Video: Britain’s Fittest Farmer 2022 – the qualifiers

Tim Relf 23 June 2022

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Competitors from across the country converged on Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park for the qualifying rounds of Britain’s Fittest Farmer.

The Gloucestershire venue saw almost 60 entrants battle in out over two days in a bid to progress to the finals of the competition, which promotes physical and mental health in the countryside.

Burpees, weightlifting, tyre-flipping, running and cycling were among the tests organised by Tom Kemp and the team from Farm Fitness.

Watch the action in our video below, and scroll down for more pictures from the weekend, as well as a full list of the 25 competitors going through to the final rounds on 17 September.

After the entrants were assessed for speed, stamina and strength, the judges set about picking 10 men and 10 women under 40, plus up to five men or women from the newly introduced over-40s category, to go forward to the final stages of the competition.

This will involve interviews assessing their awareness of mental health issues, followed by the grand final at Tom Kemp’s Farm Fitness gym in Essex on 17 September when they’ll be put through their paces in a series of tough physical exercises.

Birds-eye view of the competition ground

Peter Eccles from Perthshire, who was Farmers Weekly‘s 2020 Farm Manager of the Year, was among those taking part in the qualifiers.

“It was a terrific event – a great chance to meet like-minded farmers interested in fitness and mental welfare,” he said.

His first challenge was 50 burpess over a bale followed by seven minutes of cycling. “That was a long 10 minutes – it burned!” said Peter.

Farmers Weekly’s Emma Gillbard said there was a great group of people at the qualifiers – and a fantastic atmosphere.

“Everyone was cheering everyone else on – and everyone understood how important exercise is, both for physical wellbeing and mental welfare,” she said.

Tom Kemp will now be joined by fellow judges – the actor, farmer and Yellow Wellies ambassador Kelvin Fletcher and the Farming Community Network’s Sally Steadman – to pick the ultimate three winners.