TWO young farmers from Cumbria have been described as ‘dynamite’ for the industry, after winning the top two places in the Young Farmer of the Year Award at NFYFC’s YFC Achiever Awards.

The Young Farmer of the Year Award, which is sponsored by The Farm Safety Foundation, is one of eight categories at the awards, which recognise the achievements of those involved in YFCs across England and Wales during the previous membership year.

Nearly 500 young farmers, supporters and alumni gathered at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham for the event, which was hosted by NFYFC President John Lee OBE DL, and supported by well-known names in agriculture.

This year’s Young Farmer of the Year was chosen by Kelvin and Liz Fletcher, stars of ITV series Fletchers’ Family Farm.

The couple, who were joined on the judging panel by Stephanie Berkeley from The Farm Safety Foundation and NFYFC’s Competitions Steering Group Chair Will Longmire, interviewed all the finalists before choosing 25-year-old Hector Meanwell from Tebay in Cumbria as the winner

Hector who helps run his family’s regenerative upland farm, as well as managing Low Beckside farm for the Ernest Cook Trust, is eager to bridge the gap between the consumer and the farm.

He’s involved in launching a farm shop on his family farm and runs educational sessions at Low Beckside to engage schoolchildren as well as those from disadvantaged backgrounds about the opportunities in agriculture.

The judges were impressed by Hector’s ambition and his willingness to champion the sector – even taking on a member of the House of Lords who questioned the abundance of biodiversity on his farm.

Robbie Tuer, 27, a member of Raughton Head YFC in Cumbria, was announced as the runner up of the Young Farmer of the Year. Robbie, who is from a non-farming background, works as a ruminant sales representative for Aspatria, where he looks after a large number of farmers in north Cumbria.

He sits on various committees for agricultural shows and societies along with developing a network with his local parish council and lobbying with MPs. Robbie is the Vice Chair of NFYFC’s YFC AGRI group and is trained to deliver NFYFC’s farm safety and mental health workshops to clubs.