Farm diversification business wins two rural awards

A Yorkshire Wolds farm diversification business has won two rural business awards within a fortnight of each other.

Wold Newton based T Mellor and Son won the Outstanding Rural Diversification Project category at the Amazon and CLA sponsored Rural Business Awards and the Diversification category of the inauguralYorkshire PostRural Awards for its Wold Top Brewery, Agricola Bottling and Muddy Souls Events businesses.

The national Rural Business awards took place at Denbies Wine Estates in Surrey, whilst theYorkshire Postevent was hosted at the Pavilions in Harrogate.

Of the national award, Tom Mellor from Tom Mellor & Son said: "We've had a great experience participating in the Rural Business Awards and to come out with a prize really is the icing on the cake.

"There were some unbelievable candidates in the Outstanding Rural Diversification Project category, winning really is testament to the hard work and commitment from our team since we began our journey in 2003."

Awards programme co-founder Anna Price said: "As farm owners across Britain are all too aware, times are tough. It's hard to make traditional agricultural businesses pay the bills as once they did, which has a severe knock-on effect on the rural way of life we hold so dear.

"That is why diversification is such an important category of our awards. With typical rural spirit, farmers are not taking the harsh economic climate lying down, but are thinking outside the box as to how to make the most of their natural assets and create some fabulously innovative and successful businesses. T Mellor and Son is a wonderful example of just this, and they were a worthy winner in our diversification category."

The Mellors founded Wold Top Brewery in 2003 and in 2010 they launched specialist bottling business, Agricola bottling to service the brewery. A further diversification business, Muddy Souls Events was launched in 2013. 

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Photo: Gill and Tom Mellor at the Rural Business Awards at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey Gill and Tom Mellor

For more information or to arrange an interview with Tom Mellor, please contact Tracey Baty at three60 marketing on:

Direct line: 01430 871360

Mobile: 07971 961574

E mail:traceybaty@three60marketing.co.uk

Web:www.three60marketing.co.uk

Notes to editors

1. For more information about Wold Top Brewery, please visitwww.woldtopbrewery.co.uk. You can also find Wold Top Brewery onFacebook,TwitterandInstagram, and you can keep up to date with the brewery's latest newshere.

2. For more information about Muddy Souls Events, the wedding and events business also run by the Mellor family, please visitwww.muddysoulsevents.co.ukand see theFacebook,TwitterandPinterestpages.

3. For more information about Agricola Bottling Ltd, please visitwww.agricolabottling.co.uk.

4. For more information about the Rural Business Awards, please visitwww.ruralbusinessawards.co.uk.

5. Created by rural entrepreneurs, Jemma Clifford and Anna Price, the Rural Business Awards are the only UK-wide programme dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses - a segment which employs more than 3.4 million people in over half a million businesses. The Rural Business Awards are split into 13 categories with one category winner also crowned overall Champion of Champions.

6. For more information about the winner of The Yorkshire Post Rural Awards 2017, please visitwww.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/winners-of-the-yp-s-2017-rural-awards-are-revealed-1-8804460.