Agrii customers win major farming awards.
It was a night of celebrations at the Farmers Weekly Awards in October as Agrii customers returned with Arable Farmer of the Year and Diversification Farmer of the Year.
Neil White farms Greenknowe Farm in the Borders and won Arable Farmer of the Year. The farm totals 238 Ha with a diverse rotation of winter wheat, winter malting barley, HEAR oilseed rape, oats, beans and spring malting barley, taking advantage of local markets to deliver premiums.
The judges were impressed with his transition to a strip-till regenerative system. This has enabled Neil to reduce his costs and increase his yields simultaneously. The system has secured the profitability of Greenknowe Farm and allowed Neil the time to manage it with him alone.
The Borders is known as an area of high-yielding arable farms, but the variable weather means more traditional tillage-based systems predominate. Neil has become a local expert on strip-tillage and is always open to sharing his knowledge. He recently talked at a local i-Farm event about his farm and the lessons he has learned.
Agrii agronomist Iain Sanderson supports Neil with agronomic advice alongside another agronomist. “I am delighted Neil won Arable Farmer of the Year; it is well deserved,” says Iain. “I have supported Neil since he began to adopt his new system nearly ten years ago and have seen his hard work pay off.”
The winners of the Diversification Farmer of the Year were Johnny and Clare Clapp, who farm at Red Linhay in Devon. An anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, straw pelleting business, self-storage unit and business park all support a thriving 1,000 Ha mixed beef and arable farm.
The Clapp’s businesses are self-supporting. Some of the arable land is used to produce feedstock for their AD plant, with the digestate spread back onto the fields. Straw from their wheat crops supplies the straw pelleting business, sold to pet suppliers as cat litter.
The business park and self-storage enterprises take advantage of their convenient location off the M5 and support the whole business with a consistently profitable revenue stream.
Agrii supplies the business with the bulk of its crop input needs, with Agrii agronomist Mark Smyth as their primary contact. “The Diversification Farmer of the Year Award reflects all of Johnny and Clare’s hard work building their business over the years. I look forward to supporting them as their business continues to grow,” says Mark.
Arable Farmer of The Year 2024
HAVE YOU APPLIED?Agrii are sponsoring the Arable Farmer of The Year award at the Farmers Weekly Awards in 2024.
Applications are open now to all individuals who feel they harness and protect the land’s natural resources to create a truly sustainable arable business in the face of ever-increasing market and environmental challenges.
Closing date for applications is 30th April 2024.
