The British Farming Awards proudly introduces the inaugural Young British Farming Awards Winners, sponsored by Massey Feeds and Harpers Feeds.
Rising stars of the farming world have been honoured at the inaugural Young British Farming Awards.
The Young British Farming Awards, organised by Farmers Guardian and the British Farming Awards, saw young trailblazers recognised from all over the UK.
Kate Netherwood, of event sponsor Massey Feeds, said: "It has been a fantastic day, and we are really proud to sponsor and support these young people going forwards."
The awards are dedicated to celebrating the next generation of British farmers and the remarkable contributions they are making to the industry.
On Wednesday, (August 28), 15 finalists, comprised of 12 outstanding young farmers and three exceptional Young Farmers Clubs, gathered at the Nicholson family's Cannon Hall Farm, stars of the Channel 5 series ‘A Yorkshire Farm', and winners of the 2023 British Farming Awards Content Creator of the Year Award.
The event was hosted by Merseyside farmer and social media influencer Olly Harrison AKA Olly Blogs, with a special guest appearance by farmer Rob Nicholson.
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Olly Harrison said: "It has been great to see the enthusiasm in the room today. It is so important that we encourage these young people as they are the future of our industry."
The five winners have been carefully chosen by an esteemed panel of industry professionals across the following categories: Young Farmers Club, Young Farming Hero, Junior Young Handler of the Year, Senior Young Handler of the Year, and Young Innovator of the Year.
This celebration not only recognises the achievements of these young trailblazers but also inspires the continued growth and innovation of the British farming industry for generations to come.
Rob Nicholson said: "It has been a really uplifting event, and to see so many keen and talented custodians of the future of farming is very encouraging. We have got to get behind the future of the industry, and that future is here."
Introducing the 2024 Young British Farming Awards Winners:
Young Farmers Club of the Year – Lanark & District Young Farmers Club
Jennifer Hewitt, secretary of Lanark and District Young Farmers Club, said: "Getting to the final shortlist was a huge achievement for us, and winning is a very proud moment. We are proud to be here representing our club and Scottish YFC."
Based in Scotland, Lanark and District Young Farmers Club is a small, but impactful organisation. With approximately 50 members, the club aims to support and encourage everyone who engages with it and the local community. There were 14 members of Lanark and District Young Farmers Club at the awards presentation, and it had taken them 3.5 hours to get to Cannon Hall. Recruitment to the club continues to grow, with a focus on welcoming younger members to inspire the next generation of farmers. The club provides both educational and recreational events throughout the year, offering an opportunity to learn new skills and meet life-long friends during the process. Annual events such as the Tractor Road Run and Concert of the Year give members projects to look forward to.
Charity work is a leading focus for the club, alongside raising money to continue to grow themselves. Annually, they choose a charity to raise money for throughout the year, with the ‘My Name'5 Doddie Foundation' being the most recent, supporting the Motor Neuron Disease community. The club made a donation of £10,000 last year, with £2,000 of their own funds being included in the final figure.
Educating the members to look after one another is important to the club, organising a mental health first aid course and subsequently allocating members to become ‘Health and Wellbeing Officers'. They have an increasing presence in the local community, helping with school sports day and attending local agricultural shows, all in the hope of welcoming future generations of young farmers.
Young Farming Hero – Archie Steel
Passion, dedication and determination are used to describe our Young Farming Hero, 14-year-old Archie Steel. Based in Eden Valley, Cumbria, Archie has a flock of 50 sheep, which he is solely responsible for, managing tupping, lambing and day-to-day care. In addition to this, Archie supports his father with the family dairy herd of 240 Holstein Friesian cows and 140 heifers. He is responsible for the young stock from birth, weaning, and beyond, taking responsibility for vaccinations, colostrum testing, and growth rate for the calves.
In recent years, the farm has been hit with illness and injury, with Archie's father off work with a knee injury from a cow, and a full-time worker off on long-term sick leave. Archie has taken on huge responsibilities, from 5am milking to assisting vet visits and managing the day-to-day running of the farm. Alongside milking, scraping, bedding, and feeding the cow herd and flock of sheep, Archie works closely with Genus technicians in order to select the best bulls for the herd, all the while, maintaining good grades at school and ensuring he never takes a day off from studying. Archie works tirelessly on the farm before and after work, supporting his family and the farm, he does this hard work quietly, without seeking any praise, but with a passion, determination, and love for farming that is undeniable.
This impressive Young Farming Hero commented on his win, "I'm very proud and happy to have won. I would have been proud even if I hadn't have won, but I hope that I can inspire others and encourage more young people to get into farming."
Young Handler of the Year (Junior) – Elliw Grug Davies
Based in West Wales, our Young Handler of the Year (Junior), Elliw Grug Davies, entered the show ring at the age of 4. She has won numerous awards for her showing, including Junior Young Handler at the Royal Welsh Show with Dorset sheep, Overall Champion with young handlers at Aberystwyth Show and Brecon Show, and at Beef Expo 2023 Elliw won Young Handlers under 14s with a home bred Limousin cross named Cowboy. Commenting on her win at the Young British Farming Awards, Elliw said, "I can't believe it, I'm so happy but very shocked."
Elliw is interested in all aspects of farming, from vaccinating to caesareans, assisting the family small holding of 35 acres. During lambing season, she moves to North Wales to help a relative with their flock. If there is a cattle sale or show, Elliw will often miss school to help the family show cattle to the best standards. Halter training calves from a very young age has helped tame the herd, with constant grooming ensuring Elliw is safe in their presence.
Freelance stockperson Jennifer Hyslop has been involved in showing and preparation on the farm since Covid-19, with Elliw learning each step of the process from her. Although she can't compete in major shows due to her age, Elliw has showed at sales in Carlisle, successfully selling home grown Blaencwm Sam for £32,000 in 2023. Elliw continues to learn and listen to judges' comments and advice, and we expect to see much more from her in the future.
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Young Handler of the Year (Senior) – Sebastian Carr
Over the past three years Sebastian has worked hard to successfully show his herd of pedigree British Saddleback pigs across the UK, passionately advocating for the breed at shows, and through the media on BBC Countryfile and in local newspapers and radio. He is also a British Pig Association (BPA) Junior Pig Club member and acts a Junior Reporter for the Southern Region. Wanting to share his passion with others, he recently ran a 'have a go' pig agility for members of the public at the Royal Isle of Wight Show.
The journey began when Sebastian was eight years old, his family gifted him four pigs for Christmas with the intention of rearing them for pork. Since then, Sebastian has grown his pedigree herd, focusing on genetics and breeding good traits into the herd. In 2021 he was runner up for the British Pig Association New Pedigree Breeder of the Year award, but in 2023, at 13 years old, he secured the title and attended the National Pig Awards in London, being the youngest ever entrant.
The pigs are reared at the family smallholding, with Sebastian taking responsibility for daily feeding and husbandry, tending to paddocks and checking the pigs daily for signs of good and ill health. Owned solely by Sebastian, the herd contains five sow lines and three boar lines, including some of the rarest sow lines. Alongside showing and breeding, he also has regular customers for the meat weaners, and sells breeding stock across the UK. Upon winning the award, Sebastian commented, "I was very surprised to have won, but I was so happy to hear my name read out."
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Young Innovator of the Year – Mathew Price
A passion for his flock of Pedigree Ryeland Sheep led to Mathew's innovative thinking. He is currently in his fourth showing season and is dedicated to improving both himself and his flock. Full of drive and determination, Mathew secured second place at the Kenilworth Show flock competition with four of his rams, successfully beating larger and more experienced farmers in the field.
This year, the loss of a good lamb to blowfly led to Mathew's innovative thinking. His interest in technology, and love for farming combined, helped spark his imagination with an idea to develop a drone that connects to a phone via an app. The drone would self-fill with Crovect and fly around the field scanning the sheep and lambs for blowfly and maggots using heat. The app would recognise a patch of eggs or maggots that had hatched and, using the drone, would apply a fan of Crovect onto the infected animal. The drone would identify the sheep's tag number to keep track of its progress, allowing for quicker treatment and better care for the flock while using less chemicals. Following the application, the drone would return to its dock to charge and refill with Crovect.
Although this piece of innovative farm equipment is in its infantile stages, Mathew's family aim to help him develop it in the future. Until then, he will continue to be an ambassador for the industry, sharing his daily wins with classmates and teachers and driving interest for farming. Mathew commented on the win, "I was really happy to win the award as I was up against some really tough competition. The idea for the drone came about after I had some sheep of my own with maggots, I was really annoyed about it, and that's when I thought about using a drone to help with this problem."
