LENs Farmer of the Year 2026

By Chantal Brown

Could you be our farmer of the year? Launching in England this year, with plans for other countries to follow, we welcome applications from LENs farmers in England to be crowned ‘LENs farmer of the year’.

Applications can come from farmers or advisors, for you or someone else. There is one award and nominations can be made in one or more of the following categories:

1) best regen innovation, 2) soil health, 3) from a chemical to biological approach, or 4) landscape and biodiversity.

Judging will be carried out internally with the winner announced at our tent at Groundswell on 1 July, with an award and runner up prizes.

You must be a LENs farmer to enter. You can enter in more than one category, but please submit a separate entry for each.

Deadline for entries: 8 June, 9a.m. BST

LENs Farmer of the Year 2026

Part 1: Farmer & holding details

Name *

Email Address *

Phone

Farm name & location *

LENs Region *

Enterprise type *

Farm size (hectares) *

Part 2: Category questions

(Please answer each of the three questions for your chosen category, with a maximum of 150 words per question)

Award category

Best Regen Innovation

Challenge

What specific problem or bottleneck were you facing on your farm that sparked this idea?0 / 150

Solution

Describe your innovation. How does it work?0 / 150

Journey

How has this changed your regenerative trajectory, and how do you see it evolving over the next 5 years?0 / 150

Supporting evidence

Please attach up to three photos or a short video of the biodiversity.

Video Toggle (Regen)I want to add a link to a video

Supporting evidence (video)

Soil health at the core

Philosophy

Describe how soil health dictates your daily decision-making. How do you balance "the bag" vs. "the biology"?0 / 150

Monitoring

What metrics are you tracking (e.g., VESS, Soilmentor, Worm counts, Lab tests)0 / 150

Impact

What is the most significant change you’ve seen in your soil structure or resilience since shifting your focus?0 / 150

Supporting evidence

Please attach up to three photos or a short video of the biodiversity.

Video Toggle (Soil)I want to add a link to a video

Supporting evidence (video)

Transition: chemical to biological

The shift

Which artificial inputs have you reduced most significantly, and what replaced them?0 / 150

Result

Have you seen a change in crop or livestock health since reducing them?0 / 150

Bottom line

How has this transition impacted your farm’s profitability and risk management?0 / 150

Supporting evidence

Please attach up to three photos or a short video of the biodiversity.

Video Toggle (Chemical)I want to add a link to a video

Supporting evidence (video)

Landscape & Biodiversity

Holistic integration

How have you integrated nature into your food production areas (e.g., silvopasture, herbal leys, beetle banks, or hedgerow management)?0 / 150

Evidence

Have you noticed a return of specific "indicator species"?0 / 150

Resilience

Give an example of how a more biodiverse landscape helped your farm cope with an extreme weather event (drought/flood) or how it is better prepared for the future climate.0 / 150

Supporting evidence

Please attach up to three photos or a short video of the biodiversity.

Video Toggle (Landscape)I want to add a link to a video

Supporting evidence (video)

Part 3

In 100 words or fewer, tell the judges why your farm should be the "LENs Farmer of the Year." What is the one thing you are most proud of?

0 / 100

Judging

The team at LENs will be judging entries this year. We will be looking for impact, scalability and the regen mindset of curiosity and resilience.

Terms and conditions:

By entering the award, you agree to be featured as a LENs best practice case study if you are a winner or runner up. The case study interview will need to be carried out within one month of the winners and runners up being announced. The case study and selected quotes will be used only to promote LENs and no other farming initiatives and can be used in all / any LENs marketing and promotion.

Entering the award is no guarantee of winning.

Your data will not be shared and will be stored in accordance with the LENs Data and Privacy Policy.

LENs Farmer of the Year 2026

LENs Farmer of the Year 2026

Part 1: Farmer & holding details

Part 2: Category questions

(Please answer each of the three questions for your chosen category, with a maximum of 150 words per question)

Part 3

Judging

Terms and conditions:

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