Ruth secures prestigious award as event honours women in agriculture

The first-ever National Women In Agriculture Awards was a spectacular event held in the members dining room of the House of Commons.

Hosted by comedian Jo Caulfield, the event saw the agricultural advisor of the year honour go to Ruth Farrell, of DJM Consulting in Bridgnorth.

Ruth is an independent rural business consultant, chartered surveyor, and agricultural valuer, as well as the youngest rural arbitrator in England and Wales.

The rising star of the year, sponsored by Morrisons, was Eleanor Gilbert, whose passion for farming shone through.

She combines working on a fifth generation family farm with her studies at Harper Adams university, and also finds time to do innovative crop trials as well as writing for farming magazines and putting in the occasional appearance on Countryfile.

Minette Batters, former president of the National Farmers Union, was given the Lifetime Achievement award, sponsored by Co-op, to a standing ovation and lengthy applause and in her acceptance speech said she had always thought about younger women throughout her career and the role models those in more senior positions could provide.

The awards were judged by a panel of female food and farming leaders who know the industry inside out, including Tonia Antoniazzi MP, a prominent supporter of food and farming.

The panel was chaired by Chloe Ryan, a food and farming journalist.

Other winners on the night were Julie Eccleston of Traditional Norfolk Poultry, who was named Supply chain woman of the year, sponsored by Goodyear Farm Tires, for her instrumental role in growing business over 17 years.

The Employer of the year award was given to Poultry Health Services, a poultry veterinary company created by Sara Perez in 2018, whose passion and determination to develop young women within the business shone through. Sara currently leads a team of 25 vets, of which more than half are female vets from diverse backgrounds and nationalities.

Abi Reader MBE, of Goldsland Farm was a double award winner, being named Agricultural influencer of the year, sponsored by Noble Foods and Farming woman of the year, sponsored by Nestle UK & Ireland. Abi Reader’s vlog of her experience of TB helped communicate the devastating effect of the disease to a wide audience and her campaigning spirit has helped amplify farming voices in her native Wales and beyond.

The Innovator of the year award, sponsored by Dunbia, went to Jenna Ross, OBE, the creator of the magnificently named slug-bot. She currently works for the UK Government funded Agri-Tech centres, bringing together leading scientists, farmers, and advisors.

Kay Helyar, of the DPJ Foundation was named Training and education woman of the year, sponsored by First Milk, and the award was accepted by the charity’s founder Emma O’Sullivan. The DPJ Foundation is a truly inspiring charity, providing mental health help and support to farming people. Kay Helyar has helped deliver training to over 1,500 people since she joined the charity in 2016.

Sarah Millar of Quality Meat Scotland was named Trade organisation woman of the year. As chief executive of Quality Meat Scotland, Sarah Millar invited every politician in Scotland on to a farm in the six weeks leading up to COP26 to talk about food and farming, and has also been instrumental in developing a red meat net zero roadmap.

The Sustainability champion award, sponsored by HSBC UK, went to Olivia Shave of Ecoewe. As part of her dedication to low impact farming, Olivia Shave is a passionate custodian of the land. Her business makes use of every part of the animal including producing rugs and jumpers with zero waste.

The Business of the year award went to Pinstone, a PR and marketing business serving the food, farming and environment sector, lead by women and with a largely female staff. It is excellent at what it does, and helps communicate the work of agricultural businesses to a wider audience.