Dismay as Perthshire berry firm goes out of business
dailyrecord.co.ukA Perthshire berry-making business has shut down citing “challenging” operating conditions.Leadketty Farm in Dunning, which has been operating for 80 years, closed last week.A statement issued on its Facebook page stated: “It has been a challenging period for us as the cost of production is continuously increasing, resulting in a number of factors putting enormous pressure on our business.“As the supermarkets have failed to support us offering low returns and lack of support, this has made our business unsustainable.“Following careful consideration we have now made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to stop production and cease growing our beautiful berries.“Our heartfelt thanks go out to all our staff, customers and friends past and present for their support over the years.”It follows the plight of a Blairgowrie berry-making business in 2022 who stopped operations due to the shortage of pickers in Scotland and cheaper imports coming in from Peru and South Africa.The Thomson family had been growing berries for more than 100 years with operations at a farm at Ashgrove Road, Rattray, and Westfield Farm.They had started out with raspberries and strawberries before diversifying in recent years to blueberries and cherries.However, in 2022 Mr Thomson said it no longer made economic sense to harvest the fruit.Ochil and South Perthshire MP John Nicolson, whose consituency includes Leadketty Farm, said this week: “I am very sad to learn that Leadketty Farm is to cease berry production.“Soft fruits are such a feature of our landscape, and so many of my constituents have stories from summers spent helping pick berries in their youth, making jam or enjoying a pre-picked punnet.“Leadketty Farm’s owners say they can no longer
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