Gallery 2024
Grassland Farmer of the Year Awards Evening
Dylan and Wyn Jones, from Castellior, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, were announced as the winners of the British Grassland Society Grassland Farmer of the Year competition for 2024. The presentation was made at an Awards Dinner at The Park Hotel, Peebles on Wednesday 23 October which was attended by over 50 guests who had travelled from all over the UK to find out who had won the prestigious title. The event was jointly hosted by BGS and the East of Scotland Grassland Society, the local society of last year’s winner, Robert Black who kindly hosted a visit to his farm the following morning for the competition finalists and sponsors.
Following an introduction from Tom Goatman, BGS CEO, head judge Hugh McClymont gave a presentation about the on-farm judging of the competition. Alongside Hugh on the judging panel were Philip Cosgrave (Yara), Brent Gibbon (Nufarm), William Fleming (Germinal) and Robert Black. They were joined by BGS President Graham Parks who observed the judging process. He also presented the awards to the winner and runners-up.
Dylan and his father Wyn, who are members of Anglesey Grassland Society, farm just over 330 hectares and finish 1500 beef steers per year. Cattle are bought in at 16-24 months of age and are fed silage supplemented with home-grown barley and peas. Carbon footprinting has been carried out on the beef production system on the farm and was shown to be very low. Dylan is active in promoting farming on social media. Head judge Hugh McClymont said that the beef unit was very well managed with a tight handle on the costs of production and that Dylan knew the cost per kg weight gain down to the penny.
The competition is always hotly contested, and this year was no exception. The judging panel commented that all the farms were at the top their game and were worthy of being in the final three. The runners-up were Philip and David Clarke from Fermanagh Grassland Club and Peter Done from Cheshire Grassland Society.
Father and son Philip and David Clarke run a herd of 80 spring calving cows at Augher, County Tyrone. The utilisation of forage and the financial figures impressed Hugh McClymont, and he also commented on how the Clarke’s have achieved a good work-life balance.
Peter Done farms at Larkton House, Malpas and runs a herd of 180 Friesian-type cows, calving all year round. Hugh McClymont was particularly impressed by the enthusiasm of the team who work on the farm, with Peter being joined by herd manager Dan Minshall at the event.
The competition and the Awards Evening are kindly sponsored by Germinal, Nufarm and Yara.
