Cider Industry Pays Tribute to Hereford Pomologist’s 40 Year Service

More than 300 cider apple growers paid tribute to local growers’ advisory manager and Chair of the National Association of Cider Makers (NACM) Pomology Committee Chris Fairs this week, as he retired following 40 years of service to the industry.

(left to right): Rod Lees, Bulmers Head of Orcharding, Joan Pritchard (Chris Fairs’ partner) and Chris Fairs, retiring Bulmers Growers’ Advisory Manager

The presentation to Fairs, took place at Bulmers’ Monnington Farm in Herefordshire during the industries annual Orchard and Machinery Day, which saw the largest gathering of growers in the UK.

Growers overseeing in excess of 90% of all apple production for the UK cider industry came together at Monnington on Wye to share best practice, discuss this year’s harvest and bid farewell to Fairs who is a well-known and much regarded figure in the cider industry.

Fairs joined the Bulmers Orcharding Team in 1971 and has served on the Pomology Committee of the NACM since 2009, latterly as Chairman. In Herefordshire he has been a great supporter of ‘The Big Apple’ organisation and has served on the committees of The Orchard Topic Group, the orchard section of Herefordshire’s Biodiversity Action Plan and the former Herefordshire FWAG.

NACM spokesman Gabe Cook said: “There is much to praise Chris for, not least his determination to progress and enhance the orchards that he has helped to build and we hope will continue to thrive long after his departure.

“Chris’s passion and willingness to share knowledge has made him an invaluable member of the team. We are really very sorry to see Chris go and it is with heartfelt thanks that we bid him farewell.”

Commenting on his retirement Chris said: “I have had a wonderful career, with highs too numerous to mention. My time at Bulmers and working with the NACM has given me much satisfaction and I leave the thousands of acres of orchards I have helped to establish in very capable hands.”

Chris Fairs leads the way on the Bulmers’ Orchard and Machinery Day

Sponsored by the NACM, the Bulmers’ Orchard and Machinery Day is an important annual date in the diary for cider apple growers, which is held in the heartland of the cider industry and includes a tour of one of Bulmers’ primary orchards.

The day offers an opportunity for growers to hear about the latest innovation, share best practice for managing orchards and learn more about sustainable measures, which is hoped to make cider the ‘greenest’ industry in the UK.

This year, as in other years, the topic of the yearly harvest was high on everyone’s list for discussion, particularly due to the wet summer the UK is experiencing. Cook continued: “Although harvest is still some weeks off it was good for everyone to share information and consider how the industry might cope if adverse weather conditions continue.

“We recognise that investment and research has helped growers contend with the increasing incidence of unsettled and extreme weather, but right now, just like everyone else we’d like to see some sunshine!” he concluded.

Cider Facts:

• The cider industry now grows more apples in the UK than ever before and continues to plant new orchards to keep pace with demand
• The cider industry uses 45% of all UK apples
• There was a record harvest in 2011, nearly 200,000 tonnes