The Mee Family

Lyveden Farm,

Northamptonshire

Sponsored by: Morrisons

MANAGING a range of farming enterprises, the Mee family’s most recent and financially significant leap of faith has been into the diversification of blueberry production. Peter and Zoe Mee run their 283-hectare (700-acre) enterprise alongside contract farming 243ha (600 acres) under various arrangements for four nearby farmers.

Since moving to the farm in 1994, the couple have also operated third-party storage and drying facilities for Frontier Agriculture to accommodate harvested commodities from other suppliers who do not have enough on-site storage. The couple are supported by their children – Emily, 26, and Charlie, 23 – who both work full-time on-farm. Emily, who completed her chartered accountancy in 2020 before returning to the farm, manages the weighbridge facility and has initiated the blueberry product development. Charlie, who returned from agricultural college at 18, manages the farm’s arable and contracting, while his girlfriend, 24-year-old Charlotte, is employed full-time as the packhouse manager. Most fresh fruit, grown under polytunnels, is sold into Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Wholefoods, with a small number being exported to Dubai and Oman.

Zoe says: “As a business we did not want our best and sweetest fruit going to waste. So we decided to freeze the fruit and use it in product development, but Covid-19 delayed the product development plans. Rather than not do anything at all, we saw an opportunity to sell the frozen fruit through social media to the local community. We ran a pop-up shop every two weeks at the farm, which has given us a good customer base to trial products as they are developed.” New for this year is a blueberry and lavender jam, a chutney, a gin liqueur and a vodka liqueur, which are sold through their website directly to consumers. There are a number of other products in the pipeline, with fruit juice and wine as potentials for the future.

With a huge focus on sustainable farming, the family are also changing their process to regenerative farming to help make the farm environmentally and financially sustainable in the long-term. Zoe says: “Our key driver for farm improvement is always our children and building resilience into the business for future generations. By diversifying the business, we have worked to reduce risk and build income streams so we are not reliant on one income stream.”

Sustainable practices

  • 35,000kW of solar panels
  • Ground source heat pump for the farmhouse
  • Regenerative farming techniques
  • Creation of a new on-farm compost to reduce the need for additional fertiliser
  • Planting 6,800 hedgerow plants
  • Installed rainwater harvesting systems
  • Recyclable punnets

What the judges said:

“The Mee Family work as an exemplary collective unit, with each family member taking on different roles within this hugely diverse business. With a huge focus on sustainable farming, the family are also changing their process to regenerative farming to help make the farm environmentally and financially sustainable in the long-term. Their diversification enterprises are delivered with creativity and flair, and together they are a force to be reckoned with. “

On winning, The Mee Family said: 

“We spent a number of years building a business to make an opportunity for our children to come and work for that business and we have achieved that. However big or small, simple or complex you think your business is you have to reflect on what you have achieved and you have to congratulate yourself and each other and be proud and shout about it. “