The winner of this year’s Fruiterers’ Management Award is Nick Deppe of Clock House Farm, in Kent.
This award was set up in 2006 to recognise the progressive and innovative skills of the ever-increasing number of good managers working in the fruit industry. The recipient this year started his career in the fruit industry at the age of 18 when he saw a job being advertised by Liveryman Robert Pascall at Clock House Farm.
As a young person looking to make his way into the industry, he successfully applied for the job and has remained at Clock House Farm ever since his first day in the job, in 1996. Encouraged by his employer, Nick studied for a formal qualification and gained the equivalent of an NVQ at Hadlow College.
During his early years, he spent much of his time spraying fruit trees and managing the farm’s irrigation system before moving up to become first Soft Fruit Assistant and eventually Production Director, in 2021. The characteristics that propelled him through his career were the ability to demonstrate great competency, a good eye for detail and excellent husbandry practices.
Nick has played an important part in the growth in soft-fruit production volume at Clock House Farm. From an initial three acres of strawberries in ’96, the business has expanded significantly, recording a turnover of £38 million in 2023.
Over the course of his career journey, Nick’s experiences have led to him becoming an extremely knowledgeable and focused manager and, in the opinion of the Fruiterers’ Awards Council, a very worthy winner of the 2024 Worshipful Company of Fruiterers’ Management Award.
