British Farming Awards 2025 New Entrant award winner, James Newhouse
For fourteen years, the British Farming Awards has shone a light on the best in British Farming. During this annual event, Britain's farming industry comes together to celebrate the achievements of its contemporaries.
The 2026 New Entrant to Agriculture Award finalists have been selected because they have successfully started their own farming enterprise within the last five years. This award seeks to shine a light on those farmers who have had no security of a family farm and have built an enterprise completely from scratch. These finalists have all worked towards achieving their goals despite not having the easiest route into agriculture and some have even left careers in other industries to pursue a dream to farm.
New Entrant to Agriculture award finalists 2026 – Sponsored by Addington Fund
Bernadette Benney, Cornwall
Bernadette Benney is proving that determination, innovation and a passion for animal welfare can create a successful farming business from the ground up. Alongside her husband Peter, she runs Cornish Cracking Eggs at Willben Farm in Cornwall, producing premium duck and chicken eggs for farm shops, restaurants, independent retailers and direct customers.
With no traditional farming background, Bernadette has developed her knowledge through hands-on experience, research, networking and a willingness to learn. She plays a leading role in animal care, marketing, sales, administration, compliance and business development, while her husband and brother Justin support the practical operation.
A strong focus on welfare and quality has been central to the business, including developing a bespoke feed with Harpers Feeds. The enterprise has gained recognition through Taste of the West, progressing from Silver to Gold awards for its duck and chicken eggs.
Bernadette has also diversified into homemade Scotch eggs using local pork and their own eggs, supporting other rural businesses. Despite rising costs, bird flu restrictions and the pressures of balancing full-time work with farming, she remains focused on building a resilient, sustainable brand that can inspire other new entrants.
Chloe Lucas, Essex
Essex-based Chloe Lucas is proving that a non-farming background is no barrier to building a successful future in agriculture. After experiencing a breakdown while working for the NHS during the pandemic, Chloe discovered farming through television programmes, farm visits and volunteering, eventually developing a passion for livestock and land management.
Today, she owns a fold of pedigree Highland cattle, using rotational conservation grazing across four rented pasture sites as part of a Natural England project. Her approach aims to improve soil health, enhance habitats and encourage species diversity, while demonstrating how livestock can play a positive role in countryside management.
Alongside managing her herd, Chloe runs educational workshops and meadow walks, speaks publicly about farming and mental health, and uses social media to give the public an honest insight into agriculture. She also volunteers on other farms to continue learning and support fellow farmers.
Despite challenges including accessing land, finance, equipment and navigating complex paperwork, Chloe has built her enterprise from scratch through determination and community support. Her long-term ambition is to secure a tenancy, grow her herd to 50-plus cattle, develop breeding and beef production, and create a profitable, sustainable business that brings farming closer to the public.
Rodrigo Navarro, Hampshire
Hampshire-based Rodrigo Navarro is proving that creative thinking and collaboration can open the door to farming for those without traditional agricultural backgrounds. A former London chef, Rodrigo and his wife Kirsten, a primary school teacher, founded Wandering Feathers Ltd after the Covid pandemic prompted them to rethink food supply chains and their connection with the land.
Through the Pitch Up! scheme with Kingsclere Estates, the couple established a mobile, certified organic egg enterprise on the North Wessex Downs. Their hens are entirely pasture-raised, living in mobile laying units that rotate behind the estate's organic dairy cattle. The system creates a natural cycle, with chickens following cattle to feed on insects and help fertilise the soil without chemical inputs.
Rodrigo manages day-to-day agricultural operations, while Kirsten leads on community engagement and business development. Together, they have built direct-to-consumer sales through weekly deliveries and their automated "Egg Shed" vending machine.
Access to land and capital were major barriers, but the couple overcame them by embracing a collaborative land-sharing model. Looking ahead, they plan to develop on-farm educational programmes, explore solutions for spent organic hens and scale the business. Their ambition is to champion circular poultry production while helping make farming more accessible to future generations of new entrants.
Caroline Tasker, Aspire Farm School, East Sussex
For Caroline Tasker, entering agriculture has been about bringing together her passion for education, animals and the countryside. A former Deputy Headteacher, Caroline founded Aspire Farm School after seeing first-hand the positive impact that working with animals and spending time outdoors could have on children's confidence, wellbeing and resilience.
Today, Aspire Farm School operates across three partner farms in East Sussex, alongside Caroline's own eight-acre mixed livestock smallholding. Working with horses, sheep and chickens, she combines practical farming with farm-based education, giving young people authentic experiences of livestock care, land management and seasonal farming.
Caroline has built the business from the ground up, developing long-term relationships with commercial farmers and creating a team of 25 educators and activity leaders from farming, education and rural backgrounds. Her approach allows partner farms to diversify while remaining commercially productive.
As a new entrant, Caroline has had to develop her agricultural knowledge through hands-on experience, working alongside experienced farmers and establishing her own livestock systems. She has also invested heavily in infrastructure, animal welfare, safeguarding and operational standards.
Looking ahead, she hopes to expand Aspire Farm School's network of partner farms, develop her own smallholding and create clearer pathways into agriculture for young people – demonstrating how farming can produce not only food, but confidence, skills and opportunity.
Jessica Tilley-Moore, Staffordshire
At just 20, Jessica Tilley-Moore has already established her own pedigree sheep enterprise, proving that a farming career does not have to start with a family farm. A first-generation farmer with no inherited land or assets, Jessica runs The Ferm Flock on five acres of rented grassland, where she keeps a small pedigree flock of Greyface Dartmoors.
Her journey began in 2023 with a lambing placement while considering veterinary nursing. Captivated by livestock, the countryside and the responsibility of farming, Jessica sought experience wherever she could, completing multiple lambing seasons before spending eight months working on a 360-cow dairy herd.
Determined to build her own enterprise, she secured grazing land, purchased her foundation flock and gained her AMTRA SQP qualification, supporting an evidence-based approach to animal health and responsible parasite control. Alongside developing her flock, Jessica works as a Farm Education Leader at Lower Drayton Farm, helping children and visitors understand British agriculture.
Her ambitions extend beyond pedigree breeding, with plans to develop sustainable meat production and maximise the value of wool. She also champions new entrants and encourages others to consider careers in agriculture. Jessica's determination, practical experience and commitment to British farming make her a compelling finalist for the New Entrant to Agriculture Award and the Farm Worker of the Year Award.
Tickets are available now to celebrate with the finalists at The British Farming Awards on October 15 at VOX in Birmingham.
