A young farmer from Cumbria has been described as ‘dynamite’ for the industry after winning the annual Young Farmer of the Year award.
The award, which was issued at the NFYFC’s YFC Achiever Awards, recognises the achievements of those involved in YFCs across England and Wales.
Hector Meanwell, 25, from Tebay in Cumbria, was given the award by Kelvin and Liz Fletcher, stars of ITV series Fletchers’ Family Farm.
Hector, who helps run his family’s regenerative upland farm, as well as managing Low Beckside farm for the Ernest Cook Trust, is eager to bridge the gap between consumers and farms.
He’s involved in launching a farm shop on his farm and runs educational sessions at Low Beckside to engage children, as well as those from disadvantaged backgrounds, about the opportunities in agriculture.
The judges were impressed by Hector’s ambition and his willingness to champion the sector – even taking on a member of the House of Lords who questioned the abundance of biodiversity on his farm.
Kelvin Fletcher said: “The unique thing about Hector is that people like him don’t come along very often. He’s an entrepreneur, he’s got spirit.
"He will do things on a huge scale. I’m buzzing about the future of farming if it looks like Hector.
"He’s hard working, passionate, willing to be transparent and open with people that doubt the integrity of his work and brings them on board."
Robbie Tuer, 27, a member of Raughton Head YFC in Cumbria, was announced as the runner up of the Young Farmer of the Year award.
Coming from a non-farming background, he works as a ruminant sales representative for Aspatria, where he looks after a large number of farmers in north Cumbria.
He sits on various committees for agricultural shows and societies along with developing a network with his local parish council and lobbying with MPs.
Robbie is the vice chair of NFYFC’s YFC AGRI group and is trained to deliver NFYFC’s farm safety and mental health workshops to clubs.
Kelvin added: “If farming is to say what it is and what it can be, there are no better spokespeople than Hector and Robbie – they are dynamite.
"They’re fantastic and the fact they are both from Cumbria as well speaks volumes about that county and the people.”
