Chicor y is just the tip of the iceberg for for ward-thinking veg producers

DGM Growers specialise in growing chicor y from their base in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. They are the only UK commercial grower of this niche salad crop and with 40 years of experience they definitely know their ‘ roots’.

Originally established in the 1980s under the name Jack Buck Growers, their commercial name was changed to DGM Growers in 2011 following its acquisition by the UK’s largest independent fresh produce supplier Fresca Group in 2007 DGM are the largest UK producers of celeriac, rainbow chard and fennel but it is the unique growing process of chicory that captivates people the most

Chicory is a product that not a lot of people know too much about: it s very popular in France, Belgium and the Netherlands and is classed as an “Endive” which is a leaf vegetable and part of the same family as Radicchio It s less popular in the UK despite offering health benefits such as Vitamin B6, manganese, inulin, potassium and Vitamins A&C as well as calcium, it is certainly one to include in your diet

Chicory is not an easy crop to grow it s a two stage process beginning with the root, which is grown outdoors and looks similar to a parsnip but with a leafier top They trim off the leaf and put the roots into cold storage, this fools the root into thinking winter has arrived, sending it off to sleep until it is required for the forcing (growing) process

The second stage is the forcing process this requires total darkness, a hydroponic system and humidity The growing rooms at DGM Growers use state-of-the-art technology to produce clean, uniform chicons that can be found across UK supermarkets It takes precisely 21 days to grow a chicon to the right size for the UK market, this is the point where they harvest it and pack it They currently grow over 4 million heads of chicory each year

To maintain their market leadership, DGM Growers have invested significantly in their infrastructure, just before the COVID -19 pandemic they delivered additional capacity through a multi-million pound expansion of their facility, enabling the successful support of its retail customers during the most crucial time In 2021 they implemented a new IT system, in 2022 they ve installed solar panels to generate 25% of their energy (the other 75% comes from renewables), they ’ ve also introduced automation (robotics) in their operations that reduces reliance on labour “It has been a very busy four years getting the business fit for the future,” says Simon Scott, MD: “ We now start our most ambitious project yet, the Smart Farm, which aims to enhance our growing capability whilst achieving high

Environmental Sustainability

The Smart Farm will lead the way in sustainable, competitive farming ” says Simon ‘if we are to achieve our climate commitments then we need to take a different approach to how we operate it s as simple as that Doing nothing will achieve nothing

This system allows us to control the growing environment, mitigating the challenges that come with an ever-changing climate, we can provide our crops with the precise amount of nutrition and water required there is no wastage or run off as it is a closed loop system’ he added ‘ There is also no soil resulting in cleaner, consistent high-quality produce’

We want to be able to grow crops that offer our customers solutions have a positive impact on our carbon footprint and of course delight the end consumers

Are Proud To Pack For

“We have been working with Leap to automate the packing of fennel and pak choi - as delicate products these are notoriously difficult to automate. We appreciated Leap's down to earth and collaborative approach and would highly recommend them”

- Mark Twinn, Operations Manager

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