We are delighted to announce the first finalist for our Farming for the Future Competition which is sponsored by Barclays.

Essington Fruit Farms in Staffordshire stood out as a worthy winner of the monthly prize and will now go forward to the final to be judged early next year with a chance to win the top prize of £1,000.

Essington Fruit Farms is a family business run by the Simkin family who have farmed in Essington for more than 110 years retailing quality products from their farm on the urban fringe outside Wolverhampon .

Freshness is key and often products are on the farm shop shelf within just a few hours of being harvested from the field.

The farm is run by Richard and Mary Simkin, son Will and a team of 40 staff, including an apprentice butcher who recently won the Midland apprentice of the year.

Richard Simkin said: “Farming in the future will hold many challenges and opportunities and with fewer than 200 acres we believe the future lies in bringing the producer and consumer together.”

They grow 30 to 35 different horticultural crops including 12 different strawberry varieties nine raspberries and 10 plums for pick your own and shop sales.

The range of crops starts with rhubarb goes into he summer with soft fruit and vegetables and progresses through the autumn and winter with leeks, sprouts, savoys, pumpkins and Christmas trees.

“When Will left Harper Adams and returned home we planned a major expansion to secure the future for the next generation and in 2007 we opened our on-farm butchery and deli which now retails about 14 pigs a week from our own outdoor herd, two bodies of beef partly supplied from our pedigree Herefords and other herds locally and up to eight local lambs,” he said.

Adding value in key giving them a unique selling point and a higher margin. They produce their own pork pies, bacon, gammon, sausage, pies and cooked meats.

“Our commercial kitchen serves lunches for about 80 people and we make cakes, pies, soups and ready meals and preserves.

“For the future we will develop closer links with the community via e-mail, newsletters and farm visits to increase empathy and interest with farming and confidence in local food,” he added.

Just last month, as reported in The Farmer, the family won four top titles in the Taste of Staffordshire Awards including Tea Room of the Year and best retailer and local food champion.

Son William has also just won the national Food Farmer of the Year Award in the Farmers Weekly awards.