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Awards

Recognised for the way we farm.

The awards that back up what we say about the business. A short list of the things that matter, and what each one is for.

2024 National Pig Awards Sustainable Farming Award
2011 Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year
RT Red Tractor Assured
Awards and recognition

Awards are a useful shorthand for trust, but only if they mean something. Below are the recognitions that have given the way we farm independent backing, separated into competitive awards and finalist recognitions. Each is described briefly, with the year, the awarding body, and what the award was actually for.

The list is not exhaustive. There are smaller county level recognitions and competitions over the decades that have not made it onto this page. The ones below are the ones that matter most to us, and the ones most relevant to a trade buyer, journalist, or potential customer trying to understand the business.

Major awards

The awards that recognise the work directly.

Two national wins, given the space and context they deserve. Each entry covers what the award was for and why we think it mattered to the business.

On-site solar feeding the mill at Spains Hall, 2024.
Major award
2024 National Pig Awards

Sustainable Farming Award

What it was for

The Sustainable Farming Award recognises the whole picture of a farm's environmental and welfare performance, not a single project. The judges looked at the end to end model at Spains Hall: arable crops grown on the farm, grain milled on site using solar generated electricity, pigs fed on the home grown feed, manure returned to the land, and pork sent to nearby abattoirs and into Procter's Sausages.

Why it matters

For a fourth generation family farm to win a national sustainable farming award in 2024 is a fair signal that the model works at scale and in current conditions, not just in principle. The award has shaped how the business talks about itself to customers and how it plans the next few years.

Stuart Bosworth, Spains Hall.
Major award
2011 Farmers Weekly

Pig Farmer of the Year

Awarded to Stuart Bosworth

What it was for

Farmers Weekly Pig Farmer of the Year is a national award judged on the quality of the herd, the standard of housing and welfare, and the overall management of the pig enterprise. Stuart won it in 2011 after decades of work building the herd to that standard.

Why it matters

This is the award that most reliably opens doors for a pig farmer in the UK. It is judged by people who know what good looks like, and the recognition has carried weight with trade customers and industry peers ever since.

Finalist and shortlist recognitions

Shortlisted in 2024.

Two finalist recognitions in the same year as the Sustainable Farming Award win. Worth noting because being shortlisted at this level is itself a useful signal.

  • 2024 Finalist
    National Pig Awards

    Pig Producer of the Year

    Pig Producer of the Year is the headline pig farming award at the National Pig Awards, recognising overall performance of a pig enterprise. Being shortlisted in the same year as winning the Sustainable Farming Award signals that the operation reads strongly across multiple judging criteria.

  • 2024 Finalist
    Farmers Weekly

    Mixed Farm of the Year

    Mixed Farm of the Year recognises farms that combine multiple enterprises (in our case pig and arable, plus contracting and now Procter's) and run them well. Being shortlisted is recognition that the integrated model is being judged seriously at national level.

County and regional

A longer track record at county level.

Beyond the national awards, the farm has been recognised at county and regional level on multiple occasions, most consistently through the Essex County Farms Competition. These are not the awards that drive trade decisions, but they speak to the consistency of work over decades and to the standing of the farm in the local industry.

  • Essex County Farms Competition multiple wins, dates to be confirmed by client
  • Other county or regional recognitions to be confirmed by client
The team

Recognising the people who do the work.

In 2022 the Essex Agricultural Society gave the farm a Long Service Award, recognising team members who have been here more than twenty five years. Three of our team came to us straight from school and have stayed that long. Awards that recognise the team rather than the business sit differently to commercial recognitions, and we wanted to give this one its own space.

2022 Essex Agricultural Society Long Service Award

In the press

Coverage and features.

Jack writes a regular Farmer Focus column for Farmers Weekly, with notes from the herd, the harvest, and the wider business. A selection of recent pieces is below.

Read all of Jack's articles on Farmers Weekly.

Looking forward

What we are working on next.

A formal carbon audit of the whole operation is in progress, with the aim of moving from directional confidence to proper measurement on the sustainability picture. Beyond that, we expect the contracting and hire side of the business to come up against new assurance and certification expectations as it grows, and we will join those schemes that make sense for the kind of work we do. We will update this page as things change.

Get in touch

Want to verify or discuss something on this page?

Press, award organisers, retailer procurement teams, and trade buyers are welcome to get in touch directly to verify any of the awards above. The route is the same as any other enquiry.

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