The 2026 Soil Farmer of the Year competition is now open for entries, celebrating growers who lead the way in soil health.
Run by Innovation for Agriculture and the Farm Carbon Toolkit, and sponsored by Cotswold Seeds and Hutchinsons, the competition champions those who are leveraging soil health to support farm business resilience and profitability.
Whether through reduced tillage, integrating livestock, improving drainage, or enhancing biological activity, the award highlights practical actions that improve business performance.
Open to all
Farm Carbon Toolkit’s Becky Wilson is encouraging applications from all types of farm businesses. “Good soil management isn’t defined by acreage, enterprise mix or farming system. We want to hear from any farmer who’s actively considering the long-term health of their soils and adapting their management to improve it.
“The competition recognises those successes and helps to share them with the wider industry,” she says.
Entries can be submitted at https://bit.ly/soil-farmer-26 with the option to upload a video or audio submission. The winner will receive two advanced gold soil analyses from Hutchinsons, while the farmers placed first, second and third will each receive a Cotswold Seeds voucher and free entry to Groundswell 2026, where the winners will be announced during a dedicated awards session.
Farm walks
All finalists will have the opportunity to host a Soil Farmer of the Year farm walk, enabling the sharing of knowledge, experience and learnings with other farmers.
“Knowledge sharing is central to the ethos of this competition,” adds Becky. “The 2025 winners will be running farm walks in spring 2026 – these are an excellent way for anyone considering entering to see first-hand how leading farmers are managing their soils and what that means for business resilience.”
Building resilience
Jade Prince, head of soils at Hutchinsons, comments that more farmers now recognise prioritising soil health is one of the most effective ways to buffer their businesses against increasingly volatile weather.
“Drought, waterlogging, and disrupted field operations are becoming more common and healthy soils are a first line of defence. Improved structure, soil chemical balances and better biology all contribute to resilience.
“This is why Hutchinsons supports the Soil Farmer of the Year competition. We want to champion those who are putting soils front and centre while maintaining strong, productive businesses. I’d encourage anyone on that journey to enter in 2026.”
Paul Totterdell of Cotswold Seeds says: “It’s a pleasure and privilege to be supporting the Soil Farmer of the Year competition for 2026.
“The competition has been pivotal in rewarding the amazing hard work done by real farmers – our guardians of the soil – who’ve taken the brave step into regenerative agriculture. These farmers and land managers are paving the way in understanding how to achieve agricultural output while protecting our most important natural resource, the soil – and the biology and synergies within it.”
