A Herefordshire woman has won a national competition to showcase her writing on NFU Mutual’s website.

Evie Atterby, aged 23, has won NFU Mutual’s Fertile Minds blog writing competition for young farmers on the theme ‘A Taste of the Countryside’.

She has received a £600 cash prize and will have four blogs published on the leading rural insurer’s website between January and April.

Evie, a graduate in bioveterinary science from Harper Adams University in Shropshire, is a nutritional adviser for a farming and equine company in Monmouth. She lives in Wellington, near to her partner’s beef farm.

In her winning blog, she describes the frustrations caused by slow access to broadband in rural communities, and how this is stifling enterprise.

She said: “I was amazed to find out that I’d won the competition. I’d never blogged before and I hadn’t done much creative writing since I left school, so it’s great to have my work recognised independently in this way.”

Evie has since set up her own blog, called The Lady and the Labrador, about the positive and negative aspects of living in the countryside.

Sonia Owens, Senior Agent at NFU Mutual’s Hereford branch, said: “I’d like to congratulate Evie on winning our Fertile Minds competition. The judges were particularly impressed by her clear call for action on a challenging issue that continues to affect rural communities.

“As the UK’s main insurer of farms, we work closely with young farmers to help them develop the skills to succeed in today’s highly competitive marketplace.

“This is the perfect opportunity for Evie to build and develop her profile as a future voice of farming.”

The competition was run by NFU Mutual in partnership with Farmers Weekly as part of the Fertile Minds initiative, which helps young people to become successful farmers.

To read Evie’s winning blog, visit www.nfumutual.co.uk/blog