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David Rose’s long-term commitment to improving environmental and human health proves a winner.
A farmer who invites thousands of visitors onto his farm every year to learn more about how food is produced and how the environment can be enhanced is the 2025 winner of the Caroline Drummond Celebrating and Communicating Farming Excellence Award.
A farmer who invites thousands of visitors onto his farm every year to learn more about how food is produced and how the environment can be enhanced is the 2025 winner of the Caroline Drummond Celebrating and Communicating Farming Excellence Award.
David Rose’s family has farmed at Screveton, Nottinghamshire for more than 90 years. Over the last 25 years, he and his wife Jill have changed the 450-acre farm from intensive cereal growing to reintroducing livestock and integrating agroforestry. Alongside improving the environmental health of the farm, David has focused on improving the physical and mental health of local population too, with the establishment of the FarmEco Community Care Farm.
David says that the transformation of the farm is a direct result of working with Caroline Drummond, the inspirational chief executive of LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) who the award is named after.
“Winning the Caroline Drummond Award is one of the proudest moments of my life. Caroline was not only a personal inspiration but a guiding light for so many — with integrity, openness, and a deep respect for the environment.
“I first met her in 1999 and, through her encouragement, undertook my Nuffield Scholarship, reconnecting the supply chain, she helped develop my love for integrated farm management, and for community involvement, taking part in the very first Open Farm Sunday which we continue to this day.
“Caroline’s 2012 Nuffield report on nutrition inspired me to launch the Food for Health project, which continues her vision of connecting farming, science, and human wellbeing.
“This award is special because it carries Caroline’s name and her values. To be recognised in her memory would not just honour my work at Nuffield and FarmEco, but also celebrate the extraordinary legacy of someone who changed the way we all think about farming.”
The FarmEco Community Care Farm hosts more than 2,000 visitors a year. It includes Men and Women in Sheds groups designed to give a safe space to share and discuss mental health issues, a forest schools site and a community of members who engage in a range of activities on the farm. The farmhouses local businesses including a chiropractic, Pilates workshop, woodworking, café and gym. David also established the Nuffield Food for Health Collaboration, which aims to increase the production of nutrient-rich food, something he practices by working with a local flour mill and the Small Food Bakery, based in nearby Nottingham.
Long-term environmental work on the farm has led to the establishment of a trial growing 15 acres of silvoarable land, which integrates 740 apple, walnut, chestnut and elderflower trees alongside wheat and beans. There is also a silvopastoral area, where native sheep graze edible woodland, enhancing soil and biodiversity. A 30-acre wild bird mix plot also supports a range bird and wildlife.
Sustainable food and farming consultant Andy Guy, who nominated David for the award, said:
“David is a powerful voice and FarmEco helps him to amplify the message that sustainable farming can feed the world while providing solutions to some of the challenges we face from climate change. David is no ordinary farmer, he is also a collaborator, communicator and innovator.”
Evidence of that collaboration includes longstanding relationships with LEAF, the Woodland Trust, The Organic Research Centre, the University of Reading and Nuffield Scholarships.
David received the Caroline Drummond Award from Caroline’s widower, Philip Ward. He said:
“Caroline, with a lot of help from her friends at LEAF, created a pathway towards sustainable farming. Communication was also one of her missions. This included two-way conversations with farmers, consumers, every part of the food chain and government. David Rose has demonstrated that he has ticked lots of those boxes over a considerable time and has helped to progress Caroline`s vision.
“David has successfully encompassed Integrated Farm Management in every aspect of his food production system and followed it with the consumer in mind, whilst involving many like-minded organisations in his approach.”