Killerton Estate takes top national award
Killerton Estate in Devon walked away with the top Overall Drinks Award at the National Trust’s annual Fine Farm Produce Awards, presented at BBC Countryfile Live in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. Conygree Farm on the Sherborne Park Estate won the Farming with Nature Award and, in all, 12 National Trust places and products in the South West came away as winners.
Now in their twelfth year, the awards aim to prove that sustainable food isn’t just good for nature, it tastes better too. They celebrate the very best produce from the Trust’s 1,500 tenant farmers and estates – looking after more than 500,000 acres of grazed pasture, orchards and arable farmland. Products are not only assessed for taste, but also against a range of environmental standards, to guarantee the quality and origin of products alongside high levels of production.
Killerton Estate was presented with the prestigious Overall Drinks Award for its medium sparkling cider by Charlotte Smith, presenter on BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today, in the National Trust Cookery Theatre at the BBC Countryfile Live event yesterday (03 August). The 6,500-acre Killerton Estate near Exeter is one of the largest estates looked after by the National Trust. Completely hand-picked, this medium cider scored most highly for its full-flavoured, complex character with notes of toffee apple and subtle smokiness.
Killerton’s 50 acres of orchards are home to over 100 traditional apple varieties including the oddly named ‘Slack-ma-girdle’ and ‘Hangy Down’ varieties, with some trees over a century old. Managed naturally, these diverse orchards are a real haven for wildlife and the estate team are passionate about maintaining the trees for their botanical and historic interest, as well as for their harvest.
“Harvesting the apples is a real community effort, with local people, Trust staff and volunteers all getting involved,” said Fi Hailstone, Killerton Produce Ranger. “The apples are collected by hand and then crushed on site using a 200-year-old traditional cider press.
“Killerton cider is created through a passion to manage the countryside in a sustainable way. Traditional orchards are important for biodiversity and are more generally a really beautiful place to spend time. Any profits from sales go straight back into the conservation work at Killerton, helping us to plant lost orchards and to look after the current ones, for everyone to enjoy.”
“The twelfth year of these awards has once again excelled. The standard of products remains incredibly high,” said Rob Macklin, the National Trust’s Head of Food and Farming. “Over the years, it has been a pleasure for the judges to see how producers associated with National Trust land (and coast) have improved and maintained their attention to standards of production, packaging, presentation and of course taste. Successfully adding value to food and drink is not easy – these awards signal some of the very best.
“Among the winners in food and drink categories, we have also made a special award to the farmers making greatest achievements with regard to farming with nature as judged by our food and farming team,” he added.
Conygree Farm, part of the Sherborne Park Estate in Gloucestershire, won the top Farming with Nature award. Trust Food and Farming Advisors across the country felt that Conygree Farm’s Mel and Jonty Brunyee have shown the greatest commitment to managing and restoring habitats, demonstrating best practice with soil and water and promoting farming and nature conservation. Alongside producing traditional Hereford cattle and rare breed Cotswold sheep, they have reverted 100 acres of former arable land to herb-rich grassland and created field margins with a wide variety of nectar-rich plants to attract pollinators and support farmland wildlife including birds such as corn buntings, lapwings and skylarks.
Mel and Jonty Brunyee said: “The way we farm, with nature at the heart of all we do, can be hard but also very rewarding. We’re creating a range of diverse wildlife habitats that are full of colour and life, rebuilding soil and producing a very tasty rare breed pasture-fed meat.
“Farming with nature has to be in your heart but it’s always tempting to push the farm harder, tidy up fallow areas and scrubby corners, and swap native flowers for more productive grasses. Leaving space for nature across the whole farm can look untidy and isn’t always the most profitable. You have to stick with it. The Farming for Nature Award recognises this effort and passion and encourages us to keep going. We love what we do and it’s great that others do too.”
Rebecca Charley, Food and Farming Advisor for the Trust’s South West region, said: “Mel and Jonty have successfully matched native breed livestock to species-rich grassland, resulting in high quality meat whilst benefiting pollinators, birds and soil. Over the past decade Conygree Farm has developed impressive field margins and flower-rich meadows.”
In total 21 producers were recognised for 33 fantastic food, drink and countryside products, ranging from spring lamb and organic flour to dressed crab and sparkling cider. The produce was judged by a panel of nine food and drink experts, including Clive Goudercourt, the National Trust’s development chef.
For more information about the awards and or find out more about this year’s award winning products and producers, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/fine-farm-produce-awards
