The Caroline Drummond Award - Celebrating and Communicating Farming Excellence 2024

The search is on for the next recipient of The Caroline Drummond Award - Celebrating and Communicating Farming Excellence.

Set up in memory of our former LEAF Chief Executive, Caroline Drummond MBE, who led LEAF for over 30 years, the award recognises an individual who personifies her passion and drive to advance more sustainable farming, communicating that to their peers, the wider food chain and the public. The award is open to farmers and other individuals involved in the farming industry.

As well as LEAF, the award is supported The British Guild of Agricultural Journalists and The Institute of Agricultural Management, both of which Caroline had a close involvement with.

“I am immensely proud of Caroline’s achievements with LEAF. These include a pathway to sustainable farming, excellent communication both inside and outside the agricultural world and posing questions about the type of food we should be growing to meet the needs of our customers, says Caroline’s husband Philip Ward.

“She did this with positivity, a willingness to work with other organisations and a desire to always do what she thought was right in order to work towards achieving her goals.

Jake Freestone, last year’s winner of this award, demonstrated many of these qualities, and hopefully this year we will see more shining examples of people who can, in their own way, help to move farming in the right direction. I look forward to seeing this year’s entries and hope they cheer me up as much as they did last time as I read about so many people doing good things!”

Last year’s winner of the award, Jake Freestone says:

“It was an incredible honour for me to receive this generous award in memory of Caroline. It encompasses and represents so much of her legacy; covering innovation, best practise and how we can communicate our wonderful farming story to wider communities.”

Philip Ward (right) presenting Jake Freestone with the The Caroline Drummond Award at the British Guild of Agricultural Journalist's Harvest Supper in London last year.

David Webster, LEAF CEO says:

“Caroline was, first and foremost, a communicator and connector. She had a unique ability to share her vision, passion, and drive with people of all ages, from all walks of life, and backgrounds. She inspired, encouraged, motivated, and led by example. This important Award recognises and celebrates some of our industry’s most outstanding communicators. It also represents all that Caroline believed in – that the voices of farmers committed to more sustainable farming and protecting our planet for future generations should be amplified.”

“The Institute of Agricultural Management (IAgrM) is proud to partner again with LEAF and the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists to pay tribute Caroline Drummond’s visionary leadership and her enduring commitment to promoting best practices in agricultural and environmental management, says Victoria Bywater, director of the Institute of Agricultural Management. This partnership underscores IAgrM’s dedication to advancing agricultural management and sustainability.

“The award encourages individuals and organisations within the agricultural community to strive for excellence and innovation, mirroring Caroline's passion and IAgrM’s objectives for environmental stewardship and effective farm management. Entrants gain the opportunity to showcase their initiatives to a broader audience, receive recognition for their efforts, and inspire others to adopt sustainable practices.

We urge all those who share a commitment to sustainable agricultural development to consider entering the Caroline Drummond Award. This is not just an opportunity to gain prestigious recognition but also to contribute to a legacy of sustainable farming that benefits us all.”

“This award is a fitting tribute to Caroline and her determination to show the wider world that good farming practice and looking after the environment go hand in hand. The twin challenges of feeding an increasing global population and climate change make that goal more important than ever before,” says Ben Pike, Chairman of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists.

Entrance procedure

Entrants can enter themselves or be nominated by others. Evidence of the impact they have had will be required. That impact can be at a local, national or international level. The judging panel will consist of representatives of The British Guild of Agricultural Journalists, The Institute of Agricultural Management, Linking Environment And Farming and Caroline’s widower Philip Ward.

The recipient will be invited to key British Guild of Agricultural Journalists, Institute of Agricultural Management and LEAF events in late 2024 where they will be presented with a trophy and invited to share their approach to farming excellence. They will also be presented with free membership of all three organisations if they are not already members.

Entrants have until 31 August 2024 to submit their entries to Cedric Porter via email: [email protected]. Call him on 07881 956446 for more information.

For more information see BGAJ news website: https://www.gaj.org.uk/article... or the IAGRM news website: https://www.iagrm.com/news/the...

What we are looking for:

• An individual who embodies Caroline Drummond’s passion for farming and the environment, who has improved the way they or others farm and protect the environment and communicated that passion to others.

• Entrants can be an individual representing their own farm or a leader of a business or institutional team.
• Entrants will need to demonstrate commitment to how they have improved the way they/others have farmed and what they have done to protect or enhance the environment.
• Entrants will need to demonstrate how they have communicated that commitment to a wider audience, whether that is farmers, the food and retail industry, policymakers, pupils/students, the wider public, media or others.
• The award is open to farmers, environmentalists, those involved in the agricultural supply chain, teachers/lecturers, scientists, policymakers, businesses or institutional leaders, members of NGOS, influencers, or any others meeting the criteria.
• Entrants do not need to have a high national or international profile, with judges looking for exceptional impact on the audience the entrant interacts with, especially those who have been previously unsung.

Information required:

• Evidence of positive impacts on the way you or others farm and manage the environment. This could be farming or environmental performance data, visual evidence, third-party testimonials, anecdotal evidence or independently verified data or evidence.
• Demonstrate the improvements you have made have been communicated to a wider audience through face-to-face interactions, print, broadcast or digital media.
• Outline of business/organisation (location, enterprise etc).

The judges may ask for extra information or evidence.

You may enter yourself or be nominated by others. If you are entering yourself, you will need to be proposed by at least one other person. If you are nominated by someone else, then you will have to give them permission to do so. The judging panel may also approach individuals directly to ask them to consider entering. Organisations can ask those they feel deserving of the award to enter.