Jamie Leslie named Mixed Farmer of the Year

Farmers Weekly has named Jamie Leslie, of Scholland Farm, Shetland, as the 2022 Mixed Farmer of the Year. Sponsored by Cawood, the award celebrates the successful integration of two or more complementary businesses to create a sustainable farming enterprise.

The awards, which took place on Thursday 6^th October in London, are the most prestigious and biggest in UK farming. The very best of British agriculture is showcased every year through the recognition of hard working and innovative farmers across the industry. Awards are presented across a variety of categories, including Livestock Advisor, Arable Farmer, Farm Innovator, Environmental Champion, Grassland Manager, Young Farmer, Lifetime Achievement, and Farmer of the Year.

‘On behalf of everyone at Cawood, I would like to congratulate Jamie,’ said Sean Stevenson, Managing Director of Cawood Agriculture. ‘We are proud to sponsor this award as we have three business units that serve British farming with agronomic analysis services. These services, including soil, plant tissue, and grain testing, animal feeds and pet foods analysis, and animal health and veterinary diagnostics analysis, provide farmers with the data they need to help them measure progress and improve performance. As we support arable and livestock farmers and advisors, as well as farmers with diverse offerings, we are very happy to be involved in highlighting the achievements of mixed farmers.’

Jamie runs complementary beef, sheep, pigs and arable enterprises with a real focus on grassland management. His achievements include effectively using foliar nutrition sprays to improve crop health and drive yield in an extreme environment, which sees soils with up to 76% sand content. An example of a farmer successfully dealing with unique challenges in an extreme environment, Jamie drives his business forward and improves productivity while actively cutting back on inputs. The marketability of farm produce is always at the forefront of his mind.

‘It was a pleasure to present Jamie with his award and attend the ceremony once more this year with our customers and colleagues,’ continued Sean. ‘Seeing the winners and runners up of all the categories first hand was a fantastic reminder of the agricultural industry’s achievements. We are proud to support sustainable food production as well as farmers and their advisors across the country by helping them meet their goals.’

For more information on our agricultural services, click here to read our Cawood Agriculture brochure. To learn more about Jamie, the awards, and the other winners and runners up, visit the Farmers Weekly Awards website.