Barfoots & LEAF celebrate 30 years of membership

Recently Barfoots and Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) celebrated 30 years of membership, with a poignant plaque laying ceremony at the foot of the oak tree that was planted when Barfoots first became a demonstration farm in 1998.

Barfoots were one of the first members of the charitable organisation LEAF which was established to “promote and facilitate the understanding and adoption of more sustainable farming practices, helping to create a resilient food & farming system for future generations.”

In 1998 Barfoots’ Little Abshot Farm became a LEAF ‘Demonstration Farm’ and an oak tree was planted at the entrance to mark the occasion. The tree was planted by Victor Barfoot (co-founder of Barfoots and father of Peter Barfoot) and Caroline Drummond MBE, who was co-founder and CEO of LEAF at the time. Caroline was from the Fareham area and had worked in the packhouse at Barfoots stripping sweetcorn prior to her moving on to great things with LEAF, so this would have been a full circle moment for her.

Victor Barfoot passed away in 2001, and Caroline Drummond MBE in 2022. Today the oak tree stands tall and strong, a symbol of their respective legacies and the long-standing partnership between Barfoots and LEAF in creating resilient food and farming systems.

From left to right: Dr Emily Pope (LEAF Network Development Manager), Abbie-Jayne Burford (LEAF Networks and Projects Coordinator), Julian Marks (Barfoots Group CEO), David Webster (LEAF CEO), Keston Williams (Barfoots COO), Kim Barfoot-Brace (Brand and Marketing Manager), Peter Barfoot CBE (Barfoots Chairman), Amelia Barfoot (Barfoots Trainee Agronomist) Dr Hazel Smith-Hill (Barfoots Head of Supply Technical).

The morning started with a special breakfast and laying of the plaque at the foot of the oak tree, and was then followed by a farm tour and a discussion of future plans at Sefter Farm.

David Webster, LEAF CEO commented “Seeing that tree today, thriving and now standing strong like Barfoots as one of our LEAF Beacons of Excellence for Regenerative Agriculture, is a beautiful reminder of our shared journey in sustainable farming.”

Peter Barfoot CBE, Barfoots Chairman commented “The tree planting day in 1998 was a very proud moment for me and my father. Fast forward 30 years I continue to be extremely proud of what we have achieved by looking after the land…not just on the south coast, but on our farms and those of our growing partners around the world. We’re grateful for the support of LEAF on this journey and continue to look forward together.”

From left to right; Dr Emily Pope, Dr Hazel Smith, Ryan Boislaire (Barfoots Crop Manager), Peter Barfoot CBE, Abbie-Jayne Burford and David Webster, in one of Barfoots’ Tenderstem fields.