Meet the NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board

He is a director of Tristram Plants, part of the Farplants co-operative which grows and markets over 2000 plant varieties and generates more than £50 million annual sales through retail.

He is Managing Director of Sandfields Farms Ltd (part of the G’s Group), growing over 1600ha of salads and vegetables for the major retailers, plus a West Africa farm business in Senegal which produces over 400 ha of winter salads for the UK and EU market.

She is also director of the British Hop Association, member of the Hop Industry Committee and chair of British Apples and Pears.

Ali was chair of the NFU Horticulture and Potatoes Board from 2016 to 2022 and provided strong representation and leadership for the industry. She is regularly interviewed for national media (broadsheet, radio and TV) and has dealt with politicians at a senior level to harness support for the sector.

Haygrove is privately-owned and made up of two integrated halves: growing soft fruit for leading supermarkets in the UK, South Africa, Portugal and China; and a branded B2B business which designs, engineers and sells horticultural growing systems in over 50 countries. Founded in 1988 by Angus Davison, Haygrove is a fast-moving entrepreneurial business with more than 1000 permanent and 3000 seasonal staff worldwide.

Hannah is interested in a new approach to business and Haygrove is challenging itself daily on what will define a great business of the future and trying to become one. The business is measured across a triple bottom line of planet, profit and people, and has been carbon neutral since 2020.

Hannah is responsible for retail fruit sales to UK supermarkets via Berry Gardens, the UK's leading grower-owned berry cooperative. She works closely with Angus as strategic partner and creative problem-solver. This is focused on culture, strategy, brand and sustainability.

He is a member of the management team for the Cut Flower Centre and has been an AHDB horticulture board member and crop panellist.

It works across 25 farms and 3000 acres, employing 350 FTE staff and up to 1000 seasonal staff. It is currently the largest supplier of British Top Fruit in the UK, handling approximately 25% of all UK apples and 50% of all UK pears.

Mollie also runs YPHA (Young People in Horticulture Association) which she founded in 2020 alongside two colleagues. YPHA’s primary focus is to consider how the industry might evolve to appeal to a younger demographic both in terms of future horticultural employees and future garden centre customers.

He has worked at Thanet Earth since the earliest days of the project in 2008 as part of the leadership team on site. He has helped develop a cutting edge, fully functioning greenhouse complex.

Rob is responsible for all aspects of product quality, sustainability, research projects, innovation, varietal development, environment and food safety.

It has 11 vineyards which span across the counties of West Sussex, Kent and Hampshire.

Ben oversees more than 800 acres of estate owned vineyards with more than 1.5 million vines planted. After working in vineyards across the globe, Ben joined Nyetimber in 2015.

Barfoots produces field scale vegetables over 7500 acres in the UK, some protected cropping, and from farming operations around the world.

Julian is a regular spokesperson for the industry and is frequently interviewed on radio and TV.

He is a graduate of Writtle University College where he studied horticulture, agriculture and business, gaining an MBA in 2004. He spent 13 years on the board at Writtle completing his time as chair of F&G and vice chair of the board. He is a 2006 Nuffield farming scholar.

Chris has a depth of experience dealing directly with senior level politicians and all forms of media where he has spoken extensively on labour and water related issues. He has been instrumental in developing a successful soft fruit business at Wilkin & Sons where he has worked for the last 20 years. This sits alongside and compliments their extensive fruit production for processing in their onsite factory. He currently chairs the Awards Council of the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers.

Tim has worked in his family business for all his life, a joint farming tenancy which includes managing a peatland area of 200 hectares.

He has many other national and regional roles, including being chair of the East Anglian regional horticulture and potatoes board, and sits on the NFU Potato Forum and has been a past chair.

Tim's policy interests include water, farm assurance, environmental sustainability and farm safety.

Tim is also involved in local community work with Open Farm Sunday, and often works closely with young farmers and student events.

He is involved in product development and sustainability measures including carbon capture, power generation, packaging developments, robotics and vertical farming. Phil has been chair of the Technical Committee of the Tomato Growers Association for the last 25 years.

A fourth generation family-owned business based in Southport, Huntapac supplies the major retailers with root vegetables, salads and brassicas. He has been with the business since 2012, but his career in fresh produce spans over 16 years and a total 32 years in the food industry.

Stephen has also played a key role across a number of customer facing working groups such as Waitrose Agronomy Group, Tesco R&D Committee and chairing the Co-op’s Crop Production Group.

He is also a Red Tractor Fresh Produce Board member.

It grows 1000 tonnes of strawberries plus raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, along with a further 700 tonnes of conventional and Soil Association organic blackcurrants. 

AJ and CI Snell is one of the UK's leading fresh and frozen fruit growers, with a state of the art 2000-tonne capacity packhouse.

The Knapton family has been growing potatoes in northern Lincolnshire for over 70 years. Along with her father and sister, Louise is driving the business forward, and oversees the day-to-day operations of the business, including planting, lifting and staffing. Louise also takes on an equal role in marketing all produce grown.

Louise has been an active member of the NFU Potato Forum and East Midlands horticulture and potatoes board for six years, contributing to regional and national policy discussion.

In recent years she has completed a Foundation Degree in Agriculture at Riseholme University, taken part in the NFU Farming Ambassadors training course where chairing and negotiation skills were developed and, within a team, set up the first Institute of Agricultural Management in Lincolnshire, aiming, through events and visits, to maintain and develop skills, training and delivering information to farmers and industry leaders in the local area.