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Topping the bill for The Best Alternative Land Enterprise (BALE) award were Robert and Oliver Paul who took first prize for their innovative Suffolk Food Hall, a market style enterprise they opened in May 2007 that brings together local suppliers in the Suffolk equivalent of a stylish food market and supports other rural businesses.
“As Suffolk farmers, we were frustrated that consumers had limited access to much of the fantastic food produced locally. Spurred into action by this apparent gap in the market, the concept of a showcase for quality local food with provenance began to take shape and the Suffolk Food Hall was born,” .
“Oliver and Robert Paul have won the competition because of the careful conversion of a substantial but redundant farm building making perfect use of its rural location; and for their contribution to the local economy evidenced by the number of employees at Suffolk Food Hall; and for their marketing of locally sourced produce in an inspired and attractive way.”
Second prize went to John Carrick for Castle Farm, Swanton Morley near Dereham, Norfolk, who was presented with a cheque for £250 and certificate by Suffolk Show president Mike Hollingsworth for his conversion of a derelict Victorian barn and outbuildings to wedding, conference, banqueting and events venue, supported by eleven bed and breakfast rooms as well as the conversion of two derelict farm cottages to a Freehouse and restaurant.
The award for the best newcomer was presented to Mark Black for Portable Space Limited, at Bacton, near Stowmarket. David Black & Son Limited is a fourth generation family business involved in pig and arable farming. Portable Space was set up as a subsidiary in 2002 and is involved in the hire, sale and transport or portable cabins and shipping containers for accommodation and storage use. The company has grown year on year to achieve turnover of £1.7million last year. Portable Space clients include the Ministry of Defence, Babcock Dyncorp, Spie Matthew Hall and The British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association.
Lady Euston, her son Viscount Ipswich and estate manager Jim Broatch from the Euston Estate were presented with a cheque for £100 and certificate for the Best “Green” Practice Award for Euston Firewood, a fire wood business created to make use of the surplus wood from the 1500 acres of woodland on the estate. From small beginnings it delivers to more than 600 customers in a custom-made transit. The business is self-financing and allowed Euston Farms to purchase a semi-automatic fire wood processor.
Certificates of Merit were awarded to:
- husband and wife team, Jason and Katharine Salisbury who established Suffolk Farmhouse Cheeses in July 2004. The business relocated to Whitegate Farm, Creeting St Mary, in May 2009, following the purchase and renovation of the farm. Cheeses are hand-made from the milk from the 32-cow herd of Guernseys, and cheese, milk, eggs and home-reared beef and pork (whey fed) are sold from the newly opened farm shop.
- David and Sarah Robertson for Valley Farm Equestrian Leisure in Leisure in Wickham Market that offers a holiday let, weddings venue, camping & caravan site, dog agility, residential children’s holidays, Camargue stud, pony club, NVQ outreach, adult education and school visits.
- Graham Downing for Bridge Farm, Chediston, near Halesworth for the conversion of a redundant timber-framed barn using traditional materials into an independent living centre providing equipment and services to disabled and elderly people. A therapy suite offers a base for local therapists and the building is heated with a wood-fired boiler using locally sourced woodchip.
“The new businesses which the BALE Award promotes demonstrate that they have created employment opportunities often in rural locations for both members of their own families as well as local residents; provided additional wealth for that community and in some cases these new enterprises are vital to financially supporting the core farming business".
“All the BALE Award entrants this year have demonstrated innovation and a determination in developing these businesses and must be congratulated for being willing to put themselves and their businesses under such a spotlight.”
The annual Best Alternative Land Enterprise (BALE) awards for diversification are held annually by the Suffolk Agricultural Association and in partnership with Ashton Graham Solicitors since they began in1992.
Other previous entries have included thatching straw production, rare meat suppliers, events venues, Suffolk horse breeding and training centre as well as herb growers.
Changes within the agricultural industry over the past decade have forced farmers to diversify in order to support their core businesses and many have achieved notable success.
The BALE awards are held to find the best farming diversification enterprise run from buildings or land on entrants’ farms. Open to farmers from Suffolk, and adjoining counties – Norfolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire – including previous winners, the entries are judged for their commercial, creative and practical merits as well as their contribution to the regional economy.
This year’s judges include winner of the 2008 BALE award Glenda Stennett of Park Farm Business Centre near Bury St Edmunds; former SAA Chairman David Barclay and Jonathan Long, Agricultural Partner, Ashton Graham solicitors.
The partnership with Ashton Graham solicitors for the awards is now in its 18th year and acknowledges the strong links that the firm has throughout the agricultural industry in East Anglia. With just under 150 staff in offices in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Felixstowe, Ashton Graham established its agricultural department more than 100 years ago and is fully empathetic with the issues faced by today’s farmers and landowners, Agricultural Partner Jonathan Long said
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