Kington businesswoman honoured with Outstanding Contribution to British Agriculture Award

The owner and managing director of White Heron Estate and Drinks at Lyonshall near Kington, Joanna Hilditch has been honoured with the Outstanding Contribution to British Agriculture Award 2026 at this year’s British Farming Awards which took place at Birmingham’s NEC.

The prestigious award recognises Joanna’s remarkable contribution to British agriculture over three decades, challenging the idea of what a modern family farm should look like.

Joanna was presented with the award by the host for the evening comedian Jon Culshaw following the main awards which included an outstanding performance by the Hawkstone Farmers Choir who also scooped the prize for ‘Flying the Flag for British Agriculture’.

Upon winning the award, Joanna said, “I’m just so shocked, and so honoured, it’s fantastic! To get this award for my family and my team has been just outstandingly good”.

Joanna was also a finalist in the category of ‘Agriculture’s Woman of the Year’ in the 2026 awards and White Heron’s farm manager James White was a finalist in the category for ‘Sustainable Farmer of the Year.

Some of Joanna’s achievements include developing her own British Cassis drinks business over 20 years ago — and then turned down investment from Dragons' Den, writing the lyrics to the song ‘Legacy of our Land’ which was written and recorded by South African singing legend PJ Powers and together they performed it at her farm’s 150th anniversary festival this year, embracing diversification long before it became the buzzword, bringing visitors onto the estate to stay, creating new ways for people to experience the landscape through e-bike tours, helping visitors reconnect with the land and understand where their food comes from.

She has transformed her family’s 700-acre mixed farm into a commercially resilient rural enterprise, championing innovation, sustainability and diversification, all while playing an active role in the wider farming industry and local community.

This is also a chance to celebrate all her achievements as the fourth generation in her family to farm at White Heron and mark 150 years since her great grandfather Richard Green founded the farm.

The Outstanding Contribution to British Agriculture award is a special recognition of an individual member of the farming community and for Joanna, the honour comes over 30 years after she returned to the family farm from a career in PR in London following the tragic death of her brother, taking over the helm a few years later.

This was when women running farms were still a rarity. The estate now supports 23 employees with many living on the estate with their families.

Today, White Heron Estate, as a diversified part of Whittern Farms Ltd. remains an agricultural business at its heart with blackcurrants, cider apples, vineyards, arable, poultry, sheep and woodland, alongside renewable energy, holiday accommodation and a growing programme of tourism farm-based experiences.

The farm produces up to 400 tonnes of blackcurrants each year for Ribena, has 65 acres of cider apple orchards and 30 acres of vineyards, while its considerable poultry operation supplies Avara Foods.

Beyond farming Joanna is more than 20 years into diversification with her drinks brand, White Heron Drinks, making British Cassis and Framboise as well as more recently sparkling wine.

She secured a listing with Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose and even appeared on BBC’s Dragons’ Den in 2015, turning down investment offers from three of the five Dragons in favour of retaining control of her business and its future.

She has also transformed the estate’s historic buildings into a collection of luxury accommodation and developed White Heron Estate as a destination for weddings, retreats, film and television and trailblazing farm-based e-bike and walking experiences to boost Herefordshire’s visitor economy.

This year Joanna championed the coming together of three farming families who have all diversified into wine growing to launch the county’s first ever wine tour.

Joanna puts sustainability and environmental stewardship at the centre of her operations, with investment in renewable energy, woodland management, biodiversity, clean-river initiatives and a new wetland project alongside the farm’s work towards net zero.

She has devoted considerable time to representing and supporting the wider farming industry. She is Chair of the Blackcurrant Foundation, sits on the NFU Poultry Board and has held senior roles with the CLA and the Broiler Growers Association.

She was the first woman to become a member and subsequently chair of the Herefordshire Agriculture Club and she manages to jungle this with her role at Co-Chair of Visit Herefordshire which supports the wider tourism community of the county which has a strong focus on agritourism.