Phil Smallwood, a third generation dairy farmer from Cheshire, was awarded the Meurig Raymond Award at the NFU conference for his commitment to the NFY and the UK farming industry. The award is named after the NFU’s former president.
Mr Smallwood is known for delivering the ‘Let’s Talk Farming’ marquee at the Royal Cheshire Show, as well as promoting farming to the public at other events across the county. Over the last 30 years, he has organised educational visits for hundreds of children and young people on his farm, as well as raising funds for both 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.”
NFU Director General Terry Jones said: “I’m absolutely delighted that Phil has won this year’s Meurig Raymond award. The judges had the unenviable task of selecting one person, and from our eight fantastic nominees, Phil really stood out as the worthy overall winner.
“Phil’s one of those unsung farming heroes. When he’s not running his own farming business, he’s more than happy to provide an authentic voice as part of NFU campaigns; engaging with colleagues from across the organisation, with stakeholders, politicians or the media on a range of farming issues.
“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.”
