BBC unveils farms appearing on TV show Harvest 2015
Harvest presenters Gregg Wallace, Philippa Forrester and James Manning © BBC/Carl Pendle The BBC has offered a glimpse into some of the farms that will feature on the TV show Harvest 2015, which is scheduled to be screened next month.
The show, which proved a massive hit with farmers when it made its debut in 2013, will return to BBC Two for a new three-part series.
The programme will again be fronted by presenters Gregg Wallace and Philippa Forrester.
See also: BBC Harvest series returns to screens in 2015
However, a new face has been added to the presenting team – James Manning, a 28-year old dairy farmer from north Herefordshire.
The idea of the programme is that it will witness the harvest as it happens up and down the country.
In the first episode, the team will visit Sussex and Hampshire to meet Peter Barfoot, who has spent decades turning exotic veg into regular British fridge fillers, growing vegetables that many thought could not be grown in Britain.
The business supplies major supermarkets and restaurant chains and employs more than 200 people.
The opening programme will also include visits to the Tiptree jam strawberry fields, a futuristic lettuce farm and a business in the middle of sugar beet harvest.
Other episodes will feature the Thatcher family from Somerset, who will be shown harvesting their cider apple orchards, and the Hay family in Perthshire as they anxiously wait for a dry spell to bring in their harvest of Scottish oats.
New presenter Mr Manning said: “For me, harvest is the time of year when all your hard work as a farmer pays off.
“All the ups and downs, the long nights and early mornings have all been working up to this moment.
“The best bit about filming for me has been meeting other farmers, seeing the pride and pleasure they get at this time of year.
“It’s been fantastic to see British farmers trying new things and innovating the way they work to farm smarter, bigger and better than the year before.”
Executive producer Tim Martin added: “What makes the British harvest so fascinating is how different it is every year.
“In this series, we focus on the crops Britain grows best, exploring the areas of British farming where we punch above our weight to deliver world-class produce.
“Right across the UK, we meet innovative farmers whose pioneering spirit is changing the farming industry and guaranteeing there’s always food on our plates.”
The exact dates and time of screening are yet to be published.