Scottish farmer scoops Champion of Champions award from Marks & Spencer Moray Firth vegetable grower, Steven Jack from Nessgro Limited, has won a prestigious international farming award from retailer Marks & Spencer (‘M&S’). The M&S Farming for the Future awards were established four years ago to celebrate farmers and growers in the M&S supply chain who stand out and make a difference to their industry. These annual awards celebrate the inspirational work that farmers and growers are undertaking to address sustainability challenges in their business and in the M&S supply chain. There are five initial categories – one for each region of the UK as well as an international award – and the winners of each of these categories gets put forward for the Champion of Champions award, which is voted for by M&S customers via the Plan A website. Steven won the Scottish category for produce and then secured the public vote to win the overall competition, being crowned ‘Champion of Champions’. Commenting on the awards, Steve McLean, Head of Agriculture & Fisheries at M&S, said: “Our judges were particularly impressed by Steven’s entry and for the work that he and the team at Nessgro have done on producing innovative, high quality carrots and new potatoes. His new variety trials have helped him create a niche in the produce market, with Steven managing to grow Imperator baby carrots in Scotland when they were previously imported. They were also encouraged by his focus on regional supply and for his proactive supply chain engagement. “Steven’s efforts clearly resonated with our customers as well, as he secured the majority of our public votes, so we are delighted to crown him ‘Champion of Champions’!” Commenting on his win, Steven Jack added: “We were pleased to be shortlisted for this prestigious award and we are delighted that the public voted us Champion of Champions. Our vision at Nessgro has always been to create exciting new root veg products and formats, and not to be a volume and commodity driven business. Our northerly location also demands we work hard to carve out a strong point of difference for our products. “With our grower background, Nessgros ground up farming/packing model allows for varieties and techniques to be trialled from field to finished product. Backed with encouragement and commitment from the teams at Marks & Spencer and Manor Fresh we have the confidence to invest in trials and innovation, and these are key components towards bringing new product ideas to fruition.” The prize for the M&S Farming for the Future Champion of Champions is a free place on the M&S Agricultural Leadership Programme at Cranfield University School of Management, worth £4,500.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 14:51:24 +0000
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