Agricultural Student of the Year The Farmers' Country Showdown

Across the country,

thousands of farming families work tirelessly around the clock.

Bring them up, Isabel. Well done.

Here they come!

Shake it, baby, shake it!

But there's one day each year...

Go on, girl. Up you go.

..where they get to leave the daily routine behind.

Woohoo!

These are show days...

Welcome to the Pembrokeshire County Show.

..when they come together as a community...

Salute!

..to showcase the fruits of their labour...

Had a quick look at the competition. I'm in with a chance!

..and try to win prizes for their breed champions...

Well done. Wa-hey!

It's show business, folks!

..and award-winning produce.

I got first!

You had the last two jars!

There will be highs...

..and lows...

No, no, no.

..for the dedicated farmers who give everything

to walk away a champion.

No way!

There is one event in the agricultural calendar that

celebrates the achievements and enthusiasm of Britain's

up-and-coming farmers - the British Farming Awards.

This year's category for Agricultural Student Of The Year has

five exceptional and ambitious young finalists.

Good girl.

These are the farmers of the future.

They've impressed the judges with their dedication to succeed in a

challenging industry.

Good boy. Steady.

All five finalists bring their own ideas and initiative alongside a

belief in the future of farming.

To win this award would acknowledge their passion, drive and dedication.

If you get that one out, though.

But in a few days, only one of them can receive this prestigious award.

Ten miles off the coast of northern Scotland lie the Orkney Islands,

home to our first finalist, 20-year-old Robbie.

People have been farming these islands for 5,000 years

and Backakelday Farm has been in Robbie's family for over 300 years.

Go on, then.

Robbie is now at the helm, with the help of his uncle, Richard.

Together, they manage the 260 acres,

rearing cattle and sheep and growing barley.

Cattle is the main enterprise on this farm.

We have 170 breeding ewes and they come second to cattle in terms of income.

Robbie's greatest inspiration was his grandfather.

I spent a lot of time with Grandad.

All my spare time was spent on the farm with him and I learnt a lot

from him and was very close to him.

My memory is, you know, a very small boy in a blue boiler suit.

Any opportunity, he would be up with Grandad on the farm.

We always knew that he was destined to be a farmer.

-Yes, yes.

-And it was always in him, from the beginning, really.

When he turned 18, Robbie knew what he wanted to do.

Despite it being more than 100 miles away,

he enrolled in agricultural college in Aberdeen.

Tragically, just after he began his studies,

he lost his beloved grandfather.

I got a phone call from my stepmum on the Thursday morning

to say that Dad had passed away in the night, which was

very difficult for us all.

It was a very sudden, a very sudden loss and a terrible shock at the time.

Robbie was in Aberdeen but he flew home that evening and

in many a way, he's grown-up overnight since that happened.

With Robbie's parents busy running their plumbing business,

there was no-one else with the skills to take on his grandfather's farm.

Robbie knew what he had to do.

I had to step up and lead the day-to-day running of the farm

alongside my uncle, Richard.

From there, we've managed over the two years to keep the farm going.

It wasn't, like, a task for me, it was something I really was keen to do.

It's my passion, I suppose,

and it's something I wanted to succeed in.

Robbie was committed to preserving his grandfather's legacy and despite

the challenges, remained determined to complete his education.

Richard included and ourselves, we were all very keen that Robbie

did get the opportunity to finish his studies.

Yeah, well, I think it's important, when I'd started it,

so it was. It was quite important to be able to finish it.

On top of his college work, Robbie made a 260-mile round trip

between home and university as often as he could to keep up with the

demands of the farm.

Never was the support of his family more vital.

Running the farm over the past two years certainly wouldn't have been

possible without the help of the family.

To be able to finish the college course, I've needed that help,

because I can't be here the whole time.

Richard, he's done an excellent job,

seeing to cattle and sheep when I've been away.

Mum has worked tirelessly, the office-based work.

There's a huge, huge amount of work that goes completely unseen.

I'm very proud of Robbie.

He is a very driven young man to manage to achieve what he has

achieved through his studies and coming home and working on the farm.

After graduating with distinction, Robbie is back on the farm full-time.

That's right.

The daily routine at this time of year is basically just to check all

the livestock in the morning.

We feed the young cattle now because the best's out of the grass.

The sheep are quite low-maintenance at this time of year.

It's just a case of checking them in the morning just to make sure

they're all there, basically.

Having fought hard to save the farm,

Robbie has one more permanent battle on his hands.

The unpredictable Orkney weather.

Yes, farming here's a lot more unforgiving.

You are constantly working against the weather.

You can get four seasons in one day quite often and it's the wet weather

that really is a problem, I suppose, and we get very high winds.

But the weather doesn't faze this determined Orkney-born farmer.

He's pulling out all the stops to make a success of his

grandfather's farm...

-All right, here, here.

-..bringing in new cattle...

This is our new Charolais bull, Giles.

We've gone for the Charolais because there's quite a demand for

Charolais store cattle.

..and making the most of the island's spectacular views.

Tourism is a big thing in Orkney.

We've obviously got good views over Scapa Flow here,

so there would be a demand for holiday lets,

so that's something the farm could look to diversify into.

Robbie has gone above and beyond to preserve the farm for future

generations and his nomination for the British Farming Awards

has delighted his uncle Richard.

Bit jealous initially.

THEY LAUGH

No, I wish him all the best with the awards.

He deserves it. If I could be down there, I'd be having a great time.

But I've not been invited.

That's not strictly true.

Robbie's hard work is keeping his grandfather's farming dream alive.

What I've learned from him, I can now put into practice and hopefully

there's a good future for the farm going forward.

So I'm sure he'd be happy to see that

the farm's going to be continued.

Striving to keep his Orkney farm running while studying for a degree

over 100 miles away has earned Robbie his place in the finals for

Agricultural Student Of The Year.

Also in Scotland is the breathtaking Isle of Mull,

home to our second finalist.

26-year-old Claire recently graduated with a first class degree in agriculture,

achieving the highest grade in the whole of Scotland.

Originally from Switzerland, she now lives on a remote island

farm over ten miles from the Scottish mainland.

OK, come, come. Come.

Claire discovered her calling almost by chance.

All my life, I wanted to become an astrophysicist.

As you do! Just a kind of average child's dream, really.

And I had never considered farming.

Although I spent some of my teenage years on my stepfather's farm,

so I believe that kind of gave me that insight,

the respect for and appreciation of farming.

The first time I came to Scotland was almost seven years ago.

I came back for all my holidays after that and it was different

people who suggested to me, why don't you come over for work experience?

The combination of all these things made me decide 18 months after my

first trip to Scotland to quit my job in Switzerland and come over to

Scotland, start working here and here I am.

Come on.

It was on that first visit that Claire struck up a friendship with

tenant hill farmer, Ian.

Needing 11 mil.

A friendship that was to have a huge impact on her future.

Claire's really interested in outdoors, farming,

all that sort of stuff,

but I didn't think she was going to study agriculture.

She told me about her interest in astrophysics but I stupidly said,

"Oh, you should study agriculture."

Ian was a real support, as a friend, and what started as a friendship is

now a partnership and relationship.

-I think our skill sets complement each other quite well.

-Yes.

I hope so.

While studying hard at Scotland's rural college,

Claire worked part-time with Ian on his 8,000-acre rented hill farm.

Together, they now look after Ian's 55 Highland cows

and 1,800 native sheep.

Here, boy.

She may be good in the field, but what makes Claire stand out is

her ability to manage the business side of farming.

I run all the finances, pay bills, monitoring cash flow.

I know a lot of people find it so boring and my partner,

he doesn't like doing it either,

he likes to be out on the farm checking the cattle and sheep.

I just look at a form and my mind goes blank.

It just switches off.

I don't want to do this. But you seem to be able to cope with that

-really easily.

-I'm just one of those sad individuals that enjoy

paperwork, that's my problem.

But I do enjoy this as well.

Yes. You don't enjoy it, no.

Always keen to be on the cutting edge, Claire is championing the use

of hi-tech data recording equipment in her quest for excellence.

I'm a bit of a techie. I like technology and I think technology's

a very useful tool to improving business performance.

We've got a weigh crate with an electronic weigh head.

The weight that it shows me there, that's all recorded and I can have a

look at average changes over so many months.

Which ones are the heaviest, which ones are the lightest ones?

You know, it's really expensive, but in the long-term,

it'll actually save us money and hopefully time.

-Well, it already has saved us money.

-Yep.

A multi award winner, former class representative and

active member of the wider rural community,

Claire is bringing her dedication to improving the industry

back to the farm.

Claire constantly questions what I'm doing.

Why are you doing this? Why are you doing that?

-Not that it's annoying or irritating.

-Are you sure now?

Claire will say, when she's been studying something,

"Oh, but I read this, or I looked this up and these people

"do this and they do that and it seems to work really well for them.

"What about trying it here?"

My tutors, they were extremely patient because they had to put up

with so many questions. What could I have done better?

Why was it this grade and not that?

But, no, they were actually really good.

Aye, he's a bit bigger than you.

Claire may have finished her studies,

but her quest to improve how we farm is just beginning.

You hiding now?

I think most of us have an aspiration to make a difference to

our surrounding, our environment.

What more important industry to be involved in than agriculture?

I would quite like to be involved with problems of looking after our

land whilst feeding the world in a sustainable manner,

so as not to compromise the resources for our future generations to come.

I think that's an exciting, maybe a bit scary challenge, but I'm

really, really passionate about it and I would love to make a difference as well.

Claire's hugely ambitious.

She's not content just to go through the humdrum of daily agriculture.

She wants to achieve more, she wants to improve the industry,

she wants to see improvements in the industry.

Thanks to her outstanding academic achievements and practical

contributions to farming,

Claire is now in the running for Agricultural Student Of The Year.

It's an honour and a compliment to be in the finals along with these

kind of people, because they are really inspiring.

You would hope that this gives the farming industry as a whole a boost

to see all these people wanting to work within the industry and that's

the kind of future.

Nestled in the unspoiled Wiltshire countryside

is the home of our third finalist.

This small family farm is the focus of 22-year-old graduate, Hannah.

After completing her degree and time working in an agricultural

consultancy firm, Hannah is now firmly back on the farm.

So, what I love about farming is being surrounded by nature and being

outside and being surrounded by animals.

I live and breathe it and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The fourth generation to live here,

Hannah is working hard to secure its future.

Come on. That's it.

A farm girl through and through,

Hannah has fond memories of growing up in the countryside.

I remember one time riding on one of our cows, Molly,

getting her in for milking, and yeah. Definitely remember milking.

She's always been involved in the farm, right from day one.

Always a pleasure to have around.

She's always happy, loves working with the animals.

But there were hard times to come for dairy farmers...

If you get that one out though, I'll get that one.

..and Hannah's family were no exception.

Back in 2000 when the milk price plummeted,

Dad looked into various different ideas that would support our family.

Come on, Fred.

My dad used to be a security guard for a period of time.

I was probably four-years-old but I knew the cows had gone and

I knew Mum and Dad were struggling.

In 2006, Hannah's family made a decision that they hoped would

change their fortunes and set-up a glamping site.

Have you checked the other three tents, Luce?

No, not yet.

I must have been 11 at the time.

We were one of the first to put up tents and to have people come stay

in them, in the UK.

Lucy, bring the rubbish outside.

So, I got a fantastic job of helping clean out tents and cleaning toilets

and bringing in new guests.

At the time, we just thought

it was absolutely rubbish, didn't we?

And you got away with most of it, of not having to do it.

Well, I was only seven.

I got the worst end of the stick.

Determined to bring more to the farm than her talent for cleaning toilets,

Hannah went to study agriculture at Harper Adams University in Shropshire.

Over the years, the farm's glamping has expanded into the luxury market.

They have also rebuilt their calf herd.

With things looking up, Hannah is determined to keep the momentum going.

Coming back from university, she's been an absolute godsend.

Her skills are becoming phenomenal and a very,

very great help to the farm.

3702 in group one, Lucy.

My family aren't so confident in terms of paperwork.

They hate it and with everything else going on,

they just don't have the time to do it, so it was nice to come in and be

able to add to that and enable us to do what we have.

Since coming home, Hannah has succeeded in securing a

grant for the farm's largest and most ambitious project to date.

Our latest project was the tree house and we've just completed that.

And she has no intention of stopping there.

We're seeing here now, since she's been involved - weddings.

I never thought that would happen.

Lots of things are beginning to take shape now.

Oh, one of the chickens has escaped.

Oh, no.

As well as building up the farm, Hannah's other great passion is

trying to get people involved with the farming industry.

So, the chickens aren't allowed out?

No, they're not supposed to be,

-because Mr Fox will come along and get them.

-Oh, yeah.

One way to do that is to pass her knowledge down the line.

I do a lot of getting kids involved on the farm,

sort of teaching them about farm animals because a lot of them have

never seen a chicken.

-You've had six eggs?

-And we ate all of them.

You ate all of them? What, for breakfast?

People want to bring their families and the children to see the

farm and the animals, so it's very important that we continue with agriculture.

You like it here? That's what we like to hear.

I told my mum, can we stay here for another three weeks?

Despite all her achievements,

being put forward for a British farming award came as a surprise.

I was nominated by the university themselves and I was absolutely

astounded when I got a phone call

saying they were putting me up for the award.

And I never thought in a million years that I would get this far,

so it's absolutely overwhelming.

-I think it's great. I'm really proud of her.

-Oh, thanks, Luce.

That's OK.

Ready, pull.

A tireless worker with an endless supply of new ideas,

Hannah is a great source of pride.

So, I'm here for the long haul.

I'm very much part of everything we have here.

It's the same with all my brothers and sisters.

We're thrilled that they're taking an interest in what has been their

lifeblood for many years and they are actually instrumental in taking

the farm forward, which is fabulous.

How are you, little babies?

That's why Mum and Dad have fought for everything, to keep us here.

We live and breathe it. Like, we do everything we can to keep this place running.

And that is our aim, it always has been.

It's this commitment to her family's farm and desire to share her

knowledge that has earned Hannah a place in the finals for

Agricultural Student Of The Year.

The north Nottinghamshire countryside is home

to 22-year-old Ben.

Ey up, Bessie.

A recent graduate of Nottingham Trent University's

Brackenhurst Campus,

Ben finished his studies as one of the most successful and innovative

students they have ever had.

I knew I wanted to do something outside and I didn't like being

crammed in an office, so I suppose it was always there,

but without me seeing it.

As farming is such a varied and demanding industry,

Ben embraced every subject thrown at him.

Go and feed some cows.

From the science of crops, soil and livestock...

Get back, go on.

..to farm finances, new technologies and rural skills.

Woo!

He's just really interested and energetic, even on a Friday

afternoon when that's like the worst time of the week.

There's just like a wide array of farming, a broad spectrum.

What you wouldn't necessarily see if you was just at home,

so coming here was kind of like, wow, you know?

This is farming, you know.

No matter who you are, he's not bothered.

It could be the Queen, Ben will question and ask you,

why do you do it that way?

He's achieved a distinction in every single module since he's been here.

He's never dropped into a merit.

He's always been a distinction student.

So, this is the Roundhouse where we did loads of cattle work and stuff.

Today, he's brought his father, Jamie, to the student's farm where

he worked so hard over the last two years.

So you have the halter around them, round their head.

-You can control them a bit more.

-Whoo!

Don't get too close to them bad boys, then, hey?

Not quite a natural in the farmyard,

Jamie has worked for the past 20 years as a gardener.

I don't come from a farming background and nor does Ben, really.

I mean, I'm into horticulture, so I don't normally have to worry

about any beast that big giving me the head-butt.

Ben's family couldn't be prouder that he's following his dream

to become a farmer.

My father was a miner, well, they've all been miners,

to be honest with you, so Ben's the first one.

It wasn't until I started getting more responsibilities and doing

more jobs that I realised how much

of an impact you as a farmer have on the land.

Go on.

It's a lot of responsibility to have,

but I do think it's very enjoyable.

So I thought, yeah, you've got to do something you love.

Ben's remarkable motivation

has proven to be a lifeline for him and his family.

Dad got diagnosed with MS, which is multiple sclerosis.

My dad's always said from that,

you never know what's going to come in the future,

so you should always take every opportunity that comes your way,

that you can get a chance of,

because you never know what's going to come round the corner.

It's no big deal. We get on with it and we get by things.

But Ben was, you know, he was really good in the early days when I was

first diagnosed, because obviously I lost it completely.

I didn't even know what MS was.

So, yes, you know, he's been my rock sort of thing.

He's a good strong lad. I'm proud of him in every way.

On top of his studies, Ben seized the opportunity to master as many

practical skills as possible.

From gaining his chainsaw certificate...

I made quite a big start on an owl.

Morning, Radar.

..to showing cattle at county shows.

So, we did that at Newark Show and Lincoln Show,

where they won and they also came breed champion.

It's a lot different than walking the dog.

It's from down here to up here and it can be...

It is really, it's quite daunting.

It's fun.

Ben's lasting legacy at university is one that will be enjoyed by

farming students for years to come.

This is the farming college for Nottinghamshire and I thought,

it's a bit strange that there was no young farmer's club.

So, I had a word with the people at Nottinghamshire Young Farmers

and we all decided on a vote and we made a Brackenhurst Young Farmers.

Now in its third year, Brackenhurst Young Farmers have competed in

numerous national farming competitions and raised over £200 for charity.

I'm quite proud of it, because I helped make it and it's really good

to see everyone having fun and interacting with each other.

Come on.

Ben has succeeded in making a huge impact at his university.

He's graduating with the highest possible grade

and an award for best practical student.

So, when I was at work, I see myself as a lad what helped people out,

you know, the lad what did all the jobs.

But now, I suppose, now I've got these qualifications,

I'm still the divvy lad, but I can do better jobs.

Ben's boundless energy and enthusiasm for learning earned him

his place on this year's shortlist.

We put Ben forward for the Student Of The Year Award because

of the energy that he's got and the desire to learn.

I just thought that someone with that much desire to learn should be

Student Of The Year, basically.

It's no surprise to me, because I've always seen how Ben works hard.

All the shows he goes to, the Young Farmers he's set up.

Like, he's just been waiting in the wings for the show to begin,

you know what I mean? He's just, he's there, poised,

ready to pounce on it, sort of thing.

I was reading about the other people this morning and it seems like

they're all up another league really compared to what I've done.

Yeah, but you're proving that you don't have to come from a farming

background to... And to even get nominated.

Yeah, I mean, obviously, it feels good to be up for the award,

because you feel good about yourself.

You think, I'm up with the top five students in the country.

Not just in the college, I'm up there.

So if I can do it, a lad from Worksop, then anyone can do it,

do you know what I mean?

Just an hour south-east of Nottingham,

the tranquil Rutland countryside is home to some very special sheep

belonging to third-year agriculture student and our final nominee,

20-year-old Georgie.

Come on. Good boy.

Georgie keeps her flock of 20 sheep with a local farmer who helps her to

take care of them while she's studying.

Ready? Go. Good boy.

Her interest in farming began at 11-years-old when her mother, Mary,

got a job as a contract shepherdess.

Me and Mum started going out in the fields and checking the sheep and

helping with lambing and shearing and dosing and things.

Come on, girls.

It was never difficult to persuade Georgina to come and help and she

loved it. And it was pretty obvious from fairly early on that she was

developing an addiction to the fresh air and the sheep

and a love of what she did.

Georgie's love of sheep continued.

And even though she was still at school,

she was determined to start a flock of her own.

When I was about 17, I went to do some work experience

with a magazine and they paid me, which I wasn't expecting.

So I used that money to go into the sheep

and bought my first eight ewes with that money.

Georgie bought her a fledgling flock from local sheep farmer, Wilfred.

And it was here at his farm in the East Midlands that she got her first

taste of real farming life.

She picked out a few lambs we had here.

There was sheep she picked which I thought was good and there were some

I thought, maybe not, but I didn't say anything.

I let her have her own decision because you learn from your own

judgments and what you do right and wrong, so...

Impressed with Georgie's enthusiasm and a natural ability,

Wilfred decided to offer her a job.

She had a keen interest and that's what I liked about her.

If you have the interest, you don't mind the longer hours.

She's done perfect for us, so she has.

It's just we need more of these young people coming into the

industry, but they seem hard to come by.

All too aware of this problem,

Georgie set out to turn things around...

Good boy.

..launching a Twitter account and using her love of writing to connect

other young farmers.

The industry as a whole is really dynamic and changing all

the time and there's stuff going on,

so there's always something to write about.

Georgie has now created one of the most successful social media forums

for up-and-coming farmers in the country.

I set up the Young Farmers of the UK Twitter account just to really give

some of the young farmers that are on Twitter a bit of a voice.

We're up to about 2,000 followers in a couple of months,

so it's going really well and I hope that it will keep growing and

getting bigger and more popular, hopefully.

When I first started on Twitter,

there wasn't that many young farmers,

or I didn't find many young farmers.

So that's where the Twitter account comes in,

because it sort of brings the young farmers together.

Come on. Good boy. Good lad.

Georgie's hard work and endeavours to represent a whole new generation

of farmers has earned her a nomination.

When she got the call to say that she'd been shortlisted,

I did get a bit tearful.

I just had a mummy moment for a while.

-Remember how you felt?

-Yeah, I know, it was really good.

A bit of a shock to the system, really, but...

Mum is definitely my biggest fan, I'd say.

Yes, she's always encouraging me.

Definitely pushed me to be where I am.

Come on, pup. Come on!

I've never known a child work so hard.

She works and works and works and has got such determination.

Good boy.

With all that she's achieved so far,

Georgie continues to strive towards her ultimate dream.

I'd like to be with a decent size flock,

concentrating on the breeding as well as continuing with my writing.

It's always been the dream to farm and then write about it,

so hopefully once I've graduated, that will be what's happening.

Georgie's passion for farming and encouraging other young farmers

through her writing has secured her place as a finalist

at this year's British Farming Awards.

All five nominees have shown their absolute commitment and dedication

to agriculture, studying hard and working tirelessly to make their

farming dreams a reality.

So, I would never have imagined to be nominated for a prestigious award

like this and I'm delighted to have the chance

to take part in the competition.

I would feel really, really honoured to be the recipient of this award.

People would see - there's somebody young and motivated within the

industry wanting to make a difference.

In that room, it's, you know, the top people in farming.

If I was to win, it would just show where all the hard work's gone, really.

You can say, look, Dad and Mum, look at this.

You know, I've made something, kind of.

This year's British Farming Awards

are being held in the vibrant city of Birmingham.

Now in its fifth year, this prestigious event will bring

together over 700 farmers and industry professionals to reward

and celebrate their outstanding achievements.

The tables are set and the bubbles are flowing.

It's time for these hard-working farmers to enjoy a well-earned night

of celebration.

The British Farming Awards are about sort of recognising people who are

doing a fantastic job.

They have shown real innovation,

real determination and a real passion for what they do.

Often in agriculture,

we're really good at hiding that all under a bit of a bushel,

so these awards are trying to really celebrate the things that are best

about Britain's farming industry.

The finest farmers in the country are travelling from far and wide to

attend tonight's dazzling event.

22-year-old distinction student, Ben, is bringing his girlfriend,

Melissa, to enjoy the glamour of the occasion.

I told her I'm taking her places now,

going to award ceremonies and being on telly.

Not just going down the miners' welfare.

A long way from their Scottish hill farm are 26-year-old Claire and partner, Ian.

We did have quite a bit of a journey. It was a two-day trip.

Yesterday, we had to come off the island.

Compared to having to deal with the traffic down here,

it is definitely easier to run after cattle and sheep.

Like Claire, 20-year-old Robbie and girlfriend, Julia, also made the

long journey down from Scotland, swapping boiler suits for bowties.

Obviously not used to being dressed for an occasion like this.

It's fun for a change to get out of the wellies, I suppose.

Third-year student and budding sheep farmer, Georgie, and 22-year-old

graduate, Hannah, have brought their families along to join in the celebrations.

We work as a team at home and being able to celebrate with everyone is

just wonderful. It's great to share it all.

Yes, it's a real privilege just to be here.

Absolutely fabulous.

You're going to recognise somebody?

Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd be kind enough to take your seats as

soon as you possibly can, as soon as you've found your table.

Living the dream.

This year, the Student Of The Year category had a record number of

nominations, making it a difficult task for the judges.

The award isn't just about recognising academia,

it's looking at what they are doing outside of their studies,

looking at how committed they are, how determined they are to do well.

How resilient they are, how adaptable they are and how they are

welcoming other opportunities that

will help them later on with their career.

There's stiff competition tonight and each one of them absolutely

deserves to be in the room.

Good evening and welcome to the British Farming Awards 2017.

It's time for the main event to begin.

About to kick off.

Tonight, 14 awards will be presented.

Our first silver winner is...

Charlotte Shipley from Field and Forage.

From beef innovator...

Next up...

..to Farming Family Of The Year.

The winner is the Fairburns.

With ten categories to get through before Student Of The Year is

announced, it's a long and anxious wait.

My heart's proper going now, yeah.

Everyone's been saying good luck and everything.

You kind of just want yours out the road, then you know.

Yeah, I think I'm a bit nervous, yeah.

Finally, their wait is over.

So, next up it's one of our most important awards.

And it's all about the next generation, with

Agricultural Student Of The Year.

Good luck, Hannah.

Thank you.

Oh!

Hannah Dyke, Harper Adams University.

CHEERING

Georgina Gater-Moore, Harper Adams University.

CHEERING

Claire Simonetta, Scotland's Rural College.

Robbie Stevenson, Scotland's Rural College.

CHEERING

And Benjamin Theaker, Nottingham Trent University.

And the winner is...

..Benjamin Theaker.

Oh, I can't believe it. Thank you very much.

Oh, chuffing heck. Cheers. Thank you very much.

I think that's a very happy winner.

Oh, I feel like I could cry. Oh.

Oh, I can't believe that. Oh, I'm really chuffed.

It was disappointing, obviously, because there's always this tiny

little bit of hope where you think, Well, maybe, you never know.

But it's been a great evening with so much kind of positive energy

about the room, which was absolutely amazing.

Both, obviously, travelled down from Orkney today and it's been a very

worthwhile trip. We've definitely enjoyed the evening.

It's been fantastic.

-We're very proud of you, darling.

-Thank you.

-Very, very proud.

It's been slightly terrifying waiting for the result but it's been

amazingly inspiring and for my future,

it just gives me ambition and motivation to go out and achieve.

-Good girl. Well done.

-Second place is fine with me.

It's really nice to get a bit of recognition for what you're doing

and it just sort of makes me want to inspire people even younger than me

to just take a chance and work hard

and you will get where you want to go.

-Son, did you win?

-No, I did it, I got gold, I won it.

-You won it?

-Yeah, I won first prize Agricultural Student Of The Year.

-He's won it, Sarah.

-Oh, well done.

-Yeah, I got it.

All my hard work paid off and everything.

Oh, I'm crying here.

This is making me want to succeed.

I want, when I'm older,

I want to have a long line of British Farming Awards.

I want to go for something else now.

I want to keep doing it, keep getting better.