Champions of soil health and regenerative practices have been recognised in the 2025 Soil Farmer of the Year competition, announced at this year’s Groundswell event.
Jointly run by Farm Carbon Toolkit and Innovation for Agriculture, and sponsored by Cotswold Seeds and Hutchinsons, the award celebrates UK farmers who treat soil as a living resource.
First place was awarded to John Joseph, who manages 100 hectares of sandy loam soils at Trecorras Farm in Herefordshire. Over the past decade, John has transformed how soils are understood and managed, incorporating companion crops, a seven-year rotation including grassland, 100% direct drilling, and reduced inputs.
Runner-up Jonathan Hodgson of Great Newsome Farm, East Yorkshire, farms 285 hectares of clay using strip tillage, cover crops, livestock integration, and no seed dressings or insecticides.
“His approach to enterprise stacking was inspiring,”Ms Prince added: “From growing barley for his distillery to grazing sheep on cover crops, Jonathan is building resilience into both soil and business.”
Third place went to Andrew Mahon, managing 800 hectares of Hanslope clay in Bedfordshire. Since 2015, he’s shifted to a mainly direct-drilled system with shallow discing. His focus is on compaction and boosting biological activity through targeted interventions.
Deborah Crossan of Innovation for Agriculture highlighted: “Andrew is pioneering Johnson-Su compost extract and microbial feeds at drilling – an effective strategy for improving organic matter and establishment.”
The awards come as the new Future Farming Investment Scheme opens for applications, offering support for soil health practices like cover cropping, companion planting, direct drilling and biological inputs.
Each winner will host on-farm events to share their soil management strategies, helping others adopt regenerative techniques.
Details of farm walks will be shared on Farm Carbon Toolkit and Innovation for Agriculture websites and social media.
Share