Tenacity, perseverance and innovation celebrated at Cumbria’s Farm Business Awards

Thriving family businesses and individuals who have overcome many challenges were named the best in their field at the glittering Cumbria Farm Business Awards 2022 on Wednesday 7th September at the Castle Green Hotel, Kendal.

The awards were organised by FarmSmart Events, sponsored by The Rural Law Practice and raised money for the Addington Fund, the farming charity.

A strong theme was that each finalist deserved to win but there could only be one winner per category.

Ann Newbold, Awards Director opened the evening saying “it has been wonderful to finally get everyone together to help celebrate the great things that are going on in the county’s farming businesses.”

John Cooke, Partner of The Rural Law Practice said: “The energy of this event was amazing. It was great to see the ingenuity and passion of Cumbrian farmers working hard and thriving in challenging times, and especially to see so many young people and families working together. We felt very privileged to be part of the Cumbria Farm Business Awards and we look forward to another great event next year!”

Bill Young, CEO of the Addington Fund commented “The Cumbria Farm Business Awards have been a highlight around the Westmorland County Show this year. It has been a real privilege to be involved in the judging. I have been struck by the quality of individuals and the farming businesses in Cumbria. As well as celebrating success and farming excellence the awards have helped us raise over £3k which will be used  to help with retirement homes for farmers or affordable homes for youngsters involved in agriculture.”

Chris and Mark Forster of A J Forster Ltd, Penrith were named Best Commercial Farmer (Sponsored by Carter Jonas/AMC). The Forster’s rear 4,800,000 chickens every year across two farms in Cumbria for the supermarket and fast-food sectors. They impressed the judges with their attention to even the most minute detail.

The Best Woman in Agriculture award (sponsored by H&H Land & Estates) went to Caroline Grindrod from Roots of Nature, she impressed the judges with her knowledge and understanding of agriculture and the environment. Her lifelong passion to educate others and infectious enthusiasm for all that she does can’t be missed.

With diversification being a key topic the judges were treated to a variety of businesses in the Best Farm Diversification category (Sponsored by the Westmorland Family) who have successfully integrated variation to their existing farm business but with a café, butchers shop and educational approach found at the Lakeland Farm Visitor Centre, this saw Isaac and Kerrie Benson winning the category. Judge, John Dunning from Westmorland Family said diversification was once the exception but it is now essential to all farming businesses.

With excellent examples of Livestock farming in the county the judges saw a variety of different and interesting approaches from traditional to regenerative models within the Best Livestock Farmer category. (Sponsored by Enterprise Answers). The energetic and shrewd approach that Will and Gillian Sedgley, Barbon have adopted in their business won them this award.

The Best Dairy Farmer Award (sponsored by Dodd & Co), here judges saw deep rooted and traditional businesses who are making big changes with regard to technology and public perception. An area of agriculture suffering many challenges such as staffing and increasing cost. The award went to John & Nicola Young, Jenkin Cragg, Kendal. They showed excellent attention to detail in cow management with excellent herd performance and succession planning these 3rd generation dairy farmers are looking to the future.

With lots of talk about the average age of a farmer being 59 it was refreshing to see so many entries to the Best Young Farmer category. Judges John Geldard and Kathryn Sayce said it was a real honour to meet some of these young people.  All farming as well as being active members of their young farmers clubs. With a heart for the environment and desire to help the public understand the relationship between agriculture and the environment. The young man who won the judges over as a ‘very impressive young man’ was winner William Longmire from Ulverston.

It was a tough call for judges Andy Newbold and Councillor Mary Robinson who went out to see two impressive farms in Eden. Both businesses demonstrated a sustainable approach to the way in which they were farming with a clear focus on the direction they are heading, the winner of Eden’s Most Sustainable Agricultural Business (sponsored by Eden District Council) was Jim & Julia Beary, from Orton with successful ‘mob’ or ‘regenerative’ grazing models in place and a great understanding of what it means to be farming in a Protected Landscape.

The winner of the Farming Champion award (sponsored by NFU) was James Robinson, from Strickley, Kendal. Nature friendly farmer James together with his parents runs a 300 acre dairy business. With succession planning in place and a desire to educate James is active on social media and has a regular farming piece on BBC North West tonight he describes his farm as being a bit like ‘The Shire’ from The Hobbit, the perfect landscape for dairy shorthorns but a challenging environment much like most of the farms in Cumbria. David Hall from the NFU spoke about the entries to this category with passion. He said “Everyone in the room could view themselves as a champion in their field.”

A J Forster Ltd, Penrith were crowned Cumbria’s farmer of the year 2022 (sponsored by Storth Machinery) and presented by Ceris Davies from Storth Machinery. She said “The Forster’s show great commitment and attention to even the smallest detail resulting in a profitable and successful business with succession planning well underway.”

Each winner received hand crafted granite trophies from Able Memorials.