THE winners of this year's British Farming Awards have been revealed - and two south west stars have come out top. 

Holly Bonner, from Bridgwater & Taunton College in Somerset, has won the Agricultural Student of the Year award. And Sam & Samantha Edwards, from Edwards Farming Partnership in Dorset, won the New Entrant Award: Against the Odds.  

Winners were revealed at an awards night in Birmingham on October 17.  To see a full list of winners, click here. 

Holly, who is from Devon, chose a Level 3 Agricultural Apprenticeship over A-Levels, while working on her family farm and gaining experience in livestock sectors and event catering. She is now pursuing a BSc (Hons) in Agricultural Management at Bridgwater & Taunton College of University Centre Somerset.

The judges found Holly’s commitment to self-growth and pushing herself out of her comfort zone incredibly admirable. 

Holly said: "I feel very overwhelmed and it’s incredibly humbling, the other finalists are amazing, so I was just expecting to come and have a good night. When I applied for this award, my family and all the people I’ve worked for got behind me and then I wanted to win this for them.”

READ MORE: Finalists of the British Farming Awards are announced

Sam and Samantha run a livestock-based business in the heart of Dorset. It originally started as a hobby and has since grown into a flock of more than 700 ewes producing prime lambs from a grazing and forage-based system. 

The judges were impressed with Sam and Samantha’s clear passion for the industry, overcoming setbacks and challenges to achieve what they have on the farm today.

"We are overwhelmed by the award, we’ve tried so hard to take every opportunity and make every opportunity we can, alongside the support of our family and local farming community, that’s how we make it work, we are so determined," the pair said. 

“This award will inspire people - if someone picked up a copy of Farmers Guardian, read about the awards and thought they could have a go to, that’s what this award means.”