A Fenland farmer has been recognised as one of the best in Britain after he made the shortlist for ‘Farmworker of the Year’ at the UK’s biggest farming award ceremony.
Neill Craig, of Euximoor Grange Farm in Christchurch, has made it to the final three for one of the top titles at the Farmers Weekly Award ceremony held in the capital.
The 31-year-old is head planter and drill man on the 13,500 acre farm – owned by Waldersey Farms – and documents his work on Instagram. The agricultural online celebrity has more than 6,200 followers.
Neill said: “It was my wife Rachel that nominated me for it, I suppose she thinks that I’m hard working. I think it’s a good achievement. I just have to wait until October to find out how I got on.”
The Farmers Weekly Awards, now in their 14th year, are judged by an expert panel made up of industry specialists and previous award winners.
The award Neill is up for is one of 15 categories, they are all sponsored by fast-food giants McDonalds and global agriculture firm Corteva Agriscience.
If Neill scoops the title it will put him in the running for the overall Farmer of the Year Award, given to the farmer judged to be the “winner of winners”. He’ll have to wait until Thursday October 4 to find out.
Neill moved from Northern Ireland to the Fens around 13-years-ago and has been working on the Fen land ever since. He says he has been farming all of his life.
He said: “I only came over to do a couple of harvest seasons but I was offered a full-time job and I’ve been here ever since.”
Neill, along with his pet dog Ben, has recently moved from his village home in Christchurch closer to the farm in Hilgay where judges from the competition came down to pay him a visit.
They met with each of the finalists in the categories that include Beef Farmer of the Year, Dairy Farmer, Sheep Farmer, Pig Farmer, Poultry Farmer, Mixed Farmer, Young Farmer to name a few.
The awards will take place at a glitzy ceremony in post West London’s Grosveror House, in front of an audience of more than 1,000 farmers and industry leaders.
For more information and for more finalists, visit: www.fwi.co.uk/ms/farmers-weekly-awards
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