Huntapac is the Tops for Net Zero Commitment

Huntapac Produce Ltd joins LEAF’s network of leading sustainable farming businesses and world renowned research centres which showcase best practice farming. Its recognition as a LEAF Demonstration Farm reflects the business’ long-standing commitment to innovative, climate positive approaches across its entire operation – from growing and packing to transportation and delivery.

The Lancashire based family farming business has been growing and harvesting vegetables across the UK for over 80 years. Today it grows 1500 hectares of mainly carrots and parsnips on land from Norfolk to Inverness. Huntapac is a major supplier to some of the largest retailers in the UK including Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Co-op, Aldi and Lidl, who have all made a global commitment to LEAF Marque certification across their fresh produce supply chains.

Since 2023, Huntapac has been involved with LEAF on a ground-breaking three year ‘Journey to Net Zero project’, funded by the Co-op Foundation. Over the course of the project, the business has been working to establish a baseline carbon footprint whilst implementing a cycle of monitoring and target-setting, working towards its net zero goals which include:

• Increasing the net zero trials area to over 1,000 acres trialling different low carbon fertilisers (R Leaf, Fibrophos and Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria)
• Increasing the amount of area assigned to biodiversity and planting more wildflower meadows
• Using Agrisound boxes to monitor pollinator movements to better assess different habitats and situations
• Exploring different carbon tools to assess their appropriateness for their farming system
• Investing in hybrid hydrogen fleet vehicles, installing EV chargers, and fitted LED lighting in the packhouse

Welcoming Huntapac to LEAF’s network of Demonstration Farms, LEAF CEO, David Webster said:

“The farming industry is facing huge challenges. With ambitious industry goals to reach net zero by 2040, Huntapac is a leading farm business focussed on using innovation and technology to achieve net-zero goals across its entire operation. As the first of our ‘net zero project farms’ to become a Demonstration Farm, Huntapac will act as an important hub for knowledge exchange, collaboration and learning in the area of more sustainable farming practices in the fresh produce sector – and provide us with a valuable hub to facilitate knowledge exchange in the northwest of England.”

"The LEAF Network of 41 Demonstration Farms and 19 recognised academic Innovation Centres is crucial in showcasing how Integrated Farm Management (IFM) practices can promote resilience and facilitate more sustainable and regenerative farming outcomes at scale. It is a huge honour to formally launch Huntapac as a Demonstration Farm and we are deeply grateful for the team’s enormous commitment to supporting us in cascading the adoption of more sustainable farming practices across the wider industry. We greatly look forward to strengthening our partnership over the coming years.

Stephen Shields, Technical & Sustainability Director at Huntapac added:

“Huntapac has a strong heritage in delivering high-quality fresh produce both in the UK and across Europe whilst prioritising efficiency and sustainability across the breadth of our operations. Whilst being acutely aware of our own environmental obligations, there is a real need for collective effort across the farming sector to ensure we are prepared for the challenges of climate change and associated legislation. LEAF is a significant partner to the UK fresh produce sector and we are delighted to be working with them to help accelerate the transition to more sustainable farming, at scale and pace.”