Everything the Pettitts grow on Franklyn Farm is produced to Red Tractor standards, and they are also part of an environmentally friendly farming scheme called LEAF - Linking Environment and Farming. Sarah is an active member of the National Farmers' Union, and is vice-chair of its National Board for Horticulture and Potatoes.

How did you first get involved in farming?

My family have been growing brassicas for four generations. In my school days and in the summer holidays I was always working on the farm, planting vegetables and helping with the harvest.

What do you enjoy about your work?

My father and I get a lot out of doing our very best to produce the best quality, and that includes the quality of the eating experience. My brother is particularly passionate about conserving and enhancing the environment and wildlife. These are the things that drive us.

Do you enjoy eating your greens as well as growing them?

Sprouts are my favourite vegetable. After they've had a frost their flavour is fantastic.

I love purple sprouting broccoli and savoy cabbage too. Purple sprouting broccoli is a real powerhouse of vitamins and other nutrients – such as folic acid, iron and zinc. It's delicious steamed, served with creamy butter and cracked pepper.

It's also quite challenging to grow, and we're the only grower in the country that can produce a crop for 11 months of the year. We pack it into punnets in the field as we harvest it, so it can be on the supermarket shelf the morning after it's picked.

The leading supermarkets seem to be responding to customers who want to buy more locally grown fruit and vegetables in their local stores. Is that something you support?

Buying local and buying British when you shop is a good thing because you're getting real freshness, you're supporting the regional economy, you're appreciating the farmers in your region and you're doing your bit to reduce food miles.

The fact that your produce is certified both under the Red Tractor scheme and by LEAF shows your commitment to the environment. What kind of things are you doing to protect and enhance it?

We want to hand our land over to our children in a better state than when it was given to us. We look after our hedges and clean up ditches and streams because they are the natural corridors that allow animals to roam around the farm. We see a good variety of small birds all the year round, and it helps that we've given them a varied habitat with a good mix of food sources.

Another thing we are working on is our use of pesticides. Pesticides are rigorously tested and residues tend to be well within safety limits, demonstrating good farming practice. But it's still an issue our consumers have expressed concern about, so we're working to eliminate residues if possible – or at least to reduce them still further.

What does it mean to be a Red Tractor farmer?

A tremendous amount of effort and integrity goes into growing crops to Assured Produce standards, which are the standards we have to meet to be part of the Red Tractor scheme. Because we're a Red Tractor farm there's not a customer in this country that shouldn't have confidence in the food that we produce. We grow what we grow in a diligent manner and we are independently inspected to confirm and demonstrate that.