Rodger Hobson (Chairman of the BCGA)
Yorkshire based Rodger Hobson has been farming carrots for over 20 years on Naburn Hill Farm where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather farmed before him. Hobson studied engineering at Oxford University and after working in management consultancy in London for some years he moved home to the family farm to help his father. The move was not intended to be permanent but he enjoyed the change so much that it became so.
Hobson Farming mainly grows Nairobi carrots and produces over 26,000 tonnes from 800 acres. The company also enjoys a dynamic arable farming enterprise with crops including wheat, barley, rape, turf, potatoes and red beet.
Rodger lives on the farm, just outside York with his wife and two children, of whom he says: “The kids are probably a bit too young to know if they would like to take over the farm when they’re older but for the moment they certainly seem to like eating carrots – they are definitely their favourite vegetables.”
In 2012, Rodger took on the mantle of British Carrot Growers’ Association chairman, saying “It is a role which I intend to take on with gusto. I have been involved in the carrot industry for a very long time and it is in my blood, so I look forward to making positive steps to try to improve the market for myself and my peers.”