Proud to present our 2022 winners!
BRITISH FARMING AWARDS 2022: WINNERS ANNOUNCED
As the British Farming Awards celebrated its milestone 10th anniversary last night, more than 800 farmers and fellow professionals gathered to honour the dedication and achievements of this year’s finalists.
Sponsored by Morrisons and organised by Farmers Guardian magazine, farmers from across the UK gathered at The Vox in Birmingham, vying for the 17 categories up for grabs.
Alongside farming’s core sectors including – dairy, beef, sheep, arable and machinery – there was also recognition for students, family farms, sustainable businesses, and new entrants coming into the industry.
The ever increasing sophistication and developments within agri-technology was also recognised, with the category welcoming a record number of entries.
The audience was praised for their innovation and extraordinary commitment along as food producers, innovators and custodians of the countryside.
Sophie Throup, Morrisons Head of Agriculture, Fisheries and Sustainable Sourcing, said:
“The British Farming Awards are a welcome reminder of the dedication and hard work demonstrated by UK farmers all year round. At Morrisons, we have always valued British farming and the effort, innovation and skills which go into providing food farmed to the high standards that we all enjoy and is something we should be proud of.”
Farming Hero; Flying the Flag for British Agriculture
The winner of this year’s award went to social media influencer and young dairy farmer, Tom Pemberton, whose videos depicting life on his family’s dairy farm has captured the attention of millions across the globe.
Tom Pemberton Farm Life has secured a loyal following of consumers thanks to his endearing honesty and passion to promote the industry to the wider public.
His growing presence and big personality has proved to be a runaway success and he is part of a new wave of stereotype-smashing young farmers enjoying a public profile.
Tom has gone on to front BBC3’s new tractor-racing series The Fast and the Farmer-ish after his YouTube channel was scouted by producers.
Outstanding Contribution to British Agriculture (Sponsored by NSF)
The Outstanding Contribution to British Agriculture was awarded to the Chief Executive of the National Sheep Association (NSA) Phil Stocker.
Having recently celebrated 10 years of leadership at the NSA, Phil has represented a sector who have experienced unprecedented times in UK agriculture including Brexit, Coronavirus and the impact of the Ukrainian war.
Phil has also championed increased use of advanced breeding techniques to promote genetic improvement, more innovative use of cross-breeding and at lobbying the needs and demands of UK sheep farmers at a national and political level.
For more information about the winners, finalists and awards evening, visit britishfarmingawards.co.uk/winners
Paul White
Paul White
Paul's Farm
Lancashire
Sponsored by: Massey Ferguson
PAUL’S journey has seen him come full circle, leading him back to in his childhood home of Laneshawbridge, Lancashire. Coming from a rural background, Paul had always dreamed of farming in his own right, however he found himself submerged in politics as a Conservative council leader. After nearly a decade in politics, being elected leader of Pendle Borough Council, while also building a milk and groceries delivery business, Paul was diagnosed with heart failure.
His previous life saw him balancing a 3am milk round, commuting to Westminster and chairing council meetings. But following his diagnosis, Paul left politics and, after a short spell of recuperation, he remembered his childhood dream of buying his own farm. Moving back to Laneshawbridge, Paul saw an opportunity to target a guaranteed market in 2021 when the British Poultry Council enounced a shortage of turkeys for Christmas. “I thought I could try my hand at farming, with something that would arrive and leave within a few months. I had the option of leaving early if I did not like it,” he says. Unsurprisingly, the biggest challenge was securing land but, after finding a small patch of local woodland, he took the plunge and bought 200 poults.
From those initial 200 turkeys, Paul’s flock has now increased to 1,000, which Paul sells direct to the consumer and to local restaurants through his online business, Paul’s Farm. This year saw Paul introduce sheep to the business and, after securing a 2.02-hectare (five-acre) field to rent, he started his small flock of Lonk sheep – a breed which is native to his area of the Pennines. Paul is passionate about increasing awareness of the breed’s meat and wool qualities and holds demonstration nights in local pubs to showcase the quality of the meat. “I have a huge passion for connecting the consumer with where their products come from. My next plan is to create a co-operative where Lonk meat can be marketed as a collective, direct to the consumer.” He also works with local chefs to raise breed awareness and plans to work with Lonk breeders to create a fattening system with hill and lowland producers.
Plans for the future
- Develop a co-operative to market the Lonk breed to add value to his product and sell meat at a premium price under the Paul’s Farm brand
- Secure a farm tenancy, as access to land has been his biggest challenge throughout his faming journey
- Continue to grow his turkey business to generate a quick return on investment while building his Lonk flock
Rhona Campbell-Crawford
Rhona Campbell-Crawford
Scotland’s Rural College
DESCRIBED by her lecturer as a ‘remarkable young woman’, Rhona’s thirst to learn about the intricacies of the agricultural industry marked her out as a strong candidate for this year’s award. Not born into agriculture but with a passion for knowledge, particularly in the livestock sector, she is currently completing the fourth year of a degree in agriculture at Scotland’s Rural College.
With the university taking the decision to switch a sizeable proportion of the course from in-person to online as a result of Covid-19 and Rhona encountering unfortunate personal circumstances, her drive to excel has been remarkable in the face of adversity. Recognised for her involvement with the college show team as a ‘master cattle show woman,’ Rhona’s ambition to pursue her love for agriculture outside of academia landed her a place onto the highly regarded and competitive SAC Consulting summer placement scheme. Taking the placement in her stride, Rhona was able to deepen her existing industry knowledge, honing in on the carbon market and producing carbon audits.
Rhona recently purchased four hectares (10 acres) of land, alongside her own flock of sheep, which consists of a mixture of breeds, including Suffolks and Blackfaces, which she intends to breed to different sires in autumn. Taking the initiative, the flock will be used in a small study to see what combination will potentially produce the best lambs suitable for the store market in 2023. Marking out a clear vision for the future, Rhona is set on a career in quality insurance inspection and consultancy work, where she can apply both the practical and scientific knowledge she has acquired throughout her journey studying agriculture.
At a glance
- Non-farming background
- BSc Agriculture, third year
- Member of Strathearn JAC and has been on the committee since 2019, taking on roles including assistant secretary
- Summer SAC placement
- Runs her own business venture across four hectares (10 acres) of land, with her own flock of sheep
- Described as a ‘super lamber’ with a ‘go-get-em’ attitude
What the judges said:
“In the face of adversity, Rhona displayed a tenacity to pursue a passion for agriculture both inside and outside academia. Her effervescent personality combined with her impressive knowledge of the many challenges facing the industry made her a standout finalist. She is a fantastic ambassador for those from a farming and, indeed, non-farming background.”
On winning, Rhona said:
“I don’t want to sound cliche but I didn’t expect this. It was a stiff line up of competition and I never thought I had a chance. You always think you are just another student but when I saw I was nominated it was touching and nice to know the effort I was putting in was recognised.”
Jonathan Hodgson
Jonathan Hodgson
Great Newsome Farm,
I M Hodgson & Son Ltd,
East Yorkshire
Sponsored by: Oxbury Bank
THE Hodgson family farms 280 hectares, mostly arable, growing a variety of crops including wheat, oilseed rape, vining peas, spring beans, spring oats, spring barely, flax and herbal ley. Pigs are kept on a bed and breakfast arrangement, producing about 1,200 tonnes of manure a year and 1,200sq.m of slurry. The only ploughing done on-farm is for vining peas - the rest of the crops are strip tilled. Extra value is added with wheat grown for seed, biscuit flour, fuel and breadcrumbs. Barley is grown for malting; the oats go into porridge, the beans for human consumption and the flax for mattresses.
As well as making soil more biologically active, the strip till drill helps with water holding capacity, reducing run-off of water. Since 2020 Jonathan has introduced cover crops, using a diverse mix including linseed, buckwheat, vetch, clovers, phacelia, dikon radish, mustard and forage rape. These are grazed by sheep belonging to neighbouring farmers. The farm has introduced catch crops, planted after the vining peas and oilseed rape to trap the summer’s solar energy and nutrients. Oilseed rape has a companion crop of buckwheat, clover and vetch between the rows. This prevents weed growth (reducing the farm’s herbicide use by 50 per cent) and secondly fixing nitrogen which then becomes available to the oilseed rape in the spring. Buckwheat scavenges for phosphate, benefiting the oilseed rape.
This year a trial crop of boats - spring beans and oats grown together - has been sown. “We are looking to see if growing different species together can help with soil biology,” says Jonathan. “The beans feed the oats with nitrogen and hopefully the overall margin per hectare will be greater than a standard bean crop. We now add molasses, which is a carbon source, to all our applications.” A better work-life balance has been a benefit of strip tilling, with working hours reduced. Soils have improved and it takes less fuel per hectare to plant a crop.
Use of cover crops has increased wildlife and skylarks, snipe, owls and lapwings are regular visitors. Being part of the Countryside Stewardship scheme has enabled Jonathan to provide more habitats and wildlife corridors. Looking to the future, Jonathan would like to offer a regenerative service to other growers, helping with the transition or possibly offering specialist services such as direct drilling and cover crop planting.
Sustainable practices
- Pig manure used as fertiliser
- Catch crops, planted after the vining peas and oilseed rape to trap the summer’s solar energy and nutrients
- Strip tilling all crops apart from peas
- Oilseed rape planted with a companion crop between rows, preventing weed growth and reducing herbicide use by 50 per cent
- Improved soil means less fuel per hectare to plant a crop
Will Dunn
Will Dunn
Ag-drive
Studford Farm, North Yorkshire
Sponsored by: Farmdeals
AGRICULTURAL contractor and farmer’s son from North Yorkshire Will Dunn has designed an all-in-one cloudbased app to introduce a management tool and improve efficiency in farm businesses. From the business Studford Agtech, established in July 2020, Ag-drive offers an entirely paperless system, giving users clear and precise instructions from field mapping to pre-start health and safety checks, timesheets and invoicing. All coding of the app was carried out by contracted app developer Thumbmunkeys, located in York, and it took six months of meetings via Microsoft Teams to scope out the wireframes, use cases and educate the developers on how it would work.
Development started in January 2021 and by May that year, it was used at home for a month before commercially launching in the June. Key features of the app include telematic job recording which sends jobs directly to the operator and allows jobs to be analysed from start to finish, and photographs, job instructions, product lists and job starting points can be added when scheduling work. The app ensures full traceability for the farmer as he can view the job as it is happening, while both efficiency and cashflow are improved through more accurate timesheets. It uses cloud-based storage between the mobile app and web portal to provide a paperless farm diary/timesheet. All jobs use the GPS signal given off by the phone, with the added advantage of it working offline, yet still recording.
The product is marketed through all social media platforms, farming publications and zoom webinars, as well as exhibiting at shows such as LAMMA, Scotgrass and Midlands Machinery Show.
In the future, it is hoped more features can be added, such as machine maintenance, machine integrations, additional accounts packages, while also developing an agronomist account to provide an all-in-one app.
Tim Russon
Tim Russon
P Russon and Sons,
New Farm,
Lincolnshire
Sponsored by: Kuhn
WHAT started as just drilling maize for Tim soon led to the main drive behind P. Russon and Sons agricultural contracting business when he started harvesting and taking on other aspects he could progress the business with, such as oilseed rape drilling. The business has grown from one person to 10 full-time employed staff, expanding up to 30 when the business is at its busiest with maize harvest.
This year, the business has harvested around 3,240 hectares (8,000 acres) of maize using two new Class Jaguar 970 forage harvesters fitted with telematics to help with machine management. Tim aims to provide year-round contracting services to try and level out work peaks and troughs and to provide a steady income stream. This includes specialist miscanthus grass cutting and harvesting in January to April, utilising the forage equipment that would normally be redundant at that time of year.
He says: “We are constantly looking for niche markets in the area where there is minimal competition in the sector so the team can start contracting in that part of agriculture.” The business has recently added inter-row grass drilling services to its portfolio. This is drilled in between standing crops of maize to help retain nutrients and soil after the maize crop has been harvested. New technology is a key focus going forwards, to see how they can help increase productivity for their customers – for example, by using variable application of fertilisers – while also reducing the impact on the environment.
The business is experimenting with different cover crops with their customers to help protect the environment at harvest time and during the following winter. There are a number of rewilding projects to increase biodiversity, which are presenting the business with the opportunity to provide alternative services, such as habitat creation and management. This runs alongside the typical agricultural contracting jobs, but gives the farmer a way of becoming more sustainable and helping the environment. “I am always looking for new opportunities and exploring what is out there,” he says. “One of the sides we have developed more is using GPS on the tractors when spreading manure as people are valuing manure more, with the prices of inputs increasing.”
Future plans
- Developing more ways to help protect the environment with the services they provide
- Currently evaluating several apps to help with efficiency with regard to job management, to help get essential information back to the office, speed up invoicing and recording the fuel use
- Using precision farming techniques with their customers to deliver nutrients and crop protection more efficiently
On winning, Tim said:
“It feels fantastic. My heart hasn’t stopped pounding. This award will give us publicity I couldn’t buy. We tried to include everyone as part of the team. We had someone working for us for 45 years which is quite an achievement and we are proud, and have lots, of longstanding employees. I enjoy putting something back as we as farmers take a lot out and so it is great to put it back in and provide for future generations. “
Morgan Tudor
Morgan Tudor
Llysun Farm,
T&A&R Tudor,
Powys
Sponsored by: KW Feeds
FOLLOWING the tragic death of his father, Richard, in April 2020, Morgan Tudor took on the running of his family’s dairy farm at the age of just 17. At the time, the Tudor family was just four weeks into their first calving season, having recently made the decision to convert from a beef and sheep farm to a block-calving dairy unit.
Morgan had just returned home after attending college and working on a dairy farm to gain some experience ahead of the changes to the farm, which included the installation of a 50-bale rotary parlour and new buildings. Morgan says: “We milked 350 heifers in 2020. I then started a joint venture with a neighbouring farm to start milking 550 in the 2021 season.” The joint venture will come to an end at the end of this year and Morgan says he will be milking 400 Jersey cross
Friesians next year.
Grass growth, says Morgan, has been the biggest change since the move to dairy farming, with 10.4 tonnes of dry matter (DM) per hectare achieved in 2020, 11.2t DM/ha in 2021, and the farm on target to reach 12t DM/ha this year, despite the drought-like conditions seen across the country. This improvement is down to Morgan’s strategies regarding paddock grazing, careful muck and slurry use, reseeding, the use of break crops to break up weed burdens and the
introduction of nitrogen fixing clover and grass mixes.
He says: “The cows are here to make the best use of the grass we grow and turn that into profit. Therefore, it is essential grass comes first as it is the most important aspect of our business.” Looking ahead, Morgan is considering the environmental aspects of his family’s business and has started to reduce fertiliser usage, is considering renewable energy options, and he aims to become self-sufficient in terms of feed.
He also wants to expand the business in the future, but for the short term he aims to ensure the home farm is run as efficiently as possible. He says: “I have no fear of the future and I look forward to it directly and the challenges it will bring.”
Business aims
- Keep improving grassland yield
- Become self-sufficient and reduce reliance on imported goods
- Pay back debts quickly and build capital in order to expand
- Implement measures to help industry reach net zero targets
Ted Howard-Jones
Ted Howard-Jones
Cholsey Grange Farm,
CL Booking,
Buckinghamshire
Sponsored by: Lely
A MOBILE phone app and website launched by a group of farmers during the pandemic to help caravanners book a pitch on their sites now has 15,000 users and a listing of more than 225 farms. CL Booking, co-created by Ted Howard-Jones, Nicola Wetherill and other farmers, matches campers with operators who have vacancies on their sites. Ted says "We are solving a problem for campers looking for a pitch for their caravan or motorhome and for farmers operating or running these sites who are looking to increase their income and occupancy or fill a cancellation.
Launched less than two years ago it has so far generated more than £400,000 worth of bookings. And the service continues to grow with new sites added to the website every week. The app allows the 225 sites listed to quickly and easily advertise to thousands of campers in return for a monthly fee of £18. Last minute cancellations are a big issue for site operators but this new service helps to plug those gaps as a key difference between CL Booking and other campsite listing sites is that it shows availability.
"With the app, if I get a cancellation I can immediately update my site availability to thousands of members with just one click, so much easier than having to go onto Facebook and create a post, or just hope the phone will ring." says Ted. A newsletter is emailed weekly to the 15,000 registered users. To complement this, there is also a 'help' website providing technical and marketing assistance to farmers wanting to improve their marketing. "It's not just the site owners who are benefiting financially from the service but the rural economy too," he adds. "These small sites are often in very rural locations and their local economies, such as village pubs and farm shops, also benefit greatly from visitors."
SUCCESSES
- More than £400,000 worth of bookings generated in less than two years
- 225 caravan sites listed
- Allows farmers to advertise their sites to thousands of campers
- Vacancies caused by late cancellations can be quickly filled
Ewan Irvine and Emma Gray
Ewan Irvine and Emma Gray
Ardros Farms,
Sheepdog School,
Argyll and Bute
Sponsored by: Lely
DELIVERING working dog tutorials online is a niche business idea that has outperformed expectations for sheepdog trainers Ewan Irvine and Emma Gray. Having budgeted for 100 subscribers, such was the appetite for the service, they doubled their target in the first month alone, 80 per cent of which they have retained.
The couple had been farming in a remotes part of Northumberland when they first established a school for training working dogs and for running courses for owners. They nurtured the idea of extending that service to people who were distant from the farm but, with no internet or phone line, they were unable to progress their idea. Gaining a 20-year tenancy on a 283 hectare (700-acre) unit on the Isle of Bute changed that, giving them access to the 4G network and the chance to connect to an audience across the world. The online tutorials, which Ewan and Emma produce themselves, are a team effort. Emma provides her experience and knowledge of training working dogs, while Ewan films and records sound. Their offering has proved so popular, it generates half the farm income. Emma says: “In terms of return on investment this is the most profitable enterprise on-farm”
The original target was 100 subscribers to cover the start-up costs and to provide a year-round regular income for the farm. They now boast more than 650 subscribers, almost all of who are farmers and shepherds with 85 per cent based in the UK and others signing up from countries as remote as Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Ewan and Emma are using their own social media to raise awareness and have amassed nearly 60,000 Instagram. Ewan says: “We are proud to be providing a service for others in the agriculture industry.” They also breed Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers, diversifying into this breed because they had so many approaches from people wanting to buy border collies as pets. “We feel the Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever is a better fit for active pet homes,” says Emma.
SUCCESSES
- 650+ subscribers to online dog training
- Subscribers as far afield as New Zealand and Australia
- 60,000 Instagram followers
What the judges said:
“The panel felt that Sheepdog School was a unique and dynamic idea that was truly innovative in their chosen field. They felt the platform was accessible to a wide audience and the couple had thought about and delivered their idea to a high standard. Having successfully launched the platform, they demonstrated that they had a good handle on their who their target audience were and were continually thinking ahead to developing it further and had several ideas on how to elevate it to the next level.”
On winning, Emma and Ewan said:
“Emma – Social media is crucial to our business, it’s a way to access worldwide markets and give everyone access to what we do.
Ewan – Farming is changing so we are selling our story of hope. We are so psyched for the future of farming and social media helps us to sell that story to the public. These awards are shouting about what the industry is doing and telling good news stories. “
Ewan Irvine and Emma Gray
Ewan Irvine and Emma Gray
Ardros Farms,
Sheepdog School,
Argyll and Bute
Sponsored by: Hillsgreen
DELIVERING working dog tutorials online is a niche business idea that has outperformed expectations for sheepdog trainers Ewan Irvine and Emma Gray. Initially they budgeted for 100 subscribers to cover start-up costs and a regular income but, such was the demand, they doubled that target in the first month alone. The couple had been farming in a remote part of Northumberland when they first established a school for training working dogs and for running courses for owners. They nurtured the idea of extending that service to people who were distant from the farm but with no internet or phone line connection of their own on-site, they could not move forward with that.
Gaining a 20-year tenancy at 283-hectare (700-acre) Ardros Farms on the Isle of Bute changed that, giving them access to the 4G network and the chance to connect to an audience around the world. The online tutorials are produced jointly by them both. Emma provides her experience and knowledge of training working dogs while Ewan films and records sound. Their videos have proved so popular they now generate half the farm’s income. Emma says: “In terms of return on investment, this is the most profitable enterprise on-farm.” Ewan adds: “The first month we gained more than 200 subscribers, and we have retained more than 80 per cent of those to this day. We grew to more than 500 subscribers by March and currently run in excess of 650.’’
Almost all those subscribers are farmers and shepherds and 65 per cent are based in the UK, with others signing up from countries including Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. They also breed nova scotia duck tolling retrievers, diversifying into this breed because they had so many approaches from people wanting to buy border collies as pets. Emma says: “We feel the nova scotia duck tolling retriever is a better fit for active pet homes.” Ewan and Emma are using their own social media to raise awareness, having secured nearly 60,000 Instagram followers.
Key successes
- 650+ subscribers to online dog training tutorials
- Subscribers as far afield as New Zealand and Australia
- 60,000 Instagram followers
What the judges said:
"The panel felt that Sheepdog School was a unique and dynamic idea that was truly innovative in their chosen field. They felt the platform was accessible to a wide audience and the couple had thought about and delivered their idea to a high standard. Having successfully launched the platform, they demonstrated that they had a good handle on their who their target audience were and were continually thinking ahead to developing it further and had several ideas on how to elevate it to the next level."
On winning, Emma and Ewan said:
"Emma - Social media is crucial to our business, it's a way to access worldwide markets and give everyone access to what we do.
Ewan - Farming is changing so we are selling our story of hope. We are so psyched for the future of farming and social media helps us to sell that story to the public. These awards are shouting about what the industry is doing and telling good news stories. "