10 INNOVATING AND SUSTAINING QUALITY FROZEN PEA PRODUCTION FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS This year sees the Green Pea Company reach its tenth anniversary. Over the past ten years, a business built out of the five pea growing groups supplying Birds Eye at Hull, has developed into what is now the biggest fresh pea growing business in the world. Of course that can only happen if your customer, Birds Eye has access to the biggest pea freezing facility in the world. The combination of these two progressive, forward looking businesses can only have reached this point by developing a close symbiotic relationship. Working to a common goal, to be the world leader in sustainable, cost-effective, high-quality pea production is something the entire membership and workforce of the Green Pea Company and the staff of Birds Eye at Hull are committed to and are rightly proud of. We hope that the following pages help you reflect on what has brought us to this point, and celebrate this unique business which is recognised as leading the industry worldwide. Geoff Calder, Chairman GPC James Young, Veg Sourcing Director, Nomad Foods 2 3 It was Clarence Birdseye that developed the first “flash freezing” of food products in 1929, but the first UK Birds Eye frozen pea production started seventy years ago in 1946 as domestic freezer ownership developed in modern post-war households. The original Smethurst business based in Grimsby became incorporated within the Birds Eye business and developed across North Lincolnshire with the first Birds Eye pea processing being a static viner based at Low farm, Thornton Curtis. As demand increased in the mid 1950’s, that was replaced by a row of four static viners, in its time a major investment by Birds Eye in order to supply the factory on Ladysmith Road, Grimsby. By the early 1960’s demand had again outstripped capacity and a new site at Riby was developed with an array of eight static viners receiving peas from all over northern Lincolnshire. Mid season Mid repairs Birds Eye opened the first factory on the north bank on Hessle Road in 1967, by now there were two groups supplying in the region of 1,000 acres each to the two utting and loading peas for peas loading for and utting 7. C factories. As a modern installation, the Hull factory grew in capacity and the area on the north bank increased to take peas from the original North Ferriby Viners as 3. well as the new groups Walkington Trading Company and Beverley Pea Growers. By 1971, there were a total of six groups supplying the Hull factory with Driffield Pea Growers, Howdenshire Pea Growers and Holderness Viners being established. 1 With the opening of the Humber Bridge in 1981, the opportunity for Birds Eye to streamline their production facilities meant that the Grimsby factory stopped freezing peas and Hull became the main Birds Eye pea production facility in the UK. With the necessity to achieve the target of freezing peas within 150 minutes of harvest, the geographical limits of pea production was restricted to approximately 40 miles radius around the factory. However, with massive leaps forward in incolnshire in the 00’s in the 00’s incolnshire L vining technology such as self propelled harvesters, the reduction of waste and damage along with increased crop recovery, then factory capacity ip Watson taking a break taking a break Watson ip could increase in parallel as these massive harvesters developed. P rilling in D The market for frozen peas developed throughout Europe during the 1990’s and Birds Eye wanted to start supplying the Italian market from the UK, lark & lark 6. C necessitating a further increase in production. By now there were a total of seven groups supplying the Hull factory, each with two viners. Under the constant drive for efficiency and cost saving there came another step change in how the pea operation developed, known asP “ roject Next” in 2001. A arold arold combination of increased viner capacity and split-tank lorry loads, leading to better journey time management, allowed a rationalisation of the viner H 4 businesses into just five groups of three viners. Over the next few years the directors of the five grower groups, in close collaboration with Birds Eye’s agricultural team, became convinced of the benefits of epairs to pea cutter pea to cutter epairs R merging into one single organisation to streamline the growing and harvesting , creating greater flexibility to meet the factory’s intake requirements and 5 6 1970’s arvesting in late 5. H improvements in efficiency. This led to the formation of The Green Pea Company in 2006 – the world’s largest pea growing cooperative olin Martinson, Martinson, olin C 9. supplying the biggest pea freezing facility on the planet. 2. THE FIRST PEA igh trailer tip SEASON AT A HULL harvester harvester H AS IN 1967, C FACTORY W 4. M F PREDATING THE THE FIRST BIRDS EYE PEAS HUMBER BRIDGE 7 8 9 railed WHICH OPENED Muirhills back in service back Muirhills T WERE FROZEN IN 1946 IN 1981 8. static viners viners static 1. David Martinson - WB Martinson & Sons Peas 340 Ha - Yokefleet - Wheat, OSR, Peas, Miscanthus are frozen David Martinson was born at Warwick House in 1944. He went to school at into 1 tonne boxes Gilberdyke before attending Scarborough College, leaving in 1960. David returned which will each home to the family farm, W. B. Martinson & Sons to work alongside his father and brother. The farm was growing winter wheat, spring wheat, spring barley, sugar hold circa 3 beet, potatoes, oats, combing peas, mangolds and turnips as well as cattle and million peas sheep. What was originally a short term plan, developed into a heavy involvement in vining peas when Birds Eye came to Yorkshire in 1967. Earl Longthorpe and Davids father drew a group of farmers and growers together to grow 900 acres of Since 1998 Birds Eye, in close partnership with its growers, has been researching peas with three Birds Eye owned viners together with a company workshop. This the impact of its pea operations in order to identify more sustainable practices. The went on until 1974 when Birds Eye passed the ownership of the viners over to the overall aim is to ensure a sustainable long term supply of peas in a progressively more growers, and Howdenshire Growers was formed. demanding climate of production. A M Borrill and Son Howdenshire Growers bought three trailed viners for £24,000 each, followed by From this work a set of agricultural indicators were established. These formed the another in 1975, covering an area of 1200 acres in total. In some years it was like Peter & Hilary Burton - PD & HA Burton basis of the sustainable agricultural standards which identify practices to support the 660Ha - Hibaldstow - Wheat ,Barley ,OSR, Peas, Sugar Beet, Maize and Rye the proverbial roller coaster, never knowing what each season would bring. The “Commitment to Quality with Sustainability” which are circulated to all growers and pressure was often hard to bare, getting up on a Monday and not hitting bed again 1070Ha - Fridaythorpe - Wheat, Spring and Winter Barley,Vining Peas reviewed regularly. until Thursday night. The standards are complimentary to the LEAF Sustainable Farming Review which is The family have farmed at Slate House Farm, Hibaldstow since 1916 and experienced David has been involved for 40 years as field manager, vice chairman and then Peter & Hilary Burton are the proud owners of Gills Farm, Fridaythorpe, completed by all growers to help raise standards and encourage Integrated Farm many changes over the years including the requisition of a World War 2 airfield slap chairman of Howdenshire Growers, until The Green Pea Company was formed in perched high on the Yorkshire Wolds. Management across the whole farm. bang in the middle of the farm! However, frozen peas were not our first foray with Birds 2007. As a grower of around 80 hectares of peas, he has seen many changes over The farm in total covers 2641 acres including 300 acres of dale let for sheep and The most recent development is the establishment of a Trials Board comprising Eye. In the 1970’s brussel sprouts were the crop to grow. The first year was extremely the years, leading to where we are today, a very successful company. cattle grazing and 214 acres let to a neighbour on an FBT. The land is spread be- members of Birds Eye Agricultural Department and the Green Pea Company. The profitable, the second year’s crop broke even and the third probably lost more money tween the main holding of 1300 acres surrounding Gills Farm with the remain- core of its work is to ensure a consistent supply of the highest quality peas produced than was made in the first year! On the bright side it lead to the farm growing peas for der in nearby villages. It is typical grade 3 wold land, the higher fields at 800ft sustainably, efficiently and at a profit. Birds Eye. above sea level not being as productive as the lower lying land. We achieved amazing yields from the 2015 harvest with some wheats coming in at over 5 The light limestone land south of Brigg suits early peas and makes an early start to the tonnes per acre, a first during our 21 years at the farm. harvest. Various break crops have been grown over the years including potatoes and borage but peas remain the stalwart of the current rotation. Typically we grow approx 600 acres of first crop winter wheat, 200 acres of second crop, 300 acres of OSR, 150 acres of winter barley, 380 acres of spring The main crops other than peas on the farm are wheat, barley, rape, sugar beet, forage malting barley and just over 250 acres of vining peas through the Green Pea maize and hybrid rye.