The winners of this year's South West Farmers have been announced.

The 12 winners were announced at a glittering black-tie dinner and awards ceremony at the Woodbury Park Hotel near Exeter last night (Thursday, November 10).

Now in its seventh year, South West Farmer Awards give the farming industry across the west country a chance to stand up and be recognised for their expertise, enterprise and excellence.

This year South West Farmer celebrates its 40th anniversary and the region's farmers are at the very heart of the newspaper that is priveleged to tell their stories.

The judging panel were impressed with the calibre of the nominated farmers and selecting the finalists was no mean feat. 

Candidates were judged on their business performance, use of technology, environmental considerations, contribution to the agricultural community and their overall vision and ambition.

The winners of these awards really are the very best farmers in the south west and deserve every accolade.

The winners of South West Farmer Awards 2022 are:

Inspirational Female Farmer of the Year (sponsored by The Family Law Co)

  • Di Wastenage of Wastenage Farms, Budleigh Salterton

Sheep Farmer of the Year (sponsored by Business Information Point)

  • The Amiss family of Tregullas Farm, The Lizard

Beef Farmer of the Year (sponsored by Allflex)

  • Eversfield Organic at Ellacott, Okehampton

Dairy Farmer of the Year (sponsored by Mole Valley Farmers)

  • Richard Dayment of Dayment Farming, Totnes

Family-Run Farm of the Year (sponsored by Shearwell Data)

  • The Bartlett Family of East Shilvinghampton Farm, Weymouth

Outstanding Achievement (sponsored by Cornish Mutual)

  • Tom Hammett, Exeter

Young Farmer of the Year (sponsored by Coodes)

  • Niall Tewson of Crokers Grange Farm, Torquay

The Diversification Award (sponsored by Fisher German)

  • Chris and Rachel Knowles of Trink Dairy, St Ives

New Entrant / Tenant Farmer of the Year (sponsored by Rowett Insurance)

  • Rob Halliday of Cornish Valley Farming, Liskeard

Apprentice of the Year (sponsored by Cornwall College Group)

  • Mary-Grace Mason of Penn Farm, Ashburton

Sustainability Champion (sponsored by Strutt & Parker)

  • Holly Purdey of Horner Farm, Minehead

The South West Farmer of the Year 2022 (sponsored by Keenan, an ALLTECH company)

  • The Amiss family of Tregullas Farm, The Lizard

It was a wonderful night of celebration and pride and we would like to thank all of our brilliant finalists, all those nominated and those who nominated them, our expert panel of judges and our greatly supportive sponsors.

If your company is interested in sponsoring an award in the South West Farmer Awards 2023, please call Roland Ebert on 01326 213322 or email him at rebert@localiq.co.uk.

If you would like to nominate your farming hero for the South West Farmer Awards 2023, you can do so here.