Powys farmers are honoured for their work

The awards, announced at a celebratory event held in the Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells, provided an opportunity for all those in the industry to pay tribute to the achievements of the students and trainees nominated.

The event was attended by many from the agriculture, horticulture and forestry sectors throughout Wales, including representatives from key rural stakeholder organisations, as well as many of the land-based training providers and rural colleges approved to deliver Farming Connect subsidised accredited training courses.

Among the winners was Tony Davies, Rhayader, who won the Farm Innovator Award.

A fifth-generation organic tenant farmer in the Elan Valley, Tony has a long-standing passion for farming sustainably and reducing carbon emissions at his ‘off grid’ agriculture business.

He first discovered Biochar when looking for a sustainable method of using Molinia grass which not only impacts on species diversity and habitat but also decreases the agricultural productivity of land.

Tony attended an International Biochar Institute conference in Finland through Farming Connect’s Management Exchange Programme and was involved with a Farming Connect European Innovation Project (EIP Wales) trialling compost and wool added to Biochar.

He has created new employment opportunities for collecting grass and branches for processing into Biochar, manages sales from a website, manufactures kilns locally with products selling to councils, estates, gardeners and farmers throughout the UK.

The judges said Tony’s commitment to innovative, sustainable farming made him an outstanding and well-deserved winner of this year’s Farm Innovator Award.

Richard Wilding, from Presteigne, was named the winner in the Learner of the Year, under-40 section.

He returned to full-time sheep farming in his mid 20s, having worked in a government agency for six years which he followed with an 18 month working trip to large-scale farms in Australia and New Zealand.

Richard returned to Wales in time to find work during the lambing season of 2013, soon set up a contract shepherding business and established his own flock at the family farm where he now farms in partnership with his dad.

However, because he had not studied agriculture after school, Richard felt there were gaps in his skillset and set about redressing the balance through Farming Connect. The judges said that Richard’s clear thirst for learning and determination to develop additional skills in areas such as production costs, grassland and livestock management, conservation, woodland and carbon management, shows an outstanding commitment to personal development, making him a very worthy winner of this Learner of the Year award.

Harper Adams student Alicia Jones was named runner-up.

As a teenager, she successfully ran her own free-range pig enterprise, becoming proficient not only as a pig breeder and handler but gaining business skills too.

Since then, in addition to her university studies, Alicia has undertaken numerous Farming Connect courses in topics including marketing, Health & Safety, risk assessment and numerous livestock-related courses – gaining practical skills she utilises at the home farm.

Matthew Roderick was also highly commended in the category.

Meanwhile, Marie Pope, from Brecon was a joint winner in the Horticulture Award section. Two years ago, Marie achieved her long-term ambition of establishing her own market garden having rented a small area of land from a local farmer. Alfie Dan’s is named after her grandfather, a keen horticulturalist who passed on to her his knowledge and love of growing vegetables.

Andrew Gethin, from Newtown, was the runner-up while Benjamin Jones, also from Newtown, was the joint winner of the Young Learner of the Year Award for the under-20s.

Welsh Government Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths, said: “Congratulations to everyone who has been recognised within either the Farming Connect or other categories in this year’s prestigious Lantra Cymru Awards, which is now in its 29th year.

“The Awards recognise the lifelong learning achievements of the many who, through their significant skills and abilities, contribute not only to agriculture, horticulture and forestry but to the wider rural agenda in Wales, to our rural economy and to the communities where they live and work.

“Each nominee’s clear commitment to continuous professional development and achievements within the environmental and land-based sectors, is doing so much to maintain professional, modern standards within our industry.

“They are making a significant contribution, not only within your own particular area of working, but to the sustainability and modernisation of Welsh agriculture long term.”

Lantra Wales director, Kevin Thomas, chaired this year’s selection panels which included skills and training specialists Trefor Owen, Llinos Samuel of Lantra Wales, horticulturist and Farming Connect mentor, Debbie Handley of Amber Wheeler of the Landworkers’ Alliance and Benjamin Barnes of ADAS.