Robert Davies of Hopes Ash Farm, Ross-on-Wye was thrilled to be recognised nationally for running one of the top three mixed farms in the country in the Farmers Weekly annual awards. He told the Ross Gazette it was an honour to make the shortlist and when he read the nomination details for the other farms he thought it would be one of them which would be granted the award.

He was stunned to discover that he was the winner of this prestigious award when he attended the glittering presentation event at Grosvenor House in London.

However, he told the Ross Gazette: “It might be my name on the award but my parents are still partners in the business and I’d be nothing without my wife, Rachel, who runs the farm office and deals with record keeping, accounts and other paperwork.”

He said: “We would not have got where we are today if my parents had not invested their life in the farm and we have a great team working with us.”

Robert said that the category for mixed farms was new to the Farmers Weekly this year and Hopes Ash Farm is quite unusual in the mix of enterprises carried out.

They have a dairy herd which is well-known locally as it is milked by robots, they also finish their own beef cattle, keep sheep, finish 30,000 turkey stags as well as harvest apples and cereals.

Robert ex­plained that this mix is very important to the success and health of the farm.

He said: “If we were just a dairy farm we would probably no longer be here, diversity within the business helps to insulate us from peaks and troughs and from breaks in the cash flow.”

To read the full story, see this week's Ross Gazette.