Entries open for Soil Farmer of the Year

The annual competition to find the UK’s Soil Farmer of the Year is open for entries.

Run by the Farm Carbon Toolkit and Innovation for Agriculture, the accolade champions farmers who lead the way in improving soil health and increasing the resilience of their farm business.

The competition has been running since 2015. It now supports a network of farmers and growers passionate about their soil and the innovations that safeguarding it can bring to their business.

Farm Carbon Toolkit advisor Emma Adams said “If the impact on soil is at the heart of your decision making, with implemented practices driving improving soil health as part of a fully functioning farm ecosystem, this is the competition for you.”

How to enter

Online application forms are available via the Farm Carbon Toolkit website. Applications will remain open until 5 March. The eventual winners will be announced at this year’s Groundswell event in June.

Farm walks are a key part of the competition because they give others the opportunity to see how each winner has approached soil management, says Deborah Crossan, head of soils and natural resources at Innovation for Agriculture.

“Nothing beats digging a hole and looking at the soil in the field while hearing directly from the farmer how that field has been managed and seeing the impact it’s had on the soil structure over time,” says Ms Crossan.

“This competition champions farmers who understand the importance of soil and are using management practices to protect and improve it. Crucially, it also enables others to learn from what they’re doing via the farm walks,” she adds.

This year’s competition is once more kindly sponsored by Cotswold Seeds and Hutchinsons, with the top three farmers receiving a voucher for seeds provided by Cotswold Seeds.

For full details, including how to enter, please visit farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk