Infectious enthusiasm of young farmers impressed judges
Having personally gained skills and confidence through being a member of Worcestershire’s Cutnall Green Young Farmers, I have always thought it important to support young farmers and entrants to the industry.
This year I was honoured to be invited onto the judging panel for the ‘Young Farmer of the Year’ category at the 2018 Farmers Weekly Awards.
The category received a high number of entries from a wide range of knowledgeable and driven young farmers across the country. I was judging alongside Lauren Harris from Farmers Weekly, and James Fairlie, 2017’s ‘Young Farmer of the Year’ winner, and we had the extremely difficult task of selecting the three category finalists to undertake farm visits and interviews.
From a judge’s perspective the whole journey has been fantastic, and I’ve taken home several notable experiences from the opportunity itself, and from the individual finalists.
When reviewing all the entries at the beginning of the judging process we decided that ‘innovation’ was a key factor for the category selections. I found it refreshing to see numerous young farmers daring to stand out, open to change and eager to lead their businesses in a different direction to what they may have traditionally known.
Another part of our selection criteria was the requirement for young farmers to approach farming with their ‘business hats’ on. As we are aware, there is always a lifestyle factor to farming but category applicants needed to clearly show they were business-focused and had the future of their business at the forefront of their plans.
However, the aspect that I found most rewarding from the Farmers Weekly judging process was the excitement and determination shown from all three finalists, and particularly their love of the industry. Their enthusiasm was not only inspirational but infectious and I look forward to hearing about their individual successes and seeing their professional developments in the future.
We all thoroughly enjoyed our farm visits, seeing some beautiful parts of the country.
The 2018 ‘Young Farmer of the Year’ category shortlist includes Jacob Anthony from Cwm Risca Farm, Bridgend, Hannah Jackson from Brookside Farm, Carlisle, and Matt Waldie from West Gilston Mains, Fife.
The Farmers Weekly Awards evening will take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Thursday, October 4, 2018.
Hannah Moule, Moule & Co Director
