farm business in Suffolk, which started on a run- down 30 acre site housing former piggeries, is now turning over more than £200,000 a year, providing regular employment for four staff and giving the 5,000 residents of Needham Market a one stop shop for local, organic and ethical produce. Contributing to both turnover and profit is the farm shop run by Joan and Nick Hardingham who narrowly missed out on the top prize in this year's National Farmers' Union president's awards, run in conjunction with The Grocer. Joan, who trained as a zoologist and Nick, a chemistry graduate who ended up in crop protection, came runners-up in the awards' Food from the Countryside category, having launched the Alder Carr Farm business with minimal capital and even less experience back in 1981. It now sells home grown soft fruit and vegetables as pick your own' and through the farm shop, plus speciality fruit ice cream sold retail and via regional wholesalers. Converted farm buildings generate extra income as a craft centre, tea room and restaurant, pottery shop, handmade garden and home accessory outlet, woodwork shop, artist's studio, and an internet solutions centre where customers can send faxes, e-mails or surf the net. Every month Alder Carr Farm also hosts a farmers' market which provides a sales outlet for about 20 local producers, selling more than £8,000 worth of goods. Having taken into account a total wage bill in excess of £65,000, the Hardinghams' £200,000 annual turnover produces a profit of £17,000. The biggest earner is the farm shop with a turnover of more than £120,000 split almost evenly between sales of home grown produce and a staggering variety of food lines such as fruit and vegetables, cakes, meat, biscuits, cheese, tea, coffee and pulses, which are purchased mainly from local suppliers. Profit from home grown sales is upwards of 30%. Having bought in organic produce for a number of years and operated an organic box scheme, the Hardinghams converted three of their own acres to organic vegetable production in 1997 and they received full Soil Association approval in October. They rely mainly on word of mouth to promote the business, but also distribute leaflets and organise a series of events including craft fairs, pumpkin carving workshops, maypole and morris dancing. Most farm shop turnover comes from the 5,000 residents of Needham Market, just next door, and from the tiny population of Creeting St Mary ­ although some customers make a regular pilgrimage from Bury St Edmunds, 20 miles away. Ice cream is Alder Carr's most popular line with shop sales of £12,000 a year and wholesale nudging £50,000. Strawberries account for sales worth £12,000, potatoes and asparagus £6,000 each, runner beans £2,200, sprouts and blackcurrants each £1,200 and broad beans £800. Cakes and biscuits are demand lines with sales approaching £16,000. Sausages, burgers, ham and bacon contribute £12,000 and dairy products £5,500. Sales of preserves top £6,000. Farm shop opening times vary throughout the year. From June to August it trades seven days a week but, for the remaining months, it is closed on Mondays. There is no Sunday trading between January and April. Sales at Alder Carr Farm are, not surprisingly, highly seasonal, according to Joan. "More than 70% of farm shop sales occur between May and August, and December is as good as any of the summer months. January, though, is a dead loss and, until recently, we used to close in the first two months of the year." Continued on page 41 {{FEATURES }}