A dairy farmer from Cheshire has been honoured at NFU Conference for his dedication and commitment to the UK farming industry.
This year’s Meurig Raymond Award – named after the NFU’s former President – was presented to Cheshire farmer Phil Smallwood on Tuesday night (21 February).
Farming in Middlewich, he is well known for delivering the award-winning Let’s Talk Farming marquee at the Royal Cheshire Show, as well as promoting farming to the public at other events across the county.
He also works closely with local schools to organise educational visits and, over the past 30 years, has hosted hundreds of young children and teenagers on his farm.
A third-generation farmer, Phil is also a dedicated supporter of several farming charities, raising funds for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) and Farming Community Network.
He said: “I feel that as a farmer it’s really important to be getting out there and promoting the industry, that’s why I do what I do. You can’t expect other people to be doing it for you .
“It started more than 30 years ago when I joined the NFU, and when I got the promotional trailer the idea was to do about half a dozen events every year.
"Last year we went to 29 events and the diary’s already full for this year," Phil said.
Commenting on the award, NFU Director General Terry Jones said Phil "really stood out as the worthy overall winner".
“Phil’s one of those unsung farming heroes," he said, "When he’s not running his own farming business, he’s more than happy to provide an authentic voice as part of NFU campaigns.
“Phil’s commitment and positivity in promoting British food and farming throughout his local community, across Cheshire and the North West, makes him a very worthy winner of this year’s award.”
Phil, representing NFU North West, was selected from eight nominees drawn from each of the NFU’s seven English regions and NFU Cymru.
