Farmers showcased at FWAG Presentation Evening

Posted 06/11/2014

Winners of the Tim Sloane Award – E.J Barker & Sons

Winners of the Farm Conservation Cup – Frederick Hiam Ltd

Ashtons Legal Solicitors were once again delighted to sponsor the prestigious Suffolk Farm Conservation award, awarded by Suffolk Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (Suffolk FWAG). The award was made at the presentation evening held on 5 November 2014.

Almost eighty people from an array of Suffolk’s farming and agricultural establishments came together at Trinity Park in Ipswich to share the success of two outstanding businesses who won the Farm Conservation Award and the Tim Sloane Award.

Guest speaker was Robin Page, wildlife crusader, writer for The Daily Telegraph and former presenter of the BBC’s One Man and his Dog, who gave an enthralling talk about his life, love of the countryside and the work he tirelessly does to encourage British shops and supermarkets to stock British food.

Suffolk FWAG has helped farmers in the county for over four decades by providing trusted, independent environmental advice.  Suffolk FWAG provides guidance to the local farming community and helps farmers understand the environmental value of their land and make the most of the agri-environment options available.

Ashtons Legal Agricultural Partner Jeanette Dennis who is a Trustee of Suffolk FWAG said: “It takes a lot of courage for the farming community to put themselves forward for an award.  This award celebrates the huge amount of farm work that farms and estates do to preserve our countryside for generations to come.  There are so many great initiatives taking place on farms to preserve nature and encourage wildlife and natural vegetation – we want farmers and landowners to share their experiences.  This is what the Suffolk FWAG awards are all about.”

Winners of the Tim Sloane Award were E.J. Barker and Sons of Lodge Farm in Westhorpe near Stowmarket, who impressed the judges with their ponds and amazing newts and dragonflies.  The judges were Genevieve Broad of Suffolk Biodiversity Partnership and Richard Symes of Earlsway Farm in Bramfield. 

The hotly contested Farm Conservation Award was won by Frederick Hiam Ltd, a farming and vegetable growing and packing business based at Hilll Farm in Tuddenham near Bury St Edmunds.  The judges, Richard Barnes of Frontier/Kings Seeds and AJ Paul of the Broxstead Estate in Sutton, Woodbridge, were bowled over by Charlie Hancock, Operations Director, and his attitude whereby he ‘treats everything as a crop’.  The runner up was Bevills Farm at Bures, owned by the Probert family, where preserving and enhancing wildlife features for generations to come is now second nature to them.  It was a very difficult decision for the judges.