17 July 2023
|
Second-generation growers commended for their actions.
MATTHEW and Lloyd Smith from F Smith and Sons, who grow potatoes and other crops at Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire have been announced as the winners of the 2023 Rawcliffe Bridge Award for Sustainability.
Now in its second year, the accolade celebrates individuals and businesses that deliver on all three pillars of sustainability – people, profit and planet.
The Smith brothers are third-generation farmers, having inherited the farm from their father 18 years ago. The 450-acre enterprise has a wide rotation. As well as potatoes, the brothers grow wheat, barley, sugar beet, beans, sunflowers, linseed and millet.
The rotation is to support their strategy to reduce the farm’s high black-grass weed pressure, improve their soil organic matter, and provide diversity within their landscape.
Their practical approach to sustainability means they only own and contract land that they can manage between the two of them.
Matthew said, “It’s about people, the environment and everything linked to it. It is about collaborations and partnerships, building long-term connections and loyalty with our customers, local residents and industry. Most of all sustainability is about developing the farm for the future.”
The award was presented at an event highlighting the 15 years of partnership and sustainability projects between Andrew and William Pitts and BASF at The Grange in Northampton.
Matthew and Lloyd received a commemorative award plate, as well as a year’s membership to the Institute of Agricultural Management, a year’s membership to Farm491, a ticket to the Oxford Farming Conference 2024 and access to BASF Sustainability experts, who will provide guidance and support for any future plans.
