Entry date extended for farming awards

That means you just have a couple of weeks left to nominate your farming heroes, champions and those primary producers who really have been outstanding in their field during the past 12 months.

The difficult task of judging is due to get underway mid September when our judging panel travels the highways and byways of Northern Ireland in search of the very best of farming excellence.

As well as the categories for poultry, beef, sheep, pig, dairy and arable/horticultural farmer of the year, there are also awards for the ‘wildlife friendly farmer of the year’, ‘commitment to training’, ‘Farm SAFE award’, ‘women of excellence in agriculture’ and ‘young farmer/student of the year’.

Local business has not been forgotten about, as there is a category for ‘agri-food business of the year’, ‘artisan producer of the year’ and ‘farm supplier/machinery company of the year.’

And the highlight of the night will be the unveiling of our ‘unsung hero’, as voted for by our readers, the ‘farming champion’ and the ‘lifetime achievement’ recipient.

Now is the time to get your pens out and the nomination forms filled out.

For full details on all of the categories and how to enter, see the advert on page 17.