Farming

Delivering the best quality vegetables all starts out in the fields. Only the best land is selected for our root crops, brassicas & salads. They then go through a number of growing processes which ensure the best quality once harvested.

Root Crops

We grow roughly 1800 acres of root crops a year, 1450 acres of that is carrots and 350 acres of parsnips. Our root crops are grown in all areas of the country ranging from Scotland to Suffolk. This allows us to bring in our early produce at the start of the season from the warm south and then work our way up north throughout the year to Inverness, Scotland where the produce stores longer after a cold winter. We also grow in the east and western parts of the country to allow more flexibility in versatile weather conditions. The process starts when we carefully select the best land for our crops, we then start to prepare the seed bed by taking all the necessary steps such as ploughing, fertilizing & de-stoning. Once the field is ready we drill the crop seeds, to enhance growing performance we then irrigate, fertilize and inter row the crops if needed. Some of the crops are covered over with polythene and straw to protect them against the frost in the harsh winter months. Finally the crops are harvested in the coolest conditions possible, keeping them cool maximizes shelf life. They are then transported back to Huntapac Produce to be washed, graded, packed & distributed.

Brassicas & Salads

We grow roughly 600 acres of brassicas & salads a year, 250 acres of salads and 350 acres brassica. The majority of our brassicas and salads are grown on the fertile reclaimed marshland grounds of Lancashire. This area provides the best growing conditions and also reduces transportation time back to Huntapac which enables us to keep the produce cooler. The process begins when we carefully select the best plants to be used followed by the field which gives us the best soil for growing. The field is then prepared by ploughing, power harrowing & fertilizing if necessary. The plants are then planted into the ground and the growing process begins. We then apply all the important steps to making the best quality product such as fertilizing and irrigating if needed in dry summer months. Before harvesting, our salads are check weighed to ensure they are mature enough to leave the ground. Our brassicas are harvested and then transported back to Huntapac to be packed and distributed, the salads are packed out in the fields on rigs and then transported back to Huntapac to be vacuum cooled and distributed to customers.

The team

Ben Madarasi(Farm Director)

Derek Goodall

Andrew Sutton

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Huntapac Produce Ltd, 293 Blackgate Lane, Holmes, Preston, Lancashire, PR4 6JJ.


Telephone - 01772 280600