areas are chosen daily for their
quality and ripeness they are discussed at
length sometimes very early in the morning
before the heat of the day can soften the fruit,
our team of managers and team leaders prepare
the working groups of students to strip an area
of fruit ensuring that problems with over ripe
fruit is not applicable, once the fruit has been carefully picked and
transported to the packhouse, it is quickly
brought down to temperature in the high humidity
rapid chill store, then it is packed in the
controlled environment of the pack house area
with the appropriate punnets and computer
printed labels, kept chilled and then delivered
to the Tesco distribution warehouse,
mainly the Hinckley, Leicestershire depot and
Doncaster in South Yorkshire in our own
refrigerated lorries.
Whereas Robert, Alin and Sam manage the field areas,
Phillip is Packhouse Manager. His day is filled
with collating the orders from our Grower group
Berryworld, checking fruit in, ensuring
correct packaging and labels and employment of
staff, including staff training, filling in the
numerous amounts of paperwork and checking the
fruit out into the lorry and occasionally
delivering as well.
Some of the work is also delegated to his
pack house supervisor/s this ensures the
operation runs extremely well.
We have an
ongoing assessment from the Tesco's Quality
Assurance inspector at 99%.
J W Busby & Partners are inspected by CMi
Technical Standards that encompasses all of the
requirements of the British Retail Consortium (BRC)
Technical Standard for Companies Supplying
Retailer Branded Food Products and have achieved
the "Higher Level" in 2002/03/04/05 and 2006.
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