Following the first round of judging, a shortlist of five farms has been selected for the Soil Farmer of the Year 2024 competition.
Charles Quick from A&C Quick, Devon, David Newman and Tracy Russell from Bucksum at Shabbington Fields Farm, Buckinghamshire, Ed Horton from SS Horton & Sons, Gloucestershire, Andy Wear and Jen Hunter from Fernhill Farm, Somerset and Ben Richards from Middle Trelan Farm Ltd, Cornwall have all been shortlisted for the competition.
Stuart Johnson, the 2023 Soil Farmer of the Year winner and now one of the judges for the 2024 competition, shares that the calibre of applications was particularly high this year.
“The level at which this year's applicants are functioning at has been incredibly impressive, the competition seems to get stronger and stronger each year,” he says. “The selection process has been incredibly difficult so far, and I'm sure that will only get trickier once we get onto the farms and see all their fantastic endeavors up close and personal.”
Following the second round of judging, which involves a farm visit, the winners will be announced at Groundswell 2024, with the top three farms hosting farm walks later in the year, to share ideas alongside demonstrating their practices and approaches.
The Soil Farmer of the Year competition is run by Farm Carbon Toolkit and Innovation for Agriculture, and is kindly sponsored by Cotswold Seeds and Hutchinsons.
The competition finds and champions farmers who lead the way in improving soil health and increasing the resilience of their farm business. The top three farmers will receive a voucher for seeds provided by Cotswold Seeds, as well as free entry to Groundswell.
