The search is on for the UK’s next Soil Farmer of the Year, with entries now open for the 2026 competition as organisers call on farmers to showcase how they are putting soil health at the heart of their businesses.
Launched on World Soil Day, the award — run by Innovation for Agriculture and the Farm Carbon Toolkit, with sponsorship from Cotswold Seeds and Hutchinsons — aims to highlight farmers who are using soil-focused practices to build resilience and profitability.
Approaches such as reduced tillage, integrating livestock, improving drainage and boosting biological activity are among the techniques celebrated by the competition.
Becky Wilson, business development and technical director at Farm Carbon Toolkit, encouraged entries from a broad range of farm types. “Good soil management is not defined by acreage, enterprise mix or farming system.
"We want to hear from any farmer who is actively considering the long-term health of their soils and adapting their management to improve it,” she said. The competition, she added, recognises those successes while helping to share them across the industry.
Entries can be submitted via a short online form with the option to upload a video or audio entry instead of writing. The winner will receive two advanced gold soil analyses from Hutchinsons, while the top three entrants will be awarded Cotswold Seeds vouchers and free entry to Groundswell 2026, where the winners will be announced at a dedicated awards session. Finalists will also have the chance to host a Soil Farmer of the Year farm walk to support knowledge exchange.
“Knowledge sharing is central to the ethos of this competition,” Ms Wilson said, noting that the 2025 winners will hold their own farm walks in spring 2026. These events offer potential entrants the chance to see how leading farmers are managing soils in practice and what that means for business performance.
Jade Prince, head of soils at Hutchinsons, said more farmers now see soil health as a key defence against increasingly volatile weather. “Drought, waterlogging, and disrupted field operations are becoming more common and healthy soils are a first line of defence,” she explained. Improved structure, balanced chemistry and strong biological activity all contribute to greater resilience.
“This is why Hutchinsons supports the Soil Farmer of the Year competition,” she said. “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, group director at Cotswold Seeds, said it was a pleasure to support the award. “The competition over the years has been pivotal in rewarding the amazing hard work done by real farmers, our guardians of the soil, who have 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,” he said.
