Meet The Producer Derek Robinson

BOYDS FARM

Lovejoys Wholesale's NEIL MORTIMER speaks to DEREK ROBINSON from Boyds Farm in Corsham, supplier of all their Maris Piper potatoes!

How did the family come to settle in Corsham? My father and his siblings came over from Northern Ireland during The Troubles and all started farming in various areas of the UK. My father Andrew settled in Corsham.

Why Corsham? There were limited farms for sale and my uncle actually ended up in Scotland! My father chose Corsham as the soil was good and he liked the area. We have Cotswold soil here, and it is especially good for potato growing, albeit rather stony. Thankfully modern machinery can deal with that.

Derek with one of his Hereford bulls They grow a few varieties of potatoes

What varieties do you grow? We grow Marfona, Wilja, red Desiree and Maris Piper (Lovejoys has most of our Maris Pipers).

Our chefs really love Maris Piper as they are so versatile. How are they grown? We plant in April as soon as the soil becomes warm enough, harvested in September/October and stored inside throughout the winter. By the following summer they are all gone ready for the next crop.

What does the farm specialise in Besides growing potatoes and cereals we breed pedigree Hereford bulls! Like many farms we also now have a small farm shop where you can come and buy our potatoes by the bag and we run a bed and breakfast too.

"Like many farms we also now have a small farm shop where you can come and buy our potatoes by the bag"

Who in the family is involved in running the business? Robert my son and Sally my wife

Boyds Farm also breeds pedigree Hereford bulls

Boyds Farm supplies almost all of Lovejoys potatoes are active in the business and they both run the farm with me. Sally was in a farming family near Calne so understands the industry and ‘living on the job’ so to speak. It is nice to work alongside your son but it is impossible to go on holiday together when there are livestock to be tended to every day.

When are your busiest times of year? Spring and autumn are our busiest times for planting and harvesting respectfully. They are also our favourite times of year, particularly the spring as it is good to get planting after the winter months.

Do you enjoy what you do? We do, it is all we know and we do it because we love living and working the land.

We've talked about Maris Pipers but which is your favourite potato variety? Wilja is our family favourite and of course the best way to have them is roasted!

What are your biggest worries as a farmer? Our biggest worry is always the weather, will we get enough rain, will we get enough sun, then will we get disease in the crop etc. All aspects of farming has its worries!

We hope you have enjoyed this piece on Boyds Farm, one of our main suppliers. They are a really reliable producer that never lets us down. If you are a chef who would like to talk to us about using Boyd Farm's lovely produce in your menus please get in touch via lovejoyswholesale.com where you can see our full range of products.