A new national award is now open to recognise farmers improving water quality through practical land management. 
Open to farmers and land managers in England and Wales, the Water Quality Farmer of the Year Award celebrates the practical work already taking place on productive commercial farms to protect and enhance water quality.
The award has been launched by Innovation for Agriculture, with support from Portsmouth Water, Wessex Water, Southern Water, Severn Trent Water and Anglian Water.
Entries close on Friday 29 May 2026.
Enter the Water Quality Farmer of the Year Award
Why enter?
The Water Quality Farmer of the Year Award is designed to recognise the practical work farmers are already doing to improve water quality through good land management.
By entering, you can:
- Gain national recognition for work already happening on your farm
- Showcase practical steps that are improving water quality
- Help share ideas other farmers can learn from
- Be recognised at the RASE Awards Day in September 2026
You do not need to be running a specialist environmental project to enter. If you are taking practical steps to improve water quality as part of productive commercial farming, this award could be for you.
About the Water Quality Farmer of the Year Award
Water is a vital resource in every farming system. The way land is managed can have a direct impact on the quality of water moving through and beyond the farm boundary.
This award is open to all farming sectors and is designed to celebrate practical, effective and innovative approaches that are helping to improve water quality across rivers, lakes, groundwater and coastal waters.
Is this award for you?
This award is for you if you are improving water quality through actions such as:
- Nutrient management and more targeted input use
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
- Reducing runoff and soil loss
- Improving slurry or manure management
- Improving livestock management, access and infrastructure
- Soil health and structure improvements
- Buffer strips, margins or habitat measures
- Working with neighbours or catchment groups
How to enter
You can either enter yourself or nominate a farmer or farm manager whose work deserves recognition.
Entry is through a short online form, which asks applicants to explain:
- What they are doing on farm to improve water quality
- Why they introduced these practices
- What impact their approach is having
The more clearly you can explain your approach and the outcomes you are seeing, the stronger your application is likely to be.
Three finalists will be shortlisted and visited by the judging panel, who will select the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.
What judges will be looking for:
Judges will be looking for examples of:
- Clear action to improve water quality
- Strong nutrient, soil and crop management
- Good livestock and farm infrastructure management
- Nature-based or habitat solutions
- Long-term thinking and climate resilience
- Leadership, collaboration or knowledge sharing
Applications do not need to cover every area. Judges will be looking at the overall strength and impact of your approach.
Judging panel
The award will be judged by an independent panel including:
- Stephen Briggs, Head of Technical Development, Innovation for Agriculture, and a farmer in Cambridgeshire
- Richard Bramley, NFU Environment Forum Chair and farmer in Yorkshire
- A representative from one of the supporting water companies
What happens next?
- Entries close on Friday 29 May 2026
- Finalists will be shortlisted and contacted in June 2026
- Judges will visit the three finalists in June and July
- Winners will be announced at the RASE Awards Day at Cowdray Estate, West Sussex, on 23 September 2026
The overall winner will also receive an invitation to the RASE Awards Dinner on 22 September 2026.
