Agriculture student shortlisted for National Arable and Grassland Awards Young Farmer of the Year 2024

Posted 6 December 2023

A final year Agriculture student is celebrating after being nominated as Young Farmer of the Year at a 2024 national awards ceremony.

Eleanor Gilbert, from near Newbury in Berkshire, is studying for a BSc (Hons) Agriculture with Crop Management at Harper Adams and has been nominated for the trophy at the upcoming National Arable and Grassland Awards 2024.

The awards will take place in London at the Hilton Bankside hotel on February 7 – and the ceremony will be the second year in succession Eleanor has attended after her family business was put forward in 2023.

She explained: “I found out about the new award a few weeks ago and then a week or so back I received an email, telling me I was a finalist.

“This year I have been nominated for Young Farmer of the Year - and last year I represented Rookery Farms for Oilseed Grower of the Year.”

Eleanor – who is set to graduate in 2024  – has had a packed four years at university.

She was named as the Countryfile Young Countryside Champion 2022 at last year’s BBC Food and Farming Awards because of her passion for promoting the best of British food and farming.

She combines her studies with a column for a local magazine in Berkshire, a series of media appearances on TV and radio, and regular school visits which she uses to inspire young people to look at taking up a career in agriculture.

She is also a regular on social media, where she runs Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube accounts – sharing insights on her farming life, as well as stories about her studies and her recent placement year.

She will now be looking to add to her trophy cabinet once more at the ceremony in February – where Harper alumnus Todd Jex is also shortlisted as Young Agronomist of the Year.

Eleanor added: “I am really excited to go to the ceremony - it is a fantastic opportunity to meet some industry professionals, and the National Arable and Grassland awards is a real treat to attend!”