Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Soft fruit business grows

Barra Berries.
Barra Berries.

Barra Berries has doubled the size of its soft fruit processing capacity as the family-owned business shrugs off the uncertainty it faces due to Brexit.

David and Sarah Stephen, who have developed a farm shop, lodges and an event venue with a panoramic view of Bennachie on the Barra Farm in recent years, have further expansion ambitions.

The couple plan to extend the Barra Berries shop and cafe to meet growing demand among visitors and tourists keen to taste the fruits of the Aberdeenshire larder.

The potential for cruise ship tourism when the ÂŁ350 million South Harbour development is complete, due in 2020, is also a consideration of the growth plans.

The Stephens have expanded area dedicated to growing strawberries, raspberries and blackberries from 20 to 30 acres.

The farm usually employs 70 workers in its busy soft fruit growing season, with several hailing from EU countries.

As the pool of migrant workers has decreased, the Stephens have resorted to using employment agencies to recruit staff in the last 12 months which has increased the overall costs.

Mr Stephen believes the current uncertainty is to blame for workers’ reluctance to commit to UK working opportunities.

Nevertheless, he said agencies have told him they are confident of being able to provide staff following the March 29 Brexit deadline.

He said: “If I look at this from the perspective of the individual who is considering employment in the UK – they will understandably be asking: Will I be welcome? What documentation do I need? How will the weak currency affect my income? At the moment no one has these answers.”

Barra Berries, near Oldmeldrum, has invested tens of thousands of pounds in its new chill unit. The 174 sq metre refrigeration area was supplied by Clancool in Kintore.

Mr Stephen said: “The new chill will make our product better and provide a more professional packing area. It doubles the size of our capacity for chilling fruit and we will be able to do it faster.”

Likewise, Mrs Stephen, who in addition to her role at the farm is also a broadcaster, said the business would continue its focus on diversification.

Its events venue has been trading for its first full year and the next area of focus will be expanding the shop.

She said: “Although the bread and butter of the business is still very much the traditional agricultural side of things, it’s important to us to have a diverse portfolio of business interests.”