WINNERS OF THE FOOD & FARMING CATEGORY WERE:- 

BIGBURY BAY­ OYSTERS

Bigbury Bay Oysters produce and sell Pacific Oysters in the Avon estuary and supply local hotels, restaurants, farmers’ markets and food festivals.  Oysters are sent nationwide using a Devon based courier company. 

Two gram seed oysters are purchased, 100,000 at a time, and reared just south of Aveton Gifford.  They reach maturity in up to four years.  The combination of freshwater from the Dartmoor sourced Avon and seawater on the South Devon coast gives the oysters a unique sweet flavour, but makes their quality extremely dependent on the condition of the freshwater inputs to the estuary. 

Richard and his father Peter have worked for many years to investigate and overcome point and diffuse pollution sources, supported by South Hams District Council and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.  FWAG provides farmers and landowners with practical advice on making adjustments to farm operations and enhancing farm features in order to support wildlife, landscape, archaeology, access and other conservation issues, and their collaboration with nearby farmers has helped resolve a number of environmental problems.

As Richard describes it, ‘the oyster is the canary of the river’ and a widespread network has been established to protect and improve river quality with benefits for migratory fish through control of soil loss and benefits for the wider environment.  This supports the designation of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

 

Finalists in the above category were:-
Rod & Ben’s
Markstone Farm
Churston Traditional Farm Shop