Perthshire farmer shortlisted for top award

The manager of a Blairgowrie farm has been shortlisted for a prestigious industry award.

Douglas McTaggart, who runs The Co-operative Farms’ soft fruit operation based at Rosemount Farm, part of its 5,000-acre Blairgowrie estate, is one of three finalists for Horticulture Week magazine’s Young Grower of the Year title.

He will find out if he is successful when the winners are announced at the Grower of the Year Awards ceremony in London in February.

Douglas, aged 28, manages soft fruit growing at Rosemount Farm, which grows strawberries for sale in Co-operative food stores across the UK.

He said: “I was really pleased when colleagues at The Co-operative Farms nominated me for the award, so to be selected as a finalist is fantastic. I’ve got a dedicated and hard-working team of people at Blairgowrie, which makes my job easier. Now I’m looking forward to the awards ceremony next month.”

Rosemount Farm is operated by The Co-operative Farms, Britain’s largest farming business, which in total farms more than 50,000 acres across the UK.

The Co-operative’s “Grown by Us” range – food and drink grown by The Co-operative Farms, or made using ingredients grown by the business, including strawberries and carrots grown at Blairgowrie, is also shortlisted for the Grower of the Year’s Business Initiative of the Year category.