TRIBUTES have been paid to a Shropshire farmer and potato merchant said to have helped change the face of UK agriculture through innovation and design.

Great-grandfather Philip Solari, who farmed with his family at Beckbury in Shropshire, died on March 19, aged 98.

He was known for his farming innovations, desiging and building the Solari pig farrowing pen, which helped improve animal husbandry and piglet welfare.

Mr Solari, who had 21 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren, also developed the world’s first four-row potato planter and two-row potato elevator digger.

A stalwart of the NFU Wolverhampton and Stourbridge branch, before and after the two amalgamated, he held a variety of posts and served on numerous committees, working at a grass roots and national level to benefit the industry.

He was also active on the Potato Marketing Board’s research and development committee.

Originally from Wall Heath, near Kingswinford, he was the son of the landlord of the Prince Albert pub and caught the farming bug while at school.

He worked as an auctioneer for King’s, in Stourbridge, running the produce market before setting up a successful potato merchant business, which supplied fish and chips shops across the Midlands throughout the 1930s.

Mr Solari was also a keen sportsman and played in the undefeated 1933/1934 Stourbridge RFC side, which saw the team win all of its matches in a season. The feat has yet to be equalled.

In later life he was also a rugby club trustee and president, remained a keen musician and continued to water ski until he was 78.

Mr Solari and his wife Mary had six children and their youngest, Richard, said his father was active and was always thinking of better ways to do things.

He explained: “In 1940 he took on his first farm, which was a 90-acre tenancy near Enville, which was known locally as Poverty Bank.

“What was good is that it used to miss the spring frost so was perfect for early potato growing.

“In 1947 he bought his first bit of land from the Earl of Dudley Estate. It was £70 an acre back then and he used to say he didn’t sleep for three months worrying about the cost.

“What was poignant though was there was a really bad winter in 1946, which continued into the spring of 1947, like the spring now.

“As a result of the late, wet snow and following the coldest February on record he did not plant his potatoes until April 13. However, his first 50 acres came in at an average of £1,600 an acre - that’s more than 20 times the value of the land, which went a long way to set him up.

“As he wasn’t from farming stock he always questioned everything and always thought there must be a different way of doing things. He didn’t always have all the answers but he certainly wasn’t afraid to seek advice.”

Richard said his father was keen on soil management and nutrition and realised light ground needed manure to help it become profitable, which is why he got into pig farming alongside potatoes.

He went on to develop two almost identical pig rearing and fattening units at Chasepool Farm, near Enville and Heath House Farm, at Beckbury, which became demonstration units for best practice.

Mr Solari was also one of the first farmers in the country to store potatoes indoors and develop a potato elevator to aid storage.

Ashley Smith, NFU Wolverhampton and Stourbridge group secretary, said: “With the death of our oldest surviving member we have lost one of the most renowned British farmers.

“Philip Solari was a great innovator in the pig and arable industries and he had tremendous energy, which enabled him to continue to take a keen interest on his farm until his death.

“His name will always be synonymous with the great strides to feed the nation, which British agriculture took in the post-war period.”