Winning the Weald Group NFU orchard competition comes with prestige but also responsibility 鈥� the winner hosts the presentation evening on their farm.
That was a daunting prospect for first generation grower Tom Fannon of Fannon Agriculture, who took centre stage when around 70 growers, sponsors and other invited guests visited Court Lodge Farm outside Maidstone in August.
鈥淚 was over the moon to have won, but then realised it meant we would have to host the prize giving and talk to a group of experienced growers,鈥� said Tom.
鈥淚t was the most nerve-racking thing about winning the competition, but it went well. We鈥檙e lucky with the people we have around us and the relationships that we have. People don鈥檛 want to see us fail. They want to try and help us along.鈥�
This was the 74th year for the competition, which attracts high quality entries from across the area and is judged over three days. It is organised by group secretaries Shaun Joubert and Patrick Bowring.
It includes awards for young orchards, class one and class two, as well as six trophies presented in the main competition.
Former judge Nigel Jenner is head of top fruit agronomy for AM Fresh, the award鈥檚 main sponsors. He said that the competition is unique as it is judged on all orchards belonging to the entrants and not judged based on a single show orchard.
鈥淚 think most growers have some really good orchards, but to win it, they all have to be good,鈥� he said.
鈥淭his is a good opportunity to benchmark your farm and your business against the rest of the industry. Farming in general can be a lonely career but there are a lot of growers out there doing a great job and they don鈥檛 always realise that.
鈥淚f you do well, there鈥檚 quite a lot of kudos attached to it and the chance for retailers and others to come and see what you do.
鈥淭here are several different categories but it鈥檚 about managing pests and disease and then the commercial condition and quantity of the crop. Judges are looking at tree shape, pruning and weed control as well. It鈥檚 the whole picture really.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very competitive event and there鈥檚 not much to choose between the winning farm and the other placed farms, because they wouldn鈥檛 have entered unless they thought they stood a good chance.鈥�
Nigel said the competition had been under threat in recent years, with entries declining.
鈥淚t looked like it might not continue, because there were fewer people inclined to do it. But I think it鈥檚 had a bit of a resurgence and that鈥檚 all good,鈥� he said.
鈥淚nterestingly, the climate is become more suitable for some varieties which, even 10 years ago, we would say you can鈥檛 grow over here,鈥� he said.
鈥淕rowers are growing Pink Lady in the UK now and you wonder how that is possible.鈥�
The winning farm has been owned by the Gunyon family for three generations and rented to Fannon Agriculture since 2020, when Jim Gunyon retired.
Tom explained that his family鈥檚 background was in construction. They went into fruit growing 10 years ago, after his father Pat Fannon bought a farm in West Farleigh because he wanted land for storage for the construction business.
鈥淲e had six hectares there that we had to use for something and he told me were going into fruit growing. I thought it was a crazy idea. Then he told me it was up to me to make it work!鈥�
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think so at the time but Dad buying that land is one of the best things we鈥檝e ever done鈥�
Winning grower Tom Fannon
After planting their first orchard with Magic Star apples, they were looking to expand their fruit growing just as Jim Gunyon was looking to retire.
鈥淲e managed to get a 25-year contract on his farm and it snowballed from there,鈥� said Tom, who looks after the day to day running of the farm with help from a part time team with different roles.
鈥淲e have been very fortunate to have found good people to help grow the company with us and all come and go throughout the year at different times, when schedules work for both sides,鈥� he said.
Today, Fannon Agriculture farms 46 hectares, with 38 hectares in top fruit consisting of Conference pears, Magic Star, Jazz, Gala and the remainder in grass.
Harvested fruit is stored between Fannon Agriculture鈥檚 own cold stores, and various third-party storage facilities. The fruit is packed and sold through Charltons, a large local farm and packhouse facility that prepares and packs the fruit for retail sale
Tom said: 鈥淭he Jazz were planted by the Gunyons two years before we took over, and are laid out in two rows of Gala followed by four rows of Jazz. This is repeated across the field to cross pollinate each other.鈥�
The farm includes 7.4 hectares of pears. The two oldest blocks, planted in 1970 and 1976, will be grubbed out later this year and replanted into Magic Star and Gala.
鈥淲e鈥檝e planted most of the Gala and Magic Star on the farm and grow on a post and wire system, 80cm apart to get maximum possible yield per hectare,鈥� said Tom.
鈥淏oth these varieties use Granny Smith pollinators so that there鈥檚 no confusion during picking time with having another similar looking variety as a pollinator. It鈥檚 like an Amazon Warehouse 鈥� keep it simple!
鈥淐ourt Lodge Farm will be stocked fully with modern systems by the end of the year. Then the hunt for good ground goes on. We鈥檒l see where that leads and where we can go to expand the business.
鈥淚 love the diversity of this job, especially the hustle and bustle, where are we going to go next, how are we going to expand?
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think so at the time but Dad buying that land is one of the best things we鈥檝e ever done.鈥�