Farmers Weekly Awards 2020: Young Farmer of the Year >More in
Bertie Newman, Manor Farm Bungalow, Dorset
Twenty-five-year-old Bertie has full responsibility for the management and everyday running of an agricultural business spread across 607ha in blocks around Dorchester.
The organic farming system includes suckler beef, sheep, dairy beef and contracting.
With plenty of practical farming experience behind him, he is confident when suggesting and making changes to the business, and has already significantly adapted the livestock enterprises.
Driven by a desire to improve efficiencies and run a profitable business, he is keen to learn as much as he can and apply it where appropriate.
Farmers Weekly Awards 2020: Dairy Farmer of the Year >More in
Robert Mallett, Dickson and Mallett, Northleaze Farm, Highworth, Swindon
Robert Mallett is the 2020
Farmers Weekly Dairy Farmer of the Year.
His approach to dairy farming is proof that high-yielding herds can produce milk economically from grazed grass and good quality silage, with autumn-calving Holsteins converting every ounce of nutrition from grassland to milk.
Robert, who farms with his wife Maria and son David, demonstrates that purchased feed can be offset with grazed grass or forage to push milk from forage to a remarkable level.
From three-times-a-day milking, the herd has an annual average yield of 11,407 litres, and 4,390 litres of those come from forage.
Farmers Weekly Awards 2020: Diversification Farmer of the Year >More in
Alice Maltby and Tom and Henry Wilson, Little Wold Vineyard, South Cave, East Yorkshire
The team at Little Wold Vineyard possess an steely desire to overcome hardship by diversifying into unconventional areas that complement their existing setup.
Bold future plans, a bumper order book and continued investment to drive the business forward makes them admirable winners of this year’s title.
Farm facts
12,000 vines planted to date with extra rented land to grow them
Short rotation willow coppice farmed as part of a co-op
A desire to bring family back into the business and own the farm outright has led Henry Wilson down some bold paths over the past few decades, and the family’s hard work has ultimately ended up with a thriving, multi-pronged outfit that can be handed down through the generations.
Farmers Weekly Awards 2020: Beef Farmer of the Year >More in
James Waight is the 2020
Farmers Weekly Beef Farmer of the Year.
Diligent herd management and careful stewardship of the land has marked the Wiltshire farmer out as an operator that is well-prepared for a future where scrutiny of agriculture by government and consumers is only going to intensify.
Farm facts
470 head of cattle
Spring and autumn-block calving
Chalk grassland allows year-round grazing, but is drought prone
Finding a way to raise cattle profitably while still protecting and improving the environment is high on the list of challenges farmers face in an industry that has been beset by negative publicity in recent years.
Farmers Weekly Awards 2020: Contractor of the Year >More in
P Russon & Sons, New Farm, Burton, Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Organisation and planning are at the heart of the vast contracting outfit built by Tim Russon, whose office-based role allows him the time to manage the head-spinning logistics of a barn-load of kit and up to 30 staff at peak times.
His no-nonsense approach to pricing and payments, sharpened through his experience in the cut-throat industrial waste sector, has helped to tune his operation to run at maximum efficiency for the benefit of both the business and his customers.
Farm facts
Services offered: Forage and miscanthus harvesting, drilling, grain maize combining, baling, muckspreading and digestate application