(Doncaster, Yorkshire)
Produce:
Cabbage, Leeks
Season:
February to December
Pollybell farm was purchased in 1994 by the Brown’s family. 5000 acres of land is situated in Doncaster, spanning three county borders of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire. The family had the vision that the farmland needed a break from intensive conventional farming and began the conversion to organic farming in 1997, completing the process in 2018. Farm manger Craig Bargery supports this decision as organic quality and taste is better.
Pollybell farm grows a variety of produce in rotation with organic dairy, rotational grass and conservation. They produce a variety of wheat, barley and summer brassicas including cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli. Autumn crops begin from October and comprise of celeriacs, leeks, cabbage, kale and have just trialled fennel.
Climate change poses a series of threats to the farm each year but by keeping crops on rotation, they are able to sustain a continuous supply throughout the season. The farm has a reservoir onsite which holds thirty-five million gallons of water which is able to irrigate the land through summer seasons. Seasonal workers pick produce in the fields and are provided with onsite accommodation.
Craig Bargery, the farm manager has worked at Pollybell for seventeen years and helped set up the pack house over the last five years. The farm houses five cold stores, with a capacity of two hundred and fifty palettes in each store. These can be chilled down to 2 degrees with individual misting system, that are adjustable depending on the product.