Meet the team that brings us the berries - Mairis

He’s our sweet-toothed, swimming and cycling fan who uses his self-belief and passion to grow our beautiful berries…

Let us introduce you to Grower Mairis…

Tell us a bit about you and explain your job to us in a sentence or two?

I was born in Latvia and originally joined the BDF farm team back in the early days in 2004/2005. I then rejoined the company in 2019 to fulfil my current role as a BDF grower.

Tell us about the farm?

The glasshouses play a big role in making the farm special as the demand for good quality, home grown strawberries has increased substantially over the past few years. The glasshouses offer a more sophisticated system of growing, helping to create optimised conditions for our berries.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Alarm, coffee, work…. joy with family.

What inspired you to do this job?

Self-belief and passion for the job of growing the best possible berries.

How do you describe your job to your friends?

I’d say it’s a challenge in many ways!

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

It’s the appreciation of a job done well. We also like receiving feedback about how people are enjoying our berries.

In your eyes what is the best variety you grow and why?

Malling™ Centenary - it has a consistently good shape and sugar levels with no second-class fruit.

What technology do you have/use to help you grow your strawberries?

We use different forms of technology to irrigate, light and heat the glasshouses to help create the perfect conditions to grow great strawberries.