A HEREFORDSHIRE farmer has won a national retail award for his outstanding contribution to sustainable farming.

Anthony Snell, a fruit farmer from Harewood End, won the outstanding producer award in the M&S Farming for the Future awards, which was announced at The Royal Welsh Show.

He supplies a range of soft fruit to M&S through Berry Gardens Ltd.

The judges were impressed with Mr Snell’s commitment to the environment and wider agricultural community, as well as his passion and support for the fruit berry growing industry.

Steve Mclean, M&S head of agriculture and fisheries, said: "I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Anthony, his wife Christine, and their team for the forward thinking approach and dedication to farming excellence.

"The commitment to innovation, best practice and future-proof farming is incredibly impressive and is testament to the effort and drive they have shown."

Mr Snell runs the farm alongside his wife Christine and started the business in 1989 by purchasing 100 acres of land.

He originally grew a range of conventional arable and salad crops.

In 1998 they made the decision to specialise in berry fruit production and the farm now comprises of more than 450 acres of strawberry, blackberry, redcurrant, raspberry and blackcurrant production.

The couple are passionate about environmentally friendly and sustainable production of berries and have implemented a polytunnel rainwater collection and recycling system, which provides water to irrigate the farm’s crops.

To reduce mains energy usage, solar panels have also been installed and these now supply power to the farm’s freezer system.

M&S Farming for the Future is a programme of initiatives which champions sustainability and innovation.

The programme is designed to help farmers identify opportunities for improvement, increase their profitability and provide a sustainable supply chain that can continue to deliver quality and innovation for the long term.