Our History: How we grew in the fertile lands of East Lothian
In the early 1900s, Billy’s grandparents took tenancy at one of 10 smallholdings at West Garleton, near Scotland’s temperate southwestern coast. This was one of a group farms available to those who wanted to get started in agriculture, but could not afford to buy or rent multiple buildings or pieces of land to begin with. William and Richard Logan, Billy’s grandfather and father, began farming the smallholding at number 9 West Garleton with a small dairy herd. So most of the land was given over for the cows to graze, but they also grew some turnips and cabbage to feed the cattle over the winter. William and Richard seemed to have a talent for nurturing these crops, and they sold the best specimens in local shops and markets. Before long, William and Richard had created a strong market for good quality fresh vegetables, and so began a change in direction from dairy farming to raising crops.
When Billy took over he started small with big ideas. His main customers were the Edinburgh and Glasgow fruit and vegetable markets. Billy worked hard on expanding the farm’s vegetable production, and introduced potato and Brussels sprouts crops. He found new processing and packing customers, and gradually, production increased. In 1998, he took on equipment that to grade and pack produce, to supply direct to supermarkets and East Lothian Produce was established.
From simple beginnings, East Lothian Produce’s facilities have been expanded and upgraded to improve efficiency stay ahead of retailer and consumer needs. Today, our products can be found in all the major retailers across Scotland, the rest of the UK and beyond.