Jeremy Quinney, Louisa’s uncle, first started to produce Toffee and Kandy apples at Oak Farm Samboune in 1980 and in 1995 encouraged Louisa to start making chocolate covered apples for Harrison Foods and then later Toffee apples as well. Since 2006 Bill and Louisa have been producing Toffee and Kandy apples for their own company ‘G. William Ballard Ltd’.

All of the family’s sons have done their part helping out on the farm including some cousins and relatives during particularly busy seasons. George, William and Jeffery have all worked on the farm after their school exams and for a season before they went to university. Celia worked with Anne Ballard at Farm House Flora. They all still like to help out on the farm when they are back for the weekends. Especially to help with the planting and irrigation of the Bramley Apple orchard planted in spring 2011. James Grant joined us in 2008.

After a major fire in 2008 the pack house and cold rooms were rebuilt and the opportunity was taken to upgrade the Toffee and Kandy apple equipment and to install a computer controlled apple grader.

Looking to the future Bill and Louisa plan to plant new Bramley apple trees yearly with the aim to increase the orchards to 50 acres and to expand the Toffee and Kandy apple business.