Fifty years ago Harold Woolley, then President of the NFU, delivered a message of congratulations to the Lea Valley Growers Association in celebration of your jubilee year.

I am delighted, as President in 2011, to offer re-doubled congratulations of my own and to join you in celebrating your centenary.

In the last fifty years the fresh produce industry has changed beyond recognition. It has seen the rise and consolidation of the supermarkets, and also witnessed the development of the European Economic Community and the establishment of the European Union.

The resulting single market is a vastly more competitive environment for grower businesses.

Lea Valley Growers have risen to and met the challenges resulting from these changes. In doing
so you have become more productive than ever, despite being 80% fewer in number.

The current and future challenges are many, but include reducing the burden of regulation and the need to create a supply chain that delivers fair returns to all its participants.

We also need to ensure that the importance of glasshouse production of salad crops and ornamentals is recognised and supported at all levels within a simplified and streamlined planning system.

Harold Woolley said fifty years ago that only the best growers would survive the fierce competition of the years to come and his prediction came true.

Competition is now fiercer than ever in our increasingly demanding marketplace. But I am confident that with the business drive, innovation and values of Lea Valley Growers, you will continue to thrive and prosper, representing as you do all that is best about British horticulture.

I look forward to celebrating your 150th anniversary!

Peter Kendall

President

National Farmers Union