Our story began in 1976, when Peter Barfoot, a fifth-generation farmer, started growing a single crop in the unique micro-climate of the Hampshire Basin in the south of England.
Today, Barfoots looks very different. We are still a family-owned business but now we grow, process and pack a range of semi-exotic vegetables at farms and facilities around the world.
1950
Peter Barfoot is born in Botley, Hampshire, into a family with a long tradition of farming.
A young Peter picking strawberries at the family farm.
1976
Peter and his father, Victor Barfoot, go into business together and form VH Barfoot and Son.
Victor Barfoot picking runner beans at Abshot Farm.
1994
Peter buys Sefter Farm in West Sussex, which becomes Barfoots’ main site.
Sefter Farm.
1998
Barfoots becomes a LEAF Demonstration Farm.
The late Victor Barfoot (father of Peter Barfoot) and the late Caroline Drummond (CEO of LEAF) planting an oak tree at Abshot Farm in 1998.
2000
Barfoots opens its first integrated production line to supply de-husked, pre-packed sweetcorn.
Sefter sweetcorn production line.
2002
Barfoots Spain is established in Almeria by Jo-Anne Barfoot, which expands the company’s winter growing capacity.
Jo-Anne with one of Barfoots Spain’s key crops…courgettes.
2005
A new purpose-built sweetcorn packing facility, featuring state-of- the-art automated equipment, is opened at Sefter Farm.
Peter with his beloved sweetcorn!
2006
Barfoots Senegal is founded. The joint venture in partnership with Michael Laurent of Société de Cultures Légumières (SCL) helps ensure the year-round delivery of high-quality produce.
Senegal butternut harvest.
2007
Barfoots begins growing premium vegetables, including asparagus, chillies, Tenderstem® broccoli and baby corn.
A premium vegetables packing facility is opened in Leythorne, West Sussex, to cater for this growth.
Leythorne production line.
2010
Barfoots builds its first anaerobic digester. It produces enough green energy from the waste generated at Sefter Farm to power the entire site. It also creates organic fertiliser for Barfoots farms.
Anaerobic digesters.
2015
Barfoots Spain invests in 10 hectares of covered production in southern Spain.
Barfoots Spain site.
2019
New £15m state of the art sweetcorn factory ‘Sefter South’ is completed, increasing our production capacity by 100%. A new record of 4.5 million cobs packed in one week.
Inside Sefter South.
2017
Barfoots enjoys a record-breaking sweetcorn season in the UK. Over 35 million cobs are harvested at the company’s farms in Hampshire and West Sussex.
Sweetcorn harvesters.
2021
500 acre Heasley Farm acquired, on the Isle of Wight. Barfoot Farms grow speciality vegetables across 9,500 acres of the South Coast of England.
Heasley Farm in the Arreton Valley on the Isle of Wight.
2020
Peter Barfoot awarded a CBE for Services to Sustainable Farming.
Sefter South New sweetcorn processing facility commissioned.
Peter receiving his CBE from Anne, Princess Royal at Windsor Castle in 2021.
2022
Our water treatment facility is built…cleaning and converting all our factory waste water into irrigation water for our crops. It can treat 300 cubic meters a day, enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool in a week!
Barfoots’ water treatment plant.
2023
Sweetcorn kernelling operation commissioned, running exclusively during the UK season, providing kernels for freezing. 1,000,000 sweetcorn cobs processed in 24 hours for the 1st time.
Geoff Faulkner, Head of Factory and Technical in the kernel factory.
2024
5,464 solar panels installed across the Sefter and Leythorne operation sites.
Reverse Osmosis system commissioned converting wastewater to potable water.
Barfoot Farms wins prestigious ‘Hampshire County Farms Championship’ competition.
A record 6 million cobs packed in a week!
The solar installation on the roof of Sefter South.
Today
We are a global farming business, working thousands of acres and employing thousands of people, striving to improve lives by building a sustainable vegetable business for the health of future generations.