Review of the Suffolk farming year January to December 2023

We look at some of the highs and lows of yet another year of extremes for Suffolk and north Essex farmers, starting in January 2023:

JANUARY

Suffolk farmers were becoming frustrated at the lack of progress on future farm policy and were seeking clarity on payments as farm minister Mark Spencer addressed the Oxford Farming Conference.

A 10-year study by the RSPB concluded that up to 31% of farmland in arable East Anglia should be placed in top tier conservation schemes to halt catastrophic declines in farmland birds.

Farmland experts expected prices to continue to rise above inflation over the next five years as demand from environmental investors pushed up prices for poor quality land.

Environment secretary Thérèse Coffey put some flesh on the bones of schemes designed to place the old Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from when Britain was in the European Union. 

New Suffolk Show director John Taylor was relishing the challenge of putting on his first show in May.

Weird and Wonderful Wood - a rural festival held annually at Haughley Park, near Stowmarket - was crowned East Anglian Festival of the Year after winning a public poll run by the East Anglian Festival Network - a regional trade body.

Stowmarket farmer and gamekeeper Graham Denny said there were pockets of Suffolk - including on his own farm at Little Stonham - where farmland birds were thriving thanks to the efforts of farmers.

Suffolk and north Essex mourned the death of Akenfield author Ronald Blythe who died at his home at Bottengoms Farm, Wormingford, near Colchester, on January 14 at the age of 100. He captured the last days of a fast-disappearing world in rural Suffolk and lived in Great Glemham in the 1960s and 70s.

Pig and arable farmer Wendy Houston of Swilland, near Ipswich, became chairman of Framlingham-based farm co-operative Fram Farmers.

Top farming and environmental thinkers descended on Firstsite in Colchester for EA Sustain, which brought together influential environmentalists, farmers, artists and policymakers.

FEBRUARY

England was to have its driest February in 30 years - but that trend would be reversed later in the year.

Suffolk's potato farmers were feeling the squeeze as prices failed to keep pace with fast-rising costs.

The last hammer fell at a rural auction room as property company Durrants closed its Beccles auction house with the loss of six jobs. Other auctioneers such as Clarke and Simpson and Cheffins said there was still a thriving auction market - but adapting to new technologies was key.

Free range egg farmer Alaistaire Brice of Havensfield Happy Hens at Hoxne, near Eye, was concerned after experts confirmed bird flu had been found in wild otters and foxes.

Water experts gathered at The Hold in Ipswich for a conference which looked at how water in the East of England was getting scarcer - and schemes such as the Felixstowe Hydrocycle to try and solve the problem.

Farm apprentice Callum Hayes, 19, of Halesworth - working for Mike Porter of Porters Farms, Walpole - was named Suffolk's top farm apprentice at a ceremony hosted by Suffolk New College in Ipswich.

Peter and Andrew Fairs of Fairking at Great Tey, near Colchester - a major borage grower and processor for the UK - welcomed 68 farmers as they unveiled a new £1m-plus plant. They - along with the farmers they work with - grow about 90% of the UK crop.

A new vertical farm by OneFarm - capable of producing 415 tonnes of food a year - took shape inside a disused warehouse in Newmarket.

The Farm Safety Foundation (Yellow Wellies) launched its annual Mind Your Head campaign against a backdrop of 36 suicides registered in the agricultural industry in England and Wales in 2021.

Suffolk Show director John Taylor and deputy Nick Watts launched the 100-day countdown to the Suffolk Show at Trinity Park.

Historic Deben Farm Club - thought to be one of the oldest of its kind in the country - prepared to celebrate its 70th year with a big bash.

Alistair and Sian Kerr launched Farmstead Lodges, a new £1.5m luxury holiday homes venture at Low Farm, Easton, near Woodbridge, as they continued to diversify the former dairy farm site.

Suffolk's top Anglican clergyman, the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Martin Seeley, was voted in by Suffolk Agricultural Association as president of the 2024 Suffolk Show.

MARCH

Hundreds attended as historic Deben Farm Club held its 70th anniversary dinner in Ipswich.

Sales of Aspall cider soared after its takeover from Molson Coors to reach nearly 50% more than pre-pandemic levels - and two thirds of all super premium cider sales in pubs, bars and restaurants.

Suffolk Rural college campus at Otley unveiled a new "climbing frame" for goats as part of an upgrade of its livestock facilities.

Michael Crowther, a maltster and farmer, died at the age of 86. He returned to his roots and bought Tuffon Hall, at Sible Hedingham, near Halstead, following a highly successful malting career in Scotland.

Supermarkets started to drop customer limits on some fresh fruits and vegetables as supply issues which led to widespread shortages eased.

East Anglia's hard-hit poultry farmers were hoping global efforts might produce a usable bird flu vaccine soon - possibly within a year or two. The region's poultry was still in lockdown following the most devastating outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in history.

Thirty-three-year-old Cathal Maginn, assistant farm manager at HH Craske and Son in Hadleigh, was chosen as Hadleigh Show director.

Rising input costs of 59.2% were putting pressure on UK farmers, an international study - the 2023 State of the Global Farmer Survey - found.

Suffolk grass seed company Barenbrug UK of Bury St Edmunds bought a "like-minded" Scottish company called Watson Seeds to create a £21m business with a 75-strong workforce.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) announced it was selling its eastern region headquarters in Willie Snaith Road, Newmarket - which had been a focal point for farmers since around 1992 - as part of a major cost-cutting and restructure exercise.

Metfield pig farmer Peter Mortimer was thrilled as he was chosen as president of the South Suffolk Show.

Suffolk and Essex's top farmers warned that food price rises could soar even further as growers grappled with massive cost increases.

Major duck producer Gressingham Foods of Debach, near Woodbridge, adopted new packaging which it said would cut waste by more than 24 tonnes a year.

Former Eye abattoir owner Kevin Burrows came out of retirement to become licensee of the Legends Sports Bar at Stonham Barns Park, near Debenham.

Twenty-seven-year-old Suffolk dairy farmer Joe Adams was determined to keep the business going having joined dad Richard Adams in the business. They keep a herd of 120 Holstein cows at Gulpher Farm and Deben Lodge Farm at Felixstowe.

Suffolk sheep farmers hit back at a suggestion in an article by financier and environmentalist Ben Goldsmith that sheep are the "principal obstacle" to nature recovery - and have a "brutal impact" on landscapes

APRIL 

Notcutts in Woodbridge was celebrating a stellar year after it was crowned the Suffolk-based national chain's best-performing garden centre.

A £20k windfall from Suffolk Building Society was set to help a new nature reserve - Martlesham Wilds on the River Deben - a Suffolk Wildlife Trust site.

Workers at an animal feed mill - AB Agri at Bury St Edmunds - called off strike action after accepting a revised two-year pay deal worth around 13%.

Jenna Ackerley of Events Under Canvas , which is based on a former county farmyard at Capel St Mary, near Ipswich, celebrated the tipi hire company's growing success with 420 events catered for in 2022.

Farmer Tim Crick of Benacre, near Southwold, was counting the cost of sheep worrying as his lambing season got into full swing. He estimated there were about half a dozen incidents every year - with one in 2022 involving a year-old sheep being killed by a dog.

Works machinery hire business TRU7 Group at Kesgrave - run by Guy Nicholls and son Jake - took delivery of eight John Deere tractors from farm machinery dealers Tuckwells, run by James Tuckwell and operating 10 sites across the region.

Stunning film footage of Suffolk's wildlife featured in BBC's hit nature show Wild Isles, narrated by David Attenborough. Red deer trails at Minsmere and boxing hares at Lackford Lakes were among the wonders film-makers Silverback Films captured.

Fourth generation farmers James Scarff and sister Catherine - along with parents Stuart and Jull - launched Burnt House Vineyard at Combs, near Stowmarket, after planting their 22-acre vineyard in 2017 to 2019.

The Barker family - who farm at Westhorpe, near Stowmarket - featured in a follow-up BBC iplayer series to BBC's Wild Isles called Saving Our Wild Isles. They showed that biodiversity is possible - even within intensive agriculture.

Suffolk Rural college campus at Otley - part of Suffolk New College - was offering new vet nursing courses at it prepared to become a zoo, having applied for a zoo licence in 2022.

East Anglian farmers' leaders welcomed the lifting of a bird flu housing order from April 18 - but warned poultry keeps to keep alert.

Seed drills maker Claydon celebrated a major expansion of its factory, which is based on the family farmyard at Wickhambrook, near Newmarket.

Suffolk farmers' dried up farm reservoirs - drained by drought in 2022 - were now full again after spring rains came to the rescue.

Aspall cider brother Henry Chevallier Guild said he was "thrilled" after his non-alcoholic drink - Nonsuch Shrubs - scooped two awards at the World Alcohol-free Awards.

A major farm - 1,400 acre Cedar Farm at Alderton near Bawdsey - hit the market with a guide price tag of £21m.

Pasture for Life farmer Nicola Chapman - who keeps a Belted Galloway herd near Beccles - was celebrating Great British Beef Week. 

Tim Pratt, manager of large-scale vegetable grower Wantisden Hall Farms, near Woodbridge - owned by the Kemball family - showed how he used his Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset sheep to fit in with his crop rotations. 

Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Carlton Marshes reserve near Lowestoft was already drawing 100k visitors since expanding and adding a new visitor centre opened by the Princess Royal in 2021.

Former professional sailor Hannah Tuckwell, who lives on a 1,000-acre family farm at Kettleburgh, Framlingham, was preparing to launch a care farm to support teenagers and young adults struggling with their mental health.

MAY

Financial pressures and political upheaval drove farmers' confidence down to its lowest level since the start of the Covid pandemic, a survey by the National Farmers' Union found.

The 134th South Suffolk Show took place at Ampton point-to-point racecourse in Ingham, near Bury St Edmunds.

Stonham Barns staged a revamped Steam and Vintage Show with small scale engines among the highlights.

The government was urged to reverse the "neglect" of the rural economy as a new report from MPs and peers showed country dwellers were hardest-hit on prices by the cost of living crisis - spending around 10 to 20% more on essentials such as fuel - and with 7.5% lower wages.

Award-winning wood festival Weird and Wonderful Wood returned to Haughley Park, near Stowmarket.

Fears were raised for the future of some of the UK's rarest native pig breeds in the wake of a wider crisis in the pork industry, as the Rare Breeds Survival Trust published its annual watchlist.

Local businessman Steven Rose of Rose Builders was chosen as president of the Tendring Show and chose creativity as his focus for the event.

Suffolk Show organisers spent the month putting the last-minute touches to the big two-day event at Trinity Park on May 31 and June 1.

Baker Jon Clarke - who was made redundant from two top Suffolk bakeries after they shut their shops - launched his own bakery shop - Clarke's Bakery - on Place Farm, Stuston - a farmyard near Diss owned by farmer David Laurie. 

A140 pub landlady Jan Wise, who runs the Walnut Tree pub at Thwaite, near Eye, launched a new shop on the site selling giftware and frozen vegetarian ready meals made in-house.

The Suffolk Show was a stunning success - to the delight of new show director John Taylor.

JUNE

Suffolk Show organisers were delighted to see cattle and other livestock returning in large numbers this year after re-booting the event post-pandemic in 2022.

Light horse steward Mike Harris handed over the reins at the Suffolk Show to James Nunn after 10 shows in charge of the hugely busy equine rings.

Cattle and other livestock entries rose at the Suffolk Show - after smaller numbers returned in 2022 as the country came out of lockdown.

Farmers were urged to brush up on farm safety ahead of harvest as the National Farmers' Union held a series of health and safety workshops across the region to combat the industry's poor safety record.

Ancient engines were given an outing as the Woolpit Steam Rally - organised by brothers David and Gerald Seeley - returned to Warren Farm, Wetherden. One of the highlights was a rare 1923 Wallis and Stevens oil bath traction engine.

The pig sector credited an "astounding" 75% reduction in its use of antibiotics to a successful eight-year collaboration between vets and farmers.

East Anglia's arable farmers were facing a 50% drop in profits for harvest 2023 due to falling grain prices, dwindling subsidies and inflationary cost pressures.

East Anglian vegetable producer Frederick Hiam invested £2.5m in automated machinery to replace 20 seasonal workers in a bid to solve its recruitment problems.

Suffolk duck meat business Gressingham Group snapped up a cold storage business - Hemswell Coldstore in Lincolnshire - as it continued to expand its operations.

Suffolk charcuterie pioneers and pig farmers the Whitehead family were taking their Lane Farm business - at Brundish, near Framlingham, to new heights with help of the next generation.

Farmers - including Harry and Chris Suckling of Holbrook - opened their gates to the public as they celebrated Open Farm Sunday.

Ice cream maker Katherine Manning was taking Suffolk Meadow - which began as a sideline on her family's farm at Rendham, near Framlingham - to new heights after the sale of the dairy herd.

Tilly Abbott, 22, a young sheep farmer and The Suffolk Shepherdess blog creator, of Ipswich, scooped a top accolade from British Wool.

A stunning floral display was created in the centre of Bury St Edmunds as member of Flowers from the Farm held a one-day Flower Flash event organised by Worlingworth flower farmer and florist Victoria Uff.

Farmers were facing a financial squeeze as they gathered at James Forrest's farm, Mowness Hall at The Stonhams, near Stowmarket, for a wheat crop trial event organised by Fram Farmers.

JULY

Farmers were getting ready for harvest after the hottest June on record and were feeling upbeat.

Andrew Williams - the boss of one of Suffolk's leading farms at 4,800-acre Home Farm Nacton, near Ipswich - decided to step down from his role after 26 years.

The  Tendring Show returned to Lawford House Park, near Manningtree, drawing thousands of visitors - and putting on a dazzling display of livestock for them.

Framlingham Horse Show took place at the town's Castle Meadow.

Combining season got off to a stuttering start as rain hampered harvest - leaving farmers frustrated.

An "insatiable" demand for second-hand farm machinery fuelled a huge uplift in sales at auctioneers Cheffins with £62m-worth of machines sold over a 12 month period.

The region's last stand-alone provide of further and higher level land-based education - Chelmsford-based Writtle University College - announced it was joining forces with Anglia Ruskin University to secure "a long-term, sustainable future".

Malt business Anglia Maltings - the parent of EDME of Lawford, Manningtree, and Crisp Malt of Great Ryburgh - was snapped up by Canadian food processor Richardson International for an undisclosed sum.

Farmer and vineyard owner Angus Crowther of Tuffon Hall, Sible Hedingham, near Halstead, was delighted after his 2022 Beatrice pinot rosé was awarded a gold at the WineGB awards and was praised by celebrity wine critic Oz Clarke.

A huge effort was under way to restore Suffolk's traditional orchards in the Sandlings area and elsewhere along the Suffolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - thanks to a Farming in Protected Landscapes grant.

Bella Hall was preparing to open Southwold Maize Maze next to the town's Hen Reedbeds nature reserve - and next to a large café opened at the farm in 2019 shortly before the pandemic.

Buyers were eyeing prime farmland in East Anglia as prices across the region reached a nine-year high.

Wet weather continued to dog harvest with many farmers who would usually be finished waiting for the rains to pass.

Farmers saw their crop yields increase by 2.4% despite cutting back on the use of fertiliser and other inputs because of alarming rises in prices last year, analysis by the Nature Friendly Farming Network showed.

AUGUST

The cold and wet spring was hitting the fruit harvest in East Anglia. Andrew Youngman and son Edward - who grow blackcurrants exclusively for drinks brand Ribena at their farm at Charsfield, near Woodbridge - said yields were down because the bad weather early on hit pollination.

The terrible harvest weather was taking its toll on the mental wellbeing of farmers, according to Suffolk farm chaplain Graham Miles.

Angry pig farmer Jonathan Green was left to pick up the tab after thieves made off with 50 of his animals from a unit at Troston, near Bury St Edmunds.

Suffolk pig farmer Alastair Butler of Blythburgh Free Range Pork completed an oarsome charity rowing feat after completing 2.5 million metres on his rowing machine over 250 days.

Business and farming leaders gathered at the Jockey Club in Newmarket for a King's Awards lunch where they heard that farmers would soon not have enough water to irrigate their crops unless action was taken.

Farmers Sarah and Will Edwards were celebrating the opening of their new countryside fitness and wellbeing centre at Be Well Barn, Wash Farm, Redlingfield, near Eye.

The Port of Ipswich retained its crown for the 18th year running as the top UK port for farming exports.

Struggling pig farms finally returned to profit after more than two years of crippling financial losses, according to industry figures.

Bury St Edmunds farmer Edward Vipond, farm manager at Troston Farms, near Bury St Edmunds, was celebrating the success of one of his more unusual crops - sunflowers - and was hoping for a bumper crop.

MPs called on supermarkets to support East Anglia's farmers and food producers by making it easier for online shoppers to buy British.

A farm on the Essex coast - Frinton Farms - claiming to be the only homegrown pumpkin seed oil producer in the UK - was growing Styrian pumpkins for the third year. Some are sold as snacks and others made into oil, explained farm manager and Frinton Farms founder Sam Hart.

SEPTEMBER

Regional utilities firm Anglian Water was pouring £7m into a scheme to restore rivers such as the Lark, Little Ouse and Thet to their natural shape by 're-wiggling' them.

Twelve farms in Mid Suffolk - including some of the county's top farmers - joined forces with pet food company Nestle Purina to support the county's wildlife and wider environment on a landscape scale in the 4,000ha High Suffolk Farm Cluster.

Early results from crop trials in Suffolk by Rothamsted researchers suggested there was no quick, easy answers to restoring the ecosystem and soils drained of nutrients.

Young Suffolk farmer Tom McVeigh of Kenton Hall, near Debenham, urged others to follow his lead and join the National Farmers' Union's Student and Young Farmer Ambassador Programme.

Britain's hardy and adaptable native breed farm animals were making a small but notable comeback in the UK, a Suffolk gathering of Rare Breeds Survival Trust supporters heard.

Water voles were returning in numbers to the Suffolk and Norfolk Broads after a successful campaign to eradicate mink numbers.

A National Farmers' Union poll showed farmers ranked second at 47% after nurses (65%) in popularity as it marked British Farming Day.

Farmer Richard Ling of Rookery Farm Wortham, near Eye, found there was no significant difference after trying out low-carbon cocoa shells as an alternative to conventional fertiliser.

Millions of pounds worth of Suffolk farmland was set to hit the market as Clarke and Simpson brought eight different farms onto the market at once.

Angry farmer Andrew Blenkiron spent three hours clearing about 50 or 60 burst black bin bags filled with dirty nappies and household waste after it was fly-tipped on the Euston Estate near Thetford.

Rougham Estate near Bury St Edmunds doubled the size of its annual pumpkin patch in response to huge demand last year.

The young generation were now running the Kenton Estate near Debenham after parents David and Sharon McVeigh passed the baton to their children Emily, Lucy and Tom.

Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival co-founder Lady Caroline Cranbrook was over the moon as this year's Snape broke records.

British Sugar set a minimum offer of £37.50/t for next year's crop - leaving Suffolk and north Essex farmers to mull their options.

Nature-friendly Farming Network said the latest State of Nature report made for grim reading - but said it did offer hope that the situation could be turned around.

Some of Suffolk's most spectacular beauty spots were being linked up by a mosaic of nature reserves as a by-product of a new generation of nuclear reactors as "re-wilding" efforts around the planned Sizewell C plant gathered pace.

OCTOBER

The 2023 Autumn Farming Conference at Wherstead Park, Ipswich, focused on sustainability, water management and the environment.

Akenham Hall Farm in Henley Road, Ipswich, decided to expand its pumpkin patch after growing the crop for the second year running.

Five Rod Farm founder Cameron Wheeler celebrated a successful move to Kenton Hall, Debenham, where he was growing vegetables and other crops for his own veg box scheme.

Large-scale Suffolk coast commercial vegetable grower James Foskett branched out with his own pick-your-own pumpkin patch in Woodbridge.

Research on a Suffolk cereal farm run by cousins Brian and Patrick Barker at Westhorpe, near Stowmarket, was due to come to an end six years after it became a pioneering AHDB Strategic Farm.

The equestrian centre at Suffolk Rural in Otley - the land-based arm of Suffolk New College - was celebrating achieving top marks in four out of eight categories set by the British Horse Society.

Suffolk farmers bemoaned the lack of clarity about the government's post-Brexit agricultural strategy as they gathered for the Larking Gowen Autumn Farming Conference at Wherstead, Ipswich.

Rougham Estate owner George Agnew's dream of opening up the site for country recreation and community took a big leap forward with the opening of the new purpose-built Roots Café.

Suffolk's most progressive and innovative farming champions were celebrated at an annual dinner hosted by Suffolk Agricultural Association at Trinity Park in Ipswich.

A move by Suffolk County Council to support the region's agricultural industry by sourcing homegrown food was welcomed by farmers' leaders.

East Anglia was at the forefront of one of England's fastest growing crop sectors - grapes - as vineyards produced 36% of the country's soft fruit crop. Strawberries and blackcurrants were second at 21% each, according to new figures from DEFRA.

East Anglia's livestock farmers were warned to guard against bluetongue as a new strain of the devastating animal disease spread rapidly in the Netherlands.

Storm Babet struck - leaving farmers to count the cost as heavy rainfall washed newly-planted seedlings away.

As Storm Babet wreaked havoc across Suffolk, heroic farmers rode to the rescue across many flood-hit areas - including across Framlingham, Debenham, Eye and villages in between - to deliver stranded schoolchildren to their parents and rescue drivers stuck in their cars.

Farm business Blacks of Bacton bought Newmarket plant operator training company Aurelia Ltd.

NOVEMBER 

Needham Market-based Alder Carr Farm - maker of Alder Tree Ice Cream - was celebrating a national contract with frozen ready meals maker Cook which has doubled the size of the business.

Ancient farmers' organisation Bures Agricultural Club near Sudbury folded after 80 years as its members became too old to keep it going.

Suffolk and north Essex farmers were facing what could turn out to be their worst autumn sowing season yet - as they continued to count the cost of Storms Babet and Ciaran.

Andrew Blenkiron - director of the Euston Estate - announced he was moving in spring to another post heading up operations at the neighbouring - and larger - Elveden Estate.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) Suffolk branch held its annual general meeting. Deputy chairman Glenn Buckingham was voted in to return to his previous role as chairman with effect from February 2024.

Suffolk Show charity the Suffolk Agricultural Association was thrilled after it was chosen for a King's Award for Voluntary Service. Chairman Bill Baker expressed his delight at the accolade.

Turkey farmers were pinning their hopes on a cracking Christmas revival - after a dismal year last year when birds were locked down due to the bird flu crisis. In 2022, cases swept the country with Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Essex at the epicentre of the outbreak in poultry.

Woodbridge farming family the Simpers decided to sell a sizeable chunk of its farmland at Ramsholt, near Woodbridge, off the River Deben so that they could invest in their fishing fleet.

Suffolk and north Essex's sugar beet growers were facing uncertainty about their cropping arrangements as a row over next year's price deal erupted.

The first Regenerative Farming Conference took place at Ipswich's Museum of the Environment.

DECEMBER

Vegetable growers across Suffolk were bracing themselves for a busy festive harvest - with crops like carrots and cauliflowers to be harvested and onions and potatoes to be brought out of storage.

The National Farmers' Union said it was "astounded" after British Sugar decided to go back to beet growers with another price offer while talks were ongoing.

Sheep farmer Robert Spink of Hepworth near Bury St Edmunds was elected National Sheep Association Eastern Region Chairman.

Farmer Geoff Freeman of Bredfield, near Woodbridge, was delighted as he scooped the top cattle prize at Stanfords' annual Christmas Livestock Show, Chris Reeks - who farms on the Euston Estate - was equally thrilled after his sheep swept the board, and won the supreme champion award.